#i want to make mistakes i want to grow i want to learn i want to heal

[bitchy-craft]

PICK A CARD: 10 fun facts about your future spouse

Hello and welcome to this new reading! I will tell you 10 fun facts about your partner/future spouse. I hope you all enjoy it!

FREE READING: a subscription to my Patreon before February 7th, no matter the tier, will give you a free question of choice. I updated the overall look of my patreon so feel free to look!

Masterpost > Paid Readings > Subliminal Channel > PATREON Masterlist [NEW]

The extended version (10 more fun facts) of this reading can be found on my Patreon, the link of which is here

~pick a card~

Pile 1:

1. They would love to draw you as their muse;

2. They enjoy shows that have incredibly dangerous and insane stunts (because why would you want to do that);

3. They can be very catty when it comes to their words if they’re annoyed; giving shade like a high-schooler;

4. They love their alcohol, but it has to be a specific kind;

5. They enjoy beautiful gardens and would love to have one to tend to themselves (but they aren’t good at it at all, you’ll probably be helping in the future);

6. Your future spouse loves thinking back to their high-school times with old friends, re-experiencing all of it;

7. Your future spouse is open to learning from mistakes and growing from past experiences;

8. Your future spouse would love to sleep in the forest with you sometimes; just you two, or your little family if you two have kids, in the forest with some fire and marshmallows on sticks;

9. They think a fun date in the future for the two of you would be picking fruits from trees;

10. They love acting as a joke; they have a whole alter-ego.

Pile 2:

1. Your future spouse enjoys driving cars a lot; they love the feeling it gives them;

2. They have a very small friend group (around 2 friends), but they’re so close they’re basically siblings;

3. Your future spouse has a tendency to let things go their way and just see what happens, even if preparing would’ve been a better idea;

4. Your future spouse will constantly giggle if they’re drunk;

5. They really enjoy cats, and most of guys their future spouse’s have had a cat when they were younger;

6. They find celebrating birthdays difficult and will act a bit ‘against’ it, but secretly they do enjoy it;

7. Your future spouse is good at imagining things (they prefer to imagine fantasy scenario’s);

8. Your future spouse loves being with friends and having a fun drink;

9. They will be causing mayhem to get a reaction out of you simply because they are bored;

10. They have a decent amount of influence on people; but they only really use it to fuck around and have fun.

Pile 3:

1. Your future spouse can enjoy a good book every once in a while;

2. They enjoy stargazing through windows something (they don’t prefer the outside often, given they get cold very quickly and dislike a ton of layers in order to do so);

3. They like circuses;

4. Your future spouse sometimes has nightmares, they’ve had this their whole lives. They have more then usual, and enough to be an issue in their lives;

5. Even though your future spouse will claim they’re not superstitious at all, they will always make a wish at a falling star;

6. Your future spouse loves to think about moral problems;

7. They would enjoy it to have a fish as a pet;

8. They’d like to sit in a dark forest alone and not do anything; they see the situation as something very peaceful and nice;

9. Your future spouse is very detail-oriented;

10. Your future spouse is often at the back near a wall at bigger gatherings, preferring to see everything instead of standing in the middle of it all.

[mysteryanimator]

Breaking down "Even the Iron Still Fears the Rot" (almost) shot by shot!

The fan-animatic can be viewed here!

HEADS UP: This is a fan-made content. I am a fan. I just love Castlevania/animation a lot and I love storyboarding nuances and making people cry over character dynamics. Also apologises for any grammatical/spelling mistakes!

I wasn't planning to do another breakdown of my own work, simply due to imposter syndrome but I genuinely put so much love and care into this animatic! I want to talk about it! Also, people have been really open to hearing about my inspiration and notes, and why I take the directions I do for my work, even if it's fan-made, so here we go!

(Also the reciprocation of my animatics has been so kind and uplifting, and I'm really glad that there's a lot of love for them as much as I love doing them! I learn and grow with every single board I make, it's been really fun! I hope I get to shine this much passion in the future in actual work!)

Since this is also an adaptation of a fan one-shot by Aquila, (which you can read here!) I knew I wanted to evoke what they had written and interject some of my own nuances/personal readings to their story to elevate what they had! In turn, kind of created this monster (positive) of a fan creation haha. There are some changes/rearranging the placement of aspects of the one-shot to strengthen the existing tension going on!

With this out the way, let's begin!

(heads up, for any shots I completely skip over, it is because I'm reaching image limits here)

I wanted to evoke that strong halo light you see in a lot of media. Often than not, this visual is used to depict the character as a divine force of nature and/or when a character is bobbing in and out of death. It can also be a very very terrifying image, as, for example, s02e8, Mizrak is literally all dark with a brightly lit background. It is scary- BUT people will say hot because it's Mizrak but hey, look, all I can say is I fully understand haha. It all depends on your intentionality and what follows before and after to give context to your scene!

Mizrak is dead. Well, undead now. Olrox is the so-called angel giving him life and love and this halo of light gets repeated a few times!

By the end, not only do their literal positions switch, but their roles shift too so I hoped to convey that visually by also giving Mizrak that halo glow for the second last shot. At the start, Olrox consumes Mizrak’s love, and then it ends with Mizrak consuming Olrox’s love. Guh I love blood themes in vamprisim.

This shot honestly took me a bit to do, since I was going a lot cleaner than usual, the expression for Mizrak was super important for me to get right. I wanted him to look like he was about to die- yet still have an unwavering amount of life in him. (Also I hadn't warmed up drawing in this cleaned-up style so it definitely was me messing around). It was important for me for this to feel like a POV shot to contrast the first scene so we can get inside the mind of Olrox!

This too is where I only have sound effects since I can't have voice so I limit my SFX to the only most vital things to elevate things I personally find better elevate the scene with audio. It only happens TWICE. The heartbeat. His wrist is shown and from context clues from not only S01 of Nocturne with Tera's turning, but a whole bunch of other vampire media- the wrist is a place where the dead accept their new life of immortality!

Also, the pulse effect was definitely inspired by the transformation of Sekmet! I'm not sure personally if this went to a further stage I'd want to keep this since I'd personally want something more unique for vampire turning, more specifically for Olrox, HOWEVER, I think it still does a good job conveying the supernatural pull for the time being!

Wow who saw this coming HAHA

Immediately when I saw the line where Olrox said he went to straddle him immediately, my mind went to go and try to parallel this scene again! I don't have much to say about this shot rather than the feet are purposefully cut out for animation convenience's sake HAHA.

Jumpscare for sudden Olrox character layout (even though he's really off model and sketchy here HAHA)

I was again, wanting to depict Olrox BATHED in light and since this animatic is purely in greyscale (with accents of colour), I could really push for dramatic lighting when it called for it! This is also why some of the scenes just do not have backgrounds at all. I wanted to make some of the scenes as "heavenly" as possible and for Mizrak to be embraced by the light because Olrox is giving him a new a life.

If this were to ever be animated (I won't be since it would take too much of my time, but it's still a good thing to note when boarding anything... maybe I'll do cleaned screenshots since those are a breeze, or animate ONE scene from this animatic... we'll see what I have time for. I unfortunately don't have proper time to try and figure out the layout of s02e8 bgs and paint them. I did consider quickly doing a 3d mock-up but no haha), the light in the background can probably be lit with candles since it was already pre-established in s02e8! Also, the windows can reflect light into the room so there's that too since Mizrak was backlit in that episode too!

Fun fact, this entire scene was the first thing I ever thought up and why I started even making it. I thought about how cool of a visual it would be to have Mizrak's eye in the reflection.

I wanted to imbue the fact that Mizrak does not fear Olrox holding a blade, hell, he's not even looking at the blade. He's looking at Olrox. What is described as a relic from a terrifying past, Mizrak is not scared. Mizrak is not scared of Olrox.

This is where the heartbeat occurs AGAIN. This is mostly to signal to the audience what Olrox actually has planned. He's not feeding Mizrak from his wrist but from his actual chest, especially with how gently Olrox runs his hands over it.

I debated a lot on where the initial cut should go. The heart, for sentimentality, under the breast in the same way Christ had been pierced, etc etc- however I landed on just dead set in the middle so it could form a cross that would grow bigger and bigger as the animatic went on. (Fun fact, the blob of blood turns into a little heart as he squeezes his chest)

I wanted to put some weight to the repressed catholic guilt, so I thought a cool visual way to showcase that Mizrak has only known how to love is via worshipping God which has consumed his entire being and self. God has given him faith, a companion in the hardest of times when the world has abandoned him.

Now, once again, his world has abandoned him. The Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God is gone. In the face of death and fearing the devil will be waiting. Olrox has given him love, and he will be a companion in the hardest of times. He will not abandon Mizrak.

This aspect of the cross in the animatic gets expanded upon as time goes on. Both literally as the cross literally turns into a pool of blood more closely to the symbol Mizrak bares, but also it slowly expands upon Mizrak feeding off Olrox's love! I'll add some more of my personal notes when we get there!

Also by far one of my favourite scenes I've drawn. It's still rough but it decidedly made me go a lot cleaner with the rest of the storyboard!

This is supposed to be suddenly jarring because it cuts midway through Olrox in a midshot to a close-up of a hand! We need to see him actively halt Olrox for just a moment, but also to show that even when it's sudden- its not hostile, it's gentle.

This shot does a couple of things!

It showcases how gently Mizrak is reaching out to Olrox

It helps to continually establish Mizrak submission to vampirism. He is constantly placed on the bottom from the composition, or we as an audience, are always looking down at Mizrak! Seeing parts of Olrox here really cements this fact as Olrox towers over him to the point we don't even see him fully!

It helps to lead into the Fallen Angel reference!

This shot makes me sob because it is so gentle. Despite being placed constantly much higher in the composition in the animatic, therefore making him the most powerful in this dynamic- in no way Olrox is intentionally made out to be an intimidating figure. He is comfort. He is a companion. He will not abandon Mizrak. The act of turning Mizrak might be read as selfish. It may be read as cheating the natural cycle of life, it may be everything wrong and doomed as your mind makes it to be, however, it is done out of love. Morals, whether good or bad, no longer matters because Olrox is in love. Love has such a strong chokehold on this series, so I'm shoving as much love into these characters as I can. Both literally make these characters so sickly desiring love that it will be their doom and saving grace, but also me as an artist deeply putting love and thought into this board because care a lot about how to convey these complex emotions! Sure it is quite easy to churn out boards without care, but without putting care into your boards, your characters and stories lack life (in my personal opinion).

Immediately, this animatic shook me and told me to put in a reference to The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabnel!

Also, how does one portray the soul? EYES. Eyes are the window to the soul. Mizrak’s eyes are also considerably the most important/crucial part of his design. His eyes in both seasons ‘glow in the dark’ due to the highlights in his eyes. Mizrak is considerably really emotive too and that was important to me to emphasize. I wanted to capture his essence, his soul if you will, into this shot.

This is also why this shot is done really prettily if you will.

The reflection of Olrox's eye in Mizrak's is important here! Olrox is here to act to comfort Mizrak. Even when Olrox is not on the screen with us, he is majorly present here. He will not abandon Mizrak. Also, since it is coupled with this line, people can choose to infer what they wish with Olrox! It can symbolize Olrox does have a soul, it can symbolize how Olrox and Mizrak are now intertwined together, it can symbolize Mizrak reciprocating Olrox's love. The list can go on! I give that room for open interpretation (same as the rest of the animatic, the only reason I'm going through, breaking down almost shot by shot is that I deeply care about this sort of thing, and I know other people do too!)

This shot, is deceptively simple but it's here to actually initiate a bunch of scenes I wanted to happen after this!

Firstly, I needed a very nonchalant but easy way for Olrox to let go of Mizrak's hand without needing to overcomplicate. I needed something that gave it just enough importance for the hand kiss BUT not too much where it is the sole focus on the shot.

Secondly, I needed a way for Olrox to lean down to Mizrak and initiate him being way closer to him.

Thirdly, it acts to parallel another shot that happens with Mizrak where instead of going diagonally down, he goes diagonally up!

This is one of the points where I visually slightly deviate from the one-shot! I really REALLY wanted to emphasize Olrox's dialogue here so I chopped up and elongated the scene to make it that much more intense and tender. Which is why we get the next two close up shots!

Look it was very VERY important to me to have Olrox cup Mizrak's face and intentionally cut off his eyes. The important part I wanted to focus on solely was his hand and Mizrak looking up because genuinely, Mizrak's eyes are 'distracting' and it would remove the focus on the gesture! Also I am saving Mizrak's eyes for the next shot haha

After this shot too, you may notice the blood from his neck disappears for the rest of the animatic. This is because, after this, it began to take too much of a visual focus away from the blood on Olrox's chest since it is bright red against greys in the shot. We can chalk it up to Olrox wiping the blood off when he goes to cup him.

"The most beautiful soul a vampire can posses."

It was so important to me that we get a BEAUTIFUL shot of Mizrak. I needed the audience to see his entireeee face close up, unobscured by anything. Olrox is holding a beautiful soul in his hands. He's holding Mizrak. Actually makes me sob.

This shot by the way has been repeated 3 times with slight variations by this point. Yes, this is a very pretty shot so how could I not help but repeat it? HOWEVER, I was trying to make a reference to how Mizrak has said Olrox's name only 3 times in the show with a variation of what was said around it. After that, Olrox calls him my love, basically unlocking a new stage in their relationship.

So here, three times when he looks at Olrox, he's mentally calling out his name. After this, Olrox brings him to a new stage in the relationship.

Also in Catholicism, a lot of things are in 3s. One of the major ones is that three times, Christ fell over carrying the cross. On the third hour of that day, he died and on the third day, he was resurrected from the dead. The three sacraments that welcome someone into the Kingdom of God are Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation as they all build off one another! I could go on both those are the main points AND I feel you might get the gist now!

It was very important to me that when Olrox makes this promise, we HAVE to see his full face. This is why it's a close-up.

It lets for no shadow of a doubt that Olrox means what he says here. He's looking AT Mizrak. He's telling the truth to him.

This is a parallel to a much earlier shot of Olrox! He moves closer to Mizrak by going from top right to bottom left, while Mizrak moves closer to Olrox by going from bottom left to top right! You also both see them exit the screen too!

In this shot, we bring back that halo vibe but also this is a reference to S01E04 and S02E08! The curtain! It is BOTH their first-ever shots to establish a new scene, so I wanted to go “Hey this is establishing a new scene- a new life for Mizrak and Olrox.”

The camera is super purposefully cut just below the eyes. You can see them open then closed, but we will never ever get to see the look he had in his eyes, the single decision in his brain that let him indulge. That’s only for Olrox, and only Olrox will know.

From here on out, A LOT of the shots of Mizrak get segmented/have his face hidden for that reason too (except for one shot, also done intentionally).

When Mizrak actually closes his lips around the blood- it’s on the growling sound in the song. Mizrak has turned into the animal that he’s been calling vampires. In this new life, he is now given the choice to be freed from the man-made shackles of shame and guilt. To be untamed and unrestricted. A wild animal so to speak!

Honestly, I spent a lot of my time here (besides the pretty Olrox frames) because I was super particular about how I wanted to portray Mizrak giving into sucking the blood. The way he accepts vampirism is vital because it sets the tone and mood for how the rest of the board feel since his face gets hidden and you now have to infer from when you saw his face last.

If you have seen my analyses or my work before, you will know how much I enjoy having a frame within a frame. I loveeee my boxes! They're in the box! TOGETHER! THE CENTER TOO! There are no real divisions with the exception of Olrox's head which is important because it's not Mizrak we're focused on at this point in time, it's Olrox~

This is because the one-shot, even in third person, is mostly through Olrox's perspective!

Also, the camera is moving around in this shot, and the following subsequent shots! It hopefully gives off the "hand-held" feel, which often is associated with feeling as if you're right there in the moment with them.

Why pillows?

This is me shaking you to say how the blood-drinking is an allusion for sex if that wasn't already obvious enough. So showing pillows coupled with Olrox groaning really goes "Yes they are technically doing it."

Originally this shot (and the previous shot) was supposed to be way more pulled out, but I was saving it for the very last shot of the animatic so I went to pillows with the tinest hint of their body in the frame to make it seem super scandalous. Like what on earth could they be doing for me to cut them mostly out of the frame? Also also, the pillow was supposed to have an embroidery of a painting from 1790s or earlier BUT, for the life of me, I could not decide what I wanted and I did not want to keep reusing the same references I have had in past work. I didn't want to fuss about it for too long since its more of an easter egg rather than adding to the story. The main point is pillow = fucking HAHA.

Side tangent, you can get away with SO MUCH by having blood drinking be an allusion to sex. Like obviously when you have an age rating you must abide by, you must be creative with how you go about mature topics (my age rating is YouTube hahaha)! Not only is blood drinking in vampirism just inherently queer-coded, but the intimacy of it can convey so much more if it was just a regular ol' sex scene! I actually deeply enjoy conveying nsfw topics into art because you can discuss character dynamics at a much more vulnerable, raw state that literally bares them to just their essence and their current desires/needs. However I am getting off-topic, let's get back to it!

This shot was actually heavily inspired by the statue Adoration by Stephen Sinding!

While there are a lot of differences now simply because Mizrak is at Olrox's chest, I still hope that the vibe of that statue is still imbued. It also gives the sense of not only Olrox adoring Mizrak in this very moment, but Mizrak is too despite not seeing his face. Again quite intentional because it's only for Olrox to see.

Also, a lot of people have been telling me how Olrox is breastfeeding him, and in technicality, they're not wrong, he's feeding blood, from his chest. It is the funniest thing ever LOL

This shot was important to really focus in on his throat and how, much like in the one-shot, Mizrak is literally not taking breaths and is just continually consuming Olrox.

Wet sounds fill the room as his throat bobs with each steady gulp...He doesn’t stop, doesn’t take a moment to gasp for breath.

I also just wanted to make this scene feel very slow in order to contrast with a much more passion-filled desire that consumes Mizrak in this animatic! Also hopefully the descent of blood and the descent of the camera helps to strengthen the idea of Mizrak descending into vampirism!

It felt really cheesy to have this close-up shot of his eye HOWEVER at the time, I thought this was by far the clearest way to convey the immediate switch from gentle devotion to devouring devotion and how suddenly rapid it is. In my brain, the stylization for his eyes open would be textured and pulse in the same way Olrox's wrist did, which is why it's just outlined. I'm once again not 100% set on the pulse look and it probably needs some iterations if I ever came back to it again.

Also, the green hearts in his eyes only come through when he's actively consuming blood from his chest! The heart motif comes back later when Mizrak ends up throwing up the blood!

Here's the cross again, except it is growing bigger. This was very important to me that you see how "gentle" the blood-sucking is at first. A gentle devotion despite the "terrifying" shadow of Mizrak. Also, super an excuse to have kiss marks in my animatic, I love painting them in my art because it can say a lot with placement and how aggressively smudged they are!

Also, I thought it would be SO FUN to have Mizrak's turned self literally have his eyes overlay where Olrox's eyes are. It conveys how Mizrak and Olrox are now switching roles in this animatic! For the first half of this animatic, Olrox has been placed pretty high up in the shot composition, or where the camera looks up to put him in a high place of power! It makes him appear way more etheral and otherworldly, while Mizrak was placed lower in the composition, always looking up at him! Which I'm hoping invokes religious imagery of a God and his worshipper/follower!

When Mizrak's transformation is set, the dynamic switches up. For the rest of the animatic, Mizrak is now placed at a more supernatural/otherwordly position, while Olrox is just there passively, letting Mizrak BE in this position. He does not fight it, he embraces it, embraces how Mizrak reciprocates his love, his desire, and all his messy complications, much like how earlier in the animatic, Mizrak embraces vampirism.

Also if you slow it down enough you can see how I accidentally left my perspective grids in it HAHA, but it goes by fast enough it doesn't really matter! (I guess it's also kind of indicative of my natural style when it comes to digital painting too, I genuinely like having my sketch still peek through into the final painting!)

Wow even more shots to cement the new role switch AND how much much of the passionate need to consume is controlling his urges! Free to consume at his leisure, he is no longer bound by human nature (for now)!

This shot and his leg shot help to really strip Mizrak of his humanity. Faces in a shot really help to connect people to the characters because we see the emote, we see them breathe, we see them live. Especially for a character like Mizrak? He's super expressive face-wise and I'm purposefully not showing you the defining features of Mizrak. Here I am basically going "Mizrak is no longer human."

This is why in horror/thrillers with antagonist characters, we don't see their faces much and are saved for only key moments (usually, again your intentionality matters). It doesn't allow us to connect with the character on a much more human level. Think of Count Orlok from Nosferatu (2024). Purposefully a lot of his character is shrouded in darkness, focusing on his hands and other aspects, never his face, and even then it is really hard to make out because so much of him is obscured. It makes him that much of an imposing intimidating character! Otherworldly and something that we cannot fully understand.

This is a flipped version of Mizrak's close-up eye shot much earlier when he asked if his soul would remain. Again to hark on how Mizrak and Olrox are switching roles in this animatic! Olrox is looking at Mizrak's soul as we speak.

Despite us not seeing Mizrak's face, we as an audience noticing how unhuman Mizrak has suddenly become, Olrox looks quite gently at him and that was important to convey!

Woo! Lot's of horizontal lines here! While the camera is moving towards the left, Mizrak is moving right!

Originally this shot was going to have Mizrak's teeth sinking into Olrox like a very cool Olrox throwing his head back and Mizrak's fang reveal HOWEVER, I want to leave the "carnage" and bloodshed of the feeding out of the frame and only have it show up in very specific moments so I can have those moments actually have their proper impacts. I did not want to show any part of the front of his face at all since it would dampen the effect later on, so I opted for this instead. The legs give a sense of "something is happening but we don't know what, but it's to a point where Mizrak's entire body is moving oh jeez." Won't lie, this looks very sexual and I'm purposefully toying with that line again because blood drinking is an allusion to sex.

Also, I'm continuing the concept of having aspects of Mizrak's face only for Olrox's eyes. What does he look like when he's actively consuming him with such passion? Idk, Olrox you tell me.

This is everything I was building up for when I introduced the small crosses! The physical manifestation of how Mizrak reciprocates.

My thought process here was that Mizrak only knows how to love by fully devoting himself because that's all he's done for God. So he applies it here. He is reciprocating love, but it is FULL ON. It is intense. It is all-consuming.

The face once again is obscured for all the reasons I have mentioned before, but also it REALLY helps to really hard cut to Mizrak choking on the blood after because before it seemed like he was doing just fine. He is literally looking DOWN at Olrox, he takes up A LOT of the screen with just his back and head. He literally gets pulled into full focus while Olrox is blurred in the background. He appears like he is in control of the situation, however it could not be further from the truth.

Also, I was mostly inspired by the insane amount of bible verses talking about blood, so I'll drop some of those here!

John 6:53-56 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Ezekiel 16:6 ESV 

“And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

Matthew 26:28 ESV

"For this is my [Christ's] blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Absolute contrast to most of the other shots, not only because I decided to add way more character acting here, but it's because we actually see his FULL face. It's intentional because Mizrak realizes himself now so we need to see him have this reaction. I wanted to show that he is still a person. He still has a soul. He may not be human, but he does have a mind that can think and a heart that can love. He still retains human qualities.

He's choking on all the blood (a physical manifestation of love) and his body is rejecting it. He's not used to consuming this amount of love and he's not used to being self-indulgent. It's deeply overwhelming.

I wanted to say I LOVED drawing blood it is SO FUN, planning the camera movement, and how Mizrak coughs at specific moments was sooo fun. I wanted this to be MESSY AND INTENSE. I wanted the audience to feel the weight of Mizrak's sudden distraught. I wanted to throw him around and to really hark on this line from the one-shot.

What has he done? What has been done to him? What has he become?

It helps to deeply contrast with how still and gentle the next scene is!

Yes, that is right, Olrox's pupils are DILATED :)

Coupled with the fact that the blood splatters are hearts! They're outlined in cyan! Olrox has a massive heart-shaped blood splatter on his cheek while Mizrak has a few heart-shaped splatters BUT there are gaps in his bloodied mouth that create heart shapes as if Mizrak spewed out those hearts!

Firstly this is because Mizrak literally eats at his chest where the heart is. Secondly, I'm again pushing for Mizrak to consume and throw up his love due to how overwhelming it is. Not only is Olrox's love for him literally beyond his imagination, but Mizrak is trying to love back in with that same amount of passion and utter devotion. A lot is happening for this new-born vampire that is pushing and pulling at him. His emotional state is so overwhelming that it is manifested in physical form.

The green reflections are shown to visually communicate Olrox anchoring Mizrak back, as, throughout the animatic, it is one of the things that ease or calm him down. I could not portray it through voice BUT I can portray it via visual (guys walk with me here, imagine the insane combo of audio and visual, it would be so tasty). The sole reason why I did not have hearts in his eyes here is simply because I reserved the heart motif for when he's actively drinking out of Olrox's chest (so he's literally consuming his love) or when he's spitting out the blood!

Also, the reason why I cut to his eyes rather than pan to them is purely because I wanted the violence of his mouth to be suddenly jarring to the gentleness in his eyes. I didn't want the slow reveal, I wanted the "OMG the blood- aw Mizrak...."

"Lulled into a sense of hazy compliance by Olrox’s voice, the former monk carefully lowers himself and continues though not for long."

This final shot was soooo important to me to include. The “musty inn room” was mentioned much earlier during Mizrak’s transformation but there was a poeticism by having what is considerably the blossoming moment of their complicated relationship be the final shot. With the lyrics also ending with "Take me back to Eden" how could I not? Clearly, both the rooms between s01e4 and s02e8 are parallel to each other. The only difference is that s02e8 has the room be both red AND GREEN, while s01e4 is just earthy/green. Olrox has taken them both back to their earthly paradise. This is their Garden of Eden.

Woo ok and we're done! Also yes I do thumbnails for these, it's half the reason why I'm fast (this entire animatic, cleaned and everything, was done in 3 days good lord. Is that fast? I can't tell) I make the barest of bones chicken scratch of sketches to get a feel of pace/vibe, then I do my roughs/cleans and add/take away shots necessary for the story that needs to be told. I normally would not let this see the light of day because these are AWFUL BUT, this post is also half a documentation of my personal process so I'm going to close my eyes and share this HAHA

If you got this far, thank you for reading me geek out about this! I find a lot of joy in the visual storytelling medium. As much as I do enjoy animating, (wow could you guys tell in the name?) I have a deep love and passion for storyboarding personally and I get sit back, and enjoy crafting the entire picture! I still have a long way to go but I'm having fun and I'm pursuing my passions of storytelling!

I desperately want to make more animatics, dealing with different tones, pace etc, but I genuinely have to go prioritize other things for now that will help me build these skills hahaha. I say this but who knows, seeing my current track record haha, look I can do both. I follow wherever my creativity takes me. I may have missed a few things but I have to wrap this up now!

Thank you again! The final takeaway, go watch Castlevania again and go be inspired by animation <33333

[lorynna]

The thing that bothers me about the radical feminist community on Tumblr is how unforgiving and harsh some radfems are, when they disagree with your views. I've seen it a couple of times now. We will talk about sisterhood, supporting each other and the love we share for other women but sometimes we cannot criticize each other respectfully.

Especially for the women only slowly getting into radical feminism, because it is new to them, they can be quick to get sassy reblogs due to posting their yet unripe thought processes or making mistakes and that's genuinly sad to see.

On the other hand when it comes to other disagreements: I understand your frustrations and I understand that we won't always agree with each other on everything but that doesn't mean that we have to be unkind to each other.

Sadly, I often feel like me saying things like "I don't think that men are inherently evil", "men have the potential to improve" or "i had a great father figure in my life and I am happy in my current het partnership" puts a great target on my back and I've had many harassive anons sent to me by other supposed radfems.

In all honesty I don't feel free to sometimes say what I think because I just have the feeling that there will be harsh backlash for stating things like the sentences put in quotation above - even when I never challenged radfems that think differently or have had a different life experience compared to mine. Even when all I do is state my own life's reality detached from everything else.

And by sharing mine - I never mean to undermine or disregard the experiences of other women. I respect you. I see you. I see why you hate men and I would never argue with you about why you shouldn't. Again, I empathize with you and I acknowledge that we have different lived realities.

I don't think I have to defend myself regarding this stance but without going into too much detail I was really lucky to have a really amazing father growing up. Generally, I have had great male role models in my life and I love them very much. Just as much as I love my boyfriend who treats me very well. I have seen two sides of the same coin. And if me therefore saying that I don't think that "all men are inherently evil" makes you want to refute my experience angrily - that's your choice.

I am in my early 20s, I have not been part of radical feminist for very long and I am not as smart or as eloquent as many other radfems on this platform - without question. I am here for the discourse, for learning from others and to listen to their experiences. I hope to make Tumblr a little bit of a better place.

[dazaiismytherapist]

Thanks for tagging me @edgarpoeandkarl

(petals of rhododendron taste good)

Oh boy, that’s gifted kid burnout if I’ve ever seen it. You chose to go into academia, and you enjoy learning, but at this point you have to force the dedication you have. You have niche interests and the way you show love is by sharing knowledge. You may look outwardly like you have your shit together, but inside you are in emotional turmoil. Take some time for self-care, it’s not actually effective to stress about everything, you’re only making things harder on yourself. I promise you, it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s also okay to rely on other people and let people in. You’re not a machine, you can’t keep on going endlessly. When you were a child, did people often “compliment” you for being so mature? Those weren’t compliments, you had to grow up too soon. Get in touch with your inner child, I swear that it’s healing. The people that are meant for you will be there when you're messy. I believe in you

Tags: @evelynemberlyn @lemonchu2 +anyone who wants to join

Have you ever wondered what flower from Victorian flower language you are? I have! I have a quiz about it! (my credentials are that I have a spreadsheet of over 600 flower meanings)

[1way2mars]

Pazuribe Event Translation - “Eventful journey in Tonpu Market Street! 〜Showdown with Bofurin〜” — Part 1

─────────────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────────────────

☆ Please give credit in case of use!

☆ I'll do my best to update the second part of the event once it's released on Feb 2nd!

☆ I'm not a professional translator and I'm still learning Japanese. That's why some things might not match exactly/could have been better translated/there might be mistakes. This is a great way for me to learn. I put a lot of effort into making the translation as good as they can be!

☆ Find more pazuribe translations here!

☆ If you have any comment, question, correction or suggestion, please let me know! Interactions are appreciated (^^ゞ

OPENING STORY

ーブロロロ

Vroooom

花垣 武道：マイキー君！今日はどこ行くんスか？

Takemichi: Mikey-kun! Where are we going today?

佐野 万次郎：んーーー決めてねえ

Mikey: Mh……… Haven’t decided yet.

場地 圭介：急にツーリングしてぇって言ったのオマエだよな？なんで行き先決めてぇんだよ...

Baji: Weren’t you the one that told us you wanted to go on a tour so suddenly? Why haven’t you decided where to go…

佐野 万次郎：風を感じたかったんだよ　いいから着いてこいオマエら！

Mikey: I wanted to feel the wind. You guys just follow me!

花垣 武道：あ、待ってくださーい！！

Takemichi: Ah, waaait for me!!

佐野 万次郎：おっちょっと上手なってんじゃんタケミッち

Mikey: Oh you’re getting better Takemicchi.

花垣 武道：本当っスか！？アザス！

Takemichi: For real!? Thanks!

松野 千冬：...場地さん　2人とも行っちゃいますよ？

Chifuyu: ...Baji-san. We’re also going, right?

場地 圭介：...ハァ～～　行くか千冬

Baji: ...hah～～ Let’s go, Chifuyu.

松野 千冬：はい！

Chifuyu: Yes!

・・・

松野 千冬：結構遠くまで来ましたね…

Chifuyu: We’ve come pretty far…

場地 圭介：ここまで来たのは初めてだな

Baji: It’s my first time coming this far.

ーチリン

Kling

佐野 万次郎：なんか音聞こえねぇか？

Mikey: Do you hear that?

ーチリンチリン

Ka-ling klink

佐野 万次郎：こっちだな　行ってみようぜ！

Mikey: Over here. Let’s go!

場地 圭介：おう

Baji: Yeah.

・・・

ーチリンチリンチリン

Ka-ling kling klink

花垣 武道：音はここから鳴ってたみたいっスね

Takemichi: Seems like the noise comes from here.

松野 千冬：「東風商店街」…ってどこだ？

Chifuyu: “Tonpu Market Street”... Where’s this?

場地 圭介：聞いたことねぇな

Baji: Never heard of it.

佐野 万次郎：にしても落書きスゲェな　渋谷もスゲェけどここもヤベェ

Mikey: Either way the graffiti are awesome! Shibuya’s also amazing but this place is insane.

松野 千冬：族が多いんすかね？チームのナワバリとかだったら勝手に入ると揉めそうっスけど…

Chifuyu: There can be a lot of gangs, right? If it's some team's turf and we go in as we like, we might end up in trouble.

場地 圭介：まぁ喧嘩売られても勝てばいーだろ

Baji: Well, if they pick up a fight, we’ll definitely win.

松野 千冬：そうっズね！さすが場地さん！

Chifuyu: You’re right! As expected from Baji-san!

花垣 武道：ん？なんだろうこの看板

Takemichi:  Mh? What’s this sign?

佐野 万次郎：おーいタケミッち　置いてくぞ～！

Mikey: Heeey, Takemicchi. We’ll leave you behind～!

花垣 武道：え！もうあんな遠くに！？待ってくださーい！！

Takemichi: Eh! You’re that far already!? Waait for me!!

STORY BEFORE THE BOSS

佐野 万次郎：うんめぇ～！！ここのたい焼き最高じゃん！

Mikey: So good～!! The taiyaki here is the best!

店員：そんなに喜んでもらえて嬉しいよ　はい、これサービス

Shop clerk: I’m glad that you like it. Here, this is on the house.

佐野 万次郎：マジで！サンキュー！！

Mikey: For real! Thanks!!

花垣 武道：すっごい馴染んでるな…マイキー君

Takemichi: You’re fitting in so well Mikey-kun…

松野 千冬：だな～そもそもこの商店街の奴ら不良に慣れすぎじゃねえか？

Chifuyu: Right～ Anyway, aren’t the people in this shop district way too used to delinquents?

花垣 武道：確かに　特攻服のオレら見ても怖がってねーし

Takemichi: For sure. They aren’t afraid to see us with our uniforms.

場地 圭介：おい、マイキー　オマエ食いすぎだろ

Baji: Hey, Mikey. You’re eating too much.

場地 圭介：腹一杯まで食うと寝んだから　ほどほどにしろ

Baji: You’ll eat until you’re full and then fall asleep, so don’t overdo it.

佐野 万次郎：え～　場地さんも食えよ！ほら！

Mikey: Eeeh～ You should also eat! Here!

不良１：あれ～こんなことで一丁前に特攻服着てるガキが居んぞ～

Delinquent 1: Oh～ Kids wearin’ a uniform tryin’ to act all grown up in a place like this～.

不良２：この街にはオレらが先に用があるんだよ！ガキは大人しくママのところに帰れよなー！

Delinquent 2: We had business in this town first! You kids grow up and go back home to your mums!

松野 千冬：あ？何だよテメェら

Chifuyu: Hah? What the hell, you assholes.

不良３：ぐだぐだ言ってねぇでさっさと退けばいいんだよ！！オラァッ！！

Delinquent 3: Don’t beat around the bush and leave immediately!! Come on!!

松野 千冬：えっと、危ねぇな　お返しだコラァ！！

Chifuyu: Woah, that was close. Hey, take this!!

不良３：ふざけんなよ！皆殺しにしてやる！！

Delinquent 3: Don’t mess with me! I’m gonna kill you all!!

松野 千冬：勝手に喧嘩買ってすみませんっス

Chifuyu: Sorry for picking up a fight as I like. 

場地 圭介：気にすんな　こんな奴ら大したことねぇよ

Baji: Don’t worry. These guys are no big deal.

佐野 万次郎：さっさと終わらせんぞ

Mikey: Let’s get it over with.

花垣 武道：はい！

Takemichi: Yes, sir!

・・・

ガッシャーン！！

Crash!!

？？：桜さん！あっちです！急ぎましょう！！

?? (Nirei): Sakura-san! It’s there! Let’s hurry!!

桜？：おう！

Sakura?: Yup!

佐野 万次郎：コイツら弱ぇな

Mikey: You guys are weak.

不良１：こ、コイツらガキのくせになんでこんなに強いんだよ…！

Delinquent 1: Y-you guys are still kids, so why are you so strong…! 

桜？：テメェら！！何騒いでやがる！！

Sakura?: You assholes!! What the fuck is this fuss!!

？？：街の人たちに迷惑かけないでください！！

?? (Nirei): Please don’t bother the people from town!!

場地 圭介：ハァ？コイツらが先に喧嘩売れってきたんだよ

Baji: Hah? These guys picked up the fight first.

不良３：関係ないヤツは引っ込んでろ！！

Delinquent 3: If you ain’t have nothing to do with this, back off!

桜？：仕方ねぇ、止めるぞ

Sakura?: It can’t be helped, let’s stop this.

？？：は、はい！！

?? (Nirei): Y, yes!!

STORY AFTER THE BOSS

花垣 武道：痛ってて…やべえ、ちょっと気失ってたかも

Takemichi: Ow, ow, it hurts… Damn, I might pass out.

場地 圭介：おーい、タケミチ　こっちは終わったぞ～

Baji: Heey, Takemichi. We’re done over here.

松野 千冬：数だけで大したことなかったっスね！

Chifuyu: They were just a few, so it was no big deal.

花垣 武道：場地君！千冬！

Takemichi: Baji-kun! Chifuyu!

松野 千冬：タケミッち　相変わらずボロボロだな～

Chifuyu: Takemicchi, as always you’re all worn-out～

桜？：おい！いい加減���まりやがれ！

Sakura?: Hey! For fucks sake, give me a break!

佐野 万次郎：邪魔

Mikey: You’re on my way.

桜？：痛��てぇ…な！！！

Sakura?: Ow.. That hurts!!!

花垣 武道：マ、マイキー君の蹴りをガードした…？あの人何者だ…？

Takemichi: H-he blocked Mikey-kun’s kick…? Who the hell is that guy…?

？？：あ、あの！！アンタらどこの誰っスか！？

?? (Nirei): E-excuse me!! Where did you come from!?

場地 圭介：あ？テメェこそ誰だよ

Baji: Hah? Who the hell are you?

楡井 秋彦：オレは風鈴高校1年楡井秋彦っス

Nirei: I’m a first year student at Furin High School, Nirei Akihiko.  

花垣 武道：風鈴高校…？

Takemichi: Furin High School…?

楡井 秋彦：知らないンスか！？この「まこち町」を守るヒーローっスよ！

Nirei: You don’t know!? We’re the heroes that protect this “Makochi Town”!

松野 千冬：ヒーローねぇ

Chifuyu: Heroes, huh?

楡井 秋彦：それより！あんた達は何者っスか！桜さんがあんなに苦戦するなんて…只者じゃないっスよね！？

Nirei: However! Who are you guys! It’s unusual to see Sakura-san struggling with a fight… You are no ordinary people!?

花垣 武道：オレは東京卍會の花垣武道っス！

Takemichi: I’m Tokyo Manji Gang’s Hanagaki Takemichi!

場地 圭介：東京卍會壱番隊隊長　場地圭介だ

Baji: Tokyo Manji Gang first division captain, Baji Keisuke.

松野 千冬：同じく壱番隊副隊長　松野千冬だ

Chifuyu: I’m also first division vice captain, Matsuno Chifuyu.

楡井 秋彦：東京卍會？聞いたことないっスね…

Nirei: Tokyo Manji Gang? Never heard of it…

佐野 万次郎：ふーん　オマエなかなかやるじゃん

Mikey: Pheeew. Not bad at all.

場地 圭介：お、終わったみたいだな

Baji: Oh, looks like you’re finished.

佐野 万次郎：オマエの名前は？

Mikey: What’s your name?

桜 遥：…桜遥

Sakura: Sakura Haruka…

佐野 万次郎：桜ね　オレは佐野万次郎　マイキーでいいよ

Mikey: So Sakura. I’m Sano Manjiro. Mikey’s okay.

桜 遥：ハァ？マイキー？

Sakura: Hah? Mikey?

STORY AFTER DEFEATING BOSS LVL. 2

桜 遥：お前ら結構やるな

Sakura: You guys are quite impressive.

STORY AFTER DEFEATING BOSS LVL. 5

桜 遥：まだまだ本気出せんだろ？

Sakura: Still not making a serious effort?

STORY AFTER DEFEATING BOSS LVL. 10

桜 遥：やっと本気出しやがったか

Sakura: Are you finally stepping up your game.

[chaotic-dreamer88]

I love how much Rebecca loves Dain.

I was annoyed with him in FW and felt bad for Violet, but I never hated him because it was so obvious for me that Rebecca made him a juxtaposition to Xaden. I read it like ''seee Dain did this in this situation, but Xaden did this and that's why Xaden is better for Violet. And I agree Dain and Violet weren't for each other. There was never a love triangle to begin with. It was always Xaden for Violet and it was so obviously written.

In FW I felt there was something more going on with what happened . Like we didn't get the whole story. And then I read IF and all my suspicions were right and since then I loved Dain as a character so seeing Rebecca loving him too makes me happy. But I am also scared she will kill him off. I don't want him to die. I hate when characters who got their ''redemption'' die. I want him to live and to grow as a person because people can learn from their mistakes and grow and became better people.

Also I am all here for Dain and Sloane. I need a book just about them.

[names-of-courage-inspo-n-refs]

[Text below taken from previous post^^^ for ease of searching]

4 year-olds

Have trouble with close visual activities like reading and writing

Fine motor skills are not well developed

Often very clumsy

Energetic and active

Friendly and talkative

Need adult help finding words to express their needs

Easily redirected from unwanted behavior

Imaginative

Experiment with language (including swears they hear adults use)

Short attention spans

Can learn responsibilities like room cleaning but need guidance and models

Typically can't read but they do understand stories and often display complex thinking

Thinking is almost exclusively concrete (what they can see and feel

5 year-olds

Typically go through a growth spurt

May write letters and numbers backwards

Better control of lange muscles but still frequently fall out of chairs

Still struggle somewhat with fine motor skills

Want adult approval

Classes in Kindergarten are usually 15 to 20 minutes

Interpret words literally

Older fives like to explain things that have been explained to them

Poor sense of time (they have no idea how long 5 minutes is)

Ranely see things from another person's view

Abstract concepts like "fairness" are confusing

Vivid imagination and limited life experience lead to leaps in logic (my toys are alive / the trees move when its windy so the tress make wind

6 year-olds

More developed fine motor skills

School work is often rushed because they care more about the product than the process

Highly competitive and sensitive to criticism

Typically begin forming closer friendships (first best friend)

Love jokes and guessing games

Very curious and ask a lot of questions

Better understanding of time (can understand historical events relative to present-day)

Usually can read simple books independently but they frequentty misspell words (city becomes sity)

*These younger years have a lot of development so there is a huge difference between a kid that just turned five and a kid that's five and a half.

7 year-olds

Improved gross and fine motor skills

Often begin preferring video games to outdoor games

Empathetic and sensitive to others feelings

Prefer working alone or with one friend

May worry that nobody likes them (increasing awareness of others thoughts)

Strong sense of right and wrong

Bothered by mistakes and try to perfect their work

Still en joy being read to even though they can read independently

Rapidly increasing vocabulary

Some may still read out loud but most kids can read silently now

8 year-olds

Play hard and tire quickly

Growth spurts can cause them to be clumsy

Ad just well to change and bounce back quickty from disappointments

Want peer and adult approval

Form larger friend groups than 7 year-olds

Tend to exaggerate

Enjoy responsibility but may not complete assigned tasks successfully

Like adding things to school assignments but not revising previous work

Can maintain attention for long periods of time but may forget instructions

9 year-olds

Start of puberty (typically closer to 10 but can happen)

May twist hair or bite nails to relieve tension

More individualistic and beginning to experiment with different personalities and styles

Often worried or anxious

Very critical of themselves and others (including adults)

Like to negotiate and make deals (this is the age I accidentally made my own pyriamid scheme)

Curious but less imaginative (ike to know the how and why)

Rather than learning to read, school focuses on reading to learn (textbooks)

10 year-olds

Lower body muscles are developed but typically not upper body

Frequent rest periods and snacks benefit their quickly growing bodies

Generally happy and friendly

Quick to anger and to forgive

Appreciate being noticed and rewarded for their efforts

Typically have sloppier writing than 9 year-olds because they are in a hurry

Listen well and can appreciate other peoples perspectives

READ A LOT

Increasing ability to think abstractly

11 year-olds

Middle school and team sports usually begin around this time

Need lots of food and physical activity (also usually don't get enough sleep)

Impulsive and often talk before thinking

Use social media a lot

Concerned with thier inclussion or exclusion from social groups

Become more skilled at abstract thinking and deductive reasoning

Like to challenge rules and test limits as they move towards independence

Imitate adult language

Can be sensitive and self-absorbed at times

12 year-olds

Adult personality begins to emerge, but they may still try out others

More reasonable than ll year-olds

Capable of self-awarness and empathy

Care more about peers opinions than adults

More able to think abstractly about complex moral issues

May begin to excel at a subject or skill

Want to make money from jobs at home or in their neighborhoods

13 year-olds

Puberty is in full swing and hygiene becomes a big concern (acne and body odor)

Males typically e jaculate for the first time before or during this time

Have a Sex Ed class in school which is embarassing for them and may lead to silly or rude behavior

Moody and sensitive

Tend to travel is small packs and become very concerned with popularity

Increasing levels of sarcasm in humor

Likes and dislikes become more pronounced

Like to challenge authority

Struggle to put their ideas into practice (they are concerned about social justice but also are mean to each other)

14 year-olds

Females are typically fully developed physically

May become sexually active

Loud and rambuntious

Dislike adult lectures and feel they know what will be said after the first few words

Better at figuring out cause and effect

More willing to admit error and try things a second or third time

Adult personality continues to develop

I am so sick of fic writers making 10-year-olds talk like babies.

I work with children and have taken numerous classes on adolescent development. Here's some of what I learned because I might actually kill someone if I read another fic where an older child is essentially a four-year-old. (No hate to anyone in particular. Children are confusing.)

(Slight trigger warning for 13 & 14 year-olds. Puberty/sex mentioned)

(Most info is from Chip Wood's Yardsticks: Child and Adolescent Development Ages 4-14)

[greenfiend]

I love characters with flaws. I don’t want them to be perfect. Let them make mistakes and be self-centered then learn from it!

What I don’t like is when characters have flaws and it’s never acknowledged. Like say they hurt another character (intentionally, for no good reason) and there were zero consequences. No learning or growth… no accountability.

What I don’t like is when a character is most often the recipient of emotional labour, and attention from others and rarely the giver of it. When others are expected to be supportive, understanding, and patient… but this character isn’t expected to return that to them? I understand being raised a certain way can affect that but the point is to learn and grow. I wanna see the progress but I’m still waiting…

[lightlycareless]

Do you think because of Y/N helping him like grow as a person, do you think this groan version of him would take an interest in Megumi after Toji dies? I don’t think he’d be necessarily try to take care of Megumi full time but I could see him being invested in his care. I feel like Naoya wouldn’t have let Megumi go into his teen years not knowing much about his father lol

I HIT SEND TOO QUICKLY Hi, I’m the Naoya and Megumi anon. I also wanted to mention how I think it’d be cute to see how Y/N would interact with Megumi as well. I feel like Megumi would grow closer to Y/N faster than he would go both Naoya and Satoru since I’m sure those two could be annoying to him lol

Hi anon hehehehehehe. Sorry for taking a while to respond 🥹 I couldn't really think much about a scenario between the two interacting, but after a while, I think I finally got it!

This was nice to write, it's like a nothing goes terribly wrong AU. One can certainly dream.

Warnings: nothing major, just naoya being a tiny douchebag before realizing his mistakes :) also, I had to change the timelines because when satoru met megumi you were like 15 and that's the age I envisioned you meeting naoya for the first time lol (me taking creative liberties, as usual); but outside of that, fluff.

Happy reading!!

I’m going to be honest with you, I do not think Naoya would care much about Megumi initially outside of his similarities to Toji, but even then, it doesn’t last that long because he rather have the real deal, if that makes sense. Megumi’s relationship to his favorite person in the whole wide world is actually to his detriment.

However, things don’t turn out for the worse until he finds out why he was welcomed into the Zen’in estate in the first place.

Because he’s essentially his replacement! If not the preferred option… and this revelation has Naoya seething with anger. How dare his family do that to him, after all he’s done for them?!

And believe me when I say Naoya was more than ready to retaliate, find a way to sabotage the poor kid—

Until you stepped in and disapproved of his actions.

But not only that, your engagement too, and possibly even your relationship.

“Can’t you see how critical this is?! I am to lose my title, my place in this family because of this—kid!” Naoya tries to justify his actions, attempts to convince you of his erroneous beliefs and support him. “We’re going to lose everything! Is that the life you want?! To be thrown out into the streets?!”

But you’re not having it, because that’s not why you fell in love with him in the first place.

“I don’t care if we live in poverty, Naoya. However, I do care if I am to face those struggles with a man I’m suddenly surprised to learn he’s not the type of father I want for my future children.”

Your statement certainly shakes the foundations of his behavior for a bit, though he’s kind of back at it again soon after, believing you’d return to your usual self in no time. Like it always goes…

However, it’s not until your prolonged, absolutely painful silence towards him, enough to refuse to sleep in the same bed as him, that he finally snaps out of his delusions.

It’s now clear to him that your words referred to your reconsideration of this engagement, fearing that the way he behaved towards his innocent nephew might actually be a direct reflection of his fatherhood. One of the many things you are non-negotiable about.

He’d have to be naïve to think his relationship, his future children, couldn’t entail a possibility like this. Like his clan hadn’t accepted his engagement to you for the slightest possibility of begetting a son with their inherited technique.

Neither had thought much about it, perhaps too enthralled with the idea of spending the rest of their lives together—but this was a very plausible circumstance. Or at least it was until the obnoxious white-haired heir came along and dragged poor Megumi and his sister into a world he was previously unaware of.

…

And he just had to go ahead and disappoint you, didn’t he? Eagerly considering doing things he would never attempt against his own children… all because he was jealous.

No wonder you didn’t want to relate to him anymore. He was acting the same way his family did! How they taught him to be.

The same behavior that once threatened this relationship to never exist, unless he changed for the good.

Naoya thought he did, but with the prospect of his future marriage now hanging by a string, he’s not so sure anymore.

Still, hope remains. A sliver of opportunity for him to retract his denouncing actions and do what’s right before it’s too late.

For you.

For Megumi.

So, willing to put his (imaginary) differences aside, he approaches young Megumi with intentions of bridging the gap between the two and getting to actually know him; his first and perhaps only relative to care enough to do so, it seems.

Unfortunately, Megumi wasn’t too keen on following his lead. In fact, he didn’t want to entertain anything that might entail the heir, which honestly surprised Naoya since his preconceived notions influenced him to believe otherwise. This kid is essentially going to get his job, wouldn’t he like to know more about it??

Not really. For all he could care for was the wellbeing of his sister, another young child Naoya grew slightly indifferent to after hearing she wasn’t really related to his cousin, a stepchild. He had no quarrel with her, but he wasn’t the best “in-law” either.

Well, at least this made his job easier when it came to getting into Megumi’s good graces, all he had to do was order a better life for her and that was set. However, the kid’s coldness towards him remained, and at the prospect of his options quickly running out, Naoya grows desperate—anxious.

What if he never makes amends for his acts?

Would you… leave him?

“Stupid Satoru, this is all his fault! If he had only come to me first instead of dumping all his problems to us, this would’ve been way different!”

Who would’ve thought, however, that he and Megumi would end up bonding over their shared distaste for the Gojo heir?

“So, he’s always like that?” Megumi quietly asks upon hearing Naoya curse out his frustrations.

“Huh? Who?” Naoya asks, unsure if he’s talking to him.

“Satoru, has he always been this immature?”

Your fiancée blinks.

“Yeah, since he was a kid.” Naoya continues. “An obnoxious, irritating—”

“White-haired creep.” Megumi finishes, he grins.

“I knew I couldn’t be the only one that saw Gojo for what he really is!” Naoya proudly states, as if he hadn’t previously admired the man for as long as he could remember, the epitome of strength but only behind his cousin!

Though his disdain only came much later upon learning of a particular succession that happened between you and him; since then, he’s been persona non grata in his life.

“Makes sense why his friends look at him the way they do.” Megumi continues. “How can he even have friends in the first place??”

“No idea, might pay them for their time or something.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

It marked the beginning of a new friendship, one that Naoya genuinely enjoyed past making amends and getting back to your good graces, enough so for him to actually invite him to train; Megumi refused his initial invitation, citing he really didn’t have much interest about sorcery and such, but eventually agreed after realizing all of the things he could accomplish by becoming strong…

Such as protecting his sister.

Besides, Naoya ought to be a far better adequate training partner than those goons in the kukuru and akashi units, or old geezers like this father and uncle.

“It’d be my privilege to train you.” Naoya continues. “And perhaps, in due time, you’ll be able to beat Gojo yourself.”

Consider him sold.

Though some restraints must still be employed.

“You better not be encouraging to do anything bad, Naoya.” You say after bumping into him just around the corner, once their training session was over and both were dismissed to clean up.

“Y/N!” Naoya gasps, thrilled to see you again; he tried to play it cool but, well, he never could contain himself with the love of his life. “I—… I don’t know what to say, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I hear that you were actually getting along, so… I just came by to check in on the two.”

“We have. He’s quite entertaining, you know?”

“I know. He’s very sweet too.”

“Really?” Naoya raises an eyebrow.

“When no one’s watching, of course. Kind of reminds me of someone…”

…

…

…

“Are you still… disappointed with me?”

You sigh.

“No, not really.” You admit. “But I did get a bit… worried.”

About what he’d do if one of his children had inherited his family’s technique.

“I’d still love them, like I love you.” Naoya reassures, a sentiment you know to be true now. “I could only love all that comes from you.”

“I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.” You smile, taking his hand with yours and pulling him closer.

“Does this mean…?”

“Yeah, we have lots of catching up to.” You tease. “But—I need you to promise me something before that.”

“Anything.”

“That you’d be careful about what you say about Satoru in front of Megumi; I wouldn’t want him to do something by accident in the days he’s here and… well, you know, make things awkward.”

Naoya laughs.

“I mean, we wouldn’t be lying…”

“Naoya.”

“Alright, I promise. No more trash talking.”

“Keep it to the minimum at least… I get how annoying he can be, but… well, we have to be the bigger person in this situation.” you pout, inviting Naoya to lean down and steal a kiss from your lips.

“I’ll deal with it, don’t worry your pretty little head about anything” He kisses you again. “Outside of our wedding, of course. Have you thought about the venue you want?”

You smile.

“Not yet, but I’ve seen some beautiful options we should definitely go look!”

Unfortunately, you wouldn’t have much time to do so, because this promise would be broken not so long after by you (the irony of it all!). A slip of your tongue and their words would inundate Satoru’s mind with nothing less than skepticism.

But far from prompting an expected reaction, it triggered a far worse consequence: a competition with the sole purpose of demonstrating which one of the heirs was better. There were no limits, only points to prove.

…

You suppose there is no better training for patience when you finally have children of your own, than this.

Also, to not leave that major question unanswered: I feel like Megumi would be the one to eventually ask Naoya about his dad; Naoya for sure wanted to tell him all the amazing things Toji seemingly did, but you convinced him not to because...

"He sold him, Naoya. What do you think Megumi feels about that?"

Not sure if it's ooc, but I also believe Naoya's perspective of him might change a bit.... he'll still admire the crap out of him, but there's just things that he doesn't perceive so happily anymore.

Anyways, there's my interpretation of the relationship they could have hehehe it began with Naoya trying to mend things because of you but they ended up being somewhat amicable with one another :) to torment Satoru is their main motivation. (don't get me wrong, Megumi eventually finds Naoya annoying too, but, well, he can benefit out of the two one way or the other hahah)

I hope you enjoyed it 🥹❤️ I strive to write more about Megumi in the future.

Take care, and hope to see you soon ❤️

[roublardise]

HAPPY FEMSLASH FEBRUARY 🎉

here's my little reclist :)

.

In the Wake of the Winchesters - iamfoxfire / @supersapphical Cassie/Jess | 22k | 5/7

After her mother's passing, Cassie's grief drove her away from her hometown. Now she moves around the US, visiting any town that might have a story and publishing articles about her travels. Out in California, she hears rumors about a potential haunting but when she goes to investigate, she meets a ghost completely unlike the murderous spirits she's tangled with in the past. This ghost isn't deliberately violent but she is increasingly desperate in her attempts to be heard. Cassie realizes she is in a unique position to try to help this spirit over to the other side except that the more time they spend together, the more the strange connection between them grows.

-> the ghost sex really haunts me, and the description making the house so alive still inspire me to this day

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neatly-labelled leftovers - gayliens Mary/Jody | 3.1k

Mary hates Jody, she realises faintly, as she opens the fridge to a Tupperware stack of neatly-labelled leftovers. Green bean casserole, turkey chilli, maple-glazed pork chops. All homemade, probably. Jody has two kids of her own and Mary’s own kids to boot, a steady job and a good hunting gig and time to mash her own potatoes by hand. All Mary has to show for twenty-nine years is an aborted life of choosing hunting and home at the wrong times for the wrong reasons, a wedding ring she hurled into the woods two weeks after being resurrected, and a decent pussy-eating technique. None of this, technically, is Jody’s fault. But god, Mary hates her for it. or, mary stays with jody after asa's funeral. things get a little complicated

-> stunning writing !!! !! !!!!!!

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Fil Rose - @limbel Jo Harvelle | 1.3k

Pink was the color of the minidress that clung tight and glittery and oppressive to the smooth-plastic body of the Barbie that came out of the package, curly red ribbons and giftwrap now laying all scrunched next to Jo’s toes. Four stills from Jo's life, connected by a thread

-> jo gender thoughts in beautiful poetic prose

.

Roadhouse Girl - Jo Daily universe - thereweresunflowers / @mrcowboydeanwinchester serie of 3 works. Jo Harvelle, Jo/Cassie | 42.9k total

Works inspired by Jo's Blog and set within the universe of my Jo manifesto fic Jo Daily - usually pre-season, in the Roadhouse.

-> and basically anything by Ola, half of which is in my to-read list already.. an icon

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Wolf Like Me - schmevil Bela/Meg | 4k

Meg takes Bela of the rack.

-> such an interesting exploration of Hell and being a demon

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caution blocks you from the wind - @captainangua Mary/Rowena | 3.5k

Rowena invites Mary out for drinks

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Target Practice - Petrichora_Vellichor / @petrichoravellichor Mary/Rowena | 2k

Mary and Rowena share a moment on the bunker's shooting range.

-> both of these are Mary/Rowena thesises to me :)

...

AND if I may.... here's my own Mary fic 💕

amidst ashes and feathers - anarchistamara Mary/Amara | 6.7k

"It's a matter of days until she crosses paths with another hunter. And she might not be recognized, but what could she say if they asked her name? Or where she learned to be that good? She can't be Winchester. She can't be Campbell either. She's not sure she can even be Mary." - Mary is brought back from the dead by Amara (again). This time, she doesn't want to do the same mistakes. This time, she wants to be herself. Whoever the hell that may be.

[satansagereranch]

Well, I'd love to join the game~!

🌷- To be frank, I just enjoy working with kids in general. So joyful and full of energy. They truly are a treat to work with. So when I got the task of being Satan's caregiver when I found out he regressed, I was eager to do so.

🎹 - I usually describe myself as a caregiver. It feels the most apt and natural one for me to use. That being said, I'm more than fine letting the little one choose whichever term they want to call me.

🫧 - With Satan? My ideal day with him is a nice day at the ranch, working on our emotions and how to express them healthily. I let him get some activity, an he does some mental health exercises with me to help him relax.

🧸- Satan is my regressor! You can see my blog for more details on what he's like.

🌼- I like it when Satan calls me Yogi. That's the nickname he made for me. I find it so endearing~!

🧃- Chamomile Tea without a doubt! I always keep packets with me everywhere so I have a readily brew-able cup ready~!

🎨- It's hard to pick between a tea party and reading books for me, to be honest. Both are really good activities. I suppose it depends on what my little one wants.

🍼 - No, I don't regress.

❤️‍🩹- I have a little plush of Belphegor I got for myself when I graduate medical school. Her luxuriously soft fur helps comfort me when I'm in need of reassurance.

💫- There's no right or wrong way to regress. How you feel and how your regression take form is no better or more correct than anyone else's. So don't beat yourself up feeling like you should be like other littles or that you're incorrect. You aren't. I promise you that much, little ones.

🐛- When with Satan, I call him Little Prince, Little Brimstone, and Fire Flower. He likes those nicknames. With other littles, I go by what they desire.

🍟- My favorite meal is Filet Mignon, if you can believe it. It's one of my favorite foods ever, ever since I got a taste of it during my "graduation from med school" party with my friends. As for snacks, a small smoothie always hits the spot. You can customize it with so many options, so you'll never get tired of them and can always spice them up with something interesting~!

🛁- As I said before, I've always enjoyed taking care of kids even before being introduced to the age regression community. So taking care of aggressors wasn't hard for me to find enjoyment in. I knew it for certain though the first time Satan looked me in the eyes and told me how glad he was to have me taking care of him. It was a moment of vulnerability he rarely showed to anyone, much less me, in his adult state. It's a moment I'll carry with me throughout my life.

🚗- The Beach. It's a beautiful place full of water and fun, and let's little ones be active!

🌈- I'm not sure if I have a particular favorite age range to work with. All of them are equally enjoyable to work with for me in my experience!

🪴- My favorite hobbies are meditation, arts and crafts, Incense and Candle making, and writing children's books. My work with Satan has been particularly helpful in giving me ideas for new books for little ones to enjoy~!

💌- I absolutely adore it when they make cute noises or ask for hugs or comfort. It never fails to bring a smile to my face!

💐- Don't be afraid to make mistakes and take it slow. New experiences can take a while to properly understand and test your limits and what you are and are not okay with. You'll make mistakes and you might even accidentally cross a boundary, and that's okay (within reason). Just be sure to communicate and be honest with yourself and people you share your experiences with that everyone can learn from it.

🌙- One of my favorite things to do with little ones is meditate and make incense. It's a calming activity that allows for conversation as well, letting me grow closer to the little one I'm interacting with.

🧺- I mostly care for littles in-person on the ranch, but I've been learning to help them online as well since I joined the community with Satan.

🥨- When I need to take a break, I ask to take some time to myself, go to my quiet space, and meditate or simply be for a bit, recentering my mind.

🐠- I prefer asks. No reason in particular, it's just my preference. I just ask little ones be cautious and know they're interacting with an adult. There are a lot of scary ones out there who want to take advantage of vulnerable littles.

(And on a personal note as the author of the blog, I will reiterate, I won't be friends with users under 18 for my and their own safety. They can send me asks, but NOT DMs. Not that I don't trust them, it's just a safety precaution for both our sakes. Thank you again for being understanding.)

🎀- I'm doing good. Thanks for asking!

(Author's Note: Personally, I've got a bit exit exam coming up for college. Big stuff, so a bit anxious. Wish me luck with that.)

🌿- I started the blog to give Satan a place to safely regress with other littles like him. He's always been a solitary little one and rarely interacts with anyone who isn't me or Queen Bee. I hoped by doing this and starting the ranch, he'd be able to embrace his little side more and not feeling he had to put on a defensive barrier to me and others to protect himself.

(Author's Note: I started the blog because I thought it would be cute to have a blog for Satan and Yogirt in the agere community. I had the idea ever since we first saw them in Mastermind in November last year.)

🍪- Love: The emotional connection and healing that comes with the activity. It's why I believe it should be more widely accepted in Hell.

Dislike: Cleaning up big messes. Though I accept and will not judge littles for making messes, they still aren't the most fun to clean up in the aftermath. Especially if it's a particularly stubborn stain. If it happens, I simply tell me little calmly but firmly to not make messes in the future and make sure they understand why it's important to not do so.

25 questions for agere caregivers, babysitters, & flips! 🍦🍃🍓

there aren’t very many cg-focused ask games (at least that i could find!) so i decided to just make one myself! feel free to send me an ask, or if you’re a cg/sitter/flip, rb and let others send you questions too!!

{NO K!NK/NSFW INTERACTION PLS!}

🌷— what do you enjoy most about caring for regressors?

🎹 — what term(s) do you prefer to describe yourself and how you care for little ones? (ie, a caregiver, carer, babysitter, or something else!)

🫧 — describe your ideal fun day with a kiddo! where would you go, what would you do?

🧸 — do you have a regressor of your own? if yes, tell me about them! if no, do you want one/more than one?

🌼 — what nicknames do you love to be called by a little one, if you have any you prefer?

🧃 — what’s your favorite drink?

🎨 — pick an activity to do with a baby: reading stories, having a tea party, baking cookies, or watching cartoons?

🍼 — do you regress yourself/are you a flip?

❤️‍🩹 — do you have any special comfort items?

💫 — is there anything you wish more age regressors knew? anything you want to tell them?

🐛 — what are your favorite nicknames to call regressors when they’re small? (assuming they like those names too, of course!)

🍟 — what’s your favorite meal or snack?

🛁 — how/when did you discover you enjoy caring for regressors?

🚗 — pick a place to take a little one: a playground, a beach, an amusement park, or an arcade?

🌈 — do you have an age range that you especially enjoy caring for? (to be clear: any and every age range is perfect and adorable!! this isn’t about which one is “best,” bc they’re all good!)

🪴 — what are some of your favorite hobbies? tell me a little bit about them!

💌 — what’s something age regressors do that you think is extra cute or endearing?

💐 — do you have any advice for newer caregivers/sitters?

🌙 — what is your favorite activity to do with a kiddo? (or, if you regress, to do together when you’re regressed too?)

🧺 — do you mostly care for kiddos online, in person, or both?

🥨 — how do you relax and destress? what helps you when you need a break?

🐠 — how do you feel about receiving asks or direct messages from little ones? do you prefer one over the other, or have any other boundaries about talking with you online?

🎀 — how is your day going? how are you really doing?

🌿 — if you have a caregiver/babysitter blog, what made you decide to start it?

🍪 — what’s one thing you love and one thing you dislike about age regression and/or caregiving?

[fatedroses]

And some days, I just wish you wouldn't look at me at all.

[enrapture]

[kanansdume]

You started these tags with "oof" and I went back to re-read the second part of this post and... yeah, oof is about how I feel, too. Oh how hopeful I was for something good to come out of that show, BOTH shows actually since I was looking at Mandalorian season 3 as well it seems.

This post is already a little long, so I'll put the rest under a cut, but tl;dr is that I think you're giving the people writing in the Mandoverse SO MUCH more credit than they deserve and they'll likely never do anything good or creative with these characters again.

I don't think that making Sabine a Jedi had anything to do with Sabine at all. A lot of people have pointed out that Sabine is acting like a bratty teenager despite being literally 30 years old and that she feels a lot like an ANAKIN stand-in so that Ahsoka can figure out her feelings about Anakin through her relationship to Sabine. We know that the Rebels Search for Ezra storyline got combined with Ahsoka's show and that they weren't originally intended to be the same story. So it makes sense that Ahsoka likely HAD a padawan-figure originally who was probably a new character and that they just replaced that character with Sabine when things got combined, regardless of what that would mean for Sabine's character.

Sabine doesn't even grow or learn anything by the end of the show. I've see people try to argue that when she left Ezra behind in order to save Ahsoka that it showed she'd grown from when she abandoned everything to save Ezra, except... she's literally just making the same choice for a different person. Thrawn is LEAVING and the whole point of jumping onto his ship is to try to STOP HIM or something, and instead of doing that and helping Ezra, she runs back because one person's life is at stake and now Ezra is alone on that ship and Sabine never has to face the consequences of her own actions. Personally, that doesn't feel like any actual growth to me or like she's learned from the mistake she made by going to get Ezra. The narrative itself doesn't even seem to think that it WAS a mistake she needs to learn from, which leaves her character with literally nowhere to go.

If they were going to bring her back to Mandalore as a leader, they probaby would've been EMPHASIZING her connection to Mandalore rather than basically erasing it. It would've made more sense to leave her family ALIVE, even just ONE of them, to give her more of a connection to that cause. But no, aside from her wearing the armor, there's absolutely no indication she gives a flying shit about Mandalore or its people anymore.

So even if they DID start pushing Sabine in the direction of being a leader again, I wouldn't like it. THIS Sabine should never lead anybody ever. THIS Sabine is a selfish piece of shit who is willing to unleash Thrawn upon the galaxy just to get what she wants. REBELS era Sabine was awesome, and had the makings of a great ruler. REBELS era Sabine had learned mercy and patience and selflessness by the end of the show, while THIS fucking Sabine is impatient, impetuous, irresponsible, and selfish. Nobody should EVER allow the Ahsoka show version of Sabine anywhere NEAR a leadership position, and if they try to do it, it'll just be unbelievably bad writing. Perhaps hilariously bad writing, it could be amusing to see them attempt to make that claim, but it'd still be bad.

And, as you mentioned, they've already put Bo-Katan in as the leader of Mandalore for the THIRD TIME and, ostensibly, destroyed the Dark Saber. There doesn't seem to be any real planning around who gets put in as the leader of Mandalore, to be honest, it just kind-of flip flops and goes to whoever they deem most convenient in the moment. Sabine was being set up for it for a minute until they decided it would be problematic with what they wanted to do with her later in Rebels, so they threw it at Bo-Katan with no good reason. Then they took it away from Bo-Katan in The Mandalorian so that they could set Din up to take on leadership of Mandalore except that then they decided they didn't really like that so they abandoned all of that set-up and tossed it back at Bo-Katan because, hell, she's already there isn't she, might as well just give it back to her because THAT'S satisfying to see! So, sure, MAYBE they'll give it back to Sabine and take it away from Bo-Katan AGAIN later on, maybe Bo-Katan will die fighting Thrawn and so Sabine gets put back in as an option, but I don't have a single ounce of belief that it'll make any sense or feel in any way satisfying.

For all that the Mandoverse is focused on Mandalorians in the extreme, I don't feel like they're writing them all that well or care all that much about giving these characters good strong narratives. Sabine is just the latest in a string of terrible writing choices for their Mando characters.

Sabine Wren is not just the true wielder of the Darksaber, but the only one who should’ve been chosen to rule Mandalore and I will die on that hill.

The entire point of Sabine’s whole arc through the show is that she is learning JEDI VALUES, that she’s learning that the Mandalorian way has its place, but it also has so many flaws and that it’s what has led Mandalore to fight itself into dust. She’s impatient and distrustful and learns to listen with Hera about Fulcrum. She’s more inclined to kill someone out of anger until she learns the value of mercy and second chances from Kanan with Fenn Rau. She tries to pretend her problems don’t exist and won’t truly face them until she learns to wield the Darksaber with Kanan and then goes to make amends with her family. The entire episode with her familiy shows how Sabine brings together everything she’s learned: she waits and listens to her family’s grievances, understanding exactly how her actions impacted them, and then she shows mercy to Gar Saxon rather than killing him after her win like a true Mandalorian would.

Having Bo-Katan claim that the Mandalorian way is a way of MERCY, when we’re intentionally told and shown that Sabine’s willingness to show mercy explicitly goes against her Mandalorian upbringing and teachings and was something she learned from Hera, and from Kanan and his Jedi teachings, is really insulting. The Mandalorian way, as shown through Rebels, is NOT one of mercy, that’s the entire point. Sabine recognizes that, recognizes that that’s what’s caused them so much misery, caused them to turn on each other so much that their planet hasn’t ever had the chance to heal and regrow.

Bo-Katan even says IN THIS EPISODE that Sabine represents the best of what they have been in the past as well as the best of what they could someday become. That Sabine is a true leader.

To have Sabine turn around and say that the Darksaber came to her, after she EARNED IT, for the FIRST time since Tarre Viszla she truly EARNED the Darksaber, just so she could pass it on to Bo-Katan, someone who once gleefully helped set a village on fire after the people she was helping subjugate tried to resist?

I’m sorry, but no.

Sabine Wren is Tarre Viszla’s true successor. Not just as the wielder of the Darksaber, but as Mandalore’s uniter, as its truest ruler. Sabine Wren has the patience and mercy and wisdom of a Jedi with the passion and mettle of a Mandalorian warrior. She has learned to listen as well as she fights, and she has learned how to appreciate different points of view and how to bring them together to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

The Darksaber came to her because Sabine Wren always had the capacity to use it to fulfill Tarre Viszla’s vision, to unite Mandalore, to save it from itself, to make it more than it is. The Darksaber came to her specifically because Sabine has the greatest ability to lead Mandalore into a peaceful future.

[soulmvtes]

i am very very young and i am still learning how to live!!!

[alongtidesoflight]

i swear my stepdad is so illogical AND stubborn it hurts