#i know my drawing's got a few details that are different from the manga but idc i didn't bother looking those up bc i was lazy

[karumizai]

Broke: "Twilight's father's eyes were hidden because he doesn't remember his face/doesn't want to."

Woke: "His father's eyes weren't shown because he's actually the Shopkeeper."

Call it a crack theory (someone else actually explained it quite well on this post) but I believe it enough to spend 5 hours on that drawing. Man just tanned a lot from all the gardening.

[casual-praxis]

Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to do much with this AU since I was focused on a different one at the time (and I still am), but I've been thinking about the post-canon for this AU a bunch and I couldn't get it out of my head.

The designs are fairly simple (most changes occur post-canon), but there's still a few details in there that I'd like to talk about! Peep below the cut for more yappin' if you'd like.

(I just figured out how to add line breaks yeehaw)

I started with Green since I had the clearest picture of her in mind. I like to think they all got a mishmash of traits from the original Link here, so Green has the og Link's ponytail, but its length was divided between her and Red. All in all, she resembles Link the closest but isn't an exact match. I also made the executive decision that she simps for Zelda. She's just really worried about her future girlfriend, okay?

Blue didn't quite turn out how I'd hoped, but if I ever do something more with this stage of the AU, I can always make adjustments. Her hair is supposed to be the fluffiest, matching the og Link's texture. She's a little insecure about it making her look "too girly" or cute since that's not at all the image she wants to have, but she learns over time that being cute and badass can still go hand in hand.

Red is the one I was looking forward to drawing most, but she's still fairly simple as well. She wears her hair in a side ponytail to "not step on Green's toes", but also because she thinks it's cute (she and Blue don't see eye to eye on this early on, as you can imagine). She has a bomb-shaped hairbow that she made herself (tying into her post-canon shenanigans), but I haven't yet figured out when she acquires it.

Vio was supposed to be holding her bow here but I couldn't quite figure out how to draw it at that specific angle, so it's in hammerspace for now. Outside that, Vio's design has the most variety. She's meant to learn emotions over time within this au, and this progression is marked by the flowers in her hair. She starts out with none, but as they journey, Red starts to teach her the basics, and with it weaves Zelda's favorite flower into her braid. Once she joins up with Shadow, she's gifted a violet (because Shadow thinks it's punny, and for subtext reasons) that she starts using to pin her bangs out of her face. The flowers begin to wilt as time goes on, first the wildflowers, then the violet, until none remain and the final act is approaching. Shadow gives her one last violet before dying, though Vio doesn't actually start wearing it until the Four Sword is put back and they remain behind. Lots of lore for this one.

Finally is Shadow, who I'm actually surprised turned out so well. I went back and forth on whether I wanted her to wear the hat or not, but I ended up deciding against it since none of the others wear their hats either. Her hair pretty much acts like Shadow's hat in canon, it moves independently of her and the tips of it are smokey and wisp around. Along with Red, I have decided she is short. It just felt right. She does have claws and fangs, but she keeps them a little more on the down low until a suitably dramatic moment occurs to reveal them.

And that's all that comes to mind for now. I've had this idea floating around in my brain since I got back into the fandom, but never had the motivation to poke it too much and see what it do.

The post-canon is what I've mainly been focused on, so maybe I'll try and doodle a few things for it sometime. I took inspiration from one of the bonus comics in the manga where they all stay split after the sword goes back, so that's the canon ending for this au.

It goes fairly far into the future, with all of them settling into their own lives somewhat independent of each other (they all see each other multiple times a week with the exception of Vio, who travels a lot with Shadow ((who may or may not have been brought back through dubious dark magic rituals))).

The brainrot is real, but hopefully entertaining for anyone who made it this far.

[daisy-daze17]

Omori Manga Thoughts cause it was uhhh

OK so like. The thing is I only got into the omori fandom in February of this year so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

1. I'm mostly a fan of the art style-- a lot of people said that Sunny always seems to have a panicked expression so it's hard to read into him, plus the characters look a lot younger than they're supposed to (Which I find odd). But other than that, I think it does a really good job representing the scarier parts with very abstract drawings of Mari/Something. They coloured it well and thank god did Kel's skintone right. There is one particular panel that I especially love:

So much detail and it captures the feeling of seeing faraway for the first time really well ^^

Some nitpicky positive thoughts:

Sunny could have looked more distinct from Omori because the only difference I see are their outfits. Maybe make Sunny's features softer and have less contrasting values so we can see an immediate difference.

I like how they did everyone's eyes-- Sunny/Omori's are just dull and black, and everyone else with dark eyes are shown to have a light in them. (Just a nice detail i appreciated)

I like how Omori is clearly less expressive compared to sunny, but I think Sunny could have benefitted from having more emotions than surprised/blushing.

2. The pacing was weird. like really fucking weird. The basic structure of the game Omori is: Omori is in whitespace -> Omori plus the gang (Hero, Aubrey and Kel) meet up with Basil and Mari in headspace -> everyone minus Mari goes to Basil's house and learn all the combat stuff along the way -> after fixing the photo album it suddenly shifts to basil in a panicked state before glitching you back into white space again. The moment when basil shifts the mood from calm to terrifying is REALLY important.

It forces the new tone on you very suddenly and also sets up a lot of mystery surrounding Mari when Basil can't finish what he was going to say about her. By now we know that something is very wrong and it has to do with Mari, but we don't know what.

The manga is kind of all over the place the whole time. First we see the christmas scene when Sunny gets his violin. But then Mari does her whole nightmare thing and we know somethings up from the first few pages. Next we wake up at night as Sunny in the real world... yet it shows the little "THREE DAYS LEFT" as well? At this point I was super confused because basically the entire nighttime sequence is shown through a sort of montage with Sunny's mom's voice message in the background before transitioning into the day when Kel first knocks on the door. A cool thing they did was parallel Kel's knocking with the creepy knocking we get from Mari Something. HOWEVER for reasons unknown they just completely cut out the fight against something on the stairs??

Something I was really excited about was seeing how they would integrate the combat into the manga. And they do it later with the Aubrey fight (more on that later), but not now? So now I'm wondering if they'll include Sunny's three fears that he has to overcome.

So next we find our boy (KEL!!!!!) and he is asking Sunny if he wants to come to Hobbies. I did find the dialogue here pretty awkward as Kel bounced back and forth in demeanor, but that's to be expected since Sunny isn't talking. (And I appreciate how he shows some kind of reaction to seeing one of his best friends after 4 years lol)

I mean compared to this when he just jumps straight into his hobbez idea without much reaction to actually seeing Sunny lol.

The most notable thing after this is the Aubrey confrontation with Basil and the other hooligans. I DONT KNOW WHY but they chose to not show the hooligans in that scene!! The hooligans are aubrey's little gang/posse who she hangs around with all the time and the people we always see when she's bullying Basil.

It's very important to note that Basil is talking to KIM here. He starts the conversation begging for her to tell Aubrey to give the photo album back. Aubrey is actively ignoring his attempts to get it back, with basil claiming "She won't listen to me."

In the manga she appears out of seemingly no where and proceeds to beat Basil directly with her bat. Prior to this we get no setup or explanation as to why Aubrey's attacking him or what the situation is. WORST OF ALL, It's only Aubrey alone attacking him and NOT her gang of the Hooligans. The hooligans are important in showing us just how isolated and ostracized from society Basil really is after Aubrey began bullying him. He literally has a whole gang of kids who call him a creep and attack him regularly. Here it seems like Aubrey is insane and is just beating him selfless for kicks. (not that I'm justifying Aubrey's behavior in the game, but the lack of context makes this situation even worse.)

I think It's also important to bring up how they switched around the order of events because in this situation, it's not working. We're supposed to first be introduced to younger Aubrey and Basil in headspace-- their younger counterparts. Aubrey is strong-willed and excitable and Basil is calm and kind. And most importantly-- they're VERY GOOD FRIENDS. So seeing Aubrey revealed to have been bullying him these past 4 years shocks the player and makes them understand how much things have really changed. Doing it the other way around will automatically villainize DW Aubrey since we already know what goes on in real life.

And then something interesting happens-- Sunny blacks out during the fight and returns to Headspace. This is SUPER weird as we've only ever seen Sunny go into headspace while sleeping, because it's an escape mechanism he uses to avoid The Truth. Does this mean he isn't aware he goes into headspace unwillingly sometimes? And what does this mean for the continuation of the real world story? Are we going to go through the entire Space Boy quest just to get back to that scene?

Anyway, I'm interested to see how they take it from here. Maybe they'll do a continuous switchover to the real world where they jump between it more frequently. But I question what that would mean for the timeline because the events of headspace happen in between the three days while Sunny is sleeping-- so he can't be in two places at the same time. Maybe they'll write more and more random ways for Sunny to black out to do this?? They defiantly are trying to take a step back from following the game exactly. I can't say I don't like it because I don't know how it'll turn out, so I'm excited for chapter 2!

[aidenlydia]

How long have you been drawing? I really like your art styl. I've been wanting to learn how to draw, but I'm worried I won't ever be able to pick it up or have the patience or know how to start.

(video includes some of my art from 2017-2019)

Drawing has always been a hobby of mine, but I only got serious about it around 2017. The most important thing is motivation, that's why a lot of people get started with fanart and learn the fundamentals through it. Try drawing things you love! References are your best friend, I have entire folders for every character I draw.

All artstyles are a combination of process and appearance preference: I don't use multiple layers for lineart (my sketches are the lineart and I clean them up with an eraser) and semi-realism is the easiest for me because I was mostly into traditional realism at first - I learned I like fine details, clean but sketchy lines and rough textured brushes. It's kinda like handwriting, you already have your own unique way of drawing, but you can shape it to your developing tastes with practice.

For most folk anime and comic styles are usually easier to learn, because they simplify everything already. Especially at the very beginning copying other people's art and manga/comic panels is a great way to get into drawing, figuring out your preferences and build up muscle memory (don't upload copied art, but traced photos are fine).

Remember that the art you enjoy seeing and the art you enjoy making can look vastly different. Having multiple styles, changing over time and experimenting are very natural things.

To this day I struggle drawing chibis and cartoons because I've only studied realism :') Even semi-realism has only recently clicked for me by closely looking at other people's art, so don't stress yourself with only focusing on the fundamentals.

Another tip that really helped me understand better in the beginning was watching various artists draw in real time, just observing them can really clarify the process and break it down. It's also a lot less lonely than learning all alone - there's lots of art youtubers and tutorials.

Here are a few:

How to start drawing for beginners

What our brains do when we draw

How to learn to draw (as an adult)

Learn the sketching basics

Obligatory Drawfee episode

Tips for changing artstyles/get unstuck from patterns

Doodle date (caus they're wholesome and fun)

Guided drawing practice with Nathan

[catastrophicclouds]

Have some Kurogiri in these trying times. These last few volumes of MHA have been hitting hard, so I had to draw one of my favourite comfort characters. I also have a prediction for Kurogiri’s fate, but I’ll put that below the cut (major spoiler warning).

I was experimenting with different brushes and line weights, and I’m really happy with how they turned out. I can see myself doing more of these greyscale drawings in the future, so I’ll just have to see what inspires me next.

Most people I’ve seen so far are sure that Kurogiri/ Shirakumo died after getting blasted by Bakugo. But honestly, I’m not so sure of that. What Bakugo blasted was a separate portal and not Kurogiri, himself, so Kurogiri should still be safe where he was standing in the distance. And I know with how rushed the Rooftop Gang’s story has been in the last arc of MHA, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll get a complete, fleshed out ending. However, even though there isn’t a lot of time before the story ends, I get the feeling that they’ll have more of a resolution than we initially thought.

There have been a few interesting points about Kurogiri in the last couple of volumes that I wanted to point out. First, we saw him practically melting in front of Mic and Aizawa ever since he joined them on the battlefield. This points to his body being very unstable in a way we hadn’t seen before. When Mic and Aizawa got through to Shirakumo, the shape of his mist would change, and eventually, part of it turned white when Shirakumo had fully woken up. But this being such a different reaction points to Kurogiri’s melting as having a different cause. I speculate that it’s because of his nomu body acting up rather than him waking up and having an identity crisis. Recently, he’s been constantly sedated in both a high end prison and a hospital so that he wouldn’t use his quirk to escape. He was tested on and examined a lot for the sake of research and finding out his true identity. Then, when he escaped the hospital, he teleported up to Mic and Aizawa, all while his body was freaking out, to teleport them away. After a behind the scenes reconciliation (?) with his best friends, he proceeded to open up a million different portals so more heroes could make it to the battlefield, eventually joining them there. That’s a lot of stress for his body to be under, to say the least, so it’s no wonder he’s having a hard time keeping himself together at this point. And now, with the extra weight of his two lives clashing together, Kurogiri has the added emotional stress on top of it. My man’s been through it all.

The next point I wanted to mention was how we saw his portal starting to deteriorate when he reached out to save Shigaraki. It looked like literal pieces of it were breaking off in shards while others were dissolving in the air, more like ashes from a bonfire than mist. So not only is his physical body suffering, but so is his nomu-engineered quirk. This is where the point of these details all comes together.

For one, nobody in the manga has mentioned either of these things out loud. I know a lot of creators like to leave smaller details for their audiences to pick up and piece together themselves, but for these details to be so incredibly obvious to the viewer, I’m certain that they’ll come up again later. And for them to come up, the story will also have to focus back on the Rooftop Gang. Not only that, but I doubt they would leave Mic and Aizawa (Aizawa especially), two fan favourites, just hanging like that at the very end of the series. What happened to Kurogiri will have to be brought up eventually. There may not have been as much attention on him in the final arc as there should have, but giving him and the gang some sort of conclusion would only make sense at this point and is practically inevitable.

And then to my last point, which is just my own speculation based on what we’ve already seen and my own thoughts over everything. I don’t think Kurogiri has a very hopeful ending for him. Midnight’s dead, most of the league is dead, Shigaraki who was almost like his own son is dead, a large part of the city is destroyed, last I checked, all of U.A. or at least a decent bit of it was destroyed, his own body is failing, and his two lives are merging together in a way that would make continuing to live very complicated for him. That is to say if he lived at all. With how totalled his body seems at the moment, a part of me doubts that he’ll be able to come back from that, not to mention his death being an easy way to a smoother plot. And even if he did, he’d have to finish school (which isn’t as much of a problem), decide whether he still wants to be a hero, figure out with Mic and Aizawa where they want to go from there (if they’ll still be as close of friends or friends at all), and live in a society that knows he was a villain at some point and would likely still treat him badly because of it. I doubt that just because the show is ending, everyone will get their own “happily ever after”, so it’s still possible that we’ll get a few more tragedies before it’s officially over. A part of me believes there’s a chance that Kurogiri will be able to live, figure out who he is now as a person, become a hero, and start that hero agency with Mic and Aizawa like they’d wanted. But as of right now, when volume 424 just came out, it’s looking like he might die in the end. If that’s the case, I’m sure he’ll be able to talk with Mic and Aizawa and get some closure before it happens, probably the good kind.

But whatever happens, I hope he’ll be happy in the end. I’d love to see what he would do with his friends if he got to live, maybe come to work at U.A. or they’d all leave for the agency (which I doubt since Mic and Aizawa really care about U.A. and its students). I’m also interested in what he would do with the surviving league members when everything cleared up. As a Kuropress/ Black Magic enjoyer, I hope we’ll see Kurogiri and Mr. Compress interacting a little bit, even if it’s not relationship related.

Well, that turned out to be more of an essay than I thought it would. As I said, most of this is speculation based on what I know about storytelling and what’s happened in the story so far. I can’t say for certain any of this will happen or even be relevant in the final volumes, but as far as I know, there’s a good chance some of these points will be touched on or even happen in the story. Here’s to hoping.

[ozwuv]

How did you learn to draw hands?

HANDS I'm a freak who loves drawing hands... This is going to sound odd, but it's another thing that ties into being autistic for me kfdsjkfsd I have poor facial recognition skills and generally avoid eye contact, so I tend to identify people by their hands. I couldn't reliably visualize my own mother's face if my life depended on it, but I sure do know exactly what the back of her hands look like. As a result, I have hands burnt into my memory lol. But more importantly, I love to draw character interaction, and hands are sooo integral to that. If I force myself to enjoy something or at least hold a lot of interest in it, it'll be easier to learn long term and I think that's something a lot of people can relate to.

More under the cut bc I'm longwinded

The other thing is something nobody wants to hear, but tbh just studying them lol. Short gesture drawings are best for this (think 60 seconds max), but tbh Mochijun's way of drawing hands really inspired me when PH was still running in the last quarter of the manga. I wouldn't suggest studying purely from one person's illustrations, but it helps to pick out a few artist who draws hands in a way you love. Nowadays Hoshino's (DGM's mangaka) way of drawing hands inspires the heeeell out of me.

Like are you seeing this shit? The way she draws hands fucking rules lol

I wouldn't stick to 100% studying irl hands or 100% studying drawn hands -- a mix of both is great, bc you can have all the knowledge in the world of how to realistically emulate hands, but studying how others stylize hands can be helpful for actually drawing them. This goes for anything in general because not having an idea of how to incorporate something you're studying into your art can be really frustrating. For example, the thing I enjoy most about how Hoshino draws hands is how the fingers are not just straight lines -- they have dips and jut out to indicate knuckles/joints and such. I find the way she draws hands to be so expressive, unique, and beautiful.

Another thing to keep in mind: don't focus on the details. Just get the general silhouette down for a bunch of different poses -- details can come later. This is why gesture drawing is so useful, it forces you to get the key points down so you don't over-detail something you don't fully understand yet and wind up making things look awkward/stiff.

Also, never forget you (most likely) have two hands right in front of you that you can reference any time! Take pics of your own hands from various angles if you must. Really useful!

Btw: Quickposes a really useful resource for gesture and figure drawing. It has options specifically for hands (!), humans, animals, landscapes, etc, with time intervals as short as 30 seconds, and an option for custom intervals. Line of Action is also great, but it's limited to just human options.

I haven't used either of the above in a while since I'm too lazy to draw anything but anime lol but if they're still as good as I remember, I would highly recommend them.

OH ALSO SONIC FANART you have to git gud at drawing hands if you want to draw sonic characters they got bigass hands. Sonic also taught me how to draw shoes kfjDOIWGJI

ALSO PT 2 just trace shit. Literally. People act like tracing is evil but it's a great way to learn. You can even trace other artist's work, just don't post it and claim it as yours lol

[cosmermaid]

Mewtwo's cloning machine colored became my most popular post so I'm making a tutorial with it.

I know I only colored it but I did use some pretty important techniques when doing original art too so I'm hoping it helps.

Okay so let's say you have a sketch, or in my case an image you want to color. Rule of thumb, you don't want to leave that in grayscale.

If you have a color scheme in mind you'll want your starting point to reflect that. Most art programs have ways for you to do tonal correction.

I like using levels for cleaning up the brightness and making lines sharper, and color balance for adding colors. Gradient map works nicely too. Generally you want to pick contrasting colors for light vs shadow. I did yellow for lighting and blue for shadow because I wanted to catch that oceanic underwater feel. But you CAN do cool lights with warm shadows!

2. If you want to color under your image or sketch, set it to multiply. Lower the opacity to help you see better if you want to do linework over it, or leave it as is if you just want to color your sketch.

3. Block in your colors to get a feel for the lighting. You'll want to make sure you have a CLEAR sense of foreground/middleground/background. Which means you need to pick colors that are bright/medium/dark shades and assign them accordingly.

In this case my foreground is darkest, I chose to make middleground (the machine) my light source, so it is brightest, and background is my medium shade. You don't have to do it in that order, but just keep those rules of three in mind. Foreground, middleground, background. Light, medium, dark. Assign accordingly as your piece needs.

A great way to test your composition is to set your image to greyscale, or even remove your sketch. If you still have a clear impression of depth and where everything is, you're on the right track.

4. What's your focal point? What's the main subject of your piece? What do you want to draw the viewer's eye, to stand out, to be the whole point of what you're drawing? Because that's the part you're going to focus on rendering now.

For me it was the shell.

This was three different layers on different blending modes where I just played with textures, colors and brushes until I got an effect that I liked. In fact I liked it so much that these layers are actually above the base image, so that the texture is untouched by the manga scan texture and the yellow-tinted multiply effect.

5. By this point, if you're applying these steps to any art piece you're working on, you should have a pretty good basis. You should have your colors mapped, your composition, and your focal point for your work. You can continue to render the details, but try to stick to your composition.

None of these steps are particularly complicated. It's just a matter of coloring within the lines, staying true to your chosen color scheme, and remembering where the light source is.

6. If you have a secondary focal point, (in my case, Team Rocket) you can give it a little bit of special treatment to help it not get lost in the image.

I went as far as to copy and paste them, adjust their levels separately from the rest of the work so they looked sharper and cleaner, gave them their own colors separate from the scheme of the main peace, and only tied them into it with their shadows. I painted some rim-lighting around them true to their colors (like Jessie and James's hair) just to help them pop. They're not the main focus of the image, but they're somewhere that they aren't supposed to be, so they need to stand out a little in their own right. 7. Add some finishing touches.

This can be things like adding soft glows to your light sources (I keep mine simple, just a few strokes with a watercolor brush set to the add blending mode) and some shines to shiny objects.

And that was about it.

Coloring this piece was just an excuse for me to play with color composition and textures without having to worry about my own line work for once. But I still used some pretty important principles in illustration to catch what I saw in my head while looking at the original uncolored page. (Especially step 3!! Try that in your next work!)

[marciaillust]

Thank you so much for Ecdysis. I only got around to read it today and urgh, my heart. Get this poor boy (Kazuma) a hug. But you gave him so much more (Ryuunosuke).

Somewhat chronological things that stood out to me: I loved the little snowman to indicate the change of seasons. And I was very glad to see the chibis in the following scene; it's just something I associate with you ever since The Clockmaster. I know you can draw hands; I think they look so well because you draw the nails. Anyway, this time I paid more attention to the ears though. You mentioned drawing lots of heads in different postition and the ears fit each time.

Again, thank you very much for creating and sharing this.

Hi! Thank you so much for the lovely message, it made me so happy to hear about all the little details you noticed about Ecdysis!

Ever since I started working on it I knew that I wanted the comic to encapsulate the timespan of about one year (leaving out all the flashbacks of course) and I spent some time thinking of quick visual indicators that would communicate the passage of time. The little snowman is one of them, another one would be the cherry tree outside Ryuunosuke's dorm room

from a blooming spring scenery, to slowly losing petals, cherries and in the very last frame of it it loses its final leaf :,)

A big part of all the background work for me was communicating the feeling of "temporariness" that Kazuma is so fixated on. Butterflies famously have week long lifespans. His footsteps in the snow get covered up by the new snow falling, and their footsteps on the beach get washed away by the sea. The foliage wastes away. And when he looks at Ryuunosuke on that final page on the beach there are a few shooting stars, beautiful yet gone in less than a second. All the while the snake stays and only grows in sizeeeee ; 0 ;

Thank you for the compliments about the anatomy! Ears have lowkey become my special point of interest when drawing heads, I feel like over the last year of making this comic I realised how much they can elevate the sense position/rotation of the head. Ears are objects with a lot of intricate details and it's kinda cool to try and capture all of them from an angle. I remember when I started drawing comics half a decade ago my ears had only 3 modes aka full on front ear (just a little C shape on the side of the head), full on side ear (90% of the ears were this ear lol), and the full on back ear ( which tbh is almost nonexistent in real life but gosh manga and anime is right about how it immediately puts a shitty head in perspective lol).

My newly found favourite ear to draw is the 3/4 back view when you can still see the iconic C swirl but also the back of the ear does a little peekaboo

Thank you so so much for reading Ecdysis! I put a lot of love into it and it means the world to me to hear you enjoyed it! :)

[black-wolf-spirit-art]

It's okay to have some miscommunication and miss some details on some parts. As long as you communicate further to fix an issue, everything is okay!

Since there is money involved, the matter on the situation is much more important, definitely, and the client is the boss.. but don't beat yourself up for this, okay? Mistakes happens and you went through a rough one...

Just take the time to talk things out and take as much details as possible next time so you can prevent unnecessary comes and goes.

Just please understand the client like the client understands you too so everyone gets a win!/lh

Hi there! I assume this was about the Afreakingdorks post. Thank you that's very sweet. And thank you for reaching out.

There was absolutely some miss communication between the two of us and I adapted to all of her requests as best I could. The issues arose when she requested more than 3 edits past the sketch phase. In my price sheet I state that they are alowed unlimited edits in the sketch phase, then 3 free edits past the sketch stage, but after 3 edits I would need to start charging for my time. This is when the issues began because they were unwilling to pay for edits but insisted, I make them for free. When they were unwilling to compromise, and the conversation was seeming to go downhill I agreed to show them the flats layer to prove I did in fact add gray to their Sona's fur and reduced the opacity in the light layers to make them show more. I also emailed the files to them with the edit function enabled so they could mess with the files any way they pleased since it was not quite what they had wanted. I also offered them a 50% refund for the piece which they refused. I know they were also talking about the file "conveniently appearing" after they harassed me on 2 different tumblr accounts. But they didn't consider that I had sent them 3 high resolution PNG's that take a few minutes to send over. So I guess to her it looked like they just appeared after she started spamming me on her two other accounts.

To be perfectly clear to any of her followers that came to my page due to this altercation. She received several WIP's. She made edits to those WIP's which I then made, and she approved of them/ gave the thumbs up for me to continue the illustration. This happened several times during the sketch phase and 3 times during the line art phase. She then received said finished piece but requested more edits for free. When I told her I couldn't make any more edits for free she got upset. She requested I send what I had to her email which I did, and she received it. The transaction was completed.

She also showed screenshots of our conversation but cut them up and rearranged them to make it look like I was taking advantage of her on her blog.

I've been receiving commissions for over 5 years and never had an issue with a customer. I'm always willing to compromise with the customer as well. But once it was clear she was trying to get more work for free and continued to gaslight me in the conversation, it was time for the transaction to end. They paid for a fully rendered illustration with two characters and two side images. I illustrated the background for free for them. Thats the full image they received. I would share our screenshots as well and the image itself but since It was an NSFW piece and there are minors following me I do not want to expose the imagery to on this platform.

There were several instances where they were directing me to manga/comic style while contradicting themselves and insisting I draw it in my own style and liked where the piece was going which added another layer of confusion.

All and all this has absolutely been an interesting customer experience. If she wants to moan about how I hurt her reputation and sladerd her good name, she has ever right and I certainly won't stop her. It's disappointing to see from a 31 year old adult. But what can you do, I'm not willing to add to her pitty party.

I'm sorry to keep going on about this. That was a long post and I really appreciate the fact her followers are willing to stand up for her so much.

I'm just an illustrator she commissioned to draw her sona having sex with Donnie from ROTTMNT in a bathroom stall. I'm not interested in making this into a whole ordeal.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

the fact that gojo genuinely wanted to teach him about love…… that he wanted to reach out to him and save him from his isolation.

YES!! the whole "i will remember you.." HAS ME FUCKED UP like. there's a few ways it could be interpreted but it gives me the same feeling as when you 'love' someone so much, you honour or cherish the memory of them forever.. AHHHHHH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

thank you ari for the link <33 when i read the chapter I will be back to let you know my thoughts and feelings :3 I have so many photos in my camera roll of just me sobbing after jjk so :3 definitely scared :3 With 252.. you're very right it's really sad that it's actually quite far from how detailed Gege likes his fights to be. Art style and breaks are on two different spectrums. Complaining about him taking breaks is the biggest NO from me. like PLEASE let Gege release a chapter a month. Every single week is WAY too much for a mangaka - there's only so much a person can do within 6 days :// From a pure quality and marketing standpoint it'll allow him to : process his OWN thoughts, more detailed drawings and (longer) chapters, perhaps even formulate a proper plan for the manga, and the hype will be bigger as well. Especially right now where it is getting criticism and being called repetitive - there is less hype because everyone knows they'll get answers in the next week. But most importantly REST. he is not a machine and you are very right about that!!

something to look forward to :3 (tbf i was especially into it bc i love takaba and kenny lmao but i still think you’ll find it fun!! you can tell akutami was having a blast)

also!! i just thought I'd let you know.. i never really got kenny (kenny is so messed up and i dislike(d) them) but you're the blog that made me understand the lore!! and I even started reading some kenny fics.. Anyways, i think that's enough for today and I'll shut up now haha!! <33

OHHHHH ANON WE’RE HOLDING HANDS OUR BRAINS ARE SMOOCHING

i agree completely 🫂 when i saw that line i kept thinking of sukuna like. centuries into the future…. in a completely different world ….. STILL remembering gojo and no one else. it’s such a wonderful fucking line not only because sukuna looks so sincerely pleased saying it but because it’s proof that gojo DID reach him!!!! gojo wanted to prevent sukuna from feeling alone and he succeeded because sukuna will never truly be alone as long as he’s carrying gojo’s memory with him. they make me insane

PLS DO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER ONCE YOU READ IT …. i’d love love love to hear!!!! :3 take your time though… get your tissues ready……. aaa and !!! 100% agree on the monthly chapters. that should just be a standard atp but sadly it isn’t…. :ccc i rlly do think gege deserves one long longgggg break to rest up properly.

also!! i just thought I'd let you know.. i never really got kenny (kenny is so messed up and i dislike(d) them) but you're the blog that made me understand the lore!! and I even started reading some kenny fics..

ALSO THIS !!!!!!!! ANON…….. T_T this made me so happy you have NO idea. i’m so glad i could turn you around on him!!! he’s such a silly, interesting, fun little guy :’3 (very fucked up too but that’s just another charm point imo) and aaa the kenny fics !! the world needs sm more of those … i’m working on a no curses au fic for him but i have no idea when it’s getting out …… </3 hopefully soon!!!! anyway pdhdjdj i’m just so happy that you’re a kenny enjoyer now!! welcome to the cult club !!!! 🫂🫂

[hellasaiko]

to be so so real

Akira Toriyama is the reason I draw the way I currently do. Dragon Ball Z was one of my first hyperfixations and the very first manga and anime series I EVER got into. I used to carry around manga volumes just to study his art style. I still feel Toriyama's influence on my works now. I'm not sure how I feel about myself as an artist, but I can certainly say I am NOTHING without Dragon Ball Z.

There was such a charm to his works that was different from a lot of other shonen manga, the world building alone is unique and cool. The series had it's flaws, from minor to at times extreme, but it remains one of the most iconic anime/manga series, in my heart if not ever.

One thing I always enjoyed and wished to replicate was the way he drew vehicles, motorbikes in particular. The character's outfits in a lot of his illustrations were just as inspiring. I think the thing I appreciated the most was how each of his works were lined. I know it's a stage of art a lot of artists dislike, but lining is honestly one of my favorite parts and that's all thanks to all of the little hand drawn details in each of Toriyama's panels.

At some point, to the knowledge of very few, I had a little comic series. I already had Saiko and another special interest that showed up in the comic (It Was Sonic) but DBZ quickly weaved it's way in. I even copied the artist page, with a little drawing of myself. I spent all of elementary school reading DBZ and making my own comics, hoping to get an ounce as good.

Me and my siblings had the entire Dragon Ball/Z anime and manga collection when we were younger. I'm real bummed I could never recollect them for myself, if I had them I'd be staring at Toriyama's artwork just the same.

All of that said here's some, some of my favorite Akira Toriyama illustrations. It was really difficult to choose. RIP.

[soyouareandrewdobson]

Why do you think Dobson's art got noticably worse? I mean so much worse. There's a reason why people often think his older stuff looks better; because it does (okay when he's not making mistakes like wrong number of fingers, angles, inconsistencies, etc.). I know he wanted to move away from his manga-influenced art but I don't think that explains everything.

I think the advantage of his older art is mostly that Dobson was simply being more simplistic in his early days than later on. Only that his attempts to be more detailed and move away from his "manga-influenced" art also involved him mixing too many things together all at once, creating just ugly art in general.

There is in my opinion a bit too much going on as to answer it in just a few lines, but I will try: First, the statement "Dobson was manga-influenced" always rubbed me off the wrong way because I don't think that is quite the case. Dobson was definitely influenced in his art styl and writing by certain mangas he read -Slayers and Ranma 1/2 primarily- but a handful of manga by an even smaller pool of artists to draw from, does not encompose the sheer variety of linework and aesthetics that have been within manga. For example, no one would be able to mistake a Go Nagai artwork for one by Akira Toriyama or Gosho Aoyama, because they have vastly different drawing styles. Confusing an Endo however with an Arakawa would likely be more the case. And don't get me even started how manga is often times writen differently from most western comics of the 70s-90s in term of drama, plot etc. What rather was the case, was that Dobson took aspects of the most simplistic, surface level aesthetics of manga in art and drawing, and hoped it would lead to success. Which it didn't, because of different reasons like a lack of commitment to the writing and nothing making it visually really different from a newspaper strip comic, but with characters making silly faces associated with late 90s comedy anime.

Second, when Dobson tried to reinvent himself, I think he tried too hard to get into more details or add shadows, wrinkles and stuff to his art. It is hard to explain, but the way it looks to me (particularly in stuff like his KorraSami pics) Dobson tried to draw characters at times with more "realistic" details like wrinkles in the face, but because the characters he drew are style toons, they started too look uncanny or exagerated. Which is another problem: When you look e.g. at his Ladybug comics, he didn't even get the proportions of the characters from the show not right by comparison, especially when it came to size of heads and eyes. Which if he had just gone full chibi style wouldn't have been as obvious to most people. But Dobson was always stuck in a weird halfway there state, where the characters were neither cartoonish but proportional, or too cartoonish and unproportional that the former balanced out the later. And he never figured the problem out.

Third, Dobson was just lazy when it comes to scenery I mean, I agree partly with Dobson that at times you don't need to draw a very detailed background when the focus of a story is in one panel focused on two characters looking at something off screen, them talking, or being in thought. But when you really think about it, when did Dobson ever for example really put effort into drawing e.g. a panel where the scenery was meant to tell more of a story or a storybeat, than the characters talking? Or when was a panel ever drawn from a different ankle than simply straight face forward. Like, has Dobson ever even heard of "overhead shot", dutch ankle or POV?

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #30

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [Intermission] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

[AO3] [wattpad]

~POV Mori~ Being neurodivergent can be very inconvenient, but because of it I'm able to find joy in things that neurotypicals might only give a glance to. Sure, I had things to worry about, but nothing else matters in the face of learning more about something I love. There were only a few detail shots in the anime and even less panels in the manga to define the items in the Treasury. ((And I didn't draw backgrounds for most of the art for this chapter either oops XD)) I was definitely going to enjoy being able to look at everything. I recognized that room with guards at its entrance before we got close enough for me to see into it. Once we were close enough for the view to match the framing in the anime I commented, "It's just like my 'visions.'"

King Sinbad gave me a confident smile, and led us inside the Treasury. There was something I had to see in person before anything else. I b-lined to the right side to start my search. When I found it I looked back at Sinbad. "Can I pick things up to get a better look?"

The King was standing a few paces back -just watching me with his arms crossed. "Go ahead."

I was allowed to look with my hands! I immediately picked up and put on the clawed gauntlets that Morgiana tries on while looking for something to be her metal vessel. They didn't have the best articulation and were heavy, but they weren't uncomfortable. I couldn't hold in my giggles as I examined them.

"You like things like that?" Sinbad's voice asked from behind me.

"Yes!" Ever since I was little I've wanted a suit of armor. I've never been able to decide what time period or country's style I wanted, and pricing replicas immediately removed it from a possibility.

Sinbad watched me for a moment before asking, "Do you want those?"

'Oh right! I'm supposed to be picking something out.' I took them off, and put them back where I found them. "Not really. They're just a part of a moment I found charming so I wanted to try them on once."

"I see."

As I made my way around the room I found the group of jewelry shown in both the manga and anime versions. These pieces were in the close up shots to help establish the location. The bracelet and ring with purple stones were obviously my favorite color, but it was different actually seeing the way light bounces through them. "They're prettier in person." I picked up the bracelet, and turned it in the light a few times. Maybe amethyst? I had seem amethyst that looked like this. That would make this a bit cheap considering Sinbad's level of opulence. Maybe tanzanite? I don't know much about identifying gem stones. I was pretty sure Topaz, sapphire, and diamond could make this color too.

I heard Sinbad's steps on the stone floor behind me, so I wasn't too surprised when his voice came from right next to me. "Are you considering that one?"

If it's really okay then, "Definitely." I slipped it onto my right wrist. "It's violet so I want it on me." It was a bit heavy, but I didn't think it would be a problem. I was left handed so it wouldn't get in the way of my writing as long as I wore it on my right arm.

Sinbad's chuckle set off an alarm in my head but I couldn't place why. He asked, "Is that so?"

"Yes...?"

He smiled and nodded like he was agreeing with something profound. "It looks good on you." Even though I understood the flow of our conversations, his compliment felt like it had little to do with me wearing the color purple.

"Thanks?" He was making a pass at me, but I couldn't tell what started it.

My response only seemed to amuse Sinbad more. He looked down at the ring in front of me that also had a violet stone. "You're welcome to choose another piece if you find anything else you like." Two pieces of jewelry was nice as a bonus for my work, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was walking into a honey trap. I watched him for some type of explanation. Sinbad read my expression and added, "Consider this next one payment towards the Fate Scrolls you've been making."

As long as all of this was payment and not a bribe masquerading as a present, then it should be okay... right? I had been making the Fate scrolls for myself, so it didn't occur to me I might get paid for them. What would they even be worth? They contained things that already happened. If everyone talked about their past experiences with each other then there'd be nothing to gain from the scrolls. That level of transparency between people isn't really something viable, so it's definitely worth more than the materials and time it took to make it. I left that spot to look around more.

Sinbad questioned, "You don't want the ring?"

I looked back at it. "It's nice, but I'd like to see if there is anything else I'd like better."

He laughed.

I followed the waves since they seemed to want me to go to a specific spot. There were many rings of different shapes and designs with a just as wide variety of gem stones -same with necklaces and bracelets, of course. None of them stood out to me until the sight of a specific necklace made me freeze.

Sinbad watched me and when I didn't explain, he asked, "Does that necklace have some special significance?"

"Yes and no." I couldn't look away from the golden choker. It only existed as a scribble in some Magi concept art; there was no official final depiction; yet I recognized it instantly. "I'm surprised to see it because there's no reason for it to exist in this version of Fate."

"Oh?" His voice rose with genuine interest.

"It would have been a Djinn's metal vessel, but it's Capturer has a different metal vessel for it in this path." The sky light made the large ruby hanging off the front of the choker sparkle. It was perfect for a Queen.

I didn't look at Sinbad's reaction but I could tell that surprised him. "It was a metal vessel? Is there a reason that Dungeon Capturer won't need this as a replacement vessel in the future?"

That made me laugh. I looked up at him; I didn't want to miss his shock. "She's not a woman in this version of Fate, and he's not the type to wear something like this." Male Sinbad did look good in chokers, so it might not be the worse look, but he didn't seem the type to wear something like this unless it was a part of his Djinn Equip.

Sinbad's dumbfounded expression was cute, and easily my favorite. He blinked a few times before responding. "Wait- You're saying that a woman in one Fate is a man in this one?"

"Yup." I smiled and kept the fact that I was talking about him to myself.

The King crossed his arms and starred down at the necklace.

After a few moments of watching his expression I looked back at the choker. There really wasn't any reason for it to exist in this world since Sinbad was a man. I got the feeling that the writer of this fanfiction put this here for me to see -that it was here for my benefit. Why else would the waves lead me right to it? A greedy voice in the back of my mind whispered that it was here so it could be mine. '...Sin did say I could pick one more item.'

Sinbad asked a question I should have seen coming, "Which Dungeon Capturer is it?" I smiled up at him. His eyes held excitement with curiosity. It took a few moments for Sinbad to realize I wasn't going to answer. "You're not going to tell me?" His mild surprise made me want to tease him more.

It didn't matter if he knew the answer or not, so why not tease him? "Why do you want to know? Do you want to try to picture what he looked like as woman? Who knows, maybe she was your type." I laughed. "I know she's my type as both a woman and a man."

Sinbad stared down at me. He opened his mouth but then closed it as he continued thinking. He looked back at the necklace and hummed. I didn't know what questions he was forming or what conclusions he was coming to, but his growing concern made him start pouting. I couldn't help finding it cute. He brought a fist up to his face and coughed into it at whatever thoughts he was having. Without looking at me he asked, "Was I a woman in any of the Fates you've seen?"

"Yes!" I said it with probably too much enthusiasm. He flinched but didn't say anything, so I couldn't hold back, "You were a woman in the first version of this world. It was only in later versions of Fate that you were a man." Sinbad and Aladdin were originally planned to be women, but their cisgenders changed after picking their namesakes and probably by demand of the publisher.

The conqueror of seven Djinns finally looked back at me dumbstruck. "You're serious?"

"Yes." I answered again.

"I can't imagine it."

"You weren't much different than you are now." I picked up the choker to examine it while I talked. "You were still over confident, and lucky enough to get away with your antics." It was a little lighter than I expected considering it was gold with a large stone. "You were still a master of seven Djinns, and leader of the Seven Seas Alliance."

We both went silent as I continued examining the necklace. Chokers had a few common ways that they were handled way back when. Many were open in the back, overlapped itself, or had something tied; clasps, the way we think of them, weren't really a thing until around the industrial age. This one had cloth cables that ended with tassels like some traditional Indian jewelry I read about.

Sinbad's voice had a slightly playful warmth to it. "It would pair well with the earrings I gave you." I became aware of his gaze on my neck where my earring dangled.

Looking at the design closer I could see he was right. "They are both gold with rubies, and this motif is similar." The choker had a similar petal motif as the gold feathers in my earrings. This was definitely here for me. The waves raised as if to agree with me.

"Would you like to have it?" Sinbad's question went exactly where I was thinking -he had asked that no matter what I picked up though. He pushed, "You said yourself that its original owner won't need it."

I didn't have to think about my answer. "Yes. I want it."

He smiled. "Then it's yours."

"Thank you." I smiled down at the choker. True or not, Sinbad had written that I was his biggest simp and that would be most people's first impression of me, so what did it matter if I indulged in self marking? Ja'far had even said the rumors would solve themselves eventually so I didn't need to worry. And it's not like anyone other than myself would know the significance of this item.

I had a delicious thought that would make this even more of a self indulgent fanfiction. My face warmed as I faced Sinbad. "Would you tie it on for me, my King?" I offered the choker to him and the waves rose around us. Since he wore this in the concept art, it would be poetic if he was the one to put it on me now. Besides, Sinbad clearly enjoyed flirting with me; there was no way he would say 'no.'

Sinbad leaned towards me clearly amused with my request. "I'd be honored." His warm hand covered mine exactly where his waves said it would, and took the choker from me slowly. The rising waves made it feel like the world outside this room no longer existed. Instead of marking myself, I had gotten him to mark me directly. If he was anyone else, I'd feel like I was taking advantage of him. Instead I just felt like I was beating him at his own game. --- ~POV Sinbad~ There was no way Mori was going to be able to refrain from falling into Sinbad's hands for long. He had wondered what was holding her back all this time, and he finally had his answer: her their gender. Now that Sinbad had quelled their fears, there was nothing blocking their heart from him. His Beautiful Prophet was going to dedicate their life to him fully. Mori said that he couldn't seduce their loyalty but there was no way that was true when they looked at him like this.

"Thank you." Mori's smile made the waves swirl.

They looked slightly away and reached for the bow tied at the base of their collar. They pulled out the bow with a deliberate slowness that built anticipation. The view of the nape of their neck, and cleavage stood out extra thanks to the angle they were facing. Mori looked up at him with knowing eyes while flattening their collar out of the way. They closed their eyes with an amused hum and turned their back to him. That show of undoing their collar was absolutely on purpose! Mori had read his Fate so, of course, she would know how to get under his skin like no one else. Sinbad's heart started pounding.

The gold branch decoration stood out strongly against Mori's nearly black hair. It was secured into a bun at the base of their ponytail. He had thought they cut their hair at first, but no, this was a style where the hair was tied in a knot close to the skull to form a ponytail and secured with pins. Sinbad wouldn't have known if he hadn't undone this exact hairstyle on women he had taken to bed back in Reim. Mori's hair would still reach their hips if he had the opportunity to take those pins out later.

Sinbad brought the choker around in front of his Beautiful Prophet. Should he hold her from behind when he was done? He was in the perfect position to do so. Since Mori was riling him up on purpose, he'd at least return the favor. As Sinbad wrapped the choker around her neck, he let his knuckles lightly graze her exposed skin. Mori tensed momentarily under his touch, and he watched as goosebumps made a wave on her neck. The bottom of Mori's ponytail tickled his hands as he tied a bow. Sinbad had technically finished the job, but he didn't want to remove his hands from her skin yet. A part of him lamented not kissing her neck before tying the bow. It wasn't like him to hold back when it was just him and his conquest. If it wasn't for their height difference he would have went for it already. He had other ways to move things along. He wouldn't have been nicknamed 'the Womanizer of the Seven Seas' if he didn't.

"Don't." Mori's words made him pause. "I said I was only comfortable with flirting."

Sinbad let go of the choker, took a few steps back and crossed his arms. "Of course. Do you think I won't respect your boundaries?" How did she figure it out? What had he missed? Did he take too long? Move too quickly?

The Prophet turned back towards him with a frown. "You can't hide it; your waves gave you away." After noticing his pose, they crossed their arms as well.

"Ah." The Womanizer of Seven Seas was not used to being turned down before he even asked. Even so, she was obviously intentionally turning him on. She wouldn't be a tease on purpose, would she? "Do you really expect me to believe you don't want more from me with that display of yours?"

Mori's expression reminded him of Jafar's usual reaction until Sinbad's words sunk in. Her eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! You can't handle a taste of your own medicine." They covered their mouth with one hand as they chuckled into it.

"Huh?"

"I told you the other night: I'm doing the same things you do to woman all the time," they broke into more laughter, "I know you'll never fall in love so I'm seducing your body instead of your heart!" Mori cupped their own face with both hands and closed their eyes. "To think, the Womanizer of the Seven Seas can't handle a widdle ol' tease like me."

That- "You were being a tease on purpose??"

Mori opened their eyes ecstatic that he was finally on the same page. "Yes! Just like you are!" How was he supposed to respond to that? "Only unlike you I already told you where I would draw the line -twice!"

This was the wake up call he needed. "You did." It hadn't even been an hour since Mori reaffirmed their boundaries. Sinbad pressed his fingers into his closed eyes. Something was definitely wrong with him. It wasn't like him to be this impatient.

Their voice calmed but didn't lose the amused tones. "If it's too much for you, just say so, and I won't tease you like that any more."

Sinbad removed his hand from his eyes. Mori held their hands behind their back as they looked up at him with a charming smile. He finally responded, "That won't be necessary." It wasn't like he didn't have options to relieve that tension. "Now that I better understand this game of yours, I'm looking forward to seeing how you'll try to seduce me next time." There was no way this wouldn't go beyond the game eventually.

She hummed before responding. "Understood." After a moment the Prophet added, "Actually, I'd like to clarify some rules to the game."

"Go on."

Mori nodded. "Neither of us can verbally lie about our intentions either directly or by obviously assumed intent." They put up one finger. "I won't say anything that comes across as willingness to sleep with you, and you won't imply you have genuine romantic feelings for me." They put up a 2nd finger. "This is a bit obvious, but both of us can call off the game or add rules whenever. If you ever realize there's something I do that makes you uncomfortable, don't hesitate to tell me."

Sinbad couldn't imagine Mori would do anything like that. "Of course." As long as his partner felt comfortable, she might become more daring with him. --- When King Sinbad had exited the scribe's building and saw Mori a ways off it had spurred a strange feeling in him. Now that Mori walked ahead of him again as they left the Treasury he was feeling it again. There was no way he was disappointed at the idea of parting ways for the day. There were things waiting for his approval.

The Prophet stopped and looked back at him. "Was there anything else you needed me for? I made sure to keep the rest of today clear, but that doesn't mean you aren't busy."

Exactly, he was a King with responsibilities to get back to. "That's true," he laughed.

"I see." Mori took a half step towards the courtyard. "In that case, good luck with the rest of your day, my King." He really liked the way she said that.

If only he could bottle that excited and content feeling Mori gave him. If it was an alcohol, it would easily become his favorite. "Actually, Mori," a little longer wouldn't hurt, "I was thinking it's about time I give you a tour of the Palace."

((OMGOSH so much happened while I was making this chapter. The biggest being: my computer crashed and wouldn't turn back on. My friend who built it figured out what happened and was able to save all of the data and get me a new drive for it. I wanted get this chapter out before the end of the year, and somehow I did it.

I really wanted to draw more of this chapter but 1. I ran out of time, and 2. Tumblr only allows for 10 images per post. I tried to narrow it down to the moments with the biggest impact. There were a few I thought were really funny and could be better than what I ended up choosing, but when I looked at how close those moments were to each other, I'd either make more longer comics or have breaks between them that the text might get lost in. I had really wanted to draw the moment when Sin asks about him being a woman in another reality, and the rest of Mori teasing him, but that was when I'm computer died. I only had time left to do the last & longest comic which I still had to cut shorter than I originally planned. ;-;

*edit- I thought tumblr only allowed 10 images, but apparently it's been raised. I found out because one of the images wasn't posting right and test splitting it into 2 and it worked...

Anyway, thanks for being with me this past year and reading my fanfiction. I really enjoy reading and rereading everyone's comments :3 Also, thank you to everyone who made fanart and fan edits :D You all have no idea how much of a boost it all is. When I'm feeling down I look at them to feel better. Thanks for being one of my favorite parts of 2022.

I wish you all a Happy New Year, Mori))

[sweetescapeartist]

An Update

So for those who are somewhat interested. Here's and update about myself and my projects.

Concerning myself...

I'm still very much tired mentally & physically. As I've said, I work multiple jobs & on top of that I have daily migraines (but I wear shades everyday to lessen the pain and symptoms). And I mentioned I'm sort of a handy man around my town mainly for family members. And I do work with my father to help him out as well as work on my own build projects for myself. So I'm pretty busy. Then I have to organize certain things despite migraines messing with my memory. Healthwise, I'm okay but still have trouble sleeping and I try to eat more often since I often forget to eat or just ain't hungry. So I get a bit overwhelmed and stressed and end up ignoring ppl & isolating myself. I still have anxiety and social anxiety too but that's getting better little by litte. I'm learning to properly deal with the stresses and mental triggers. I'm mostly a chill dude so I don't let much bother me anymore like when I was younger.

Regarding my projects...

I have a list of things to do. I have them scheduled, but due to being busy with work so often, I dont alwats meet the deadlines I have planned. Last year didn't go so well and this year hasn't started too well either. But here are some things I have scheduled...

Info posts for tumblr

Anime vs Manga: Vegeta Learns Ki Control

Vegeta's Gravity Training Obsession & Flawed Training Habits

Full Power Forms

Jaingshi Roshi

Different Way Potential Has Been Awakened In Dragon Ball

A post responding about a complaint someone had about Tien from last year (talk about late...)

Gammas & Cell

Android 18's Power in DBS (+ a bit about 17)

A few more posts about Krillin's Non-Self State that makes comparisons & explains certain details

What Toriyama's notes for Toyotaro's Moro & Granolah arcs probably were (an interesting post based off of context clued & is highly possible to be true. Will probably be later this year because there is a lot to gather for that post)

Comics I want to complete this year if possible

Kriller Time! Super Hero Side-Story Part 2: Videl

18 x Kurilin (a mini comic that'll have 4 alts)

Kriller Time! Super Hero Side-Story Part 3: Bulma

Kriller Time! #2: Fan-geta (NOT a side-story comic)

18 Steals Krillin Away

Roshi Mini Comic (should be interesting & informative due to it going to have information many may have overlooked)

Black Water Mist (a Krillin story I've wanted to finish for a while)

Kriller Time! #3 (might be Roshi or Oolong)

Yamcha's Bloomer (for my fellow Yamcha fans)

Content for my DB Databook (will be worked on throughout the years)

Just art stuff I want to get done

Some art for friends and requests I havent gotten to (won't be taking anymore requests for a while after I finish these so I can focus on lther projects) (some sketches are done)

Piccolo x Janet drawing I wanted to make last July (sketch is done)

Krillin Harem drawing since I got 3k followers on Twitter (might have 4k followers by then but I doubt it) (sketches are done)

Krillin x DB gals art (sketches are done)

Unfinished art for last years Chestnut Fest (almost complete)

Dragon Ball x Berserk (Yamcha art)

So, that's what I have planned. If I worked less, I could definitely get all of this done. I'll do my best regardless. And I've been debating if I should create my own website or just start a Patreon. I may begin with Patreon then make my own website later so I don't overwork myself. The thing about Patreon tho is that I want to give consistent content of what I believe is good quality. I need to make a profit from my art so I can be more motivated to continue and be more consistent, ya know?

So thats the plan. I didn't even mention the fics submitted to me nor the ones I've written. A lot are actually near ready to post but my anxiety is bugging me. Probably cause I'm overloading myself with too much. But we'll see how things go. I expect to get at least half of my art projects done this year & all of my tumblr posts this year. If I can get more than half of my art projects, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Also, my MEGA folder. It was supposed ro be done last year but some serious stuff happened & I had to get my mind right. Then, things got stressful for me in Jan, Feb, & Mar. I was supposed to post a comic in February, but didn't work on it cause of the stress. So, I'll squeeze in time ro finish my MEGA folder too. It has updated and corrected comics in there of these two specifically.

[uknowyato]

Hatori Yoshiyuki no baai volume 1: chapter 1

This is a repost from my old blog. Old chapters will be coming every Thursday until I catch up. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer:‌‌ ‌‌I‌ ‌do‌ ‌not‌ ‌own‌ ‌Sekaiichi‌ ‌Hatsukoi,‌ Hatori Yoshiyuki no baai ‌and the characters within the stories. Please support Shungiku Nakamura by purchasing the official emerald releases. Thank you!

Raw cre‌dits go to the lovely youmeandteddybears ‌on tumblr

DO NOT REPOST THIS OR SHARE WITH ANYONE ELSE.

Vera, Cammie, Rose and Isaac I love you so much <3 <3

It was late December, and the world was enveloped in the spirit of Christmas. Hymns and Christmas songs were being sung here and there, and the lights that decorated the streets were gorgeous. The products on display in the stores were also in line with the season, and they were crowded with customers choosing gifts for friends and family. Although it had become much colder in the past few days, today was a relatively pleasant day. There was no wind even after dark, so it was perfect for walking outside.

It’s a perfect day for a date… 

Looking up at the twinkling stars in the sky, his thoughts went to the meeting and interview he went to in Yokohama today. Since he was walking around the city with his lover, he supposed he could call it a date.

Hatori Yoshiyuki was thirty years old. Ever since he joined a publishing company called Marukawa Shoten and was assigned to the girls' manga editing department, he had been a dedicated editor.

He was not particularly interested in becoming an editor. However, since seeing his childhood friend, who had been drawing and submitting manga since he was a child, win a rookie award and make his debut, Hatori became interested in the publishing industry. He was quite happy when he passed through the narrow gate of publishing companies and got a job offer.

A publishing company was not just a place where editors work.

Between a publishing company and your average company, there was no difference in terms of human resources, general affairs, and sales. So he thought that there might be a job that he could do.

When he entered the company and was assigned to the editorial department, he was a little worried, but surprisingly, the job seemed to suit him. Of course, it didn't mean that everything always went okay.

There were times when he had trouble with work, and there were times when he had trouble with personal relationships.

However, he had gained a good amount of experience and achievements, and now he was in charge of sub-editing a girls’ manga magazine called "Monthly Emerald.”

"This month's progress has been amazing. I haven't seen it this good in years.”

"Do you know when the usual deadline is? Some of the authors are already almost finished.”

The reason Yoshino wasn’t in a dire situation was because, as he said, they usually had plenty of time to get things done. He was in the process of putting in the rough sketches, but from the looks of Yoshino, things were going well.

Yoshino was the type of person who took longer to pick a name than to make a plot.

Even after it was completed, Yoshino would go over it several times, rework it, and then ask for feedback. Hatori's job was to give him his rough and frank opinions. Whether the story was funny or not, he told them straight.

Of course, every writer responded differently.

Some writers, like Yoshino, thrived on being clearly told what to do, while others were more suited to theoretical and detailed pointers.

“I know what you mean. I do things at my own pace!”

“I’m going to die because of your pace.”

“Uh…I’m sorry…But! This time, things are going well.”

Yoshino had a big mouth and said many things as he struck his chest. He must have a lot of self-confidence to say that much.

"If you get carried away like that, isn't it going to be hard to make up for it in the end?”

“Since I’m doing so well, don't you think I should be praised for it?”

“Alright then. I'll believe you when I see it. I'm counting on you.”

“Leave it to me!”

Even if things were going well between the two of them, you never know when things might start looking bleak. The trick was to take Yoshino's big talk with a grain of salt. It was essential to be prepared in case there was a delay.

"Oh, Tori, wait a minute. I'm going to take some pictures there too!”

"Hey, Yoshino! Don't run, you'll bump into someone.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!”

Hatori watched the back of his lover, Yoshino, as he ran off. He couldn’t help but feel his mouth slacken at the sight of his back, but remembering that he was outside, his face quickly tightened.

“Yoshikawa Chiharu” was Hatori’s childhood friend, along with being the author he was in charge of. It was a little over a year ago when they were able to add another category to their relationship.

After a long period of unrequited love, they were finally able to become lovers. But he still regretted that he got desperate and hurted Yoshino. 

He had done something that could have ruined their relationship. Oddly enough however, instead of getting angry, Yoshino had forgiven him.

His generosity was something that was truly unmatched.

He was a very easygoing person but shouldn’t have forgiven him so easily. At the beginning of their relationship, he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong. Yoshno didn’t show it on his face, but he could sense it.

If he was being honest, there were times when he wondered if he would wake up from this convenient dream at the drop of a hat. One day it may come to an end, but until then, he was going to hold on to this happiness.

Even if the day was to come when Hatori would have to put an end to it, he had experienced so much happiness. Hatori would not have any regrets if he were to wake up from his dream.

If I were to tell Yoshino this, he would be appalled at my negative thinking.

Hatori smiled at his own thoughts. Of course, he wanted to stay with Yoshino for the rest of his life. As long as he was allowed to be by his side, he wouldn't leave. However, he had a desire for that and Yoshino’s happiness.

But there was another thing.

If by chance, Hatori's existence became a burden or had a negative effect on Yoshino, he had every intention of leaving him. It would be a punishment for himself.

“Wait a minute,” Yoshino quickly returned, with a camera in his hands.

He would be turning thirty in a few months, but he was still restless. He was curious about everything and had lots of feelings. Many freelance people were of unknown age, and Yoshino fit the bill. With a baby face and big eyes, he also had a petite physique. When he was wearing casual clothing, he looked like a college student. When Hatori was with him, he felt like he was getting older.

“Did you take a good picture?”

“It's perfect! There was a really strange figurine in the storefront over there, and they let me take a picture of it.”

“Well…” Yoshino came back with a smile, showing him the picture on the camera monitor. He was happy to see it, and he wanted to take pictures of the background.

The single-lens reflex digital camera he was using now was a new one bought just the other day. Looking at the fact that he was using it quite well, he thought he must be using it often. He was passionate about escapism.

It was an old promise that he would improve what he did. 

He recalled back in the day, Hatori had a hard time getting Yoshino to concentrate on his studies. There was not one textbook that didn’t have a doodle drawn inside of it.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here today. Would it have been better to take the pictures at a brighter time?”

It would have been better if he had arrived at an earlier time, but Hatori’s work dragged on which resulted in him being late. 

It wasn’t as though he had any work he had to immediately complete, but Hatori took Yoshino’s word that he didn’t care he was late.

I know I have to keep my work life and personal life separate...

Perhaps it was because they have known each other for so long, his relationship with Yoshino caused that line to blur.

He had completed proofreading and had some spare time, but the detailed work kept stacking up and it ate up his time.

“These are good materials. The sky at night is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Well, that’s good to know…”

“I was able to snap a picture of the Ferris wheel earlier. When it’s more empty, I want to get on the Ferris wheel and take a picture at the top, but two guys on a Ferris wheel at this time would stand out too much.”  

“Oh, if you wanted to get on the ride, why did you say anything? I would have waited at the bottom”

At the time now, they should still be able to make it just in time. He was sure the night view would be more beautiful than earlier when the sun was almost down.

“You’re asking me to stand in a line alone filled with couples?!”

“I have a SLR, so I can carry it and get on while collecting data.”

Being in such a date spot with his lover could make them stand out like a sore thumb. However, the camera and notes in his hands certainly mitigates this.

“Absolutely not! Oh, Why don’t you stand there Tori?”

“Why would I do that?”

“You’re still wearing a suit, it looks like you’re still working.”

Hatori had to work until noon, so he was still wearing his suit and coat. He couldn’t help but think that they help him in the midst of working.

He was often told that he didn’t look like the average editor upon the first meeting. But, that was probably because he would wear a suit just like any other company.

When meeting with other companies, it wasn’t uncommon for him to be mistaken for someone in sales.

Editors don’t normally wear suits everyday.

Since being an editor was a relatively flexible job, everyone usually dressed in more casual clothing. Hatori would wear suits because of his own personal commitment. 

When he put on his suit and fastened his tie, he felt more and more serious. For Hatori, the suit was his on and off switch and initially, he decided against wearing a suit, but realized he couldn’t keep it up for long.

He tried to keep work to a minimum, but when he found himself in a pinch, Hatori would take work home with him.

Even at home, he couldn’t help but look over the plots and storyboards from the authors he was in charge of. He would read through the materials and reach out to them when there was something in front of him that needed to be completed.

Even then, Hatori didn’t want to contact them on his days off. He would particularly refrain from communicating with the writers he was in charge of as much as possible.

The only exceptions to that were the writers with significant delays, and Yoshino.

"Hey, are you trying to make me do something I don’t want to do? I don’t know how to properly use this camera in the first place.”

If he was being honest, he didn’t want to handle such delicate equipment without first looking at the manual. He was sure he wouldn’t break it, but it would be disastrous if he deleted the photos Yoshino took today.

“No luck. Well, let’s come back on a free day. There won’t be so many people first thing in the morning on a weekday.”

“What’s with that face? Do you really not want to ride the Ferris wheel with me?”

“No, it’s not like that…” He was quite surprised that Yoshino agreed to go on a date with him.

...Does Yoshino even grasp this concept?

He would promise he would play the next time, just like when they were kids. That was all it must have been to him.

“Ah, Tori, stand right there.”

“Don’t move!”

“If you’re collecting background materials, wouldn’t it be better if people weren’t entering?”

From the way he was holding the camera, it seemed that Yoshino wanted to use Hatori as a model.

“It’s easier to draw the background with people in it when I can compare them to the characters.”

“....I understand.”

Hatori didn’t mind being photographed for collecting materials, but he didn’t like himself being photographed.

He didn’t know what kind of face he should make when Yoshino pointed the lens at him, plus he didn’t think the photograph would look good.

“You need to smile more.”

“That’s impossible.”

Since his mother loved events, he would have his picture taken from time to time until he became a senior. There were still many photo albums in his childhood home.

No matter at what age the photo was taken, Hatori’s facial expressions always remained the same. He was quite impressed at his lack of expression.

Most of the time, Yoshino, who was also in the pictures with him, was very expressive. Laughing, crying, pouting, etc. it made Hatori feel more unsociable.

“Move a little closer to the right.”

“Like this?”

"Don't just stand there with your whole body facing away from me, give off this feeling like we're meeting.”

“Don’t complain. I’m not a model.”

He sighed while Yoshino gave him detailed instructions. As much as he wanted to cooperate with him, he just couldn’t meet his high demands.

“Well then, how about you imagine you’re waiting for my late manuscript?”

Just by imagining what he just said, the frustration came flooding back. Though he knew that it was simply fabricated, that very feeling he had experienced countless times was very real.

Yoshino pointed and gave a drawn out laugh as he stared at his wrinkled eyebrows.

“...I’m sorry. I’ll leave you as is. Now, say cheese!” Yoshino adjusted the zoom and pressed the shutter button several times after his shout.

“Hurry up and finish it.”

Even though it was a weekday, every place was crowded with people on a Friday night.

Everytime the flash went off, it drew the attention of passersby. It was quite awkward seeing as everyone was looking at him, wondering what he was doing?

“Wait a minute while I take another picture.”

Yoshino moved to take another picture of Hatori from a different angle. Oddly enough, in his imagination, it seemed as though he was happy. 

“That’s enough.”

“Yeah, thank you. This helped a lot.”

Hatori was relieved to be finally dismissed from his modeling duties.

“So, where to next?”

They found themselves nearing the station. He wasn’t aware of it, as they were occasionally stopping, but they must have been walking for several hours.

“Let’s go eat Chinese food! I'm just hungry. After all, if you're in Yokohama then you must get Chinese food.”

“Isn’t it a little early for dinner?”

It had been some time, but they still had a couple of hours before it was their normal dinner time.

“I’ve been to all of the places I wanted to go, took lots of pictures, so I think I’m done. It’s been a long time since I’ve walked this much and my legs are killing me.”

“You really should exercise more often. And didn’t you say you bought a meat bun and ate it? And didn’t you say you had a big meal before the meeting?”

Before meeting up with Hatori, Yoshino arrived early and wandered around aimlessly to kill time. He said that he had eaten lunch at a cafe that had recently opened.

In addition, the meat bun he bought on his way to the meeting was quite large, along with the hearty bite he took to sample it.

"I've already digested what I've eaten of the bun before I met up with you. Plus I have a dessert stomach.”

"Isn't that an expression you use when you want to eat something sweet…?"

"Don't worry about the details. You've only had one bite of the bun, you must be hungry.”

"Not that I'm hungry but…”

“Then it’s settled!” With that said, Yoshino pulled at Hatori’s arm enthusiastically. 

“Hey, where are we going?”

“If I remember correctly, there’s this restaurant on the cross street that looked really good. I think it’s over here.”

“You’re good when it comes to these sorts of things…” He was good at taking photos and looking for great restaurants.

“I have a gourmet taste because I grew up with Tori’s cooking.”

“I don’t remember you growing up with that.”

The moment he corrected him, Yoshino laughed out loud. He didn’t know if it was because of that, but Yoshino seemed oddly excited.

Is it because he got hit with the Christmas spirit?

Confused by the change of the atmosphere, Hatori reluctantly followed Yoshino.

He stepped into the alleyway as if he was being dragged, Yoshino eyeing up a Chinese restaurant in front of him.

“Look, this place looks great doesn’t it?”

“Sure.”

As Yoshino said, it was a restaurant with a great ambiance to it. Hatori was rather amazed that he managed to catch sight of the sign in such a narrow alley.

When the two entered the store, they were greeted by a cheerful voice.

“Welcome.” The restaurant was small, but clean and quaint.

“A table for two?”

“Ah, yes.” As soon as they were shown to their seats, Yoshino pondered over the menu in his hands.

“Everything looks so amazingly good~”

“Keep it moderate.”

"I know. Ah, what will I order? Let’s see, stirred-fried shrimp in chili sauce, Peking duck and stirred-fried water spinach. Deep fried prawn wraps, xiaobo bao, juicy buns... Oh, please let me have the seafood soup.”

Yoshino ordered from every menu item that caught his eye.

"Are you sure you can eat that much?”

"That's about it for now. We can order dessert later, right?”

“You’re going to order more…?” Normally if Yoshino was hungry, he would feel a sense of uneasiness as he was picking up all kinds of food.

"Don't worry. We'll eat together.”

“I'm hoping it's…”

While he was reasonably hungry, he thought it’d be better to be prepared today. Hatori tightened his tie a little and sipped the tea that was offered to him.

“Are you going to finish your work by the 27th?”

“Yes I will.”

“What are you going to do this year?”

“Well, my mom and dad are going to spend New Year's Eve at a hot spring, so I'm going home after the New Year.”

Every end of the year, Hatori would usually return home to help with cleaning and make *Osechi Ryori with his mother.

"I see. I think I'll go back at the end of the year too~. I have to work on my manuscript, and if I slack off at my parents' house, they'll nag me.”

“You don’t have to slack off.”

“But, you know there’s not much to do at home.”

“Really? Then maybe you can come spend time helping me clean up.”

“...I knew you’d say that. I’d rather clean my room than clean my parent’s home.”

“You’re right. I should polish every nook and cranny of my home myself at least once a year.”

He wouldn't go so far as to call it a dirty house, but Yoshino's room was terrible.

The kitchen and dining room were always neat and tidy, as Hatori defended it, and Yoshino was dying to clean up his work room before he called in his female assistants.

However, the walk-in closet called the library was piled high with manga and materials. Lately, what he couldn’t fit in there was starting to invade his bedroom.

“You vacuum sometimes!”

"I do that on occasion. You should sort your mangas. And I was wondering why the windows were fogging up. Give me one day free before the end of the year and I'll help you, get rid of the large mangas.”

“Ser~iously…”

“You know I don’t owe you any help, right?”

“Oh, sorry! I’ll do my very best.” Glaring at him, Yoshino straightened his back. While he was making plans in his head for the cleaning, the food he had ordered was brought to the table.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Here you go, seafood soup, *xiaolongbao, and fried water spinach.”

"Wow, that looks delicious!” Feeling uncomfortable, Yoshino quickly changed the subject.

In truth, the aroma coming from the freshly steamed xiao long bao stimulated Hatori’s appetite. Saliva started to well up in his mouth.

“Ah, I'm going to eat it. Ah, it's hot...it’s delicious! Tori, eat it quickly before it gets cold.”

“Oh.”

He put the piping hot xiaolongbao aside for later and took a sip of the seafood soup. The soup gradually began to permeate within his cold body, and the fried water spinach was so chewy he couldn’t stop eating it.

All the dishes that came one after another were delicious. For a while, the two concentrated on eating the meal in silence.

Yoshino, who was eating the chili prawns that came later, suddenly stopped eating.

“What’s wrong?”

"It's really good, but I like your shrimp chili better. What's the difference?”

“I guess your tongue is just used to it.”

“I guess that's how it is. There are so many delicious foods in the world, but I don't think I could survive without Tori's cooking.”

He looked at Yoshino, trying to suppress his agitation at his casual remark. He tried to reply in a casual way.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“It’s true.”

“Flattery won’t get you an extension for the deadline.”

The reason he couldn’t give a straight answer was partly because of his shy personality, but it was also because he had a crush on him for so long that he tried to hide his feelings from him.

He wondered if one day he would be able to "flirt" with him like other lovers do.

He might call me gross…

He tried to imagine it, and raised his eyebrows at the uncomfortable feeling.

"Hey, is your phone ringing?”

“Looks like it.”

He was rather upset that he didn't notice the incoming call on his cell phone. It must have been a work-related call. Since he was in a “meeting with an author”, he would just call them back later.

Just to be sure, he took out his cell phone from his pocket and raised his eyebrows at the name on the display.

The caller was Nakahara, a new writer who had started working with him a while ago.

What’s going on?

She was currently in her sophomore year of college, and Hatori was assigned to her because she won the Rookie of the Year Award.

After her award-winning work was published, she aimed to complete her second work. This was the first time she and her editor, Hatori, had worked together on a story from the ground up.

The plot was OK’ed a few days ago, and he believed she was working on the storyboard now.

She told him that she would let him check it when it was finished, but Hatori was in no particular hurry. He was sure she knew that.

Even so, the fact that she was calling him on the cell phone he had given her for emergencies suggests that she may be in some kind of trouble.

There have been many times in the past when he had been asked to help an author who was in trouble.

No matter how well prepared you are, unexpected misfortune can strike on any given day. A leak in the apartment building can destroy the physical manuscript, data on your PC can blow up, or you could fall ill with the flu just before the deadline.

The important thing was to make sure you have enough time to get things done and to take care of things without panicking. As long as you keep those two points in mind, most things would work out.

“Is it from the company?”

"No, an author.”

“Maybe it's that newbie again?”

“……Yeah.”

He told Yoshino that he was going to be in charge of the rookie, just to keep him in the loop.

This was not the first time she had contacted him when they were alone. What was different was that it was a phone call, not an email.

The fact that she didn’t stop calling him may indicate that she was in a desperate situation.

“Sorry, it might be an emergency. I'll be out in a minute.”

“Hatori here.” When he turned on his phone, he heard a nervous voice.

“Um, it’s Nakahara!"

“What’s wrong?”

“I'm working on a storyboard right now, but I'm having trouble with it, so I was hoping Hatori-san could give me some feedback. I called your editorial department, but they said you were out of the office, so I had to call you here.”

“Are you asking about the storyboard?”

"Yes! Yes, I'm confused about-”

“You're not in some kind of trouble, are you?” He softly interrupted Nakahara’s words to confirm.

“Huh? Ah, yes.”

“I'm sorry. I'm having a meeting outside, so I'll call you back.”

He would love to consult with her, but he was out with Yoshino. His mood was half private, but as the writer in charge, he couldn’t make Yoshino wait any longer.

“Oh, I'm sorry! I hope you didn't mind that I called you for advice. It didn't work out and I got anxious. I'll think about it a little more on my own.”

“There's no need to rush. There's still time, so let's take it slow.”

“Hatori-san…” When he said that gently, Nakahara seemed to calm down a little.

“Can you please send me an email with the part you need help with? That would be great.”

"Okay, I'll email it to you right away.”

“Thank you very much. I'll call you back from the office on Monday.”

“Huh, Monday...?”

He could hear the disappointment in her voice. He understood the desire to move on quickly, but Hatori was simply a company employee.

In that sense, I'm too soft on Yoshino.

It didn’t matter if it was the weekend or a long vacation. He would do anything for Yoshino. In a way, he guessed you could say that he was driven by his own selfish desires.

Hatori didn’t indulge him when it came to work, but when it came to other things, he usually listened to him because he wanted to see Yoshino's happy face.

“I’m sorry. The company is closed on the weekends.”

"Oh, yes, of course! Well, I'll be waiting for your call.”

“Then, excuse me.”

He hung up the phone and let out a breath. He had planned to return to Yoshino immediately, but it took him a while to end the call.

It had been quite a while since he had been in charge of a rookie.

At first, she seemed wary of Hatori, who didn't seem like a typical editor, but gradually she came to approve of him.

Or rather, does she cherish me?

Of course, it was good that she was willing to talk to him about her problems, and Hatori was willing to think about and solve them with her.

However, he felt as though their contact was a bit too frequent. If he gave the OK for one thing and moved on, he was immediately asked for advice again for the next thing.

Well, I guess that's the way it is in the beginning…

He didn’t think there was any artist who didn’t worry about how his or her work would be perceived by others.

Yoshino, who had been an author for almost ten years, was both happy and sad to receive fan letters and awards. 

In fact, the pressure may be greater now that he has become an established and successful writer.

He thought the job of an editor was to steer the ship, so to speak.

Of course, as a commercial work, they order the colors to match the published colors. Hatori asked the writers to show their individuality within that framework.

As the editor in charge, he would give his advice and offer ideas when necessary, but he cannot dictate every step of the way.

The reason why she asked Hatori for his opinion on everything was probably because she felt insecure. He understood the desire to seek someone’s approval.

However, if everything was done in accordance with the editor’s opinion, the work would no longer be her own. He wanted to lighten her nervousness. 

Nakahara was a skillful artist who had lots of talent. Her prize-winning work was published and was very well received. He thought she had a lot of room to grow, but the problem was that she lacked confidence.

For Hatori, who had no interest in drawing, just being able to create a story from scratch was a great talent. He had been doing everything well since he was a child, but in other words, he was average at everything.

Since he didn’t have any outstanding talents or inspiration, he had to do what he could do.

Throughout his life, he had rarely been so obsessed with something that he forgot who he was. That had helped him to develop an objective viewpoint.

Fortunately, he felt that this perspective had been put to good use in his current line of work. He was trying to calmly judge how he could better convey the goodness of his work, but when it came to Yoshino, everything was an exception.

Even before he realized he was in love with him, Hatori’s world revolved around him, and after he realized it, the symptoms became even more severe.

 Now that they were lovers, it was nearly impossible to look at their relationship objectively.

He tried to think as calmly as he could, but the negative part of him got bigger and he only thought about the bad things.

I can’t help myself it seems...

It was difficult to control his romantic feelings with reason. If he was in a position to give himself advice, he would tell himself to calm down.

It had been said since ancient times that love made people go crazy, and Hatori was no exception to that rule.

When he returned to the table, Yoshino, who had been in a good mood earlier, was now in a bad mood, drinking sake.

“I’m sorry, I’m late.”

“No problem. I’m working.”

“You ordered a drink?”

“You didn't come back, so I thought I'd have a drink alone.”

Yoshino usually doesn’t drink much alcohol outside the house. Today, however, he was gulping down a bottle of *Shaoxing wine.

He had never been so pissed off about Hatori sitting on the phone for work, and he knew the contents of Hatori's work better than anyone.

“So, are you okay?”

“Yeah, she wanted to talk about the storyboard to me, so I called her back.”

“She went through the trouble of calling you to ask about the storyboard?” Yoshino seemed to become annoyed when he explained the situation.

“I guess she got impatient because she couldn't do what she wanted. She called the editorial department and they told her I was on, so she called me."

“Hmmm.” Yoshino continued to eat in silence with an unamused look on his face.

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. He knew from experience that leaving Yoshino alone in a situation like this could be troublesome later on.

“What are you angry about?”

“I'm not mad at you." Yoshino replied to Hatori's question without hesitation and gulped down the wine.

“I'm not even mad at you.”

“I'm sorry I left my seat.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. It's your job.”

“Then why did you...?” The waitress put an end to their argument with her words.

“May I bring you some dessert?"

“Oh, yes, please.”

“Are you sure you can eat that much?”

“I told you, I'm fine. I ordered one for you, so don't leave any behind.”

“......"

Yoshino seemed to have changed his mind and was happily eating the Almond jelly that was brought to him. If he pursued him further, it would only lead to more trouble. Deciding that, Hatori also silently reached for the spoon.

As if his previous moodiness had been a lie, Yoshino was as normal as ever after leaving the restaurant. In fact, the tension seemed to have risen somewhat.

....Come to think of it, I wonder what he'll do for Christmas this year?

Christmas Eve was in a few days. They hadn't talked about how they would spend it, but they didn’t do anything special every year.

Christmas was a day for Yoshino to eat chicken and cake. If Hatori put a big pile of french fries on it, he would be overjoyed.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t spent time alone together, but that was before they started dating. And so far Hatori had been working his butt off on work that he was behind on, or being interrupted by Yanase.

Bad memories came flooding back… 

Hatori put the not-so-pleasant memories out of his mind and composed himself.

No promises meant business as usual. If he went to Yoshino's house with a gift, Hatori would probably spend the night.

Since this year’s progress wasn’t urgent, there wasn't any assistance coming in and out and Yanase was stuck at *Seinenshi sensei’s place.

“Well then. Go to bed early and don’t stay up late. Good luck with tomorrow’s manuscript.”

“……”

For some reason, Yoshino didn’t try to step out even though Hatori tried to see him off on the road to his home. On the contrary, he picked and held Hatori’s coat.

“Yoshino?”

Yoshino’s slightly red cheeks were looking down. It didn’t look like he was drunk, but was that the afterglow of alcohol?

“You know, normally you wouldn’t go home on a day like this?”

“?”

He didn’t understand what exactly Yoshino was saying, and the former had a perplexed face. In response to Hatori’s dull reaction, Yoshino stamped his feet on the ground.

“So! You’re on your way home from a date!” He looked wide eyed at Yoshino who raised his voice in frustration. Hatori couldn’t hide his surprise at the fact that Yoshino perceived today was a date.

“What’s with that face! You can add embarrassing scenes to a plot, but you can’t do it in real life…” Yoshino murmured those words with dissatisfaction. Hatori rubbed his eyes, trying to see if he was in a convenient dream, but it seemed to be real.

“That is to say, I just want to confirm---”

“In times like this you have to read the room!”

He held his breath while Yoshino glared at him with a flushed face.

Is it…is it okay for me to accept this invitation?

In retrospect, Yoshino was always somewhat strange. He could say it was about to snow, but it would be troublesome if he got angry.

“Can I stay the night?”

“…”

When asked straight, Yoshino’s blush dyed to his neck and he slightly nodded. They were both silent on their way to Yoshino’s house.

The tension rose with every step he took, even with the cool air brushing against his cheek, his body temperature only grew.

“Huh? Where did I put the key?” Yoshino was panicking in front of the door. He looked in his coat pocket and his trouser, it seemed that he forgot the bag on his shoulder.

“Is it in your bag?”

“R-right."

His trembling hands were trying to open the door. Yoshino, who had no sense of control, dropped the key. The sound of the bumpy metal crashed into the hallway. 

“I’ll open it."

Hatori picked up the key and opened the front door. At that moment, Yoshino looked small and he seemed to be holding his breath.

“Th-thank you."

He opened the door and encouraged Yoshino to enter first. Yoshino’s movements in front of him started to look shaky.

The voice asking the question was trembling. Even though Hatori was just as nervous, it seemed as though the tension was infectious.

Hatori assumed he should have gotten used to this, since they had done it so many times in the past, but he didn’t want to look so dismayed in front of the person he loved.

“No.”

“Ah, then how about we take a shower.”

“Ah…”

His pink nape caused the little amount of his reason to dissolve. Hatori held Yoshino’s shoulders, turned him around and forcefully kissed him.

“Nnn…”

Perhaps because of Hatori's brute force, Yoshino’s eyes were wide open. However, immediately, the tension was leaving his body and his eyelids fluttered close.

Eating his lips and twisting his tongue, Yoshino put his arms around Hatori’s back. As the kiss deepended, the more they clung to each other.

“Nnn, n, nn…”

He embraced Yoshino’s body -which was gradually melting- Hatori caved in and engulfed his lips.

He heard a wet sound every time their tongues entangled. He teased Yoshino’s tongue, which was trying to entangle awkwardly and enjoying his mouth that was hotter than usual. Hatori wanted to continue further but when he noticed Yoshino was suffocating, he broke the kiss, feeling his hair getting pulled.

“Idiot, we’re still in the hallway”

Yoshino complained while out of breath. Hatori roughly pulled Yoshino’s waist as he glared up at him with a flushed face and whispered in his ear.

“It’s your fault for enticing me. And you were responding, too.”

“Huh? That’s just a conditioned reflex…”

“Is that so?”

“What do you want me to say!”

“It’s written all over your face.”

He was sulking but there was a sweetness in his gaze. Yoshino showed a sullen face due to Hatori’s embarrassing and sadistic desires.

“What is written, can you carefully tell me?”

“Eh? ---uwa!”

Holding his waist, they headed to the bedroom and fell on the bed, entangled together.

“Hey Tori---”

Fueled by Yoshino’s wet eyes, Hatori kissed him like he was drawn in. He continued the deep kiss and ran his hands over Yoshino’s clothes.

While singing and moaning into the sealed kiss, Hatori pinned him down and felt around his thin body. Rolling up his thin shirt, he touched Yoshino’s bare skin.

Hatori managed to get rid of his coat, and while he was distracted with the difficulty of removing his belt he realized he hadn’t even taken off his jacket.

I seriously can’t keep calm

Internally, Hatori laughed at his own impatience. He roughly stripped off his jacket, which would normally be dutifully hung up, and pulled out his tie.

“Hey, slow down a bit……”

“No way.”

“Then try harder!” If he were to immediately answer, all he would get was a retort from Yoshino.

When he caressed the area where Yoshino’s ribs had previously been, Yoshino stirred underneath Hatori. He was still a bit thin, but he had gained some weight after all of his efforts.

“I’m deeply moved that I’m allowed to caress this.”

“Hey! Hey, don’t rub that…!” When Hatori grabbed his side, Yoshino squirmed ticklishly.

“Then, how about here?”

“Hya-”

He moved his hand up further, gently caressing the top of his nipple with the pad of his thumb and crushed it, hearing a high pitched voice escape from Yoshino’s lips. Yoshino was sensitive there as well. When stimulated, it hardened easily.

“Ah, nnn, ouch, idiot not so hard.”

“You like it when it hurts, don’t you?” When he pinched it, his body jumped.

“Ahh, nnn…!”

When he kneaded it with some force, it became red like a fruit and Yoshino rubbed his knees together as if he was frustrated. It looked like his nipples weren’t the only thing getting hard.

Hatori felt something hard and alluring when he forcibly split his knees apart and pressed his knee against his groin.

“Uh…ah, wait ah ah!” Rubbing it with his thigh made it even harder. Hatori pulled down Yoshino’s pants -which had been loosened at his waist- and his underwear had changed color at some point.

“You’re already wet.” Yoshino blushed to his ears when Hatori told him that fact.

“W-well, I’m not the only one…ah.”

“Maybe so.”

“Ahh……?!”

Hatori ran his index finger over the elastic part of Yoshino’s underwear and lightly pulled it down, revealing his hard member. Hatori traced the underside and scooped the moistened tip with his fingers.

“Ahh, ah…” When he wrapped his fingers around his entire cock and gently rubbed it, Yoshino let out a sweet and seductive voice. The appearance of him clutching the bedsheets and enduring the pleasure was lovely.

How cute.

Yoshino was quick to whine, and he was usually sloppy. But at the root of Yoshino’s character was a stubbornness that absolutely hated to lose. Once he had made a decision, he was not going to change it no matter what.

“Yoshino, take that off.”

“You idiot, get ready first…” While scolding Hatori, Yoshino reached into the drawer on the nightstand.

He had found what he was looking for and was embarrassed to present what would be used against him. He carelessly pressed it against his chest.

“Thank you.”

The bottle of lotion and the box of contraceptives that were ready were new. Hatori wondered what Yoshino’s face looked like when he was buying those things.

Resisting the urge to pursue an answer, he took the contents on the palm of his hand. Making sure to spread it all over his fingers, he wrapped his fingers around his cock again.

“Hya…ah,ah…!”

Yoshino’s moans became even sweeter when Hatori spread it up and down. After feeling its tightness, he probed behind with his wet fingers.

“Mmm, mmm.”

Yoshino moaned when he forcibly pushed the tips of his fingers into the tight opening. He didn’t realize he was making it even tighter, but he still pushed his fingers deeper and deeper.

“Ngh, nghh……”

Yoshino clenched his teeth as he endured the sensation of his fingers probing inside his body.

His opening was not originally designed to accept foreign substances, but as lotion was added several times along the way, he slowly got used to it.

Every time he pulled his fingers in and out, a lewd squelching sound was heard.

“Ah…ah, ah…mm.”

Yoshino’s hands wandered around the bed looking for something to cling to. Eventually, he grabbed a pillow and pulled it over his face, burying himself. Realizing that he didn’t want to let out his voice, he moved his fingers even deeper.

“Ah, ah, ah…!” With more fingers inside him, he pushed hard against the inner wall and Yoshino’s body jumped like a fish on land. He could tell that he was getting pleasure from his pleasured moans.

Hatori already knew all of Yoshino’s sensitive spots. He couldn’t afford to tease him today. Just severly torture the spots where he would surely react.

“No, not there, ahh, ah!”

Yoshino wasn’t opposed to getting pleasured, but when he felt too good, he suddenly got scared.

He couldn’t understand the uneasy feeling like he wasn’t himself. But he had no intention of toning it down.

“Aahh, no, ah, ah--!”

The root of his arousal that was about to burst was suppressed. Yoshino -who was about to come- stared at Hatori with an agitated expression.

“W-why.”

“You can hold it in a bit more, right?” If he made him come first on a tiring day, he would often fall asleep immediately after that. As expected, it would be a problem if that were to happen today. He was already painfully hard and it wouldn’t be easy to take care of it by himself.

“You have to take responsibility for the invitation.”

“Ahh……”

As he pulled out the fingers that were probing inside, a sweet, trembling voice escaped. He had feared it might still be a little tight, but his patience had already reached its limit.

“Are you ready?”

“……suit yourself.”

With Yoshino’s permission, he spread his knees apart. He restlessly loosened his pants and pulled his excited self out of his underwear.

He quickly put on the condom and when he pushed into the prepared spot, he could vividly see his cock throb.

“Ah---” He pushed the tip in with a huff. Running out of patience, he shoved it in mercilessly.

Although it was still as tight as he thought, it had already learned Hatori’s shape and accepted him without refusal. He secretly let out a moan from the pleasure of being wrapped around his tight entrance.

“Nghh…why…why is it so big…ngh.” Yoshino glared at him resentfully with tears in his eyes.

That might have been him whining rather than him complaining. He was embarrassed to hear him complain about his body’s physiological reaction. It wasn’t something that could be controlled by will.

“Of course it's because I want you. There isn’t any guy who’s not excited about holding someone he loves.”

“Idiot……ngh.”

It was unreasonable for him to be verbally attacked like that even though he answered his question. In a fit of anger, he forcefully pushed it to the root, and cloudy whiteness was scattered by the force.

“Ahh……ngh.”

He seemed to have come just by stimulation because he was made to endure it earlier. The bodily fluid overflowing from the explosion was scattered across his thin abdomen.

“I didn’t say you can come first right?”

“B-but……” He wiped the overflowing bodily fluids with his fingers and smeared it on Yoshino’s arousal. He rubbed it hard, and with Hatori inside, it got tighter.

“Ahh, ah, no, I’m gonna come again……”

“That won’t do. It's better if we come together right?”

“Yeah ... but ...ngh.”

“Can’t you hold it in for me?”

“You’re so mean Tori……Uh, ah, ah, nghh, ngh!” 

When Yoshino said not to do something, it was really him saying what he wanted you to do. The reaction inside changed depending on the intensity of the stimulus. As he was enjoying the change, Yoshino was complaining, while he was on the verge of tears.

“No, idiot, don't play anymore……ngh.”

“You want me to focus more here?”

“Ahngh!?” He gave a hard shove at the place where their bodies connected.

“No, ahhh, ah, ah……ngh.” He put himself into the root and shook up their connected bodies. Every time he sent his hips in, Yoshino's body jolted and trembled.

He grabbed Yoshino's waist and held him up, bending his back, and mercilessly stirred his lotion-soaked insides.

“Ahhngh, ahh, no……ngh” While greedily gouging out the tight entrance, he drilled into the back again and again. When he sent his hips into the right place, Yoshino gasped as if to cry.

That voice and expression further fueled him. Hatori threw his self-control away and within in his lust, he thrusted into Yoshino. 

“Agh,ahh,ahhng,aah!”

At first, Yoshino was at his mercy, but gradually he started to move. It was unintentional, and probably unconscious.

It was a pleasure that threw away all reason, and he was trying to get more of it. Even if it was an act of instinct, it didn’t change what the expectation was.

What Yoshino wanted, he just gave him exactly that.

I’m really cunning

Every time he held Yoshino like this, he felt an indescribable elation and guilt.

All Yoshino must have felt for Hatori -until the later revealed his hidden feelings- were the feelings of comfort, friendship, and trust of his childhood friend.

There might have been some sort of monopoly, but it probably wasn't that of love. He dragged Yoshino to this side, imposed his not-so-pretty desires on him, and instilled his lust.

Even if Yoshino had had such experience, it was with the opposite sex and he was not in the receiving position. As a man, there must have been some confusion for him.

Nevertheless, it was thanks to his generosity that he had accepted the position of being embraced on the receiving end.

He might not be aware of it himself, but Yoshino was the one who had the courage when the time came. Hatori's prudence was a mask to hide his mean, negative and cowardly self.

“Ah! Not there, no, aghn, ah, aghn!”

“Can't you say anything other than denial once in a while?”

“Sh-shut up…..nghh.” When Hatori pointed out his lack of vocabulary, he glared at him with wet eyes.

He usually had a face that didn’t seem to have anything to do with sexual things. But when they were having sex {t/n: embrace is the orginal translation. Embrace= to have sex}, he had such a face, so he couldn’t stand it.

As he repeatedly thrust into the back, the connected part became looser. At that moment, he pulled himself out as much as he could and pushed back in.

“Aaahhh……ngh.”

With each extraction, the voice that spilled out became sweeter and sweeter. As he continued to gouge out the tightly-clung inner walls, Yoshino's face became distorted with pleasure.

“You like it here right?”

“Yes, it feels good……ngh.”

The reason why he deliberately asked the question when his reason had failed was because now he could hear an honest answer.

“Here?”

“Ughhh, ah,ah, ah….ngh.”

Yoshino, who was writhing and gasping, was driven into even harder. When he squirmed and swayed, his thin body slid up on the bed.

“No, nghh, agnh, ah, ah……!”

Vigorously pushing his hips closer and thrusting even deeper, Yoshino also tangled his legs around Hatori's waist and his hands clung to his back.

Yoshino’s lips came close to his as if they were pleading. Biting and kissing, he devoured them on impulse.

“Nn,n,n,nn……ngh.”

As he rocked his hips with their bodies close together, Yoshino's erection -which was overflowing with semen- rubbed against his abdomen. It seemed that his limit was already in sight.

When he parted their lips, there was a face that looked like it was about to burst into tears right then and there.

“Tori……ngh, already, I’m coming, please……nghh.” In the blink of an eye, a single tear fell from Yoshino's eyes. He thought he’d tease him some more, but looking at his facial expression, he changed his mind.

“I know.” Immediately, he increased the pace and caught up with Yoshino.

“Ahh, ahh, ah……ngh.”

“----Chiaki.”

“Ah------!”

After an intense urging, they came almost simultaneously. Yoshino's lower abdomen quivered sporadically, overflowing with white turbidity.

“Ah, nn……ngh.” Then, after Hatori poured all the proof of his desire into Yoshino, pulling himself out.

They remained silent, waiting for the heat to recede from their bodies. As he closed his eyes and surrendered to the pleasant exhaustion, Yoshino opened his mouth, roughly breathing.

“……I've been meaning to tell you this for a while.”

“Hm?”

“It’s foul play to call out my name like that!” Yoshino caught his breath, then paused, and grudgingly complained in Hatori's ear.

Footnotes: 

Xiaolongbao: A is a type of small Chinese dumpling that gets its name from the basket it’s steamed, a xiaolongbao.

Osechi Ryori: The traditional food enjoyed during new year’s in Japan. They come in an assortment of colorful dishes packed together in special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Every dish of these traditional foods has a special meaning in welcoming the New Year. (Taken from this site)

Shaoxing wine: A traditional Chinese wine produced in Shaoxing (eastern China). Mainly used as a cooking wine and a beverage in Chinese cuisine.

Seinenshi: Magazine for adult men

[rhosinthorn]

What happened to your FT fics?

I got an ask about Chained Dragon recently that made me realize that while I may be bad at keeping everyone updated in general, I’m really bad about talking about my FT fics.

TLDR: They’re not dead, they’re just difficult and it’s because of me. More detail below the cut.

Okay, so this is going to get a smidge personal but writing is (somewhat) personal to me and it ties in with what’s going on with my FT fics.

Sometime between 2008 and 2011, I was introduced to manga by a few different people. I read a couple of different things, but by 2012 I was following Naruto, Skip Beat, and Fairy Tail (plus a few other smaller ones). My entry to fanfiction as a genre didn’t start until 2013-2014ish, but writing fanfic wasn’t on my radar at all.

And then, in January 2015, Fairy Tail 416 came out.

My brain would not shut up. I had several different theories for what Lucy was up to after Tartaros. So I started writing, by hand first and then on my computer. I had a notebook that I carried with me that I used to draft scenes when I was away from my computer. (Fun fact, that still exists and I found it a while ago!) These theories turned into Strength of Spirit and Still Standing.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to start posting, starting with Strength of Spirit. Then, when that finished, Still Standing. The epilogue to Strength of Spirit, Raise Your Glass. A few side bits. Ship Weeks. Dabbled a bit in RWBY because I was having feelings about Season 3.

And all the while, I was still reading Fairy Tail. And if I’m honest, I was losing a lot of my love for it.

Personally, the Alverez Arc/anything after 416 is...really not my taste. And I think (though I can’t confirm) that it felt that way to a lot of people. I don’t want to get into debates over whether it was good or bad, but it was starting to really rub me the wrong way.

Which was a problem, because I had committed to a sequel to Still Standing, titled Frontlines, that would cover the Alverez conflict.

Every chapter, I looked for something that would spark an idea. I knew I wasn’t going to be drawing from canon, but I needed to work at least a little with what was happening. Why put myself through adding OC villain characters when Mashima was handing them to me? But nothing was working, nothing was clicking, and to top it off, things were very chaotic in Real Life that a) limited my writing time and b) sapped my energy overall.

So I just...stopped working on Frontlines. Updates slowed and ceased because I was in a massive block and didn’t have a backlog. Chained Dragon got hit with the same issue, because even though it wasn’t covering the Alverez arc, it was just...Fairy Tail. There was a CoLu I wanted to write, covering the “gap year”, but that never made it out of the notebook in any cohesive form. We Always Find Our Way Back Home was my last ditch effort to do something in the fandom, a crossover (different enough to hopefully break the block) and a NaNoWriMo project (to keep me honest).

It wasn’t enough (as the last 6 years show).

Now, I honestly haven’t touched Frontlines in those six years, until maybe three months ago. I found my old notebooks, and in them some notes about potential ways I could wrap up the Alverez conflict. My brain started scheming again, and I kicked around (word vomited) some ideas with my partner in crime. There’s a fresh document with words in it. Not many, not enough, but it’s more than I’ve managed in 6 years. Chained Dragon has had some work done from time to time, and Lucy and Acnologia are just being stubborn about figuring out where we go from there. But I did pick it up and work on it in the last three months or so.

They’re not dead. They’re just...really dormant. But I want to finish them. I don’t want to just label them as abandoned because I know people used to read and enjoy them. I used to enjoy writing them, until I didn’t. But I want to.

So yeah, for anyone who’s still around, I’m really sorry. When I started posting, I didn’t expect the Alverez arc to have such an effect on my creativity. But I’ve taken a break, dabbled in a few other fandoms, and hopefully I’ll get those two out of hibernation and finished.

I’ve started watching Fairy Tail again, from the beginning. I’m hoping that will help.

Thank you, for your comments, for your rereads, for checking in every so often, because that just...when I think that you guys have written it off, I consider just giving up and abandoning them. To know that you still remember, still are patiently (or impatiently) waiting for the rest of it? That helps me stay resolved to finish them.