#just be sure to measure properly lol

[chumbyy]

i found this really neat fake-book box at a bookstore and made it into a dice box recently ^.^

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[neechees]

Hello, I got an ask from the account @/ magicalbirddinosaur who claims to be a diabetic Palestinian. They only have a paypal listed, and I'm pretty sure you've debunked accounts very similar to this. I get bad vibes from the ask, but I figure it's better to check first

Scam. Their paypal name "Taheera Abdala" is already on the scam list. But just for good measure, here's some other proof they're a scam:

They claim to be "vetted and verified by 90s-ghost" but there is no evidence of this, and 90s-ghost has not reblogged from them or verbally confirmed them to be legitimate at all. Scammers were already lying about being vetted, but now they're lying by name dropping random Palestinian users doing the vetting, so let that be a reminder to check to see if a blogs claim of being vetted is true and corroborated by who they claim "vetted" them. If you see nothing, and this blog provides no evidence of their claim, assume it's not true.

Additionally, their @ of 90s-ghost doesn't link to his blog, which means either A) he's already blocked them or vice versa & so he can't confirm or deny if he's actually vetted them or not, and/or B) they made sure the link didn't properly work so that he won't see it again, so that he can't confirm or deny if this random person has actually been vetted.

Conveniently have me blocked already despite me never interacting with them lol

Their pfp is literally from this website where they probably googled "Muslim girl face hidden" because that's the page is was listed under

Common scam story of claiming to be a diabetic Palestinian, indicating that this is probably the Kenyan scammer who keeps reusing that story

They have no gofundme but has a paypal where they're asking for money in USD, and it's in a donation pool, which scammers try to use because the other type of link where they give their @ usually shows their ACTUAL location, which would make their story implausible. There's other (logical) reasons for why genuine Palestinians might use a paypal or ask for donations in USD or might not have a gfm, but with the other signs on this blog, we can tell they wouldn't apply

[sixosix]

heyooo!! can I request Izuku when his fingers accidentally brush against the readers??? And they grab his hand and he gets all flustered <333 sorry I just can’t get this scenario out of my head!! He’s so silly!! /pos

a/n omf i cant believe my izuku readers r still alive… i havent caught up in the manga since forever so if theres anything wrong, thats why LOL i missed izuku so much T__T, wc 1k

Izuku is guarding a terrible, terrible secret. One that he wouldn’t even admit if his classmates roped him into an intense game of Truth or Dare, unless drunk, probably. Which will never happen.

Class 1-A Dorms roars with laughter. Izuku swears he can feel the building shaking as the students occupying the vast space of the living room burst into another fit of cackles. The other building could probably hear it, and they’d get a noise complaint the next morning, from 1-B, no less.

They’re watching a movie. Comedy, perhaps; Izuku wasn’t paying much attention when they were picking, but he could pick up the clues of what the characters on screen are saying, his classmates jostling his shoulders as they giggle, and, of course, the same mp3 laugh track that plays for the rest of the film.

Izuku is tucked into the far corner of the couch, squished between Todoroki and Uraraka. Uraraka laughs with her whole body, her head thrown back as she claps in delight. Todoroki laughs once, a huff of amusement, just a curl of his lips.

And on the floor, nestled between where Izuku dutifully keeps his knees spread so as to not hurt, sits you—the whole reason why Izuku is struggling to focus on the movie in the first place.

He’s eternally grateful that keeping the lights dim while watching films is a thing, or else everyone would’ve long noticed his burning face. He looks like a strawberry, and feels like a strawberry left under the sun. Todoroki had cast him a glance, vague amusement playing on his stoic face. Izuku wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in there forever.

“Sorry, Izuku,” you say, loud enough to be heard over the film but quiet enough that it’s only shared between the two of you. He wills his legs not to jump up in surprise. “Can I just lay for a bit? I’m getting kinda sleepy.”

“No problem,” Izuku says after a beat, managing to not fuck up and stammer embarrassingly in front of you. Or should it be behind you?

You tilt your head upward, meeting his eyes. “Thank you.”

“Y-Yes. I mean, you’re welcome.” Dammit.

Izuku breathes a sigh of relief when your attention is promptly stolen by the laugh track, and Kaminari yelps a cackle.

He catches something from the corner of his eye, paling at the sight of a terrifying expression on Uraraka’s face. If devils had round eyes and rounder cheeks, smiling in a way that fits their nature, it would be a picture of evilness Uraraka is portraying at this moment.

He squints inquisitively at her.

Uraraka grins. “Your hand,” she whispers, then does something he can’t quite figure out.

Confused, Izuku shows her his hand, scars and all.

Uraraka looks unimpressed, and Izuku wilts. He can’t hear her properly, with the movie picking up pace and sound effects. Uraraka makes a grand demonstration of splaying her hand and resting it on the crown of her hair, then gestures wildly at your head. 

As soon as understanding dawns on Izuku, his face feels drained of blood, horrified. “No,” he mouths desperately. “No.” Again, for good measure.

“Yes,” she mouths back, taking matters into her own hands by quite literally taking his hand and moving to place it on your head. But he panics and jostles your hands resting on his lap instead.

Izuku pales. The characters in the movie shriek. “Sorry,” he squeaks out, then glares at Uraraka, who’s holding in her laughter.

He heaves a heavy breath when you cast him a curious glance.

“You—Sorry, I, my hand—No, I mean, I didn’t mean to do that,” he blurts uselessly, waving his arms around in a desperate attempt to hide his face, which is surely the same shade as anything red.

What the hell, his brain hisses. Izuku, you idiot, you’ve done it now.

He watches with bated breath as you take his hand instead of laughing at his face. He watches as you lace your fingers with his instead of seeing your face scrunch up in disgust. His heart flutters, threatening to fly off his chest and into the shared warmth of your hands.

Instead, he deflates like a red balloon, his mouth forming words that sound like nitpicking vowels from a series of keyboard smashes.

“I don’t mind,” you say. “Relax. I want you to hold me.”

It’s a little hard to relax when your words float around in his mind like a broken record.

Once the movie ends and the noise subsides, his classmates collectively keep their messes—namely, the thrown popcorn and spilled soda on the carpet—and return to their rooms. But Izuku can’t do that, not when he has a Y/N who is still resting against his lap.

He waves goodbye at Uraraka and Iida, the former making kissy faces and Iida solemnly sending him his prayers.

Izuku resigns himself to his fate, sighing softly. Well, despite everything, he likes the fact that you never once let go of his hand.

“I like your hands,” you say, as if answering his thoughts. Izuku jolts and can’t help it because he thought you were asleep.

“You… do?”

Izuku thinks his hands are ugly, scars running all the way to his shoulders like protruding veins. He hates seeing it.

“I do,” you say, squeezing it tenderly. “I’m glad it’s still together and working after all you’ve done to it. I like them.”

Izuku bites his bottom lip, harsh enough that it’s nearly drawing blood, lest he says something stupid like, ‘I like you’. He doesn’t, thankfully. Yet it’s there, on the tip of his tongue. If you asked him what’s on his mind, he would’ve said it.

But he guards his secret a little while longer and hopes that someday he’ll be able to share it with you.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, finding the courage to squeeze your hand. Much to his delight, you do it back and smile. He’s melting. “Can we, uhm, stay here for a bit?”

You laugh, rising from your position. Izuku nearly panics and holds you down because he doesn’t want to lose this moment just yet. But he finds himself stunned when you settle beside him and rest your head against his shoulder instead. “Sleep,” you say. “We’ll stay here for a bit.”

“O-Okay, yeah,” he whispers, reaching for your hand once more.

[satorusluver]

Hi, you said you were doing a 500 followers thing, correct? If so, could I get number 42, breeding kink with either Toji or Choso? Just if you have a space open of course. I'd very much appreciate it, thank you.

Choso + breeding kink

Tags/warnings: smut (minors DNI), fem reader, she/her pronouns, established relationship, unprotected sex, creampie, breeding kink, slightly subby Choso (?) Lots of "please" lol

Word count: 700 ish

A/N: I go feral for breeding kink Choso. Consider this a sequel to my other lil Choso drabble. I hope you enjoy! <3

Choso, who loves family above anything else and dreams of someday becoming a father to a chubby lil baby who's the perfect combination of you and him. This man drops to his knees and presses a gentle kiss to your lower belly, to your still empty womb, when you tell him you think you're finally ready to start trying for a baby. He already worships your body to begin with, but now, to know that this woman he adores and reveres is offering to carry his child for him? The thought has blood rushing to his cock faster than it ever has before.

He wants to take you then and there, but more than that he wants to do it right and give you two the best chance of conceiving as soon as possible. So you track your cycle and Choso saves up his sperm for a few days before your window of fertility. After all, blue balling himself a little is worth it if it means increasing his chances of all that cum actually doing what it's meant to do, putting a mini Choso in your belly.

He doesn't last a whole ten minutes before cumming the first time you try to conceive because he's so turned on at the idea of finally getting to breed his sweet girl. He's already a fucked out, babbling mess who's begging for you to take every last drop of the thick load he's so lovingly saved up just for your pussy the moment he slides his length into you. He just can't believe this is real and his beloved is letting him put a baby in her. He's on top of you, one of his large hands resting almost possessively roughly where your womb is located, and his pretty face is all contorted in pleasure at the feeling of your tight, wet heat sucking him in each time he thrusts back into you like it's just as eager for his load as he is to give it to you.

You feel his full, heavy balls slapping against your ass with every stroke, and they begin to tighten as he gets closer to his release. The sounds Choso makes when he gets close to cumming are fucking beautiful, high-pitched moans, desperate whimpers and pussydrunk whines of "take it, take it, please take it. Oh god, please, baby, take my cum. G-gonna make you a mommy, gonna give you a baby, I promise."

He doesn't even really know what he's saying, too lost in the feeling of your warmth around him to think properly. He cums harder than he ever has at the thought of all his hot, sticky seed flooding your fertile womb, hoarsely moaning a mantra of "please please please" as he presses the swollen tip of his dick up against your cervix and spurts rope after thick rope of semen.

And he doesn't stop there. He keeps going, fucking his cum back into you for good measure, his fat cock still so hard and eager to give you more. The cum he's already deposited in you just makes you even wetter, and Choso watches with pride at the sight of the frothy white mess that soon covers his dick from how hard he pounded his first load into you.

"Your little pussy looks so pretty like this, my love. S-so full of my cum, yeah? 'm gonna fill you even more."

And he does, filling you two or three more times until his seed is all but gushing out of your poor, overused cunt. You honestly lose count after cumming around his cock so many times yourself. After all, he's heard that a woman's orgasm can help open up the cervix and increase the chances of conception. Whether or not that's true, Choso makes sure to rub little circles into your puffy, sensitive clit with his thumb as he fucks you until you're so overstimulated you're begging him to stop.

"My poor darling," Choso coos down at the panting mess he's made of you after hours of his ardent lovemaking.

"Does my little mommy-to-be need a break?" he chuckles when you nod weakly in response, already half-asleep sleep beneath him. Choso leans down, pressing a kiss to your cheek before whispering in your ear as you drift off to sleep.

"Rest up, my love, because I have more in store for you where that came from."

[the-kr8tor]

Ok, it’s a bit early for this type of request but hobie brown on Valentine’s Day with reader. Even though he hates the capitalist part of it, reader convinces him it’s all about the love and they celebrate together. (They make each other homemade gifts, and if they want something from the store hobie would steal it) <3

-🪩

Thank you for the adorable request!! Ly 🫶 (uploaded early bc i tend to forget abt valentine's day lol)

Pairing: Hobie Brown x gn! Reader/ Spider-Punk x gn! Reader

Tags: No use of Y/N, No specific physical description of the reader, CW food mentions, FLUFF.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

The loud music blares right inside your eardrums, chocolate aroma filtering through the entire flat, there's dried bits of it in your hair, apron and hands. You hum while putting the melted chocolate in its heart shaped molds.

Hobie's initials are freshly painted using icing on the prototypes or what you called ‘the rejected batch’ after you dumped more cocoa powder in it, making it lumpy and in turn making the hearts look wonky.

Stretching your aching neck, you place the tray of chocolate inside the freezer to cool, nodding to yourself at how you've practically perfected the last batch; now you just have to wait for it to freeze over so you could paint his initials and cartoon versions of you two on the chocolate. After that you can finally box them up and gift them to Hobie's as a valentine's gift—

“What's all this then?” A chin plops atop your shoulder, fingers taking off your earbuds for you.

You jump in your skin, back hitting the fridge door in surprise. “Fucking fuck!”

Hobie grins at your reaction, his hand hidden behind his back. “Cute apron. You look bloody fit in it.”

You clutch your imaginary pearls. “You're such an ass.” calming your racing heart, you flick his forehead. “You're early.”

“Time is a construct.”

“I'm not done with your gift.”

“Valentine's day is a sham holiday that capitalists invented so you could buy shit your partner doesn't need.” He raises a brow at you.

You loop your arms around his neck, smile widening at every word he utters. “What's that behind you then?”

“Flowers,” he sighs, revealing a bouquet of flowers from behind, the colorful paper crinkles, a thin red ribbon tying it all together. You're sure you've seen the flowers somewhere. “Before you say anythin’ it's from my garden.”

“You're an absolute sweetheart, Hobie brown.” eyes sparkling, you lean to press numerous kisses on his whole face, he scrunches up, feigning offense at your comment, but the way he subtly chases your lips says otherwise.

“My big punk sweetheart got me flowers!” You can't help but squeeze his cheeks. “From his beloved garden no less!” Pressing kisses in quick succession, he surrenders to you, sighing with every smooch you give him.

You lean away, affection satiated. He looks properly smooched with his face relaxed and lips smiling lopsidedly. His eyes are the same shape as the chocolates you've been making.

“The holiday's still a bloody cash grab.” He huffs, not an annoyed huff but a content one as you wipe the sheen you've left on his skin.

“I know it is.” You chuckle, busying yourself on cleaning his face. Your movements remind him of a cat grooming another cat; tender and soothing for the one they love. “It's about the thought, the love that comes with the gifts. Purchased or made there's love underneath it all.” Voice soft, lashes fluttering, you look at him like you've got the whole world in your hands.

“Or stolen from a multi million store that doesn't pay their employees fairly?” Hobie holds you by your middle, spare hand still clutched around the precious bouquet.

“Oh especially then!” you take his gift, smelling the petals. Your heart is full.

Smiling, you embrace him that he welcomes wholeheartedly. Nose nuzzling the crook of his neck, you leave a soft kiss on his jaw for good measure.

“Based on the chocolates on the walls, 'm guessing you got me a new guitar?” Hobie jokes, voice muffled by your temple that he's currently pecking like a man deprived of kisses. (He isn't)

“Wait a few more hours to get your gift?” You lean away to look at him, he's eyeing the prototypes on the counter.

“Stay with you for the rest of the day, getting snogged by you every second?” You nod, giggling. “Sounds like pants.” Before you could say something witty, he crashes his lips to yours.

Hobie tastes chocolates in your lips, making him kiss you deeper. Hands gliding along your lower back, he finds penchant on your hips, molding the soft skin in his hands.

He leans back, watching your flustered face gawp at him. “Tastes good, love.” His voice is deep and saccharine. You're absolutely melting in his arms, the bouquet almost slipping from your clammy hands.

“Let me get another taste.”

[lairai]

Hell, or-

I don't often (or, really, at all) make paintings that are in any way relevant to any of my real life circumstances, but this one has been haunting me just a tiny bit so I just had to try and translate it to a canvas somehow. Putting the rest of the info under 'read more' so I can spare anyone not wanting to go through this essay lol.

Floods are one of the only extreme weather types we get in my country, and while I'm sure in XYZ nation out there it's worse and the locals have much worse to contend with etc., the knowledge of it doesn't change the fact that the rain which has hit central Europe recently has been catastrophic. As always, the worst of the floods hit by evening or night, and there's just something about the combination of darkness, wind, and lamplight, where you can hear the water everywhere but can't properly see it and you're kind of dreading what you'll wake up to in the morning, that gets to you. Doesn't help that this time, the situation did not improve the next day, and many people woke up to things having gotten drastically worse.

I included a good number of things, drawn mostly from memory, that have stuck in my mind from the floods my hometown experienced in the summer this year, as I was reminded of all of them yesterday evening when the worst of the weather hit the city I have since moved to. A good part of the city I live in has been evacuated, and I would not at all be overestimating if I said the weekend has been devastating so far.

The trees - In lamplight, trees look kind of sort of cursed. I just find the extremely vivid green that immediately disappears into pitch blackness as soon as the light stops reaching the leaves kind of unsettling.

The hose - This is a vaguely drawn reference to the hoses the firefighters use when pumping water out of flooded homes. Since floods inevitably entail everything getting wet, it looks very shiny and resembles a pipe.

The plants - The stream opposite of my family's house almost always overflows during floods, but there's no measuring stick in our part of the neighbourhood that we could use to tell how high the water has risen, so we use the plants that grow alongside the stream to kind of eyeball it.

The jackdaw - Jackdaws are extremely common in cities here and are an everyday sight. I wanted to include something that would refer to the "normal" state of things that could work in contrast with the rest of the image, and to me, jackdaws kind of represent that. Its wings are red and blue because those are the only colours you're seeing at night besides the street lamps, from the red firefighter trucks with blue lights.

Bags of sand - If you live in an area prone to flooding, you know 'em, you love 'em.

Traffic sign with reflective label - This is a direct reference known only to me that points to a nighttime photo of my hometown being flooded - in the photo, this one label on some traffic sign reflects brightly into the camera, and it's what's made the photo easy to recognise to me.

[sunstone-smiles]

Measuring Mishap

(I’m sorry that the picture is so blurry-)

Author’s note: Another fic with Miguel after I said I would only make one? I couldn’t help myself. Can you blame me? Lol! I hope you enjoy!

Series: Across the Spider-Verse

Characters: Miguel O’Hara and Lyla

Word count: 2,242

Summary: Lyla is assisting Miguel by measuring him for a new spider suit, but a small mishap occurs in the process that leads the AI to instead discover a playful piece of information about him that can make him laugh.

—

It’s hard enough tearing Miguel away from his work, let alone asking the man to stand still. He always has to be active with something, whether it’s skimming through files, capturing anomalies, or making sure that everything in the Spider-Society is in working order, so taking a break is not one of his strong points.

Miguel huffs as he stands in his spider suit on a short, cylindrical platform, his arms crossed. Above him, two robotic limbs hang from a steel frame like the strings of a marionette. A yellow strip of measuring tape is held in the metal fingers of the robotic hands as the contraption measures Miguel from shoulder to shoulder.

Miguel taps his foot on the ground and exhales an impatient sigh. “Lyla, how much longer is this going to take?” he turns to the AI in question, who’s floating beside his head.

“Just a few more measurements and you’ll be good to go,” Lyla taps away on a digital screen in front of her. Matching her own hand movements in sync, a robotic hand taps at the air alongside her while Lyla makes her note. “What’s the rush anyway? You don’t have any meetings scheduled for later.”

“I just want to get back to business, that’s all.”

“Business?” Lyla hovers backwards, almost offended. “I’m measuring you for a new suit to enhance your abilities so you can catch anomalies with more ease,” she demonstrates by controlling the robotic limbs to take Miguel’s arm away from its crossed state, then measuring it from shoulder to wrist, “It doesn’t get more business-y than that.”

“You know what I mean, Lyla,” Miguel shakes his head. “Work, reports, surveillance, making sure the anomalies are properly contained—instead of standing still like this. That kind of business.”

Lyla pulls the measuring tape and the mechanical arms away to type another note. “Yeah, I get it. But doesn’t it feel nice to take a break every once and a while? It definitely gets you away from those screens you always slouch over.” She throws a teasing grin at him and tries to straighten out his back with the robotic hands, like she’s posing an action figure. “I mean, just look at what it’s doing to your posture!”

“My posture is fine,” Miguel grumbles. He shifts his shoulders. “I only feel like every single second that I’m away from my hands-on work, another multiverse is potentially being swallowed whole.”

“Ugg, you’re being dramatic again. And also mathematically incorrect. On average we have three anomalies each day, meaning that every twenty-eight thousand eight hundred seconds another multiverse is in danger, not every single second.” She smirks down at him, pleased with her correction.

Miguel rolls his eyes. “Can we just get back to the task at hand, please?” He starts to fidget in his spot, like stretching out his arms to keep himself occupied, yet he’s moving around too much for Lyla to continue measuring him. The AI temporarily hangs the strip of measuring tape on the metal frame above them.

“I’m just saying that you can benefit from loosening up for a bit,” Lyla’s ramblings begin to wander as she tries to position Miguel with the mechanical arms to stand still on the platform, but she’s not paying complete attention to where the robot hands are drifting, “You know, like taking a moment to de-stress. It wouldn’t hurt to try—”

Lyla is suddenly cut off by an uncharacteristic yelp emanating from Miguel. Miguel snatches the robotic wrists away from his sides and fires a glare at Lyla, “Watch where you’re putting these things!” 

Processing the aftermath of the yelp, the AI quickly deduces that while she wasn’t paying attention, she must have accidentally squeezed his sides. 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!” Lyla regains control of the robotic limbs. She properly guides them back towards his torso, but Miguel flinches away, as if on reflex. Lyla tilts her head in curiosity. She shrugs it off and maneuvers the arms close to his sides to hold him straight, but again, Miguel jumps away without her touching him, as if he was suddenly anxious of the mechanical hands.

She tries once more, but every time the robotic hands get close, he recoils and restarts her progress. Lyla narrows her eyes at him and pouts. “Miguel, hold still,” she tries to catch him without him flinching away, almost like corralling a startled horse into a stable. She attempts to grab at his arm, “I can’t get accurate measurements if you keep—”

“Hey!” Miguel tenses up with a squeak when she mistakenly pinches at his ribs. 

Lyla pulls the robot hands away, smiling with intrigue at the sound Miguel just made. “What was that?” she giggles.

Miguel tightens his arms closer to his chest, almost like he wanted to sink into himself. Miguel clears his throat. He adverts his eyes from Lyla's gaze. “It was—”

“Nothing?” she cuts him off with a sly smile, “I thought you would say that. Analyzing what just occurred now.”

“Lyla wait, don’t-

The pixels of Lyla’s heart-shaped glasses flash twice. “Analyzing complete. I detected a hint of laughter in your voice. And came to the conclusion that…” Lyla pauses as her data is pieced together. “No…” her mouth widens along with her eyes. “No way!”  her voice heightens with excitement. “You’re—!”

Miguel barks, “Don’t say it!”

“You’re ticklish!”

Miguel face palms with a growling sigh, flinching just hearing that word. “You said it…”

Lyla giggles excitedly, almost squealing like a fangirl. “How am I just learning about this now?! I need to know all the juicy details! Like, where are you the most ticklish?” She teasingly moves the robot arm with wiggling fingers towards his stomach. Miguel quickly grabs the wrist of the contraption before it can make contact.

“L-Lyla! This is not the time for these unnecessary activities!” he shoves the metal limb away from him.

“Nah, I think this is a perfect time! What you need is a good laugh!” She commands a robot limb to grab Miguel’s left wrist above his head, like she was innocently going to measure his arm for his new suit. “So, are you ticklish here?” Lyla quickly says and flutters her fingers to control the robot’s fingers to do the same into his underarm. Miguel sucks in a gasp and swiftly yanks his arm down, bringing it close to his body and clinging tightly to his own wrist.

“Hey!” Miguel snarls towards the AI, but Lyla had already zoomed behind him and switched to his other shoulder.

“Or here?” Lyla wiggles the chilled robotic fingers into the side of his neck. Miguel instantly scrunches up his shoulders and growls to hold back any further reaction to the tingly scratches. Trying to fight back, he attempts to nab the robot hand out of the air, but Lyla promptly dodges herself and the hands out of the way and behind him.

“Or how about here!” Lyla slips both robot hands into Miguel’s underarms from behind, striking like a snake. Miguel yelps and arches his back from the surprise, immediately clamping both of his arms to his sides and snarling to cover up any giggles that need to be stifled. 

“L-Lyla!” Miguel barely chokes back an audible giggle from slipping through while trying to squirm from her grasp. His mouth twitches on and off with a smile that shows off his fangs and his frame begins to lurch forward, like he wants to curl up into a ball, the longer he holds his laughter. 

“Come on!” Lyla exclaims from behind, “Stop hiding your laughter! Let me hear it!”

Miguel has to hold strong. Who knows what data-collecting Lyla can do with one of his giggly reactions if she gets her hands on it. She of course wouldn’t do anything that could hurt him, but the flustering earful of teases that he’ll hear afterwards is enough to keep himself from giving in to the easy route. Miguel faces this like a challenge.

He growls through his fangs like a big cat fending off a stronger force. “Absolutely n-not! Aye!” he squeaks when Lyla moves the mechanical hands down to both of his sides, clawing into the vulnerable area. Miguel throws his arms around himself in defense, his smile turning more wobbly by the second as he tries to hold back the giddy bouncing of giggles jumping on pogo sticks in his belly.

“Ah ha! Getting closer! I just have to get past your stubbornness!” Lyla smiles and moves one of the robot hands towards his ribs, teasingly scratching at a spot between the curved bones through the material of his suit. Miguel jolts and snickers start to spill out through hisses bypassing his fangs. He squeezes one arm to his side while the other tries to pry the robotic wrist away from wiggling into his ribs. She’s getting closer to breaking through the dam of his laughter and she knows it.

“Knock it ohohoff!” a giggle slips through Miguel’s defenses. He��s doomed. Lyla grins. Now is the moment she’s been waiting for.

Lyla’s glasses flash when she sees the opening she was planning in her sight. The other robotic hand by Miguel’s side whirs with Lyla’s control, then strikes directly at his tummy, swiping its clawed fingers back and forth like a sponge. “Gotcha now, Miguel!”

“GAH! Lylahahahaha!” Miguel finally bursts into robust laughter. He stumbles backwards, nearly falling, but Lyla places the palm of the second robot hand on the center of his back to stabilize him. However, although he’s still standing, his wriggling torso is caught in between the clawed hand vibrating at his tummy and the one stabilizing him. He throws his giggling head forward with a huge, fanged smile on his face, then grabs at the robotic wrist in an attempt to tug away the mischievous machine hand at his stomach. “Dahahamn it!” Miguel shouts through his laughter, knowing that Lyla has come out victorious. One of the strongest spider-men has been defeated by his own AI with a little bit of tickling.

“There’s that laugh I was looking for!” Lyla smiles along with Miguel. “Why did you have to go and hide it? Now I have to make up for all the laughter I missed!” Seeing another advantage to tease him, Lyla scoops up both of Miguel’s wrists in one robotic hand and pulls his arms out in front of him. 

“I’ll take those, thank you,” she beams above him. She then uses the unoccupied robotic hand to reach the ticklish places she tried before, now that the gates that were holding back his laughter have erupted.

Miguel squeals and jolts with laughter as the free mechanical hand scritches and scribbles at the rest of his torso. Lyla swiftly switches from spot to spot, like a scratch to his ribs, a squeeze to his sides, a scribble or two to his belly and underarms. She pokes around his whole torso, sending Miguel into a squirming, giggling frenzy. 

“Lylahahahaha!!! Quihihihit it!” Miguel attempts to tug back his arms as his joyful laughter fills the room. He releases a snort, then buries his face in his shoulder, trying to hold on to any dignity he has left. 

“No wonder you couldn’t hold still! You’re just that ticklish!” Lyla giggles at Miguel’s reaction. “Ironically though, I’m still able to get some measurements from you. Of where you’re the most ticklish, that is, which I determine to be your belly! Your laughter is zero point five decibels higher in that spot than the rest of your tickle spots! Watch!” Lyla then takes the opportunity to return to scribbling at his stomach, causing Miguel to squeak and increase the volume of his laughter, just as expected.

“LYLA!” Miguel calls out her name again in an attempt to scold her, even though his voice is currently laced with silly sounding laughter, “Thahahahat’s enohohohough!!!”

“Aww, so soon? But alright, I gotcha,” Lyla smiles and releases his wrists. Miguel instantly wraps his arms around himself, panting as he catches his breath from the tickle attack.

Lyla floats over to his shoulder. “See? Now wasn’t that fun?”

Miguel huffs out a growl. He glares at Lyla out of the corner of his eye. “That was NOT fun!”

“Say what you want Miguel,” Lyla shrugs with a lingering, all-knowing smile on her face, “but I can read that your body language is much more relaxed than it was before.”

Miguel opens his mouth to counter her, but he stops himself. He looks away from her with a defeated scowl. A small blush heats in his cheeks. He, unfortunately, can’t argue with her data about him feeling more relaxed.

Lyla hovers back to his other side to grab the measuring tape that she had previously hung on the contraption's metal frame. “Now, let’s get back to business. I still need to finish measuring you for real.”

Miguel flinches away from her, reflexively bringing his arms close to his body for split second defense. “There’s more?!” he frantically questions.

The AI chuckles at his flustered reaction. “Hehe, relax Miguel. I promise I won't tickle you on purpose,” she holds out a reassuring, open palm. “But you better hold still this time,” she ends her sentence with a lighthearted smirk. 

Needless to say, Miguel fully understands that he should listen to her advice, but at least the short break in the middle of their work wasn’t a total waste of time.

[havethetouch]

Back on my bullshit because now that I have a longer vacation going on I can tackle this again, this time with feeling. Also I had a break in between bc I remembered and forgot to mention that I was out and about for almost a week living in a flat to babysit animals while their owners were out of the country but I had been yearning for the ceiling. After Time got away from me a bit got brainfogged suddenly realized it is September already wtf. If I hadn't liveblogged the ceiling shenanigans I might've misremembered when that started too. Anyway.

Previously on Touch's ceiling shenanigans

And right now we are here:

Ceiling skeleton. The support beams are all askew as fuck and jammed into the the walls on both sides. I have thermal plastering ready for it's call to action as one of the walls with the holes is an outer wall and the cold will crawl through and try to get me without proper insulation. I am also currently busy with removing everything that has been lying about in this room (before it was the storage room for when I freshly moved in so a lot of stuff just.. floating about) because the crossbars do not inspire confidence in me that they will not drop weirdly when I loosen them up lol I also bribed my auntie to take me a few villages over (I do not have a car) to get some more supplies for the removal of the distemper paint and shit to seal of cracks were the ceiling and walls meet. Also... there is a cable duct in the corner right over the space were the oven will go and I figured it might be for the best to pry open the wall to sink it and for that I needed a different kind of quick-drying plaster which was also acquired. And then I thought yeah well, get some of those parquet mini fix thingies.. you know the idk how it is called but basically there are some scratches and dents in the floor in need of some TLC and I know how sanding down parquet and resealing it properly works but I also know how much time and shit that takes and I might at some point say "it is time" but it ain't this year or the next for sure. So mini fixes it is for now. I also have a different endboss now in this entire thing because see... I have a second door in this room to the outside of my driveway. I just have this second entry point to my abode which will be very handy once I work with some of my materials that need a lot of ventilation and shit. But anyway so... Somewhen in the past there was flooding I know this there is plenty of visible evidence of it all over my home that there went water were it was not supposed to go. But nowhere is it more apparent than this door.

There used to be parquet in between (it's a double door) and just look how fucking thick my outside walls are fucks sake and my dad removed that because it looked like one step away from having you meet the underside of the building and filled that all up with concrete but nothing more than that. I think he wanted to seal the doorway up permanently at some point and I am glad he didn't because I adore the second entry point. But yeahhh this is a bit of damage. I misremembered how much bc I had to temp seal this off for a bit because mice kept sneaking through these two doors into the house last winter along with the cold. So it kinda slipped my mind how rotten the wooden frames are and how even the concrete on the sides is all fucked up. Got some work ahead on that one. There is also a massive black spider somewhere in the woodbeams that I only caught a glimpse of before she scuttled in there and at some point we will probably make eye contact when I remove the rotten wood :')

And yeh this is no longer just the ceiling but like I said, am on vacation now so I try to get everything wrapped up soon and that includes this entry door along with the floor. Cross fingers the spider does not jump me she looked like she could beat my ass.

[kaiowut99]

A Special Announcement~ | Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Tag Force Special Re-Translation Project!

I've been itching to get around to posting about this for a few months now, but wanted to wait until I'd worked on enough for it, but also had the idea to create an announcement trailer to go with it for added good measure--after recording and editing clips for a couple weeks and leveling the audio last night, heremst we are! (For some clips, I forgot to turn off the PPSSPP emulator's DevMenu option so that shows up in the top-left, buuut I didn't feel like re-recording those, lmao.)

Details worth reading below the cut here, but tl;dr work has been in progress for over a year in between things, work will continue to be in progress for a while, and the release will happen when everything's ready, but stay tuned, fun's getting started etc etc~

So, I'm sure most of us are familiar with the as-yet-unlocalized-by-Konami TFSP, the seventh and last entry in the Tag Force series on the PSP that came out early in ARC-V's run (featuring the first five series which was a cool first), as well as the current translations out there originally worked on by the guys at XenoTranslations (omarrrio and ScrewTheRules/ClickClaxer01 at GBATemp handling the card and story/etc translations, respectively) and how there are... some issues with what's out there. Everything from the DM story mode being loaded with YGOTAS references (no shade to YGOTAS and much respect to LK/Martin for his ongoing work on it still making me laugh sometimes, ofc) to the off-the-cuff edginess of 2014-2015-era internet culture and the problematic (in some cases, derogatory) language that permeated it--though to its credit, some parts do have some level of translation attempted, but taken as a whole, it can definitely turn people off from giving the game a try and seeing what it brings to the table (which is still a good amount despite the corners Konami cut here/there compared to prior TF games).

I actually did attempt a translation of my own back in 2015 (if you've been following me for a long time, you might remember it lol), tackling the GX story text starting with Judai's heart events, but eventually put it on the backburner as I focused more on my GX subbing work and beginning to finalize everything (which I'm still doing). Sometime in 2022, a friend over on NeoArkCradle (the "anonymous YGO fan" in the opening screen) was poring over the story text and patching it up the best he could to remove the references and inaccuracies with more coherent work, and after a while of seeing what he was working with in the Discord, I was a bit blown away by just how inaccurate much of it was--so alongside him, and using the better tools available since then (including some really awesome work from both nzxth2 [who did a proper re-translation of 5D's TF6 not too long ago and was kind enough to release his tools for it] and our coding helper Xan1242 who we eventually reached out to for some help), I decided to *cracks knuckles* get involved and help give everything a more accurate and professional translation, much like I do with my GX subs, working directly off the Japanese text and files. I've been taking cracks at everything in between the GX episodes I've been finalizing going back to at least last January (and I'd used my little hiatus after finalizing GX Season 2's subs to really get at some other stuff throughout the game), starting with re-translating DM's story text but also properly translating other aspects of the game, from the character names (using the original Japanese names, including those of the TF-exclusive characters, partly since Konami made a whole mess of them in English TF1-5), in-duel dialogue, pack descriptions, and more to images with Japanese text (such as localizing the in-duel cut-in onomatopoeia as you see in the video above, or other little images throughout) using some Photoshop skills I've picked up. And it's been a joint effort, as said NAC friend and I have been bouncing off how we'd like to see this go between us to stay on the same page and all, while also checking with other translators there for second/third opinions as needed.

Our plan is to release two versions of a translation--one which uses the OCG [translated] card names in Story Mode, in-duel, and other text but not in the game's card system (mainly to deal with story-relevant notes like Osiris vs Slifer with the Gods or things like not-Utopia Hope being symbolic between Yuma and Astral, akin to how I do my GX subs), and one which uses the TCG card names in everything (like how the official subs go about it). While we're mostly working with the Japanese game files due to how the Xeno team went about decoding everything, we'll be using the card-system-related files from the fixed ISO provided by FLSGaming which fixed some issues that had been present there. And Xan has helped us with a plugin that will be used to apply our translations to the system files that were hard to edit otherwise (things like the character and recipe names, as well as the pack names pulled from for the Card Description screen), but more on how that'll work once this is ready for release, lol. At some point, I'd like to also look at HDifying textures and things, but that's definitely a bonus-level thing for after the main work here is done.

SO.

Currently, Story-Mode-wise, I've gone through everything up to Yusei's events--so Dark Yugi/Kaiba/Jounouchi/Ishizu/Mai in DM, Judai/Manjoume/Asuka/Misawa/Ryou in GX, and Yusei in 5D's have been fully retranslated, though I took initial cracks at Yuma and Yuya's events to get content for this video lol (I've also been intentionally holding off on as much ZEXAL as I can until I've properly watched the whole show so I have context). I haven't tackled overworld text yet, though (like pre-duel or the tournament-related text, which is all in the same file as all the story text). I've also been handling the in-duel dialogue as I go through the character stories, so also just up to Yusei, though I did take initial cracks at Aki's, Yuma and Shark's, and Yuya and Yuzu's for the video.

Other things tackled that were sprinkled into the video, along with some other notes:

Pack names and descriptions have been retranslated, though the descriptions may see minor edits closer to release for a little variety between worlds given the different characters at the shop. Character recipe names were also retranslated, with Yugipedia's translations for them used as an occasional second opinion, though ones based on pack names had to be abbreviated in spots.

Menu text, from the Options to Help screens and stuff in between, has been retranslated, as have in-duel text strings (so, you'll see a full "Activate Effect" instead of "Activate" or "Switch to Attack/Defense Position" instead of "Switch to ATK/DEF Position", etc--also fixed the "BATTELE PHASE" graphic typo, and NAC friend created a new translation for the "Turn Change" graphic for accuracy since ENG TF1-5 made that into "Next Player's Turn").

Database stuff, such as the Sound Test, Tutorials, Duel Missions, etc., have been retranslated closer to the Japanese text; originally I retranslated the Tutorial text via hex editor, with compromises done on quite a bit of it due to the space limits, but as Xan recently updated a text extractor tool of theirs to more cleanly pull out and reinsert that text, I've been going through and fleshing out those translations more (on my commutes to/from work mostly, to be productive lol).

As mentioned, I've been localizing/translating Japanese-text images throughout the game as I come across them, like with the in-duel onomatopoeia that come up during cut-ins or images in the shop/duel/etc screens using Japanese text, to make sure the game is fully translated.

The series logos, used during the title sequence and in the Series Select screens, were updated with translated fan edits shared on Deviantart (which we'll credit in the final release) for DM and GX, while the 5D's-ARC-V logos were edited to enlarge the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" text on them that was pretty hard to see originally.

The game's original opening sequence starts on an anti-piracy message before going into the Konami logo and then a "From Yu-Gi-Oh!..." screen before the opening animation for each series logo--the original team decided to use the first image to vent their frustration at Konami for not localizing this game, and while that's valid (to some extent), we thought we'd use the opportunity to dedicate this project to Kazuki Takahashi for inspiring our love for YGO and the place it's had in our hearts for all these years.

We'll be updating the names of cards that had TCG releases after the original patch was worked on/updated by FLSG to those corresponding names.

Xan has been working on many UI fixes for us to apply with this, among them 3-line dialogue box text as is used in the ENG TF1-5 games--once implemented for TFSP, I'll be going over everything to make full use of that extra space where needed, so things might not look as they do in the video by then.

Character bios will be worked on after I've done the story stuff, though I've taken initial cracks at it for Yuma and Yuya's bios for the video, along with translating the location/affiliation names ("Domino High School," "Satellite," etc).

Currently no release date is planned, as I'm working on this between my GX-finalizing work and actual IRL work, though we'll see how later this year looks as more work gets done--but as noted in the video, all things being equal, it will be released when everything is ready. I'll try to post regular updates or rambles now that this announcement's been made, lol, but do try not to constantly check in on a release date. 🙏🏽

All that said, I think that covers just about everything I wanted to put out there with this, lol. It's been fun to work on this so far and getting to see what I've re-translated in-game is definitely neat; looking forward to us being able to release everything when ready.

Stay tuned for more; the fun's just getting started!

[pomefioredove]

As the president of VilYuu nation what are your speculations for manga!Yuu for Pomefiore installment, considering the manga version of each Yuu serves as the foil for the overblot boys ✨️

(Or they should be, but tbh I only Yuuta who served this purpose the most clearly as he looks like how Azul was in the past yet he is happy and content, unlike Azul. I wished we could have seen Yuuken's and Yuuka's backstories explored more to mirror Riddle's and Leona's.)

For Vil's Yuu, I'm thinking of child actor whose fame is rapidly vanishing but is still dedicated to their work until they're tossed into twst 🤔 But again manga Yuu has all been average high school students so idk, maybe they're in some clubs which involve performing arts? Or the average fan who is fond of innocent type of idols like Neige hot idols like Vil? Anything's possible and I'm not sure if I can contain my excitement until the Pomefiore manga is finally out 💕 (which will happen in 2 years if we're lucky, considering how long it took Heartslabyul manga 😭)

admittedly I don't keep up with the mangas so I am reading this all as you explain it to me, but if they were a foil, they would contrast him more so than not, yes?

so it actually would make more sense for yuu to just be an average high school student. even more than that. make them a nobody, a complete introvert, someone who hates being looked at

I think the most effective character foils are ones who contrast the main character's superficial qualities (which, in this case, would be vil's elegance, style, fame, talents, etc), but mirror their repressed thoughts and feelings. make this yuu someone who struggles with feeling inferior, make them insecure about their morality, make them someone who is a loner, not by their own hand, but by being villainized and isolated by their peers

I guess I would go for a backstory that's more like, yuu as a young child who wasn't socialized properly (I think this would parallel the film industry in vil's background well). but they're a terrible actor, and thus can never lie about anything. they're blunt, they don't fake smile, they express disgust and contempt often and easily... others call them mean and scary and they were othered, and so they grew to fit the role of the villain. almost unashamedly so.

they avoid people, they hate being the center of attention, and they hate feeling judged, which creates a lot of conflict between them and vil for a long time. "don't talk to me, don't look at me, I hate you" type of edgy. lots of self-hatred, and a deep bitterness towards others they think of as perfect. what they feel for vil is almost what vil feels for neige

but yeah idk lol. I was imagining a fem yuu for all of this because I feel like this sort of personality is way more interesting for a female character to have, but as far as I know all the manga yuus are male. just some speculation!

anyway tldr since this is mostly just me babbling

yuu is a terrible actor who can't so much as fake a smile

their bluntness and lack of expression makes them come off as mean and judgmental

they grew up being isolated and villainized by their peers because of it

they began isolating themselves as a counter measure, avoiding people, becoming introverted and lonely and hating attention/being looked at

they develop a deep hatred of "perfection" and people they consider perfect, which includes vil

[part-time-zombie]

Blue Around The Scales

pairings: loceit (platonic, can be seen as romantic)

summary: logan doesn't worry about very much, and he tries to respect janus' privacy. after janus starts acting strangely, logan takes it upon himself to make sure he's alright.

tags/warnings: shedding

word count: 3345

a/n: i wrote this before janus' grwm video, i hope it still holds up lol. i also hope what i looked up about snakes is accurate enough.

Logan didn’t worry easily. Most problems were easily resolved and not worth his concern at all. Even if it were a more difficult issue, it mostly just frustrated him more than anything. It challenged the notion that he always had the answer to things, which of course he does. That’s his job after all. He was not the type to be concerned about anything, especially since he could often solve most problems before they could raise any concern at all.

In this case however, he couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of tension settle over him. Over the past week or so, Janus had been acting rather strangely and with no discernible cause. He rarely left his room at all lately, but when he did Logan noticed subtle changes. He was less active than he usually was, which admittedly wasn’t much to begin with. It wasn’t exhaustion as he was still very much aware and alert and showed no signs of fatigue, but he had been spending most of his time resting on the couch and hardly moving unless absolutely necessary. His scales seemed to be fading in color and vibrancy as well, dulling to a sickly grey that he refused to comment on. He was completely irritable and withdrawn, though it never got any worse than excessive eye rolling and rude responses. Any attempts at inquiry regarding his behavior only ever resulted in stubborn silence from him. Worse yet, Logan can’t recall the last time he saw Janus eating anything.

He did try to encourage Janus to eat, but he always declined whatever had been offered to him. It didn’t matter if it was Patton's baking, Logan's cooking, or even a simple glass of wine. Janus would refuse to consume anything, saying little else than that he wasn’t hungry. Thinking that he might have been suffering from the effects of his coldblooded nature, Logan even tried to turn the heat up but with little success. Even when the thermostat was set at eighty, Janus refused to eat or move. With all of these increasingly troubling symptoms and no identifiable source to them, Logan couldn’t help but be a little bit uneasy. Something was wrong, Janus wasn’t functioning properly, and he definitely wasn’t feeling well despite the sides being incapable of falling ill in the first place. Whatever was going on was not good, and it could even potentially affect Thomas.

Logan tried not to say anything about it at first. It was clear that Janus didn’t want to talk about it and Logan wanted to respect his boundaries, but at the same time he was getting increasingly desperate to find an answer to what was going on.

It was when Janus didn’t show up at all that he let himself worry. Janus had been skipping breakfast all week now, but he usually showed up roughly an hour later. It was now noon and he had yet to appear, and Logan's attempts at summoning him were fruitless. Janus had never declined an opportunity to appear for a debate or discussion before and he always showed up when he was summoned, so him not being present at all was beyond surprising.

With little else in the way of ideas, Logan found himself standing in front of Janus’ door, readying himself to knock. He had never intruded on Janus’ privacy before, but he felt the situation called for such measures and he had no better actions to take. Taking a deep breath, he raised a steady fist and knocked firmly on the door.

It took nearly a minute of silence before he decided to knock again, this time louder.

“Janus, it’s Logan. Are you still in your room?”

“… No.” came the response, very clearly from within the room.

Logan sighed to himself, not willing to play against Janus’ sarcasm today. “May I come in?”

“Yes…”

Upon receiving admission, Logan did not hesitate to open the door and enter, only for his glasses to immediately condensate and fog up at the extreme humidity he was confronted with inside Janus’ room. He took his glasses off momentarily to clean them while he heard a surprised and slightly panicked curse come from somewhere off to his left. He put his glasses back on quickly at that, taking in the sight before him.

Logan had never been in Janus’ room before, but it was certainly quite lovely. It was warmly lit and minimalistic in design, with black and gold as the most prominent color choices. There was a large bookshelf to his right full of various novels, biographies, and even a few knick-knacks, with the bed at the far end of the opposite wall. Next to it and in the direction of the sound was a large vanity set with a small plush stool. It was here that Logan saw a very flustered and very disheveled Janus.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he shouted, hurriedly tying the black robe he had apparently just now covered himself with. His hat and gloves were discarded along with the rest of his outfit, though Logan could still see some yellow and black patterned sleep pants beneath the robe. He had definitely not been expecting Logan to enter, considering his state of undress.

“Apologies, I thought you said I could come in,” he explained.

 “Yeah, as a lie. Much like how I was clearly lying when I said I wasn’t in here. Why are you even here in the first place, what do you want so badly?”

“Well, I wanted to check up on you. You had been behaving strangely for quite some time now and I couldn’t help but feel concerned about your wellbeing.”

Janus scoffed, though it lost most of its impact now that Janus was so off-kilter. “How sweet of you to say. Really, I’m touched by how you apparently care so much that you barged in on me like this. As you can see, I’m fine, now just get out of my room already.”

Logan was about to do just that, but as he prepared to move he saw something in the light that gave him pause. Leaning forward slightly from where he stood, he tried to better examine what it was that he had seen on Janus’ face.

There, near his left eye, a part of his scales had peeled back slightly.

“What are you staring at?” Janus snapped.

Logan tried to clear the look of shock that had surely formed while he gaped at Janus.

“Your scales…” he started, not quite sure how to properly phrase his observation.

Janus seemed to understand him immediately though. He gasped lightly before all but slapping a hand to the left side of his face, turning his head to hide his scales. “It’s nothing. You didn’t see anything, alright, just leave it alone!” he exclaimed, as the now clearly visible right half of his face flushed beet red. If Logan didn’t know any better, he’d say Janus was embarrassed.

By now his concern had been replaced with an overwhelming surge of scientific curiosity. Logan shut the door behind him and took a small step forward.

“Janus, are you shedding?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Janus’ eyes widened before quickly looking away. “What? No, that would be ridiculous. Why on earth would I shed? For all you know these scales aren’t even real. It could just be some very convincing makeup,” he rambled, practically squirming in his seat.

Logan fought back a smile at the extreme reaction. “Maybe so, but I’ve been around you long enough to tell that those scales are very much real. It would make sense for you to shed them anyway, seeing as the coldblooded nature of snakes has also carried over to you.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to show the others!” he retorted. “Frankly, it’s all rather personal and I’d rather you didn’t go talking about it.”

“Of course not. I assure you; I will keep this information to myself,” he replied, which did seem to somewhat calm Janus. He had yet to remove his hand from his scales, however.

“Can I help?” Logan blurted out. He honestly hadn’t meant to ask that question for the sake of not overstepping any boundaries, but his desire to make himself useful and potentially learn more about Janus’ scales in the process had become too strong.

Janus stared back at him, surprise and skepticism clashing on his face.

“Why?”

“Well, if these scales are by any means difficult to remove I could certainly be of assistance. I wouldn’t mind helping, though it’s up to you. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Janus seemed to consider this for a moment, before sighing rather deeply to himself and finally removing his hand and exposing his scales. “Fine, but you will not under any circumstances breath a word of this to anyone, understand?”

Logan nodded, already walking over to Janus. The peeling was even more evident up close, with it seeming to start at his hairline before it reached his eye. It was a fascinating sight.

“Right, what do you know about snakes shedding?” Janus asked.

“Not very much, I must admit. I know they do it fairly regularly, though the frequency decreases as they grow. I also understand that it is a natural part of how they grow as their skin essentially becomes too small for them, so it peels off at a certain point. I suspect that your odd behavior last week was symptomatic of your scales preparing to shed.”

“You do catch on quick,” he answered with a teasing smirk. “Snakes also shed their old skin in one solid piece,” Janus added. “I’m not so lucky.”

He brought a hand up and gestured to a part of his scales, near the bottom half of his jaw. There was a swatch of scales, but they did not continue down his neck or connect with the rest of the scales on his face in any way.

 “The scales on my face are pretty much self-contained, and have to be peeled off in separate patches,” his hand indicated the points where the scales ended and joined seamlessly with his skin as he spoke, highlighting their isolated placement.

Logan hadn’t really considered that before, but it did hold some merit. He couldn’t help but wonder where the rest of his scales might be, as he only saw the ones on his face.

“Anyway, I suppose I’ll demonstrate for you first so you know how to do it right,” Janus said, his tone poorly feigning nonchalance. “Can’t have you making any mistakes now, can we?”

Logan bit his tongue at that, nodding instead as Janus began.

“The scales don’t come up on their own, you have to scratch at a spot until it peels,” he started, fingers coming up to where his scales had already peeled back. “Once it peels back, it’s just a matter of slowly lifting them away from the face until it’s all off.”

He pealed the scales off while he explained, as if he were merely removing a sticker. After a minute the scales on the upper half of his face were shed and placed on the table.

“And no, I don’t eat the skin. Don’t even bother asking,” he groaned.

“I wasn’t going to,” Logan replied. “Besides, I feel like that’s a question Remus would be more inclined to ask you than me.”

Janus didn’t say anything, only letting out a small chuckle.

He started gently scratching at the scales closest to his ear next, gently pinching at the part that came loose and pulling back with the same practiced ease as before.

“Does it ever hurt at all?” Logan inquired.

“Not really, it’s more or less like peeling dried glue off of your skin,” he said with a shrug. “It’s much easier when it’s humid, makes it easier to remove.”

He finished shedding the scales on his face soon after, suddenly looking very sheepish.

“What’s the matter?” Logan asked him.

Janus took a moment to respond, not looking up at him. “The rest of the scales are in a more, sensitive area, so to speak.”

Logan felt himself flush. He couldn’t possibly mean that they were located near his…

“Well, not there, Logan, good god!” Janus hurriedly explained, putting a hand up between them as if to wave the thought away. “And here I thought Remus was the pervert.”

“You said they were in a sensitive area, though,” Logan defended. “That coupled with your clearly flustered behavior, it would only make sense to assume such a thing!”

“Just get your head out of the gutter already, will you? It’s nothing like that.”

“Well, where are your scales located then? I haven’t seen them anywhere else on your person so far, though I haven’t seen much more than your face and on one occasion your arms.”

“Just don’t be weird about it, alright?” Janus urged. He turned his back to Logan and slowly let his robe slip down his shoulders with a shaky exhale.

His back was completely covered in scales. They started from the back of his neck and continued all the way down to the small of his back before finally blending back to skin. They wrapped around to his chest in a fashion that paralleled his ribs, with thins strips of them looping up and over his collarbones as well, not quite joining the scales that extended from beneath his arms. The scales were dull and faded to a lifeless grey, but it was still a mesmerizing sight.

“If you’re just going to stare then you may as well leave,” Janus snapped, staring back at him through the mirror with a still-present blush on his cheek. “I’ve done this before on my own and I’ll do so now if you aren’t actually going to help.”

Logan apologized before gently moving his hands up to Janus’ neck. “Please let me know if I am ever hurting you or making you uncomfortable in any way,” he said before starting.

Janus quietly nodded, looking down at his lap where his hands were balled into tight fists.

 Logan started making soft, delicate scratches just like Janus had done earlier, being careful not to hurt him. It took him some time, but he finally managed to coax a small part of the scales to come up from the skin. After ensuring that Janus wasn’t bleeding or otherwise hurt, he started to gently peel away at the scales, moving slowly and carefully. The skin eventually reached his shoulders, at which point Logan briefly stopped to free up the scales that curved over to his chest, checking with Janus all the while. They came loose in the same manner as the ones from before, peeling back to join the rest of the shed skin from where he had left off. He did the same to the other side, already becoming familiar with the process. It was quickly coming easier to Logan, and he prided himself on his fast learning.

He started to guide the shed scales further downward until they wrapped around with his ribs, at which point he repeated the same process as before. He checked in with Janus the whole time, noticing him minutely relaxing more and more as time went on. His fists were no longer clenched and his eyes had slipped shut, and while he still carried some tension in his shoulders his face had softened, revealing a delicate lightness in his features. He seemed to let himself become calmer and more open the longer Logan worked, and he couldn’t help but feel somewhat honored that Janus was trusting him with something this delicate.

He continued to help shed the scales, gently easing the old skin back without tugging on the newer and more sensitive scales beneath it. He noticed some light scarring by some of the edges of the skin, spots where Janus had presumably struggled to rub the scales free. He decided not to comment on that, focusing instead on gently removing the last of the old scales with one final peel.

Logan stood back for a moment, letting himself admire the sight before him. With the old skin gone, the new scales beneath it were incredibly vibrant and bright, catching the light in a rather iridescent array of colors. Yellows, greens, even shades of brown, all shiny and new. He tried his best to commit the sight to memory, certain that he may not get a chance to see it a second time.

He placed the shed skin on the table with the rest of the old scales, causing Janus to open his eyes at the sudden disruption. He sat up straighter and quickly adjusted his robe back over himself, not realizing how much he had drifted off. He eyed the pile of skin almost incredulously, lifting it up to better examine it.

“You got it all in one piece?” he asked.

Logan nodded, pleased he did well.

“I must admit I’m surprised. I half expected you to tear it somewhere down the line.”

“Have you ever done that?” Logan asked him.

Janus shook his head slightly, turning back around and looking up at him. “No, but I’ve come close. Usually, I have to start peeling at all of the edges and make my way inward until I can pull it all away. Either that or I just end up using a backscratcher. Neither method is exactly fun, though.”

“Do you often do this by yourself?” Logan couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s not like anyone else knows about it. Well, except for you now.”

“Remus and Virgil don’t know?”

Janus let out an irritated huff at that. “God no, can you imagine? Virgil would find some way to convince himself I was dying every time, and Remus would just make a mess of it for fun.”

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“That’s a fair point. I certainly wouldn’t want Remus putting you at risk while you shed.”

Janus arched an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden candor.

“Might I add, it is good to know that I was right.” Logan added.

“Right about what?”

“Your scales are in fact pleasantly smooth. You are not a ‘slimy boy’ as Thomas put it.”

Janus sputtered at that, eyes wide and determined to look anywhere but at Logan.

“You can’t possibly say that with a straight face,” he said.

“But I did anyway. I would also like to point out that your scales are very lovely after they’ve been shed. I almost wish you didn’t hide them so much, though I understand why you do.”

If Janus wasn’t embarrassed before, he certainly was now. He was flushed and flustered, ducking his head and floundering over his words while he struggled to say something.

“You have to stop saying things like that, you’re making a fool of yourself.” He groaned.

Logan wasn’t about to point out which of them was currently embarrassed, humming in dismissal instead. “I hope my help wasn’t too terrible, I know this is a personal matter for you.”

He shrugged again, a faint smile replacing his blush. “You didn’t do too bad, it was definitely easier with some proper assistance. I trust you still won’t mention this to the others?”

Logan smiled softly at the praise before replying. “I swear, no one will hear of this from me.”

Janus gave him a stern nod. “I intend on holding you to that.”

He held out a hand, and Logan shook it.

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to join us for a movie night later in the evening, now that you’re finished shedding?” he asked, letting his tone betray his hopefulness. “I know I at the very least would enjoy your company a great deal.”

“Only as long as there’s going to be snacks and plenty of wine,” Janus answered, a teasing smirk returning to his face. “I’d kill someone over leftovers right about now.”

Logan couldn’t help but smile, already looking forward to Janus joining him tonight.

@lio-the-chaotic-nonbeanie-weenie @nico-the-overlord @rougeside4 @keitaisghost @new-zee-land @yuckypuppie @can-i-take-a-stab @britt-ish123

[catboybiologist]

Ah. I see my mistake now. I meant instead of doxxing, the irl person who had an “exact opposite of a logical reaction” (I assumed poor reaction). I’d believe you would try to fuck my dad if you wouldn’t get immediately stuck flirting with my mom. I’m not saying you aren’t bi, but men don’t seem to measure up for you in that way pound for pound. Thank you for your posts!!

To be hetero: taste in men?

Oh yeah, that was kind of reverse doxxing where someone I knew irl used this online account in a wildly inappropriate context to try and shame me. Luckily everyone involved realized he was way out of line.

I thirst over women a lot here because a solid plurality of my followers here are tgirls. Personally I'd say my attraction is actually pretty even all around for guys/girls/others, I just don't show it as much because sapphic pining is a meme.

But ooo, are we talking taste in men? Hetero posting time!!!

I'm attracted to a lot of different kinds of men, but I my "peak" categories usually follow one of two archetypes: rugged or twink.

Twink is... pretty self explanatory. It's more a vibe than a body type tbh, which I'm pretty sure makes sense to most people. Like, I gotta look at a guy and be like "damn, that is one breakable twink", y'know? Like the kind of man I could crack in half like a small dried bundle of spaghetti. Y'know what I mean.

Rugged.... ho boy. My bisexual awakening was Aragorn, and that really has held ever since. Facial hair, potentially long, somewhat greasy hair, bit of dust and dirt from the road, a NICE, tasteful mix of fat and muscle that shows someone both well fed and well exercised... not an overly muscley sort, but someone who looks like they would handle a situation that's thrown at them. Someone who would kiss me under the stars with bare feet in the dirt, lean over me and tenderly lay me down on the grass. The body hair untrimmed, just thick enough to comb my hands through and rub my cheek on. We'd lay there, on the camping mat, the ground, or in the bed of a truck, and I'd drift off to sleep with my head using his broad, fluffy chest as a pillow. And oh, the SMELLS. Not like, a dirty smell- but when a properly outdoorsy man is clean, there's still a lingering scent of sweat and dirt that hangs beneath the soap he uses, and oh my goooooodddddddddddddddd I would do a line of that like it's cocaine. His gentle and broad forearms wrapped just below my shoulder as I curl up besides and on top of him, one leg wrapped around him, and his arm gently around my shoulders, idly and softly petting my neck with just a thumb, as my ears on his chest let me hear his heartbeat, his breathing, his digestion....

i uh. I uh, maybe need to go on a date soon LOL

[harvey-guillen]

saw your posts and i felt like adding that not even the music critics are allowed to do their job properly because of her. she gets all the praise, high scores and awards because if she doesn’t, her deranged fanbase will come after everyone responsible for it. imagine being so full of yourself you can’t even take in consideration criticism that could help make you a better artist (if she even cares about that at this point lmao). instead, she calls this load of crap she pulled out “tortured poetry”. sighs.

forreal though. I have seen albums get absolutely punctured by pitchfork (excuse that flourish lol) that were as good or better than ttpd and seemed to get ranked as mid just for the sake of cynical elitism. 2 stars for things that i liked on first listen and would listen to again, that somehow had more inherent likeability than "ratty left me and i don't know how to measure out syllables in my lines anymore." the marketing and critical machine really indulges her self-aggrandizing, which could not be more apparent than in calling her b-side album part of an anthology. an anthology - I just looked it up to make sure my conception was right - is supposed to provide a reader access to a variety of works, and when I was in literary publishing you would include works by different authors who had distinct voices but reflected on similar themes. we only have her voice (and jack's and aaron's) across all 30ish songs. It's the musical equivalent of reading your diary aloud in front of a bunch of mirrors. words have meaning yanno? her biggest detriment to this day is the one-note perspective on albums like this, the lack of genuine diversity. it's all over her gray poem graveyard that she should not have dug up for public consumption

[randomthefox]

I’ve been thinking a lot about how angry Tails gets in Sonic Lost World lately.

I think Tails is the type of person who loves to do everything he can to help people constantly, especially the people he’s closest to, because he desperately wants his feelings to be reciprocated. But Tails doesn’t want to directly ask for what he wants because he thinks that would be selfish. He always tries to present a kind and nurturing persona to the rest of the world so that people will feel like they can depend on him, and if they do, they’ll never leave him. This is also why he doesn’t know how to say no to people. The only way that he feels he can make sure he doesn’t accidentally drive away the people he cares about is by being as useful as possible. He clearly thinks that his worth is only measured by how useful he by how he asks Sonic in Frontiers whether he’s being a burden on Sonic for not doing enough to help him save the world.

I think that’s why Tails’ anger in Sonic Lost World seems to come out of nowhere. He’s felt like he’s been underappreciated for a while now, and Sonic wanting to team up with Eggman was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. If you pay attention, Tails’ rant is foreshadowed by him being more prideful than usual. As a way of him trying to communicate to Sonic that “you should be grateful for everything I do for you” before Tails has a full meltdown, because Tails doesn’t want to sound selfish by directly saying it.

Tails doesn’t get emotional very often because he’s always repressing his feelings to not be a bother. Tails still doesn’t say no. He never says that he refuses to work with Eggman, he just complains about it. He also still doesn’t properly convey what he wants. He just says that he’s angry about working with Eggman, but that’s clearly not the entire truth because he brings up how he thinks that Sonic doesn’t think he’s good enough. Another way of him indirectly saying “you should be grateful for everything I do for you”, except more aggressively. He still doesn’t want to come off as selfish so that people won’t abandon him. So instead he expresses his repressed anger by complaining about everything all of the time while never addressing the source of exactly what’s making him so volatile because he still doesn’t want to seem like a bother by sounding selfish, even though he’s being a bother anyways by being a passive aggressive jerk because he won’t just say what’s wrong. Tails is so fixated on not being a bother by not being selfish that he doesn’t consider how he could be being a bother in other ways. Such is the contradictory nature of an unhealthy coping mechanism. It fits with Tails’ habit of fixating so hard on the complicated stuff that he misses the simple things. Like how he built the Tornado 2 to do something as amazing as transform but forgot to add in something as simple as landing gear in the second form. 

Tails’ arc in Frontiers seems to be the beginning of him learning how to properly advocate for himself and how to become a more self sufficient person.

What do you think of this analysis of Tails’ psyche? Do you think this sounds about right? Or have I completely gone off the fucking deep end? Also, thank you for reading my 700 word essay on Miles ‘Tails’ Prower lol.

I think you're spot on. Like, no notes.

Tails might have self actualized in SA 1 and 2 but the problems of his self esteem issues didn't just go away. That shit is sticking around forever. It's like being an addict. You don't ever stop being an addict. Even after twenty years of being sober, you'll still be an addict. Deep rooted psychological dependence doesn't ever go away, you just get better at managing it. Pain doesn't go away, you just make room for it

Tails primary character flaw has always been his self esteem. His theme song was called "Believe in Myself" because that's what he needed to learn how to do. And the lyrics of the song include "Many friends help me out In return I help them Certain things I can do, and there's things that only I can do No one's alone."

Which, yeah, speaks to me of a pretty cut and dry case of "Tails doesn't think he's good unless he's useful." So Sonic thinking they "needed" Eggman instead of deferring to Tails would absolutely trigger that sensitive reaction from him. And like I mentioned when I was playing through the game - Sonic accepts Eggmans suggestion for them to team up unilaterally. He doesn't even ask Tails if he'd be okay with it, let alone consider that Tails could reprogram the machine himself. Sonic did cede to Eggman's suggestion so easily because of the baggage he was dealing with himself in that game, but it absolutely just resulted in Tails feeling slighted and developing some resentment which quickly boiled over into their argument. Which I've already analyzed myself.

Tails definitely strikes me as the kind of person who wouldn't understand that It Isn't About The Nail

Or the Parks and Rec way portraying it

aka as you described "so fixated on not being a bother by not being selfish that he doesn’t consider how he could be being a bother in other ways." The story he had in Frontiers definitely seemed oriented around confronting that element of his character and trying to take corrective steps towards it.

I agree 100% with all of it.

[bomberqueen17]

inspections

in terms of the kitchen remodel we are still waiting on like five pieces of trim and the door of one cabinet. so we're to the final details phase. which means the electrical and plumbing inspectors from the town have to come by.

the plumbing inspector came by and was super friendly and funny and was like "i guess i gotta run some water, i'll feel silly if i don't and there was a problem, but mostly i mean, if there was a problem you'd probably have noticed right?" and i was like yeah fair enough, wanna look at the gas lines they moved? and he was like oh i guess i will, sure. Super low-key.

The electrical inspector was similarly chill but he looked grimly up at the smoke detector they'd put up in not the place I'd expected them to, and said "that's. not where that goes." I said "it goes off all the time" and he was like "yeah it's way too close to the stove, I would not have put it there. But the problem is, you need there to be a carbon monoxide sensor within fifteen feet of your bedrooms, and the closer bedroom is seventeen feet that way."

Sure enough. It's the right kind of smoke detector but it's in the wrong place.

I looked up the manufacturer's instructions and they say to put it 20 feet from the main cooking appliance. Ten if that's not possible, but preferably 20. I measured, and it's eight feet from the stove. I can't get emojis to insert but this is the upside-down smiley, right here.

So the hallway location would have been completely fine for that, and in fact better. And that's where I had pointed out that they should put it, and that's where Jim had said they'd put it, and it's where I fully believed they were putting it until they finished the job.

So I'm displeased and have to psych myself up to call Jim and break the news to him, that it's not just that I could put another sensor up and be good-- the one they put in is just plain in the wrong place. I don't know if they can properly move it, they hard-wired the communication wire to the basement alarm, and I don't know if they can fish that through the ceiling that direction. (They can't, I'm one thousand percent sure the joists go the other way.)

But the alarm they installed, which cost me extra outside of the five figures of work done on the kitchen, is incorrectly located, and meets neither the manufacturer's guidelines nor town building codes. So I gotta put my big girl panties on and complain about that. I'd been preparing myself to just suck it up and set the smoke detector off every time I cooked but realizing that it's absolutely not supposed to be there has removed my last shred of putting up with that shit.

Hell fucking no. Now, how to say that nicely???? *deep breath* I can do it. Polite but firm.

On another note-- I went out of town for the weekend and got stuck there because of the snow, and finally made it back Monday morning, and when I texted the family groupchat that I'd made it home my mom was like "great!" and then literally one minute later was like "so what color are you painting your kitchen" so understand that y'all are not the only ones waiting to find out.

LOL any color would workkkkkk so I gotta pick one and do it. But probably not this week, as today's the last break in the weather and then we're supposed to get absolutely slammed with snow.