#its taking years off my lifespan but i really liked this one

[goldengekkoz]

Amy!! I just think she looks adorable in a overall dress

Alt without hammer n hearts

[alchemistc]

Based on my own post from earlier this evening because I can't stop thinking about it.

vanilla

He doesn't mean to see it. He swears. It's just - Tommy's laptop is right there and Buck's is all the way in the office and if he doesn't look up the lifespan of a Cecropia moth right now he's going to forget about it for a month only to remember in the middle of something vitally more important than watching Planet Earth reruns.

So he twists the thing around from its spot on the side table, boots it back up, types in Tommy's password (pA$$word3, because no one would ever guess that he'd be both so lazy and so creative in his laziness), and watches Firefox boot itself up. It's an older laptop, and Tommy doesn't take great care of it - case and point, he didn't even close out of his tabs, they're all still there, and - well. Shit.

That's the most ridiculous dildo he's ever seen.

Biggest, too.

Jesus.

Buck immediately forgets 100% of what he was doing.

And - and looking up Tommy's history is absolutely a line crossed - there's no reason for him to fucking spiral just because there's a bright purple dragon something on the screen with a base as wide as Buck's thigh. There's no reason why he should -

He clicks the search history and regrets it pretty immediately.

That kills two hours.

He has three more until Tommy's off shift, and now everything is worse. Because.

Okay so.

Like.

They have a pretty healthy sex life, Buck thinks. A year into Tommy and Buck Part Two and they still can't keep their hands off each other. And - so, like, sue him for preferring all the boring stuff he never really got to enjoy long term - the way he knows Tommy goes a little crazy when they're lying on their sides and Buck can just slip right in and press his lips to Tommy's shoulder, tuck his hand under Tommy's where he's got it on his chest, curl their fingers together and just breath into each thrust. Sue him for liking it when they're face to face and Tommy's looking up at him with the pads of his fingers tracing the shell of Buck's ear and he can see the love love love in his eyes, see the way his tongue curls out Buck's name like a prayer. Sue him for his fantasies always drifting to that sunny afternoon in their bed, Buck on his belly and Tommy everywhere around him, over him, inside of him, humming useless nothings into Buck's ear while the sweat from their skin eased the chafe of being pressed together from pelvis to collarbone.

Buck picks up his phone. Watches the familiar name ring out one, two, three - answered on the fourth ring.

"Am I not kinky enough, do you think?" Buck asks, and gets a drawn out moment of silence.

"Nope," Ravi says, and the call drops.

And who else is he gonna call, really? Hen and Chim? (Hard no, they nipped that in the bud back when Buck and Tommy were still in Part One) Maddie? Another line too far, but this one he doesn't feel like crossing today. Eddie? If he'd even pick up?

Buck dials out again.

Ravi picks up on the second ring. "Buck, I love you man, but I get a front row seat to your little love fest at least once a week, four hours a night. I am not equipped or willing to help you with your sex life."

Fair. That's fair. Boundaries are important. Ravi does an excellent job of setting his up and announcing where they are.

"It's just I found something in Tommy's browser that -."

"Absolutely not. I'll block your number for twenty-four hours."

"Right. Cool. Sure thing." Buck breathes.

"Talk to Tommy, if you're freaking out about it." Ravi caves, just a bit. "Every time. I say this every time, and it always works, doesn't it?"

True. On both accounts. When did Ravi become his go to guy?

(When he started picking up the phone whenever Buck called. When he came to Buck with his own shit and didn't apologize for it.)

"Yeah. You're right. I'm gonna talk to him."

"We're still on for Friday, right?"

Buck has to search his memory to figure out what he's referencing. Tommy's taking Ravi to the farmers market over in Venice Beach that Buck refuses to go to on principle because Sherri's Treats aren't even homemade. She gets the baked goods from Costco and decorates them with store brand icing.

"Talk to Tommy," Buck throws back, just to be a brat, and Ravi sighs.

"Touche."

He's still freaking out when the call ends three minutes later, and he doesn't want to have to pull this trigger.

Except. Like. It's still there. Right on Tommy's screen. Watching him.

The phone rings six times.

He's contemplating how ridiculous it is to leave a voicemail when Lucy answers with a groggy "'lo?"

"Am I not kinky enough?" Buck asks, and gets the start of a cackle and then a long, slow pause.

She's gonna hang up on him. She's absolutely going to -

"It's ten-thirty in the morning on a Wednesday, Buckley."

And it sure is.

God, this would never have happened if he hadn't started an update on his phone mid-episode.

"Walk me through it," she continues, all business, all of a sudden, and so Buck tells her, grateful for her hums and uhuh's as she starts her day. Buck talks over the sound of her brushing her teeth, and pouring her coffee, and absolutely doesn't mention that he thinks she should probably have better sleeping patterns while he spirals about Tommy being unsatisfied with the sex they have.

"Gonna break bro code here a little to tell you you have literally nothing to worry about there. Seriously. You're getting gold stars every night, I promise you."

"He's been looking up gimp suits and gags, Lucy!"

She's quiet on the other end, for a moment.

Then she starts laughing.

Again.

Which is a great feeling for Buck. He loves it when Lucy laughs at him.

"Oh, Jesus, I'm sorry. Honey those aren't for you."

Well, now he's kinda mad at the implication that Tommy would -

"Not for Tommy, either," she interrupts, like she knows where that spiral leads. "I forgot what time of year it was. This is new for you."

"What's new for me?"

He can picture the sly grin on her face as she pours something into a bowl - milk maybe. Then cereal.

God, what a psycho.

"Tommy and an army buddy of his have had this escalating prank war going on for like...seven, eight years? I don't know, I wasn't here at the start of it, but I guess it started as the most heterosexual man you've ever met trying to be a good ally to his newly out buddy and sending a set of butt plugs to the only address of Tommy's he had available."

Weird. But not the weirdest thing he's ever heard. "Which was?"

"Oh, Harbor. Yeah. Got it his first week there. So now every year on the anniversary they try to send each other shit at work that should technically be grounds for a sexual harassment claim from their coworkers. Last year Tommy got a fully custom furry suit. Dude probably dropped thirty grand on that thing."

He shouldn't ask. He definitely shouldn't -

"It was a horse. Because of his big fat -."

"I get the picture, thanks."

"So yeah. It's coming up on time for them to push a boundary a little too far and actually have someone complain about it, this time. They won't stop until one of them gets a write up."

It's kinda funny. Kinda sweet, too, in that really weird way military men are with each other. Irrationally, Buck kinda wants to slew foot the guy for being an unintentionally massive flirt.

Straight dudes are the literal worst at allyship, in the weirdest ways possible.

"He's out of state, so don't go getting territorial, Buckley."

Never gonna live that down.

"But seriously though? Back to the original point. Which is you freaking out that Tommy is unsatisfied in your sex life. Number one: talk to him. You guys are the actual worst. Always gotta have a second opinion before you bite the bullet and do the normal thing. Number two: I know too much. And I know you have nothing to worry about. Number three: when he gets home I want you to record his reaction when you turn the laptop screen on him like a spurned wife and send it to me. I'm having a bad day. I could use the entertainment."

"You just woke up."

"And had to talk an old coworker down from a ledge about how satisfying his sex life is with a current coworker. Bareback, no lube, just wake up and go."

"I think this also counts as sexual harassment."

"You started this conversation with 'am I kinky enough' so I'm not super concerned."

By the time he gets off the phone with Lucy he's very firmly on solid ground. And also wondering exactly how much Tommy actually talks about their sex life when he's not around. Tommy keeps things pretty close to the vest. He can't imagine he's going around bragging about that time he started crying when Buck hit his prostate right as he licked into his mouth and slid a hand up his arm to link their fingers together.

Maybe in less detail.

Something about seeing God, maybe. That seems more like his style.

---

Tommy has a routine, when he gets home from work. Keys hung up, jacket on the coat rack, duffle tucked into one of the cubbies of his makeshift mud room. Shoes under the bench, two minutes of head scritches for Goose as she meows her way down the hall to greet the only man she'll ever love.

(Buck's super cool about the fact that Tommy's breakup cat hates him. Totally chill.)

When Goose has had her fill and darted off to go bounce off the walls of the office, Tommy likes to amble in to whatever room Buck is in and drape himself across Buck's back for a moment, mouth pressed to the knob of Buck's spine, hands roaming for a moment before he manages a greeting.

He's making risotto for dinner when he hears the lock click in the front door.

He's ignoring Lucy's text reminding him to get a reaction shot.

He listens to Tommy talk back to Goose like he understands every "mrow" listens for the shuffle of socked feet down the hall, listens to him pad across the kitchen tiles, braces himself for the dead weight of Tommy against his back.

Tommy's got a hand halfway up his shirt when he mumbles into Buck's ear. "So I hear we have something to talk about."

"Ravi snitched."

"Ravi still thinks I'm the sensible one, of the two of us."

Buck snorts. Tips his head back against Tommy's shoulder and basks in the moment while Tommy buries his nose behind Buck's ear.

"Before I say anything else, I know you said I can use your laptop whenever I want but you should know I definitely snooped where I shouldn't and jumped to some wild conclusions. Which Lucy has already cleared up on your behalf, because apparently we're both too chicken shit to have a conversation without using a lifeline."

Tommy stills. "I didn't close out my browser session last time, did I?"

"You did not."

"And Lucy told you about the horse costume Dom sent me last year."

"She sure did. She very specifically called it a furry suit, though."

Tommy blows out an exasperated breath against his neck. "And you were freaking out because...?"

"I thought maybe you were bored with the sex we have."

That gets Tommy going. He pulls free just to get enough leverage to spin Buck to face him, hands on his hips and eyes catching Buck's like if he doesn't see Buck's eyes in the next five seconds he'll do something crazy, and Buck doesn't really know how he got so lucky but he's not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Even if it's a furry.

"Evan. Please understand when I say this I'm not exaggerating. Our sex is life altering. I want to have slow, quiet, vanilla sex with you until the day I die."

"Which won't be for like another fifty years."

Tommy hums. "I'm gonna be popping Blue Chew when I'm ninety-five and have two bum hips."

"Oh, so I have to do all the work?"

"Why do you think I dated younger?"

Buck has to kiss him about it. And then he has to pull back and duck his head to remind Tommy of the part he blazed right past. "Full disclosure, when I said I snooped I meant I went into your search history."

Tommy's chuckle shakes them both. "I figured. You go back far enough to find the single porn link in amidst all the shitty plastic used actuators for sale on eBay?"

"I'm not a masochist, Tommy." Figures he'd get so frustrated looking for a part to fix the rattling in the Jeeps dash he'd want to rub one out. Usually takes him more than a single video, though. Probably he'd decided he'd feel too guilty to actually get off until he had the part ordered.

Tommy shifts his weight a bit. Wedges a knee in between Buck's legs. His eyes get that sparkle to them that means he finds Buck to be an adorable menace. "How married to the risotto are you?" he asks, hands shifting from Buck's hips to behind his thighs.

"Not - not terribly." It had been a distraction from thinking about Tommy's army buddy, mostly. The recipe still isn't perfected and even though Tommy's complimented it every time, Buck can tell it's missing something and Tommy is just letting him figure it out on his own.

"Maybe we could order in and I can show you how satisfied I am with your service."

"We - that's definitely an option. On the table."

"How about this very sturdy counter, instead?"

They haven't done it somewhere not-the-bed in months.

Their knees aren't gonna thank them for it.

Buck has to attempt to ignore Tommy mouthing at his neck to remember if there are enough ice packs in the freezer for the both of them, right now.

"Yeah - yep, let's do that instead."

Tommy gets both hands under his ass and lifts.

He doesn't quite swoon over the move, anymore, but it still makes him more than a little giddy.

"Wait, did you decide on the dildo over the gimp suit, because if you're escalating at the same rate as your friend I think -."

"Can we talk about Dom after I get my satisfaction scores in, please?"

"Shutting up now."

"I don't believe that for a second," Tommy says, and then shuts him up with his mouth anyway, just for good measure.

[scribblestatic]

Hmm... I wanna write more creachers...

Spider Yuan it is.

Spider Yuan on AO3

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--

Shen Yuan didn't attend Fan Zhenzhen's funeral.

Oh, like, he did, but not in person. He watched, yes, since he could now stand a bit further away in the trees and not be noticed unless someone looked closer.

Besides, he could tell it would distract the others. Humans would still be wary of him, naturally. He can't fault prey for being wary of a predator, can he? No, Fan Zhenzhen raised them too well for that.

So, he waited and watched as they carried her to the mausoleum on the side of his mountain, picked for its perfect fengshui.

And okay, maybe he watched them enter the mausoleum from one of the nearby trees. And maybe a villager noticed him watching and it took him holding up a silencing finger to ensure the man didn't panic.

It worked out just fine.

...Okay, yes, there was a rumor spreading of a strange, tall man who dwelled among the corpses and peered silently from the trees, but after telling them it was him, they were quick to apologize.

But yes, it all worked out fine.

And, as another five years passed, more spiders cultivated their human forms, leaving the mountain during the day to learn more about human life and adapt to their bodies.

After all, Shen Yuan was going to leave.

Not forever, no! But he'd been serious about going on a journey to explore more of the world. He just didn't want the village to be left without anyone to provide silk, plants, or protection. As much as his servants were reliable, they did require direction.

Zhuzi wanted to come with him, but Shen Yuan insisted otherwise. It was something he would like to do alone. He hadn't been alone for...decades at this point, wow.

Besides, spiders are generally quite solitary beings. Even his servants took vacations for themselves to be at peace and cultivate. He cultivated with company, but perhaps now was a good time for some self-reflection. Maybe to figure out what he wanted to do for the next few decades or centuries, depending on how long he'd be alive.

He didn't feel like his lifespan was getting any shorter, so staying in one place for this long...well, he wasn't actually bothered by it. At one point, he barely left his web of screens and strong walls and convenience for several days at a time, which was...hm. However or whenever that was. Anyway, sticking to one place really wasn't a bother.

...Seeing the mausoleum every day hurt, so maybe he was running away a little bit.

He's an old spider, leave him be!

So, after those five years passed and he'd thoroughly prepared Zhuzi as much as he could, he packed a little qiankun pouch full of a few things, like duplicates of his favorite stories, lots of scrolls, quills, and ink, and various plants in case he needed to cure someone (or himself) of some sort of ailment (or sex plant...which was a collection of ailments all on its own).

He'd already told Fan Ruoxing, letting him know that the mountain would not be bereft of spiders, but that he would be gone for a while.

The now older man smiled sadly.

"Mm...this servant understands. Thank you for telling us... And thank you for fulfilling my mother's wish."

By twilight, Shen Yuan breathed in the cool air of early spring.

He gazed up at the stars and the bright moon, marveling quietly at the sight of them. Zhuzi stood by his side, gazing up with him.

"Dage should enjoy his trip. Please don't worry about anything here. This one shall take care of them."

"Mm. He knows you will."

He moved, placing a hand on the top of her head. She blinked owlishly for a moment before her eyes closed, satisfied.

"Thanking Zhuzi for her hard work. This one shall be back in a few years."

"Yes. Safe travels."

...And then, he looked forward, toward a forested trail he'd never traveled before, and took his first step.

--

At first, Shen Yuan traveled aimlessly. He didn't have a particular destination in mind or anything, so he drifted around as he saw fit.

Getting off the mountain was fairly easy in the end. His web spread out far and wide. The many beasts and creatures that could have tried to be a threat had long started fleeing from his presence. Perhaps it was because of some sort of adaptation, having watched generations of their predecessors die at the hands of either his servants or himself.

Even after he finally drifted away from the small strings of webs at the barriers of his marked domain, fearsome creatures didn't dare to approach...

And that was a bit disappointing.

He usually just ate them, but now that he had some time to travel, he would like to study a beast or two. The way other creatures function had become more interesting to him. If they didn't at least get close, he could he watch them?

So, he had to practice more to conceal his qi—something he didn't really bother doing before. After all, it was his territory. Who did he need to hide from?

But sure, fine. If it meant he'd have an easier time actually finding the creatures he wanted to study, then he'd Git Gud.

Two weeks into his practice, and the birds still wouldn't chirp when he was within a few zhang of them. Come on. There was no need to be so dramatic that a few meters was all it took for the space he was going toward to go silent.

Maybe it was because of this silent alarm that humans traveling through the forest became extra cautious.

They never quite could sense when he was right beside them, though.

"...Excuse me."

The group of three startled, turning toward him with their ragtag weapons drawn. A partially rusted axe, a small sword, and a dagger... However, they didn't have armor on, and it looked like most of their belongings might've been held in the stuffed sack each had tied around their necks and draped behind their shoulders.

The men looked at his waist. Then up. Then up.

By the time they finally got to his face, the man with the dagger dropped his weapon.

Okay. Just like he practiced... Let's do this.

Shen Yuan didn't bother smiling. They couldn't see his face through the veil anyway. But he did start slowly to bend down, trying to meet them at their height.

The young, dirtied man with the axe managed to stand his ground, hands shaking and knuckles turning white. Ah, he must be the leader of the group, right?

"Would you happen to know where the nearest village is?"

The young man swallowed thickly.

"...No."

Shen Yuan sighed.

"Oh dear..."

"...?"

"This one would much rather you tell the truth rather than lie. It's very discourteous."

Of course the man was lying. His jackrabbiting heart skipped a beat when he'd asked, and it'd sped up even further before he answered.

Shen Yuan was a spider, not an idiot. Humans were terrible at lying to him.

To ease the mood a little, he clapped, his claws clicking against each other.

"Let's try again. Would you happen to know where the nearest village is?"

...One of the men behind him was starting to smell of ammonia. Perhaps he really had grown a bit more accustomed to the reactions of the villagers from Xiaoshan. They feared him, but not to this extent.

The axe boy finally began to utter a reply.

"I...erh...this lowly one knows where...a village is. But...wh...what do you...what does this esteemed person want to do with that information?"

Beneath the weimao, Shen Yuan's eyelids fluttered, his expression scrunching.

"To visit, like any visitor would?"

He wheezed in reply. "My...family..."

"Hmm? Yes, what of them?"

At this, the man dropped his axe. He then fell to the ground, immediately prostrating.

"Please...! Please! If I must die now, I will accept this. But please! Don't hurt my family!"

The others also dropped to the ground, giving him similar pleas of mercy for the ones they loved while offering their bodies up to him.

"...When did this one say he would hurt anyone?"

He listened to the villagers sob and beg at him for a little longer before he finally lost his patience.

"Sit up before this one smacks you."

They all immediately sat up. Shen Yuan huffed, the veil of his weimao fluttering.

"Is this a habit of your village, to assume the worst of people? This traveler is just looking to explore new things and gather stories. Aiyah, get up, get up! All this bowing—your clothes are already filthy enough, don't kneel in the dirt."

He really didn't want to watch them squirm.

Squirming things made him salivate.

Once they collected themselves, the axe wielder spoke.

"This...this lowly one apologizes for his rudeness. Begging your forgiveness."

"Mm, it's alright. Worry not about it. Though, this one is curious. What brings you three deep through the forest like this?"

They glanced at each other, unsure. But eventually, he spoke.

"We...are traveling to Jindao City (金道城市 - Jīndào Chéngshì - Golden Road City). There is an illness spreading in our village."

Jindao City...yes, he was familiar with the name of it, though he hadn't been there himself. Xiaoshan Village had also been under the authority of Jindao, though they never came to help when the famine ravaged the village somewhere around 50 years ago.

As he recalls, upon Fan Zhenzhen taking up the mantle of Village Elder, she reduced their dues after, having heard of their survival, the city tried to send tax collectors. They survived without Jindao's assistance, so they would only pay enough in produce to keep relative peace with the city that abandoned them.

If the spiders ever left, they'd have to defend themselves and their land, after all. So, it was best to not go about burning bridges all willy-nilly.

"Hmm. This one recalls a famine occurring somewhere around here before."

At this, all the humans brightened.

"Yes, the old master is wise. A famine ran through the area many years ago. Our village still hasn't fully recovered. Now, an illness is hurting our most reliable people. Men, women, and children have all fallen ill. Some have died. We lowly servants hope that, with our quick action, perhaps we can prevent further deaths."

Old master? Ah, because he remembered the famine, probably.

Well, he was old. No need to correct or ridicule him. Still, what a shift from deeming him a monstrous demon to calling him an old master! Don't you have any steadfast beliefs, ah? The switch-up could be disorienting!

"Mm. Did Jindao City offer assistance during the famine?"

"From what this lowly one remembers, no. He doesn't remember them helping. But he was a little boy back then. It's possible he doesn't remember much of what happened."

"But the fact the loyal worker questions if they helped likely means his elders and ancestors did not speak of it. If they didn't speak of it, this one believes it likely they did not help. There is more than one village Jindao City did not assist back then. If this is the case, does the loyal worker have anything now that may change the minds of Jindao's officials?"

"Something...?"

"This one does not think positively of Jindao officials because of their actions, or lack thereof, during the famine. Therefore, he assumes that, to move them to action, others must present them with a good-enough reason to do so. In his experience, this one believes having desirable goods, finances, or resources would lead them to be more likely to offer aid. Do the loyal workers have such items on them or in their village?"

Their following silence told him all he needed to know.

The one with the dagger whispered to the axe wielder, "This must be why Lao Heng (老恒 - Lǎo Héng - Old Heng) told us not to bother..."

Hmm.

It really wasn't any of his business. He'd just started his trip, and he was already encountering trouble. He could very well just thank them for their honesty and continue wandering around.

But, he kinda wanted to eat. He could practice inedia, but why do that if he didn't have to? A beast's cultivation rarely counted on restriction. No, it usually promoted levels of indulgence and selfishness, and he saw no problem with that.

He doubted they had food he'd enjoy, but if he couldn't eat that way, he could always eat another way. Something anyone with the ability to think could offer him.

"Hmm... This one is not a doctor, but he has tools and knowledge that may be of assistance. The only thing the loyal workers must offer him to begin is a story."

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Mad

Debut: Wario's Woods (NES)

Whoa! This mermaid is Pissed! Though I guess "Mad" could just be a shortening for something beautiful and elegant like "Madeline" or "Maddison" or perhaps "Madwoman". Either way, she is one of seven bosses that Toad can fight in Wario's Woods, a drop-down puzzle game for the NES (and SNES, but we'll get to that in a minute) most notable for being the last officially-licensed game released on the console, a whole four years into the lifespan of the SNES! We've already gone over most of the Wario's Woods denizens in a couple of posts, but with the exception of the NES bosses!

Original video credit: NintendoComplete on Youtube

The bosses in this game all play pretty much identically, summoning enemies and occasionally teleporting around. To damage them, you line up the thingies of the same color next to them, as you can see in the gif above. Yuppppp. She also appeared in Super Mario-Kun, where she is shown to be a shapeshifter!

I searched everywhere for more, but since Super Mario-Kun is apparently both very poorly archived and approximately three infinities long, here's some highlights courtesy of her Super Mario Wiki page! Wario has enthralled her by poisoning the lake she resides in, and after a fight, Mario and co. cure her by....... having Yoshi drink and subsequently urinate her out. Turns out this mermaid really was Pissed after all I guess.

Anyway, after that, her true form is revealed: a big fat anthropomorphic fish in a dress. If you don't think she's just as beautiful, get out of my sight. That's where I’d leave off the post normally, but as you may have noticed, we haven't yet touched on the SNES release of Wario's Woods. This brings us to the second half of the post...

Original video credit: World of Longplays on Youtube

Name: Aqualea

Debut: Wario's Woods (SNES)

Finally, someone calls Toad out on his trademark foolhardiness! Yes, Wario's Woods (SNES) includes a mermaid boss just like its NES counterpart. The odd thing here to me is not just that they went to the trouble of making a unique character that still sticks so close to Mad's design rather than outright cutting and pasting her into WW(SNES); but that of WW(SNES)'s seventeen non-Wario bosses, only one of them seems to bear any similarity to WW(NES)'s six.

Why go to the trouble of designing unique boss casts across both releases? Why not just distribute WW(NES)'s comparatively scanty lineup into WW(SNES)'s, which is almost three times as large? I mean, as a writer for a blog which hinges around novel and bizarre designs in the Mario franchise, I should really be thankful, but from a development standpoint it is just so odd! Especially considering both versions were designed and released concurrently! I think the most likely explanation here is poor coordination between design teams, though they did still have one member in common, so who's to say?

Anyway, all of that is to say that the circumstances surrounding Aqualea's conception are kind of infinitely more interesting than her design itself. Sorry, Aqualea! Although my sapphic sensibilities make it pretty hard to write you off completely, your cute-girl-ness can only get you so far, and novelty is unfortunately very much not on your side here.

Above, you can see how the boss gameplay differs from WW(NES). Instead of taking place on a single field, it now takes place across two, as is more traditional for competitive drop-down puzzle games. I really enjoy the unique SMB2(USA)-style sprite sets every boss has for this purpose. Seems like a good opportunity for a very niche ROM hack, if you ask me!

Every boss is also given a unique "lose" sprite for when you've defeated them. These are usually just a given boss's face in a distraught expression, but Aqualea is exceptional in that regard. I will now leave you with what is, in my opinion, the single most charming lose sprite of any boss in Wario's Woods (SNES):

[marticoresims]

My Rotational Gameplay System

Hi! There's a video on my channel about how I play rotationally, but some info there is outdated. I figured a post can always be edited, so it's a better way to share how I play The Sims 2.

What is rotational gameplay?

Playing rotationally means that you play multiple households for the same number of days, jumping from one to the other in rounds. This way, you keep the households even, have story progression in all of them, and then you can make them interact, intertwine and merge into new families, not leaving any playable Sim behind.

If you play two-three households and leave the rest unplayed, that's also rotational gameplay. There's no right or wrong way to play The Sims 2!

Setting up the neighborhood

First of all, stealth hoods. I don't want all the same Sims appearing in my family bin over and over, so I made the stealth hoods empty. This tutorial shows how to do it, but it's actually more simple than that – just go into those folders and delete all files in 'Characters'. DO NOT do it in the Documents directory!

Second, I think of which subhoods make sense for this neighborhood. I hardly ever add Downtown. Vacation destinations depend on what I need, I usually add one during gameplay if I'm planning a vacation (which is rare). I like to have one, max two university hoods, especially if they include pre-made Sims. And Bluewater Village is completely redundant, but I sometimes make my own shopping district as an extra area. For example, in my Pleasantview 2.0 I made "Goth Square" that is kind of like a downtown district with apartment buildings, restaurants, clubs etc.

Sometimes I'll tinker with seasons, e.g. Strangetown seems like warm climate, so I might turn off winter in it. Riverblossom Hills must stay default, though.

Basics and keeping track

One round is 4 days for most of my neighborhoods. Some people do it by days of the week or seasons in-game, but I can't be bothered synchronizing my neighborhood after someone moves out and it's again a summer Monday for them. If it's Thursday in the middle of winter in another household at the same time, I really don't mind.

I'm an old school gal when it comes to taking notes to keep track of played days. I have a paper notebook with the grid pattern and mark rounds as squares – each line is one day. I have a whole list of families named by last names mostly, but if a last name repeats (which is often), I either sign them with one of the Sims' first name or their last name + initials. For example, in Riverblossom Hills I have families named Roth (for the "main" Roth family still living in the original house) and Roth LF (Roth – Larch & Fiona).

These days, I use erasable pens in my notes, so no crossing out if a family merges with another or changes its name. For marking days, I still like to use a simple pencil. For side notes (such as planning someone's career or matchmaking) I either use sticky notes or draw a special square and use the erasable pens again to take easily erasable notes. If there's no space on the page anymore, I move onto another. I always keep the old pages, though! I have them pinned in the back of the notebook. Also, I only use notebooks that have tabs of different colors and each neighborhood has its color. Blue for Pleasantview, green for Strangetown, purple for Veronaville, orange for Riverblossom Hills etc. I like to match pen colors to it as well. Yes, I do have ideasthaesia.

For more "serious" neighborhoods I have an additional document on my PC in table form where I plan out the storytelling. I pretty much only have it for my Youtube let's play neighborhoods like Townieville. Fun fact: I have two separate notebooks for "work neighborhoods" and "private neighborhoods". The work one is in smaller format 😂

Here's a fragment of my Townieville notes (the Bendett-LeTourneau family takes too much space when spelled out lol):

As for aging, I made my own custom lifespan that mimics real life years (1 day = 1 year). However, I only age up Sims at "1 day away" (aka the orthodox way) when they're babies and teenagers. Babies because I want them to be 1 year old as toddlers (only Nopke somehow figured out a way to make the baby stage actually 1 day), and teenagers to give them time to attend college. In all the other stages, I wait until the last minute for them to age up on their own. I would never remember to age them up manually or throw parties, also the 1 extra day would make it difficult for me to count their age. That results in the elder stage starting at "57 days old", but I count it as 60 years old. I like to know how old my Sims are for context, that's all.

Population

My limit for one neighborhood is 16 families. If there's more, one round takes forever and I lose interest. In my old Pleasantview, I finally managed to lower the number of families from 24 to 18 and still going. It feels great! So, as you see, I can't do an uberhood/megahood.

To stop my neighborhood from expanding too much, I simply don't make too many kids. I have pretty strict rules that are based on aspirations: Family+Family is 3 kids, Family+Other is 2 kids, Other+Other is 1 kid. If both Sims have family as a secondary aspiration (and I remember that they do), I'll make them have two. It has been working pretty well, but I'm open to changes in the future. Sometimes I will even impregnate a Sim with InSimenator instead of naturally to make sure it's not twins.

I mark every birth on a certain day as a dot and letter (B/G – boy/girl) and plan newborns in advance to have babies be born at a similar time and with balanced genders, so I can match them later. Of course I do have same-sex couples and big-age-difference couples as well. It all comes out when the babies get older, but synchronizing births creates a solid basis. Usually there are no more than 4 kids born in one round.

I love townies, but I avoid bringing them into the neighborhood as much as I can (it expands the population). If two playables are not related and have the potential to be together, I'll tinker with their chemistry to make it happen. I have this mod to help me avoid marrying second-cousins, even if it's not really that big a deal in real life. I do follow chemistry very much in matchmaking though, so if there's any decision to be made between two Sims, I'll always go for the one with the higher chemistry (sort by chemistry and choose the one that appears first – even if the bolts are the same, they are sorted by points).

Wants & Fears

I like to say that I play half-wants-based. I especially like to use wants to avoid having only wealthy families. How? Only if they roll a want of getting a skill point, I'll prioritize career skill points and let them get promoted. Otherwise, they might stay at the same level for years and do other things instead such as hobbies. Even if their lifetime want is the top of a career – the Sims are responsible for progressing in their careers. I don't lock the skill wants either, only the promotion ones if a promotion is guaranteed. But keep in mind that I use mods for no friends needed for careers and less often promotions (I changed it to 85%). That way, some Sims struggle financially, some just have enough to pay the bills, some accumulate money very slowly, and some become rich fast. It's true that it's fortune Sims that usually reach the top of their careers, knowledge Sims are second place, but isn't that actually realistic? If a Sim's lifetime want is anything other than a career, I realize they won't get everyday wants regarding that LTW (unless it's a knowledge Sim with "Max out 7 skills"), so I will push them towards it, but still, not every Sim completes their lifetime want. Also, I use 50 New LTWs and Slower LTA Gain. Homework works a similar way. Since, without mods, your Sims are either failing or having an A+, I use the School Grade Mod for more grade variations, but also base doing homework on the child or teen's wants. If they have any wants about education (private school, college, fear to go to school because of bad grades), they do their homework that day. Also, on weekends I make them catch up on homework if they're not busy.

I do like to listen to what my Sims want to do, but if the want is ridiculous (like wanting to get married to 3 Sims at once for Romance Sims on dates), I'll ignore it. I only use wants or lack thereof for more variety and less decision-making. I use a lot of mods that change wants as well, such as Fewer Hobby Wants. What about pets? If more than half of the household has corresponding wants to get a pet, I'll get them one.

Decisions

Deciding makes me anxious. I want gameplay to be fun and the Sims to be their own people. That's why I have certain rules for choosing aspirations and careers. Here's my entire calculator that saves me in choosing careers. For aspirations, I only use the calculator sometimes if I'm not sure, but usually I look at the Sim's personality and can easily see their aspiration based on traits. Obviously I make exceptions to that rule, I WILL have a grouchy Family Sim from time to time. But I do that only if I feel a certain vibe, so no decision is needed either, I just know this Sim will be the exception. Sometimes, I make exceptions to also differentiate Sims from their parents, as personality is genetic for the most part, so it's likely for two Knowledge Sims to “produce” another Knowledge Sim and I'd like to avoid repetition. Especially with Family Sims, as with my population system it might lead to one family dominating the neighborhood. Family+Family having 3 kids and all of them with the Family aspiration? Not on my watch!

In families of more than one child, how do I decide who moves out and who stays home as an adult? If there are no other factors influencing it, the youngest child stays because the older ones moving out will create the space for the next generation. But it varies based on what housing situation the potential partner has. Oh, yeah, I don't play with elders only, that's boring.

How do I decide who changes their name at marriage? These days, I like to keep the OG last names, so if there's a townie marrying into a pre-made family, I'll keep the pre-made family's name. Gender doesn't matter. If it's two pre-mades getting married, I decide based on how many other Sims there are with that last name (do the Sims have siblings?). It's real tactical work sometimes. If I want to keep both, a hyphenated name is always an option too.

Random events

Not a lot of random events happen in my game. Mostly it's just Sims cheating. I have ACR's risky woohoo set to zero most of the time. I do have some mods that make Sims' lives more risky like more dangerous fires (this version is edited to work with the fire safety skill) or death by childbirth. But if someone dies untimely, they die. Especially if they've already had kids (which sounds cruel lol, but my gameplay is based on legacy and genetic continuity). I also ignore chance cards because they make my game too hectic, and my Sims don't get promoted too much, so I don't need the difficulty. I'll only click on them (randomly without reading) if a family is exceptionally boring.

University

One round is 4 days, that means 4 years, so I guess it would make sense to play the "empty nest" once the offspring is in college. But I don't do that. College is frozen time. In my game, the teenager stage is 9 days – from 13 to 22. It would be too short if I treated university as passing time, as 22 is when US college students graduate. So, I mark a dot with the letter C whenever someone is "1 day away" and ready for college. It's often for the future more than the past, as I like to send a few Sims at once (you know, the babies marked 22 days earlier), so I plan ahead and need to know how many days left. I also send them to college according to their age (even if I don't have to do that with frozen time, it's fun to do), so if there's 2 years difference between Sims, one of them will be a Freshman when the other one is already a Junior. Also, not everyone goes to college! It's wants-based, again. If the teen has the want to go to college the very last morning of their teen stage, they go immediately. And again, exceptions. Sometimes I'll lock in the college want because I just can't imagine that Sim not going to college. I have the No Memory Uneducated mod to stop Sims who didn't want to go to college from crying about it. My university gameplay is the most strictly wants-based, to avoid having all Sims graduate with honors. Don't have a want to gain skill points, but fear academic probation? We're doing bare minimum. That kinda thing. The only want I lock in is "Make Dean's List" because it's pretty rare, and without it I was ending up with 3.2 GPA for every single Sim. This want means we're doing everything to get the highest grade possible.

Supernatural Sims

I'm not a fan of supernatural in The Sims (unless it's Planet Alades). The only occult I absolutely LOVE is ALIEN. I will have aliens in nearly every neighborhood. No Multi PT mod needed. PlantSims are cool too, but only in neighborhoods where they appear from the start. Very rarely do I let my Sims become werewolves, or especially vampires and zombies. If a Sim doesn't age, I don't see a point in playing them. Best regards to all the 'aging off' Simmers out there 😆

That's all! Now I can stop rambling about it in my let's plays and just send you guys to this post if you have questions. Phew!

[iznyangwoni]

STRINGS OF FATE, chapter three

“are you sure we can stay here?” you ask heeseung, getting in his room. He said that the coffee shop was getting too loud, and he couldn’t really focus there, so he took you to the dorm. Obviously, you’re not that dumb, you know where he wants this to end and honestly, you dont want that.

But you need to finish this stupid essay, so might as well do it with his help and also, maybe, at least you hope, that being close to him without going too far, will make him want to know you in more than just that aspect. “Ah. Sure, Jungwon is at the gym at this time.”

You nod, something about that Jungwon guy is really iffy. You still dont know why or what makes you think that but, anytime your eyes meet that glacial look, its like your lifespan decreases. Still, he’s not here now, so that’s great. Heeseung leaves a few seconds to go to the bathroom, and you spend that time looking around.

Each dorm room is combined by three different rooms, and since Heeseung and Jungwon are just two, they used the center one as a little hanging out space. Its… not your style, at all. You’re used to open spaces, lots of light entering the room and light forniture, and well, this is the complete opposite.

You’re not even sure it would pass the monthly inspection, the walls are decorated with graffiti, which are banned, the curtains are so dark you can barely see, and it overall looks like living hell here. But you’re no one to judge, maybe thats just how usual VKs are used to live in their castles… cause they have castles, right?

One thing that catches your eyes is a little picture frame. You take it in your hands to look at it closely, its a photo of Heeseung’s group, when they were younger. You can clearly see him, in the center, taller than anyone else and with a huge smile on his face, on his right is who you think is Jimin, both Sunoo and Minjeong have mentioned her a couple of times, and not for good reasons. Meanwhile on the far left is Chaewon, you’ve seen her a couple of times on campus, all you know is that she’s pretty funny but also can be pretty hot headed.

And then, on Heeseung’s right, is Jungwon. If you didn’t know they were friends, you wouldn’t have even recognized him. He was so much shorter than Heeseung, and even Jimin. His cheeks were puffy and you could see the shine in his eyes from the picture, a smile on his face, something you had never seen before. “Stalking around?” you were so focused on the picture that you didnt even hear Heeseung getting out of the bathroom.

“Oh! No, no, this just caught my attention.” “Aah, that one.” the guy takes the frame off of your hands and points at it with an amused smile. “Weren’t we so cute?” you smile, honestly, yes they were cute, but the filthy clothes they were wearing and the dirt on their faces in that picture, definitely makes you think something else instead of ‘cute’.

“Have you guys been friends for long? Jungwon doesn’t even look like himself there. Must’ve been a long time.” Heeseung puts the frame back were it was, and leans his shoulder on the wall, looking at you with that same smile. He nods, probably replying to your first question. “Yeah. that was before the isle of the lost was even open.” You just nod, its been eight years since that happened, you barely even understood what was happening at the time.

“And Jungwon isnt always so gloomy. you know. He just.. he’s pretty different.” You nod again, wondering what he means by that. Most of the people you know here, if not all, are sons and daughters of princesses, princes, royal guards, or enchanted beings, fairies and more. You’ve never really met the son of a god, let alone three deities. But you still wonder how that would affect him, is it in a social way? Maybe he feels like an outcast? You should try being his friend then..

“Anyway, this friday the Princeternity is hosting a party, i know a guy or two there, i was wondering if you’d like to come?” Your cheeks and ears become red the second he asks you that. Is he asking you out? At a party? Are you really going to a party with him? This is a huge deal, you thought he was looking for something casual but this, this is huge. You nod enthusiastically, maybe too much, since he giggles right after.

“Yeah! I mean, sure. Sure. I’d love to. This friday?” He laughs nods his head to say yes. His hand comes to your face, his fingers pinching your cheek gently. “Can’t wait to see you all dolled up for me, uh.”

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[starryeyedwolves]

Training Wheels

It was the kind of spring day that seemed determined to remind everyone that life kept moving forward, no matter how many pieces had to be gathered along the way.

The park was bright with dappled sunshine, speckled by the shadows of tall sycamores and the occasional flurry of petals shaken loose by the breeze. Children shrieked in the distance near a playground, and a golden retriever chased its own tail like it had just discovered the concept of circular motion.

And right in the middle of the path, a small boy with hair as blue as the cloudless sky wobbled on a tiny red bicycle, his tongue stuck out in concentration and his eyes narrowed like a determined kitten.

Sirius sprinted behind him, hunched slightly, both hands hovering just inches from the back of the bike seat. He was grinning so wide it looked like his face might split in half.

“Alright, little wolf, keep your balance—don’t look down!” Sirius called, breathless but elated.

“I am keeping my balance!” Teddy shouted back, cheeks flushed pink with exertion.

Two steps behind them, Remus jogged with a hand to his forehead like he was either shielding his eyes or seconds away from a migraine. It was hard to tell.

“Watch out for the squirrel—Sirius, steer him left, he’s headed straight for—oh no—”

With a burst of speed, Teddy swerved. The squirrel darted, entirely uninterested in the unfolding drama. Sirius let out a victorious whoop as Teddy kept going, miraculously upright, pedaling harder now, caught between fear and exhilaration.

“He’s doing it!” Sirius yelled over his shoulder. “Remus, he’s bloody flying!”

“He’s not flying, he’s riding a bike in the middle of a park without a helmet, Sirius,” Remus muttered, trying to keep pace, his cardigan flapping behind him like a worried cloak.

“Details!”

It had been Sirius’s idea—of course it had.

“I’m teaching Teddy to ride a bike,” he’d declared one Saturday morning, appearing in the Remus' garden as if he were announcing a mission from Merlin himself.

Remus had blinked at him over the top of the Daily Prophet. “You don’t even know how to ride a bike.”

“Well, neither does he. We’ll learn together.”

Teddy, overhearing, had screamed in delight and nearly falling excitement.

Nymphadora—Tonks, now mostly answering to “Mum” and the occasional “Oi, Dora!” from friends who hadn’t gotten the memo, had just smirked and said, “At least take him to the Muggle park near my flat. There’s soft grass there. And other kids. He should be around other kids.”

So now here they were: three generations of chaotic family, attempting something normal in a world that still felt too strange, too sharp-edged, even years after the war.

Teddy veered toward a tree, yelped, and abruptly crashed into the grass. It wasn’t a bad fall—nothing broken except perhaps his dignity.

Sirius caught up and threw himself dramatically into the grass beside him. “That was spectacular! You looked like a Quidditch prodigy.”

Teddy giggled. “Do Quidditch players crash into trees?”

“Only the good ones.”

Remus arrived last, heart hammering and face pale. He knelt beside them, gently brushing twigs out of Teddy’s hair. “You alright, cub?”

“I’m okay,” Teddy mumbled, sitting up. “Can I go again?”

Sirius turned to Remus with a grin that hadn’t aged a day since 1977. “See? Resilience. That’s all me.”

Remus rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself. “Yes, I’m sure your reckless influence will do wonders for his lifespan.”

They helped Teddy up. The boy raced off to fetch the bike, leaving the two men standing awkwardly in the shade.

Remus folded his arms. “He really does look up to you.”

Sirius looked at him then, softer now. “He should look up to you. You’re the steady one. I’m just—”

“the godfather who insists on taking him to parks and nearly giving me a heart attack?” Remus finished dryly.

Sirius smiled. “Exactly.”

They stood in silence for a while, watching Teddy test the pedals again.

“He needs this,” Remus said after a moment. “Something normal. After everything.”

“Yeah.” Sirius’ voice was quiet now. “So do we.”

Remus glanced sideways at him. “You’ve changed.”

Sirius scoffed. “Please. I’m still the disaster you fell in love with.”

Remus didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, softly, “You were never a disaster. Just... a storm. And I’ve always liked the rain.”

Sirius turned to look at him fully. “Do you—do you think maybe—?”

Remus cut him off with a shake of his head, gentle but firm. “Not yet.”

Sirius nodded. “But maybe someday?”

“Maybe,” Remus said, watching Teddy push off again, a little steadier this time. “We’re both still healing. But… we’re walking forward. Together.”

“And occasionally sprinting after a six-year-old on wheels,” Sirius added with a grin.

Remus chuckled. “Right. That too.”

Later, after a few more falls and a triumphant full circuit of the park, they sat on a bench while Teddy devoured an ice cream as though it contained magical life-essence.

Tonks arrived to pick him up, her hair a cheerful pink today. She kissed Teddy’s forehead, ruffled Sirius’ hair, and bumped her shoulder against Remus’.

“How was it?” she asked, already clocking the grass stains and minor scrapes.

“Terrifying,” Remus said.

“Brilliant,” Sirius said at the same time.

Teddy gave a blue-tongued grin. “Can we do it again next weekend?”

All three adults looked at one another.

Tonks smiled first. “Only if Sirius wears a helmet too.”

Sirius made a face. “You’re all tyrants.”

But Remus was already pulling out his planner. “We’re free next Saturday.”

And just like that, a new tradition was born. Not built on war, or blood, or the past—but on scraped knees, laughter, and the promise of a new kind of family. One that kept moving forward, together.

[moonsglare]

hello sev! there’s so little nox content on tumblr…do you have any nsft/sft headcanons for nox??? by thr way your sevcchino writings are SO GOOD i love self insert stuff its always so fun to read!:7:!27:!:&

hiiii sghshhdhdhd thanks for liking my delusion content !! arle makes me more ill then any character ever has before 😔😔😔 /pos

(someone ask me about sevchino lore. i swear im normal. come into the enclosure i swear i dont bite—)

cw. mentions of sex

anyway as for NOX ur so right anon there is criminally low content for her on this webbed site so i suppose it is time to be the change we want to see in the world 😌😌😌

NOX at maximum compliance and post-interro is just a sweetheart. a dangerous sweetheart to be sure, but still a sweetheart none the less. she very much has puppy energy, in that she’ll always want to please you and follow your orders. if she could, she’d trail you around the bureau while you work—which is both immensely funny and downright terrifing, because that’s the grim reaper why is she acting like a lovesick puppy ?? NOX is your scary dog privileges frfr

anywho, you can mostly find NOX in the gardens or her own cell. if she’s in the gardens then she’s usually crouched near a flowerbed, looking at the blooms but not touching them—they’ll just die, and she doesn’t want that. but you can see the way longing twists her pale features, so you pull hella aside and ask her if she wants a little extra pocket money.

“crochet flowers like i crochet my beanies…? ugh, chief, who do you think i— you’re going to pay me 150 DisCoins per flower? …what colour and when?”

NOX is a little confused when you hand her the bouquet once hella’s completed them. she refuses at first, thinking she’d just damage them, but with some coaxing you manage to get her to take the flowers. she cradles them in her arms, and you see as her expression morphs into surprise as she holds them.

“they smell… nice,” she says slowly, and you’re glad she likes them (making that deal with cassia took several years off your lifespan.) NOX keeps them in a vase in her cell, and you pop by every so often to give them another spritz of perfume, specific to each flower. roses, daisies, tulips—you commission hella to make more until there’s a yarn garden in NOX’s cell.

she loves it. sometimes you’ll find her sitting on her bed and simply looking at the flowers, or gently holding one in her blackened hands. if you decide to come in and sit next to her, she’ll let her head rest on your shoulder, and the both of you just rest in comfortable silence.

NOX doesn’t want for much. her purpose now, as it were, is to follow you. she’d head to the edges of the world, into the deepest, darkest oblivion for you. all she wants is to remain by your side, to feel the warmth of you against her skin.

due to NOX’s unique physiology she can’t really get aroused in the conventional way. but the shackles are a powerful thing—and sometimes your need is strong enough that it travels down to NOX, and she feels her still heart jump. NOX’s body is generally really cold, but once you get going and by extension her, she starts to warm up.

NOX is definitely the submissive one between you both, but she’ll top if you want. just tell her what to do, how to do it. it’ll take her some time, but she learns eventually. NOX usually cums when you cum, due to the heightened sensitivity of the shackles between you both. but she likes it more when you make her cum with your fingers or your strap.

in general, i’d say NOX is more fond of lovemaking then fucking. she wants to be close to you, always, because you’re the one person she can’t hurt by virtue of existing. you’re so so important to her and she wants you to know with every breathless gasp she lets out of your name or in the way she licks or fingers you with awkward but well-meaning tenderness.

NOX is the first to say i love you, one night after you both wind down from a round of soft sex. to anyone else, it may sound terrifying—powerful words spoken in that echoing, haunting voice of hers, but to you she sounds nothing short of lovely. you run your fingers through her long, pale hair and hold her tightly against you as you return the words to her.

[dialalagirl]

Remember my ask abt kanato being polonium and ayato being copper? Yea i got some ideas, here r my thoughts explained even tho nobody asked <3

Reiji feels like francium bc francium is the most active metal on the periodic table. Or he could be rhodium but there's no explanation for that i just felt like it.

Shu is undoubtedly a noble gas, radon maybe. Bc it's denser than all the others, it's radioactive, colorless and odorless. It's not possible to detect without special equipment, which reminds me of shu bc he doesn't interact with anyone. He doesn't bother interacting unless people go looking for him.

Kanato is polonium bc it's one of the deadliest elements on the planet, as well as having a short half life span— its half life span reminds me of kanato's instability. While i do think polonium-210 has a relatively average lifespan (around 130 days), it's way shorter when compared to the other isotopes of polonium that can live up to more than a hundred years.

Laito is phosphorus. He kinda stands out to me among the others bc of his eerie charm, like ik he's bad news but i wanna run to him anyway djmfkfnedjnf. You see, when white phosphorus is slowly oxidized, it emits a faint green light bc of the reaction and i feel like it represents him well bc he's terrifying but also beautiful, just like oxidized white phosphorus. Bc the smoke produced by the reaction can cause severe burns on the skin, cardiovascular problems and kidney/liver failures. It could turn someone's life upside down, so can he lol.

Ayato is copper bc copper is durable and non oxidizing so it can last for excessive amounts of time (im looking at you cordelia, your attempts to ruin this child are futile). It is also easy to not that hard to shape copper which makes me think of how easily ayato is tempted to do and not do things— all it takes is a little bit of persuasion and encouragement. Besides all this, the natural pinkish orange color reminds me of his hair lmao.

Subaru is plutonium. Here's why: this element might inflict fear upon most people, but it's actually not as dangerous as it's made to be! Yes, it is toxic and used in nuclear weapons, but its radioactivity depends heavily on the amount of it. This reminds me that despite how violent and harmful subaru looks, he isn't really all that bad. The amount of harm that comes from him depends on how furious he is— if he's not beyond angry, i don't believe he would harm things or people around him on purpose.

I kinda wanna do a mukami version but idk if i can pull it off with the cramps that make me wish i could rip my uterus out of my body <3

poor kino

first his dad forgot him. now you

that boy just cannot outrun his bastard reputation, I swear

[elderscrollsconceptart]

I hope this isn't an unwelcome suggestion, but I think you could extend the lifespan of the remaining new art by posting a little slower. I appreciate all of the art no matter how often you post, but it throws me off to have periods of silence followed by every other post on my dashboard being yours.

LONG REPLY BUT PLZ READ 🫶❤️

So i suppose some transparency about how i try to post might be appreciated by the community here so ill try my best!

I have posted TES art daily since this past winter and plan to continue to do so for a long as i can.

As it stands im not actually short on TES art whatsoever!

For example i still have thousands of pieces of TES Legends and ESO art remaining in my archive.

BUT

From the beginning of this blog i was aware of one major fact...

The available art from ESO and Legends outnumbers art from ALL the other TES games by several magnitudes.

Honestly i could exclusively post ESO and Legends art and probably not run out for years.

Typically I post in the evenings and (usually?) its 10-15 posts per day. Unfortunately even if I spaced them out through through the day I'd be going through all the art just as quickly on a day to day basis.

"Running out" isn't a concern in terms of the overall archive BUT it IS a concern for the TES games which have FAR less publicly available art and known artist credits, such as Morrowind or Oblivion.

I've long struggled with the fact that I (personally) care about posting art from the mainline games more than I care about posting art from ESO or Legends. I love all TES games but I personally view some of the art as more important to see preserved ATM, ESPECIALLY art from games pre-ESO or Skyrim.

Why am I more concerned about older TES art? Simple. Those games existed in era before artists commonly had digital portfolios. As such most of the art is either behind some sort of NDA or has never been digitized.

ESO AND LEGENDS ARTISTS ACTUALLY UPLOAD ALOT OF THEIR WORK TO THEIR PORTFOLIOS ONLINE. THANK GOD. I wish I could say the same for the older games :(

Like FR it's EASY to find ESO artists. You know what's NOT easy? Finding artists and art for games like Daggerfall or Oblivion. I want to ensure the more obscure art and artists (especially from the pre-eso era) get archived on here ASAP.

I've long decided I want this blog to serve as a digital archive of its own so people in the future can more easily find TES art AND the artists credits (if we have them).

It's really important to me that places beyond UESP partake in TES art archiving. That's what I *try* to strive for at least through this blog.

For transparency sake I may not be around to post here in a year or two due to a possible career change I'm looking at.

It's nothing certain but the career I'm looking at would effectively remove the kind of free time I'd need to run this blog.

The career change may never happen!! But in the event it does I wanna make sure I post all the TES art I can, with art from the older games taking priority.

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Sorry for the word wall folks, but I love your love for this blog and you deserve transparency from me! ❤️🩷🧡💛💚💙💙🩵💜🤎

Todd Bless 🙏🙏🙏

[introvertpanda21]

DP x Batman x DCU Story Plot

(Long Rant)

Okay, I have another story idea in my head that I need to rant about. To anyone who reads this, just know that my knowledge about these fandoms came directly from fanfiction. Well, I have some knowledge of Danny Phantom's fandom, only watched like three or four episodes in the past. Do I know anything canon, absolutely not, but like that saying 'This is my headcanon'. Okay, I'm getting off-topic, I'm just gonna start and who knows maybe I'll one day write a fanfic based on these ideas of mine.

Okay, hopefully, my ranting makes sense, (excuse the grammar mistakes) but anyway, the idea in my mind starts with basically the ghost portal and the situation with Danny happening, and the whole ghosts coming out and Danny stopping them like the show basically. Okay, but one day the G.I.W. comes to Amity Park, and initially they are useless like in the show. However, within time they became competent, (I don't like them but, they are relevant to the plot) The Fentons, Jack, and Maddie become like lead scientists since they are obsessed with their work and the G.I.W. found their weapons vitals. (They aren't good parents to Danny and Jazz; I don't like how obsessed they are with their work that they basically are emotionally neglectful to Danny and Jazz [I know it's a show]) Anyways, the Fentons and the G.I.W. start to learn and discover that due to the portal that opened to the Infinite Relams, the ectoplasm had affected the citizens of Amity Park. Since they basically lived between the line of the living and the dead. This caused them to experience changes in their biology and in some cases, a number of them started to develop abilities or powers and are called liminals. (Though only those who have the most exposure to ectoplasm develop powers like young adults to babies) Like its more complex, but it's too much work to think more about it at the moment,

Oh, also the Lazarus pits are basically corrupt ectoplasm which is gonna be relevant to the plot. Since the G.I.W. learned about the possibility that ectoplasm can extend lifespans, the G.I.W. decided to use this to profit off. Basically, by creating the Anti-Ecto Acts and the biased sources about the ghosts and the Infinite Realms, they made anyone with ectoplasm in their system be considered non-being. (I haven't thought more about it, but basically, just excuses to justify experimenting on ghosts and Amity parkers.)

With this in mind, the G.I.W. decides to wipe Amity Park off the map and take all of Amity citizens whether dead or alive along with the ghosts that were residing in Amity Park as experimentation subjects. Oh, and the Amity citizens in the past tried to contact the Justice League, but they never got an answer, unknown to them that the reason was that the G.I.W. was basically causing a media blackout to prevent any outsiders from knowing what was happening. (A lot of Amity Parkers don't really have a lot of trust in the heroes, which is pretty understandable because of their experience.)

Amity Park basically gets wiped off the map and many of the people of Amity Park tried to fight back, but it was to no avail as a number of them basically got killed and those alive were taken as test subjects.

Oh, I forgot during this time Danny is the Ghost King but like technically not, honestly haven't thought about it more. Or like he's just a prince or maybe just normal Danny. (I haven't thought of the small details like this)

Anyways, back to the plot, months pass or like a year or two, don't know, but several Amity Parkers and some ghosts managed to escape during the G.I.W. attack and some of them were previously held in faculties by the G.I.W. but were rescued. Okay, so they are basically in hiding because they have really bad trust issues in trusting regular humans. (Which is reasonable, since the last time they trusted regular humans, it ended with them now being hunted by the G.I.W. and the government.) So, now they are struggling to survive and want to rescue the rest of their friends and families. So, basically, tensions are high among themselves.

(Also, I have this idea that Amity Parkers are decent fighters, not to the level of experienced heroes, but they can still put up a fight. Especially since ectoplasm grants them like super strength and their fingernails can turn into claws. Also, the young ones have developed like powers. They can also heal much faster. I don't know if this is canon in the show or fanon, but like the ghosts, they also started to share the culture of fighting against each other, but in a friendly sparring way.)

Also, during this time, the Justice League was getting reports of green-deformed monsters attacking different cities. This causes worries among the heroes since many of their attacks do no damage to them. (Batman gonna be up nonstop trying to do research on them) The only heroes that could really stop them were the Dark Justice members. So, anyway, the Justice League realized that they have a potential earth crisis and are trying to figure out why it's happening. (I don't fully have a full explanation for the reason, could be the Ancients or Observers in Infinite Realms sending them because of what the G.I.W. is doing. Or the G.I.W. is causing instability between the Infinite Realms and Earth due to their experiments on ectoplasm.)

So, while the heroes are trying to figure it out, back to the Amity citizens, a number of them are currently hiding in Gotham. Given that Gotham has ectoplasm even if it's slightly different. (ectoplasm lore?) Also, Lady Gotham offers them refuge in her city. And as fuck up Gotham is, Amity Park citizens are much pretty unfazed by the city since they lived in Amity Park.

Anyways, Tucker is currently living in Gotham with Sam and Wes after escaping from one of the G.I.W. facilities. The boy is traumatized due to the fuck up experiments he went through. But, he's determined to rescue not only Danny, Jazz, Elle, and Dan (I know, he's supposed to be like Danny's evil clone or something along the line, but the kid gonna get redemption, though he de-aged to a three-year-old. Well, the scenario in my head is that they all sort of de-aged, Danny and Elle are like seven and Jazz is like eleven) He also wants to save the others who are still being held as prisoners.

I haven't thought more plotwise, but I have been thinking of different scenarios. So, basically, Tucker gets told that he needs to get close to Tim Drake, one of the kids of Bruce Wayne in order to get access to some blueprint or machination or something in one of their offices or factories that would help them in rescuing the others. (Don't fully know science logic) He does so with the target in mind, but he doesn't expect to fall in love with Tim. My mind wants some romance, and I find the ship kind of cute, they probably enjoy each other company. Anyways, Tucker is now fighting against his feelings and his loyalty to the group, which wants to settle the score against G.I.W and the government.

Also, I have to concept that most of the Batfam are fully ecto contaminated with ectoplasm in their body, which is different from other Gothamites, who only have the scent of ectoplasm. So, like Tucker is literally fighting the urge to question how the hell Tim has ectoplasm in his system especially since it feels like corrupted. And especially after he met briefly with Jason, Tucker probably questioned how the fuck did Tim's brother exactly died and if they know what ectoplasm is, and if he should tell them that they are technically considered non-beings according to the laws. I also have scenarios of Batfamily moments, they have their traumas, but they love each other and are protective of each other. (My family is dysfunctional as it is, whether it fanon the Batfamily truly love each other even if they have their moments.)

Another concept I have is related to Wes, (I know that boy is like a cameo for like one episode or whatever) He's part of the Phantom group, and his experience in one of the G.I.W. bases was the worst. He went through some experiments with Lazarus' water, which basically affected his body like Jason, and now he had to experience Pit Madness. He sort of dies during these experiments and the G.I.W. scientists use Lazarus's water to see the effects or something along the lines. Especially since Ra al Ghul is one of their sponsors, since he's obsessed with immortality so, he is willing to do anything to achieve it.

For now, this is sort of the rough beginning my brain has for this story idea. Maybe I'll make a part two if my brain decides to incorporate more ideas.

[mystxmomo]

💢 🙈 🌈 For Enclave please and thank you!

... Snorts. Putting this line here after I finished answering this in fully, but the theme of this accidentally become: Enclave's Emotional Constipation.

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Enclave has a tiny tendency of both popping up and disappear off the face of the earth without warning or saying goodbye. She is the definition of "If I don't feel good, I'm getting up and walking away" and then she leaves for a decade. She'll come back when she feels like it.

This trait REALLY pisses Ilphaer off, especially after she came back from her last trip in the underdark resulted in. Gestures. Her disappearing for thirty years and coming back with all of that having happened to her. She genuinely doesn't know how to handle Enclave behaving like that, and doesn't know how to get basic communication skills out of her.

As another example, she scares the SHIT out of Nymryn a few times by just showing up in his and Ilyrae's camp. He's not really all that sure how... she found him or when she did, but he begins to get the impression that if she wants to know where he is, she will find him. It's a little unnerving at first, but also a little comforting when they're on better terms.

Other than that? She has a lot of uhhh quirks Read: trauma responses that she considers normal and refuses to unpack. I have a comic WIP somewhere where Agency tries taking something off her plate without looking and Enclaves response is to slam a knife into the table next to his hand. Girl, your response to previous food insecurity is showing.

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don't want to show other people?

Perhaps its something of an expected answer, but Enclave genuinely struggles to willingly and knowingly show her kinder (Read a second time: More Vulnerable) side to people. She has up so many walls she might as well be a fortress. All of her kindness comes with a bite, especially when she's paying attention and trying. She doesn't know how to express her uncertainty, her fears, or communicate her discomforts. To be vulnerable takes a specific type of strength she doesn't see herself as having, and so she doesn't try to.

🌈 RAINBOW - what advice would they give to their younger self?

The obvious one is "Leave Lolth Sooner," so I'll give you a different one.

In contrast to the answer above; I've talked about it a little in the past, but Enclave, as a long-lived drow, is someone that experiences a lot of loss in her life and doesn't process it as loss until she's older and more settled. A theme that pops up in her story as a result of that is therefore "Just because that love and connection was momentary doesn't mean it didn't happen, or wasn't important."

This especially comes up in the era's where she's working with people that have incredibly short lifespans. I put a joke line in my last comic about her finding Kenku and Halflings tolerable, but she does work with a few that become incredibly important to her in the Skulker era. They're both species of people that live comparative to a fraction of her life. But just because they were only there for a moment of her life doesn't mean the impact of their presence doesn't exist, and that's not something she fully processes until long after they're gone.

So if she had any advice that wasn't the most obvious ones like "Leave Lolth" or "Leave the underdark you don't need to stay and make a point" it's "Hey girl. Pay attention to the people in your life. For most of them, time is going FAR differently for them then it is for you."

But y'know. #Just Elf Things.

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss Says Maybe Happy Ending Is a ‘Phantom-Level’ Spectacle

If you'd asked Darren Criss years ago what his dream stage role was, “Hedwig was it,” says the Golden Globe winner. Well, Criss did perform the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway in 2015. So in the decade since, what is his new dream? Answers Criss: “If I'm being really honest, it's being able to originate something that hasn't been done on Broadway yet.” So, you can say his newest Broadway project, the new musical Maybe Happy Ending, is another check off the bucket list.

When speaking to Criss about this show in July, he hadn’t yet started rehearsals. But he spoke about the musical with a palpable excitement—after all, it is the first original musical he’s done since his days with the musical theatre company he co-founded, Team Starkid. In recent years, the Emmy winner (who rose to mainstream fame after starring in Glee and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story) has done mostly revivals on the stage, such as Little Shop of Horrors and American Buffalo.

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But to Criss, the particular pleasure of doing something like Maybe Happy Ending is the opportunity to utterly surprise the audience. “​​Being part of something this original is always a bit of an exponential curve,” admits Criss. “It's always a tough climb at the beginning, because people might not have an instant familiarity with it. But I think that it pays its dividends real soon, once they see what they're in for.”

For Shen, though Maybe Happy Ending follows robots, it touches on deeply human questions—both Helperbots are nearing the end of their lifespan and so they must decide if they want to take that emotional leap to make a connection, even if it means they might lose each other. “It feels like there's a ticking clock at the end of it,” she says. “And so, they're a little bit forced to live life to the fullest while they have this opportunity to do so.”

It’s not just the show that’s new. This is Shen’s Broadway debut. While Criss has over 15 years worth of experience under his belt, Shen is a relative newcomer. She was born and raised in New Jersey; her parents immigrated from Shanghai to America. They both play the violin, passing down their musical aptitude to their daughter, who grew up playing piano. She graduated from the University of Michigan (Criss’ alma mater) in 2022. Though she is still green, Shen’s credits are impressive: This year alone, she starred in the Off-Broadway musicals The Lonely Few and Teeth—both of which were favorably received. “I suppose, in a way, it feels like arriving,” Shen says with hesitancy, as if she doesn’t want to spoil this lucky year. “I think it's a cautious arrival. It's so wonderful and such a blessing and gift to be working with this particular team.”

Criss met Shen during her final callback for the show, which was a chemistry read with Criss where they sang a song together (though years earlier, Shen had attended a master class Criss held at the University of Michigan). More recently, the two have quickly bonded over being trained musicians who eventually became actors (Criss plays guitar, violin, and a bevy of other instruments). 

When it’s pointed out that he’s now effectively a Broadway veteran, Criss exclaims (to the giggling Shen), “I cannot fucking believe it. That sounds so twisted, like so Twilight Zone. To me, I've always been the youngest, like, I was always the kid.” But then, he brings it back to his co-star, which he does multiple times during the interview saying, “She'll kick so much fucking ass. That's one of my favorite parts about being in this, I get to forever now be part of the inevitable rise of a young star.”

It’s not just talk. Criss recently had Shen perform multiple songs at his music festival Elsie Fest. When asked what they’re excited for in Maybe Happy Ending, Shen’s answer was getting to sing the score. “The uniqueness of the sonic world—the music is so ethereal, and it's so gorgeous,” she enthuses. “The music feels so beautifully understated, but also, it's orchestral and sweeping. And not to mention, the people who are already attached to the project are people that I look up to in my own career so much.”

There is the assumption that because the show has a chamber musical sound, and it has four cast members, that it’s a small show. Think again, teases Criss: “It's four people, and the story is a ‘smaller’ story, but it has really, really big ideas.” So much so that in July, Maybe Happy Ending announced it would be delaying the start of previews by a month, citing supply chain issues that prevented crucial components of the set from getting to the theatre in time.

Though, Criss admits, “it sounds like we're covering up some nefarious reason.”

Laughs Shen: “We had to clear our beef.”

“Yeah, our beef,” smiles Criss. “Supply chain delay sounds like, kind of made up, but it's literally that.” Though he can’t say much more about what this intricate set design entails, other than it will utilize “cutting edge technology” to match its robot protagonists. As he excitedly puts it: “We're talking [Phantom of the Opera] level of production. This is a spectacle…I can categorically say that this will be something that you have never seen the likes of before on a Broadway stage.”

[welcome-to-cell-hell]

Ready to slay (some parasites, of course)

Sid was due for some new art and a proper introduction, so here they are! Sid (S-3284) is pretty much the polar opposite of the eosinophil from the series- they’re pompous and don’t take their job too seriously or care what anyone thinks about it. They think they’re so lucky that they don’t get called in too often, blissfully unaware that the other eosinophils know Sid very well, and that no one really needs a heroic white blood cell to swoop in, and.. do motorcycle tricks. But this works in their favor, because all that free time gets poured into songwriting for their one-cell rock band, Obsidian Rib. They play on their patrols, both at venues and little street performances here and there, and want nothing more than to become a household name. They have a long way to go, and a LOT of competition in the industry, but they stay hopeful. Singing voice claim:

And their talking voice claim is Leo from ROTTMNT

They were also Joe’s childhood best friend, and ended up reuniting with her years later*, overjoyed to learn that she made it out of the Thymus when they had expected never to see her again. Now that they’re back together, they’ve picked up right where they left off: by being chaotic little gremlins who expel an aura of secondhand embarrassment wherever they roam! Sid needed a freaky mutual and Joe needed a break from The Horrors of lymphocytehood, so this has been great for both of them.

*time and cell lifespans are a big mess, so just assume each cell ages like a human for simplicity. Joe and Sid are both in their mid twenties.

Eosinophil Lore under the cut. I might’ve mentioned some of this stuff already in posts and asks here and there but idc. Yapping on the yapping account? Oh my

The most glaring thing about eosinophils is that spearhead on their tail. That’s a cytotoxic granule, and it IS growing there naturally. It might be a little annoying to carry around, which is why eosinophils tend to have stronger tails than other immune cells, but it’s evolved like that for a reason (it’s largely based on the canon eosinophil spears bc they’re cool but shhhhh we’re gonna pretend I know what I’m talking about). Before cells developed weapons, they needed something sharp and tough to fight against parasites, who have thick hides. The proteins have evolved to be dense and strong, which gives them their shiny, almost metallic look. Eosinophils don’t actually fight USING their tails, though- when the granule is done growing, they can pinch it off and use it as a melee weapon, which soon turned into putting them on the ends of long spears. A new granule grows about every two weeks, and by then, the one on the weapon has started to denature and gets replaced. Since granule spearheads are a natural product, no two eosinophils will have the exact same coloration or shape.

Another, lesser-known strength of theirs is eosinophil derived neurotoxin (EDN), which I couldn’t find much research that my feeble genbio major brain could comprehend but that sounds BADASS so I’m just rolling with it. This is a liquified protein that they can secrete from their retractable fangs. A full dose can kill, but only a little bit leaves the victim temporarily paralyzed. This is more for fighting cell-sized pathogens, because if you tried to bite a giant worm-dragon, you probably wouldn’t be able to puncture its hide, and you’d probably get your fangs ripped out to boot!

As for the parasites themselves, I don’t have much development on them and they’re pretty close to canon with a little more fish and mososaur vibes (I did have an idea for a hagfish-inspired tapeworm tho). No matter what, the worms have slitted pupils and big ol’ teeth that get turned into overpriced souvenirs at tourist traps. And they shriek, LOUD!!! Again, just like canon. But this time around, they’re not the only vocal ones. Eosinophils are infamous for THEIR shrieking, which evolved as a way to distract parasites and lure them away from damaged tissue. It sounds ghoulishly similar to the real thing, and it’s even worse when the eosinophil in question is a self-proclaimed menace to society. They’ll shriek when they’re happy, when they’re scared, when they’re mad, “cuz’ it’s funny,” hell, they’ll roll down their car windows and shriek instead of honking their horns! And don’t even get me started on little eosinophils terrorizing the Marrow with their newly-discovered superpower.

[marjoriestotch]

got any thoughts on how craig as tolkien's best friend feels about stan? its pretty popular fanon that craig hates stan's ass, but what's your take on it?

Ooo I like this question.

Personally I think Craig hates the core Stan friend group - Stan (obviously,) Kyle, Cartman and Kenny, for all their bullshit they always get up to. I think the person he hates least in that group is Kenny (what with Kenny and Tolkien being on good enough terms to form the Ninja group together apparently) and the rest are like on an equal footing for him.

The thing that makes this messy is that it seems like the CATG vs SATG status quo has eroded over the shows lifespan, especially in recent years where they're all just hanging out with each other irrespective of their cliques. So you could argue that Craig's hostility has waned, really.

Buuuuuuuuut I admit I'm a sucker of CATG vs SATG I just am. I like how it is in a thematic way. We have SATG who are the crazy foreground and CATG who are the most down to earth background, yk? And how they play off with each other. Craig, Tolkien, Clyde and Tweek (cuz I'll include Tweek why not) are victims of the SATG'S antics, just regular kids subjected to their bullshit at one point in time, while Jimmy is also just a regular kid that I think took the safe route of being with the "normal" group.

Lol this is sooo much rambling to get to my point, I'm so sorry. Please know I write with a stolkien bias, but I'm trying my best for this to be platonic.

I like imagining scenarios where just how different Stan's life is from Tolkien's is apparent from how Craig reacts. For example, Craig and Tolkien hang out like at a diner having a normal lunch together and then suddenly Stan is by the window, covered in some slime or has some severed tentacles dangling over his shoulders, and you can see some looming threat casting a shadow over South Park behind him. But he's waving at Tolkien and smiling, because he just wanted to stop and say hi! And Tolkien waves back, yk, he's endeared by it, but there's Craig who is horrified and confused as to what shit Stan and his friends have gotten up to now, so Tolkien smiles a little awkwardly. Then Kyle runs by and snatches Stan so they can narrowly escape, and Tolkien and Craig continue their lunch.

Craig often talks to Tolkien about what exactly he sees in him, and when Tolkien describes it it just doesn't sound like the Stan he knows at all, and the back of his mind imagines SATG having some weird clone operation going on, lol, you never know!

But the truth is is that Tolkien does like the real Stan, and that his company is good for him. Craig sees that like when Tolkien and Stan have to seperate to go to their respective group's paths for that evening's big hangout plans, and how Tolkien looks back at Stan as they walk away, and when they do hang out, how much Tolkien brings Stan up with a smile.

He realizes it when all his anxieties over Tolkien living far away and his only friend nearby being Stan would mean Tolkien would potentially be in danger of the usual SATG bullshit, but then actually, it's not like that at all. That these two just play 40k and video games and do farm chores together. So...normal. The kind of friendship Tolkien needs. He has to give Stan that, at least.

Do I think Craig is like friends with Stan now, though? Hm. Not really. It's complicated. It's like, he's happy that Tolkien and Stan are friends because Tolkien is safe and happy, but he wants to be cautious. Like his hostility and doubt with Stan comes from a place of being protective over Tolkien. Everybody else can tell Tolkien to only think of Stan as this cool epic guy, but Craig wants to be the one to remind Tolkien how unpredictable he is, how stupid he can be, how he can always do better, etc, for his own sanity at least lol.

So I'd say Craig is more of a...optimistic skeptic that is this enigma of Stan Marsh. I hope that makes sense LOL this was a lot of word vomit I know.

[seiya-starsniper]

Dreamling Week Day 5 & 6 (Soulmates/Monochromatic)

This one is more of an idea for now, versus a full on fic, but when I saw the prompts for Days 5 and 6, my brain ran away with this concept. I honestly don't know if I'll ever get around to writing it myself, so if someone else wants to give a go, be my guest 😄

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Soulmate AU where Hob sees color for the first time when he meets Dream in 1389. 

In this AU, due to their initially short lifespans, nearly all humans believe that you can only have One Soulmate. When you meet your soulmate, you'll immediately know, because that is when your vision goes from black and white to seeing in color.

Immortal beings however, such as the Endless, along with gods, the fae, etc., know that a "soulmate" is just a person with whom you can form a deep and life changing bond with. Most beings have multiple soul bonds, sometimes simultaneously, though only the first one grants you the power to see color, while any subsequent soul bond grants its own gift, depending on the nature of the relationship.

Because humans have such short lifespans at first, most humans don’t even meet someone with whom they can form a soul bond with before they die. There is also religious rhetoric that claims soulmates must be romantic in nature, or at least married.

When Death takes Dream to the White Horse, Dream senses his potential connection with Hob immediately. He is disinterested in forming a bond at first (his last human soul bond was Nada, and that left a poor taste in his mouth for obvious reasons), but then he hears Hob brag about never dying, and suddenly Dream is interested in his new potential soul bond.

Hob, at this point in time, has been told his entire life that his soulmate would be his future wife, so imagine his utter SHOCK when Dream appears. At first, he thinks he's going to Hell for having a man as a soulmate, but then he stops caring as they talk more, and then he's hopelessly charmed. They agree to meet in 100 years as normal, but then Dream leaves without giving Hob his name, and Hob's too drunk to notice he just let his soulmate get away.

Hob spends the next few years looking for Dream, mourning that he was too drunk to really have a properly conversation with his soulmate, but then 100 years go by, and now Hob thinks he's soulmates with the Devil so 1489 goes something like this:

“Why can I see color? Am I really soulmates with the devil?” “I am no devil.” “Then what are you? And why aren't I long dead?” “You said you wanted to live forever. So you shall. And I am interested.” “In me?” “In your experience.” “My…experience?” *lightbulb moment* “You want to know what it's like.”

Their meetings go much the same way, with Hob thinking for a bit that in order for him to continue being immortal, he has to prove himself "worthy" of his soul bond with Dream, whose name he still doesn't know. He meets his other soul bonds (Peggy, Eleanor, etc) over those centuries, and he loves each and every one of them, but Dream, the one who gave him colors, will always be the one that means the most to him. He realizes that maybe he no longer needs to prove himself to his first soul bond, maybe they can have something more than just a conversation one every 100 years.

Dream naturally, gets upset at the very notion (he's still reeling from how poorly everything with Nada ended) and so he storms out in 1889 as usual. When he gets capture by Burgess in 1916, Dream is not only cut off from The Dreaming, but from Hob as well, and so Hob loses the ability to see color. Hob, not knowing what's happened to Dream, thinks that somehow, Dream has died, even though soulmate gifts don't leave upon death. His fears are confirmed in 1989 when Dream doesn't show up for their meeting. Hob mourns, but he can't forget Dream, so when the White Horse is shuttered, he buys out The New Inn anyways, so that there's always some sort of memorial for Dream near the place where they first met.

Then 2022 rolls around and Dream walks into The New Inn and BOOM, Hob can see colors again. Cue a very romantic reunion 💖