#it is gaming pretty well too

[moonisagremlin]

that cat has seen things on the internet that weren't made to be seen at all.

Pickles Gaming

[illiaccrest]

I was thinking about "real head" Dante yesterday and about the fact that we don't know basically anything about them...

When I first started Limbus I thought it was odd to keep Dante's gender hidden. Look at him! He's obviously a guy right? 🤔

But actually PM is really respectful in how they draw their female characters. In their uniforms especially they don't show off their "feminine curves" nearly at all. Even beautiful Rodion isn't showing anything off and Outis looks the same as the men if you hide her face.

So yeah, I reconsidered!! Dante could totally turn out to be a woman if they wanted!!! Here's a self indulgent fem presenting Dante design!

[petrii-dish]

Happy ISAT 1st Anniversary!!!!

Have a pre-game Sif pokemon team to celebrate :)

(This is part 1 of 2. Check out the other one I spent so so much time on?)

[mollysunder]

Look at the way Jinx talks about Viktor in "Jinx Fixes Everything" when she knows his plans could destroy life as she knows it.

Now look at the way Viktor talks about Jinx in the RiotxArcane visual nocpvel when she's threatening to tear apart reality as he knows it.

They're both so willing to extend the other empathy and compassion when they can see the destructive path the other is on. It's so insane these kinds of dynamics are shafted into side media like the minigame and visual novel.

[childrenofcain-if]

I just imagine M and Mc hiding their relationship. But Mc is tired of hiding their relationship.

So M mom came to visit. But they see Mc with them like in the library and their mom asked who Mc is. But M says it just a classmate. So Mc just gets up and leaves bc they are upset and tired of hiding it from everyone.

I love angst but also happy endings lol 😅

the library’s quietness made every sound feel amplified: the scrape of a chair leg against the wood, the rustle of paper, the soft thunk of a book closing. outside, the rain fell in a misty drizzle, greying out the world beyond the arched windows. inside, the air smelled like varnished oak and old pages—warm and slightly bitter, like nostalgia and lost time.

you were sitting across from M at a heavy oak table, your chair tilted back, your arms crossed, watching them skim through their textbook with the air of someone who could afford to procrastinate with little to no repercussions.

their white cotton button-up looked softer than it had any right to be, and their voice carried the crisp, posh edge that always made your chest feel simultaneously lighter and heavier.

you were talking about nothing too important. a class project, the weather, the coffee at the campus café—whatever you could use to fill the space between the silence and everything you weren’t saying. you’d gotten good at filling silences like that. M wasn’t the kind of person who left much unsaid unless it mattered. when it mattered, the silences stretched on forever.

the silence was broken this time by the sound of quiet, deliberate footsteps broke the hush of the library. both of you turned as a tall, elegant woman approached; her head wrapped in a patterned scarf which hid her light brown hair, sunglasses perched on her nose like a spy in an old movie.

M’s posture seemed to get even more rigid, their breath catching audibly. “mother.”

crown princess victoria? what was she even doing at yale?

as if hearing your thoughts, her eyes snapped to the table you were sitting on. you saw a faint smile curling up her lips before she made a beeline for you two.

“i assumed you’d be here,” she said, her voice as gentle as it was straightforward. her accent was even more posh than M’s, her vowels clipped just enough to be distinctly aristocratic, but her tone was warm. “how are you doing, max?”

“fine,” M manages through gritted teeth, clearly feeling suddenly cornered.

the crown princess glanced at you, her gaze assessing but not unkind. “and who might you be, dear?”

M froze. you could see the cogs turning in their mind, the panic setting in behind their composed front. you knew it before they even said it.

god, you did know them a little too much.

“just a classmate,” they said too quickly, too stiffly. “we were just working on an assignment.”

just a classmate.

the words landed like a slap and for a second, you just sat there and you stared at them. at the way their fingers curled into tight fists on the table. at the way their voice trembled just enough to sound like breaking glass.

you were waiting for them to take it back, your eyes practically imploring as you looked at their rigid figure.

they didn’t.

“right,” you said, your voice colder than you meant it to be. the room felt too small, the air too chilling. “i think you can finish the rest of ‘assignment’ on your own.”

M’s eyes flicked to you, umber brown eyes wide and pleading, but you were already standing, shoving your chair back with a scrape that cut through the library’s silence like the crack of a whip. you couldn’t look at them anymore. you couldn’t stay.

“excuse me,” you muttered, and before either of them could say another word, you were gone.

***

you didn’t go far. the courtyard was empty, the rain now just a faint mist clinging to your skin. you sat on the low stone wall that bordered the garden, staring at the grey sky. the cold seeped into your clothes, but you didn’t care. it was better than the heat that had been rising in your chest, the burn of humiliation and hurt.

you weren’t actually mad at M. not really. or maybe you were, but not in the way you should have been. what hurt wasn’t the lie—it was the fact that it wasn’t surprising.

see, there were many different ways you could kill someone you love. the slowest one was to not love them enough.

not loving you enough to be open about you. not loving you enough to be truthful about you. not loving you enough to love you without secrets.

you’d known what you were getting into when you fell for M, with all their responsibilities and their protocol and their impossible life. you’d known, but you’d let yourself hope anyway.

you shouldn’t have. hope has always been a dangerous thing for you to have.

***

inside the library, victoria turned to her second-born, one perfectly sculpted brow arched.

“max, darling,” their mother called out softly.

M didn’t respond, their gaze fixed on the door you’d disappeared through.

“max,” she said again, more firmly this time.

“what?” they turned sharply, their voice sharper still, though the anger wasn’t directed at her. it was directed at themself, at their stupid, cowardly mouth and the way they’d let the words spill out like oil on water.

“just a classmate?” she repeated lightly, her tone mild but pointed.

M avoided her hazel gaze, staring down at their hands as if they might find an escape route in the folds of their sleeves.

“it’s... complicated,” they finally said, their voice low.

victoria hummed, a sound that managed to be both understanding and disapproving.

“darling,” she said after a moment, her voice softer now, “i know that look in your eyes. it’s the same one your father had when he looked at me.”

M’s head snapped up, their eyes communicating their surprise. “mother, i—”

“you love them, don’t you?”

M recoiled as though she’d struck them.

“i—no—” they started, but the words caught, crumbled.

they couldn’t deny it, at least not completely. their hands clenched into fists on the table, their knuckles white.

victoria’s voice was gentle as she spoke up again, but there was steel beneath it. “i know what it’s like to love someone who doesn’t fit the mold, someone the world says you shouldn’t love. you know your father wasn’t born into this world of titles and palaces. do you think i didn’t face the same choice you’re facing now?”

M swallowed hard, their throat working against the lump rising there. “it���s not that simple.”

“no,” victoria agreed. “it’s not. it never is. but the important question is, what are you going to do about it?”

M lifted their gaze to look at her and they saw it. the quiet rebellion in her gaze, the echoes of every choice she’d made to be where she was now. they would feel the presence of it around her most of the time, but this time it seemed almost amplified.

she reached out, covering their hand with hers. “go after them, darling. don’t let fear ruin what you’ve found. if it’s worth it—and it is—you fight for it. and i promise i’ll fight with you, when the time comes.”

***

you heard the footsteps before you saw them, quick and unsteady on the wet pavement. M appeared, breathless, their hair damp from the mist. they looked disheveled in a way that was wholly unfamiliar, their usual gracefulness replaced by something akin to desperation.

“i’m sorry,” they said, their voice breaking the moment they reached you. “i’m so sorry.”

you didn’t look at them. “for what? for lying to your mother? or for pretending i don’t really matter?”

“for all of it,” M said, their voice heavy with guilt. “for being a coward. for making you feel like i’m ashamed of you.”

you turned to face them, your arms crossed tightly over your chest. “and are you?”

“no.” the word came out with more force than you expected. M stepped closer, their umber brown eyes searching yours. “never. you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“i’ve been so afraid,” M admitted, hands clenching at their sides. “of losing you. of what my family would think. of the world tearing us apart. but i was wrong. i realize that keeping us a secret was hurting you even more.”

“i can’t keep doing this, M,” you said quietly. “i can’t keep feeling like i’m a secret to be kept forever.”

“you’re not a secret,” M said, stepping closer still. their hand brushed yours, tentative and warm. “you’re an oath. something i swore to protect, not hide. and i promise you, that’s going to change. my mother knows now, and soon, everyone else will too. i won’t let anyone take this away from us. from you.”

you searched their face, looking for cracks in their resolve, but all you saw was sincerity. slowly, you nodded, the tension in your chest loosening just slightly.

“all right,” you said softly.

M’s shoulders sagged with relief, and they took your hand, their grip firm and grounding. “thank you, meri jaan. i won’t let you down.”

you gave them a faint smile, your heart still aching but just a little lighter as you pressed a chaste kiss to their cheek.

“so,” you said after a moment, your voice tinged with wry humor, “am i supposed to meet your mother now?”

the corner of M’s lips quirked into a faint, shy smile. so unlike them, but it was endearing all the same. “if you’re up for it.”

you raised an eyebrow. “shouldn’t i be a little concerned about the fact that the crown princess of england is wandering around without bodyguards?”

“oh they’re here alright,” they said, their tone dry but also tinged with suppressed laughter. “they’re just good at being invisible. and besides, do you really think americans would recognize her under those sunglasses and all those scarves?”

you laughed then, soft and warm, and to M, it felt like the sun breaking through the clouds after a rainy day.

[khaopybara]

❝I'm being led on by an oblivious straight girl.❞

KATO SHIHO as AYAKA and MORI KANNA as HIROKO episode 1 of AYAKA IS IN LOVE WITH HIROKO

[alicenpai]

i love...wanpee...........🍊🍶🧡💚

[egophiliac]

#i feel you op i also started initially to read the stories but got busy grinding for events instead 😭 #i also haven't read any of the events not even madguy bc i feel like im gonna miss a lot of context i feel sorry for my boys #although I've recently caught up to ch7 and it made me a stornger more brainrotted madguy fan than before #ppl said it's gonna get more insane later on and im nervous #but so far. the stories are GOOD i highly recommend reading it if you're able to #it's just kamen rider but with extra steps #also to assuage your fear (i hope?) i heard from the grapevines that the change to leon is minimal you can easily miss it (via @chipsncookies)

YES I feel a lot better knowing other people are in the same boat as me! :') as someone who only plays games very casually, the events are fun (and have been a good excuse to get those support stories on characters I was kinda ignoring) but SO distracting -- and they have a connected overarching narrative of their own (make sure you read them in order when you get to them!) so I don't want to skip any. which I guess is to say that my problem is that I'm enjoying the writing too much! how dare they.

overall it definitely has that Kamen Rider tone and feeling I was hoping for and I am VERY pleased with it! I do kinda miss the kitbashy monsters, though otherwise it's basically just Rider But With More Random Scenes of Characters Being Ridiculous At Each Other and that is exactly what I was after. (also exquisite taste, Mad Guys are best guys 🤝)

and as long as I still haven't gotten to episode 13 and can therefore continue to be hilariously naive, let me just say that I know what I'm dreaming of for Leon. he deserves it.

...although I do think it would be VERY funny if they made that whole big "WE WILL BE UPDATING LEON'S SPRITES TO REFLECT STORY CHANGES!!!!" announcement and then it turns out that they just like. hue-shifted his eye color slightly to the right or something. it's not even a big story beat, Leon just decided to try out some color contacts, maybe comb his hair back a little, and we don't have the heart to tell him to stop. :(

[lgbtlunaverse]

Melnem

[that-wizard-oki]

The Fanciful Fairy Kei Pack released today!!!! This was a pack idea/theme i pitched at the end of last year, which was incredibly exciting for me!! To celebrate it's release, I wanted to share one of my animations I did for the mount, a cutesy crescent moon with some star friends that follow you along :3 it was the only item I personally got to work on for the pack, all other items/art/anims were done by other artists on our team!

In general been trying to be an advocate for more like... Wizard-y gear, as i feel we've strayed away from that style of gear and i MISS IT :(( I also felt Lolita/kawaii j-fashion in general could really fit into the wizard aesthetic... it also helps that I'm a bit of a fan of the fashion style myself hehe :'D also it was a fun work around so boys can now kind of wear pink thru this pack! And also a dress if they so choose!

Anywho. I know this pack was highly anticipated so I really hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did when i was pitching it!!!! :D

[psink]

A count of all the times Christmas happened:

1. Chapter 33

2. Chapter 80

3. Chapter 129

3.5. Chapters 178 and 225/226 show the New Years' but Christmases were skipped

4. Mission 22 from the 3ds game

5. Event 11 of psi battle

[kikithefox231]

YALL. LISTEN. THEYRE THE SAME.

AND SO COMPELLING!!!

[femmeroi]

Screenshot redraw because I can't stop saying, "It stands for Otaku Convention," for some reason

[ofsunshineandfoxes]

You ever think about how renee went to juvie just like andrew but because she’s so nice now, probably no one knows? Like I imagine she got hate when she joined the foxes for being a girl, but do you think anyone ever went beyond that? Stopped to dig up her past? We all know she wouldn’t be hiding it but did ‘the public’ ever stop to look?

Like canonically she’s done worse shit than andrew? But they’re treated so differently. Is it just because his is more recent? And he doesn’t smile prettily? Probably, but that’s still kinda wild.

[kacievvbbbb]

I feel like the main reason this evil shanks theory is so prevalent (besides the private meeting the the gorsei which up even I can’t explain) is that his general cheeriness and lackadaisical disposition is more of a presented front, a mask to be slipped on and off at will which would be fine if he weren’t often put in the same boat as Roger and Luffy two people ( for as much as we know about roger) who have no masks at all.

Don’t get me wrong I’m pretty sure that Shanks is a naturally happy, good natured dude but he’s also the most politically minded pirate we have seen on the show (and some of these pirates were actual politicians) like I’m pretty sure Roger is more mature and secretive than Luffy ( makes sense he’s older and has seen more of the world) but with both of them you never get the sense that their silliness is something they are putting on for the direct purpose of making themselves less of a threat. They both can get serious when the situation calls for it but that feels more of an extension of their already established personality more than a hidden personality.

While with shanks it’s undeniable that something changed within him and his goals the day Roger died I don’t know if Roger actually told him something or if he just wasn’t dealing with the abandonment well it was probably a mix of both honestly. But yeah Shanks comes off as a guy with his ear to the ground someone who has schemes on schemes on schemes. he’s someone playing in the long run, kind of like crocodile but not nefarious. And when compared with a straight forward head first always kinda guy like Luffy, like he often is, he can come off a little suspicious.

There’s something that’s a little fake about his cheer, something a little too performative about his optimism and foolishness. I think it’s a mix of; he’s housing a deep sadness, he’s more of a realist that an optimist and also dudes just a pacifist unlike like luffy who loves to brawl ( like luffy knows when it’s better not to fight but he also loves a good fight) and he would rather deescalate a situation than fight it out and sometimes the easiest way to do that is with an air of cluelessness and making yourself seem less of a threat which makes it so much more jarring but effective when he reveals just how big a threat he is. but I can see why people think it’s suspicious.

(Interestingly even when luffy tries to emulate this behavior like when he first encountered Bellamy at the pub his plan is to just not react which while in the same vain is very different than Shanks actively playing the drunken good natured take it on the chin role for the bandits Luffy was still essentially himself he just refused to react while Shanks played a role which made it more terrifying and effective when he stopped)

Also it doesn’t help that until recently he’s largely been missing from the narrative with just a man echoing or a whisper here or there of how powerful he is.

But I think we should remember that Shank’s goal is essentially world peace. and peace, a true lasting peace, is just a little more of a precarious balancing act, than utmost freedom. For freedom you have to destroy the old game, for peace you have to learn to play a new one, hopefully with a bit more kindness injected into the foundation.

[youdontknowhowtodiequietly]

i feel like neil is a smidge illiterate. not dyslexic (if you hc him that way then that's valid i ain't gonna say you're wrong) but, like, he doesn't know how to read well. he sees a big word in a book and he's like 'WTF DOES THAT SAY???' then he searches it and hears the pronunciation and is like '???? that's is NOT how you say that word (disbelief)' idk i just feel like he didn't read much on the run, naturally, and his schooling was a bit iffy. he probably has the reading grade of a 9-10 year old, and completing his classes is a struggle for a few years. andrew helps, tho, and so do some of the other foxes