#s: sage and fable

[hellhunde]

Silly pixel icons for some ocs!

[neptunevasilias]

It's been pointed out that a lot of Vacuo characters are allusions to Arthurian legend, but I haven't really seen other common allusions pointed out before. That is, nursery rhymes and greek mythology. Rumpole being based on Rumpelstiltskin/Rapunzel also connects her to Theodore (Dorothy), being the only other "fairy tale" allusion.

[neverwinternighting]

30 days of Nevervember!

It’s November very soon and I was thinking about posting a list of NWN/NWN2-centric general prompts for each day in November! (Get it? Neverwinter + November? Never-vember?) It’s tricky to figure out since not everyone has played both of the games and all the campaigns in them, so something more general you could choose from to create seemed like the best idea.

You can write the prompt. You can draw the prompt. You can do a combination of both. Comics? Hell yeah. Everything is welcome!

If you decide to do these, please feel free to tag me in each one you do so that I can give you reblogs.

This challenge is not in the least bit binding and it is by no means an obligation or a contest - you can do few, you can do all, you can even do only one if you want. It’s entirely up to you!

Prompts listed below (take artistic license in interpretation if you need):

Day 1: your hero's home in their childhood days

Day 2: Your character meeting your (personal) favorite party member for the first time

Day 3: Your character meeting your (personal) LEAST favorite party member for the first time

Day 4: Your character and chosen party members lounging about at camp or in a tavern

Day 5: An embarrassing situation during an adventure

Day 6: your character's final (or most recent) positive memory from their childhood home

Day 7: Meanwhile, in ____... (this is your chance to write/draw the "other side" or the "b-plot" while your character is off doing something else!)

Day 8: The most impactful event your character went through

Day 9: A party member finding a way to cheer up your character

Day 10: The moment your character formed a (romantic OR friendship) crush

Day 11: Something little-known about your character revealed

Day 12: Your character or a party member is caught red-handed! (By whoever you like, doing anything)

Day 13: Your character saying something they end up regretting later during an argument

Day 14: Your character in a lesser-known location in the games (because some of those places need a little more love) (from the illustrious malgriff)

Day 15: Bridging the gap between campaigns if you keep your hero through any of them (even the lesser-known campaigns) (from the ultimate jorvach)

Day 16: Your hero or one of their party members in therapy (from the fantastical fable sage)

Day 17: Wrongly accused of something they didn't do (you can go with the obvious or not if you like!)

Day 18: Long-term consequences (of politics, society, inter-personal relationships, etc) (from the beauteous the-great-elwisty)

Day 19: Your character stuck with the most annoying party member

Day 20: Unexpected middle ground

Day 21: "Just in case we don't make it-"

Day 22: If Volo (or a newspaper like faerunian TMZ) did a news report on something your hero did (inspired by the wondrous malgriff, songofmadness, and lergahin)

Day 23: Uh-oh! Your hero (or party members or both!) suddenly got affected by a curse which turns them back into children for a day. How do they react or cope? Who looks after them? (from the stupendous songofmadness)

Day 24: Doubts

Day 25: A diary entry or scene described from a side character of your choice (inspired by the glorious songofmadness)

Day 26: In ruins

Day 27: How one of your party members views your own character

Day 28: What happens to the characters long after the game has concluded? Are they still in touch with one another/are the events still relevant to them/have they moved on? (from the mysterious the-great-elwisty)

Day 29: How the adventure should have really ended

Day 30: What's next in your character(s) adventures? (from the fabbu the-great-elwisty)

[charlotte-official]

9/18 Recap Special Issue!

Teyvat Rages on in a Discussion on.. Breasts?!

In a heated discussion on the breasts of Teyvats inhabitants, Detective Shikanoin Heizou releases a poll that has yet to be declared definitive!

With all of Inazuma-Official taking hand in this discussion, our current contributors in the poll involve:

Arataki Itto

Takuya, The Blue Oni

And lastly… Alhaitham Scribe of the Akademiya?!

In a twist of events, Lesser Lord Kusanali herself swoops into make a contribution to the discussion. In her statement, she says and I quote in a reply to Sayu of the Shuumatsuban when Sayu makes a remark on how :

“itto’s boobs are so big. I bet he could pull a sword out of them.”

To which Lesser Lord Kusanali replies with:

“You wanna know who really has big boobs? If I had to say it'd be the scribe of the Akedemiya! You know, Alhaitham?”

And this results in a LOOOONG discussion on chests, breasts, and all alike.

The scale grows so large, in fact, that even Furina, Hydro Archon of the Nation of Justice, even has to step in and intervene to say her piece, commenting on how at the end of the day, out of all three men included on the poll, Scribe Alhaitham has the biggest boobs. (In her opinion.)

With this statement, she also quips that Champion Duelist, Clorinde, has relatively large tatas. But at the end of the day, this list of threads are on male boobs, so she revoked her statement. 

Another important note is that even the favored Hat Guy of Vahumana had his own thoughts to contribute! 

He chose Arataki Itto.

The results of the poll still have yet to be revealed, but as we all wait in excitement for who will prevail as the “bigg est boob haver” (out of the three),keep reading todays issue!

Are Famous Architect and Akademiya Scribe entangled in an affair?

Kaveh, Famous Architect from Kshahrewar, was found guilty from having posted pictures of Alhaitham, Scribe of the Akedemiya, former Acting Grand Sage, ‘s boobs. 

How Kaveh managed to get his hands on such an image remains a mystery, but seeing how Shikanoin Heizou, Famous Detective of the Tenryou Commission quizzed him on how he could’ve gotten such imagery, Kaveh has disappeared from the face of Tumblr. We hope to see him again to interrogate him on his.. obtainment of boob images. 

A word from the editor!

My personal belief is that if Kaveh were to get such images, I believe that perhaps Kaveh and Alhaitham have an.. intimate relationship, which enabled Kaveh to obtain these pictures!

Fabled Dawn Winery Owner and Fatui Hater in love with one of Dottore, the Doctor, Fatui Harbinger’s Clones?!

Diluc, Owner of the Dawn Winery, was seen here, on tumblr, bickering with Uta, a Doctor Segment, like an old married couple.

Uta, in a flirting fling with Diluc, revealed.. kinks of his. For whatever reason.

In a turn of events, Kaeya Alberich or Kaeya Ragvindr, brother of Diluc Ragvindr, gave Diluc a gun. What Diluc will do with this gun? Remains unknown.

[steviewashere]

Playing Around With a D&D/Fantasy Concept, Bear With Me

Okay, so a couple days ago, I made a post about the older teens (minus Billy because I honestly didn't think about him) in a D&D world. Like if they were an adventuring party. Here's the link to the post (mainly about Steve, be warned).

But I thought I'd share what I envision them to look like, using Baldur's Gate 3 as my marker. Because it was the easiest way for me to create them as D&D characters without drawing them, and also because I don't have the energy to draw all that right now. If you'd like to see them and their race & class, they're below the cut!

I've given them a bit of backstory, but I'm not doing it in the way that a typical D&D game would go (most definitely), so if the inspiration hits me—maybe I'll come back to this and write some sort of fantasy AU based on this. <3

Also, be aware that Baldur's Gate 3's character creation is wholly based on presets and that I couldn't fine tune any of them. But I tried my damn hardest. And yes, Jonathan and Argyle look a little funky, oops.

First off: Steve Harrington (Fantasy names pending—no they're not)

He is a half-orc fighter. His background places him as a fable/folk hero, having stood up to a monster on his lonesome—saving a town of people. As far as his backstory goes, I haven't fully fleshed it out yet, but I wanted to play with the idea of him being an exile. Dismissed and sent out by his family, but at a very young age. He has no clue, or no memory more like, of who his family is and is in search of them. His family, however, is part of the land's tyranny—his father, the lord of the land. And that's honestly as far as I got.

Next: Eddie Munson

A tiefling rogue. An urchin in his backstory. His parents having lived a not so well life, dying young/being arrested. He is forced to live and survive on the streets. Stealing, sneaking, and surviving are his main tactics. Up until it gets him in trouble, having stolen from the wrong family. This family? The tyrant lord himself. And in order for Eddie to save himself, he's on the search for a half-orc, bounty hunting. This leads him to come across Steve. And again, this is as far as I got.

Third: Robin Buckley

She is a half-elf bard. Loves all things musical, artful, and entertaining. She carries a deep fascination for the finer crafts of life. Highly intelligent, due to her sage librarian background, and wholly curious. Not one to fit in with neither humans nor elves, she is in search of a community to accept her. Misfits and outcasts are her humble friends, and she'll do anything to find this community. Steve and Eddie—the exile and the tiefling urchin?—they're the perfect match for her.

Fourth: Nancy Wheeler

The human of the group and also an excellent ranger. She's a sage, like Robin is, though instead a researcher. Her abilities in history and insight lead her to investigate the lands. She wants to do right by the people, all people—no matter their race or class. With the combination of her high intelligence and sharp shooter skill, she won't let anything stand in her way. Steve, Eddie, and Robin are the perfect merry cast of misfits for her to fall in line with—and as she discovers, they're not as bad as the prejudiced society makes them out to be.

Fifth: Jonathan Byers

A drow half-elf sorcerer. He's an outlander, an outcast far beyond what the party is prepared for. Though, he finds comfort in wandering, even if sometimes it leads him to less...unsatisfactory places. He slinks through the shadows, one that people think is creepy, but is actually and very honestly sweet. His family is all that matters to him, and within his wandering, he hopes to return. During his travels, he meets another outlander, Argyle. The two of them eventually bump into the rest of the party members—literally.

Lastly (and the dorkiest because him being a dwarf, despite his height in the show, is funny, okay?): Argyle [REDACTED]

Argyle is a dwarf druid. Also an outlander, as mentioned with Jonathan. He cares most about animals and nature than anything else. In fact, Jonathan's the only friendly person he's ever come to know. He's not quite sure what he's in search for, but he knows that if he can assist in any way, he wants to. Whether it be with his knowledge of the natural "herbs" of the land or shape-shifting into a creature in battle, he's ready to ball fists for misfits in his party.

[calii-classy]

Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher by Kenny Loui

About the book:

The tale of a man drifting through life, collecting cute, cuddly plushies and valuable life lessons along the way.

Kenny Loui is a self-proclaimed "UFO catcher," whose life goal is to "liberate" all plushies trapped in captivity inside arcade claw machines. In his UFO-catching journey, Kenny encounters a concerned guardian spirit who tries—but fails—to keep him out of trouble, a beautiful stranger with an affinity for dart games but is always missing her mark, a wise arcade owner who never hesitates to share his sage advice, and a rival who foils Kenny's crane game victories every chance he gets.

This collection of short stories chronicles Kenny’s experiences playing arcade UFO catchers, rescuing cute and cuddly plushies while capturing important life lessons along the way... just like Aesop's Fables, but with a modern-day twist (and an awesome 80's soundtrack)! Based on a true story.

This graphic novel collects all stories originally published in Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher #1-3 and features bonus content including extended scenes, an epilogue, BGM-enhanced stories, and character sketch art.

Buy the book – HERE

Reviews:

San Francisco Book Review – 4 stars

Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher , an autobiographical manga by Kenny Loui, was such a creative, lighthearted read. Based on Loui’s personal experiences, he bestows life lessons and wisdom that he has gleaned through a fun, colorful manga.

The story’s main character, Kenny Loui, is a self-proclaimed “UFO catcher” alongside his role as a student, teacher, hopeless romantic, and officer. As a UFO catcher, Kenny essentially goes to crane and claw machines to “rescue” as many plushies and stuffed animals as he possibly can. The manga follows him in 13 different episodes as he plays the claw machine and learns many life lessons along the way. For example, in Episode 2 titled “Always Have a Plan”, the scene is set where Kenny is playing the UFO Catcher claw machine. As he enters his money to play, he moves the joystick back and forth, attempting to maneuver the claw to win a pink cat plushie. After pressing the button, he just misses the toy. Upset, he inserts more money and tries again for his victory. The moral of this episode, summarized by Kenny contemplating his next move next to the claw machine, is to always have a plan. As he states, “Don’t just jump in without knowing what you’re going to do.” Similarly to this, the rest of the episodes continue in this fashion.

As a whole, I enjoyed the plot of all the episodes and found them to be cheerful reminders of timeless advice. But, one of the most notable things about this manga was the gorgeous illustrations done by Yamawe. Truly, she outdid herself. With manga, the artwork is such a crucial, make-or-break component of the novel, and I am happy to say she truly made this book unique! Her attention to detail, color, and precision makes this novel come to life. I loved the way she played with pigments to show shadows, light, texture, and emotion on all of the characters and the scenery.

Finally, one of the most innovative things about this Manga was the incorporation of QR codes. Throughout the story, Loui and Yamawe include scenes with a musical component. On these pages, a character asks the reader to look out for the YouTube play icon, as a QR code is included to deliver you to a music video. The character then encourages you to listen to the song as you read, for a full immersive experience. Personally, I absolutely loved how originative this was. Never before has a book asked me to incorporate another sense as part of the experience, and I loved the results! This truly made this book stand out to me for its creativity and uniqueness!

~ Reviewed By: Theresa Kadair, San Francisco Book Review

Book Life:

Loui collects his autobiographical Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher webtoon series into this entertaining manga following his adventures as a teacher, student, and stuffed animal liberator. Characterizing himself as a “hopeless romantic” (who’s also “unlucky in love”), Loui details his mission to free plush dolls from the local gaming store’s claw machine—“because no one should live in captivity…even cute plushies.” His quest is endearing, as are his attempts to keep his cool when the rescue efforts inevitably go south—and the local bully shows up time and again to reap the benefits of Loui’s hard work.

As admirable and relatable as his mission is, Loui’s adventure of course isn’t all fun and games. But as he hits roadblocks, his guardian spirit, Somi, offers resonant wisdom, encouraging Loui to find the principal lesson he must learn behind every obstacle. When Loui changes tactics mid-rescue, bully Killian steps in to steal his plushie, prompting Loui’s sage advice that you shouldn’t “ ‘flip flop’ in the middle of executing a plan… [or] you may end up opening the door to victory for somebody else.” That’s the start of a serious rivalry between Loui and Killian, and despite Somi’s efforts to help Loui keep his cool, he eventually loses it—and faces grave consequences afterwards.

Yamawe’s illustrations dazzle the eye while suggesting the narrative’s underlying themes, such as depicting Loui, and Killian’s, inner children, who deliver heightened emotion to some of the story’s more tense scenes. Loui sprinkles mature themes throughout as well, as when he’s momentarily distracted by the racy Gals Attack video game only to end up in an awkward position, prompting him to “stick with UFO catching!” Loui’s choice to include QR codes for a 1980s soundtrack to accompany the story is entertaining, and a fun counterpart to Somi’s moral-heavy philosophizing toward the end.

~ Review

About the Author:

Kenny Loui is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Loras College in Dubuque, IA. Due to his lifelong love of comics and Japanese anime/manga, he often incorporates creative and expressive arts into his classes to enhance student learning. One of his most popular classes at Loras College, Law, Crime & Pop Culture Diplomacy combines Dr. Loui’s interest in comparative criminology and East Asian popular culture. His debut graphic novels, Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher: An Autobiographical Manga and There is No Shrimp… And Other Lies My Mother Told Me, were presented the Mom's Choice Awards in 2023 and received praise from Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Book Review and more.

[academicvoyager]

Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher by Kenny Loui

About the book:

The tale of a man drifting through life, collecting cute, cuddly plushies and valuable life lessons along the way.

Kenny Loui is a self-proclaimed "UFO catcher," whose life goal is to "liberate" all plushies trapped in captivity inside arcade claw machines. In his UFO-catching journey, Kenny encounters a concerned guardian spirit who tries—but fails—to keep him out of trouble, a beautiful stranger with an affinity for dart games but is always missing her mark, a wise arcade owner who never hesitates to share his sage advice, and a rival who foils Kenny's crane game victories every chance he gets.

This collection of short stories chronicles Kenny’s experiences playing arcade UFO catchers, rescuing cute and cuddly plushies while capturing important life lessons along the way... just like Aesop's Fables, but with a modern-day twist (and an awesome 80's soundtrack)! Based on a true story.

This graphic novel collects all stories originally published in Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher #1-3 and features bonus content including extended scenes, an epilogue, BGM-enhanced stories, and character sketch art.

Buy the book – HERE

Reviews:

San Francisco Book Review – 4 stars

Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher , an autobiographical manga by Kenny Loui, was such a creative, lighthearted read. Based on Loui’s personal experiences, he bestows life lessons and wisdom that he has gleaned through a fun, colorful manga.

The story’s main character, Kenny Loui, is a self-proclaimed “UFO catcher” alongside his role as a student, teacher, hopeless romantic, and officer. As a UFO catcher, Kenny essentially goes to crane and claw machines to “rescue” as many plushies and stuffed animals as he possibly can. The manga follows him in 13 different episodes as he plays the claw machine and learns many life lessons along the way. For example, in Episode 2 titled “Always Have a Plan”, the scene is set where Kenny is playing the UFO Catcher claw machine. As he enters his money to play, he moves the joystick back and forth, attempting to maneuver the claw to win a pink cat plushie. After pressing the button, he just misses the toy. Upset, he inserts more money and tries again for his victory. The moral of this episode, summarized by Kenny contemplating his next move next to the claw machine, is to always have a plan. As he states, “Don’t just jump in without knowing what you’re going to do.” Similarly to this, the rest of the episodes continue in this fashion.

As a whole, I enjoyed the plot of all the episodes and found them to be cheerful reminders of timeless advice. But, one of the most notable things about this manga was the gorgeous illustrations done by Yamawe. Truly, she outdid herself. With manga, the artwork is such a crucial, make-or-break component of the novel, and I am happy to say she truly made this book unique! Her attention to detail, color, and precision makes this novel come to life. I loved the way she played with pigments to show shadows, light, texture, and emotion on all of the characters and the scenery.

Finally, one of the most innovative things about this Manga was the incorporation of QR codes. Throughout the story, Loui and Yamawe include scenes with a musical component. On these pages, a character asks the reader to look out for the YouTube play icon, as a QR code is included to deliver you to a music video. The character then encourages you to listen to the song as you read, for a full immersive experience. Personally, I absolutely loved how originative this was. Never before has a book asked me to incorporate another sense as part of the experience, and I loved the results! This truly made this book stand out to me for its creativity and uniqueness!

Reviewed By: Theresa Kadair, San Francisco Book Review

Book Life:

Loui collects his autobiographical Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher webtoon series into this entertaining manga following his adventures as a teacher, student, and stuffed animal liberator. Characterizing himself as a “hopeless romantic” (who’s also “unlucky in love”), Loui details his mission to free plush dolls from the local gaming store’s claw machine—“because no one should live in captivity…even cute plushies.” His quest is endearing, as are his attempts to keep his cool when the rescue efforts inevitably go south—and the local bully shows up time and again to reap the benefits of Loui’s hard work. As admirable and relatable as his mission is, Loui’s adventure of course isn’t all fun and games. But as he hits roadblocks, his guardian spirit, Somi, offers resonant wisdom, encouraging Loui to find the principal lesson he must learn behind every obstacle. When Loui changes tactics mid-rescue, bully Killian steps in to steal his plushie, prompting Loui’s sage advice that you shouldn’t “ ‘flip flop’ in the middle of executing a plan… [or] you may end up opening the door to victory for somebody else.” That’s the start of a serious rivalry between Loui and Killian, and despite Somi’s efforts to help Loui keep his cool, he eventually loses it—and faces grave consequences afterwards. Yamawe’s illustrations dazzle the eye while suggesting the narrative’s underlying themes, such as depicting Loui, and Killian’s, inner children, who deliver heightened emotion to some of the story’s more tense scenes. Loui sprinkles mature themes throughout as well, as when he’s momentarily distracted by the racy Gals Attack video game only to end up in an awkward position, prompting him to “stick with UFO catching!” Loui’s choice to include QR codes for a 1980s soundtrack to accompany the story is entertaining, and a fun counterpart to Somi’s moral-heavy philosophizing toward the end.

~ Review

About the Author:

Kenny Loui is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Loras College in Dubuque, IA. Due to his lifelong love of comics and Japanese anime/manga, he often incorporates creative and expressive arts into his classes to enhance student learning. One of his most popular classes at Loras College, Law, Crime & Pop Culture Diplomacy combines Dr. Loui’s interest in comparative criminology and East Asian popular culture. His debut graphic novels, Life Lessons from a UFO Catcher: An Autobiographical Manga and There is No Shrimp… And Other Lies My Mother Told Me, were presented the Mom's Choice Awards in 2023 and received praise from Kirkus Reviews, San Francisco Book Review and more.

[cerealisafunbath]

Last Song: Fable by Gigi Perez

Favorite color(s): sunshine yellow, sage green

Last book: counting textbooks, My organic chemistry textbook. last book for fun was Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Last Movie: Deadpool and Wolverine

Last TV Show: Agatha All Along

Sweet / Spicy / Savory: Sweet most of the time

Relationship status: coming up on 2.5 year anniversary with @astralsyst3m

last thing I googled: grignard reagent (ah the life of a college student taking orgo)

current obsession: the mechanisms. I'm autistic about them constantly

looking forward to: thanksgiving break aka my chem exam not looming over my head

tagging anyone who wants to!

Ten people I’d like to know tag game:

Thanks for the tag @beauty-is-terrror

Last song: Swan Upon Leda by Hozier

Favourite colour(s): dark greens, navy blue, browns

Last book: reread Bacchae and other plays by Euripides

Last movie: Brideshead revisited

Last TV show: I don’t watch them

Sweet/spicy/savoury: savoury

Relationship status: cursed

Last thing I googled: name of the newspaper in my country

Current obsession: ovid

Looking forward to: Going to Switzerland next week

Tagging: @shinaaposts @siriuslyobsessedwithfiction @perpulchra @the-etcetera-archive (no pressure and sorry if anyone has been tagged before)

[sytokun]

there's so many cool but missed opportunities in rwby for their characters, like sun! yk how he's based of "sun wukong" from journey to the west? IK its FOUR characters to a team but i think it would have really been cool if they took more inspo from journey to the west and made HIS team journey to the west characters

Honestly I think that'd be really cool to base the rest of SSSN on the other Journey to the West characters, especially when the basis for a four-man team is already there. And knowing that SSSN was modeled after K-pop boy band Big Bang, imagining the Journey characters as modern hot boys already sounds like an otome-game level move that would fit RWBY pretty well.

That said, if you're making your own interpretation of SSSN, such as by rewrite or AU, you're free to do so. It depends on whether you put more stock into a more cohesive theme for the team, or their original canon inspirations.

...Which is a good opportunity for me to talk about the sketches I did for Sun's team in RWBY: Remnants some time ago. They won't be appearing for a super long time, but I might as well talk about them now.

Here, I renamed them as Team SNSD (pronounced "Sunset"), with Sun Wukong, Neptune Vasilias, Sage Ayana and Scarlet David. (yes, I am aware there is a K-pop group with the same name, the synchronicity is not lost on me) They're still based on their original allusions as I wanted to work within the constraints of canon here, but the full Journey team may be too good to pass up, so I'll consider coming back in the future to tackle it.

People have always been divided on Team SSSN's name, with many preferring to rename them as SSNS ("Seasons"). I do get it - Team SSSN ("Sun") has that kind of dumb, corny "how do you spell?" vibe that matches a team of himbos. But I think having three S's for one word is just going a step too far into... just plain dumb.

Sun is pretty much the same here, but I decided to dial back towards his Asian features and grey eyes - though they're black here cause I like black eyes too. I also added the Monkey's King's famous golden headband, the jǐn gū zhòu, around his neck.

Neptune is pretty much the same here - honestly I really like his original design and think it's one of those "if it ain't broke don't fix it" situations - but I do want to redesign him more in the future to better reflect his allusion as Poseidon.

For Scarlet, I wanted to lean more into their "pirate king" vibe and androgynous appearance, so of course the coat-cape slung over the shoulders is a must. I also wanted to change their Semblance into something similar to their canon one but... not boring.

Instead of just gliding, Scarlet can either control air currents (and I do mean that in a very loose, fantasy way) or affect the trajectory of any moving object their Aura recently comes into contact with. This Semblance is called Pixie Dust, and instead of a gun and cutlass, Scarlet wields two guns, either named Hook and Darling like in canon... or Faith and Trust (geddit). They can use this Semblance to fly, and infuse their bullets with their Semblance when loading them to cause them to curve in midair when fired. Yes, basically like that one movie, Wanted.

People who don't like physics breaking in live action movies hated the bullet curving mechanic, but I think it'd be a perfect fit in RWBY's universe. It adds a much-needed cool factor, and picturing Scarlet engraving smug comments and poetic farewells onto their bullets like lethal fortune cookies injects an element of charisma and playfulness to what I think is a really underutilised character, and one based on Peter Pan no less.

Now for Sage, he had a very ambiguous allusion. Some say he was based on an Aesop fable, and others on Hindu mythology.

Glad to know Miles Luna doesn't know the allusion to one of his own characters, especially knowing that SSSN is one of the earliest teams designed for RWBY, predating JNPR. But sure, let's give him the benefit of the doubt like we always do for CRWBY. /s

Given that this was so ambiguous and he also had no Semblance, I decided to take some liberties with Sage, and given his surname and appearance, I decided to look to Hindu mythology for Sage's allusion - a really cool but unexplored source of inspiration in RWBY. I was looking at some famous warriors and gods of myth like Arjuna, but I eventually settled on Kartikeya.

Kartikeya is the Hindu god of war. Known for riding a peacock and sometimes depicted having six heads, he also wields a spear with a leaf-shaped blade called a vel. In other countries he is named Murugan, and has a famous statue of him in Malaysia's Batu Caves.

I've redesigned Sage's clothes to more reflect Indian fashion (albeit a fantasy version of such) and with peacock feather motifs on his collar and chest. Sage here also fights with this spear instead of a greatsword, which you can see him holding in the sketch. His Semblance, Sanmukha ("Six-faced"), allows him to see in six different directions at once, having total 360° vision around himself. This vision can also pierce solid objects within a certain range.

While not immensely powerful by itself, Sage uses this to gain an almost unparalleled martial prowess, spatial awareness and foresight in combat, reflecting the god of war's own wisdom and skill. While I do really like the Roman numeral tattoos on his neck, I was also considering using Sanskrit or Tamil script - I should try that next time I go back to his design.

So yeah, that's Team SNSD from me! I'm pretty attached to Indian Sage, but next time I come back to them I want to take a shot at basing them after Tripitaka, Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) and Sha Wujing (Sandy) from Journey. I also need to be sure actual Hindu people are fine with him, since Kartikeya is still a widely-worshipped god in current times unlike Thor or Poseidon, so I hoped this portrayal of Sage as alluding to him is respectful enough.

[deercliff]

32 and 71 for the spotify thing?

32

This song is my fav off Laurel Hell and very relatable, but I didn't want to draw anything about that, so instead I drew my boyfriend @hellhunde 's OCs, Fable and Sage. I love them lots and think of them often. Fable especially babygirl i'd treat u right

71

This song is an old fav of mine from high school and it makes me really nostalgic. For a long time the only character I had to relate to it was an old retired one with terminal Written By A High Schooler disorder but in 2021 I created Lamerin Greymonte, puppyboy supreme, and it fits him even better. Was nice to finally make art with it after all these years.

[hellhunde]

OC Kiss Week Day 2: Rain

This also technically counts as their first kiss too! When you're caught out in the rain waiting for the bus because the biker chick's motorcycle broke down

below is another little scene to match this. I don't like it as much as yesterdays but that's life!

“I’M FUCKING COLD!” Sage whined, as they wrapped their arms around themself. Fable, sitting beside them on the bench, huffed her agreement.

The night had NOT gone the way Sage had planned it to go. They were going to get a movie, get some food, and maybe hangout at the lake. Sage even got Caleb—after so much goddamn convincing—to agree to cover for them. As far as Sage’s parents knew, they were just seeing a movie with Caleb. 

It was going to be like a real proper date for the two of them.

(Though it wasn't technically that, Sage hadn't crossed that threshold with Fable yet)

What they had NOT predicted was Fable’s motorcycle breaking down right after the movie. The tow truck man had offered Fable a ride back to their motel, but she had decided to stay to not leave Sage stranded (which Sage did appreciate). Sage thought that maybe they could turn this night around, but THEN it started torrential fucking downpouring while they were waiting for the bus. 

So now, here was Sage; tired, cold, upset and wet (and not in the way they had hoped to be). 

“Here,” Fable said. She shook her head to clear the curtain of drooped hair in her face and removed her leather jacket. Sage’s eyes widened a little bit as it revealed her upper arms and shoulders. She draped the coat over Sage’s shoulders. Sage pulled that tight around themself. It didn't offer much warmth but it was better than nothing. 

         “This sucks,” Sage said. “It was going to be fun tonight and all this stupid luck just fucked everything up!”

“I had fun,” Fable replied.

“Glad you did,” Sage snorted. “but I had PLANS! And they all got ruined because of this and that!”

“Hmm,” Fable hummed. Her eyes were glued down the road. Probably keeping a look out for the bus. “Well, this isn't how I thought it would go either, but I had a fine time tonight. Spending time with you is always…interesting.”

“That's a compliment?”

“It is,” she turned back to face Sage. “You're the reason I’ve stuck around in town for so long for so long.”

“Oh.” Was all Sage was able to say before Fable leaned forward and brought her lips to theirs. Nerves fired off in shock for a moment before leaning forward and kissing Fable back, perhaps with too much enthusiasm.

Sage didn't want this to ever end, they decided. They’d kissed people before, football players and Trish to name a few, but they weren't like kissing Fable. Fable was so delicate with them, like she was scared she was going to shatter them. Sage just needed to show her that wasn't a worry. They reached out a hand to grasp at Fable’s shirt, and she groaned against their mouth. 

Well THAT was fun!

But it stopped almost as soon as it started, Fable pulling back. Sage felt a little dazed, blinking a few times, as sickly light washed over their face as the bus churned towards them. For a moment they were actually upset to be getting out of the rain.

“We can continue at the motel.” A smile spread across Fable’s face as she stood up. She offered a hand to Sage. “if you would like.”

She really didn't even need to ask Sage. Maybe this night wouldn't be so shitty after all.

[immortal-tale]

Bihyung died

Hades and Persephone died

Dionysus died

Chimera Dragon died

Abyssal Black Flame Dragon died

Sun Wukong died

And every constellation that cheered and fought for < Kim Dokja Company > died...

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

⸢He dreamed of every star’s destruction. But, did he really wish for such a result?⸥

I had never forgotten the final moment of the 1863rd regression turn.

The Great Sage turned around and rushed towards the <Emperor>’s Constellations.

Even before I could reach out, Yu Jung-Hyeok and Han Su-Yeong grabbed me and ran away.

Gong Pil-Du continued to shout something or rather, while Yi Seol-Hwa was pulling out all the recovery medicines in her possession. I couldn’t tell whether Yi Hyeon-Seong’s forged steel covered us first, or the pure-white flash of light managed to blanket the world before that. It felt like my whole body was melting down from the incredible heat, only to become deathly cold as if I was exposed to a cold snap.

When I came to, we were already cast outside the cabin.

Fables leaked out indiscriminately from the gaps of the crumbling walls, painfully singing the end of the stars.

The prop storage’s door hadn’t been closed yet. Ash drifted out through the half-open doorway.

[‘The 4th Wall’ is violently trembling.]

Maybe, somehow, everyone inside that cabin was….

[cyborg-squid]

i have some minor qualms with Lostbelt 5′s despctions of the Twelve Olympians (I feel there are some cooler things they could have done with them) but having the Gods be nothing more than malfunctioning robots is incredibly :chefskiss: .

It’s kind of honestly why I’d rather no more (since Artemis and Apollo are already present) of the Olympians be summonable in FGO since like... it’s hard to say quite right, but the story’s not about them? Not the story of FGO, but the story of Greece, and even the story of Olympus itself. The heroes and monsters the gods birth, or empower, or bless, or curse, or condemn, and the wars between the gods but fought by their mortal champions, it’s about those, it’s about them, they’re the true heart of Greek myth, in my opinion, rather than the Olympians themselves. 

It’s further hard to explain, but I was thinking about this before with like... the sort of design contrasts and evolutions of the Greek myth characters, going as far back to the original Fate Stay Night, where you have Hercules and Medea in very sorta ‘traditional’ fantasy outfits, even if they don’t look particularly ‘Greek’. And you see this as well with Chiron, Atalanta, and Achilles in Apocrypha, and it’s actually Achilles’ ascenscions in FGO in which you can kinda see the evolution, going from a more fantasy style battle armor in his second ascenscion (in line with the style, imo, of Hektor, Chiron, Hercules, and Medea) to a tokusatsu show sort of look in his third ascenscion. You can see this too with Atalante Alter’s third ascenscion, which is kinda ridiculous, but you can see how an artist might arrive at that point if they started from from trying to ‘cyberize’ a boar pelt being worn on the shoulder, ya know? A lot of more recent Greek Servants lean more into the sci-fi/robot side of things (look at mecha-pilot Odysseus and Saint Seiya Caenis!), but I don’t think this sort of disconnect in design styles is a bad thing, as long as an appropriate distance is kept from the sort of ‘source’ of them, the Olympians.

And this has also got me thinking about Chinese mythology so far in Fate (which I’ll admit to not being super familiar with) which has a similar yet distinct robots and heaven mixing. But it seems to operate pretty differently in that there’s a lot less direct interaction and a lot more of, what I’d call, building off of what came before. Xiang Yu is a cyborg built from the literal remains of Prince Nezha, who in turn had been created by a Taoist sage. Lu Bu might himself be some sort of robot and Red Hare is literally a robot (or similar... thing) in the shape of a horse. Chen Gong is the inheritor of ancient Magecraft secrets that he was unable to make use of until he met Lu Bu. Both Shi Huang Di’s bodies, their large mechanical one and their Zhenren, are ‘inherited’, their palace form being built off mechanical remains like Xiang Yu, and their Zhenren body being manufactured after analyzing Yu Mei-Ren. Even Yu Mei-Ren, one of the fabled Zhenrens, doesn’t know much of her own origins and doesn’t really have any ‘answers’. All these different parts of these character backstories really work together, especially in the advanced tech SIN Lostbelt, to paint this really vivid picture of a type of Magecraft and heroes built on ruins and tools of the past, but not dependent on ‘gods’ in order to make them work. 

[lamangasserie]

Des tomes 1 comme s'il en pleuvait !

Comme l’évoque le titre de cet article, je ne sais pas ce qui s’est passé ce mois-ci mais j’ai lu beaucoup de tomes 1. Habituellement, je suis quelqu’un qui préfère finir un manga avant d’en commencer un autre. J’avais quelques tomes 1 qui m’attendaient déjà dans ma pile à lire mais je me suis en plus rajouté des titres empruntés en bibliothèque. C’est parti pour les décortiquer !

On commence avec un titre emprunté en bibliothèque, Simple comme l’amour de Fusako Kuramochi, publié aux éditions Akata en 2010 à l’époque de Delcourt. Publication stoppée.

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Soyo Migita habite un petit village dont l’école ne compte pas plus de six élèves. Sa vie paisible va pourtant être complètement chamboulée par l’arrivée de Hiromi Ôsawa, originaire de Tokyo. D’abord excitée à l’idée de faire sa connaissance, la jeune fille ira de surprise en surprise en découvrant qu’Ôsawa est, en fait, un garçon prétentieux et hautain. Pourtant, elle ne peut s’empêcher d’être fascinée par son assurance…

Avec Simple comme l’amour, Fusako Kuramochi porte un regard tendre et bienveillant sur l’enfance et la jeunesse. Loin de l’agitation des grandes villes, découvrez les tribulations amoureuses de Soyo et ses amis en vous laissant séduire par la beauté sereine du dessin de son auteure.

J’avais déjà commencé un fil sur Twitter avec mes premières impressions. J’ai commencé à m’intéresser à ce titre il y a quelque temps, j’en ai lu du bien et Fusako Kuramochi est une autrice reconnue au Japon (elle fête ses 50 ans de carrière cette année !). Puis j’aime beaucoup les couvertures françaises. Tout de suite le coup de cœur est visuel. Le trait de l’autrice est très fin, sec et a quelque chose de nerveux, ce qui donne au dessin des airs aériens mais rustique. Le manga bénéficie aussi d’un découpage singulier qui a fait parcourir à mon regard un chemin jamais parcouru avant sur les pages d’un manga. L’autrice a une façon bien à elle de découper l’action et les émotions de ses personnages. J’ai aussi beaucoup aimé le personnage de Soyo. Sur la couverture du tome 1, je trouvais qu’elle faisait très sage. En réalité, elle manque plutôt de tact, est assez fière et chauvine. Mais elle est aussi très gentille et généreuse. Sa relation avec Sachi, la plus petite de l’école est touchante, elle s’occupe d’elle jusque dans les moments ingrats. J’aime beaucoup aussi le fait que ça se déroule à la campagne. Comme je disais dans mon fil Twitter, pas mal de shojo qui se passent à la campagne sont bien. Je trouve qu’ils ont une saveur unique. Puis c’est tout un petit monde à part, avec ses habitants qui se connaissent tous entre eux, les fêtes et les croyances locales. En résumé, il émane de Simple comme l’amour un charme très particulier sur lequel j’ai encore du mal à mettre des mots. Il me tarde de lire la suite !

On continue avec un autre titre emprunté en bibliothèque. Il s’agit de L’Enfant et le Maudit de Nagabe, publié aux éditions Komikku pour un prix de 7,90€.

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Il y a très longtemps, dans une contrée lointaine, existaient deux pays… « L’intérieur » où vivaient les humains, et « l’extérieur », ou habitaient des créatures monstrueuses qu’il ne fallait surtout pas toucher, sous peine de subir la malédiction. Cette histoire commence le jour où se sont rencontrés deux êtres qui n’auraient jamais dû se croiser…

Ils sont aussi différents que le jour et la nuit… Et malgré tout ce qui les sépare, malgré les ténèbres qui les entourent, ils vont écrire petit à petit une fable tous les deux…

Pour ce titre aussi j’avais commencé un fil sur Twitter. J’avoue que je ne sais pas très bien pourquoi j’ai emprunté L’Enfant et le Maudit mais je trouvais les couvertures très belles, le titre intriguant et le sous-titre en irlandais, Siúil, a Rún, inattendu. On peut dire que j’ai été un peu happé par le mystère qui semble entourer le manga. J’ai beaucoup aimé l’univers de conte développé par Nagabe, atemporel mais qu’on peut situer dans une Europe du Nord, avec ses forêts de sapins et ses maisons en pierre. Je crois que ce genre de cadre est assez atypique dans le manga en général donc ça fait plaisir à voir. Le découpage est chouette et certaines cases bénéficient d’angles de vue percutants. J’aime aussi beaucoup le contraste du noir et du blanc, qui n’est pas sans rappeler la dualité des deux personnages principaux ainsi que celle du monde dans lequel ils évoluent. Quant à l’histoire, pour l’instant je la trouve intéressante mais peut-être pas très bien ficelée. Comme écrit dans mon fil sur Twitter, je n’ai pas été très convaincue par la fin du tome qui est censée être percutante, mais qui m’a laissé indifférente puisque des indices désamorçant les enjeux de la scène finale sont glissés tout le long du tome. Je reste cependant très curieuse de connaître la suite et d’en apprendre plus sur cet univers.

On passe enfin à un manga de ma pile à lire qui m’attendait depuis décembre dernier. Il s’agit de Futagashira de Natsume Ono. Titre inédit en France, il est sorti chez nos amis transalpins aux éditions Bao Publishing. Le manga est disponible au prix de 7,90€.

Résumé de l'éditeur, traduit par mes soins:

Quelque chose est en train de changer dans la bande dont font partie Benzo et Soji. Quand le vieux chef vient à passer l’arme à gauche, ils sont écartés des postes du haut de la hiérarchie. Ainsi, ils décident de quitter le groupe pour tenter leur chance de leurs côtés, sentant que le destin les appelle à accomplir quelque chose de grand, bien qu’ils ne sachent pas encore quoi précisément. Une histoire d’amitié entre deux hommes aux antipodes l’un de l’autre, de subtiles duperies et d’arnaques rocambolesques, dans un Japon de l’ère Edo. Raconté par Natsume Ono, une des mangaka les plus importante de sa génération, avec un trait sublime et une légère, mais non moins acerbe ironie.

Ici encore, j’en avais déjà parlé sur Twitter. C’est un manga que je ne comptais pas acheter mais face à lui en librairie, j’ai craqué pour la couverture. Il s’agit du préquel de Goyô, de la même autrice, paru en France chez Kana. C’est un manga qui repose beaucoup sur le duo que forment Soji et Benzo que tout oppose mais qui se complètent et se retrouvent sur les valeurs et ambitions qu’ils partagent. J’ai adoré ces deux personnages intègres, autant Soji d’un naturel calme que Benzo au sang chaud. Les péripéties sont aussi un point fort du manga. À travers le pays, ils se retrouvent pris dans des histoires rocambolesques où on sait jamais qui aura la peau de qui. J’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à lire toutes ces péripéties et autre retournement de situation. L’ultime point fort de Futagashira, c’est le dessin de Natsume Ono. C’est mon premier manga de l’autrice et donc, c’est assez surprenant graphiquement. Elle a un style très particulier et immédiatement identifiable, avec un trait très libre et souple. Il me tarde de lire la suite des aventures de Benzo et Soji !

Ensuite on passe un tout nouvel arrivé dans ma pile à lire: Mobuko no Koi de Akane Tamura, paru aux éditions Noeve Grafx pour un prix de 7,95€.

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Même dans l’ombre, l’amour peut fleurir…

La timide Nobuko Tanaka déteste se retrouver au centre de l’attention. Réservée, toujours en retrait, elle a l’impression d’être le second rôle de sa propre vie.

Mais lorsque les sentiments d’un premier amour germent en elle, elle se découvre le courage de sortir de l’ombre pour avancer, pas à pas, vers l’élu de son cœur.

Premier ou second rôle… quelle importance lorsque les sentiments sont là ?

Je l’ai déjà dit un milliard de fois, notamment ici, ça fait un bon moment que je connais ce titre et que je vis une petite histoire d’amour avec. Je ne croyais pas trop à une sortie française mais Noeve Grafx l’a fait. Pour honorer ce titre, je lui ai déjà consacré un article (à retrouver ici). Pour la faire courte, j’ai adoré dans ce tome 1 le personnage de Mobuko auquel un grand nombre d’entre nous peut s’identifier ainsi que la palette de personnages gravitant autour de Mobuko, qui s’annonce comme être une bande de copains et copines qu’il sera excitant de retrouver à chaque tome.

On passe à un titre que me faisait plutôt envie depuis sa sortie japonaise. Il s’agit de Spy x Family de Tatsuya Endo. J’ai profité de la super offre sur l’application Manga Plus de la Shueisha qui propose de découvrir plusieurs titres gratuitement jusqu’en janvier 2023. Le manga est publié en France par les éditions Kurokawa pour un prix de 6,90€

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Twilight, le plus grand espion du monde, doit pour sa nouvelle mission créer une famille de toutes pièces afin de pouvoir s’introduire dans la plus prestigieuse école de l’aristocratie. Totalement dépourvu d’expérience familiale, il va adopter une petite fille en ignorant qu’elle est télépathe, et s’associer à une jeune femme timide, sans se douter qu’elle est une redoutable tueuse à gages. Ce trio atypique va devoir composer pour passer inaperçu, tout en découvrant les vraies valeurs d’une famille unie et aimante.

Comme je l’ai souvent dit, il ne me faut pas grand-chose pour m’intéressée à un titre. Par exemple, un beau-gosse en costume trois pièces avec un flingue et assis sur un fauteuil LC2 signé Le Corbusier suffit à attirer mon attention. Dans ce premier tome, j’ai tout de suite accroché aux dessins. Ils sont simples et efficaces pour le côté un peu tranche de vie du manga mais l’auteur sait jouer de son crayon lors de scènes d’action, rendant un dessin très dynamique propre aux mangas d’action. J’ai aussi été épatée par quelques cases avec des perspective très plongeantes. Ça m’a rappelé mon amour pour les débuts de Naruto de Masashi Kishimoto qui a des illustrations avec des vues en perspective à couper le souffle. Côté scénario, je ne m’attendais pas à ça, je pensais qu’il y avait un peu plus d’action. Cependant, ça ne me dérange pas et je me suis laissée surprendre par l’humour omniprésent et la dynamique qui règne au sein de cette famille si particulière. Je regrette tout de même le manque d’une mise en contexte plus poussée de la mission pour mieux en comprendre les tenants et aboutissants. Même si je comprends que ce n’est qu’un prétexte pour la construction de la famille et la suite de ses aventures. Enthousiaste, je continuerai le manga avec plaisir.

On termine par un manga issu de ma pile à lire qui me faisait envie depuis un moment et que j’ai enfin pu me procurer: Le Rakugo à la vie, à la mort de Haruko Kumota. Le manga est publié au Lézard Noir pour un prix de 18€.

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Dans le Japon des années 1960, Kyoji est libéré de prison pour bonne conduite. Sans famille ni attache, il est déterminé à devenir le disciple de Yakumo, un grand maître du rakugo, depuis qu’il a assisté à son impressionnante prestation au centre pénitentiaire. Étrangement, le maître choisit de prendre le jeune homme sous son aile, alors qu’il n’avait jusque-là accepté aucun apprenti, et lui donne même un nom de scène: « Yotaro ». Une nouvelle vie s’ouvre dès lors à Yotaro, qui tentera de faire perdurer cet art l’ayant tant aidé durant ses heures plus sombres. Il pourra compter sur le soutien du domestique Matsuda et de la jeune Konatsu, fille d’un célèbre rakugo-ka décédé de façon tragique, qui fut autrefois l’ami et le rival de Yakumo…

Alors, Le Rakugo à la vie, à la mort, c’est totalement un manga sponsorisé Twitter. Je connaissais le titre de loin mais vu les réactions à la suite de l’annonce de ce titre, je me suis dit que si je passais à côté, j’allais louper quelque chose. Je pensais que j’allais aimé mais j’ai carrément adoré ce premier tome en fait ! C’était très plaisant à lire, j’ai tout de suite accroché à l’histoire et aux personnages tous aussi uniques les uns que les autres. C’est surtout une porte ouverte sur le monde du rakugo, discipline qui m’était totalement inconnue jusqu’alors. Rien que dans ce premier tome, on ressent tout l’amour que l’autrice peut porter pour la pratique. On a beaucoup de vocabulaire spécifique, on est introduit à plusieurs histoires, et on comprend que comme n’importe quelle autre discipline artistique, le tout c’est que de faire du rakugo son propre rakugo, de le façonner à sa propre personnalité. Ça m’a donné très envie d’en apprendre plus sur le rakugo ! Durant ma lecture des premiers chapitres, j’ai aussi beaucoup pensé à la série américaine Mrs Maisel. Certes, les deux protagonistes sont très différents l’un de l’autre, mais chacun, ils vont se démener d’une manière ou d’une autre pour exister dans un monde auquel ils n’appartiennent pas. De plus il est aussi question de l’art de savoir conter les choses et de, souvent, faire rire le public. Dans les deux cas, ce sont deux œuvres avec des contextes différents sur des disciplines que je trouve peu exploitées et pour ma curiosité sans fin, c’est un vrai plaisir. Côté dessin, j’ai trouvé ça très chouette, c’est frais et léger. Les expressions du visage sont très bien rendues et sont souvent rigolotes. Je trouve qu’il y a quelque chose de Natsume Ono, particulièrement dans les visages et encore plus précisément au niveau du bas du visage, les bouches sont très basses chez les deux. Les personnages de Haruko Kumota sont aussi tous beaux. Yakumo en particulier dégage une aura fascinante rien qu’avec son design fin et sec. Le travail de Cyril Coppini, le traducteur, est aussi un vrai plus à cette édition. Le livre est truffé de notes pour nous accompagner dans le monde du rakugo avec toutes ses spécificités. Les bonus de fin (postface, histoires du rakugo et lexique) sont aussi une jolie intention pour le lecteur. Pour ceux qui sont intéressés et qui sont disponibles sur Paris, Cyril Coppini donne une conférence sur le rakugo à la Maison de la Culture du Japon à Paris le 5 mars. Je suis un peu deg de ne pas pouvoir y aller… À défaut, je lirai la suite du Rakugo à la vie, à la mort avec engouement !

Voilà, l’article touche à sa fin ! J’ai commencé beaucoup de nouveaux mangas ce mois-ci et j’en fais un bilan très positif ! Je suis particulièrement contente d’avoir commencé Spy x Family, étant donné que je sors de ma zone de confort de lecture habituelle. J’ai l’impression de me renouveler haha ! Je continuerai à commenter ces mangas probablement sur Twitter où vous pouvez me suivre (@_chiarara) et n’hésitez pas à me dire si vous avez lu certains de ces titres et ce que vous en avez pensé !

[twitchesandstitches]

Treating with Sekhma

The old manor overlooked a wide stretch of big and deeper stretches of the swamp, moldering planks fallen into the murky waters and bridges suspended from the sprawling root systems of trees forming most of the supporting ground, and incorporated into those same roots.

The anon, with a cluster of similarly faceless cohorts dressed in the topical costumes of the season (a gaggle of ghouls, cohorts of skeletons, and similar beasties and spirits of the liminal peak of fall), carefully approached the door of the manor. The knocker was old brass, partially corroded by the fumes drifting up from the strange waters. The anon's eyes darted down there, the murky depths again.

There were eyes down there. Crocodiles, gigantic catfish and owls attempted to imitate penguins for some reason drifted sagely through the waters, pausing to watch them with something like surly suspicion.

They paused as a group, even as one or two of them hissed to hurry on with it, propelled by the feeling and the fear to do it and get it over with.

One of them said mournfully, "I don't think anyone's gotten to this place and, you know. Survived."

Another elbowed them. "Shut up shut up!" They hissed. "The witch of the swamp is just a fable!"

"Then why are you so scared?"

"Dude this is an abandoned manor in the middle of a spooky swamp. I think I see ritual dolls hanging from the porch! Of course I'm scared! This place is scary!"

Dozens upon dozens of cloth dolls slowly spun in the wind. Stuffed with sand and mud, cloth stitching together as needles pinned down something to them.

Chimes strung up higher snag out as the wind blew. Sightless button eyes stared at them silently, for brief moments, and then turned away.

Another anon shifted uncomfortably. "I know there's a witch of the swamp."

"You mean that monster lady that runs the farm not too far from here?"

"Yeah, her. The one with, like, a million kids running around. A bunch are our age."

"Six of 'em dated me for a week," another anon said blissfully. They stared at him. "Hey, those guys are goddamn stacked. Used to babysit me and now all I can get attracted to are boobs the size of me and better if they're colored like, i dunno, the black blood of the earth."

"What happened with you and them?" Another anon asked. Distantly, they knew they heard something moving.

"We're getting married next week. Me and all six of them." The other anons stared. "You guys are invited, by the by. And don't look at me like that! We held hands! And, like, they group-sexed me. I guess that's how they do marriage proposals."

The door opened. Not slowly, and not with any kind of momentum. One moment, it was closed, and the next, it was open, the darkness beckoning beyond.

All the anons froze up.

There was no sense of movement as the giant woman appeared. She simply seemed to be there, their eyes barely aware of her until suddenly she commanded attention with her presence, and they fixed upon her.

Fear, sick and curdling and cold, roiled in them, and spilled away as she smiled gently at them, milking the moment. She was gigantic; perhaps her people were typically large to begin with, but s he stood even taller of that, so that even the tallest of them barely came up to the soft rise of her gut.

A big woman; she would have been amazonian even if she was typical size. Massive thighs supporting a powerfully built body, muscles upon muscles layered over each other in the model of a professional strongwoman. A gossamer dress, cut in wide swatches to show off hints of mighty thigh muscles and arcing in a cloth loop across her broad shoulders, showing extremely generous amounts of cleavage enough for them to stand in, and her very muscular arms all completely exposed.

She'd been milking the moment, they had thought. Now milk in general came to mind; she was extremely buxom. Her belly was big, yes; a huge, protruding pot belly slabbed with muscles along its round shape, in the 'muscle gut' morph-type. Her boobs swelled past even that, billowing outwards and barely confined by her thin clothing, enormous and possibly leaky nipples puffing up against the fabric over their heads, invitingly purple against the black clothing, the shadows beyond, and her onyx-black skin.

Hips over six feet across bent. A torso, longer than any of them were tall, swayed down with genteel decorum.

Massive breasts sloshed down, with such a thick liquid noise that they felt their mouths watering. They nearly smacked against the floor, suspended by astoundingly supportive dress top, and her face appeared above it. Her face was not too different from a humans; a snout instead of a nose, short purple hair cut into elaborate patterns and shaved with ritualistic purpose against the sides. A pair of chisel-shaped horns, rising up backwards, and blue-purple eyes considering them behind a thick pair of glasses.

Her lips were immensely thick, and with a brief glimpse of terribly sharp fangs, she smiled.

"Well, well," she said, gently raising a hand to the nearest of them, the one who had suggested this in the first place. The anon's face quivered with fear, and desire, and the feelings mounted as her mental power sank in deeply. It sang, come closer. Come to me. Come, come...

They all, completely unconsciously, as though some other power had taken control of their legs, stepped forward.

"Someone is finally brave enough to see what TREATS I have." She gestured her arms wide, as if to indicate just what sort of salicious, seductive treats she had. "Well."

She leaned forward.

Sekhma Dionsi's eyes glimmered with mischief. "I think a kiss would be good for starters, before you all go treating with me~?" She picked the anon up, and shoving them into her breasts, laid a deep, passionate and slow kiss right over their face.

[moonlightmagus]

@fatumservis​  said: (inbox) ❝ Perhaps women wear low necklines to filter out the gentlemen from the dogs. Those few who can still manage eye contact, even in the presence of breasts like these, might actually have some potential. ❞ (Circe, fatumservis)

Fables Legends in Exile Sentence Starters (ACCEPTING)

She nodded at the other’s sage words. “Perhaps, though it also depends on the man.” The magus replies simply, thinking hard on her next choice of words. “For there are always men who can still be gentlemen, but are too distracted by the beauty you exude to be able to look at you. You are a beautiful woman, and that can also be intimidating. A player could also know your tricks very well and ignore what ploy you are using.”