#meep throwback to them!

[samuelswatts]

Something was off about Roni but... Sam couldn't put his finger on it. They hadn't seen each other in what felt like forever, that was probably it. Besides, she didn't owe him anything. If he wasn't the same person he was in high school (he thought, he hoped) then Roni might not be either. Still, he felt that old twinge to reach out to her. To hold onto her hand, crack a joke to make her smile.

Man, he had to get outta here.

That's when his phone vibrated, again. And then she said that. Sam should have known. A part of him was relived, there were far worse things Gossip Girl could have revealed about him. Then he felt guilty, again. Sam and Juliette, Sam and Roni... It had been a mess. He wasn't gonna get into this mess again.

"I don't... Me and Jul---iette aren't together, despite anything Gossip Girl has to say-," he said before adding- "I'm not with anyone and I don't want to be. I'm focused on football right now. On school. On... I don't know, a future. I don't have time for drama anymore."

samuelswatts​:

.⋆｡⋆☂˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆.

’How’s Juliette’ hit him like a freight train. Things had been nothing short of complicated between the three of them. A tangled mess of feelings and betrayal. Sam hated that he hurt Roni. And he hated that he hurt Juliette (that Juliette hurt him). That night, at the Fairchild Ball, when he and Juliette kissed had weighed down on his guilty conscious for a long time. He felt guilty about feeling guilty (and sometimes not feeling guilty). If time was supposed to heal all wounds, Sam was still waiting. “I don’t know,” he replied which wasn’t not true- “Busy, I guess. Modelling thing.”

After a pause, he raised a brow in her direction– “Are you two, ah, talking again?”

Sam smiled again when she laughed. It was nice. The implications of Veronica Ravenwood being on the Upper East Side again hadn’t hit him yet. Maybe there weren’t any, right? Everyone had moved on. (Right?) When she asked, he immediately thought about the bonfire and the scene he kinda caused at it. He opened then closed his mouth again. “Just… Training. Gotta stay in shape for next season at college. Plus my dad’s on my back about keeping up my grades as well so I’m doing some extra stuff for that too. This summer’s more work than play, y’know?” He smiled at her again- “You?”

-

Roni listened, though she knew fairly well how Juliette was doing after all she had met her before mr handsome found his way in front of her again. she was hated, and a part of her wasn’t fine with it - Juliette had no idea what happened behind the scenes, heck even Sam wasn’t aware that he was a father. Her hands moved to her stomach, where her child had been safely seated for nine months, yet she acted as if she wanted to wipe something away. Some things didn’t change. Her body did, but she worked hard to keep it back in her original shape.

“Not really.” She shook her head, they talked but they weren’t talking like they were in the past. “I’ve been busy with…things.” Coping with a severe depression for one. “But you know, I’m managing.”

She stood on her tiptoes, her heel off the ground for a second before it clicked back on the ground. “Heard you still had a thing for Jules - considering GG posted something about the two of you on her blog.” Her smile faltered. “Guess some things don’t change, huh.”

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Since the Doctor isn't Gallifreyan but still has two hearts, having two hearts is not just a Gallifreyan trait then?

Do other species have two hearts?

The Institute couldn't possibly speculate on the origins of individual Time Lords, but a binary cardiovascular system isn't exclusive to Gallifreyans—many species have two hearts.

💕 Species with Dual Hearts

Various Species in the Mutter’s Spiral: Within the Milky Way, some humanoid, monopod, and drone species naturally have binary vascular systems.

Dulcians

Apalapucians

Skale Inhabitants

The Kulan

The Kirithons: Genetically engineered to have two hearts.

The Meep

Word Lords

Earth Leeches: Although not technically hearts as humans define them, leeches have a segmented structure with regions that function similarly to two hearts.

🏫 So ...

A binary vascular system isn't exclusive to Galifreyans. It's quite rare to see a specifically two-hearted species on Earth, but out in the wide Universe, it's not so uncommon and by no means defines a Gallifreyan.

Although it is super interesting that leeches and the Yssgaroth/Vampires are both blood-suckers, and some posit the Time Lords gained their abilities through the 'Yssgaroth taint', isn't that fun?

Related:

Factoid: Could a Gallifreyan survive if they lost a heart?

What would a Human/Gallifreyan child be like?: Developmental expectations of a hybrid.

Could a Word Lord and a Time Lord loom a child together?: If Word Lords and Time Lords could reproduce, and what the result would be.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰���Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[naffeclipse]

I needed to process everything so it took a bit to get this finished. (and some personal stuff delaying it further, along with me just being slow,, sorry,, and I'm sorry these are SO LONG! I have so much to say and still there's more! Sorry for giving you comments that look like essays..)

Naff, I can’t tell you properly with just words how much I’ve enjoyed Cryptid Sightings, it’s been nearly all I’ve been thinking about since late october last year! I think you might have an idea of how obsessed I’ve been X3

Before I start with my reactions and rambling I just also wanna tell you that this ending is PERFECT, it’s such a satisfying and beautiful ending to such a wonderful and gripping story. It leaves you with more than enough to make you wonder what might happen next but still to a very satisfying degree. It sticks with you in the best way.

Alright here we go! *rubs hands together*

You still spit darkness. Occasionally, Sun reaches over to wipe away a black tear that sprung from your watery eyes.

I love how traces of the possession stays behind, reminding you of what the horrors you were put through. It’s so dark and horrifying. It also makes me think, are all of Glitchtrap really gone? Does this substance still count as part of him? A part of him that sticks to you until it’s all expelled and can dissolve, or does it stay around even after that.

Just thoughts.

A weak smile decorates Vanessa’s lips before you coax her to try and eat a chocolate granola bar you have stashed. She refuses, almost crying violet tears.

There’s more of the fluid,, also I wanna give Vanessa a hug,, I hope she’ll still be able to make her tea! :’0

The doctor becomes a little pale when she spares a glance at the robot, but you’re pretty certain Moon didn’t scare her too much.

In the end, no hospital employee tells him to leave.

Oh I’m sure he didn’t scare them too much, dude just gave them the demonic grin and eyes they give everyone that comes in the way of them and their heart, no biggie!

You can’t linger on what would have happened if you had succumbed to the vampire bite.

HEHE! WE KNOW!! >:D

I love this throwback!! I NEED to reread The Lost Episode, along with the rest of the fic!!

You return, and don a t-shirt that reads ‘Everybody gangsta ‘til the pants start walking’ with a cartoon depiction of the Fresno nightcrawlers. Moon’s grin widens. Vanessa wants to know how you keep finding shirts like that.

I wanna know too!!!! I NEED Y/N’S SHIRTS!!!!!!

She reaches up and rubs her eyes. You contemplate pulling over but she lifts her head. The wetness in her eyelashes is clear and bright.

There we go, clear tears at last. She and the rest of them still have so much to recover from, but at least they’re not haunted by the presence of Glitchtrap anymore. I’m just hoping there aren't any more traces left hiding away somewhere.

“I trust them with all my heart.” You say it simply and ardently.

aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAWAWWWAWAAWAAAAAA!!!!!!

“I would hope it’s quite obvious, little hunter.” His fingertips move to press against the small of your back. On reflex, you work your arm around his slender waist and hold on. He lightly dips you down. “But since there have been habits of missing what’s right in front of you, allow me to be perfectly clear.”

FJKGHDLSJKFGHDFJKGHADKJFGHLKÖGJÖGKLHADLFJK Way to call them out!! But aaa this is soooo cute! And I’m getting emotional from it too just AAAAAA!!

“I’m sorry, I’ve never danced with anyone before,” you admit. You feel lightheaded and connected to earth, all at once.

Moon spins you around to face him. His grin is sharp as he utters, “Good.”

KJHJKHDLKJFGHDSLLKDFJHGL “GOOD” XD

I love them, I love them so much!!

“Are you sure you want to give it to me?” you caution, unsure if you’re demanding something that is not yours.

The deep laugh, hearty and raspy, echoes from their wide jaws.

“If we had a heart, we would give it to you.”

Live Meep reaction: *Wailing and bawling on the floor* Where have they learned to talk this sweetly?!? AAAA I WANNA SQUEEZE THEM!!!!

Their first kiss saved you. You can only imagine what their second kiss will do to you.

I’m. I’m normal about the fact that their first kiss saved their life. I’m.. I’m normal. So normal…

Actually. NO.

I’m shaking you Naff!!! You made us wait until the second to last chapter until we got the first kiss! And it SAVED Y/N’S LIFE!!!!! And still you didn’t even give us a nice one with no threat looming around it until THE LAST CHAPTER!! NAFF I LOVE YOU FOR DOING THAT!!!!

Tlehoolcha! There it is! Tlehoolcha!! We’ve waited so long and here it finally is! Tlehoolcha!!! I love their beautiful name!! It’s so otherworldly and it fits them so well! I love to say it too! Thank you for helping us pronounce it correctly and letting us hear you say it with your wonderful voice ❤️

“Are you scared?” they rasp.

“No,” you whisper. “I care about you so much. It makes my heart do weird things.”

OH IF THAT AIN’T A MOOD ASJDHADFSDGJK

aaaaaaaaAA my heart!!! This melts me to the core!! I’m just,, I have so many feelings towards these two,, Them being happy together is all I wanted and here we are!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Also man I hope Vanessa will be able to get her own truck and airstream or just place soon, for her own good ya know pdjdhfhdjdj XD

Aaaaand of course, The X-Files fkngaklfdjghldfkj

The last sentence has me melting into my cushions..

Naff.

NAFF.

This ending!! AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! GOSH I WANNA HUG YOU!!!!!

A fun thing that comes with a story ending is that you can finally see it all in its full glory! I’m turning the whole of Cryptid Sightings around in my hands and looking at every detail, I’m squeezing it and shaking it like it’s a beloved stuffed animal!! I love being able to see it all through from beginning to end, it all fits together so neatly and aaaAAA I LOVE ALL OF IT!!! I’d LOVE to have a physical copy of it, I wanna hold it all in my hands!!

Lovely chapter as always!! Thank you Naff for this beautiful gem, this has been a fantastic journey and I cannot wait to see what worlds you’ll invite us to next! <3

Ah, Meep! Please don't apologize for being 'slow to read' the fic is always there when you're ready ♥ I also love essay-like comments so don't you worry about that! :D

There's so much that makes me scream in joy that you commented on, especially the little details and, hehe, the ending scene between Y/N and the boys! I'm so happy you love their name ;-; I was nervous to share my voice but I do want people to be able to pronounce it right! It's very important to me ♥

Ahhh, thank you, Meep! I am smooching you *mwah* I love and appreciate all the fanart you've created and I adore your designs of the cryptid boys, and you are such a big inspiration and supporter. Thank you, babe!

[ohfugecannada]

Glukkon Biology Headcanons

Hey guys! Sorry if I’m like, a month late on posting these, I’ve been busy with my animation coursework and general life stuff. Thanks for your patience.

Anyway, here’s… the stuff I wrote...

Back when glukkons were a more spiritually oriented society, they used to walk with their actual legs

Being shorter then an average mudokon and with long arms, they had a similar body plan to gibbons and other long-armed apes

After industrialising, thousands of years of relying too heavily on technology and having other races they enslaved do their work for them made the glukkons rapidly evolve to walk on their hands. Leaving their legs to become completely vestigial

Pre-industrial glukkons also had the ability to change their skin colour in a similar manner to octopuses and other cephalopods

They used this ability to express emotion non-verbally (sort of like the mudokons in Abe’s Exoddus) and sometimes for camouflage

Thousands of years of living underground in perpetual darkness, as well as other environmental factors such as thier industrial lifestyle and diet, have caused the colour change trait to become stunted in most of the glukkon population

Some Glukkons also had bioluminescent patterns on their skin that were only visible in darkness. Though, like the colour change, this trait has become stunted in most modern industrialised glukkons. With bioluminescence limited only to the eyes or irises

In one concept piece by Frazard, we can see glukkons have gill-like slits on their lower mouth palette. I imagine this is a leftover from their very early history when they were a more aquatic/amphibious species.

Given how most of the glukkons we’ve seen in the games so far appear to live on land or underground, it’s fair to assume these gill slits are either vestigial structures or have adapted to fit another purpose.

Another trait hinting at glukkons ancient primordial past in the water is their tongues. Which appear to be a remnant of their primordial ancestors tentacle arms, covered in octopus like suckers used for grabbing prey and, in modern glukkons, sensing taste similar to human tastebuds

Speaking of evolutionary throwbacks; the octigi-like, ocean dwelling ancestors of Glukkons were once able to spray an inky substance from glands near their mouths in order to get away from predators. While most modern glukkons have de-evolved this trait, there are some glukkons born with an adivistic condition that makes them puke ink when experiencing moments of extreme anxiety and stress.

Glukkons have always been a mostly carnivorous species. From when they swam the oceans preying on crab and clam-like creatures for food, to when they transitioned to living above water and began to hunt larger land-roaming prey.

In early glukkon civilisation, this came in the form of a Hunter gatherer-esque system where certain glukkons (mainly workers or non-breeding queens) would go out to hunt and bring back meat for their respective tribes.

Tribes that lived near costal regions also still swam and hunted fish.

(These same coastal glukkon tribes also still retained some of their amphibious traits such as being able to breathe underwater with their gills)

Glukkons later tamed herd and flock animals like meeps, only killing certain individuals when meat supplies were running low. All in all, a surprisingly sustainable diet. Until somebody during or after the schism had the bright idea of abandoning spiritual heritage, becoming an industrialist, authoritarian capitalist society, increasing consumption of oddworlds resources and killing more animals on mass then could possibly be needed for survival for the sake of profit. So yeah.

Like how certain humans have different eye or hair colours depending on thier genetics, glukkons eye structures can vary wildly in populations and individuals depending on thier genetics and certain environmental factors. Hence why some glukkons like Molluck and the other pre-soulstorm glukkons have bioluminescent eyes Better suited to subterranean darkness while the new Glukkons we see in soulstorm have eyes like nocturnal predators, with a tapetum lucidum visible in some shots of cutscenes.

And now; eggs!

Glukkon eggs are very soft and squishy, like big water ballons. The shell starts of very thick and rubbery when first laid, but slowly becomes thinner and more delicate until transparent. At which point the eggshell rips from the baby glukkons weight or their struggling in the egg, and the baby glukk slips out

To keep the eggshells from getting damaged or drying up, glukkon eggs are kept in a wet medium such as water, or a thick, watery slime like substance. In some cases, clusters of glukkon eggs are suspended in vertical walls of slime. such as the walls of eggs we see in Lady Margaret’s chambers in some concept art.

The thick, sticky slime also prevents newly hatched baby glukkons from falling to the floor below the egg walls. When a baby glukkon hatches they’re usually left suspended in the wall until someone like their mother, a guardian Angel or servant comes to fish them out and clean them up

Some baby glukkons have the habit of using their hands to touch or grab objects or people. Worker or drone glukkons using their hands for anything other than walking or pushing pedals is heavily frowned upon in glukkon society, and such behaviours are usually “corrected” very early on in worker glukkon’s life

glukkon foetuses have almost completely translucent skin while in the egg. It’s not until they hatch from their egg and take their first few breaths that a baby glukkon’s skin begins to take on colouration. At first through freckle like pigment spots on their face and chest that slowly grow larger and expand to the rest of their bodies

There are several genetic and environmental factors that can determine a glukkon’s skin colour, but generally, most industrial glukkons take on a muted or pale skin tone

When it comes to the glukkons born from Lady Margaret, she ascribes to the belief of “survival of the fittest”. she is incredibly strict with which of her eggs are allowed to hatch. Even going as far as to inspect each one herself. If a glukkon foetus’s physical characteristics don’t measure up to her standards of “perfection”, she crushes the egg and throws it in the garbage. (This headcanon I borrowed from the youtuber Frouch Marx and his lore/speculation video on Lady Margaret, which seems to have unfortunately been taken down along with the other videos on his channel for whatever reason…)

Of corse, being a ruler queen as well as a breeding queen, Margret is likely too busy with other royal duties to practice eugenics on her unborn offspring. So most of the time, she leaves the egg inspections to her personal Guardian Angel unit, who Margret has had programmed to watch over and protect the “perfect” eggs and terminate any “undesirables” while she tends to other business

Due to the fact Lady Margret can be seen smoking, holding a cigarette between her fingers or with tobacco stains on her mouth and fingers in many pieces of concept art, It can be inferred that many of the glukkons we see smoking in the series like Molluck (and other glukkons in the old quintology who may presumably be her children like Dripik, phleg etc), inherited their smoking habit from her

Also, as you can imagine, Margaret’s habit of smoking while pregnant doesn’t exactly have the best effect on her young and their development

It is not uncommon for Margret’s eggs to be laid/hatch prematurely or even for eggs to miscarry or hatchlings to be still born

Even when Margret’s hatchlings do survive to term, often times they are born severely underweight, suffer respiratory problems and a myriad of other health complications in their early lives

Cleft lip is also a common condition in foetuses laid by lady Margaret. Of corse, she makes sure eggs containing such foetuses never have the chance to hatch on her watch

Like mudokon litters, each glukkon litter is nursed by thier mother queen for the first few weeks of thier lives (usually kept in special pouches under her robes), after which time they’re each separated and taken to be raised by a foster parent. For glukkon workers, this is either in the form of one of their much older siblings or cousins acting as their legal guardian or, in rarer cases for a glukkon, a foster slig.

Similar to mudokons and sligs, glukkons are a eusocial race that can be sorted into three main castes: workers, queens and drones

Workers are, so far, the caste we’ve seen the most of in the games. They are the sexless (and, usually, aromantic and asexual) caste that in glukkon society are mainly placed in roles as bosses to lower ranking slave species like Sligs and mudokons. The ones that run the factories

According to some height charts and what can be inferred from their game appearances, an average glukkon worker’s adult height ranges from around 7 to 10 feet tall

Queens, along with drones, are the ones that do all the breeding. Along with laying all the eggs that provide the glukkon population, many queens also hold powerful positions in glukkon society as politicians and rulers similar to royal monarchs of earth nations

Queens are probably the largest of the three glukkon castes. Even before developing into breeding queens, most adult glukkon queens can grow to around 10 or 12 feet tall

There are historical accounts of some breeding queens being even larger then that. With some individuals being described as 50 or even 100 feet tall. It’s not clear if there is any truth in these accounts, or if they were fabricated claims, designed as propaganda by the glukkons writing them to make their respective queens seem more powerful and godlike then they actually were in life…

Glukkon drones are the males. While most of them are born into high society and financial wealth, (and maintain it as such or gain it through marring a queen) its extremely rare for glukkon drones to hold anywhere near as much power or influence in glukkon society as their queen counterparts or even some glukkon workers.

By contrast to queens and workers, I imagine Glukkon drones being pretty short. Especially when compared to queens. Much like the Argonaut octopus, who’s males are 600 times smaller then the females

While the size difference isn’t quite as extreme as that, glukkon drones are still the smallest of the glukkon castes. With the tallest adult drones usually only being about 7 feet tall at most and the average drone being just taller then a regular mudokon worker by a few inches

There also appears to be a form of sexual dimorphism with queens and worker males when it comes to the shape of their heads. With workers (and possibly drones) having pointy, upward facing, ovular shape to the backs of their heads while queens have a flatter, circular shape to theirs.

This possible dimorphism also appears to extend to other members of the octigi family such as the Gloktigi, as seen with Lady Margaret’s personal Gloktigi bodyguards (which would make sense, given how Gloktigi are hybrids of Octigi and Glukkons and would likely carry traits like this from thier glukkon side)

Of corse, much like physical sex characteristics and classification in the real world, such things are never as quite clear cut as this. There are plenty of glukkon queens are same size as a worker or as small as drones, workers who are as short as drones or almost as tall as queens or drones that are as tall as workers.

Head shapes can also very wildly in individuals and say next to nothing about their caste. There are Glukkon workers who have flatter or rounder heads and some queens who have pointier, ovular heads etc

In truth, the constructs of castes in glukkons, even in the physical or biological sense, are far more complicated then the idea of the trinity glukkons have been led by their own society to believe

Much like certain Mudokons, some glukkons aren’t fully fixed to the castes and caste roles that were assigned to them at infancy

For instance, there are workers who are able to develop strong emotional or romantic attraction to someone, queens or drones who were assigned as such at hatching yet feel no sexual or romantic attraction to anyone, queens who were drones or workers at hatching but realised later in their lives this label didn’t reflect who they are, among so, so many others…

Most notably, although it is rare within the glukkon cartels, there are some cases of glukkon workers, in a similar case to certain mudokon workers changing from workers to drones, changing caste from worker to queen

Very little is known by industrial scientists of what causes this metamorphosis, and not much research is dedicated to dormant glukkon queens compared to dormant mudokon drones. As the phenomena is much less frequently occurring (or more accurately, only appears to be)

It’s likely that the strict, antisocial environments and extremely wealth-beaded social hierarchy system that encourages glukkon individuals to act in their own self interest and become more socially isolated are one factor that disrupts whatever biological systems create a self sustaining number of queens

There’s the possibility as well that certain drugs provided to glukkon breeding queens to lesson the pain or exhaustion caused by the egg laying process (among some individual queens other habits and addictions, such as Lady Margaret’s aforementioned smoking problem) have a negative effect on their offspring’s fertility

- Though this varies from cartel to cartel, one other reason for the rarity of dormant queens is them being highly persecuted against by their cartel, due to their respective ruling queens either seeing them as a threat because: A) they believe dormant queens are unneeded competition in thier already competitive struggle for power and inheritance in thier respective royal families, B) some ruling queens believe if any workers were to think they could just abandon their assigned caste roles, it could very well lead to the ruling queens losing the hold they had over the workers that keep them in power, and/or C) some ruling queens see dormant queens as unworthy of being queens, in either the ruling or breeding sense. Believing their status as former workers makes them, and any possible offspring they may have, ““impure””

- As a result of this, some cartels purposefully try to snuff out any dormant queens in their work force. While there are more strict rules about straight up murdering glukkons compared to killing mudokons or Sligs, cartels have other means of suppressing or controlling dormant queens, such as through threat or blackmail, blacklisting, or far worse such as chemical castration or forced sterilisation

Because of this, many dormant queens either remain deeply closeted their entire lives, try in vein to have who they are ““cured””, or, in some tragic cases, take their own lives…

- Of corse, it wasn’t always like this. It wasn’t always the case glukkons were so cruel even to their own queens. There was a time back in glukkon civilisations past where dormant queens aren’t seen as anything unusual, let alone seen as a threat or something to be abhorred. Dormant queens weren’t just accepted, Dormant queens just… were. Some glukkon tribes even hand special cultures coming of age rites and constructed tests for glukkons to transition from worker to Queen properly. Though, much like so, so much of glukkons deep spiritual heritage, these practices of unambiguous acceptance towards dormant queens were purposefully erased by future glukkon historians, and lost to the sands of time…

Now, the best case scenario for a dormant Queen would be escape to and live in the very fringes of industrial civilisation. A bittersweet existence where they could exist as they are and nobody could hurt them… but they’d be completely alone…

…unless, of corse, there’s someone just like them who had the same idea of running off to save themselves.

…maybe they aren’t as alone as either of them thought…

(Sorry if the end but feels a bit sloppy/rushed, I just wanted to get this done already and not keep you guys waiting lol)

@magicalgrimm @boopwyrm

[polar-stars]

Hi! I dunno if this was already obvious, but I LOVED WHAT YOU DID FOR THE TRAINING CAMP SOOOO MUCH!! So I wanted to ask, what was your thought process for coming up with the challenges and characters who would feature in them, particularly the first and second ones? Love you :3

ahhaaaahhhhhhhhHHHHHHH //lies down//

I- I am so glad you enjoyed it ;w; Especially since it’s your favorite arc in canon, it makes me happy to hear I did a well a job on it. Because I was a little unsure if I did do it justice haha ovo;;;

I don’t know if I can reconstruct the entirety of my thought-processces throughout writing the arc, but I’ll try:

Regarding the alumni I chose: a lot of Shokugeki Fanfics that take place in the future and tackle a future Trainings Camp like to have the entirety of the 92nd Generation (+ even some of the senpais) show up at it. I don’t really want to let the canon characters enter all at once in SnKimiko but rather let them drop in one by one until a much later arc (2nd year) where the adults get a bit more relevance in general. Not a lot but a bit. I did end up going for Takumi and Ikumi, because Takumi was introduced in Trainings Camp and I thought that would be a nice throwback. The other alumni were also there mostly for throwback reasons, plus I wanted to introduce the admiration that Kimiko has for Kojiro Shinomiya actually meep (as well as that little Mini-Plottwist ahdh). Rui and Shigemichi got chosen rather spontaneously but I wanted someone from the 91st or 90th Generation there (because I thought it wouldn’t make sense if it’s constantly just the 92nd Generation that gets to do all the stuff) but thought it was way too soon to get the former Elites there. Adding to that, I just like Rui quite a lot 😌. Lastly, there’s Akari Miyano who’s pretty much the Easter Egg within Trainings Camp. I don’t know if I got it across well enough but who she actually is, but well she’s not a fanmade character by me but an actual canon character from Shokugeki. She’s a One-Off in Shokugeki though and not really a name that I think is present to anyone. 

I chose Rui as first examiner because she’s a character I was always curious about and I wanted to attempt getting some more character into her. Additionally it presented me with a good opportunity to introduce her most precious son. 

Mika and Hiroshi got added to echo Takumi’s and Isami’s introduction, but I wanted to handle things a tad bit differently considering that, different to their dads, the two were already formally introduced beforehand anyway. I wanted to make Kimiko’s and Mika’s rivalry an aspect. But once again, Mika had already more time to sink in as character than Takumi did and she already loudly declared herself as Kimiko’s rival...usually with not much acknowledging from Kimiko. So in the end, I decided that the first day of Trainings Camp would be a great opportunity to have Kimiko truly realize Mika’s capability of standing toe-to-toe with her. To not just have them face off against each other so early, I thought about the whole Itsuki-situation and how Kimiko first focuses on someone else. 

Regarding the challenge with the colors of ingredients, that’s just something that came to me some morning if I remember correctly. I wanted to do something that does involve a sort-off limitation and giving the students a limit through the ingredients they can use was an idea. I then thought I should add one color that has a wide array of ingredients going for it making it the more easier choice, that being yellow (lemons, bananas, potatoes, corn ...etc.) and one color with not a lot of ingredients going for it making that one the more harder challenge to work with, that being blue. At the same time, mixing these two gives green which is another color with a wide array of ingredients (spinach, green apples, salad, pears etc.) This challenge is also supposed to showcase that both Kimiko and Mika have quite the creativity going for them while also putting them on even level, with Kimiko being able to craft a good dish out of the color that is the hardest challenge while Mika is the only one to come up with the idea to mix the two colors presented to her. 

When it comes to the 2nd challenge, that majorly started out with me wanting to introduce Kazuo. I wanted to get his introduction done in Trainings Camp because I wanted him being introduced before his sister Ran. Ran will actually get her introduction insanely soon and she’ll also become pretty active rather soon as well. So yeah, I had to get Kazuo into Trainings Camp somehow. Somewhere along the lines, I got the idea of having him team up with Kimiko while also adding Takayuki to it. Takayuki was added for three reasons: simple reoccurrence as a character, he’s with Kazuo most of the time anyway, I thought it would be fun having him team up with Kimiko as well given that they last met as opponents. Another good factor that actually dawned to me a little bit later is that all three characters have older siblings in the Elite Ten and that fact often being pointed out to them by other students. 

Given Itsuki’s introduction on Day one already, I also thought this would be a nice opportunity to hint more onto a certain antagonist by also getting Emi into the spectacle, as a slight fun challenge on the side but also as a means to introduce the “Mafia”. 

Akari Miyano’s role in Trainings Camp was something I had already thought up ever since 2016 and I thought inserting her and the plan I had for her here would be perfect. Again, she’s much of a little Easter Egg.

I don’t really remember anymore how I came up with the challenge that is presented to the trio, but I think it does have something to do with the topic of harmony in a sense. And harmony is what our trio struggles with at first, so I thought it would be a good challenge. 

Regarding how things played out in the end, that just mainly came to me in the flow while writing the thing actually: The main dish task falling onto Kazuo who has the most eccentric style of cooking out of the three and that being something that Kimiko is at first doubtful about, additionally making him cook Mika’s dish (and Mika only cooked one thing yet which was a main dish) got me to introduce his heavy crush on her; Takayuki making too extravagant appetizers because he so badly wanted to the main dish; them being sabotaged by one of the Mafia’s member but not by Akiko (despite the one hint that she’d be the one to do so in the beginning); that finally leading to them working together; Takayuki’s first mistake of making too filling appetizers turning out well in the end while Kimiko’s everlasting creativity leads to her helping out Kazuo....that just all kind off came naturally to me while writing ;w;

When it comes to the Breakfast Challenge, I quickly decided I want Kaori to shine there. She already shone on the lines on Day 1, when she impressed Takumi, but I wanted her to shine in front of Kimiko, giving that the two will have a rivalry as well. In contrast to Kimiko’s and Mika’s rivalry which is similar to Soma’s and Takumi’s in which both parties are basically equal in skill; Kimiko’s and Kaori’s rivalry is much like Soma’s and Akira’s in which one of the two legit outdos the other one at that point in time. I also figured that the Breakfast Challenge is just perfect for Kaori, as her main gimmick is to energize people which is something that people look for in a breakfast in the early morning and while she does not have her father’s sense of smell, she does still have a good understanding on the utilization of fragrance which therefore gives her a large advantage on drawing customers to her stand. 

Sorry for getting so rambly ;w; I hope it wasn’t all too much all over the place (it probably was) and that I worded things at least a little decently....meep. 

But thank you so much for the question and the interest. I am super glad you enjoyed Trainings Camp so much!

Love ya too Emi ;w; !!

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Comic #9 (2017) - Outline & Review

The ninth installment of the 2017 comic series for Steven Universe is about Steven, Peridot, and Lapis taking art lessons with Vidalia (featuring Amethyst as a model). The paper issue I own has the cover by Missy Peña!

Plot: 

Steven proudly shows off his art to Amethyst, but while trying to praise him she accidentally insults him by misinterpreting his drawing. 

She offers to bring him to her good old artist friend Vidalia for art lessons, and he decides it'll be more fun with more students. So he invites Lapis and Peridot, who attend grudgingly, suggesting their superiority with meep morps means they can't possibly learn from Vidalia. 

Amethyst provides poses while the students try sketches. Vidalia gives feedback. Steven takes the advice to heart, while Lapis is a little nervous about getting "you're too loose" feedback and doesn't want to be more controlling, and Peridot believes she is above criticism so Vidalia just leaves her to it. Lapis and Peridot are annoyed with each other after Peridot thinks she's better at art and Lapis's art becomes fancier when she adds water to apply the paint.

The Gems try paint, but Peridot's splash ruins Lapis's painting. They begin to bicker and fight, water powers versus metal powers, and Steven's art gets ruined. Eventually the characters have to acknowledge that their fighting is destructive and competing with each other doesn't lead to better art. They fix Steven's art and decide to keep working on their art.

This was one of the best comic issues! Every character was so themselves--I love how well the writers know these fictional folks. The art was also very on-model and everyone's expressions were on target. (Though there were a few talk bubbles that didn't have tails to show who was talking when it mattered, which was weird.) You can practically hear them talking. It's great. Notable bits for fans: 1. Vidalia's an adorable mom, and it was nice to see her without the episode focusing on her kids to be honest. She kind of mommed Steven, giving him the right kind of supportive advice for his art, and it was perfect.

2. Amethyst's wearing her sleeveless purple top with a drooping shoulder strap and her black pants with stars cut out. This is a throwback outfit from before she reformed in "Reformed," and she's also reformed since then in "Crack the Whip." Interesting that they went back to that outfit for the art, especially since Lapis and Peridot doing meep morps should indicate a later outfit for Amethyst. (Meep morps were revealed in "Beta," which is a good forty-plus episodes after "Reformed.") 

3. Amethyst reprising her role as model for Vidalia (well, her students) is cute. She also wears the outfit she wore to model for Pearl and Peridot's robot war in "Back to the Barn," but with a ponytail!

4. Vidalia's art advice is actually really good?

5. The characters' execution of their art styles, as well as the description of what they need to focus on to improve, was really accurate.

6. Peridot: "Wow thanks for the praise!" Hahaha. 7. Vidalia tells Lapis that her drawings are very loose and flowy, but are also hesitant and directionless. She encourages her to be more confident and Lapis resists applying more control, because that's always been disaster in her life. I love that this is in here for people who watch the show to understand what she means when she's reluctant. She's also disappointed that she got constructive criticism that she took to heart while Peridot just brags about already being an expert, so it's very Lapis-like for her to internalize the negative. 8. Steven likes painting and experimenting with color, but painting Amethyst, he's mostly just using purple. It's adorable.

9. Peridot still has no idea what subtlety is and I love it.

10. It's really nice that the characters were able to work out their differences without Steven specifically sitting there coaching them through their resolution. I wonder how much Lapis and Peridot fight at the barn?

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[myqueenmarceline]

Hugs and hellos

In honour of @polyshippingday​ of this month have some lapamedot. This is a throwback to when Steven and the gang got back from the human zoo events. Here's a bunch of fluff about Amethyst reuniting with her two lovers cause I'm a sucker for sap.

Amethyst walked up to the barn hesitantly, wondering if anyone was home. She'd forgotten her phone, and Steven had told her that Lapis and Peridot had already headed back to the barn when she'd woken up from her nap. After all the events she'd been through, she thought they all deserved a good rest (although the others seemed loathe to waste the day sleeping like she had).

She wondered if Steven had told them anything about what happened. She was excited about finding the famethyst, but she wasn't sure how Peridot and Lapis would take it. She was hoping Peridot could find some way for them to speak with each other, but she didn't know.

She didn't have to wait long to find out. Peridot bustled outside right as she was about to knock on the door, dragging the metallic skeleton of her latest meep-morp out into the grassy field.

Amethyst moved to the side, standing next to the door and waiting for Peridot to notice her. She smiled as she saw Peridot's focused determination, despite the fact that the thing was about three times bigger than her.

Peridot huffed, stretching a little as she turned around. Amethyst smiled, giving a little wave.

For a good 5 seconds, Peridot gaped at her, before her face split into a wide grin. She had tackled Amethyst into a hug before the other gem could blink, burying her face into the place next to Amethyst's gem.

"Heeeey P-dot. Long time no see. Where's Lappy?" Amethyst asked, hugging her back.

"Oh my stars Amethyst you're here! I knew you were back, obviously, but I figured you had to write a report or something. I think Lazuli went down to the stream to experiment with water techniques for meep-morps but I'm not sure-she'll went to know you're back." Peridot said, wheeling around and moving away a bit so she wouldn't hurt Amethyst's ears.

"LAPIS SHE'S BACK!!!" Peridot hollered, quickly returning back to hugging Amethyst. She let out a small happy sound as Amethyst kissed her cheek, flushing a little.

About thirty seconds later, they could hear the sound of massive wings flapping towards them.

"Hey. How was the trip?" Lapis asked, her wings retracting as she landed next to Amethyst. She came up behind Amethyst, wrapping an arm around her and Peridot's shoulders. Amethyst tilted her head back expectantly, smiling widely as Lapis leaned down a little and gave her a kiss.

"It was great! Greg is back home, and I actually got to meet the other Amethysts from my kindergarten. They're working there now! How crazy is that?" she said, bouncing a little in excitement.

"There are more of you?" Peridot asked, her eyes wide. Amethyst chuckled at her star-struck expression, ruffling her hair a little. She hadn't seen any other gems in awhile-and hadn't worked very much with Amethysts even before that-but if she got along with them as well as she did with her girlfriend, things would be amazing.

"Well, all of them are bigger than me, but yeah. I think you'd like 8XJ, she's the Amethyst above me. And there were even some from the Beta Kindergarten, like Carnelian. She's tiny. Well, not as short as me but still, compared to the others she's pretty small. I left my phone back at the house, but I can show you the selfie we took later." Amethyst said, nearly going cross eyed as she tried to maintain eye contact with both of her girlfriends while talking. "So, how was it while I was gone? Was it easy take over our incredibly brave and heroic sto protect Beach City?" she joked.

"We stayed in the house. It was nice." Lapis said quickly, making sure she could get her two cents in before Peridot launched into the retelling of their adventures. She loved how animated her girlfriend was, but she had a tendency to go on for a long time, with neither of the other two gems able to bear interrupting her. She was just too cute when she got excited about something.

"Why not the temple? It's much bigger, and it's got some sweet beanbag chairs." Amethyst asked.

"Well, we... uh..." Peridot was abruptly quiet, blushing a little embarrassment as she found something very interesting to look at on the ground.

"We couldn't open the door." Lapis finished, shrugging. "None of the gems in the door were ours."

"Oh yeaaaaaah that's right. Man, I'm sorry. Hey, whaddaya say I make it up to you with a sleepover? We can continue catching up in the best part of the house: my room." Amethyst said, winking at them.

Peridot had the decency to look embarrassed while Lapis just looked at her with a knowing smirk.

"That sounds great babe. I'll go get my stuff." Lapis said, her hand lingering around Amethyst's waist for a second longer before she headed into the barn.

"What about you Peri? You wanna come with us?" Amethyst asked, turning her full attention to the green gem. She gave her most charming smile, leaning in and nuzzling her forehead against Peridot's gem, savouring the hitch in her breath.

"I..." Peridot gulped, collecting herself. "Of course, I'd love that."

"Great. You should go get any stuff you need." Amethyst said, moving to the side a little and gesturing the entrance. She was pleasantly surprised when Peridot leaned in once again, giving her a quick peck on the lips before racing inside.

"She's adorable." Amethyst said mostly to herself, jumping a little as she felt someone come up behind her and kiss her neck.

"Yeah." Lapis said. After a moment, she spoke again, almost to quietly for Amethyst to hear. "Missed you. Glad you're back."

"Mhm. We definitely won't be doing that again for awhile." Amethyst replied, knowing that Lapis wouldn't want her to make a big deal out of this. One hand reached up, cupping Lapis' jaw and pulling her in for a slow, reassuring kiss.

She turned around, standing up on her tiptoes and resting her hands on Lapis' shoulders as things got a little more heated. She really had missed Lapis, and

"A-HEM." Peridot coughed from behind them, waiting. After another moment, she sighed. "That was a fake cough. Come on, let's get going."

Before Amethyst could give a snarky reply, Lapis put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Come here and we'll go." Lapis said, holding out a hand to Peridot and winking.

Peridot mumbled something, letting Lapis pull her close, wrapping a firm arm around each of her girlfriend's waists. She smiled, kissing Peridot's adorable little pout as she re-materialized her wings.

With a flap and a skip they were off, flying away towards the sunset and back to Beach City.

End

[myqueenmarceline]

Hugs and hellos

In honour of @polyshippingday​ of this month have some lapamedot. This is a throwback to when Steven and the gang got back from the human zoo events. Here's a bunch of fluff about Amethyst reuniting with her two lovers cause I'm a sucker for sap.

Amethyst walked up to the barn hesitantly, wondering if anyone was home. She'd forgotten her phone, and Steven had told her that Lapis and Peridot had already headed back to the barn when she'd woken up from her nap. After all the events she'd been through, she thought they all deserved a good rest (although the others seemed loathe to waste the day sleeping like she had).

She wondered if Steven had told them anything about what happened. She was excited about finding the famethyst, but she wasn't sure how Peridot and Lapis would take it. She was hoping Peridot could find some way for them to speak with each other, but she didn't know.

She didn't have to wait long to find out. Peridot bustled outside right as she was about to knock on the door, dragging the metallic skeleton of her latest meep-morp out into the grassy field.

Amethyst moved to the side, standing next to the door and waiting for Peridot to notice her. She smiled as she saw Peridot's focused determination, despite the fact that the thing was about three times bigger than her.

Peridot huffed, stretching a little as she turned around. Amethyst smiled, giving a little wave.

For a good 5 seconds, Peridot gaped at her, before her face split into a wide grin. She had tackled Amethyst into a hug before the other gem could blink, burying her face into the place next to Amethyst's gem.

"Heeeey P-dot. Long time no see. Where's Lappy?" Amethyst asked, hugging her back.

"Oh my stars Amethyst you're here! I knew you were back, obviously, but I figured you had to write a report or something. I think Lazuli went down to the stream to experiment with water techniques for meep-morps but I'm not sure-she'll went to know you're back." Peridot said, wheeling around and moving away a bit so she wouldn't hurt Amethyst's ears.

"LAPIS SHE'S BACK!!!" Peridot hollered, quickly returning back to hugging Amethyst. She let out a small happy sound as Amethyst kissed her cheek, flushing a little.

About thirty seconds later, they could hear the sound of massive wings flapping towards them.

"Hey. How was the trip?" Lapis asked, her wings retracting as she landed next to Amethyst. She came up behind Amethyst, wrapping an arm around her and Peridot's shoulders. Amethyst tilted her head back expectantly, smiling widely as Lapis leaned down a little and gave her a kiss.

"It was great! Greg is back home, and I actually got to meet the other Amethysts from my kindergarten. They're working there now! How crazy is that?" she said, bouncing a little in excitement.

"There are more of you?" Peridot asked, her eyes wide. Amethyst chuckled at her star-struck expression, ruffling her hair a little. She hadn't seen any other gems in awhile-and hadn't worked very much with Amethysts even before that-but if she got along with them as well as she did with her girlfriend, things would be amazing.

"Well, all of them are bigger than me, but yeah. I think you'd like 8XJ, she's the Amethyst above me. And there were even some from the Beta Kindergarten, like Carnelian. She's tiny. Well, not as short as me but still, compared to the others she's pretty small. I left my phone back at the house, but I can show you the selfie we took later." Amethyst said, nearly going cross eyed as she tried to maintain eye contact with both of her girlfriends while talking. "So, how was it while I was gone? Was it easy take over our incredibly brave and heroic sto protect Beach City?" she joked.

"We stayed in the house. It was nice." Lapis said quickly, making sure she could get her two cents in before Peridot launched into the retelling of their adventures. She loved how animated her girlfriend was, but she had a tendency to go on for a long time, with neither of the other two gems able to bear interrupting her. She was just too cute when she got excited about something.

"Why not the temple? It's much bigger, and it's got some sweet beanbag chairs." Amethyst asked.

"Well, we... uh..." Peridot was abruptly quiet, blushing a little embarrassment as she found something very interesting to look at on the ground.

"We couldn't open the door." Lapis finished, shrugging. "None of the gems in the door were ours."

"Oh yeaaaaaah that's right. Man, I'm sorry. Hey, whaddaya say I make it up to you with a sleepover? We can continue catching up in the best part of the house: my room." Amethyst said, winking at them.

Peridot had the decency to look embarrassed while Lapis just looked at her with a knowing smirk.

"That sounds great babe. I'll go get my stuff." Lapis said, her hand lingering around Amethyst's waist for a second longer before she headed into the barn.

"What about you Peri? You wanna come with us?" Amethyst asked, turning her full attention to the green gem. She gave her most charming smile, leaning in and nuzzling her forehead against Peridot's gem, savouring the hitch in her breath.

"I..." Peridot gulped, collecting herself. "Of course, I'd love that."

"Great. You should go get any stuff you need." Amethyst said, moving to the side a little and gesturing the entrance. She was pleasantly surprised when Peridot leaned in once again, giving her a quick peck on the lips before racing inside.

"She's adorable." Amethyst said mostly to herself, jumping a little as she felt someone come up behind her and kiss her neck.

"Yeah." Lapis said. After a moment, she spoke again, almost to quietly for Amethyst to hear. "Missed you. Glad you're back."

"Mhm. We definitely won't be doing that again for awhile." Amethyst replied, knowing that Lapis wouldn't want her to make a big deal out of this. One hand reached up, cupping Lapis' jaw and pulling her in for a slow, reassuring kiss.

She turned around, standing up on her tiptoes and resting her hands on Lapis' shoulders as things got a little more heated. She really had missed Lapis, and

"A-HEM." Peridot coughed from behind them, waiting. After another moment, she sighed. "That was a fake cough. Come on, let's get going."

Before Amethyst could give a snarky reply, Lapis put a hand over her mouth. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Come here and we'll go." Lapis said, holding out a hand to Peridot and winking.

Peridot mumbled something, letting Lapis pull her close, wrapping a firm arm around each of her girlfriend's waists. She smiled, kissing Peridot's adorable little pout as she re-materialized her wings.

With a flap and a skip they were off, flying away towards the sunset and back to Beach City.

End