#i was sold at the art style and then i was double sold when i saw cats

[sgiandubh]

And kia... ora (?!) to New Zealand, like you've never seen it before 🤭

Just listened to Monica Gleberman's latest podcast with S. Twice. I can only urge you to do the same: it's 19 minutes long and well.. I'd just love to read your thoughts on it. By the way, I had no idea the woman even existed (happens a lot in SC world, at least to me) before she chimed in with indignation, you know... the Palestine Letter, and such.

But first, my short assessment, of course. By the way, this was recorded, I think, on November 1st, based on this X post:

Showbiz being showbiz, all grudge is now forgotten and you can listen to the podcast on Spotify, here (no subscription needed, of course):

OK, I honestly think her voice and her completely clueless, torrential debit are totally meh, but maybe that's just me. She made me think of one of those Tupperware representatives, always eager (hungry?) to sell something to you and do it quick, drug-dealer style. Some in Mordor thought she was drunk on the job (a half-emptied bottle of SS Gin was emphatically mentioned at least twice during the interview) - as usually, no humor and nasty.

I just think she was just acting too cool for school and #silly, with a severe case of ovaries going...

... on top.

Straight off the bat, the OTT praise is on steroids: how amazing S is, how he never changed, 'same sweetest person and like an amazing human being and friend to talk to and I just love you'. Kill me now, but that was unnecessary - yet still useful, since it prompted this answer (02:54):

'Well, that's very kind of you to say, but I think that's not true...I think there's...there's a lot of smoke and mirrors, this is ALL fake, um...underneath, there's a completely different human being. I have a double, actually. I AM the double. Um.. no, it's been a great journey, I'm very lucky and yeah, it's [OL] given me a lot of opportunities, as well (...).'

Translation: I am joking, but not even joking, if you see what I mean.

You'd think that was casual banter? You might want to think twice. Like all Taureans, bless their heart, S always almost heavily insists, when he wants to make sure the message gets across (07:12):

MG: ' Soooo, I don't know what's true, what's not true, but I'm just gonna assume that, you know, you looove watercolor. So, what is your favorite watercolor painting to make?'

Huh? Did I get that right? The answer does not match the clumsy question. At all. But see/hear for yourself:

S:' Err, you know what, I mean, I actually do, I actually have a couple paintings.. um.. from a..an artist called James Morrison, he was a Scottish artist.. he.. he actually painted a lot around Scotland, but he also painted up in the Arctic... the Arctic Circle... I'm kind of obsessed with him, so yes, this actually,,, this is truth...damn, I didn't know you'd actually put truths in here, but, you know...'

MG: ' OK, so we're already breaking barriers, right? Like revealing secrets so that is... that is... true.'

I shall not comment this. I do not think it needs any translation, to be honest.

The 'illiterate' S is, apparently, a keen art connoisseur and how could it be otherwise, if you only think of his mum? And Morrison is not just your average Scottish watercolorist. If you care to check his Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Morrison_(artist), you'll find interesting things, like:

His works can fetch at auction (here at Christie's in 2006), around...

... and the recent (conservative) estimates are stable. You can check them here: https://www.invaluable.com/artist/morrison-james-1932-9fybkaiqbc/sold-at-auction-prices/. A very good investment, on a volatile, whimsical market (I know very well what I am talking about).

Surely enough, some of you will just hear that horrendous cackle and the flirt fest that totally goes south by the end of the podcast. But maybe - just maybe - if you listen a bit more carefully, you'd have a rare peek behind that damn mask.

[giltandgreen]

Concept for Loki's Lair in New York

My concept for a fictional lair Loki occupies in New York in an AU I have not written and may never write about Loki getting some sort of Avengers I settlement where he gets banished to Midgard like Thor but instead of like actively trying to better himself he just becomes a Villain of the Week for the Avengers. But not like a scary villain rather an inconvenient one as Loki and Sigyn really like living in Midgard and so Loki is trying to prolong their stay as long as possible by being a headache/annoyance to the Avengers every so often without really messing anything up. Eventually, the Avengers catch on that Loki isn't really trying to do anything nefarious (his freeze ray that one time wasn't even plugged in and when they show up to the lair instead of fighting the Avengers his henchpeople just let them through the door with a wave and a smile) and start playing along.

Anyway, Loki's Lair is:

possibly Art Deco on the outside but Art Noveau on the inside. I've also considered it being Art Noveau on the outside and Art Deco on the inside. Art Deco seems more villainous but I feel like any room Sigyn designs is full on Art Noveau. Either way, it's a run-down apartment building somewhere that Sigyn and Loki renovated. Initially, there were some concerns about gentrification and the fact that a villain lair was going up in the neighborhood, but Loki and Sigyn have been really great about being positive forces in the neighborhood.

Has a room for all of the Loki merch that has ever been made, which Sigyn collects. Loki's merch is now being made and sold through the same Avengers line because he's become sort of an anti-hero more than a real villain. Most of the proceeds are funneled back into helping the neighborhood around the lair.

The room where all of Loki's big villain reveal/monologue scenes are held, which upon closer inspection really is just like a big stage with moving parts. (This room may also be occasionally used by the neighborhood LGBTQ community for balls free of charge.)

The room where all of the props for Loki's big villain room are stored when not in use.

A basement swimming pool where, as a sort of sidequest, Sigyn and Loki are keeping all of the alligators they rescue from the New York City sewers.

A craft room

A room adjacent to the craft room that is just used for storing glitter

Loki and Sigyn's bedroom with ensuite bathroom and double walk-in closest. This room arguably has the best views from the building and may be part of the penthouse.

The first floor lobby where there's always a couple of kindly henchpeople willing to help you into the right elevator and get to the right floor. Also two door henchpeople and a henchperson who watches the front desk, but if you look at the "security monitors" you'll find they're just watching Drag Race.

The henchperson breakroom, which is fully stocked and even has a fridge that Sigyn spelled to ensure people only take their own lunches following what has become known as the Reuben Sandwich Incident. After a little research, the Avengers find out that Loki's henchpeople not only get great benefits but Loki seems to the major force behind the creation of a henchperson union, which has really annoyed some of the other supervillains. This leads to a weird situation where Captain America refuses to fight AIM because it would require crossing a picket line.

At least two libraries

A really nice guest room for Frigga when she comes to visit

A slightly less nice room for Thor to use when he comes to stay the night

The classroom where Loki teaches his introductory heroing classes for youngsters (a la this post). Sigyn provides the healthy snacks for the classroom.

A massive kitchen complete with Asgardian style roasting spit.

[pushing500]

Buckeye is a bit of a plant snob, I think. It makes sense in a way because she seems to be part plant, but the biliog are designed to grow psychite and have improved plant skill in their genetics, so... Maybe Buckeye just thinks Blackdragon's not pretty enough to work in her garden.

Our new Hussar colonist Curly only likes one of the cult members, but Socks considers him a rival.

Nineteen-year-old Curly is also, somehow, twenty-nine-year-old Vasso's granduncle.

And finally, it's time for the final colony tour of Loyalty's Meander before we set off to hopefully cover the last leg of the journey to the crashed ship!

Presenting... Loyalty's Meander!

It's a quaint little settlement with not too much going on—aside from the giant murder church. I'm sure nearby settlements consider that more of a tourist attraction than a threat, though, right? Right?

The central hub of the colony is the kitchen/dining space, with room for prisoners/spare food off towards the south.

There are some very productive fields and a stonecutting station set up in the centre of the colony.

To the left is the saplingchild pen that recently saw the births of Magic Man and Buckeye's daughters, Blackthorn and Bluegum. We also have a tailorshop/art studio, and a guest bedroom.

Vance's room comes next. It was hastily constructed off to the side because he joined us later. Of course, we also have a dinosaur museum. I love dinosaur museums.

The main bedrooms are built in a sort of apartment-style structure, with a hospital and a bathroom at one end.

The laboratory is tacked on to the end of the apartment block, and it doubles as a classroom for the many children around the colony, though only Dire Wolf and Night Stalker ever used it because the others are still babies or toddlers, and Bella and Pro are adults now.

The garage, another bathroom, and our archery target for shooting recreation.

The rec room/fabrication room. This used to be our temple before some traders came by and sold us a prefab which became...

...The spookiest darn church you ever did see <3

They also sold us a prefab for a "Viking Village," which we turned into a guest motel and Curly's bedroom, where he could do grumpy nonbeliever Hussar things away from the rest of the gang.

Last but not least are our animal pens and the barn. The boomalopes have a separate pen because they tend to explode when things don't go their way, and we can't risk losing Shamrock, the lucky donkey.

So there you have it! The end of Loyalty's Meander, and one step closer to escape <3

First | Next | Previous

[pluck-heartstrings]

Normal people about a fanfic: I hope these two kiss

Me: Fazco shows a decidedly liberal acceptance of unintentional demograpgic grabs and seems to fully embrace them (see Glamrock chica, developes for the younger female fans, becoming the older mom workout posterchild). When it comes to the princess she's most likley aimed towards the younger female demographic as Chica likley lost that marketing appeal when made a knight. But the princess has very little show presence except as a frontman and thus probably doesnt hold much young children's attention durring shows, but probably holds more adult attention being the steaigtman to the attendants. Which means shes probably aimed very heavily towards veeeeeery young girls to double up on their parents while missing mid aged child to teen entirley by design. And very young female demographics focus a lot of pretend play. The fact she doesnt have hair is a *huge* red mark on her design for this. So theres probably a lot of paper doll and coloring books for dress changes and creativity. Maybe a special high quality build a bear style hard body doll that uses her wardrobe to push her merch as a quirk. Probably quite a few extreamly intricate and unecisarly expensive high quality figures and limited edition dolls that use the kid's attention to get more fanatical adults to splurge.

But that blank face.... I almost guarentee they're gonna push makeup. Face paintings and customizable masks and drawing faces on her and art focused customization. A higher focus on rotiating consumables than props like the others. Probably emphasis the rose on her. It's her main part in the show. Sell fresh flowers to kids to throw to the lights like confetti. Limited edition rose colors for seasonal shows. Using said colors to make lore stories with toys.

Speaking of consumables. Princess throat lozenges to go with those attendant candy drops.

Think about the demographic that Disney aims their princesses at. FazCo wants in on that demographic and they aim for profit. The Princess fills the niche without them stepping too far outside their usual marketing zone.

The Castle booms with popularity in a few years, full-size Princess costumes made and sold at the respective locations. Little girls dress up as the Princess for Halloween. Many adopt her signature pose with hands folded in front. The Vocalist sees none of these profits despite building the character from the ground up.

Nelly you're killing me with love here

[maleficentmrsofallevil]

How to hybrid BJDs

Done tap-dancing. Here's a how-to.

Research, research, research. Looking at measurements offered by companies might be helpful, but it depends upon where they measure. Neck measurements might be at the neck opening, or they might be at the base of the neck, and frequently, the only way you find it is when you get the body, and crap - the head doesn't fit.

erm, no

2. Plan for one of the parts (head or body) to be blushed or dyed to match the other. Generally, it's easier to get a lighter head and blush it to match the body. That's what Ducmon (popular face-up artist) does:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DUCMON (@_ducmon_)

My first hybrid was actually a butter-yellow Angel of Dream body that I dyed using the dezombification serum, followed up by my very first body blushing.

yeah, I post this pic a lot. Cuz I love it.

2a. Invest in chalk pastels, acrylic and/or airbrush paints, and sealant. And when I say "invest," I don't mean go run out and spend $10 on a single pot of Pan Pastels. Don't get me wrong - Pan Pastels are amazing. Highly pigmented, deposit lots of color, and easy to use. However, plenty of face-up artists use cheap old chalk pastels. You'll just have to build color with layers.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 小霸总的衣橱 (@littleoverbearingceo)

those are some crapazon pastels, I'm telling you

2b. Yes, you can buy expensive artist-quality brushes, but know what else works just fine? Make-up and nail art brushes. In fact, nail art brushes - the kind you can buy in packs of 5 for a buck or 2 at the dollar store - are the best brushes for those super thin eyelash/eyebrow lines.

or just spend $2 and get everything in one batch - image from Temu

2c. When in doubt, Zaoll. Seriously. Dollmore Zaoll heads seem to work with everything. I kinda kid, but also, not kidding. Zaoll heads are great because they are a face-plate style head that sits on top of the neck, so they perch on just about everything. Also - Dollmore constantly sells random heads for at least half-off in their "Special Sale" section. I had 4 - I recently sold one.

Zaoll on a Mirodoll body

Zaoll on a DF-A 58 cm body

Zaoll on a 65-cm Supia double-jointed body

3. Paint/blush/dye to match. And you're done!

Ha ha ha. This is actually the hardest part - but it is possible. If you don't get the color you want on the first round, either wipe and start over, or spray sealant and add another layer of color. Oh, and something I learned from matching a body to a head - move the doll into different areas/under different lighting. Something that looks like a perfect match under cool, white lighting might look completely different under a warmer, yellower light.

oops - need more color...

[siodium]

my very self-indulgent doujima haul LMAO 💀 have i lost all sense of self-control? possibly. but can you blame me when the event has 600(?) booths!!! it was lowkey kinda overwhelming, and i didn't manage to walk through every aisle... but i still emerged... $400 poorer.... hee ho

mostly orv and (ban's) persona stuffs this time, with a tinge of alien stage bc i can't get over round 6. also some dungeon meshi merch!! i just caught up to the most recent episode and i rly like the series. bunch of dnd charas trying to not starve in their adventure so they cook up the monsters they come across, and the foods acTUALLY LOOK TASTY. i would've liked to get more dunmeshi stuff but i don't wanna have to pick only one of the gang?? they gotta come as set... together... y'know??

anyhows here's my haul + artists + randomly placed commentary (?):

persona 3 reload prints (@uwrowhy) - THE PRETTIEST SET OF P3 PRINTS!! the full set is insanely beautiful irl, and i'll have to do a separate post for when i set up the prints on my wall!! everything was so well thought out and carefully packaged. the sticker sheet even came with a set of explanations for each item?? and the paper bag was also super useful!! it carried the entirety of this haul, and everything was somehow still intact by the end of the event.

persona 3/5 chibi stickers (@laoyeJT)

makoto yuki mp3 player keychain, orv phone strap (@nokedoke) - the doublesided mp3 player with the smol makoto?? it's time to put it on my work lanyard so i can go Burn My breads in the pantry.

p3/p5 mc square stickers (@sanukett)

rng oni collectible cards, kappaca transport card sticker (@shermstan) - luwi and i both tried our luck at the card gacha and only got oni cards... what is this oni curse

dachi duck polaroid freebie (@dachi_duck) - pls support my friend koko's ducky art on instagram!!

lucifer keychain (@pomokat)

dungeon meshi laios wooden coaster (@missing24seven) - i know i said i didn't wanna choose a chara but i rly wanted a wooden coaster LOL. i did have the option of picking the walking mushroom design bUT LAIOS?? he looks so happy to be there.

glow-in-the-dark jellyfish keychain (@4YaOricca) - i charged it up by putting it in the sun, and it rLY DOES GLOW. wow!!

alnst sticker sheet, ivan and till prints (@charcharmaru)

alnst ivantill print, matching ivantill stickers and keychains (@mirugi11)

happy biyoo enamel pin (@nicubiii)

dokja birthday print, orv enamel mug, orv puffy photocard holders, dungeon meshi sticker sheet (@banacotta)

puffy biyoo keychain, pink and white orv sticker sheets (@hotpotchild) - !!! this was the first booth i went to bc i would not forgive myself if the poofy biyoo sold out. it's double-sided and super cute??

acrylic orv photocard holders, orv sticker pack (@waffletop_)

orv trio charm keychain, puffy dokja keychain, orv stamp washi tape, puffy biyoo sticker sheets (@para049) - i stumbled upon this booth completely by chance, and i'm so glad that i did. their art style is so pretty!! the trio keychain was the priciest item in this entire haul, but how could i not get it?

orv sticker sheet, ivantill stickers (@rossomimi)

smol demon king dokja sticker (@desirine_)

dokja acrylic stirrer (@amojinph) - i'm not exactly sure what i'll be stirring but yes.

aLSO not pictured but i received a bunch of candies from someone who complimented my makoto yuki fit?? thank you kind stranger. 😭🙏

[leviackermanscleaningbuddy]

List #72, #4 - minsung 💖

SKZ PROMPT GAME

Prompt: "Hang on, Hang on, I have the perfect playlist for this scenario-" "Now is not the time!!!"

Members: Lee Minho, Han Jisung

Relationship: Art Thieves!Minsung

Genre: Fluff, Crack

"All right. Up next-the masterpiece by the great Van Gogh-Starry Night. Coveted by private art collectors and museums around the world, this spectacular, historical piece of art is known for its roots in impressionism-"

Minho tunes out the droning of the art auctioneer, glancing down at his watch impatiently, as he glances toward the large double doors of the ballroom.

This better fucking work.

"-even then, Van Gogh was known for his unique style of-"

Minho clears his throat and takes a sip of his overly priced alcohol, smiling sweetly at the well dressed, older woman sitting on his row. She blushes beneath her badly applied rouge at his attention and waves her fan as if she's suddenly too hot, turning to the stuffy man, probably her husband, beside her to say something in a low tone.

Minho forces himself not to roll his eyes.

"-as you all know, we see pieces of this caliber come through the Upper State Art Charity Auction quite often but-"

Minho glances at his watch again, and turning away from the woman who is still sneaking glances in his direction, mimes pulling a handkerchief from his inner suit pocket as he mutters into the small transmitter pinned there, "Hurry the fuck up, would you?"

Jisung's voice is almost instant from the other end.

"Hold your horses, hyung, we're almost there."

"Almost isn't good enough." Minho hisses back, glancing toward the stage, where the auctioneer is moving the show off the piece to the crowd. "The bidding is about to start!"

There is a grunt through the speaker, and then Jisung crows triumphantly, "Ah, got it! Fuck yeah. Never doubt my equipment-"

Much like the auctioneer, Minho immediately tunes Jisung out, sitting up straighter in his seat as the man on stage moves to begin the bidding.

Now that Jisung has accomplished his first step of the plan, it's time for Minho to fulfill his.

The bidding starts out high, which Minho had expected and accounted for, and when he raises his placard to place his first bid, a few eyes jump in his direction, but he's not the only person in the bidding war by a long shot, and eventually interest falls away as two other men compete for the top spot.

Minho let's them ramp it up for a bit in their pissing contest, stroking their egos, and when it looks like the auctioneer is about to call it, he stands, holding up his placard for everyone to see, all eyes suddenly on him.

The auctioneer eyes him with nothing short of amazement.

"Sir?"

Minho wipes an imaginary piece of lint from the sleeve of his suit and offers the woman next to him a charming smile.

"Yes. 3.5 Billion."

A gasp ripples through the crowd, and the auctioneer waits a brief moment, seeing if any of the other competition want to continue, but when he's met with stunned silence, he slams his gavel down on the stand and points it at Minho.

"Sold. To the gentleman in the back."

Minho nods and sits down with a flourish, and the event goes on.

From the transmitter inside his suit, Jisung asks, "We good to go?"

Minho bites back a smug smile. "We're good. Move to phase two."

********************************************************************************

After the auction, Minho makes his way through the throngs of milling millionaires toward the cashier located in the back of the large ballroom.

Jisung meets him there, dressed in the top of the line tuxedo that Minho had picked out for him the night before.

What can he say? The suit shows off the other man's ass, and he's always been an ass man.

Not to mention, Jisung has a fucking great ass.

Minho bats Jisung's hands away as he fidgets with his bowtie and straightens it himself with a small, fond smile, an arch of his brow in the other man's direction.

He cleans up nice.

But Minho already knew that.

"Everything ready?" Minho asks beneath his breath, glancing around to make sure they're not overhead, and Jisung gives him a slight nod and a blinding grin.

"Of course it's fucking ready, just who do you think I am? A cheap run of the mill con man? I'm a fucking tech wizard, baby."

Minho rolls his eyes affectionately and swipes his thumb along a spot of grease that still marks the tan skin of Jisung's knuckles.

"A tech wizard who can't afford to miss things like this when we're running with society's big wigs." Minho holds up the grease for Jisung to see, and he simply rolls his eyes in response, snagging a flute of champagne off a passing waiter's tray.

"Yeah, yeah. Save the lecture for later. Preferably when we're in the bedroom. You know how that turns me on."

He waggles his eyebrows at Minho and Minho resists the urge to lean forward and kiss him right there.

Instead, he turns to the waiting cashier, and hands him his bidding card without a word.

The man inclines his head, and taps his information into the computer sitting before him.

His eyes widen slightly, but he clears his throat and the look of surprise is gone before he turns back to Minho.

Minho almost smirks.

Got 'em.

The man clears his throat again and fidgets beneath Minho's unwavering gaze. "I'm sure you understand sir, it's just policy, but we must have the money deposited into the society's account before we can release the piece to you."

"Of course." Minho waves his hand lazily, and then motions to Jisung, as if he hasn't a care in the world. "My associate here will see to the transfer now."

The cashier looks to Jisung, who gives the man a little conspiratorial wink, before he pulls out his phone and begins to tap away at the screen.

To the outside, untrained eye, it looks like Jisung is merely transferring sums between online accounts.

But Minho knows it's much more than that.

This is the moment they've been working toward.

"Ah ha." Jisung exclaims with satisfaction, and Minho feels his shoulders slump a little with relief. "There we go. All done."

"You'll see it's all there." He holds out the lit up phone screen to the other man, who verifies the details and amounts in the computer, before he smiles easily and nods to them both.

"Congratulations, sir." He motions his head to Minho. "You can pick up your art down by the loading docks at the back of the building when you're ready to leave."

He hands Minho a receipt and claim paper that have just printed and gives them another tight smile. "Just show them you're paperwork and you'll be good to go."

"Thank you." Minho replies, taking the paperwork, and the man nods, before they move out of line and let the next couple take their place.

As they walk away from the desk, Minho lets his overly fake smile drop from his face and Jisung pinches his side, hissing in his ear, "Your associate? Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

Minho swats him away with the papers in his hand, smirking as he glances sidelong at him.

"What did you want me to call you? You know how these rich bastards are-stuffy and traditional. I couldn't simply call you my husband. And I definitely wasn't going to refer to you as a 'fucking tech wizard.'"

Jisung scoffs as he follows Minho out of the noisy ballroom and down to the parking garage beneath, Minho pulling the keys from his pocket as their rented Porsche comes to life in the far corner.

"Please, baby." He protests, sliding into the passenger seat as Minho revs the car and pulls silently out of the parking garage. "Give me a little credit here."

"Oh, I do." Minho admits with a smirk and a sidelong glance in his husband's direction as he winks and directs his attention to the still glowing phone held in Jisung's hand. "Is it all there?"

Jisung picks up the phone, fiddling with it for a moment, pulling the fake chip out and tossing it out the window before he nods, looking triumphant.

"Yep." He pops his lips on the word, turning the screen so Minho can glance at it as he maneuvers the car around the back of the large building. "All the money from the society's account is now in an offshore bank that only we can access. Drained those fuckers for every penny."

"Good." Minho hums, eyes sharp, as he pulls up to the loading dock and the men smoking, waiting, there. "Now, let's just get the piece and get the hell out of town."

Jisung rolls down his window and smiles broadly at the big, hulking man staring them down with a glare.

"Good evening, gentlemen. We're here to pick something up." Jisung says cheerfully, waving the paperwork in the man's face, as the man growls and snatches it from between his fingers. "You'll see everything's taken care of, just need to load the old gal up."

The man eyes them with disdain for a moment and then hands Jisung back the paperwork, before he disappears into the dark recesses of the warehouse without another word.

"Nice fellow." Jisung comments lightly, and Minho rolls his eyes.

The man reappears with a large square wrapped in traveling parchment, but before he can load it into their trunk, Minho is out of the car, placing a restraining hand on the package.

"Uh uh uh." He tuts, arching a brow, and the brute glowers openly at him. "I need to make sure we're getting what we paid for."

Jisung grins at the guy from the window as he looks between them, then roughly tears back the paper to reveal the corner of "Starry Night" beneath.

"Happy?" He growls out, and Minho nods, letting him pass to put the painting in the trunk.

"Exceptionally."

The man slams the trunk and stalks back to his buddies who are smoking on the corner of the dock, and when Minho slides back behind the wheel of the car and shuts the door, Jisung lets out a dramatic sigh and slumps down into the passenger seat.

"Fuck, stealing is exhausting."

"You're telling me." Minho mutters back, before he revs the car to life and peels out of the parking lot, headed for the nearest freeway.

They need to get as far away from the city as they can before someone ultimately figures out the society's bank account is empty.

That, and that they've just made off with the highest priced painting at the auction tonight.

Jisung rolls down his window and lets the night air rustle his hair, loosening his tie with one hand as he gives Minho a sly smile.

"So, about the bedroom later-"

Minho opens his mouth to retort something snarky, knowing that he's going to give Jisung whatever he wants anyway, but suddenly, police lights appear in the rearview mirror, and Minho curses beneath his breath.

"Fuck." He takes a harsh turn at a yellow light, and heads down a darker side alley.

Jisung glances behind them to stare at the oncoming cop. "Maybe it's just a routinue traffic stop?" He asks hopefully, glancing at Minho.

"I seriously doubt it." Minho mutters, taking another sharp left, veering around cars sitting backed up at a red light. He guns the engine as soon as they're clear, headed for the on ramp, the police lights bright as they follow behind.

Jisung huffs out a breath and then his eyes light up as he reaches for the dial of the stereo.

"Hang on, hang on, I have the perfect playlist for this scenario-!"

Minho jumps a curb and hits the on ramp, his foot stamped down on the gas as Jisung continues to fiddle with the stereo.

"Now is not the time!" He retorts back, weaving in and out of late night traffic, the police lights growing dimmer as he continues to floor it down the darkened highway.

"It's always time for Britney." Jisung arches a brow, and turns up the volume till it's blaring, the sounds of "Toxic" accompayning them on their high speed chase.

Minho glances in the rearview mirror and lets out the breath he'd been holding.

"Looks like we lost them."

Jisung glances back and grins in return as the beats of "Gimme More" start to pound out over the porsche's high end sound system.

"Perfect. Now back to the topic before-"

[dearmahiru-archive]

waaaa thank you so much for this question that i definitely didn't take three months to answer. i totally didn't overcomplicate this very simple question for myself and ending up with completely different songs each list! no siree!! (and i totally didn't lose the og ask </3)

sarcasm aside—even though the question didn't specify these would be official covers i went into the list with that mindset, so i narrow it down to strictly vocaloid songs (no utaite or general jpn songs!), the song must be consistent with the prisoner's style (kotoko wouldn't sing a sappy love ballad, yuno isn't doing a screamo), and no producer doubles!

alts are songs that don't fit these rules / aren't my first pick but i still wanted to mention :3c

01. Haruka ─ First Train and Kafka

Though I’ve nothing but things I want to say, I’m sorry that nothing comes out I’ve become a poisonous bug, it isn’t that interesting though

Since my frightened family isn’t even here, I look down upon the calm of the city alone That hair of yours that swayed in the first summer’s wind came to mind

Alt: I Was Human

02. Yuno ─ Goodbye, Ms. Flower Thief

I've been dreaming a dream within a dream, within a dream Seaside, on the seaside, a kitten's sweet demise...

While I smoke a cigarette Until morning comes, hold me, hold me...

Alt: I Think I'm Falling Inlove With My Teacher

03. Fuuta ─ Idola No Circus

Come, let’s dance all night in our naked bodies We know, we know your true nature Again putting on a fake face You’re just like a pierrot

Come on up to the stage! You knew, didn't you? You’re also an accomplice

Alt: Rinne

04. Mu ─ Ikanaide

"It's nothing," I kept to myself. Truth is, I wanted to stop those footsteps for a moment, But you're gliding forward with such quick steps And I'm simply watching

You fade out of sight, far, far away, leaving me behind. Completely. Once again, the night blurs itself out, Don't cry, just don't cry

Alt: FAILURE GIRL

05. Shidou ─ Shoujo Fuzei

Again, she told a lie and felt relieved with perfectly trimmed bangs, she said, "Come here, and accompany me to hell."

Chop it up, this body doesn’t feel anything like pain Unfortunately, delusion is something that everyone harbors

06. Mahiru ─ Love of Love By Love For Love

A spider lily struggling to live, A heart writhing with maggots With your voice and your smile My pulse began beating anew

That day, I fell in love with love With time, I killed that love, killed it, killed it

Alt: Hurry To The Night

07. Kazui ─ Cutlery

The cutlery is rusted, as if it has been used often. I want you to end it in the worst case...

Before I get sick of you, I’ll act selfishly without hesitating even if I’ll end up losing you.

Alt: Charles / Delusion Girl / Quiet Room

08. Amane ─ Milk Crown On Sonnetica

Can't do it, such a talent isn't sold in any store Even God, who art in Heaven, reduces such a junk to a heirloom?

You ask "Wait, why is it that you beg for forgiveness in such a miserable manner?" This was surprisingly silly - so much that I just stood still and cried

09. Mikoto ─ Bitter Choco Decoration

I try not to forget to add in a few light-hearted jokes and a touch of lip service I try to smile and show off my charisma whenever I can

I try not to pointlessly expose myself, Not to talk about myself, not to understand myself But I try not to be a bit too silent, To be laughed at rather than to make people laugh

010. Kotoko ─ Shama

A femme fatale prisoner dressed in stripes Gulps down the juice squeezed from the crowd Every night, drunkenly, she plays with fire, and hangs herself When the wax figure of a little girl melts

If you affirm your shallowness Then where’s my ground to stand on? "An annoying glass and foundation Hang your tongue out, just like a dog."

[facelessxchurch]

Review/Rant: Official Merch Store

General Short Version

Remember how he said he would hire professional artists for the official merch store? Yeah, Landy lied bc of course he did. Pretty sure he designed this stuff himself. I mean, a too big amount of items are his doodles.

I didn't expect much, didn't even hope for merch for my favs, but I expected at least some new SP art instead of recycled art (some art is so old it's still from when the first trilogy was released) and well, text.

And no, Landy's shitty 5-second doodles of Skul and himself don't count as "art". Neither does the skull silhouette on some items. Couldn't even be arsed to add eye socks and nose smh :/

3 pages full of garbage merch. He really went for quantity over quality here.

And to add further insult to injury, the prices of the items he sells are heavily overpriced.

So yeah, this entire store is a sign of disrespect and balant insult to the fandom. I hope no one buys this.

Long Version

The Notebooks/-pads

Too much empty space. WAY too much empty space. You couldn't possibly have done this in a lazier way.

The sarcasm one is hardly even SP-related. Plus, he didn't even attempt to pretty the text up a little with typography. He didn't use the 'bold' font for "Caution" which would have been the bare minimum. This doesn't even count as trying.

I TRIED to make the two with characters on it a little better by reducing the empty space, but it's really hard to polish a turd. Especially if ya don't wanna put more than 5 min in lol

Totem Bags

This store has totem bags, but they are worse than the Kickstarter one. At least the Kickstarter one had text big enough that you could read it from afar. For the text on the new ones, you'll need a magnifying glass.

Clothing

Some of the text has the same problem as the totem bags: too small to read. The only time text should be that small is if it isn't meant to be read or when it's "if you can read this you're too close" T-Shirt. This applies especially to A6.

If you have B2 you don't need B1. What happened here? Did he have an item amount quota to reach?

A3, B3 and C3 are Landy's shitty 5 second doodles again. Unless they are used to signed the cloths they don't belong on the clothes. Pay for a custom design, you cheap ass scammer!

A4 and A5, the stripe with Skul should be thicker. If it's on a shirt you shouldn't need a magnifying glass to see it. Also, the blue stripe needs more contrast, the blue is eating the black outlines of Skul. The red stripe on the blue shirt... I just really don't like that blue tone and I hate that he doubled down on it. For the website too.

C1 should have had the sold letters bc you can't read it from further away with that effect on top.

C2 at last you can read this one. Not getting any creativity points from me tho. Once again it's just text and probably took him 5 seconds to design.

Now listen, here is what I want instead. I have this zip-up hoodie from Killstar. I love and essentially I want this but in SP.

Faceless One version: The symbol on the front is the Faceless Church symbol. The back is a picture with Mev in the middle and his generals around him and it's done in the style of those stained glass windows you see in Christian churches but black and white. I don't know what I want on the sleeves. Maybe bursts of flames, symbolizing Mev's fire attacks. Or perhaps just parts of the 'Gospel of the Faceless' scribbled along on the arms in English, Latin or even Irish??? Or one arm a snake to symbolize Nef and the other a lion to symbolize Baron as his right and left hand men?

China Sorrows Version: The symbol in the front should be a crest with a scorpion on it. The back image is a drawing of China in the Art nouveau style. The arms should be a roll of paper curling down each arm with various symbols drawn on them, artfully intervening with each other.

Hats

I wouldn't say that "We don't talk about vampires" is one of the more iconic quotes of the series, but besides that not even an attempt was made at typography. Or like, a little vampire head silhouette with an open mouth and exposed fangs. or even just fangs around the text or anything at all even.

It doesn't assault my eyes, but it's also incredibly boring.

To the people saying they wanted to buy Skul's head: just go to a hat store and buy a fedora. It's gonna be better quality than whatever Landy would smack on the store for a criminal price.

Everything with his face on it

No. How full of yourself do you have to be to try and sell merch with your face on it. The quotes are awful too

The quotes on the postcards are so awfully 2012 Tumblr "quirky" I'm-not-like-other-people ^w^ edgy bullshit vibes. Wasn't cute when it came from the emo kids back then and it coming from a +50 year old man trying to be relatable to the kids these days is just sad and cringe.

Also, I'm pretty sure by sending people that greeting card is how you end relationships including familiar relationships.

Baby's first InDesign Skull

It's what it says in the title. Should have just used the iconic Skul logo instead to make it look like SP and less like random shit you can find on Etsy after reaching page 100.

Really should have just used the old school icon. Thee is a reason it's so iconic: it's easy to recognize as Skul and not random skull/skeleton number 5643489. Plus, using the old one is about the same amount of effort as making the new one.

Honestly, it should have been custom art, but the iconic SP icon would be the lesser evil by a far.

On top of hat, black text is hard to read on a red background js.

Also, what kind of chaotic evil alinged bastard uses a metal pencil case???

Prints

Ngl I always thought the "Mortail Coil" cover was one of the best of the entire series. I also really love the OG "Dark Days" cover. OG book covers as prints? Easy win! Still fucking overpriced tho. Plus the OG covers also would have looked good on clothing, way better than the shit he ended up slapping on there.

As for the collage with all of the characters in it: I always thought it looked awful. The characters were just thrown in there without much thought or care. Also hate that he used the ugly ass SoW Nef instead of the way better-looking Book 1 cover Nef.

Rainbow Ruler

This isn't even Skulduggery-themed. I feel like HarperCollins told Landy he had to put something in the store for the gays but instead of making something like a cute lil Valkyrie/Militsa pin he just smacked this into the store.

The Skulduggery Apron

The only thing that makes it SP-themed is that they smacked a sign saying "Cooking with Skulduggery" on it. Otherwise, it looks like every other skeleton apron you can get around Halloween.

Coaster

So empty and boring again. It looked way better with the moth eventho it was a "Silent of the Lambs" movie poster rip-off. Still don't know why a skull is the official Sanctuary logo. Seems kinda weird for the good guys. On a meta level: I guess literally EVERYTHING in universe has to revolve around Skulduggery.

Make the Sanctuary seal more interesting and then invert the values so the background if black and the lines are white and this could actually look decent.

Skulduggery Clock

This looks like a your-photo-here clock that you can order at every random print shop. Here are some examples from HP to show HOW a custom clock for the fans is meant to look like next to it. (Also look at this Thresh watch, it's so good I almost regret not wearing watches.)

Lunchbox and Waterbottle

Same thing as with the clock. Tho the water bottle also has too much white space.

Mouse-/Gamerpads

Recycled art again. The mousepads look weird with Val placed smack dead in the middle. Plz apply the rule of thirds and move her a little to the right.

Pillows and Bag

AGAIN WITH THOSE SHITTY DOODLES Someone tell Landy that if it takes about 5 seconds to draw it does NOT belong on merchendise!

Also, that floating "Bad Magic" Skul really doesn't work on it's own, Just... just use the damn Skul icon if you gotta be lazy.

Final Words

Overpriced lazy garbage that Landy definetely designed himself. No person with self-respect would even consider participating in this cash grab.

It's an insult to every fan, really.

How to fix this? Delete everything from the website, hire a professional artist, go for quality over quantity. A few items that sell really well are a million times better than a bunch of items that don't sell. If the shop goes well you can always expand.

Almost all of the store should have been custom art apart from a few exceptions where old promo art and book covers are used for tops and posters.

[addicted-to-tremolos-blog]

“It’s wearing on my mind, I’m speaking all my doubts aloud

You rob a dead man’s grave, then flaunt it like you did create

If I hit bottom and everything’s gone, in the Great Mississippi

please, drown me and run”

When I want to get amped up, I turn to Vulgar Display of Power, but when I’m at my lowest, this is the Pantera album that channels and releases my frustration, shame, disgust, and despair.

This much quieter and more restrained version of the opening title track exchanges the blinding rage and derision of the original for weary solemnity.

The lyrics condemn those who would disingenuously adopt appealing styles, tastes, and political stances in a ploy for popularity or validation.

“You’re product sold and well received.”

“You look just like a star / it’s clear you don’t know who you are.”

Admittedly, my attraction to both this cover and the original are themselves in large part aesthetic. The intense screaming, double time drumming, and overdriven guitar grooves of the original are immensely satisfying to blast. The twangs and bends in the much softer cover transport me to a backwater setting where I might want to disappear.

Having grown up in a northeast / mid-atlantic city, my experiences of more remote America have been limited to family vacations to national parks and visits to relatives and friends who live on or near farms.

This hasn’t stopped me from developing a taste for music and art that evoke rural and small(er) town America with composition, instrumentation, atmosphere, or lyrics. There’s a lot of music that I love that I’d like to share and pick apart on here, where people’s artistic and aesthetic interests are celebrated.

I do worry about being superficial and feeling hollow. I’m sure that the apparent trendiness of some of these subjects and environments is partially motivating my desire to catalogue and post this stuff. I take Ethel Cain’s rise in popularity as a sign that more young people are fascinated by the idea of surviving and wrestling with relationship with religion on the peripheries of rural America. I’m certainly tempted by the opportunity to participate in a cultural moment and use it as an excuse to deepen loose aesthetic and intellectual interests I’ve had for a while. I worry about lacking enough concrete knowledge about or connection to the settings or ways of life I romanticize.

Nevertheless, this music and art here still captivates me and I’m still going to post about it.

[saemi-the-writer]

Same anon that sent an ask, I made à mistake: I meant VI 😂 sorry! Thanks for your answers!!

LOL! It's okay!!

VI.) Is your MC combat proficient? Where or whom did they learn from?

I'm going in the order from best fighter to less good.

Yes! Erwin was born in the South (not the same part as Lucio's!), in a rough environment and his clan taught quite early to their children how to fight. Erwin is naturally good at fighting and is a hard worker, so he's been developing his potential since he was a boy. That, and after the murder of his birth parent, he was sold as a slave at 9 by their murderer; Erwin managed to escape the boat where he was imprisoned and was found in his small rowboat by a group of refugees and emigrants from the continent of Kai Shin. Most of them were women, and Izumi quickly got attached to him and adopted him. He had to fight for his life before becoming a mercenary, so he has plenty of experience with fighting!

The main fighting teachers in his life were: his birth parents, another member of his previous tribe, then Izumi (martial arts and fighting with staff) and several of his "aunties" such as Linh (archery), Katsumi (swords) and Lan Chi (shield and double swords arms).

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

Before death: Niamh felt the need to learn how to fight because she grew up in a period where Vesuvia suffered various attacks and invasions - under Count Spada's rule - especially after her parents got killed during one. Lucina found someone in her relations who could teach her, and she was the one who trained her with her magic. Niamh learnt a bit by herself how to use her magic to defend herself and to fight, then Izumi and Erwin came into her life and she was taught martial arts.

After her resurrection, Asra was the one to teach her back most of it, and body memory helped, as strange as it was. Portia taught her some of her tricks when she stayed in the Palace, and Mazelinka too - the latter liked that Niamh used some "domestic" items for fighting too. The fact that she uses fire and makeshift magical weapons also impresses some foes away.

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

Although Réamann despises violence and has a phobia of corpses, he does know how to fight. But you will never see him using a sword or "real" arrows when he uses a bow. His style is self-defensive, he knows where to hit and how to knock people out (an example), most of the time to gain time to leave or to intimidate. He also uses his magic of illusion to confuse his foes, blind them and is a very good support for his allies. He uses his Earth and Wood magic either to create shields or makeshift weapons/boosters/armors. Réa also knows a spell that could create some sentient creatures out of rocks/crystals/wood but he doesn't use it much because it takes a lot of energy and leaves him quite vulnerable afterwards.

Lucina and Linh are his teachers for most of it.

[heehoothefool]

wrestling 👀

Anon I could kiss you

So I am hella interested in Wrestling as a mode for story telling.

I think anyone that sees my writing posts under the #spilled slime tag might be aware that I am sucker for unconventional storytelling- hell it's why I love DnD.

Pro Wrestling takes this to the next level. Sure, other competitive shows have their own stories to tell and may very well be scripted in this way, but every competition I see lacks something that Wrestling has so much of: Character Interaction and actual Writing.

In every other competitive show where they actually let the contestants talk to each other, it's always nothing but drama and life stories. Part of this is due to how the shows are structured with an elimination style setup. They don’t keep contestants around, unlike in wrestling where your story continues so long as your contract continues.

This means characters in wrestling have time to develop and change and go through arcs because they don't have the time constraint of However Long Before They're Eliminated.

WWE, which is the example I'm going to use because it's what I'm most familiar with, doesn't really function on seasons or anything, it just functions on What Big Event Comes next, so you prepare storylines in between these big events that reach their next big point at said events. Each main event is the end of one arc and the start of the next for these major storylines.

And the storytelling even goes beyond just character interaction and into the fights themselves! Sure, you get a lot of story out of promos and backstage shots, but ultimately it is all about the fights and those tell stories to! The moves that are executed, how they're executed, and even who they're performed on and how they're sold are capable of telling a story!

Quick point to explain a word I used above, many of us know that pro wrestling is choreographed. This is not a secret. This does not mean, however, that it is fake. The hits and injuries these people take on are incredibly real, but a lot of it is done in a way that will minimize the damage. Selling, therefore, is the art of making a move look as painful as it would be if they weren't trained professionals.

It's like in theater when the script says to smack someone and you hit them with your fingers more than your palm to create the sound but minimize the impact, and the person you smacked turns their head and holds their face to keep up the appearance that you did in fact smack them to pieces. That's selling.

My favorite example of the fight as story telling actually happened relatively recently at the last Survivor Series in a match type called War Games featuring The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, Jey and Jimmy Uso, and Sami Zayn) vs Kevin Owens's team. KO is the big important member of this because he and Sami have a very long history as close friends, and Sami is trying to prove his loyalty to The Bloodline.

Sami stops KO from winning by covering Roman and then hits with a Low Blow and follows it up with his finisher, the Haluba Kick (a running kick to the face). This is such good storytelling because finishers are the final nail in the coffin. The exclamation point that brings the sentence to a close. That is the end of their friendship. That is the final point of Sami saying he is with The Bloodline.

No other competition does it like this! This is the true peak of where sports meets theater and it deserves so much more respect than people often give it! Professional Wrestling isn't about proving who the best wrestler is! It's about taking these incredibly talented athletes and storytellers and letting them tell their stories by beating the shit out of each other between verbal bouts!

This is theater. This is what happens when you take a bunch of stunt doubles and tell them to write their stories, and I don’t think that gets appreciated enough.

Thank you, anon. I am so incredibly not normal about this.

(Also don't mind the gif I just really like Randy Orton, he is the epitome of action movie protagonist)

[romegaketh]

#16, 17, and 23 please?!

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

I love a good lil canon divergence - for want of a nail type shit. When I first got into wrestling I was like hmm it would be fun to do Tyler Black in Japan, or maybe Mox washed out of FCW and ended up in NOAH then NJPW. I absolutely don't have the expertise to write it but I think you could have a lot of fun with baby Mox in the dorms out there, or Tyler and Ibushi connecting in some way. (I think Tyler and Ibushi would be SO interesting and Kenny would be SO mad about it!!!)

Similarly, Kenny stuck in FCW would be really fun to fuck around with, though maybe a little more shoot-style than I'd necessarily want to write myself. So much would have to go wrong/be worse to get him there and that would be really fun to mess around in - especially, like, in terms of Regal and Hunter, both in kayfabe and out of it.

17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?

Wrestling at the End of the World. I love Hockey at the End of the World - I think it engages so smartly with questions of canonical exploitation, but also functions so well on its own as a story about a revolution that does not draw its own lines at the end of that revolution. (The premise, essentially, is that hockey acts as a dystopian bread-and-circuses style entertainment, and players are both swallowed up by the dystopia and mobilize at great personal cost to act against it.)

I think wrestling would work SO well with that premise - that kind of capital-corporate dystopia - while also doing something very different in terms of the type of exploitation. So hockey is very about the subsumption of the individual into the broader whole, but wrestling in kayfabe (but also out of it) is fundamentally about individuals and individual egos (while still creating a collaborative art form! it's sick). Dystopia-wise leaning into RPF probably would make everything fuckin zing (esp w the double-naming - and someone like John Cena, who sold his own name is just ... I can't stop thinking about that, it makes my brain absolutely vibrate in sicko mode, it's so compelling and fucked up) but I think it would still work as like - travelling bands of entertainers who are also representative of ruling class interests crossing a really fraught continent and grappling with their values and positionality as well as like... finding class consciousness and being Whumped Aggressively, lol.

I just have this image in my head of Seth and Mox sending each other communiques across companies. Cody carrying all this coded information. Hunter leading a revolution and then being wholly subsumed within it. The force of AEW as a counter-WWE force that comes with its own contradictions! Maybe it is falling apart! What the hell is CM Punk doing on his own! The presence of free agency as a viable option that is sooo like ... what are the COSTS in a DYSTOPIA. (When will they get a fuckin union, etc.)

So that is the AU of my heart and I would probably give a kidney for it.

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?

I'm not that big of a writer-by-trope anymore, which I kind of miss. It's a lot of fun to take a hook and play it straight or switch it up depending! But I guess speculation really became its own thing, haha. I'm generally not into tropes for the sake of them, I usually want them based on some aspect of character I find Infinitely Compelling.

That said:

I think a lot about a wrestling fic where Kenny Omega quit wrestling and became a trainer for the Leafs org and lives in an apartment in the village in Toronto, where he is a sober regular at Woody's and has a bartender boyfriend, and is in some ways a lot more settled than he is in Florida, but in other ways has a longing inside of him that is so deep he drives out to Mississauga when WWE come to town. And then out of nowhere one day Tyson Smith wakes up and is in Florida, with a busted up entire body, trying to make phone calls to Japan without being able to pull the trigger, and doesn't know what to do.

Also, the fic where Cobra Kai is a CIA psyop established to fight dirty wars throughout the Cold War, and Johnny Lawrence does not handle learning this with any grace at all.

[fdotaku]

Game Review: Choukyou Suru Rinjin

Quick Info:

Creator: Murasaki Gankyuu Suisou Title: Choukyou Suru Rinjin (調教する隣人) Media: Visual Novel (TyranoScript engine) sold on DLsite Content: Humiliation-focused pseudo-consensual BDSM

Note: This is an untranslated Japanese visual novel, which has a story focus. If you can’t read Japanese and aren’t satisfied with machine translations, you’re out of luck, unfortunately. Also, it’s chock-full of heavy BDSM, so those who’re turned off by that should look elsewhere. …But if you play VNs in Japanese and you’re willing to embrace extreme femdom, please read on.

Introduction: What Makes It Special

So, what’s awesome about it? Well, it has:

A scenario that’s 9 hours long, which for reference is double the length of an Msize game.

All female characters fully voiced, by the artist-seiyuu Narukamitsuki Ria.

2 routes and 5 different endings.

Unique and likable characters. The heroines are multi-dimensional, with their own reasoned feelings and attitudes toward the male protagonist, not cardboard cutouts of sadists like you’ll find in many other stories.

Some of the best comedy I’ve seen in a femdom VN, which rivals Noukano games and Haruka’s route in Shinkon Seikatsu.

Plenty of extreme femdom situations. There’s blackmail, exhibitionism, golden showers and piss drinking, the male lead pissing and shitting himself, forced cross-dressing and emasculation, SPH and mocked phimosis, various physical tortures, and much more that I won’t spoil.

A fast-paced story. The scenes are all concise and well-written, so it never feels like sex scenes are deliberately padded. As a result, the amount of story is far more than you’ll normally find in a 9-hour Japanese visual novel.

A suspenseful story. Of the two main heroines, one is an unpredictable and mysterious character, while the other isn’t simple to gauge either. The constant risky exhibitionism, along with various plot developments which raise the stakes for the male protagonist, make it impossible to predict what will happen next.

30+ base CGs, which for reference is comparable to an Msize game.

I’ll state its one major flaw up front: the art style isn’t consistent throughout the game. Though the sprites are beautiful, the CGs vary a lot. The artist’s skill improved as she drew for the game, actually, so some of the later CGs look much better. It’s far from bad, and I definitely prefer it over a generic art style. Still, this aspect, along with the extreme-ness of the fetishes–and maybe insufficient marketing–are what have caused CSR to remain a hidden gem for a few years now.

Next, I’ll discuss the characters to give you a better idea of what the story is like, and how there’s a unique sense of character and plot tension. Lastly, I’ll talk a bit about the game developer (a two-person doujin circle) responsible for this hidden gem.

The Story

Heads up for those concerned about spoilers: in this section, I’ll discuss the early parts of the game, around the first half hour or so, as well as the overall flow of the story. If you’ve already decided you want to play CSR based on what I said in the introduction, and prefer to play blind, skip down to the section “The Circle” below.

The story’s protagonist is a college student named Akino Yasuo. He’s 19 years old, and lives by himself. He’s smart, hardworking, and has a decent face. He tries to deliver a cool impression to others, and generally succeeds at it.

That said, Akino has a hidden side. To others, he uses the first person pronoun ore which is confident and assertive, but in his mind, he refers to himself as boku which is more meek. He has a strong interest in femdom porn. And he has a hobby he can’t tell anyone about… exhibitionism. He lives in an apartment on the second floor of a building, with the first floor being a snack bar. Every once in a while, when he spots a random female passerby walk past his building late at night, he opens the shades of his room, turns up the volume of the porn he’s watching, and lets her see him masturbate. He derives a perverse pleasure from being exposed to people’s gazes.

One day, he does this again. However, it turns out as you’d expect from a femdom VN… the woman who sees him doesn’t just walk away uncomfortably like all the other women did previously. Instead, the woman with a suitcase glares at him… and walks into the building. She’s Kaede, and he didn’t recognize her because she only just moved in to the apartment next door.

Despite having crossed the line, the memory of her glare excites him. When Akino accidentally blasts from his speakers femdom porn later that night, Kaede interprets it as a deliberate act, and goes and confronts him. However, she’s far more ruthless to him than he could’ve imagined; she immediately blows past his comfort zone and blackmails him. And thus, his life is turned upside-down by her.

From that point on, the plot largely chronicles Akino’s attempts to live his life with Kaede constantly abusing him and forcing him to do things that are illegal, unsafe, or mildly terrifying. To a certain extent, at first, you may think, “Hey, isn’t this too convenient? He’s an exhibitionist, but when he was ‘caught’ by a woman, she’s beautiful and she forces him to engage in more exhibitionism? Isn’t this just wish fulfillment? How can Akino not be self-aware of this?” I had that feeling at the very start too, but then it quickly became apparent that Kaede’s orders are far beyond what a “normal” exhibitionist like Akino would consider wish fulfillment. Kaede feels utter disdain for him, and doesn’t hold back. Akino’s psychological conflict over how he feels about the situations he finds himself, which both excite and terrify him, and his stress and anxiety over Kaede’s influence over him are rawly conveyed in the narrative.

Everything ends up centering around Akino’s relationship with Manaka Shizuku, a cute girl he has a crush on. She goes to the same university as him; she’s even in the same year, and attends the same lecture. On top of that, she’s a part-time worker at the snack bar that occupies the first floor of the building he lives in. (A snack bar is kind of like a hostess club, but more toned down; a bar instead of a club, and the girls just serve drinks and chat casually at the tables rather than sit together on a sofa.) Akino constantly visits the snack bar to chat with her. He wants her to have a good impression of him, and look up to him as a cool and reliable guy, in the hopes that one day he’ll be able to ask her out.

As you’d expect, Kaede soon realizes the existence of Shizuku, and involves Shizuku in many of the humiliating orders she gives Akino. How Shizuku reacts to everything that happens between her and Akino, and how the relationship between Kaede and Akino evolves, are some of the focal points of the VN’s plot.

The Circle

Choukyou Suru Rinjin was created by a circle called Murasaki Gankyuu Suisou, which translates to Purple Eyeball Aquarium. That’s MGS for short. They sold their first work on DLsite in 2009, so they’ve been active for over a decade.

There are 2 people in the circle: Senhime, the writer with a unique style whose plots usually involve extreme situations and exhibitionism. And Narukamitsuki Ria, the artist whose ability has gradually improved over the years, and who’s responsible for the female voices in MGS’s works. They’re close in real life; Narukamitsuki Ria often posts short humorous comics that feature the 2 of them as chibi-style characters, and they also have a YouTube channel called Doujin Kurui (which could translate to Doujin Madness) where they humorously and insightfully express their experiences running their doujin circle. The majority of MGS’s works fall into the femdom category, though sometimes they’re more femsub, or even yaoi with a cross-dressing seme.

Back when Choukyou Suru Rinjin came out in 2019, MGS had been active for a full decade, but they had never put out a manga or a CG set. Until then, they had only ever put out novels and voice dramas. But ever since the VN Choukyou Suru Rinjin came out, the circle’s style has changed: Narukamitsuki Ria has put out 7 manga and CG sets, and the writer Senhime even learned to draw and put out two manga of his own. And they’re even currently working on a new game.

Choukyou Suru Rinjin has its roots in an 87-chapter novel that Senhime wrote. It’s still publicly readable on Pixiv and Nocturne. That’s only up to chapter 86; the final chapter, which is probably something of an epilogue, can only be read if you buy the illustrated compilation of chapter 63 onward. The name this VN was sold under is actually “Game: Choukyou Suru Rinjin” to distinguish it from the novel. Senhime worked on it for many years and wrapped it up around late 2018.

At first, I expected the game to be a shorter, more abridged version of the novel. That’s usually the way it goes. But the visual novel version of CSR is actually a superior version! The novel effectively only covers a single route. And when I compared the flow of the plot in both, I noticed that there were a number of scenes cut or subtly altered, and in every case, I felt that the changes made sense, helping to better ground the plot and the characters. And while only a small portion of scenes weren’t carried over to the VN, a much larger number of scenes were added to the VN. I would guess that the VN’s script is at least twice as long as the novel’s script.

Conclusion

There’s a lot more I could say about this VN. Like how much I love Shizuku as a heroine… How I love the contrast between Shizuku’s two routes… How I love the evolution of certain characters… How I like the voice acting in certain scenes. But I’ve chosen to avoid spoilers in this review.

The existence of MGS really cheers me up, because the works they create are inspired, enjoyable, and a breath of fresh air in this 2022 femdom doujin game scene that’s overloaded with irojikake and succubi. Their upcoming second game is once again based on a femdom novel from Senhime; the novel is called Dorei Tenraku Kitan, which means very roughly Slave Downfall Fairy Tale, and the game version this time will be called something different for clarity: Femme Fatale. It will also feature Live2D animated sprites, and major revisions to the novel’s story.

Side Talk

Time flies, and the next Msize game, after a year and half’s delay, is scheduled to come out at the end of December, assuming Riumu manages to wrap up the work in time. mortalvyses is also on track to finish their translation of Ikisugi M Lesson around then, so it'll potentially be a double dose of Msize!

Pixiv recently enacted some potentially censorship-oriented policies at the behest of international credit card companies. This won’t impact any non-paid Pixiv content (like regular artist galleries) but it will affect Fanbox (PIxiv’s Patreon equivalent) content. The new rules won’t take effect until mid-December, and it remains to see how strictly they will be enforced. I’m especially concerned about the ones that would target incest, because I appreciate imouto femdom scenarios.

A lot of people are interested in AI these days. There’s been a lot of discussion about chat bots and AI story generation in the Femdom Finder thread, with the apparent consensus being that while AIs will react to what you say and build upon it, so you can “train” them to act like a dominatrix, they’ll often “glitch out” as their apparent grasp of the situation collapses and, for example, they suddenly act like they’re the slave. Parts of AI-generated stories can reportedly be somewhat enjoyable, if you can learn to tune out at all the weird and contradictory elements that are thrown in. And of course, most AIs aren’t trained on porn, so often the content will stay relatively tame.

I’ve also seen a lot of Novel AI posts in Pixiv. Novel AI is an AI art generator that was trained from Danbooru (so, mostly Pixiv works) based off Stable Diffusion. In response to the flood, Pixiv created an opt-in feature that filters out AI art, but it doesn’t catch all of it, since it has to be tagged. As a fan of latex fashion, I’m impressed by a lot of the Novel AI art I see, but unfortunately, AI ultimately just mimics vast data sets and lacks a concept of the world; therefore, trying to prompt it to display an interpersonal action of domination, or otherwise display more than 1 person, seems mostly futile. Unless you train it with a lot of data for a specific scenario, but then why would you need it generated anyway? Probably the best you can do casually right now is, say, have a dominatrix pose with a whip, though sometimes it’ll fuse with her hair. In any case, the tech is certainly thought-provoking, and many artists are at least attempting to use it to speed up their work.

Until next time, and happy holidays.

[owlixx]

Mega Man Ideal Game (for me)

So, playing Mega Man 11 made me realize what my ideal Mega Man game looks like.

Basically: Mega Man Universe/Powered Up meets Halo: The Master Chief Collection

From Mega Man 11/Powered Up/Universe

Cutsey, chibi-ish, 2.5D art style

Lots of options for controls, playable characters, etc.

Maybe even just uses the MM11 engine

Double gear system as option (circle back later)

Opposite philosophy from the Legacy Collections - more about representing the old games rather than preserving

From Master Chief Collection (especially when it went to PC):

Unite the entire series under a single application

Start early access, adding one game at a time

Universal controls and settings

Introducing new levels of customization not seen before in original games

Singular hub the whole thing, universal features

Cross-game playlists (all ice levels back to back, that kind of thing)

Tons of leaderboards and achievements

Unique timed challenges

Incentives to play all the games in every style

So more specifically, I don't really need any more robot masters or plot. I feel like we have covered all the bases already. Instead, I want to see every Mega Man game rebuilt from the ground up in a unified engine. They could be sold as a la carte DLC, or perhaps in chunks of "season passes" with maybe 3 games coming out a year. Capcom already does something similar with their arcade collections. Just like those, I want tons of accessibility options and challenge modes across the board, universal screen filters, cute unlocks tied to achievements.

I would settle for something like the recent retro remakes that just redo the graphics but let you toggle with a button, but I'd prefer to have deeper QoL changes.

Specifically, my vision for this game hingers on encouraging players to replay these games over and over again with something a little different every time. Not just by offering achievements, but by offering a myriad of modes that don't actually require huge changes to implement, but make the games feel very different.

This is why I would want the games rebuilt in a new engine, almost like a map pack for Mega Man 11: so that we can add something like Roll as a playable character without having to hard code that into every single game. Admittedly, 7-8 and (hopefully included) MM&Bass are different enough to require some more work, but I think this isn't an impossible vision.

Again, here is just an example of what I am imagining: you go to boot up any of the Mega Man games, 1-11, and you are presented with an overwhelming grid of options, like:

Playable characters: Mega Man (with variants for his ability sets, maybe we can find a way to dynamically alter stage obstacles when he doesn't have slide, for example. Maybe that is asking too much, but the folks in the Metroid/Zelda randomizer communities seem to know a thing or two about stretching games to their limits without making them unplayable), Roll (again, just give her one tiny change like a double jump or altered buster to give her a totally different feel), Proto, Bass, Duo, maybe even X/Zero, maybe even Mega Man.EXE and Volnutt if we are getting crazy, or even potentially every single robot master like Powered Up does. Again, that would require reworking the stages, which wouldn't be manually feasible, but I am sure there is a way this could be accommodated. I would also love the ability to specifically go through each Mega Man game as a fully powered Mega Man from any other game, but again that demands reworking stages, especially ones like Sword Man that use earlier abilities.

Modes: hardcode in restricted modes like buster only, weakness only, no weakness, no charge shot, no slide, one hit, etc. as well as toggles for stuff like pits, spikes, higher health, etc. plus challenges like randomized weapons, reverse screen, time trials, boss rush, things like that.

Even just those two things alone could multiply to create a nearly unlimited amount of new replay value.

As for new QoL changes, I basically just want to see everything from Mega Man 11: hotswapping with buttons or right stick, new character model for each weapon, expanded tutorial, lots of difficulty options, auto shoot, auto charge, optional dedicated slide button, and I would love to see the option to bring the double gear system (or at least the speed gear in the form of a limited-use slowdown) in all the old games as an optional mode. Same with having the slide in 1-2, charge shot in 1-3, jetpack in earlier games, characters in games they shouldn't be in, etc.

TLDR: I want a unified remake of the Mega Man 1-10 in the MM11 engine.

I feel like The X series is too all-over-the-place to do this with, while the Zero and ZX games are too similar to be worth cross-pollinating this way, although again I would love to see X and Zero adapted to classic Mega Man, even if they end up being overpowered.

The other pitch for this game is basically to just...make Mega Man Universe and have it contain the official levels packed-in. Mario Maker has really proven how to do a AAA retro DIY game already, and so has the fangame Mega Man Maker as far as I can tell.

Alternatively, just make something like Power Fighters but include all 88 robot masters. That is still a hefty game, especially if you can build any kind of replay value in.

[oonajaeadira]

Three things I want to know about you:

Your sock size

What style earrings you wear most often

Your thoughts on tea

You could ask anything and this is what you got?

Good.

Your sock size

Women's socks. I don't know. I'm a 7 - 7.5 US Women's shoe. I just go to the sock aisle and buy women's socks. Or, if there are sizes listed, whatever includes my shoe size.

.

Your thoughts on tea

I like tea very much. I prefer coffee, but once the cold times roll around, I drink almost as much tea as coffee. I prefer black teas and my absolute favorite is Tazo's Awake English Breakfast. As with my coffee, no sugar, only cream.

I'm pretty tolerant to caffeine now, so I actually drink tea in the evenings when I want to calm down! 🤣

But it's lovely when I have sweet things. I like coffee and milk with my baked goods, but there is something nice about a cup of strong tea and cookies for desert. mmmm. cozy.

Also. Coffee goes in my Haunted Mansion mug, but tea goes in my dala horse mug. This is important because the HM mug is black and the dala horse one is white. I like the alchemy of watching the tea steep and prefer to see the color of it as it browns so I know when to take the bag out before it gets too bitter.

I also make mini-pots of loose tea. I am working through a black tea called Grandma's Apple Pie that has dried apples and cinnamon and spices in it. It is my all-time favorite, but the local tea shop that made it went out of business during pandemic and I'm trying to stretch out my last tin.... sigh.

.

What style earrings you wear most often

Here! I'll show you some of my favorites! (Sorry about the poor photography!)

I am in an earring phase at the moment and have a lot of faves. I'm pretty particular because I have high nickel sensitivity.

I get a lot of my best stuff from my favorite local gift shop that deals in local artmakers:

That black one is actually one of a favorite pair but I lost one when I was in Orlando last May 😩 so I pair it with a sword and moon I found at Spirit Halloween.

Speaking of Spirit Halloween, I picked up these shinies...which I will wear year round because that's my jam:

Yes, those are little blood-splattered mirror knives with jewel blood droplets. eeeee

And sometimes I wanna go all elegant like, so here are some of my favorites in my gold section:

Oh! And if I wanna keep it dainty...animal studs!

(Hard to see, but those are gold origami fox heads, rose gold antlers, and silver origami bunnies. I got them at an art sale in Brooklyn.)

And I often troll Etsy for lovely things, like these asymetrical starburst and celestial pairs:

I keep them bundled with a third post because I have a double piercing in my right ear. (There used to be three there, but I let the highest one close.)

But having three spots for earrings means I have room for my absolutely favorite set...I wear Asoka's lightsabers in my right and the Darksaber in my left:

I will never ever get over how high quality these are and I love them so much and can't recommend them enough. (You can find them here...they're sold individually so you can mix and match!)