#if only to justify elements of her design

[stil-lindigo]

ashes to ashes.

a short comic about the day Ash was born.

Ash's story

Red and Wolf's story

notes:

--

all my other comics

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[loz-furbies]

Zelda ages based on when their games came out. Welcome to the team EoW Zelda!

Characters and design thoughts under cut:

For starters, I did a similar Zelda piece a few years ago and ran into the problem that I can't really draw anything else than anime teen girls, which is kind of a problem in a drawing where half the characters are above 20 and their age differences are the whole point. And in addition almost everyone is supposed to be royalty with very similar clothes too. But in my defense, in general it can be pretty hard to tell the ages of 25 to 40 year old anime women anyway.

I needed a reference for the body proportions in order to even get started, so I quickly thought "who is an anime woman who doesn't look like a teenager", and used Yor's character sheet for assistance. The younger characters' proportions are a little inconsistent, since I couldn't choose if I would look at realistic growth chart or go with the anime look (where teens and children are often shorter than they would be in real life) so the result is this weird hybrid.

Four Swords (December 2, 2022) & Four Swords Adventures (March 18, 2004) - Chronologically they are different Zeldas even though they use the same promo art/character design, so I used the promo art design for the original FS Zelda and drew the FSA Zelda based on her sprite. There's not much to these designs, they have very little going on in terms of story or personality to use as inspiration and their character design doesn't offer much anything original when compared to the other more well known Zeldas either. Their only distinct element is the big red hair bow, but I thought it would look too childish when they're supposed to be in their twenties here.

Minish Cap (November 4, 2004) - There's not a lot MC Zelda that I could use for inspiration. But then I remembered that a while ago I wrote about how the pointy hat Queen Ambi wears should be used more often, so I thought I should put my money where my mouth is and draw it here, since Zelda does wear a red cap for a couple seconds in MC. In general the MC Zelda and both FS Zeldas are at a little awkward age for this picture, since they're too old for youthful child designs but not really old enough for more mature queenly designs either.

Skyward Sword (November 18, 2011) - Her design is based on her concept design, which I assume is meant to be her casual look and not the ceremonial costume she wears in the game.

Ocarina of Time (November 21, 1998) - I decided that age-wise she makes the cut of when I start using updos. Why do the Zeldas have such similar canon hairstyles anyway, it was surprisingly boring to work with them. Still not sure about the curls though, my fancy dress design artbook that I used for inspiration had so many cute curly hairstyles but I couldn't really use any here because I worried the characters would become unrecognisable. But since OoT Zelda had some curls in her "sideburns" she fell victim here.

Hyrule Warriors (August 14, 2014) - HW Zelda has a distinct enough design from the other Zeldas that it gives a lot of elements to work with, though her age here limits it a little since she's too young for bikini armour. Also because HW is a spin off, I also considered including the Cadence of Hyrule Zelda, but that led to the realisation that it would have opened the doors to CDI Zelda as well. Which I guess would have been fine, but this is already a pretty wide drawing full of adults, so while a Cadence of Hyrule Zelda would have been easy to fit on the front row, I couldn't justify adding even more adults just for the CDI games. So only HW is included because I've played it and actually like it.

Zelda 1 (February 21, 1986) - The original Zelda is at an age where it's a little awkward how there's little difference between her (38 years old) and OoT Zelda (25). But I couldn't think of any anime that would help me as reference here, and I don't think she's old enough to have that "this character is getting old" wrinkle under her eye (you know the one).

Echoes of Wisdom (September 26, 2024) - I think she looks a bit too old here to be a zero-days-old newborn but work with me here.

Breath of the Wild (March 3, 2017) - She's actually at the age where her mum died, poor girl. She's very refreshing to work with since her look is so different from the other Zeldas.

A Link to the Past (November 21, 1991) & A Link between Worlds (November 22, 2013) - Originally I also had the Oracles Zelda in this since she does have a unique design, but then again I consider the Oracles Link to be the same as in aLttP which ought to apply to Zelda as well, plus the design isn't unique in any interesting way and is just a combination of the OoT & aLttP designs, so in the end I just gave the Oracles Zelda sprite's hair buns to aLbW Zelda. Overall having to use the essentially same design for both aLttP and aLbW Zelda wasn't much fun, especially when neither really offers anything notable in terms of story or personality, but at least they're pretty far apart when it comes to age.

Twilight Princess (November 19, 2006) - I haven't played her game so I don't know a lot about her (other than reading the manga which didn't give me anything to work with either) and she's also close to her canon age (?) here so she ended up looking pretty similar to her canon design.

Spirit Tracks (December 7, 2009) - This was a tough one because technically ST Zelda does have a lot of elements to her story and character that could work for a redesign, but not really for the purposes of this picture. Anything train related is more of Link's thing, and anything ghost related doesn't really fit either since she's not supposed to be a ghost at this age. And as for the Phantom, I got the impression that while she learned to appreciate it, she didn't exactly like using it, and that personality-wise she would prefer not to go on another similar adventure. So In the end I just replaced the regular armour parts many Zeldas have in their designs with the Phantom armour and used the ghost palette for the rest of her look, and I kind of like the result. Her personality looks a little out of character though but I couldn't resist the opportunity to draw this with Grandma Tetra.

Wind Waker (December 13, 2002) - I haven't played WW so I'm not sure how accurate this is, but drawing her with the pirate design definitely added some much needed variety to this picture. I really like her twirly hairstyle in canon, but I also really wanted to draw her with short hair, so it had to go. Maybe ST Zelda can style her hair in a twirl when she gets older to compensate?

The Adventure of Link (January 14, 1987) - Really don't know what happened here, not particularly happy with the end result. I prefer to draw the Zelda 2 Zelda with her sprite design because just reusing the OG Zelda design is boring, but I really should have kept it closer to that since now she's practically unrecognisable.

[dicenete]

I repainted his face more times than probably necessary but something always caught my eye and still does, but it is done. is done. It's fine. xD IkePri Tagteam:

@scummy-writes @goustmilk @solacedeer @m-mmiy @mxrmaid-poet

@pawnkyyy @ludivineikewolf @violettduchess @floydsteeth @wistfulwanderingone

@sh0jun @lorei-writes

A little bit of rambling of him below the break, spoilers (Keith's route, and little bit of Nokto's route) and such :0 so you have been warned.

TL;DR: I enjoyed the route despite its questionable elements. MC is too forgiving at times, but other than that, romanctic route was cute. Licht, the third wheel, was funny but sad.

Okay first about Keith's visual design: I really love how his design is the most asymmetrical from the suitors. Like the jacket and the vest he has. The jacket is very interestingly layered, almost like you aren't sure which part is the main thing and what is the accent. The green or the gold? The host or the alter? : D Same with his vest. His duality is battling in his clothing too hahaha

Keith's route was interesting. I had heard lots of differing opinions about it and I had my own reservations.

One mainly about the portrayal of DID and how the route does it. First things first: I'm not an expert at all. I won't even humor the idea that I had any say in anything regarding it. But overall, it could have been worse? Of course it might be very extreme in the way Alter Keith is hostile towards Host Keith. And of course you shouldn't take this as the only way the alter systems work. But as I said: I'm not an expert.

I had heard that the dramatic route follows Alter Keith and romantic route host Keith. I picked the romantic one. I had my personal reasons for that tho. But aside from that, it was nice to be with Keith that who struggled with self-worth. It was nice to see him grow as a character and find that strength to stand up for himself. (The fact that the host Keith seems to think that he is inferior to Alter Keith and that people would prefer the alter over him. The amount of stress that will bring. )

Keith's uncle was your very generic villain/antagonist without any real depth. He was a spoiled noble and so on. But since this was more about Keith inner journey I thought it was fine that it was like that.

The drugging scene… Well. That's a… a topic. Hmm… Host Keith himself felt very guilty about it and was full of remorse. Not that it was his choice to do it. Alter Keith well… He might justify it because he was gathering information about a rumor that might endanger his home country and people if it were true. I kinda can see where he is coming from, but also...IT CERTAINLY WAS DESTROYING OF TRUST. Like that time when Nokto "accidently" gets MC drunk. but hey ho. Since there is limited time frame for the chapters, I do understand they can't really jam all the things there, but I wanted Belle be more angry with him with Alter Keith for longer.

Maybe that's what bugs me sometimes. That Belle/Emma/MC is sometimes too forgiving and too much of a doormat. It works in routes like Yves and Licht (from the routes I have played, Leon seems like the most respectable gentleman too), because they are not being insulting towards her. I would even think that she works with Clavis, tho I would love to see him with someone who shares his chaotic gremlin energy. But with characters like Chev, Silvio or Alter Keith the their "power" doesn't feel balanced. MC seems to be completely on their mercy even if they stand up to them in some way. (Gilbert is another can of nasty things.)(With Chev's route, well, that is also a rambling for another time. But I haven't finished his route yet. so I will keep my ramblings to myself for now.)

Is Keith's route more about acceptance then? Accepting the good and the bad of a person? Possibly. I would think that is a good way to put it. Both Keiths have good and bad sides. And it seems that they are working on them.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Last post you talked about your ideal version of canon, I was wondering could you share it with us? If not, that's ok

Oh man, I could go on about my dream version of canon for ages! I've talked about various aspects of it on here with stuff like my "sugar" posts on Nino and Alya, but the broad strokes are:

Serialized story where it's basically one large narrative told in chunks

A true teams setup where Adrien, Marinette, Alya, and Nino feel like this amazing, tight friend group who grows into a found family as they get older, giving platonic and romantic love more equal billing

No guardian order, just have it be a single-person role that gets passed on from person to person

Kagami and Luka in supporting roles that have nothing to do with being love interests

Sympathetic Gabriel who feels like a truly tragic figure, but who does NOT get redeemed

Emilie gets an actual character

No sentinonsense

Revised miracle box that is way smaller and that has strong lore

The Agreste's aquiring the miraculous is far more morally complex, makes sense, and was not done for explicitly selfish reasons

Reverse the love square right from the start and never have the crushes flip

I've talked about all of these things on here, but the one thing that I've only briefly touched on is my love of a reverse square setup. I am passionate about that one, so let's take a moment to talk about why since it's probably going to be the most interesting to read.

I don't hate the canon setup for the crushes, but also I don't think that they're the ideal crushes. When it comes to romance stories, you want to design your love interests around each other. You want them to feel special and like they bring something unique to the table. Canon doesn't really give us that. There's nothing all that special about Adrien that makes him feel like the person that Marinette would be drawn to above all others. Same goes for Chat Noir and Ladybug, but we'll get to them in a second.

What is Marinette's biggest struggle? Her role as Ladybug.

Who is her main support in that role for most of the show? Chat Noir.

Who is her main support on the civilian side even before the reveal? Alya.

So why is Marinette's crush on Adrien and not Chat Noir? I don't know. It's the lesser setup by far and that goes beyond just the logic elements of who it makes the most sense for her to fall in love with. A lot of Marinette's worst behavior actually feels justified in a reverse crush setup, allowing you to write her without major changes to her character.

For example, Marinette keeping a chest of gifts for Adrien is kind of pathetic. She's friends with Adrien and she gives her friends gifts all the time, why can't she give him gifts, too? Reverse the crushes and suddenly this behavior makes perfect sense. Marinette isn't storing up gifts because of overblown fears of rejection. She's storing up gifts for legitimate fears about how her partner will explain these random gifts, thereby risking his identity, meaning that she has a sold argument for waiting until the time is right (post reveal) to give them to him.

There's also the legitimate fear that confessing her love could ruin their dynamic and put Paris at risk. Keeping her feelings to herself is now an act of self-sacrifice and not just an act of nerves. Basically everything about Marinette's hesitance just makes so much more sense if it's on the hero side.

But what about Adrien? How does this fix him?

I love the idea of our male romantic lead falling for our female lead because she's bold and brave, but it honestly doesn't fit Adrien's character. He is surrounded by powerful, confrontational women. Nathalie, Chloe, Kagami, Amilie, Audrey, and Tomoe are all no-nonsense women who get what they want. This means that Ladybug doesn't bring something unique to his life. She fits the standard mold. Adrien falling in love with her after she talks down Hawkmoth doesn't feel like the right choice for his character because it doesn't feel like something he'd be wildly impressed by.

Meanwhile, Marinette is shown to be a generally wonderful friend. She cares about others and will do what she can to make them feel welcome and accepted. That's a much more unique thing for Adrien to experience. Think about the umbrella scenes and imagine if it was Marinette apologizing. Marinette owning that she treated him poorly and asking his forgiveness. How often do you think Adrien gets moments like that? Doesn't it make more sense for something like that to make his heart flutter?

We see Marinette doing things like making banners to celebrate her friends (Timebreaker) and making sure everyone feels included (Reflekta). Imagine her giving Adrien that kind of treatment because it's just who Marinette is. She shows up to his fencing matches to cheer him on. Brings him his favorite snacks as a treat just because, surrounding this poor boy in honest, genuine love and support. Add in respect, too, and he'd be a goner because those are the things that he's not getting anywhere else! The things that make Marinette unique.

This brings us to our new civilian dynamic. In canon, it's Marinette failing to confess in ever more spectacular ways as Alya tries and fails to help. In a reverse crush setup where everyone is friends without gender barriers, it's things like Adrien coming up with his canon confessions and then watching Alya and Nino react with genuine horror because, dude, you're going to give her a panic attack! No! Bad kitty! Stop that! No confessions until you come up with a plan that we approve of and read at least five books of dating advice because holy shit did homeschooling do you dirty in this area!

Then, while Adrien is working to learn how dating works, he learns that Marinette is in love with Chat Noir and, oh no! He thinks she's into his public persona, totally unaware that she knows the real Chat Noir and loves his dorky self. So he tries to emulate his sexy alter ego while Nino and Alya suffer and Marinette is just generally confused because she doesn't think of Chat Noir like that, so she doesn't even notice what Adrien is doing.

This also adds a nice mitigating factor to Adrien's unwillingness to give up even though it's pretty clear that Marinette isn't interested in his civilian self. If he knows that she loves him, then his persistence is less concerning and more comedic. It's not that he can't take a no, it's that he honestly knows with 100% certainty that the answer is NOT no because she's told him that to his face. He just needs her to realize that the guy she's in love with is right here, ready and willing!

The potential for comedy is just so much more broad and so much less mean spirited because Marinette has none of Adrien's reserved nature, so her friends would totally know about her massive "celebrity crush". Adrien comes over for school projects and just stares longingly at her Chat Noir posters, wishing he could tell her his secret, but knowing that he can't.

In my world, that is so much more fun than canon's setup where Marinette has no reason to hope. I also wouldn't draw the crushes out anywhere near as long as canon did. I like getting couples together in the mid-game. It's a nice early plot to hook you in, but defeating the villain is the end game, so we don't need to draw the romance out that long. Romance isn't that special. It's not all that different from an arc about two characters becoming friends.

That's far from the only major change I'd make to shape canon into my ideal version, but it is the probably the change that I love the most. It's also the change that requires the least context to explain, so there you go!

[mllenugget]

Hello I mcyt fandom-ified la Team du Lundi members and wrote a shit ton of text about it

After exhausting myself on trying to catch up on the current QSMP lore I got a sudden craving for a more familiar and fast paced kind of minecraft content and ended up rewatching all the Team du Lundi's SMP best of's I could find

And while doing so with my brain still hazed in fandom brainrot, I started picking up on minor details or info the players casually dropped, and drew parallels to the French speakers' QSMP counterparts This is going to be a long wordy post I don't even know what I am rambling about and for. Three things you need to be aware of about la Team du Lundi before reading :

Baghera, Antoine and Etoiles are the only QSMP players that are part of la Team du Lundi

As far as I remember the only two elements that suggest that la Team du Lundi's SMP could be canon to QSMP are Antoine being pressured into building another Tower of Shit, and Baghera's infamous fountain being mentioned when she was asked if her character remembers anything from her past before the island

La Team du Lundi's SMP was NOT a roleplaying server, it was just a private survival server for a small circle of friends casually playing together. So whenever I quote someone in this specific post, it is the streamer : there is no character other than the persona the streamer is usually showing on stream, but I just thought it would be fun to interpret certain situations while keeping in mind the QSMP lore. And here goes :

Baghera claims that when she was a kid she strongly believed that she could breathe underwater. The others joke about her having fins

Antoine jokingly tells Baghera he doesn’t need oxygen at all

Antoine claims he will still be alive thousands of years forwards

Antoine’s voice shifts when he wants to appear creepy

Baghera built an aquarium at her place, then helped Antoine build one at his tower, then built a giant swimming pool, then a fountain, then a waterslide- do you see a theme ?

Baghera knows that her skin is actually that of a chick and not a duckling, and calls it so here

Chat said that Baghera has a middle child syndrome, justifying that she bullies Angle Droit because Etoiles bullies her in the first place (Etoiles has also called her « little sister » in a derogatory way)

Etoiles has repeatedly asked people to play Valorant with him at least once

Here's a clip of Etoiles getting languaged in french and owing "a gifted sub in the swear jar"

Unrelated random clip of Etoiles because it creates happy hormones in me brain

Etoiles is regularly refered to as "the warrior"

Etoiles guided the whole group during an expedition to the End and he was literally glowing doing so (enchanted arrows effect) Everyone called him "the guide"

Baghera was the one who gave the final blow to the Enderdragon (and died from magic right after)

Etoiles spent most of his time adventuring in order to bring stuff and gear back to everyone for their builds

Etoiles asked Aypierre for help in order to design a redstone door for his cave which could only open upon solving a puzzle (which was egg & arrow related) (Aypierre was not a member of the server)

Etoiles built a nightclub with the walls and ceiling covered in wardenblocks making it look like a starry sky. He also rehomed Allays holding golden apples inside claiming them to be the souls working for him and that they lived there peacefuly

Etoiles jokingly talks about Antoine acting jealous and violent towards him because Etoiles told him he wanted to go and visit Kameto (who also was not a member of the server)

Baghera (along with Horty) had a rivalry with Joueur du Grenier (host of the server with admin powers) after he decided to build a massive parking lot right next to their house. They countered by covering the whole thing with dirt, followed by JDG building a factory and the two parties went back and forth. Baghera argued that it was stupid because they didnt even have cars to begin with (which is a sentence she reused when talking about Forever's roads) Also she tells JDG that he could've built a seaport instead, which makes JDG contemplate the thought of building an airport (and though he ended up never building it, I am side eyeing the French's plane crash)

At some point JDG wonders about what a roleplaying minecraft server would look like (RPZ 2), to which Baghera replies that she has a hard time picturing the thing "We'd all just build things you see ? I don't think we'd create stories, we would all just be like "I'm a builder, ah you too ? Well awesome, builders, cool"" and I find this to be hilariously ironic (fun fact : Baghera had no idea that QSMP was a roleplaying server when she first joined and often claims she would've taken a different approach with her character had she known right off the gate)

As I was finishing to write this down, these fuckers (/lh) decided to host a closure night for the server as they've never really officially did it, everyone just sort of deserted the server after a while. Baghera, Etoiles and Antoine kept referring to QSMP throughout the night, mostly talking about how weird it felt without mods. Among other meta commentary things

They mentionned Cellbit and Bad multiple times as the group was trying to solve enigmas. Antoine talked about "the cultural sharing" between communities as he taught insults to each others with Mike, Roier and Maximus in their respective languages Multiple more players were namedropped (including eggs) while Antoine was talking about how the server functions

Yes, Baghera and Etoiles kept their QSMP skins. Etoiles with his code corrupted purgatory one, and Baghera with her fading pink disheveled hair (with the addition of her cubito wearing Horty's merch)

Baghera admits that going back to this small familiar vanilla server feels like coming back home to your family during the holidays

Team du Lundi's cameos in QSMP :

Though Pomme has never canonically met JDG (even though most of her parents have talked about him to her at least once), she occasionaly breaks the 4th wall to refer to him. She once compared one of BBH's "vacation" flower shirts with his, and when Foolish and Bad asked her to elaborate (obviously not getting the reference) she proceeded to play JDG's music theme with the flute instead (Also I really feel the need to once more point out how mindblowing it is for your average french speaking viewer to have JDG's intro theme being added to the mod they use in the QSMP because of how anchored it is within french internet pop culture. Like this shit has been existing for 14 fucking years, it's part of the childhood of a lot of us, so to find a clip of British hardcore player Philza peacefuly listening to Mexican egg admin Tallulah play this theme on her flute feels like a multiverse fever dream)

Horty has been on Quesadilla Island through cc!Baghera's account, but neither of them really wanted to justify it RP wise. Baghera just wanted to give her best friend a tour of the island. Horty only got to meet Richarlyson who gave her a tour of Cellbit's castle and made her pick a room (she chose Chaos). She also chatted with Etoiles who tagged along for a bit and (this is obviously justified by it being a one-shot out of roleplay filler episode kind of night) they both already knew each other and were on friendly enough terms to bicker with one another Also she was part of the French speakers Quackity reached out to to invite on the server, but she had to decline because she was very busy at that time (and also not interested) Also also she was Baghera's teammate for that Formula 4 event, and Baghera has discussed it and showed pictures to a couple of islanders, including Richas who was very hyped about it

Another player the viewers were hoping to see on Quackity's server is Mynthos. He exists within the server with the picture of him that hangs in Pomme's art gallery, the cursed animation video that used to play in La France, as well as with Aypierre's health potion factory that bears his name

Angle Droit and Zerator are sometimes namedropped when the French speakers talk with their chat. Angle Droit frequently raids Baghera's and Antoine's streams, and though it has never been confirmed, a lot of viewers theorized that she was the +1 player Baghera and Etoiles wanted to invite on the server had they won the elections.

As for Zera, Etoiles went AFK on QSMP a couple of times in order to test some of Zerator's TrackMania maps (which he later discussed with Pac). I also remember a very trivial conversation Etoiles had with Mouse and Aypierre where he laughed about hurting his back very badly after carrying a fellow streamer during a caritative event, said event was hosted by Zerator (he's also the one judging them with concern from his desk)

I'm done.

Bonus alternative design for Angle Droit because at first I thought she was a fox then it turned out she was a corgi but then she changed it again to a fox and woop

[dollgxtz]

Why’d you write Sylus so crazy? You’re turning him into one of those booktok men and he’s anything BUT that. I just don’t get it :/

Hi anon! I know my yandere!Sylus story is disturbing. And while yes, I do take great pleasure in writing such topics such as kidnapping n such, I genuinely just wanted to write a dark Sylus fic exploring a different version of him where his desires and upbringing lead him to hurt even the people he loves. I love tragic characters and stories!

Think about if you watch a horror movie. You know murdering and killing is bad and yet you still watch it for entertainment, to see what happens!

By the way, this isn’t to argue or call you out anon, just hoping to shed some light on my perspective as the author. I love when people ask about my work, and I’m happy to answer regardless of the context! My ask box is always open if any of you have questions!

Below is a breakdown of some of the complexities I wanted to portray!

Yandere!Sylus Breakdown

I envisioned him as a deeply complex character—not necessarily in his emotions, because yandere!Sylus always knows exactly what he wants—but in the way he rationalizes his actions and interprets his “wrongdoings.”

On the surface, his actions are undeniably wrong. Kidnapping a girl, forcing her into a life of isolation, and desiring to have children with her while keeping her away from everyone she’s ever loved is, by all moral standards, reprehensible. However, Yandere!Sylus doesn’t see it that way. To him, these actions are justifiable as long as they fulfill a purpose in his grand design.

He operates with a calculated mindset, never doing anything unless he believes it will ultimately benefit him, even if it means causing immense suffering. The fact that the reader might hate him only reinforces his resolve; he views it as a challenge, something to be overcome or “fixed” rather than a deterrent.

This doesn’t mean he doesn’t love reader, he does. But he is inherently selfish at his core since that was what was needed to survive. I intend to break this down further!

In yandere!Sylus’s twisted logic, he genuinely believes that if he can get the reader pregnant, she will inevitably develop a bond with the child. He sees this as a means to an end—a way to “tame” her, to anchor her to him emotionally.

He is convinced that motherhood will soften her resistance, leading her to accept the life he has meticulously crafted for them. To him, this is not just a strategy but a deeply held belief that love, however twisted, can be cultivated through shared ties, like the birth of a child.

This version of Sylus is driven by a yearning for the idealized version of happiness that society often romanticizes—the “big happy family” with “children running around” and a “loving wife.” It’s a vision that he clings to desperately, not because he understands it in the way most people do, but because he was denied such love and stability as a child.

Sylus grew up in a world where love was scarce and survival was paramount, as depicted in the original story. This lack of nurturing has warped his understanding of love and family, leading him to believe that these things can be engineered or forced into existence.

In blending elements of the original story into this version of Sylus and the reader, I wanted to show the core aspects of his character while exploring new dimensions of his psyche. However, I didn’t want it to be an exact replication, as the reader in this version isn’t the canonical main character from the original universe. Instead, she represents an alternative narrative where Sylus’s obsessions and desires manifest differently, yet still retain the disturbing intensity that defines his character! ^o^

All in all, if this story isn’t for you. Don’t read it please. I write for a certain demographic of people who enjoy twisted media. It’s fiction after all! No one is truly getting hurt. I hope this helps with your confusion anon!

[spectra-bear]

To all the fma fans here who have been following me for a while now, I'd like to bring a few chapters to light in consideration to the recent tragic palestinian apartheid

FMA has made sure to speak out about these reoccuring events, and whoever hasn't noticed from reading yet needs a critical thinking class.

Let's start with chapter 90:

Chapter 90 of the series, although censored heavily in the anime (but we'll get to that later), played a HUGE role in establishing what kind of message arakawa was building up to deliver to her audience as a plot B (ishvalan genocide) sided with plot A (the search of the philosopher stones, eventually turned plot A (overthrowing the military), a message meant to awaken her readers to the truth, and one that serves as a warning

Does this not all ring familiarity?

One of the reasons arakawa wrote this story was to bring this side of history into light,

the oppression, the abuse of military power, the imbalanace in arms between two parties at "war", the perfect guise of "protecting the people from radicalized terrorists", and using it to justify the murder of countless lives, committing war crime after war crime, massacring the land and lathering it with the spilled blood of countless innocents and people fighting back for their freedom, for their home. Those that die have their lives tragically cut short, too soon.

A total extermination

And to those that remain alive,

Forcefully immigrated from their own homeland

Or exploited for their bodies, harvested for their organs, abused, tortured and humiliated

Not only that, but the emphasis on making the reason behind starting the war in the first place, being the first bullet shot at a young child by a soldier, and intentionally making it seem "trivial" for the ishvalans to retaliate because of that, and painting them as animalistic

Writing off roy mustang and maes hughes as heroes for doing whats best for their country, glorifying their relationship as war buddies, and believing theyre in the right for putting down the people of the holy land, when they couldve backed down from contributing to this one-sided war,

and when they do step back from the field, theyre labelled as cowards. When they inevitably realize the abnormality and inhumanity of their actions, that theyve been solely used as tools and weapons of destruction, that impact is softened with rewards, of medals and cheers of accomplishment from the population-wide brainwashed by lies spread by the people in power, and if theyre lucky, accomodations for the negative mental effects of being part of a war

(arakawa interview source)

What do I conclude from this?

That the author of your favorite manga does not support genocide and in fact, condemns those who partake in it

If it isnt obvious, She included these stories because they have happened before

She is telling these stories, while not 100% protrayed correctly, to fill the empty gaps in the western perspective that have been contaminated with propaganda and demonization of these indigenous people

The designs of ishvalans and cultural clothing are intentionally influenced by japanese ethnic groups, middle eastern and south asian cultures, and the military intentionally european/western looking as an example for their expansion and dominance in mind

And now we are watching all this happen in reality, again, witnessed live, in much worse conditions, throughout history

Where the heroes arent kids who can sway elements at their command with the flick of a hand, but the people who stand against it in mass, marching in the streets to break the suffocating silence, and spread the voices of those seeking help and demanding their freedom back

Does everyone realize how fucked up that is? That the lines drawn between fantasy and reality blur so much that they become indistinguishable from each other? That is true horror, when the monsters and tyrants in your stories no longer stay on ink and paper, but are on your screens broadcasting their crimes, beyond humanity

You must understand that if these stories are included for you, the reader, they are not written just for the plot, but to bring awareness to you, and avoid history from repeating itself, and work against committing the same irredeemable mistakes as before

(thanks to @borkthemork for the help in outlining this and proofreading)

[oblivionbladetd]

Lily saying she bases her character’s orientation on their stance on relationships sounds fine on paper, but the way she thinks about it is completely backward. People’s sexuality tends to influence their stance on relationships. I think it’s okay when developing characters to think about their beliefs and personality before giving them a sexuality — that way their identity doesn’t become their personality. And people can discover things based on their growing understanding of relationships. But the way Lily describes it doesn’t sound like any of those. It seems like Niva made the conscious choice to be Aro/ace because of her relationship with her sister. She can realize she’s Aro/ace because she meets a lot of people and finds she’s simply not attracted to them in that way, and it’s entirely valid to not want to label oneself but this reads like she’s plugging her ears and closing her eyes to any other form of relationship outside that with her sister. Idk. It’s Lily. Obviously there’s some weird subtext here.

It’s also contradictory considering she says “people need to define themselves” when the way she describes Niva makes it seem like she’s defining herself based on her relationship with her sister. People can define themselves by any sort of relationship, not strictly romantic ones. People tend to define themselves based on their relationships, it’s not really possible to separate the two, it’s just how humans work.

On that note, I hate how Niva completely dismisses the romances of the previous Avatars. Like it or not romance is a part of their history and calling those relationships inferior is completely wrong. Katara, Rangi, Ta Min, Asami (Admittedly debatable), etc. are just as important to their Avatar’s stories as the Avatar themselves and you cannot simply write them off as “unimportant” or “inferior.”

Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Lorch’s OC dismisses important elements of Lore history that she personally doesn’t like.

Absolutely, the way she described the process just seems... off. Though you really nailed it with the bit about Niva having her fingers in her ears. Even outside her relationships or lack thereof, she seems so sheltered and ignorant, which I know is not because Lily meant to write her like that.

I've pointed out before that Lily seems more interested in dodging tropes than thinking about why the tropes are there, and this is just more proof on it. Niva actually doesn't function without Lavi, up to and including the fact that even as a fragment of the Avatars Soul, she still NEEDS Lavi. She doesn't care about the world at large but still seeks mastery over the elements to frankly bizarre degrees. She's considered gentle but has super moves that are designed to maximize suffering. She is very deliberately just ducking tropes without thinking wider, Niva needs to be extremely worldly and adaptable to be as realized of a bender as she is and in this, meet a lot of people and on some level be forced to internalize their culture and values as its literally part of bending. She has techniques custom brewed to prolong suffering on her enemies, but is the gentle avatar? Nah.

The less mentioned about the implications of how important Lavi is to her, the better. Out of every Avatar that has loved and lost, apparently only LAVI is the only one that was loved enough to get a place in the spirit of the Avatar... where there is text, there is subtext, and the subtext says either extreme codependency or incest! Take your pick it doesn't make it any better...

The thought that she's doing it by accident just because she wants to avoid the very justified tropes of AtlA... just...

[overdressedcarp]

Aventurine, Dr. Ratio, and Ruan Mei for the character ask! (Love ur Aventio fic btw).

Thank you for the ask! I had fun doing these. (Also I'm glad you're enjoying the fic! I am sitting in my authorial hobbit hole with a big smile on my face.)

Aventurine

Clarifications (yellow boxes):

I don't see as many bad Aventurine takes as I do for Ratio, but I do think his rough edges often get watered down in a way that either justifies or ignores his canonical flaws. So "they got done dirty by fans" and "wow! they are a horrible person" both get soft nods because I think his character deserves to be both sympathetic and kind of an ass sometimes. (The other issue I see is people acting like he's vulnerable and helpless, which is just. fundamentally not true? He's not as secure in himself as he pretends to be, but he is a ruthlessly competent strategist, and he knows how to read people and give them what they want to see. He's a member of the Ten Stonehearts for a reason.)

"If they were real I would be afraid of them" alright let me explain. The 2.1 story did a masterful job of humanizing Aventurine, but his first impressions in 2.0 were fine-tuned to be unnerving, and it was really effective for me as a player. For a while I couldn't articulate why it made me uncomfortable, but @starcurtain did a great analysis on female influence in Aventurine's life, which touched on how his early interactions with the Trailblazer are designed to be intimidating and off-putting in a way that channels the sort of masculine dominance Aventurine has historically experienced at the hands of other men. Suffice to say: if it served his plans for me to be afraid of him, he knows how to do it, and it would work.

Also I forgot to mark "why do they look like that" on the bingo but I do think Hoyo should have given him more melanin considering how deeply Romani-coded his culture is. Everything else about his design slaps though.

Ratio

Clarifications:

"Wasted potential" is subjective because I've loved every moment we've gotten of Ratio onscreen, but damn do I want the game to delve deeper into his backstory and his dynamics with other characters (I'm still sad that so far Aventurine is the only character that has a voice line about him).

"Deeper than they seem" and "not as deep as they seem" exist in a paradoxical state for me because I do think some folks stop at the surface reading of "arrogant asshole" when he's got way more going on in his character stories and his actions in canon... but I also think some people err on the side of taking him too seriously, in a way that likewise takes something away from his character. Like, this is the guy who plays chess with himself and trash-talks from both sides of the table like a goddamn cartoon character. He owns at least one rubber duck and takes a bath with it every day. He likes all of Aventurine's social media posts and replies "Heh." to anything he finds vaguely amusing. This is not a serious man.

"Why do they look like that" okay I need to clarify that this is not a criticism. I love Ratio's design. The neoclassical vibes are impeccable. But it's also extra in a way that I feel morally obligated to call out, considering how much he rags on Aventurine for dressing like a peacock. Sir, you walk around in robes and sandals with an alabaster bust on your head; you have no room to talk about subtle fashion choices.

Ruan Mei

Clarifications:

Ruan Mei gets both "they are so cool looking" and "why do they look like that" because I love the theory behind her design (the DNA elements, the embroidery and floral imagery, the qipao paired with the pearl necklace) but she also has the unfortunate distinction of being a female character in a Hoyoverse game, so the more unique details fall prey to the homogenizing force of the male gaze.

Another case of "they got done dirty by fans" and "wow! they are a terrible person" existing in tandem, but in Ruan Mei's case I think some people reduce her down to her worst qualities without acknowledging the more complex aspects of her character. Her unchecked pursuit of knowledge leads to her doing Objectively Bad Things, but I don't think it's a fair (or particularly interesting) reading to portray her as heartless.

I thought about marking "wasted potential" because imo 1.6 wasn't nearly enough to delve into Everything Going on with This Woman, but it seems like they're setting up something for a future patch, so I'm content to wait and see what the writers have planned. I'm really excited to find out what she's doing with those leviathan fossils and Tingyun's wrecked ship.

Link to the character bingo template

[blorger]

On discrimination in the wizarding world

When coming up with the concept of blood purity JKR who, as a cis white woman from a 1st world country only has a second hand experience of oppression (if one doesn't count the constant yoke of the patriarchy, and she does), managed to create a hybrid term, collating different types of prejudices:

A mudblood is not visibly a mudblood like one is visibly a person of colour but a mudblood is inferior by deterministic reason just like one's race to a racist (you are born a mudblood for reasons beyond your control); one's blood status can be hidden, just like one can hide one's religion and, most importantly for our purposes, one is recognisable for their blood status by virtue of being an outsider, i.e. new to the wizarding world.

There's an obvious element of classism in the concept of blood purity: the established wizarding families are not only rich but generationally rich (save some notable examples) and they are part of the status quo by virtue of just how long they've been an integral part of the wizarding world.

To a pureblood, who is nobility-coded, a half-blood is a bourgeois trying to rise in status while a muggleborn is nothing but a dirty peasant. Historically, the nobility has always been greatly preoccupied with trying to retain its place at the very top of society and a key component of stopping the lower classes from rising in station is convincing them of their innate inferiority. You are part of your social class by virtue of your birth, the thought goes, and as such it is an immutable fact.

To purebloods like the Malfoys, the muggleborn represent a threat when they try to rise above their station, when they don't conform to the Order of Things. A muggleborn, coming from a modern society where social mobility is seen not only as normal but as desirable, does not hold the reverence for purebloods that they feel they're owed; they don't look at purebloods and feel inferior, like they ought to, they just see someone higher in the social hierarchy and a particularly ambitious muggleborn may even think, well, I can do that too.

I see someone like Bellatrix or Walburga as closer to a true racist: the very existence of muggleborns is an affront to them for they befoul the places they enter, they taint bloodlines, they are freaks of nature. To someone like Lucius Malfoy, who derives his self worth from his position at the top of the social hierarchy, muggleborns are just people; they are inferior people, yes, but as long as they know their place they are ultimately harmless.

One could argue that that is just different flavours of racism, and they would be absolutely correct if we were talking about the real world, where thoughts like these enforce well established systems of oppression. In the world jkr created, though, these systems do not exist, I'm not sure wether by design or ignorance (but I can hazard a guess). There is no wizard equivalent of the transatlantic slave trade, wizards don't follow a unified religion that can be easily perverted to justify systemic oppression, the magical world has always had prominent members who didn't follow this world-view and so on and so forth... (jkr herself doesn't seem to understand the concept of intersectionality, which plays a huge part in real-world oppression).

In the fandom we often refer to the ideology of blood purity as wizard racism and, while that is a very succint short-hand, I've always felt like it's not entirely accurate.

I've always felt iffy about treating blood purity as a type of racism because the truth is that real life racism is magnitudes worse. It's a many headed hydra endlessly changing and regenerating, it has a dark and sordid history, it's baked into our society, it's a stain on our collective consciousness. Better authors than jkr have produced more fitting analogies for it in their works whereas what she created, in my opinion, doesn't even come close to the real thing.

By borrowing from her own experience as a lower-middle class woman in a country with a monarchy and a very distinct class system, jkr has managed to create something that to me is closer to classism, except classism doesn't sound bad enough for the type of story she wanted to tell so, when she wanted to escalate the stakes in her story, she added on elements of anti-semitism (the events of book 7 are clearly based on Nazi Germany and WWII in general) and, less successfully, white supremacy.

I think this is partly why, as a fandom, we are able to so successfully rationalise the actions of the harry potter villains: when push comes to shove, their beliefs are but a pale imitation of what we see in the real world.

[yurimother]

Lesbian Sci-Fi Bounty Hunters Fight For Their Freedom in GL Space Western Apollonia

Sponsored by War Bunny

Apollonia is a no-punches-pulled cowgirls in space adventure! Part Cowboy Bebop and part Black Lagoon, but with a heavy dose of exceptionally jacked queer ladies in cowboy hats, this thrilling webtoon follows the crew of the space trail Apollonia, a group of vicious exiles determined to lay waste to their quarry, collect bounties, and earn their freedom.

The story kicks off when inmate no. 7012, Molly Holliday, is imprisoned on Purgatoire, a perilous frontier planet styled after the wild west, with only one hope, “complete the necessary steps required to reform and join the rest of civilized society...”

Molly soon catches the eye of Tess “Tombstone” Seguín, a steely-eyed gunslinger doing “accidental good” working as a bounty hunter for Reach. Between all the imprisoned criminals running amok, the settlers looking to carve out their own tiny chuck of hellscape and live in peace on Purgatoire don’t have it easy. So, Reach marks those who misbehave and promises that those who join Reach and hunt down enough evildoers will receive the ultimate prize, a one-way ticket to freedom.

After successfully proving her quickdraw skills, demonstrating the sharpness of her cutting tongue, and instilling more than a little lesbian panic, Molly proves herself to Tess, who invites her to join her gang, The Red Horns, aboard their space train, The Apollonia. Together they’ll stop at nothing to earn their freedom as they annihilate scum and battle against the six wicked gangs that carved up the planet’s territory and rule it with an iron fist. And if the Red Horns should accidentally do some good as they ride off into the sunset, so be it. These aren’t heroes by any means, just selfish monsters who happened to end up on the right side of the law after breaking it.

The series boasts dramatic visuals that electrify action as plasma bolts and explosive punches fly in dynamic, stylized sequences. And from incredibly sculpted abs to genetically engineered heart eyes, each of the character designs helps communicate its subject’s personality and power. The world-building is excellent, showcasing a dangerous world inspired by Borderlands and technology that justifiably mixes high-tech sci-fi with the aesthetics of classic Western stories. However, my favorite element is the dialogue, laden with a plethora of old-west slang, witty exchanges, and plenty of flirtatious banter between the two female leads.

You can read Apollonia for free today on Webtoon.

Post sponsored by War Bunny

[sapphicrow]

Re8 Characters as Crane Wives Songs!

Karl Heisenberg- Take Me To War

I think he would be this song because it’s very violent and argumentative, as he is. Also. The man literally is jam packed with the desire for a revolution and his design is heavily influenced by WWII elements. It’s a very simple connection, but suiting.

Donna Beneviento - Unraveling

I think this song reminds me of her not because I imagine her exactly as the serial romantic that the narrator of this tragic tale is, but because of the fact that she has dealt with a lot of loss in her life. Between the death of her family, then anyone she may have had in the village when Miranda ordered them to be massacred, as well as earlier her humanity. The idea of unraveling, or losing it per se, alludes to her characteristic mental illness. Shes off the rails, we love that for her, and so does this song. One of the main lyrics in the song is “But now my love is gone / and I am left unraveling” and I just feel that encompasses how she’s been abandoned to her dolls to wither out of sight. Also the song goes tailor, gardener, then carpenter and she is all of those things which I find to be a rather seemly match.

Salvatore Moreau - Nobody

Now, the artists themselves describe this as a queer tragedy, but I think I can yank it out of context a bit to fit the silly. Now, this song states over and over again how “nobody ever loved me like she tells me she does” and I feel that is a very manipulative statement. Moreau does not have much of a back story, but one of the original concepts for his character was that he was to have the woman he loved melded to his back in a somewhat perverse fashion where she would be forced to stay with him. This idea is encapsulated by the obsessive and toxic nature of the relationship this song portrays. If you really want to have a think about it, you could imagine it was the woman herself trying to justify Moreau’s actions to herself. However, I was thinking more along the route of how Miranda surely had to lead this poor fish on for him to be so devoted. I don’t mean romantically, but she most definitely was more involved to begin. Nobody ever loved him like she told him she does. That doesn’t mean she does, but it does illustrate how she taunted him with the idea of a mom, leading him to create this familial illusion in his twisted mind.

Alcina Dimitrescu- Tongues & Teeth

Now this one was a little tricky, I was torn between this one and The Wolf but I feel this one gives more of that cruel seductiveness we have come to associate with Lady Dimitrescu. This song is very blatant. “And when you come in quick to steal a kiss / my teeth will only cut your lips, my dear” I love to imagine our lady as a woman who relishes in her power, not one who is insecure in it. She will not shy away from her own strength, nor will she temper it for anybody. Tongues & Teeth tells it like it is- should you wish to be hers, you are going to get hurt. End of story. She’s going to hurt you. This is no accident, this is no fluke. She is violent in her very nature. But on the contrary to that, this is a warning. This gives you the courtesy to flee. I think she would want you to at least be willing to be broken by her in some capacity, which is why she would even say anything in the first place. Also. I think the song is a banger and I’d like to bang her.

Cassandra Dimitrescu- Show Your Fangs

Cassie is a huntress, a conclusion made among fans due to her final fight being fought within the Dimitrescu castle’s armory. She is strong and has a fierce playful energy to her, going as far as toying with Ethan with her lil “RAH!”s that admittedly did scare me a few times. I view this song as a sort of feminine war song. “I’m not your highness, a damsel left helpless by fright / I am a lioness, fierce as I walk through the night” Out of the three sisters, she is certainly the most combative. In addition to the obvious associations, I believe that the line stating that she is not your highness is a sort of jab at the title of countess. She wants nothing to do with that power. She is wild and bitey and feral. She is in no way a ‘proper’ lady. She refuses that idea outright and I mclove that for her.

Bela Dimitrescu- Steady, Steady

We all imagine Bela as the perfect, shining golden child of the Dimitrescus. She’s responsible, respectful, and just overall a polite little lady. But I think she’s more wild than that. The duality of this song orchestrates this view wonderfully. Sang in a slow, deep melody; “Steady, steady, you know when you’re ready.” This shows her prim side, I also like to imagine this as her mantra muttered between deep breaths as she goes to present her work to her mom. (She’s always well received, but she over thinks it a lot.)

And then the other side of this song goes in a more frantic, rambunctious tune; “I’m swimming in this dress like a child in her mothers clothes/ This ring around my fingers like a chain around my throat” and while I suppose the original intent was to allude to an unhappy marriage, I think we can point it towards the subtle resentment Bela holds towards her responsibilities and how she feels as though she’s not the right person for the job. Bela deals with a lot of impostor syndrome on this matter. I just think this song gives both sides of our dynamic blondie. (Alternatively for Bela, Hard Sell)

Daniela Dimitrescu- Icarus

Originally, Icarus was a tale of a young fool who got too close to the sun. It is also the tale of a boy who wanted Apollo BAD bad. Daniela feels very youthful and naive to me, she was locked up after all. I think that her mother acknowledged that she was desperate for outside interaction and that this was a threat to her, thus her seclusion in the library. However, in the end, her delusions of romance had her get just a bit too close to Ethan. “My love will fall with grace,” says the song. And so she did. She flew too close to the sun. Plus this song is super spunky and that gives Dani vibes.

Mother Miranda- Never Love An Anchor

Okay so. This song speaks of a shitty shitty relationship, one that’s maternal evidently. I believe this is symbolic of Mother Miranda’s connection with the lords. Heisenberg, who wound up in her control against his own will, shown respect solely for his success as a subject. Donna, demented and alone, was taken under her wing only for her to be defenseless when Ethan attacked. Alcina, mighty and beautiful, but weak and insecure in her own mind, left to yearn for her favor. Moreau, grotesque and ruined by Miranda’s hand, then allowed to spoil further as his desperate need for her love went unfed.

“Do you ever think of me and my two hands? And wonder why they never soothed your fevers? And wonder why they never tied your shoes? And wonder why they never held you gently? And wonder why they never had the chance to lose you?” On a separate note, I think this could be something Miranda thinks to herself as she fights for Eva. If her consciousness is trapped in the megamycete, it stands to reason that she is conscious in there. I wonder if Miranda ever worried if Eva could overhear the carnage she was causing for her. I wonder if she spoke to her, apologizing for not being a good enough mom. I wonder if the guilt would overwhelm her to the point she was crumpled on her lab’s floor, weeping against bare earth and mold, begging her to forgive her. Hm. Food for thought.

Bonus! Mirancina- The Moon Will Sing

[lady0lunamoon]

Okay! My honest opinion on "Miraculous World: Paris"?

It was AMAZING!!!!

Lot's of action, some funny moments, very emotional and lots of tension!

One thing I especially love is how the Special wastes absolutely no time with getting straight into the action!

Something I hate about many movies is how they just waste so much time setting up the plot that by the time it finally gets to the good stuff, half the movie is already over!

The writers really have my respect for not doing that here! After the opening, they waste no time and immediately get straight to the actual plot!

Another thing i really love about the special is the way they handled Shadybug and Claw Noir!

I kept saying that Shady and Claw have the potential to become the best Miraculous villains ever, even if they get redeemed, and as far as I'm concerned, i was totally right about that because these two are officially my favorite Miraculous villains!!! 🖤

[WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!]

For one, I love villains like Shadybug who are driven by a desire to not be hurt anymore!

I felt so bad for her when she cried while reading Marinette's diary! 😢

And I found it so touching how she first acted cold and rude towards Sabine but quickly backtracked on her attitude, when Sabine continued to speak kindly to her!

It showed that Shadybug wished she'd have a loving mother like that and she'd actually be grateful for it!

I am truly touched by how vurnerable she looked throughout that entire scene!

💔💔💔

🖤And I absolutely love how sassy and unhinged Claw Noir is!🖤

The guy freaking cataclysmed himself ON PURPOSE FOR NO APPEARANT REASON!!

At least I can't think of a reason why he did that! And even while cataclysmed, he still managed to put up one heck of a fight throughout the entire special!!

And It's very interesting how his motivation is a lot like Monarch's, but at the same time not!

Claw Noir does want his mother back, but he seems more hurt by the fact that his father doesn't seem as upset as he is!

Although it's not that hard to read the signs that Shadyverse!Gabriel infact is impacted by his wife's death!

If I had to guess, it looks very much like Claw THOUGHT his father easily moved on and continued to focus on his work as a fashion designer and forgot about Emily, while what he was really doing was using the butterfly miraculous to create superheroes and trying to stop the Supreme, most likely to create a safe world for their son!

I also love how both Shady and Claw wear different masks to hide their sadness : Shadybug acts cold and unfeeling while Claw Noir is more outgoing and unhinged! Claw is basically that one character who is a little b*tch but is just too charismatic to hate!

[SPOILERS OVER]

There might've been a few things I had hoped to see in the special that weren't there, but that's okay because a lack of one or two good possible elements is still better than the presence of multiple bad elements — which mind you was NOT present in this special at all!

The show often has some moments that really made me cringe, but I couldn't find a SINGLE bad moment in this special!

[SPOILERS]

So the fact that we didn't get much personal father-son drama between Batterfly and Claw Noir (Which was justified since, contrary to what i assumed, they don't know each others secret identities) or the fact that neither CelesteCat's white suit and hair nore Claw Noir's giant Cataclysm triggered Ladybug's Chat Blanc PTSD (because we don't talk about this enough in Season 5) don't bother me much!

My worries about Ubiquity, despite being featured heavily in promotional material, barely appearing in the actual special (because she only had one appearence in all the trailers) were also put to rest! Even though Alya isn't Ubiqity for long at first, she still gets turned back into her a few times! Giving her enough screentime that I see no reason to get mad over her being promoted so much even though she doesn't actually stick around throughout the entire special!

[SPOILERS END]

Whoever says this show lost it's touch should definetly watch this!

Which is another little meta detail I really love in this special :

'Hope' is a central theme in the special, and it was so good that it also gave me hope that the show can return to it's former glory!

Despite a lot of controversy surrounding the show for quite a while now, this special proves that, just like Shadybug, Claw Noir and Batterfly's world, the show itself can also still be saved!

[extracontentmediareviews]

What's going on with the Character Designs from Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward???

My first and remaining impression is that these designs are all over the place. The only reason they have any sense of cohesion is because of…I don’t even know…the overall presence/weight of The Nonary Games story? Besides the artist’s style there is absolutely nothing tying these characters together visually — to each other, or to the general world of the Nonary Games. If these designs were presented to me without context I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about the game, let alone think they came from the same world. Costumes felt random, determined solely by the designer’s personal taste that loosely fulfilled some generic arc-type brief (i.e Alice is the “sexy one,” and K is the “robot,” Quark is the “kid” etc). Design choices offered no insight or legitimate tie-in to characterization, roles, or backstories. Adding a single line about “being a circus ringmaster” (that isn’t even true) to Dio’s dialogue does not justify his obvious visual gimmick that had nothing to do with his actual character. Luna felt like her outfit wanted to tie in visually with Dio’s but to no substantial avail. Alice (wtaf) and Clover’s “sexy” outfits have absolutely no believable tangibility to their jobs, and what the heck is on Quark’s head? That’s never actually explained. In almost every case, it felt like the designs were more interested in being individually jarring and “technically” strong (i.e use of silhouette and self-contained motifs) than harmonious to the game’s tone, genre, or story. 

All that being said, I do acknowledge the presence of all the characters together in the promo art is certainly an effective one. Looking at the casts in the other two games (without having played them yet), it also seems like this is the style: a roster of disjointed visual archetypes. Even if that is the case, I can’t recommend this particular ensemble as a good example for cohesive cast design. 

I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention how poorly Sigma’s name has aged (in this year of our Lord 2024).

---

(I played Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward on the 3DS in its original 2012 iteration, in 2024. For the sake of prose, I will be referring to Virtue’s Last Reward interchangeably with The Nonary Games. Overall, I found the game more mentally pervasive than anticipated and I did enjoy it. However several elements felt frustrated in terms of presentation, visual design choices, and narrative pacing)

[intothetlkverse]

Decided to challenge myself by drawing every single TLK character out there, up until this point in time, and post it here. You can see the finished project on my main account, though I figured to post it on my tumblr just show I could proudly show off my work and a few of my head canons.

Here's all the rodents, plus lagomorphs, across TLG/K:

First are the jerboas; Tupp/Thupi(body-Nyanja) the lesser Egyptian jerboa from "Journey of Memories" and Jerboa/Impuku(rodent-Zulu) the long-eared jerboa from "The Call of the Drongo". Right between them is a springhare we see from the TLK book "A Wild Night Out". In the book where Simba and Nala sneak out at night to explore and find an aardvark, a porcupine, and a springhare before heading back home. This discovery has unfortunately made me have to do back and retroactively add some more characters, though at least it is nice to get some animals in proper TLK style for a change, though I kinda feel a bit sheepish for not realizing that TLK has done springhares before I did my revamped beavers into them. Anyways, meet Bazara(spring-Hausa).

Next are the mice, including the first one we see in TLK, the striped grass mouse Scar plays with I've named Eku(mouse-Yoruba), Nobi/Inabi(grapes-Hausa) the spiny mouse from "Good Mousekeeping" who is an albino African spiny mouse who gets bullies by a trio of elephants before he learns to stick up for himself, and lastly the female four-striped grass mouse we see also in "The Call of the Drongo" I've decided to name Lishe(nutrition). Not much to say about them, though my headcanon is that Eku is actually one of Zazu's partners, having gotten close to him during Zazu's rib cage imprisonment, and kept him informed about current events while also trying to help him escape by gnawing on the bones time to time.

Following with TLG rodents, which make up the majority of this list, we have Tafu/Tafiya(journey) the scaley-tailed flying squirrel from "The Accidental Avalanche". As far as gliding rodents go, I really like his simplistic design and kept it pretty much the same. Additionally for flying squirrels we have Piper/Pyp(pipe-Afrikkans) from "Saskatchewan Catch", a flying squirrel who gets help from Timon and Pumbaa to find herself a mate in exchange for some hard-to-reach tree beetles, though ditch them on their deal once she finds her mate. Not much to say about her story wise, though design-wise I did think the purply-grey colors were alright, though no lipstick, scarves, or updos that make Pricilla Presley weep in envy, though I can justify the beauty-mark.

Also for squirrels we have the the Teds, Ithendi(heel-Xhosa) and Kitendo(act), now a pair of ground squirrels, which just look like prairie dogs to me, from "You Ghana Join the Club". These brothers and their family decided to hog the resources of a certain area in the Oasis, though thankfully and rather painfully got their comeuppance by peeving off one of the local lions. Again, not much to say, though I think I did a good job of sneaking in some pink and blue elements into their designs, though I had to do quite a bit of redesigning, since the first draft came out looking like evil Care Bears.

Next are the porcupines, all pains in the neck with all their individually drawn quills, where we have the African-crested present with Mama Binturong-now-Civet's lackey Smun/Sumai(high). At some point in time the Forest was a pleasant place, where the inhabitants freely interacted with each other and freely shared the resources around, even inviting new folks to live in the community. However one of them, a malicious civet, took advantage of everyone's naivete and generosity, instead hogging all the resources including their precious medicinal tuliza, and threatening anyone who tried to get in her way, as well as making the price to get even just a blossom of tuliza unobtainable at worse and back-breaking at minimum. Sumai and his prickle were unfortunately casualties in this that only worsened the problem. They were so young when they lost their parents to an easily preventable disease that could've been stopped with the tuliza, but they were denied it and ended losing their lives, and leaving their children alone and vulnerable. Acting as the doting 'mama' figure, she took in the orphaned porcupines, acting as the poor doctor who was unable to save their parents due to everyone wanting the tuliza and taking it from her, leaving none for her to give to save them. Over time she successfully convinced them that the other inhabitants of the forest were to blame, wanting to hog all the tuliza for themselves and did not care about trampling over or taking out others to achieve that. Slowly she grew her army of porcupines, heavily dependent on her and unable to realize the harm she had caused, to neither them or their communities, by controlling the flow of tuliza, so caught up in their devotion and false belief of misplaced blame. By the time they return back to the forest after failing to get revenge on Bunga, they find that the forest has flourished in their time away, the tuliza and resourced are now being shared and cultivated as originally, and to boot the inhabitants have grown more of a spine. Mama Civet has grown frail and ill with age and a few porcupines were injured during the fight. The forest inhabitants are still resentful, but merciful enough to allow them to remain in their old area and use what they are given to recover, but they will now be required to work for the community and their tuliza, and the second they step out of line, they're out. Over time some of the other porcupines begin to see the community for how it truly was and begin to question how they were raised and acted before, whole Sumai remains almost fanatically devoted and serving to his ailing, crippled foster mother, now refusing to even get up and demanding quantities of food and tuliza served right to her, succumbing to sloth and addiction. Sumai can only painfully watch as she slowly keeps on digging a hole she can't climb out of, while his brethren try to help him move on.

So yeah, decided to give Smun's prickle a backstory with orphans, dependency, abuse, and addiction. I imagine tuliza, while it does seem to have calming/pain-relieving aspects, too much or condensed quantities can be addicting, though I believe by the time Bunga meets Mama for the first time and he finds her hogging all the tuliza, the effects have mostly worn out and she needs a higher, more concentrated dose to feel the effects, hence why she stole Makini's tuliza, hoping it was a more stronger version... I think I need to stop watching MLP's Breaking Bad/Poison Joke.

Back in the Pridelands we have Male Porcupine/Nungu(porcupine) and his sons; the Porcupine Brothers; Chembe(quill) and Sindano(needle). Nungu is a single dad of two that tries really hard to raise his sons up right, though between a certain honey badger bouncing him like a ball, being chased by curious giraffe calves, and having fruit dropped on him, the poor guy just needs a break.

From "Prickly Problems" we have Spike/Karu(spike), a porcupine that accidently spikes Simba, only to regret it after he realizes that the cub meant him no harm. Fortunately Simba does recover and they do make up in the end, though I personally don't like how he looks like a North American porcupine in the book.

Last of the porcupines is Zungura(poke), featured in, but never mentioned by name in the TLK book "A Wild Night Out", where she does meet Simba and Nala when Simba accidently steps on one of her shed quills. I find it a bit coincidental that I put her next to a porcupine that actively stuck Simba with quills, though thankfully African-crested porcupines are smooth quills instead of barbed like the North American variants, so while still extremely painful to get stuck, are much easier to pull out. I know this from experience, though I will say this, African-crested porcupines are like big guinea pigs. Give them something like a nut of piece of sweet potato and they will hunker down, grab the food, and start munching on it, they are so adorable.

Next is the pika we see at the Tree of Life that Mama Binturong/Civet bullies after they try to give her some tuliza. His name is Ponya(heal) and he often helps Nirmala by finding and gathering supplies for her, as does the rest of his group. So while doing research for this, I incidentally discovered that the pika, which I originally thought was a rodent, is actually a lagomorph, aka related to rabbits/hares, who are also not rodents. But come on, we kind of do associate them with these smaller critters, so this sheet is now rodents + lagomorphs. I did reuse the model from the last time I made him, though I also added the little mouthful of grass you see pikas with. Seriously, if you're having a bad day, look up 'pikas with flowers', it so sweet, you'll feel better. I have them here in Colorado, and while I don't see them all that often, I sure am glad I do have them here, though I did learn while drawing them that apparently there are some in Asia too, so that's neat.

So starting off with the hares we have the TLG ones, including the young female hare/Sungura(hare/rabbit) who is a scrub hare, and the red rock hares with Masikio(ears) and his sister Sikiliza(listen). And lastly... the ones from the Timon and Pumbaa Show... the three-fingered jackalope/Gaidi(bandit) who is now a scrub hare.... and horrifying Rabbit/Hofu(fear), and neutered as much as possible from their show counterparts and for good reason, please trust me on this. Best I can say is that I did y'all a favor by turning mister nightmare away from y'all.

[k-evans-reads]

In Living Color

Chapter 19

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 3,932

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: SMUT. 18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

March 18th, 2022

Unfamiliar terrain filled Nat’s eyesight as she stared out the window of the car, taking the sights of Atlanta. It had been a long flight out here after yet another grueling work week but this one seemed a lot more bearable than the last few, knowing that the light at the end of this week was seeing in person that shining smile of the man she loved. 

Nat ran a hand through her wild curls before stretching out her legs that were still a little cramped from the long plane ride before she looked over at the man in the driver's seat and smiled, “Thanks so much for picking me up, Josh.” 

“Happy to do it,” he honestly told her, glancing over at her for a moment before he chuckled, “Besides, having you here means I won’t have Chris moping around all weekend so honestly you being here is a service to me.” 

Although Nattie hated to hear of anything dampening Chris’ mood, she was happy to know that he had been as downtrodden about their separation as she had been. Nat had struggled a lot more than she realized but tried to push it all from her head, muttering. “I’m just happy I’m finally getting out of my office and remembering there’s an outside world.” 

“Are you still working like crazy? I know Chris has been kind of worried about how much you’re working,” Josh spoke with a raised eyebrow. 

Hearing it almost made Nat want to roll her eyes, knowing that this wasn’t the first time Chris had voiced his unhappiness about her workload but she just justified it with, “It’s just a busy season. But I’m so glad I was able to get today off so I could come out here. I’ve never actually gotten to see Chris filming.” 

“Don’t get your hopes too high, it’s not that entertaining,” Josh retorted, making Nat burst into laughter as they kept driving along the highway. 

Although she loved the way that Chris’ lifelong best friend teased him, she knew that his words wouldn’t be quite true for her. In their nearly year of dating, she had gotten to see him record his lines for his Lightyear voicework and see the fruition of his hard work in his films, but never had she gotten to observe him while acting. 

When they arrived at the set, she only got to steal a quick kiss from him before the director talked to the crew as Josh and Nat moved over to the side, blending into the background and staying out of the way before they got ready to run the scene. Nat quietly stood as her eyes fixed on Chris, just silently watching him as she watched him shed himself and took on a brand new persona. She had gotten to see him transform during Lightyear as he acted in the booth but this was different. Nat remembered him talking about how challenging voice acting had been, not able to work off of anyone else and for the first time she truly got to see him shine in his working element, seeing the easy way that he carried himself as he worked. 

Being apart had been so hard, the two hardly able to see each other since filming had started on Valentine’s Day. She had gotten to spend the long President’s Day weekend with him in Boston and had been able to see him shortly when he’d come to Los Angeles for a weekend for a bachelor party but it was a far cry from how used to being together they were, falling into the groove of living life together. 

But now they were finally back together, even if it was only for a weekend, but once his arms were wrapped around her Nat felt like everything was right with the world. They just soaked in getting to hold one another for a long moment until finally pulling apart enough to press their lips together as passionately as they could with so many people surrounding them as the cast and crew were all headed in different directions. 

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Chris’ voice was soft as he looked down into her eyes. 

“Me too,” she could feel her smile shining from ear to ear before Chris’ arm snaked around her shoulders as they walked through the busy set. “I’m glad I got here in time to watch you film.” 

“I don’t know if I am because then you’ll see what a shit actor I really am," he laughed while squeezing her a little tighter. 

“I knew that already,” Nat teased him, earning a slap to his chest as he roared with his hysterical laughter and she was reminded just how much she missed that. 

The two chatted non-stop as they went to the costume trailer where Nat waited outside as Chris got out of his costume and makeup and emerged in his illegally tight white tee shirt and sweats. Almost immediately she was tucked back under his arm as they walked together toward a trailer down at the end of the line where Chris held open the door and let Nat walk in before following her inside. 

After the door of the trailer was shut behind them, the pair were finally alone for the first time in much too long. The separation between them had been a lot harder on each of them than they’d even realized but especially for Nat. She wasn’t used to being separated for so long and it was something she thought would be a little easier than it had been. Every time she faced another night alone or weekend without hearing that familiar loud laughter, she felt her heart dropping a little. 

Nat had thrown herself into her work even more, focusing on her artwork and although it helped get her mind off of missing Chris, it had caused her to be more burned out than she had imagined. But now she finally was here with him. She could finally breathe in his scent and feel his hand rubbing up and down her arm as he stepped closer and lowly said, “I missed you so fucking much, Nattie.” 

The look in those blue eyes of his gazing at her from under those long eyelashes had her getting weak at the knees. She couldn’t resist being able to finally wrap her arms around him, feeling the firm muscles of his back underneath his soft white tee shirt as his arms came around her waist and caged her in. In an instant his mouth was on hers, kissing Nat completely senseless as she started feeling dizzy, needing nothing more in this moment than him. 

She loved him so fully, so completely that she couldn’t wait a second longer to pull away, breathless as she whispered, “I love you, Chris.” The moment was so intense, both of them so desperate for one another and their chest heaving as they tried to catch their breath, but that one statement from her seemed to stop everything. Nat was still pressed up against him as he lifted his head, his tender eyes looking down at her as he reminded her, “I love you too, Nat. So much.” 

And as if Nat wasn’t already feeling lightheaded enough, those words sent waves of emotions straight to her heart while Chris’ lips attached to her neck as she melted into him. Their lips kept finding one another’s, kissing over and over again while each of their hands grasped at any bit of each other that they could as they stumbled toward the tiny bedroom in the trailer, clothes being peeled off and discarded as they went. 

Chris couldn’t have moved faster if he tried, and before Nat knew it he had her laying back on the bed and was buried deep inside her. Her left hand came up to grab his cheek as her right hand moved down to cup his firm ass, and Nat found herself emotional at being able to finally see that gorgeous face of his in person instead of across a phone screen. They were finally back together and nothing felt better. 

They just held each other’s eye contact for a long moment before Nat saw Chris’ eyes flutter closed as he leaned down to kiss her deeply and she felt herself clench around him from the deep love she felt, making Chris have to pull away from her lips to groan from the feeling. Nat felt so good, overwhelmed by the feeling of having him buried deep inside her while her hand reached up to run through his brown hair while he littered kisses across her chest. They were so in love and so happy in this moment and their arms came around each other to cling tightly together while Chris’ hips started moving in and out at a slow loving pace. 

“Oh god, Chris. Fuck, you feel so good,” she whimpered as her body curled up into his, her left hand trailing down his back to rest on his firm ass, giving it a good squeeze right as he thrust into her. 

“Love you so fuckin’ much Nat,” Chris grunted, pressing a sweet kiss to her neck before his hips continued to slowly rock in and out. “I missed you. I missed feeling you.” 

Nat felt herself melting underneath him, unable to even respond to him with just how incredible he was stretching her out. Both Chris and Nat were just soaking in this glorious moment, wrapped up in the comfort of having each other in their arms once again. The only sounds in the trailer were their pants, their normal running dialogue and praises were silenced, both just too overwhelmed by the love and emotions they both were feeling. Eventually when Chris heard Nat’s sweet whimpers, he picked up his pace, burying his face in her neck to nuzzle a few kisses, his firm sweaty chest pressed against hers, allowing Nat to feel his quick heartbeat. 

“Chris please, baby I need to feel you,” Nat urged him breathlessly, her hands grasping at those broad shoulders. 

Nat was too wrapped up in keeping her own breathing at bay that she didn’t realize that Chris was barely hanging on already but hearing her words nearly drove him over the edge. She whimpered when he lifted his chest up a bit, leaving space between them before he dropped his hand down between them, changing to slower little thrusts as he let his thumb find her sensitive clit, rubbing quick tight circles while he encouraged her, “C’mon baby, let go. I wanna see that gorgeous face you make. I wanna feel you squeeze me, Nattie.” 

The white hot heat was pulsing through her and Nat couldn’t help it, letting her body release as her smooth walls gripped Chris so tight a long obscene moan poured from his lips. He held onto her hips tightly, keeping himself fully seated inside her as his essence filled her. Nat felt like she was going to pass out when her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up, seeing Chris’ eyes shut tight, his mouth hanging open as he panted and a few dark hairs hanging over his sweaty forehead as he tried to regain his breathing. 

Needing to feel him close, Nat reached up to grab the gold St. Christopher’s medallion around his neck and gave it a gentle tug, silently telling him what she wanted. Feeling weak as he still recovered, he practically collapsed on top of her small frame, careful to keep his weight on the mattress so he didn’t hurt her. Nat wrapped a leg around his firm behind, her arms holding onto him tightly while he nuzzled his face back to the crook of her neck, his beard prickling her skin that his lips soothed with gentle kisses. 

It had been too long, much too long, since they had gotten to have moments like this and neither were ready to let go just yet. As much as they wanted to just stay together in the glow of that moment, they eventually pulled themselves from the bed and took a quick shower, both changing into their comfortable clothes before walking hand in hand to where Chris’ car was parked. 

They happily caught up as they drove home, Chris filling her in on all the little things that had happened the past few days when they hadn’t had much time to talk. As much as Nat loved to listen to his animated stories, she loved being able to see him in person, getting to run her hand along his back once they had gotten to his temporary place during filming, laughing as she kept dropping things while they cooked dinner and hearing that loud laugh. Just getting to physically be together made all the different for Nat, feeling more happy and centered than she had in a long time. 

As they ate dinner, a comfortable silence fell upon them before settling into their routine of cleaning up, Nat washing dishes while Chris dried but even that felt good. Nat was exhausted, the past couple of months at work draining her but none of that seemed to matter now. Not while she was with him, reminding her of all the things in life that really mattered. 

Just as Nat had shut off the running water and handed Chris the last plate to wipe dry, she caught the look in his eye, seeing a softness there before he leaned in for a soft kiss, his hand that wasn’t holding the dishrag rubbing along her arm as he revealed, “I’m so glad you’re here, Nattie.” 

“I think you mentioned that before," she just couldn’t help but tease him, bumping her hip against his before drying off her hands. 

“Well I’m going to mention it again because I mean it,” Chris called over his shoulder as he put the plate away in the cabinet, then turning to toss the rag onto the counter so his hands could be free to grasp at her hips and pull her into him, “I’m just really happy you were able to come this weekend. I’m sorry I only have the weekend off.” 

Nat just shrugged as her arms wrapped around his neck loosely, her fingers toying with the ends of his fluffy brown hair while acknowledging, “I doubt I would have been able to stay any longer than the weekend anyway. I have to be at the daily on Monday morning, so it actually works out well.”  

“Sounds like you’re still really busy at work,” Chris’ eyebrow rose. 

Her arms fell from around his neck before trudging over toward the couch, scratching Dodger on the way by before curling up onto the cushions as she countered, “You’re gone anyway so I might as well work a lot.” 

“You already were working a lot before.” 

“There’s just a lot going on right now,” she tried to remind him as he made his own way to the couch, coming to sit near her, angling his body toward her as his thick arm came to rest across the top of the couch cushions. 

“When won’t there be though, Nattie? It seems like you’re always swamped with work these days.” 

Nat knew that part of what he was saying was true. Lately there weren’t many days that weren’t crazy busy but the other part of her knew that he didn’t understand. Chris never had a conventional job. He didn’t understand the type of job where so many things depend on others, deadlines, and going through the grind of putting in hours everyday, then sending off the latest pieces for approval before making the countless adjustments as requested. It wasn’t that his job wasn’t challenging or didn’t take work, but she knew that his view of time off was extremely different from hers. If he needed a break, he had the ability to take one, but if she needed a break and didn’t work, it would mean getting fired and only having enough savings to last a short time. 

She knew that her job had been a point of contention lately, both of them struggling with the separation they were both facing and the heavy workload causing a lot of extra stress for her but she just didn’t want to start the weekend out this way. Nat got such limited time with him now that she didn’t want to get into something that would cause an argument and ended up reaching over to rest a hand on his thigh, conveying, “Chris, I’m really not trying to be dismissive but I don’t want to talk about work. I just want to focus on us being together.” 

It looked as if the wheels in his brain were churning as he sat there for a moment. It was obvious there was more he wanted to say, more behind what he was feeling but ultimately deciding to drop it and agreed, “You’re right, let’s forget about work.” He took her hand from his sweatpant covered thigh and pressed a kiss in her palm before saying,  “Although the one work thing I am happy about is the Lightyear premiere because then I know I’ll get you for almost an entire week while I’m in LA.” 

“I always get emotional at premieres because of getting to see the culmination of years of animation that we’ve worked on but this one is going to be even more emotional,” Nat already knew that this one film held so many more emotions than normal not only because of so much more work that she’d poured into it, but because of the relationship it’d brought to her life. “I already know I’ll be crying like a baby.” 

“Why? I thought I didn’t even make your top three favorite voice actors?” Chris couldn’t help but tease with that sideways smile on his face. 

“Well I’ve kind of grown partial to you.” 

“You better have,” he chuckled softly as he playfully shoved her shoulder gently before his tone shifted and she saw his eyes sparkling in the dim lights as Chris asked, “Is your family still planning on coming to the premiere?” 

Nat bubbled with laughter, knowing that was a rhetorical question. Her family had been buzzing about this for so long and she rested her own elbow on the back of the couch, her hand coming to prop up her cheek as she informed him, “Oh yeah, they’re so excited. The last one they came to was Inside Out so Ella doesn’t even remember it, and then Lily and Carson weren’t even born. Zach and Alex weren’t even married yet so this will be Zach’s first premiere too.” 

“And the first one where you’ve been the lead character design too, right?” 

“Yeah so you’re going to have to give me red carpet lessons,” Nat smiled, having a hard time in this moment understanding that as he sat there in his worn tee shirt and black sweatpants while he laughed and teased her, that he was the same guy as the man who stood on red carpets posing for the hundreds of photographers calling his name. 

“I’m not the person to ask, I’m on and off that shit as fast as humanly possible,” he tipped his head back with a laugh before turning it lazily to look at her with a hand reaching over to rest on her knee, “But you’re right, this is going to be a special one. My family is already pumped about coming.” 

“I’m so glad I’ll get to see your family again. I loved getting to spend more time with them when I came out to Boston last month,” she mused while her thoughts drifted back to the President’s Day weekend when she had been able to take that Friday off, giving her almost four full days visiting him in Boston and spending time with his family that she hadn’t gotten to see enough of, including finally getting to meet his father and the rest of his family members for a few quick hours. 

Being in Boston for only the second time had allowed her to see that other side of Chris. That completely unguarded and calm self, being completely comfortable and at ease. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ever like that when they were alone, or when he had come to Washington to be with her and her family, but seeing him in his beloved and true home let her see such a beautiful side of him that they both had needed to endure these long stretches apart. 

With a point of his finger and a loud cackle, Chris told her, “Carly still wants to get even on Monopoly so we’ll have to break that out while they’re here.” 

“Are they going to stay with you when they come?” Nat wondered, slipping her hand into his and just enjoying getting to have those soft touches as they talked. 

“Well, I was actually thinking about renting them an AirBnB or getting a few hotel rooms for them all to stay at so I could invite your family to stay at my place,” he shrugged, eyes glancing over to where Dodger had wandered in with a toy in his mouth. 

“Chris, that’s so sweet but you don’t need to do that. I don’t want that to take away from you having time with your family,” Nat was quick to speak up, not wanting him to feel like he needed to prioritize her family over his but when his blue eyes came back to meet hers, she knew it was anything but that. 

He just shook his head before leaning in to steal a quick kiss, settling back into the cushions as her legs came to drape over his lap. Chris’ hand wandered up and down her thigh covered in the black leggings she was wearing as he insisted, “I want to, Nattie. I get plenty of time with my family and still will that week, but I want your family to be able to spread out and have a comfortable place to stay, especially with having the younger kids and baby Jack.” 

“You’re so thoughtful it’s almost sickening,” Nat laughed as he blushed softly from her teasing praise. “You’re seriously going to be the kids’ favorite person because they still talk about your pool to this day.” 

He held up his hands in defense, stating, “Hey as long as I’m winning them over, that’s all that matters.” 

“You’ve won them over a long time ago,” Nat knew how true that was. There wasn’t hardly one FaceTime that she had with those three kids that she loved so much without them asking or saying something about Chris. They’d all fallen in love with him over the Thanksgiving week that he’d spent with them but Nat knew that all of it paled in comparison to how much she loved him. How much she truly, deeply, purely loved him. “Besides, they all know I’m not planning on letting you go anytime soon.” 

“Well I’m happy to hear that because that means we’re on the same page.” 

And Nat knew that they truly were. Neither one had to guess how the other felt, wondering if their love was returned just as deeply or if the other was just as committed. Despite the strain of work and struggling to see eye to eye in certain moments about it, they knew that at the base of everything was nothing but love for each other and nothing felt better than that. 

A/N: We'll be back next week with a new chapter! We wanted to let you guys know (in case you hadn't seen it already!) that we are taking the week of 4/27 off from posting due to our schedules then. We both are very busy then and wouldn't be around to handle the postings!