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mooseung · 3 months ago

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୨୧ winter’s date !

ch. 1 : halloween night

kwak jiseok (gaon)

ᨳ you and jiseok decide to attend all the christmas festivities pretending to be a couple just for the extra butterflies. it ends on new year’s day, then you’ll go back to being good friends.

next chapter ->

❆ no one would believe me if i said ive been working on this fic idea for five years man

❆ sounds like a hallmark movie but i say we keep making christmas romance stories fun silly and dumb

❆ i’ve never committed to chapter stuff before but surely it goes well since i know where it’s going *nodding*

it's the second best holiday of the year. aligned trees now enter the process of stripping their colorful leaves that now hang lifelessly off the branches. fuzzy boots follows the trail of the fallen leaves, and the harmonizing crunches down the street creates the soft melody of sweet autumn.

pumpkin meadows flourish in popularity. the scent of cinnamon and apples wraps a steam blanket around a pie tent. the air is something you've been craving for months now; it’s given you a crisp feeling that brings you warm comfort.

you’ve been able to attend all the fall festivities this year. your carved pumpkin sits outside your apartment, a singular light flickering your creature to life. you ranked all the pies you’ve tried this month, with apple sitting on its throne untouched. funnily enough, you also apple picked at a local farm. the assortment of your favorite fruit piles inside your fridge, their crystal glow enticing you every single time you look at them.

but all these activities you’ve done alone. your autumn checklist was too ambitious, and midterms shifted your availability to avoid your friends’ invitations. that’s why when the very last day of october arrived, your best friend forced you to make an exception for her. the halloween bash she's hosting is not a cozy one, but you have to do something fun and social before marbles start getting lost.

mingi is your only friend from the university, which you think is imperative when it comes to the reputation of this school. social gatherings is a pledged promise of the students; there are always grand events happening around campus, and the committee never finds it in themselves to lose creativity. in turn the students feel more like community, and the friend groups tend to be large. mingi's house party depicts that principle perfectly. even more, not a single person in here is worried about midterms.

as you look through the sweaty piles of people, you find some familiar faces from your fair share of group projects and school events. the few conversations are brief and soon enough you're stuck alone, waiting for your only friend to tend to you while keeping her house afloat with the large crowd.

"hey, you made it!"

she's one of the fairies from tinker bell - one that you can't seem to remember. nonetheless your lips curve wide after she's found you sulking on her couch.

"what a crazy party! do you know all these people?" you think this is the loudest you've been, trying to talk to her over both the music and her adrenaline.

mingi shrugs, plopping herself next to you as her arm wraps around yours. "are you bored? you should be mingling!"

"i feel a bit too embarrassed."

the two of you look over your body. it's a simple green princess gown that doesn't seem to draw immediate attention. however, if you get it...

"WOAH, you're princess fiona! WOAH."

mingi laughs, a little too hard. you playfully shove her as your ears burn up, "it’s too silly, isn’t it..."

her hand grasps your arm as she drags you into the kitchen. for now it's empty, and the table holds all the hard liquor and fruity drinks you could think of. "just drink a bit! loosen up, have fun~"

there's no time to protest. you're left stranded next to the island that holds all the drinks, many of which are unfamiliar to you. it takes you a minute to grab one, just for you to let go of it and stare at the selection as students filter in and out.

"it's a little overwhelming, right?"

the voice feels soft, yet you hear it clearly over the music. when you turn to your left, the girl who spoke matches her voice perfectly. a pouty smile sitting perfectly underneath her brown doe eyes. her hair is a bright hazel that innocently sits as a single braid, tiny strands of hair peering out of the tucked in look. along with her grin, a faded blush bounces on her cheeks; it seems to be from romand rather than any liquor.

she's the cutest, it brings you to match her smile. "ah, it really is."

your eyes continue to observe the woman; you notice the familiar costume she's wearing. it's a green sleeved dress with little gold embellishments. a laugh quickly breathes out of your lips, and she giggles at your quick notice.

"fiona must've been a popular choice this year, huh?"

she laughs at your remark and replies, "you're pulling it off so much better though." you can tell her intentions are to make you feel like the prettiest princess there, and now your own shade of romand blush colors your cheeks. "i'm mingi's cousin, yeona!"

you gasp, "oh, i've heard about you!" you already find yourself in a bow, greeting her formally. "i'm y/n, a friend of mingi's. it's nice to meet you."

she mirrors you completely, and the air finally feels comfortable for the first time since you've walked into this party. you find yourself sitting there, chatting with the girl as the two of you find plenty of common ground. yeona is a violinist attending a prestigious musical arts university just right around the corner of your school. the students tend to be quiet and elegant, and while yeona doesn't really fit the elegance she is soft-spoken like the rest of her peers. but her aura is comforting, and your energies match like puzzle pieces. for instance, she's an avid watcher of kdramas like yourself. it led the two of you to discuss your harsh disappointments among the catalog, your first target being infamous love alarm.

yeona learns much about you too. you attend a social school simply because it's a common one, and perhaps the easiest one to get into. out of all the majors that were presented to you, the winning choice became natural sciences after a coin flip. you haven't quite figured out where you want to be in ten years, and you're content with taking your time. the only thing you want to do is enjoy your time before life becomes a consuming loop of work.

yeona notes that and studies your personality more. you tend to find yourselves on the slice-of-life dramas, and your taste in books are hopeless romantic core. a pattern begins to illustrate itself.

you both find yourselves lounging around the kitchen for quite a while, your conversations being fueled by admiring the many costumes that flutter into the kitchen every now and then. neither of you take another glance at the drinks beside you, and eventually you agree that it's not a priority to drink heavy. you feel like you've found your other half.

after twenty minutes, something interesting happens. a duo of boys arrive, their loud laughs halting your conversation as your eyes peer out of curiosity. both are wearing a garment that you're unable to piece together for a while. but then it hits you; the bulky, round fabric mimics the crisps of the iconic kid's food.

unlike the other visitors, the pair of boys spot you and yeona and engage in conversation.

"oh - you're both princess fiona!"

he's the shorter of the two. his hair is a bright blonde and his cheeks high and defined. yet the look he shoots you guys is pure astonishment and amusement. he's gripping his friend in excitement, a boy who's also bouncing. this boy has darker locks of luscious hair that tuck right behind his ears. his almond eyes sparkle and he equips a wide smile, all 32 teeth shining brighter than those eyes.

and they are dressed up as, "chicken nuggets?"

their surprise grows, "yes! you're the first person to actually get it."

you and yeona gently glance at each other as the two celebrate their victory which only conducted further hops and laughter. when they're finished, they approach the drinks and stare with their arms crossed and their seriousness suddenly skyrocketed. you feel like you're watching a sitcom, wondering how people can be this bubbly and animated in person. but it's funny.

"okay jooyeon. which one of these is our first target? this decision is incredibly important and will impact how the rest of our night goes..."

"...i've never had any of these before. AH, kool-aid though!"

the blonde wiggles his arms, "i was thinking the same thing."

the duet proceeds to grab the jug of fruit punch, one that's meant for mixing alcohol into but instead is poured sober. they take their swigs and scream in unison when done, like drinking nonalcoholic kool-aid was the biggest thrill of their life.

you can't help but laugh out loud, and it gives yeona the courage to talk to them, "isn't it just plain kool-aid?"

the taller one, who you've concluded is jooyeon, grins as he points at yeona. "it tastes better than vodka!"

you're nodding along, "and beer."

yeona loudly agrees with you; a true hater of beer.

"i think beer is yummy." the odd one out frowns, going in to pour himself another shot of the virgin fruit juice.

jooyeon shoves him, "jiseok's actually just a freak."

"you scream at vegetables."

jooyeon suddenly gets loud, "YOU DON'T GET IT!"

the room laughs comfortably. yeona covering his face and you slap your knees, the air is light.

"i'm yeona, mingi's cousin."

you’d feel awkward not to follow yeona’s introduction, "i'm y/n."

the boys have a kind smile at your introductions, and introduce themselves despite knowing you've already used context clues to put a name to their faces.

"how do you guys know mingi?" yeona asks.

jiseok turns to jooyeon who answers, "we used to be group mates for a writing class and we became casual friends." jooyeon then nudges to his friend, "he's just my plus one."

"in the non-romantic way." jiseok adds.

you mention, "trying to distract us from the couple's outfit, huh?"

his hands fly up defensively, "no no, i promise this makes sense."

jooyeon straightens his posture, holding his friend's shoulder as he presents themselves, "we do this podcast called nugget time. it's a bit popular around campus."

"WOAH, i've heard about it actually." you laugh. "it's like we're meeting celebrities right now..."

jiseok wiggles his eyebrows, "do you want our autograph?"

yeona cuts in, "actually, it's popular around mine too! many of the students think it's too childish and immature, but everyone there is also pretty stuck up." she shines a smile as she gives a thumbs up, "personally, i like it a lot. you guys are doing very well!"

it’s a cliche move, but jooyeon feels his heart lighten. a surprise attack of butterflies invade his stomach until his cheeks burn. his eyes fall softly as they stare at the girl who chose not to follow the stale crowd, and instead express her support for his pride and joy. he's in a daze for a minute, lost in discovering her delightful features. "aha, thank you."

jiseok's a lot more normal when he thanks the girl, but he notices how stiff his friend becomes at the compliment. a small grin compliments his face. he internally puts himself in a tuxedo with the coolest pair of sunglasses as he suggests, "do you guys mind if we hang around here with you?"

the coolest wingman.

you can't help but feel proud of yourself for meeting new people, and getting lucky enough they were a funny and kind bunch. your shoulders have inched behind you, relaxed and no longer tense from earlier. your smile creeps up naturally and responses fly out of your mouth easily. it surprises you when an hour passes of general conversation carried by boiling chemistry and fruit punch.

the house roars, snapping all your attentions to the living room. what probably started off as sober laughs have become drunk wails. aggregation becomes the look of the dance floors as drunk men start to shove one another for who knows why. your ears catch onto the occasional glass shatters and you briefly wince, "ough, it's getting kinda loud in here."

jooyeon tilts his head, "you're right... should we go outside?"

yeona leans in, nodding to express her interest in the offer.

it's a hassle. your newly formed crew attempts to slither past the sea of sweaty students without getting dragged in by any drunk sharks. jiseok locks his hands on top of jooyeon shoulders, creating their lonely conga line of two. they get further than you and yeona, who are caught by a hungry one.

"y/n! yeona! are you leaving already?"

mingi's cheeks are a dangerous color of red. pale lipstick smudges all over the lid of her red solo cup, and beads of sweat twinkle on of her round nose.

you simply nod, sparing her an apologetic smile. you clear up, "we're just heading outside!"

"okay!" she clears the rest of the liquid in her cup in one quick swig. "i'll come too!"

yeona leans in to her ear, "are you sure? this is your party!"

mingi shakes her head as she pushes the two of you until you're all standing outside, breathing fresh air. "it's too hectic in there; i don't wanna deal with it."

jooyeon and jiseok are walking in place as the duo waited for your arrivals. their bright smiles greet the host who looked them up and down a couple of times before shrugging. jooyeon shouted, "nuggets!"

"OHH...kay?"

you and yeona snicker, and mingi just rolls her eyes at the reactions. after a while you plop yourself on the grass, relief unable to hide itself once you're finally able to hear the silly voices in your head once again. one being, "aghh, i can't believe you had no candy in there mingi! it's like you wanted me dead or something..."

"well!" she lightly laughes, seating herself right beside you as her arms wrap to embrace you lovingly. "i'm sorry."

"could've gone trick-or treating instead..."

"at the age of 23?"

"your problem?"

yeona cuts in, "you're never too old to go trick-or treating!"

you and yeona hold each other's hand in solidarity. the bit is funny to you two, and she developed a weird craving for candy as soon as you mentioned it.

mingi defeatedly sighs, peering her head to watch her neighborhood streets. they're not totally vacant; a handful of children happily scurry around with buckets or full-sized candy brimming to the top. occasionally their innocent eyes would swipe over mingi's house, one that's overly decorated for the occasion but very much not an open source to candy. you would defend this inference.

"there still might be time...should we go?"

jiseok's suggestion sprouted from watching the groups of kids flutter in happiness with their newly-acquired snacks. he also grasped onto the size, not afraid to admit that mingi seemed to live in a wealthier neighborhood. if an opportunity ever showed itself prominently, this was it. he's also a boy who craves these types of spontaneous activities; a group of college kids politely robbing rich people of their candy just to live up to halloween's truest image.

to be honest, you felt the same way. you wanted to feel your heart skip at the sound of candy stacking itself into your bag - one that you don't have. "wait, but how will we carry the candy?"

it's an hour later. chocolate, sour, and sweet all ride up to the tip of your red solo cups. you guys only hold two cups per person, but it remains mingi's brightest idea up until the moment the crew realized this neighborhood was indeed not a judgement free zone.

"this mom just stared me down...do you think she wants me?" yeona piques, a smile cracking through her chapped lips. jooyeon, high off excitement, laughs as his body leans against her momentarily.

you're staring at something else though: jiseok's red solo cup. there's a sour patch topping his stack, beautifully beaming like a shiny cherry. after digging through your own, you feel a childish envy crawl all over you skin. "augh, you got a sour patch..."

jiseok doesn't spare a second, scoring the piece of candy right into your hands. your ounce of adulthood flickers back, and you throw it back to him. "oh no, it's okay!"

it hits you back, "no, have it!"

you laugh, guilt building up. "jiseok, don't worry! i can buy my own."

"im going to glue it to your hand."

you launch it to his shoulder in a rough manner, "enjoy it for me~"

as the bickering lives on, everyone lays down on mingi's lawn. candy sprawls out, like how it would on a kitchen table while your mother sniffs for any dangerous pieces. except it's college students, with the security checkpoint half way down their stomachs.

"mingi...right?"

there's a boy standing over the said girl. her eyes, slightly bloodshot, stare at him as if he's a hallucination. she treats it as one too; not a word passes through her lips. the boy uncomfortably shifts at her silence after a couple seconds. his hand reaches for the back of his nape, cooling the heat of embarrassment as all five pairs of eyes watch over him.

"oh, sorry. i uh...came to this party with one of your friends, but im not sure where she went... i was hoping you'd know?"

"who..?" mingi's host voice appears.

"ari."

"ARI'S HERE?"

the boy sheepishly laughs, "i mean...i hope she is."

mingi doesn't listen to him. instead she's attempting to get up, her dress riding up in all the wrong places. her spilled candies dig into the grass as she accidentally steps on them. she quietly murmurs something that nobody is able to decipher. what's heard is the small exchange she performs with the boy, "oh, and who are you?"

"jungsu. ari's my sister."

"ARI HAS A SISTER?"

"n-no, i'm her BROTHER."

the conversation feathers away as the pair dives into the abyss of the house. it will be the last time the group hears of mingi for the rest of the night.

jooyeon's heart quickens as candy plunges into his stomach. yeona watches him quietly for a while. that's when she points, "after this, you'll be having salad for days."

jiseok huffs, "jooyeon wouldn't go in a ten-foot radius of a piece of lettuce!"

the victim nods, turning to yeona with a sense of pride, "you couldn't pay me enough money to eat a salad. sorry."

yeona nudges him, "you're just not having the yummy ones. i'll show you the good ones and change your mind! just you wait."

jooyeon doubts so, but he can't help but fall helpless to her commitment. he would try anything if it meant he could be around her more. that's why the veggie hater replies to the threat, "i'm open for that, let's do it!"

jiseok stares at his cup that's now lighter. a bright colored wrapper catches his eye, and he smiles to himself. he fixes his position, now sitting at curb of the road as his legs dangle outside his bulky costume.

"y/n, come!"

you crawl until you’re beside him, knees brought close to your chest as you wait. jiseok rips the wrapper down the side, and offers you access to the sour patch candies. "let's share the bag~"

your mouth widens, "wait really? are you okay with that?"

he nods, trying his best to convey his genuine smile just so you'd know. it's enough to get you thanking him over and over again, just until the sour hits your tongue and satisfies that specific craving.

jiseok rolls his eyes, "it's more fun to share stuff, right?"

"it's nice…thank you~"

it's a childish scene, one that brings soft smiles to both of your faces. because it's comfortable, familiar. fun.

#winter’s date #gaon #xdinary heroes #xdh #xdh imagines #xdinary heroes imagines #kwak jiseok #xdh gaon #xdh x reader #xdinary heroes x reader #guyysysyydys i want a christmas bf #see the vision ok i have a vision for this #gaon x reader #i neehd to do my homewokrjshdhejfb7)ughhh

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ilovedthestars · 1 year ago

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Ghosts of the Pressy

Look for the green arrows, lovingly maintained. Follow them to the emergency locker, where its supplies are still neatly packed. From our hands to yours, down the generations, our proof against the future's trouble is still as functional, as ready as the hour we put it aside for you. —the past is no forgotten promise by lunaTactics

Short image description: [ID: Two drawings with the same layout and base layers, but different overlays. Both drawings are very tall, about a 1:4 ratio. At the bottom is Murderbot in a corridor of the Pressy, reaching for a life-tender in an emergency cabinet. The background fades up to a black, starry sky. The first version of the drawing has an overlay of blue text bubbles representing the feed, containing dialogue from Fugitive Telemetry with Aylen, Ratthi and Gurathin. The second version of the drawing is overlaid with a transparent layer of misty, otherworldly blue, affecting everything but Murderbot and the life-tender. Tahe upper part of the drawing is filled with a chain of transparent and glowing blue figures, representing the ghosts of the Pressy. Each ghost has their hands on the shoulders of the one who comes after them, and the final one in the chain hands the life-tender to Murderbot. At the very top of the drawing are the words “It is hope like yours that is our future,” a line from Verso’s fic. /End short ID]

Longer, more detailed image descriptions below the cut!

Sometimes you read a fic that you can’t get out of your head and you just have to make art about it.

the past is no forgotten promise by the wonderful Verso aka lunaTactics aka @grammarpedant gives me so many emotions, and of course the best thing to do with emotions is to make more stuff out of them! It’s been an entire year since I made this art and shared it on discord, but I’ve never put it up anywhere else! So here is my labor of love, the first Murderbot fanart I ever made and probably still the most ambitious that I’ve completed so far.

In addition to Tumblr, this artwork is now posted to Ao3, with a second chapter that contains some thoughts & musings about why I made this and the choices that went into creating it. You can find it here:

Below the cut is a full image description of all the detail you’d notice from looking closely at the artworks, as well as translations of the Preservation language (written in Aurebesh script) that appears in the background.

Long image descriptions:

Canon version:

From the top down, the background fades smoothly from starry black to the yellowish walls of the Pressy, which are scuffed and textured. Murderbot stands in front of a gray emergency supplies cabinet built into the wall, facing away from the viewer. It has medium brown skin and dark brown, slightly scruffy hair. It’s wearing a dark blue hoodie with the hood down, leaving some inorganic parts at the back of its neck visible. It reaches up towards the life-tender on the shelf.

The emergency cabinet has a glowing green sign above it, with text in aurebesh (an abstract sci-fi script, not readable to English speakers, although the text will be translated below) and arrows pointing down. The life-tender sits on the top shelf. It has a metal frame with a large bulge of folded material, and is labeled with a red tag in aurebesh. Other items sit on the shelf below, including medkits with the red plus symbol. The open door of the cabinet has a sign with a large green warning triangle and some text represented with black lines. The door is slightly scuffed and three lines of aurebesh text are graffitied on it in messy blue ink.

On the wall to the left of Murderbot and the cabinet is a large green arrow pointing to the emergency supplies cabinet, as well as a shiny metal plaque with aurebesh text. To the right of the sign, a sheet of transparent material bolted to the wall covers more blue aurebesh graffiti.

Overlaying the drawing and filling in the negative space in the top 2/3 are numerous text bubbles representing feed conversations. These contain dialogue from Fugitive Telemetry, transcribed below with notes on the visual appearance.(Slightly glowy light blue text, grouped into speech bubble or text message-like rounded rectangles, filled with transparent blue) SecUnit: I’m almost there. Just give me a fucking minute. Aylen: You know, swearing during operations doesn’t meet the professional conduct standards of Station Security. SecUnit: Because Senior Indah has never told anybody to fuck off. Aylen: You have me there. SecUnit: I’m going offline now. Aylen: Understood. Good luck. Disconnected.

(A gap, followed by a different style of text bubble which cuts across the entire width of the drawing. The top outline is formed by a horizontal green line that starts with a waveform representing a short burst of static or noise, and the bottom outline is the same but with the waveform at the end. The waveforms interrupt the first and last lines of text, showing the transmission being started and cut off abruptly. The bubble is filled with green static that bleeds outside the lines. The text inside the bubble is also glowy green.)

[caps] This emergency device alerts the port authority notification network and the transponder will send your location to [end caps]

(Another gap, followed by more blue feed bubbles with a new conversation)

Connection Established. SecUnit: I need help. Ratthi: SecUnit, what’s wrong? SecUnit: Which one of these things is most like an EVAC suit? Ratthi: Uh, are you up on the Pressy? The closest thing I see to an EVAC suit in there is a life-tender. But (overlapping the previous bubble to cut off the sentence) Gurathin: There, third shelf down, with the red tags.

(A gap in the feed bubbles which is filled with the main contents of the drawing, including Murderbot, as described above. The final bubbles are tucked into the lower left corner, behind Murderbot.)

Gurathin: Wait, why do you need it? What are you doing? SecUnit: It’s a Station Security thing, I’ll tell you later. Disconnected.

End ID of canon version.

Fic version:

All the elements from the previous drawing remain, except for the feed bubble overlays, which are gone. Instead, the corridor of the Pressy is overlaid with a ghostly blue mist, giving it a much more otherworldly atmosphere. Murderbot and the life-tender are the only things unaffected by the blue overlay, appearing more solid than their surroundings.

A chain of ghostly blue human figures fill the negative space above Murderbot. The last ghost in the chain is holding out her arms so that, although the cabinet shelf is still visible through the translucent overlay, she appears to be holding the life-tender and handing it to Murderbot. She is looking down at Murderbot and smiling gently. The figure behind her rests their hands on her shoulders. Each ghost in the chain smiles down at their successor with a hand or arm around their shoulder. Their appearances vary, and wear different styles of loose-fitting clothing. At the start of the chain of figures is Captain Makeba, looking down at the other ghosts and at Murderbot. She has short hair and wears a loose robe, and her arms are spread wide in welcome. There is a four-pointed star shining in the center of her chest.

Above the ghosts, in the black and starry part of the background, is a centered column of text with one word on each line. It reads, “It is hope like yours that is our future.” (A direct quote from the past is no forgotten promise.)

End long image descriptions.

Aurebesh translations: The glowing green text above the cabinet says “Emergency.” The metal plaque on the wall says “Station Historical & Environmental Management Preserved Site.” The label on the life-tender says “life-tender.” The graffiti on the wall covered with a clear protective sheet says “Here, you are loved,” a line from the past is no forgotten promise. The graffiti on the inside of the door is three names: RoundedLoaf, lunaTactics, lovedthestars.

(A note on Aurebesh: This is a script from Star Wars, which I was not previously familiar with. It was suggested to me by Sparrow on the Murderbot discord when I asked for ideas on how to portray the old Preservation language that Murderbot didn’t have a translation for. I wanted something that looked like a language, but wasn’t immediately readable by someone looking at the art. Aurebesh is a 1:1 substitution for the characters of the English alphabet, which had the added bonus of letting me hide some messages in plain sight.)

#stars art #murderbot #murderbot fanart #the murderbot diaries #ghosts of the pressy

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soupedepates · 3 months ago

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Jennifer and Veikko (both mentioned) belong to @corneille-but-not-the-author

"Tonight on your favourite rendez-vous we're so, so, so happy to have here, just right there, Hollywood's little prodigy, America's golden boy, the only director forever banned from every award ceremony due to "too many awards received", cinephiles' favourite man... Seung-Il Pak!"

Seung-Il — It's a pleasure to be here, Jim.

"And you've got some lovely company too!"

Seung-Il – Oh yes! (giggle) Her name is Tahel. She is my girlfriend and I don't know what I would do without her by my side.

Tahel – I'm just here for moral support.

"How have you two met?"

Tahel – Irrelevant.

Seung-Il – She was doing an internship on my technical team and she was by far the best of them all. And she started quite early on to call me out on my bullshit!

Tahel – That happened, yeah. You're quite unsufferable on set with your actors.

Seung-Il – Awww, come on!

Tahel – Mister Jim, I think this man has indubitably a great sense of aesthetic when it comes to scenes and shots, but he fell in love with a girl with greasy hair, a Pikachu hoodie and pants stained by motor oil. Who happened not to put up with his bullshit. (Smirk)

Seung-Il – And she was, and is still, the most beautiful woman in the whole world.

[The audience sounds moved.]

"Isn't it so sweet! But let's talk about cinema. You're about to release next Wednesday your new masterpiece, 'Hello Sunshine'."

Seung-Il – Yes exactly! It isn't as ambitious as my last projects I fear...

"Don't be modest! Talk about it!"

Seung-Il – It's... It's a really personal project, to be fair. With limited crew.

Tahel – Meaning: I was the only technician.

Seung-Il – And limited cast.

Tahel – Counting him, me, his parents, my aunt, some friends and random people.

Seung-Il – It was filmed with my good ol' camcorder, cam in hand, and... there is no true screenplay. Everything was captured live, which was a premiere for me. I'd say the film is experimental.

Tahel – You make it sound so high-brow.

Seung-Il – Aw, really? (giggle) No, like, it's experimental as a director, you know? When you used to control every millimetre of a set, filming contingencies is sure a new experience. Sure, it's rare that everything goes according to plan when you're filming on set, and sometimes you have actors who propose such genius moves you just have to roll with it. I'm thinking about Jennifer Madison, who was absolutely breathtaking in all of her roles. With this kind of actor, you just turn on the camera and let the magic unfold. But this time, I wasn't filming actors nor professionals.

Tahel – I never took an acting class in my entire life, to say.

Seung-Il – Nevertheless, I think everything turned out more perfectly than I could ever hope.

"So, what is 'Hello Sunshine' about?"

Seung-Il – A lot of stuff. But mostly intimacy. And hope. (he takes Tahel's hand) Thanks to this grump, I must say.

Tahel – (the woman is too stunned to speak)

Seung-Il – Without her, nothing would have been possible. The film wouldn't be half as beautiful without her.

"So this is a love story?"

Seung-Il – It's so much more than that. It's about lighting up the stars.

Tahel – (with tenderness) You're getting sentimental.

Seung-Il – Oh, I am very much sentimental, I wouldn't be doing cinema otherwise.

"Do you have other projects after 'Hello Sunshine'?"

Tahel – Oh fuck yeah. He's a workaholic.

Seung-Il – Heyyyy! But yeah she's right. Can't say much about it because we're still working on the plot and the storyboard, but I would absolutely LOVE to have Veikko Lajunen for the soundtrack. I love his work, I love the way he plays with unusual sounds to create melodies... Well, if 'Hello Sunshine' is a very minimalistic project, the next one will surely be a blockbuster.

"Well, that promises! And 'Hello Sunshine' sounds like almost a return to your roots, right?"

Seung-Il – Oh, yes! You surely can draw some parallels with 'Ddalgi', my first film, but I'm not sure if it's available in the US...

[The interview continues on and on.]

#oc #lpm #writing #sip cant go on an interview without tahel he is that much of an anxious mess #tahel is terrified too but anything for her malewife #interview #cinema

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kandismon · 1 year ago

Note

Do you have any tips for those who wish to create a webcomic?

I do apologize if this has been asked before!

this is a pretty big question that would probably be easier to answer if you had any specific things you'd like to know about!

but i can give you a summary of general things i've learned over the years!

disclaimer: these are my personal experiences, if any of this sounds like something that doesn't fit your workflow or preferences, please disregard!

if you've never made a webcomic before, i would personally recommend starting small. do a short oneshot first to see how it feels instead of diving right into your multi-season 2000 pages big epic story, because i feel like the workload can get really overwhelming really fast if you go from 0 to 100 right away. some creators thrive on that but it was definitely not for me. i have a lot of failed and unfinished projects sitting around because i was too ambitious and didn't know what i was getting myself into. later on i started drawing short comics for various fandoms & ships i was invested in deeply, and those got progressively longer until i suddenly felt ready to seriously tackle one of my original stories again. which was when i finally started working on #MUTED!

don't worry about sticking to the strict 60+ panels weekly schedule that you see a lot on platforms like webtoon for example. unless you've signed a contract, you make the rules and decide how much and how often you post. i've seen a lot of creators burn themselves out over that when there really wasn't any need because no one was forcing or paying them to churn out so much all the time T -T) you can still find an audience and success with a slower pace (for example #MUTED was released with 2 episodes a month, 1 ep usually had around 20ish panels iirc)

finished is better than perfect. if you're a perfectionist this can be difficult to accept, but i promise most people won't look at your panels for longer than 1.5 seconds. some wonky lines here and there don't matter much, it's more important to get the feelings across imho.

vector layers (for inking) are your best friend \o/

imho having a pretty clear outline for your story can be really helpful and take away some stress, knowing where the story is going without having to constantly sit down inbetween chapters to come up with more plot is a blessing and i wish i had been better about doing that with #MUTED. i did have a rough outline but a lot of holes in between chapters and in the end some things i would have liked to explore more never got touched on because my planning was bad and i wasn't able to find the room in the story (like some emma back story, more about jasper's family dynamics, also a bit more of a deep dive into kai's relationship with his family) (also towards the end i felt pretty burned out and just wanted to move on haha) [i'm not saying to plan every scene right from the get go, there's always room to adjust and remove or add stuff while you're working on the project, but a few important anker points here and there are important, at least for me!]

shortcuts are also your best friend, use all of them. 3d models too!

when you start publishing, don't get discouraged by algorithms and statistics and numbers (i say as that's something i still struggle with daily LOL), agonising over these things is pointless because they're mostly out of your control, focus on things you can actively do to be proud of your work. also instead of comparing yourself to others, instead compare yourself to past you! look how far you've come compared to the you from last year :>

i hope any of this helps, sorry for rambling lol if there's ever any specific questions, my asks are always open and i'll do my best to try and help out!! i'm also still learning and don't consider myself to be a person who really has anything to teach to anyone, but i can share my progress and experiences and hype you up if needed, hehe

good luck with your comic!!

#answered #Anonymous

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kindred-spirit-93 · 4 months ago

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Sup, it's me Anon

I actually did have an idea for a webcomic way back. Imagine Hera leaving Zeus with just a suitcase and her loyal attendant Iris, navigating modern Greece and self-reflecting on her life, while Zeus plots to win her back.

This concept draws inspiration from Pausanias's Descriptions of Greece, where Hera crashes the wedding of Zeus to a wooden cult statue of. I envision Hera as a blunt Dorothy-like figure (Golden Girls vibe, with Wendie Malick's voice).

As a young ambitious goddess, Hera declared herself goddess of the starts and the galaxy, experimenting with primal forces—mashing matter under its own weight or flinging it into the heavens.

Despite her formidability, she won Zeus' heart (they had a secret affair, hidden from Rhea while he was still married to Leto) Hera was thrilled to become Queen of the gods but grew disillusioned when Zeus deemed her interest in primordial laws "unfit for a queen." He reassigned her domain to domestic bonds, making her the Goddess of Marriage.

Hera tried to conform but struggled with Zeus' infidelity, which brought her deep embarrassment. Feeling unable to embody her assigned role and domain, Hera dealt with her issues with Zeus' mortal lovers and demigod children by revisiting her old passions, by making constellations (if you know how most constellations are made in mythology you'll get it).

In recent years, Hera has seemingly calmed down, growing apathetic towards the mortals (with whom she always had a complicated reputation). She now believes the rest of the gods should follow suit.

I imagine her reflecting on a lot of thinks, Her foster mother Thetys and her relationship with her actual mother Rhea and her relationship with her husband and sons. (Hera being the favourite child of Chronos will also be very important) She has a salad with Apollo, Aphrodite is her loud daughter in law. She lives with her sister Demeter for a bit (I imagine her to be quite free and open with her sexuality)

I imagine that some gods choose not to have a human form, Zeus gave up and just floats around as a sentient cloud. Mainly because I find the concept of a human looking woman being married to a small cloud funny.

Athena is worried because a bunch of weird creatures and snakes starting to rise from the ground, Hera seems to be too relaxed with that situation.

The underworld basically acts as an office comedy, so imagine the whole underworld to be set up like the Office.

And to make things interesting I imagine Hestia to be an antagonistic (not villainous) figure - dead set on keeping the family unit together

Basically it's a whole shit pot of ideas, and it just felt a bit too ambitious at the time. But those were my ideas

ANON U GIVE ME LIFE!!

i have no idea what i did to deserve this goldmine of asks but im incredibly grateful and super jazzed to see where it goes!

definately need to do more reading (if u have any suggestions or places to start ill be eternally thankful, as of now i read stuff from theoi on study breaks) but i cant promise anything bc i go off of vibes mostly lol

anyway golden girls esque the office sitcom slice of life it is!

im familiar with the crashing the wedding myth (shout out to osp's red for introducing me to greek mythology!) and suggest it be the straw that breaks the camels back;

like shes only *just* reconciled with zeus and maybe theyve even renewed their vows and hes off wooing someone else and she just packs her shit and leaves (i like this better than a grand gesture to win her back at the very end so well start with what was supposed to be a happy ending and watch it go from there)

adore the idea of hera tapping into primordial stuff (anon ur mind is so cool like what) spending time perhaps with the primordials kinda in parallel with how zeus was raised by gaia iirc, maybe she chills with nyx and tartarus and the primordial eros idk regardless

perhaps this experimentation and determination to carve a space for herself in the fabric of the world they inherited is what captured zeus' heart (in the mythos he was married to metis first and then themis and then after raping hera they marry in part due to heras shame but i need to go double check on that one. afaik he was ever married to leto.) anyway hera sees it as a power up that could be exactly what shes looking for and agrees to an affair bc she doesnt want to be held down

they is in loooove and its interesting to see their dynamic (as much as i love to dunk on zeus he was the god of fate law and justice etc afterall so id love to see how theyd work with eachother and grow into their domains alongside one another). this leads to their marriage and things slowly start to go down hill when heras experimentation makes him paranoid of her own infideilty (how ironic and hypocritical lol) he seeks to contain her and decrees her domains will be that of a 'traditional' wife and queen and the thrill wearing off.

her escapism is connected to the cosmos and the void she once strived to be a part of. she wishes to be set free of all that chains her down, but in her mind duty is above her own needs (its been drilled into her) and she knows opposing zeus is a losing fight (maybe this is after her attempted coup too so now shes just burnt out and tired of trying. or maybe shes just biding her time whos to say…)

super cool i think to have the goddess of maternity and marriage be conflicted about her own mother(s) and marriage i think its a great way to explore the complexities of both and makes for some commentary and possibly a side of comedy. identity crises hera halleujah amen

maybe iris says something in passing one day and shes just like you know waht fuck him and fuck this i too am a daughter of cronos and i inherited this earth as well, i shall do what i please everything and one else be damned. slay i guess lol

hera chooses a human form and stubbornly refuses to go back to her divine one and zeus likes chilling as a cloud except mortals cant see him in that form.. so basically visual comedy of goddess as a human living her best life and zeus in both fondness and exasperation tries to win her back but hes a poofy wisp of air. idk that dynamic has a lot of potential too lol

hera even as a human is still careless of sorts towards mortals (my girl is fighting her own demons aint nobody got time for their drama and shenanigans) but her maternal side comes out every so often when she sees a kid with dreams and less than encouraging environment and guides them behind the scenes in little ways. idk i want to see hera as more than a jealous and petty figure and more complexity in general.

i guess her first pit stop would be to hades, her brother hasnt seen her since the end of the titan age so hes shook and skeptical (what did zeus fuck up this time?) and shes like can i crash? *blank stare*

stoic persephone watches them whisper shout about 'order and responsibilities' and shes like u know what im taking u to nyx you two should have some tea and shit talk zeus and u will feel better. heras like bet.

iris and hermes take over the narrative maybe bc i need to see more of them together honestly, hermes gives intel from the heavens and zeus' goose chase and iris is so done with everyones shit but is also very close to hera and tries her best. shes a good friend to hera i like her ^-^

hestia being the family therapist hell yes! then maybe she snaps and tells everone off, hair bursting into flames and things melting around her and everyone agrees to a truce of sorts. idk im working on it

also this is what mortal hera looks to me:

(credits to SelahSketches on x) zeus fucked up so hard lol look at my girl!

#greek mythology #greek gods #hera #zeus #asks #anon we need a name #astral train #bc she travels by train and maybe the vehicle of narration is her writing into a journal on her journeys #dont laugh at me im working with like 2 braincells here #actually i kinda like the idea lol what do u think?#tumblr im going to murder u stop messing with the formatting

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bvannn · 1 year ago

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Weekly Update January 12, 2024

I’m exhausted and still packing for the move tomorrow. I don’t know what’s going to happen this semester but I’m hoping I can stay kinda productive, since I should get weekends entirely off save for homework. Car ride up tomorrow, planning to do either epithet TTRPG work or thumbnailing or both.

TRGA: 1-5 Jon is done and 1-5 Emile is like half done, need cleanup and face. The more smoothly things go the more I’m worried about having to redo the old shots, but for now I think I can get away with touch ups on 1-3 and leaving 1-1 as is. 1-5 is going nice and quick so I’m hoping I can get the whole thing done by the end of the semester, but no promises.

Comic thumbnailing stuff going well, only 2 scenes away from getting through ‘act 1’ (the first third-ish of it). If I’m ambitious I might get going on writing a second issue soon too, because I have it kinda sorta outlined, and I found what is basically an outline for a third issue done as well (or a first draft of it anyway). Still gonna focus on the pitch/pilot/w.e issue for now. But because it’s been going so well I’m feeling optimistic.

I did no music stuff this week so once I’m back on campus I’m going to try to get going on one. Maybe will be a character theme, maybe will be something else. Not sure. *Really* want to get going on something animatable, but not sure how long it’ll take. Also I’ll go through that giant plug-in pack I got with the auto volume stuff to see what else it can do.

Also after racking my brain around music I listen to I think I have a basic idea of lyric whatever’s I was worried about last week. I’m going to fuck it we ball it because I think I do have a subconscious enough understanding. I’ll try to budget time to rewatching vocaloid tutorials so I can start messing with it.

Also haven’t really done a ton of Epithet TTRPG stuff other than sporadic general planning. I have a general outline for a first chapter/session/batch of sessions, I just need to plan out the details of the encounters, and trajectory for the rest of the campaign. I want to kinda combine it with another RPG I found at the store, ‘Urban Decay’, so I’ll need to throw together a document of that and any other house rules, and set up a session zero for character creation. Unsure if I want to d with friends in person, people found online, both, or a combination.

I have a big stretch of free time tomorrow, I’m going to try to actually schedule myself for that, spend X amount of time on comic thumbnailing, X on TTRPG, and X on watching Vocaloid and other music tutorials. Hoping my mood will be stable enough to maintain that schedule. From there, I’ll try to do a song on Sunday (and time myself so I can add music to my commsheet), and try another bite of animation and another thumbnail, plus maybe a drawing if I have time. Weird that drawings are such a low priority right now but it’s because the other stuff I’m working on is just that much more exciting!

#weekly update

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deathernoia · 1 year ago

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How come we never saw you post anything related to Lovely Pecan Pie/Dulce?

SORRY!! It's just that because barely anyone knows it yet I get kinda shy about it so i don't talk much in here ( I mostly talk about it with my lil brother who is also practically my tester ) plus I have other responsibilities / distractions like family issues and studies but I swear I am working on it! Mostly on drawing and polishing the story for the second demo, and the more I work on it the more enthusiastic I get, it's just that I don't show it.

But I promise I will post more about it soon! It is in very early development and I'm kinda ambitious so the full game will take a while ( along with seeing more what people think about it ) so yeah I'm practically just getting started but expect more things in the future, I really don't plan on abandoning the project as it is personal for me ( my therapist actually encouraged me to do it to process stuff ) and I do my best on it even if I'm not so loud about it. I probably should try making myself more visible LOL.

#lovely pecan pie #dulce lpp #ask #lovely pecan pie vn #practically i don't talk much because i feel like nobody give a fuck about it lmao #so show yourselves lovely pecan pie enjoyers #but i am working on it trust in that #lpp #lovely pecan pie game

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justatinybunwriting · 9 months ago

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Hi, I'm still alive here. I thought I'd fill you guys in on some smaller updates.

Burnout has been real y'all. I've been having a hard time jotting down words as of late, and more often than not, I've been finding drawing more enjoyable than writing at this time. I'm slowly getting the urge to write again, and I'm sure stories will resume whenever the inspiration crashes in lol.

Small future plans time!

The rest of Forlorn rewrite has been drafted (save for the bonus chapter at the end, that one is taking a bit). It should be coming out soon, but I can't (or rather shouldn't since I'm bad at predicting stuff xD) say when it will be posted.

Playing With Fire is getting a rewrite from chapter 4 and going forward. While I liked the previous version of that chapter, I'll admit it was too dang rushed and ambitious for something that was largely meant to be a prompt xD The rewrite will be more evenly paced and will have a different ending that I promise is a lot less forced than the previous iteration. It is shaping up to be a longer story.

Now for the long-term stuff. I am considering using alternative methods to share some of my stories in the future. Ideas are still brewing in my head towards what they may be (could be visual or audio related, we'll see). And if and when this happens, I hope you guys would support and enjoy this new direction. I'm a bit excited about what the future may bring, so stay tuned for that x3

In the meantime, I'm more active on my art account, so go check that out if you're interested in seeing what I'm doing in the meantime x3

#bun muses

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kaito-the-phantom-thief · 2 years ago

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JUJUTSU KAISEN S2 Reviews

#1: Hidden Inventory (8/10)

SB/Enshutsu: Shota Goshozono Assistant Enshutsu: Ryota Aikei, Jun Nakagawa Opening SB/Enshutsu: Yuuki Kamiya

This is fun. Already fond of the cast and the story promises to shape up to something quite interesting with the girl (I’m sure the dilemma of whether it’s worth sacrificing her will come up) and the dynamic between Geto and Gojo. It’s also interesting to see how different Gojo is to the Gojo we knew so far, there will definitely be a lot of grave events which changed him, which makes the more fun and carefree atmosphere we have right now the more intriguing.

The aesthetic is also massively improved, I’m a huge fan that under Gosso there is much lighter compositing, making this show much more vibrant and aesthetically pleasing than other shows MAPPA produced recently. And a lot of fun animation, there is constant movement and an absurd amount of freedom in how to draw the characters and move them (One thing which was particularly funny to me is how Gojo changed from chibi to normal proportions within a cut to display his shift in attitude). I also like Gosso's direction, he pulls the fun but also atmospheric segments off pretty well. The little horror segment this episode was pretty tense, he also utilized the camera very well here. The OP is also probably my fav so far, I love it. Huge fan of having very lively slice-of-life portions but also the bombastic action sequence where they fall down a skyscraper - That’s the kind of absurd action I look for in an anime.

To name some negative stuff though, there are some noticeable limitations, such as the animation being jittery with more ambitious rotation shots. They already struggled with pulling that off cleanly in CSM. A bit uncanny. The 3D environments also are plainly modeled (ground/walls are often just planes with texture) and the flatness compared to the 2D animation stands out. Due to high usage of 3D backgrounds and the comp not trying to hide it, it’s noticeable.

#jujutsu kaisen #gojo satoru #geto suguru #review #mappa

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lixxqude · 1 year ago

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𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 !! masterpost/introduction?

please call me cipher! i hope we can be cool!!

i decided to make a tumblr mostly to lurk, but i think i'll be having an occasional drawing or oc post ^_^

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

a little about me -

pls no nsfw. ever.

stuff i really like: honkai star rail, ffxiv

stuff i am not actively keeping track of but still kinda like: honkai impact 3rd, genshin, arcaea, reverse: 1999, swtor

usually will not reblog unless tagged. resident lurker (tm)

swtor stats -

i play on star forge more often now, but i can be hanging out on satele shan sometimes!

conc op main. learning megacrit engi sniper, sin tank, and focus guardian!

very invested in story, but not up-to-speed in general sw lore.

interested in doing endgame ops content! :D

OC introduction below the dropdown!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 . (𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻) 𝗼𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ⸻ 𝐋𝐈𝐗 || 𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

A private investigator supposedly working for the Alliance... you pull up his database entry, but there's not quite that much to it. There's definitely more than meets the eye.

Name: Travis Lonestar LIX Pronouns: he/they Age: Early 20s DOB: January 18 Height: 5'6.5" (169cm) Occupation: "Freelance private investigator" WOC: Custom-built sniper rifle, combat knife Theme Song: Camellia - "Dans la mer de son"

Ambitious. Clever. Conniving. Deceitful. All of these words have probably circulated around in rumors about them. An elusive individual who claims to be nothing more than a private investigator… Not much about the true person behind the alias LIX is known to the general public. They often hide behind facade after facade to keep up appearances and maintain anonymity. Despite the fact others may consider him charismatic and levelheaded, LIX is disagreeable and often gets in trouble with their superiors for backtalking or attitude. He enjoys the subtleties of life and always tries to make a point with his own sense of flair. Depending on the person they need to be, they can change their needs and wants to whatever is asked of them. However, there is one rule: no relationships beyond platonic.

LIX hardly remembers what life was like before the Empire. For much of his life, he grew accustomed to the militaristic - and often cruel - conditions of living as an imperial. Though he was raised by a Dark Council member, he still was seen as disposable and an asset to be used for intelligence. With a silver tongue and looks to complement his persuasion, LIX proved to be the perfect intelligence gatherer. Thus, his position as Cipher Five came to be: diplomacy and seduction. He would often see targets suspected of treason or military importance and gain information through any means, even including violence. LIX was never a violent person.

Trivia! LIX in roman numerals is 59, which means freedom and exploration. He has a provisional diagnosis for ADHD (inattentive type). He is half-Korean and half-white British (the SWTOR equivalent, at least). In his free time, he likes sketching using pen. Drinks too much caf for his own good; he likes it sweetened, but doesn't want to admit it.

i promise there's more to him i just don't wanna make this post too long lmao

#blog intro #all art is mine!!#oc: lix (swtor)

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regarding-stories · 2 years ago

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Roundup of the backlog...

I realized I watched more stuff than I even can keep up with writing about. So let's do a speedrun...

given ("Can't Say Goodbye, I'm Still Drifting With Your Echoes")

So, I got into this one because it was about musicians and being in a band. It also seems to be a boy-on-boy love story... as such, I don't mind. The characters are all drawing me into the story. And as a musician I can't resist the loving attention to detail - as an aspiring guitarist you could learn some things from this show. I certainly didn't know more than this as a teenager myself...

I'm just a few episodes in, and I like what I see.

TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You

An unlikely beginning - a boy promises a girl to marry her. Once he's of age, she shows up on his doorstep, ready to go. From this premise unfolds an incredibly cute story of two people figuring out life and romance together. She's probably a legendary character from a Japanese story, too. These blushing newlyweds are simply adorable.

Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro

A loner artist second year runs into a gaggle of trendy first year girls - and one just won't leave him alone. I gave it a chance because I was curious, and I don't regret it. Frankly, what happens in the first episodes would probably count as bullying, but very soon it becomes clear that there is something between especially these two characters, and Nagatori-san is not nearly as cool or experienced as she wants her Senpai to believe. Over time he also becomes friends with the whole gaggle. The show is changing from funny to cringe to adorably cute constantly. It's certainly entertaining.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Girls gets dumped for another girl, gets drunk, runs into young hot dude (who doesn't say much) and realizes he's the popular streamer her ex adores. Ends up passing out on his bed, too. She joins the MMO where he hangs out with his friends. Initially a very one-sided crush, but as the cast expands it becomes a rather chill and nice story about misunderstandings and friendship, plus a slow-burn romance. Airs on Crunchyroll once a week - and I find I look forward to every episode.

Tomo-chan Is a Girl!

Oh, I'm definitely sold on this one! Tomo is a high school girl that confesses to her childhood friend, except he doesn't seem to understand and only see her as his best friend. Over time both cast and backstory expand so by the end of the series you will understand why things ended up this way. Very satisfying, doesn't overstay its welcome, supposedly better paced than the original web manga. Wraps up in a single season.

First show where I recognized a Japanese voice actress again. The boyish Tomo has the same one as the not-very-girlish Anzu from Romantic Killer. Just listen when she is surprised or weirded out - you can't miss it.

Skip and Loafer

Very nice coming-of-age story, airs weekly. Girl from remote rural community joins Tokyo high school to realize her ambitious plan to become a public servant. Ends up being friends with laid-back guy whom all girls adore. Frankly the first episode is some of the best-paced funny stuff I've ever seen. The show then grows its cast organically and settles into high school life, plus it's a love story, of course, but not in a hurry.

Waiting for the next episode is hard...

To Every You I've Loved Before

Without knowing I watched a sequel! A very satisfying story on its own, this one is about parallel worlds and how we constantly skip between them. A boy is the son of the guy who's researching how choices create parallel worlds, and the first major branch in his life is when his parents divorce. Continuously throughout his life he is confronted with the impact of his choices as his life unfolds together with a girl that he ends up marrying and growing old with.

A story about love, loss, choices, grief, happiness... Very satisfying, told at the right pace, always engaging, and not afraid to go in a new direction even in its last half hour.

As I said - the story of a boy who makes a choice. But guess what? There's another movie, "To me, the one who loved you". Telling the story of the same boy, but making the other choice. I haven't watched it yet. Maybe I have spoilered myself by doing this in the wrong order. But even if only this movie existed, I would have been very happy with it. Fun detail: It may be sixty years into the future with pocket watches that measure parallel universe shifts and holograms everywhere, but apparently people still do the thing where they wear "belly pouches" diagonally over their chest. I guess they didn't make up a "future look" for all the filler pedestrians...

Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian

This was a chance buy - it's a light novel series. High schooler sits next to very pretty "solitary princess" - the platinum blonde Alya who's half-Russian. And sometimes she says the most outrageous things to him, thinking he does not understand - yet he does.

First novel was rather good, but then you can tell the author tries to drag it out. Protagonist ends up knowing all the most pretty and popular girls in his elite academy... yawn. Still, the story is at times rather charming and funny. Too bad it tries to keep the cat in the bag - it didn't have enough substance for what we're getting. Stuffed to the hilt with light novel tropes... she's probably secretly his childhood love he got separated from and learned Russian for in the first place, his sister has the hots for him (they grew up separate after some family fallout), student council this and that, let's obsess about girl's exact bust size, hints of harem, the works... and the artwork does not do a good job of keeping some of the girls apart except for the title heroine. Also, outrageously dumb hypnosis scene?

Still, the author can write and largely delivers an entertaining story with that nice little twist. I started disliking the protagonist because of his habit to prank Alya... not charming. Usually he's a very upright and forthright guy, and completely oblivious of his feelings for Alya.

Not exactly recommended, but readable.

#my love story with yamada kun at lv999 #don't toy with me miss nagatoro #tonikawa #given #anime series #anime movie #tomo chan is a girl!#romantic anime #skip and loafer #to every you I've loved before #to me #the one who loved you #Alya sometimes hides her feelings in Russian

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f1shbonez · 1 year ago

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"A tidy room, a tidy mind,"

“So where’s all the mess?” Powder probed, winding back toward Ekko with a playful glint in her eye. There was more to Ekko than the empty corners and shelves of this room. The space hardly looked lived in. She almost hoped he didn’t spend much time here. It was kinda sad. Definitely needed some colour and maybe a knick-knack stuck somewhere to cheer the place up.

"Besides, every troublemaker worth their salt knows you all the best shit needs to be hidden. Here, hold this for a sec, will ya?"

Now he was talking. Pliantly, Powder plucked Ekko’s drink from his hand and waited until he’d stooped down to rummage beneath the floorboards before stealing a sip.

Not too bad.

It took a moment before Ekko resurfaced with something battered and old in his hands. As he dusted off the top of the box and took a seat, Powder sat beside him, entranced by the promise of tangible memories. Maybe some of the photos would help with touch-ups to the murals back home. Everything had been based on memories and drawings, but time had a way of changing those.

"...These nearly got chucked out - a lot of stuff did."

Ekko had kept them.

Hidden them. Kept them safe.

That was a decision he’d made long before ever knowing anyone had survived the explosion. It was a decision that meant the memories in the box still mattered. Something sombre tinted Powder’s features as she watched Ekko rifle through. She caught glimpses of old photographs and faces. Vander. Vi. Mylo. Claggor. Benzo. They were all here.

It took Powder a moment to process the invitation to peruse the box’s contents. There was a moment of hesitation in the way Powder’s hand hovered over the box after handing Ekko his drink and setting her own one down. She wanted nothing more than the rifle through the faces and memories. To cherish parts that had been thought lost. But with the comfort came the fear of the hurt attached to the loss resurfacing. She’d look through, see their faces, close the box and they’d be gone all over again.

Carefully, Powder selected a safe object- a trinket painted like a bird. The design had intended for the little mechanical mishap to move by itself. It was an ambitious project, one that had never worked, but the paint work was okay.

“You kept this?” Powder asked, cradling the broken device in her hands as though its worth had tripled.

A photo was sticking out from the pile, revealing the corner of Vander’s face. Without being able to resist, Powder plucked it up, falling unnaturally still as she stared at the faces of everyone huddled together in the shot.

Gone.

You’re gone too.

Gone.

It was a long time before Powder’s words returned to her.

“...I was scared I would forget their faces.”

"Well, well, well. Who's your pretty new friend?" (Roleswap Ekko)

It was like being swallowed whole by a gaping mouth of music and light. The Last Drop thrummed from the bass of music while the air grew thick with the sickly sweet tang of shimmer, tobacco and perfume. The building could have been one in a thousand for all it resembled the home it had once been. Zigg’s glamour presented the fun advantage of being someone else. Long blue braids became a shock of loose pink hair, while powder blue tattoos were replaced with an intricate map of winding gears and mechanical parts.

The daring nature of this challenge brought with it a thrill. What had been difficult to account for, however, was the feeling of being immersed into something familiar that had been so wholly destroyed. Vander would be turning in his grave. Chem thugs were everywhere, propped up on stools and in booths smoking shimmer. From across the dancefloor a barman stood pouring drinks from Vander’s spot. Before there was time to mentally select a direction, someone was blocking the way forward.

“Stop right there.”

A tall, scrawny man was leaning in, obscured by the flash of green and purple strobe lighting. Something about the line of his nose made it look as though it had been broken more than once. Powder blinked, fighting the sudden swell of fear that was clawing at her chest. Was the glamour still working? Had something gone wrong?

“Ohhhhhhhh shoot. Am I in trouble?” The playfully unassuming response was easy enough to lean into.

A row of crooked teeth grinned in response.

“You’re a pretty little thing, arent’cha?”

A wry, knowing look rose to meet Mr. Crooked Nose.

It took a lot to forget the steely glare she’d learned to wear around creeps, but making enemies here was stupid. Playing nice meant getting to see Ekko. Playing nice meant maybe even getting some information. Using the swell of nervous adrenaline to her advantage, Powder flashed her most convincing (and undeserved) smile towards the stranger’s face.

“What are you doing all alone? Come hang with us. You wanna smoke?” Before there was an option to protest, an arm hooked around Powder’s waist, eagerly guiding her through the throngs of dancing drunkards towards a crowded booth. A final, discreet glance scanned the bar again, looking for Ekko. Every step through the crowd resulted in being jostled, elbowed and explored by wandering hands.

It was awful.

Somewhere in the back of her head, through the deafening cacophony of music, Vi was spitting venom at Crooked Nose. Powder rolled her knuckles. Never had they felt so naked, being bare of the usual wraps that helped pad out a nasty punch. Nope. Tonight wasn’t about punching. Ekko had promised it would be okay. He’d promised it would be safe (well, as safe as it could be).

Fifteen minutes with Mr. Crooked Nose (who had attempted to say his name three times, only to have it swallowed by music), felt like an eternity. Baz, as Powder had decided to dub the stranger, was an employee of Silco.

Oooooh, I heard those jobs are really tough!

And off Baz would go, talking about jobs Powder was certain she had never seen him on, recounting tales of bravery and wild achievement. Baz liked talking, especially to an appreciative audience. About halfway through a tale of gambling misadventure, a voice interrupted.

"Well, well, well. Who's your pretty new friend?"

Something in Baz’s shoulders shifted at the intrusion. Powder followed the voice, feeling the beginnings of a sly smile settling on her lips at the sight of Ekko.

Took ya long enough.

“Oh, this is Baz–”

“--Verris.”

“He’s a real peach. He was just telling me about these big electric thingies he works with? Suuuper cool, Baz!”

#arcane rp #roleswap au

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