#plus I'll have a little bit of tutoring

[aloyssobek]

The mood's been wack this week lads I've been so up and down and stressed and trying to do this assignment and I just vkdhbsnz I do enjoy what I'm studying but my constant fight with my brain + out of wack from grief and depression and sick + out of practice with studying behaviours has me struggling so bad I really do think just going full time and not bothering with finding a job from next session is the answer bc like I'm a bit of a mess!!!

[islandofsages]

Pomefiore boys with a friend (male reader), how is a hopeless romantic, where they help him (the reader) to win over his crush or comfort him when he is rejected.

characters: the pomefiore boys x male reader

tags: platonic, canon compliant, fluff, comfort, imagines format

warnings: mentions of beating people up LMAO, some physical contact in epel's

author's notes: ngl i was kinda debating writing this bc i was like hmmmm crush but yknow what? it's not romance with the main cast so i'll let it slide plus im excited to get a request after so long sorry if this isnt as good! pretty rusty from not writing imagines in so long ahaha

Vil Schoenheit

You went to the right person - who else has better rizz charm than Vil Schoenheit himself?

Of course, his first word of advice would be to just be yourself but just in case “yourself” isn’t enough, Vil has extended two generous offers to you: he will personally tutor you on how to steal your crush’s heart and if somehow they still reject you, he’ll have a uh… nice little talk with them. Totally. He has a reputation to hold up you know

Jokes aside, he truly believes you can catch your crush’s attention. He may be a little tough on you at times but he’s only trying to push you in the right direction

“Remember. If they do not give you the time of day, then they are not worth any of your precious time.”

If you get rejected, he’ll admit he feels a bit guilty - mostly disappointed in the crush (unless they have a good reason to reject), but still

Of course you insist that he doesn’t have to be sorry but he takes it upon himself to make up to you somehow

Whatever you need to recover from the rejection, he’ll try his best to fulfill your wishes

He’ll make time in his busy schedule to go out and treat you to something to cheer you up

In all the love in the world, maybe your crush isn’t yours to keep. But at least Vil’s is.

Epel Felmier

He may not have much experience with confessions or being a wingman but he’ll try his best for you!

He might search up how to impress a crush online and have you genuinely try the ideas he found and let’s just say that some of them are… interesting alright

You know he means well so you just follow along. At least the embarrassing times make for good memories to look back on and laugh over

“Maybe this’ll work…? How are we gonna find these though…”

He also offers to beat your crush up if they reject you but you quickly shut him down.

He’s there somewhere, hiding in a nearby bush (or whatever is nearby), when you confess to your crush, face scrunches up as if watching an intense Spelldrive match

If you get rejected, he’ll be a shoulder to cry on. Literally - he’ll sit beside you and offer to let you rest your head on his shoulder if you want

He may end up not saying much but he can listen to you for as long as you need him to

The tears of rejection may be salty, but the memories you made with your friend could sweeten any taste.

Rook Hunt

He’s delighted that you trust him enough to go to him for support

You think that you’d like to be more charming like him, what with his way of speaking and how he carries himself

Tears prick the corner of his eyes already; you have to ask him if he’s alright

“To think you saw me in such a light… it would stir any soul.”

He would even offer to teach you the delicate art of poetry if you so desire to win your crush’s heart through prose

If you get rejected, he’ll empathize with you, wearing a frown that you almost feel worse about than your actual rejection

He’ll let you say whatever you need to say or let out whatever’s weighing on you

When you’re done, he tells you that even such heartbreaking events could bloom into a beautiful flower one day - that you need not be concerned and see it as a learning experience

You laugh; how could you forget? There are many types of people out there. Just like how there could only be one copy of your crush, there could only be one of Rook.

[tedwardremus]

Career Advice with James F. Potter

"Alright, Evans?"

"Hmm," Lily replied with a quill between her teeth, not looking up from the pamphlet she was reading.

James Potter leaned in above her, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. "What's got you so engrossed, Evans?"

Lily sighed, lifting her eyes from the pamphlet and taking the quill from her mouth. "Nothing, just trying to figure out what I want to do after Hogwarts."

"Ah, an age-old dilemma," James said with an air of mock authority, "But worry not, my dear Evans. James F. Potter is here to rescue you from the clutches of career confusion."

James cranked his head to read the title of the pamphlet Lily was holding, "The Hilgard Apothecary Apprentice Program for Medicinal Potineering," he let out an admiring whistle. "Got to be pretty swotty for that."

James plopped down on the couch beside Lily, holding a career pamphlet of his own. Lily assumed he must have just come from Professor McGonagall's office for his own career advice meeting. And, of course, wherever Potter went - so did his friends. Sirius Black fell gracefully onto the armchair across from them, swinging his legs across one of the arms of the chair as his dark hair fell into his eyes.

Remus Lupin, on the other hand, stayed standing. Lily thought he looked like he was having an inner fight about whether to sit down or crawl back into bed.

"Come on, Moony, grab some couch." Potter patted the empty seat impatiently next to him. “We have important matters of future employment to discuss.”

"Can we not?" Black groaned, "All anyone wants to talk about this past week is career advice. It is getting dreadfully boring."

"Everyone but Moony, I don't think I've heard him talk about his plans after Hogwarts once."

"Err.." Remus was looking at his shoes, avoiding eye contact with his friends, "There isn't much to talk about. I think I'll just go to the dorm, I am very tired."

"Come on Moony, you are top in Care of Magical Creatures as well as your strong Defense marks, plus you're a fucking prefect, and you tutor all those first years! There is plenty to talk about! You could walk into any job you want!"

"You know none of that matters." Remus gave James a pointed look. "And I don't want to talk about it."

"Listen, Remus," James was insistent and staring his friend down "I will do everything I can to ensure you get whatever job you want. You're a hard worker and one of the nicest blokes I've ever met. And if the worst-case scenario happens, I'll make sure you're OK. You know that right?"

"I just can't think about anything right now, I'm going to --"

"This is nonsense! Remus, your little problem shouldn't stop you from --"

"Lay off it, James" Sirius interjected. "Let Remus go nap before he passes out on his feet again." James waved his hand in the air as if to give Remus permission to retreat to his bed. With a tired "see you later" Remus wearily walked up the stairs to his dorm.

"Does he really think his illness will prevent him from getting a job? That's awful!" Lily couldn't help but voice her concern. Lily didn't know exactly what his illness was (though Severus has his theories, and she didn't appreciate his disgust at the idea he proposed) but she knew Remus and the idea that he felt his future was already decided against him upset her. Remus didn't deserve to feel judged like that.

"Don't worry Evans, he'll be fine," James assured Lily. "Remus can't help but be a bit self-loathing now and then but he's my friend and I'll make sure he's OK."

"Come on, Prongs, I meant it when I said this career talk was boring." Sirius tossed a pillow from his chair at James.

Ignoring his best friend, James leaned forward towards Lily, a spark of excitement in his hazel eyes. "So medicinal potions? That's quite the goal, Evans."

"Professor Slughorn suggested it. When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a nurse, like my mum was during the war, but I had no clue about magical careers. Brewing potions for the hospital sounds interesting." Lily bit her lip and furrowed her brow. "The wizarding world is funny though. In the muggle world, you'd go on to more specialized schools or universities to qualify for a career. Here it's all about connections and apprenticeships. It's very overwhelming for those of us who grew up in the muggle world."

"If you really are intersted in becoming a potions master I could introduce you to my dad." James suggested, "He's a renowned potioneer. I'm sure he could help you get an internship."

"Oh no! That is not necessary! Please don't bother him!" The last thing Lily wanted was to owe a favor to James Potter.

"It won't be a problem at all though! He sold his company a few decades ago so he has lots of time on his hands but he still belongs to some potion societies and keeps up with the top potioneers in the field. He loves helping young people get started. He'd be thrilled to be asked!"

Sirius, who had been twirling his wand between his fingers, looked up at Lily. "Fleamont's a good guy, very principled. He won't help if he thinks you're not qualified. You should let James write you an introduction."

"I'll think about it... Speaking of qualifications," Lily wanted to change the subject as the thought of Potter asking his father to help her get an internship ignited an odd fluttering sense in her stomach and a small heat rise to her cheeks. It was all very confusing. "What about you, Black? Any career aspirations?"

Sirius merely shrugged "All I know is I'm not keen on the Ministry. Wouldn't take their gold for anything."

"Well, what do you like? What are your hobbies?" Lily always thought Black was a bit of a mystery. A certifiable genius, everyone knew that, and while Lily had seen him take pride in his top marks in every class her took, Lily also knew he had issues with authority and would rather spend his time outside than in a classroom. And while every breath he took exhibited his aristocratic upbringing and he walked around with an air of unshakable privilege, He was in Gryffindor while the rest of his family was in Slytherin and Lily knew he didn't talk to his brother or any of his cousins.

"Nothing out of the ordinary astronomy, crosswords... mapmaking." He shared a sly grin with James on that last word, like it was an inside joke.

"Mapmaking? Sounds like you want to be a pirate." Lily deadpanned while James chuckled from beside her.

"What about you, Potter?" Lily asked, "You just came from your career talk. What insight did McGongall give you?"

"Well, we talked Quidditch, but much to her disappointment, I'm not sure if I want to stick with it after school. Turing professional kind of ruins the fun of it, you know?"

Sirius leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face. "McGonagall invited Prongs to submit articles for Transfiguration Today. Wants him to start building his CV, you know."

Lily looked impressed. "Really? That's quite an accomplishment, Potter."

James straightened up, running his hand through his messy hair. "You think so? I can send you a -" but James was cut off by the appearance of Peter Pettigrew who sat next to Potter with a great heavy sigh, a stack of his own career pamphlets in hand.

"Wormtail!" James greeted his friend, "How did your talk go? Going to make us all proud by joining the ranks of the Centaur Liaison Office?"

Pettigrew just sank lower into the couch and let the pamphlets drop to the ground. His talk with McGonagall evidently hadn't gone well.

"No worries, Pete," Sirus told Pettigrew, "If you fail out of Hogwarts you can always go on the Potter Financial Support Plan like Remus."

"Speaking of Moony," James said checking his watch "We should go check on him. He probably won't feel like going to dinner this evening. If he's awake we should grab him some food from the kitchen."

"You know he won't eat anything. He never does," Sirius said as lifted himself from the dark red chair anyway and stretched his arms above his head.

"I could eat! One of McGonagall's suggestions was a cook at the Leaky Cauldron and I haven't stopped thinking about meat pies since." Peter bounced up, abandoning his various pamphlets on the floor.

As the boys bounded up the stairs to check on Remus, Lily absentmindedly picked up the pamphlet Potter had been holding when he walked in. The words on the cover caught her eye: "Legal Aid for Disadvantaged Magical Beings."

A smile teased Lily's lips as she looked up at Potter's retreating back.

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC Interview Tag

Thanks for the tag, @willtheweaver (here)!

I'll go with Renn Atrius from Song of Thorns.

Were you named after anyone?

"I'm not sure. My parents weren't that close to their respective relatives, due to a myriad of reasons - the main one being that my maternal grandparents are vampire hunters, and my father was a vampire. You can imagine how uncomfortable the family meetings were. Dad said my name means 'honesty, love or benevolence' - I think it's a pretty great name."

When was the last time you cried?

"Hmm. I'm not sure to be honest. It was probably a while ago - I occasionally have nightmares about... well an incident, in my past. Those dreams do make me cry most times, but they have been few and far between lately, which is good."

Do you have any kids?

"None. I'm pretty young still for a dhampir - my current age is equivalent to 18 in human years, so I'm basically still a kid myself - and regardless, I've been too busy not being hunted by the people who want me dead and trying to rebel against the King to even consider something like that. I probably won't for a long time."

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

"Yes, all the time! Especially when I'm trying to annoy that fancypants asshat of a prince I have to travel with. That is priceless."

What is the first thing you notice about people?

"Let's see (starts listing the following with his fingers): if they're a Hunter, if they work for my psychopath of a grandfather, if they're another stupid villager ready to call a mob with torches and pitchforks to go after yours truly, and so on and so forth... There's a lot to consider when you're in my shoes. Other than that, I guess I try to notice their demeanor, a bit of their personality, and whether or not I'd like to waste my time talking to them."

What is your eye color?

"Light greyish brown, like my mother's. When I use my vampiric powers, my eyes glow a bright red, like blood but glowing like two little lanterns."

Scary movies or happy endings?

"Happy endings. I don't like the feeling of fear that much and the world is already horrifying enough for me to subject myself to more scares while reading fiction. Ha, if I wanted to endure something scary, I'd just have to tell a random villager I'm half-vampire or go out into the cursed woods alone. Happy endings are honestly my favorite thing about some books - they show us that no matter how bleak things may seem, there can be a brighter future ahead."

Any special talents?

"It depends. I'm a great swordfighter, have perfect aim with my bow and arrow, and am very agile - after my family was betrayed I survived mostly as a thief stealing from corrupt humans, so I had to learn how to climb things and be silent, which are also talents I consider special. Oh, and I can turn into either a giant bat or a really tiny one - transforming into a giant bat is easier and lasts for a longer period of time! My Dad taught me how to."

Where were you born?

"I was born in my family's manor in the vampiric lands, where I lived with my Dad until he was killed by a Hunter when I was around five years old, during a diplomatic visit to my human grandfather's lands."

Do you have any pets?

"Yes, I have a pet raven called Cornelius. I call him Corn for short! He's a little crazy bastard of a bird and I love his chaotic energy, haha."

What sort of sports do you play?

"I'm pretty active. I'm constantly running, climbing things, and fighting people who try to hurt me, so I guess that counts, plus I often fly around in my bat form, which is a great exercise for the arms (as they're my wings when I'm in my bat form). I also practice archery and sword fighting quite frequently!"

How tall are you?

"I'm honestly not sure. Probably 5.9ft. So around 179 centimeters? I think. I haven't had time to really measure my height if I'm being honest, haha."

What was your favorite subject in school?

"I was born a noble, so I would have had private tutors teach me instead of going to a traditional school like humans do - fey don't really do institutions like that, and learning from tutors and parents is the custom in vampiric and fey lands. But my Dad died when I was five - so I was orphaned and had to learn to survive on the run since the Hunters also wanted to kill me. I didn't really have that chance. Before that, it was my father who taught me how to read, write, and draw. He also used to teach me a lot about vampiric history and botany. When we visited my mother in the human lands she taught me a bit about sewing."

What is your dream job?

"I'm not sure. I would love to be an adventurer and help people whom the kingdom has forsaken, but I'm not sure if that counts as a job traditionally. If I manage to aid others during my lifetime in any way and make the world a better place than it was before, even if just a little bit, then that's enough for me."

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

[rayshippouuchiha]

Sorry only catching up to your feed now after being away for a bit and I noticed you made a post a while ago talking about how Dark!Reborn is essentially canon and I was wondering if you could expand upon that? I guess I only ever though of him as a funny little troll but would love to hear more about your thoughts on him since he is one of my favorite characters and I love your interpretations of his character so far!

Now I've not read the entirety of the manga so there could be some points I miss or details I can't account for yet but I'll do my best to explain my reasoning.

To start off with, KHR is basically a gag manga/anime that slowly turned into a more standard battle shonen as it progressed.

So you get this more lighthearted series that's based on an objectively dark base, i.e. the Mafia.

Right out the gate you get hints about the overall darkness of the world with the way Tsuna becomes the Heir to the Vongola. It's played of for comedy but all three of the other Heirs were murdered, rather viciously. Which helps set the tone for the world that Tsuna has just been drop-kicked into.

As the manga/anime progresses we see the world expand and we get to see further and further into the Mafia, how it works, and how dark it is not so far beneath the surface. Just the characters and circumstances that directly circle and impact Tsuna say so much about the world. From the 3 Vongola Heir's deaths to the fact that child assassins are, if not common, not completely unheard of i.e. Lambo and I-pin all the way to Gokudera who is a named hitman by 14 and Xanxus who leads the Varia as a teenager. Plus there's then basically the entirety of Mukuro's backstory to show us hints and pieces of just how dark some of those seedier parts can go.

So now we can circle back around to Reborn himself.

Reborn, the sadistic cosplaying "baby" tutor and, more importantly for this discussion, the World's Strongest Hitman.

Reborn lays claim to that title, takes pride in it, and no one in the know really argues with him about that. He is the best.

So that begs the question: What entitled Reborn to carry that title?

You get far enough into the series and you know it's not/can't be solely because of his Flames. Reborn might be the Strongest Arcobaleno and thus The Strongest Sun but that wouldn't gain him that title on its own.

Skull was a stuntman, a civilian, before he gained his pacifier and his position as an Arcobaleno netted him no other outside title.

Reborn, on the other hand, was/is a contract killer.

Hitman is a pretty cut-and-dried title after all.

So how many successful contracts does it take to be considered The Best In The World? How many kills/contracts/challenges does he have to have racked up to not only gain that title but to still hold it even as his time as an Arcobaleno goes on?

Even if you give Reborn a strict moral code (i.e. no killing children or if you want to stretch it even further no killing non-combatants period) that still has to be a lot of bodies to his name.

Reborn also very obviously doesn't shy away from casual physical violence as his stunts with Tsuna and his interactions with characters like Skull prove.

Reborn comes across as a sadistic but ultimately funny little troll only because of the position he holds in Tsuna's life throughout the series. His job, the contract he's taken, is to teach Tsuna. To shape him up and mold him into someone worthy and capable of taking the Vongola name and mantle.

No matter how crazy and outrageous his stunts are Reborn isn't actually out to hurt/kill Tsuna. Tsuna, no matter what affection/pride Reborn develops for him as the series progresses, is a job. Killing Tsuna or maiming him to the degree that he wouldn't be able to perform as Vongola Decimo, would equate to Reborn failing his job/contract. Which is something Reborn does not do. So all of the stunts and tests and general chaos that Reborn pulls have a relatively slim chance of ending with Tsuna dead, no matter what Reborn says.

But the shenanigans Reborn pulls prove that if he was? If he really wanted Tsuna maimed or dead?

Not only would no one see Reborn coming if he didn't want them to but they wouldn't be able to stop him even if they did.

So yeah, tl:dr, the fact that Reborn holds the title of World's Strongest Hitman proves that he's a canonically dark character at heart.

[deadheaddaisy]

🩷💛

???

🩷 Pink: Do you find a certain character (or characters) easy to write? More difficult -- and if so, do you avoid writing that character (or those characters) when possible?

So far I've really only written Malcolm and Hoshi, and I find them incredibly easy to write since I'm taking their canon characters and what I perceive as said character dynamics, and then just - tweaking. Based on interactions in the show.

More difficult? That'll probably be when I get to T'Pol and Archer, particularly the latter. I have a WIP that includes them and Trip, and I think I've done fairly well, but I'll need others who know them better to advise me (yay beta readers!). I guess Trip might also be a bit difficult, at least unless I focus on him as Malcolm's friend. I may also be riffing off fanfics I've read where I really like their iteration of Trip. So no, I don't necessarily avoid writing characters - I just haven't needed them in my fics as yet.

💛 Yellow: Do you ever alter, highlight, or de-emphasize certain canonical traits in a character? If so, why and describe how.

As I said above, I take canon Hoshi and Malcolm and tweak them slightly based on interactions during the show. There was also a great conversation on a Discord server recently that articulated what I could not, which is that they recognise kindred spirits in each other because both grew up somewhat isolated - him with a disapproving father, her as a language prodigy who was tutored instead of schooled.

Hoshi is also often mischaracterised as being afraid throughout the series, which is patently not true. You try being thrown out of Starfleet after breaking your Commander's arm, becoming a professor where you have some autonomy, returning to Starfleet to go into space when you were never planning to, and relying on this spaceship that is constantly under attack to keep you safe from the vastness of space?

She overcomes her fear in Fight and Flight and saves the ship; steps up in Sleeping Dogs (and impresses Malcolm with her determination about the torpedoes), she insists that she can handle being left with Tarquin in Exile - and uses her wits to outsmart him; she tries to get back to the bridge when she's clearly injured in Minefield.

Plus Hoshi was a sass machine from day one, particularly with T'Pol. She's mischievous, and funny, and she wants to learn, and Malcolm knows that. She's not out to waste his time, and he appreciates that about her. And she soaks up his lessons and his insights, even after the incident in the mess hall. She understands that he's not always great at social skills, and doesn't let the incident put her off befriending him.

And Malcolm is a very encouraging person. He'd be a good teacher (and he is, to the extent that by Season 3, Hoshi is taking over phase rifle training for the villagers from Marauders). He encourages Travis, he encourages Hoshi, he's not afraid to admit that he's a little worried about using the transporter in The Andorian Incident but he encourages his staff member who expresses concern. He very likely took the flack for the snowman so Travis would have a fun first experience with snow, and he is, of course, already friends with Travis from Broken Bow.

He's also far more in touch with his emotions than people think - how he dealt with Shuttlepod One and imminent death was pragmatic and aimed at helping those left behind - hence the letters - not being pessimistic and railing against the unfairness of it like Trip. Also I don't understand why people think he's the difficult one when Trip can't handle his own emotions. But that's a rant for another day.

Yes, he loses his rag with Hayes, but after over two years of having your security and tactical concerns dismissed, wouldn't you be angry that someone from a lower rank is suddenly being listened to instead of you? By your own captain?

ANYWAY. That's my long-winded way of saying that I write those two from a somewhat different perspective than is shown on the screen, and also in a lot of fanfic. They're not the stiff-upper-lip Brit and the shy and frightened ensign they're made out to be. They're good at what they do, they strive to be better, they're in touch with their emotions (and use their words like adults), they're friends and confidants (including with Travis) and - in my fics at least, and in deleted scenes - there was a little spark between them. So that's how I write them. Competent adults who learn and grow throughout the series.

Thanks for the ask!

[otakusheep15]

Obey Me Flufftober Day 28

Prompt: Tutor

Pairing: Thirteen x reader (gender neutral)

Word count: 416

A/n: Second time writing for Thirteen! I'm still a little unsure on how to write her, but hopefully I'll get better the more I do it.

School was much harder for Thirteen than she thought it'd be. It's not like she's ever had to attend school before, but she thought that if Solomon could do it, it should've been easy. She was so, so very wrong.

Thirteen was smart for sure, but school was a whole new level. The amount of lectures and work she had to keep up with was insane, not to mention her job as the Reaper. It was absolutely miserable for her, but she persisted.

However, she knew she would need help, so she came to you. You've been attending R.A.D. for a while now, so she figured you'd be able to help her. You were, naturally, more than happy to help her out, so you became her tutor.

Now, you weren't the best student in any capacity, but you were surprisingly good at tutoring. It definitely helped that Thirteen was genuinely willing to learn, and she was just good company.

It was tough at first because you first had to catch her up on the most recent lessons, but it went by quickly enough. Before either of you knew it, you had spent hours together studying. It was already dark when you decided to take a break.

You were glad Thirteen was having fun. You saw how much she was struggling in class, so it's nice to see that she's enjoying herself now. She was actually very good at history, which made sense. She was less good at other subjects, but throughout the night, she slowly began improving. You never thought you'd be the one to tutor someone at a demon school, but you're glad you were able to. Plus, it helped you learn a bit as well.

The next day after school, she runs up to you in excitement and presents you with a test she just took. When she holds it up, you see that she received a passing grade, and you were so happy for her. Thirteen then asks if you'd want to have another tutoring session sometime this week, to which you gladly agree.

While these are for her, you are also elated to have another study session with her. You hope she feels the same way you do, although you're already suspecting as much. You like spending time with her like this, and the joy on her face when she handed to that test made it even better. Hopefully she'd still want to continue this even after she gets better at school.

[elyrch]

billy loomis x Reader please fluff

"Order Up!"

a/n: first request! super excited to write this one, since billy is one of my favorite little dudes

warnings: none? just fluff, you and billy go on a date to a diner, study date, maybe a little ooc

you were trucking through your senior year, and honestly, it wasn't too bad. you just had every single relative of yours asking what college you were going to, and if you had a boyfriend yet.

you didn't, and that's the problem.

you wanted a boyfriend, but he- named billy loomis, also a senior- was a total ass. whenever you went to talk to him, it looked like he was picking apart every bit of you and creating an insult for it. if he wasn't doing this to you, you'd find it impressive how quickly he creates a defense tactic just in case you were angry at him or something.

now, here's something you didn't know. billy was also, coincidentally, looking for a date- he was looking to the people in the senior class first, and out of everyone, you were the only one who he actually liked. it's not his fault the face you make when focusing is cute! well, anyways. he remembers what classes you're having a hard time in, so he decides to help you through it. his hands are shaking a little (what, he's nervous!) as he goes up to you in class.

"you sure that answer's right?" he asks, as he stands next to you in class. you sigh deeply. you were having trouble with this question, and now, billy fucking loomis, pretty boy extraordinaire, is going to tear you apart over it.

"listen, billy, i really do not want to talk-"

"no, you listen. i've seen you having trouble, and i decided to help, giving to the poor and whatnot. i'll meet you at the diner over on main street on saturday at 3:30. don't be late!"

and just like that, he's gone. you barely even have time to process the fact that he literally asked you out before he left. stu watches from afar, seeing your face heat up, and he knows- billy has just scored the biggest win of his life. he texts billy what he sees, and billy is both happy and jealous that stu saw you blushing. "why wasn't i the one who saw it? it was probably so cute!" -billy in stu's messages lol.

might as well be early if the guy's helping you with class, plus he's cute, so you showed up at 3:25. he arrives at 3:30, and you two sit down. oddly enough, he didn't bring a notebook or a pen- you know, things you'd bring if you were a tutor- but you don't mind. for the first half of the meeting, you two talked about your schoolwork, until billy got bored and changed the subject to something more interesting.

he wanted to know if you liked scary movies- and if you did, which was your favorite. you told him, and he smiled just a little. for the rest of your little date- yes, he confirmed that it was a date- you two talked about horror movies and such. once it was done, he looked at you- his eyes just a little softer. "can i get your number?" he smiled. gentle. for once, he wasn't picking you apart.

"ah- yeah, sure. i'll just put it in your phone, okay? today was really nice." you chuckled.

while you were on your way home, he texted you, "doing this again next saturday?"

god, he was gonna be the death of you.

thank you for reading! please reblog if you enjoyed it!

[ichinisankaku]

Event Translation - Spotlight ~St Flora Side~ (Part 4)

Muku: Yuki-kun was really cool then, wasn't he?

Yuki: Oh my god, I can NOT believe you saw that…

Homare: What a wonderful memory…!

Yuki: But things got pretty annoying after that, you know.

They forced their solo part onto me, saying I should do it if I was so into it.

Homare: To hand over such an important part, they don't know what they're missing…!

Muku: So that's why you had the solo. That must have been super difficult…

Yuki: Well, yeah. If you're suddenly told to do something, it's not going to be easy…

Yuki: (Those guys are seriously making me do the solo part instead of them?)

(Even our other classmates said I'd be better than those unmotivated boys… and asked me to do it.)

Really, forcing this on me shows how irresponsible all of them are.

(Well, it's not like I refused, so I guess it's my fault too…)

Yuki: (Good, nobody's here.)

I'll try practicing my solo for now.

♪~♪♪~

(…No good. I feel like I can't sing well at all.)

This really is difficult…

(The solo part stands out a lot, but no matter how much I practice, it's…)

*door opens*

Yuki: ?

Muku: Ah, um… I, I forgot something here… Sorry to interrupt!

Good luck with your practice…!

*footsteps*

Yuki: (What's with that guy…)

(That surprised me, but… the pressure I was feeling just now seems like it's weakened a bit.)

Good luck with your practice, huh…

(Alright, I guess I can keep going a little longer?)

Muku: So you also remember that, Yuki-kun…

Yuki: Well, it left quite an impact on me.

Muku: Ehehe, sorry I surprised you.

When I saw you practicing, I couldn't help but show you my support…

Yuki: …Thanks for back then.

Muku: Huh?

Yuki: We didn't win, but I think I did all I could thanks to your support.

Muku: I'm glad if I helped out even a little bit… And your solo was super pretty, you know!

Homare: How wonderful…!

Thank you both for sharing such gorgeous memories. To show my appreciation…

I'd like to give you two new memories of the Chorus Contest this year.

Muku: You mean…?

Homare: Of course, I want you both to win the grand prize!

Yuki: We can't, we're in different classes.

Homare: Ah- that's right!

Yuki: Plus, is it really okay for our tutor to be so biased?

Homare: Well, naturally I intend on helping everyone I teach aim for the prize.

But separate from that - as your friend - I want to support you two.

Yuki: What's up with that. …But, well, if you're giving support, I'll take it.

Muku: That makes me really happy.

I'll practice as hard as I can to make the most of your coaching, Alice-san!

Homare: Wonderful. I shall put my all into it as well.

Oh my, it's this late already… Time truly does fly when you're having fun.

Thank you both for accompanying me today, I truly do appreciate it. Please leave the bill to me.

Muku: Thank you!

Yuki: Obviously.

[Prologue | Flora 1 | Flora 2 | Flora 3 | Flora 5 | Flora Epilogue | Tsukushi 1 | Tsukushi 2 | Tsukushi 3 | Tsukushi 4 | Tsukushi 5 | Tsukushi Epilogue]

[sybaritick]

you seem to have some decent experience w the state of bay area / east coast magnet school type k-12 education, e.g. private tutoring, heavy pressure towards high paying careers, etc. - any hot takes on how competitive it is, how good that is compared to the rest of the state of american education, etc?

absolutely, personal experience with that in central NJ-- many of my close friends even more than me!

The advantage it gives the children involved in it is very real. I had much better educational opportunities than most Americans, and I still benefit from that despite not even graduating college. I don't think I'd have my current teaching job if I didn't have the background I do, for example.

The costs are more nebulous and vague and therefore often go ignored. Obviously there is a serious social development cost, I almost never saw my friends outside of school or on weekends. I was taught very clearly that the only thing that mattered was money and social status and the best path to that was attending a prestigious ("Ivy-plus") university. This genuinely replaced any other set of values I could have been taught as a kid, I cannot exaggerate the pervasiveness of the "social climbing is everything, you must attain greater socioeconomic status than your parents, they made this sacrifice for you" messaging. To quote something I said to a friend on this subject:

truly i think there are few environments more fitting to teach small children that everything is about money than mine. Until I was 10 I went to a private school on scholarship for being mathpilled and then even after that I was very lucky to go to a wealthy competitive public school [...] People who lived in my neighborhood (mentioned earlier my neighborhood was maybe 80% asian, Chinese and Indian) are living here *solely* for the school and this is a very intentional shot at bootstrapping into a higher socioeconomic class. You are paying a lot to be here (to live in this town in your crappy apartment or condo), you *must* get into a competitive university on scholarship or your parents' sacrifice for it is worthless. And the thing is you and the other kids know this, you are aware! They are your competition, your enemies! Only some of you will make it. You know this when you are 8.

it is funny that it was SO monstrously cynical as a little kid though because of all this. "by 30 your circle should be talking about investments. Your network is your net worth" shitty sigma bro meme but i am 9 years old

I am fully aware I am very lucky and don't want to sound rude and ungrateful-- 90% of the country has every reason to be jealous of me. A bit of teasing and the various petty social punishments doled out by small children for not always having the correct class signals (along with the fact that I definitely, for sure "worked" more than 60 hour weeks. I was on conference calls at 11pm when I was 15) are more than worth the better educational and financial opportunities... people would kill to be me and I understand them!

I mean I'll never go back and it's essentially a child torture machine none of us had any real friends and the town one north of mine with the same issue got an article in the NYT a while back for all the suicides/mental health hospitalizations. I have lost two people to it, people I knew closely. But it is an interesting place, it's very American. I'm New Jersey's gijinka for it, I was shaped by it very fundamentally.

[tries to get everyone started chanting DIR-TY JER-SEY for me and it does not work because half my mutuals are European]

sorry anon you get my life story instead of actionable advice, but it truly is that competitive. Perhaps even more so since I left-- I'm 26, this was all a decade ago.

[uncloseted]

Do you have any advice for being a better student in college? This is my first semester at a new school and I feel bad because I didn't do good. I didn't fail but I didn't get the grades I wanted and I feel like I wasted all my time and I'll never get those opportunities back, and it makes me depressed. I want to do better next semester

I think that really depends on why you were struggling in your first semester. What do you feel like you were wasting your time on that wasn't your classes? Is there a way to find a happy medium between the things you were distracted by and the work that you want to get done? Is it that the classes you were taking weren't interesting to you or that they're subjects that you're not naturally good at? Are there subjects that might be easier or more interesting for you? Are you struggling with a learning disability or mental health issue that's making it difficult for you to do well in your classes, and, if so, are there accommodations that your school could provide to even the playing field for you? Were you just struggling to adjust to a new environment and a new way of learning? There are a million reasons why your first semester might have gone badly, and until you know why it was hard, it will be difficult to figure out how to fix it.

All that said, there are some things that I think are generally good ideas to make college easier:

At the beginning of each semester, look at the syllabus for the class. Notice which areas of the class are the most important (homework, exams, participation), and make sure you're putting your effort into whichever area is the bulk of your grade. Sometimes it's worth knowing which areas of a class you can skimp on and still get a good grade.

Look at the syllabus for the class and put any key assignments into your phone's schedule or a physical planner. Figure out when you're going to start each assignment and put those in your schedule or planner as well. I know every professor tells you to do this and nobody ever does, but doing a little bit of work on an assignment every day really is way easier than doing the entire thing in one go the night before. (I say this, but this could never be me. My ADHD brain has never started anything in advance ever in my life).

Go to class. I know it's really easy to skip classes because you feel like doing something else (and that's fine once in a while), but a lot of the time, just showing up will help you understand enough of the material that you're not lost when you start studying or working on an assignment.

Similarly, skim the readings. You don't have to read them all- there's usually just not enough time for that- but getting a general idea of what the point is makes a big difference when those readings are discussed in class and on your overall grasp of the topics. I think there are also some websites/apps that will summarize the reading for you and pull out the big ideas if you're short on time. Simple English Wikipedia and the r/explainlikeimfive subreddit are also great resources for easy to understand explanations of simple topics.

See if your school has on-campus tutors. The tutors are usually free, and it's way easier to learn in a one-on-one environment than it is to learn in a big lecture hall. Plus, the tutors will help to make sure your work is getting done on time.

Similarly, go to office hours. Pretty much nobody ever goes, and so they're a really good time to talk to your professor one-on-one and get them to clarify anything you're struggling with. Plus, in my experience, professors bump up the grades of students who they like and who are engaged in their class.

In terms of how to actually study, this article from UNC Chapel Hill is a really good resource, and I would highly recommend checking it out.

On a larger scale, I think it's important to remember that for the most part, your college grades don't really matter. If you want to apply to graduate school or a very competitive job, your GPA might be relevant, but in general, the adage that "Cs get degrees" is true. A lot of the time, getting a job has more to do with internships and networking than it does with your grades or which school you went to. That's not to say that you shouldn't study hard or that grades aren't important, but just to say that not doing well in college isn't going to ruin the rest of your life, even if you never get the grades that you want. It's okay to cut yourself a little slack if you need it. Figuring out how to learn, how to manage tasks, and how to be an adult is a part of college that's as important as the actual grades you get.

[inventors-fair]

Ride off into the Sunset: Power of Friendship Commentary

I don't have much to say this week, but lotsa cool cards! thanks again to everyone for putting their all into this silly little contest. I'll see y'all in a few weeks!

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation

Abraham Desjardins by @bergdg - The Reckoners

An archenemy product like you mentioned alongside the submission would be neat, but if I get into the logistical implications of that I wouldn’t have any room left for commenting on the card. Abraham here is pretty simple- a nice throwback to the battlebond usage of “team”, though in this case you could just say “target creature your team controls”. Abraham’s character seems to boil down to “heavy weapons expert”, which I feel like comes across well here. He arms himself or other characters, and is willing to get his hands dirty, too. I honestly wonder if this might be a bit too much for a partner commander? The vigilance means you can attack and fight every turn cycle, plus the scaling buff (a small one, but still). However, I can’t really say for sure without playing with it. Altogether, fun and flavorful card, but maybe could’ve been a bit narrower.

Batman, Caped Crusader by @hypexion - DC Comics

Batman 1 of 2, both with Hero/Sidekick. There are obvious similarities between the two, but hey, Batman is a well established character. I like the idea of Batman being a toolbox commander, but a lack of repeatable tutor like Zur the Enchanter is probably good. Free playing cheap stuff as a combat trick is quite fun, especially since there’s some decently impactful auras at that cost. At four mana, though, I don’t even think you need the two mana in the ability cost. As it is, it’s kinda just a worse version of giving your artifacts and Auras flash, since you can only do it once per turn cycle. Also, given the flavor, I almost wish it was Equipments instead of all artifacts, and then came along with an attachment clause, though it would be tricky to make that wording smooth. The Sidekick clause is also interesting here- assuming sidekicks are mono-color, this means that you can’t actually have any 4 or 5 color partner decks, which might be for the best. Plus, it creates a pretty clear power structure between them, with sidekicks clearly being a support elements. All in all, neat card, and a good snapshot of Batman.

Batman, Dark Knight by @genericaura - DC Comics

Number two! Also dealing with his utility belt (because, yknow, duh), but taking it in a much different direction. It’s a bit of a hefty paragraph there, but ultimately you can stack these equipments onto your commander to have vastly increased combat flexibility. The power buff isn’t huge, but it’s also not nothing after a few turns. Flying and first strike are definitely good abilities both flavorfully and mechanically, but repeatable indestructible definitely seems like it could get annoying. For five mana, it’s probably worth the investment, but it also seems unlikely that you’d ever pick anything else, and just save up the equipment for cheating death. My last quibble is with the equip cost. Three mana is pretty steep for an admittedly minor effect- I think I would rather see it lowered if the intention is to be able to shuffle them around, or just remove the equip cost entirely if they’re meant to stay on the commanders.

Bruce Banner // The Incredible Hulk by @squeezyboi - Marvel Comics

I’m going to address the Hulk in the room first- as written, Avengers is not a functional ability. Going by even the smallest team size, and assuming this is a small product and not a full set, that’s a minimum of 6 commanders. Even if they all suck, that’s lowering your deck size by a not-insignificant amount, which helps a lot with consistency. However, there are easy ways to tweak that, so let’s look at the rest of the card. Exploring is definitely a different flavor here than on ixalan, but it’s a cute way to show his isolated wandering. Life and damage increments are numerals, so “3 or more life”, but the transform condition is the right cost and again flavorful- he transforms when you get hit/when he gets mad. The back face abilities need a bit of modal templating, but they’re pretty cool, and well costed given the hoops you have to jump through. All in all, this is a pretty neat card, apart from the rework needed on the Avenger ability itself.

Cat Master Joe by @wolkemesser - King City

Adding a pool of unrestricted commanders that were not previously designed to be commanders (or partners) is a dangerous game to play, but cheap cats is... fine? probably? I’m honestly more concerned about what this says about what the rest of the set would look like. What really gets me here is the four-color cost, and how that interacts with the Cat Master ability. There’s no real reason for black to be here (though it does match with the character), but regardless of whether you can use it to add blue, it just seems like this card doesn’t really scream partner to me. Sure, it’s nice to have a cat just chilling in the command zone for a guaranteed play, but the card just wants to be generally cat typal. All in all, the design feels a bit unfocused, and I think each element on its own is neat, but they don’t mesh with each other very well.

Cornelia, War-Princess by @helloijustreadyourpost - Code Geass

Vehicles are a popular choice this week, and honestly, it makes a lot of sense. There’s lots of person-vehicle partners in popular media, and they lend themselves well to evocative designs. Cornelia is simple, but straightforward and aggressive, which fits well with how she’s represented. I honestly don’t know if the once per turn is necessary? If you have ways to untap her, you kinda deserve to double dip on the anthem. At least, that’s my thoughts on it. However, there’s a bit of a sticky rules issue here- as written, it seems to imply that Vehicles that haven’t been crewed yet will benefit from the buff, which will be present as soon as they come online. And I.... don’t think that’s how it works? On the battlefield, uncrewed vehicles don’t have power and toughness, so I don’t think they can benefit from the buff. Counters are a different matter since they can just apply when the Vehicle animates, so if that’s what you’re looking for, might be better to balance around a permanent buff.

Falco, Ace Wingman by @arixordragc - Star Fox / Smash Bros

Another fast and aggressive Vehicle pilot- can Falco fly on his own in the games? I mean, I know he’s usually in a ship, but I wonder if it would be worth it to give him flying on his own. The ability is fine and simple, perfect for an uncommon commander. Hero/Sidekick is apparently a pretty common naming convention this week, which makes sense, but... I would argue that Falco is a sidekick in this scenario? Unless you’re going for a Smash Bros style Fighters/Assist Trophies thing, in which case it kinda makes sense. I guess he is sorta a secondary protagonist rather than a side character, but eh. Not much else to say, deserves another point of power or some evasion, though you’ll wanna use him for crewing more than anything.

Fourth Syllable by @stupidstupidratcreatures - Kill Six Billion Demons

Yowza. This one sent me on a DEEP dive to figure out the mechanics behind the magic system at play here, and... this is definitely a really cool way to represent it, but would there only be seven “partners” in this case? The “or planeswalker” is clever bit of informative reminder text there, though typically WOTC avoids planeswalkers in UB products. As for the card itself, it’s interesting that it’s not restricted by casting your commander like Oathbreaker, but rather scales in a way that makes it useless if you cast it first. It’s a neat concept for sure, but... this is WEAK. Even with a two-mana commander, which is pretty damn cheap, this is asking for a 13 mana investment to... scry 3. The threshold effect is nice, but we’re talking about huge amounts of mana for a pretty weak draw spell. And again, that’s with a very cheap commander already. The scaling effect is quite neat, but definitely needs to be managed slightly differently.

Lift, Defiance Incarnate by @mmmmmin - Stormlight Archives

I definitely laughed at that epithet, cause “defiance incarnate” sure does sum it up nicely. Interestingly, hybrid cards are usually chock full of color pie breaks, but the biggest issue here would be red caring about food- and even that’s a bend, since it’s neither making it nor cares about gaining life. Radiant/Spren is a pretty natural pairing to make for this contest, so I’m not surprised a few people landed on it, but your restriction of color identity is a very nice touch. Would Spren in this case all be mono color, or would there be 2c ones that just have to match with the exact right pair? Anyways, this could make for a nasty voltron commander with the right setup. 2 commander damage starting turn 1 is nothing to sneeze at, and with some food generation, the built-in protection is quite nice. Definitely depends on the rest of the pool, but the design here is pretty solid. My only concern would be that it feels like it’s asking for a very specific partner here, since I assume most of the Spren wouldn’t be making food, except for a very particular one. Ultimately, it would be tricky to have a Radiant/Spren pool that isn’t just cleverly disguised “Partner With”, so that’s something to watch out for.

Lord Xykon, Spiteful Lich by @just--a--penguin - Order of the Stick

With another common (and sensible) pairing of Boss/Subordinate, Lord Xykon does all the lich things you want him to do. Phylactery? Check. Sacrificing minions to fuel his zombie army? Sure, why not. Honestly, I don’t have too much to complain about this card. The phylactery effect is something we’ve seen on a few cards already, and it’s quite flavorful. One qualm with the sacrifice ability is that I reckon it shouldn’t be optional; if you have a non-Zombie creature, you should be forced to sacrifice it. The other part, as I’ve commented on other cards, is that it feels like Boss/Subordinate should have some sort of hierarchy, or mechanic to show off the big dog. I’m thinking of something similar to how Backgrounds don’t actually function unless you control your commander. Then again, Doctor’s companion works similar to what you have here, so this is probably just a me thing.

Mordecai, Cunning Sniper by @nicolbolas96 - Borderlands

Okay, having a spotlight effect on a sniper is really clever, and I’m honestly surprised that this hasn’t been done yet. However, it does run into a bit of an issue with the second ability that would likely be confusing for a lot of players: Mordecai will be able to target something with protection from blue/black, but he won’t be able to damage them. It definitely throws up a weird flag. The other aspect of this is that the damage rate is really good. This is a combination of Niv-Mizzet and Nekusar, despite being cheaper than both, and with more flexibility in what he can target. At four mana, this would make for a really oppressive commander, let alone with a partner alongside. Imagine if there was a Vault Hunter that drew you cards, which I imagine there would be. On a different note, Vault Hunter is a clever and straightforward way of avoiding 4-5 color soup. Outright banning it means you can have two and even three-color partners without worrying about the potential pairs, and it also means you can even plan around partners that would never be able to pair with each other.

Patches the Hyena by @0woah - Dark Souls

He sure do skulk, huh. Anyways, Patches is definitely neat, but there’s a lot going on with him, and he’s trying to pull in more directions than a partner commander really should. You can’t really rely on opponents to have enough equipment to make the tap ability a kill shot, which means you want to be targeting yourself for that part. In fact, those abilities are generally just scaled off of you automatically, though I suppose the choice makes it a bit more interesting? Additionally, an equipment theme with a skulk commander feels weird, unless most of the equipment in the set don’t give power buffs. It’s still a cool card, and does do some fun work with saboteur effects, but I’m having a hard time thinking of a pool of effects that would synergize nicely with him while still being general enough to match the rest of the pool.

Pattern, Seeker of Lies by @certification-wizard - Stormlight Archives

Templating nitpick up first- watch the order of your mana symbols on the bestow. Speaking of, bestow is a really cool way to represent spren, beings which are kind-of people and kind-of slivers of power that offer abilities through their bond. Being able to act as an aura or on their own matches well with their existence. As for the main ability, you don’t need to worry about flash since the ability allows you to cast immediately, which ignores timing restrictions. It also makes for a bit of an interesting build around, since you kinda want to know what’s in their hand first so you can plan your mana around it. My main nitpick is that this is a pretty brutal effect to be on an attack trigger, with a resilient body that can survive a boardwipe. I would make it a combat damage trigger, and probably also pump up the bestow cost a bit- remember, bestow gives you the aura and also the creature when the creature it’s enchanting dies, so you’re paying for the benefit of a second use.

Pikachu, Paradise Builder by @dravidious - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Pokemon! Everyone’s favorite! Well, it’s a spinoff, but hey. Mystery dungeon lends itself very well to mix-and-match partners, since, you not only get to “choose” what pokemon you are, but also what pokemon your partner is. Human Pokemon is also a weird enough typeline that it basically future-proofs itself, which is also nice. My one concern here is with pokemon being a type; that means that every single creature card in this product would be a pokemon, which makes for some strange typelines and probably weirdness with typal effects. Also, a generic 1/1 white pokemon token just feels... odd. I have no idea what pokemon it’s supposed to represent. Maybe that’s the point, but Pokemon sorta hinge on their individuality and their colorful designs, so genericizing them feels like it goes against that a bit.

Qiffrey, Patient Mentor by @batatafilosofal - Witch Hat Atelier

Professor and Apprentice is another take on the hierarchical partner pair, and honestly one that could work with a lot of different media, which is cool. Forgive me if I’m being blunt, but this card... is just Veyran, Voice of Duality. Take away the prowess, add Professor, and remove a color. It just doesn’t feel like a particularly original design, since we’ve seen this exact ability before. There is some depth to it given that it has partner, since your Apprentice could potentially have a magecraft-esque ability to take advantage of, but still. Feels like it wanted to be a bit more of an individual design.

Samus, Chozo’s Legacy by @misterstingyjack - Metroid / Smash Bros.

The big crossover Smash Bros IP you described seems very fun, though admittedly I am curious about which characters would get the honor of being player one, and which ones would be player two. Making Samus care about noncreature spells is interesting? I don’t necessarily see the connection there, but flavorfully, it works. It’s also a huge chunk of text for an admittedly simple ability, but I wonder if there’s any way some of the fat could be trimmed off. Also, since this can only happen once per turn, it feels weird that this will never kill anything with more than 1 toughness? Might be worth having it scale to the number of aim counters so that there’s an incentive to stack them up on one particularly nasty thing.

Shallan Davar by @fractured-infinity - Stormlight Archives

So I almost deleted this entry by accident because I thought it was a resubmission, heh. Good thing I didn’t! Phasing in is something that we’ve seen a bit of a resurgence on, and it’s a great way to represent these temporary illusions. The combat damage trigger is admittedly a bit odd, but it makes sense to give her a way to phase herself out so that she can pick up a new thing to copy. Radiant/Spren mashup makes a lot of sense, so no commentary there. Altogether, it makes for a cool card, and does seem like a good generic partner, without being too crazy strong on its own.

Shallan, Lightweaver by @aethernalstars - Stormlight Archives

Shallan no. 2, with a different take on the Illusion and cloning aspect. This leans more into disguising other things rather than disguising herself, but the Illusion tag is a clever way to be able to see what she’s copied. Stormlight tokens are interesting, but I don’t really see a format where they’re super helpful, unless it’s a multicolor soup-bowl of goodstuff. Especially when it comes to partner pairs, where you’re likely never exceeding three colors between the two, color fixing just seems unnecessary. Nahel Bond is a more clever and clinical way of going about the Radiant/Spren thing, while also allowing it to extend to some of Sanderson’s other books. The lack of sharing a creature type is also good, since it means two Radiants can’t just decide to pair up, though it does mean a careful cultivation of the secondary types for everything in this pool. 

Shinji Kaminaga by @eveydeevey - Shin Ultraman

Okay, so the idea of feeding one commander into the other in order to power it out is fantastic. I love it, and I think there could be a lot of fun to be had there. But 7 mana? Even with Human Offering, that implies that the Ultra Heroes are gonna be crazy expensive cards, otherwise Shinji offers little to no benefit. Additionally, it feels kinda boring that this is all that Shinji does? Like, give me a reason to keep him out on the field for at least a little bit. This also doesn’t tell me anything about what other Ultra Hosts might look like. They’ll probably all have Rise, since it wouldn’t make sense to keyword it otherwise, but will they all just be off-color versions of Shinji? Or will they do their own things, in which case one of them might have made for a better example this week. All in all, this hints at some great ideas that you had here, but doesn’t actually show me any of them.

Shirou Emiya by @curiooftheheart - Fate/Stay Night

Master/Servant is a neat dynamic, and has a clever way of excluding changelings so as to keep the pool to the (assumably) unique creature type. The rest of Shirou is pretty straightforward, caring about equipment in a fairly general way. But uh... what the heck is a command seal? Is it a counter? An emblem? Is this a threshold mechanic, a scaling mechanic, or a resource mechanic? I’m left with a lot of questions, and I kinda wish I saw something that utilised these command seals, or at the very least had some reminder text explaining them. Online searches described them as “manifestations of a master’s control over their servant”, which makes sense, but it still raises more questions that the design unfortunately doesn’t answer.

Suletta Mercury by @bread-into-toast - Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

Gundam is about as classic as you can get with “person pilots big vehicle/robot that is reflective of their personality”, so creature/vehicle pairings is definitely a good call. The ability is definitely a funky one. Vehicles have lots of triggered abilities, and most of them are things you want to double up on whenever possible. I’m curious if the top ability is one that all Pilots will have, or if it’s unique to Suletta and/or a smaller subset of commanders. It could be interesting, but it also means that the Mobile Suit crew costs would have to scale appropriately to make the power feel more like an actual decision again. It is neat to add another variable to tweak though, since you could have a pilot that has much weaker abilities, but is guaranteed to crew any mobile suit in the pool.

Sword and Shield by @deg99 - Monster Hunter

This is the only equipment commander we’ve seen, and Monster Hunter is a great pick for it given the intense focus on gear and improving it. Experience counters also seem like an interesting throughline for the weapons and/or hunters, since it’s a good way of indicating progression and growth. However, I don’t know if this was the strongest example of what you could have shown here. The ability is worded a bit awkwardly, since the first clause is just giving you permission to do something you can already do, and the secondary clause is very narrow. Also, it took me a couple rereads to confirm whether the ability cared about the spell’s mana value or the targeted creature’s. It’s cool, and I love the idea of hunters who gain experience and weapons that make use of it, but this specific example is a bit clunky. Also, consider making it cheaper, since a 6 mana investment for the equivalent of a 1-mana aura definitely hurts.

Tai, Light of Courage by @horsecrash - Digimon

Okay, so it took me a while to pick up on the implication you were going with here, that Digivolve counts as a variant of mutate. I do understand the need to stay true to the source material, but typically mechanic variants have some sort of commonality with the name to make sure the connection is understood. I can see a lot of folks getting confused about this initially. As for Tai himself, it’s a strong but simple ability, especially since he probably drops before your Digivolve commander, meaning they’ll have the abilities right when you play them. Haste is a bit of a strange choice, since mutating won’t cause summoning sickness unless the mutate target also entered on the same turn. Not a huge issue, more of a nitpick than anything. 

[the-storyteller-and-her-soldiers]

I know I don't mention it a lot but I do heavily think of Ignis like my dad?? With my FFXV insert when he first met her as a ghost-writer, he pulled some strings at the castle to become Noct's secondary tutor since he saw my S/I had a good head and heart but was taking on an adult role while still a child. It reminded him of himself...

Meanwhile, with my royal AU, he just was like "I already look after one royal, two shouldn't be that much harder when they hang out." Though Noctis did get a little jealous when Ignis would begin praising me for eating veggies so well. Noct gets us back by very begrudgingly eating some broccoli (The one veggie I will die before eating ><)

But as we grew closer I'd go to him for things I needed help with but was too embarrassed to ask Gladio for. CP's acting up and can't tie my shoe too well? Iggy's got it and some new non-tying laces! Your girl wants to make lunch but was never allowed to? Iggy was going to make some for the guys and would enjoy an enthusiastic helper, plus he has some tips on how to make things easier for me. Basically in a way, I become the Prince of Lucis's Assistant of his Advisor.

But then one night, while traveling with the guys, long after we call it a night, I awaken from a nightmare. But since I have years of practice, my sobs are silent and I can easily sneak out of the tent. Ignis wakes up soon after since he can just sense something's amiss. When he sees the prince sleeping, the shield snoring, and the quicksilver peacefully tossing that means that the newest addition is nowhere seen.

He's more alarmed than anything until he sees a faint light just outside. He joins me, and I try to hide the fact I was bawling my eyes out. There's no use though and when he says that I can just let it out and he'll stay right here to keep me safe until I go back to the tent, I bawl harder.

In all my life (No matter the universe) I never had an older figure who had given me that. My own father left when I was little and when he came back he saw me as his soldier rather than his 4-year-old daughter... And let's just say that relationship only grew more strained and frayed until I finally cut it at 18. And despite what everyone from my mom to my friends to my aunt who lives with my dad now says, I still have moments where I wonder if I just wasn't a good daughter and that's why he'd let me down amongst the other horrible abuse he scarred into me. (Not going into it here, but you can see glimpses of it in my writing)

Ignis not only stays, but he listens. At the end of it all, he understands where I come from but can't understand what father would do such things to such a sweet young girl. He doesn't say that though, the words catch in his throat. I simply laugh at my own silliness for crying over old scars that I say have healed and rub my eyes. I tell Ignis as I shakily stand up that I'll make sure to knock it into Noct to count the lucky stars that he has Ignis. Without him, who'd know where the prince would be. Who knows where I would be... Ignis simply thanks me, rubbing my back as he guides me back to the tent and I snuggle up with my big teddy of a boyfriend.

Nothing much changes after that, outwardly anyway. But Ignis does start checking in more. Did you eat? Meds?? How's uni going?? How are your friends??? Everyone thinks it's normal since I was always checking in on him since I could see he was just as self-sacrificing as I was. But then, I mistakenly call him 'Dad' in front of the guys and my friends.

IT'S OVER, I CRAVE DEATH! I WANT TO HOP IN A HOLE! Noct is just confused, Prompto thinks it's so sweet, and Gladio can't stifle a chuckle... I look shyly at Ignis as I go to apologize but he looks flattered?? (This takes place mid-FFXV so he's 22 and I'm 19) I stutter out an apology citing it as a genuine slip of the tongue. He just ruffles my hair and tells me I should take after Noctis and get a bit more sleep then rather than staying up with my podcasts.

I don't see Iggy as the type to be like "SIGN THE ADOPTION PAPERS IT'S PART OF THE RECIPE!" But he would step into the role more because I think he would wanna settle down but due to his position gave up the whole children bit since the royal family IS his family in a sense. But there's nothing wrong with guiding one of the prince's friends. (especially when I'm a royal so you know political benefits to Lucis and all~!)

So like I never openly start calling him 'Dad' or anything. But a lot of people have caught on. For if I'm going out with my other friends and don't have physical cash but offer to send him some, he'll just give me a 50 and tell me to treat next time the 5 of us go out to eat (He won't let me pay for more than my own if that!) And he'll always be open to talking while he does his work or while he has an ebony break! He'll share in my excitement as I talk about school, what I'm into, or my own personal adventures, and he does get protective of me as he does Noctis. Though he shows that differently, such as comforting me from my nightmares and whenever I do have to meet my dad.

I also may have asked if one day, if I ever get married, if I could have him walk me down the aisle and give me away to whatever lucky person. He quietly but happily said 'of course'!

Also, he has no problem being in 'dad-mode' to my older f/os (Miguel, Thancred, Jack, Raiden, Yagami, Kaito) a lot of them don't even catch on that he's younger than them until later! Gladio's the only exception since they go way back!

Also when I'm like "IGGY MEET MY NEW SIBLINGS/KIDS" He doesn't bat an eye but does sit us down to ask if we've eaten. All in all, best dad figure!

Now I just need a tag for Iggy!

Taglist: @disneymarina @floweringforgetfulness @goldenworldsabound @singingdeepinme @nyandereneko @hadesgoddess @canongf @wanderers-wife @maskedanarchy-ships

[bekaito]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀chuseok mini event: family text conversation

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

｟  HIMARI  ｠  ⸻  you may not have made it but we're all still rooting for you! ｟  HIMARI  ｠  ⸻  there will be even more chances in the future so don't feel down about not getting into a company this time!~

｟  KAITO  ｠  ⸻  don't worry, i'm fine now that i got to see all of you. hahaha! ｟  KAITO  ｠  ⸻  plus i did get an 'earful' from mom and dad for not even telling them so... ｟  KAITO  ｠  ⸻  did they say anything about me sending in an audition tape so soon? ｟  HIMARI  ｠  ⸻  they did! i told them and both said they were going to let everyone know to look out for you in case you made it!~ ｟  HIMARI  ｠  ⸻  mom may have already started making a whole collection of signs and merch to use every day. she says that it will help your chances of making it or something like that... ｟  KAITO  ｠  ⸻  geez... don't let her go too overboard. never mind, she technically already has... ｟  KAITO  ｠  ⸻  i have to go now. i have a tutoring class but i'll text again later when i'm home. i love you and tell mom and dad i said i love them. ｟  HIMARI  ｠  ⸻  always working! :c but okay!~ i'll be sure to tell them. i love you, too!~

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

kaito's last meaningful conversation was with his little sister a couple days after he had sent in his audition tape for dream wave. since she's the closest person to him, other than his parents who were busy at the time working, he wanted to let her know before anyone else and even wanted her to tell their parents since he kind of got a bit of an ass chewing from them when he didn't tell them about is participation on next gen.

his family is the most important to him and he almost didn't return to korea after failing to make it in next gen because he really does hate being apart from them, however at the time his parents and little sister practically dragged him to the airport and told him to go back. they're so supportive of him and his dream that they didn't want him to give up the idea of being an idol and following his dreams of debuting someday. now that he's back in korea, kaito remembers each and every single word that they had said to him back then and tells himself to not give up, not only for himself but for them as well.

the conversation that he had recently with his sister was something that he needed after sending his audition in this time, words that helped him realize that he would have to do everything he could to try and make it this time since he had so many people back home rooting for him. it gave him more motivation to actually push even harder and do even better than he had during next gen. even though his little sister is younger than him, she still has those moments where she can be wise and gives some of the best advice and encouragement that he could ever ask for.

[karmas-chameleon]

Part one! Still a draft that I'm gonna add a second part to (and yeah I know there's still a placeholder 😭 eventually I'll come up with a good plushie name)

None of the teaching Manfred gave to Franziska could be considered ‘typical’. He didn't think it was, at least. He was a prosecutor, not a professor, and though he attempted to confer all the knowledge he had gained in his own schooling (and more), it surely wasn't the usual schedule American law students followed.

It was much more efficient, for one. By the time she was ten, Manfred's younger daughter was well on her way to taking the bar exam. She'd been taught theory, and had been able to see his own performances in court for herself. But there was only so much that sort of tutoring could do for her. She needed practice. And since few cases were willing to allow a child to take over just for a bit of real world experience, Manfred had to get creative.

‘Fiddling with a pair of scissors and construction paper’ creative, even. It wasn't his forte, certainly, but it was all for a very good reason. He'd set up the scene while Franziska was busy riding her horse, and waited in the library for her to find it.

“Papa!” came a cry from the door. “Rarity's been murdered!”

Rarity was the name of Franziska's pony. Not her real pony, but a plastic figure that she adored, one of many little ponies and unicorns and pegasi from a show that Manfred managed to remain on the couch while Franziska watched. And now, it lay in a pile of red scraps of paper, surrounded by other assorted bits of evidence and some plush witnesses.

Manfred smiled to himself for a moment then stood from his chair, fixing his younger daughter with the solemn expression that such a grave incident necessitated. “My goodness. You didn't touch anything, did you?”

“Of course not!” Franziska pouted. “I’m not foolish enough to contaminate a crime scene, Papa.”

Manfred grinned down at her. “Excellent. Why don't we start investigating this heinous crime, then?”

“Yaaay!”

Manfred attempted to follow behind his daughter as she rushed out of the library and quickly disappeared. He eventually found her in her room, bouncing up and down with barely contained excitement. True to her word, every detail was as he left it.

“Hmm…” He crossed his arms and studied the room carefully. “Now Franziska, is there anything important you can tell me from this scene?”

“Mm-hmm! Look, there's a bunch of my other plushies around,” she pointed to the scattering of soft toys, then knelt by the victim, “plus a lot of blood here too. And I think I can see the wound!”

Manfred nodded along, wearing a proud expression. She'd even managed to find the paper bullet hole he'd taped onto the tiny pony’s flank. But the case wasn't nearly finished yet.

“So we'll have some interrogations to do, then. I'll make sure the proper authorities hold these fellows for questioning.” Manfred knelt down slowly and moved the handful of plushies aside, then grabbed a stuffed rabbit from atop Franziska's dresser. “And the body will have to be autopsied, of course. Doctor (placeholder) can handle that now.”

His daughter giggled as he took the deceased pony figure and placed her rabbit’s paws on it for the examination. After some deliberation, a conclusion was reached.

“It appears that the cause of death was, in fact, a bullet to the right front flank. You can see the entry wound here,” Manfred tapped at the figure, “and the exit wound as well. The bullet is no longer in the body.”

“We're going to have to search the scene!”

“Indeed.” After some more rearranging of plushies, some ‘detectives’ were placed on the floor, and Manfred had one of the witnesses in his hand. “While the investigation is underway, you can try to learn something from those who were present at the scene. I have another pony here-”

“Applejack.”

“Yes, Applejack. Why don't you start questioning her?”

“Alright!” Franziska hardened her expression into the sternest one a ten-year-old could muster. “Applejack, what were you doing at the scene of the crime?”

Manfred raised up the figure as he spoke, trying to put on a fake voice as best he could. “Well, I was just-”

“Papa, that's not what Applejack sounds like.”

“I see.” He looked at the pony and frowned. In retrospect, it may have been a mistake for him to give a speaking role to a toy Franziska already knew the voice of. “In that case, this particular witness is simply a very similar looking distant cousin of Applejack, then. How does that sound?”

Franziska looked skeptical. “What's her name?”

“...Applesauce?”

Manfred wagged the toy at her as she fell into a fit of giggles that threatened to send red construction paper flying all over the room. “You know, Franziska, most witnesses won’t take kindly to you laughing at their ridiculous names. It's a skill that has to learned, really. I know I've heard my fair share of odd names in the courtroom.”

His daughter sat up straight and managed to contain her laughter, but still grinned up at him. “Sorry, Papa.”

“It's alright. Now let's get back to this interrogation, shall we? There's plenty more investigating yet to be done.”

[animasmith263]

Haven't post anything on Tumblr for a while :D I'm not a person that can have an art every 2 days to post on social media. But I have a wip :D

Here's my wip of spine 2D animation for our *smol* Mika, I'm testing it on the chibi drawing first since I have this idea first, plus I draw chibi very fast

It's the first time I've done live 2D animation like this, so I have a long time struggle with everything in spine. Turned out that the Korean man tutoral is great :D

This year I have a fanmade MV but it's just a long scrolling art because I love emakimono, and I was inspired by Flower Of Plateau MV. But I want my art have more motion so I'll learn spine a little bit