#i cannot draw their uniforms for the life of me-

[habibisagi]

late valentines day present delivery!! >u<

(sorry idk if this is how you would characterize shoujo protag isagi but i thought it'd be cute for him to be super blushy LKDJFSLKFG)

bitti??????????????? BITTI??????????? USER RABBBITSEASON????

crashing out about this peak piece of art under the read more ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ❤︎

BITTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUDHFKJFHJKHUJKSHKJHGJKSHFJKHSDJFGHJKSHFGKJHGKUJAJKGFDJKHSJKFDHJKDFGHJK !!!!!!!!!!!!!O8UREGJKHFGLJKSFDHUILJKUILHREGUIJDFG BITTI BITTI BITTI BITTIIIIIII OHHHHHH MY GODDD BITTIIIIIIII. bitti. BITTI!!!!!!! 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭

okay. let me take a breath. i need to relax. I'M SORRY IN ADVANCE THIS IS LIKE AN ESSAY BUT I AM JUST SO SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS LIKE I HAVE TO YELL ABOUT IT 1 MILLION TIMES

i literally sat here for 40 minutes trying to type a proper response. because i genuinely am losing my mind. i am so serious like actively as i type this there are actual tears in my eyes and i'm literally shaking and sobbing. i am a very pathetic wet soggy cat rn over this ask. this is me right now

i need you to know that i was on call playing ow with my friend when i refreshed my notifications and saw this in my inbox. and i literally screamed on call and literally had to leave the call to scream more. and crash out. i literally started crying and shaking and hyperventilating. BITTI I LOST MY MIND. I AM LOSING MY MIND. and i am still crying as we speak.

i need you to understand this is genuinely the SWEETEST most incredible most amazing and thoughtful thing anyone's ever done for me in my entire life and i am LITERALLY SO ????? SOOOO BEYOND HONORED YOU DREW THIS FOR ME. 🥹🥹🥹🥹❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ AND SOOOOO SOOOOOO FULL OF HAPPINESS GRATEFULNESS AND LOVE. SO MUCH LOVE IN MY HEART OVER THIS. LIKE MY CHEST!!!!!!!! IS GOING TO EXPLODE!!!!!!!!! I AM SO SO OVERWHELMED /POS AND HAPPY RIGHT NOW I LITERALLY CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO DRAW ME SOMETHING SO AMAZING?????? SO BEAUTIFUL?????? SO THOUGHTFUL?????? SO PERFECT AND GORJUS IN EVERY WAY????? I'M LITERALLY 🥹🥹🥹😭😭🥹🥹😭😭🥹🥹🥹

LIKE. EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT THIS IS MAKING ME LOSE MY MIND. THE FACT IT'S IN PINK. ❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE FACT HE'S BLUSHING. ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE FACT YOU CAN SEE MY NAME ON THE BOX (like OH MY GOD?!?!?!?). ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ HIS HAIR DRAWN SO BEAUTIFULLY. ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ AND THE SPROUT. ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE WAY HE'S DRESSED IN HIS SCHOOL UNIFORM. ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE TIE THE VALENTINE'S BOX ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE WAY HE HAS HIS HAND OVER HIS MOUTH BECAUSE HE'S BLUSHING SO HARD ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THE LITTLE HEARTS NEXT TO HIM AND HIS BLUSH ❤︎❤︎❤︎ AND.... THE WAY MY MIND IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF SHOUJO ISAGI AND CRASHED OUT BUT THEN........

THEN YOU LITERALLY SPECIFIED AND SAID THIS IS SHOUJO ISAGI??????????? AND IT'S LIKE. LIKE OH MY GOD.??????? OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! MY BRAIN AND HEART EXPLODED THAT YOU THOUGHT OF THAT. THAT YOU NOTICED I TALK ABOUT HIM AND I'M JUST SO 😭❤︎🥹😭❤︎🥹😭❤︎🥹😭❤︎🥹 KSJFHGGHJKFJKHF I AM SO ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS!!!!! EXACTLY!!!!!! EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINE HIM BITTIIIIIIII 🥹😭🥹😭❤︎🥹😭❤︎🥹😭🥹❤︎😭 THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINE HIM BITTI HE IS THE MOST SWEET SHY LOVERBOY BF IN THE WORLD HE BLUSHES A LOT OVER YOU OVER EVERYTHING BECAUSE HE IS SOOO FULL OF LOVE FOR YOU 🥹❤︎ IM SOBBING LIKE ITS LITERALLY HIM THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I PICTURE HIM AND WRITE HIM HESDDFJGKHHGJ THIS IS SO PERFECT LIKE SO PERFECT

bitti this art genuinely means the world to me. i need you to know that from the bottom of my heart i cannot stress it enough BITTI I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND FOREVER BTW. ❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎ THANK YOU FOR DRAWING THIS FOR ME I AM KEEPING IT SO CLOSE TO MY HEART. 🥹😭❤︎ i don't know what i did to deserve this incredible piece BUT I AM. HOLDING IT TO MY CHEST AND SO FULL OF LOVE RIGHT NOW YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. I'M LITERALLY SHOWING THIS TO EVERYONE I KNOW. AND I AM NOT JOKING I'M SHOWING THIS TO MY MOM TOO 🥹😭❤︎🥹😭❤︎ THANK YOU SOOOOO SOOO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH

(heads up I WILL BE REBLOGGING THIS LIKE. EVERY DAY LOL. I NEED THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE IT. i will also put this in my navi i am genuinely so obsessed with it i am never shutting the fuck up!! ^>_<^ ❤︎❤︎❤︎)

if only i could draw....... i would have drawn you an equivalent of this with blade and rin T_T ❤︎❤︎❤︎

ILYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ILYSM HAPPY LATE VALENTINES DAY!!!! THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY ENTIRE YEAR, NOT JUST MY VALENTINE'S DAY, WITH THIS I AM SO HAPPY. SOO SO HAPPY. 🥹😭❤︎❤︎❤︎ MWAH MWAH MWAH

[mayhasopinions]

The girlfriends ever!!

[hinamie]

unconditionally

[idiaa-shroxd]

Unfortunately I don't play Genshin anymore due to storage problems BUT IM ALSO A WANDERER MAIN LMAO AND OMFG THANK YOY VERY MUCH FOR THE COMPLIMENT COMING FROM SOMEONE WHO'S ONE OF MY FAV AUTHORS AND YES FARUZAN SUPREMACY AAAAAAAAAAA ILY SM<333

I'm literally going crazy bc you replied to my crazed fan ask HAHAHAHAHA

\(//∇//)\ i am definitely not responding late!! i perceive time like a normal human would.. and that’s so crazy!! ♡

i have loved wanderer since maybe my first time hearing his existence?? i’m not a day-one-er but quite close! so glad he did not get signora’d. if you play on mobile you can try deleting the app and redownloading because the clear old files option doesn’t actually clear everything, and sometimes a redownload may be able to fit within your storage! i absolutely adore faruzan though!! peak character design even if she is genshin’s hatsune miku, not complaining though i think her glass looking dress-skirt is amazing. (*´∀`)♪

i’m happy to be able to talk and respond to people!! getting asks just talking to me or people sending things like how they think my writing style is pretty makes me super happy!! so i’m equally as fanboy-ing when you and others talk to me!! ╰(*´︶`*)╯

[yuurei20]

how muscle is the boy and who the most buff because i think silver gym clothes is lying

Hello hello! Thank you so much for this question! I have been hoping to talk about this for so long ⚔️

There is something special about the school uniform and gym clothes cards 👀

Summary 1) Sprites do not always visually represent what is actually happening in the game 2) Yana does not have full control over what can appear as sprites 3) Yana illustrated the gym clothes and school uniform cards from start to finish by herself!

Details/Sources 1) There is sometimes a disconnect between what the sprites are doing and what is actually happening in the stories, as the limits of the medium mean that they can only portray so much.

We will be told via dialogue that what is actually happening is different from what we're seeing on screen, which is where the "novel" part of "visual novel" has to do some heavy lifting.

(above: We are told that Idia is riding Ortho, Jack has tanned and Kalim is wearing glasses, without anything represented visually.)

This is also true of Silver being unusually well-muscled, with characters referencing such repeatedly! (especially in Book 7, for spoiler-reasons that cannot be shared on this blog)

(Ortho: "Silver is also incredibly built!")

In a vignette Silver explains he was able to beat a man in an arm-wrestling contest who had successfully beaten several "burly" members of Savanaclaw:

"All of Ruggie's burly friends had tried, but each lost within seconds. At first the owner went easy on me. Worried he would hurt me, he said. But once he realized I was no pushover, he stopped holding back...It was no easy feat, but all their encouragement helped me eke out a victory."

As for how Silver can possibly be so well-muscled, he explains it is from life with Lilia:

"I've never really struggled with anything involving physical fitness...my daily life back home was training enough. Drawing river water, chopping firewood...Chasing around the animals who lived nearby must have helped strengthen my legs as well...once I stalled while climbing a sheer cliff, and (Lilia) climbed right up beside me to show me how it should be done."

2) In a tweet posted on 2020/5/12 Yana talks about submitting her idea for Crowley to be wearing a vacation outfit in Book 4, despite expecting it to be rejected.

So it seems that she does not have complete control over how the sprites look: she designs the characters but is maybe not doing the game development work of physically implementing them, and there are others who can approve of or reject her ideas based on in-game limitations.

Was a canon-accurate Silver sprite maybe one of those rejections?

Effort was even made to give Silver muscle in the 2nd anniversary PV, so it does seem to be an important point.

3) We do not know too many details about the team that is helping Yana with card illustrations but we know they have been there from the beginning, with the recently released English-version of the first visual book (called "The official art book" in English) providing translations of Yana's notes to the colorists for the ceremonial robes and labwear art.

(Above: hand-written notes seen on Kalim's labwear and ceremonial robes base art)

She also references a graphic artist in her 2020 interview for the Magical Archives:

"As for the illustrations, this was my first time having my original drawings cleaned up by a graphic artist. I am a very rough draftsman by nature, and I make overall corrections before a piece is complete. No matter how careful I am in my original drawings, sometimes details get confused, so whenever I receive a draft back from the graphic artist, I become a useless original artist who is constantly going back to say, ‘I am so sorry, but can you please make these corrections?’" - Toboso Yana (Magical Archives game guide)

But the gym clothes and school uniforms (the original batch of R cards) were different: Yana says she did them all by herself from start to finish, as they were going to be most people's first introductions to the characters.

Disney Twisted-Wonderland has been released today.  ・Character design ・Main scenario creation ・Card illustration (all rarities / including finishing for the R cards) ・Supervision of personal scenarios (writing several as well) I handled everything above. I hope you enjoy it! - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/5/8)

I felt that the initial R school uniforms and sportswear cards are special, as they are likely to be the first introductions to these characters, so I was in charge of them all. I am grateful to have been trusted with them. - Toboso Yana (Twitter, 2020/4/13)

So there we are! 🥳

If anything we can maybe consider the base card art for the gym clothes and school uniforms as more "canon" than the sprite designs of those same characters, even though the sprites are what we're used to seeing, as card art is not being forced to change the characters' appearances in order to fit the limitations of Live 2D sprites ⚔️ Maybe!

(The sprites have this same issue with height! In the game Epel is made taller while Malleus is made shorter, in order to fit his horns in the screen.)

[risingchaos]

Me when all my bones hurt and I’ve been dizzy all evening so I project and make silly headcanons.

Steve Rogers with POTS, both pre and post serum because you can pry disabled Steve from my cold dead hands.

Pre-Serum

- Steve was a fainter and Bucky doesn’t even react to it anymore other than a “you good?”

- He developed it after his bout with scarlet and rheumatic fever, though he didn’t notice it much in his youth because of his already existing heart issues and chalked it up to just his general feeling bad

- Near constant headaches and coat hanger pain

- His HR would increase 50-60 almost every time he stood and it was a pain in the ass when he worked

- Used a cane for stability (and pain relief) because a bitch was dizzy, and it helped keep his HR down some

- Cannot regulate temperature for his life

- Has definitely had such bad blood pooling that he pulls Bucky over and draws a heart into his palm that stays there for a hot second and Bucky gives him the most “what the fuck” look he possibly can

- Having such poor nutrition and living in such a stressful time has not helped any of this

After the serum, Steve’s POTS went into remission. However, the severe stress of coming out of the ice and everything brought him out of it. Here’s how it presents now.

- Doesn’t faint anymore but he hates pre-syncope more

- Has a whole compression suit he basically wears under his Captain America uniform, it’s awesome

- Didn’t even realize his heartrate still goes up so much (generally around 30-35 now) because it used to go so high

- Was diagnosed because a doctor did a full work up and asked him a bunch of questions about how he used to be compared to now and ended up having a bunch of testing including wearing a monitor, then subjected him to a tilt table test

- Still deals with a lot of headaches and coat hanger pain

- Our boy gets medication now! And proper nutrition! And he can work out and help his heart be strong and regulate his nervous system so he’s in much better health

- Should definitely still use a mobility aid at least on the bad days because he wall walks a lot but doesn’t even notice it

- Gets really crippling vertigo where he’s bed bound for a day or two

There’s more that I think about and a bunch of comorbidities I want to talk about but my eyes feel like they’re being stabbed so that’s all for now, folks.

(Also I have POTS so this isn’t all out of my ass)

[rottenpumpkin13]

somehow, someway, pre-nibel sephi is sent to nibelheim like a month before he's conceived and finds younger vincent and lucrecia. what happens?

Sephiroth wakes up to discomfort, that much is certain. The hard earth presses against his spine, wayward blades of grass prickling his skin, pieces of silver hair either scattered in disarray across the dew-dampened ground or splayed across his damp chest.

His limbs all but stifle their own screams with each difficult movement, as if he'd been dropped from a considerable height. The last fragments of memory parade through his consciousness as though mocking his current state—a night spent with Genesis, drowning in too much Dumbapple wine. Genesis confessed how he habitually made wishes in that liminal space between wakefulness and sleep, hoping one might come true in reality. Sephiroth doesn't remember the moment hypnogogia morphed into sleep, but he does recall indulging in wishes.

A cacophony of sounds, alive and grounding, pierce through his hazy awareness; the burbling water of a nearby river, the cheerful din of morning birds, the rustle of wind and leaves. He can smell moss infusing the crisp air, and then—

"But where did he come from?" A man's voice, firm but gentle in its delivery. Sephiroth knows instinctively that the delicate fingers checking his pulse cannot belong to this speaker.

"He could've washed up from the river," suggests a woman's voice—her touch, now that must be hers; soft and assured as his senses gradually reassemble themselves.

"No, he's completely dry," the man counters. "Perhaps he's from the village. Took ill during a morning constitutional."

"I've never seen him in the village, and trust me—" there's a hint of wry amusement in the woman's tone "—we would have noticed someone like him." At that, Sephiroth feels her fingers gently carding his hair.

The man huffs before launching into a catalogue that makes Sephiroth's lips twitch. "Silver hair, approximately six-foot-five, male, early to mid-twenties."

"He's in uniform," the woman observes. "Oh, the poor thing's shivering."

"We should return to the manor and alert someone."

"No."

"Lucy—"

"Vincent, if we take him back there, he won't come out."

There's a pause, heavier than Sephiroth's headache, before the man concludes with a resigned sigh. "Don't I know it."

Sephiroth shifts uncomfortably, attempting to pry open one rebellious eyelid. The morning light seeps through his vision, drawing forth an involuntary hiss as the sunlight assaults it. His movement startles the couple, and suddenly four hands are steadying him, grounding him in place. He finds himself unconsciously leaning into their touch, their continued conversation fading beneath the surge of remembered wishes from the night before.

Sephiroth had always treated hopes and dreams like precious artifacts in a museum; beautiful to observe but never to possess. He had wished for home, for peace, for belonging, for the simple miracle of normalcy. His last coherent thought before sleep claimed him had been achingly simple: a life where he wasn't anyone's weapon, where he had grown up surrounded by nature rather than steel walls, where two parents showed him what unconditional love meant. But Sephiroth was no naive child casting wishes to the stars—merely a pragmatic day-dreamer.

But when he finally manages to open his eyes and finds himself with the concerned faces of Lucrecia and Vincent looking down at him, he knows with absolute certainty that this is no dream.

Lucrecia smiles as she cups his cheek with a tenderness she has no idea is maternal. "It's okay," she murmurs, "we've got you now."

[silverryuan]

Azul Ashengrotto with a Bad Genius reader (Part 2)

Thank you for supporting me throughout the year I've been in Tumblr, you guys. Unfortunately, I have to focus on my studies in the meantime. But I'll post small fics before I can post longer ones when I have the time... I'll be busy for a while.

Warning: Slight Swearing, Slight Angst

• ..... Life is not fair, you know?

• The same goes for schools and businesses. Unfair. The only thing that matters is the one who gets the most benefit. The teachers nurture the students with higher social status and leave the stunted students with lower social status in the dust. The businessmen only invest in partnerships that are rich and terminate contracts with failing partnerships. Why? It's simple, really...

• If you are smart, attractive, and confident, you will be admired and included. If you are dumb, ugly, and clumsy, you will be hated and casted out.

• JUST. LIKE. THAT GROSS. STUPID. AND USELESS. FUCKING. OCTOPUS.

• You are just a student. His student in his dorm. This school you're enrolled in is only an institution for only talented mages. With your average magical abilities, surely you cannot be a hindrance to his objectives in life... Right?

• ... Azul was wrong. Dead wrong. You, unfortunately, have become a nuisance.

• He's underestimated you. How can that be? He's always two steps ahead of... Everyone... Everyone but not you. How can you do this to him?! How ungrateful can you be?! You're the one who's at fault, not him! YOU TOOK HIS PLACE IN THE RANKS.

• ..................Just how did it come to this?

• ................................................................................................................................................................

"...zu........Azu.....Azul......zul................"

...?

"AZUL!"

! ! !

????: "Azul, why aren't you awake yet? You should be eating breakfast at this time."

Azul: "W-wha...?... Jade? What are you doing in my room?"

Jade: "To wake you up. Hm...You always wake up to your alarm. How strange....This is unlike you. Are you feeling alright?"

Azul: "I'm fine... Wait, what do you mean by "at this time?""

Jade: "It's already 8:25 in the morning-"

Azul: "SEVENS! WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP SOONER?! WE'RE LATE FOR CLASS!"

• Azul woke up late this morning, which is unusual for the silver-haired man. Jade and Floyd had those smug look on their face while watching him eat breakfast. Turns out the suave Azul isn't so suave after all, Floyd teased him. Perhaps the workload of managing Mostro Lounge the other day did a number on poor Azul? Jade also chided with the teasing. Preposterous! He isn't one to get tired of reading contracts! Waking up a little late this morning was definitely just a minor inconvenience!

• Azul quickly took a bath and changed to his uniform. He saw you rushing out of your room with Grim, looks like you also woke up late. You both greet each other and head to your classrooms together with the Tweels. The examinations are coming up which means that Azul will be hauling contracts after contracts as well as doubling, no, tripling the amount of students that are indebted to him! This semester, he's aiming for more than 200 students!

• For the few weeks of the examinations drawing near, he's contracted students from almost every dormitory. The other dorm leaders can't do anything about it because of their own dormmates' stupidity. A few more days before the exam, Azul noticed that some students are cautiously avoiding him for some reason. This has never happened before... Did he not add the right amount of charm? Did they see through his facade? That cannot be...

• He has never been more frustrated and puzzled in his entire school life here. The thought about it nearly stressed him out enough to leave wrinkles from the constant furrowing of his eyebrows. As he sat beside the counter of the lounge waiting for Jade to finish his drink, he saw you approaching him, dragging those awfully heavy eyebags of yours too. Jade offered a cup of coffee on the house and you took it, knowing that you'll be working on the exams with little to no sleep.

• The lounge's atmosphere was quiet. Of course, every student is busy studying their night away which means that this is the calm before the storm. This also means that you won't have time to rest after the exams when the lounge will be packed by students. Azul probably has to give you credit for staying up late to clean the tables even if the lounge is empty. After you drank the coffee Jade made for you, you slumped down like a tired Tumblr writer who chose to continue this part instead of working on class projects all-nighter.

Azul: "Good evening, BadGenius! Yuu. Rough day?"

BadGenius! Yuu: "Yeah... Ruggie and everyone can't work because of the exams. Floyd won't do shit. And Grim is too stubborn to study. How's business going for you?"

Azul: "It's going well, actually. If you don't mind me asking, why on Twisted Wonderland are you staying up late at this ungodly hour?"

BadGenius! Yuu: "For the after-exams bonus, duh."

Azul: "That will have to wait the next day."

BadGenius! Yuu: "Fine......Can I ask you something?"

Azul: "Oh?"

BadGenius! Yuu: "It's not for a contract or anything! Just asking for small advice."

Azul: "Advice? From me?"

BadGenius! Yuu: "Yes. Is it no good?"

Azul: "Hmm... From what I've observed, you've been working more efficiently than our workers..."

Jade: "Oya 😊?"

Azul: "Ahem! Aside from Jade. So I think I can partake some knowledge of... What is it about?"

BadGenius! Yuu: "Well, it's just... What do you do when you... Start a business but feel a little bit guilty about it? Like, what you're doing might be wrong and you'll end up rock-bottom if it continues?"

Azul: "...It depends. Usually when a business wants to expand, they must make multiple plans to avoid or to take risks."

BadGenius! Yuu: "Plans? Risks?"

Azul: "Yes. It involves taking a small step to further expand the business. Usually starts from small to big. Always have layered and detailed plans. You consider the threats, analyze the danger, re-evaluate your advantages and weaknesses when it comes to that threat, and then initiate an advantage to show that you have the upper hand. However, risking something without proper calculation, that one step can cause you to lose everything and start back to square one. It's like a game."

BadGenius! Yuu: "I see... Thank you for your advice, dorm leader. I owe you one."

Azul: "... No need. Its basic knowledge in business. Think of it as a reward... But if I may ask, why do you ask of me that--"

Floyd: "JAAADEE!!! AZUUUL!!!"

• The moody eel barged through the doors before Azul could ask you about his advice. You politely bowed to say goodnight and went to bed. You couldn't get a wink of sleep that night. You kept thinking over Azul's advice, it might help you with your struggles.

• 24 hours before the exam, the silver-haired man counted all the contracts he's hoarded. He couldn't stop thinking about your request for his advice relating to business. What were you even going to do with it? His frustration only grew when he counted the total amount of contracts... Only 185? He could've sworn he talked to students more than that. He doesn't remember them rejecting his offer... Something feels wrong. Should he talk to some students more?

• He groaned in exhaustion and massaged his temples. Jade is in kitchen making tea, Floyd is probably in his room since there are no one to squeeze. He contemplated on going to bed early and study for the night but stopped in his tracks when he heard voices outside of the room...

• Hold on... Students? In the lounge?? Before the exam??? He rushed outside to see a large number of students from different dormitories sitting on the tables, enjoying their drinks. He sees Jade and Floyd serving drinks to the supposedly-studying students. He noticed the students glancing at him and fidgeted. Some students suddenly opened the menu to read it and some not even making eye contact with him when he passed by. A familiar whine from a flaming cat reached his ears and his head turned to the entrance to see those troublemaker friends of yours.

Grim: "Fnyaagh... It's so tiring! BadGenius! Yuu keeps insisting that I should study harder. I'm trying! How am I gonna do that 😾?"

Deuce: "Stop complaining, Grim. They said they'd help us, so the least we could do is memorize half of it."

Ace: "Seriously, Juice? Who would have time to memorize all those piano lessons in one night?"

Deuce: "Ugh! It's Deuce!"

• ... Piano lessons? What?

Ace: "Oh crap...! Hey Azul-senpai! Uhh... Is BadGenius! Yuu here?"

Azul: "Oh? And why do you want to know that? You know you shouldn't be entering a dorm uninvited."

Deuce: "U-umm...!"

Azul: "If you're just here to order, that'll be-"

BadGenius! Yuu: "Good evening, dorm leader. I forgot to tell you that I have friends visiting me for piano lessons. Please excuse us. We'll try to make little noise as possible."

Azul: "Ah, I see. So that explains the music coming from your room. If they make too much racket, I'm afraid we'll have to throw them out."

BadGenius! Yuu: "Yes, dorm leader. Goodnight."

• Once Azul was in the ADeuce and Grim's line of sight, they greeted him. Azul was suspicious of them for a moment before you intervened and then they made a beeline to your room. If he strained his ears hard enough, he might hear sighs of relief from the three as they walked through the hallway. The students in the lounge relaxed a bit and went back to their ongoing chatter.

• How curious... He knows you liked to play piano. But repeating the same sequence over and over again? Especially when your friends visit you every time?

• He felt like he needed to confirm something and approached Jade. He asked how many students have entered the establishment. To the silver-haired man's surprise, Jade answered that there are 40 students. 40 STUDENTS. He observed the features of the nearby groups of students and finally, he recognized them... THOSE ARE THE STUDENTS THAT HE HASN'T MADE A DEAL WITH.

• The more students he observed, the more memories come flooding back to him... He remembers this beastman, he was in his class. Azul tried to offer him a contract but he fled without glancing back... He remembers that student, too. Azul encountered him in the hallway but he avoided him before Azul could speak... He remembers him, too. He went the other way... And him, as well... And him... And him...! ALL OF THE STUDENTS HERE AVOIDED HIS OFFER.

• Azul feels like there's a plan at hand being set here. He doesn't want to assume and just rely on that alone, but... You've been acting distant lately ever since he gave you that advice and... There were other students visiting the lounge in search of you despite the exam's date drawing near... Are you...? No, you're an honor student. You can't possibly.... Unless...?

Azul: "... Jade."

Jade: "Yes?"

Azul: "Observe BadGenius! Yuu. There's something going on here."

Jade: "I thought so. How long?"

Azul: "Until the exams are over."

• ... Don't be mad at him once he learns your secret. You cheated, after all.

To be Continued...

[crazylittlejester]

I so want to draw the modern boys in funny situations, but I dont really know what they wear! Like, does War still like to wear scarves? Do they all have some reference to their lu conterparts?

War has a weird collection of scarves, but his favorite is one hand knitted by (I cannot remember her name for the life of me but Zelda)

Does Sky have a blanket (sailcloth) he sleeps with that Sun made him? His red earrings?

Maybe Twi with a those little fur pelts people put on their belts? Or a necklace that looks like the shadow crystal, but its really just a cool rock he found one day that he turned into a necklace? Does he still have his facial tattoos? What do his tattoos look like, and what peircings does he have??

okay first of all THATD BE SO COOL IF YOU DREW THEM OH MY GOD, second: THANK YOU FOR GRANTING ME PERMISSION TO YAP ABOUT THEIR CLOTHES AND WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE BECAUSE I HAVE HAD THEIR DESIGNS FLOATING IN MY BRAIN FOR SO MANY MONTHS (also my bad for spelling mistakes im dyslexic and also tired and my brain is turning off 💔💔💔 i might have forgotten a few details because my head hurts but i think i got the important things??)

Wars:

His summer and winter wardrobes have completely different personalities. In warmer weather he wears a lot of crop tops or just shirts that just reach the top of his pants so long as his arms are down, and also just tighter fitting tops, because he’s absolutely a “big pants, little shirt” kinda guy. He has a love hate relationship with jeans, he only puts up with them in the summer if there are just no other pants that will fit his vibe, and the second his frontal lobe fully develops /j and he locks in to life he will probably never touch another pair of jeans again. He’s young, he had a uniform he had to wear in grade school, he’s fucking around with fashion. But he ALWAYS eats.

His winter wardrobe is what his sense of style will fully transform into in a few years: nice pants, solid color t-shirts under a cardigan, or just a full on sweater. he has a collection of rather nice coats. He doesn’t wear a whole lot of scarves YET, he’s got a couple but the collection will grow as the years go on aldkkdd. His iconic blue scarf was split into two objects in this au: A blue scarf that Wild knit for him when he retired from skating and was having a rough time, and a very very soft blanket that Athena (his Zelda :)) gifted him for his birthday one year. Athena has definitely also made him a scarf, she does crafts too :) but his blue one was from Wild

His hair is bleached blond and straightened every morning, because it’s naturally very dark brown and curly. The modern au is just a modernized version of hyrule kingdom, but in our world he’d be brazilian/scottish, and he does have a slightly darker skin tone, he’s not super pale (he looks just like my regular version of Wars I write/have drawn a few times because he’s just a modernized version of my regular Wars :)). He also has glasses but wears contacts for the most part, because unfortunately for him he is blind as fuck aldkdkdd. He has his ears pierced, he usually just has simple silver studs in just so the holes don’t close (he’s paranoid about that), but he has other bigger earrings if he’s trying to match them with an outfit, and he usually wears eyeliner. He also has freckles, and a DECENT amount of em, but he covers those up with makeup. He rarely half commits to a look when he leaves the apartment, he either dresses up and fully does his makeup and hair and puts his contacts in, or he puts on a casual outfit and wears a hat because he hates his hair

Sky:

He dresses like an english teacher, which is the direction he’s planning on going in for his future job, but he’s already got the sweaters and general vibe at 21 years old and it’s really funny. On the days he’s too exhausted to really dress up, sweatpants and a hoodie will do. He always looks slightly disheveled, but in a frustratingly charming way that has Warriors screaming at a wall because his morning routine is very long and he’s rarely happy with how he looks and Sky can just roll out of bed, wash up, run a hand through his hair and somehow look perfect and this annoys him

He does have his red earrings!! And his sail cloth in his au IS a blanket that was a gift from Sun :) She made it from him the first year they dated after he had a health scare and was just not doing good for about a month. The blanket brought him a LOT of comfort then, and it still does now :)

His hair is dark brown and curly (not as curly as Wars’s is naturally but still curly and not wavy), and he’ll color it sometimes so it’ll end up brown but slightly red toned. He has a much darker skin tone than the other two, and his eyes are a dark gray

Twilight:

He owns like. 8 pairs of INCREDIBLY similar looking jeans and probably five too many flannels. If he EVER forgot it was halloween and he just ended up wearing his normal clothes he could probably say he chose to be dean or sam winchester and people would believe it. Warriors makes jokes about how Twi has like 7 different versions of the SAME outfit all the time, but he also borrows one very specific jacket of Twi’s because its big on him and will fit over other layers so he can’t complain too much or Twi won’t let him wear it anymore. He and Wars are opposites in the sense that if Wars is “big pants little shirt” Twi is “big shirt little pants”. Though at night that switches, because Twi sleeps in big ass flannel pants (you will never get him away from his emotional support flannel) and a tight fitting t shirt or tank top (he gets hot at night) and Wars is the guy in shorts and a GIGANTIC hoodie who walks around complaining he’s cold as if he does not own multiple pairs of sweatpants (which he primarily wears when he skates). (Sky owns ACTUAL pajamas)

He doesn’t really have anything that would be a pelt, the closest thing would be a very fluffy gray blanket his adoptive mom/aunt Malon bought him when he moved out. He DOES have a rock necklace!!! He likes rocks and Hyrule knows this, so it was a gift from Hyrule (who is the Rock Guy of the friend group aldkdkkd). He doesn’t have his facial tattoos, but he has a lot of others. All of his tattoos are on the left side of his body; left arm, left hip, left side of his chest right over his rib cage. Most of them are different animals he really likes all pieced together, others are small designs that represent people he loves. He also has a matching tattoo with Sky, which is a bird sitting on a goat’s head and a little cat is nearby (Twi’s is on the inside of his wrist, Sky’s is above his ankle, and because each animal is supposed to represent each of them they got Wars a bracelet with the little animals on it so he could be included too). He has three lobe piercings (on each side), and then just on his left he has a helix piercing, and a left eyebrow piercing. He also has a scar just before his hairline because when he was around nine he cracked his head open, and that is ALSO on his left side of his face. (he intentionally puts everything on the left, tho the scar he definitely had no control over because he was a child and fell)

His hair is brown and has a little bit of a wave to it, and his skin tone is darker than Wars’s but lighter than Sky’s. His eyes are brown, he’s got big ol’ sad brown eyes

ALSO!! Wolfie in this au is a very sweet dog who lives on the ranch that Twi rescued :)

[helplesspuppet-bsd]

A Sound So Appealing 

 

Warnings: out of character Jouno? Moentions of blood and death

Jouno x Fem!Reader 

 

Word count: 1,911

After Jouno lost his ability to see his senses heighted as a way for him to thrive without seeing, this included his hearing. Therefore, he found being in large crowd difficult for him because of the noise, he had to hold a brave face when arresting Dazai in the stadium.  

It didn’t shock anyone that he liked quiet rooms and appealing noises and feelings.  

Such as, the soft chime of a bell, or the feeling of a feather.  

Jouno was walking through the city, finding the chatter among the crowded street irritating. He simply had to get a few things and get back to the Hunting Dogs HQ. He wasn’t in uniform as he didn’t want to draw any attention.  

It was so loud he didn’t even notice you bump into him “Oh... Sorry...” You said in a voice so gentle it was like all other sound around him became mute to Jouno.  

It hadn’t been that quiet for him since he lost his sight. He had to hear your voice again. He dropped everything he was doing, he had to hear that voice again, he followed you by following the sound of your footsteps until he was close enough to reach for your shoulder.  

“Excuse me.” Jouno said, grabbing your attention, he felt his heart skip a beat, ‘Even the clothes they wear is soft.’ Jouno thought as his hand rested on your shoulder.  

“Did you... Need something?” You asked, it was like a bell chimed sweetly in his ears he faced for a few moments before snapping back to reality “Yes. I was hoping you could guide me to the nearest supermarket. As a simple apology for bumping into me earlier.” Jouno said sweetly as he tilted his head.  

‘Is he serious? I guess it’s fair as he is blind.’ You thought, trying to reason with the situation you now found yourself in as you sighed. “Okay then...” You said as you walked in a different direction to where you were walking before.  

You walked a small bit in front of Jouno but he quickly caught up and wrapped his arm around yours “You do not mind right?” Jouno asked with his signature smile. You looked at him for a second “Hey, if you’re blind, shouldn’t you have a stick, or a dog?” You asked out of pure curiosity as you bent your arm so it’s more secure for him.  

“I can usually figure where I’m going with my other senses. It’s just harder for me today, and it’s my turn to get lunch for my colleges.” Jouno answered, he was used to questions, and he would be happy to answer them if it wasn’t out of malice.  

“Oh...” You muttered as you walked arm in arm with him, not knowing that Jouno could easily find his way through this street despite the crowd, he just wanted an excuse to hear that beautiful voice of yours. The click of your heel, it was just satisfying for him.  

“Tell me, what is your name?” Jouno asked as he followed your movements. “It’s Y/n.” You responded as you paid attention to the path in front of you. It was silent for a while and before you knew it, you were already at the supermarket.  

“Well, here we are.” You said as you let go of his arm, you just now noticed that Jouno was smiling the entire journey.  

“You want to know something funny? Even though I cannot see, I can still tell you are a beautiful person from how you act.” Jouno said as he walked into the store waving you goodbye, leaving you as a blushing mess at his complement, something rare for Jouno to complement anyone, and he held a proud smile.  

◇◇◇  

A few days had gone by, and you stayed in that same spot, hoping to see Jouno again, you had memorized his face, his white hair with the red tips at the end of his hair, you had even memorized his voice. Never in your life did you think you’d be so obsessed about seeing someone again.  

You closed your eyes and sighed considering giving up on seeing him again. You turned around and walked back to your house. Unaware that Jouno was with you, he was using his ability to not make himself visible to you. He was in his uniform, he followed you, he didn’t know why he did, but something in his mind told him to do it.  

He had a meeting to go to, but he felt like something terrible would happen to you if he left you. His gut instinct had aways been correct, he wouldn’t ignore if the woman he had undeniably fallen in love over the past few weeks be harmed.  

He stopped turned back to normal facing your direction as he heard Tetchou’s voice through the radio in his ear. “Jouno, we’ve found people a group of violent criminals in the area you’re in. Be on guard.” Jouno felt his heart drop, he knew that you were in that crowd. Jouno didn’t reply to Tetchou, he only disconnected the radio as a lot was going through his head. 

He kept his guard up desperately hoping the rest of the hunting dogs would appear shortly, they were always quick at coming to situations like this. 

He walked around the street, being on high alert, focusing on the everyone in the crowd, desperately trying to figure out the good from the bad. Not just for the innocent people, but also for you. 

Your safety meant so much to him, more than what he’d like to admit, he knew we shouldn’t have gone with it when he first met you, but he couldn’t help himself, now he was in love with you, and scared, he began to think about how many weeks you had waited for him, wanting to see him again, starting to regret not coming up to you once. 

It didn’t take much longer for the other hunting dogs to appear running past Jouno, trying to hunt down the criminals. It was no use anyway, as jouno heard ticking. “A bomb....” He whispered in fear, his usual composure was crumbling “EVERYONE GET DOWN!” He yelled as loud as his voice could let him before an explosion happened, gunfire followed shortly behind. 

The majority were saved by the end of it, but a lot still lost their lives. The media got on the scene shortly afterwards, some being disappointed in the hunting dogs for not saving more, others wanting to interview the hunting dogs, however, they brushed them off. Moving through the survivors and the unfortunate victims, looking for you, hoping to hear your heartbeat. 

He hoped you weren’t one of the casualties. His rapidly beating heart calmed when he finally heard yours. He followed it, wanting to know if you were alright. 

He found you sitting on the ground, with your back against some of the debris from the prior explosion, and your eyes widened when you saw him, “Y/n...” He whispered as he got closer, “Are you alright.” He asked with concern laced all over his voice, he felt pain within you. “Uh... Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” You tried to sit up more but failed, wincing in pain. 

“Don’t lie to me. I hate liars.” Jouno said as he looked at you, he was worried, it was uncharacteristic of him. “How bad is it?” Jouno then asked as he sat on his knees “Compared to the others I’ve seen, it’s pretty tame, hurts to move though.” You replied, with a small smile “Who knew the man I bumped into a few weeks ago was a member of the hunting dogs.” You said with a weak laugh, trying to bring light to this grim situation. 

Jouno let out a small chuckle before he picked you up, one arm under your knees, the other on your back “Come on, let’s get you to an ambulance.” Jouno said as he began walking, it was strangely silent for him “I’m sorry for not talking to you since that day, I know you were waiting for me.” Jouno said as he held onto you tighter “I ... I wish I did now.” Jouno continued, he continued walking toward the nearest free ambulance. 

“It’s fine, although I’m disappointed you weren’t there.” You said as he turned to face you “But I was... I used my ability to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were safe. You can’t imagine how scared I was found out about the planned attack from my co-worker.” Jouno replied as he pulled you closer, getting to an ambulance, the few doctors that were there rushed to him. With slight reluctance he handed you over. 

“We will find out why they did this. I’ll pay for all your treatments, Y/n.” Jouno promised in a whisper before he smiled, and kissing your forehead, which surprised you, and the doctors, before he turned around and whispered “I love you...” It was barely audible for you, but he heard your heartbeat quicken and smiled at it. As he went off to help the other survivors of the attack, now that the most important one to him was safe and getting treatment. 

◇◇◇ 

A month or two had gone by, and you were recovering from the surgery you had because of your injury. Jouno took it upon himself to visit you when he could. He knew how to make you laugh; he knew how to fluster you as well. In a way, it caused you to fall for him, possibly falling harder than he did. 

He was with you currently, in his casual clothes, placing your hand on his cheek. Apart from the occasional beep from the various hospital equipment, it was quiet for the both of you, no one made a sound. 

 “Have I ever told you how much I love your heartbeat?” Jouno asked, breaking the peaceful silence between you two, you let out a light chuckle “You can hear it?” You asked, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion. “Of course. Ever since I lost my sight, my remaining four senses heightened. Your voice, your touch... Every sound you make. It’s all so beautiful to me. I could sit and listen to it all day.” Jouno confessed as he kissed the inside of your palm. He chucked as he heard your heartbeat pick up speed again “I also love to hear your heartbeat speed up, it only confirms that you love me back, I don’t need you to say it to know it.” Jouno said shortly after. 

You only looked at Jouno in adoration, not knowing how you managed to get him to love you, you were pleasantly surprised he wasn’t as sadistic as what you heard, he loved you too much to hurt you in any way, unless you were okay with it. He wouldn’t mind if you had some secret dark kink like that. 

For now, he will remain as gentle as possible, holding your hand and face as if they were made of glass in movement he made. Both of you could imagine a life with each other, as he took your face in his hands and placed a gentle kiss on your lips. 

A life with Jouno is something you now wanted. As you closed your eyes and returned his kiss. 

[rinupi]

Ok so, this is **REALLY** rough and i wrote everything on the bus today lmao

Haitani brothers are at the end of their sentence when Inui gets sent to the same reform school.

Bad first impressions, but Rindou gets a lil' crush

Wing-man Ran pesters Seishu a lot, so his little brother can get close to his crush by simply sticking to Ran.

Time skip to after they're all out

Mostly the brothers just hang out with Koko & Inupi. Koko is highly suspicious of Rindou trying to hog Inupi.

Rindou is high-key jealous of Kokonoi

They sorta join the Black Dragons as honorary members and/or Friends of the gang.

Haitani's get their own black uniforms and will at times meddle with gang stuff for shits & giggles

Around this time Rinupi start getting involved

Seishu still takes a while to realize Rindou likes him too, because he's just. Like that. (rin has been weird around seishu since day 1)

Both Ran & Rindou are occupied during the Black Dragons arc bc let's say that's when Izana contacted them and Tenjiku began forming.

Rindou has to inform Seishu that the S62 is back and the bros will be occupied with old friends for a while :)

Tenjiku arc starts

Enter: the worlds most awkward meeting between Ran, Rindou & Koko

All three realise that they left Seishu for Tenjiku

Rindou gets some seriously traitorous thoughts & Koko feels bad

Koko stays in Tenjiku

Rindou & Ran argue about staying. Both know that separation is *not* an option.

Until Rindou starts crying, then Ran decides to pack his baton & leave with Rindou.

Izana: where tf are those brothers?? Are they late again?

*Koko sweats nervously*

Haitani brothers show up at Seishu's place and nervously greet him

Seishu just stares. stunned

Ran third wheels rinupi reunion

Seishu decides to inform Takemichi and all 4 have a little meeting together.

Ran informs everyone of the Emma assassination plans

Takemichi appointments himself her bodyguard.

Another meeting point is whether the brothers should join the battle or join ToMan.

They settle on it being the brother's choice. Both Takemichi & Seishu will attend regardless

The brothers sit it out, trusting Koko & Seishu's friend to keep him alive

Ran does convince Seishu to bring a weapon though.

They do spectate

The neutrality does not last at all, and both join

A shit ton of confusion from both sides as the Haitani Brothers just beat up whoever

They mostly focus on anyone seeming to target Seishu, Koko, Mocchi & Kakuchou.

They also beat up Kisaki & Hanmna

Somehow the whole conflict ends with no deaths.

Btw Emma lives. She survived with no lasting injuries, but is injured.

The Sanos talk it out & all is well

oK. WAIT . THIS IS SO INTERESTING OMG i love bending the canon liek this just to make rindou and inui meet it's so GOOD!!!!!!!!

i chuckled at the *koko sweats nervously* LMAO

"haitani brothers show up at seishu's place" yesyesyesyesyesyesyes

the rinupi UST bring it bring it bring it!!! oh lrod i wanna draw themmmm againnnnn ughughfuh

RIN IS SO BABEY PLEASE RAN CANNOT RESIST RIN'S TEARS 🥺

BUT DADDY ANIKI I LOVE HIM

VERY CUTE VERY HAITANI

RAN WOULD GET A KICK OUTTA THAT IM SURE

WDYMMMMM WDYM WDYM IT ENDS HERE WHERE'S MY RINUPI HAPPY ENDING !!!!!! I NEED ME A DOMESTIC RINUPI LIFE AFTER-BATTLE@!!!!!

Rin: Domestic life w u sounds good, baby Inui: Mm. Except in bed, I guess. Rin: (smirking) Woof woof.

thank u sm anon for showing me ur outline!!!!!! even if it doesn't end up being an actual fic the fact that there's an outline for it shows that the idea's still there, still planned and was very fun for u im sure!! COS IT WAS FUN FOR ME TO READ HEHEHEHEHEEEE <3

[mothinabottle]

Hey hey I don't know if I've asked you this already (if I have I'm so sorry I have the memory of a goldfish that embodies an orange cat ^^")

But

I'm planning on making my dol pcs in the Sims4 and I was wondering if it'd be alright if I did the same with yours? I wanna have my friends dol pcs live under a roof (and see what chaos will ensure and post about it xD) once I've set my computer back up and done all the updates...there are so MANY updates ;-;

I understand if that's not alright with you though ^^

Dearest, it is more than alright! In fact, I am really flattered that you'd like to recreate them in the Sims 💙

Pls do tag me whenever these little demons do stupid shit, because I know they will.

Did a small relationship chart with the final school uniform designs to guide u a little.

Resumed description of each PC below

Hana is quite easy. She/them is obsessed with having a perfect academic record and is the most prideful person you'll ever encounter. No one can be better than her at school or she will lose her mind.

Partygoer, academic genius, socially dumb, can barely boil water and usually stresses herself to the point of fainting and bleeding. Prefers to talk things out. Smokes a lot, drinks a lot

Neat room, everything organized except from the amount of papers scattered around. Likes to show off trophies and medals. Tons of band posters. Her electric guitar is her most prized posession. Voice has an incredible range and is very powerful, thus a great singer

Hana crossdresses a lot to go out and such. Only wears female clothing at school. Extremely tall (1.95 cm). Doesn't know what to do with her life

Masculine body, fit but max ass. It's difficult to describe her, but some drawings give a hint of her body type

Kari is tricky. Really violent. Anger issues. Fights a lot. Scars on her arms which she covers wirh her clothes. Manipulative, really easy to anger. Cannot draw for shit. Prefers having short hair but is scared of being seen as less feminine.

Overdoses on pills regularly. Sexual things are a sensitive topic, but isn't above using her body to get what she wants. Really small (1.47cm). Does her best to be seen as an angel, has a meltdown if sometimes makes her realize she is less than pure.

Room looks like an elegant room of a hotel. Extremely fancy with expensive stuff, but it looks so soulless it hurts.

Really curvy body. Max tits and ass. You get what I am saying

You can make her chubby, though. She would be happier if she was chubby like when she was a child. Only thin because fear of not being seen as conventionally attractive.

May is the trickiest. Since she is "dead", most things are left up to how you want her to be.

Important stuff would be:

-Very meek,

-Loves space and anything related to it. Best subject used to be Science

-Very kind. Selfless to the point of being an imbecile.

-Loves nature and is a huge dreamer.

- Hobby is knitting and watching movies.

-Unlike the first two, she always dreamed of having a family. Doesn't matter if big or small.

That would be all to kinda build sims for them. You can DM me if you have any doubts!

Thank you for this opportunity, teademoness, dear! 💙💙

[scribbled-anecdotes]

Kill the Mood - MDZS Slasher AU

Did anyone else read MDZS and think woah you know what this campy, murder-filled series needs: an AU set in a '80s campy teen Slasher? Because I did!

Synopsis:

Meng Yao is in the final year of high school. Between his shitty parents, his shitty after-school job, and his shitty social life, graduation cannot come quick enough. With stressful university admissions and a long-held crush on one of the most popular guys in school, Meng Yao couldn't imagine things could get any more chaotic. That is until he comes home to find he has another half-brother, Xue Yang, who seems a bit ... off. Things quickly spiral when Meng Yao realizes that he might have more in common with this new-found half-brother, who might just be a teen serial killer.

Relationships: XiYao; established Xuanli and in future chapters: SongXiao, Wangxian (background), and XiaoXue (if you see things from Xue Yang's point of view, that is)

CW: canon-typical abuse, suicide mention, mild gore and child death.

Also shoutout to the darling @prinzsorgenfrei for not only aiding and abetting this by beta reading it and drawing very pretty character designs, but for also workshopping scenes with me and for co-writing some XiYao.

This is my first MDZS fic, so please do let me know y'all's thoughts.

New York, 1986

“Jesus Christ.”

A pair of firefighters scanned flashlights over the charred remains of what had once been a nursery: rows of cribs and toddler cots reduced to pyres. Little bodies, burned beyond recognition, curled up.

At least they had been asleep.

There was always something particularly horrid when such innocent lives were caught up in accidents like these. Faulty wiring in the old boys’ group home was the immediate suspect. The fire had started in the basement, where wires that hadn’t been updated since before the war knotted and choked each other out. They had found the Headmaster’s body—well his presumed body; it was too big to be that of a child—curled outside his rooms. Smoke inhalation was the immediate suspect, there. What a pitiful and painful way to go.

But the thing about burnt bodies, the particular thing about burnt bodies unassumingly crisped in an old house that was practically begging to go up in flames, was that no one would think to look for further injuries. Feet fall off when temperatures get too hot, after the body curls up as the muscles contract and bulge in the inferno. What does it matter when the Achilles Tendon snaps? Or is snapped, rather. What would it matter how bruised and cut up the now charred flesh is? And of course, the uniform scorch marks took care of any pesky, incriminating blood stains.

When the fire department finally made it on the scene, all they saw was a tragedy, with one small miracle in the form of a delinquent with a record and a habit of sneaking away at night, including this one. One who had smelt smoke while hopping the fence back onto the grounds and had bravely run for help, but the fire had burned too long. Thus he became the lone survivor of a tragic house fire.

…

“13 people, most of them minors, are reported to be dead after a house fire broke out in a Queens boys’ home. Authorities arrived on scene at the Chang Group Home for Boys at around 1:47 this morning.”

Meng Yao heard the news report from his basement bedroom and bit his cheek knowing that Mrs. Jin had yet to leave for her hair appointment. It was barely the third day of school and she would already have ample opportunity to chastise him for being late. It didn’t matter that it was barely the third day of school and he was still working what was meant to be a summer job at the local video store. He’d been up until 2 am and his alarm had gone off no later than 6:30. Who could blame him for hitting snooze and begging his younger brother, Xuanyu, to wake him at 7:00 am? Regardless, he hadn’t, and now Meng Yao was perched at the base of the stairwell waiting for Mrs. Jin to finish her coffee and leave for her appointment or at least get up for long enough to let Meng Yao sneak into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He was stuck listening to the news and Mrs. Jin’s snide commentary for another 3 minutes.

“After their preliminary investigation, the Fire Department of New York has declared the fire accidental, citing out-of-date electrical wiring and a faulty air conditioning system.” They played a brief clip of the Fire Chief expressing his condolences for the tremendous loss of life and explaining what the news anchor had already confirmed. “Our hearts here at the NYFD are with the surviving child,” he added bittersweetly before the broadcast presumably cut back to the station. “This youth is reported to be in state care until other arrangements can be made.” Meng Yao heard Mrs. Jin huff. “In other news—.”

“City’s gone to shit,” Mrs. Jin said, before flicking the channel to one of those morning talk shows stay-at-home wives liked. Stuff about new recipes and the best back-to-school buys. Mrs. Jin was the type of woman who would make others wait. It was her appointment after all, shouldn’t it be about her? If Meng Yao kept it up he’d be late anyway without the guarantee that he’d go unnoticed.

He trotted up the stairs, darting around the corner into the bathroom to no avail. “You’re still here? You’re already going to be late on the first week?” While Mrs. Jin certainly would not hold back with her words most days, today it was all in her tone. You’re still here was loaded with years of resentment and anticipation for the moment she would not have to see the reminder of her husband’s infidelity.

There was really no use explaining himself and even though an apology wouldn’t get him very far either, Meng Yao said sorry as he rushed into the kitchen to find an apple. That could be both breakfast and lunch, right?

“Morning,” he said routinely when Zixuan walked into the kitchen. It would be hard to tell that they spent their mornings rushing around the same kitchen. Where Zixuan was well-dressed, Meng Yao swum in awkwardly-fitting hand-me-downs Zixuan hadn’t touched since the 9th Grade. Where Meng Yao would try in vain to style the remnants of a bad bowl cut for three seconds in the mirror before giving up, Zixuan had the privilege of spending the morning in the shower to achieve his seemingly effortlessly coiffed hair. Zixuan flashed him a smile, more focused on packing his bag. The smile, momentarily lighting up his eyes, made Meng Yao conscious of his own bleary ones, a trait his step-mother was convinced he inherited from his mother. “Zixuan doesn’t look so lifeless” and whatnot when posing for photos. Maybe he had gotten that from his mother; a little way to assure everyone that perfect Zixuan and the inconvenient Meng Yao were only half-brothers.

“Hey,” he hesitated, noticing Zixuan was halfway out the kitchen. “Would you mind giving me a ride to school? I just, um, woke up late.” Zixuan’s brows furrowed and those bright eyes softened. “I won’t ask again,” he tried to assure with an awkward half-smile.

“I’m picking up Yanli,” Zixuan responded matter-of-factly.

Of course. Though he hadn’t said no, he was picking up his girlfriend. It was stupid to ask, Meng Yao realized. Who would want to pick up their girlfriend with their brother in the car? So sexy, right? “You know what, never mind. I can figure it out.”

Zixuan’s brows remained furrowed, “Yeah, whatever you want.” He walked out the door.

It wasn’t the worst situation Meng Yao had been in, not by a long shot. He remembered the three weeks in foster care between his mother’s death and being dropped at his estranged father’s doorstep: his things in a trashbag, loud dormitories where it was impossible to sleep, being nearly a month behind in school work even though the year had just started, nearly choking to death trying not to cry himself to sleep. Not that any of this went away when he arrived in the quiet new-build suburb in upstate New York with a fading tan from the Nevada sun, like he’d been on vacation, and his mom’s ashes precariously in his 13 year old arms. Who would blame Madam Jin for turning up her nose?

Xuanyu, who was just 8 when Meng Yao had arrived, was the only one who seemed excited to have him, and that was mostly because he would not have to sleep alone in the basement anymore. Meng Yao remembered the pit in his stomach, seeing that scrawny little boy eager to show him around and explaining that he didn’t need to be afraid anymore since his older half-brother was here now and could protect him from the monsters that undoubtedly hid in the shadows of the dimly lit storage-room-turned-bedroom. In hindsight, it should have been a warning sign when Xuanyu innocently, almost pathologically naively, explained that the Jin couple kept ‘forgetting’ to buy him a nightlight. But at the time, it didn’t matter to Meng Yao. He was a few months shy of his 14th birthday and didn’t plan on staying long, especially once he got his first New York job at the local thrift store. About three weeks into that, the best he’d gotten to show for his hard work was a much-appreciated nightlight for his new little brother and an empty shoebox which he labelled “College Fund.” His mother would want him to go to college, rather than become a 14-year-old high school dropout working some shitty job for the rest of his life.

Three years later, and he was walking to his last year of high school, dreaming of college admissions. Years of working and stashing away half of every paycheque had brought him close to his goal and, according to the guidance counselor, he had the grades to get a decent scholarship, so long as he kept up the hard work and the extra curriculars. And oh did he: a full time table, staying later after school for the last 3 years; Mondays and Wednesdays for Student Council and Fridays for Model UN, Thursday mornings for Debate club. “No sports though,” the guidance counselor had told him last year, face screwed like it was a crime to have asthma. “Lots of scholarships in sports, you know.” Meng Yao had just rolled his eyes. Regardless, when would he have the time for a sport? Meng Yao wondered if he could squeeze something else in as he walked to school. This was his last year after all. Maybe Drama club, or... His thoughts trailed of, exhausted. Who was he kidding, how on Earth would he keep going like this? Working nights and weekends, falling onto his bed after a long day of classes and extra curriculars and mind numbingly boring shifts at Video World, just to get up a few hours later to do it all again.

But there were things about his life that he had actually come to enjoy.

“Morning,” Meng Yao whispered as he plopped down beside Lan Xichen.

Math class wasn’t all that bad. For one, Meng Yao was quite good at it. Maybe Mathletes would round out his college application. The senior math teacher had been overjoyed when he heard that Meng Yao planned on majoring in Finance and becoming an accountant, so he probably would be overjoyed to have Meng Yao on the team this year. Or anyone on the team for that matter.

“Did you sleep in?” Xichen whispered under the lesson on Functions, even though he had a near-pathological fear of being rude.

“Yeah.”

Xichen held out a granola bar. “You didn’t eat, did you?”

Meng Yao took the bar in response. No. He gave Xichen a familiar half-smile in thanks and got one in return.

Eating in class was technically frowned upon, but fainting in class would mean certain social death, so Meng Yao decided to nibble on small pieces of granola whenever the teacher was turning towards the board. When he had finally finished the granola and rubbed his fingers against each other to get rid of the sticky film of leftover honey, Xichen handed him a perfectly clean cloth handkerchief. Sometimes it was hard to forget that the uncle Xichen was living with was old, rich, and as traditionalist as it got.

“Thanks again,” whispered Meng Yao, and, with a bat of his eyelashes, added: “How lucky I am to have befriended such a perfect gentleman. Should I iron it before I give it back?”

“That would be much appreciated,” answered Xichen with an expression so serious it could only be mocking, “For if my uncle were to find out I bequeathed this to anyone but a fiancée or a wife he would surely lock me in the attic for the rest of the semester.”

Meng Yao hid his laugh with a cough and their teacher turned around.

“Anything to share with the class, Mr. Meng? Mr. Lan?”

“Nothing of note, I apologize,” said Meng Yao before Xichen could feel guilty, “I’m having some issues with my contacts and asked Xichen to help me read the last equation. I did not mean to disturb the lesson.”

The teacher gave his favourite student a reproachful look but continued his lesson without another hitch. Xichen looked at Meng Yao with an amused twitch to his lips.

“I did not know your perfect vision had worsened.”

“Do keep my secret.”

They turned their focus back to the lesson and before long the bell ended the most pleasant ninety minutes of Meng Yao’s day.

“Will I see you at lunch?”

If he imagined a hopeful undertone in Xichen’s voice that was nobody’s business.

“I’ll be present.”

He would decidedly not sit with Xichen and Nie Mingjue, but he would be present. It had its perks. He was less easily distracted from his actual food intake.

“Could I talk to you about homecoming then? There are some things we need to figure out and I would really like your opinion on them. We’ll decorate later this week, but I know you’re busy, so I’d like to run it by you during school hours.”

“Um, yeah, of course.” Meng Yao tried not to sound overexcited, it was just homecoming after all. But it was a welcomed distraction. He fondly remembered when they were on prom committee last year, even though they didn’t attend. Tossing streamers into the bag and then at each other while they swept up the gymnasium. There was something so liberating about being alone with Xichen, their laughter echoing off the walls as they ate leftover finger foods and talked about their summer plans. “I can meet you in the library after class on Friday, if that works?”

“That would be lovely.” Xichen smiled and headed down the hall toward English class.

—

Model UN was fine. They spent most of the hour preparing for the next conference, pouring over books about Nuclear Warfare and Treaty Rights. Truth be told, Meng Yao was only half listening while he took notes on the school typewriter. He was about halfway through mindlessly typing “excellent work, gang. Have a nice weekend” before he realized they were breaking.

Xichen was in the library as promised, happily getting ahead on his Physics homework. “Sorry,” Meng Yao apologized.

“What for?”

“I’m late.”

“Hardly.” Xichen produced an apple from his bag. “It’s really fine, I know that you have Model UN and all.”

“Thanks,” Meng Yao accepted the apple.

“Plus, Wangji has volleyball practice tonight anyway and he needs a ride home.” Xichen produced a binder of details and Meng Yao practically swooned when he saw the colour-coding. It was a system they had devised together: Green for finances, blue for food and drink, red for legal things—forms and whatnot—and so forth. “So, decorations. I revised the budget and we can free up some extra money. We need a theme, no? For the dance portion.”

“Yes. And if we’re doing spirit week—do we have spirit days picked out?”

Xichen flipped a few pages ahead, mumbling to himself, “School colours, Flashback Day, PJ Day, Beach Day, Jersey Day.”

Meng Yao screwed up his face at the disjointed roster. God, didn’t their co-council members have any idea about cohesion? “Well, we have to keep Jersey Day for Game Night, but we can build up to the home-coming dance theme with each spirit day, no?”

Xichen gleefully crossed out PJ Day and Beach Day and Meng Yao swore he looked relieved. “What about doing Americana? Its the school’s 75th anniversary this year, we can keep the School Colours, the jersey and the flashback and substitute Beach Day and PJ Day for something a little more New York or at least closer to New Hoenderloo High history.”

“Gangster Day?” Meng Yao suggested.

Xichen scoffed. “What does New Hoenderloo have to do with the mob?”

“I don’t know, our prime export is corn and varsity jocks. But we’re so close to New York that I’m sure people won’t bat an eye.”

Xichen nodded and added Gangster Day to the agenda. He supposed it was better than Farm Day or something.

“And, um, we can do a classic American Day? Red, White, and Blue and that junk. Founding fathers.”

“Would work.”

“And we can decorate the homecoming dance with American Classics, a jukebox instead of a DJ, we can serve milkshakes, and do ‘50s Diner lighting?”

Xichen laughed. He loved Meng Yao’s big ambitions. “Remember, I said, some money was freed up. We’re hardly Studio 54.”

“Let me see that budget.” Meng Yao poured over the numbers, looking for missed unnecessary spending. “A jukebox is way cheaper than a DJ, you know. That saves us a couple hundred bucks easy. Plus, if we raise the ticket prices by a few dollars, we can make up the difference. That’s not even including fundraisers like the Football Team Charity Car Wash or the Meat Raffle.” Meng Yao wrote out all the numbers neatly so that Xichen would have something to show the rest of the committee on how to really throw a great home-coming.

“See, this is why we need you to be vice-president!”

Meng Yao blushed. “Really? Little ol’ me?”

He suddenly became less playful when he saw Lan Wangji appear in the library. Wangji was, of course, polite, like his older brother, and, of course, also socially awkward, drastically unlike his older brother. So, he would wait stoically in the library entry until his brother would notice him, rather than interrupting them and risking making small talk with Meng Yao. “Your brother is done with practice, I think.”

Xichen waved and asked Wangji a bunch of questions: How was practice? When is the next game? Would he need something to eat? And Wangji replied simply: “Good. Tuesday. No. Can’t spoil dinner.”

“Ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

Meng Yao packed his things up alongside Xichen, happily chattering about how much progress they made in just a half hour. “It’s really coming together,” he added as he went to turn left to catch the bus.

“Would you like a ride home?” Xichen offered.

“It wouldn’t be too much trouble, would it?”

“You live a couple blocks away from us. It would be far more convenient.”

Meng Yao’s lips curled softly, gratefully. “Then, I would love a ride. Thank you.”

—

“Looks like you have guests,” Xichen observed, trying to make pleasant conversation as always. Meng Yao recognized that car. God, he wondered if that social worker worked on commission, a little extra for every traumatized child she dragged to Jin Guanshan. God knows there were probably enough bastards to make up an entire career. Meng Yao’s tired sigh turned into an airy half-laugh, mostly at his own joke. But Xichen smiled. “Have a lovely visit,” he added when he pulled into the driveway and let Meng Yao out of the car.

“Thanks. And thanks again for the ride home, I really appreciate it.”

“Anytime, A-Yao.”

Mrs. Jin had put out tea and coffee, even a tray of baked goods. Her gentle sips and small, delicate bites quickly hardened into a tight frown. Meng Yao felt like he did three years ago. Mrs. Jin was consistent; she wore the same tired, expectant face and flashed her cold, irritated gaze at Meng Yao when he froze in the living room. “A-Yao, our other son.” Meng Yao almost rolled his eyes at how much Mrs. Jin visibly struggled to call him ‘our son.’ “You must remember him?” Her voice was pleasant enough when talking to the social worker.

“I do. How are you? How is school? Still playing soccer?”

“Good. And good.” Meng Yao had never played soccer in his life, but he played along and told her that he might even be getting a scholarship for it. No one knew enough to correct him, anyway.

She gave him a well-rehearsed polite smile, before turning her attention back toward Mrs. Jin. “I trust you know the drill. If there are any problems, please do not hesitate to call. Though you should know.” She trailed off and Meng Yao could see her thinking through what to say next. “You know, he has had some problems in his group homes, but those situations are volatile for any child. A stable, loving home like this one will probably do him good.”

            Meng Yao’s attention turned to the muffled conversation Xuanyu was having with someone in the basement.

So he had a new brother now, he supposed. And a new roommate.

            “And this is Meng Yao!” He heard Xuanyu say before he was even halfway down the stairs. Really, who else could it have been? Who else would want to go down into their creepy, damp basement bedroom? Meng Yao forced his most welcoming smile. He remembered how shy he felt when he first came to New York. Shy and lonely and so, so angry at the world. A smile and a polite, calm introduction was the least he could do.

            The boy, who couldn’t have been much younger than he was, gave him a full smile. “Hi.” There was something so juvenile about that smile that it unnerved Meng Yao. It wasn’t innocent like Xuanyu’s, happy regardless of his circumstances. No, this was boyish in a hedonistic way, sharp and carefree; all pointed canines and no baby teeth.

            “Xue Yang.” He said, bobbing his chin and widening his smile to an almost wolfish state.

            “Nice to meet you, Xue Yang.” Meng Yao could thankfully recover the conversation quite quickly. He welcomed first years all the time, and even though Xue Yang was going into Junior year and would hardly be as intimated of him as a 13-year-old, he was sure the faltering of his welcoming tone would go unthought of. “I can’t imagine your coming here was brought on by good circumstances, so—”

            “Oh no, asshole cardboard suburbanites were my childhood dream.” Meng Yao quickly learned that Xue Yang liked to laugh at his own obnoxious sarcasm. A lot. And Xuanyu, ecstatic at yet another older brother, also liked to laugh.

            “So, if you want to talk about it,” he continued, trying to move on from Xue Yang’s instant dislike of the situation, “I would be more than happy to.” It really was not Meng Yao’s place to judge him for it. If his childhood was anything like his own, filled with promises of a dad who was just coming back, always just coming back someday, then Xue Yang was likely utterly disappointed by the dad who had just relegated him to the basement and was headed back to work after making his wife do all the talking. No fancy house and fully-stock fridge could make up for that.

            “Meng Yao is really good at talking,” Xuanyu assured. “My mom slit her wrists when I was five.”

            Xue Yang scoffed at his candour, a cheeky grin spreading. “You really just say whatever the hell you want, eh?” Xuanyu nodded, just happy to get someone’s attention. Xue Yang loved it when kids were stupid.

            “And my aunt always told me it was my fault. But Yao-gege said its not and he always tells me that when I have nightmares. So, he can make you feel better.”

            “Xuanyu.” Meng Yao gave him a gentle pat on the back of his head, dropping his voice to a whisper. “remember, we don’t have to tell everyone everything, okay?”

            “Why not? We’re brothers!”

            “Yeah,” Xue Yang turned back to his trashbag-suitcases and began to take over the bottom bunk. “We’re brothers, aren’t we, Yaoyao?”

            My bed…, Meng Yao thought about explaining Xue Yang could have the clearly unused top bunk but thought against it. What was the difference anyway?

[electronickingdomfox]

Excerpt from "The Entropy Effect" by Vonda N. McIntyre

McCoy flung himself around, swinging his fist in a clumsy roundhouse punch. “Damn you, Spock! Damn you, damn you—” Spock grabbed his hand easily. McCoy kept on trying to hit him, flailing ineffectually against the science officer’s restraining strength. “Dr. McCoy, you know that I am right.” McCoy slumped, defeated. “You cannot hold him any longer. You did your best to save him, but from the moment he was wounded he could not be saved. This failure holds no shame for you, unless you prolong a travesty of life. Let him go, doctor, I beg you. Let him go.” The Vulcan spoke with penetrating intensity. McCoy looked up at him, and Spock pulled away, struggling to hide the powerful feelings of grief and despair that had come perilously close to overwhelming him. “Yes, Mr. Spock,” McCoy said, “you are right.” He opened the door of the quarantine chamber. Air sighed past him into the negative-pressure room, and he went inside. Spock followed. McCoy examined the EEG one last time, but he knew better than to hope for any change. The signal remained flat and colorless; all the tracings sounded the same dull tone. McCoy brushed a lock of hair from Jim’s forehead. He could hardly bear to look at his friend’s face anymore, because of the eyes. Precisely, deliberately, he went to work. Once he had made up his mind, his hands moved surely, unaffected by the liquor he had drunk. He withdrew the needles from Jim’s arm. The chemistry signals started changing their harmonies immediately. The oxygen tones fell, carbon dioxide rose; nothing filtered out the products of metabolic activity. The signal deteriorated from perfect harmony to minor chords, then to complete discord. McCoy removed the connections that would have restarted Jim’s heart when inevitably it failed. Finally, his teeth clenched hard, McCoy disconnected the respirator. Jim Kirk’s heart kept on beating, because the heart will keep on beating even if it is cut out of the chest; the muscle will contract rhythmically till the individual cells fall out of sync, the heart slips into fibrillation, and the cells die one by one. But the breathing reflex requires a nerve impulse. When McCoy turned off the respirator, Jim’s body never even tried to draw another breath. After the final, involuntary exhalation there was no struggle at all, and that, far more than the evidence of the machines, the persuasion of Spock, or his own intellectual certainty, finally convinced McCoy that every spark or whisper of his friend was dead. All the life-signs stabilized at zero, and the tones faded to silence. The doctor pulled a sheet over Jim’s face, over the dead gray eyes. McCoy broke down. Sobs racked him and he staggered, suddenly aware of just how much he had drunk. He nearly fell, but Spock caught him, and supported him in the nearest thing to an embrace that the Vulcan could endure. “Oh, god, Spock, how could this happen?” McCoy sank gratefully into darkness. Spock caught McCoy as he fell, and lifted him easily. Loss and regret pulled at Spock so strongly that he could not deny their existence; all he could do was keep them from showing outwardly. That did not lessen his private shame. His face set, he carried McCoy to one of the cubicles and eased him onto a bunk. He removed McCoy’s boots and loosened the fastenings of his sweat-stained uniform shirt, covered him with a blanket, and lowered the lights. Then, recalling the single, humiliating, inadvertent time he himself had become inebriated, Spock decided to stay until he was certain the doctor had not ingested enough ethanol to endanger his life. Spock sat in a chair near McCoy’s bed and rested his forehead against his hand.

Punch me right in the feelings. 😥

[askviktor]

yet another artist, different from the last two. In my opinion it's not the hair as a whole that's so hard to draw, but the face framing pieces that go a bit awry. That being said, your uniform is indeed an absolute nightmare, soley because I cannot for the life of me fathom how it conceals your back brace so well without looking bulky or unflattering. Just... How. I need your secrets for personal reasons

I am perhaps thinner than I appear. My brace is flush to my back, and the material of my uniform is decently structured and thick.

I cut my own hair, so it is unruly. You need not fret over something to which I myself apply little methodology.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Is it just me or has the card illustrations (specifically the groovy) been kinda bad lately? Like don't get me wrong most of the pre groovy are absolute bangers, but the groovies? Not so much. But lately there has been an obvious decrease in quality with anatomy, and even 😐 a whitewashing problem.

Take Lilia's dorm groovy for example— the piece is gorgeous, but whenever I zoom into his face the way they draw his face looks so off.

As for the whitewashing issue, I've noticed that Leona's beastly garb groovy had him very ashy looking (but some may argue that it's just the lighting casted on him)

Right now though the one that's been bothering me the most is the obvious whitwashing on Kalim's tsum groovy. We really can't argue that it's a lighting issue there, cause Jamil's firework card had a similar setting and he didn't look that light.

Personally, I think TWST’s Groovy illustrations have always been hit or miss since the beginning. I have similar issues with the faces in Lilia and Leona’s Dorm Uniform Groovies, and the anatomy seemed slightly off in a few others. I can’t find the original post anymore (I think OP didn’t tag it??), but I clearly recall an artist having spoken about how the pose in Epel’s initial Dorm Uniform art looked weird; they included drawings of how Epel’s spine and limbs looked vs how they should look to illustrate what they meant. Those are just a few examples of then and now though, and we have to keep in mind that if we include ALL available cards then the funky faces and weird posing/proportions only make up a very small percentage of what’s out there.

The more important issue at the moment is the coloring choices that were made for a few recent SSR event Groovies: Beastly Garb Leona and Tsumsted Kalim. They are pictured below with a few other card illustrations I pulled that have similar lighting (or as similar as I could find). You’ll notice (especially for Tsumsted Kalim’s Groovy) that the characters’ skin colors are much lighter than they should be.

Now I’ll be honest here 💦 I actually can’t tell (even when eyedropping the colors to compare; I don't even know if eyedropping is an accurate way to compare colors since the lighting and environment in every illustration is never EXACTLY the same) if Leona’s Beastly Garb Groovy is just the strong sunlight or if it has been whitewashed. I don’t have enough knowledge and/or experience with color theory and in real life to know for certain. However, as the Anon has said, that same argument cannot be made for the Scarabia duo. It’s particularly bad for Tsumsted Kalim because Yasmina Silk Jamil also had fireworks in the background, and his skin color is fine there. Sometimes artists purposefully use an altered color palate to achieve a different feeling in their pieces (for example, pastel colors for a soft, soothing look). I don’t think that was the case for Tsumsted Kalim because everything else in the Groovy art looks pretty true to color for the lighting (but again, I'm not an expert in coloring so I could be wrong). When taken in conjunction with Leona’s Beastly Garb… it could indicate a troubling pattern.

There’s been a lot of speculation going around for why this has happened, chief among that speculation being the TWST team has likely hired new staff and/or colorists (and Japan, being Japan, is pretty homogenous; it may be difficult to find artists with an understanding of how to color and shade darker skin tones). Again, these are just guesses circulating in the fandom. Nothing is confirmed, and nor does this excuse what has happened.

This has, very understandably, caused a lot of hurt and upset in the TWST fandom and community. So now the question is…

What can we do about it?

You can communicate your feelings to the TWST team! They have a form to collect thoughts and opinions from the playerbase, which can be accessed here.

PLEASE NOTE:

Be polite and professional. Nothing good comes out of anger, especially if the anger is directed at others; if you are rude and/or curse at the staff, they will be much less likely to hear you out.

Communicate in Japanese. The staff you are sending your complaint to are Japanese, and the game itself is Japanese (Beastly Garb Leona and Tsumsted Kalim are not yet out in the EN server, which is staffed by totally different people).

If you don’t know how to write in Japanese, this Twitter user has created polite templates to communicate our concerns with the whitewashing. (Their whole thread is great; please reference it if you need additional assistance!!) I would not recommend adding extra text, especially if you would be relying on a translation program to do so. Speaking in broken Japanese can be perceived as rude and will only detract from your message.

A similar situation to this occurred during the initial run of Fairy Gala; TWST had used “exotic” in its text, and after receiving an influx of feedback from the players, the devs went in and changed the dialogue to no longer use the term. It’s possible to make the change we want to see a reality if we respectfully make our thoughts known.