#its hard to accurately describe what i was thinking while drawing these i just know i like rattling masato in a can

[todayisafridaynight]

[derww]

DAY 16: WOUND

CW: Suicides, god complex, unreliable narrator, dead dove

– I don't understand, – Vi states. He's almost annoyed – the key word is "almost." In time with his tapping on the table, a space storm is raging outside their base, – why?

The world that stretches out in front of him, despite its apparent minuteness, is detailed to the smallest things, a real work of art: from the way the crowns of the trees and meadow grass move in the wind to the finest elaboration of the texture of the stone. This is a masterpiece, a magnum opus, but it only further irritates Vi. He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. A ban message is displayed on the console in front of him.

– This won't work, – he grumbles, returning the world to the last savepoint, – this is wrong, everything should go differently, – and restarts the world, returning it to its usual state of complex synergy, – what the hell is wrong? – he asks, tapping his foot restlessly, while life is in full swing again in the world, similar to a very distorted reflection of the present. Somewhere out there, under the night sky, Vi hugs Zam and says how glad he is that he is there with them. His head is decorated with a floral wreath.

The real Vi paces, clearly bothered by circumstances, until he freezes, riveted by the sight of his double inside that universe, who strokes Zam’s head and wishes him sweet dreams. He thinks about the decision for a while, but then remembers that he knows better than anyone and sets himself up to make a spatial jump. However, there is nothing difficult about it – this time it is only an astral journey.

It's strange, being in the body of pseudo-Vi. Not because this copy isn't accurate enough, but because that's who he was while he was still a player. He has clear boundaries of body and mind again; his fur is hard somewhere, tangled somewhere, cut with bumps of battle scars, and his body stubbornly gravitates to the earth, as if depending on it, leaving him even too grounded. This all leaves an itchy discomfort – not enough to be outraged, but enough to be annoyed. 

And he could disintegrate this Vi and embody his true image, or simply rebuild this body at the pixel level, unnaturally and arbitrarily distort it enough until he achieved the desired result. But he is not here forever, just for a moment for him and for this world, and he will need to return this body to the pseudo Vi in a sufficiently undisturbed state so that he does not go crazy. So he leaves it as it is. He's going home. He doesn't remember the way.

He's a bad actor, but playing himself is different. He's already lived through all of it. He won't make a mistake. And even if he does, he always has the opportunity to simply turn back time. He's not risking anything. What's the difference? Subz silently waves at him, and Zam sleeps on his shoulder, and it's all so peaceful that Vi feels annoyed. He says "Good night" to Subz and goes to his room, into the tangle of holes and catacombs with a black bed in the center of the bunker at the bedrock, and with a snap of his fingers materializes a book in his hand. On its first page, there is a direct request not to read further. He flips through it without hesitation.

And... Zam, looking at him from the pages of his personal diary, sounds happy. He shares how glad he is to be on the team, that he has finally found peace with himself and with the world around him and no longer feels the need to run away from anything. He describes their long walks and how they sleep together, intertwined in a tangle, about regular golf games with the Pangi and watching cartoons with the Planet, about leisurely evenings where he just allows himself to exist, and about the fact that he can finally start to draw. His life is good – no, his life is wonderful! He got out of the cycle of violence and found himself and people who love and appreciate him!

Vi smiles with satisfaction, closes the diary, and it disappears from his hands, returning to Zam's enderchest. That's good. That's great. Maybe he doesn't need to interfere at all? Everything is going smoothly this time. He can just admire the performance and then come back and never think about this stupid project again.

And hey, he's capable of playing himself! It's easy; Subz and Zam don't even notice anything. He participates in all their silly activities, hugs, and smiles and even remembers how to cook to bake them a cherry pie. And, of course, he looks at Zam from time to time, but he's fine, smiling and laughing and hugging him and enjoying life, and eventually Vi stops thinking about it. I'll stay here for a month, he decides, make sure of everything, and get out of here. He still had more important things to do, after all.

They have a game night right in the hall of the base – almost half of the server comes, and it's a lot of fun and all that, but Spoke stares at Vi all the time, without blinking or smiling. He does not try to talk to Vi, knowing that it is useless, and only stares, stares, and stares, absolute in his insignificance of meaninglessness. Vi smiles back at him. Not that this Spoke could do anything. He was just a mortal. Vi was the god. 

He spends long hours just being with Zam – they help each other, spend time together, discuss anything, sleep, and just stay silent. Subz is also here at least half of the time, but Vi barely pays attention to it. 

One day, he lifts the lid of an old piano. Has it always been here? What's the difference? Zam is also here, facing him, with an easel set up. He draws while Vi plays, and they both mumble a tune to themselves. Vi does not even remember what composition he is playing; his hands move by themselves from memory, as if he has no control over what is happening at all, and he just lets it be. 

The ending leaves him unsatisfied, so he plays new and new melodies, taking them out of the trash of his muscular memory, skips the moment when Subz comes, and smiles, listening to the clear notes. Vi stops only when he no longer wants to play, and Zam and Subz applaud together and tell him how cool he is and how much they liked it, and Vi is instantly distracted from the piano, and the three of them are going on their planned fishing trip, but something pulls Vi to finally turn around before leaving and.

There is an easel in an empty room. On the easel is a canvas mounted on a stretcher. It is covered with catchy and thick acrylic. It's him – soft colors, fox ears, lowered hood. He's in a close-up shot, and he's smiling at the viewer. Behind his back is a tangle of blue, light blue, and purple.

Something is wrong, Vi thinks distantly, and his throat goes dry. Have I ever looked so happy?

***

Life goes on at the same pace. There's nothing going on here. No disasters, no battles. It's almost a vacation, Vi thinks ironically, and reaches out to poke Subz in the side. Subz, still asleep, grumbles with displeasure and turns over on the other side. Very little later, Zam brings them breakfast with unleavened bread and coffee in bed, and they watch a movie together and play UNO, and then they go back to bed and just lie around, lazily exchanging thoughts and ideas. 

And this is... so good. just to be happy. Just to live. No violence, no deaths, no betrayals. A quiet life belonging only to themselves, in which there is no place for unfair play, in which there is no point in playing dishonestly. I don't know what went wrong before; Vi thinks and yawns, but now it's gone. As always, I saved everyone. A couple more days, and you can come back. Pseudo-Vi can handle it himself; it's nothing complicated.

He falls asleep without thinking about anything at all. He wakes up to the chilling hum of the ban. It doesn't take him long to find Zam hanging in his room.

What.

And he's- he's angry, he's annoyed, he's disappointed, and what comes through is he's confused. Thinking, Vi asks himself not why, but how he dared. He doesn't bother talking to Subz or taking the body out of the noose and instead calls up the console and rewinds time.

First, to the most recent savepoint. He talks to Zam, he gives him gifts, he does not leave him for a moment, and Zam is still gentle to him, and he is absolutely happy, but still – maybe not immediately, maybe after a couple of days, but he kills himself. Escapes his supervision. He stabs himself with a knife, he throws himself off a mountain, and he boils himself alive in lava. Vi puts himself on a suicide watch, and a week later Zam drowns himself in the sink. After that, Vi decides that he needs more time. He goes back on a week. Then on a month. And on and on and on, much earlier than the moment when he himself found himself in this scenario for the first time, and he does anything, and it's absolutely fucking useless.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU, he shouts at Zam, barely managing to take him off the noose this time. AREN'T YOU HAPPY. ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU WANTED SO MUCH? STOP BEING SO FUCKING STUBBORN.

This almost-real world crunches under his palms, crumbling into shreds, and the Wormhole spins with all her might under their feet.

I'm sorry, Vi, Zam says bitterly, and his hands and face are covered with cosmic burns, I'm very, very sorry. He dies before Vi has time to ask him about anything else. He throws his corpse aside, restarts the world from the very first savepoint, and teleports away from here to his real base, which has become so alien. This time, Subz are here. He waves at Vi.

– I don't understand,– Vi repeats, clenching his fists in impotence and still staring at that world, – Why? Why? Why?

Subz looks at him with sad eyes and silently shakes his head. He seems to be... feeling sorry. But why pity him?

[sheepishs]

dumb question but how do you do those color studies for fictional characters (like the one you did for the dr2 cast)? i can do color/light/shading studies when i have a reference but when i try to make them up from imagination my brain has trouble checking whether the shadows and colors are accurate. any books/videos youd recommend?

there are no dumb questions when it comes to art!! its hard to figure things out on ur own :D

honestly its difficult to describe how i do them because for me its a very self-indulgent "turn my brain off and put colours wherever until it feels right" type of activity. but i will put my general advice under a cut because i talk a lot about drawing

my main advice would be to keep doing what ur doing, studies will always be more useful than anything else. for me i see the most improvement when i just chill out and observe things irl even if im not drawing them. i genuinely just stare at things and think about their colours, no need to do anything more than observe.

im the worlds #1 art tutorial hater so i don't have any cool youtube recommendations or anything but The Practice and Science Of Drawing by Harold Speed is public domain and is very good for just bringing ur brain back to the fundamentals of how drawing works if you haven't read it before.

in practical advice, my drawings improved hugely once i started paying attention to values. its easy to check this when doing digital art by having a layer thats just a flat midtone grey with the layer style set to saturation. i constantly turn that layer on/off whenever im drawing to make sure im happy with the amount of contrast between dark and light, and also to see whether im happy with the shapes of the highlights and shadows in my drawings.

to me making sure the values are correct is much more important than anything else. its always possible to go in and change the hue or saturation of a colour to make the drawing more cohesive, but much more difficult to correct the values if you've placed a bunch of colours in the same mid value range.

while im doing studies or just drawing in general i also save swatches of colours that ive used that i think look good (not sure if this is a feature on all drawing applications but i think it is in most major ones like photoshop, procreate). you can probably see similarities in colours that i use throughout the things ive posted because if i feel like i don't know where to start, i often start by placing colours that ive used before and then modifying them to whatever i want. its also fine to look at real things when you're drawing fictional characters, i'll often just take breaks to look at a bunch of photos or videos or even just go outside to refresh my brain on how things look.

last and most important thing ever is that sometimes ur colours will just look like shit. i have made so many bad drawings in my life with muddy colours and poorly done lighting but i just keep going until i make something that i like 💪 i think for me the most important thing ive ever done is just let go of the expectation for my drawings to be good. sometimes they are just complete garbage but to me thats an indicator that im doing something outside of my current skill level, which is exactly what leads to improvement. so i wouldn't worry if it feels like your brain is having trouble working through certain things at the moment, it just means your practical skills are in the process of catching up to your observational skills

[irithnova]

Aph Mongolia appearance headcanons and other headcanons

This is what I'd say he would most likely look like if I were to picture him as a person rather than a 2d character. This is after hours of watching through videos of Mongolian people. So news, street interviews, podcasts, youtubers, wrestling matches, music performances, videos of nomadic people in the countryside, videos of people in Ulaanbaatar and other major towns etc.

This sounds pretty dramatic lol, I haven't just sat through hours of this in one go, I've been interested in Mongolia as a country for a while so of course over the years I've been interested in Mongolian media too (I am not stalking Mongolian people pls)

I just want to say that Mongolia, like all countries, is incredibly diverse in the way people look. I've seen some Mongolians who could honestly pass as someone who's South East Asian, others who have the more stereotypical Mongolian look, others who could pass as Korean/broadly East Asian and others who look a bit more Turkic. This isn't me trying to put Mongolians into one box but this is what I think he'd look like based off of what I've seen over the years.

Some of these headcanons will not be totally accurate too and I just put them there because I like them lol. Sorry!

When it comes to his face shape, I think he'd have a bit of a square jaw/masseter muscles that are developed slightly more compared to others. This is because of the traditional foods Mongolians eat. Traditional Mongolian foods are quite hard to bite down on and chew, and this helps with tooth/jaw development. I'm not saying he has a Chad jaw lol but it's a bit more square shaped than v line shaped if that makes sense.

When it comes to his eyes, they are evenly spaced/widely spaced. I haven't seen many Mongolians with close set eyes, they tend to be evenly set/ wide set. I like to say he has feline looking eyes because of the way Chinggis Khan was described by the Indian historian Juzjani "A man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body..... with cat's eyes, possessed of great energy".

That was probably just them saying he had monolids but let me just have him be a catboy (man?) okay.... Also sorry, gonna be boring but his eyes are dark brown to me. I know Mongolians can have light eyes and hair but a majority of them don't.

Also thick eyebrows. Yesh.

Prominent cheekbones. Obviously.

Btw I headcanon him to look like he's in his late 20's, 27/28 ish.

When it comes to his nose, I think he has the classic Asian button nose and its a bit upturned (dunno if that makes sense). However I've noticed that nose bridges are more common in Mongolians so their noses aren't always so flat looking from a side on view?

When it comes to his lips, I headcanon them as being on the plumper side. No reason why, just like it lol.

His skin colour, I'd say it's tanned but not as tanned as it used to be, obviously because of government work but he does still go out to the countryside often. His cheeks also used to be a lot more ruddy when he was purely a nomad, some of the redness is still there but its not as obvious as it used to be. I think his cheeks can go quite rosy when it's cold/there's a dramatic temperature change.

I think his face is still flat-ish like most East/North East Asians. I know someone's gonna ask "how can he have a flat face when you just said he had prominent cheekbones??" well they aren't mutually exclusive.

I think his skin is naturally a bit dry. I've heard Mongolians say that Mongolians tend to have drier skin because of the climate so yeah.

Also I headcanon him to have two face scars bye its so hot,,,. I saw a hetalia artist draw him with them and fell in love instantly and there were two other hetalia artists who drew steppe nations with face scars. One of them drew aph huns with a face scar and another one drew aph Xiongnu with a face scar so yeah all major steppe riders have face scars now this is my canon 😍

When it comes to his hair, long, thick and dark brown, bordering on black, looks copper-y in the sunlight.

Also I'm sorry but I headcanon him as a tol man (6') 😢 I attribute this to his rapid growth as an empire. Not truly accurate as most Mongolians aren't really that tall but shhhhh

I've already touched upon these aspects of his appearance in different posts but I'll just get into it again for the sake of it.

Body wise I think he looks like this (at his peak when he's like, participating in sports, yes he is a jock...)

🥴

I also talked about what I think he wears on a regular basis in another post about East Asian fashion headcanons but I'll put it here again anyways plus it might have changed:

I don't think there's a colour he wouldn't wear but he tends to go for shades of blue/brown/beige/cream/black. Fave colour to wear is probably blue. The colours he wears tend to be darker in shade but he's not repulsed by brighter or bolder colours.

He wears his clothes more for function than fashion, not that he can't be fashionable and what he wears on a daily is a random mess haha not at all, but on a day to day basis he's more concerned about what will keep him warm/cool rather than what looks good.

Probably has a lot of nice wool/yak wool/camel wool/cashmere items of clothing. Makes some of his wool hats and scarves himself.

Wears accessories sometimes, I mean he most likely has his ears pierced (Mongolian men back in the day had pierced ears and wore earrings). Probably has some leather bracelets and necklaces with the soyombo symbol or Ulzii symbol (buddhist endless knot symbol). Doesn't really care about if what he's wearing is gold or silver but he tends to lean towards silver. Also necklaces with a horse pendant/rings with a horse design?? Yes 🐴 Probably has some bracelets/necklaces braided with horse hair in the design. Often wears boots.

Other headcanons:

Voice headcanon: I headcanon his voice to actually be on the soft side! Probably emphasised by the fact that he speaks a bit more softly but it's pleasing to listen to. In a lot of the videos I've watched of Mongolians, they tend to speak a bit softly? Unless I'm on a meme page where everyone in the videos are hollering lol.

I think he can sing quite well, I mean you need to have a good range to pull off a Mongolian long song. Probs shouldn't make him try to sing pop songs though.

Obviously can throat sing and is excellent at it this is out of the question ☝️‼️

He can braid his hair pretty quickly considering how long it is

Enjoys watching K-dramas and even C-dramas lol (Don't tell Yao). Also really likes Turkish dramas??

He has a pair of practical glasses for when he goes into the country but also switches between that and contacts for when he goes out there (breaking glasses is a pain in the ass)

Has a bunch of animals but obviously he cannot take care of them all the time so he has some people take care of them.

Diverse music taste but has a tendency to enjoy rock/metal!

Pretends like he doesn't know what Kpop is to annoy South Korea (he secretly does like some Kpop shhh)

Likes watching sumo on his TV and sometimes when he visits Japan, they both go and watch it together in real time (probably likes rubbing in how good Mongolians are at sumo to him, but then all Japan needs to do is mention the failed Mongol invasions of Japan to shut him up haha)

Actually enjoys bickering with China about stupid things and will send him videos of himself consuming ungodly amounts of dairy to make fun of China's lactose intolerance (Mongolians are genetically lactose intolerant but they've been consuming it for so long now, their gut has basically adapted to it. Really interesting)

Tibet helps ground him when he's feeling lost/worried <33 emotional support human fr. Often sends gifts to Tibet and checks up on him, likes getting hugs from Tibet.

Not as close to the central Asians as he feels he should be which he feels a bit of regret over

Though he and Kazakhstan do talk as they are *almost* neighbours. There's Kazakhs in Mongolias western province who have preserved traditional Kazakh culture before Russificafion (they essentially ran away from it) so he likes going there with Kazakhstan. Also Mongolia is literally a direct ancestor of Kazakhstan so yeah lol (daddy??)

For the love of God do not let him and Russia drink together alone because they do not tell each other to stop

Sharp shooter, even with a gun.

Lowkey hates the fact he has to wear glasses but also he's become attached to them??

Obviously still very much enjoys and feels comfortable with the nomadic lifestyle but ngl it feels good to just be lazy sometimes

Sends the groupchat (idk like East Asian gc?) videos of like. Baby goats or something when there's an argument going down in an attempt to calm it. Has like a bunch of recordings on his phone of animals it's eating up his storage!

He can be quite funny when he wants to be and its made more funny by the fact that he's usually reserved in what he says and is quite deadpan.

I think him being reserved in what he says gives off the impression that he has a shy persona but introverted/silence doesn't necessarily mean shy. He just is more observant during conversations and uh he has a lot of thoughts in his brain‼️ (aka, he's still trying to mentally recover from the fall of the Yuan chsxh JKJK)

Isn't actually bitter or like. Emo about his fall from grace. I'm sure he has melancholy moments, not just about his empire era but just his history as a whole (I headcanon that his childhood was insane xhjd). But honestly he knows it could have been so much worse and he very well could have ended up dead so the fact that he's still around is a testament to his resilience

He tries to be optimistic about things but with his current government it can be hard LMAO.

I don't headcanon him as like mega depressed about things all the time but eh life gets to us all (esp when you're landlocked between Russia and China haha)

When he gets drunk he gets really funny and then passes out

If he's eating something while talking to someone, he'll offer them some of his food (yassa laws who??)

Obviously very hospitable, you enter his home/apartment/ger and BOOM you don't even have to ask he's already made food and tea for you

Is surprisingly quite respectful of people's feelings/boundaries (I mean compared to when he was a teenager at least bahah)

Can be a bit superstitious. So if someone starts whistling indoors for example, he'll either get a bit on edge or straight up tells them to stop

Is still physically active, not doing anything for too long bores and kind of depresses him.

He also likes doing things that stimulates the mind too, so, chess, sudoku, mahjong, puzzles, reading etc. Yes he's a jock but he's a smart one! ☝️🙏

[illfoandillfie]

Hi sweetheart, i hope you are doing great! i think you are a beautiful person and an amazing writer, i’ve written lots of things already but i would like to hear some advice from you about writing so i can improve my skills, i really love writing 🫶🏻😩🥹🥰💌✨

lots of love from Argentina

oh gosh im 🤧🤧 thank you, thats so lovely of you to say!

First of all I keep a writing advice tag for any posts I come across with useful writing tips. Some of them are really general, some of them are about writing specific things (like kissing or children), so probably not everything in there will be useful but hopefully some of it is.

As for my own advice.... none of it is going to be groundbreaking stuff. I've never studied writing, I don't think too hard about how I write, and at the end of the day I just write silly fics about silly boys to keep myself entertained. But I'll put a few things under the cut. These are all more general sort of tips so if there are any specific parts of writing you want me to talk about let me know and I'll see what I can give you!

Number 1 is to just have fun with it. Don't get hung up worrying about if a concept is cringe or if its something no one else will like or if it sounds too much like something else you wrote. If it's an idea that interests you, then you're going to find it easier and probably more fun to write. And if you already love writing then you don't want writing to turn into a chore or something you don't enjoy.

Number 2 is to read real books. Reading fanfic is great and fun but it's very useful to read some books that have been professionally edited and published too. There is a craft to writing things that sound good and one of the fastest ways to learn what sounds good is to read books. You don't have to study them or analyse them, your brain will just pick up on patterns, on how sentences fit together, on what sounds good and what doesn't.

One of my fave examples of this is the way we describe things, at least in the English language. There is an unwritten formula for making a description sound good. opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. It's why saying "the silly little pink French book" sounds good but "the pink silly French little book" sounds very strange. No one is taught this formula, no one does it consciously. It's just that one sounds better than the other. And it's the sort of thing you subconsciously pick up from reading.

Number 3 is don't be afraid to do some research. No one knows everything. Sometimes you'll want to write about something that isn't super familiar to you. Whether that be because you're writing is set in a different country to where you are, or you're writing a smut scene with a kink/position you've never done in real life, or you're writing a character with a kid when you don't have kids. Research it! Go on google maps and find the place you want to write about so you can see how the streets look. Find a cosmo article or a youtube video that talks about the kink. Find a site that includes those little drawings of sexual positions (or heck, find some porn if thats more helpful) so you can see how it looks. Find a blog post from a parent and see how they talk about their kid. Listen or watch interviews if you're writing RPF to see how your person talks and what their mannerisms are. Not everything has so be 100% accurate and you're absolutely allowed to make some stuff up but if there's anything you feel unsure about, see if some research helps you.

Number 4 is to read everything you write out loud, but especially dialogue. Sometimes things can sound good while you're writing it but then when you read it back you realise it sounds clunky or it doesn't flow properly. Plus it helps you pick up on mistakes you might otherwise miss (like incorrect spelling or if you meant to delete a sentance but didn't). And I say especially for dialogue because when people talk they'll abbreviate words, they include slang, they use contractions. By reading things out loud to yourself you can hear where inflections are, you can hear if something sounds too formal, or wrong for the emotion you're trying to convey. When I write I make sure that I read it out loud to myself when I'm editing. You don't have to read it to someone else and you can whisper it under your breath so no one else will hear, but it is one of the best things you can do while editing or even if you get stuck while writing a conversation. Sometimes just hearing it out loud will help you identify why its not working.

Those are all the things I can think of off the top of my head but like i said if theres any areas of writing that I haven't mentioned that you'd like my take on let me know!

[m1ckeyb3rry]

LMAOO LinkedIn coming in clutch but either way still exciting!! Does this mean after this you’ll be able to channel your inner yuki for fic writing omg you’ll have all the scoop on what the modeling process is like firsthand

AHAHA affirmations that’s the word I was looking for but FR before you sit down to write you hype yourself in the mirror draw on the stubble and get into the zone

FUNERAL INVITES SHEHWJSISJS I have no words for that I’m sure the graphics would go hard as usual though

STILL ALIVE AND NOT POSSESSED I’m crying yes please we don’t want to BECOME Barou…Karasu taking care of baby birds and tullias pokemon…no stop I thought we agreed on no swerving IM SWERVING I’m fr mentally imaging all of this and omg….wait the apron and the jeans and t shirt….its so domestic looking…..im in danger….

SHSHS excited either way!!! I bet the fluctuations are kinda annoying LMAO actually lowk reminds me of bot activity ik there’s a lot of those on twitter

No because what happened to our thinking skills there’s no way Nagi’s getting kicked out be so real…SHSH HELP LMAO ALSO YEAH the princess thing is also something i find annoying like he doesn’t LIKE being called princess…ill also add in that half the time they stick another word in jp on it that gets lost in translation sometimes but they’re explicitly saying like “bossy princess” for lack of a direct translation but whenever they use princess even alone because of that context it’s heavily implied that they’re using it to describe how spoiled chigiri acts…? Like how he takes extra long getting ready at the expense of others, so like how a princess would act like being the center of the world LMAO so yeah his visuals are just a bonus but the nickname is usually a jab at his “my pace” sorta personality lol….ok anyways that rant turned out a lot longer than I expected I find that people misconstruing things because the nuance got lost in translation is my pet peeve although I can’t really fully blame people ig if they don’t get it LOL

When I first saw the SpongeBob my first thought was “me???” but I ignored it because I thought I was being too insane but YESSS KEEP TJEM COMING I love getting silly content honestly even if it’s not bllk related I’m happy to receive anything you find funny I’ll never turn down a good meme NAGI CHIGIRI EDIT wait that one part where chigiri slowly opens his eyes kinda…..um anyways

People filly ignoring the rectangles for building ass background when jjk s2 first aired (they’ve since adjusted it in the blu ray release iirc) but let’s be real none of us are watching it FOR the animation so why are so you pressed….

LMAOOO wait on that note imagine going to the gym with Barou I’d be scared shitless fr I bet he’d be good at making sure you’re doing everything correctly though LOL omg didn’t know we had a gym bro amongst us…/j LMAO wait that routine sounds refreshing lowk??

Also commentary on some posts I scrolled past while getting to your response THE BAROU POST “let’s talk about him OUT of the uniform” IS CRAZY thats actually peak brain performance though that line hits hard im excited to see that scene animated ok but my turn to convert ooooh you wanna convert to hiorism so bad oooh (i need that gif of the hypnosis hand wave) I think I saw the vision after LN digging when I heard there was Karasu content and then ofc nel had some nice panels of him and the rest is history….come join us….i bet pursuit will seal the deal though trust….you know you want to…I’ll admit the vibe feels very different from Karasu and Barou for obvious reasons LMAOO but he’s still got the sassy streak too (unlike isagi) I’m a sucker for duality lowk

- Karasu anon

linkedin always comes through HAHAH my pfp for that is just a random headshot so i figured it worked and ig it did!! omg oaeu yukimiya is abt to be so accurate you’re right

i’m reciting aikulations every time i sit down to write!! the stubble please 😭 using eyeliner to draw it on and whenever someone sees me i’m just like dw abt it i’m oliver aiku (which incidentally is a very aiku thing to say)

okay but…imagine reader is too sad to make the invites…so she gets nagi (and his reuniclus) to do it…and this is what they come up with it

please appreciate my calligraphy/artistic skills LMAOAAO nagi does his best (the handwriting is neat because reuniclus uses its psychic powers to do it not because nagi suddenly took a penmanship class or smth)

no because not to further the swerving agenda but i was listening to music earlier (tik tok audios) and a chemtrails over the country club audio came on my fyp and it’s so karasu x reader coded 🌝 “you’re in the wind” karasu with his birds “i’m in the water” reader with her gyarados “nobody’s son” karasu runs away from the gym to prove himself to yayoi “nobody’s daughter” barou left reader to go on his journey…younger siblings who are desperately pursuing their older siblings (karasu figuratively as he’s pursuing yayoi’s talent and reader literally as she’s pursuing barou wherever he is) UNITE 😰 NAGI COME BACK WE NEED MORE PARALLELS WITH YOU KARASU IS WINNING AGAIN also omg domestic karasu is killing me just imagine him cradling a baby pichu (tullia’s infernape is a boy and eggs are the same species as their mothers + infernape and the pikachu line are in the same egg group so it’s possible) in one arm walking around outside of his gym with a bottle because the pichu’s mother rejected it so it has to be fed formula hourly and tullia’s too busy that day so karasu takes in the role…imagine you just see the intimidating butler coded gym leader walking around babying this little pichu while he has his phone between his ear and shoulder saying bullshit like “you’re a mediocre dumbass otoya why would you send out a fairy type against yukimiya’s fucking steelix bro give up chris prince does NOT want you” LMAOAOAO

yeah i’m sure i have bots following me because i never go through and look at my followers like some people do and delete the bots so there’s def a few!! sometimes someone will have an account that looks like a bot though and they’ll comment on one of my posts and i’m like hello you’re a real person??? so aside from not caring/not having the time or energy to comb through my followers i also don’t want to accidentally remove someone who’s just shy or doesn’t want to set up their account because i get that!!

that’s what i always understood it as!! like they’re making fun of him for being self centered and prissy it’s no different than nagi calling barou “maid barou”/“maid king” HAHAHA whenever people are like “chigiri’s a princess that’s why everyone likes him and thinks he’s pretty 😌” i’m like bro chigiri would genuinely crash out if he heard you rn LMAOAOA honestly i didn’t know abt the japanese extra word but i feel like it’s made relatively obvious that it’s meant to be rude?? like a) chigiri gets annoyed when people call him that, b) isagi straight up says he’s a “selfish princess” at one point, and c) if nagi, karasu, AND otoya (bllk trash talking kings) are calling a character a name it’s safe to assume it is not meant to be kind 😭 LMAOO no because like him or hate him no one can deny that nagi will have a comeback i don’t understand people who genuinely believe he won’t (although i will say i saw a comment calling him “the interviewer” and i had to laugh)

HAHAHA OKAY I WILL KEEP THE EDITS AND MEMES COMING!! you have unleashed a monster…pls no nothing is ever too insane for me that was literally my first thought OSFJJDSN AND YESSS NAGI CHIGIRI DUO ‼️ i completely agree that clip of chigiri is sooo good that’s the chigiri i need people to write about more because it’s who he really is!! like he’s very much more so 😏👹 than he is 😜💖 bro saved isagi from death in the and was fully ready to square up with shidou in the last ep of s1 LMAOAO LET’S TALK ABT IT 👆🏻

i love my routine it’s so fun!! not too high stress or impossible either because the gym should be enjoyable and imo it’s better to do less but be consistent than go crazy for a week, burnout, and never go again 😰 okay ykw i think barou would be sweet to workout with like he’d either leave you alone and be focused on himself or he’d kindly correct you (given that this is off field barou he’s probably used to dealing with his little sisters so he knows how to gently tell someone they’re wrong) actually you know who would be insufferable though??? KARASU 😭 as much as i love him i would never go to the gym with him unless it’s as a spectator because bro is constantly in your business, critiquing you, and he’s a younger sibling (and if his actual older sister is anything like yayoi well…) so he has no concept of sensitivity about it either he’d just be like “yo that squat was mediocre asf do this instead so you don’t suck 🤣” his advice is flawless though because he’s a gym regular (have you seen his quads and arms 🤤 i KNOW bro lifts) but you def cry at least twice per session 😓

HELPP I WAS LIKE WAIT THIS SOUNDS WRONG LET ME INCLUDE THE PANEL I’M REFERENCING no because it’s literally an entire subject of conversation in the barou version of the oaeu that he’s always taking his shirt off LMAOAOA nagi fr cooked calling him the stripper king 😭

i feel like hiori is more in line with nagi when it comes to my favs vs karasu/barou…like pale haired sassy gamer who seems quiet and sweet but is actually secretly brutal at heart?? which one am i referencing 🧐 i think i always imagine wb hiori when i think of him and while i love wb hiori he’s very heavy on the melancholy aspect of his character and not so much the humor and sass potential that he has (it’s touched on a bit in fwtkac but he’s kind of irrelevant and also kind of childish there so it’s not the same) okay wait lowkey now that you mention pursuit imagine spin-off reader inserts with the side characters 🤩 like a hiori x reader but it’s not pursuit reader (who’ll just be referred to as the reluctant champion if she’s mentioned in the spin-offs) it’s someone completely different…or a yukimiya one…or even karasu or otoya…maybe a barou prequel?? the verse is just so developed they’re all honestly possible

wait omg imagine a karasu spin off after he’s a gym leader where he’s like “i’ll never find love” and then he ends up lowkey beefing with the new reader who’s the gym leader of a different gym and slowly ends up falling love and we get to see him all domestic and cute but also as a pro battler and gym leader…BONUS POINTS IF NEW READER HAS A CRUSH ON YUKIMIYA JFCJDNDJS it’s giving “we’ve got five ways to kill a crow at home” the five ways to kill a crow at home:

okay today’s video is a tabiori edit!! do i ship NO (as you know) but the edit itself is cute and this ask has been very karasu and hiori focused so it’s all good

[bleachanimefan1]

The Midnight Masquerade Part 9

His Butler, Freeloader,

With that, the Jack the Ripper case came to a close. A funeral was given to Madame Red. The first snow began to fall as winter was coming. London returned to its peaceful state, but only for a short time. Recently, there was a strange case involving British men returning home from India being continuously attacked. They were stripped of their belongings and hanged upside down in the middle of the street in front of a coffee shop in Portman Square. Even noble men and soldiers were meeting the same fate. They all had papers stuck to them as a warning that had a drawing of a tongue sticking out. Several of Scotland Yard officers were already at the scene investigating. Police commissioner, Lord Randall and Officer, Fred Aberline.

"Blast it! This is the 20th one now!" Randall growled crumpling up the warning note in frustration. "You haven't caught the culprit yet, Aberline?"

"I'm sorry, sir!"

"Feh, and the glory of the Jack the Ripper case was stolen from us also by that little brat."

"Sorry to be such a brat." 

The two men jumped and saw Ciel and Sebastian and Cassandra standing behind them.

"Earl Phantomhive!" Randall sputtered.

"Oi, you! How in the hell did you get here!?" Aberline questioned Ciel but the commissioner stopped him.

"Lord Phantomhive, why are you here?"

"Why else, I'm here to clean up the mess made by a pathetic hunting dog. A crime targeted only by people who returned from India. The victims are not dead as well."

"You can't just!-" The police commissioner growled before Ciel showed him the letter stamped with the queen's seal on it. 

"If it was just a highway man, I wouldn't be involved. However, I won't sit by and watch the royal family be insulted." Ciel smirked. The police commissioner glared at Ciel as he started to look at the warning letters taped to the victims.

"The criminals are described as chosen children of sloth and depravity, which is quite accurate. I agree that England would be better off without India's wealthy upstarts."

"They are cowards who are too busy with extravagance and indulged in worthless past times."

"And what's with this mark?" Ciel wondered, sticking out his tongue.

"He's making a fool of us British and the Queen! Targeting only those who return from India means that the criminal can't be anyone else but an Indian barbarian!" the police commission 

"Or someone who's trying to pin the blame on them." Cassandra pointed out.

"A woman like you shouldn't even be involved."

"Wow, I didn't know Scotland yard were such sexists." Cassandra smirked, causing Ciel to make a small smile and Sebastian to laugh a little. Aberline's eyes widen a little in shock while the police commissioner gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes at Cassandra.

"You watch your tongue, woman-"

"Maybe, you should watch yours. What would the people think if their only protectors are spouting out accusations?" She smiled. 

"A majority of smuggling Indians have a stronghold in the east end. I can see that even city yards don't know what to do with a dark street like east end. It's hard to identify the route or the number of smugglers, right?" Ciel added. "Sebastian, let's go." and the three left.

As they continued walking, Cassandra noticed Sebastian staring at her quietly, shifting his gaze to her every now and then. It was starting to annoy her.

"Is there something that you want to say?" she asked him.

"Tell me, what do you remember the other week during the Jack the Ripper case?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm still trying to forget that it ever happened to begin with. However, I can recall some moments. Grell's not human..." She told him. "And the fact that you're not human as well."

"Anything else?" Sebastian asked her.

"That you have some ties with Ciel." Cassandra spoke and she saw Ciel tense up a little. "Not that I care. Whatever you two have, I don't want to get involved."

"Oh, and I thought you cared deeply for my young master." Sebastian teased. "Even for his safety."

"You do know I can hear everything that you two are talking about, right?" Ciel murmured.

"And do you?" Cassandra asked Sebastian, who blinked at her in surprise. "Will you protect Ciel from every danger that should befall him?"

"What kind of butler would I be, if I didn't." Sebastian smirked. "I am bound to my master until the end."

They stopped in front a dark alley that had some stairs leading down to secret club. They stepped inside and the strong smell of incense filled the air. Cassandra nearly gagged, covering her nose while Ciel did the same.

"That smells awful."

"So, you finally found this place, Earl." Lau spoke. Ran Mao was sitting in his lap. "It feels kind of weird to see me this way, however I always knew that day would come." There were multiple women surrounding Lau, cuddling around him.

"And what kind of day is that!?" Ciel exclaimed.

"So, how have you been? Wasn't your birthday recent? Congrats."

"I don't really celebrate such things." Ciel replied. "I have something to ask you."

"The earl has come all the way to anagura, to ask me about that incident, am I right?" Lau smirked.

"Word spread around fast. I have been investigating that incident. If it's about Orientals, the fastest way to find anything out is to ask who has the strong influence around here. The president of the British branch of the Chinese trading company, KunLun. No, the Shanghai mafia, Qingbang executive, Lau." Ciel spoke.

"I don't like to be addressed that way. It's too formal." Lau sighed.

"Then I'll leave the east end in your care. The number of people who move in and out of this street are under your control, right?" Ciel asked.

"Of course, I have done what you've asked. It's the bribe that allows me to do business in the underworld of this country. So, firstly, I want to ask you one thing. What exactly is that incident?"

Ciel blinked at him in disbelief. "You..."

"It's about the British men that were attacked when they were returning back from their trips from India." Cassandra reminded Lau.

"Ah! That's it! So, you want to arrest that mischievous kid. Since there are no casualties, it must because he's targeting the upper class. Setting an example of the people must be tiring for you, Earl."

"Nonsense." Ciel scoffed. 

"Nevertheless, we've walked a long way to get here. So where is this stronghold of Indian people?" Sebastian asked. Lau began to take them to the east street to the stronghold. 

"So, when are you going to drop this investigation business and come work for me? I could use a woman such as you." Lau asked Cassandra. "Not really my type of thing. Besides, do you even know where we're going?" Cassandra narrowed her eyes at Lau. Lau blinked, looking around and smiled sheepishly. He had gotten them lost.

"You!" Ciel growled in irrigation. Then an Indian man dressed in rags began to walk over to them and bumped into Ciel.

"It hurts! My ribs are cracked!" He cried out. Ciel stared at him in disbelief while Cassandra narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"From a small bump like that, very unlikely. Even from such a small child." She remarked. Ciel glared at her.

The man continued to cry out in pain causing more people to come out and they began to surround the group, giving them dirty looks. The man grabbed Ciel by his cape, pulling him up to his face.

"Showing up to a place like this, you're asking for it. That's quite a nice dress you have there, young man! A noble, eh?" He sneered. Ciel smacked his hand off of him.

"Pay me consolation money! Strip off everything you have it give it to me!" the man shouted.

"It seems we are caught amongst irritating punks, yet again, master." Sebastian sighed. "Shall I?"

"Dispose of them." Ciel ordered.

"As you wish." Sebastian smirked.

"All of you noblemen are alike! They brought us all the way from India and dumped us off like trash! All you British are selfish!"

The man pulled out a knife and several people began to pull out weapons from their clothes, cheering along with the raged man.

"Because of you guys we've ended up like miserable gutter rats! Our country was walked all over by your shoes! We'll give you a taste of how it feels to be plundered and humiliated!"

"First of all, I have something to ask all of you! If the answer is truthful, I will treat you all to delicious food as a reward!" a voice shouted.

The group blinked in confusion and looked to see who it was. So did Ciel, Cassandra, Lau and Sebastian. There was a young Indian man with dark skin, purple hair up in a ponytail, dressed in rich, exotic robes. There was another man standing behind him with short white hair, wearing robes and a turban and his arm was wrapped in bandages.

"I am looking for a woman. Have you seen anyone who looks like this?" He asked and pulled out a really bad drawing that looked like a child had drawn. The man with the knife, stormed over to him and threatened the Indian noble with it.

"You're in the way you bastard! Get lost!"

"How rude, calling me such impolite names." the noble frowned then glanced over at the group. "Are you guys joining in the fight as well?"

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

The noble's eyes widen a little as he saw Cassandra, staring at her for a long time, lost in a trance. "Such a rare beauty." He murmured then he noticed Sebastian. "A butler? You are British noblemen?"

"So, what if we are?" Ciel asked.

"Then I shall side with the people of my country. Agni, defeat them." the noble ordered. Agni began to unwrap his bandaged hand.

"You're wish is my command. I shall swing this fist blessed by the gods for my master's sake." He lunged at them. Sebastian pushed back Cassandra and grabbed Ciel, pushing him behind him as well, blocking Agni's punches. The demon was surprised as he was pushed back by the man's fierce strength. Then one of the Indian stragglers charged at them as well.

"Don't forget we are here also!" 

Sebastian ducked, causing Agni to accidentally punch the man in the face, knocking him down. Sebastian quickly grabbed Ciel, trying to gain some distance. Cassandra backed away from the crowd as they moved closer. She didn't want to hurt them, but they weren't leaving her any choice! One of them swung a bat at her and Cassandra quickly grabbed it and tore it away out of the man's grip. She kicked him back, knocking him into a few others and blocked a knife with the bat as another tried to attack her. Agni chased after Sebastian and began to jab his finger striking Sebastian's arm. Sebastian quickly landed on the ground a few feet away from him, unfazed by the attack.

"I've hit your pressure points many times. Your arm should be paralyzed. How is it that you can still fight?" Agni questioned.

"Why are you helping these guys!? We were just looking for answers and they were the ones who attacked us first!" Cassandra shouted. The Indian noble blinked at her in surprise then turned to the man that Agni had punched, who was starting to wake up, and the rest of the group.

"Hey, is that true? Did you really attack them for no reason?"

"Uh? No reason?" 

"That's not right! Picking fights for no reason is childish!" he scolded them. "Our brothers are in the wrong here. We shall help them out!"

Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Agni smiled as he knocked out every single bandit within a couple of seconds, standing on the pile of bodies. "It is done, Prince Soma!"

Soma picked up Ciel's hat and started to walk over to them. "You are not hurt, yes?"

"Er, no." Sebastian spoke. Soma placed Ciel's hat back on his head.

"Kid, this place isn't the kind of place for a kid like yourself to be wondering around in." He spoke then he looked over to Cassandra. "And a beautiful woman such as you, as well."

Cassandra frowned at him. "Who are you?" He smiled.

"My name is Prince Soma. I would like to talk some more but I'm in a middle of a search. Maybe, next time. Goodbye." He and his butler walked away, leaving the three of them confused as they watched them leave.

"Hey, where's Lau?" Cassandra asked. Ciel and Sebastian noticed that he was gone as well until they spotted him on a roof of one of the buildings.

"What exactly are you doing!?" Ciel shouted.

"Just waiting for the right moment to jump in." Lau smiled.

"Well, thanks for nothing!" Cassandra shouted. Lau jumped down, landing beside them.

"Who are those two? They're definitely not from the east end and they wear pretty clothing. And they're English is pretty good too." Lau asked.

"Let's just get these guys to Scotland Yard and call it a day." Cassandra said. 

Grell was sulking going through the piles of paperwork that Will had handed over to her. During the week after the Jack the Ripper case was over. The higher ups deemed "human form" as punishment and wasn't able to use any grim reaper powers to help assist with her work. Grell hated feeling like this. She wasn't pretty. She was weak. Grell sulked in her chair as she was going through the piles of paperwork that Will had handed over to her as well as writing a long-written apology.

"Will! How much longer do I have to do this!? I said that I was sorry!" She whined. "I want to see Bassy!"

"Until the board deems you as forgiven. And you shouldn't be associating with demons.  Sitting here, slacking off, isn't going to help and don't even think about asking the other reapers to do your work." Will told her, sternly.

"You're so mean, Will! That icy stare turns me on even more!" Grell grinned, wrapping her arms around Will's.

'Honestly, you have no standards, do you." Will rolled his eyes, pushing Grell off of him. Grell fell back roughly into the chair, causing it to fall backwards. Grell ended up smacking the back of her head.

Then Will saw a file with Cassandra's picture that was tucked out slightly on the edge of Grell's desk. Will gave Grell a suspicious look, wondering why he was looking at her file. "What are you doing with this? It's surprising to see you fascinated in something else for once."

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Grell asked, rubbing the back of her head, still feeling it throb, painfully. Grell saw Will point to Cassandra's picture. "Oh, her, she's just some silly human woman. Although, she does have something strange going on with her. No ordinary human can see cinematic records. And she even fought against me, a grim reaper, barely lasted a minute though."

"To think that girl is his daughter. I was surprised to see her for the first time myself when I came to retrieve you. The resemblance is uncanny." Will murmured.

"Eh?" Grell blinked at him confused. Will walked away, leaving Grell still confused. 

"Maybe you should catch up on your historic records." the reaper remarked and left. Grell blinked, still confused as she watched him leave. Maybe she can get quickly glance at the records before he noticed that she left. Grell quickly left the room and sneaked past some of the other reapers in the hallway, making it to the record hall. She quickly rummaged through the collections until a name met her gaze. "Gravesfield." 

Grell quickly took it and quickly ran back to the room. Good. Will wasn't back yet. She sat down and opened the file, going through it. 

 Johnathan Gravesfield. Date of Birth: unknown born in Surrey, England. Suicide by-the lettering and pages had faded over time by age, making it harder to read. Grell's eyes widen as she continued going through the file. Grim Reaper Dispatch, Afterlife citizen, #135546. Grell frowned in confusion. Afterlife citizen? What that? And what's with the number? She continued reading. A part of the Technological Advance Research Team. MIA in 1865, whereabouts unknown. Died 1878 in a tragic accident. 

Her eyes widen a little seeing a picture of a handsome young man that she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He had short platinum grey hair, wearing a white lab coat over his reaper suit. He had the same green, fluorescent glow that all reapers had. His facial features were completely identical to Cassandra's. Grell looked over Cassandra's file, looking at the date with Jonathan's, comparing them.

Gravesfield...Johnathan. He was Cassandra's father. He went missing before Cassandra was born four years later. Meaning, Cassandra was half human and half grim reaper. Grell slammed her hands on the desk, completely in shock. "Cassandra!?"

Grell yelped as she was whacked on the back of her head by Will's spear.

"What did I tell you about slacking off?"

[keefwho]

July 25 - 2023 Tuesday

10:47 AM

My friend just needed someone to talk to and I’m always happy to help in any way I can but I did a bad job trying to comfort her, even if she only needed someone to listen. I’m also a little scatterbrained today or just vacant so I wish I could have been more help. I literally couldn’t think of anything good to say. I guess I’m most worried about coming off as indifferent or uncaring because I care a LOT. She probably knows that though. 

2:53 PM

I feel things and think things but I don’t want to write about things or think about them. Mostly because I feel mentally tired right now. Im not in the best shape to be making progress but I have learned that progress must still be made regardless. I can’t always wait for the right moment. I guess there also isn’t anything pressing me right now so I can take a smol break. 

In general I know I’m having a hard time feeling like myself right now and instead am following what I’d describe as a sort of natural code. Im doing things without thinking about them. There is little exploration and creativity going on in my head right now, I’m just existing. My capacity for true deep empathy is lowered because of this. I’m not really here in a sense, or not at the capacity I want to be. I know this must be normal though, I can’t be on top of this kind of thing all the time. I’m sure this kind of thing happens to everyone. I’m just trying to get to know it better so I can accurately appraise myself whenever I get like this. 

I also had a very small incident with an onion. Its the kind of thing that harks back to the peak of my anxiety surrounding food and my stomach. I chopped an onion in half so I could use one half in my lunch and the other half went in the fridge. I still have some iffyness about eating anything “raw” even if it’s safe to do so. I hinged a lot of my sense of food security on making sure everything I ate was fully cooked no matter what it was (except for some obvious exceptions like chips, crackers, canned stuff, etc.). So I still found it to be a little exercise to take a slice of that onion and use it on my chicken burger uncooked. It’s an important little exercise though and I’m proud I did it, even if it wasn’t a very big deal. 

10:56 PM

I want to get on bed this time so this has to be brief hopefully.

For breakfast I had left over rice a roni from yesterday. I watched one of the newer episodes of Craig of the Creek before streaming. 

Stream went okay, I only did half commission work again since I’m doing it for the paying double guy. I had to stop the stream halfway through to call and listen to my friend but I started it back up for a little bit afterwards. I completed a little colored sketch in a way that I liked so hopefully I can keep doing that to get more of my ideas out. 

I cleaned up some and did my mini workout for the first time. Im really starting to feel it in my legs again so it must be working. During my shower I watched a new video from Lemino about the JFK assassination, it was interesting. Im surprised and also not surprised at how stupid people can be when giving testimony. 

Lunch was a chicken burger and a granola bar, very good. 

During today’s drawing request I edited one of my coloring brushes to be easier to blend with and I really liked the result. It offered more flexibility per stroke. After that I worked on this cute drawing of mine and my friend’s sonas again, it’s REALLY coming out well. When work was done I spent some time working on my horse avatar again, it’s also looking good and I’m so excited to be horsies with my bestie.

I hung out with her while I worked on it and we chilled for a bit while she showed some things. I didn’t know what to do with myself, I just wanted to chill so I wasn’t very lively. My eyes also hurt all evening. After she moved upstairs we played Zelda for a bit, it was nice. 

I wish I could have been less out of it, I’ve definitely been in a funk today and yesterday. I could probably figure out some straightforward exercises to turn to that could help me realize that I’m a living, thinking person when I’m struggling to perceive myself. 

[xansmenagerie]

I'm very slowly working on a magical-school novel in the background for a whole bunch of reasons (including spite and indulging people I like in equal parts) - this is one of the first scenes I wrote, and I'm nearly at the point where I can insert it back into the main text...

Darcy had never considered herself a horsey person. She’d met horsey people at previous schools; it was fair to say they were no worse than a lot of the other students, but there was definitely something extra about them. It was possibly a question of money, given that from what she understood of the whole business was that you couldn’t have a horse on the cheap, and it came with a whole new language that she had no patience to learn.

All this being said, the horse now standing invitingly in front of her on the edge of the lake was…beautiful. Not the dream of a horse, but a very real and very solid being that came as close to an ideal as she could imagine. What she couldn’t imagine though was why a horse would be here, now - it wasn’t like there were stables attached to the school, and while Darcy still didn’t know quite where the school physically was it seemed unlikely that this one was wild.

It was hard to think of the strangeness while looking into the horse’s eye though; the depths seemed to draw her in, and she slowly, carefully, stepped forward with one hand reached out. The horse clearly decided that she was taking too long and moved to meet her, shoving its nose under her hand. Something in the back of Darcy’s mind pointed out that it’s coat should have been warm and dry, not cool and slightly damp, but the thought was filed away for later consideration as the horse nuzzled her shoulder then tossed its head.

“Oh, you pretty darling,” she murmured, watching its ears twitch to pick up her voice. “Where have you come from, then?”

“Strathclyde,” said Bronwyn with uncharacteristic grumpiness behind her. Darcy jumped; the horse merely seemed to roll its eyes. “And he should know better than…Angus, get yourself back on two feet this minute.”

The horse made a very rude and not exactly horselike sound.

“I mean it.” Bronwyn strode over, grabbed the horse’s forelock and pulled down hard. The noise it made this time was definitely a yelp. “Don’t think I don’t see you planning to play tricks on a new student, and don’t think I don’t know you’re still in trouble for last year’s pranks.”

There was what Darcy could only describe as a complicated moment. The horse seemed to dissolve into grey mist with eyes, only to reform into a young man in, at a guess, his late teens - still with a chunk of hair firmly trapped in Bronwyn’s fist. Darcy stepped back a pace, putting Bronwyn firmly between her and the newcomer.

“Alright, alright, you’ve made your point!” Angus sounded amused, even standing as he was with his head drawn down by Bronwyn’s grip. “I’ll not do any mischief now, so will you lay off then?”

Bronwyn, perhaps a little reluctantly, let go. “Darcy,” she said over her shoulder, “I’d like you meet Angus. He’s…staff, sort of, in that he looks after the lake and surroundings and makes sure nothing worse than him moves in. Angus, this is Darcy Symonds, she’s one of the students I’m looking after this year.”

Darcy couldn’t help but notice that Angus wasn’t wearing shoes and that the hems of his trouser legs were dripping, even though the rest of him looked dry enough. His eyes hadn’t changed all that much, surprisingly, still deep and dark as the lake waters… Only now she started to feel the indignation rising, now her thoughts weren’t being clouded up by whatever that was. “I know it’s not polite to ask,” she asked anyway through lightly gritted teeth, “but what are you and what were you just trying to do?”

Angus threw back his head and laughed, and for once comparing it to a horse braying would have been accurate rather than slander. “Ah Bron, I like this one, you can keep her!” he said heartily to Bronwyn (clearly trying and failing to maintain a scowl) before turning his attention fully back onto Darcy.

“I’m a kelpie, you know? Demon horse, river horse, whatever you want to call it - and I was just trying to persuade a lass to take a little ride.” Something significant must have made it through into Darcy’s expression as he swiftly added, waving his hands for emphasis, “Nothing like that - an actual horseback ride, with maybe a few bits of mayhem to liven it up.”

Bronwyn piped up, “And by that he means try to make you think he was going to drown you like a really feral kelpie would, or else run you through some low-hanging trees, because he’s an idiot who keeps doing that to people even though he knows how much trouble he gets into when he does.”

“It keeps life interesting,” Angus shrugged, “There’s not that much that tries to get into the lake, and after a couple of centuries you have to make your own entertainment.”

“Hold on - centuries?” Darcy looked at him in shock.

“What can I say, I age well,” Angus smiled back.

[lousylemonseminar]

Alsoo!!!!!!! Almost all of the filters off!!!!

SHES SO PRETTY IM IN LOVE WITH HER😊😊😊😊😊

Chips is balding by the way the baldest I’ll ever draw someone I think I need to get over my baldphobia

I remember when krator drew the Albatrio sleeping in there bunk beds…… that was fun….. in Krart dark ages right now😭😭 not mad about it just😭😭

Now. I retry my ten page analysis that’s mainly me keyboard spamming because I love this fic so much 📣WE CAN DO THIS YES WE CAN!!! 🎉🎉🎉

How weak gill is how helpless gill is how much he’s in danger how much he can be chomped on how weak gill is I’m gonna. I’m gonna explode. There was. I was gonna make this coherent but it’s . Th e beginning is so Great at describing how Gill is unsafe in his new home and !!!!!!!!! And how that’s further deducted by Doppelgilly being chomped!!!!!!!! By one of his friends ‘!!!!! I’m in im im words can’t express.

My drawings inaccurate gillion didn’t see him eat the kidney(s) just knew that they were gon……………… :o( it’s okay it’s fine

“So of course, when Gillion is woken by the breaking of this silence, his abused nerves light up like lightning.” Line is. AN example That I’m. HOW HOW SILENCE In Breath IS PORTRAYED AS THIS . NAUSEATING THING FOR GILL DESPITE HOW HE KNEW OF IT BACK HOM ARE TOU HEARING ME?? how he was accommodating to his new home and that it meant noise was made constantly !?????? And lightning reference??????? It seems so simple but with the buildup of the paragraphs before, it ends up being so . Affective I’m losing it

Like in “So now the Albatross, once full of sound, is silent in the dark. His nights are spent in a room for three with an empty bunk, and only one set of whistling breaths. He often finds himself holding his breath, straining to hear, straining to see if he can catch the edge of another snore in the darkness. He's always met with silence. It's always just him.”

IM SO NORMAL ABOUT THAT!!!! TOYALLY!!!!! SO SOSO PRETEND THAT SOMETHINGS ALIVE THERE AND NOT TRYING TO KILL YOU!!! YEA AUGGHH

This and. I

The atmosphere these Frekakfjjf create is so insanely strong And. Like leads in how Guilty Gill feels for not being there for his bro!!!! “His fault” and “his failure” and the Rot invading his home which is characterized So Accurately to how Gill perceives it, despite being the smell of his friend too !!!! He can’t help but need to stray from this FREAK but it’s still his friend!!!! And commentary about how friendship purveys all in did you know it wasn’t me😊😊😊😊😊 what a wonderful wholesome story !!!!!!! While being so grueling and horrifying it Also engraves this . “Despite all, I’d still choose you” narrative and it’s so SKSAUWUGRVRHRHRHRH IM SO NORMAL.

And the details of how Things Smell and how that makes gill react Instinctively … yeah ….. its tone and how every word goes to another or like Idfk Overtakes Like A shell LIKE!! YOU GET WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT !!! IT MAKES THIS MUSK ,OKAY!! NAD ITS SO SMELLY AND METAL AND IM ‼️‼️‼️💥💥💥💥💥💥

Going chronologically through my screenshots , this paragraph “Chip buries his hands in the cavity of the doppelganger's abdomen. Gillion can see now that it has been torn open, vicious claw marks ripping through the soft belly from just below the ribs all the way to the navel. Gillion's stomach turns, seeing the ragged edges of the skin, the yellow layers of fat revealed beneath, the severed muscles on either side. These are not the clean, precise gashes of a predator, no. These are the result of brutal determination from something worse - something desperate.” Probably was what made me so INSANELY indesCRIBABLY HAPPY WHILE DRAWING FOR THIS FIC. CHIPS STENCH AND HOW . AUG R RHRHGHHGG HE ATE THAT THANG‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️/NEG

Such harsh Violent Descriptions stands so shockingly hard in the midst of suspension AND ITS METAL ASF AND I LOVE HERM’!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS THE CLIMAX SHES THE MOMENT SHE DID THAT!! AND ITS VILE AND GROSS AND PUNGENT/POS!!!

Ut characterizes Chip , as its intended to ,as the monster Gill NEEDS GONE and puts him and who he cares about in danger MAKING IT SO HEARTFELT WHEN HE INEVITABLY DECIDES “NO YOURE STILL MY FRIEND” AASUUSUGGHHJHHHH

Like in these…….

HE COULDVE DEFENDED HIMSELF…….. im focusing on how strongly chip and gills relationship is built up in this but DOPPELGILL. AND HE. HOW . YEAH.

“[…] Same ship as a monster.” Yet again . Emphasizing how Gross And Disgusting Chip’s actions were becauseeeeeshshfhshshdhdhd

In which It’s Very Strongly implied that Chip feels just as disturbed in himself as Gill does :o) yeah yeah yeah that’s great!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to feel things in Chip cannibalism fic today!!!!!!

“Based on the violent clawing further up in the chest, he can hazard a guess that the heart is missing as well. In fact, he would bet every piece of gold he's ever thrown overboard that the heart was the first thing Chip had taken once he'd ripped him open.” Adding a bit of Humor!😊 amidst the “oh my gosh this is so fucked”!😊 as well as the Cruelty of it on both ends , for such an attack on That body as well as Chip’s desperation

MAYBE implying him leaning into the Disastrous nature of his hunger because he might’ve been able to feel some relief 😊😊😊😊😊 and the little amount of consciousness 💥💥💥 this paragraph implies 💥💥💥 making so much sense because He Probably WOULD justify something like that if he wasn’t in complete control!!!!!! AND THEN ALSO FEELING SO GUILTY FOR IT HIMSELF.

Okay

So I’m gonna put this down and go to bed.

I love this fic so much 😭😭

“I was just so hungry, gill”

Meal isn’t pictured in alignment to how it’s described in the THING!

@here-there-be-drag0ns

AUSVBRBRHEHTHRGRGRGRGHRHGHGGG i bashed my fist into the wall multiple times while reading this fic[link] in astonishment of the details and how they alluded to things and i can Talk SO LOUD AN D UNCEREMONIOUSLY but i wanna put that under the cut along with my Fav quotes of this SO READ IT FIRST READ IT FIRST READ IT FIRST!!!! I PLEA

On a less serious note There were multiple times where my brain had to spare myself from fathoming by making stupid connections like Chip taking doppelgillys kidneys because in a bit where gill said he took chips And other Stuff Like That but then THE HE PROBABLY TOOK HOIS HEART FIRST????? IM KILLING ICARUS????/NSRS IM MAIMING THORN???? obeheheemanba okay!!

So here’s most of the screenshots I took while reading this! Which will help me relive the atrocities

My reaction to Did you know it wasn’t me by here they be dragons /pos :

DID YOU FUCKING KNOW I WROTE PARAGRAPHS DISECCTING HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS FIC WAS AND HOW IT PERMEATED ALL OF MY SENSES AND FUCKED GREATLY ALL GOT DISSIPATED BECAUSE I FORGOT TO SAVE. IN SO TIRED RIGHT NOW. ANALYSIS LATER IM PISSED OFF

OSHAHEGRGRHRHHRHRR GRAAGAHHHHH

They seriously couldn’t have done that to me after I spent like thirty minutes writing how much I admired the tension and the buildup and the emphasis on how fucking dead chip was OH MY GOD.

Icarus if your reading this I cannot emphasize enough how greatly the fics I’ve read from you Fuck with my brain

I remember watching the a new riptide episode at some point and genuinely wondering why gill and chip wasn’t more conflicted with each other and why gill wasn’t being more obedient to his friend for knocking his shit I

Reading the absolute ferocity went at doppelgilly made drawing this SO SoSo so much more rewarding for me which is something I have a Lot of trouble with . Or like being passionate / having fun with drawing it’s insane

I was kicking my feet fangirling over it

You’re such an amazing fucking author in which i do still wanna write down why those excerpts Stuck So Hard and GOSHHHBD DB losing it I admire you so much have an awesome sauce day :o3333

[rudjedet]

Could you describe or link some photos of historically accurate Egyptian clothing/makeup/jewelry? I can’t tell if some are accurate or not, and even though unheard somewhere that Ancient Egypt didn’t have the same taboos of the naked body like we did, I feel like some are just to…. sexualized? Maybe its just me but I feel like so many misrepresentations of clothing caused the modern perspective to be just full on breasts out but idk.

I'll link a PDF of Dr Vogelsang-Eastwood's excellent work on Pharaonic Egyptian clothing in a reblog of this later so that Tumblr doesn't hide the original, because I've got a few things to say about this that I'd like to be normally available.

So first of all, no, ancient Egyptians didn't really have taboos about nakedness. In fact they even used it for comedy value, children didn't wear clothes at all for the first few years of their lives, etc.

The origin of the "full on breasts out" look isn't so much sexualisation, though, as it is people misinterpreting Egyptian iconography. I have gotten so many asks about the "tits out" dress style; it's a mistake that's equally as honest as it is easy to make when you're not aware of Egyptian art conventions. Why would lay people assume that what they're looking at carved into stone or painted on a wall isn't true to reality if it, well, looks like it could be true to reality (and especially because we know e.g. the Minoans did have dress types where the breasts remained bare)? It's still something that's pretty easy to find out, mind you, but in this case it's not something that's going to make a lot of people do a double take and spur a Google search.

Obviously this is barring examples like slutty Cleopatra Halloween costumes, or those weird stock photos of (white) women in Halloween-grade "Egyptian" lingerie, or the artists who keep drawing goddesses like Hathor with a waist the size of my ankle and her tits hitched up to her earholes, and I think those may be the examples you're talking about? But functionally, the "boobs out" portrayal of Egyptian women is similar to depicting regular ancient Egyptian men wearing the nemes-headcloth: it comes from a place of ignorance, first and foremost. Do people then further sexualise this misrepresentation? Yes, that happens. That kind of orientalism/exotification is hard to banish, as evidenced by the above.

Just on its own though I don't see much wrong with it if people do depict ancient Egyptian women with their boobs out. It's just breasts. The Egyptians didn't think them immodest, so who are we to consider them immodest for them? And this goes for every culture past and present that doesn't get weird about tits. In the specific case of the dress with shoulder straps it's inaccurate, but at the same time there is a definite possibility that e.g. peasant women just wore skirts and not much more while working. The problem is, as always, the intent behind the portrayal. If it's exotification of the "swelteringly immodest forbidden sexiness" kind, then yes, we're gonna have considerable issues. Mistaken portrayal because someone didn't do their research as well as they should have? Eh, minor annoyance, but forgivable.

[azureaqua]

Final Showdown! (a.k.a Last of the Ikemen artbreeder series, the Ikesen guys - Pt. 1)

Yay, I'm not dead! Or I have just risen from the dead.

After nearly 2 months I've made the Ikesen guys too. Let me tell you, this was the hardest & longest one tbh. I had to make asian portraits only and there were 17 guys in total, so yeah, it took some time.

(It's also kind of funny how - unintentionally - I did my 3 main Ikemen games in a certain order; the way the suitors' number grow each time lol.)

I'm not sure if I'm as satisfied with this batch as I want to be, despite the time and effort, but all together they look nice! So let's get into it!

↓

Part 2 here!

• Maeda Keiji

(So, at first Keiji was Shingen's prototype, if you will. Mainly because of the hair and its color. Also his basic features were good; like the smokey, smouldering eyes, nicely curved eyebrows and mouth, and stronger cheekbones and jaw. (Idk, I always imagined Shingen having really nice and defined cheekbones in real life haha.) But in the end, he looked a bit too young, I guess? Shingen - historically - but even in the game IS one of the older guys, so I wanted to make him even more mature. And then I looked at this prototype and because of the hair's shape Keiji came to mind and in the end, I think I did the right thing.)

• Kennyo

(I admit it, he was - surprisingly - one of the easiest ones. I was genuinely worried that he'll be hard to recapture because of the harsh scar and grimace on his face, and again; the older-man look. I guess I just got lucky with the bases? Other than his scar that I had to draw on, I didn't touch up anything. His design is the most Asian-like in my opinion with the 'everything black' theme going on with his hair and eyes lol.)

• Tokugawa Ieyasu

(He wasn't as hard either, than some of my other edits, but I couldn't get him right the first time. He was okay, but really, not the best effort. His face was just off - it was way too soft. Ieyasu is young, perhaps one of the youngest of them all, but he has an uninterested scowling expression on him almost all the time, so I guess that makes him appear more mature in general. But I'm definitely satisfied with him, and his emerald green eyes look super nice!)

• Uesugi Kenshin

(Well, he's one of those that I'm not exactly sure about. At one point he seems accurate, but then just so off-track of his game avatar so I genuinely don't know what to think. He has a harder stare and more grown-up look and features than Ieyasu, so they are not the same base. Although, while making them, I was thinking of using them for each other, since they are very similar with the blonde hair and cold, uninterested stares. But he came out pretty and kind of unreachable, noble-like! And they definitely describe him as so in the game so it's a win?!)

• Sarutobi Sasuke

(It was a two-part thing again, since he's that ONE character who wears glasses lol. Editing on specs in a way that looks good AND appropriate for the character is hard. Although for Faust, I think I really did a good job and probably won a lotto or something that it came out so good. But I think Sasuke isn't as bad either! His eyes and hair are fairly simple, but achieving that stoic, blank expression was the real deal in the end. But it worked, he looks smart, like a real moderately awesome ninja!)

• Date Masamune

(He was difficult, especially since I had to imagine the eyepatch on him every time. It makes a big difference, trust me. This isn't the original edit of him, on second tries I always do a better job to be honest. By then I realized that his cheerful and reckless expression was missing and tried to give him a wider smile and sharper eyes and he indeed came out super handsome with those plus touches! His eyepatch is drawn on by me again, but even that can't ruin this image!)

• Mori Ranmaru

(I struggled with him the most, I feel like? His baby-like features, overly cheerful smile and big eyes was hard to achieve... Somewhat. I don't think I did him justice. Also, I admit that I mixed female prototypes into him, mainly because of the hair, but also since in the game they mention it a lot of times that he's considered really beautiful and feminine. All-in-all, I think he's precious nonetheless!)

• Akechi Mitsuhide

(I'm also not quite satisfied with him, because I think at some point I had a better base for his face and hair, but in the end when I tried mixing with that one or just reconstructing it, it didn't come out so well. And in itself that piece wasn't good enough, so yeah, that's why we ended up here. He could use some more work, but I wasn't exactly sure where? From a close up he feels decent though, so maybe it's some kind of black magic. I also like his expression and his floofy white hair, I'm happy that I could achieve such a nice, pure color!)

What do you guys think so far? How did I do?

(Don't forget to look at Part 2, with the other guys in it!)

[corseque]

This is very SPOILERY Dragon Age meta that is exploring a possibility that I was thinking about a few months ago, and only found in my drafts now. I think that there are still Reveals that are yet to come about Solas because he’s still suggesting that you’ll have “questions” for him, and there are a few possibilities of what those reveals could be, and this is one of the more likely possibilities.

This depends on the theory that Solas was originally a spirit, so if you don’t agree with that theory this won’t have legs for you, but maybe you’ll find it interesting.

So given established lore, if you draw a Wisdom spirit from the deepest Fade and you bind that spirit and charge it with something opposed to its nature/original purpose—fighting, as extremely clearly defined specifically in Solas’ personal quest  —

 (or “it started with a war,” as Solas describes while grimacing in Trespasser, and also “he did not want a body, but she asked him to come. He wanted to give wisdom, not orders”) 

 — that is exactly how you corrupt a wisdom spirit into (specifically) a pride demon.

So if that’s the case, and if Solas was originally a wisdom spirit

—then we are being told very clearly that Solas was actually “corrupted” into a demon thousands and thousands of years ago.

If he ever started as a Wisdom spirit, a theory that is extremely cemented to me after hard revisiting his content the past few weeks, then Solas, if those other banter comments also apply to him, must have been technically “corrupted” into Pride, ever since the war in which he was bound to fight. With the story we know, and what we know about spirits, it would be more technically accurate to call Solas a demon. And then, when he “broke the binding” of the vallaslin, and was able to become “himself again” perhaps he found some equilibrium, but he also seemed to have been changed. “He calls himself Pride.”

This explains several strange things about his character and his viewpoints, especially if we consider what we also know about the established intended canon of Compassion/Despair and Justice/Vengeance as well.

—why he gets absolutely the most incensed compared to anything else by one of his oldest friends also being drawn forth, bound, and corrupted specifically (and almost strangely specifically) by orders to kill.

—why that is what Patrick Weekes chose to explore for his personal quest, because it is ACTUALLY telling you about Solas himself in a way that is extremely illustrative

—Solas’ personal quest is ACTUALLY personal, it’s the most personal it could be, because it’s about him

— “You summoned that demon! except it was a spirit of wisdom at the time! You made it kill! You twisted it against its purpose!!”

— he never wants that to happen to any spirit ever again (the way it happened to him) 

— In my collection I made when finding all the times Solas yells, for the “solas yelling for 10 minutes” post I did, by far the MOST ANGRY and UPSET he gets is during his personal quest. This is personal for him, this isn’t the way he yells when he is defending someone else. And the way that he immediately wants revenge by burning them alive! It’s about him and what happened to him!

— why when Patrick Weekes was writing Cole’s personal quest, the original idea was for him to choose between being a Spirit and a Demon (not a spirit and human), because that would cover a lot of ground for Solas too

—why Solas is very nearly as incensed by the Grey Warden’s plan to corrupt an army of demons

—why he, when walking through the lair of an enormously fat, powerful fear demon, has an extremely mild and calm aura

—why he is so obsessed with learning and wisdom and finding out knowledge, but also mentions pride about as much

—the hint with Abelas/Sorrow about how the ancient elves would change their names through traumatic events

—why Solas is SO opposed to bindings in any way, shape or form, and is driven single-mindedly to set spirits and elves free every chance he gets

— why Solas had so much insight for Cole about what it means to choose not to be a demon.

— why Solas can appear as a giant demon wolf with multiple eyes, but also a nice spirit wolf with two eyes

— why in Tevinter Nights, the Dread Wolf’s 6 eyes were described specifically as being like a pride demon’s 6 eyes.

— why the “tiny scar” on Solas’ face was mentioned specifically in Tevinter Nights, because “it left a scar when he burned her off his face” and that detail is still important and still going to reveal perhaps, that he was bound into a demon

— why Mythal would apologize to Solas in the stinger after-credits scene. She corrupted him all those years ago!

— Why Solas has that very specific viewpoint on spirits vs demons, and how it’s your expectations that affect the spirit. And how the player’s pov of Solas could change him into a demon, just like Solas describes happens to spirits. If you expect a spirit to be a demon, it will adapt, he says. Or they could become fast friends. The exact same thing happens with Solas.

It’s also a very BioWare thing to do. To find out that this character has been technically a “demon” the entire time. It would make some people think “welp, time to kill.” While those who like him could be like “well, what does that mean exactly? Isn’t he his own person? Hasn’t he become a complex person?” and would make others think “how could we ever trust anything he says or does?” It’s just, I feel, a likely gray area Bioware place they could take it. I feel like there MUST be a reveal for this character still waiting in the wings, and this could be what it is. It could be several things, though, or the details could be different. If he “took a body” it could give it different nuance.

Thinking about it in this way actually clears up a lot of the lingering details that sort of have been hanging for me for several years, especially about why his extremely specific personal quest is the way it is, and I think it’s where they’re going. 

[onebizarrekai]

ok NOW I have time to talk about the v3 ending for a second and why the popular belief that the audition tapes were real is one of the most baffling things to me. don’t get me wrong, ‘pregame’ has the capacity to be an interesting au if done correctly, and there’s fun to be had with it, but the writing in the game does not actually encourage you to believe in its existence and it’s so odd to me that it’s taken as hard fast canon.

I mean, actually, you technically can check. I think this is the writing deliberately encouraging the player to revisit the prologue and see that the way tsumugi described it happening in the trial is not actually what happened.

number two, they claim that the prologue of the story began after they got their costume changes, which is also obviously not true. it started when they came out of the lockers in their ordinary school uniforms. (seems like tsumugi is indirectly trying to divert attention away from that point that the player has access to, claiming that it is not part of the story.)

shuichi specifically flashbacks to this moment. they go on for like three minutes talking about how everything tsumugi said could’ve been bs.

they literally end on that note of shuichi refusing to believe they auditioned, and very ambiguously too. they didn’t actually give anyone any incentive to believe what happened during the trial–in fact, they encouraged otherwise.

amidst all the ambiguity, the only lead the game really gives you is the one that tells you to replay the prologue to confirm where the characters can’t. the attention drawn to this particular inconsistency between the prologue and the final trial feels very purposeful, not to mention shuichi’s lack of belief towards it. the difference is glaringly apparent. like I said, it draws attention.

of course, they don’t resolve it at all and the whole game ends on a big maybe, but again, the only lead they give the player is revisiting the prologue. they want you to see how it’s inconsistent. the truth is not supposed to be set in stone.

there were a couple other things I wanted to mention.

one, prior to being refitted as ultimates in the prologue, all of the characters remembered being kidnapped. if they had willingly signed up for the killing game, why in the world would they need to be kidnapped? why would all of them seem so confused about what’s happening if they had knowingly auditioned for danganronpa? if they’d already had their memories wiped at that point to prepare them for new memories, why let them remember that they were kidnapped? it seems very convenient for tsumugi that nobody remembers anything from before they transformed into ultimates… but the player does.

even tsumugi’s explanation of the prologue flashback makes very little logical sense. if all of them really were fans of danganronpa in some regard, they would probably know right away that they were going to appear on the show; there wouldn’t be any room for confusion. if tsumugi’s account was even accurate in the slightest, and there was somehow some dialogue that was obstructed from the player during the prologue, it seems infeasible that it would take them so long to realize what was happening because they would have suspected it the moment they woke up in a dark, mysterious school and were asked to gather at the gym.

not to mention, why the heck would they show kaede and kaito’s audition tapes and not maki and himiko’s–y’know–the two other people that were actually there? it’s like this “evidence” was handpicked for the protagonist… oh wait.

two, ever since I noticed the implication that maki is not affected by flashback lights, it puts a whole new perspective on every story she tells in the game and even her placement and purpose in the killing game itself. I feel like this theory speaks for itself, especially when you take into account maki’s story about going to a convention (tsumugi in her natural habitat) to kill a target, and failing.

three, kinda.

all three of their school uniforms in their audition tapes are distinctly inconsistent with their sprites.

after I noticed shuichi’s, I was about to pass this off as another dumb artistic mistake, but then I checked kaede’s and kaito’s and found the same exact thing.

let me point them out if you can’t see them very well: shuichi has 3 buttons on his uniform, not 2, kaede has 1 stripe on her uniform and not 2, and kaito’s buttons are black on his shirt in his sprite and rather ordinary in the audition tape. also, shuichi’s shoes look light brown, even though they kinda match his hair on the sprite. the inside of kaito’s jacket collar is also white on the sprite, while it isn’t in the tape.

… I really wish I could say this is a striking observation and all, and possibly even intended to be proof that the tapes were fake, but also… I’ve made a post about the art inconsistencies in this game before. I failed to notice this one at the time, but v3 is not known for the quality and consistency of its art. a couple of kaede’s prologue cgs show her with two stripes as well. heck, the one of her being kidnapped up there is one of them. when I realized that all three of the audition tapes had inconsistencies with the official character designs, I got my hopes up a little… but we can’t win ‘em all, huh.

anyway, long story short, the epilogue implies one thing: it’s that 1) the prologue is different from how tsumugi explained it, 2) the player has the power to revisit it to confirm this, and 3) the game wants you to revisit it to confirm this, deliberately drawing attention to the incongruity of the two tales. the version of the prologue that the players see is not part of tsumugi’s grand story. last of all… it’s just my own theory about the game itself, but I think tsumugi was full of shit and the players were never supposed to take what she said as the simple truth to begin with, especially due to the narrative encouragement to distrust it.

it’s clear that the game planned for ambiguity and multiple interpretations and reception, thanks to all the ‘maybes’ it ends on… but isn’t it so strange that fans seem more willing to trust tsumugi’s contradictory account rather than the distrust of the main characters that has so much attention drawn to it? nobody knows what’s in the outside world… and that’s the point.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Attack Of The Winter Wolf: Revealed

Summary- 7.7k Alpha Steve x Little One Reader. Steve and you pack up in the Stark Jet and head across the ocean, this time to Norway. Steve seems to think that there will be the answers needed to help your friends for good. Divider made by @firefly-graphics

Warnings- None

A/N- Those that have stuck with me through this, thank you. I hope this isn’t turning into a “what the hell are you trying to do Amber” kind of deal. Haha. I don’t have any real answers, its just whats coming out. Anyways, thank you for reading, as always its so appreciated to hear what your thoughts are on it. Happy Howling 🐺💙

Chapter Three / Masterlist

It was a rush the following morning, Steve and Tony were busy checking over the jet being loaned for the mission. Meanwhile Pepper showed you around the giant Stark Towers. The last time you had been here you were unconscious, not remembering any of it. Pepper’s heels clicking against linoleum, while you rushed after the fast paced Alpha who was doing two tasks at once. But once she led you on the elevator, hitting some buttons, she tucked her tablet under her arm, turning her attention to you with a relaxed smile. 

“Dr. Banner has been wanting to officially meet you.” She stated as an explanation for the elevator ride. Twiddling your fingers, you shuffled foot to foot a bit nervous, only knowing the doctor had been where Steve rushed you to first when Pierce injected you. 

When the elevator door dinged and the two of you stepped out to what looked like a medical wing. A dark haired man stepped out while flipping through a chart muttering to himself when Pepper cleared her throat. “Bruce, you have a visitor.” His head lifted, blinking at them from over his glasses frames, confused as to who would want to intrude on him. But then recognition crossed his features and he snapped his clipboard shut, striding over. 

“Y/N! Pepper told me Steve was coming back this way for help, and I was hoping he would bring you.” His hand popped out to shake yours. You welcomed it with a tilt of your head, drawing in his scent. A part of you recognized him, the hint of warmth and freshness. 

“ Dr.Banner a pleasure… Steve told me what you had done for me, thank you for everything.” 

Bruce sputtered a bit, giving a shrug. “Ahh, I wasn’t able to do much, just send you along to someone better able to handle what happened to you. Umm, do you have a few minutes? I just really would like to ask you a few questions about your experience. If you are okay with that of course.” He added almost shyly and you smiled reassuringly. 

“I have no problem with that Dr.Banner.” 

“Bruce please.” Bruce looked expectantly at Pepper who checked her watch and nodded. 

“We got time, Tony will have Friday call for us when the jet is ready.” Bruce immediately turned on his heels and led the two of you towards his office. 

Steve went through the jet, checking all the gear stashed on board as well as settling in the controls chair to make sure he was familiar with everything before leaving Stark towers. Tony plopped in the one next to him, making the Alpha in Steve rumble at the intrusion but Steve was able to placate him. 

“So off to Norway huh?” Tony leaned forward to enter the coordinates in the dash for the autopilot. “What's in Norway that can help you with everything?” 

Steve growled as he continued going over the controls. “You saw the file Fury sent along Stark. You know exactly who is there.” 

“Okay you got me.” Tony finished what he was doing and turned the chair to face Steve. “I also know he's basically a recluse now and the chance of you getting him to talk is almost nada, zip, zilch. What makes you think he's gonna spill what you need.” 

“I have my ways…” Steve said coldly, his wolf growling softly at the other Alpha in his space. 

Tony gave a mock shiver. “Alright alright… just be careful okay? I know we're not on the best terms Steve but I do have a lot of respect for what you are trying to do.” 

Steve arched a brow and shook his head. “We’re not enemies Tony, I don’t happen to agree or appreciate that stunt you pulled with Ross. But I think now my stance on that shit is known. We can disagree and still be fine.” Tony next to him brushed it off while continuing with the switches, making his own adjustments to the system. 

“I know Steve, it was still a shitty move on my part, bringing Ross into your home, where your mate was after everything that happened. But she certainly put me in my place.” He laughed, recalling how you kicked all of them out.

Steve glanced at Tony from the corner of his eye and rumbled out a “Thank you Stark, Y/N certainly isn't taking anyone's shit, not anymore.” Tony snorted in agreement to that statement. 

“I don’t think they ever do, Pepper is the same damn way.” 

Steve laughed in return, knowing full well that everything Tony said was accurate about Pepper Potts, Tony had chosen well for himself in Steve’s opinion. For all the tension between Steve and Tony, he respected the Alpha next to him, and knew that finding his packmates was just as important to Tony as it was to Steve. Not to mention finding those responsible for Happy’s murder. Steve turned his chair to face the other Alpha. “I’m sorry about what happened to Happy Tony. I know it’s hard to have lost someone who was family to you.” 

Tony blinked at him, warring with his own feelings about everything that happened. Losing Happy so brutally had taken a toll on Tony, finding the body having been dumped just outside of his territory, he still hadn’t been able to fully come to terms with it. “Thank you. Finding the bastards who did that has become my main priority.” Clapping his hands together to end the topic, he moved to a stand. “You Rogers are ready to go, ready to Captain my jet?” 

Steve waited till Tony moved out of his space before moving to follow him off the jet, keeping quiet about the further mention of Tony seeking out Happy’s killer. After seeing what had happened with Bucky and the rest, he already had his own sinking suspicions as to who killed Happy and he knew Tony did as well. 

“More than ready to go.” Steve stated, coming down the steps off the jet. Tony spoke up right then. 

“Friday, let Pepper and Y/N know that Captain Rogers is ready.” That caused Steve to roll his eyes and fold his arms over his chest. 

“Seriously Tony?” 

A smirk flashed, Tony winked at him. “Come on, I think it's a fitting title for you.”

Bruce was furiously writing notes while you described to him what you remembered being under due to the drug Pierce had injected you with when the AI Friday announced that the jet was ready, as well as Captain Rogers. You and Pepper quirk a confused look at one another, and she rolled her eyes with a sigh. “That's gotta be Tony’s doing I'm sure.” 

You nod in agreement, turning back to Bruce. “Looks like it's time for me to go Dr.Banner…” 

“Bruce.” He was quick to interrupt and moved to a stand to shake your hand. “Thank you so much for this.” He tapped his pad of paper where he had all the notes jotted. “I will put them in my file to share with Shuri. All this is incredibly helpful knowing more about the serum used on you.” 

Giving a vigorous shake back, you smiled genuinely at Bruce, you and your Little Wolf feeling quite relaxed with the man. “If I think of anything, I will be sure to send an email.” The Little Wolf flicked her tail in agreement, half listening while she was napping. 

“Oh! Yes please do with anything you might remember, no bit of information is too small.”   

Pepper walked out with you and joined you in the elevator. Reaching the top of Stark Towers, you both were greeted by Steve and Tony, who waited just inside the jet. As soon as you saw Steve, warmth washed over you, feeling that bond between you two hum happily, your wolves sought each other, in the moment they both were teasing each other, making your mood lift from having to leave once more. The genuine pleasure at seeing Steve melded that away, just as his own did, the wolves happiness being together melded with your own. Steve enclosed you in his arms, nuzzling the crown of your head a moment before questioning if you were all set.

“Tony Stark is funding another trip for us? I’m absolutely ready.” You joked as Steve let you go so you could turn to face Tony who scoffed at you. 

“Don’t let Cap here defile my jet please!” Tony was sure to give you his signature hug, that made Steve rumble a bit although you instead laughed and gave a bop of your shoulder. 

“No promises Stark. Pepper, thank you for showing me around your home.” Embracing her in a thank you. 

“Stay safe and bring my jet back quickly, Cap.” Tony pipped up while walking off the jet with Pepper, cackling to himself at the finger Steve threw up while the doors shut you two in. 

The Alpha muttered to himself while dropping into the pilot's seat and you were quick to join him on the opposite side. You buckled in while he flicked on buttons. “Captain Rogers?” you questioned watching him get the jet ready. 

Steve rolled his eyes as he made sure everything was set and handed you a headset while fitting his own on, the jet rumbling to life around you. “Tony thinks he is very slick, giving nicknames. Apparently Cap is his new one for me.” 

You smirked at him, winking as you settled the headset on and spoke into the microphone. “I think Captain Rogers has its benefits, Steve.” 

His hand went around the handle and started to push it forward, edging the jet forward to take off, the spanse of New York City below you. Much like the night before, you marveled at the beauty only a city could offer. “You would Little One.” 

A voice piped up over the channel, Tony coming over the comms. “I think your mate has a point Cap.” 

Steve growled into the comm for a second while you started laughing in the seat next to him. “Tony! Get off this channel.” 

“It's my jet, Rogers! I will listen in if I want.” He was about to continue when Steve took off his headset, setting the jet on autopilot with the coordinates. 

You snickered into the system. “Sorry Tony, Steve is cutting you off. Bye Stark.” You effectively cut Tony off and slipped the head set off, setting it aside while you leaned forward to get a better look out the window, unbuckling in the process. “You know since I have been with you Steve, I have seen things I never thought I would. Look at this.” You directed your gaze at the expanse of the sky before you, baby blue as far as the eye could see, the skyline rushing closer till the two of you crossed over the cities edged, now nothing but the Atlantic underneath you. “Beautiful.” 

Steve settled back to admire what you were looking at, letting some of his worries sink to the back of his mind. “It is… sometimes I forget you haven't seen all this before.” He held out his arm for you to join him, which you pushed from your seat and settled in his lap, his chin resting on your shoulder. “Do you remember much from the last time I showed you?” 

You perch on his knee and look over the dash, worrying your lip. “Mmh barely.” Your eyes roved over the panels while Steve dragged the tip of his nose along the curve of your neck, inhaling against it and letting it settle him further. Both the man and Alpha wanted to enjoy the long flight with you. 

“I guess we will be getting a crash course, Little One.” He rumbled happily while you seated yourself into a more comfortable position in his lap. 

You looked over your shoulder at him, your eyes laughing at his remark and bringing the exact response he wanted. “Really Captain?” 

Tightening his arm around your waist, he nipped at your lips with teasing affection. “Tony isn't the only funny one around here.” 

Steve spent a few hours describing the functions and some of how to fly. Together you both got to watch the sun going down and eventually you started napping in the copilot's seat, even though Steve tried to get you to go lay down in the back. 

These quiet moments, Steve wandered back to his memories, the Alpha in his mind lifting his head from the Little Wolf’s back where he had laid to rest, flicking his ears back and forth a bit at Steve’s thoughts. 

The first thing that came to memory was the stinging scent of smoke.

“Rogers, don't you dare go into that building!” Fury’s voice commanded Steve who stalled in the doorway, peering into Hydras base, nose flaring trying to catch scent of their missing comrades. “You are not commander in this mission.” 

“But Buck and the rest might be in there… I'm going” Steve defied Fury, darting into the darkness and out of sight, Fury's voice echoing behind him. 

“ROGERS! GET YOUR ASS BACK OUT HERE!” 

Steve continued forward, letting his Wolf out enough to sharpen his senses. His eyes picking up the bit of light in the darkened hallways leading deeper into the compound, his eyes glimmer dangerously in the dark looking for any sign of movement. He could sense others nearby, friend or foe though he was unsure. Footsteps silent, Steve once in a while looking behind him tense to make sure no one knew he was there. Glances in rooms showed them abandoned, cleared in a haste to get out before Shield got there Steve was sure. Ahead he heard scuffles and growls, chains clanking and the sound of voices in hushed tones. The Wolf lowered to his belly, quivering in anticipation should Steve allow him to take over. He eased the door open with a creak when relief washed over him. 

There men, most of them in large cages. Familiar scents washed over him and they all perked sensing Steve. 

“Rogers is that you?” Someone muttered while Steve approached, searching for a key anywhere in a nearby desk. 

“Yes, the rest of the troop is just outside. We haven't found anyone though. Where is everyone?” 

“Bolted man, once they heard Fury was coming they grabbed their shit and left. They didn’t have the bodies to defend this place.” Dugan responded as he pushed to the front watching while Steve searched the desk. Steve opened the last drawer, cursing as he pushed aside papers and flung them to the side. Then he was rewarded with a ring full of keys. Rushing over, the two men tried sorting through them, Steve stuffing them one by one in the locks, quick to go to the next till they found another. 

“They left us and their experiments.” Dugan continued filling Steve in while he tried to find the right keys. “Some messed up stuff, they are in the next room I think.”

The Alpha rumbled to catch Steve’s attention. <Bucky isn’t with them.> The mans head whipped up while the lock clicked finally, able to pry it open and release his packmates. 

“Where is Buck?”  

“Bucky… he was brought in there and never came back out.” another said, pointing at the door across the room.

The Alpha rumbled suddenly in an alert and Steve tensed and whipped around when an eerily sharp howl sounded through the building. Dugan pushed the door open, tensing as well. “That's one of them, their experiments.” 

Steve wrangled the keys out of the lock and started to go down the line, unlocking each cage, shifters passing him to get outside. 

“Fury, you have outcoming hostages, they are friendly, don't fire.” Steve spoke into the comm. 

“I hear you Rogers.” Came Fury’s voice in a wave of static. “Any unfriendlies?” 

“No, Dugan notified me they all bailed once they heard we were coming” Steve responded before turning to his friend. “Dugan, get the rest out of here, I’m going to keep looking.” 

His friend bared his teeth at him, bristling at the notion. “You don’t know what's back there Rogers.” 

“If I have to, I will retreat, get these men out of here. I’m not leaving anyone behind.” Steve growled back deeper, the Alpha in him asserting himself and the man backed off with a disgruntled nod. 

Waiting to make sure they were going to leave, Steve approached the door cautiously, using his senses to pick up what might be on the other side, who might be on the other side. He was praying for a miracle, because nothing but death filled his senses as he eyed the door, drawing in any scent left behind. It was all jumbled, multitudes of men and women have passed through the threshhold, making it almost impossible to pinpoint any specific person. “Well… let's see what's on the other side.” Steve shouldered through the door and a lab stretched before him, ominous equipment stretched on either side. A groan came from somewhere ahead and Steve paused till he heard it again. It was so distinct to him that the hair on the back of his neck prickled, the Alphas own fur raising as well along the ridge of his back, it was another Alpha, but this one they knew. 

“Oh thank fucking god.” Steve uttered as he rushed forward to find Bucky strapped down and Steve started pulling at the straps holding him down. Wires were strapped all over Bucky's neck and chest and stretched to attach to some equipment, Steve started yanking them off as well when finally Bucky started to come around. 

“S-Steve?” His eyes sharpened and he clutched at Steve's uniform, worried that he wasn't real. 

“It’s me Buck, we’re getting out of here.” Steve tried assuring him, keeping his voice light and calm even though he was far from that. He had never seen Bucky so scared. Suddenly the howling started again from the back of the room and both men glanced that way. 

“Whoever it is just keeps doing that.” Bucky muttered when a voice crackled in the comms. 

“In-ing” then static sounded in Steve's ear, making him wince as he pressed his hand over his ear. 

“Repeat? What was that Fury?” 

“In-oming! G-t Ou-” The building started to shake and lights started zapping and popping around them. 

“We ca-t hold hi-, Get O-” Fury yelled into the comm but Steve had to rip it out, electricity zapping through it and breaking it up too much. Bucky gripped Steve tighter, his pupils blown in his panic. 

“What the fuck is it now?!” 

“I don't know… but we gotta get out of here.” Bucky started pulling Steve towards the exit, but whatever was in the back rattled its cage with a savage snarl, and Steve couldn’t leave who ever or what ever it was behind. He stuttered to a stop, Bucky pausing at the door with a shake of his head. 

“Man, we got to go… there isn't enough time.” 

Steve’s hands dropped to his pants and felt madly for the keys he had stuffed in his pocket earlier. “We can’t leave him in there Buck.” He waved his hand. “Go, I got this.” 

Bucky cursed but held tight, refusing to leave Steve behind.  

Steve raced towards the cage to free whatever was inside, shoving the key he used before into the lock and it clicked to open. Glowering green eyes blinked at him from the shadowed part of the cage, but he couldn't make anything else out in the seconds he got the door open. Bucky was screaming his name and when he managed to get the door to swing wide, a bundle of black sprang on his chest, bared white fangs yawning open going for Steve’s throat….

“Steve- Steve?” Your voice cut through and he shook his head a bit to clear it before looking at you. 

“Sorry, I thought you were sleeping Little One.” 

“I was, but the computer started beeping on the dash.” You pointed to a blinking light and Steve leaned forward to check the system, smiling. 

“We're here and just in time to. Look” He pointed out the window at the faint purple in the skyline, the sun easing up beyond the cloud cover to turn a brilliant red and orange of dawn. When Steve took over, he started to drop the jet down. Below the clouds the land turned a deep almost emerald wild green shimmering with mist stretching like tendrils to a spiderweb over the land, still in the early morning phase of waking up. 

You weren't lying earlier when you said you saw things you had never expected. From the rainforest and safari of Wakanda to the lush greenery of Norway, you soaked it all in with awe. So long spent locked away in a room, gazing with longing at the upper windows that offered nothing more than peeks of the sky. Now you soared over the world with your Mate. Even the Little Wolf was in awe, slithering away from where the Alpha was half sleeping and prancing excitedly with joy at the adventure. The Alpha stretched out, arching his back and padded heavily after her, nuzzling her affectionately while her tail waved back and forth, unable to stay still in her excitement. 

“The Little Wolf is excited.” You told Steve and he winked at you. 

“I can feel it. What do you say we take her down?” 

Steve easily maneuvered the Stark Jet down to land in a wide open field bordering the ocean. You followed him towards the doors swinging open and already wolves appeared from the long grass with tilted heads checking out the newcomers. You sidled up to Steve’s side a moment, watching the wolves dart back out of sight in the tall grass and heard their howls break the silence, announcing their arrival. It was a welcome sound, you couldn't detect any hostility in the notes. But their songs were so different. Sounded much older, almost like a language all its own. 

Steve cupped his hand and gave a sharp “We’re here” yip, that was answered resoundingly from all around you, the pack having circled you two and remained just out of sight. His arm lowered around your shoulders and you held your breath, unsure of what to expect. A bellow came, joyful and loud as a tall blonde man, even taller than Steve stepped out, his arms opened wide in greeting. 

“Why what a surprise! Are you here for the Asgard hospitality? I didn't think anything would ever get you to leave your corner in the world.” The over sized man strode towards them rather quickly, and the closer he came the more your eyes widened. You didn't think you had seen anyone who was as bigger then Steve in stature. He clasped Steve's shoulder and directed his joyful gaze down at you. “And who is this lovely maiden you bring with you?” 

“If I could be there, trust me I would. This is my mate, Y/N. Y/N, this is Thor, the Alpha here.” Steve protectively wrapped an arm around you, even though you wore his mark for Thor to see, Alphas always had a bit of tension between them no matter how much their human counterparts tried to quell it. 

Thor though seemed unaware of such a vibe as he beamed down at you warmly. “Well Little Pup, welcome to Asgard.” He took your hand in a vigorous pump and you couldn't help but warm right up to him and his exuberant nature. “We run free and feast like we are in the halls of the Old Kings here.” He swept the both of you down the path and all around his wolves started to howl and dance in a joyful manner, playing among each other much like they were participating in the Full Moon Run. “Now Rogers does tell me what has been going on across the water? It's been a while since I've visited there.” 

“Afraid we have been having some issues.” Steve started, filling Thor in on the recent attacks, taking apart the packs and capturing the Alpha’s. The viciousness in the attacks and the destruction left behind. Thor listened patiently until Steve mentioned Hydra. That's when he paused, you and Steve having taken a few steps ahead but noticed he wasn't with you. You turned to see him glowering. 

“That's why you are here, Rogers, isn't it? Because of Hydra. He wont talk to you about it you know.” 

Steve sighed and you had a sinking feeling about the situation, not fully understanding what was going on. 

“I have to try Thor, your brother was the only one who was able to break from the collars power and the mind shit Hydra does to their victims.” 

“He barely interacts with any of us Steve, he mostly stays as his animal out there.” Thor retorted, the sky started to darken slightly and you frowned to yourself at the sudden change in atmosphere while glancing up. 

Steve sighed, letting his arms hang loose at his sides to show Thor he was no threat to him. “I know Odinson, trust me. I wouldn’t be here if there was any other way. Packs, families are all being killed off, Alphas removed. How long till you think it will be till it comes over here?” Steve pointed out and Thor’s face twisted and he looked away. 

“It won’t be like before, I won’t let it.” 

“You don't know that… Shield risked sending the Howling Commando’s over here to help your people, now I’m asking for your help. Just let me try talking to him?” 

Your heart twisted as you saw Thor try to control his emotions on his face and you reached out to touch his arm, Steve for once kept quiet, inhaling deeply to keep himself in check. “Hydra really hurt him, didn't they? If it's too much we will just leave. Right Steve?” 

“If you tell me absolutely not Thor, she’s right. We will leave right now and not bother you again.” 

Thor glanced back at you, his eyes searching yours and you could see everything he was doing was about protecting this person. You bit at your lip nervously, you knew you were invading this Alpha’s space but stepped in closer anyways. “Please let us try? We just want to save those we still have left. Our packmates are fighting a losing battle with Hydra, we don't want to lose them.” 

A sigh escaped the man and he glanced over your head to Steve. “You're lucky you have her you know… she’s softened me. Slightly.” You stepped back towards Steve, who now laid his hand around your waist, chuckling softly. 

“You really don’t know half of it, she has a gift.” You wriggled in his hold a bit but he just tightened his fingers against you. “Thank you Thor for letting us try.” 

He shrugged at you both with a shake of his head. “I'm still saying that he wont talk to you, but I will show you where he stays when he is not hunting.” 

Steve gave a nod of appreciation while you reached for his hand and gave a light squeeze. “Thank you Thor.” You gave your own sentiments. 

The man looked at the two of you a moment, his eyes falling to your linked hands and motioned across the moors. “This way…” He cupped his hands, giving another howling song and the wolves joined them, spreading around Thor, these wolves were even larger than Mountain Packs wolves, giant beasts that were moving gracefully around there Alpha. You could feel the ground beneath your footfalls vibrating from there movements, the lush grass swishing to add to the melody of it all. Above them the thunder still rumbled with strong booms that cackled with electricity but had retreated from the fierceness it had flared up earlier. 

Your Little Wolf kneaded her paws next to the Alpha, lifting her head to inhale the air around them, it spoke of a wildness she was not used to. Something feral that did not adhere to normal pack constraints. The Alpha rumbled next to her, now and then dropping his muzzle to his mate to reassure her, but the pull to shift for both of them was strong. 

You could tell Steve felt it as well, the way he angled his body close to yours in a protective manner, his hand moving from a simple hold to pressing against your hip, wrapping around you. You tilted your head up towards Steve, your confusion clouding your features. He dropped his head to press a nip to your neck, whispering softly just for you. “I will explain later.” 

Thor paused in front of a wood that looked ancient, the gnarled trees had stories to tell. Shadows played deeper beyond the edge, enticing you to wander in. Your Little Wolf huffed slightly, breaking the enchantment you had fallen into. 

<This isn't just a forest Y/N, something powerful lives here.> Her ears flattened and you could feel her unease and the Alpha’s wariness sharpening, his ears pricked forward before twisting listening. 

What is it? You questioned your Little Wolf and she whined unsure. You felt the Alpha slip away, in the same moment Steve tilted his face up, his nostrils flaring. You knew he was scenting for any kind of danger that might come from the old forest.

Next to you Thor boomed out loudly, making it echo. “Come out Loki!” You and the Little Wolf perked, hearing the woods shift and groan, shadows danced closer when a streamlined black shadow emerged to turn solid, the beast was streamlined. His size shifting to grow larger in the presence of you and Steve, a sharp pointed muzzle turned towards you and ears twitched with interest as he took you both in. You were a bit taken aback when you saw Loki, but he paused just after the forest ended and you could see the tip of his nose twitching, green eyes with almost emerald qualities glinting with the bit of light that somehow seemed to filter from the thunderous clouds still rumbling above you. 

What do we have here? An omega to Rogers? A true Omega? Oh what a prize he really does have here. I wonder if he knows… A voice tickled your senses and the Little Wolf spun in your mind, searching for the intrusion. The Alpha returned to the Little Wolf, curling around her with a growl and a laugh echoed through you, not one that belonged to you. 

“Steve…” You whined a bit and he furrowed his brow looking at you, confused as well as to what was going on, feeling you through your bond. 

“Rogers is here to talk with you Loki, come out and quit playing games Brother.” Thor folded muscular arms across his chest and the black canine shimmered an emerald green while disappearing in a wisp of shadow and a sharp yip barking out from nowhere. 

A resounding defiant No. 

Thor shook his head at Steve. “Loki won't interact with Alphas short of me Steve, not since Shield pulled him from Hydra.” 

The Little Wolf unweaved from the Alpha when she heard Thor. 

<Y/N, we’re not an Alpha. Maybe he will talk to us.> 

Steve would never allow us to go in there alone. 

<It's the only way, Loki won't talk to Steve. He's too much of a threat to him. Say something, that big Alpha doesn't seem scared that Loki will hurt us.> 

You took a deep breath and while Thor and Steve discussed other options, you turned to the men, catching there attention. “Let me go in and talk to him.” Steve immediately barked out a no, but Thor tilted his head, considering what you were saying. “I'm not an Alpha, he won't be threatened by me, right Thor?” You pressed for an answer from the man and he nodded. 

“Your Little Pup has a point, Rogers. Loki wouldn't hurt her. I will escort her inside so she’s protected the whole way.” 

Steve felt his chest expand as he drew up to his full height. “I'm not letting Y/N go in by herself, I know you trust your brother, but I don't.” His eyes flared yellow, the Alpha close to the surface with concerns of your safety. You could see that he was winding up to call all this off when you reached up to grasp his face between your palms, tilting his head to look directly at you. 

“Alpha trust me, I know I can do this.” You stressed to him, the furrow in his forehead deepening as you knew he was at war with himself. “If anything is wrong, I will call you. Let me do this.” His hands circled your wrists and you felt that war inside of him. The same one where it was ingrained in him to keep you safe at all costs. It was all right there, flooding through the bond you two shared, your confidence, his worry. Steve huffed slightly before lifting his gaze from yours.  

“Thor, give me a moment with my mate please.” Steve requested and Thor moved away, closer towards the border of his brother’s forest, his broad back turned towards the two of you while he waited. “Little One, if something happens. Loki isn't a normal wolf…” 

“I could tell that as soon as we came near here.” You let your fingers press through his beard on his cheeks and slide down to his neck, sure to rub his scent against you in the process as well as sharing calming touches. “But he has the answers we need, Alpha.” 

Steve knew you were right, but the inner battle was fierce. The Alpha wanted to protect his mate, an animalistic need to not let you go into that forest, every fiber of his being was on edge because of it. His human side knew you could do this and get the answer to save their pack mates. You were confident, he needed to trust you like you asked. 

<Don't you let her go in there with that Alpha. What is Loki going to do to stop us.> 

Loki is not all Wolf as you well know, he won't tolerate the intrusion. 

The Alpha bristled aggressively, licking his muzzle over and over nervously. <We won't be there to protect her should he turn on her.> 

But Thor will be… You know as much as I do that he wouldn't let any get hurt in his care. 

“Trust me Alpha.” Your fingers trailed along the mark you had left on him, your mark that made him belong to you. The most sacred of bonds a mated pair could share and made in the utmost trust that you two would take care of each other. 

She is asking us to trust her. If we can’t trust in our mate, then what hope do we have? Steve was firm and the Alpha had to concede to him. 

Steve moved his hands to your face, cupping the most important part of his life gently in his palms as he inhaled deeply and tipped his forehead against yours. “Little One, if anything happens, anything at all, call for me. I will come get you.” 

The corners of your mouth lifted and he saw it go to your eyes, pride and strength that your Alpha was trusting you to go in his place. “Of course Alpha.” You lifted to catch his lips, nuzzling your nose against his. “I know you will come for me if I need you.” You embraced him fiercely, Steve let his nose bury in the crown of your head and then let you go against his instincts. The Wolf rumbled, anxious as he paced watching you reach Thor. His eyes reached the other Alphas. “Thor…” 

“I understand what is at stake. No harm will come to her, I swear it.” 

You looked so tiny next to the man, your head tilted up to look at him with a warm smile and Thor's tilted down to look back at you. Steve watched the same warm smile cross Thor's face, making your mate proud of you, how easily you had already won Thor over. You had come so far from the runaway he first met and your warmth spread so easily to those around you. Maybe Loki wouldn't be immune to you. 

The moment you stepped into the forest with Thor, it darkened. Looking over your shoulder, the emerald green sea of the moor was almost a picture racing away to be enclosed by old tree trunks. You licked your lips nervously and folded your arms around your body, sure to keep up with Thor. He was confident in his strides, the darkening vibrant woods was just as much home for him as the windswept open land you two left behind. 

The Little Wolf was curious in the new surroundings, pacing and keeping a keen eye on everything you were hurriedly passing by trying to keep up with Thor. 

You weren't wrong that the forest had a life all its own. It seemed to breathe around you, moss stretched across large boulders that sprang tendrils of plant life curling upwards to try and reach sunlight. Heavy thick trees were bristling against your palm and almost seemed to heave in sighs at your gentle touch. Thor glanced back at you, golden tendrils clinging to his face now and his eyes crinkled in watching you loosen from your fear into awe. 

“You feel it, right?” He chuckled and you withdrew your hand from the tree back to your body. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Its soul, the magic in it all.” He braced against a tree and inhaled deeply. “All of this is very alive as you and I, it's old and has been standing long before we claimed this as home.” 

You tentatively touched a nearby tree again, feeling tingles in your palms, making you shudder a bit. “It is certainly… like home, but not quite.” 

Thor nodded with a wink. “Still a baby over there, your packs are just starting to write the stories that will live on after you are gone. One day they will have a life of their own, just like this one.” 

Your brows quirked at his words. He's a funny man isn't he. 

Your Little Wolf curled her tail around herself as she sat down. <He is, but I like him. This place feels like we belong here.> 

There does seem to be a certain calling to be here… 

You two continued on and you risked another statement. “Loki is not like you, is he?” 

Thor shook his head. “No, he is not. But you have no need to worry Little Wolf.” He paused while he glanced around, inhaling sharply. “It's just me and Y/n, Brother, come out of hiding.” 

“I'm not hiding, I can't help that you are not a more observant Brother.” A cool voice came from above and your eyes shot up to a long legged man lounging in the branches, looking almost like he couldn't be bothered. Thor snorted impatiently and motioned towards you. 

“Y/N has some questions for you.” 

Vivid green eyes fell on you and a cool grin formed as he moved to sit up and slide down. He walked in such a predatory way, almost circling you. The Little Wolf's hackles raised at him and you hitched yourself straighter. You felt that tingle in your mind again. 

Why is it your Alpha is sending you in here for Omega? My brother is right, you are just a little pup aren’t you, so new to the world...

You snarled out loud, glaring at him. “You are not welcome in my mind, and I’m no pup.” And a quick withdrawal left you and Little Wolf alone once more. You could feel your Alphas curling warmth in your mind, even if he couldn't be with you. 

Respect crossed Loki's features and he bowed his head. “Forgive my intrusion. It's not often I'm sought out, except by Thor that is.” Thor barked out a deep bellowing laugh, clasping your shoulder. 

“You can't use your tricks on this one, she is small but fierce. Her Alpha has great respect for her.” 

Loki gave a slight sniff, his green eyes sliding over you as he remarked. “I’m afraid you are right.” 

You shrugged out of Thor’s grasp now, wanting the answers you came for. “Loki, our packmates have been collared by Hydra. Steve seems to think that you know how to break from their control. Please, is there any way to break the hold they have on them.” Loki suddenly appeared next to you, his fingers catching a lock of your hair and pressing it between his fingers for a moment as if further inspecting you. You jumped and pulled away from him, making Thor growl a warning at him. But you narrowed your gaze at him, knowing well that he was testing you. You had seen it all before while living with Pierce. “Don't touch me Loki, only Steve is allowed to. How did you do that anyways, appear next to me?” 

His fingers swirled slightly, green wisps dancing around his nimble long fingers. “Magic Dear. I'm part Coyote, a Trickster. Sure your Alpha told you?” 

You shook your head. “No… He doesn't talk much about his life in Shield.” Your Little Wolf crooned in comfort, knowing sometimes you were worried about how he would be so vague about it. 

“Well it was a dark time for the shifters.” Loki admitted and glanced at his brother. “I don't much like discussing that time either.” You clenched your jaw a moment, worried he was going to flat out refuse your requests but he dipped his head. “But for you Dear, you boldly come out here without your Alpha, that deserves to have your questions answered. Come…” He beckoned to you and led you away, Thor was not far behind. Soon a small dwelling came into view and the door yawned open, which Loki stepped in. 

Inside was different from what you were expecting. Books lined shelves upon shelves, seeming to go on forever. Plush chairs were dotted near a fireplace and wooden carvings dotted the entire area. Wood shavings littered the floor, making you smile a bit because it reminded you of your Alpha, the fresh wood scent enveloping you. The place was cozy, almost like something from a story book. Of course, this whole experience was making you feel that way, like some sort of fairytale your mother would have told you before bed. Thor heavily fell into a nearby chair, quiet as his brother waved at a seat in offering to you.   

Loki approached a shelf and whispered under his breath till a box fell into his hands. Easing it open, he pulled out a collar. Silver strands weaved together into an intricate design. “This one was mine, but it stopped working on me after a time. So it was just useless metal. Why Hydra had kept me caged when Steve found me.” He handed it to you and you were caught by surprise at how light it was. Studying it closer, you could see twists of coarse black fur wedged through it where it sat on Loki’s neck. 

“Why did it stop working?” You asked curiously and Loki settled down in one of the seats. 

“Simple, I willed for my freedom. Most of the wolves have such a strong desire to follow an Alpha. Even the Alphas themselves can be forced to follow a stronger one should they come across one. Hydra didn't know I wasn't a Wolf, not completely. I can't be controlled in the same way for long. But it's that simple in how to get your wolves back. Your Alpha has to challenge them for control. Assert that he is stronger than the one controlling them with the collars.”  

You handed his collar back to him and Loki flicked his wrist to send it back to the box, the box flashing away in the same green blaze you had seen earlier. “That's all it takes?” You asked incredulously. Loki shrugged with a nod. 

“Hydra though is led by someone who has a power that no Wolf should have. It's how they are able to control such a large and secret organization for such a long time. But such power can always be challenged.” He drifted off, looking away into the fire he had burning in the fireplace. 

You let the silence sit for a few moments before speaking up. 

“Why wouldn't you talk to Steve?” 

Loki gave a slight roll of eyes. “I don't care for Alpha’s, they always feel the need to challenge and dominate. I've dealt with that enough in my life. I choose to live on the edges of my own Pack, still a member should Thor need my assistance and the rest leave me in peace.” 

“Then why me? You seemed interested in me being an Omega.” The Little Wolf stopped her pacing for just a moment, head tilted in curiosity. 

“Because true Omegas do not need to dominate or be controlled by anyone.” Loki turned towards you, his head tilting into your direction. “You might always submit to your Alpha, but that's a choice you and your wolf make together, consciously or not. If you were to ever truly want to defy him, you easily could. It's why you were able to make me leave when I was exploring your mind.” You rolled your eyes a bit at the trickster, clearly not believing him. A life time of being made to submit to Pierce against your will and the recent incidents with Steve... you felt he had you mistaken. “ You can roll your eyes at me all you want Little Pup, but I know what I’m talking about. Omega’s can be a threat to Alpha’s or for the right one, there everything. Really depends on the Alpha they are connected to. So I like you Little Omega, you are a challenge for me.” He winked and you rolled your eyes, but couldn't help the smile you gave to him. After all was said and done, you liked the Trickster. 

“Is there anything else you can tell me? How did you get the collar off?” You asked and Loki motioned towards Thor. 

“That was me. After Fury contacted me that Loki was with the Howling Commando’s Unit, I went to bring him home. I can provide you two with a special knife made to deal with unnatural made materials.” Loki rubbed at his face and his front door sprang open, a rush of air billowing into the dwelling. 

“Now I have answered your questions Omega, I can feel your Alpha pacing my border anxious. It's getting on my nerves. Return to him so he can settle back down.” 

You nodded, letting your senses open a bit and sure enough Steve was anxious, although far physically, you could feel him. Nodding as you approached Loki, you held out your hand to him. He eyed it a moment, and then slid his own in yours respectfully to give a shake. “Perhaps soon we will cross paths again, Little Omega.” 

“Perhaps we will Trickster.” You bid a final goodbye and now you left a bit more at ease, having the information you and Steve needed to save your family. 

[nightswithkookmin]

chile i'm so glad i came across your blog, the amount of "i'm not going to assume they're dating" or "we can only draw certain conclusions but i can't say for sure" "we don't know their sexuality, BUT" type blogs i follow is getting kinda wack lmao. while i appreciate their perspective and nuanced takes i need to strike a balance. like let's get a lil delulu every once in a while. 💀

lol the im-not-a-shipper-but-call-jikook-boyfriends-every-other-post blogs are the funniest to me. the shipping hierarchy, so to speak is so weird. maybe just because im not a "shipping real people is bad" person i don't see the big deal. gonna get called delulu anyway, might as well go full out. they is gay/queer and they're fucking. i'm so sorry.

*also can we touch on the fact that shipping in this type of fandom (kpop) is kind of inevitable and unavoidable??! these boys are the other people we see them with day in and day out, interacting with each other and no one else. i feel like it's natural to ship when there's no other people around to break up everything, idk maybe someone can articulate this better than me. and people who are made to feel stupid for thinking that 2 members could actually be dating is so dumb. like is it really out of the realm of possibility that two people (jikook, cause all them other ships are....😬) who spent almost every waking minute together for like 8 years could fall in love. really?

/rant

It's the delulu hat for me

Lmho.

I guess for me being queer, I feel it's gaslighting for these people to be saying things like that. As silly as it is, it inadvertently deny and invalidate the existence and queerness of gay individuals and so I struggle with it.

This is the consequences of straight people in gay people business. They like defining gay parameters for us and it's like who asked you?? I feel people who say things like that are just plain ignorant or tone deaf or willfully homophobic.

I don't think everyone in BTS is gay but it makes me feel safe to see half the community assume them to be and celebrate them in that way. They are not cussing at them and threatening to leave the fandom or cancel them for this assumption and that is huge inspiration to me.

Those parts of the fandom are a safe space to be in as a queer army.

When people assume a person's queer sexuality they are simply admitting to themselves at the very least that LGBTQ EXISTS. This is important to me because I grew up in a community where LGBTQ didn't even exist in the collective consciousness of the people and EVERYONE IS AUTOMATICALLY ASSUMED TO BE STRAIGHT AND EXPECTED TO BE.

People read people's sexuality all the time and have done so since time immemorial and a lot of the time when they have had a sexuality read it's in the lines of straight, cis, rich, poor, superior or inferior. And that is a problem for some of us too because that discrepancy in the assumptions is as a result of homophobia and heteronormativity.

That whole don't assume a person's queer sexuality debacle sounds to me like a boujee way of denormalizing and preventing the normalization of queerness disguised under care, disguised under intelligence and disguised under wokeness. Especially when straightness is the default setting in this giant blue bulb.

We need to radicalize that. We need to change the cis straight default setting and if you are perpetuating this narrative you really aren't helping the situation. SIT DOWN.

I'm rarely assumed to be queer in certain circles and while that makes me feel comfortable within those circles it often times make it hard for me to admit my queerness openly in those circles too because I fear I will lose that comfort and respect and love and privileges that comes with being percieved straight in those spaces.

When I started my blog, I noticed some people assumed I was white and would use certain black descriptors as slurs when describing other people to me. I quickly had to switch the formal way in which I wrote to a much casual tone so my blackness would show through. Don't get it twisted. She black. She blackidy black black.

Then on the other hand, I was hesitant to let my queerness be known too because being black, I was marginalized as it is- you is black, or sound black💀 you know how it is- it's that intersectionality of oppression at play. Double double homicide.

When certain people realized I was black POC minority, their attitude towards me changed. I had those who didn't so much understand what black language is or perhaps wasn't used to being in black spaces and were uncomfortable with my blackness- these would take offense at me saying certain things in certain ways. Like chilee relax Karen, all I said was these motherfukkers gay as shit and they gay. Why you acting like I called them twinks or sommin. Right there, I'm cancelled for calling Jikook motherfuckers. They get sirens and everything😭😭😭😭😭😭

Same vein, I struggle destraightening myself or correcting people who assume I'm straight because I fear they will treat me differently if they knew I wasn't.

Straight privilege exists in the same way as white or even pretty privilege may exist and because these exist there's that automatic conception of queer, poc, ugly, fat disemfranschismet to run along side it.

People treat you differently based on how they perceive you. That's a fact. And for queer people, perceiving us as straight is the only way we get to be treated as human by the masses. And a lot of us embrace that- straight until proven gay am I right 🤣🤣🤣🤣

It's the duper's delight for me. Untill you catch me with a 5'8 melanin skinned silk pressed auntie on my left nipple good luck proving I'm gay.

It can be fun, I akekeke when some people around me are totally oblivious to the fact and even sometimes defend my straightness with their dying breath when nasty friends throw them shades or try to out me unprovoked.

A lot of us don't want to admit we are gay because we don't want to be disenfranchised.

I speak for myself when I say this.

But 'Don't assume someone's sexuality' is a double edged censorship used for and against queer people. It seemly offers protection on the surface of it for queer people but underneath it promotes heteronormativity and standardizes straightness and it is also used to promote closet culture, under the disguise of care and concern for the autonomy of queer people but that is a fallacy because our autonomy has never mattered to anyone since the dawn of homophobia.

And I don't know where this interpretation comes from. Why do people not want to assume queer people's sexuality but it's ok to assume straight people's???

It feels like a hijacked movement to me.

THIS IS THE ACCURATE MOVEMENT AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.

Don't assume all people are straight. It's ok to assume some people are queer because queer people exists too.

It is wrong however to assume queerness based on how a person talks, walks, dresses or even on their body type. That is stereotyping. And stereotyping is wrong.

When it comes to Jikook, Jimin is often stereotyped as gay more so than Jungkook because they have different body structures. Jungkook is stereotyped too solely because of the way his wrists hang, or based on moments he's femininity shines through.

But I don't think shippers stereotype Jikook in that way at all. I dont think shippers believe Jikook are dating eachother simply because Jungkook applied setting powder to his face that one time. They assume they are gay only because they believe those two to be dating eachother. That is not stereotyping. If those two were heterosexuals I don't think people will accuse their shippers of stereotyping.

It's one thing to assume Kai is gay because he looks skinny and dances well. It's another to assume he is gay because in a relationship with Gdragon. And if people can't tell the difference between the two, they should get some education and stop talking about things they know nothing about or only know because they stumbled across user69 on Twitter. They are not helping.

Untill people get offended when people assume others are straight, that rhetoric doesn't matter in its inequality. If you ask me, everyone is gay until proven straight.

Yet how many people will take offense at that?

Assuming people can be gay is not delulu.

It's ok to assume people can be gay. It's wrong to stereotype them as gay. If you can't assume they are gay, don't assume they are straight and don't assume at all. Run with this sis.

Wait, they don't ship Jikook but they call Jikook boyfriends???????👀👀👀👀👀

The fake woke syndrome will kill people in this fandom with these mentally confused thought crisis bunch💀💀💀💀

Jikook themselves are shippers💀

Smh

GOLDY