#morphe fluidity

[yestrnight]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ POCKET SLIME ! 

FROM: kaveh, alhaitham / gn! slime! reader

SUBJECT: you used to be a docile, little thing. a blob of extraordinary cuteness that just follows them around wherever they go. but how in the world did the pet slime they took in turn to be some sort of cum-hungry demon?

( this shit reads like a doujinshi, so don’t even bother using braincells; feels like im committing some sort of crime against the cute widdle slimes of genshin; unhygienic slime usage; reader has a diçk AND a pússy, reader also has a humanoid form don't worry; best of both worlds; urethra play (kaveh); dubcon; nipple play (alhaitham), throat fucking (haitham); they’re ALL on their receiving end; ahégao; )

✧.*  KAVEH 

KAVEH who takes you in while you were plopping sadly around in the rain, sad little rumbles and bleps from your jelly body. he’s not so heartless that he’d kill some poor slime who doesn’t even have any interest in attacking him, only nudging its pudgy body against his shoes and looking pleadingly at him.

he likes to watch you eat the treats he brings home. it’s a stress reliever to see you munch on some sumeru roses he brought home, and he pats your blob figure fondly while you squeal in delight at his treats. you’re not a very picky eater, he finds out, but you’re more delighted whenever he feeds you something with elemental energy. once he learns of this, he brings home more and more elemental energy stuff, just to be on the receiving end of your cute lil snuggies.

KAVEH who lets you sit on his head whenever he’s working on his projects. while he sketches and measures, your cool jiggly body feels so comforting on his hair. sometimes he even falls asleep with you on him, and you slowly make your way to his cheek so you can protect him from the hard wood of his desk.

he genuinely brought you in because he thought you were cute, nothing more than that. he’s gotten fonder of you ever since the days pass by, and you thought of him the same. however…

KAVEH who wakes up to something warm and gooey sucking on him down there. as he squirms under the blankets, tiny little moans and whines escape his pretty little lips. the pink blush on his cheeks seems to brighten when he slowly opens his bleary eyes and sees his adorable slime sucking on the tip of his pretty cock. imagine the shock of seeing the pet he was so fond of doing nasty things to him!

“nnh–! [y-your name]! what are you– ahh ♡!” he tries his best to cover up and pull you away, but with no such luck. in fact, you suck even harder, the wet noises of his cum and your squishy body echoing throughout the room. you suck even harder, and the pleasure makes kaveh’s body jilt and shake every rhythm and pulse.

“angh… t- too much…!” he sobs and pushes you away, but his hands only sink into the slime. it’s only around this time he suddenly realizes the slow expansion of your blob body, slowly morphing into something familiar… something humanoid… something… cuter.

your wobbly smile looks so innocent even as you tongue the veins across his dick, and it sends blood to his head until he feels like he’ll pass out from a nosebleed. you gurgle something that sounds faintly like ‘master’ and ‘kaveh’... and gods does that make his dick hard.

“a s-slime turning into a human?” he gasps, sitting himself. “i must be going– ngH! c-crazyYY ♡ stop! s-stop!” using the dexterity and fluidity of a slime, your tongue compresses into something thinner. you ooze your way in into his urethra, the slimy thing bumping against the edges and leaves his toes curling and fingers gripping the sheets.

“ughk, mmh~!” he throws his head back, dick humping into your slimy mouth. “m-more ♡ k-keep going~! agh, ah, ah~!” your delighted gurgle sounds faint in his ringing ears, but he still manages to smile fondly. “g- good slime ♡ s-sucking on your master’s dick so h-ha-hARD! fuck!” he hisses when your tongue presses against his prostate. he pats your hair with one shaky hand and you nuzzle into it. “so ♡ cute ♡ you got even cuter ♡”

“‘m gonna blow! [your name]! ggh [your name]!” he whines and desperately grasps on the hair-like jelly. “s-slow down~♡! gh, nwah!” he wants to attribute your lack of understanding to your inability of comprehending human languages, but he swears he sees the shadow of a devilish smirk on your cute face before you griiiind your tongue right against his prostate.

as his climax hits him, KAVEH’s eyes roll and his back arches into the air as he shoots his seed into your mouth. the tears blur his vision, but he can see his white seed spurt into the jelly. satisfied with your meal, you finally pull out your tongue– getting some pretty screams from your master at the added simulation– and his body falls limp. you smile and giggle at him, kissing away the tears from his eyes, and slumping your cool body against him. 

“th– thanks, [your name],” he smiles at you, kissing you briefly before sleep takes him away again. “do that for me again, ‘kay?”

✧.*  AL-HAITHAM

HAITHAM who is skeptical of the slime his fool of a roommate brought home. he raised an eyebrow when kaveh came home wet with a pudgy slime in his hands. “you know that can dissolve you, right?” he points out, ever the smartass. 

kaveh snaps back. “of course i know, idiot. but look at them! don’t you feel bad for them?” he raises you high and you give a warbly greeting, but alhaitham is far from impressed. his dramatic roommate rolls his eyes at him and kaveh carefully tucks you away. “let’s go, [your name]! this callous idiot isn’t worth your time!”

HAITHAM who didn’t pay you much attention, only ever seeing you while you drape off kaveh’s head when he enters for breakfast. you were well-behaved for a slime, anyway, so he shouldn’t concern himself much with you. but his interest is piqued when one day he hears devilish noises from kaveh’s room, sounds of slurping and sucking while kaveh whines pathetically muffled behind the door. clearly, it’s not kaveh doing the sucking and slurping, but…

HAITHAM who sees you again the next day at breakfast, draping off kaveh’s head as usual. he greets kaveh with his usual coolness, but kaveh, for lack of a proper word, looks completely fucked out. his legs shake as he pulls his chair, and when their hands touch while reaching for the food, he pulls back with a lip-bitten yelp. all the while, you garble incomprehensibly on him.

yeah, no. his roommate is definitely fucking his pet slime. haitham’s not chatty, but he’s got a million words for how fucked up the entire situation is. once kaveh is out of the house, he corners poor little you and stares down into your vacant little slime eyes. he won’t admit that he actually cares for his… once friend, so getting rid of the thing that has tempted him into immoral acts will be the best next thing.

“mm- mmgh?!” haitham doesn’t know how he ended up like this, gagged and bound by your slimy tendrils. while he tries to break free, he stares in astonishment as the blob slowly expands. the torso starts first, before extending into limbs, until the head takes shape and a very, very pretty smile is smiling innocently into haitham’s face. 

“☆♡♡?” your gurgles continue to be incomprehensible, despite the humanoid form. slowly, your cool hand caresses his face, holding his chin while your tendrils lift him ever so slightly up the ground. you kiss him, like how a lover would, the slightest bit of tongue swiping over his lips, but then you pull away— and he catches the devilish smirk before you lean in again and start fucking his mouth.

he thrashes in your slimy hold, slipping away only for the slime to thicken and tighten their hold on him. he glares at you with look of indignation as he tries his best to keep his mouth shut, only for you to slip your tongue between his lips and curl around his tongue. he shakes as you bring him closer to you so you can properly fuck him in his throat. you curiously watch as he gags and splutters on the length of the tendril, his glare never ceasing even though he looks like a proper slut with that dark red blush on him.

replacing your pseudo tongue for another tendril, you pull away from his face and eye his thin shirt. your curious hands roam over the expanse of his chest, and you delight in the softness of his pecs. feeling a bit too eager to get your hands under his shirt, you dissolve the cloth away and quickly reach up to rub his two pretty nipples. you roll them around in your fingers, giving each one a tight squeeze before going back to massaging them. 

HAITHAM, behind the slime gagging him, yelps when you lean in and bite one. you run a tongue over his wide areolas, studying his expressions to make sure you’re pleasing your master’s best friend properly. his glare is more subdued, the wriggling has lessened, and there’s an… anticipation in his eyes as he stares down at you. you’re more than delighted at the progress. this means he likes you, right? you always felt a little sad when haitham would glare at you, but now you can feel getting closer to him! best friends, even, just like him and your master!

and like every best friend does, you should make him feel happy too! lowering one gloopy hand down to his pants, you waste no time melting away his pants and underwear and morphing your hand into something akin to a suction cup. little tentacles line the inside of the cup, and a muffled groan from haitham convinces you to finally ungag him. he gasps for breath, staring at you with wide eyes and a fucked out look. “what… what are you waiting for?” haitham grits his teeth, trying to hide the desperation he’s feeling when you’re so, so close to finally giving him the relief he wants. “put that on me. now.” a pause when you don’t do anything, and the last left of his dignity leave him as he gives you a pleading look and buck his hips up. “please.”

you know from experience that that one syllable is the go ahead, and with enthusiasm and vigor, you put the cup on him and start sucking. “mmm! ngh, ah, too much! ah!” you think his moans are pretty. huskier and deeper than your master’s soft and light whines, and that only makes you sucke even harder. the stimulation forces him to bend his back as he dangles in mid-air, forcing his fat cock deeper into your suction-hand. the dizziness of the upside down world makes the blood rush to his head, and he feels his eyes rolling to the back of his head when you tickle the throbbing vein running the downside of his cock.

“ah, sh-shit, you’re taking me all in ♡” sweat makes his skin glisten, highlighting even more his soft pecs and his abs. tendrils reach out from your back as they glide themselves around his waist and guide him back up. he’s positively shivering as you continue pounding his cock in and out of your hand, and his tongue is shivering when you pull him in for another kiss.

somewhere in the back of his mind, haitham swears he’ll make a research paper on you– on how intoxicating and aphrodisiacal you can be.

✧.* IT’S A THREESOME!

KAVEH bounces himself on your dick, your squishy body serving as his cushion as he lets his limp body get absolutely wrecked by a thick and veiny cock you fashioned from your ever-morphing body. his pretty dick slaps HAITHAM’s muscled torso as the younger one slaps his heavy balls against the pussy just underneath your balls. 

your slime encases the both of them flicking haitham’s nubs up and down and fucking kaveh’s urethra open, just the way they like it. it should be humiliating, the two roommates who could barely stand each other now open and so vulnerable to each other. but kaveh’s face is contorted in a lewd expression, eyes crossed and tongue hanging out of his mouth as he gets his ass destroyed, and haitham can’t find the energy to even insult him.

well, maybe a little bit. “you– ngh! – you really brought a beast into my home, huh?” he pants out, grabbing kaveh’s waist for stability as he thrusts his dick into you like a beast in rut. “you really couldn’t resist the chance to get yourself fucked silly, huh, my dear senior?”

kaveh whines when he feels haitham going even faster on you, and he tries to cover his face with his arm. “sh– shut up, okay?! i– a-ah ♡ i didn’t knooow! i thought they were a c-cute l-little thing ♡ but now they’re–” a sob escapes him as you abuse his prostate. “they’re just bullying me e-everydayyy ♡”

haitham locks eyes with you, innocent and vacant, not a single thought behind them. but it’s hard to see you as anything but innocent when you’re offering up both your cock and pussy to your two masters.

“you’re one crafty thing,” haitham bites out. but all you offer to him is a happy little noise when you think that you’ve made your two masters happy and fulfilled. just like how that man taught you to.

[scrubbinn]

Slime HRT Day 1: First Pages

I was told I should write down my experiences in this journal. I'm only really doing this because I was told I didn't have to share my writings with anyone except for emergencies, whatever that means. Today is the first day of my new life, and becoming something not human anymore.

I've seen a lot of social media about species HRT. I think it’s supposed to be “Human Removal Therapy”. There’s a lot of people online bashing it, and I'm sure someone is going to try and ban it eventually, but for right now it's pretty unrestricted. To be honest, I am fascinated by it. Becoming something inhuman seemed so, I don't know, cool I guess, but it felt distant, like it would never happen to me, or I'd be labeled a freak by my friends. It was only until my girlfriend brought it up in a passing conversation that I gained the courage to admit I was curious about it. She said I should go for it. The amount of joy I felt then and there was like a 20 ton weight had just exploded out of my chest, but in a good way! We spent the rest of the night talking about treatments and articles, I never felt so happy except then and there, to be seen like that.

My legs were shaking when I met with that doctor. I was told it was normal to be nervous, but it really felt like I was going to just have a breakdown the entire time we talked. There was a lot of psychological exams and way, WAY too much paperwork that basically said I was sure I would be happy and cool with going through with this process. The doctor was patient at least, though he was rude with how little he tried to hide the boredom of his job. Besides that, there was something about him that just made him feel like this was the last thing he wanted to do, the kind of man who’s a total pushover. We eventually got to the question I was dreading “what was I here for, what am I looking to be?” My voice just suddenly stop working right there. It's so funny how I saw an actual dragon on my way here and somehow my request seemed so much more ridiculous. That stupid doctor kept prying me to just tell him until my frustration surpassed my anxiety, and I was able to blurt out that I wanted to be a slime.

I don't know when or why, but I've always liked the idea of slimes. It's their fluidity I think. Being able to morph myself the way I want whenever I want. I mean, how can I trust I'll be happy with my body shape everyday when I can't even pick a favorite color. I spent so much time writing out my own ideas of how their biology worked, or creating a bunch of slime girls for stories I never finished writing. It took me a while to realize I wanted to be just like them, like how it took me a while to realize I wanted to be a girl too.

I thought I'd get laughed out of his office, I mean I've seen the photos and stories of people on slime HRT but it just felt different, like I was going one step too far, I was probably just super anxious, I felt so relieved when he just showed me a list of slime variants instead of laughing. There were so many different options on the list, slimes made of just gel, sap, wax, and there were so many different colors, but that was the problem, they all felt right, I wanted to be any of them.

It was so selfish to ask, but I needed to know if a slime that could change color was possible, or something that could truly transform into any kind of slime. He asked what I meant, if I was looking into becoming a shapeshifter. I shook my head no and said I wanted something like a chameleon. He took off his glasses and pinched his nose, like the weight of every request he ever had just hit him. We, kind of, argued for a while. Well it was him telling me all the different reasons it wouldn’t work or how some people had set up safe LED strips to become a slime strobe globe of different colors, but for some reason it was the one thing I didn’t want to budge on. The one thing I was certain I wanted was that I wouldn’t be certain about my final choice. I was actually ready to just punch this old man until he suddenly folded to my demands and told me he'd need time to make a new variant for something like that. Something about a membrane and chromatophores I think. He also stated, bluntly, that I still needed to pick the type of slime. Being able to switch from red to blue is one thing but there needs to be a base. 

There were a lot of good options, to the point it took me an hour to go through everything and just think about it. I was probably pushing him a bit too close to his next appointment with how long I was searching through options. It certainly makes me wonder how anyone can just know the answer right away. Eventually I had to settle on one and chose the soap variant. I was told it wasn’t actual soap, but it smelled nice and helped deal with germs. I’m not a germaphobe but I like the idea of smelling nice all the time.

After that, I was told I would be contacted eventually when my medication was ready. The wait could be best be described as brutal. There were a lot of calls I made only for me to be told it wasn’t ready yet. I thought I got scammed, like I went to the wrong place and that quack doctor was just faking everything and I wouldn't ever get to be the real me. The most I got was a message once a month saying the research was going well, if I was lucky. 

It was about a year when I got a call back from him, explaining that my medication was ready. I'll be honest, I thought he wouldn't have ever completed it and just stole $600 out of my bank account for a single appointment. I have it now though, a bottle of gel capsules. They taste awful, like shoving soap into my mouth, which makes sense thinking about it. Apparently I won't need to take my normal hormone medication after a bit. Which is good because it's really expensive to pay for both. I guess that concludes my thoughts on the first day. The doc wants me to keep writing down my physical changes but also that I write down my emotional state as well. I don't really get why that’s so important, but whatever, it’s the least I can do if I finally get to be the slime girl I always wanted to be. I can't wait to see how I turn out.

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Next

Thank you for reading through this story. While I’m sure it’s obvious, this is a story inspired by @ayviedoesthings own Dragon HRT as well as @welldrawnfish Fish HRT. I’ve loved these stories ever since they first came out. But I never felt like I had a story of my own to write until I read @sandyca5tle own slime HRT. Please check out all these people’s stories if you haven’t already, and thank you to sandyca5tle for really lighting the fire in me that made me want to try my hand at this sort of thing. I have plans to continue this for a while, not sure how long it’ll be but I want to be able to write a new segment at least one post every one to two weeks. I hope you enjoyed this, and please let me know if you have any advice on how to improve my writing. Thank you so much for reading all this, seriously, it means the world to me. 

[mxmorbidmidnight]

Can you control what you shapeshift into?

I greet thee dear! I suppose it depends. Shapeshifting is as a dance just as it is survival. I shift at my whims, taking delight in my fluidity. There is a wilderness within me and around me that drives change. This is why I cannot stay the same form for long. The beast will long to shift. But what of changing at will?

My comfort in fluidity means that I can take upon a form where I am fluid and able to morph at my pleasing. And yet some changes will come that make it so I cannot force myself out of a form. As I previously mentioned, survival.

In threatened situations certain forms will arise, ones to protect. My surroundings do influence my forms. When I am around a certain close friend of mine I become a soft house cat. I never take this form whenever I am not with them and likely could not even if I wanted to. If I feel male on a certain day I cannot force myself to be female. There is a deep and primal instinct within me, tells me who I am and as a wild beast will not change. Shapeshifting for me is not about freedoms therefore I cannot force myself into a form I do not want to be in.

My shapeshifting is to do with the wilderness that is my will. In its nature it cannot be tamed or forced. Just as I cannot force myself to no longer be a shapeshifter, there are times when my soul distinctly feels as a certain form. To change is of no use, and I suppose not possible seeing as I am a shapeshifter only of the spiritual kind.

[dhddmods]

Transreproductive/Diffprodu flags!

We decided to make flags for transreproductive terms! We included the definitions for ya'll.

Transreproductive/Diffprodu

Meaning: A person that desires a different reproductive system to the one they currently have.

The purple represents androgynous-associated sex traits. The blue represents masculine-associated sex traits. The green represents neutral-associated sex traits. Yellow represents xenic-associated sex traits. White represents sex fluidity. Black represents the teresex (angenital, angonadal, and anutero) umbrella. Orange represents outherine-associated sex traits. Red represents feminine-associated sex traits. The shades of brown represent the BIPOC community. The pinkish symbols in the center of the flag represent the uterus/prostate and gonads.

Transgonadal/Diffgonadal

Meaning: A person that desires different gonads to the ones they were born with.

Transovarian/Diff-O

Meaning: A person that desires ovaries.

Transtesticular/Diff-T

Meaning: A person that desires testicles.

Transovicle/Diff-OT

Meaning: A person that desires a combination of testicles and ovaries.

Transute/Diffut

Meaning: A person that desires a different reproductive organ (prostate or uterus) than they were born with.

Transuteric/Diff-Ut

Meaning: A person that desires a uterus.

Transprostatic/Diff-Pro

Meaning: A person that desires a prostate.

Transxenive/Diffxeno/Xenogonadal

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are not currently known to be possible for human biology.

Astroxenive/Diffastro

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are related to space. For example, desiring two miniature planets as gonads.

Elexenive/Diffelem

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are related to elements/weather. For example, desiring a bubble instead of a uterus, and tornados instead of gonads.

Mythicxenive/Mythixenive/Mythoxenive/Diffmythic

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are related to mythology/mythic beings. For example, desiring a reproductive system found in a mythological being.

Faunaxenive/Diffauna

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are animalistic. For example, desiring a bird's reproductive system.

Floraxenive/Difflora

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are plant-related. For example, desiring vines and fruit instead of fallopian tubes and ovaries.

Technoxenive/Difftech

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are mechanical, robotic, or digital. For example, desiring a reproductive organ that is made of metal and bolts.

Morphixenive/Diffmorphi

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that can morph or retract. For example, desiring gonads that can shift between testes and ovaries.

Comboxenive/Diffcombo

Meaning: A person that desires gonads or reproductive organs that are a mixture not yet seen as biologically possible for humans. For example, a testicle that functions as a uterus (retracting into the inguinal canal when impregnated and growing a baby there.)

[deepdreamnights]

More video tinkering with Vidu 1.5

Vidu hit 1.5 this morning for testing, which I get access to as part of the artist's program. While making raw material for a "Big Professor" project-

(Shown here to establish a 1.0 baseline)

-I nuked most of my credits, I've still got enough to try out the new features and give you all a rundown of them.

First major change is resolution options. Fast, 720, or 1080. Shown here is my first attempt at a 1080 gen, using the same prompt as above. While most vids in this post will be gifs for ease of use, this one is an MP4 to provide full evaluation.

Ignore the odd playback speed, since that's something you'd fix in post. The gif at the start was one of my most stable renderings of Big Professor under v1. Got some minor wonk in the details, little distortion around the prof's claw and the kid in the first half second, but otherwise well above the average of the 1.0 versions I've been working with, especially the clarity on the button text.

The second one is a re-run of the same prompt, minus some detail issues with one shin, the level of consistency is promising.

720 can go up to 8 seconds, 1080 tops off at 4. At present, 1.5 does not have an upscale function. If you're not tinkering to test out prompts I'd generally recommend 1080, even for lower-res projects, for the purposes of being able to crop and/pan.

For most of these, assume I'm using either 720 or 1080 gens.

Multi-Subject Reference-to-Video

THIS is the big winner of the setup. Previously, ref-to-video only could handle a single referenced subject image. The current setup now allows you to reference up to three per generation.

Those can be characters, props, or settings, and it can be used for morphing effects. This is good, because first-frame-last-frame is more finnicky than reference-to-video. The obvious use is to create multi-character scenes, and it works well for that:

But it has other uses. For example, here I used:

And while this one was reversed and trimmed, it displays the potential for using the feature for transformation sequences. The backgrounds are especially helpful, since Vidu's internally-generated toon backgrounds are very modern and digital-painting-looking (the gif of Mrs. Nice turning back and forth into Mrs. Nautilus at the top of the section didn't use a background image reference) and as always, I like it retro.

To that point, using the more comic-booky Mrs. Nice control drawing didn't work near as well as the more period-accurate one:

And while I'll personally be cutting out frames to produce a more accurate 1980s TV animation look, the raw fluidity is bound to appeal to the majority of users, and minor issues like the color of Mrs. Nice's blouse changing mid-transformation are easy enough to fix manually (though if a flaw looks enough like a traditional animation screwup, I might just leave it in)

And another fun feature? Movement amplitude control.

In my last post about it, I said Vidu likes to move, and if you need a more subtle shot, like this one, setting the movement amplitude control to small is your move. (Funny how the robot interpreted the book binding as a mouth.) If something's too static you can up the movement as well, but I haven't had that problem much.

In terms of generation quality, 1.5 is a good but not huge leap up from 1.0. at least in terms of what I've made so far. Aesthetics are very similar, but issues of tearing, distortion, and wonky action are lessened.

And it's way better at understanding triceratops, so thumbs up there.

This is one of my wonk-tests, but man, check that walk cycle. This is why the movement controls are important, sometimes when set to auto a dialog scene becomes a weird chase.

Now, in terms of generation costs (and this can always change), 1.5 seems more expensive but in the end it works out more or less the same.

A 1.0 quality 8-second gen upscaled to max res would be 24 points (16 for the quality 8-seconds, 8 for the upscale), and an 8-second 720 render is also 24 points (as is a 4-second 1080).

Yeah, you don't want to use "Fast" in most cases. While both the 720 and fast versions here both have flaws (Bruce's disappearing popcorn bucket, etc), the 720 res version is substantially more on-model for both characters.

To close out, a bit of fun wonk. To try out the effect, I prompted using a "Specialist Matt Trakker" G.I.Joe/M.A.S.K. crossover figure as a character reference, to see if it could translate a character from toy to live action. And it can-

Though it is very, very literal.

The combination of live action-esq person and accurate G.I.Joe joints is harrowing, but there's potential there for some wild variants on the Toy Story/A Christmas Toy/'Wynona's Big Brown Beaver'-Music-Video-by-Primus concept.

[divinegrump]

Aziraphale trots excitedly over to his desk, his hands prancing in the air as he goes. "Crowley my dear, you won't believe the purchase I've just made!"

"Wazzit, Angel?" Crowley is lounging in an arm chair, quickly becoming more a strangely shaped decorative pillow than a sitting demon.

Aziraphale lifts a antenna'd little box up, presenting it to his demon: "Ta-da! It's a radio, isn't it darling?"

"It's quite obviously a radio, and one could call it that, if they'd like."

The angel seems to wilt a little.

"But it's a..." (Crowley seems to falter trying to find a compliment, out of practice as he is) "...It's a fine shade of blue."

"Oh! Let me play it for you!" Aziraphale sets it gently back on the desk, bending slightly forwards to turn it on. Crowley studiously pretends to be doing anything other than looking in the direction of the radio, trying to get his breathing back to normal as the angel's pants stretch across his... well, stretch with his movement. Pesky human responses, he doesn't even need to breathe.

Aziraphale presses a button on the side of the radio and it crackles some news caster's voice through the speaker "...showers late into the evening, humidity at-" Aziraphale changes the station. A song that sounds like ABBA and Dolly Parton in some combination floats sweetly into the room. Aziraphale frowns "Oh. Beebop." He reaches towards the tuning knob- "Aw leave it, Angel, you heard the man, it'll rain all day-"

Aziraphale turns "You made it rain all day-"

Crowley stands- morphing from decorative pillow to more of a tall and alluring coatrack - "Either way, whoever's fault it is - and however the traffic may be piling up-" He grins a devious half smile, "We're stuck inside all day-"

"All I'm askin baby- Please please please," croons the Radio.

"All I'm askin baby- Please please please," croons Crowley, making an exaggerated bow, extending his hand to Aziraphale. Aziraphale tells himself he isn't blushing.

He extends his hand to Crowley-

"I beg you don't embarrass me, motherfucker," snarks the radio.

"Crowley! It's- it's not decent!"

Crowley takes the hand Aziraphale had retracted in shock, snaking his other hand around Aziraphale's gorgeous- Aziraphale's waist, Crowley corrects himself, pretending to be suave, "it won't kill you, Angel," he hums into the blonde curls by his ear.

Aziraphale does his best to relax. But- "Crowley, Crowley, dear, you're, well, let me." He gently scoops his wrist beneath Crowley's, encircling the thin dark duke with his arm, swaying them to the music.

Crowley, for all his boneless fluidity, takes quite a few moments to begin moving in a way that doesn't resemble the cycle of a cat tripping and pretending they haven't tripped.

They both pretend not to have heard the radio, "...we could live so happily." They both pretend there wasn't an aching moment they looked into each other's eyes. They both pretend not to have enjoyed that momentary closeness as much as they did.

[idle-skull]

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

.

Nevada is a former member of the Louisiana BoS (Locally known as The Brotherhood of Blades) who abandoned the organization during his late teens. Since then it’s been over a decade, he’s been everywhere between the Pelican State & California, but eventually he settled in Utah. He’s a single father trying to do what’s best for his young son; trying to give him the loving childhood that he himself never got. Nevada is his own brand of Christian, but also experiences a lot of religious guilt from his upbringing.

Louisiana BoS lore:

The Louisiana BoS is a far removed splinter group of the well established organization. Due to the various government research sites in the state, it’s overrun with all matter of mutants & monsters. The only thing holding them back is the Brotherhood & the massive walls erected by remnants of the US military right after the war to keep these mutants trapped between the Louisiana coast & the Sabine & Mississippi rivers.

Naturally, the Louisiana BoS ended up focusing more on killing mutants than on collecting prewar tech & artifacts. Overtime this focus developed into an almost religious fanaticism. This, considering Louisiana’s religious climate, quickly helped the Brotherhood morph into an inquisitorial order of evangelicals. At this point, they cut contact with Any other chapters they had been communicating with, & re-founded themselves into the Brotherhood of Blades.

They have a much more martial focus than other chapters, preferring technologically modified melee weapons over traditional energy weapons & power armor. The BoB also takes on much more clerical titles for their ranks over the traditional BoS terms. They also value fluidity, lethality, & speed in their combat style over overt brute force.

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Gender Fluidity, non-heterosexual, and gender variance behavior in mythology.

For the purpose of this thread, and keeping it short cuz even though this is my off month to finally rest from burn out, I've got publishing obligations, signings, and stuff to do -- we're keeping-- this to South Asian mythology:

I've already done a thread about third sex/intersex and trans (Hijra) in South Asian culture and the portrayals in a pop culture IP recently - Monkey Man by Dev Patel --

This is a short primer really:

Harihara - the union representing totality/oneness of all existence is the being born of the union of Shiva and Vishnu (who at prior to this morphs into Mohini, the female celestial temptress who Shiva becomes besotted with and tries to get intimate with), Vishnu changes back amidst this and the two fuse into a being. The ability of celestial beings | gods | goddesses to morph, change shape and gender in Vedic to Hindu mythology is well-established/normal. But there are many legends about Mohini, including the birth of her (Vishnu, his female avatar form being Mohini) son, Shasta, with Shiva. Mohini is also known as a femme fatale archetype, seducer, temptress, as well as someone known for destroying/seducing demons to their doom.

One thing to remember is that the Vedic religion and its stories are old, older than our records because the stories, songs, poetry of it all existed before written records and were transmitted orally. There are also varied versions of the epics, such as Tamil recountings of Mahabharata for example, in where one such example exists.

Krishna also takes the form of Mohini to marry Aravan (in Tamil) Iravan otherwise to give Aravan the chance to experience love before his death. There is a festival celebrated to this in the month of Chitrai (April/May) at the Koothandavar Temple dedicated to Iravan during which, Hijras (the third sex, transgender, intersex, and or eunuchs as well) celebrate Krishna/Mohini marrying Aravan and then mourn Aravan/Iravan's death as he sacrificed himself.

It must be noted that there is artwork and mention throughout the wide spread of Vedic upwards stories (and how many interpretations, takes, and varies stories there are) of same sex and yonic/non-vaginal sex relationships, births, and more.

There's also inter-being...?

Erotica/romance authors help me out here? Inter...celestial sex?

Apsara, devas, asura, humans, demigods. Look, lots of sex of all kind happens, and it's normal.

There's also the story of Arjuna to consider: when he refuses the seductive advances of Urvashi, she curses him to be a Klba, or member of the third gender. Later when Arjuna adopts the name of Brihannala, the curse takes effect as Arjuna dresses in women's clothing, and because of this, Arjuna is able to gain entrance to the kingdom of Virata in the Padma Purana and teach the high arts of music, singing, and dance, to the king's daughter and princess. Later, he is turned into a woman when he wishes to take part in Krishna's mystical dance which only women may attend.

Then there is Ila, a character cursed by Shiva and Parvati to change genders each month.

NOTE: there are MANY versions of the story of Ila, but it is canonical they changed gender -- known as Sudyumna as a woman, and Ila as a man.

Ilā is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar dynasty of Indian kings – also known as the Aillas.

Continuing. In one story, Ila marries Budha (not Buddha the former king and founder of Buddhism), but Budha that is the god Mercury -- Budha is aware of Ila's origins as a man and changing status, but only marries Ila in his feminine state, and honoring that part of them as his wife and only when Ila is in that state. He does not enlighten Ila to the changing effect as each gender is unaware of the other and those lives.

The tale of Ila's transformations is told in the Puranas as well as the Indian epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

This is just a little thread. Anyways, I'm off now to sign nearly 2000 pages (won't finish today) and have an achey hand while I do more research and trying to improve the prose style I want for book three of Tales of Tremaine.

❤️ thank you. Remember, be kind.

[veloursdor]

based on this au where anakin died in childbirth and obi-wan is left alone to raise the twins, but he can’t bear to be near them without breaking down because he misses anakin too much.

aka neglectful father widow-wan

(1.2k words)

“There must be something wrong with me, since Father loves everyone, but he doesn’t love me.” - Luke and Leia, circa 12 years after their birth.

Leia was trying her best to prove to everyone around her, but especially Father, that she was meant to hold a lightsaber and that she had what it took to train as a Jedi. She was standing in front of the Council – various Jedi Masters, padawans and younglings alike –, trying to show her progress regarding her forms. She knew about the multiple sabre forms there existed, but the one that suited her the most was Form V, Djem So. There was something about the fluidity of the form that allowed her movements to flow naturally though her, connecting her with her lightsaber like no other form did. 

As she practised her movements for the entire room to see, the idea of spinning her lightsaber with a little twirl made her giggle, thinking it would look so cool when she did that. However, half way through her twirl, the sound of the entrance door opening stopped her in her tracks, making her see just in time how her father walked away from the room without looking back. She felt her heart break as the doors closed behind his back, tears scorching her eyes while she tried valiantly to hold them back.

“Thank you, Leia Skywalker, for a wonderful demonstration,” Master Windu said with a kind smile before motioning Leia to step away from the mat, allowing another youngling to take her place. Luke’s smile – bright and enormous as Leia showcased her progress – had dimmed with their Father’s departure. Luke hadn’t shown his progress to the Jedi, nervous about their Father’s approval. “Now, young Ezra Bridger, step forward.”

“I see you’re making progress with Djem So, young Leia,” Master Koon said to her kindly after she had sat down between him and Luke. She smiled as best as she could at the old Master, even though she knew he was lying to her. Because if she had truly done a ‘wonderful job’ that showcased her ‘progress’ with Form V, then Father wouldn’t have walked away from the presentation without casting a glance back at her.

She continued to disappoint him, no matter how hard she tried.

“Excellent form, young Ezra,” Master Windu said as Ezra stepped away from the mat, high-fiving Knight Dume with a bright smile on each of their faces. 

Leia’s insides burned with jealousy at the sight, knowing she would never get to share a moment like that with her father. She was better than Ezra in every possible way, yet Father had the time to share a praising word with Bridger for his ‘achievements in class’ and never for her.

“Luke Skywalker,” Master Windu’s voice called for her brother, making him jump. Leia eyed him curiously as Luke stepped forward, a lightsaber that wasn’t the one he had made after their trip to Ilum clutched tightly in his hands. 

It was beautifully crafted, with a ridged hand grip and a solid casing, something in it causing Leia’s insides to hurt at the sight. She had never seen that particular lightsaber before, but there was something about it that was achingly familiar, and called for her.

Ignoring the weird feeling inside of her, Leia saw her brother attempt and fail to perform Form III – Father’s form –, before his movements naturally morphed into Form V. She rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt at copying her, clearly trying to impress their absent father. 

“Luke Skywalker!” Their father’s voice echoed throughout the room, startling her from her musings and causing Luke to drop the lightsaber he was holding, a bright smile on his face that dimmed down and died the closer their father got to him. 

“Where did you get that?” Father asked her brother once he reached him, before taking the lightsaber from Luke’s hands and clutching it tightly to his chest. “This doesn’t belong to you.”

“I… I found it in your room, Father,” Luke said, his voice shaking alongside his body, as he looked at the floor with embarrassment and shame. “I… I know we’re not supposed to go there, but…”

“Don’t ever touch this again,” their Father said with finality before turning around and leaving the room as suddenly as he had entered it, leaving a deadly silence at his back. 

Leia could only stare in horror as Luke remained standing in the middle of the room, tears running down his face, his shoulders shaking with the strength of his cries. She looked around towards the Masters of the Jedi Council, hoping one of them would stand up and comfort her brother, rescue him from being the centre of all the pity she could feel through the Force.

But no one moved, and Luke continued to cry, silently for the entire room to witness.

“Young Skywalker,” Master Yoda started to say before Luke ran away from the room, the echoes of his footsteps muffling his cries. Leia wanted to go after him, comfort him like she always did whenever Father was too busy to play with them.

But she couldn’t move, a glimmer of hope that her Father would return and praise her for her forms made her remain in place. Luke will be fine, she mused to herself after watching Master Tano stand up from her seat and follow after Luke with a thunderous expression on her face.

That night, after everything had been said and done, Leia failed to fall asleep as Luke continued to play with his toy ship that Senator Amidala had gifted him on their last birthday, saying that it was something their dad would’ve wanted him to have. To Leia, she had given her a book on ‘Diplomacy and Politics’, saying that the daughter of the famous Negotiator should know how to traverse through lies and deceits with ease. 

Leia treasured the gift as if her father himself had given it to her, knowing that she could prove to him that she would be a perfect companion on his travels for peace negotiation treaties if she only studied hard enough.

But before she could plan any further about a future with her father – as Master and Padawan –, the door of their room opened, surprising her with their father’s face. He looked sad and apologetic as he always did whenever he was in their presence, his eyes barely looking at Leia before focusing on Luke, who was looking at their father with a yearning expression on his face.

However, Father’s expression broke down after he caught sight of Luke’s toy in his hand. His breath got caught in his throat – tears pooling in his eyes – and, without a word, he turned around and closed the door behind his back, leaving the twins engulfed in darkness.

“Well done, loser,” Leia said bitterly before turning her back on Luke to stare at the wall. “Now he hates us even more.”

She ignored her brother’s distress, focusing on her own breathing. Leia could no longer coddle Luke’s moods, as they only served to cross Father even further. She had to prove to her Father that she would be a great padawan for him, and in order to do that she needed to toss Luke aside and focus on herself.

Father would love her if she proved to him that she was better than Luke.

[xgeronimowrks]

This work is part of my series "Morphomata", a collection that explores the morphing and juxtaposition of diverse ideas and styles into intricate and meditative thought-forms. Each composition blends hand-drawn sketches, asemic writing, and AI-generated shapes, reflecting my fascination with the interplay between human intuition and machine creativity. Every element, whether meticulously crafted or algorithmically conceived, contributes to a tapestry of interconnected concepts and meanings.

The "Morphomata" series blurs the boundaries between the abstract and the figurative, offering meditative imagery that invites viewers to explore multiple interpretations. The interconnected elements encourage a non-linear engagement with the work, allowing each viewer to uncover unique pathways and narratives within the piece.

Through this fusion of techniques, I aim to examine the tension between structure and unpredictability, control and spontaneity, ancient ideas and modern expressions. The interplay between systems thinking, design, and magic aligns with ancient and modern contemplations of order versus chaos and the interconnectedness of all things.

The resulting pieces are greater than the sum of their parts—reflections of interconnected systems and the fluidity of perception. They are both visual inquiries and contemplative spaces, encouraging a dialogue between the viewer and the work, where meaning evolves with every glance.

The uploaded image is a highly symbolic and abstract collage filled with overlapping themes, blending elements of ancient mysticism, philosophy, visual storytelling, and conceptual systems thinking. Below is an analysis of the visual and thematic aspects of the image:

1. Themes and Concepts:

   - Charisma and Spirituality: The word "CHARISMA" at the center, along with references to "The Eye of Ra" and the spiritual and physical planes, evokes ancient mystical and esoteric concepts, suggesting an exploration of influence, presence, and metaphysics.

   - Fragile, Robust, Anti-Fragile Systems: This tripartite model visually explains how systems evolve, contrasting fragility (Damocles), robustness (stability), and anti-fragility (adaptation and growth through stress, represented by the Hydra).

   - Intersection of Advertising and Magic: The Venn diagram linking advertising with magic may hint at the role of manipulation and enchantment in influencing perception and behavior.

   - Art and Design Origins: The graph connecting "Where Art comes from" and "Where Design comes from" suggests a cyclical process of inspiration and intentional creation, emphasizing transformative moments ("BOOM").

2. Symbolism:

   - Unicorn and Wheel: The unicorn atop a wheel signifies purity and imagination juxtaposed with cyclical movement and time.

   - Eye of Ra and Human Observation: References to the spiritual and physical planes imply the duality of perception—one mystical and the other empirical.

   - Animals (Rhino, Bee, Hydra): The hybrid rhino-fly and detailed bee connect nature's elegance with scientific curiosity. The Hydra represents resilience and adaptability, as mythological creatures often symbolize qualities transcending human limitations.

   - Past, Present, Future Dynamics: The looping figure-eight diagrams evoke the concept of eternal return or the cyclical nature of time and memory.

   - Text and Geometry: Mathematical notations, intersecting lines, and shapes serve as a visual language for abstract principles, blending scientific reasoning with artistic intuition.

3. Visual Style:

   - Doodle-Like Drawings: The hand-drawn, seemingly improvisational style creates a sense of playfulness, making complex ideas approachable while evoking the feeling of brainstorming or note-taking in real time.

   - Balance of Complexity and Minimalism: Despite its dense symbology, the use of monochrome ink ensures visual cohesion, and the varying levels of detail (e.g., the intricate bee versus abstract human forms) guide the viewer's attention.

   - Layered Narrative: The interconnected elements encourage exploration of the image in a non-linear fashion, inviting viewers to form their own interpretations.

4. Ancient Mysteries Connection:

   - Esoteric References: The Eye of Ra and references to observation on spiritual and physical planes connect to Egyptian mythology and metaphysical traditions that view sight as a source of creation and transformation.

   - Philosophical Undertones: The interplay between systems thinking, design, and magic aligns with ancient and modern contemplations of order versus chaos and the interconnectedness of all things.

[alicescaling]

Brothers Conflict Season 2 Volume 1 #024

translator’s note: This is an English translation of chapter #024 of Brothers Conflict— aka, the entire first chapter of Season 2 (Volume 1). This is my first time translating a light novel chapter, so I hope it reads okay. Please enjoy! :D

#024 — Pretending you don’t have a special someone.

A whistle rings out.

“Great job, Asahina!”

A voice calls out from the bench, right before the audience erupts into loud cheers of joy.

— It’s been five months since I’ve been admitted to Meiji University.

After passing my initial entrance exam, I’ve somehow made it to my first ever summer vacation as a university student.

Still, being on vacation doesn’t mean I can just slack off and do nothing.

“High School is about studying what and when you’re told. University is about discovering and deciding for yourself what you’d like to study.”

I still remember the president of the university’s words from during his speech at the entrance ceremony.

Just like he said, my classes have been requiring me to write and submit weekly reports, each with a theme that I’ve needed to decide upon myself.

I’d never expected to be taking any classes like that during my first year, but it’s school policy for all business majors to take it.

After summer break’s over, I have more reports due that I’ll need to turn in as well. That’s why these days, I’ve been going to the library about once or twice a week.

Early this morning, I’d gone to the library to do some research and compile some notes, until I’d barely gotten to a point where I was comfortable enough to stop for a late lunch and finally start heading home.

When I get to the main entrance, I see a large announcement in the middle of the bulletin board that the school usually uses to advertise different things like groups and events.

“From our Meiji University, a pro athlete’s been born!”

… is what’s written at the top of the board in a large font. Underneath, the following is written.

“A member of our basketball team, Asahina Subaru (a 4th year business student) has been officially recruited to become a pro player. Asahina will be making an appearance at these upcoming games during these dates at our school gymnasium. This is your chance to see a pro athlete in action! Admission to enter is free of charge. We wish all visitors a warm welcome!”

After that, there’s a list of matches and their dates and times lined up. When I look through them, I realize that the very first listed match is today— they should already be playing by now.

(Ah… Subaru-san’s playing a match right now.)

Subaru-san didn’t mention anything about it to me, though. For a moment, I find myself at a loss for what to do.

(But it’s happening at my school, though…)

It’s one thing if I didn’t know it was going on, but to pretend I didn’t hear about it and not go anyways would be rude.

Despite the lingering doubt and worry in my mind about going, I still make my way in the direction of the school gymnasium.

The audience seating is on the second floor, so I climb up the stairs once I get to the entrance of the gymnasium.

The very moment that I step out the stairs, I’m immediately met with the sight of Subaru-san jumping up to make a shot.

All the doubts and worries about coming to watch clouding my mind are immediately blown away by the beauty and fluidity of the movement.

“Subaru-san!”

Without thinking, I run up to the railing and shout.

“Nice shot!”

There’s a strange look on Subaru-san’s face as he looks from across the court to the audience seating, his eyes scanning the stands as if looking for something.

It isn’t long until his gaze finally settles in my direction.

At first, upon seeing me, there’s a surprised expression on his face. Then, slowly, it starts to morph into a smile. But, the smile doesn’t last long.

The moment that the whistle rings out signaling that the match is about to resume, Subaru-san’s expression immediately tightens once again, completely serious.

As soon as the match resumes, he begins to move swiftly towards the ball.

(Woah…)

I’ve watched some of Subaru-san’s matches before, but right now, Subaru-san looks like a completely different person from back then. Even an ordinary person like me can see the complete difference in his movements from the others around him.

(Amazing…)

He runs through and around the court, weaving in and out of the other players with a sense of fluid, masterful control.

I had arrived at the game right at the start of the fourth quarter, meaning there’s only one quarter of the game left.

Until now, the match was close enough to be anyone’s game. But in just a few minutes, Subaru-san has managed to score shot after shot, changing the tides of the game completely in his team’s favor.

Ultimately, in the end, it’s a complete victory for Meiji University.

There’s a cacophony of cheers and applause as the audience erupts into joy. I join in, clapping my hands as well.

(Amazing! Subaru-san was great! He scored so many points!)

For a while, the cheers continue, and the players bow at the audience before leaving the court. Once the audience sees the players leaving, they too start to filter out of the gymnasium.

(I think I’ll wait a little bit before I leave.)

The entrance is jam packed with people trying to leave, so I decide to stay in my seat to wait out the crowd.

Once it’s calmed down, I make my way down the hall and to the entrance.

At that moment.

“Thank you for today.”

I hear a voice ring out from behind me. When I turn around to look, I’m met with the figure of a uniform-clad Subaru-san, a towel slung over his shoulders.

Subaru: “I wasn’t expecting you to come today… but I’m glad you did.”

“Great work out there.”

As I say that, I make my way towards Subaru-san.

“You played really well.”

Subaru: “I… guess so. But today was just a practice match. It doesn’t say much about how a real match against an opponent would go.”

Subaru-san’s words are completely calm, not a trace of embarrassment or bashfulness in them.

Subaru: “But…”

The tone of Subaru-san’s voice changes.

Subaru: “How did you know about today’s game? I’m pretty sure that I don’t remember telling you about it.”

“Oh, I saw the notice.”

Subaru: “Notice?”

As I tell him about the notice on the school bulletin board I saw earlier, Subaru-san’s face twitches.

Subaru: “Those guys… I told them not to go around doing stuff like that.”

“But isn’t it okay? I mean, the stuff written on there is true, after all.”

Subaru: “No, I’m not a pro yet. The offer’s still just tentative.”

Subaru-san’s voice is firm and resolute.

Subaru: “I’ll sign an official contract once I graduate. Until then, I can’t be considered a pro. Either way, my skills are still…”

Subaru-san’s face tenses.

Subaru: “I’m not worthy of being compared to a real pro.”

“Huh?”

Subaru: “When I went to Kyushu, I saw pros practicing. They’re on an entirely different level. A completely different level. To compare myself to them, as I am now… it wouldn’t even be a competition.”

There’s a bitter frustration in his tone. But then, it changes into something excited.

Subaru: “Even so, when I think about how I felt in the moment, at the idea of getting to play like that, I was really… really happy. I’m really grateful that I can continue playing basketball.”

When I see the genuine smile on Subaru-san’s face, I can’t help but break into a grin as well.

(Subaru-san… I’m really happy for you.)

Just as I think that, Subaru-san suddenly breaks out into a violent cough.

Subaru: “Nnnnnnn—!!!”

“Wh-what’s wrong?!”

Subaru: “Th-that… that… your smile… er, n-nevermind. I just… had something caught in my throat, is all.”

Subaru-san swallows slightly exaggeratedly before continuing.

Subaru: “To be honest, my teammates are probably waiting for me. I might need to get going.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you.”

Subaru: “No, I’m the one that called out to you. …it’s my bad.”

After a beat, Subaru-san speaks up again.

Subaru: “Hey.”

“Yes?”

Subaru: “... will you come to my next match, too?”

“Of course! I’d already planned on going to your upcoming games.”

Subaru: “I-is that so!”

Subaru-san gives me a smile. There’s a sense of relief in his expression.

“Oh, that’s right. Do you think you could let me know the dates your next matches will be on?”

Subaru: “Oh, yeah. I’ll message them to you later.”

“Got it. In any case, congratulations on today again!”

Subaru: “Ah, be sure to stay safe on your way home.”

Lightly waving goodbye, I start to leave. As I do, I can hear Subaru-san mutter to himself in a quiet voice.

Subaru: “Thank god. …she doesn’t hate me after all…”

(Huh?)

Unconsciously, I stop in my tracks. I turn to look behind me, watching the back of Subaru-san’s figure as he makes his way towards the locker rooms.

(Subaru-san….?)

For a moment, I hesitate whether or not to call out to him. But a feeling that I can’t quite place wells up in me at seeing the back of his figure as he leaves, and in the end, I don’t say anything.

★☆★

“Hey, isn’t that Asakura Fuuto?”

While waiting for the train to arrive at Meiji University station, I hear the chattering voices of some high school girls.

“That’s a member of your favorite idol group or whatever, right? What were they called again? Corset?”

“That isn’t even close! They’re called Forttê!”

“Oooh, right. What’s that even mean, anyways?”

“What does it mean..? Hm. I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be the first letters of all the member’s names arranged into one word.”

(So that’s what Forttê’s supposed to stand for.)

“The first letters of their names?”

“Yup. There’s Asakura Fuuto, Narimoto Osamu, Seike Ryou, Takesue Takuma, Morishima Towa, and Akaboshi Eiichiro…. so, Forttê!”

“Eh? … ohhhh, I see, you’re talking about their first names. For a sec I thought you meant their last names.”

“Haha– oh, right, didja know that Seike Ryou’s been seen around here?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Apparently, he attends Meiji University.”

(Huh? Really? So a member of Forttê attends my university.)

Before I realize it, I’m listening intently to their conversation.

“A university student, huh–. Asakura Fuuto’s a student too, right?”

“Yup. He’s still a high school student. But why are you asking about Asakura Fuuto? Are you a fan of his?”

“Not really, I wouldn’t say that, but– hasn’t he been in a lot of dramas lately? I feel like I’ve been seeing a lot of him in different stuff. Don’t you think he’s pretty talented?”

(Wow– I’m sure Fuuto-kun would be glad to hear that.)

The truth is that these days, Fuuto-kun’s been getting a lot more acting jobs. Since he also has his idol work to juggle alongside his acting, he’s been so busy that whenever I catch a glimpse of him at home, I can’t help but feel like he must be working really hard to improve.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. Uh huh… he’s been in a lot of dramas lately.”

“Huh? Why’s your voice sound all dark and gloomy like that? Did I say something weird?”

“Sorry. No, that isn’t it… it’s just that I heard that that member in particular has been causing some quarreling in the group lately.”

(Ehh?)

“Really?”

“Yeah… I heard a bunch of stuff about it on the internet.”

“What? Are you sure that it isn’t just meaningless gossip?”

“Well, that’s what I thought at first too… but the thing is, that was before I’d seen all the Forttê members appear on TV, and then—”

(And– and then what?!)

In the very next second, the sound of an announcement reverberates throughout the whole platform.

“The train is arriving! Please be sure to stay behind the yellow line!”

The sound of the announcement is so loud that the sound of the two girls’ conversation is lost in it, and I don’t get to hear what they say next.

(The members of Forttê are fighting? Because of Fuuto-kun appearing in dramas?)

Since it’s internet gossip, there isn’t any saying whether or not it’s true.

(...still.)

Fuuto-kun’s always had a rather condescending attitude. If he looks down on people or takes an attitude with them while he’s at work, it’s possible that that animosity could be affecting his relationship with his coworkers.

(Even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help but worry… maybe just a little bit of digging wouldn’t hurt.)

I bring my phone out, searching up the words “Forttê” and “quarrel”.

Several seconds later, I’m met with a display of search results. My eyes skim through them, but none of them seem to match up with what the girl from earlier mentioned.

Next, I decide to look up “Asakura Fuuto” and “gossip”.

I’m met with the same lack of results. Just like when I looked up “Forttê” and “quarrel”, I don’t find anything that mentions Fuuto-kun having any sort of disputes with the other members of Forttê.

(Whew… thank goodness.)

A let out a little sigh of relief.

– That is, until I see it.

An article titled “Asakura Fuuto– Siscon Allegations”.

(W-what’s this?!)

When I click to read the article, I find that it’s about some of the comments that Fuuto-kun made during his speech to me on the day that I’d graduated– the same speech that Fuuto-kun had made during a live TV broadcast.

(Uwah… u-ugh, this is because Fuuto-kun said all that weird stuff…)

There isn’t a total fuss being made about it, but when I dig a bit further, I find some more articles, all mentioning the declaration he’d made during the broadcast.

(The next time I get the opportunity, I’m going to have to have a talk with Fuuto-kun about this.)

I sigh to myself before exiting the search engine on my phone.

★☆★

As I get off at Kichijōji station and start heading towards the mansion, I find myself passing by an arcade near the station.

Since the street is lined end to end with shops, it’s always super busy and crowded. Of course, since it’s a summer afternoon and everyone’s on vacation, that rings true for today, too.

I do my best to try and wade my way through the waves of people flowing all around me.

“Onee-chan!”

I suddenly hear a loud voice call out.

(Huh? Right now, that voice…)

I see someone waving at me from the front of a nearby fast food restaurant.

I recognize the “BC” crest on the pocket of their white shirt as part of the Bright Centrair school uniform.

“Ah, Wataru-chan.”

Wataru: “... Wataru-chan?”

I look up from his uniform to see Wataru’s face clearly upset, his mouth twisted into a dissatisfied frown.

“Er, sorry– Wataru-kun.”

After I correct myself, Wataru’s expression goes back to his bright grin from before.

Wataru: “Thanks, Onee-chan!”

Wataru-chan– or, er, Wataru-kun– throws the paper cup he’s holding in the garbage, and approaches me.

Wataru: “Hey.”

I remember a conversation that Wataru-kun and I had back when he’d first started middle school.

Wataru: “I’d like it if you could change the way you call me from now on.”

“Hm?”

Wataru: “I’d like for you to stop calling me “-chan”, since I’m in middle school now.”

“Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense. A middle schooler wouldn’t want to be called “-chan” anymore, would they? … in that case, does “Wataru-kun” work?”

Wataru: “Yup, that works! It’s a promise, Onee-chan!”

Even though I said I’d stop doing it, there are times where I accidentally call Wataru-kun “Wataru-chan” by sheer force of habit. Every time I do, Wataru-kun gives me the same dissatisfied pout he did just now, but I’ve been making the mistake less and less recently.

Wataru: “Onee-chan, did you go somewhere today?”

“Yes. I went to my school to do some research. What about you, Wataru-kun?”

Wataru: “Me? I had a mock exam today.”

“Is that so? It must be difficult having to take exams during summer vacation.”

Bright Centrair is well-known for being a cramschool. Even the first year middle schoolers who attend are expected to go to prep classes and take national-level mock exams, so their students get less days off than those from other schools.

Wataru: “Yeah. But I think I did well, at least…. ehehe.”

The truth is that Wataru-kun gets really good grades. At the end of his first semester, I saw his report card, and he got much higher grades than I ever did when I was in middle school.

I never really see Wataru-kun studying at home, so I think that he’s just naturally very smart and gifted.

(It’s stuff like this that makes me remember that Wataru-kun really is Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san’s little brother.)

Wataru: “Onee-chan, are you headed back home right now? Or do you plan on going somewhere else?”

“I’m headed back home.”

Wataru: “Then is it okay if we go together?”

“Of course it’s okay.”

The two of us chat as we walk through the arcade together.

Wataru: “And then, my teacher–”

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t have any difficulty studying or with academics, but Wataru-kun’s school life sounds very fun. He has a lot of friends, and it seems like he’s very popular and well-liked by his class as well.

As I think this while listening to him, Wataru-kun suddenly interrupts himself.

Wataru: “Onee-chan, am I boring you?”

“Eh?! I don’t feel that way at all, why would you think that?”

Wataru: “Well, it’s just that you’re going “uh-huh, uh-huh” and nodding along a lot. Isn’t that how people tune out stuff they aren’t interested in talking about or listening to?”

“That– that isn’t it at all.”

I reply, confused.

“You’re a very skilled storyteller, so I was just listening really intently.”

Wataru: “It’s okay, you don’t have to force yourself to lie to me.”

Wataru-kun’s face goes gloomy.

Wataru: “If I’m boring you, I want you to tell me. Because if you don’t… I won’t be able to fix it.”

“Like I said, that isn’t it at all.”

My voice is earnest as I speak.

“While it’s true that people tend to nod and hum and reply absentmindedly to try and feign paying attention, that isn’t what I was doing right now at all.”

Wataru-kun stares intently at my face before replying.

Wataru: “... okay, I understand.”

He bows his head down at me.

Wataru: “Onee-chan, what I said just now was kinda weird, right? I’m sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind at all– here, lift your face back up. Won’t you tell me the rest of your story?”

At that, Wataru-kun’s smile finally returns, and he finishes telling me the rest of his story.

“At any rate...”

As our conversation dies down, I mutter to myself without realizing it.

“Wataru-kun, you’ve really grown up, huh.”

Wataru: “Me? Grown up?”

“Yeah. I feel like you’ve matured a lot.”

Wataru: “Hmmmm…”

Wataru-kun stops walking, folding his arms as if in deep thought.

“What’s wrong?”

Wataru: “I’ve… grown up… an adult…”

After a moment of silence, Wataru-kun abruptly speaks up again.

Wataru: “No, that isn’t true. I’m not an adult yet.”

“Eh?”

Wataru: “Well, you still don’t want to be my girlfriend, right, Onee-chan?”

“W-Wataru-kun?!”

The two of us are still in the middle of the arcade. Since it’s an afternoon during summer break, there’s a large amount of people crowding the arcade.

“Huuuuuh, that kid just confessed his love for his big sister.”

“Amazing isn’t it, the fact that he did it in front of a crowd, too. Talk about a public confession.”

“Welllll, since it was cute, I’ll forgive it~”

People start to erupt into whispers all around us.

Wataru: “If I were really an adult, then you’d see me as a grown man– a member of the opposite gender, right? But you don’t see me that way. You still see me as a little kid–”

“H-hey, Wataru-kun!!”

I forcibly interrupt Wataru-kun.

“Let’s get heading home! It’s really hot out today and I feel like I might collapse if I stay out for much longer. So, uhm, let’s hurry and get going!”

I blurt out a bunch of babble that I don’t really even understand myself, grabbing Wataru-kun’s hand and dragging him away from the scene.

★☆★

Once we get to the mansion, Wataru-kun and I go our separate ways. I stop to pick up the mail before heading up to the fifth floor.

All of the Asahina family’s mail is always delivered to the first floor. Usually, someone will pick it all up from downstairs, and then bring it up to the fifth floor to sort through by address. Then, they’ll leave the sorted piles on the living room table.

Today, Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san both had received a few magazines addressed to them, so the pile’s rather heavy.

Since it would be difficult to sort through the mail while holding it all, I place the pile down on the table before beginning to sort through it.

In the middle of the pile, I see an envelope that’s addressed to me.

(Ah, that’s–)

The envelope looks official, a bit like the type that a company would use. Once I catch a glimpse of the cooperation that it’s direct mail from, I get an idea of who sent it.

It’s the name of the game company that Natsume-san works for.

Without thinking, my hand stops.

I look around for a moment in worry. It’s only once I’m sure that there’s no one else in the living room that I finally open the envelope.

Inside is an announcement for a new game that’s coming out. Natsume-san sometimes sends me lists of things like upcoming games and the stores they’re being sold at. They’re usually pretty simple and easy to understand, but also very impersonal.

But today’s list is different. A single title on the list is highlighted in bright ink, with the following written beside it.

This is a game that I helped make. There have been plenty of difficulties, but it’s finally complete. I think it turned out pretty well, so please give it a try!

(That’s right… it’s finally being released.)

Ever since he changed departments this spring, Natsume-san’s been really busy every day. Sometimes, he’ll send short messages about how his work’s increased so much that he’s been having to stay up all night in the office working, and I can tell that he’s been exhausted lately.

The past few months, we haven’t spoken or met up much since I can see how rough he has it and I haven’t wanted to bother him.

(But now he can finally take a breather again.)

At the thought, I can’t help but feel a little bit uneasy.

Now that he has the time, Natsume-san might visit the mansion. No– it’s his family’s home, so it’s only natural that he’ll visit eventually.

… when he does, how should I act with him?

Natsume: “Just as ordinary siblings. … no, I can’t.”

I remember the words that he’d muttered in my ear the night of my high school graduation party. And I remember the warm sensation at the nape of my neck as he—

(... – wait a minute!)

I try to calm the pounding of my heart down. I take a deep breath, breathing in and out until the warmth of the memory starts to clear from my mind.

(I can’t just be thinking about Natsume-san.)

I’m grateful for Natsume-san’s feelings for me.

But it isn’t right for me to be thinking only of him.

Because Natsume-san isn’t the only one who has confessed to having feelings for me.

(In any case, I should head back to my room.)

As soon as I finish hurriedly sorting through the rest of the mail, I leave the living room, Natsume-san’s letter in hand.

Once I get to the hall, I glance in the direction of the stairs. My room’s on the fourth floor. It’d probably be faster to head down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator since it’s only a floor down.

I swiftly make my way down the stairs. My steps begin to gradually grow faster, and by the time I reach the landing, I’m practically running.

And then.

I see someone emerge from the elevator hall on the fourth floor.

There are two figures, the both of them resembling each other.

Azusa: “Huh?”

Tsubaki: “Oh, perfect!”

(Tsubaki-san and— Azusa-san?!)

Seeing the two of them come out of nowhere throws me off guard.

So much so that I lose my footing. I tumble over a step, and I’m suddenly sent flying, my body hurling forwards through the air as I trip and fall.

Azusa: “Watch out!”

Azusa-san yells.

When I look down, I realize that my body’s rapidly approaching the concrete floor.

(Ahhhh–!!)

I close my eyes as I brace myself.

Tsubaki: “G-guh!”

There’s a thud as my body crashes into something. But the impact isn’t as painful as I’d thought it’d be at all. Actually, it’s rather warm.

Tsubaki: “Oww…”

I hear a voice groan in my ear.

(R-right now–)

Gingerly, I open my eyes. I’m met with wide, uniquely glowing pupils obscuring my vision.

They’re eyes that I’ve gazed into countless times before– the brilliant gleam in them familiar.

“Tsu- Tsubaki-san?”

Tsubaki-san’s face is squished up close to mine.

His eyes are wide open, and his pupils almost look as if they’re trembling as they stare at me.

He’s so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath on my lips.

Tsubaki: “Ah…”

I can feel the heat of Tsubaki-san’s arms wrapped around me. We’re pressed together so tightly that I can feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat from through my own chest.

We’re both ice still, as if time has frozen in place.

After a moment, Tsubaki-san’s body finally moves, and he turns his face slightly away from me, breaking our stare.

Once he does, it feels as if time begins to gradually move again.

And I find myself finally beginning to register our position.

We’re both on the floor, at the bottom of the stairs, Tsubaki-san’s knees on the ground. He’s pressed up back-against the wall, with me on top of him.

I’m squished against him, the whole of my weight leaning on him as he holds me tight in his arms.

(That’s right..)

I begin to gradually get a grip of what happened.

I had tripped and fallen down the stairs. And Tsubaki-san caught me before I could hit the floor, crashing against the wall with me in his arms in his attempt to save me.

(... oh.)

My body suddenly shoots up as I register the situation.

“I– I’m sorry!”

I shout out as I straighten myself.

As I attempt to get up, I feel Tsubaki-san’s grip on me tighten.

Tsubaki: “Hold on… stay like this for just a bit longer.”

His voice is a soft, gentle murmur.

Tsubaki: “I don’t want you to hurt yourself. Wait a moment.”

I can feel someone’s presence beside me. Azusa carefully looks over my form.

Azusa: “Alright, it looks like she’s fine, Tsubaki.”

Azusa-san’s voice is calm.

Tsubaki: “Really? …. thank god.”

Tsubaki-san moves his arm away from me, letting me out of his hold.

Azusa: “Can you stand?”

As he asks me this, Azusa-san holds a hand out to me.

“Oh… yes.”

I take Azusa-san’s hand and stand up.

Tsubaki: “Whew, that was really surprising.”

Tsubaki-san braces himself on the wall behind him with his hand and stands up as well.

“I’m so sorry! … uhm, Tsubaki-san, are you okay?”

Tsubaki: “Huh, me? Eh, I’m totally fine.”

Even though he says he’s fine, Tsubaki-san’s grimacing.

“But…”

Tsubaki: “Like I said, I’m okay. A little crash like that’s nothing– I’m a guy, after all.”

Azusa: “That’s right. He’s just got a little bump right here.”

Tsubaki: “Owwwww!! Don’t touch it, Azusaaaa!”

“Er, um… are you sure you’re really okay?”

Azusa: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be sure to take a look at it later.”

Azusa-san cracks a smile as he reassures me. Knowing him, I trust him to keep his word and handle it.

“Alright… but, really, thank you very much for saving me!”

I give the two of them a deep bow as I thank them.

Afterwards, Azusa-san holds something out to me.

Azusa: “Here.”

“... ah.”

In his hand is the envelope that Natsume-san sent to me.

Azusa: “You dropped this on the floor when you fell.”

“... I’m sorry.”

He hands the envelope to me.

(Did he notice that it’s from Natsume-san?)

Since the envelope has Natsume-san’s company’s logo on it, he likely did. However, Azusa-san doesn’t mention it.

(I’m curious, but if he isn’t going to mention it or ask about it, I won’t, either.)

Either way, I should probably get to leaving as soon as possible.

“Thank you again, Tsubaki-san, Azusa-san. Um, I’m going to head to my room now.”

As I thank them, I move to leave.

Tsubaki: “Ah, wait a sec.”

Tsubaki-san calls out to me.

Tsubaki: “The thing is, we were actually looking for you earlier.”

“Huh?”

I instinctively turn around to see Tsubaki-san pull something out from his pocket.

Tsubaki: “Here… this is for you.”

It’s a ticket to an upcoming event.

The title of an anime that Tsubaki-san’s the leading voice actor for and a large number ‘20’ are both written on it in a large font.

“What’s this?”

Tsubaki: “The anime that I’m in originally came out 20 years ago. So, they’re having an anniversary event. I’d really like it if you’d come.”

“An… event, huh.”

For a moment, I hesitate to accept the invitation.

I feel a bit overwhelmed as I remember Tsubaki-san’s previous confession.

“Even so– I still love you.”

The words that Tsubaki-san said to me that night at the theme park, after I had told him I can’t return his feelings, surface in my mind.

(What should I do..?)

If I accept, I might cause a misunderstanding. But since it’s clearly something that’s important to him, I need to think carefully about how to reply.

Azusa: “I understand what you’re probably thinking.”

Azusa-san interrupts my thoughts.

Azusa: “But this is different.”

Azusa-san looks at Tsubaki-san before turning towards me.

Azusa: “Tsubaki wants you to come see because this is a special, important occasion for him. As a voice actor.”

“As a… voice actor?”

Tsubaki: “Hey, uh, Azusa.”

Tsubaki’s voice cuts in.

Tsubaki: “I’m grateful for you trying to help me out, but I think that this is something that I would rather do myself, you know?”

Azusa: “Sorry, Tsubaki.”

Azusa-san’s attention turns back towards Tsubaki-san.

Azusa: “I just thought that it might be a little strange if you said it yourself.”

Tsubaki: “Ah– …. Well– … okay, yeah. I guess it would sound kinda weird coming from me, huh.”

Tsubaki-san goes silent at that.

After a moment, he opens his mouth again.

Tsubaki: “Still, I wanna at least say this.”

He looks at me.

Tsubaki: “This role is really, really important to me. And this event is really, really important to me, too, which is why it would mean a lot to me if you came to watch.”

He holds the invitation out to me once more.

Tsubaki: “So? Will you come?”

“.... yes.”

I give him my answer.

“I’ll go. Thank you very much.”

Tsubaki: “Thanks!”

Tsubaki-san’s face breaks into a bright grin.

Tsubaki: “Woah… I’m happy. I’m super, super happy.”

He lets out a sigh of relief.

Azusa: “Well, in that case, isn’t it about time that we get going, Tsubaki?”

Tsubaki: “Oh, yeah, you’re right.”

“Where are you two headed?”

Azusa: “We’ve still got some recording to finish up.”

Azusa-san replies.

Azusa: “We stopped by since we had a little time before we needed to head out.”

Tsubaki: “We’d planned on giving you the ticket real quick first. I mean, wouldn’t it have sucked if you’d made plans for that day before we could invite you?”

“That’s why?”

Tsubaki: “Yeah. I mean, like I said, this event is super important.”

He flashes me a smile.

Tsubaki: “I really, reaaaaaaaally want you to come since it means a lot to me. That’s why we went looking for you.”

With that, he and Azusa-san leave to return to work.

(An important event…)

I stare at the invitation in my hand. As I do, I can understand how an event like this would mean a lot to Tsubaki-san as a voice actor.

(But, is that really…?)

My heart starts to waver, and I can’t help but suddenly feel a sense of doubt rush over me.

My thoughts swirl through my head.

I only find myself becoming more and more worried. I can tell that being alone in my room will just make my anxiety worse.

(T-That’d be no good.)

I place both the invitation that Tsubaki-san gave me and the envelope from Natsume-san in the mailbox in front of my room and leave without heading inside.

★☆★

As I head down the stairs, I find myself still in deep thought.

But I haven’t managed to reach an answer at all yet.

Before I know it, I’ve already made my way to the first floor.

It’s already starting to get dark outside.

For a moment, I start to doubt whether or not I should go out. But I don’t really want to head back to my room right now, either.

(But it hasn’t gone completely dark, yet.)

As I think this, I begin to make my way to the front door.

“Chii-chan, wait a moment.”

I hear someone call out to me. I turn my head to see Louis-san in the hallway.

“Oh… hi.”

Louis: “Mmhmm, good evening.”

“Did you just get back home?”

Louis: “Yes, I got off a little bit early today.”

He gives me a gentle smile.

Louis: “Hmm?”

Suddenly, his smile is replaced with a worried expression.

Louis: “What’s wrong?”

“Umm…”

I do my best to shake away my inner thoughts and reply.

“It’s nothing.”

Louis: “Chii-chan.”

Louis-san’s voice is a bit stern.

Louis: “Lying is bad.”

“R-really, I’m–”

As I scramble for words, I meet Louis-san’s eyes.

There’s an earnest glimmer in them that robs me of my strength to keep speaking.

“... I’m sorry.”

I apologize in a small voice, looking down at the floor.

Immediately afterwards, I feel the air suddenly clear up, and I’m overwhelmed with a refreshing fragrance.

(What… is this?)

The refreshing fragrance grows stronger as a hand gently moves to caress my cheek.

It gingerly lifts my head back up, and I’m met with the sight of Louis-san’s kind, smiling face.

Louis: “... Chii-chan.”

Louis-san’s voice is soft.

“Yes?”

Louis: “Let’s go out and eat.”

“.... okay?”

– 20 minutes later.

We’re at a very fashionable restaurant inside Inokashira Park.

The building faces the park’s pond, which gives me a good view of the water, street, and the rest of the park right outside.

Even though it’s still a bit early for dinner, the restaurant is reasonably crowded. So much so that I’m a bit worried about whether or not we’ll be able to get a seat without a reservation. In the end, though, we’re quickly led to a table in the back with a very soothing atmosphere.

Louis: “The owner is a client of mine.”

Louis-san explains as he sits down beside me.

I’m slightly confused for a moment, but then I realize that the shop owner must be a regular of Louis-san’s. That must be why he seems so familiar with this place.

Louis: “The Japanese food here is yummy.”

Louis-san holds the menu between the two of us.

Our seats are close together, and I realize that this is meant to be some sort of couple’s seating.

They aren’t connected, but they’re so close together that you would only have to reach your arm out a little bit to wrap it around or touch the person beside you.

Louis: “Chii-chan, which would you like to eat?”

“Oh, um, I…”

I can’t help but feel uneasy about our seating. I wouldn’t mind regular seats, but these ones… I do mind.

Of course, Louis-san is different from Natsume-san and Tsubaki-san. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the Asahina siblings… and a man.

“I’m not really hungry right now. Plus, we have dinner soon, and…”

As I tell Louis-san this, I begin to stand up from my seat.

But as I do, Louis-san looks at me and suddenly hits his palm with his fist.

Louis: “Ah, that’s right.”

“Huh?”

Unprepared for the sudden gesture, I sit back down after losing my chance to flee.

Louis: “Dinner… mmhmm, dinner.”

Louis-san brings his phone out, and calls someone.

Louis: “Hello. … ah, Ukyo-niisan.”

(..... huh?!)

Louis: “Mmhmm, it’s Louis. You see, today, Chii-chan and I are going to be having dinner out together.”

(L-Louis-san?!)

Louis: “It’s alright, we won’t stay out late. … mmhmm… alright. Bye-bye, then.”

Louis-san hangs up with a pleased smile.

Louis: “Don’t worry about preparing dinner today, alright?”

“But…”

Louis: “Chii-chan.”

Louis-san stops me from finishing my sentence with a gentle smile.

Louis: “You don’t want to go back home… right?”

“Er…”

I find myself shocked at how suddenly Louis-san had pointed out my thoughts.

(But how did he know? I didn’t say anything about it…)

Louis: “Your eyes.”

His voice is calm as he explains himself.

Louis: “Your eyes give you away. If I couldn’t read your expression, I wouldn’t be able to call myself a beautician.”

“...”

Louis: “Everyday, I get a lot of customers.”

Louis-san looks upwards.

Louis: “They all have their own reasons for coming to my shop. Their own important, unique reasons.”

His gaze goes to me again.

Louis: “So it’s important for me to observe them, to understand them. Their hands, their shoulders, their legs… every little movement, every little gesture. Their faces are important to observe as well. But the most important are… their eyes.”

As he says this Louis-san’s eyes stare directly into mine.

Louis: “So I understand. What people wish for… and what they don’t.”

“Louis-san…”

It’s a strange feeling. Louis-san’s eyes are completely earnest, and yet, there isn’t a bit of strain or tension in them.

Rather, it feels like there are invisible arms that are wrapping me up in a comforting embrace.

(Ah…)

While I bask in the sensation, Louis-san breaks through my thoughts by speaking again.

Louis: “Chii-chan, could it be that you’re worrying about Natsume-niisan?”

“Huh?”

I’m stunned in shock.

I bring my hand to my mouth in an attempt to keep myself from yelling out in surprise.

Louis: “Or maybe you’re worrying about Tsubaki-niiisan and Azusa-niisan?”

“Um, um…”

Louis: “If not them, maybe it’s Subaru-kun you’re worrying about?”

“W-wait… hold on a second.”

I manage to squeeze out the words in a strangled voice.

“Why did you specifically name those four?”

Louis: “Oh, I heard.”

“Wh– … heard?”

Louis: “Juli-san let me know what’s been going on with them.”

“Eeehhh?!”

(H-how does Juli know about what’s been going on between us…??)

Louis: “I’m sorry for surprising you.”

Louis-san’s face clouds over slightly.

Louis: “But, you see, the two of us are the “Chii-chan Defense Squad”.”

Louis-san places his hand over mine.

Louis: “Juli-san’s been doing some investigating. For your benefit. And he’s been telling me about his findings, because you’re someone that we care about.”

(T-that’s…)

I’m overcome with a sudden realization.

Back when I was in high school, Juli spent the majority of his time in my room.

But after I’d started attending university, that’s changed– actually, I’d say that Juli rarely ever spends much time in my room anymore.

(So that’s what he’s been doing…)

I feel irritation starting to well up in me towards Juli.

I have no idea what exactly Juli’s “investigations” have been entailing, but the two of us are going to have to have a long talk about the meaning of personal privacy.

(I’ll have to grill Juli about this later.)

Louis-san’s voice interrupts my thoughts.

Louis: “Please don’t be upset with Juli-san. He’s just worried about you. And I’ve already requested that he stop.”

His face is still cloudy as he continues.

Louis: “I also don’t like the fact that he’s been investigating our brothers.”

“Ah… that’s right. I’m sorry for Juli’s actions.”

I bow my head down in apology. Once I do, I feel Louis-san move his hand from where it had been settled over mine, as he brings his fingers to the bottom of my chin.

Slowly, his fingers lift my head up.

Louis: “Maybe it’s this.”

“Huh?”

I have no idea what Louis-san is talking about, so I look at Louis-san in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

Louis: “What Natsume-niisan, Tsubaki-niisan, and Azusa-niisan, and Subaru-kun… and everyone else, feel for you.”

“Eh? Eh?”

Louis: “Chii-chan, you’re always so honest. You’re always so genuine and up-front.”

Louis-san brings his face close to mine.

Louis: “That’s why we all love you.”

“L-Louis-san…”

Louis: “We’re brothers. But as we’ve grown older, we’ve also gradually grown distant. By distancing ourselves from each other, we’ve become less likely to collide and get into conflicts.”

“....”

Louis: “While I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing, because of it, we’re not very good at some things.”

“What kind of things?”

Louis: “Being our true selves around each other.”

Louis-san’s face grows sad and regretful.

Louis: “Whenever we show our true selves around each other, we’re more likely to fight, and it’s very painful. That’s why we’ve stopped.”

Louis-san closes his eyes. I listen and wait until he opens them again.

When he does, he’s smiling again.

Louis: “Then you came, Chii-chan. You’re someone who we can be ourselves around, someone who sees us for who we really are. That’s why everyone’s so captivated by you.”

“...”

Louis: “Hey, Chii-chan.”

Louis-san whispers softly to me.

“What is it?”

Louis: “I think we should probably order soon.”

“Oh…”

I tear my eyes away from Louis-san’s face.

Louis: “What would you like to eat?”

“Um, um… whatever you like. I trust your judgement.”

Louis: “Mm, alright.”

Louis-san opens the menu again before speaking up, as if he’d just remembered something.

Louis: “Ah, Chii-chan, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

Louis: “There’s another reason why we all love you.”

My whole body suddenly goes still.

“Wha-what… what is it?”

I timidly ask Louis-san what he means, and he replies.

Louis: “... because you’re cute.”

“Eh…”

Louis: “Everybody also loves you because of how cute you are, Chii-chan.”

Louis-san’s smile is earnest as he says this to me.

★☆★

After Louis-san and I are done eating, we go back home to the mansion together, and I head to the fifth floor.

Since I’d saddled Ukyo-san with preparing dinner all by himself today by going out to eat with Louis-san, I figure that the least I can do is help with tidying up.

“I’m sorry, I’m back.”

I apologize as I move to enter the living room. In my hurry, I accidentally bump into someone while going through the front door.

“Oh–”

I feel a hand hold my shoulder to keep me steady.

Ukyo: “Are you alright?”

“... Ukyo-san. I’m sorry.”

Ukyo: “Welcome back home. Please, don’t worry about it.”

Ukyo-san’s holding a bottle of something in his left hand.

Ukyo: “It’s brandy.”

At seeing the direction of my gaze, Ukyo-san answers my unasked question.

Ukyo: “I thought we might drink some.”

Ukyo-san looks in the direction of the living room.

When he does, I realize that there’s another figure in the room.

Masaomi: “Ah, welcome home.”

Masaomi-san is sitting down on the sofa.

Masaomi: “You went out to eat with Louis, didn’t you? How was it?”

“Oh… it was really yummy.”

Masaomi: “I see, that’s good.”

Masaomi-san gives me a kind, gentle smile, and then turns towards Ukyo-san.

Masaomi: “Ukyo. Since it concerns her, don’t you think we should include her in our conversation?”

Ukyo-san sets the bottle of brandy he’s holding on the table next to two glasses.

Ukyo: “Do you happen to have time to spare at the moment?”

“Yes, I do.”

Ukyo: “Then, please take a seat.”

I do as he says and sit down on the sofa. Masaomi-san picks up the bottle of brandy and pours some into the two glasses.

Masaomi: “Since you’re still a bit young to drink alcohol, would you like me to get you something else to drink?”

“No thank you, I’m alright. I’m still full from dinner.”

Masaomi: “Alright. Forgive us for indulging a little bit, then.”

After he says this, Masaomi-san hands one of the now-filled glasses of brandy to Ukyo-san.

The amber liquid in their glasses swirls a little as they lift them up, bring them to their lips, and take a drink.

Ukyo: “Mmm.”

Masaomi: “Un… it’s a little strong. But still good, I think.”

The two of them sigh. Suddenly, I realize that they’re both still wearing suits.

Ukyo: “Masaomi-niisan and I both only got back home recently.”

Masaomi: “Maybe it’s a little more accurate to say that we’d been talking outside for a while.”

Masaomi-san gives me a pained smile.

Masaomi: “But haven’t quite managed to reach a conclusion yet. So, we decided to come home and continue our discussion here.”

“I see.”

I can’t help but wonder what kind of conversation Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san would have that would need to continue this late into the night. It must be important.

Ukyo: “Louis called me earlier telling me that you wouldn’t be able to help with preparing dinner today, but we actually ordered out tonight.”

“Eh?”

Masaomi: “Ah, don’t worry about it. Since you and Louis went out for dinner, Yuusuke and Wataru were the only other brothers left home. Wataru was actually rather excited to order whatever he wanted.”

As Masaomi-san says this, he goes to refill his now-empty glass of brandy.

Masaomi: “Well then… let me catch you up on what we’ve been talking about.”

Masaomi-san’s tone changes. He looks at Ukyo-san, as if requesting permission for something. Slowly, Ukyo-san nods at him.

Masaomi: “We were wondering whether or not you’d managed to get in contact with Iori recently.”

“Iori-san?”

Ukyo: “You see, pertaining to Iori…”

Ukyo-san speaks up.

Ukyo: “Since Iori left home, we haven’t heard anything from him.”

“Ah…”

Ukyo: “Furthermore, his bank account has no record of any recent activity or withdrawals.”

“Ehh?!”

Masaomi: “Iori’s a very bright kid.”

Masaomi-san enters into the conversation.

Masaomi: “So I’m sure that he’s managing to do well… but we can’t help but worry for him, at least a bit.”

“…”

We fall into a heavy silence.

Then, as if in an attempt to break it, Ukyo-san pours some more brandy into his glass. The sound is awfully loud.

Ukyo: “And so, we were wondering… if, perchance, you’d had any contact with Iori recently.”

“... me?”

Masaomi: “You see, Iori’s never been the type to talk to us much.”

Masaomi-san lifts his glass up, but doesn’t bring it to his lips.

Masaomi: “Since we’re brothers, you’d think that’s a little strange, right? But although we’re brothers, we’re also all very different people. Because we’re always together, there are some things that we can’t talk about with each other.”

Those are the same sentiments that Louis-san had expressed to me earlier.

Ukyo: “To be quite frank, we think that Iori has opened his heart to you more than he ever has to any of us. And so, we’d like it if you could tell us whether he’s said anything to you.”

“... I see.”

I answer in a small voice.

“He hasn’t made any contact with me at all.”

Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san watch me intently as I continue.

“No letters, no messages, nothing.”

The three of us are enveloped in silence again.

Masaomi: “... I see.”

This time, Masaomi-san is the one to break it.

Masaomi: “I understand. Thank you for your honesty.”

Ukyo: “Our apologies for suddenly questioning you about this.”

Ukyo-san adds in.

I understand that this is their way of saying that “I can leave now”, and yet, I find myself unable to stand up from the sofa.

Masaomi: “What’s wrong?”

Masaomi-san asks me when I continue to stay seated.

…. I’m still lost in doubt.

(I still feel as if I don’t understand my brothers as well as they do each other.)

I mean, they’ve known each other for their whole lives. I’ve only been part of their family for about two years.

That’s why I’ve always sort of thought that I don’t have much of a right to say anything about them to each other.

(However.)

Maybe I've been thinking about it wrong this whole time.

Over the past six months or so, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I really know about my brothers. About who they really are.

And that’s why I feel like maybe, just maybe, it’s okay for me to say my piece as well.

I’m a member of the Asahina family, too, after all.

“Um.”

As I think this, I instinctively open my mouth.

“I feel like there’s no need to worry about Iori-san.”

Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san carefully bring their attention towards me.

Ukyo: “Oh?”

Masaomi: “Is there a specific reason you think so?”

“Yes.”

I take a moment to gather my thoughts and think about how to best continue.

“Because Iori-san told me he would. Be okay, I mean.”

Ukyo-san’s doubtful expression grows puzzled.

Ukyo: “And when did this exchange with him occur?”

“The day of my high school graduation ceremony.”

Ukyo: “.... the same day that Iori left the mansion.”

“Yes. After Iori-san left the mansion, he visited my school, and we talked.”

Ukyo: “And Iori said this to you directly?”

“Yes. He’d congratulated me on graduating. Then, he told me that “I finally found the courage to fix things after this”.”

For the third time this conversation, we fall into silence.

But this time, the silence feels different. It isn’t as heavy as before.

Ukyo: “... I see.”

Slowly, Ukyo-san nods.

Masaomi: “Ah. So that’s what happened.”

Masaomi-san lets out a sigh.

“I trust Iori-san.”

I say.

“I think that we should have faith in him.”

I try to speak my mind as straight-forwardly as possible. Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san both exchange glances with each other.

Slowly, both of their faces begin to shift into their own unique versions of a slight smile.

Masaomi: “I’m sure that’s true… I’m sure that you’re right.”

Ukyo: “I’m of the same opinion.”

Masaomi-san sinks into the couch, leaning to look up at the ceiling.

Masaomi: “Hah… I’m a horrible big brother, aren’t I? I don’t even understand my own little brothers.”

Ukyo: “I’m no different. However, I believe that we’re starting to understand them better than before. We have someone here to teach us how, now, after all.”

Ukyo-san picks the bottle of brandy and both him and Masaomi-san’s glasses up as he rises to stand.

Ukyo: “Masaomi-niisan, I believe it’s about time we get some rest, don’t you think?”

Masaomi: “Mm, I guess you’re right… but I feel a little light right now. I think I drank a bit too much.”

“Um, in that case, I can handle cleaning up.”

Ukyo: “It’s alright. There’s no need for you to do that, I’ll handle it.”

“But…”

Ukyo: “Today, you’ve managed to ease a rather large worry of ours. It would be far exceeding overstepping to ask anything else of you.”

As he says this, he heads in the direction of the kitchen.

Masaomi: “Ahh, that’s right. I’d almost forgotten.”

Masaomi-san pulls something out from inside his pocket.

Masaomi: “Here you go. A letter from Kaname came for you.”

“From Kaname-san?”

Masaomi-san hands me a sealed envelope. It’s addressed to “Imouto-chan”.

Masaomi: “Kaname occasionally sends letters to me, keeping me updated on how he’s doing. Whenever he needs anything from any of our other brothers, he’ll send separate envelopes addressed to them inside of the larger envelope he sends to me, since the temple he’s currently at has a limit on how much mail he’s allowed to send out.”

“Huh, really?”

Ukyo: “Since he sends Masaomi-niisan all the letters that are addressed to those in our family, I can’t help but wonder who he’s sending the remaining of his allotted letters to.”

As he washes the glasses, Ukyo-san cuts in.

Masaomi: “Mmm, well, in any case… if you’d like to send him a reply, feel free to let me know, alright?”

“Alright, I will.”

Once I get back to my room, I open the envelope and pull the letter out from inside. Maybe it’s a little rude of me, but I can’t help but think that Kaname-san’s handwriting is unexpectedly neat.

— Dear Imouto-chan.

Has university been going well for you?

It looks like I’ll be staying here for a little while longer. I’m sorry that I can’t be there for you. However, I’ll do my best to come back home as soon as possible.

When that day comes, I hope that you’ll welcome me back home with a kiss.

Since it’s a special occasion, a kiss on the cheek should be permissible, don’t you think?

(Ahahaha…)

I can’t help but smile despite myself.

(However.)

I know that this isn’t all there is to it.

(I won’t let myself be deceived again, Kaname-san.)

Kaname-san lies sometimes. When he lies, he doesn’t do it to hurt people– he does it to protect them.

But I won’t let myself be fooled.

I can tell that Kaname-san didn’t write to me because he’s worried about me. There isn’t a trace of concern in his writing.

Rather, I can tell that Kaname-san wrote to me because he genuinely cares about me.

And that makes me really happy.

– At that moment.

(... ah.)

I begin to realize something.

(I think that I’m starting to understand my brothers more…)

Iori-san…

Kaname-san…

There are certain things I understand about them that Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san don’t.

Of course, it isn’t as if I understand everything about them. But I do think that I’m starting to learn more and more about them as people as time goes on.

(It’s… a nice feeling.)

I go on to read the second page of Kaname-san’s letter.

PS,

Imouto-chan.

If there ever comes a time where you find yourself lost, or you feel as if you’ve lost your way, I want you to believe in the path that you’ve paved for yourself. Don’t let others sway your heart. No matter which path you may tread, if it’s you who has chosen to walk it, I have faith that it’s the right one.

That’s the end of the letter.

(Kaname-san…)

At that moment, I feel a warmth rise up in my chest.

★☆★

(Alright!)

I check my reflection in my mirror one last time before exiting my room.

It’s been pretty rainy lately, but luckily, it seems like today’s gonna be sunny out.

(It might be hot out, but being hot’s better than getting wet!)

The anniversary event for the anime Tsubaki-san invited me to is today.

In order to make sure that I had suitable clothes for the occasion, I went and bought a new outfit to wear today.

The truth is, usually, Louis-san helps me with coordinating my outfits for stuff like this. Maybe it would have been better if I’d gone to him for help, but I figured that it would be a bit rude to expect him to help all the time, so I decided to pick everything for today out myself.

I wait for the elevator and head up to the fifth floor.

I’d already prepared a light meal to eat before I go. Yesterday, I’d made a sandwich and put it in the fridge to save for today.

When I head to the kitchen, though, an unexpected scene is waiting for me.

“Oh, good morning. … whew.”

Hikaru-san gives me a large, sleepy yawn.

He’s holding the sandwich I’d made the night before in his hands.

“Hikaru-san?!”

Hikaru: “Ah… D’you mind keeping your voice down a little bit? I might’ve drank a little too much yesterday.”

Hikaru-san is wearing a luxurious looking suit.

I get the feeling that he probably just got back home this morning.

“What were you doing?”

Hikaru: “Interview.”

As Hikaru-san off-handedly answers me, he casually throws the last bite of my sandwich into his mouth.

As the last bite disappears into his mouth, all the preparations I’d made yesterday disappear alongside it.

Hikaru: “Hm? Did I do something?”

Hikaru-san gives me an amused laugh.

“I planned on eating that sandwich for breakfast this morning.”

Hikaru: “Hm? I’d assumed that it was just leftovers from yesterday. You made it for breakfast?”

After a moment, Hikaru-san’s expression changes.

Hikaru: “Ahh, that’s right. Today’s that event, isn’t it. … I see. Ohhh, I see.”

Hikaru-san gets up from where he was sitting and stretches.

A strange stench emits from his suit and hair and through the kitchen. He smells of strong perfume, tobacco, alcohol, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on, all mixed together.

Hikaru: “So, given any mind to who you’ll choose?”

“Huh?”

Hikaru: “Hmmm.”

Hikaru-san laughs, amused.

Morning rays filter through the kitchen window and hit Hikaru-san, giving his face a sense of shadowy depth.

Hikaru: “It’s one of those three, then?”

“I don’t think I understand what you’re getting at?”

Hikaru: “Ahaha, even if you lie– … hm? Your face… you really, genuinely don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, do you? I guess they wouldn’t have mentioned it, huh.”

Hikaru-san’s smiling face reminds me of the joker in a deck of cards.

Hikaru: “Natsume will be attending today’s event, too.”

“Eh?!”

Hikaru: “The company that Natsume works for will be adapting the anime the event’s for into a game. So, he’ll be there too.”

“How do you know that?”

Hikaru: “Hm, I wonder?”

Hikaru-san shrugs his shoulders exaggeratedly.

Hikaru: “But what does him being there mean to you? Is it a bad thing? I wonder, what ever will you do with this love square you’ve found yourself entangled in?”

Hikaru-san takes a single step towards me.

Hikaru: “You always hear about love triangles, but love squares are a rather novel thing, aren’t they? … ahaha. Let’s see what you’ve got, then.”

“Our– our relationship is nothing like that.”

I reply.

“I’m just going to an event. It has nothing to do with anyone’s feelings.”

As I tell Hikaru-san that, I move to exit the kitchen.

– At that moment.

Hikaru: “You may say that– and you may feel that way– but is that how they think of it?”

Hikaru-san catches my hand.

“Hi-Hikaru-san–”

Hikaru: “Here.”

Hikaru-san picks his bag up with his other hand, and leads me to the bathroom.

Hikaru: “Did you really plan on going looking this plain? This isn’t anything to write home about at all.”

Hikaru-san points a finger at my clothes as he speaks.

Hikaru: “Here, you can consider this a thank you for the sandwich.”

As he says this, he opens his bag and brings out a small pouch. Inside are a bunch of different cosmetics and makeup tools.

Hikaru: “This may not be my best work ever, but… mmm, it should do the trick, at least. Don’t move unless I tell you to… got it?”

While I’m busy being taken aback at what he just said, Hikaru-san’s hands start moving with lightning speed, until my reflection in the mirror looks completely different.

(... ah.)

I’m left sitting in astonishment.

Hikaru: “Clothes are clothes, so there’s a limit to what I can do about them. Ah, it should be fine. Those three’ve never been a fan of the glitzy look, anyhow.”

Hikaru-san comes up from behind me, his body brushing up against my shoulders.

Hikaru: “So? What do you think?”

“Pretty…”

It’s the only answer I can think of.

Hikaru: “Good. … now, time for the finishing touch.”

Suddenly, Hikaru-san brings his arm around my body, before wrapping around it just below my chest.

“Eh???”

Hikaru: “Don’t move!”

In Hikaru-san’s other hand, he’s holding a pearl pink lipstick.

Hikaru-san twists the tube until a bit of it is sticking out, before smearing a bit of it onto the tip of his finger. He then sets the lipstick down, before bringing his finger to my lips.

His touch is tender and meticulous as he traces my lips.

Each time his body brushes up against my back as he moves, I can feel a rush of electricity jolt through me.

Hikaru: “Alright, all done.”

At that, he finally drops his finger from my lips, before resting his chin on my right shoulder.

Hikaru: “I wonder how they’ll react when they see you?”

Hikaru-san brings his fingertip to his lips, before licking the remaining lipstick off it with his tongue.

Hikaru: “Ahaha— ahahaha!”

Hikaru-san’s laugh echoes in my ears, both as beautiful as the delicate sway of a chime and as grating as the crash of a cracked bell.

Hikaru: “And with that, I bid you farewell, Imouto-san.”

As he says this, Hikaru-san grabs my shoulders and spins me around, pushing me away.

Before I know it, I’m sent stumbling out of the bathroom door.

★☆★

I’m on the first floor before I even realize it. I’d practically sprinted down the stairs of the mansion, frantic.

I lean against the wall at the front entrance, hunched over as I attempt to catch my breath. No matter how hard I try, though, I can’t seem to get myself to calm down.

It’s a while before I’m finally able to so much as walk again.

(I’m gonna miss the train at this rate!)

The event’s at Makuhari Messe, which is about an hour and a half away from the mansion.

In order to get there, I need to transfer trains, which means that if I miss one of them, I won’t be able to make it to the event in time.

But the outfit I’m wearing isn’t really made for physical activity, so it isn’t like I can run there.

(What should I do…)

I think worriedly.

“... get in.”

Suddenly, a car comes up next to me.

“Yu– Yuusuke-kun!?”

The car is one of the three that the Asahina family owns.

And sitting in the driver’s seat is Yuusuke-kun.

Yuusuke: “You’re headin’ to that event, right? I’ll drive.”

“Um… but…”

Yuusuke: “If you keep hesitating, we won’t make it in time.”

“Ah… you’re right. Thank you!”

I go to climb into the passenger’s seat. Once he sees that I’m inside, Yuusuke-kun steps on the accelerator.

Yuusuke: “This thing’s at Makuhari Messe, yeah?”

“Um, yeah.”

For the first time since I’d run all the way out of the mansion, I’m finally able to properly catch my breath.

“But why are you driving me?”

Yuusuke: “Might as well.”

Yusuke-kun replies while looking ahead.

Yuusuke: “I was already on my way to school, anyways.”

“Huh? But our school’s in Meiji, though? Makuhari Messi’s in Chiba!”

Yuusuke: “It’s cool. It’s still a while before I’ve gotta be there. I should be good enough on time to drive you before.”

“B-but, Meiji and Chiba are really far away from each other, aren’t they?! It’s gonna be a long drive back– this is a complete detour.”

Yuusuke: “... I mean, yeah. I guess.”

The car slows to a stop at a red light.

Yuusuke-kun turns his gaze toward me.

Yuusuke: “‘s only natural I’d offer to take you.”

“.... eh?”

Yuusuke: “Didn’t you go shopping for new clothes for today? It would suck pretty damn bad if something happened to them while on your way to something you’ve been looking forward to, right? If some idiot got your clothes dirty, or something else happened, you’d feel awful about it.”

“That’s true, but… still, why go to the trouble..?”

Yuusuke: “Would it be bad if I said it’s ‘cause I want to?”

After Yuusuke-kun says this, the traffic light turns green.

Yuusuke-kun turns his gaze ahead of him again.

Yuusuke-kun doesn’t say anything else. I’m unable to come up with a reply, so we’re left sitting in silence for a while.

Then, finally, I hear Yuusuke-kun mutter something.

Yuusuke: “It’s cool. Who cares what the reason is?”

(Yuusuke-kun…)

Yuusuke: “And anyways.”

Yuusuke-kun’s voice goes quiet as he whispers in a different tone.

Yuusuke: “The way you look today… is really dangerous. The hell am I supposed to do if you start attracting even more rivals..?”

(Eh?!)

I turn away from Yuusuke-kun as I exclaim to myself.

Yuusuke-kun doesn’t look or turn towards me, his focus not leaving the road ahead of him.

We don’t say anything else, and I’m left at a complete loss.

(Yuusuke-kun… what I heard him say just now…)

Before long, we’re entering the highway. When we do, Yuusuke-kun abruptly speaks to me in a serious voice.

Yuusuke: “Hey.”

“Wh-what is it?”

My voice comes out shrill.

Yuusuke: “I have something important I need to confess.”

As he says this, Yuusuke-kun’s face tightens. There’s an underlying sense of nervousness in his tension.

Yuusuke: “When I tell you this, I need you to stay calm. I need you to stay composed.”

“O-okay, yeah.”

Yuusuke: “You see, the truth is.”

Yuusuke-kun lets out a long, heavy sigh.

Yuusuke: “I only just got my license the day before yesterday. You’re the first passenger I’ve ever had.”

Complete silence.

“Eh— EHHHHHHH?!”

I scream out without thinking.

“I-I’ll be getting out now!”

Yuusuke: “It’s fine!”

“Nope, I’m good, it’s good, let’s stop!”

Yuusuke: “The hell we will! We’re already on the highway, we can’t just leave! ‘Sides, my instructor was always praising me for my driving and stuff. Don’t even worry about it!”

Yuusuke-kun’s voice echos from inside the car.

Despite the loud commotion of me and Yuusuke-kun inside the car, the summer sun shines brilliantly outside.

[fanplastik]

⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ temporary bio ⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

Born from a complete accident, Material Girl/Plastic Woman (aliases of Pollyanna Armstrong) is a hero with wondrous powers. With a seemingly infinite ability to stretch, she is malleable, elastic, and more flexible than any gymnast you'd see. Not only can she stretch to great lengths, but she can also change her size at will. Plastic Woman has displayed an incredible ability of near complete invulnerability, with things such as knives and bullets bouncing off of her. With great powers come weaknesses, and she certainly has a few. Extreme temperatures (hot or cold), chemicals (such as acetone), and being unable to change color are all things she is susceptible to.

BASICS:

Name. Pollyanna Armstrong

Nickname/Aliases. Polly/ Material Girl, Plastic Woman

Age & Birthday. 27, August 12, 1997

Gender & Pronouns. Cis female, she/her

Orientation. Bisexual

Height. 5'11"

Distinguishing features.

Blue eyes, dark brown hair.

Lack of eyebrows, eyelashes, and fingerprints. Occasionally wears false eyelashes and draws on eyebrows .

Smooth, rubbery skin.

Eyes that seem to follow one around a room (usually hidden by glasses or goggles of some kind).

Art by me. Designs are subject to change.

PERSONALITY:

Positive traits. Resilient, optimistic, adaptable, gregarious

Neutral traits. Unconventional, heedful, emotional, animated

Negative traits. People pleaser, apprehensive, ruminative, naive

POWERS/ ABILITIES & WEAKNESSES:

Polly has a malleable physiology after her accident, leaving her body in a fluid state of neither entirely liquid nor solid. Think of her as human Oobleck (non-Newtonian fluid). Due to this, she can pretty much mold her facial features into anyone she pleases, or change the viscocity of her body. She can essentially harden or soften parts of her body as needed. For example, she can morph her hand into a hammer and have it work as effectively as a real one just from hardening her flesh. Another example would be her having a melting effect, where she softens her flesh into a more liquid state. Because of this fluidity, she is also scarily accurate at impressions, as she can literally mold her vocal cords to a different shape to produce different voices.

Because of Polly's molecular makeup, she is invulnerable to piercing damage, such as stabbing or a bullet wound. Knives and bullets tend to bounce off of her, but if you manage to melee her otherwise (a punch, a blunt weapon, etc.) she can be stunned. She cannot change colors, however, so if she morphs into a certain item, it will have similar colors to her suit. It makes it hard to be sneaky sometimes. However, she can increase her strength by briefly increasing muscle mass. Another additional ability is that she can alter her size at will, growing as large as a skyscraper or as small as a few inches.

Extreme heat and cold can disturb Polly's abilities by forcing her into a single state, either solid or liquid. This effectively renders her helpless, as she'll either be frozen or melted into a puddle. However, if she is returned to a normal temperature, she can slowly regain shape and strength. To make these weaknesses effective, you'd most likely have to separate her into pieces and disperse them far apart from each other so she can't completely rejoin. Chemicals, such as acetone, are more effective, as they cause genuine damage to her. They are corrosive to her flesh and make it more difficult for her to regenerate.

BACKSTORY (TW EATING DISORDERS, BODY DYSMORPHIA, BODY HORROR):

Pollyanna Armstrong began her modelling career at 19, favored for her features. She was youthful, doe-eyed, tall, and lithe. Her Agency relocated her to Manhattan, as there were plentiful opportunities, and they wanted to showcase her on the runway as soon as possible. They also wanted to keep her successful for as long as possible, which included a rigorous skincare routine and diet, which left her self-conscious by any perceived flaws. Acne, gaining a pound or two, or even the potential idea of getting a wrinkle kept her hypervigilant and neurotic. She walked many a runway, travelled across the country and world, featured in multiple magazines and ad campaigns.

But now, at 27, Polly feels stuck in life. She was beginning to get too old to model for many agencies around yet was too young to permanently retire. Her contract's end haunted her both when awake and asleep, looming over her head with the constant reminder of the inevitable. She'd been held under the agency's thumb for years now, giving into their demands out of fear she'd be out of a job. And here she was, right back at what she was scared of. Even so, she was determined to at least squeeze a few extra months at the very least out of the agency. But that was Pollyanna, trying to fight for any ounce of positivity she could find despite her trepidation.

It was the middle of June when she'd had her accident, the 18th, if she was remembering correctly. It'd been a particularly hot day, and Polly decided to treat herself to some pampering. Spa days were supposed to be relaxing, but in an anxious spike, she let her mind get the best of her as she started to mix products together. Creams and lotions and masks and toners were slathered on in pure desperation to retain the looks people treasured so much. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she realized how silly she looked, but before she got the guts to wash it off, she felt it burning.

It was the most painful thing she'd ever felt, and when she finally began to splash water onto her face and looked up at herself, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. It was as if she was a Picasso painting with how her features seemed to be distorted or melting off of her face. Before she could rub her eyes to see if she just happened to be seeing things, she felt the rest of herself slowly sinking to the ground. Attempting to catch herself, she gripped the edge of the sink but panicked further when all that she could see was being turned into goop.

The reality was that she’d unintentionally created a chemical reaction that was changing her body’s own chemical makeup. It took a lot of willing herself back into a solid form to be able to stand on her own two feet again, and even then, she was wobbly and clumsy. Polly could only watch herself in horror for the next week, having holed herself away in her apartment to try and regain some sense of normalcy in her appearance again. The only way she knew how to get her original face back was from pictures of herself, but even then, something always feels off.

Today, she’s a hero, or at least that’s what she’s trying to be. She’s nowhere near seasoned and still hasn’t discovered the limits as to what she can do, much to the terror of civilians. Sure, she saves them, but does she have to look like that? Polly took up the hero gig quite accidentally, especially after she realized she’d never be able to model normally again. Her first rescue was someone who’d almost fallen into the path of a subway—her arm had stretched out nearly instinctively to grab onto them and pull them to safety. She felt overjoyed that she’d prevented an injury…until she felt the eyes of several confused passerby’s on her. After a few attempts, she was able to bring her arm back to normal and she scurried off on her way, deciding to miss her own train to avoid the looks and possible questions that’d come along with the event.

Despite feeling like it’s Freaky Friday everyday, she tries to hold her head up with hope for the future. Surely she’ll get to prove herself as trustworthy if she keeps trying! Can she at least can an A for effort? Or a hug… a hug sounds nice.

[athenasparrow]

N0. 25 - Photograph | Jily Microfic

@jilymicrofics the "blushing over breakfast" fic is here!

@tiffanytoms here's the whole chocolate and smut combo xx

Read on AO3 | 3k

The cut for smut is here because the entire fic is smutty ; )

However well James Potter knew Lily Evans, she could still be an unpredictable witch. 

She took great pleasure in catching him unaware, she always had.

In their years as rivals it has been by beating him in wit. Now that they were together, her surprises had taken a seductive turn. He should have known Lily Evans would be a tease. 

James honestly wasn't sure how he had survived this long. It was going to be rather embarrassing when they named his cause of death at his funeral.

Perhaps he should have been more suspicious when an owl landed on the breakfast table, a small square package hanging from its talons. But James was the trusting sort, and so he took the box without hesitation.

He paid no heed to Sirius’ story as he lazily undid the simple bow, taking a sip of pumpkin juice. 

This was his second mistake. 

The pumpkin juice ejected from his mouth hitting Peter square in the face as James slammed the top of the package closed. He could feel the flush crawling up his neck and over his face. 

Remus turned, an eyebrow raised at the display, while Sirius’ face was slowly morphing into glee as he glanced between James and the box. 

And then the cause of it all arrived at the table. Her vibrant hair seemed to glow in the early morning light; cascading down her back in loose waves that James ached to run his hands through. James’ eyes wandered over the freckles that dusted her nose and cheeks, taking in the green eyes that sparkled with mischief. And, oh god, her lips. She smiled at him and he might have mistaken it for a sweet sort of smile if he couldn’t read the wickedness that was in her eyes. Her lips were full and plump, coated with one of the muggle glosses she wore that James knew tasted like cherry.

“Morning James,” she said sunnily as she took out her wand, cleaning Peter in an instant. 

James found he didn't have a response. He was much too captivated by the way she spoke, the fluidity with which she moved. It all seemed effortless when he was struggling to even breathe. 

It seemed it didn't matter, for she continued the conversation without him. 

“A package! Did you get a present, James?” Lily said, raising one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows at him. 

Merlin, this bloody witch. 

James settled for nodding since he was unsure he would be able to speak without croaking. 

“What’s the matter Potter?” Lily said grinning wickedly at him. “Did you not like your present? 

“Merlin Lily, you sent me a naked photograph,” James hissed across the table, finding his voice after a quick glance around to ensure no one but his friends were listening 

“I wasn't naked James,” Lily corrected blithely as she snagged a strawberry off of his plate, smirking as his eyes zeroed in when her lips pursed around it “I was wearing chocolate.”

James gaped at her as Sirius snorted into his porridge. 

“If you don't like it, I can take it back,” Lily said, her fingers walking slowly across the table towards the box. “I suppose I'll have to return the chocolate I got from Honeydukes too” she said, faking a regretful sigh, moving her perfect lips into a playful pout.

James felt his hand yank the box back towards him. “A bottle of chocolate?” he choked, staring at his girlfriend as he felt all of his blood rush south. 

“Mmhmm” she said, winking at him before turning on her heel and starting towards the door. 

Yup. No doubt about it. Lily Evans was a complete and utter tease.  

“You coming?” she called, tossing her hair to look back over her shoulder and James shot out of his chair, the boxed photograph placed strategically in front of his crotch as he tried to walk towards her like nothing was amiss. 

“He’ll be coming alright” he heard Sirius mutter to Remus.

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

Lily swallowed a laugh as she made her way through the corridors, confident James would find her when he caught up. He'd figure out the Room of Requirement was her destination. Nothing else was up this way in the castle. And if he couldn’t deduct this, perhaps because all of his blood was elsewhere, he always had that handy map.

But even though she was expecting him, she still let out a gasp of surprise as strong arms grabbed her, slamming her body into the corridor wall. Her back thudded against the stone wall of the castle and her body thrummed at the feeling of his magic close to hers.

“Can I help you?” Lily purred, smirking up at her boyfriend as he towered over her, his body pressed firmly against her. 

“You know exactly what I want,” James said harshly, his hands digging into her waist. 

“Did my little present get you all worked up James?” Lily asked lasciviously, canting her hips to grind against the delightful bulge in his pants. 

He did an impressive job of swallowing the moan that Lily knew travelled up his throat. 

“You are a fucking tease Lily Evans,” he growled at her, his words exhaling onto her lips as he held his head just out of kissing distance.

“What are you going to do about it?” Lily challenged, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.

She saw James’ eyes darken and his hands tighten their already firm grip. He opened his mouth to answer, before snapping it shut, hesitating. 

Huh. That was new. What could he…

“Do you want to punish me, James?” She asked wickedly, leaning in so their lips brushed teasingly. 

She felt the answer in the throb between his legs before she saw it on his face. 

Oh. He did.

Her playful question seemed to have given James the confidence that she was into it, which she definitely was, and his eyes looked nearly black as he tugged her into the room of requirement, shoving her against the door to shut it. 

“What’s your safe word?” He demanded as soon as he was flush against her again. 

“I don't want a safe word” Lily whispered. “Go ahead and dominate me James.”

“Fuck. Are you sure?” He whispered, his eyes turning tender as he searched her face. 

“Does this feel like I'm sure?” Lily said huskily, taking his hand and guiding it from her hips to under her skirt. 

His hand didn’t need more encouragement as it slipped up to the apex of her thighs.

“Where are your knickers?” James choked, his fingers moving in a delicious swipe of her wetness. 

She was soaked.

“I thought they’d just get in the way,” she answered. “I trust you James. You can do whatever you want to me”

That seemed to snap the modicum of restraint James had been holding on to and he cursed, smashing his lips against hers in a lip-bruising kiss before spinning her around so he was pressed against her back. 

Lily’s eyes widened in surprise as she took in the room around her. 

The king bed was dressed in black silk sheets with pieces of silk floating out from the headboard. 

Lily opened her mouth to ask him if he'd always wanted to tie her up, but it seemed her enthusiasm had boosted James’ confidence because his voice was commanding when he spoke. 

“Go stand at the edge of the bed,” he ordered. 

Lily’s feet carried her before her brain caught up, apparently determined to obey the low, commanding voice of her boyfriend. She felt heat travel up her legs and settle in her core as she felt James move behind her. His rough hands started a synchronised trail from her shoulders to the buttons on her blouse.

Lily moaned as he cupped her breasts, before his fingers scrunched the fabric and yanked her shirt open, sending her buttons flying across the bed.

“Did you wear this for me?” James asked huskily, running his thumb over her nipple as he explored the deep blue lace that encased her breasts.

“Yes,” Lily murmured, closing her eyes as she let herself get lost in the pleasure. “I had a matching pair of knickers but I was so wet thinking about you opening my present that I ruined them.”

Her lips curled smugly as James tensed behind her, but she wasn’t prepared for the sharp tweak to her nipple and she gasped. He yanked the material off, leaving her bare to his touch.

“Did you touch yourself?” he asked dangerously, as he pinched her nipple harder between his thumb and index finger.

“No,” Lily said honestly. “But I wanted to.”

“But?” James prodded, moving to her other nipple, leaving the other throbbing and sensitive.

“But I needed you,” Lily whispered.

She heard James swallow, before drawing a deep breath and stepping away from her, his arms dropping from around her.

“Take off your skirt and get on the bed,” he commanded, his tone steadier than Lily would have expected.

Lily hastened to obey, tingling with anticipation for his touch.

“On your knees,” he demanded as she made to lie down.

Lily felt a thrill run through her as she pushed herself back up to a four point kneel.

Having shucked off every stitch, she was completely bare and bent over for him. She was surprised at how much the anticipation excited her - she yearned for him to be equally bare behind her; to satisfy the ache between her legs.

It seemed James had other ideas; Lily felt a smooth material trace up her spine and shivered.

“Don’t touch it,” James commanded as he moved the blindfold over her eyes.

The darkness that encased her seemed to make every touch to her skin feel amplified. 

She shivered as she felt the bindings from the headboard float down and encircle her wrists. She whined as she felt James’ rough, quidditch callused hand trace a line from her ankle to her hip.

She spread her legs – an open invitation if there ever was any – for him to sink into her.

But he resisted.

She felt the light touch of something that wasn’t his hand start to tickle her shoulder. It circled down her side and around her breast leaving a tantalising trail until it stopped at her nipple.

Lily whimpered, pulling against the bindings as her hips tried to find purchase.

“James,” she moaned. “Please touch me.”

She pleaded her encouragement but the feather light touch continued to her naval, around to her inner thigh, never quite to where she wanted it.

Fucking fuck.

“Please,” she whined, trying to thrust down to meet his hand she knew was guiding the feather. Her muscles were taut with frustration and she felt herself coil tighter and tighter with each brush he pursued. It seemed more and more likely with each passing second that she’d be able to summit her peak without the touch she was so desperately craving. 

She could feel the hot trail of liquid running down her thighs, evidence of just how desperate she was for him.

James brought the feather around her hips to her entrance, running a teasing trail around her clit while his other hand came to cup her bum.

“Why did you send that photo?” James said roughly, gripping her bum harder to stop her hips from rutting against the feather.

“To give you a present,” Lily gasped, her mind cloudy with pleasure as he continued to tease her.

She squeaked in surprise when his hand suddenly came down in a stinging slap of her bum.

Her surprise was only furthered by the reaction between her legs. She tried to clench them together as an unmistakable moan escaped her lips.

She thought she heard a deep noise catch in James’ throat at her reaction.

“Why did you give it to me?” he repeated harshly, tormenting her clit with the feather as he soothed the area his hand had just smacked.

“I wanted to tease you,” Lily confessed in a gasp. “I wanted you hard and desperate and ready for me.”

“I was,” James said lowly. “I got hard as soon as I opened that box. I’ve been aching for you ever since.”

Lily heard a needy sound escape her throat at his confession. She could feel he was reaching the end of his tether and could taste her imminent orgasm.

Merlin, if he would only touch her. 

She was balancing on the brink of pleasure, just waiting for him to give her one more nudge. Her heart was racing, her muscles tight and her skin hot and flushed. Every touch, every movement, every sensation was magnified and amplified, intensifying the pleasure he brought down on her. 

“You’re so wet love,” James observed as his hand crept up her leg, collecting the juices that had spilled from her in arousal. “And you taste delicious.”

Lily felt a raw moan leave her. Fuck, if only he’d taste right from the source.

“Do you want to cum Lily?” he asked, his rough hands becoming firmer on her legs as one travelled between her thighs to stroke teasingly at her folds.

“Yes yes, merlin please,” Lily begged, trying to gain purchase on his hand.

“How desperate are you?” James demanded roughly, yanking one leg out so she was spread wide for him.

“So desperate,” Lily whined helplessly, her legs quivering in anticipation. 

She cried out as he blew softly on her folds, his hot breath pushing her one step closer as it landed on the sensitive, swollen skin between her legs.

“Yes you are,” James murmured, moving under her.

“Merlin, fuck yes,” Lily pleaded.

“Tell me you want to cum,” James ordered.

“I want to cum, I want to cum” Lily babbled obediently, desperately rutting her hips, her eyes only seeing as far as the dark material of the blindfold.

“Cum,” James commanded before taking her clit between his lips, his tongue firm against her while he shoved three fingers inside her, curling them around to massage the quivering insides of her walls. 

Lily let out a shattering moan as her body entered the heightened state of orgasm, coiling tighter and tighter until she snapped and the tingles of pleasure washed over her, setting her nerves on fire as she fluttered around his fingers and pressed her aching clit into his mouth.

His tongue kept moving against her, driving her into an oversensitive frenzy of pleas as he took every ounce of pleasure her body could give.

Lily wasn’t sure if she’d blacked out or time had just sped up because suddenly he was over her, her blind fold was ripped away and he was sucking behind her ear.

“Is that what you wanted?” he whispered hotly in her ear. “You wanted to cum?”

“Yes, thank you,” Lily breathed, the relief of being satisfied after hours of desperation felt like a warm glow around her.

“Don’t thank me yet,” James whispered, “I’m not done.”

Lily’s eyes shot open as he moved off her, reaching over to grab a bottle of —oh.

“You really liked the chocolate, huh?” Lily breathed as she watched him open the bottle.

“I think that’s a bit of an understatement,” James said, dropping one hand to grasp the prominent bulge straining between his legs.

And now Lily could appreciate what she hadn’t been able to see with her blindfold.

James’ face was beautifully flushed, his hair wild and his pants wet where evidence of his arousal protruded.

Lily felt her lips part as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. 

Fuck, he looked good.

His eyes darkened as he caught her looking, his hand moving to rub himself as his eyes fluttered close.

“You have no idea how hard it was to resist when you were like that,” he confessed lowly. 

“Can I see you?” Lily asked, biting her lip as she felt the telltale signs of arousal pool between her legs once more.

James paused, setting the chocolate down as he moved to unbutton his pants.

Lily bit her lip as he hissed while he unzipped, dipping his hand in to release himself from the confines of his trousers.

And fuck he looked desperate. 

He was harder than Lily had ever witnessed, veins popping and the tip so red it was almost purple. Copious precum was smeared around the head of his cock from when it had been trapped in his underwear, his tip still visibly leaking.

“I want you,” Lily said plainly, unable to tear her eyes away from his quivering, hard cock.

“Almost,” James promised, looking pained but firm in his decision. “I want to lick this off you.” 

Lily spread her legs without protest, displaying her swollen, wet folds – open and ready for him.

James grunted and moved the bottle to drizzle chocolate over her. Lily gasped as the cool liquid hit her breasts, her belly and she arched up when he got to her clit.

James took his time, tracing his tongue on the path the chocolate had created and by the time he reached her centre, she was begging for it once again.

“Mmm,” James hummed as he took a leisurely lick up her wet folds. His tongue felt hot, a contrast to the cooler chocolate and the double sensation made Lily arch up into him, her eyes fluttering closed.

His tongue swirled around her entrance before moving up to her clit, nipping at it before running soothing circles around as his fingers slipped into her.

She was so wet she could hear every movement he made with his hand.

His other hand clenched firmly at the flesh of her bum and he moaned deeply into her, burying his face between her legs.

Lily tugged at her binds, desperate to reach down and touch his head, but she couldn’t get free. His enjoyment in pleasuring her had always turned her on, but Lily didn’t think she’d ever reached this height of arousal before. 

It only peaked further when she caught a glimpse of the evidence he was enjoying himself. 

The sight of his aching hardness leaking a stream of precum so long it pooled on the sheet below him had her legs tremble and her hips snap up to chase her release.

James moved his head to look up at her in surprise. It was very quick. But he recovered from his surprise quickly, adjusting his pace to set her off while his fingered curled inside her.

Lily’s second orgasm came crashing over her, her clit raw as he licked her down from her high.

Barely, recovered, her eyes were pulled back to where he throbbed, unbearably aroused by her climax.

“Untie me James,” she begged. “I want to taste you.”

He groaned, waving his hand so the silks evaporated into thin air. Lily wobbled as she got to her knees, weak from the pleasure that had just wracked her.

She grabbed his hip to keep herself steady as she bent to run her tongue along his tip, tasting him.

“Gahh,” James groaned, hands fisting in her hair as he pushed forward.

Lily opened her mouth wider to accommodate him, moaning around him as he hit the back of her throat. 

She hallowed her cheeks, sucking as she moved with his hips, setting a furious pace that had James babbling within the minute.

She swept her gaze up to look at him and he moaned, staring down at her.

“I want to…fuck…I want to cum all over you,” he growled, his hands tight around her head.

Lily moaned her agreement as her hand crept up his leg to cup his full balls. She felt him jerk and moved her right hand to replace her mouth, while her left cupped her breast up for him as she dropped back. as she dropped back.

“Cum on me James,” she said huskily, her eyes on his.

He throbbed in her hand, strong spurts leaving his tip and decorating her body that had just been licked clean of chocolate.

“Fuck,” he moaned out as she continued stroking him, his eyes sweeping over her.

She must look a sight, she thought. Weak from her own pleasure, hair mussed and lips swollen, covered in his cum.

He voiced her own thought, looking down at her and saying hazily “I wish I had a camera to take another photo of you. This one might just rival your little gift earlier.”

[katatonicimpression]

Marius est Revenu!

(Oui je parle français tres bien. Merci pour noticing)

Today, we're turning our attention to Avengers Academy: Marvel's Voices - Infinity Comic (2024) 15-19.

AA:MV-IC (2024), as you can tell from its snappy title, is an online scrolling format comic, aimed at the young lgbt demographic. It's free to read with a marvel subscription, or, you know, on the high seas. It's also the most attention anyone has paid to Marius St. Croix (aka emplate) since the 1990s.

He has a small, comedic recurring role in last years dark xmen, and was in uncanny xmen (2016) in a tedious and uninteresting way.

Here he is in 2024:

Look at him. That's his sidekick/henchman, D.O.A. who did briefly cameo in the gen x revival series with M-Plate 2.0, but mostly is a relic of the 90s.

And boy howdy is this a loving walk down memory lane. I'm just going to make a couple of kinda random points here, nothing very thorough. It's a good little read, check it out.

Also sorry but I did not keep track of what was in what issue and double sorry I really can't be arsed to go back through gen x to get accurate citations so there just won't be those.

The Art

The art alternates between Bailie Rosenlund and Karen S. Darboe, with colours by KJ Díaz. I think they all did a stellar job. Darboe takes the edge for me I think, because those creepy inky compositions are so early gen x.

But it's not a competition. They both did great.

Throwbacks

The art is a perfect throwback. We see DOA. We see the cell that Monet was kept in from the very first issue. We see the creepy hands dragging Marius back to his hell from the issue in Monaco.

Akabdjdknsgjkx my nostalgic little heart

I read the series for the first time 4 years ago so idk why it feels like my childhood but whatever. Nostalgia galore. And it really feels like they're trying, you know? They did their homework, did their reading and are bringing it to the page. Love it.

Marius' Hair

Fun fact: in gen x, its stated that the reason emplate has that spikey purple hair is because he's been eating Monet's bone marrow while she was trapped in Penance. He fed on her for so long that his appearance changed to match hers.

Damn I hate marius fuck that guy.

But yeah, so the purple spikes aren't his hair, really, they're Penance's thing.

His human hair is usually depicted as locks, and why yes you're right there is a conversation about racial stereotyping here. Marius has sometimes been an example of the age old trope where, in depictions of a Black family, the women have paler skin and straighter hair than their male relatives. That's a whole trope right there, and it's nasty and bad and we're not going to dwell on it too much for now but yeah.

So, over the years some artists have tried to bridge the gap between the spikes and locks (e.g. in uncanny xmen 2016). Darboe does this too, but ties it into the way his appearance morphs as the powers of the kids he's eating influence his body. There's a fluidity to how she depicts him, and the way his hair changes from that iconic emplate silhouette to his human hair is part of that. It's a really cool detail.

Man I love visual storytelling. Comics are great.

Rosenlund goes for longer hair, unlike what we've ever seen him in but I kind of like it. He kinda looks like he just never washes his hair, which tracks. (OK I won't bully the comic book villain. Sorry)

I guess while we're close to the subject of racial background, I'll mention that we get a bit of flashbacks and family stuff here and it's all pretty vague, and there's no good reason for that.

For the record this is a wealthy Monégasque family, French and Black on their dads side, Algerian on their mothers. Their primary language is French, and the kids and their mum spoke Arabic at home too. They (the kids and the mum) are Muslim. Does any of this make it into this comic? Lol, no. The rich part does. But I will say it felt like a generic lack of detail, rather than in uncanny xmen when the vagueness feels malignantly dumb.

Sisters

The writer (Anthony Oliveira) makes a joke about not being able to keep track of the whole "monet is actually two kids in a trenchcoat" thing from gen x.

Interestingly, the little flashback panels we get only show the twins, not monet (this was the original plan way way back - to have monet not be a real person). We do get a line of dialogue from another character that references monet, but I think maybe the artist forgot she was real.

We also get another baffling St. Croix family portrait:

This is, presumably, (giant) Marius at the top, mystery man next to him. Next row is presumably cartier (because glasses), with either Jameela or Monet, then the twins below.

The other bizarre family portrait appears in some other comic (I genuinely don't remember at all):

This time we have no mystery man (rip uncle claude) and definitely three sisters. Idk I guess they can blame it on dimension hopping.

I Told You So

This is a thing I ranted about months ago but yes. Vindicated. Marius killed his mum on purpose because he's a piece of shit. Yes. Thank you someone who has clearly read the comics.

It's in the issue where cartier speaks to marius (back half of the series, after the prom). The manifestation of marius' powers sparked it, but it wasn't an accident.

This comic's take on the story demonises cartier a bit, but he can take the hit tbh. It's not identical to the original (there's some bitterness about inheritance this time around) but it seems in the spirit of things.

I also like how marius was characterised in this. It feels very in keeping with gen x. He's a monster, who predates on kids (although he's hilariously quick to insist that it's not a sex thing). He's educated, erudite. He's corrupted, doomed by his own pursuit of power and dark magic. This infinity comic gives him way more depth than dark xmen or uncanny 2016, by exploring those canon traits.

I don't know I just like it. I think a villain can be layered and interesting without being sympathetic. I do wish people would keep that in mind. Also he's never gonna reconcile with his sister. Not to vague post or anything but:

The guy is literally monets abuser can you stop it.

Hey, Look. It's Bobby

Aww I love it when he's in comics. Everyone say hi to bobby.

Is he a recurring character in this? Am I gonna have to read the baby gay avengers series because of this?

My Face, My Beautiful Face

I like how when marius absorbed enough power to take his mask off, his priority was his own hotness. I'm finally pretty again! Noooo don't make me ugly once more i can't take it!!!

Something about the st croixs lol.

Actually Talk About the Comic?

No. Lol. Go read it.

I only found out he was in this series because I saw a post saying "they changed emplates whole deal" or something to that affect. He's always been a bit undefined but I think this entry is very in keeping with his early appearance.

The main story is about Escapade and Bloodline and their budding romance. It's cute. It's fun. I liked it.

I don't do ratings but let's give it ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ out of some number.

[rviner]

THE MIRROR MAZE

ODESSA

Odessa’s act centers around a mesmerizing and unsettling mirror maze, filled with illusions that play with the audience’s perception of reality. The stage is surrounded by tall, ornate mirrors angled in a circular formation, creating a vast labyrinth of reflections. Odessa begins by stepping through a mirror at the center of the ring, entering and exiting mirrors with graceful fluidity, creating an effect where it appears she’s in multiple places at once, blending illusion with reality.

Act Breakdown:

The Doppelgänger Illusion

Odessa conjures multiple versions of herself within the mirrors. Each reflection shows her in different poses and expressions, creating the eerie effect that the mirrors hold entire worlds of their own. As she moves, some reflections mimic her, while others seem to act independently, causing the audience to question which version of her is real.

The Shifting Reflection

She steps close to one of the mirrors and reaches through it, pulling her arm back with a transformed appearance—her hair changes color, her outfit shifts, or her face appears subtly altered. She continues to “morph” as she steps in and out of various mirrors, blurring the line between who she truly is and who the reflections make her out to be.

Vanishing Acts

For her grand moment, Odessa moves between the mirrors seamlessly, vanishing into one mirror only to reappear in another at the opposite end of the stage. The effect is ghostly, as if she’s moving through an alternate realm within the glass. This illusion of omnipresence builds tension, making it seem like the mirrors themselves are alive, transporting her instantly across the maze.

Finale: The Mirror Trap

In a climactic end, Odessa steps into the center mirror and splits into multiple doppelgängers through the others, all gazing out at the audience. Suddenly, each mirror shatters in a blinding, shimmering effect, leaving the stage empty as if she has been absorbed into the reflections. A moment later, she reappears from a completely different mirror, bowing as the lights dim, leaving the audience haunted by the unsettling illusion.

[prairiefirewitch]

Because I ate a delicious dinner, flirted with a beekeeper who sold me a jar of my favorite chestnut honey, and had a perfect sip of resinous mastika, I have one more wondrous thing to share before I hit the proverbial hay. This effeminate, frill bedecked, not quite buxom but noticeably fleshy in the chest statue is a representation of Dionysus, in his full gender-fluid glory. The sculptor even rounded the belly out, making it impossible to ignore that this Dionysus is decidedly feminine. The museum had nothing to say about this but we know that Dionysus sometimes presented as less masculine and more feminine and I think it’s profoundly interesting how little ancient writers and chroniclers and playwrights and historians had to say about his gender-fluidity. And by that I mean that they just weren’t bothered by it, so why should we be? And personally as someone who just doesn’t dig the misogyny of many male gods, I’m intrigued and impressed by the way he slips and morphs from god to man, man to beast, man to woman. And who else in the whole Greek pantheon can carry off that kind of ruffle placement? Slay.