#i took the liberty to add my own lines with it.

[finally-im-home]

I hope this email doesn't find you.

I hope you've escaped and now you're free.

I hope tomorrow never comes.

I hope we spiral in a loop of dance and love.

I hope when life drags you to a corner,

you'd let it talk and kiss your mouth.

I hope when pain cuts your skin,

you'd press the gash and let it bleed.

I hope when the rain falls over,

it spots you out and wash the tears.

I hope when you stumble down,

It scrapes your knee and not your brain.

I hope when the lover comes,

the day is bleak and sky is grey.

I hope when you let them go,

they carry your dust, your scent, your taste.

At last, when there's nothing to hope,

you'd know it's a gimmick- the life they preach.

But I hope, you'd wish, and long, and dream,

a way to sky, to pluck the stars and burn your life.

-Violet

[lonelysheepling]

Recently read @queenofthequillandink ’s DPxDC crossover fic Unearthed, Reborn

I got inspired to draw character sheets for Danny, Sam, Jason, and Jazz’s vigilante personas. Here’s a link to the author’s drawings of their outfits (these were a vital reference for me when doing this so thank you so much for sharing them Quill) More commentary (like 7+ paragraphs plus 2 images) about this project and the designs below the “keep reading” line.

None of these thoughts I have for each character are in order, but I have a lot of commentary for these since this project was a lot more conceptual than my normal work. I also just like talking about my art/design process. If you ever find yourself wondering at some point why an element from the original design wasn’t included, the answer is that the removal was completely intentional and part of my grandmaster vision for this work and wasn’t because I just forgot about it entirely during the design process.

————————————————————————

Aconite (Sam)

This was the first one I sketched out, I wasn’t even sure at the time if I was going to fully commit to drawing all of them. I thought that Sam was gonna be the hardest since her description was way longer than the others, but then bird boy beat her out. I took a lot of creative liberties with her design, the bag was added bc I couldn’t figure out how to add pockets to the skirt. I was trying to avoid a joker color scheme so I had a lot of ref images that I got by searching like “purple green aesthetic” on Pinterest. The dark purple and dark forest/blueish green won out in the end. I desaturated a lot of my colors for her just to get as far away from the neon Gotham rogue aesthetic. I also added the bdsm harness over the armor to add more punk elements to her design, I know that in real life that would be very uncomfortable to wear over scalemail armor but sometimes we take creative liberties when they look sick as fuck. Also, I didn’t realize until I went to look for a reference for aconite flowers that aconite is wolfsbane! That was neat to learn! Also, the font I used for Aconite is called “zai Art School Calendar 1931”, I’ve used this a few times for other projects, it’s one of my favorite fonts. The ‘zai’ fonts the creator has are all very good.

Shade (Danny)

There wasn't much to add to this page. His outfit is pretty simple (besides the patterning). I wasn’t sure how to pull of an optical illusion pattern but I was reminded how I sometimes get an eyestrain induced headache when looking at someone wearing a patterned shirt with really thin stripes so I just leaned into the idea of a small/detailed hard lined pattern. I originally made 5 separate patterns for him and then turned them into stamp brushes in procreate. I only ended up using three of them, the one on the chest, the one on the legs, and the one on his hand. But, I imagine the patterns fade and shift when he moves, sort of like a lenticular print. I gave him constellation freckles and stylized the hair’s fade into white. The hair was inspired by how time-woods draws Martin Blackwood’s hair (linked: time-woods’s fanart of Martin Blackwood). Also put way too much effort into the teeth on the mask. I just like the chunky teeth design. Oh yeah and the font I used for him is called “Typewriter_Condensed_Demi”

Erinys (Jason)

Repeatedly ran into the issue of not having enough canvas space bc of my fervent need to thoroughly document and plan out how the wings worked. I also reversed the colors for the bodysuit & armor so the under layer was black while the armor plates were red. I only realized afterwards that I may have been inspired by the red centipedes in Rain World (linked: gif of the red centipede, don’t click the link if you’re unsettled/afraid of bugs/insects), artists subconsciously draw inspiration from other artists all the time though so I’m not like upset about it. I stand by it because it looks sick as hell. Also leaned into the magpie theming for the wings. I think the vigilante form was supposed to be reverse magpie coloring? I can’t remember, but I stuck with normal magpie coloring. The anatomy of how the wings connected to the collarbone was inspired by JayEaton’s Magpie Bridge Project. Reference image link. Link to the article the image is from. I didn’t draw the wing armor because I couldn’t figure out how to would work with the wing anatomy and I ran out of canvas space. Finally, the font used for him is “DIN Condensed” this is a default font, I would’ve used something more punk but I needed the text to be legible.

Insight (Jazz)

I did Jazz after I’d already finished the initial trio, so I had to switch to a new canvas for her bc I’d hit the layer limit multiple times on the previous one. I really do love doing that spiked under-eyelash thing with characters. Don’t know when that started. Anyway, I added the shoulder pads to her outfit to help break up the empty space. The golden eyes were a nice accent color since her design is very overwhelmingly green. Honestly the braid hairstyle and gold eyes really do obscure her identity, multiple times when drawing her I was worried that she didn’t really resemble Jazz enough. There wasn’t a drawing from the author for her so I only had the text description to go off of. I just realized that she sort of reminds me of a forest ranger and I don’t know what to do with that realization. I copy/pasted my drawing of her eyes when gold and recolored them to match her normal eye color. There were two layers for that, a hue shift and a hard light layer to emphasize the shadows.

Here’s what it looks like without the hue shift: 

It looks really cool and I’m 100% that color combo in another drawing down the line. Oh yeah and the font used for this sheet was “Euphemia UCAS”. It comes with Apple’s operating system, I use it as a neutral default text most of the time bc it’s nicer than helvetica but not overly fancy like Times New Roman—and why am I talking about fonts. ——————————————————————— Anyway, this project was very fun to work on. The alt text for this was its own endeavor, hope the folks using screen-readers don’t mind 4-5 paragraphs of description text. Also, I cannot remember for the life of me if Dani got a costume description, but if she does I’ll make sure to update this image set with a sheet for her. And to the author, QueenOfTheQuill, if you’re reading this message that I’ve left at the very bottom of this post below a read more line, thank you for the fic. It’s very good and I’m glad I caught it during my slow decent into DPxDC brainrot. I love the interactions between Jason and Tim, it’s nice seeing a revived Jason that’s not bogged down by pit rage. They definitely seem like they could’ve been good friends if not for the unfortunate circumstances that led them to meet in canon. Also, I’m sure Jazz will love interacting with Batman and Nightwing. So much psychological & childhood trauma to unpack with them. Feel free to use/share these images if you so desire and thanks again for your work.

[kurishiri]

alfons v.s. ring . . . ring schwartz epilogue 💍

— this translation may not be 100% accurate or contain creative liberties due to characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost these or claim these as your own!

— cw: suggestive undertones.

Kate: If it’s come to this... then let’s do it! I mean, pretending to do naughty things!

Ring: Y-yeah, I do know that’s our only choice here, but... there’s no way I could do it.

R: Um, those kinds of things... I’ve never actually done them before!

R: But... s-since you’re really cute... I’m sure you have plenty of experience and whatnot...!

Kate: W-what do you mean, ‘plenty,’ there’s no way I have that much experience! Anyway, forget about that, we need to do something about this...

K: Ring, you go shake and push on the bed to make it creak!

K: And I’ll listen in on the other room and make sounds to match!

Ring: ...That seems more doable.

Ring went atop the bed and started to jump on it.

The bed did start creaking, to be sure, but it also was making some jarring noises that made me think the bed was really about to break down.

Kate: Could you be a bit more gentle though, Ring? It’s too much...!

Ring: Oh, umm, then... how about this!?

He briskly stepped off the bed before he put both hands on the bed and started to push down.

By doing so, he could create a good creaking sound that didn’t go too far.

Woman’s voice: The bed from the room next door has started creaking.

Man’s voice: In that case, they’re probably just a pair of lovebirds. Guess we were worrying ourselves over nothing.

Woman’s voice: ...That said, don’t you think it’s strange that there’s not a peep from the other side?

(Oh, that’s right! I have to make noise too.)

Kate: Ah, ahh... ahhn...

Ring: H-hey, um. I can’t say I’ve heard others doing you-know-what before, so I may be wrong, but...

R: When women do, you know, the deed, do they really sound this monotone...?

Kate: I mean, we’re not actually doing it, so that makes it harder...

Woman’s voice: The panting from the room next door sounds a bit strange, wouldn’t you say?

Man’s voice: It sounds real flat...

(First Ring, and now the two in the next room over are doubting me too...! At times like these, then...!)

Kate: I-I’m really, really sorry! I’ve been told by a lot of partners that my panting sounds suuuper flat!

At this point, I decided to play into the role of ‘a woman whose pants sound flat’ as I raised my voice.

Ring: N-no matter how you are, I won’t mind at aaalll!

While continuing to push down on the bed, Ring returned a fitting line in response.

...Very monotonously, may I add, for the both of us.

Woman’s voice: ...Huh, I guess they really are just one odd couple.

Man’s voice: I mean, seeing as they’re using a room of a strange manor like this, that would be a given, probably.

Kate: Oh, thank goodness, it seems they’ve bought the act...! Let’s keep this up then!

Ring: Alright... but, sorry, I’m a bit hot, so I’ll take my jacket off.

Seeing as the bed is hard, having to push down hard enough to make sounds continuously must have taken a considerable amount of stamina.

With that, Ring casually took off his top layer and put it aside.

(...)

Maybe because of the way his clothes fit his body so well, his well-trained muscles were brought to the surface.

The sweat that came from shaking the bed moved traced the back of his neck, making him quite sexy.

Ring: ...Kate? Is there something wrong?

Kate: N-no, not at all! It’s nothing——

Taken aback at having become more conscious of Ring, my legs buckled suddenly,

and, preparing for the impact, I closed my eyes then and there.

Kate: ...!

(Hm? Wait, it doesn’t hurt...?)

Ring: Are you okay?

When I slowly opened my eyes, there Ring was, nearby, as he asked with a touch of worry in his voice.

(So Ring is the one who saved me and stopped the fall...)

Our bodies were touching, and I could feel his body was a bit warmer than mine, and he gave off a pleasant, earthy scent.

(Even though he’s holding me in his arms, he seems completely unperturbed... his appearance hardly betrays the fact he must be training regularly.)

(...Wait, what in the world are you looking at, Kate!?)

Kate: T-thank you for saving me. I’ll let go now.

Ring: ...Wait.

Kate: Huh...

When his earnest voice stopped me stiff, Ring’s hand gently slid to my cheek.

(W-what the...!?)

Ring: Your face is all red. Did you hit it somewhere?

(Oh... so he was worried for me.)

Kate: N-no, I didn’t. I’m fine.

Ring: But...

Kate: It’s just... we’re so close together that I’m a bit nervous... is all...

Ring showed no sign of pulling away himself, so I opted to give him an honest answer then. And when I did, Ring also turned red, as though it had moved over from me to him.

Ring: I-I see... then, umm, I’m glad if you’re okay.

R: Sorry for keeping you like that. ...And should we continue then? What we were doing before, I mean.

After that, we continued our act of panting and shaking the bed until we exited the room.

Ring looked exhausted as we exited the room, and there was Alfons, waiting out in the hallway.

Alfons: Thank you for your hard work. Now then, were you able to listen in for what we needed?

Kate: Yes, all of it and everything...

Alfons: My word, is that a hoarse voice I hear? And not only that...

A: I see Ring has stripped his outer layer off and is positively sweaty as well.

A: Would it be safe to assume... you two have gone aaall the way, by any chance?

Ring & Kate: “No!” “Absolutely not!”

Fin.

will vs darius jude vs nica alfons vs ring

← prev fin

END NOTES: this story was so silly and makes me smile whenever i read it, haha. ring seems to be the most popular of the vogel trio, seeing he has gotten a dark mafia design, and it’s not hard to see why. his charm is in his innocence, and it’s like a breath of fresh air in this game, and i hope i could capture it too.

i’m overall curious about all the vogel members and feel this story event is a strong debut for all three. thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed! i’d love to hear your thoughts as well ♡

full masterlist 🪞💍

[dustofthedailylife]

No Gift Greater Than Love

→ Masterlist || → Taglist

Pairing: Alhaitham, Ayato x (gn!) Reader

Summary: It's your birthday so he plans to spend some time with you.

Tags: Fluff, a teeny tiny bit of angst/uncertainty at the beginning if you squint, confessions, kissing, Ayato is being a smooth talker

A/N: I wanted to write a little self-indulgent fic for my birthday today, so here it is. Posting an HSR fic as well later! :3 I also can't add an animated header because tumblr hates me again so, sorry about that! ;_;

ALHAITHAM

You rarely ever took a day off work, not when you were sick, not when you were tired, and especially not when you had so many deadlines coming up. And knowing the perfectionist you are there was no way you’d even rest for a single day until everything was set and done. Only then you would allow yourself to rest. 

So you sat there, at your desk, on your birthday, with your head buried in your books and no other plans but to study all day long. But besides that, you still hoped your friends didn’t forget you and would at least come by to wish you a happy birthday or send you mail. 

Because despite not wanting to make a big deal out of your birthday and running around being like ‘Hey, did you know, today is my birthday?’, reminding people that it was your birthday and expecting gifts, you at least wanted some birthday wishes from your friends. That wasn’t too much to ask, right? Especially after your own brother forgot your birthday last year, which despite having a great day made you cry back then.

So you were positively surprised to find letters from your parents, your brother, Cyno and Tighnari in your mailbox on the morning of your birthday. Kaveh had stopped by before he visited another one of his clients as well to drop off his – quote: “magnum opus of birthday cakes”. Which was essentially just a one-by-one model of your house in cake form - with some additional tweaks he must’ve made out of artistic liberty here and there. It looked almost too good to eat.

Tighnari and Cyno both sent you a small gift and a letter with birthday wishes as well.

The only one who hadn’t yet sent anything or stopped by was Alhaitham. Not like you expected him to actually treat today any differently than any other day in the first place. Birthdays weren’t exactly something he cared about. Yet, despite knowing his attitude towards them, you felt disappointment welling up inside of you. You secretly hoped you would be his exception. But apparently not.

Swallowing the lump in your throat down you dove head first into your study materials to distract yourself. Successfully. Because before you realized the sun was barely just a thin line on the horizon and a knock could be heard on your door.

You peeled yourself away from your desk, stretching your exhausted limbs on the way, only for them to tense up again when you saw who was standing in front of your door. Alhaitham.

“You look tired.” He remarked monotonously.

“Good evening to you, too.” You rolled your eyes, but without being able to suppress a small smile. After all, you knew his antics by now and his blunt statement came out of a place of concern and care. He simply huffed in reply, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards in a barely noticeable manner.

However, you couldn’t help but wonder about his visit. Could it be that he stopped by because of your–

“Do you still want to go grab dinner?” He inquires, stopping your train of thought.

Right. It was Thursday. The day you usually meet up at the Tavern after work to get dinner with your other friends every week. It totally slipped your mind since you were so buried in your studies all day. Of course, he didn’t stop by just because it was your birthday, stupid.

You nod in reply to his question and quickly grab your keys before following outside into the still-warm and muggy fall air. It smelled like damp leaves that had begun to fall and spices that always seemed to hang into the Sumerian air. It had already gone dark and the moon was hanging high in the sky, framed by a myriad of little sparkling stars. You had always loved the night sky, especially on cloudless nights like tonight.

“Do you mind if we do a little detour?” Alhaitham questioned out of the blue.

“Uh…, no not at all.”

“Good.” He nodded his head to the side, urging you to follow him to wherever he planned to go.

He began walking up the ramp to the Akademiya again, which caused you to assume that he must’ve forgotten something in his office earlier. But when he walked right past his office door and led you outside again you were beginning to wonder.

You were now standing on a secluded balcony. On it stood a blue pavilion with a mosaic roof and a single stone bench that offered a perfect view over Sumeru and the beautifully illuminated night sky.

“Beautiful…”, you mutter in awe.

“Agreed.” Alhaitham mused contently. What you failed to notice at the moment however was, that, unlike you, he wasn’t referring to the view you were referring to. He was looking right at you out of the corners of his eyes.

“I didn’t know there was such a beautiful place up here.” You exclaimed in surprise, leaning on the railing of the balcony.

“I often come here to read. Not many people know of this place.”

You could definitely see why he loved this place so much. But one question began to push itself into the foreground of your mind more and more.

“Why… did you lead me here, though?” You questioned curiously but interrupted yourself when a shooting star appeared in your field of view. “Wait, was that–? Alhaitham, did you see that?”

You turned around excitedly gifting him a smile. And the shine in your eyes sparkled more intensely than the stars in the night sky ever could.

“Close your eyes.” He urged. “Make a wish.”

You grinned widely, turned around to face him, and closed your eyes.

“You have to make your wish too, though.” You reminded him teasingly.

“I already did.”

You tried to think of something to wish for. Especially after being led here you couldn’t think of anything you desired right now. 

Do you? Are you maybe not betraying your own thoughts again? 

No. You didn’t dare to think about what your heart really yearned for. What it truly desired. It would never come true anyway. Alhaitham would never feel the same for you. 

He didn’t even remember your birthday today.

You were just friends.

And yet you couldn’t get the image of kissing him out of your head, continuously replaying in front of your inner eye. No matter how hard you tried to push it away.

There was no way you could wish for–

You felt him inch closer to you. Leaning one hand against the railing behind you while the other hand brushed a strand of hair out of your face before he rested it against your cheek. Spearmint breath and the tangy smell of moss and pines from his aftershave ghosted over your face. He was so close by now that you could feel the heat that radiated off his skin and his breath fan over your lips.

For a moment you thought you could hear that his breath was shaky. Was he nervous?

Your mind was racing a thousand miles per hour at this point, and so was your heart. The irritated muscle was thumping against your chest with such ferocious intensity that you feared he may be able to hear it as well. Question after question and speculation after speculation popped into your mind, completely overwhelming your senses. 

What was he doing? Why was he so close? How long have you had your eyes closed already? What was his plan? All of these were questions you found no immediate answers to.

You slightly parted your lips in order to speak and were just about to open your eyes again when he muttered something. 

Happy Birthday.

Something that made your breath hitch and heart sing as your lips molded together, fulfilling what you had both wished for.

AYATO

You’ve been on your feet since roughly 4:30 a.m., running up and down the halls of the Kamisato Estate to help the Retainers with the preparation of the most important political meeting all year.

Much to your dismay it had to fall exactly on the day of your birthday and had to be held at the Kamisato Estate. Which meant you wouldn’t get to see Ayato for most of the day and had to spend it alone. Well, mostly. The staff, Ayaka and Thoma were still there, too, but just like you, they were busy helping as well. All hands were needed today.

Ayato woke up around the same time you had and wished you a happy birthday first thing before already having to rush out to run errands.

But you understood the importance of the ordeal and were not mad or disappointed. Which seemed to have not gotten through to Ayato yet, who seemed extra touchy today whenever you ran into him in the hallway this morning.

Just now as you were carrying some items into the huge room the conference was supposed to be held in, you walked past Ayato in the hall once again.

Gloved, slender fingers suddenly found a place around your waist and turned you around. One of his hands wandered to the back of your head, pulling your face against his chest while he pressed a kiss to the crown of your head.

He stayed quiet for a moment, soaking your presence in, and exhaling heavily before uttering yet another apology into your hair.

“My love, please forgive me. I’m so sorry we are not able to spend all of today together to celebrate.”

“How often do I need to reassure you that it is alright, Ayato? I’m not upset in the slightest. In fact, I understand the importance of this. It may be my birthday but at the bottom of it, it is just a day like any other.” You reassured, burying your face deeper into his chest and basking in his warmth for this fleeting moment while inhaling the familiar flowery scent that always seemed to linger around him.

You heard him sigh before you looked up at him. He pressed his lips together into a thin line, before kissing the crown of your head once more with a defeated look in his eyes. One that carried all his thoughts and emotions at once. You knew he was sorry, it was practically written on his face. 

Sorry, that he couldn’t spend your day with you, that he wasn’t able to give you all the attention to deserved, and that he had to waste his precious time away with some boring politicians.

The hand that rested on your waist gave you another reaffirming squeeze before he peeled himself away from you again with a slight frown on his beautiful features. The sadness and disappointment still lingered behind his lilac irises. He was definitely beating himself up over it way more than you did.

“Okay.” He nodded in defeat. “I will see you in the evening, yeah?”

“Alright!” You cheered, giving him an honest smile. “And stop beating yourself up over it, okay?”

He nodded, squeezing your hands with his for one last time before going back to work. 

You continued helping out around the Estate until all the guests arrived and the door to the room all of them vanished into stayed shut. You expected them to stay in there at least until the late afternoon, if not even the evening.

And you were right, the sun had already begun to set when you felt a familiar pair of arms snake around your waist from behind again. You had been sitting outside in the garden and reading your book, soaking in the soothing late summer breeze while eagerly awaiting the end of Ayato's meeting.

"There you are." You hummed contently carding through the soft pastel blue locks of your husband who had his head buried in the crook of your neck. "I missed you."

"And so did I. It's been a long and exhausting day." He spoke in a low voice, as if he was about to drift off to sleep any minute, and slung his arms impossibly tighter around your midriff.

"Let's go for a short stroll to the city, my love. Will you join me? It doesn't sit right with me that you had to spend your birthday in solitude." He proposed in an afflicted tone.

"Aren't you too tired for–"

"I will not hear any objections." He interrupted, lifting his finger against your lips with a smug grin. 

And so you found yourself strolling through Ritou hand in hand. By the time you had arrived, the sun had completely set and the paper lanterns illuminated the streets, draping a comfortable blanket of yellow light over the surrounding area.

It was a quiet night. Just how you preferred it. No massive crowds of people you had to squeeze through, no queues in front of restaurants, and no one who would stop you to talk to Ayato. Just you, him, and the cicadas in the trees that bemoaned the encroaching end of the summer.

"Do you want me to get us some milk tea? I saw that my vendor of choice is still open." He asked when you sat down on a bench underneath a tall maple tree just out of sight of potential prying eyes and not far from said vendor.

"I'd love to."

"Anything specific you’d like me to get?"

"You choose.” You smiled brightly. “Surprise me.”

“Alright. Stay right here, I’ll be right back.”

You watched as he made his way over to the stall, carefully studying the menu with squinted eyes and a hand on his chin. You bit your lip and laughed to yourself because, as always, he was taking this tea business way too seriously.

Eventually, he picked an item before going right back to studying the menu as if he wanted to burn the letters themselves, into his retina. The vendor was visually nervous to be serving the man in front of him in fear of messing anything up and was twirling a straw between his fingers to calm himself. Until your husband finally decided on the second drink he wanted to order.

The vendor carefully handed the drinks to Ayato and promptly refused when he was offered Mora in return. Ayato skillfully ignored the man and promptly put the coins inside the tray before walking back in your direction with two cups of tea in hand.

“So, what did you get for me?” You quizically raised your eyebrows at the drink he handed you.

“I guess there is only one way for you to find out.” He smirked, taking a sip out of his own cup.

You carefully did the same, subconsciously expecting something like salty algae tea with sea ganoderma pearls, because you knew your husband and his strange tastes. But alas, you had signed up for it.

But unlike what you were expecting, black milk tea with a tinge of honey and sunsettia pearls enveloped your tastebuds soon after. Your favorite.

You hummed and closed your eyes with a smile, raveling in the refreshing taste of the beverage, making you forget how lonely you had been most of the day.

“You chose well.” You contently stated after a brief moment of indulging in your tea and looked at Ayato with a smile.

He inched closer to you on the bench with a devilish smirk painted across his lips. He shifted your chin upwards, making eye contact with you for a fleeting moment before uniting his lips with yours in a tender, loving kiss. And after all this time, it never failed to make the butterflies in your stomach flutter about wildly.

He gently took your hand in his as he began to carefully twist the wedding band around your finger. He looked up into your eyes, a sly smile adorned his lips once more before he smugly whispered: “Of course. I always do.” 

Do not repost, copy, translate or edit - © dustofthedailylife || reblogs, comments, and asks about Genshin or my fics are always greatly appreciated and motivate me! Maple dividers are mine - do not copy.

[dolljunk]

It took a couple of days of sewing but here is Wednesday Addams in a new outfit made by me. I honestly do like her Nevermore uniform, but the official doll took a bunch of liberties with the design that I felt pretty comfortable at doing my own take on it.

Her blazer became more of a fitted look as there wasn't really any room to add a sweatervest and I felt a higher neckline would compensate for that, as well as looking closer to the show design. I also made it large enough to close in the front so the belt isn't needed.

I did take a page from the doll design and made the skirt black, but I shortened the hemline and made it a pleated skirt as I hated the shapeless spandex sack, and felt this was more in line with a Monster High design.

Her shirt is a separate piece with short sleeves which I think adds to the overall look incase I do take off the jacket with a ribbon tie as I feel like this will age better than the pleather tie.

I do wish Wednesday came with better quality clothes, but having her in a better outfit has made me really love the doll.

[xxlea-nardoxx]

Let's take a look at the bedrooms + plus the au kids bedroom in the lair!

Please note that I took creative liberty when making the rooms. Plus, the app I made the rooms with doesn't really allow a shabby look, so it will probably look fancier than it actually is.

Let's start with Donnies bedroom!

As you can see I gave it a darker palette. There's two big bookshelves and an L-shaped desk for him to work at (beside the lab, lmao) and I added a few toy vehicles to show his love for cars. Imagine he has dozens of vehicle-posters on his walls.

Next in line is Raph!

I tried to take some inspo from the show, but added my own little twist to it. Still I kept the drums and just added some really random pictures. I seriously didn't know which kinda pictures to put, so they're a lil random.

And here we have Mikeys room!

As you can see it's the friendliest and brightest room, but also the messiest. I made sure to add a few toys and just throw random objects onto the floor. Again I took my own twist to it, but it's an AU after all, so no surprise there. xD

Leos room was probably the hardest to decorate. Despite the books I wasn't really sure what else to put, since there weren't any fitting objects that screamed "Leo" at me. Just imagine lots of Space Heroes stuff, I suppose??

And last but not least: the au kids' bedroom!

And yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you: This is Splinters old room. About a year after initially meeting the kids, the Turtles decided to give the room of their late father to the kids. Each of them has their own bed (all built by Donnie truly) and was able to decorate it however they wanted.

The kiddos cherish this room dearly, knowing it probably wasn't easy for the Turtles to just give it up like that. :>

[crabsnpersimmons]

Tally

had this idea for a drabble to share a bit more on Moon’s upgrades in the hairdresser AU, since there was some interest about a certain detail mentioned in my previous post (that "last part")

Word Count: 1,567

Read time: ~8 min

some content warnings:

descriptions of body dysmorphia including descriptions of skin picking, which borderline self harm on a metal robot body—i took a lot of creative liberties to translate the signs and symptoms into a robot experience, so it isn’t meant to be the most realistic depiction of body dysmorphia disorder, but just a head's up just in case

descriptions of memories of past traumatic experiences

just angst overall

that’s all i can think of, but please let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to add!

“Home sweet home~!” Eclipse warbles once Moon opens the door to their small apartment. Without missing a beat, he bends down and slips through the door frame, with his precious cargo still on his back.

“Clip! Put me down first!” Sun cries from his position in their little piggyback. He scrunches himself closer to the taller bot’s back as they pass through the threshold, his sunken in rays only barely missing the top of the door frame.

Moon chuckles as Eclipse makes a bee-line for their box TV. It’s the same every day, but he never got tired of it. After closing up shop for the day, they returned home. Unfortunately Sun’s legacy code prevented him from moving about in the dark. That didn’t stop him from trying each night after closing—marching with his eyes glued to street lamps until he ran out of light. Then Eclipse would carry him the rest of the way to the bus stop, where he’d just stay until they got returned to their apartment. The lights of the hallways would stir Sun back awake, but Eclipse always insisted on carrying him the rest of the way to their door—just as he always had since their days in the daycare.

Different city, different space, different jobs—but Eclipse never seemed to change.

Still carrying Sun with one set of arms, he plops himself down in front of the TV and pulls out his game controller with other set. Once Sun extracts himself, his free hands immediately reach for the other controller.

As the old game system is booting up, Moon moves to make a quiet escape.

“Moon,” but Sun knew him too well. “Bedroom.”

There is a whir of fans before Moon responds, “Aye aye, captain.”

No sooner had Moon entered their bedroom that Sun had joined him. Their room was always small—they could only afford so much with their combined income—but it always felt smaller when the sunshine bot cornered him like this.

Silently, Moon turns around, not looking his counterpart in the eye. Instead, Sun extends his hand into his field of vision, waiting. This is not the first time, but it never gets easier for either of them. After a beat, Moon lifts his own bulky hand and places it in Sun’s slender palm. Sun gives him a gentle squeeze before rolling up his counterpart’s sleeve to reveal his blue arm, marked in fine silver trails.

There is a brief pause before Sun leads Moon to their ensuite bathroom and sits him down on the closed seat of the toilet. He looks away for a brief moment just to take out his amateur tools from the drawer. Just a collection of things he has scavenged for basic upkeep. Of course none of this was in his programming. But just as he resolutely marched under streetlamps, Sun pushed his code to its limits to keep them afloat. He sits down on a nearby stool and gets to work on Moon’s right arm where six thin trails shined against the royal blue.

He gets to work and there is silence between them. Before there used to be angry and desperate cries. When Sun discovered his first scar, he insisted he go to parts and services. But they both knew he wouldn’t go back there. Never.

So they had to improvise—and that is what they have always excelled at. Things got easier in that regard after the PizzaPlex had burned down. They could finally leave those walls, leave their troubled past, carve out lives for themselves, care for themselves. They lucked out finding the Boss when they did and now they can do honest work and get paid and live. Finally live.

But still their troubled past stains their new lives. The PizzaPlex may be a long forgotten memory, but they still bear scars and quirks that run deeper than chipped surface paint or legacy processes. Despite all these years in this body, Moon still bumps into things, miscalculating his size and reach. All it took was a bump against his utility cart this afternoon to make him acutely aware of the arm that is not his. The ball-joint neck that cannot move the way he wants it to. The clunky fingers and the foreign nails. They are not his. They are not his. And he is thrust back into the brightly light cylinder, waking up again to a body that isn't his. Waking up again to a role he never asked for. Waking up with piece of him missing. Wondering if the body he remembers is just a dream and he needed to learn to wake up, wake up, wake up--

“You’ve got to stop doing this.”

Sun’s voice breaks him out of his thoughts—and he knows this. Perhaps that’s why Sun is always nagging him. To fill his head with something useful again.

“Some of these scratches can’t be buffed out, and there’s only so much I can do,” Sun works on a light scratch on his left hand.

“And you won’t see a mechanic,” Sun tuts.

“No.”

“I know,” Sun sighs, letting go of the scratch. It’s barely visible now, the kind of imperfection you would have to know about and intentionally look for. The kind that Moon keeps a tally of. His body is covered with tally marks that only he can see.

“But either you stop or I will take you to the mechanic… or,” Sun’s hands drift down to Moon’s hand, holding his fingers gently. “…I disable your retractable claw function.”

“Ha,” the short laugh spills out of Moon before he can think to stop it. “Not when I’m the only one who can give proper hair washes.”

There is a slight pause before Sun pulls his hands away and lightly knocks Moon’s head. “Well, if your claws are sharp enough to carve metal, I don’t want them anywhere near our customer's heads. Besides, we have Sunshine who can help with that now.”

Moon hums uncommittedly, staring at Sun's handiwork at erasing his. Out of the corner of his eye he notices a sway in Sun’s steps as he puts away his tools. As much as Sun pushes his code to the limits and watches over him, Moon also watched out for him. They were, after all, once one. No one knows them better than they do.

Moon’s hand rises up Sun’s arm. “Bed time?”

“Yeah,” Sun says wearily. Even with the lights on, his battery was running low, after a full day of work, walking under street lamps, and fixing Moon's mistakes. The least Moon can do is play this role—a role he gladly performs.

Moon nods as he reaches out to steady Sun before connecting to their shared internal chat.

M: Clip. Sun and I are going to sleep.

E: K.

S: Don’t stay up too late. Make sure you charge up.

E: K.

With that, Moon helps Sun to their bed. They could only afford a one-bedroom apartment, and even then their landlord definitely wasn't too keen about renting to three large robots, and their lack of credit history. It was only thanks to a referral from Boss that they landed the place. But they couldn't complain. There are robots, the don't really need to sleep in bedrooms, but they had one so they might as well use it.

Moon assists Sun into bed before stepping back to get the lights. He watches as Sun plugs in his charging cable in before lying down on the pillows. His eyes never leave Sun’s as darkness falls on the room.

There is the familiar whirring sound of gears moving as rays retract and metal shifts colour. If Moon closes his eyes, he could almost feel those gears in himself. Grinding away. Putting Sun in his nap. And him waking from his own slumber. Him coming alive. Waking in his own body.

S: Moon.

There he goes, filling his head again. Even when powered down, Sun still watches over him. Moon hums in response and shuffles to the bed. His eyes never leave Sun as the bed dips from the added weight, as he slots himself up next to Sun. One arm slips under the gap between his neck and the bed. The other goes over, holding him in place. His legs find their place behind the bend of Sun’s.

His upper hand rubs circles on the familiar surface. Where these hands had left scratches on blue metal, they now caressed the smaller yellow surface.

Different city, different space, but at least he can still hold his body. Although it is not the same colour, it still feels like he remembers. The slenderness of the forearms. Every fine joint in the long fingers. He pulls Sun closer, if only to be closer, if only to be himself again.

But a hard pressure against his chest stops him every time.

Behind layers of clothes, the inflexible metal underneath always keeps them apart. Never flush together when they are in this position. It will always be there to jab into his chest every time he tries.

A reminder of how far he’s fallen.

thank you for reading!

want something to cheer you up? go and check out the meme art i shared yesterday! Moon is there to hug that sad away!

want more heartbreak? look verrrry closely at moon's arms in that meme art (or if it's hard to see the image description in the ALT mentions it)

[aliceinborderlandsquidgame]

YANDERE BANDA X READER X YANDERE CHISHIYA

"Scream all you want no one will hear you"

Notes: I kind of forgot the actual prompt im sorry! But was along this lines.

+18 - NSFW - DUB/CON - Knife play- Oral - Established relationship between Reader and Chishiya - FemReader - Kind of AU but still the Borderlands -

Being with Chishiya was like walking by the edge of a cliff. You never know when you would get push.

"Ah Chishi" You moan as you feel his tongue rolling your nipple around, then sucking your breast, his theeth being dangerously close.

You felt the hot breath of someone behind you, the blindoff Chishiya made you wear prevent you from seeing what they were doing.

You shiver as you feel cold metal against your leg, open mouth kisses are left on your neck. You feel him suck at your weak spot making you moan, you let out a scream when you feel Chishiya pinching your nipple.

"I said dont mark her" Chishiya cold voice can be hear, he is quick to kiss the other side of your neck, looking to leave his own mark.

"You said you would share" Banda replies leaving your neck. He starts to kiss down your back, passing his knife, playing with your fear of being cut or not.

When Banda gets down to your ass he slaps it making you moan, Chishiya catches you as Banda pushes you to be in all fours.

"Looks like your bitch its all wet for us" Banda taunts, pressing his fingers, then slowly inserting one making you moan.

Chishiya kisses you again, his lips crashing, making a mess with yours. His tongue touches yours.

You have to get away from him when you feel another tongue but not from Chishiya and not in your mouth.

Banda took the liberty of pushing his own tongue inside of you, licking you all around, sucking your lips getting moans and screams of pleassure from you.

With one hand he touches himself, while he also adds a finger to play with your clit. He can feel your juices slowly falling into his mouth.

You soon feel something hot and hard against your lips without a word Chishiya pushes his dick inside, making you gag.

He is too hard, ramming into you, taking your hair to let you know he is in control.

Noticing this Banda removes his tongue and pushes three fingers inside. The warm of your walls clenching his fingers makes him groan as he pumps himself faster.

You are at the edge now. Banda fingers have reach your G spot and he is now abusing it, letting out lewd and taunting comments.

"Oh, looks like I found something interesting" he says, making his finger rub that centrain part.

Chishiya is still using your mouth, your nose hitting his balls by how close and deep he is going.

You feel your legs trembling, your belly feels hot, you lose your sense of space, and they notice. Of coruse they do, they go faster and harder till you cum with a silent scream, Banda prolongues your orgams sticking his tongue back inside, his wet fingers being now used as lubricant for his dick, thats almost ready to cum. His pre cun mixes with yours making a perfect lubrican.

Chishiya lets himself cum inside your mouth, he keeps close attention at how you swallow all of him. When he lets his dick out he can see how tired you are.

He hears Banda's curse words as he cums by his hand.

You fall right into the bed, not being able to move, your breathing being quick and erratic.

"I will take her mouth next" Banda says, getting ready for round two.

"Sounds fair, you can give us one more, right?" Chishiya asks getting his hand between your legs.

You cant reply too dumb from the recent orgasm, but you know there is no place to negate them.

"I would tell you to scream all you want, but no one will hear you once I get my dick inside of you" Banda laughts, passing the head of his dick over your mouth while Chishiya gets under your pussy and starts to give little licks.

Yes, there is no way you can negate them.

[umbracirrus]

WIP Wednesday! 💛

And hoo boy, it is a long one. I'm talking over 3,100 words here. Making a new character in Skyrim has somewhat broken me out of the writers block I've been stuck with for the past few weeks. I'll get back to writing stuff for Elyse eventually, but for now, Thorne is in the spotlight! Plus, I'm having Elyse and Thorne co-exist because I can as Thorne isn't Dragonborn. Will need to take some liberties with the Thieves Guild backstory for Thorne though as a result as Elyse has done some stuff related to Honningbrew Meadery...

I'm relatively happy with it as it currently stands, though whether I make any further edits such as try to add a bit more padding around the dialogue or editing out my million and one mentions of people inhaling/exhaling or post it on AO3 any time soon I'm not so certain about. Thorne needs a hug. And honestly, at the end of this, Brynjolf needs one too.

Tagged by @hircines-hunter and @thequeenofthewinter! Not tagging anyone today but feel free to say that I tagged if you wish 💛

There is implied sexual content near to the end, it's essentially a fade to black situation, so please bear that in mind. I've marked as mature just in case, but it's only implied and nothing actually happens in text.

----------

"Boss. Talk to me – what's the matter? You've got an awfully long face." Thorne's brow scrunched up as she watched Delvin slip onto the seat opposite her in the Ragged Flagon. "Is it Maven? Is she breathing down your neck about something again?" She watched as Delvin leaned closer, attempting to read her expression. "Guild finances in trouble?" A quiet groan escaped her, before her eyes darted to the side at the first sign of movement. That action on its own made Delvin begin to chuckle. "Ah… Brynjolf. Trouble in paradise, hm?"

Thorne's eyes widened at that remark, before she scowled once more and silently stood up. "It's none of your business what the matter is, Delvin."

"You know, if Bryn ain't treating you right… Vex and I could always have a word with him, tell him to-"

"It is nothing to do with Brynjolf!" Her hands slammed down onto the table. It was very much an open secret that she and Brynjolf were together, but that wasn't the problem. It wasn't the problem in the slightest. If anything, Brynjolf was the only reason as to why she remained in Riften, remained the guildmaster of the Thieves Guild following the demise of Mercer Frey many months ago. But how could she tell the guild any of that? That she just… didn't want to be there? "I just… I just need some space to think. Clearly, the Ragged Flagon is not the place for it."

As she began to walk out of the Flagon, everyone's attention now clearly on her, Delvin attempted to follow. "H-Hey! Boss, you don't have to-"

She didn't look back when she heard Brynjolf's voice quietly addressing Delvin, though she did have to blink away the tears in the corner of her eyes as the door to the Flagon slammed shut behind her as she made her way into the Ratways. She hated that she felt this way. She couldn't live like this forever, wallowing in despair, wanting something better for herself… Even if her talents perfectly gave themselves to the line of work of a thief. It was why Brynjolf had took notice of her in the crowds of Riften that day, in spite of her having not long staggered into the city after being attacked and left for dead on the road after all.

Riften was eerily quiet as she stepped out from the Ratways, the smell of fish and salt hanging heavy in the air as the planks of the walkway beneath her creaked with every step. Rain, misty and light yet cold enough to chill her to the bone, fell to the ground around her. The clouds above the city were a dull grey for as far as the eye could see, and honestly… it felt very fitting for the melancholy she was feeling.

Her pace was slow as she made her way up to the upper levels of the city, before reaching the Bee and Barb, with her lethargic attempt at opening the door almost failing to catch Keerava by surprise if not for the sound of her reaching a table and scraping a seat across the floor in order to sit on it. She wasn't paying too much attention as Talen-Jei then tried asking if she wanted her usual drink, though she did give her thanks when a bottle of Black-Briar Mead was placed in front of her, both verbally and through coin.

For a while, she simply sat there, holding onto her drink whilst taking the occasional sip and holding her head in her other hand. It was so much quieter there than in the Ragged Flagon, it gave her a chance to get lost in her thoughts without much distraction. On the other hand, perhaps being left to her thoughts was not the best of situations for her to be in given how negative her mindset had been as of late.

At some point, the doors to the inn opened once more, somebody new coming in – no doubt a regular. She didn't care to look at who it was. Nor did she really care that, of anywhere, they chose to approach her table and put their own drink down on it.

"Lass… You okay? You left the Flagon quite suddenly." Thorne's head shot up at the sound of Brynjolf's voice, before taking a deep breath and nodding, not really paying much attention to the question which she had been asked. He frowned, then slipped into the seat beside hers and reached out for the hand which wasn't firmly wrapped around the bottle of mead. "Talk to me. Something is the matter, and I'm worried about you. I can tell these things, remember? It's all about-"

"Sizing up your mark…" She let out a quiet laugh. "I remember you saying that when we first met." After a moment, she brought her drink up to her lips, before sighing. "What made you decide to join me?"

Brynjolf raised an eyebrow at her question. "I think it's quite obvious, Thorne." Her pulse quickened at his use of her name rather than 'lass' – it was very rare that he would use it, but when he did… She knew that he was being serious. "You're not happy. You've got these little furrows in your brow that never used to be there, dark circles under your eyes, and it's not often you smile anymore." His hand gently squeezed hers. "As I said, I'm worried about you."

Hesitation made her body freeze after she opened her mouth just slightly, though tears were once more pricking at the corners of her eyes as she felt him looking at her. She was like an open book to him, she always had been, but hearing what he had to say… hearing that last sentence… she felt as though time was running out on keeping her innermost thoughts concealed. But she didn't want to hurt anyone-

"… You're not happy in the guild, are you?"

Her mouth fell dry. "N-No, it's not that-"

"Thorne…" His tone insinuated that he knew that she was lying.

"At times, the guild is like the family I never had," she whispered, her voice breaking as she spoke. "Not to mention that I love you, but-"

A warm hand came to rest on her cheek, and she felt Brynjolf's thumb wipe away the tears which were slipping down her face. "Don't force it… Take your time, lass."

"But I'm… I don't know if this life is for me, Brynjolf. Being… Being guildmaster, all the cloak and dagger, being under the constant scrutiny of the law and just hoping that I'm not recognised as a thief by any guard we haven't been able to get into our pockets-" She inhaled sharply. "Two years, Brynjolf… I've been here for two years, and I… still feel like I don't fit in. Except for when I'm with you." Carefully, his chair shuffled closer to hers and slowly her head fell into his shoulders as she stifled her tears. "I'm just… I'm not happy. I thought if I gave it time, then I would feel better but…"

"I understand. You don't need to say anything more."

Remaining leaned against him, she brought her drink to her lips once more and downed as much as she could without choking. One of his arms wrapped around her, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

When he finished his own drink was when the silence was broken, and it was with a question she wasn't quite expecting. "Lass… Do you want to take a step back from the guild? "

She stared at him in a dumbfounded silence for a moment, her back straightening out as she sat up and processed the question. "What…?" She then bit at her bottom lip. "I don't want to inconvenience-"

"Don't think about what is best for the guild, lass. This is about what you want."

But… what did she want, exactly? She was so tempted to simply leave, but she didn't want that on her conscious…

"It was selfish of me to have made you take up the position of Guildmaster, I will admit that… But you have done incredibly lass, even if you cannot see it yourself. I've never seen the guild so prosperous, never seen the rest of the guild so happy. If I knew that it came at the cost of your happiness…" He sighed quietly, before taking hold of her cheek and leaning in. "I never would have proposed it. It should have been me taking that role in the first place."

"Bryn…" She was having to choke back her tears yet again. "I don't know. I- I just… I like to think that I'm good at what we do, but… I don't think that it's for me." Thorne tilted her head back, and inhaled deeply. "I… might have to. Pass on my role to somebody else. Somebody who is happy with what they do, and do it well. Somebody like you."

He quietly whispered her name as he acknowledged what she had said, though allowed her to take a few moments to dwell on it. It came as a shock to him, though it was just as much one to her – she had finally said what had been on her mind for months, from the moment that she was taken to the centre of the Cistern, and the members of the guild unanimously named her their new guildmaster.

A throat being cleared beside the table drew their attention after a few long moments, and they saw Keerava staring at them both. "Did either of you hear me? I suppose not… If you are not ordering any more drinks, then please leave. I need to clean up before the evening crowds come in."

They exchanged a brief look, before Brynjolf rose to his feet, and took hold of her hand. "Come on, lass. We can finish this conversation in Honeyside."

A warmth flooded her face as he mentioned his home. With the money which the guild had been making over recent months, she had thought it fair to split some of the excess wealth between members and associates of the guild. Somehow, Brynjolf had managed to persuade Jarl Laila to grant him the deed to a house with his cut. It was like their own private sanctuary away from the Cistern or the Ragged Flagon, and the only place where nobody dared to disturb them.

The rain hadn't let up as the doors to the Bee and Barb opened, and had in fact grew heavier during their time indoors. Fortunately, their destination was not far, so they wouldn't be looking like drowned rats once back indoors once more.

"Lass… what do you say to making your stepping down from the position of guildmaster something to remember?" Brynjolf asked once they had stepped out onto the streets, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Go out on a high which nobody else could ever live up to. Leave a bigger mark on guild history than you already have."

Thorne raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips together. "What high-profile heist did Delvin try to rope you into this time?"

Brynjolf let out a hearty chuckle at her response as he put his arm over her shoulders. "I always forget you can read me just as I can read you. Just before he started talking to you earlier, he was telling me about some reliable information that there are going to be some very notable targets passing through little old Helgen in a few days' time. I'm talking Jarls. High-ranking soldiers. People who have both expendable money and expensive little trinkets that can easily be replaced if they were to… misplace them, so to speak."

She rolled her eyes and let out a quiet laugh of her own. "And you weren't too keen on doing that, were you?"

"Well, Delvin felt that given our… abilities which Nocturnal granted us, it would be a safe job in the hands of one of us two. And I feel that you have a safer pair of hands than I do."

For a few moments, she thought the proposal over, the sound of both rain and their feet landing in puddles being the only noise which broke the silence. Eventually, she exhaled quietly, then nodded. "Okay. I'll do it. My last job. Go out on a high, as you said."

The rest of their short journey was quiet, in part driven by the fact that she was thinking about what sorts of targets would be in Helgen, and what possibly could have happened to bring together numerous figureheads of Skyrim to such a small mountain town.

When they arrived, he opened the door, and allowed her in first. As soon as the door to Honeyside fell shut behind him though, she turned on her heel and exhaled quietly, before pressing a brief kiss to his lips. "When I return from Helgen… I don't think I will stay once I've fenced everything to Tonilia. I'll pass the torch on to you. I will obviously return to Riften on occasion, but… Knowing that my last job will be one that will go down in guild history, I can at least say I accomplished something in my time here."

"You've done a lot to be proud of, Thorne… Don't put yourself down like that." He then exhaled quietly, and took her cheeks into his hands. "But I assume that this means that… between us is…"

The topic she had been dancing around all night, the thought which had been lingering in the back of her head from the moment he had asked if she wanted to take a step away from everything. It was possible that she could continue her relationship with Brynjolf… but a future in Riften was not on the cards for her, and Riften was his home. The guild's home. She couldn't tear him away from that. "A clean break may be what I need to figure out what I want to do with myself. But…" Her breath trembled as she inhaled. "I won't say that it doesn't hurt suggesting that we break up."

He nodded silently, though she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a smile.

"We still have time before that comes to pass though. And before you get all mopey over mead as you did when Mercer tricked you into thinking I was dead, remember that it isn't because of you. This is because of me, okay? You've been the light in my darkness, and I cannot thank you enough for it."

Slowly and delicately, he leaned over and pressed a feather-light kiss to her lips, a smirk once more across his face. "Then if this is to be one of our last nights together… Shall we make the most of it?"

...

When Thorne woke up, it was to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight breaking through Honeyside's windows. Brynjolf appeared to still be in a deep sleep beside her, one of his arms draped over her torso as he quietly snored. Slowly, she eased herself out from beneath his arm and the bedsheets, and went around the room, gathering together her clothes from the night before just to throw them into a nearby basket. She then went over to the drawers which she had hastily thrown some spare clothes into one of the last times she had spent the night there to get some of them, and pulled them on as quickly and quietly as she could.

Once dressed, she ran a hand through her hair quickly, just enough to make it not look as though she had just gotten out of bed, then walked over to the kitchen and grabbed one of the pastries which were there. It was somewhat stale, possibly from a day or two ago, but she didn't really care.

The quiet sound of Brynjolf stirring caught her attention as she wiped the crumbs from her face, and she silently gulped. She had wanted to make parting as painless as she could, without the need for goodbyes – even though she knew that she would be back, to return with what she could get away with stealing from Helgen. She wanted to make things easy for him by slipping out before he woke up.

"Lass…?"

She was frozen to the spot as he walked into the kitchen, and by Nocturnal he hadn't even bothered with getting dressed.

"Are you leaving? Already? It's barely sunrise…" He was rubbing at his eyes as he glanced between her and the window. "You were at least gonna say bye to me before you left, right?"

He walked over to her as her lips parted only slightly, uncertain as to whether she was going to tell him the truth of what she had wanted to do. She quickly settled on not doing so as he took hold of her shoulders and squeezed them as best as he could given his half-asleep state.

"… Promise me you will keep in contact, lass," he murmured, pulling her close to him in a quick embrace. "Even if we're not together, we are still a family. I want to know if you ever find the happiness which you are after... Promise me, yeah?"

She was silent for a moment, before nodding quietly. "I promise." She then stepped back, and took a deep breath. "I'm… going to go over to the Cistern to grab some stuff. Give Vex my vault key. Then make my way to Helgen. I don't suppose that whilst I'm gone… you could put some pants on and let everyone know that I'm stepping down as guildmaster?"

Brynjolf raised an eyebrow, now seeming much more alert than he previously had been upon hearing her plans. "I will. But remember that you're coming back after the Helgen job. You can tell everyone when you return…"

"… I know. But I just thought… hearing the news from you will soften the blow a bit. They all know and trust you. I still feel like a stranger to some people. I mean, they go to you to handle their problems more than they do me, so I don't feel that it will make much of a change to the guild dynamic…"

His hands gently cupped her face. "You'd be surprised, lass. Losing you will leave a bigger gap than you could possibly anticipate…" He then took a deep breath. "We will miss you. I will miss you. And if you ever want to come back, or if things don't work out as you venture out into the world, the doors to the Cistern will always be open for you."

Her eyes fell to the floor, before she took a step back. "… I'll… bear that in mind. Thank you, Bryn."

She needed to leave before she changed her mind.

[whumpbug]

Hello Bug!! So I wrote a little fanfic about your boys Simon and Archie. I'm the one who sent you the prompt about Archie having a minor injury and showing up at Simon's apartment and ending up taking care of him, but I thought what you wrote was too perfect to add onto so I did something kind of different. I wrote something taking place during the two days Archie was in the hospital after his #1 Worst Injury. I also took the creative liberty of making it December 24th because why not

I don't know if either of your guys are actually Christian or celebrate Christmas but I still wanted to write a Christmas special because. wholesomeness

okay okay here it is I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT

------------------------

It was almost midnight. The only sounds were Archie’s labored rasps of breath and the heart monitor beeping steadily. The lights were dim, and the window had frosted over from the snow. Simon held his warm hand in both of his.

He reminded himself that he wasn’t to blame. He had to keep doing that, whenever his thoughts turned against him. He couldn’t have known what would happen, and there was no way he could’ve gotten there faster while still driving safely.

Still. It hurt. The image of Archie’s chest drenched in blood was something he’d never forget. He couldn’t have saved him on his own, so he had to take him here. Break his promise. And he hated that.

It couldn’t have been a worse time, either. He wanted to spend Christmas with Archie, but not like this.

Three soft knocks at the door. Probably a nurse, sent to check in on things. Simon forced himself to take a deep breath to keep his voice steady and called, “come in.”

His eyes widened when he saw a nurse, yes — but also four patients. All children. A dark-skinned teenage girl in a wheelchair held a large red box in her lap, wrapped with a green bow. A little redheaded kid — no more than five — had a handful of lollipops in the palm that wasn’t set in a sling. A boy on crutches with a dimpled smile and long braids was holding a book. A small girl with hazel eyes hugging a teddy bear was wearing a mask, probably due to a contagious respiratory illness. The nurse carried a pan of cookies.

For a beat, none of them said a word. Then the teen girl pushed herself forward and cleared her throat. “Hi. Is… is that really Vigil?”

Simon was stunned. He nodded.

“He saved me a-about a year ago. My name’s Natalie, but, um… back then, I was still going by Nathan. Did, did he mention me?” She asked quietly, curling a strand of her hair on her finger.

It took a minute, but Simon did recall — last summer. “He mentioned a Nathan,” he said. “Car crash. Right?”

She looked timidly off to the side. “Uh, yeah. We talked a little after. And he made sure all of us got home safe, so… so I thought it’d be nice to…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “I mean, it wasn’t just my idea. Everyone helped.”

The nurse smiled down at the girl — Natalie — then looked back up to Simon. “We wanted to bring Christmas to Vigil. I hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”

Before Simon could respond, the redhead with the lollipops piped up, “these are for both of you!”

She ran to Simon with little thumping footsteps and offered them to him. “When he wakes up, I want you to tell him they’re from Emily and that he’ll be all better real soon!”

Simon didn’t smile, but his eyes shone. He reluctantly moved one of his hands away from Archie’s to take the lollipops and place them down on the nightstand. “Thank you, Emily,” he said.

“I’m not Emily, silly! That’s my grandma. He saved her one time from bad guys. She says to give him her ‘best wishes.’ My name’s Quinn.”

“Thank both of you, then,” Simon corrected. Eyeing her arm in a cast, he added, “you’ll be better soon too, Quinn.”

That got her to smile. The boy was next in line, limping up next to Quinn. He held out a quivering hand holding a worn cover of a novel. Simon took it and peered at the title. The Journey to Planet 56, by Emilia Robinson. Science fiction, space adventure. Alright, now Simon was smiling — this kid really had Archie pegged.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” The kid prodded, eyes wide and hopeful.

“Trust me, he’ll love it.”

“Say it’s from Cuauhtemoc,” he instructed. “Um, that’s me. Temo for short. That’s my very very favorite book. And I want him to have it, because he got my brother out of an icy lake. Tell him get well soon.”

“I will,” assured Simon. He set down the book next to the lollipops.

The little girl with the mask on was next. She held out the teddy, which Simon noticed was a somewhat realistic model of a fuzzy black bear. Simon took it gently. “Thanks,” he told her quietly, moving to place it gently on top of Archie, but she frantically shook her head and started signing something. He paused, puzzled. “What…”

“That’s American Sign Language,” the nurse explained. “I can’t see what she’s saying from behind, but earlier she told me she wanted the teddy bear to be for you. Her name’s Esperanza.”

Simon blinked. Slowly, he pulled the teddy bear back and looked at it. It felt soft and warm in his hands. “For me?”

The nurse handed the cookie tray to Natalie for a minute to tap the kid with the mask on the shoulder. He signed something to her — probably translating what Simon said — and she nodded to him.

She signed something else, and the nurse interpreted, “you deserve something nice too. For saving our Vigil, you are a real hero.”

Simon was speechless. A hero. Since he’d failed to save Archie on his own, that was the last thing he dared think of himself as. The thought made his eyes sting and blur with the threat of tears. He took a deep breath to keep himself from crying, because he refused to — at least until all the kids were done visiting. He looked up at the nurse. “You know ASL?”

“My mother is Deaf, so it’s actually my first language,” he affirmed. “You want to say something?”

“Tell her… thank you.”

“Tell her yourself. It’s like this,” he said, pressing his fingers to his chin and then holding it outwards with a flat palm. Simon looked back to Esperanza and mimicked the motion as best as he could. Her mouth was concealed by the mask, but joy bloomed in her eyes. It reminded Simon a little of Archie — the way his smile lit up his whole face.

Natalie handed the cookie tray back to the nurse and wheeled closer to Simon. The other kids moved out of the way. She picked up the box in her lap and showed it off to Simon. “Do you… want to do the honors?” She asked quietly.

Simon considered it, but eventually shook his head. “Vigil should. It’s his gift, after all.”

“Okay,” she said. “I hope he likes it. We all pitched in to get it for him…”

“I’m sure he will,” Simon assured. He took the box from her and set it down gently on the floor. It was surprisingly heavy. He wondered what it was.

“And last but not least,” the nurse said, holding up the cookies. “These are for everyone!”

A chorus of cheers broke out among the children.

It was past midnight by this point, certainly. Christmas. And now, it kind of felt like it.

------------------------

So uhh what do you think? I usually write in present-tense but past-tense seemed right for this story

Also you get complete creative freedom about the ending. Do you think Archie woke up for cookies or did he get some a few hours after everyone left? If he woke up while everyone was still there, what did he say to them? What did they say to him?

And if he woke up after everyone except Simon was already gone (probably to their rooms because it is way past all of those kids' bedtimes), what did Simon tell Archie about the visit he missed and all the gifts he got?

Thank you so much for the go-ahead on fanfics Bug!! This was so much fun

also yes I made up the title and author of the book. I would've used a real one but sadly I am not in possession of any sci-fi adventure books

anon. anon i need you to listen to me. [grabs u by the shoulders]

when i say i cried real tears while reading this, i am not exaggerating at ALL.

THIS IS THE SWEETEST, WARMEST MOST WHOLESOME FIC I HAVE EVER READ AND I GENUINELY TEARED UP. im sorry it took me so long to reply i reread it like 10 times already. i LOVE it. SO. MUCH. everything, EVERYTHING about this fic was perfect but i'm going to talk about some of the highlights under the cut and then answer what i think the ending would be

HERE WE GO!

✮⋆˙

okay right away i just want to say anon??? your writing style is SO so so good???? like i was captivated the ENTIRE time

simon blaming himself is so painfully in character. like no simon you are not a bad person because you couldn't literally teleport to archie's location take a deep breath

ALSO THIS BEING A CHRISTMAS FIC MADE MY HEART SO SO SO HAPPY UGH

the thought you put into all the other patients??? the care?? god i don't know how you managed but i'm now attached to all of these kids they're so precious

NATALIE IS SO SWEET and i love the headcanon (well now its canon) of archie telling simon about all of the people he saves and simon remembering them

quinn is SO silly. also is this a reference to the little old lady he had saved in the hypothermia fic??

same with temo is his brother the kid that i made nearly drown in that fic? (sorry temo's brother)

EITHER WAY I LOVE IT AND ALSO TEMO GETTING ARCHIE A SCI-FI BOOK???? MY HEART. MY HEART IS EXPLODING. ANON YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL

GOD and little esperanza remembering simon. i want you to know that after those kids left simon sobbed. the wholesomeness was too much for him.

also anon i am so curious. WHAT is the box. this is my personal pandora's box im so so curious

GOD i just love everything about this. you made every single character in this so so so loveable and real and human and it just made me so so so happy. i hope you know my day, year, LIFE, has been MADE. thank you so so SO much

what do i think happens next?

okay anon i honestly think i might even write a little drabble for what happens next because i'm OBSESSED with this scenario, but i'm not going to put it here so the post doesn't get too long. but keep an eye out for that because this scenario is SO perfect.

essentially, i don't think archie would wake up while the kids were there. i think he'd probably stay mostly asleep, what with how drugged up he is.. BUT when he wakes up the next morning and simon tells him about what happened and where all these gifts came from, i think archie would start bawling.

like i think archie would be so touched and happy that it would just come out in a burst of tears and simon would probably join him because 1) he is equally as touched and 2) that man is sleep-deprived and emotional because of it.

the two would have a little tiny christmas morning celebration, they'd watch TV together, archie would read his book, but i think simon would probably fall asleep on accident later in the evening.

which gives archie the perfect oppurtunity to sneak out of his bed and go around thanking each of the kids. (simon would have stopped him if he was awake because. yknow. archie is still recovering from a bullet wound. but. archie is just sneaky like that.)

WELL ANYWAYS, thats what would happen in my mind. archie would find some way to thank them. he'd be too grateful not to.

✮⋆˙

okay real talk. anon thank you so so so much. since i was little, i dreamed of the day people would actually Care about little ocs and characters i made and it means SO much to me that you and other people like them. thank you SO SO SO much for writing this and as always, if you ever write more for them, know that i will be EQUALLY as thrilled. this is definitely a highlight of my YEAR. thank you thank you thank you!!!

[yanderelmk]

Can u do a yandere syntax x gender neutral readeeerrr? headcanons (and a lil oneshot maybe)

-🕶️ anon with cool glasses

Right off the bat, this man most likely would've relished the idea of turning you into a spider demon and basically taking you under his wing, even if you know not a thing about tech stuff

He will spend hours trying to throw tech-rizz at you, tech-related pick-up lines (You turn my software into hardware)

Highlights of lines he'd practice in a mirror for you: "Are you made of beryllium, gold, and titanium? 'Cause you're BeAuTiful!" "Hi. My name is Windows. Can I crash at your place?" "Are you Google Glass? 'Cause you augment my reality." "I always thought love was an abstract class until you made an instance of it." "Are you a computer keyboard? Because you're my type."

I just spent the past 15 minutes gathering those and wheezing because I just KNOW Syntax thinks he's like hottest thing on this side of Megapolis when he says these, he will lean up against the wall with a sly smile completely convinced he's swept you off your feet

Be careful though this guy could hack into any of your devices to check to see who you've been messaging, what your incognito tab history looks like, and how long you've stared at a person's profile and he will get thoroughly jealous, trying to figure out why you didn't respond to his message immediately

He texts either in the most abstract abbreviated way or like he's some mediaeval lord composing a sonnet to his intended while he's trying to ask you out (if he even goes that route instead of just nabbing you)

He is not a barbarian, he'll give you three days to make your choice to pick him. In his mind that's all the time you need. By his calculations you should have fallen for him by the third day, and if not...well, the queens venom makes her subjects loyal to her, there must be a way for him to tinker with it to add in a dash of loyalty to him

Actually- imagine you get a message on your computer and it's him saying he took the liberty of properly clearing out your device of any trackers, set up proper anti-virus, etc. Creepy, but hey at least your computer's protected

Speaking of protected he'd likely be the type of person to insist that he knows who you ought to hang around, "You deserve much better than...those of a lower IQ."

Obviously he thinks he's the highest caliber for you to be around, and will firmly drag you away from a social situation where he thinks you need his assistance (whether you asked for it or not)

Cannot express why, Syntax gives the vibes of someone who is...perhaps not 'snobbish' or 'uppity', I think the best word is 'persnickety'. Quite the fussypants when it comes to his own standards and how you deserve the same treatment. After all, you are his darling

[caffeinated-chaos-bean]

Hello all, I wanted to give a visual to my personal Kaito.

I, for the most part, will be trying to utilize his V1 voicebank, hence why this design heavily references and pulls from that boxart design. However, there are little tidbits of his V3 and SP sprinkled in. Regarding his headphones, I merged the design from his V3 and SP. They take the SP design and add the yellow detailing from his V3. To be a bit more like his V1, I also took off the right headphone from the set, as his V1 only has it on his left ear. In its place is a cuff to ensure that it sits properly when worn. Additionally, I kept his V3 belt buckle as it seemed more fitting that his V1 or SP buckle designs. He also, under his coat, wears the same sleeveless top that is depicted in his V3 design. His pants? Fufufu, they're bell bottoms. ewe

I used iXima's Kaito V3 reference sheet for a proper turnaround, and used his SP sheet for the close-up on his headphones. In regards to his coat, I did take a few liberties; I have added a wavelength line above the bottom trim, which was inspired by the ones seen on the designs for Adachi Rei and Uta Utane (Defoko) illustrated by Shiita Haruka. Over on the headshot, I detailed the way I prefer his eyes to look. Along with that, I gave a little peek at his ears, of which are pierced. The right ear has a red stud while the left ear has a silver cuff with three red rubies, both of which are his way of keeping a piece of Meiko with him at all times.

I also have included a rundown of how I depict Kaito when used. Please do not comment stating that I have information "wrong" on his character, as these are my personal headcanons. As stated in his wiki page, Crypton did not set KAITO's character and profile except for his package design. Like MEIKO, he was not made with the aim of giving character or personality to vocal synthesis software. With this information kept in mind, users are allowed to depict the character image as they wish so long as it does not bring harm unto any individuals, religions, so on and so forth. This is MY depiction of Kaito, and nothing more. You are to form your own visage of the character if you do not like how I have done so.

On the secondary version of this reference sheet, I have included a portion from the overall rundown on Kaito's wiki page, as well, to give a bit more info for those who may not know of the character.

Below are the images used as references:

[blackstarchanx3new]

FSR rambles PT 4

Over explaining the decisions in my own comic once again. UwU

Smth fun about these pages is ZELDA. My lady.

Something I'm not sure was how well this portrayed that this was shortly after they put the sword back (like maybe a year at most?)

I kind of like to think for FSR at least, they were all around 13-15 during the events of the manga (This isn't my opinion tbh, though in the bonus pages they buy child tickets for the theme park so they aren't canonically adults.)

Link's old enough to drink in FSR so he's at least 21.

(I've never really liked the idea they're YOUNG kids during FS it just lends itself better to FSR specifically. I really write them however old I want for whatever scenario I'm writing because Link's as fluid as a Vocaloid when it comes to making fan works and cannon is my bitch. Writing them as adults during the events of the manga usually lends itself to MORE writing opportunities but not for FSR. I don't really give a shit what other people decide to do when making fan works either.)

You'd also notice the 7 years it takes FS Link to pull the sword is a reference to the seven years Link misses during OOT.

Anyways onto the page itself: Zelda's a sweet girl who cares deeply about her childhood friend. Link means a lot to her and she makes time for him. He waits for her too. Zelink shippers I got you lol.

Something I always found WEIRD was how Link doesn't talk in the pages after he reformed. That's so odd to me. The fan "theory" It's basically cannon in BOTW/TOTK at least Link's selectively mute. That Link's mute is also something I took inspiration for FSR Link.

So Link doesn't respond to Zelda verbally but she still makes the effort to talk to him.

Shadow Link is very disapointed he can't get hugged by the princess. Because as he stated earlier in the comic he loves her. Zelda addressed him too so she tries to include him.

This page shows off just how gradual the curse was: So funny enough at the START of the comic it was actually going to be explained how Link utterly deteriorated but I decided to add that later. (Wanted to get to funny shenanigans with the boys so I put it off)

It started with him just hearing whispers, then full voices then the what I call "Headspace" fully appeared.

Blue mentions liking Zelda's hugs Haha "Where's my hug???"

Vio just says Zelda's name, Vio's relationship with Zelda is something I'd love to expand upon later down the line.

Green's more focused on food oof.

Red's just happy to see Zelda.

Green was right about being hungry, so Zelda invites him over for DINNER-

Shadow Link's still just vibing.

Zelda lifting Link up in this panel just shows she's there for him.

Link is just dealing with the fact he can hear them by himself. Also dad is still alive.

Lol he's actually making his dad proud which was something he didn't do often before the OG book.

Zelda hanging out with Link and his father kind of shows them as a family.

Shadow Laughing in the bg but he's away from the rest.

So the captain died in a fight, and Link blames himself for it because he can't think straight when there's 4 people constantly talking.

Daddy's demise was really the start of the snowballing downhill for him.

Lol. So Vio's daddy issues are apparent for the SECOND time in the comic. He was uncomfortable even bringing up Link's dad before and this is partially the reason why:

Vio's the only one not crying or overtly emotional about their dad dying.

But something to consider is if he's truly talking to Link or himself in that panel. Because the man is still SHOOK. We have the liberty of SEEING Vio here, but Link doesn't.

So he takes this statement very poorly because:

Well, Vio's seeming "no shits given" attitude is unsettling enough coming from an outside source but that IS apart of Link.

A part of him, seemingly doesn't care his own father kicked the bucket and that's scary to him.

I think anybody would have lost it at this point.

Too bad Zelda saw Link screaming his lungs out at his father's grave lmao. Poor man.

Bro can't do anything but plead for Zelda to help him at this point. She's really the only person he feels he can turn too anyway.

Our girl comes in clutch with them hugs.

This was the conformation Link was actually not speaking in the comic Felt like I had to outright state it cause I wasn't sure if people would notice it otherwise.

Something I REALLY wish was a thing in Zelda manga:

Zelda and Link BOTH lose their parents. Usually their mothers.

And we never get any sort of bonding over that. And I find that a complete waste of potential.

I'd like to dive further into that with FSR or some other Zelda work I do because: HOLY SHIT THEY COULD BOND OVER THEIR LOST PARENTS????

Also Zelda's unfortunate phrasing here with "You can talk to me" she means just, that he can confide in her in general lol.

He's still struggling to actually speak. Poor guy.

While keeping him from doing knight duties kept him PHYSICALLY safe it was just another thing he lost to the curse Vaati laid on him.

So the obvious: Zelda had to watch the person she cares about most completely fall apart before her eyes and she couldn't do shit.

They weren't even aware this WAS A CURSE from Vaati mind you. They were completely in the dark trying to solve this.

Something horrific about this situation you might have also considered:

Not only did Zelda have to watch Link deteriorate but so did Shadow Link.

Shadow Link couldn't even offer much comfort. Zelda could offer physical comfort and attempt emotional comfort but Shadow was completely fucked.

And with the new context of "Link was mostly mute" the fact he wasn't actively TALKING to Shadow Link makes a lot more sense.

Still didn't make that fact any less painful in the moment.

Shadow literally could not participate, was isolated and lonely and had to watch someone else slowly get isolated and lonely and couldn't even help.

Link and Shadow Link literally felt the same way and could not help each other even though they were right next to each other all that time.

Also with the new context of what Link was going through, Shadow's persistence to be there for Vio starts to make a whole lot more sense: He can actually DO something now.

Vio's just stating the obvious at this point and his broken record nature really pissed Link off.

I'm sure you noticed what he wore color wise matched his emotions lol.

Vio technically is 100% right: They think Gannon is in the sword. It would literally be INSANE to pull it knowing that.

But Link's kinda at the point of not giving a shit.

Zelda would get hurt no matter what his "solution" to the problem ended up being.

Shadow Link trying to cheer Link up by reminding him he's there is so sad. Mghhhh

And for the first time in the flashback we actually have Link fully acknowledge Shadow Link's presence.

Vio was outright in denial the man was still alive and didn't want to acknowledge his existence so Link fully embracing Shadow Link here was a big moment between the two of them.

Shadow Link started to figure out what the man was planning but couldn't do squat about it. (He also couldn't communicate with the 4 or HEAR THEM.)

Link shows up in the head space! :D

His words imply he wasn't SURE he could properly communicate with Green like this alone...Which is no surprise considering Vio thinks how odd it is they were able to do that in the first place.

I kinda scrambled to think of what to have him look like hah. Ended up with him wearing white. Since white is the lack of color, white reflects all wavelengths of light so it literally kinda REJECTS color. (Apposed to Black which absorbs light, which funny enough his pants are black...)

And it symbolizes rebirth, peace stuff like that.

It can also symbolize death but we're ignoring that one lmao.

His nails are all the colors + Shadow Link too.

Lmfao when you gaslight yourself.

Okay in all seriousness the Link lays down just how DIRE the situation is since the other 3 don't seem to be quite aware.

And the "Promise" Green made to Link is what had Green so shook at the start of the comic for.

And the weight of the line "Can I trust you?" really sinks in as we'll see.

Link's kinda spooky haha. You can tell he wasn't sure Green was going to help him but that's quickly overtaken by how overjoyed he is Green is for sure on board.

One of my favorite panels from this batch is how happy he is. He's so relived he can finally just rest.

Green can't though. The crushing weight of keeping everything "Okay" is a heavy burden to bare and Dark Link spits those words right back into Green's face, and just holds him.

Green doesn't seem to hate the hug as much as Vio did hah.

Green doesn't even seem to acknowledge his presence while Vio not only NOTICED but was actively terrified of him to the point of trying to grab his sword.

He also mocked Vio more throwing Vio's own words back in his face, but just repeats what Link said to Green.

How. Odd.

And that's all for this batch. Hope ya come back to read my rumbly thoughts about my own comic.

[marshmallowgoop]

Excuse me, I want to ask a question. Is it ethical to like the Kill la Kill dub? I noticed some of the changes in dialogue between it and the sub. I ask bc the kill la kill dub is my favorite dub of all time.

Hi there!

This has obviously been sitting in my inbox for a while. I haven't been quite sure how to respond.

Maybe I can start by posing another question: is it ethical to like a movie adaptation of a book that makes changes?

A translation—be it of a book to a movie, or of one language to another—is always going to be different from the original. There's no getting around that. But I in no way believe that this means we shouldn't try to translate books to screen, or that works in one language should only ever remain in that one language. Translation increases accessibility so that more people can enjoy and engage with a text.

Of course, however, I do recognize that accessibility is also a concern for particularly loose translations. For those unable to read, a movie or an English dub of an anime may be the only way they can enjoy a story—and if there are drastic changes, is that really fair?

It's not a question I can definitively answer. But personally: though it's not Kill la Kill related, I eventually want to finish writing my report about Anime NYC's English dub premiere for the 24th Detective Conan film, The Scarlet Bullet, which released last month. And the tl;dr of my thoughts really boils down to how disheartened I was by the movie's script. Unlike the series's English dub from FUNimation, which changed characters' names (and occasionally dramatically altered plots and dialogue), Bang Zoom! Entertainment's dub is very accurate—to the point that I felt it was to its detriment. It sounded like the actors were simply reading subtitles, not speaking like actual humans; I scribbled down several lines during the showing with the thought, "No one would ever talk like that." While I certainly have my concerns with how many creative liberties FUNimation took, I desperately missed it watching the new dub. The script felt so stiff and lifeless.

So, another question: is it unethical to make changes to the source material to better fit the translated medium?

It's again a question I can't definitively answer. But as I've said about Kill la Kill...

. . . the dub script and actors are taking some liberties with the material—while still keeping it in-character, in my opinion—and coming up with stuff that maintains the energy and feel of the original lines but is still new and different. That’s what I like in a dub; it’s faithful, but it isn’t afraid to mix it up a bit.

And Detective Conan:

Loosey-goosey dubs that take lots of creative liberties with the material are my favorites. I think they’re so much fun and add so much flavor. Not to get too "subs versus dubs" here, but as I see it, a dub is an adaptation, much like how an anime can be an adaptation of a manga, and I like it when adaptations put their own spin on the work and breathe a new life into it.

I'd personally much rather a translation be lively and creative and different than try so hard to be as accurate as possible that it loses so much soul.

But that's just my take!

[madsfrank]

The DLCs of New Vegas and Their Philosophical Importance in the Order of Release Date

Looks like September has brought about a fervor for New Vegas and this will be one of my entries to add to the pile. Some of this information is loosely based upon the actual game and in areas where interpretation is left up the the player, I did take some liberties. Overall this is just for entertainment and shouldn’t be used as definitive evidence for what exactly happened between these DLCs.

In New Vegas, the DLCs become the defining points of the game. They are designed to teach a lesson to the courier and hence the player about “what to do now?” In the post-apocalyptic wasteland. These DLCs are packed with philosophical takes and messages that vary depending on the type of person the player is or the future they have chosen for New Vegas. Here, I dive into the philosophical identities of the main factions and important individuals through the DLCs that connect back to ideology and plot. By no means is this a perfect explanation. I keep some parts vague that are supposed to be left up to the courier’s actions. However, this is to be used as a mental guide for the driving factors behind characters and the major messages one is to learn.

P.S. on each dlc section the main character’s past will be in chronological order as best as it happened to my knowledge as not everything has exact dates.

Dead Money:

The worst dlc in terms of gameplay but also has the most long standing message to relay back to real life and the main game.

Dead money follows the story of father Elijah. And Veronica and Christine. Elijah was a terrible elder in the BOS and with such left during a loss to the NCR in 2276 at Operation: Sunburst during the Brotherhood war (his next in line McNamara took over and they were weakened by this point so they went underground). Elijah then became obsessed with finding ways to destroy the NCR and in the process took his pupil (Veronica) away from Christine and when Christine (on a mission to kill him BOS orders) tracked him down finding tech in the Big MT (locked her away where she suffered brain damage from the testing the labs did).

He stumbles upon the Big MT during his travels in which he experiments on the Yangtze prisoners with explosive collars and beefing up his plan and defenses before going to the Sierra Madre in which he learned the location from Ulysses. He returns to the Think Tank after being captured upon his first entry (and escaping) and damages the robots to take control of the train network in order to escape. Which he does.

HERE IS WHERE THE STORY LINE CONJOINS

during this time another force Ulysses (spoken about more in later DLCs.) who was traveling to hunt the courier and find the past secrets of America and re awaken the old world to rise as a new home, a new power, saw this conflict. He points Elijah to the Sierra Madre and it’s hidden treasures which he hopes will kill the former Paladin and saved Christine to learn about the BoS which he realized was weak.

He then spoke to the Think Tank and challenged them to remember America. When they remembered a glimpse of the old world and what they fought for, they gave Ulysses instructions to return to the divide as “the voice of the old world” was left in the untouched missiles that had the power to reshape America through destruction much like the courier had done to his divide when they passed a package through the region containing middle codes that activated some missiles and mostly destroyed the place he called home and the place the though could become more powerful that the bull or bear.

Dead money focus on the ideas of letting go. Characters who can’t let go of goals or the past. Take Dean domino, still wanting to hold onto Vera Keys who was dead to her own disease and hand at the depression of being captured in the casino by the operator of the casino who was obsessed with her. He also is still determined to find what Sinclair kept hidden away in the vaults. Long after it would have mattered with the end of the world. Christine is obsessed with killing Elijah even though his lost ideals will lead to his death by the courier anyways. Much like how the operator of the casino was obsessed with keeping Vera locked away.

The courier has to also let go of the treasure they had found. The gold. They must let go of it and this is the most straightforward message. Caesar wants an idealistic society but when when he gets cancer, he can’t let go. House wants a idealistic old world society that he can never let go of (hence the strip)

It answers the question of “this is what I think is best for the post apocalyptic wasteland” and how most of it is just people clinging into a past victory or experience. (History would be Caesar and Joshua teaching the Blackfoot and beginning to take tribes over and becoming power blind.)

The NCR clinging to the constitutional law and pushing people who are just surviving in the wastes out via taxes and old world political ideals. This is also under the same message.

And of course, Elijah, he’ll best on power and controlling the Mohave to lead the brotherhood to victory, ultimately nearly destroyed his own people and went mad for the “power” of the Sierra Madre. Thinking he can make food from the vending machines and what not to build a new society where he can take over the Mohave (he begins to forget his brotherhood ideals.)

The gold in the vault is not that useful but it proves that this endless search for one’s own power was unfruitful. That even if they had seen the “gold” they would not be able to bring it back. AKA put there ideals in place.

Honest hearts

The story of the Malpais legate.

A new cannanite who joined the followers to spread his Mormon religion. Joined by Calhoun and Sallow. They were then held for ransom by the Blackfoot tribe along their pilgrimage and Edward Sallow trained them to use weapons because he was super smart and read books as a linguist and taught them to fight like Romans. Sallow become the leader of the Blackfoot tribe with Joshua as his first Legate. He takes the name Caesar and becomes mad with power as he makes his newly formed legion stronger soon after. It is during this time that he begins to take over the 87 tribes within a rough timeframe of like 25-30 years. He then spread to overtaking the NCR who had found the Hoover dam and wanted it for power as they spread throughout the region to establish rule. With five reports on killing Graham, the legion still held strong.

During this battle, the NCR managed to lure the legions more experienced legates and such into Boulder City where they were detonated. These legion individuals were under Joshua’s command.

Caesar (sallow) did not tolerate the loss of Hoover dam, he threw Joshua over the Grand Canyon covered in kerosene after the first battle.

But he lived. He states he found his faith again and lost the pride that Caesar had blinded him with. Even though his religion moves him to forgive Caesar, he still would easily strike down his followers while in new Canaan (his home)

That is until Caesar sends fourth Ulysses. For he brings the White Legs that he trained to destroy his home. In which Daniel (a missionary) and a few survivors including Graham would move to Zion and assume power amongst the sorrows and dead horses.

Graham’s story is one of redemption and blind revenge. He doesn’t know what the right course of action is anymore. He just has blind rage towards the Legion and now Caesar again. His story is heavily impacted by what happens to the leader of the White Legs when they are sent to hunt down Graham and the tribes in Zion.

Walking Cloud’s story is much of the same with Daniel trying to curb her rage by hiding her husband’s death. It’s like a microcosm of what’s to come with Joshua.

He has to grow as a person and realize that blind revenge will only sabotage his faith and morals and make him no better than the idealism that surround Caesar and the others like Elijah and House. His whole story is dependent on the helping of others and learning to assist rather than to take over or have full forgiveness to bad people or have blind rage. He must find a centre. A balance.

Old world blues

The story of a society stuck on loop.

The scientists in the big empty cannot accept the new world. They keep making new inventions for the old world which are fruitless, futile, and harmful to others. It is through this that following an ideology without change or recognition becomes dangerous. When Ulysses poses the question of them knowing their own history, it causes them, forces them, to remember their own past and what they have done. It ties together the main factions as well. Are all the main factions doing is forming a idealogical society that doesn’t reflect the views of the new world? Are they all just stuck on loop to try to create their own perfect vision which in the end will fail?

Each scientist also struggles to connect themselves to their more human form and loose empathy and compassion. They lose their humanity when the courier and Ulysses find them. Going as far as to trap a human away for experiments that will go nowhere (Christine).

In the end, these scientists have to find their humanity and use their tech to help the wastes instead of hiding it away (like the BOS to a extent) they have lost the connection to what it means to be a scientist and to help others as they shut themselves away and refused to acknowledge the new world as well, much like mr. House.

Mobius breaks free of the constant science that the Think Tank is up to and attempts to stop them from possibly hurting the wasteland. He also destroyed the data to the memories of the old world for the other scientists in a attempt to stop them from destroying the world with their science again.

In the process he ends up shutting the Big MT off from the rest of the wasteland with a barrier and shuts himself off with robo-scorpions he built. He left the Think Tank and made sure that the scientists would be too scared to leave by sending false messages to them and making them fear creating new technologies.

But when Elijah, Ulysses and others arrive, the Think Tank tries to push further to escape Mobius’s plans. By this point his own ideals had begun to deteriorate due to his use of chems and he had begun to go mad with the robo-scorpions and looses his own sight of fighting for the wasteland.

The courier then must confront him upon their own arrival and help the Think Tank and Mobius understand the world outside the Big MT and to stop loosing sight of the science that could save the wasteland and to stop living in a loop of the past from trauma.

Lonesome road

In my opinion the most confusing dlc

Ulysses’ tribe is destroyed by Caesar and his home with the twisted hairs (Dry Wells) was taken over by Vulpes who betrayed Ulysses by killing his group instead of working with them and Ulysses was forced under the Legion flag. He served as a nondescript courier for the Legion during this time as well and became a very powerful spy asset to Caesar.

It is also at this point we learn that it was him who discovered the Hoover Dam. Causing Caesar to go mad with the idea of it.

When Caesar became obsessed with the dam, Ulysses could not stop him. Even though he knew it would kill Caesar. Ulysses had seen how far Caesar would go to take the dam when he witnessed the burning of the Malpais legate.

Upon exploring the wastes for Caesar, he found the Divide and due to the destruction of his own tribe, saw it as a home for himself. He thought it could be better than the legion or the NCR. He stayed for a short time and wanted to use it to out think the Legion. However it was then taken over by the NCR while he worked for the Legion and while he was not there to protect The Divide (nor could he save it single-handedly) the Legion then sent supplies to take The Divide over. Placing legion soldiers and NCR soldiers within the town at once.

This is when the courier unknowingly brings a NCR package from Navarro containing launch codes for the missiles that lay under The Divide. This would lead to the bomb going off after the courier left and destroying The Divide and NCR and legion within (making them into the marked men. Filled with hatred with their factions for abandoning them).

Ulysses nearly died but was saved by medical Eyebots. Who were activated with the bombs. They believe he was a pre war soldier with the American flag on his back.

He blamed the courier and returned to the only man who accepted him, Caesar, in 2277 after the loss at Hoover Dam. This is where he would witness the burning of Joshua. (He was not actively in the Legion while the first battle happened).

When Caesar learned that Graham had lived, he sent Ulysses out after him along with the White Legs. This would be his last mission for Caesar as he left soon after to better himself and reawaken the history of America. During this time he took a temporary break as a big Horner farmer and a courier.

Later on, he found about about the old world technology in the big empty and travelled there. He followed the irregular weather patterns from The Divide to the Big MT in which he used the geographical maps there at the weather station to map out where he would build his base back at the divide later on where he wanted to face the courier.

This is where he meets Elijah and Christine.

During his time as a courier, so a bit in the past before meeting Christine and Elijah, when he was retired as a bighorn farmer, he was hired to carry the platinum chip. But when he saw the couriers name on the list he told Nash that they should carry it instead as he wanted to see the courier dead on this important mission for destroying The Divide. He thought the wasteland would kill the courier instead of him having to himself.

When the courier survived Benny and the Khans. He vowed to bring the courier to him in The Divide.

When the courier is in The Divide, they are forced to walk the lonesome road and go through the travels and horrors that Ulysses had to go through when The Divide was destroyed and in the end, the courier is faced with Ulysses wanting to destroy the Mohave and deciding to make him see the light with the couriers faction or killing him.

Ulysses can also be forced to accept that it is these individual people that hold the new world together and that the old world and it’s pointless to murder all who wave the flag of the bear and bull. An important development in the concept of him “letting go” of the old world and his idea of a home. His idea of building up something as great as the old world once was. Ulysses is still a man. He’s still idealistic in that he wants to form his own home. One based in old world values with new world truths and while the divide seems like a decent plan for him, he soon falls victim to blind rage for the NCR and Legion. Yes, they both help to destroy his home, but in turn, he becomes just as violent as they were to him. Which removes him from this new independent plan and sends him spiraling into only removing the ideologies of the bear and Bull.

(He also makes it very clear that even a independent Vegas would fail under house and maybe even under the courier. So this part is truly left to the couriers own faction.)

This dlc is all about the importance of home. And that it may not be the place where you were born. It also touches on how to move on from a home. Moving on from idealistic ideas out in place by factions as well. Seeing the world for what it is and truly being alone.

Another important character here is the copy of ED-E who has been created by the Enclave by a doctor with good morals and who didn’t want to see his tech harmed (Whitley) and he sent this ED-E to navarro not knowing it had fallen to NCR forces. This Ed-e contained more logs on Enclave scientist Dr Whitley than the original does after the original was damaged but both contained lost information on the Enclave that Whitley had sent out to try to send to other parts of the Enclave. However the original was taken down near Primm. The copy had data downloaded from the original ED-E upon the courier entering the divide.

This is just important as it established another character desperately searching for navarro even though it has fallen. With the hollow words of its old master and a goal (much like houses, Caesars, and Elijah’s) that can never be accomplished.

Overall, idealistic societies are formed off of the opinions of the few. These societies falter as we reduce them to just a namesake. A flag. There are people within these flags, caught up within the ideals of their leaders and rulers. Even Ulysses becomes blind to his own former goals of a community of people working together without a flag. A home. Until those individual people are recognized, until they, the small groups that lie among the Mojave, the tribes and those in towns like the divide before it’s destruction, are recognized as part of the world they inhabit instead of just ideals of their masters and gods….war never changes.

[fipindustries]

those numbers are not her ages, its a bit more complicated than that. everything is always “a bit more complicated than that” when it comes to Almost Nowhere.

(to simplify quite a lot, those are alternate timelines, they could also be considered some form of reincarnations, and they could also be considered clones, the point is that 11 is technically the oldest of the group, depending on which of the multiple temporal schema in this story you go by)

bottom line is, i love the concept of the annes, i love how each one grew into its own, unique, distinct character, with their own mythos around them, considering they are all technically the same person.

what is so special about this specific piece of fan art is that im mutuals with the author of the story and i got to ask them for details on the design of each character. i did this because usually i tend to take the text descriptions of a character as mere suggestions and tend to go a lot more with vibes for how they are supposed to look. even with rob’s input i still took some liberties since i cant let go enough of my own ego not to add my own flourishes to something

now ill go on to explain my thought process behind each design

i figured 11 would have a bit of a feral child thing going on, considering she’s been living for years (?) with no company other than talking animals (oooooh the one who was into musicals including disney songs, now i get it) and that she started adoptiing their stilted reduced way of speaking, i dont see why she wouldnt adopt other things such as liying in big cuddle piles and disregarding clothes.

drawing the talking helmets they were was a lot of fun, specially trying to adpat it to each different animal.

oh annabel Lee, the best fucking character in this story.one of the few characters who truly knew what the hell was going on, the creator of blackhat squadron training module, also known as “the stupid shit”. she is descrived as wearing “escherian necklaces and eldritch dresses” it was certainly a challenge to design something that comes across as an escherian dress but i think i did a good job of it, also pay attention to her helding the auxiliary knife and how the perspective on the knife is all wrong. her grin reminds me a bit of the ending of that one SSC story, the study of anglophysics. a lot of things about her remind me of that story.

Moon, the most anime character in this story. ill admit, i had a bit of an egg to my face, i already attempted to make fanart of her in the past and yet again, because i never actually pay attention to descriptions of characters, i ended up drawing her as some generic anime girl. im glad i got to correct that mistake.im also grad that this story exists, allowing me to create some incredibly interesting, evocative and fun designs. i think the hat and neckerchief are my additions

and finally anne, the reason why we are all here. i think rob explicitly said for this one that she is supposed to have older sister energy, i hope i captured that, i couldnt let go of my original design for her which to be fair wasnt that far off. most of these characters i try to catured them as we last saw them, with anne i decided to do something slightly different. she is supposed to be using both the blackhat and wold squadron uniforms but also it is established that she pretty much wears whatever she wants. i did include the hat because i thought it was funny to ada an askew little hat as if someone tried to put it on her and she never bothered to take it off.