#just not fully pleased with my color choice I struggles with it

[vic-does-battlecats]

If I throw a bunch of hats in the ring surely one of them has to fit right

Featuring the three recolors of one design cause I like them all

[malusokay]

Glow-up tips that actually work from your favourite beauty girly (me)

Hot girls don't gatekeep, so here are some of my favourite glow-up tips that actually work. <3

Skin

Find a skincare routine that works for you!! It took me years to find mine, but now my skin is literally perfect. <3 (let me know if you guys want a detailed skincare routine!!)

Don't pick your skin, the less you touch your face, the better.

I believe ice rollers are bs…

If you struggle with dark circles, don't try fixing them through skincare. Most likely, the problem comes from your diet or stress.

Dry brushing is a game-changer!!

Use lotion after every shower and apply a body spray before the lotion is fully absorbed into your skin. You'll smell amazing for DAYS.

Don't try homemade skincare if you already struggle with your skin. I learned it the hard way, lol…

WASH YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES

Hair

The more heat you use, the more damage you'll have.

SILK PILLOWCASES

Never sleep with wet or damp hair.

Stop buying cheap shampoo and conditioner, also make sure to check the ingredients!!

Some ingredients to avoid: Sulfates, Parabens, Polyethene Glycols, Triclosan, Formaldehyde, Synthetic Fragrances and Colors, Dimethicone, Retinyl Palmitate.

I trim my hair every 3 months.

If you have damaged hair, invest in some Olaplex!! my favourites are N4c, N6 and N7. <3

Diet

green juice actually makes you feel better. I make mine at home and LOVE it :)

Balance is key!! I swear by the 80/20 rule.

Drink more water, even if you think you're drinking enough. DRINK MORE

Keto is BS <3

Focus on eating more protein. Usually, low-fat products have more protein, so I just try to buy those, lol.

I eat gluten-free, not by choice… But it did clear my acne, so…

Take supplements, get a blood test done, discuss it with a doctor and start taking whatever they recommend. GAME CHANGER.

EAT MORE VEGETABLES and fruits.

Lifestyle

Focus on being more active, walk more, workout, join a club or sport, dance, whatever works for you!!

I aim for 10K steps, I live in a big city, so I usually walk more than that but still.

Hobbies that don't include screen time. Trust me.

Find your personal style and ALWAYS dress up. <3

TREAT YOURSELF. Buy yourself flowers, and presents, go to your favourite restaurants, vacations!!

Read more. As a classics lover, I can't imagine a life without literature, but even if you don't like classics, any book is better than no book!!

Take more pictures. I've noticed that I have become a lot more present since I've started taking more pictures!! highly recommend :)

I hate to say this, but getting up earlier is lowkey kinda great... been doing it for a few weeks, and unfortunately, I do feel better... they were right...

Get a cat. :)

Mindset

Stop assuming that everyone hates you, they don't, trust me.

Journaling, manifesting, law of attraction, affirmations.

one of my favourite affirmations: "if I weren't capable, the opportunity wouldn't have come my way; I belong here." <3

Stop hanging out with people who drain your energy

stop consuming media that makes you feel bad.

What would the highest version of yourself do?

If you change your mindset, you will change your life.

Romanticise every aspect of your life. <3

As always, please feel free to share your own suggestions and glow-up tips in the comments! <3

✩‧₊*:・love ya ･:*₊‧✩

[ironunderstands]

Would be waiting for acheron brainrot ramble here

Is it time for Acheron brainrot ramble? It’s time for Acheron brainrot ramble. Prepare for the most stream of consciousness post ever, I had so much fun writing this she has taken over my consciousness and puppeted me for my own ends, and commanded me to demonstrate how peak she really is. So enjoy, hopefully I can get others to love Acheron just as much as I do.

I think there are three reasons why I like Acheron 1) she’s really fucking cool 2) I love characters who guide/mentor others 3) She’s charming as hell.

Hoyo you aren’t allowed to make characters this good.

The music in her trailer, her aesthetic, the amount of fire fucking one liners. THE COLOR RED (I’ll get into it)

“Find me, your end, my origin.” Who cooked here who wrote this who’s the chef please where’s the restaurant I’m eating this up

“On the still waters of oblivion, I guide the wandering souls” GRAHAJDJWJKSSW YES YOU DO OH MY GOD I CANT PUT INTO WORDS HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS LINE SHUT UP EVERYONE SHUT UP. Like she literally is at the edge of existence fighting to help others find their future, I just. RAAAA

SHE CUTS A BLACK HOLE IN HALF?? HUHH AUGHH a black hole that’s the manifestation of meaninglessness in the universe, and she goes “nah” and fucking obliterates it?!!?

“I weep for the departed” Those who have died are gone, and slowly losing themselves even further. For decades, centuries, millennia, even, Acheron has witnessed this, and still cries for them, still guides them to the other side, even if the task itself is meaningless, because someone should do it, someone has to do it, and that someone is HER.

She saves Aventurine, she saves the Trailblazer, she saves the entirity of Penacony. Someone blessed by the manifestation of nonexistent dedicates her life to giving others a reason to live.

Aventurine asks her why people should bother living, if the dice are always weighted in a certain outcome, then why should we keep going? Aventurine asks her why people should bother living if the universe is meaningless?

He fully expects her to say people shouldn’t.

But Acheron doesn’t do that. The dice are weighted against us. Not just in game, but in reality itself. We will all die, you will die, the people you care about will die, I might die, it remains to be seen. However, before that inevitable ending, before the curtain finally closes, we have so many choices to make. If the ending is the same for everyone, it doesn’t matter, and Acheron tells Aventurine this.

Because the Nihility envelops everyone equally, the universe is equally meaningless for everyone, nobody is the special someone destined to have a destiny. Therefore, it doesn’t matter. Aventurine has no reason to live. And Aventurine has no reason not to live. She tells him his time hasn’t come, because it hasn’t. Until that dice roll, until his final breath, Aventurine can still make choices and he can still choose to live for himself, and that’s the answer Acheron gives him.

But she knows that’s not enough. Aventurine will still struggle to live for himself, after all he’s been through, after the mountain of expectations and hopes and dreams piled onto him. So she tells him his friend has already given him the answer. Aventurine pulls out the note written by Dr. Ratio. It doesn’t give him a plan, doesn’t inform him of what expectations he has for him, doesn’t list every single reason why Aventurine should keep going. Ratio tells Aventurine to stay alive and keep on living, because he doesn’t need anything more than that, there isn’t anything more than that. Her caring about Aventurine, Ratio caring about Aventurine, that’s enough to keep him going, because other peoples love is enough of a reason to exist, universe be damned.

existing. The Existence. AKSJAKKSNDKKWEN.

Like you don’t understand, you don’t understand. ACHERON IS ENVELOPED IN THE MEANINGLESSNESS OF THE UNIVERSE BEFORE SHE FINDS ITS EXISTENCE, ITS VALUE, ITS MEANING. Even if it can never be achieved, Acheron is willing to destroy herself completely as she walks farther and farther into the Nihility trying to find the Existence, even if it takes every from her she will find it. Only by giving up her existence can Acheron find the Existence and kill the Nihility. Only by sacrificing her own life and giving up her own meaning can she give it to others.

Red. She tells the trailblazer that when they can no longer see the world in anything but black and white, there will be a brief flash of Red for them.

Red is the Existence. Red is the color of her blade that allowed her to cut that black hole in half. Red is the only color left when she unsheathes her sword. Red is the color of the tears she cries. Red is the color of the words she speaks to us that truly matter.

Red is the color she cuts into reality. In a world of black and white, in which all the light has been swallowed by IX, and the path ahead is blurry, Acheron illuminates the universe’s future in bright red, creating color, creating life, creating Existence in a world devoid of it.

We will encounter the Nihility along our journey, just as we would encounter every other aeon. The world will seem meaningless, and it will be devoid of color, but when the Trailblazer needs it the most, there will be Red. A reason to keep going, a reason to exist, a reason to keep on Trailblazing, because the path of the Trailblaze’s end is also at the Existence, and we will meet Acheron there again. Whether that color will come from us or her remains to be seen, but it will be there for us when we need it.

However, I think we/the Trailblazer will be alone. As that flash of red isn’t the only thing Acheron tells the Trailblazer.

Only when left alone can people pick themselves up. Only when help is absent can people truly fight for themselves. Only when you are alone, can you truly understand your existence.

That doesn’t mean other people don’t matter, that you have to walk the world alone, that you can only exist devoid of others. Quite the opposite actually, other people can be your reason to exist, something to help keep you going. Acheron knows this, which is why she directs Aventurine to Ratio’s note. That’s the meaning he can find in a meaningless universe.

Moreover, people help each other, they provide the tools other people need to exist, the anchors that ground people in reality, the reason why you might want to wake up in the morning, they create the things and ideas that you need and enjoy. It’s when you are ripped of these comforts, stripped of the things that make you want to keep going, is when people fight for their existence. As in a world devoid of everything, can you truly appreciate the things you have, and acknowledge that since there is now nothing, you are the only something. When there is no one there to save them, fools pick themselves up, and that is Existence.

I love Acheron. I love her silly amnesiac tendencies, I love her beautiful design, I love that she’s a Mei counterpart, but most of all, I love what she stands for.

Acheron is the indomitable human spirit personified, she quite literally chooses to exist in the face of absolute nothing. When the world loses all color, does she paint reality in a bright red with her sword, writing her own destiny with each and every slash.

And for that, I will always adore her.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Tatchgob

This is a weird one, I think, because there are a couple aspects of this entry that fully make sense in the context of what this animal actually is, and others that just make you think, "wait, the medievals thought what about [redacted]?" Not a lot else to add here, and I'm already running unusually late with this tonight, so here's the entry in question:

And below the cut is the art people have produced, in rough chronological order:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has decided this is an insect, for entirely sensible reasons. The entry says that it flies, but not that it's a bird. It also says that the female reproduces without copulation with the male, and Silverhart helpfully observes that parthenogenesis is a much more common phenomenon in insects than in birds. Specifically, it's a bee, because the Tatchgob is said to be large and slow-flying, and as we all know, a bee's wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.* This one is specifically inspired by vulture bees -- bees that do in fact eat carrion as the Tatchgob is implied to do (the entry doesn't actually say it eats the corpses, only that perceives them).** Silverhart further notes that they ended up spending a few hours going down a rabbit hole about vulture bees, a warning from which I failed to learn, as I spent the last half-hour reading arguments about whether "meat honey" is a real thing. Anyway, enough commentary from me, look at the very good drawing of a bee and then read what Silverhart says about it in the linked post.

*Bee Movie reference mine; please don't blame Silverhart for my internet-poisoned sense of humor.

** The Aberdeen Bestiary does actually specify this, but it was buried in the long religious-allegory section after the main description so I missed it when setting this up and didn't include it in the post. Now I wish I had, because it hilariously notes that the [Tatchgob] "is often overtaken by death when it descends to the dead animal from a great height." The drawings we could have had of animals crashing full-force into the ground... actually I'm torn on whether that would be a plus or a minus.

@strangelyflesh (link to post here) has made the reasonable call that a large flying animal may as well be a dragon-thing, so here's a bird-like dragon for you. Delightful facial expression on this one. Honestly everything about that head is very charming, actually. The linked post mentions that they "reproduce like those fucked up little geckos" and I am struggling against the temptation to fall down another rabbit hole, so I'm just going to move on.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) drew a bird, but decided to focus in on the fact that it's too large to fly quickly. It's broadly based on a bustard, which is apparently the world's heaviest flying bird (learn something new every day) but is shaped and posed specifically to evoke the silhouette of an aircraft, specifically the infamous Spruce Goose. (Cover the head with your hand, you'll see it.) Extremely clever, in my opinion. For more details on the design decisions, see the linked post. One more thing before we move on, though... check out that thing on the far right of the image, down in the sea. I think that's one of these critters:

Okay, now we're moving to the next one.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) continues to outdo herself with the stylized medieval drawings. This one is definitely a creative choice -- Capybara notes that they would have been inclined to draw a dragon for this one, except we already had the dragon entry a while back. So she decided this was a komodo dragon that can glide on skin flaps like a flying squirrel. Excellent, love it, very interesting coloration also.

Capybara also raises the interesting question of whether the bestiary writer ever considered what male Tatchgobs might be for, if they aren't involved in the reproductive process. I suppose evolution is a fickle mistress, especially when the person describing your animals doesn't know what evolution even is. They don't seem to have an allegorical purpose either (there's like half a page railing against hypothetical people who fully accept that a [Tatchgob] can give virgin birth but deny that Mary could, which I guess is the point of that detail, but the male Tatchgob goes unmentioned). Anyway, the monk would probably just say they exist because God wanted them to or something... actually I'm not sure how aware they were of the possibility of species that didn't come in two sexes. Anyway, moving on.

@pomrania (link to post here) also thought large flying thing -> dragon, but decided to make theirs more fishlike. See, fish engage in external fertilization, and what are the odds of a pre-modern observer just missing the fact that the male is involved? Assuming they're not on board the "spontaneous generation" wagon. I really like this design, also; gliding on these fin-like structures is especially cool. And yes, according to the linked post, the fact that it shares a color palette with the ace flag is fully intentional. Ace icon Tatchgob.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn a good bird -- serrated beak a solid choice -- but as with many of their posts, the real gold is in the text. See, Strixcattus gave us another carrion-eating bird some months ago, and they've decided this one is a related species. That's right, meet Wutugald tatchgob, the Brown or Lesser Wutugald. Which also explains why this one has that yellow thing above its beak there. Love the connection being drawn to previous entries. (Strixcattus's original Wutugald post can be found here.) As usual, you are strongly, strongly encouraged to go read the descriptions Strixcattus includes with their animals. You should then go check their brief follow-up to the Tatchgob here.

Now, to the Aberdeen Bestiary.

That's right, it's the eagle again! I wasn't expecting a repeat, but you have to admit it's clearly the same bird. The illustration for "eagle", in case you don't remember, looks like this:

Virtually identical except for the coloration of the wing feathers.

Okay, yeah, there are no duplicate entries, I just had to point out the fact that they look exactly the same. This one is the vulture, which apparently also doesn't reach far enough north for our illustrator to be familiar with it.

(A quick check through Wikipedia indicates to me that the various vulture species whose ranges include Europe tend to stick to the southern parts. None of them seem to reach the British Isles, which is where this manuscript originates.)

Anyway, something I find interesting about this is that vultures are another animal that modern people often think of as sinister, creepy, or just gross, but the bestiary is actually really positive about them. There's even one part where they get to be a Christ symbol, which honestly I have to share. It starts with that "dying by descending from a great height" bit I quoted earlier:

The fact is, if a vulture, in flight, sees a corpse, it sets itself down to feed on it, and is often overtaken by death when it descends to the dead animal from a great height. It is right, therefore, that Christ, who was God's mediator and our redeemer, should be signified by the name 'vulture'. While remaining in the heights of his divinity, like the vulture flying on high, he saw the corpse of our mortality below and descended from heaven to the earth beneath; he deigned, indeed, to become man for our sake; and when he sought man, the living thing that had no life, he who in himself had eternal life, met his death at our hands.

That's right, the whole Jesus thing was the allegorical equivalent of diving towards a corpse and accidentally smashing into the ground. Really puts the New Testament in a different light.

There's also a part where vultures foretell death. But not foretell for our benefit, mind: the example given is that vultures have learned to recognize what an army is and follow it because they know there will be food. So they're foretelling for their own purposes, and if we happen to notice and draw any conclusions, that's just a side effect.

One more quote from the Aberdeen Bestiary, and then we're done.

For who looks at the eyes of the vulture, that is, at what lies behind men's thoughts?

... that's a reference people get, right? anyway, it's late, good night.

[lovebombs4life]

first - a.f.i.

requested: no, got the idea while at work of all places

a/n: i still have three requests left to do and i’ll work on them soon but ive been having a tough time coming up with ideas for them 😔

cw: SMUT!!!! virgin!reader, fingering, protected sex, progressively gets rough, boyfriend!ash, fluff end :)

———

i giggled as ashton walked me to his front door. we had just gotten back from our celebration of dating for six months. he made sure everything was perfect. he brought me to my favorite little restaurant, and made sure there were my favorite flowers sitting in a little vase on the table.

despite dating for six months, ashton and i hadn’t had sex. this was my first real relationship, real love, that being said, i was a virgin. he knew, of course, and he fully respected my choices. sure we’d made out before, and i’ve ground against him while doing so, but it never got much farther than him grabbing my breasts.

tonight was going to fully change. i knew i was ready. id been ready for a couple weeks now, but i wanted it to be on our anniversary. he invited me to sleep over, so it had been perfect for me to play out everything. we stepped into his apartment, heading to his room.

he started grabbing clothes for me, intending for us to cuddle then fall asleep. as he was grabbing clothes from the closet, i pulled my dress off, leaving me in a set of dark colored lace panties. i had decided against wearing a bra, making his job of undressing me easier in the long run.

“alright i’ve got a pair of sweats and- shit.” his eyes widened as he stepped out seeing me. he set the clothes on top of his dresser, walking towards me, grabbing my hips. “what’s all this for, y/n?” he asked, struggling to keep eye contact with me.

i shrugged, smiling innocently. “thought i could give you a little present for our six month.” i said, pulling him down to kiss me. he grabbed onto my hips, lifting me to his waist. he groaned as i ran my fingers through his hair, tugging slightly. he slowly lowered me to the bed, my legs still around his waist. he kissed down my neck, leaving soft bites against my collarbone.

“please, ash, want you.” i whined as he kissed my breasts. he lifted his head, looking into my eyes. his eyes were filled with lust and hesitation. “i’m ready, ash, ive known for a few weeks now that i want you to take my virginity, please, baby, take me.” i told him, pulling him close to my body. he gasped, kissing me again.

his hand held my waist, while the other trailed to my clothed heat. he softly grazed between my legs, applying pressure to my sweet spot. i yelped at the sensation, throwing back my head. “how ‘bout i take these off, yeah?” he asked. i nodded eagerly as his fingers hooked into the sides of my panties.

his warm fingers spread my lips open, grazing against my slit, gathering the wetness to lube up his fingers. “you ready, darling? i’ll only start with one, okay? if you need me to stop then you tell me.” he asked. i nodded. he bit his lip before speaking again. “want to hear you, lovely, need verbal consent.” he said. my heart melted.

“yes ash, want your fingers.” i breathed, waiting for him to do something. he slowly slid one finger inside my dripping core, making me moan softly. he chuckled at my sensitivity. he slowly moved inside me, curling his finger upwards. “can you take another?”

“fuck, yes, need more.” i begged. he smiled as he kissed my shoulder. he slid in another finger, i clenched around him. “relax, love, you’re doing so good.” he cooed. i relaxed my body, feeling as he slowly stretched me out. i moved my hips against his fingers, practically riding them. “want m-more.” i whimpered, wanting his cock inside me.

“are you sure you’re ready?” he asked once more. i rolled back my eyes, trying to keep my breathing normal as he lumped his fingers in me. “so ready, ash, please, want your cock inside me.” i whined. his breath hitched at my dirty words. he pulled his fingers out of me, bringing them to his lips, sucking them clean. i moaned at the sight, hearing his groans as he tasted me on his fingers.

he unbuttoned his white shirt, quickly pulling his jeans and boxers off afterwards. i gasped at his length, clenching my thighs. i knew he was big, but damn, i didn’t think it was that big. he chuckled at me softly. he pulled open his nightstand, grabbing out a little foil package. he tore it open quickly, rolling on the condom.

his cock twitched from the sensation, his hand holding down one side of my hips, the other on his cock. “ready?” he asked once more. “please, ash, just fuck me already.” i spread my legs open for him. he groaned at the site of my wet pussy, slowly sliding his tip against my slit.

“it’s gonna hurt a bit, okay? tell me if you want to stop, lovely.” he spoke, giving me a soft kiss. i bit my lip, preparing for his cock. he pushed in softly, making me buck my hips. “easy there, y/n, we’ve got all night.” he giggled slightly. i took in the burn of him stretching me out, the pain being bearable at least. he continued to push inside me, making me wonder when he’d be fully in.

he finally pressed his hips to mine, letting me get used to him. “you okay?” he asked, seeing the slight tears in my eyes. i nodded, kissing him slowly. i pulled away briefly. “start moving baby.” he pulled his hips away from mine slightly before pushing them back towards me. i began kissing him once more, moaning into his mouth.

he steadied his pace, breaking away from me every so often to allow me to catch my breath from our kisses. he sucked my breasts softly, and left small marks on my skin. my nails drug down his back softly, making him buck his hips into me hard. i yelped at the suddenness of it, but wanted more.

“faster, ash, please. need it faster, harder.” i moaned, my nails digging into his back now. he shuddered, picking up his pace. my breasts bounced as he began going harder. his skin slapped against mine, feeling him fill me up completely. smalls moans escaped my mouth as i breathed heavily.

i scratched down his back, making him moan. “doing so well, darling, feel so good.” he kissed my forehead, pounding into me at a fast pace. as he became rougher, i had begun getting more aroused. i lifted my leg up to allow him hit deeper. he grabbed my leg, throwing it over his shoulder.

“don’t want you to be gentle, want you to use me.” i moaned out, looking at him through my lashes. he smirked softly. “already getting corrupted now, are we?” he asked, holding onto my hips tightly, surely leaving marks. i nodded, gasping as he pressed his thumb against my clit.

“we’ll try more another time darling, just wanna make you feel good, take care of you, okay? you’re doing so good baby.” he praised, rubbing my thigh slightly with his other hand. i moaned as he slightly sped up his pace on my bundle of nerves. my eyes fluttered shut, my arms sprawled at my sides, grabbing onto the blankets. my head was thrown back, and my thighs began to shake as he kissed my skin softly.

“go on sweet girl, let it all out.” he encouraged, his pace still quick. i choked out moans as he stroked my sides, still fucking into me. his lips kissed at my shoulders, his hands finding their way to my breasts. the feeling of it all was so stimulating, so wonderful. i squeezed my eyes shut as they rolled back, my orgasm washing over me.

ashton’s name fell from my lips, making him groan as he felt me clench around him, my thighs shaking around his body. “fuck.” he breathed out, his pace slowing as he came. he moved his hand away from my clit, his cum releasing into the condom.

he pulled out, grabbing the condom off his cock and tying it so the contents wouldn’t spill out. he threw it into the little garbage can he had next to his bed, his body falling to the bed, grabbing me and pulling me close. “that was amazing, y/n. are you sore or anything? can i get you anything?” he asked, sitting up slightly. i shook my head, smiling up at him.

“you’re so perfect. can you help me up so i can go to the bathroom?” i asked, he nodded, helping me out of bed. my thighs shook slightly as i stood up. he chuckled, guiding me to the bathroom. i did my thing, coming back out to see ashton all dressed. he was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, his hair was all a mess. he looked adorable.

he smiled at me, handing me the large clothes he had picked out before our activities happened. i pulled on the large sweater, and slid on the sweatpants he gave me. he pulled me to the bed, lifting the blankets for us to lay down together. he flicked off the lamp next to his bed, pulling me on top of his chest. he stroked my hair, kissing me softly.

we let ourselves drift to sleep, but before doing so, ashton whispered. “happy six months, beautiful.”

i blushed. “happy six months, ash.”

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

sorry i have to brainfart this somewhere but mersault chuuya wearing almost damn near similar clothing to his youth got me thinking about dazai and chuuya's fashion choices.

dazai, in all the eras where he was in the mafia....never changes his outfit. it fitting, given his character and such.....so his ada outfit makes him look like a rainbow. dark blue vest, blue gem(?) bolo tie, striped shirt and a tan coat similar to oda's. i think it's cool, to show the stark contrast between his pm days and how he's faring now, aswell to show how much effect oda had on him.

chuuya.....is the complete opposite. boy changes his clothes all the time. but it's so interesting.

his fifteen outfit is very "him" in a sense. street kid, street kid style- red shirt, grey hoodie, green leather jacket, bright blue sheep armband. he fits right in with the rest of the sheep, and hes so...colorful here. almost similar to ada dazai's outfit. and then theres the outfit he wears in the mafia- the first one we saw back in the manga where he seems to be wearing like a..."beta" version of his current outift- but the way it was drawn (disregarding the anime for a second) it looks like its almost ill fitting for him. the vest is too big, the coat looks so heavy, the tie isnt properly tucked, and his pants are baggy. like hes struggling to "fit in".

then theres sb outfit- hes wearing the standard mafia outfit like higuchi, but with his own touches- rolled up sleeves, glasses tucked in his breastpocket, choker, gloves. its not much, but even higuchi doesnt do anything to hers. we kinda see him "getting into" the mafia work, and theres no pop of color here. the dragon head conflict outift is different though- hes wearing clothes that are "his style" again. simple shirt, jacket, choker, gloves. he also has his red petticoat (i think thats what it is? whatever that long cloth underneath his jacket) that, once again, gives him some color. i dunno what spured the outfit change, but i honestly think the red color is his own touch- his own "color"

and then current chuuya. no color at all, maybe safe from the ribbon on his hat. he wears his coat on his shoulders, similar to pm dazai. (also, slight off tangent here- he always loses his coat whenever hes dealing with dazai?? i think?? which is. interesting. given with how glued pm dazai's coat is to his own shoulders. like he actively takes it off/gets it taken off and i SWEAR this only even happens when hes with dazai. idk. ever since asagiri said beast dazai wearing his coat fully to signify him accepting his role as the pm boss ive been. thinking about it. a lot.)

where was i going with this?? oh yeah. why is mersault chuuya wearing his old clothes?? specifically fifteen clothes? like was it his off day or something. bc if you look at chuuyas various outfit as his progression towards the mafia then him wearing his old non mafia clothes either means two things : 1. this is to signify chuuya, under vampire influnce, is well. obviously not loyal to the mafia atm. or 2. something might happen in the future that makes him swear allegiance to someone else which i dont find possible but??? who knows. im overthinking this

Oh my god I opened my asks to find this monster in here and scrolled through it like ?????????

Please feel free to do this anytime this was an absolute joy to read hahaha

"dazai, in all the eras where he was in the mafia....never changes his outfit." His outfit stays pretty similar, you're right, though he does actually change it once during his mafia days. The left image is the outfit he wears in Fifteen and Stormbringer, while the right is what he wears in DHC and Dark Era.

The difference is the blazer jacket he adds under his coat. It's a minimal change but I think it's significant. I mentioned in this post how I believe the change might be related to his change in pronoun from boku to watashi, but really it's more the added layer of distance that makes this significant. Dazai just looks a little... odd, in the first outfit. The coat hangs off him loosely, his shirt is a little baggy. He looks very boyish, and that makes his deceptive tendencies and deeply concerning outlook all the more disturbing to others.

The second outfit makes one change but his clothes now look like they fit him (still with the exception of the coat, which never fit and never will... in this universe anyways. You mentioned Beast so... you know already hehe). In the case of the second outfit, he looks more mature and formal, which lends itself to a person who withdrew further and further away from people (with the exception of the other two at Bar Lupin); who became a terrifying executive in other's eyes, moving away from the "creepy intelligent child" image he had earlier - even though he is still very much a kid. No one knows Dazai - I think the added image of formality and authority here is just one of the many barriers he constructed to keep people from getting too close.

"so his ada outfit makes him look like a rainbow. dark blue vest, blue gem(?) bolo tie, striped shirt and a tan coat similar to oda's."

hjdfvbdjf rainbow - entering his no longer closeted gay era (sorry lol i couldn't resist)

No but you're right about the coat looking a bit like Oda's. He cared for and respected that man like no other and I think when Dazai thinks of "a good person" Oda is the first person who comes to mind. His shirt in the manga is also stripy like Oda's, a little detail that got lost in the anime. :')

"his fifteen outfit is very "him" in a sense. street kid, street kid style- red shirt, grey hoodie, green leather jacket, bright blue sheep armband. he fits right in with the rest of the sheep, and hes so...colorful here."

Yeah. He looks every bit the street kid and blends with the Sheep near perfectly - more than fitting in though, I think it's more than implied that he wants to fit in and changes his look to do so. Chuuya goes to great lengths to give the appearance of fitting in - because he never felt like he truly did (and certainly the Sheep did not treat him like an equal or a friend).

"and then theres the outfit he wears in the mafia- the first one we saw back in the manga where he seems to be wearing like a..."beta" version of his current outfit- but the way it was drawn (disregarding the anime for a second) it looks like its almost ill fitting for him. the vest is too big, the coat looks so heavy, the tie isnt properly tucked, and his pants are baggy. like hes struggling to "fit in"."

YES you get it!! And adding onto that, Chuuya doesn't really have a lot of reason to want to fit in yet. He hasn't found his personal groove yet, because he has little personal attachment to the mafia at this point in time.

Yeah in Stormbringer he's got a few personal touches but is still pretty non-descript (though you're right, it's much more than Higuchi... something to think about for her character too, and how it seems the mafia may be more of a job than an investment to her). By Dead Apple though, Chuuya's outfit is... well, back to his punk vibes, just a little more mafia-classy, I guess. (I don't know fashion I'm sorry, please don't kill me)

"but i honestly think the red color is his own touch- his own "color""

Red makes a lot of sense as a colour for Chuuya. It's energetic, emotional, fierce and aggressive. It's also considered protective, so yeah it suits him for sure. Red clothes, red ability... red camellias...

"and then current chuuya. no color at all, maybe safe from the ribbon on his hat." Ooo ok. So in the anime, this is true but in the manga, I believe his vest is actually a pale red.

Well. Brown with red undertones. Your point still stands though because the colour is very muted. It's not like Fifteen or DHC Chuuya for sure.

"(also, slight off tangent here- he always loses his coat whenever hes dealing with dazai?? i think?? which is. interesting. given with how glued pm dazai's coat is to his own shoulders. like he actively takes it off/gets it taken off and i SWEAR this only even happens when hes with dazai. idk. ever since asagiri said beast dazai wearing his coat fully to signify him accepting his role as the pm boss ive been. thinking about it. a lot.)"

Oh. Thinking on this. Um. Embarrassed to say - I don't think I noticed that actually. Like obviously he loses the coat a lot and that was already something to think on but... only around Dazai, is that right? Hold on, I'm gonna check.

Ok so my check wasn't super thorough (read: I am too tired and drained to go through each and every panel he appears in) but...

By god, I think you're right.

That's. Hm. I'm going to join you on thinking about that for awhile.

I see the coat as a representation of his role and responsibility he takes on, really, so it's interesting that the formality and symbolism of his service to the mafia gets quite literally discarded in the scenes with his foil and equal. Fascinating.

He's also not wearing it in any of these now infamous panels from Chapter 101:

Huh. Well. Thank you anon. You've just given me a whole new thing to whir about.

"why is mersault chuuya wearing his old clothes?? specifically fifteen clothes?"

Honestly, I'm still waiting to figure this out too.

Because of the purplish hue over this piece of new art, I find it hard to tell what the actual colours of his outfit are but it does look awfully similar to his Fifteen outfit. It could just be his "day-off" outfit but I think there's got to be more to it than that. It could have to do with allegiance, like you suggested. May I also suggest the return to a sense of inhumanity?

These are also the clothes he wore when his journey to find answers on himself began. Might he be entering a new arc where he has to "find" himself again?

I still feel we don't have enough information to make a solid judgement. As the meursault pov continues, I think we'll have a better reason as to why he's dressed like this.

[penname-artist]

So I know that "avian" universes have been created by a few Planes folk, or at least just by buddies @c-119 and @ask-dusty-boy (that I'm aware of currently) but I'm quietly toying with a similar idea of my own, just on the...Opposite side of the scale?

By which I mean, goddamn tiny bird people.

So this is where I wanna dump all of that plated spaghetti of unsorted ideas. I have lost my writing muses so pardon the mess.

I know for normal-sized people to have bird wings, generally the rule of thumb is that you make them bigger, and their wings much bigger, to reach accuracies and such for how they'd get into the air. And also power. Big powerful bird person cool.

For me, creating my own little side-dish sandbox of "human Planes characters but with bird wings so I can play birds too because fuck you still you one human person from an unspecified number of years ago who wouldn't let me play with them" means going the other way. Making them TEENY. fairy sized. Dollhouse scaled. Itty-bitty please do not step on them little bird babies.

This might also be so I can save a bunch of DIY dollhouse items to my Pinterest and melt over them with an excuse that I'm "conducting research" for such a world.

Anyways.

Somewhere I already said and or drew or did something where I was like "Blade. Hummingbird boy. Nuff said." But like LEGIT, I bring this up again. He would have a hummingbirds wings and have similar qualities. Probably would struggle with discerning reflective surfaces in bright sunlight so he's probably hit his head more than once on stuff.

Baby go boom, pass out on ground for while til someone hands him an appy juice (natural sugar is very helpful for replenishing an exhausted hummingbird's energy)

Dusty is probably one of those small wild birds you hear in the morning. Maybe like a robin or something. Loud in the morning, chirpy, big on vocalization and tree branch hopping

...Nick's probably a chickadee. The colors tho. The little round ass fucking body, that thing is so B O R B. He is small round borb. A mess of feathers.

I also won't take literal fairies off the table here because that would be an interesting combination. Or butterflies! Or moths! Or literally any other type of small creature capable of flight. And the likes, for the non-fliers as well

*cough* spider Maru *cough*

Fuck now I want to ironically make Cabbie into some kind of tiny bat thing

The SJ can be his bugs- I mean um beetle styled people

GUYS, NOBODY SLEEP ON KEEPING TINY BIRD PEOPLE IN A DOLLHOUSE AT HOME THO.

I imagine there's a terrible pet industry for them if that's the case, but my point still stands that if you take good care of them you should get to have them around as trusty companions! Maybe less like a pet hamster and more like a befriended hive of bees

They have predators. Likely just any animal that would eat what they would be animal-wise. But like not each other. That'd be weird. Also if that was the case Cabbie would be down like, five Smokejumpers. So no it's just the big pred animals going after them not them after themselves

Cats are NOTORIOUS for getting to them. I fully believe Rip would have set one on Dusty in their final race, on purpose.

They probably aren't like, just woodland fairy like creatures anymore, like the stories would have you believe. I think they'd all be integrated somewhat with the modern world and have a lot of evolution themselves, so they basically have scaled down versions of everything normal humans have, even down to styled choices of clothing...well, minus the added wings

They probably don't lay eggs

They do molt though when stressed

I have to imagine there's SOME sort of process to the insect ones on shedding skins?? That's kinda gross but like? It's nature??

*cough* spider Maru *cough*

Catching them is probably illegal, especially inhumanely (ie in ways that injure or risk injury to them, like using bug nets, zappers, etc) and accidental capture (like from mouse traps let's say) may be fineable

(okay but someone stuck on a sticky mouse trap is kind of funny to me. They have such an angry grin and the occasional 'flflflflfl!' of wings)

That's it that's my post byeee

[the-possum-writes]

DAMN IT!!! I NEED MORE Peace Master x reader now!!! Maybe where reader is also a parent and knows the struggles. Also reader is totally into him and tires to get in his pants.

[Non-Family Friendly Thoughts]

❥Character: Peace Master

❥Tags: SFW, Yearning, Kissing, Suggestive thoughts but not fully N/S/F/W,  Single Parent!Reader

❥Synopsis: You're a single parent who's friends with Peacemaster since his kids are in the same class as yours, you've been having the hots for him and been hiding it for a while but he starts noticing it during a class meeting.

❥A/N: YEEEESSSS my Peace Master propaganda is working!

❥Taglist: @foxpearlwilder @watchingfromthefloorboards

You never knew you were capable of falling asleep with your eyes open until you walked into this meeting, it’s an obligatory teacher and parent meeting to discuss plans for the next school semester and you need to make sure your little kiddo is gonna have the best choices at their disposal but it’s been nothing but boring with how slowly the lead Karen is talking. Not to mention you’re without your partner in crime to keep you company.

You slowly munch on the bland Graham cracker at your disposal, mostly for the sake of keeping your jaw busy rather than to satisfy your appetite. “If they’re gonna be this slow they should've brought better snacks.” You mumble under your breath.

At the front of the room stands Karen, the pack leader of the parent group for the class your kid is in, she has this smug aura around her like she knows what’s best without asking anyone. “I advocate for healthier lunch options this semester, who else agrees?”. There were a few raised hands here and there while others just say “Agreed.” and those who don’t respond are probably just as bored as you are. Karen shuffles her papers as she changes the topic. “The next concern is the gym uniforms, little Timothy has been complaining about the new shirts being itchy,”

Just when you thought your head was about to smack against the tiny desk, the door abruptly opens and closes with a noticeable thud that has everyone looking back, where Karen groans briefly before addressing the late parent. “You’re late yet again, Mr. Peacemaster.” her voice is drowned out by the clattering of wet heels against the floor.

Peace master interrupts the conference by squeezing water out of his hat. The other parents simply look at him in silence as he soaks the flooring even more, his dark outfit is but a huge jab within the colorful classroom A striking sight in your opinion.  “Pardon for the delay, I was out exorcising an ancient temple that just so happened to be underwater,” he says casually. “Oh, but please continue.” He motions with the wave of his hand as he sits down next to you.

While the domestic parents were staring at him with disapproval, you were grinning to yourself at finding amusement with the adventurous man—particularly because his long legs didn’t fit in the kid’s desk. No adult fits in these, of course, but since he’s such a towering man that its noticeable with him. Your emphasis went back to the water drops running down the dark leather of his boots, unconsciously imagining the reflection of its shiny material stretching over his arms with tight gloves, it'll definitely look good on him just as much as how any black and whites stand out with his tranquil pistachio skin. The water drops don't stop their trail down his legs, they tauntingly guide your eyesight down to his thighs, which are rough and firm yet they have you wishing nothing more than to slip them apart or having them straddle you against the cushions of a soft bed.

Peace Master makes a little tilt toward you. "Did I miss anything?" he murmurs.

You let out an inaudible sigh, personally thanking any higher power for sending PM out on that underwater temple. "Only a pair of leather straps-" you broke out of your daydream before embarrassing yourself any more "OH! You're talking about the meeting!" You speak aloud unintentionally loud enough for another parent to gently scold you.

You swiftly unscrew the cap on your water bottle and down it. Although it's true that he can be unpredictable at times, he has the right combination of domestic and supernatural elements to stand out in your daily life. Anyone with a normal mind would tell you that you're crazy if you thought he was attractive given his unpredictable career and equally odd personality. However others may feel, Peacemaster has shown himself to be a responsible dad, which is also attractive to you as a single parent.

You shrug as you wipe the water stains from the corners of your mouth. “You didn't miss much, however Karen wants to change the lunch menu you proposed last semester.”

The man snarled angrily as he exposed his teeth. “That woman! It’s like she doesn’t know kids need some fun and protein, that’s what the chicken nuggets are for.” He laments in a low, irritated voice. "Speaking of tasty treats, I brought something for you. I expected Karen to serve lame snacks again; hopefully, this will make things less boring." You pray that whatever the Peace master pulls out of his coat isn't wet, but to your astonishment you see a bag of chips.

You gratefully accept the bag of chips, but not before recognizing how his hand lingered on yours throughout the short exchange, unleashing a flurry of previously buried emotions.  “Thanks PM, you make everything less boring.” You smile as you start popping chips in your mouth. Peacemaster redirected his focus to the meeting, but his hat's curve couldn't keep the smile on his face that resulted from your kind words. In return, you pat his shoulder. "I know, let's team up against Karen when the bake sale comes up. She'll want to do the easiest job and we can't let her win that," You smile mischievously, his tender smile morphing into an equally wicked grin that matches yours.

In addition to contradicting Karen on the Bake Sale, you successfully persuaded the other parents to revise the lunch menu options, returning it to the layout Peacemaster initially intended. It was worthwhile when you finally left the meeting with Karen's watchful eye but that didn't take away from your content laugh. It's already darkening outside when you leave the school building alongside Peacemaster, walking him across the parking lot so you two could reach his used van.

"Looks like we weren't the only ones who had a grudge against her; I didn't anticipate the other parents joining in so quickly." Peacemaster pauses briefly and turns to face you. "Thanks again for the support; I don't think I would have advanced this far on my own."

He compliments you as you stroke a hair behind your ear while grinning; it feels better than a hot beverage in the winter. "No problem, it's about time someone speaked up against Karen. Besides, I trust your judgment when it comes to your children and the decisions you make for them, well except when it comes to driving." You throw in that final blow as a joke.

"You might not trust my driving, but you can't argue with how quickly I get to places." He gives you finger guns while winking.

"I can't argue with that." you shake your head. "Speaking of which, think I can hitch a ride? My car is stuck in the workshop."

"Sure! Anything for my crime partner." Peacemaster unlocked the driver's door, but the squishy noise of his wet boots reminded him of his damp clothing. "Drat, I'm going to need to change first."

You raise your hands to the man, already turning around in respect. "Go ahead, I can wait."  Turning in the direction of the school grounds, you watch as each parent exits in their own car until all you can hear is the commotion behind you, while you kept your word and didn't turn around that didn't include reflective surfaces. Even if the mirror is small, it nonetheless provided you a glimpse of Peacemaster's underwear preferences. How appropriate, tidy whites.

"Let's go." PM breaks the silence as he buttons his pants and tosses the wet clothes in the back of the van. While you slip into the copilot seat and click your seat belt in place, Peacemaster stays in place with his hands firmly placed on the steering wheel but not turning on the ignition. "What's up?" you ask.

"Normally, I'm of sound mind and don't let anything affect me, which is why I'm good at my job, but leather straps? What was that about?" He tilts one arm on the wheel and turns to face you with intense curiosity.

You're an adult, that's the thing. Even though you have a child and have encountered odd situations in the past, this confrontation has made you feel just like a teenager all over again. You're dizzy, your palms are sweating and your heart is pounding in your ears.

"I, don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me!"

You jump unexpectedly when PM slammed his hand against the closest thing near him, in this case being the steering wheel which blew the horn throughout the empty parking lot. "I'm a very perceptive man, and although there are things I can't see at first glance and blame the misfortune on exterior forces I know this isn't one of them!" he points an accusatory finger at you as if you just summoned something you shouldn't. "I saw how you looked at me earlier throughout the meeting and while I was changing. I've known you for a while now and you've never eyed me like that before, acquaintance or not I am also a man of action and will act accordingly depending on the situation!"

You wanted to roll your eyes on that, it's inevitable he rides his high horse sometimes but you're being accused here so talking back probably isn't the best idea right now. But it doesn't stop you. "And what's the situation going on here Mr. Judge and Jury?"

Peacemaster raises a hand to his chin trying to appear professional but comes off as a know it all. "I'm well versed in a multitude of paranormal entities. Either you're being possessed by a promiscuous entity or... Well it's something else, but it's definitely the first thing!" his mighty speech slows down as he reaches that last part, as if he bumped into a wall in his logic.

"Or what...?" you continue, with your back already pressed against the door since he caught you you off guard. Wait. You crawl into the occupied driver's seat, shocking Peacemaster, but he's too astonished to stop you from straddling him. "Or what Peacemaster? Is it really that difficult for you to think I like you that you'd rather believe I'm possessed?" You spoke with an unexpected surge of flirty confidence that startled him. He is a guy who has encountered many horrors, but at least those horrors were known to him. This is unexplored territory, which is more terrifying than any beast from the deepest reaches of the night.

Peacemaster appeared to shrink in place, turning his head away as you metaphorically and literally pinned him to the wall "I... I would've noticed it earlier if that were the case! You're clearly being possessed. I mean, our kids have been friends since they were in kindergarten and if I would've known earlier I would've... I would've..."

"Pull the moves on me?" you finish the sentence for him.

"Exorcize you! I would've performed an exorcism already!"

"You're lying." you huff nonchalantly.

"AM NOT!" his green face turns into a dark shade as he rebutts your claims.

"Then why are you grabbing my ass?" you softly move your hips as you feel his hands grab either side you your bums.

Without any excuse or fight left in him Peacemaster leaned forward and shut you up by crashing his lips on your own, you return the gesture by placing your hands on his face and savoring everything he had to offer even if he was still being stubborn about it. "I'm gonna have to perform rituals on you, until you're completely... ah, purified... " he attempts to keep his threats but they sound like sweet promises to you.

"You can perform whatever you want on me~"

[baileypie-writes]

can you please do a daruizen x reader where in this daruizen is redeemed the reader starts to act like an older sister to him and daruizen is just the happiest because he knows he has a sister (this is like if daruizen was redeemed)

A/N ~ Sure! This idea is so sweet! I had way too much fun writing it haha. Hope you enjoy!

~Something I’ve Never Had~

Daruizen + Fem!Big Sister-like!Reader

~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~

Fandom: Healin' Good♡Precure

Fanfic Type: Oneshot

Reader: Female

Relationship: Platonic

Genre: Fluff

Rating: PG

Synopsis: Daruizen is purified, and now has nowhere to go. So you don’t hesitate to take him under your wing.

Warnings: Probably pretty cringe.

(Reader is older than Daruizen, and still lives with her parents)

~Masterlists~

~Healin' Good♡Precure Masterlist~

~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~

You stared down at the limp body on the grass, wondering if it worked. The Pretty Cure used a very strong attack on their enemy, Daruizen, in hopes of purifying him. And now, he lay motionless.

You weren’t sure if purifying him was even a possibility. His whole existence is being some sort of germ, so removing disease from his being might just make him disappear completely. You waited impatiently for it to happen, but as the minutes passed, his whole body was still intact.

Then, he started moving. Slowly and laboriously, but he was definitely moving. Finally, he was sat up. His back was turned to you, so you couldn’t quite tell how he was doing.

“Daruizen?” Cure Earth called out to him. The other Pretty Cure gripped their Healing Sticks just in case of an attack. Cure Grace was gripping hers particularly hard, so much so that her hand began to shake.

The boy turned around, and the girls, minus the one in pink, lowered their weapons in relief. It seemed that the purification was a success! Daruizen looked different. His horns and scorpion tail were no longer present, and his skin was now a natural color, instead of its original pale blue. His ears were also rounded, instead of pointy. He looked fully human.

“How?” He asked, looking frightened. He glanced down at his hand, getting a view of his new complexion.

“I don’t know, but it’s great, isn’t it?” Cure Sparkle exclaimed excitedly.

You took notice that Daruizen didn’t share the same enthusiasm as her. You took a step towards her to get her to act a bit calmer, but jumped when you got an interruption.

“Great? How is this great? I can’t go back to the Byogen Kingdom now! I’ll be shunned by the others! I don’t have a home now!” He shouted angrily, despite his obvious exhaustion.

Cure Sparkle’s shoulders tensed, and she frowned guiltily. “Oh, yeah…” She turned to the others. “What should we do guys?”

Cure Earth and Cure Fontaine struggled to come up with ideas. And Cure Grace didn’t seem interested in making a solution. She just stood a distance away, not wanting to even look at Daruizen. You could understand why she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. He was the cause of the illness that ripped a large portion of her childhood away from her.

So, you decided to take matters into your own hands. “He can come with me.” You said. Everyone turned to look at you.

“Are you sure, (name)?” Cure Fontaine asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. He doesn’t have anywhere to go. Plus, my house has an extra bedroom. And I’m sure my parents won’t mind taking him in.” You smiled, glancing over to him.

You walked over to Daruizen. He looked scared and nervous, though he was attempting to hide it with a tough face. You knelt down to his level, and held out your hand. At that moment, you didn’t see a heartless villain, just a sad, scared little boy who needed help. “Wanna come with me?” You asked him.

Daruizen stared down at your palm for a moment, before slowly taking it. His hand was cold, and slightly shaking. “I guess I don’t have a choice.” He said, avoiding eye contact. You gave him a gentle smile, letting him know that everything was okay, before helping him up onto his feet.

~~~~

“Mom, Dad, this is my friend, Daruizen.” You introduced your parents to the boy next to you, gesturing to him. “He has no family, and nowhere to say. So I was hoping he would stay with us?”

Your parents looked over at Daruizen. He tried to look as normal as possible, but was very obviously nervous and unsure.

“Of course he can. If he needs help, that’s what he’s going to get.” Your mother said, giving him a gentle smile. Your father nodded, agreeing with her statement.

You let out a sigh of relief, and thanked them. You lightly tapped Daruizen, urging him to do the same. “Thank you for your generosity.” He said, bashfully looking away.

~(Three weeks later…)~

To be honest, you were skeptical on how well Daruizen would fit in. His world was just so different from yours. But to your surprise, he was actually doing quite well.

There were some things he had to get used to though. Sleep was one of them. Apparently, being a germ of sorts, he used to not need sleep. So it took him a while to understand. You still occasionally need to force him to bed when he claims he’s not tired. Food was another thing. Again, it wasn’t something he used to need. But once you introduced him to it, he really enjoys it. He especially loves your parents’ cooking. Dinner is probably one of his favorite parts of the day.

The two of you have grown close through the weeks. Though Daruizen can be cold, he began to warm up to you. He struggles with other people, but you figured that since you’re the one who took him in, it made it easier to trust you. The relationship you have gained resembles the one siblings would have. So you basically think of Daruizen as your little brother. And though he won’t admit it, he thinks of you as his sister.

So now that he was used to being on Earth, it was only appropriate to enroll him in school. He was quite reluctant at first. He claimed he didn’t need school. But you managed to convince him.

So now, you stood in front of the gates of Sukoyaka Middle School, with Daruizen by your side. He was wearing his brand new uniform, and had his bag in hand. You watched him observe the other students as they walked to class.

“I wish I could go in with you. Are you sure you’ll be alright?” You asked him. You’re worried about him, since other than with you, he tends to not be very good at socializing.

“Yes. I’ll be fine.” He said, a bit annoyed. He took a glance at you, then looked down at his shoes. “…. Thanks (name).”

“Oh?” You questioned. “What for?”

“For helping me, and giving me a home.” His eyes were still facing downwards. “I fully expected you to just leave me on my own, especially after everything I did. But you didn’t. You showed me so much about Earth, and cared for me. Back in the Byogen Kingdom, relationships with others weren’t really a thing. So friends or family are something I’ve never had. I never thought I’d admit this, but my new life had been… enjoyable.���

You nearly felt your eyes water at his words. “I’m so glad, Daruizen! You’ve been adjusting so well, and I’m so proud of you. I just know that you’re gonna do great in school!”

Daruizen looked up at you, and gave you a very small smile. You smiled back much wider, and pulled him in for a hug. “What the heck is this?” He asked, confused and annoyed.

“It’s called a hug.” You laughed.

Daruizen wriggled out of your grasp. “Well, I’m not a fan. Please don’t do that again.” You just chuckled, and ruffled his hair, another thing you learned he disliked.

“You better get going now. School’s about to start!” You gently grabbed his shoulders, and led him through the gates. Daruizen glanced behind him as he walked. You waved him goodbye. He did a small wave back, before facing forward again.

You watched him until he disappeared into the school. Then, you began your journey home. Daruizen still has so much to learn, but you’re sure he’ll do just fine academically. You couldn’t wait to hear about his day when he got home. But that was quite a while away. So you went home, and awaited your “little brother’s” return.

~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~🦠~~~

~~baileypie-writes

[silentstaresfanficandfanart]

h9yfx7rx8titcoycyov9yc9tdt8743uriti

Give us your best and worst feelings while experiencing being a game dev

okay!

some of the best feelings: working with my new teammate person (the one i mentioned was teaching me a while back! now we're a proper dev team!) and talking about and planning idaes with him

when something finally works

solving a probelm i couldnt figure out a few days ago

when its finally done

watching your characters come to life

COMMENTS HWEN SOMEONE COMMENTS :D ive only gotten one comment on my itch.io games so far but IT MADE ME SO HAPPY and i keep going back to look at it when i need motivation-

playing through with my friends over vc and us making up funny bits and doing voices while we're at it! We had one playthrough where the main character was named paperwork and all their diologue was just paperwork, by the time it was done i was struggling not to say paperwork in the middle of random conversations and frankly it was hilarious

when your friends like your game : ' )

that relatable feeling of playing a game or recalling an odd choice a game developer made in a game you loved once and being like oh I get it now. iiiiiget it now (*glances at pokemon in solemn understanding* i see why you didint do that now. I get it.

the loving feeling of you and your fellow programmer workign on a script and you putting your cursor next to theirs (it feels like a hug <3, its like, programmer cuddles, i am 99% that just an us thing) the utter TRIUMPH of getting something fully functional

when one of your friends decides to latch onto a specific character and loves them and its like YES PLEASE LOVE MY SON I WORKED HARD ON HIM HES A GIFT TO YOU YIPPIEEE

WHEN YOU TRY TO FIX A GLITCH AND THE GAME BOOTS UP PROPERLY AND NOTHINGS WRONG :D

the worst feelings:

when something you worked really hard on doesnt get much attention

when you cant solve a weirdly specific problem (*Shakes fist at color wheels*) and you know its objectively making your game MUCH worse and harder on the player, but you just cant find the information you need to solve it

when youve tried to fix the same bug 10 times and the error log isint changing

thinking you got all the bugs only to find out your newest update is a buggy disaster and one of your characters has decided to become a nudist and preform mitosis which was NOT your goal whatsoever because your naming conventions were flawed

when you have too many files and its just overwhelming-

messing up ONE letter or the indentation on something

problems that take 3 days or more to figure out solutions to

and as the artist and one of the two main programmers: character creation. i understand now why its not more common in video games. this is hard. I definitely intend to do it but golly

trying to balance stats and things

when the game crashes while youre bugfixing-

trying to figure out what strange seemingly alien language your fellow programmer is using to get amazing results because you have to understand how it works so you can actually use the amazing system they made but if you COULD understand it very easily already you would have made it yourself so youre just crawling through it trying to reverse engineer it so you can avoid breaking what they made and add onto it lol

[dovoodles]

please tell us about the vivit color symbolism 🎤

( @arqueervist tagging you so you see :-) ) Okay, let's go. So this is less "color directly represents this" and moreso just purposeful thought into what colors are used to represent which characters and what that means on a larger scale story perspective. I know there's color theory in terms of "color has x meaning" but that wasn't taken into account much, nor do I remember those off the top of my head, so anything that matches or conflicts with those color associations is merely coincidental.

For everyone's sake I made a handy chart to refer to what i was talking about. Actual analysis under the cut

From a general worldbuilding scale, if I'm trying to lean more heavy towards using whites and blues for setting & in act 2, android industry stuff . Sleek whites and blues can be found in a lot of minimalist 'futuruistic' settings, so it serves as an easy association that may be apparent to any reader. I've especially felt inspired by retrofuturist and y2k related things I've seen, so take that as you will! Here's a credit link to the image I used there btw.

With that in mind, I usually tend to be using a lot of darker monotones and blues in Sam's color palette. It provides somewhat of a contrast with the mainstream light colors, but also makes him 'fit in' with society at large. He is a representation of everything about society that can't accept the autonomy of androids at large, whilst also tying in to his own personal conflicts. He's also sort of the 'baseline' for how I figured out the other palettes, since his came first. His outfits are more dominated by black after Rose's death, since black represents mourning and he is full of guilt so much every day. Like not enough to own up to the murder. But enough to feel bad about it i guess.

Rose's color palette is supposed to represent her struggles with maintaining an independent identity. It starts out more warm toned, but shifts to purple, then monotone, as she continually compromises in order to salvage what's left of her marriage. At the tail end of her arc, it starts shifting back to purple, as she tries to reclaim a sense of independence again, but it never fully gets there for... obvious reasons.

If the representation of the large oppressive force at play in this story is blue & white, then Ash's color palette being brown seemed like the obvious choice. Unlike blue & white, browns are associated with the natural world, so it kinda just works?

Nerva's a bit of an interesting one since she doesn't really have her own color palette? It's kind of just a reflection of whoever she's around in her life, first being Sam, then Ash. (Also because her second outfit is actually just Ash's old clothes). Without the influence of anyone, though, then I usually default to monotones with her, as it's sort of a 'nothing'. It's not so much that she doesn't have an identity, but when others are not imposing their own views onto her (as again, represented by the color mimicry), she chooses to fly under the radar.

[merakiui]

A Leaf Swept up in an Autumnal Breeze

yandere!kaedehara kazuha x (gender neutral) reader art credit - Tourou_7 on twt cw: yandere, unhealthy/obsessive behaviors, slight nsfw implications/thoughts, alcohol consumption, intoxication, spoilers for kazuha’s character story + inazuma lore note - i decided to write something short for kazuha as i analyze what we know so far of his character. hopefully the characterization isn’t too off! please enjoy nonetheless! orz

The moonlight casts its thin rays upon the calm, motionless sea. In the distance, fish surface and their movements are captured in the ripples that expand in the water, a minor blip in the otherwise tranquil atmosphere of the dark night. As if a god has taken a brush to the sky, utilizing its inky vastness as a canvas, the stars have been drawn in small specks—winking down at those who sleep underneath a blanket of natural light.

And you are caught up in the glorious shimmer, grinning widely as Beidou wraps her arm around you, pulling you against her as if the two of you have known each other for years. In reality, it’s only been a few months since you were discovered on her ship: a hidden stowaway with your Vision clutched in your hands and raw resolve etched into your body in the form of bruises and old scars. You’re a fighter and yet you also ran from something. Kazuha can’t quite tell what it is you’ve escaped. Whether it’s another person, a group of people, or even an entire nation, he’s certain it’s worthy of the risks that come with fleeing.

Your Vision shines brightly, a stark contrast to the dark color scheme of your clothes. He tries to place a nation to your outfit and comes up empty, his thoughts returning to Inazuma as though it’s the only place he can think of. And he supposes that’s true. The situation in Inazuma has clouded his mind with its strange fog, taking up residence in the nooks and crannies of his brain. Though he can dwell upon the past and the mistakes that led up to the downfall of a precious friend, he knows there is no use for such somber reflections during a happy celebration. Life moves on, as the common saying goes, and he cannot allow himself to remain trapped in the past.

During moments such as these, where he relives the horrible memory in vivid detail, you are a sweet balm that soothes the sting of loss. Even when you’re struggling to stand, face hot from the intoxication of good drinks in even better company, you’re a wondrous presence who chases away his doubts and worries.

Unknowingly, you cast a temporary shroud over those matters and he’s put at ease the minute you extend your arm in his direction.

“Kazuha! Come over here. Let’s dance!”

A hiccup interrupts your jovial giggle and Beidou chuckles before throwing her head back to drink what’s left in her flask. The aura of her ship is beyond lively. Men and women alike celebrate another successful week with drinks, harrowing tales of past heroes, and broken ballads sang in drunken tones. He can’t help the smile that sprouts on his lips. You’re such an outgoing person, always wanting to include him in your daily activities. And though he politely declines whenever you offer him alcohol, he has wondered what the appeal could possibly be.

Perhaps it’s the idea of losing your sensibility for one night, ignoring all reason for the sake of spending pleasurable moments in the confines of a warm bed, wrapped snugly in a lover’s embrace. Such instances are lost to intoxicating pleasure—buried under a hazy recollection come morning. But you haven’t done that sort of thing. Kazuha would know. He listens in while you’re relaxing—while you’re bathing and going about life on the ship without a care in the world—and his head runs wild with all sorts of fantasies. Fantasies he never would have imagined had he not met you.

To think you were just a mere stowaway, a trespasser who had snuck onto the ship and hid in the darkest corner, obscured by crates and chests. And he had pulled those crates aside in search of a few ingredients and his eyes met yours and you held your finger to your lips—a silent urge to keep quiet—and his heart skipped a beat.

It was a special meeting between two, which will remain locked away in his heart for all of eternity. A memory he regards with warm fondness. After much negotiation and a disarming conversation, you were soon welcomed with open arms as Beidou practically offered you to join her crew. You had nowhere else to go—no one else to see or protect—and so you agreed. And Kazuha felt a relief he hasn’t felt in a while, the sort of emotion that stems from almost losing something important.

The pure relief that comes and goes once he realizes you’re a missing piece in the puzzle of his life.

“You’ll trip,” he warns, pushing off from the side of the ship and walking over to you and Beidou. “It wouldn’t be wise to dance in your inebriated state. Surely you’re aware of this, no?”

“I can hold my alcohol.” Your wavering glare doesn’t reach him. “Don’t... Don’t think otherwise or else I’ll—ah!”

The majority of Beidou’s weight burdens your shoulders and you nearly almost crumble.

“You—“ she searches for a means to steady herself— “worry too much,” the captain adds, nodding in agreement to an unspoken statement. “It’ll be okay! Live a little while you’re still young.”

Kazuha sighs and easily slips between the two of you, hooking his arm around Beidou’s waist as he guides her to a barrel. The scent of alcohol kisses the air, clinging to your clothes and breath like an oversaturated perfume. Once she’s sat down, now fully determined to get the last few drops from out of the flask, the rōnin turns to you. He’s caught by surprise when your hands grasp his, your eager expression stabbing his heart with a dozen pins. He’s rooted to the floorboards, unable to look away when your face is dangerously close to his.

“You heard the captain,” you tease in a slurred voice. “Live a little.”

And he does. Or he thinks he does. Having traveled with Beidou, this is the current life he’s come to know and appreciate. But is it truly living if he feels unfulfilled in the process? To find a means for bringing back the familiar glow in a lonely Vision. To secure peace of mind and put his rowdy thoughts to rest. To one day return to the nation he was forced to flee, with you in tow. Are all of these things necessary in order to fill the gaping void in his damaged heart? Kazuha wonders if you also came from Inazuma. Perhaps you wouldn’t be so surprised to see the scenery if he were to take you there. Not now, of course. Sometime in the future, if such a future holds a changed Inazuma.

“I’m going to warn you now,” he mumbles, his fingers ghosting over your waist, “I’m not what one would call a dancer of skillful grace.”

“I don’t think that’s true, dear Kazuha.”

He blinks once and then releases a short laugh at the endearing term. “If you say so.”

“Enough talk.” You huff and pull him into your chest and he feels as though he could stay locked in this position for millennia. “Dance with me before...” A stilted pause as you nearly forget your sentence. “Before I turn in for the night. That’s it.”

Or before you get sick, he thinks, not so cheerful about the inevitable mess. But he’ll tolerate it because you’ve tolerated him. You never pry into his past, nor do you force him to answer personal questions regarding Inazuma and the Raiden Shogun. If you ever notice the way he lingers near your quarters, you don’t say a word. And if you hear his subdued moans as his hand moves in time with a picturesque fantasy of your nude form pressed against his, you keep your mouth shut. You are everything he could ever want and like the very ideal the Raiden Shogun wishes to uphold he wants to pursue an eternity with you.

Your movements are far from the precision you normally have when moving about the ship and it’s a very odd dance. Yet you spin him and he follows your unusual lead like an animal with tunnel vision. For a taut moment, the background noise melts away into obscurity and the two of you are the only people in existence. He stares at your face the entire time, ignoring the way your sandals crush his feet or the instances where he unintentionally returns the gesture. It’s certainly an awkward sort of waltz, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

And in this moment where no one else matters, he sees your radiance in the glow of the moon. You truly are worthy of the sun and the stars beyond and should you verbalize an outlandish wish of that nature he has no choice but to follow through.

Like a leaf swept up in an autumnal breeze, reminiscent of a ronin who lacks a place in the world, Kazuha allows himself to be carried on by the winds that rustle the sails and tangle through your hair, painting you in a backdrop that’s heaven handcrafted by the pickiest god. And where you have your wits, a lively Vision, and your confidence, he only has his blade, a dull Vision, and an inkling of hope. But that’s really all he requires.

[shorkbrian]

He’d be so freaking mean too omg

like all “Shut the fuck up, did I say you could fucking speak?” spitting at you when you’re panicking, blubbering out anything to get him to stop.

Originally he was just going to spank you until your skin had broken, until there were raw welts across your ass and thighs, bruised and sensitive to the slightest breeze. Levi would want you to remember and suffer with the pain for as long as he had to suffer and endure the pain of almost loosing you. The hurt of knowing that you’re still trying to run, still trying to get away from him.

But now he knows that the pain of a few smacks won’t be enough to convey the ache you put his heart through. The ripping, tearing, long-lasting suffering afflicting him whenever you show your disdain for him. He masks it with anger, with the poorly restrained attitude of a trainer correcting its pupil, but the hurt is still there.

Levi knows it’s all wrong, everything that he does to you. But in a twisted, fucked up way, you deserve it. Deserve it for catching his eye, and being nice to him even when he was a bitch (which was always), for letting things progress to this point - a relationship filled with suffering and heartache.

It’s all your fault.

That’s what he tells you when the man hisses at you to shut up again, delivering another resounding smack to your rear to convey the seriousness of his point.

“Brat. What did you think you’d gain from running? Huh?”

He’s so aggressive, pulling your hair, smacking you around, his hands stinging with the abuse he’s littering across your skin. When you attempt to garble out another plea for mercy, for forgiveness, Levi grabs your face in one hand and pinches, pulling you towards himself with a cruel expression. “You don’t get to ask for an ounce of goddamn mercy. I am being merciful, you stupid little shitstain.”

The sheets are smeared with the slightest bit of blood.

“Now be fucking quiet.”

You can’t help the yelps of pain that are smacked out of you when Levi’s hand connects to your raw flesh, immediately sobbing and biting your lip as tears soak the sheets, mingle with the blood.

Levi’s so pissed, he doesn’t care how hard you’re trying to be silent. With a growl of frustration, he grabs the back of your neck, hauling you up onto your knees on the bed. 

A palm strikes hard against your cheek, whipping your head to the side and then it strikes again in the exact same spot.

“Are you so stupid that you can’t get it through that tiny fucking brain of yours - this is a punishment. I’m in charge. I tell you to do something, you fucking do it. I own you.”

Your ears feel like they’re filled with cotton, you can’t stop the wretched sobs heaving from your chest. Levi is furious.

He maneuvers you until you’re on your hands and knees facing away from him, barely able to hold yourself up through the fuzzy panic filling your body, weighing you down and making you dizzy.

More spanking is expected, and you’re already struggling to brace yourself for the inevitable hit when instead, hot fingers covered in cold lube grip your ass, pull the cheeks apart.

Levi ignores the way your breath catches in your throat, how your body freezes completely and your tears start falling faster. He doesn’t care about your comfort right now, he’s trying to prove a point.

His nails are blunt and short - the man keeps his hands neat and clean. It just means you’re forced to feel the full sensation of Levi’s fingertips probing at your ass.

“You better relax, or else I’ll shove my entire fist up your ass and fuck you with it until you bleed out.” Levi snarls, and you realize you’re shaking terribly, almost convulsing as you force your hole to relax and stop clenching.

A finger worms it’s way inside, painful and entirely too fast, too soon. But Levi doesn’t care. You deserve to be in pain.

He only wants to work two fingers inside of you, just enough so that he can spread his digits and open your hole a little. Levi knows you’ll probably tear and bleed anyway tonight, but he’s not looking to actually kill you, so he squirts lube directly into your hole, sneering when you clench at the sensation and it makes a disgusting squelching sound.

“You aren’t trying to take a shit, stop that.”

As if you could control the way your body reacted to painful stimulus.

Levi fishes out his cock, doesn’t even bother with removing his clothes. He’s going to fuck some sense into you, make you understand pain and consequences, and then he’s going to leave you lying in a puddle of your own tears. You’re pathetic.

He taps his cock against your hole, jaw set in anger, thinking about how he’d felt to hear that you’d somehow gotten loose in the barracks, running through the halls and trying every single door, hoping to find a way out. Good thing all the cadets, all the staff - they knew to who where you belonged.

“L-Le-L-N-n-n” You managed, tongue thick and heavy in your mouth. You wanted to say no, tell him to stop, that you’d listen and be good and do whatever he said, if only he would please not do this.

But all your mushy syllables gained you was a violent slap to your rear, Levi seething. “How many times do I have to fucking tell you? Can’t do anything right, useless brat.”

And with that, he was pushing inside, forcing his way into your body, relentless and uncaring of the extreme pain he was putting you in.

A horrified wail tumbled from your lips, body jolting and spasming and struggling to lurch away from the assault, but Levi held you easily in place, exactly where he wanted you.

“Don’t, you brought this upon yourself.” He ground out, your walls squeezing the tip of his cock almost painfully, so tight and convulsing wildly as your body tried to force him out.

He was tired of talking, tired of trying to get through to you with words.

In no time, he was fully inside you, lube easing the way, blood joining and slicking your passage even more. As his hips pulled back, the gross mixture dripped to the bed below, staining his sheets. Levi was disgusted.

But he pushed forward, finding his rhythm with quick swings of his hips, pummeling your insides with barely a care for your wellbeing.

Maybe he was sick, but it felt good.

It felt good to see you in so much pain, mourning the choices you had made to lead up to this moment.

It felt good to feel you squeezing at his cock so intensely, body reacting in violent spasms that felt exciting and made Levi’s balls tingle.

Usually Levi would at least try to help you cum. A hand between your legs with he fucked you, fingers flicking against your clit. Having you ride him and control the pace so you could bounce until you reached your peak. Fingering you after your hole was loose and sloppy from his cock, curling his digits just so that they  rubbed against your G-spot and made you squirm on each thrust.

But now Levi had no desire to make you feel good. You had made him feel awful; he was just returning the favor.

Seeing you like this, struggling underneath him to stay conscious through the hurt, crying and sobbing his name even though the man had told you to shut your fucking mouth, taking what he dished out....

Levi felt warm.

That stupid, syrupy warmth rising in his chest, threatening to spill out his mouth by way of foolish words.

“I love you.” Is what he wants to say, press himself down until he’s flush with your back, mouth next to your ear so he can shamefully whisper it just so you can hear.

You’re in so much pain, writhing and jolting, clawing at the sheets - Levi doubts you’d even understand him if he said anything at this point.

So he lets his body talk for him, hips speeding up as he felt his balls tighten, cock twitching inside your hole and you screech in agony. He won’t drag this out any longer, you’ve learned your lesson, remembered who it is you’re supposed to love.

Levi grabs your hips, clutches onto you with white knuckles and pounds home, faster and faster until he feels himself let go, cock twitching wildly as your hole squeezes him down.

When he pulls out, the cum that drips down your thighs is tinted pink.

Levi’s reminded of the color of love.

[bughat]

Thoughts on Silco and Jinx

Just some 4am thoughts on some of the discourse I’ve seen on the relationship between Silco and Jinx.  (I struggle a LOT with putting my thoughts down in writing so this is probably going to be kind of disjointed) So one of the things that struck me about the portrayal of Silco throughout the show is his ruthlessness.  Like - we are repeatedly reminded that Silco is Not a Nice Person, to the point that he’s even given not one, but multiple, cold-blooded examples of the “Would Hurt A Child” trope to firmly establish how Not Nice he is just in case we got distracted.  I feel like that was a VERY deliberate choice on the part of the writers.  It added validity to the obvious question for the audience as to whether his affection for Jinx was a genuine thing or something he would eventually betray.  (The way he reacts to a child desperately and suddenly throwing herself into his arms - a child he’d given every sign of being prepared to dispose of not two seconds ago - is strange and seems distinctly unexpected to both the audience and Silco himself.  Looking back, they practically trauma imprint on each other in that moment, and I’m not saying that’s at all a good thing, but I do think it explains a lot of their bond and why it wound up existing at all.) Something that definitely got my attention when I was still wondering if Silco truly cared about Jinx before the finale was the way Jinx interacted with Silco after the timeskip.  I was pleasantly surprised to see her written more as an affectionate, but eye-rolling, gawd-not-the-drowning-story-again-Dad teenage daughter.  She clearly has an emotional dependency on Silco, but she’s not slavishly devoted to him and she’s not only well AWARE of his tendency to project his own emotions onto her, she obviously chafes under it sometimes.  I feel like their mutual codependence on each other as well as their similarities and understanding of each other because of those similarities are particularly highlighted during scenes like the one where Jinx presents Silco with the gemstone.   The manner in which she surprises him with the stone is deliberately coy and calculated - NOT in a sexual way, but in an “okay Dad, I know you’re REALLY mad,BUT LOOK WHAT I GOT YOU, AM I NOT THE BEST, WORTHIEST DAUGHTER EVER” way.  I felt like that scene, especially taken into consideration after the finale, said a lot about how both Jinx and Silco work, emotionally, and how aware they are of those mechanics.  They’re both heavily affected by trust, betrayal and abandonment issues.  Naturally something that is very meaningful to both of them are solid, concrete displays of loyalty, risk, and devotion.  The way that Silco looks at Jinx as he holds the stone isn’t just pleased and surprised, it’s almost stunned, moved.  Jinx, in turn, approaches Silco with the confidence of someone who knows that in this moment, for once, they don’t have to question their own worthiness because they’ve fully earned a reward of acceptance through proving themselves.  Later, when that confidence begins to slip when she’s struggling with the construction of the weapon, Silco takes her to the river for the symbolic washing away of her "old” identity and presents that ritual to her almost as a gift of his own.   To Silco, this makes sense.  In the flashback scenes of his drowning we are repeatedly shown the visual of him floating serenely in calm, cool blue and green lighting, eyes closed as if at peace.  This is juxtaposed violently with the scenes of Vander holding him by the throat underwater, the sickly color palette of the bloody, yellow river water and the storm-darkened sky, and the absolute terror on Silco’s face.  Those moments of false peace seem to represent a respite, a denial of the horror of what was actually happening to him.  As if a part of his psyche almost shut down and gave up and submitted willingly rather than having to face the ugly reality that someone he loved and trusted was committing a terrible act of violence against him. Silco sees his choosing to defend himself against Vander rather than let himself be killed as his choosing strength over personal weakness.  To him, this was a genuine triumph over the “weakness” of his own emotions that tied him to the person that betrayed him.  What better gift to give his daughter than that same freedom? I think he honestly believes that Jinx separating herself from Vi would be an act of self-protection because he also honestly believes that Vi will eventually turn on her.  Why else would Vi have been recently freed from prison after she’d been kept there for years right after a valuable piece of technology had been stolen from Piltover by her younger sister?  In the Lanes with an enforcer, no less.  It’s obvious that he sees Vander in Vi, but he also sees danger and betrayal as part of that projection.  Vander stopped loving him so it’s probably near inconceivable to him that Vi might actually still truly love Jinx. To Silco, nothing could be worse than being to Jinx what Vander was to him.  Nothing could be worse, by his own personal standards, than for her to believe that he would’ve betrayed her in the same way, especially to Piltover.  I do think that’s why he struggles so hard to shout over Vi at the dinner party and why he tells Jinx that she is perfect and shows no anger towards her as he dies.  I felt like that part of the finale answered the question the show had been presenting us with from the beginning.  NOT the question “is Silco a good father?”, mind you, but rather, “IS Silco a father?” full stop.  And the answer, for better or worse, was ‘yes’.   Was he a villain?  Yes.  Did he do terrible harm to the very Undercity he sought independence for?  Absolutely.  Do people like Ekko and Vi have every right to hate his guts for all eternity?  Hell yes.  Did he see Jinx as his actual daughter and family, not just a convenient pawn he’d grown somewhat fond of?  Yes.  In coming to love her as genuinely and deeply as he did mean he fell victim to the same “weakness” he couldn’t forgive Vander for?  Also yes. Part of the cruelty of Jinx’s particular fate is that we are shown time and time again how she, FAR beyond anything she herself could ever intend or even possibly know about, is constantly placed in the role of karma and of catalyst.  It is driven home just how close every little unlikely thing in terrible situations comes to falling into place, how very CLOSE things come to working out perfectly, only to be blown to pieces by an action of Jinx’s.  In a way, I think her choice to embrace the philosophy of “we’ll show them all” and to push Vi away was an attempt to try to protect both herself and the last member of her previous two families that she hadn’t accidentally killed. (And before anyone yells at me, I DO see both Silco and Jinx as villains.  Tragic villains born of extremely fucked up circumstances, but definitely villains.  There’s nothing wrong with both acknowledging that AND being able to appreciate them as well-constructed, fictional characters.  This dumb blog is named after a meme joke about Marvel Loki’s helmet, Loki being one of my favorite tragic villains.)

[writingwithcolor]

Black characters with white hair: the “Special Snowflake” Compilation

Is it problematic to give my Black MC white hair?

@roseoholic asked:

Is it problematic to give my black mc white hair? In my story, if someone dies and comes back to life, their hair turns white. Her origin is that she's a reincarnation of an escaped soul, and took the place of the stillborn fetus in her "mothers" womb. I am pretty flexible in her design still, so I am willing to change if it's a bad idea. Thank you if you answer! :)

I think we’re all aware that Black people can have white hair naturally, whether it’s due to

Aging

Hair that turns gray/white early in life

Albinism

Genetics - Black person (mixed race or no) who have very light or white hair.

Obviously, Black people can dye their hair white as well.

Photo above: Black models Diandra forrest and Nyakim Gatwech posing. They both have pale blondish-white hair. Source: Essence.

The question being asked is if it’s okay for Black characters to have white hair by conscious choice of the author.

Answer: 

On its face, it’s okay to have Black characters with white hair. This is especially true if how the white hair comes about is a natural occurrence in your story that likely affects other races too. Motive is an important factor.

What is the reason for their hair being white? 

That reason could and should be everything but to make them seem special or more likeable. This isn’t aimed at you specifically, OP, but there are creators who feel compelled to give Black characters uncommon, rare or unusual features due to an aversion to feature Black people with more common features (dark and brown hair, skin, eyes etc). 

When aversion to Blackness is the motive, it shows. 

It’s in the way the narrative exalts this character over other Black people in the narrative, treating them more favorably and giving them more of an arc over other Black characters. This is sometimes known as making them a “Special snowflake” which isn’t a term I particularly love, as it’s sometimes used to devalue real struggles people face. However, It does serve to categorize the trope. (See: TVTropes Special Snowflake)

Signs you’re treating your white-haired Black character better over other Black characters, aka the “Special Snowflake”

Stronger characterization and arc, more importance and “Screen time” than other Black characters (even when they’re not the main character)

Unique features are overemphasized and described at every chance (fetishized)

Better treatment in the story compared to other Black characters. They’re also less likely to face suffering and abusive narratives. Good things happen to them more than other Black people.

Shown to be more deserving of love, affection and romance over other Black characters; may have a love interest while others don’t.

Takeaway:

You can have Black characters with white hair. However, do not use light or unique features to exalt or set your character apart from your Black characters as “better.”

That is, not without an explicit social commentary, since yes these folks tend to be treated better by society and media in real life. 

It also helps to have other Black characters with more common features who are treated well and have a fully developed character arc. These other Black people’s lives also should not revolve around just supporting white or the white-haired character, either.

Black Girl, Snow White Retellings

@morganadelacour​ asked:

Hi there,

I (a white woman) would like to write a re-telling of Snow White and make her a Black girl with white hair. Snow White would be under the impression, that her stepmother (a white woman) is evil, when in fact, she only tried to protect herself and Snow White from Snow White’s father (a white man). The story would be told from both perspectives, probably first from Snow White’s perspective, then from the queen’s. In the end, both women make peace, Snow White understands the queen’s actions and the queen apologizes and tries to make up for her actions that hurt Snow White. Do you see a problem with any aspect of this outline and/or are there certain things I have to keep in mind?

Thank you so much for all the work you do with this blog and for your efforts to educate.

@corbeaudelys​ asked:

I'm writing a science fiction variant of Snow White with a protagonist that has dark skin with white, 3C hair and brown eyes. I read a post that said magic white hair, dark skin, and European features was a bad trope; would it still be bad even if I made it clear that she has no European features and her hair's not magical?

See “Is it problematic to give my Black MC white hair?” which answers the core of this question. Motive truly is the main factor in if it’s okay or not, and the resulting treatment of that character and other Black characters that may exist in the story. I have a Black Snow White in one of my retellings, too! 

The motive is clear here: you’re retelling Snow White with a Black girl and want to keep it relevant by assigning the white feature to hair instead of skin. It’s also a story where Snow White is intentionally meant to stand out as the “fairest of them all” so the exalting does have plot relevance. 

As noted before, I would caution against making her beautiful to mean that other Black women are not beautiful or are unworthy. 

I would like to make special mention that you can also do retellings where Snow White goes the other direction, and her compelling dark features make her the “fairest of them all”

Black woman dyes hair white, problematic symbolism?

@tlking-heads-moved said:

hi! i have a story with two black women protagonists: 

1.) leader, strong and loyal, with very curly dark hair (usually pulled back) 

2.) part of the group, elegant and refined, with light pink braids (or other protective styles).

Towards the end of the story, both of their hair changes styles, the second character dyes her hair white.

I am afraid that the character with the styled, pink/white hair will come off as “purer” or “better” than the character with the natural, dark hair, because of their personality + appearance differences. should I change either of their usual hair styles or their personalities?

These seem like stylistic choices. As the girl already had a pink braided style, hair color changes seems like something she likes to do and does not have to be symbolic of anything. Your use of color throughout the story could help avoid implications of white as more pure, if this is something you’d like to avoid:

See more about Color symbolism in our Color Symbolism Guide

Also, going from pink to white, which both have connotations of femininity and softness (according to a Western Lens) doesn’t come across as a stark difference. Without knowing the full details of these personality changes the girls undergo, I’m personally not getting that impression. Again, the full narrative will inform this and you may want to pay mind to your use of color throughout.

Now, do avoid making the dark-haired one a Strong Black Women character. You specifically called her strong, which doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a SBW, but please see our several related posts to ensure she is not one.

I hope this helps!

~Mod Colette

[zealous-whispers-of-us-redux]

something wicked this way comes

A/N: Thanks for being so patient with me. My spring semester has officially started. Anyway, I hope you are doing okay! I love u all, and thank you so much for readin'! <3 <3

___

Summary: Halloween means Steve and Peggy's party and a costume contest.

"Hold still, Cal," Bucky says.

The tiny puppy wriggles in Bucky's arms, trying to break free from his grip, but he holds tight as he carries the naughty thing back inside. The little guy had danced through a massive pile of mud, and his feet were covered in the stuff. Bucky goes and grabs a towel to scrub at the muck. Calidore squirms harder at the motion- he hates having his paws touched after an awful experience with the nail clippers.

Sir Calidore, Knight of Courtesy, was a gift from Wanda. She'd found the abandoned puppy in an alley on her many trips to the city. She'd brought the little guy home, and Bucky's omega fell in love instantly. No one is sure what breed Calidore is, but all Bucky knows is that the little guy is growing bigger and bigger every day. He is sure little Cal will be bigger than his mom when he is fully grown. As it is, he is growing quickly, and his teeth are something else. Calidore has ripped holes in many sweaters already.

Satisfied, Bucky sets the clean puppy down. Cal scampers to his water bowl and drinks thirstily, splashing all over the floor. Bucky sighs and mops that up too. After making sure there are no muddy footprints anywhere, Bucky makes his way up to his bedroom, Cal hot on his heels.

Bucky and his omega have been pretty quiet over the last twelve months. Their days have consisted mainly of group therapy, cuddling on the couch, spending time out in the woods, and reading together. Bucky has been on a few pack trips, but he finds it hard to leave her when he knows she's upset. She'll spend time with Wanda or Natasha, though the latter is adopting a pup of her (and Sharon's, of course) own, and Bucky's omega is struggling with it. In fact, it seems like almost everyone is either having a pup or planning to have pups. But tonight, Steve and his mate Peggy are throwing a Halloween party, as they do every year, no pups allowed. Bucky and his omega agreed that going to the party would be good for them.

Naturally, Steve was elated when he heard. Peggy was too, and it had been her idea to have couples' costumes. A few days ago, she'd texted Bucky instructions that he was to be Shaggy and his omega was to be Velma. She wasn't thrilled with this choice because she had no idea who Velma even was. After teasing her about how old she was, Bucky'd made her watch the old cartoons and his favorite Scooby-Doo movies until she was caught up.

“Sunshine?” Bucky says, opening the bedroom door, “Cal an’ I are back.”

“Just a second!” she calls. "I'm almost done!"

Flopping on the bed, Bucky inhales her scent, noting that she is content. His hindbrain settles down and relaxes at that knowledge. Bucky thinks of the support group they'd found and wants to hug everyone there. Without them, neither Bucky nor his omega would be able to get out of bed, let alone go to a party. They'd been told that healing from such a tremendous loss is hard work, but that the two of them have so many people willing to support them. Bucky is grateful.

Bucky scratches Cal's head as he reaches for his Shaggy costume. It's nothing to write home about, but Bucky is pleased that he managed to find the exact color of maroon bell-bottoms. Accuracy is essential, after all. He puts on the pants, tugs at the shirt, and messes up his hair.

"You ready yet?" he asks as he slips on a pair of black shoes.

"Yeah," she answers, sounding upset.

Bucky jumps to attention, thinking that it's some awful thing.

"What's wrong?"

She emerges from the bathroom in a skirt shorter than he's ever seen her wear, and Bucky's jaw drops. She tugs on it self-consciously.

"The stupid skirt shrunk in the wash," she says. "And I've realized I look terrible in orange."

"No, you look incredible," Bucky says. "I just- wow, you look hot as fuck."

"I can barely walk in those heels."

"Damn, where have you been hidin' those legs?"

She sighs. "You've seen them before."

"Right."

Her skirt is so short that it should be fucking illegal. Bucky has to swallow back a growl the longer he looks at her. He likes looking at her all the fuckin' time, likes watching her gain confidence when she realizes that Bucky thinks she's the prettiest thing he's ever seen in his life.

She straightens up and grins. "Will you put the glasses on me, Buck?"

He takes the plastic frames from her hands and slips them over her ears. He swallows.

"You look so sexy. Holy shit," Bucky groans, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in between her breasts.

"Gods bless tight turtlenecks?" she asks.

"Fuck yeah. We gotta roleplay more."

"What, as Velma and Shaggy?"

"No! Like, as a schoolgirl-teacher thing or somethin'. I dunno; I can't think right now. Gods damn."

"I'm taking that as a compliment."

"You fuckin' should. You're gonna make me hard."

"Gross," she says, but she's grinning. "Are you ready to go?"

“Yeah -it ain't gross, by the way- I’m gonna look stupid in comparison to you, though.”

"Shaggy's my favorite Scooby-Doo character. Besides, T'Challa just decided to throw on a crown from Burger King as his costume. You have put in at least twenty percent more effort than that," she says.

Bucky continues staring, not that she can tell anymore. She’s too busy bending down to grab her heels and letting Bucky see up her skirt. Not really purposely, but Bucky can't help but take a peek. She's wearing a pretty pair of underwear that he'd picked out for her. Bucky chews his bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to get his mouth between her legs.

“The correct answer is supposed to be ‘No, Buck, you make the sexiest Shaggy ever.'"

"Okay, but Shaggy isn't necessarily sexy."

"He is when I'm him," Bucky says.

She stands and turns to catch him looking at her. Bucky raises his eyebrows.

"What are you staring at?" she asks.

In response, he reaches out for her, and she throws herself in his arms. He grins, his eyes darkening as he runs his tongue over his bottom lip.

"You can't go out like this," Bucky says.

"May I remind you who shrunk the skirt in the first place?" she says.

"Touche. But everyone's gonna be lookin' at you tonight."

"Yours are the only eyes I'll notice, Buck."

"Why's it you always know what cheesy thing to say?"

"Ah. I can read your mind."

"I'd believe that even without the bond."

She kisses Bucky's chin, but he pulls back with a frown as he realizes something.

"Crap, I shaved. Shaggy has a beard, damn it. How're we gonna win the contest now?"

"Does it matter?"

"For accuracy sake, yeah," Bucky groans, flopping his head on her shoulder in defeat. "Damn it. I'm an idiot."

"I always forget how competitive alphas are," she mumbles to herself before poking Bucky on the cheek. "Hey. Will it count against us if I draw one on with eyeliner?"

"Mm, probably not."

"Good."

She takes Bucky's hand and leads him into the bathroom. He sits on the edge of the bathtub at her urging as she draws on his chin. Bucky closes his eyes, enjoying the touch of her hands on his face. He'd been worried he'd never feel it again.

The first few months after they lost their pups was difficult. It had felt like Bucky and his omega were going in two separate directions. One would cry while the other sat stoically. Bucky thought she had dealt with it all long before he did, which made him feel like a failure of an alpha. Little did he know, she hadn't dealt with it at all (as she was wont to do) but thought he had. Things got so bad at one point that they didn't talk to each other about anything. Bucky felt their relationship crumbling under his feet, and he didn't know how to stop it. But one day, he caught her in her favorite reading chair, sobbing into her book. And when she saw him watching her with her tears reflected in his eyes, she'd thrown herself in Bucky's arms and they finally cried together. That was the first step on the arduous journey of healing- at least according to their support group leader.

"You're all done," she says, patting his cheek. "You look like Shaggy."

"Think we'll win?" Bucky asks.

"We better. I'm never wearing this garish shade of orange ever again."

"But you'll wear the skirt again, right?"

"Maybe," Her lips quirk, "Just for you, though."

Bucky wraps his hands around her legs, sliding them up until the tips of his fingers hit the hem of the skirt.

"You look so good. Please wear this skirt around the house. Just this an' nothin' else, okay?" He nuzzles her clothed stomach. "My pretty omega. Got half a mind to skip the party you look that good."

Of course, Bucky's phone starts ringing. He scowls at his pants pocket.

"Buzzkill," he complains to it.

"I'm going to go get Sir Calidore's costume ready," she says, kissing him, being careful of his eyeliner goatee. "See you downstairs."

Bucky pulls his phone out. It's a text from Steve asking where the hell they are. He responds that they are on their way, grumbling under his breath as he does so. Steve's always been a fuckin' cockblock, the bastard. Bucky stuffs his phone out of sight and follows the sound of barking. She's in the kitchen trying to put on her shoes as Sir Calidore sits at her feet with a Scooby Doo collar clasped around his neck.

"What even are these shoes?" she complains, stumbling then catching herself. "Jeez!"

"C'mere an' hop up," says Bucky, patting the counter.

She does, and Bucky goes about helping her with her heels.

"Should Sir Calidore wear a t-shirt?" she asks. "I mean, I don't know what else to do. He isn't colored like Scooby."

"Scooby doesn't wear clothes," Bucky points out.

"Gods, I knew we should have gotten the full Scooby costume we found online."

"He wouldn't wear it. He nipped me when we tried to make ‘im wear those swim goggles, remember? Put your head up, I wanna scent you."

"Why?" she asks but does it anyway.

"You know why," Bucky says as he sucks a mark into her neck.

“You’ll be a good boy tonight, won’t you Sir Calidore?" she says to the puppy as Bucky goes about doing whatever alpha thing he feels like he has to do. "Your dad needs this party. He hasn’t seen his packmates in a while. I told you about the babies I lost, right? Well, your dad is still very sad about that, though he pretends not to be."

She catches Bucky's gaze: "I love him so much; you know that, Sir Calidore? I want him to be happy again.”

“Daddy wants your ma to be happy again too, Cal. Because I love her so damn much."

"I love you too, but not the 'Daddy' part."

"Still a no, huh?"

"Still a hard no."

"I'll get you one of these days, omega-mine. An' there, hey, just like that, your shoes are on."

She hops off the counter. "Thanks. If I twist my ankle-"

"-I'll carry you around."

"All right, deal. Ready to go?"

Bucky nods but reaches back and smacks her on the ass. She doesn't respond in any way, but he can see the corners of her mouth lifting when he smacks her a second time.

“This fuckin’ skirt’s too short,” he says for probably the thirtieth time.

“Gods' sake, you shrunk it!”

“Yeah, I know, I know. An' I guess I like showin' you off, so's long as you come home with me."

"Always, you dummy. We're married, remember?" she teases. "You good?"

"All good," says Bucky. "Let's go, Cal."