#match the theme's aesthetic or color scheme at the very least

[c0rpsedemon]

no offense but the vast majority of you people's ita bags are.... ugly. love and light

[onepiece-oc-archives]

Heyy, any tips for dressing OCs? I struggle a lot coming up with outfits that look unique while looking like it fits in with the rest of the characters and the world.

Hi, thanks so much for your ask! Boy oh boy do I have tips for you, so buckle up! I'll try to keep this as straightforward as possible, but if you get lost on the way, I'll give examples at the bottom of the post.

First of all, it's important to have a feel for the character's personal style. One of the first things I do for every new OC I create is usually to hop onto Pinterest and make an aesthetic board for them because it just helps with so many things. Sometimes, you'll just stumble across the main design detail of your OC on accident! For example, my OC Aurelia's signature claws just showed up when I searched "gold aesthetic", and I decided that this was the way to go.

But let's go back: How do I even know what to search for? Well, you might want to have a basic concept for your character. What are their inspirations? What is their background? Do they prefer clothes that are more practical or more stylish? Do they have any signature colors? How do they come off in the eyes of other people and does that match their fashion sense? How rich are they?

The last point may be helpful to get a basic idea but, in the end, it doesn't have to be the deciding factor. Let's take the Straw Hats, for example. At the start of the story, they're not exactly rich. Still, both Sanji and Nami are walking around with nice clothes. Nami steals her clothes or bargains with (or threatens) the vendor until they give her a huge discount. Sanji, meanwhile, probably had a good bit of money before he left Baratie since it was a fairly successful restaurant, and I'm willing to bet that he probably only has one or two good jackets, so he might look high-end, but he's actually not very rich at all.

What I'm trying to say is: Knowing how your OC acquires your clothes can be a huge help both for their character design and for fleshing out their story.

Otherwise, just throw anything about your OC you can think of into Pinterest's search bar, glue "outfit" or "aesthetic" to it, and you'll probably find some good inspo for your OC's clothing style.

Now that you have an idea of their fashion sense, time to make it fit in!

I'll be the first to admit, the early animanga art style doesn't really leave a lot open for detailed character design, but once you get further into the story, you can practically go completely wild.

The first thing I'd think about is: What's your OC's place in the world? Are they a Marine? Great! You can draw them in uniform! A noble? What culture is their kingdom inspired by? A pirate? What are their crewmates dressed like? After all, some crews practically have their own version of a uniform or at least a theme.

In the end, someone's clothes "fitting in" probably isn't as much of an issue as you think. Yes, the Straw Hats' outfits look pretty simple in the early animanga episodes, but... take one look at OPLA or even try imagining their outfits in real life and you'll figure out at that isn't necessarily the case. They're just simply drawn because it's a simple art style. One Piece is such a diverse world that almost anything goes. You can go surprisingly far into sci-fi or steampunk or historical, whatever you like, if you play around with it a little.

A thing that I like to do is to take inspiration from the characters that my OC is close to. The Straw Hats are especially great here because, for a lot of story arcs, their clothes collectively have a theme, but they still manage to be individual and unique. How?

The details. It's all in the details. Even if your OC is a Marine, you can make them unique through the details. Think about Coby! How is Coby unique? Pink hair and those signature glasses! Most of the Straw Hats have one design detail that carries on throughout pretty much all of their outfits, be it an accessory, a color scheme, a pattern... Luffy has his straw hat, obviously. Zoro has his swords, earrings and bandana. Nami has circles and stripes. Usopp loves himself some overalls and, in the animanga, his goggles. Sanji almost always wears a suit or at least a dress shirt and, if he doesn't, the outfit is most likely blue. Think about how this works for your OC. What's the one detail that carries on throughout all of their outfits? That's what makes them unique and recognizable.

But details can also help tie your OC into the greater world. Remember that you are an artist making character design and you're free to throw in as many easter eggs as you want. They can really add to an outfit. Adopt an accessory from a character that your OC is close to! Make the pattern of their clothes a nod to someone or something or someplace else! That's what brings your OC to life because it's what people do. We steal each other's clothes, we buy matching outfits, we unintentionally and subconsciously pick up on or play off of other people's sense of style... It's a natural process, maybe even a sign of love, and it's one of my favourite things to see in art or character design.

To maybe put this all into perspective, let me walk you through how I came up with the outfits for two of my OCs, from two different backgrounds and parts of the world.

OC no. 1 is my beloved Akaito Coraline. Cora is a tailor of considerable fame throughout the East Blue and ends up joining the Straw Hats because she's childhood friends with Sanji. Finally, she ends up dating both Sanji and Zoro.

Practically the first design detail I had about her was a nod to her family, because her family and their tailoring tradition is a very important part of Cora's character. So, it was decided that she would have a sewing needle pierced through her ear. Her profession as a tailor also made it pretty self-explanatory to me that she would prefer clothes that are, well, tailored, and she most likely makes all of her clothes herself. So, she could wear fitted blouses and other fairly intricate or expensive stuff without actually being rich or being able to go shopping often because she can sew those clothes herself - which is also a lot cheaper. It also occurred to me that Cora would have a love of fashion and would probably put fashion over functionality in her outfits. Because of her backstory, I also knew that she would keep her back covered. Lastly, as a pirate, she would have to have some kind of weapon, and I decided on a rapier, because it's elegant, feminine, fashionable, and long and pointed like a sewing needle.

In the end, I threw all of those things together, picked reference images from Pinterest, slapped them into my drawing program, and, through trial and error, came up with this:

Base by Hevis-Swan on DeviantArt by the way - use and credit bases, kids, it really helps!

We've got the sewing needle through the ear and one of Zoro's earrings to link her to him. We've got a form-fitted blouse and vest where I made sure to actually draw the different panels so you could have an idea of the sewing process. The black things on her sleeves are sleeve garters, which are meant to hold your sleeves up while you work, and I figured Cora might wear them as one of the few things she wears for practicality's sake - but they're also made of lace because she loves her fashion. The idea to have her wear pants was more of an afterthought because I absolutely wanted the holster for her scissors, but the pants are based off a pair that I own myself! The belt is based off of historically accurate belts used to hold rapiers in the 16th and 17th century. Those boot covers are extremely impractical to button up, showing Cora's "fashion over function" principle. Finally, she wears heels because she's short and likes the extra height, and the anklet is a gift from Sanji, hence the blue and silver.

On a different note, we have OC no. 2: Dracule Aurelia, the wife of Dracule Mihawk. If you've ever seen Mihawk, you know that he's one fancy man, and the same applies for Aurelia. She is rich, filthy rich, and she's an incredibly powerful pirate. Her vibe is that of a mafia boss, a femme fatale, of power and deadliness through beauty. Her epithet is "Black Widow" because all of her lovers keep dying one way or another. Either by her hand or through other mysterious circumstances.

With those things in mind, I was already pretty sure of how I wanted to draw Aurelia and what clothes she should wear. "Aurelia" roughly means "the golden one" and, combined with her incredible wealth, that already guaranteed that she'd be wearing a lot of gold. Secondly, I knew her clothes had to be sexy. There's no other way to put it; she had to be turning heads. She also needed to be able to kick people in the nose. And lastly, I wanted it to be easy to see that her and Mihawk were married, so I took a lot of inspiration from him.

Bases by Fluffy-foxgirl and Alex-Hime on DeviantArt

This outfit is essentially one big easter egg hunt. The flower symbol is found on Mihawk's sleeve, the long coat is inspired by Mihawk and the collar is both a reference to him and Aurelia's father (whom I will not name here for spoiler reasons), she wears crosses just like Mihawk, the feathers on her headpiece are a nod to the feathers on Mihawk's hat, the petal-like sleeves are a nod to the island she's from... But the outfit is still 100% her! The way everything is very revealing, the gold chains, the claws, the high slit, the dagger with the spider in its pommel...

So yeah! I hope this helped at least a little. Hope you're having a wonderful day! ^^

[m-y-fandoms]

COMMISSION: Nagito Komaeda x Reader - Love Hotel

Details: V3 has the Love Hotel/Love Key scenarios - I’ve been asked to make a version for SDR2 as if it were canon in the second game as well. If you didn’t play V3 and aren’t familiar with the Love Hotel scenarios/scenes, don’t worry, Monokuma will explain the concept early on in the fanfiction below! Also, I don’t think I used any gendered terms for the reader, it just didn’t come up/wasn’t necessary with the details I was describing. So, anyone can read this with themselves in mind. 

Warnings: Spicy but not NSFW - mature themes and romance into a fade to black/implied at the end just like the actual V3 Love Hotel scenes. Would probably be Mature but not Explicit on AO3 - Also SDR2 spoilers!!!

Word Count: 4k words

When hanging out with your peers and exploring the island, you often found these little Monokuma coins tucked behind objects or hidden under things. These “Monocoins” could be exchanged at the Monomono gacha machine for prizes. Some were tiny, and some had no business even fitting inside the machine. It was a wonder how they got there. In between the stress of the killings and trials, it was nice to exchange little gifts that said “I see you, and I trust you, and I want to be closer to you” with the friends you had left. The Monomono machine often rewarded you with intriguing and seemingly targeted items. For example, when you got a magazine on beast breeding and taming, it was clearly meant for your exchanges with Gundham Tanaka. When wound gauze or a nurse’s apron dropped from the machine, it was obviously a sign to get to know Mikan.

Today’s trinket was a mystery to you: an ornate key - golden with a pink heart-shaped gem embedded onto its handle. It dropped into your hand as you popped it out of the gacha capsule that protected it. It was a nice size, probably to a door rather than say, a locket or jewelry box.

Immediately upon receiving it you began to look for what it unlocked. It didn’t seem like a gift subliminally meant for any of your friends, so instead you chose to find a little adventure in all the chaos, a treasure hunt of sorts. You’d tried little tool sheds or abandoned buildings around the first three islands, back doors or closets inside places like the market or pharmacy. The pink gem made you think of Monomi - or rather Usami. It matched her aesthetic and color scheme. You’d questioned her about it, and she seemed to draw a blank. You felt like she was being honest with you, so you moved on. A frustrating thought began brewing in your mind: maybe the key went to a door on an island that was still locked away from you and your peers. Perhaps the bridges guarded by Monobeasts blocked your path. Unfortunately, following the ongoing pattern, someone would have to die for a new island to become accessible, and that was most defintiely not worth sating your burning curiosity. And so, you asked your closer friends, such as Hajime and Chiaki, to keep an eye out for a possible clue, but ultimately let it go, tossing the key into a accessory dish on the beside table of your cabin.

Speaking of your cabin, there you were, winding down for the night in your customized little cottage in the lineup of huts at the resort. It was cozy, a personalized type of dorm room substitute decked out with items to serve and encourage the development of your Super Highschool Level talent. The cream-colored canopy bed was pretty large for single student and super comfortable, and so on days when the survivor’s guilt wasn’t weighing on your mind like a plague, it was very easy to fall asleep quite quickly.

You’d been asleep for what must’ve been at least a couple of hours when a noise startled you awake. Still groggy and half-asleep, you spot the black and white bear you all hated so very much standing in the middle of your cottage.

“What the…” your words slurred, eyes barely open. You would’ve been freaking out at his appearance, had it not been extremely normal for the bear to pop up out of nowhere. That and the fact that it was against Monokuma’s rules for him to ever hurt a student on his own left you at ease and not fearing for your life.

“Oh, great, you’re awake! Would’ve been awkward if I had to crawl up on the bed and shake ya’ to life! Phew, saves me the trouble!” He giggled in his own little mischievous way as you sat up, giving him mostly your full attention. He never left until he made his point anyway, so why waste time arguing with him for interrupting your beauty sleep?

“Alright, alright what do you want? I’m still tired! Unless someone is dead, say what you need to say and leave…” you grumbled. Monokuma bristled at that.

“How rude! My time is very valuable, you know! Since you’ve been hurting your puny little brain trying to find the solution to that Love Key over there, here I am, going out of my way to help you! You should be more appreciative!” He growled, claws displayed.

“Love Key…?” You looked to the key on your bedside table, still in a bit of a daze. “So that’s what it’s called…” Still not much of a hint, you thought.

“Yep, yep! I’ll tell you how to use it!” He perked up once again. “You see, it opens the way to a very special place! A place you’ve searched many times before… however, it’s form has now changed!”

“Hmmm…” How curious… since you had in fact checked every available area multiple times over.

“You see, if you go visit the motel on the third island right about now, you’ll find it buzzing with an aura of lust and romance!” Your brow raised as he laughed impishly. “That key you got transforms the motel into a place you can clear out some of your most carnal desires at night, but… only the one with the key and… one other person will see this change!”

“What are you talking about?!” You were only half-awake before, but now you were sure you had to still be dreaming. What an insane concept. This is what he came to say? This nonsense?

“Oh, are you starting to get worked up? Are you ready to let it all hang out?” He began to sweat, a wicked, messed up grin on his face. “Your key will unlock a particular Love Suite at the motel,” he continued, barely containing his excitement, “and you and one other person will be invited to spend the night. There, you will be a part of that person’s fantasy. They will see you as their romantic ‘ideal’ and basically just swoon all over you. Think of it as a kind of sexy dream that lets you escape the cruel reality of the killing game! It’s their escape, too though, so it’s important for you to play the role your Love Suite partner wants you to! If you break character, your dear partner may very well wake up in anguish, all pent up and frustrated! And you wouldn’t want that, would you?” He snickered.

“This all sounds very inappropriate and embarrassing, so I think I’ll pass.” You grumbled, shuffling uncomfortably in your sheets. At this point, you just wanted him to go away.

“Oh, don’t worry! What happens there, stays there. Memories are wiped when you exit. Oh, and one last thing: anyone can show up there. Any of your classmates, even those who’ve passed on.

Well now, you had to be dreaming. Memories wiped, the motel transforming, and not to mention four of your classmates were very much dead… how could they show up? Seeing the look on your face, incredulous and lost in thought, Monokuma gasped softly to grab your attention, speaking up again:

“What’s wrong? You seem skeptical. Why not try it out for yourself, then?” If Monokuma were allowed to cause a killing, you’ve sworn this was a plot to set you up. Not that it mattered in a dream, anway. “Let love take hold! Take that ol’ Love Key for a spin!”

~

After much hesitance and with Monokuma having left your cabin nearly a half hour beforehand, you were now out walking alone, leaving the resort and making your way to the third island. You tried not to disturb your other classmates in their cabins, being sure not to make any noise as it must have been well past one in the morning. Sand and gravel crunched below your shoes as you walked rather hurriedly to the long wooden bridge that connected the islands. Moonlight shined off of your pajamas in the cool tropical night breeze, giving a small relief from the usual humidity, and if you weren’t sure this were a dream, you would’ve felt like an idiot, opening yourself up to being an easy target for a killing.

You wrapped your arms around your waist nervously. In the end, you were too curious not to try it out, but you had to admit, you were still mulling it over in your brain:

Their ideal… a shared fantasy… So they wouldn’t really see you as you are per se…  but what did that mean? Did that mean that if they liked submissive cute pretty boys, that’s how you appeared to them? If they wanted a buff aggressive woman, you’d suddenly grow muscles? Would it all be an illusion? Maybe just your personality would change… 

Play along, Monokuma had said…

Passing the hospital and music venue, you approached the motel and immediately noticed the change. The retro sign out front was now decked out in pink and red neon lettering boasting the words Love Motel. The building itself, once dingy, dirty and forgettable, now had spotlights and strobes out front and the yellow, beige and brown chipped paint had transformed into a Valentine’s-type aesthetic. Pinks, reds, whites, the typical colors of the heart and romance surrounded you and gave the motel a whole new vibe. The line of ground-level rooms were still present, and though you assumed your key only lead to one of them, you’d have no trouble figuring out which. One door in particular, smack dab in the middle seemed to be pulsing with life. The paint seemed to be a shade darker on this door, and pink smoke spilled out from underneath the crack. It was like it was luring you in, tempting you to enter. It was as if pheromones leaked from its crevices. You placed a shaky hand on the door knob, entered the key with the other, and gave it a twist. It opened with a hiss, like pressure releasing. You stepped inside, the door closing on its own behind you.

The room around you was mesmirizing, unlike anything you’d seen on Jabberwock Island before. Scattered around were velvety plush love seats and cushions in crimson reds and deep pinks. The carpet was luxurious and pink lava lamps stood nearly five feet tall in the corners of the room. Soft lighting set a dreamy mood. The floor underneath the carpet was checkered tile like a chessboard. Above you dangled a large, expensive-looking crystal chandelier with heart-shaped accents. In the middle of the room was a round, almost comically large bed with a thick red duvet and a mountain of pillows. Your eyes bounced around the room, taking it all in with wonder, until they settled on the area just beside the bed.

“No way…” You gasp lightly, hands coming up to cover your mouth.

“Hello there, (Y/N),” Nagito smiled back at you: genuine, warm, welcoming. His eyes creased into little lines with the expression. Dressed in his usual attire, he raised a hand to wave gently.

It was like every step of this journey, every new discovery proved over and over to you that this was in fact, a dream. You had to be asleep for Nagito to be here. Nagito… Out of all of your classmates, fate chose your crush to place upon you. It felt like an ambush, like a trap.

Your feelings for Nagito had blossomed almost immediately upon meeting him. There was physical attraction at first sight. He was tall, thin, with a pronounced Adam’s Apple and veiny arms. His pale skin was vampiric almost, translucent in the bright sun, especially when he went swimming with little on but his trunks. His hair was wispy like cotton candy, soft and full. You imagined running your hands through it often. You were lured in by his kind and helpful personality. After the first class trial, when you all learned of his true disposition, you fought to keep your feelings under wraps. He was dangerous, volatile, unstable, and a whole lot of other negative adjectives, so you held it all in.

Still, you couldn’t deny your attraction to the mystery that came along with him. He was obviously extremely intelligent, often moving behind the scenes and one step ahead of everyone else. His mind and the way it worked, just the way he talked was alluring to you. It often felt like he was flirting with you when you were around him. You just assumed he was just trying to butter you up to use you, trying to get closer to further his goals of “hope.”

You tried to be around him as little as possible, though… or that’s what you wanted your peers to perceive. You tried to only hang out with him when you had an excuse: looking for clues and evidence, during investigations, interrogating him, trying to get closer to him under the guise of wanting to control his crazy so he wouldn’t hurt your friends. In reality, you enjoyed every moment spent with him. He could be scary at times though for sure, getting all wild and frantic when speaking of the future and his plans for hope, or even knowing he was plotting when he was quiet. Which is why it was so odd that he was almost… shy at the moment?

“(Y/N)...?” He cleared his throat, gaining your attention once again. Shaken out of your trance, you made eye contact with him, feeling instantly a bit shy yourself.

“Yes, Nagito?” You speak softly, never moving an inch. This felt surreal.

“I knew it would be you…” He smiled just barely and took a step forward, a gleam in his eye.

“Nagito… do you know what’s going on here?” You inquired, and he nodded enthusiastically. Always a step ahead.

“When I learned of this place, I just knew it would be you that showed… after all, you’re the ultimate shining hope that eclipses all others! It could only be you!” His arms were outstretched as if to embrace you, or welcoming you to embrace him, but yet he didn’t step any closer.

Ah, yes, his ideal… you think to yourself. He was obviously very mentally ill, you’d gathered, obsessed with the idea of hope even if there had to be an event of despair that preceded in order to propel forward such hope. Sometimes it was vague, to you at least, what hope meant to him. He seemed to know very well what he meant, though nobody else did. Not one hundred percent of the time, anyway.

“So, where should I begin? Tell me how best to serve you! Let me please you!” He took a large stride forward, grasping your hand in his own and bringing it to his lips in a gentlemanly gesture. Like some victorian nobleman greeting a lady, he kissed the back of your knuckles as if he revered and respected you highly. Taken aback by the sudden action, you jerked your hand away.

You felt hesitant… Weren’t you supposed to be his ideal? Why is he all up on you, then, asking to serve and please you?

“Please, allow me to be your stepping stone. Use me, let me be your tool for hope! I know I’m less than nothing, but if I can help you even a microscopic amount, I can die happy!” He fell to his knees, wrapping around your legs like a child latching onto their mother. He looked quite pathetic, actually. He ran a cold, pale hand up and under the pant leg of your pajamas and you shivered. Your heart rate began to pick up at the skin to skin contact. “Whip me if it pleases you, if it feels better and relieves your stress. Hit me! Take out your build-up from the day on me, so you can continue to work hard for the cause of hope!” 

This is wrong… You shook him off gently, backing away until your back hit the door. He stood, a displeased look across his face.

“Nagito…”

“Am I fucking it up? I can do better, please. I’ll do anything for you!” He began to shuck off his outer layer of clothing, his green coat. You found your eyes instantly glued to the veiny expanse of his ghostly white arms, the callous of his knuckles, the way his Adam’s Apple bobbed when he swallowed nervously and-

No… this is wrong! You repeatedly to yourself mentally. Reluctance, sweat running down the back of your neck, this awkward knot in your stomach. You felt confused. This had to be wrong. He probably didn’t really feel this way. Not about you, anyway. Monokuma influenced this for sure… obviously. How could he see you as an ideal? There was no way… you had to get out of here… back to your room and…

But then again… this was a dream. Your mind wandered. This was some kind of freakish lucid dream that you could be aware of and be in control of. Who could fault you for enjoying a dream? When would you ever get an opportunity like this - with your crush of all people - ever again? Maybe you should just… let go… enjoy the night.

Nagito, now devoid of his coat, crossed his arms at his pelvis, taking up the bottom hem of his white t-shirt and began to lift it with the intent to remove it altogether, exposing his belly button and the veins that ran down his lower abdomen. He looked to you for approval. He couldn’t help but notice that even with his eagerness to please, you had a twisted expression on your face. It was uncertain, puzzled, maybe upset with his efforts? You certainly weren’t paying attention to him, that was for sure. He let go of the shirt, and it fell back into place.

“Am I still disappointing you?” His words brought you back to the present, and you looked him up and down once again, stepping a bit forward and back fully into the suffocating ambience of the suite. You were tempted, so very tempted by the mere sight of him. Monokuma had said this was a building of lust and romance. “It is to be expected. I am a total filthy useless loser, and you are the epitome of goodness and cleanliness in this world.” He spoke matter-of-factly, now approaching you again, circling you like a hawk with it’s prey. “Hmmm… well maybe, you aren’t as clean as you’d like people to think?” Suddenly, more forceful than you’d ever seen him, you found yourself pushed back, up against the wall, and he held you there, pinned by his own body weight. 

“N-Nagito!” You sputtered, more shocked by the position he now had you in than than anything else so far on this very strange night. But wasn’t he all submissive just a second ago? This is what you meant by volatile, unstable… 

“Ah well, that’s fine with me, as long as you’re the ray of hope the world needs you to be outside of the bedroom…” His thin fingers trailed up your forearms until they met your hands. Interlocking your fingers with his own, he forced them up and beside your head, locking you into place against the red wall. You swallowed, suddenly feeling very small. His eyes seemed dreamy, lazily glazed over and sultry. A crooked smirk formed upon seeing your flustered reaction. “I have no issue changing strategies…” He leaned forward, whispering suggestively into the shell of your ear. He could feel you tremble at that, content to let him take over. “Your reactions are quite telling.” His grip slipped down from your fingers to your wrists. There was a shit-eating grin, a condescending tone behind his seemingly effortless bravado.

What you were starting to realize was that Nagito could be whoever he needed to be at any given moment in order to meet his goals. In an instant, he could change and adapt. His personality shifted just like that. You questioned how the groveling servant-like act from before could flip into this dominant, aggressively contrasting performance, but that was just it. Nagito’s fantasy was to be the stepping stone that would support and propel the greatest hope the world had ever seen to glory, to have that beacon of hope see him as useful and genuinely feel like he means the world to them. He did this by enabling them to do their best, whatever the cost, therefore, their fantasy was his fantasy. Being what they needed and wanted, that was all he wanted. Their pleasure was his pleasure, like an endlessly looping cycle. You didn’t seem to respond well to the sniveling slave character, so now, he would show you that you could be made to submit to him, that he could be your ideal and force you to relinquish control. If that’s what you wanted, he would fill that role.

His grip on your wrists tightened, a bit painfully. You sucked in air through your teeth at the pressure. He was so lanky and thin, you’d never guess he was this strong. You probably couldn’t shake him off unless you used your full strength and and the boost of an adrenaline rush. Your eyelids fluttered closed, finally accepting the blissful feeling this dream could provide.

“I can tell you like this… You’re trying to hold back all reactions and sounds, but you should just let go… I know already… I know~” He teased, leaning in until his forehead touched yours. The closeness, the invasion of your personal space excited him. He truly didn’t have many opportunities for physical touch in his life. Knowing it was with his ideal match, this experience, all of it set his heart ablaze in his chest. “Who would’ve thought? Heh, wait until the others hear you’re not so innocent…” You knew Nagito as one who never missed a beat, that’s why he was so useful in class trials and during investiagations. So of course he noticed when your bottom lip quivered and the tiniest, quietest moan escaped the depths of your throat. He exhaled amusedly, a puff of satisfaction through his nostrils. A checkmate of sorts. “Oh? You seem to like even the threat of me telling…” He was smug, so very smug.

“N-No, that’s not true…” You breathed out an overstimulated, constrained response.

“You want me to be meaner to you?” It was posed as a question, but he wasn’t asking for permission. Without waiting for a response, he firmly pressed his mouth to yours, lips enveloping your own. Your head tilted to meet his, melding perfectly into each other. Your hands itched, begging to be allowed move, to run your fingers through his hair, but he wouldn’t release his grip on your wrists. He loved to feel you struggle against him. Pulling back from the kiss, he allowed you a moment of air. “Okay, okay… I’ll extend this one little kindness…” he whispered, throaty and intoxicating. He let go of your left wrist, using that hand instead to move to the front of your pajama shirt. He popped upon the first button with a single graceful movement. With your newly freed hand, you savored your first little taste of the cloud-like texture at your fingers. You were in heaven. His hair was just as fluffy and soft as you’d always imagined.

As his fingers descended down and down, removing the obstacles of every button in his way, you looked over his shoulder at the expansive, lavish bed behind him. It seemed a very long night was ahead of you.

[fcble]

SOCIAL SNAPSHOT ! [ 1/5 ]

rkdgkrtn

With 1.2 million followers, HAKSU is the most followed member of Fable. He’s a few hundred thousand followers short of the official group account. He uses his account almost exclusively for promoting his career, posting all of his brand endorsement photoshoots and a few behind-the-scenes selfies.

He’s a bit more relaxed with his stories. He has two highlights: one named with the open book emoji and the other with the sparkly heart. The first is dedicated to Fable. After Haksu started using that emoji to represent the group, fans began to do the same. The second highlight is more personal, with pictures from his daily life that could be posts if he wasn’t opposed to preserving his aesthetic. He likes to post polls and then completely ignore what fans vote for.

peace__97

His personal account is a bit more relaxed. He’s mutuals with everyone he follows. His username comes from the English meaning of the Hanja character for his last name (康), and his birth year. His single highlight is a collection of almost every story he’s ever posted. He looks back on it now and then. Haksu also matches profile pictures with Intak, Andrew, and Byeonghwi on the loose theme of children’s cartoon characters. His is the titular character of Dooly the Little Dinosaur.

hand___drawn

The second most followed member is ANDREW. His account is characterized by his recent refusal to use his stage name—he’s the only one without his full name in Hangul on his account. He’s a very sporadic poster. He’ll post every day for a few days, and then disappear for three months. The ‘Andrew forgot his Instagram password’ jokes have been run into the ground.

vir2al.ly

The goal of Andrew’s personal account is to completely dissociate it from his public idol one. His name is nowhere to be found on it and he barely posts pictures of himself. He doesn’t even let all of his group members follow him. Most of his followers are friends and acquaintances from before he became an idol. His username is meant to contrast with his public username.

byeonghwiii

BYEONGHWI has a very professional public-facing account. His posts are mostly of himself, with a few pictures here and there of his group members. He also borrowed Haksu’s idea of representing the group with the open book emoji. He rarely uses his stories and saves very few of them as highlights. He’s had his username saved ever since he learned he was going to be a celebrity. He wanted something as close to his name as possible.

hwi_paramsae

His personal account is almost identical to his public one. He includes a few more pictures of his group members and fewer pictures of himself. He has posted to the wrong account before and not noticed. Byeonghwi’s stories feature Fable and himself. They’re named simply with Fable’s name and his username. His matching profile picture is Loopy from Pororo the Little Penguin.

itskiyoung

KIYOUNG'S profile is a study in brand friendliness. He's extremely career-forward. He's most active when Fable is promoting, but still posts regularly when they're not. His posts are captioned solely with emojis that match the color scheme of the pictures. Out of all the Fable members, he follows the most people outside of the group, including other idols, various actors, and a few Western celebrities. He uses his stories a lot more than he posts, though he rarely saves them.

take__5

His personal account is more of an insight into his daily life. Most of his posts are about places he’s going and food he’s eaten and things he’s experienced, usually without his group members. Kiyoung’s single highlight is commemorative of his favorite experiences.

ymg__08

The person most dedicated to the Fable brand—at least in public—is MINGEUN. He wanted all of them to put Fable in their usernames. No one else agreed. He didn’t want to be the only one to do it, so he decided to include the number eight instead. Despite being the last member to start a public account, he has the most posts because he can’t shut up. If he’s doing something, or Fable is doing something, Mingeun’s probably posted about it.

Other than his extensive number of posts, he also loves his stories. His three highlights are all essentially the same. He had to make three in the primary colors for his dedication to the Fable brand. Like Haksu and Byeonghwi, he uses the book emoji to represent the group.

gugugeun

Posts on Mingeun’s personal account rarely survive a few days before they’re archived. He uses the app incessantly, sharing pictures of his group members and his girlfriend more than himself. He matches usernames and profile pictures with Eunsu like they’re a couple. Their usernames come from both of them being born in 1999 (gu), and their profile pictures are Japanese comedy duo Ninety-nine.

i_jaeseop

JAESEOP’S posts are reserved for the very large events in his life. So far this includes graduating university (he would like to pretend everything before that doesn’t exist), debuting in Fable, and celebrating the fifth anniversary of his longest term relationship. Although his account is private, it’s pretty obvious to fans that it’s his. The username is his name, the icon is his face, and the bio includes Fable’s debut date. He receives many follow requests and ignores them all.

tak_kkaeda

INTAK does not use Instagram. He was coerced into making an account by Jaeseop and Andrew. He fought the boomer allegations and lost. Now he uses it solely to participate in the Fable Instagram group chat. He inadvertently has a closely matching icon to Haksu. They’re close enough in age to grow up watching the same show.

BONUS:

eunsu.yah

EUNSU opened his account shortly after leaving the group. He was the first to do so, sparking a trend among the remaining members of Fable. All five of his posts are from the first few months after that. He started sharing his daily, non idol life, and then he decided it was boring and stopped posting.

The five accounts he follows are the five Fable members with public accounts.

gugusu

More than anything else, Eunsu’s ratio is important to him. Even when he’s turned his account from an unassuming, average, display of his daily life to its current iteration, where he matches everything with Mingeun. It’s a miracle more of his followers haven’t unfollowed him. His posts are very carefully curated. He’s also the only person to not have a highlight dedicated to Fable.

[blueskittlesart]

Your thoughts on the phantom thief’s costumes?

oh this should be fun!! i included akechi and sumire also because i love talking so the more the better

joker: solid 9/10. easy to remember and draw which i appreciate. not a lot of color variation except for the red gloves, which i actually like ON HIM but i generally dislike the bright primary colored gloves as a common motif among all the thieves because i think it hinders most of their designs, with joker being the one exception.

ryuji: 8/10. harder to remember than joker's but i also don't draw him that much. again not much color variation but like. they're thieves. that's normal and makes sense. i love the metal spinal cord detailing on the back of his jacket!! my only real problem with it is the yellow gloves and red scarf. i think if the gloves HAD to be yellow then the scarf should have also been yellow to match, because since they're so similar in terms of saturation they end up fighting for attention.

ann: 0/10 god i hate this outfit. i literally cant stand it it's so god awful. the fact that they put a 16 year old girl in a skintight cat bodysuit with a boob window is one thing but like. they couldnt even make it look good. the pink gloves clash with the monotone red of the rest of the outfit. the boots are ugly and don't match the aesthetic of the catsuit. the zippers on the suit are clearly meant to add visual interest but just look stupid and impractical. NOT TO MENTION she breaks the theme of a primarily black outfit that (most of) the rest of them have going despite her codename being panther, a BLACK CAT??? why is it red. if i could kill the designers of this outift i would

yusuke: 6/10. would be infinitely better if it was a shirt and pants instead of a bodysuit. also the giant sleeves look stupid as hell <3 once again the bright blue gloves suck ass but at least they're SLIGHTLY brought in to the rest of the design with the blue stripes on the belt. honestly i think it would be better if they just ditched the gloves and made the belt stripes red to keep with the kitsune mask aesthetic but whatever. it could be way worse ig

makoto: 8/10. her mask is ugly let's get that out of the way first. sorry queen its the truth </3 aside from that i think she's got one of the better designs of the thieves. very cohesive aesthetic and it's almost exclusively black but doesn't lose detail (the silver metal accents help with this and are a very nice touch!) she's one of the few that doesn't suffer from the glove problem because her gloves are gray but if it were me i might have made them black. overall solid design

futaba: 7/10. one of the more practical designs which i think is cool! she's got arm and kneepads and pockets on her thighs which i think is very on-brand for a support character like her. she also keeps some aspects of her real-world fashion sense like her legwarmers and big platform shoes which is cool!! her color palette could be a liiiiitle bit more cohesive, she's got both gold and silver metal accents which throws me off a bit and the red of her goggle lenses ends up looking somewhat out of place with the rest of her green accents. she doesn't suffer from the glove problem though despite her gloves being bright neon green, i think because that same green is used just enough in other parts of her design that the gloves blend in more as an accent color.

haru: 10/10. my favorite design in the game BY FAR. she's got such a cool and cohesive aesthetic going. the pink accents are noticeable but don't overpower the black enough to make her look out of place with the other thieves, and the frilliness and puffiness of it also reminds me of her real-world fashion sense! she unfortunately is probably the biggest victim of the glove problem. the purple gloves absolutely destroy an otherwise beautiful color scheme and distract from all the beautiful details of her outfit because they just look SO out of place. i don't hate them enough to dock her points but if they were just. black. or pink even. then she would be completely perfect

pre-reveal akechi: 10/10. ok i laughed out loud when i first saw this because it looks fucking stupid and i recognize that objectively it looks fucking stupid. but from both a design and lore standpoint its. good. it is genuinely very good. it's got a cohesive color scheme and aesthetic which visually places him opposite joker--he is white with red and gold accents in direct contrast to joker's black with red and silver accents. certain aspects of his design seem to deliberately parallel joker's--the v-shaped buttons on his coat are an obvious imitation of the v-shaped accents on joker's waistcoat, the cuffs on his sleeves look just like joker's, the v-cut of his cape is reminiscent of the slit in the back of joker's coat, etc etc. even his gloves (which have to be spotlighted because ive done it for everyone else) are a parallel to joker's--white against red cuffs as opposed to red against black cuffs. from a design standpoint everything about this design is SCREAMING at you that akechi is a direct parallel of joker, and it's done very well imo. from a lore standpoint i can't help but wonder if he made these decisions deliberately, as some sort of challenge to joker or something, since he's the only character who mentions putting actual thought into their outfit.

post-reveal akechi: 3/10. i don't want to be mean but this was a huge downgrade. it's got some good things going for it--the mask is cool, and definitely better than the ugly shit he was wearing before, and the way certain aspects become almost corrupted, like the cape and belt, is a cool touch. however i think a lot of what i praised his pre-reveal design for made things difficult for the designers of this outfit. so much of white knight akechi seems deliberately designed to mirror joker, to be the white to joker's black. so when the designers had to do a dark version of akechi, they ended up backed into a corner, because simply turning akechi's old design black would leave him looking far too similar to joker, who, crucially, he is rejecting completely in order to attain this form in the first place. what the designers settled on was an evil candycane, which. well. i think we could maybe have done a little better. i think leaning into the prince thing might have helped--going from a prince of justice to a prince of darkness, keeping that aesthetic but twisting it into something more disney-villain-esque. at the very least he needs to not be wearing a striped bodysuit. please. im sympathetic to the problems the designers must have faced with this one but im SURE there's a solution that isn't a skintight purple monstrosity.

sumire: 5/10. sigh. this one is hard for me. because if i look at it objectively i think that her design is GOOD. like it's cohesive, it's pretty, the elements fit together, etc etc. but i can't get past the fact that they just straight up made her female joker. like the poor girl can't even get her own outfit. i know she's the love interest but COME ON can we give her a little more agency here PLEASE. the leotard is the only thing that feels definitively like HER because gymnastics and everything else just kind of feels like a genderbent joker cosplay to me. for every other character in this game their thief costume's aesthetic can be related somehow back to them as a character--their motivations, their innermost desires, their personality, SOMETHING. sumire just. gets none of that. she gets to be Joker's Girlfriend. and yeah maybe you could make the case that she like doesn't know who she is or whatever and that's why she defaults to him but it still feels CHEAP. she doesn't even get her own glove color. EVERY OTHER CHARACTER IN THE GAME has a uniquely ugly glove color except sumire who has to share with joker because she is his girlfriend. ugh

[invinciblerodent]

6) Any flowers you associate with your OC? for any/all that you have flowers associated! and why? is it based off vibes or are you digging into flower language meanings?

Oooh, I love this!!! (Please excuse the janky graphics lol, I'm trying out new software!)

First thought -and I kinda already had this in mind- is that I associate Petyr with reed flowers. (And cattails and foxtails, aesthetically.)

I wasn't aware of them having a specific meaning before (though... complaisance and family, that's kind of spot on!), but there is... something quite beautiful in them, I think.

I mean, they're not flashy, or very valuable as flowers. Not many people like looking at them or think "flower" when they see them, and Petyr's whole "theme" is kind of that he's Not The Right Kind Of Man. He's never what people want (or expect) him to be: he's not a druid (unlike the rest of his family), but he IS abrasive, aloof, and overall kind of... disagreeable. He's very direct, and flippant, with a dry sense of humor that can come off as plain mean if you take it at face value. Like a reed the leaves of which will cut your finger if you touch it the wrong way.

But reeds, they're also... the thatching on the roof that protects you from the elements. Reed stalks make excellent building materials, baskets, pens, instruments, arrows- they're extremely versatile, one just has to know how to work with them. They're flexible too, they provide shelter for all sorts of creatures, and in the marshlands, they're a very natural part of the landscape- they don't stand out, but their absence does.

I like that theming, I think. It really fits him well. (And, works with his last name too now that I think about it- a wild brook, it's reasonable that reeds would grow there!)

For Iona, I can't really decide between the forsythia and the marsh marigold. They're both early spring flowers (well. one is a tree but. a flowering one), with small, bright yellow or golden blooms, and their meanings -as far as I can find- are respectively anticipation, and riches, though they are both... profoundly ordinary flowers that, again, aren't often recognized for their beauty.

I mean, sure, the forsythia is often kept as a landscaping tree, but they have a fairly short window for blooming, outside of which they kind of blend into the background. But when they do bloom, they are theses... incredible, striking bushels of bright, golden yellow flowers that don't even have the leaves to compete with. They're an overpowering, gorgeous cascade of abundant blooms that I feel really work very nicely with Iona's story, which is... kind of about being finally allowed to bloom, to come into her power, and become the woman she was always meant to be.

The marsh marigold is kind of similar in that it's a tiny and ordinary, early spring flower, but that grows wild, which I really like for her as well.

(Interesting tidbit, in my native language the name of the marsh marigold means "message/messenger of storks", because it blooms before the storks would return- so, kind of as one of the first little messengers of spring.)

(I also just. associate her with golden yellows quite a lot. I just think this bright, rich sunshine-yellow color feels like her, which I think is really sweet too, knowing what happens with her lover by the end of the game. I liked the thought of the Sun- and Moon chasing one another to begin with, but I like how it goes from the Moon "scheming" to steal the Sun's light, to the light being freely given, and instead the Moon "soothing" the Sun's blaze.) (She's his sunshine okay, let me have this)

Aaaand I seem to be really leaning very into the very ordinary little flowers, but for Arvid, I'm thinking of cornflowers.

I mean, first things first, the most well-known color variant matches his eyes perfectly, so that's one reason (In my little notes, I've definitely called his eyes "cornflower blue" at least once!), but this one... I was aware that they're sort of a symbol of hope for a better future, which I feel really matches him and his overall approach to life.

The boy is just... doing his best. Trying his damnedest to be good, no matter his place.

These flowers also typically grow in wheat fields, and are technically considered weeds, which I feel would speak to him- these flowers, nobody intended for them to be where they are, but nevertheless, they're blooming their little hearts out. They're resilient, they have medicinal properties, and you'll often find them hung up and dried as decorations: basically, when they first spring up, nobody wants them, but since they're there... well, they make the best of their lot. I like that.

I don't yet have one for Ray (a forget-me-not is kind of on the nose, lol), but yeah, I think these three, I like these for them!

[wof-reworked]

I don’t have the brainpower to develop this, but I had some thoughts on Nightwing theater (I’ve been meaning to write like this for all the tribes since I had a lot of fun with Sandwing theater)

Nightwings are big on tragedy and romance together in their theater. A good Nightwing story ends with two people who can never love each other again, either through death or circumstances, but yet still do. 

Nightwing stories tend to favor female protagonists/point of view characters. 

Ensemble driven stories aren’t uncommon by any means either, where oftentimes the group will end up imploding due to being turned against each other through circumstances outside of their control

Nightwing theater also relies a lot on character tropes, sometimes with subversions, but sometimes just taken wholesale. Some popular (and suitably ~tragic~ tropes include:

the seer who could predict everything except their own tragic future. Often a girl, but not always.

The counter to her is usually another dragonet who spits in the face of destiny but finds it comes back to bite her. 

The young diplomat who is hurt by the world they enter into, often dead or changed for the worse by their experiences.

The precocious dragonet who harbors sinister inner workings, unnoticed by their parents until it’s too late. 

The cruel royal, often hiding skeletons in her closet that explain how they ended up this way.

The evil non-Nightwing here to snatch away the hero’s happy ending- sometimes literally. Often an Icewing. Usually their main role is being unnecessarily cruel and/or violent.

These are, as all tropes are, flexible (the diplomat isn’t always a diplomat, they might be a student or someone else “educated”, the seer is sometimes able to outrun her tragic end, the royal is sometimes pleasant), it’s more about the themes they carry (you can ~barely~ sense the xenophobia I’m sure).

(Unsurprisingly, a lot of this draws on Nightwing history. No one will talk about Darkstalker and Clearsight except as boogeymen, but the fingerprints of their relationship are still pretty clearly visible in Nightwing culture)

In modern times, the prophecies are usually delivered through non-Nightwing means (a magical source telling them, a curse from another dragon that becomes real, just the writing on the wall that the protagonists can’t read) vs in the past when seers were an actual fact of life and could be used instead. 

Nightwing stories aren’t all doom and gloom- part of the fun is not knowing how it will end, even though everything about it promises tragedy. While most of them end sadly, you’re always holding out hope that this time the protagonists will make it through. 

Nightwing plays also draw on a very limited color scheme, as to make sure the performers stand out best. Props and stagedressing are often minimal, though music and sound in general often fill that space to give the necessary context of scenes.

You’d best believe there’s a ton of monologues and soliloquies. 90% of theater is people dramatically announcing their internal feelings, but only to the audience. 

dark blue-black scales are seen as the most glamorous for the way they reflect light, and sets are often matched to these colors, especially if the lead role happens to look the part. Nightwing aesthetic preferences in general tend to favor rich, deep colors and cool tones- grey/lighter scales and warm tones are seen as the least attractive (unfortunate, since the time spent on the island lead to a loss of that “rich black” color Nightwings find attractive). 

Tl;dr: wouldn’t it be funny if Nightwing art was soap operas

[imthepunchlord]

What do you think of the main duo's color schemes both having black? I've heard some people say that they how the duo's schemes not only share a color (black) but also have opposite colors (red for the ladybug and green for the cat), to it shows that well the two are different and opposites they are still linked. What do you think of that idea.

Honestly, visually Cat and Ladybug don't appeal to me as a duo color coding wise. I will give them that they are counterparts in terms of color in Chinese culture, for with Wu Xing, red represents Fire and black represents Water, which backs them as opposites; but it doesn't make for an appealing colored duo.

At least to me. The big thing about doing a colored duo is that it comes down to preferences, especially when doing something to represent yin-yang and you don't want to stick to that black-white color scheme or direct color opposites.

One good alternative that could've been done is the iconic red and blue, with Plagg being a very dark blue, which could've had him reference not only the Bombay cat, but a Russian blue.

Red and blue are an iconic visual match that represent opposites that are similar, warm vs cool, action vs thought, and both can be intense and work in similar ways but not exactly the same.

Otherwise, there are better visual counterparts to do.

With Plagg, white kwamis would've been aesthetically pleasing, specifically Rabbit or Mouse.

With Mouse, that can fully reflect them as opposites, as not only is Mullo more white/light grey to counter Plagg's dark body, but she has ruby pink eyes to counter his green. A color coding like this can reflect a more rivalry aspect to yin-yang, often portrayed between Dragon and Tiger; where they are equal in their rivalry and unable to defeat the other, but constantly circle each and keep balance in their strife, evening each other out. This also could work as a nice nod to the old Chinese Zodiac legend, adding history to this pair and reasoning for them as a duo.

Now Cat and Rabbit would visually be a yin-yang pair that could better reflect opposites that are similar, with them being black-white, but Fluff has minor blue details to her and Plagg has green, which in Chinese color meaning, are very similar. If you want to tie them to the west and for an extra bit of fun, they can also be tied to black and white magic, both of these animals tied to magic in different ways, black cats with witches and white rabbits with magicians. There's also a lot more symbolism to work off here too, rabbits are tied to Easter, new beginnings, and life; cats have been associated with spirits and the dead, escorting ghosts to the afterlife. Cats are independent and brave while rabbits are sociable and cautious. And you can even still tie that early theme of luck to them, with lucky rabbits foot.

Now on Tikki, visually, her best counterpart is Duusu.

They have the appealing red-blue colors, and everything about them visually is an opposite. Tikki has dark blue eyes while Duusu has light pink, Tikki has white sclera while Duusu has dark, Tikki has dark spots while Duusu has light spots. To add to it, Tikki even also has tail feathers as a reference to ladybird. So, to me, visually this is a peak color coded duo.

And there some things you can do to make them work as a pair. They would be coded as a he-she, with referring to Duusu as Peacock and Tikki as a Ladybug, which yin-yang does cover feminine and masculine traits. Um... tying them to Chinese culture and playing off ladybird, they could be a split up Fenghaung, which before it got tied to being a dragon's feminine counterpart, it was a bird duo to represent yin yang, one male and one female, a ruling pair over all birds. And in terms of powers, Tikki could represent the material plane while Duusu represents the spiritual, Tikki could also represent the mind and intellect while Duusu represents the heart and emotion.

The latter of that though is stretching things and just working off canon; unfortunately, in terms of symbolism and mythology, the Ladybug has the least amount going on with it out of all the animals tied to miraculouses, coming down to just luck and love. You can add divinity to it as the Ladybug has direct ties to the Virgin Mary (their names directly come from her as they were called the Lady's Beetles) and is thought to be a servant of God, both in service and in delivering divine intervention, but that gets a little dicey when it's supposed to be tied to Taoism and represent yin-yang.

But that's just coming down to my preference visually. Over all, not just visually, Cat and Ladybug just aren't appealing to me as a duo. Especially knowing that their creation is more based around the west and European views, with Ladybug being very present in European culture, and the Cat that's supposed to be more negative only really stems from Europe, and it's not even that old of a view for unlucky black cat (roughly 400 years ago).

[shizukateal]

The Holy Quintet: The BEST DRESSED Magical Girl Team EVER. Part 2: Characters made of symbols and shapes.

Part 1 here.

Mami Tomoe

Mami Tomoe’s outfit is a work of genius that really humbles me as an aspiring character designer. Watching the perfection in its simplicity only boggles my mind trying to reverse engineer the thought process behind it. Even if they already had decided on the huntress theme before they finished her, how did Ume Aoki came up with cutting the sleeves like that? Or with the perfect skirt shape that allows the corset to show all of her curves while puffing at just the right height to not make the hipline transition awkward and giving the shape of a flower? How long did it take her to find this particular color scheme? Did she immediately know where to put the purple to balance the outfit without feeling artificial? How did she realize that the stripes on the socks would add the ideal touch to the whole setup? Or the perfect way to turn the soulgem into a hair accessory? I would have gone the easy way and put it in the chest ribbon like the amateur I am! Did she have doubts about it while she was figuring out the exact design of the boots?!

This outfit does everything. It’s sexy without being unnecessarily tasteless, it’s girly and fancy but battle-ready, it even passes the silhouette test, it’s nuanced, almost realistic. Even Mami’s hairstyle, which in a lesser design would look too childish, is perfect for her. Mami’s whole theme is that she’s a little girl desperately trying to convince herself that she’s an adult. Her low drill-tails are doll-like, which is to say a little girl’s idea of what a fancy adult woman looks like. The side-swept bangs also give a youthful roundness to her face while being elegant, and the way the hat and hairpin complements the whole thing is just * cheff’s kiss *.

Kyouko Sakura

Kyouko is a fire gal, and as such her shape is a triangle, so her outfit is a halter top coat that widens into the frilled overskirt. Her ponytail also feeds into this theme, with hair bits sticking wildly on the top like the fire sparks of a candle, and the ribbon is just scrappy but cute enough to compliment her personality. Haha, ponytail, get it? Like a horse? Or in her case a de-horned unicorn, ergo her spear. Her look also gives us the impression of an outlaw with her pirate/rider boots, long coat and gloves, fitting her lifestyle, and her soulgem is on her chest, indicating her more emotional nature. I think the boldest decision was to leave her hands ungloved, or at least I know I wouldn’t have done that, but that’s why I’m glad I wasn’t in Ume Aoki’s position when Madoka was in production. The white details on her undershirt and boots also put an elegant touch of complexity that completes the whole thing. What I’m trying to say here is that Kyoko has the ““easiest”” design of the other puellas, but it’s still top notch.

Sayaka Miki

Sayaka’s outfit is a balancing act, trying to keep it’s knight aesthetic clear without relying on heavy armor to do so and thus allowing Sayaka’s more romantic, femenine side to show, not to mention her water + music/mermaid theme. Her whole getup is very ingenious. Her short hair allows the cape to flow without seeming excessive and heavy or an inconvenience, her hairpin prevents the cut from being bland, but still keeping a somewhat tomboyish look, and her skirt has a distinct asymmetrical cut that, with its white outline, gives the idea of a wave. Her boots are short, comfy, practical, and their shade is just different enough that they avoid the look from feeling kinda boring within its color pallet, without straying away from it. I’m honestly amazed at how well they pulled of her belly-button soulgem as well, especially without taking away from the knight theme, hell they even used that in their favor! That is ingenuity. It was also a genius idea to hold the cape on a choker to make it all fit better with a sweetheart neckline.

Homura Akemi

As I mentioned before when I talked about Senjougahara, Homura is a rhombus, not just in her soul gem but in the rest of her body: she is pointy, slim, and long. She is the tallest and lankiest amongst the Holy Quintet, her outfit primarily highlighting her legs and her hair ending in jagged points. What impresses me the most about it is that the shirt is very weirdly cut for a concept as straightforward as “school uniform”, but it works. I can imagine a much easier version of it without the undersleeves or the collar. Speaking of which, the shape of them draws attention to her soul gem on her hand, which is placed there to symbolize how she’s the most “hands on” magical girl. Her time motif is present in her back ribbon, which looks like clock hands, same with Moemura’s braids, and in her shield, which is small and attached to her wrist and also is actually a sand clock. That shield is a really neat, concise, and smart way to tie up the entirety of her wish, huh? Speaking of Moemura, it’s really interesting to see the conflict between the two versions of this character in their differences. First we have the hair, of course, then the red glasses. I sense that there’s more to those than what I’m interpreting here, but the best I can do is conclude that aside that Homura tosses them out because they represent her weakness the fact that they’re red means they also represent her emotionality, which Madoka returns to her when she gives her her red ribbons (which also represent the string of fate, of course, and also confidence in oneself). But the part that interests me the most is her heels. Moemura doesn’t fit them, she trips on them constantly, but for Homura they are a symbol of her maturity and composure. Naturally, the first time we see Homura break down after narrowly killing Kyubey before they could do a contract with Madoka, she trips on them.

@leafbladie also pointed out to me that the reason it looks like a school uniform might be because school is the only place where she could make genuine human connections. 

Madoka Kaname

Kyouko is a triangle, Homura is a rhombus, and Madoka is, fittingly, a Star, aka. a cluster of points shooting out from a center, which also blends well as a flower motif. Or to put it even more eloquently, she’s the flower from the ground that will eventually become the star in the sky. It’s in her skirt, gloves, socks and ponytails. And the rest of her? Is a deception in its simplicity. After all, this is what you expect from the leader of a magical girl team, right? Pink! Ribbons! Frills! Come on, you’ve seen this outfit before, it’s practically the same as Cure Peach’s! But Madoka is aiming for something more specific: she is both a fairy AND a witch, the two faces of the Magical Girl, creatures of fairytales often related to either nature or to the stars, and it works precisely because she uses that shape. Madoka is a balance of roundness and pointiness, it’s just that those points are softened by the pastel coloring. Her balance in ribbons and frills is excellent as well. I should probably write a separate post on how those 2 elements work in general, but suffice to say that we all know way too many magical girls that just put those things everywhere. Two on her ponytails to highlight them, one behind her neck, two on her hips to smooth the hipline transition, two behind her shoes. Huh, speaking of those, Madoka has surprisingly tall heels, right? Taller than Mami’s and only matched by Homura’s. Really tells you who the 2 most emotionally resilient members are in the team.

The last piece I’d like to highlight is her weapon, which I’m jealous of because I did that concept for an OC of mine and now if I do it everyone is going to think that I got it from her. But in any case, yeah combining a druidic staff into an also druidic bow whose arrows are also shooting star analogues is the perfect choice for this particular character, the Goddess of Magical Girls.

And this, everyone, has been my reasoning and analysis of the genius of the Holy Quintet’s character designs. Follow me if you want more magical girl outfit analysis.

[pawjamas]

Hey, lamb!! Do you have any tips on how to make a theme for your blog/acc, etc. I need help but I suck at them. Any tips would be super appreciated yours always come out so beautifully <33

aw i appreciate you both coming to me for advice as well as saying my blogs look nice! ♡

i'd say to first start with the colors you want to use on your blog. notice how each of my sideblogs (@animalforest uses baby blue + pastel + rainbow, @purrcelain is mostly pink + white, @lambsacrifices is soft creams, pinks, and monotones) they use a certain cohesive color scheme. all the images and blog theme itself keep those colors consistent. i'd then look into What theme you're going for, such as this blog which i use as my main - i'd summarize it as a comforting little scrapbook/diary; with nature, pretty illustrations, stuffed animals, a lot of soft and nostalgic images/posts. for me each blog's theme caters to a specific aesthetic i like, so think about what you find aesthetically pleasing if you'd like to figure out a theme for yours!

also, to keep your blog's overall appearance matching what you post/reblog i'd look into blogs on here that post graphics/pixels you can use to decorate yours. most of these blogs have a tag system/search function so you can specifically find what you're looking for, some blogs i'd recommend are @engrampixel @pixel-soup & i use the website jan's graphics for a huge portion of the web graphics/blinkies/etc i post on this blog.

i hope this is at least a bit helpful for you! i love making my blogs look nice/pleasing to look at so i'm very glad you find mine looks so nice ^_^ ❣️

[adrianasunderworld]

The Boys+Baby

Was in the mood to write some fluffy family headcanons. So have the boys with their first born.

Edit: Theres a part 2 now

*Pregnancy warning*

Raihan

Raihan loves kids. Raising baby pokemon is one of  his favorite things to do as a trainer. Now he has his own baby? Hes ecstatic.

Gets all sorts of matching family outfits for him, s/o, and baby.  

Sets up a very aesthetically pleasing nursery. Its storybook themed. With all sorts of dragon plushies and fairytale books. 

If s/o is pregnant, he'll want to take all sorts of belly progress pics. Not so much for social media, more for keepsakes. He plans on starting a photo album full of pregnancy pictures and babies firsts. It's what his parents did for him and wants to continue the tradition.

Always reading to baby before bed. Even if s/o is asleep, he'll whisper. 

In the hospital, he'll be their rock. He'll get whatever you want. Squeeze his hand as hard as you need. He knows the importance of keeping calm, so he'll keep his cool.

Until they come out. He'll tear up and hold them as close as possible when he gets to hold them. 

The trainers in his gym are all good friends. So when that baby comes home, there's always someone offering to help out if they need it or bring food because they know Raihan and s/o are tired.

All the pokemon love baby. There's always at least one of them guarding the crib at all times. Raihan likes to joke it's because dragons guard treasures. 

Piers

Out of the three of them, Piers is the one with most baby experience. Hes looked after Marnie all his life. This isn't his first Rodeo. So he isnt bothered about diapers and vomit and all the things that come with kids. 

Spikemuth being the close knit town it is, everyone is excited. The baby shower and bringing them home is going to be a town wide party and there's nothing he can do about it. They already have balloons and catering ready to go.

He and s/o work together on the nursery. The color scheme is very neutral with grays and whites. Though there is definitely a star motif going on around the room. 

Goes without saying Pier always sings to baby. It's how he expresses things, and his voice is so soft and loving.

If s/o is pregnant, he'll help do research and get parenting books so they both can stay informed. 

Despite all his reading and that Marnie turned out well, Piers is still pretty anxious. Though he doesn't want to say anything because he doesn't want s/o to worry. 

Marnie is working for that #1 aunt title. She immediately got a morpeko plush when she got the news. It was the kids first gift and it's now sitting in the nursery rocking chair.

In the hospital, despite telling them that it was only going to be him and s/o, and he would call when the delivery was over. There was still a bunch of team yell members in the waiting room with congratulations signs. Piers decided to put them to use and make them get whatever you needed whenever you asked. 

Despite all of Piers anxiety, he felt it melt away when first held the little one. He didn't cry, but was definitely choked up. 

Is always tired, more so than normal. His hair is always tied up. And when all else fails to calm baby down, his singing works wonders.

Leon

Giddy. Leon is so excited to be a dad. He's always liked kids. As champion he loved doing events and meet ups with children. He Hopes his kid looks up at him with just as much excitement and joy, even if he isn't champion anymore.

The nursery doesn't really have a coherent theme. There's wooloo wallpaper. Pastel sheets and curtains. A starter mobile. It's just full of cute things that they collected.

Got the baby a mini cap and Cape. No he will not take criticism. This baby will be a fashion disaster until they can pick their own clothes or s/o puts their foot down.

If s/o is pregnant, Leon is always going to feel for kicks. Even long before it's supposed to start that. When he does feel a kick, his face lights up every time.

Charzard is no better. It likes resting next to s/o and protecting them. He loves kids too and wants to keep them safe and warm. 

Leon doesn't know much about babies and pregnancy and its ups and downs. He'll look stuff up if he isn't sure and has called his mom or grandma more than once for advice.

Wants to get as much work at the tower done as possible so he has less to worry about when he takes time off. As a result, he can't be with s/o as much as he wants. He's enlisted Hop to be your little helper around the house. Hop does so happily (he's very excited to be an uncle).Though really, Leon over estimated how much help you would actually need and you and Hop mostly chill out. 

In the hospital, do not let Leon leave the room. Or else he'll probably go for a snack from the vending machine down the hall and somehow end up in the ER on the other side of the hospital. You won't see him until you have to start pushing. Do not let this man leave your sight.

Even if he's internally freaking out, Leon does his best to keep it together and support you. Squeeze his hand as hard as need, break it for all he cares. He's got you.

Definitely cried when he first held the baby. He kept blubbering about how precious they were. 

Once home, Leon definitely carries the baby every where in one of those slings across his chest. And yes, he will accept challengers like that. That kid is a heavy sleeper.

[happi-tree]

On The Style and Effectiveness of 1-A Hero Costumes - Part 2/5

Part 2 of this post!

NAVIGATION

Part 1 2 3 4 5

INGENIUM / IIDA TENYA

It’s armor time!!! Behold a man. 

What I don’t like:

The costume seems too bulky for a Quirk and fighting style that optimize speed. And while it’s true that cars are pretty bulky but still go fast, it’s equally true that certain types of cars are designed to go faster. The current design reminds me most of a semi or a big SUV, but if the costume was more streamlined along the lines of racecars or sports cars, it would help take off the extra weight that the bulk provides, leaving Iida lighter and more streamlined - therefore, faster. 

Some examples of slimmer armor include Go Go Tomago’s from Big Hero 6 and Jim Lake Jr.’s from Trollhunters. And while I get that his body type inherently lends itself to being tank-like, lightening up on the bulk would probably be great for him.

The exhaust pipes out of his back confuse me. They bring some car energy, which is entirely welcome, but they likely hinder balance and motion, which is bad. They leave him looking a little unbalanced, and since so much of his strength and his fighting ability focuses on his lower body, having excess superficial material protruding out of the sides like that doesn’t seem to lend him any favors. And even while it looks cool, it just seems like it would be uncomfortable? Especially since a lot of runners - Iida included - like having full range of their arms to help propel them forward. The pipes might get in the way of that.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how this look both makes sense with Iida’s Quirk and personality and plays with elements of his older brother’s costume. It simultaneously puts across some knightly vibes - which is genius, considering how chivalrous and rule-following Iida typically is - and also calls to mind Transformers and cars with the emphasis on the engines and some of the more mecha elements.

The support! Armor is such an easy way to protect yourself while also getting some serious style points. His most essential areas are covered - neck, chest, arms, and legs - which is especially important considering that Iida’s legs are integral to his Quirk and his fighting style. The helmet is also a really good choice, considering this boy is essentially a human car. He looks a bit intimidating wearing it, which is good for fighting Villains, I suppose. Class dad is protected.

And a misc. note:

You know how after Iida’s special Recipro Burst move, he has to wait awhile while his engines cool back down? I think it would be really neat if he implemented some cooling technology into his Hero suit (similarly to Todoroki’s temperature-regulating gear). Theoretically, if he could find something that worked a bit like coolant for his engines, he would have a much quicker reaction time - and speed is the main facet of his Quirk, so it would probably help a lot!

Overall: Very good at providing protection while having a bomb-ass aesthetic. Not quite so good at being built for speed.

I CANNOT STOP TWINKLING / AOYAMA YUUGA 

On the other side of the armored spectrum… we have this kid!

What I don’t like:

*Edna Mode voice* NO CAPE! Why do I not like the cape? Capes can snag on stuff very easily and it would be an easy thing for Villains to target and use to unbalance Aoyama. Longer capes are especially susceptible to getting trapped under rubble, torn up, or covered in gunk from the environment (which is not the Look he seems to like). I feel like a shorter cape would get a similar message across while minimizing the potential dangers that a long cape poses. Of course, Aoyama can be trained via experience to utilize his costume effectively with the full-length cape, but when his life and the lives of others are on the line, I’d rather not take that chance.

The shades. I get that they’re iconic, but they’re taking rose colored glasses a bit too seriously. 110% will fall off his face and also messes with the princely Vibe the rest of his costume provides. I do like their Elton John energy, though.

Not a bad thing, but I just want to know how his belt works.

Here’s what I like:

The overall aesthetic. I love how the costume’s obvious “princely knight” vibe reflects so much of Aoyama’s character. 

The support here is also really good! Working the belt into the theme of his costume so seamlessly is very innovative and I love that for him. Getting the knee pads and shoulder pauldrons to match his central laser both adds to the uniqueness of the outfit and also pushes that royalty theme since they look very similar to inset gems. 

The color scheme. Purple, silver, gold, and black look very classy and regal together, and I appreciate how the royal purple ties back into the concept of European royalty, which is very in-character for this boy. His pantaloon-looking things??? Neato.

Overall: Eh, okay. Ditch the glasses and shorten the cape. Superb, you funky lil knight light.

CREATI / YAOYOROZU MOMO

Here we are! I’m finally taking a crack at one of the most highly debated hero costumes in the entire show, and like a good portion of people, I’m gonna be extremely salty about it. Yaomomo doesn’t deserve this - none of the girls deserve this. These are my thoughts:

What I don’t like:

The absolute lack of support. For any aspect of her. Nothing about this costume is protective (other than maybe the partial high collar). Her most vulnerable areas are exposed, and while it makes sense for easy Quirk usage, it does not make sense for a girl who’s fighting homicidal maniacs on the front lines. The most glaring area in need of support is obviously her chest, as nothing substantial is holding her bust in place. However, so much could be done to work with the benefits of Creation and against its weaknesses that is not being done in this costume. I’ve seen quite a few redesigns that include a sports bra with a front zip closure, which is worlds better. With the show being set in the future, having a slightly mechanized costume with the ability to retract certain pieces at the press of a button would be useful and likely doable considering Yuuei’s own Support department. Gloves would probably be a good idea to give Yaoyorozu a better grip on harder-to-handle Created objects, such as heavy metal machinery. 

The over-sexualization is, obviously, disgusting. Nothing about this costume says “Hero.” What it does say, in-universe, is that someone had the absolute gall to approve and send this outfit to a 15-year-old girl about to be thrown headfirst into training for an extremely dangerous profession. It says that giving a person in their freshman year of high school an overly sexualized outfit meant for combat training is okay (it isn’t, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain). This more closely resembles an outfit for a lingerie or swimsuit model than it does for any type of superhero, which alone should be enough to warrant some serious changes - especially, as I have stated, since the girl is only 15!

The overall aesthetic. There is no aesthetic reading for this costume other than “sexy”, which, as I explained above, is very problematic. Sure, the exposed skin makes sense for her Quirk, since she needs access to skin in order to produce items with Creation, but nothing about this outfit denotes anything about her personality. Yaoyorozu Momo is a gentle girl who has been shown to have self-esteem issues from early on in the show, and just knowing that makes me wonder if she feels uncomfortable wearing this. If she’s totally comfortable in this look, good for her! But comfort in our clothing factors so much into our mental states, which translates directly to our physical performance - it’s the same reason why having clothes that fit you and your style well make you feel more confident and more content. And especially if Yaoyorozu wasn’t quite expecting the amount of skin revealed when her costume was given to her, it could likely have added on to her self-esteem issues as seen early in the school year.

The skintight fit of what amounts to a glorified bathing suit is not conducive or acceptable whatsoever. With such a powerful Quirk, Yaoyorozu needs all the protective material she can get - which, as I said in Uraraka’s analysis, is quite simply not possible to fit under that bodycon fabric. Some padding at the very least would work wonders, and bulletproof material would serve her even better. 

Once again, heels are not good for any kind of running or fighting! At least it’s a block heel, which is marginally more stable than, say, a stiletto, but still.

The literal bookshelf on her ass. It makes no sense to put it there - it’s an inconvenient place (what if she needs to sit down?) and it looks incredibly awkward to move around with. Besides, there’s absolutely nothing stopping that book from falling at the slightest jostle. At least give her a proper holster or implement it into a toolbelt like some of the boys have. 

What’s with the belt? Can it hold emergency supplies? Or is it just there to make it seem like she’s wearing more than a deep v one-piece? I’m at a loss here.

Here’s what I like:

The color scheme. Deep red, white, and pale yellow look good on her! The color ratios are also pretty good in my opinion. Unfortunately, this is the only good thing I can say about her getup.

And to round us out, some misc. notes:

I feel like the book could be done away with entirely and replaced with something digital. This universe is set multiple centuries into the future, and I think something like a holographic data set would look slick, enable for faster search time for whatever info Yaoyorozu would need, and eliminate the bulk problem completely. At the very least, there could be a smartwatch-type gauntlet to pull up info with a larger screen to enable easy reading. Really, the lack of support for Yaoyorozu’s look is devastating because she could go so many directions in creating an outfit that works with her Quirk’s strengths and against its weaknesses.

Overall: Awful, a disgrace, and a disservice to one of the coolest, kindest characters in the class. I would kill for her to get the outfit she deserves.

INVISIBLE GIRL / HAGAKURE TOORU

Wow, look! Two travesties in a row! One more and I get a bingo!

Hagakure, I love you so much, and I am so, so sorry that the yahoos over at the Support company thought that this was a good idea.

What I don’t like:

Uh. The fact that there isn’t a costume. There is literally no in-universe rationalization for this. Surely, they have the technology. Just look at Lemillion! Togata Mirio’s Quirk is literally phasing through materials (including his own clothing) and they made him his own non-phaseable costume by weaving his own DNA into the fabric! Even if they don’t have the technology (they do), I know that Hatsume and probably the rest of the Support students would immediately jump on the chance of creating a fabric with the ability to switch between visible and invisible modes. 

Once again, the sexualization of minor Hero students continues to disturb me. Who in their right mind thinks it’s okay to send a naked teenager out into a live battlefield just because she’s less likely to be noticed that way? This line of thought surely doesn’t account for stray bullets or falling debris, nor does it account for this poor girl’s peace of mind. She should be focused on getting the job done and saving people, not worrying about how it’s too cold for her to work properly or how there’s nothing between her body and a loaded gun except for the air between them.

The gloves and shoes seem like they’re kinda. Missing the point of contributing to a stealth Hero costume? Yes, they’re good so that Hagakure can be easily recognized among her allies, but does she just have to stow them wherever when she needs to go fully invisible and hope she can find them once the mission’s over? Plus, Hagakure will always, at the very bare minimum, need something to protect the soles of her feet. Walking barefoot just for everyday civilian stuff would cause a lot of problems, but Heroes likely have a lot of broken glass, broken nails, debris, and other nasty things on the streets where they fight. Tetanus is not fun to have. 

Here’s what I like:

The gloves are a nice color, I guess?

Some misc. notes:

I gotta say, I’ve seen SO many good takes on outfit redesigns for Hagakure (same with Yaoyorozu) and the fandom collectively has some wonderful ideas on how to go about creating a costume for her. Personally, I think it would be cool if she had a full-body suit that could change between visible and invisible modes - that way, she would be easy to identify in head counts and it would likely be easier to see places where she could be injured after a fight. At the very, very least they could pull a Lemillion and have her outfit infused with something from her own DNA so it can disappear as she does while leaving her at least covered.

Overall: So, so bad. Please give this girl a suit. I’m tired. 

TLDR Part 2:

Great Costumes: 

Good: Iida

Okay: Aoyama

Questionable: 

Bad: 

The Absolute Worst: Yaoyorozu, Hagakure

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 8: Superheroes/Supervillains

Roman is the popular superhero known as "the prince." One day he saves Virgil, a civilian that seems immune to his charms… or is he? Prinxiety Hercules/Megara sort of relationship.

Day 7 | Masterlist | Day 9

Roman sighed as he surveyed the city from his position in the sky. Nothing had happened tonight, not even a petty bank robbery. He’d been patrolling for the past 5 hours, and he wanted nothing more than to go home and watch some Disney movies. But no, superhero The Prince is always there when people need him. So here he is, flying several hundred feet above the street, attempting to find something remotely interesting.

Grey skies, grey building, grey roads, grey costume. I least I match the theme of bleh. Roman hated the color of his super-suit. It was originally a bland charcoal grey outfit that he’d worn back when he was just a common vigilante. After a while, he gained recognition and his signature style of boring grey. By that point, he had no choice but to wear varying shades of grey. But wearing grey did have its perks. Mainly that it was nearly impossible to spot him in the sky or at night.

Grey, grey, purple, grey- wait, purple? Roman focused on the spec of purple walking down the street. No one was out this late at night, not with how high the current crime rate was. Roman watched as the man in the purple hoodie made his way through the city. Roman decided to follow him for three reasons:

Since he was out so late at night, the man was most likely about to perform some nefarious scheme (that, or he was a helpless civilian making his way home)

This was the first person Roman had seen all night, and he was extremely bored

Roman is extremely gay, and this purple-clad stranger is very attractive

As the guy continued to walk, Roman started to create nicknames for him. While he could always stick with the generic Purple or Stranger, he wanted to give this guy a rememberable nickname. Might as well try and guess the guy’s personality while he’s at it.

The guy obviously knew these streets well, as he never checked street signs or looked at his phone for directions. He walked with an odd air of confidence for someone who looked like he weighed 120 soaking wet (soaked hoodie included). He appeared dangerously thin underneath the swaths of fabric. He bobbed his head to whatever was playing inside his overly large headphones. He didn’t seem to have a destination in mind as he walked aimlessly down the street- hold on, did he just flip a coin? Roman watched as the guy flipped a coin before turning right at the next split in the road.

Okay, so the guy was walking for the fun of it. Judging by the general age, large clothing, and lack of body fat, he’s most likely a poor college student. Not that Roman could say anything better, having just gotten his degree in theater. The man gave Roman a snarky vibe, though not too aggressive. Most likely has some form of social anxiety, but a general lack of care for the world around him. The exact opposite of Roman. Roman decided that the best way to determine this stranger’s new nickname would be to mentally use each nickname and see which one sticks. Yeah, that should work.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from an alleyway and grabbed the back of Surly Temple’s jacket, pulling him out of Roman’s sight. Roman immediately descended until he was on top of the nearest building. He couldn’t hear what they were saying (curse his love of Disney songs and Musicals at full volume) but he could vaguely see the two of them. Hot Topic’s back was pressed against the wall, a knife poised at his throat. His captor loomed over him, digging the knife deeper into his skin. The man whispered something into Brad Pittiful’s ear, and Roman watched as his beautiful brown eyes went wide with fear. Now that won’t do at all.

Roman dropped down from the roof, landing right behind Marilyn Morose’s captor. Roman tsked. “And for once I thought I’d have a peaceful night.”

The stranger turned around suddenly, completely forgetting about J. D-lightful. Roman resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Such an amateur. The man immediately ran at Roman, knife poised for the kill. Roman grabbed the man’s wrists and easily twisted him until his back (and hands) were facing Roman. He increased the pressure on the knife-holding hand slightly. The man let out a silent scream at the pain and dropped the knife. Roman chuckled before swiftly hitting a pressure point in his neck, knocking the fiendish villain out. Super Strength: 10 million, Bad Guys: 0.

Roman dropped the guy onto the ground and pocketed the knife before turning to Negative Nancy. All traces of fear were gone now, replaced with cool indifference. Still, Roman couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Are you alright, dear citizen?”

Charlie Frown smirked. “I’m fine.” He purposefully gave Roman a once-over that made him hot all over. “So, did they give you a name along with those rippling pectorals?”

Roman fought down a blush as he posed. “The Prince, at your service.” He attempted to keep his voice on the sensual side as he asked, “And your name?”

Doctor Gloom laughed. “I’m sorry, but I’m not one to give my name in the first introduction. Especially to a guy that goes by a pseudonym.”

Roman ignored the jab. “So, what were you doing out here all by yourself? Surely you know how dangerous it is this time of night.”

Count Woe-lof shrugged. “I’m new to this town. Not used to high crime and big cities and hot superheroes.”

Roman smirked. “Then here’s a little bit of advice: don’t walk around at night, go to Venny’s for good pizza, and bring around at least something to protect yourself.”

Stormcloud (that… could work) laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked down at the unconscious mugger. “You should probably take care of him.”

Roman felt himself blush as he coughed. “Right-yes, I should.” He grabbed the man by the back of his shirt. “Will you be alright traveling on your own?”

Stormcloud snorted. “I’m not that weak or defenseless. I can take care of myself. HE just caught me off-guard.” He turned to walk out of the alleyway. “Adios, Princey.”

Roman blushed as his grip on the villain’s shirt tightened. “Farewell, Stormcloud.”

---------------------------------------------------

Virgil sighed as he fumbled with his keys. He shouldn’t have gone walking. He had been told how dangerous these streets were at night, but he’d assumed that people were over-exaggerating. And sure, seeing a man that could rival a god in sheer beauty was a nice bonus, but it wasn’t worth the real cost.

The petty excuse for a thief had recognized him. That was a problem. He specifically moved to the big city to avoid this. How many others recognized him?

Virgil shook his head. He’d have to deal with that in the morning. If anything, enough money or blackmailing will keep most of the city quiet. He already had enough cash to buy out the mayor and the police department after his… conversation with the current mafia boss in town. It wouldn’t be too difficult to rake in a little more cash.

Virgil smiled as he got ready for bed. The so-called “hero” of this town wasn’t too bad. Egotistical yet kind. Aesthetically boring yet the exact opposite personality-wise. Extremely attractive and knows it. Powers of flight and super strength. Should be easy enough to take out.

The last thought left him feeling uneasy. Normally he wouldn’t care about taking out some egotistical hero. But something about this one…

Virgil shook his head again as he settled down in his bed. Virgil Storm, AKA infamous supervillain “Anxiety,” wasn’t ready to face his new nemesis again. With or without the disguise.

[cottontonic]

WHO WANTS TO SEE MY GROWING DICE COLLECTION

My friends and family have indulged my current fixation on dice for D&D this year, so I now have so many dice that my dice bag just barely holds them all (I’m planning on making myself a larger dice bag soon, like a surplus one to keep all my extras that I’m not currently using). 

I’ll put the pictures under a read more so that you don’t get this long ass post on your dash of random dice

I’ve been trying to only buy dice I’d use for the characters I’m currently playing as but I’ve been getting ones that are just plain pretty/cool

My first set ever! I got these at least a year and a half ago. I don’t use them as much anymore but I love them still so much.

Look, I’m a simple bisexual. I see rainbow colored dice and I immediately need it. Also they work with any character I play since they all are some flavor of queer. 

Impulse buy after the second set and session of a home game I played with some friends. Kinda regret buying them but they’re good if a friend ever needs a set to use.

I still actually really like these guys, even if aesthetically they don’t go with any of the characters I play. 

My Twinnie (a very good friend of mine) got these for me! I wanted to kill him and hug him at the same time. They were for my character, Juhlanna, in the home game I was playing, but we haven’t played since long before Covid hit.

Got this set at Wondercon! I can’t remember which Wondercon tho tbh. If I use them, I always make sure to get them glowy before a session. They seem to roll better when they glow. c:

Got these at my local game store! I used to reserve the red guy for when I rolled with advantage/disadvantage or if the character was particularly fueled by their emotions. The black one I used to use for Death Saves only (I have other dice for that now.). Currently, I use the two together for when I have to roll with advantage/disadvantage. 

These were a freebie set I got from an online order! Haven’t used them yet.

The first set I got for Nicholas! It matches his color scheme and I’m a sucker for clear dice. 

My pop actually got these for me! He liked that they looked like bones and said that it fit the theme for my characters haha

I specifically got this set for my girl Pepper. I fucking love this set and have switched to only using them for her unless I need to grab more dice for a damage roll or something. I often take the D20 out though just to look at it in the sunlight.

Aaaaaah yes. The cursed rubber ducky dice. One of my best friends got me this set for the holidays this year. First time I used them they kept rolling very badly and almost killed Nicholas. I have now dubbed them as cursed and have promised myself to stick to using them for death saves/very important rolls, just to shake things up a bit in the game

My parents got me my first gemstone set for the holidays this year!! They’re my fav gemstone, Tiger’s Eye, and I’m just ASYLAFTKFGCKDGVHA I LOVE THEM. I think I’ll use them for Nicholas mostly. These will be Nicholas’ special dice.

EDIT: I can’t believe I forgot to include this set. Also a holiday gift! I think I’m gonna use these guys as a second Pepper set tbh. 

[nightklok]

8 Chuckles!

50Types of Kisses

I worked on this because i thought it would be short and sweet but NOPE (on the short part)-thanks for this it was cute writing this though! :D

8. Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand. Trigger Warnings: drinking/alcohol use

The dethharmonic was a financial disaster to put it simply. Well, for the charity part it was actually quite successful. The costs regarding the clean up, reconstruction and compensation for the victims’ families, however, was something else. Even though it didn’t create much of a dent in their budget it was still a number Charles didn’t necessarily like to see.

So maybe concert charity events weren’t the best of ideas. The record label, the accountants, and people behind the scenes said that a charity event still needed to be done when the new year rolled around. And luckily, he knew how to play the cards just right to come up with a (hopefully) foolproof idea: a ball.

It sounded as unmetal as one would expect but it wouldn’t be just any ordinary  ball. Set it at Friday the 13th or a blood/full moon, make the theme gothic or give dark elements, have Dethklok perform an exclusive song, and it became the talk of the media once word got out about it.

The band surprisingly seemed fine with it once they heard they could help out with the theme and even pick out a charity. They had picked out a gothic gore viking victorian theme which was probably the hardest theme to ever try and match color schemes/aesthetics for. They picked a charity that set up music programs orphans and underprivileged children, which while was no children’s hospital was at least going to a good cause. A song was made in time for once as well, a song about some Victorian queen fighting the last viking but Charles wouldn’t complain about the odd choice of themes; a song was a song.

The date was picked, tickets went on sale only to quickly sell out the moment they were posted online, and it seemed like everything was slowly going to be smooth sailing from there.

Smooth sailing for the event itself. His personal life? Not so much.

Pickles was excited, more than usual, about the ball. He could’ve said it was because of getting a chance to drink all night long but knew it wasn’t because of that.

“I,ah, would need to remind you, Pickles, that our relationship still needs to be private.” Charles said to him.

“C’mon just one dance won’t hurt?” Pickles asked. He kissed him as he snuggled closer to bed with him. 

“I’m not sure,” Was all he really said, “But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

In all honesty, it was his fault for setting Pickles up for disappointment. He should’ve told him that it simply wouldn’t be possible at the moment and save him the frustration and sadness. But he didn’t and went to bed feeling guilty like he was leading him on when he didn’t mean to.

The topic wasn’t brought up again and soon enough, it was finally the night. Charles had been dressed in Victorian attire; a light gray jacket over his white collared shirt and a dark green tie. It wasn’t that far off from what he normally wore but the jacket was very reminiscent of how long Victorian jackets normally wore. He had a historian fact check his outfit so it was probably the most accurate outfit of the ball. He greeted and welcomed the guests as he walked around the venue, looking for a particular redhead among the crowd.

It took a few minutes but he finally saw Pickles with the band enter. He had gone with a Victorian gothic look to match with the rest of the band. Of course he had to think it but he did believe he was the most strikingly handsome of them all. He had a long dark red jacket, imprinted with tiny skulls, a black shirt with a ruffled collar, no tie but he definitely didn’t need it in that outfit. He already had the stage make up on, presumably to make it easier to perform but it only added to the outfit.

He approached the boys with a gentle smile, “Looks like you boys really went all out on these outfits. I’m impressed.”

“Yeah, well I’m sure we would’ve looked better as vikings but someone had to disagree!” Murderface glared at Skwisgaar who merely shrugged.

“Vikings are...overrateds.” Was all he said.

“Well, regardless, you all look great. Why don’t you go enjoy yourselves while you wait for your performance?” 

The boys didn’t argue to that and quickly dispersed among the crowd. Only Pickles was left though, eyes glistening in excitement, “You look really handsome in that outfit.”

No stranger to compliments, he still blushed regardless, “Well, you do too. Might even be better than me even if your outfit is inaccurate.”

“C’mon, give me a break. Hard to find an outfit that will even top yours.” He grinned, ready to reach up to touch his arm but remembered where they were so he stopped.

He wanted to kiss him so badly but he knew that it would not go over well. He could imagine it now; the music and crowd would pause like a film. They would gasp and then it would be all over the news within minutes and their careers would be ruined.

He couldn’t risk that at all so he did keep his distance from Pickles even though both their moods had slowly soured. 

“I’m sorry,” Was all Charles was able to say. It was almost a whisper, inaudible by the sound of music coming from the DJ but Pickles heard it.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about me. You go enjoy yourself, okay?” Pickles gave him a sad smile and could only give an awkward wave before leaving.

Charles saw him disappear behind the crowd. Before he could even go after him, he saw some business exec from a country approach him. His politeness caused him to be stuck in a conversation with him and eventually a few other business people about some collaboration with wanting to bring back minidiscs or something. 

He wouldn’t see Pickles until they performed, but even then they never made eye contact. He tried to approach him after the performance but was once again swamped with people approaching him and he had disappeared once again.

___

The last of the guests left the venue which left only Dethklok, some of their dates, and the klokateers beginning to clean up.

Nathan picked up a passed out Toki from the floor and hoisted him over his shoulder. He looked at Pickles who was drinking wine and eating the last of the cinnamon rolls they had, “Well, uh, gonna take him to bed and then go to sleep. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks, Nate.” He smiled up at Nathan who only patted his shoulder in return and left without saying another word.

Murderface seemed to have gotten lucky as he ended up approaching Pickles with Nathan and Toki’s dates by his side. He did bend down to whisper in his ear, “The guillotine’s not gonna be picked up for another thirty minutes. Just figured you’d wanna know.”

As tempting as it was, he had to reject that idea, “I’ll think about it. Go have fun.” 

Skwisgaar was nowhere to be found but Pickles had figured he picked up his, his own, possibly Murderface’s, and whatever other people he had flirted with to bring to his room. And while he would realize he was partially correct in that aspect, he would later learn that it was Skwisgaar that managed to get Charles away from his obligated casual meetings.

He was already finished with his dessert and was opening a bottle of wine to drink when he heard, “May I take a seat with you?”

Pickles looked up to find Charles standing there in front of him with an apologetic look on his face and he couldn’t say no to that. He gestured to the empty seat next to him with the opened bottle of wine, accidentally spilling some of it on the floor. He poured him a glass of wine as he sat down before drinking from the bottle for himself.

"Pickles, I’m sorry about tonight.”

“It’s okay,” He shrugged, “I mean, I know that we can’t just...be public ‘cause it’s not a good idea but it’s still a little disappointing, y’know?”

“I understand, I really do. I spent so much time tonight wishing I was with you rather than having to talk with so many people.” He placed his hand on top of the other’s squeezing it as if also silently reminding him that they were alone at least.

“Me too. Just sucks getting to see everyone dance with their fucking dates but we can’t even do something stupid like that.”

“It’s hard, I know. But it will be so worth it in the future, trust me. We just need more time to figure out when’s the right moment to tell such a thing. Even if the event is over, the night’s not quite over yet.” Charles said as he stood up from his chair. He offered a hand to Pickles, “May I have this dance?” 

Pickles looked up at him with a smile for the first time since the beginning of the ball and nodded. He took his hand and was led to the dance floor by him. 

The klokateer DJ didn’t need to be told anything and played a Testament song as there was no classical slow songs pre-installed as per Dethklok’s request. Close enough. 

Charles took his hands, kissing them gently before pulling him closer to kiss him deeply, “I may not say it enough but I love you, Pickles.”

“Don’t need to say it; I already know. I love you, too.” He smiled at him before wrapping an arm around his waist and taking the other’s hand.

Maybe having a private relationship wasn’t so bad, after all.

[illegiblewords]

Notes under the cut!

These aren’t all of my lady WoLs, but they are some of my favorite designs and I tried to specifically show different things with each of them.

I think with design, beyond different silhouettes it’s worth it to be able to look at a character and get a sense of their personality and background. Sometimes lifestyle depending on how realistic you’re going, although Final Fantasy is a bit “fuck practicality we’re running on rule of pretty” lmao.

With these ladies specifically I also wanted to 1) pick fashions that would work well with the body types and proportions 2) create specific tones 3) play with expectations. I also, personally, wanted to explore different forms of femininity in a positive way. I’ve seen some cases where people seem to think the only way to have a “strong” woman is if she’s made traditionally masculine. I have no problem with traditionally masculine women by any means, but I’m really not into demonizing femininity either. So if I have the option to actually explore femininity in a game in positive ways I like to do that!

Nheu/Pink Miqo’te: I wanted to make her a kind of scrappy character, loud and probably a bit obnoxious, a shameless delinquent sort who immediately demands attention with neon color schemes. Going with Keeper of the Moon miqo’te let her have a toothy smile with little fangs too! I didn’t want her to look mysterious or alluring. This is one of my favorite archetypes tbh, I should really use it more.

Lagogeim/Turquoise Roegadyn: I wanted to make a dragoon who tied to Limsa Lominsa instead of Ishgard or even Gridania, who took the concept of Llymlaen with her harpoon and really built into the motif of pirates. So beyond evoking the sea as much as possible, I wanted to use an unnatural skin tone and hair color since people shy away from those a lot. I tried going for a harder fem look too for her--many roegadyn players embrace this angle so I decided to this time!

Eir/Blue Highlander: I’ve seen a stereotype that hyur highlanders have tall, sexy bodies but less attractive faces. I wanted to make a very short, cute looking highlander girl who isn’t the extreme end of curvy, give her a short/cute haircut that still felt strongly feminine, and pair that with a heavier, more traditionally masculine-perceived job like Warrior. I also tried to make her really, REALLY feel Ala Mhigan both in gear and color scheme/features--I drew some aspects of her coloring from Ilberd to be honest!

Asklona/Green Roegadyn: So I mentioned that a lot of people do hard fem looks for lady roegadyns very well, and I’ve seen critics go after femroes saying they have mannish bodies and ugly faces before. I disagree with that a lot, and decided in this case to go as soft and traditionally feminine as I could. I also went with the least saturated Sea Wolf color and tried playing with blushes/hair color combos to help her look a bit more natural (as opposed to blue/greenish) in this case. Another angle I went with was bard specifically to close the gap between Limsa Lominsa and Gridania, playing into siren and pirate themes since this character is a Sea Wolf. Beyond choosing green to fit with my Famfrit team in a unique way, I chose it as that bridge and because the green being a complementary color to red would make any pink hues stand out more!

Osk/Purple Viera: The stereotype I’ve seen for viera has involved them being hyper sexualized. I personally also rarely use brown hair or the color purple apparently so far as those choices go. What’s more, I wanted to make a look for the scholar job that would be a little more versatile, clearly not mistakable for any other job (healing or otherwise) and that would keep this particular character both elegant and more conservatively dressed. I didn’t want the character to feel like she’d hopped out of the woods either given that’s the most frequent angle for Viera--going a more urban direction was something I wanted to do as a contrast to that.

Nivienne/Gold Elezen: Wildwood elezen tend to be pushed with more natural skintones while Duskwights are more likely to have blue undertones that let them feel like drow. In this case I wanted to make a Wildwood elezen who, due to color combinations, felt fantasy-golden and a little otherworldly. I did a lot of designing to foil Emet-Selch in the name of fanfic lmao (use of gray and gold in different places to different degrees, height, etc.) but I also wanted to make a summoner character who, like scholar, felt extremely visually distinct from other casters. The biggest Summoner-specific look involves horns so that stayed, but for the rest I wanted there to be a flowing and mysterious feel. There was a critique I saw in the past that female casters end up looking like magical girls, so I wanted to challenge that. I also was careful with how the face and shoulders were framed to make sure that Nivienne would feel proportional, since that’s a potential risk for elezen.

Acja/Brass Viera: Another alternate take on dragoon! This time, I wanted to make a viera who tied to savanna aesthetics as a contrast to forest ones, and I did look at Sub-Saharan African fashions as influence. I couldn’t get things exact/used some “it’s Final Fantasy people wear five billion belts” artistic license (and offhand I don’t remember the exact country I used, it might have involved Ghana’s historical armor?) but I tried to match silhouettes, materials, shoes, etc. as best I could. Part of this is also that I know African visuals get used less often in video games, which is a shame because they’re incredibly gorgeous and distinct! So Acja is one design where I did try to bring that in.

Kokono/Orange Lalafell: I’ve seen people lament lack of canine race options in FFXIV and honestly, I agree with that sentiment. We have so many cats and it would have been cool to get dog options. Since it’s not an in-game thing though, I figured this was an opportunity to make the type of character instead. In this case, I used the dark nose option for lalafells and combined with pieces from the werewolf set to make a little fox! She has a few different influences to her visuals due to backstory stuff, but I do think there are ways to make more foxes and small dogs for lalafells as well as wolves for Hellsguard roegadyns.

Eshe/Yellow Au Ra: Another African-influenced design, this one tying to Ethiopian historical fashion and armor! Same rules apply though, the top goes hugely with the “it’s Final Fantasy” brand of artistic license. I know au ra are mostly associated with Othard/Eastern regions, so I decided to shift things to a different tone while trying to keep things fully immersive. I made Eshe a paladin because the swords and shields have some options that resemble African sword designs (WHICH ARE SO FUCKING COOL) and I wanted to try a different tone for paladin from the Western knight-in-shining-armor as well. I didn’t want Eshe to feel overly cutesy or innocent, but did want her to feel very graceful and strong.

Mitsu/Red Midlander: A few things hit me in combination here. First, I’d been nerfing myself to a degree with hyur midlanders when I knew there was an approach I liked. Second, I haven’t seen a lot of traditional-looking characters from Othard and I wanted to switch that up. By this I mean that looking at Far Eastern NPCs, often they are midlander hyurs with black, dark brown, or occasionally gray hair. Not a ton of dye. I love that the Warrior of Light could come from anywhere, so I tried to design someone who credibly could have been an NPC in Kugane. She’s a summoner because there is an Othard tradition of summoning, and she wears red because to my knowledge it has symbolism for good luck in both Japan and China besides being pretty. I also wanted to make a very different summoner (and general caster) visual compared to Nivienne.