#so there's a number of characters i haven't really gotten to yet

[anonyanonymouse]

🙈

[lilimalia]

LET ME SEE YA MOVE ! // windbreaker

SYNOPSIS... windbreaker boys and courtyard sparring with their crush who combats their unique martial art styles in (im)perfect synergy ! But maybe… that synergy means more?

CHARACTERS... suo hayato, sakura haruka, kiryu mitsuki, sugishita kyotaro, togame jo, kaji ren, umemiya hajime

DISCLAIMERS... cursing, this is anime only based, i haven't gotten to the manga yet so the interpretations of their fighting styles are based on my own novice observations!

BARISTA'S INTEL... absolutely obsessed over this anime i finished the whole season in one go, i loved being able to study the different styles of each character so most of these are based on what I think they trained themselves into! bit of a martial arts nerd myself...

CAFE TUNE... Zettai Reido // natori

SAKURA HARUKA (taekwondo+karate reader)

"HEY! Your fights in front of you so start looking with your head! Stop ignoring me!" Sakura’s booming voice yell, throwing hooks left and right that spin past your ears as you duck in an attempt to leg sweep him.

Your eyes are focused on the way he’s two little mismatched hair strands bounce as he’s sporadically jumping. If you could pause him midair, you’d swear you’d see them form some sort of heart shape… But wait- maybe that’s just you? Before your thinking gets ahead of you, your tuning back into the angry ball of black and white launching himself towards you.

Leaping over your outstretched leg he instead compromises the missed opportunity to punt you by rotating on the ball of his foot, leaping back as he roundhouses you aimlessly-

Straight to the gut.

The whole of his body powers through the 360 spin and sends you straight to the ground as your caught off guard.

…

“Holy shi- ow, ow, woah, okay did not expect that. Sakura that one really hurt man…”

“Oh crap- wait your not actually hurt are you?! Wait what am I even saying I’m not worried or anything! Your just, well, are you-“ before Sakura could finish his nervous stammering you smirked and let out a satisfied huff as you popped up in a sudden jerk of motion, swinging your own body around before sending your own one-of-a-kind 360 spin.

“Wha- Hey! That’s cheating you cheater!”, he’s scrambling for words as he backs off, ducking under your flying foot into a crab walk as he kicks from below.

“You started it! Catch up Saku, or eat my dust!”,

Your grinning as you turn around to land your back kick, taking keen steps back as his flushed red face pummels towards you in combat. His ears are strangely glowing in a red and pink closer to the moniker of his name rather than their usual pale complexion…

Honestly, is his face always that red when he’s fighting people? And is his nose supposed to be that scrunched up as he’s fighting people? It could really give the wrong impression…

It doesn’t seem like he’s not too worried about the state of his flustered face at the moment though, his conveniently paying extra attention on how to kick you off your feet (pun intended) as he lands an agonizing axe kick down the top of your x-crossed arms.

Much to your surprise, the blow hits.

Sending you tumbling down as your knees bend from the pressure and practically snap you down onto dusty grounds of Bofurin’s courtyard.

“HAHA! I’ve got you now idiot! Stop getting distracted next time and- Woah!? Hold on are you okay?! Shit, I didn’t overdo it again, right? Wait hold on is this another trick-“, he’s off into his own world again.

“N-no… That one definitely hit that time… Ouch… Hey Sakura can we stop here, please... I might need a bruise check…” you mumble, heaving a small sigh of exhaustion, which only proves to hurt you more as your side aches. That 360 spin really did a number on you, didn’t it…

Before you lift yourself up and steady Sakura’s already frantically running towards your pre-prepped med kit.

…

Before long the both of you are propped and sat against a tree’s forgiving shade away from the blazing Japan sun as your poking at the bruises that had started developing over each other.

“Oucch… H-hey not that it hurts or anything but go softer with that ointment dumbass!” , there he goes again, putting on his tough guy act whilst still looking adorably goofy as his affection radar goes off. Really, it should be a crime to have such a big personality and be one of the strongest people ever.

“Saku, I’m watching your body have a visceral reaction to the medicine, it hurts. Calm down, I’m trying to care for you so chill out dude. Your acting as if I'm strangling you to death.... Jeez..."

Looking up from his restless leg bouncing his eyes are still darting wildly to anywhere and everywhere that wasn't on you. Your gaze probably isn't helping his own anxious emotions, knowing for sure that he's noticing your pause in swabbing his abdomen with soft cotton and sanitization fluid. Maybe his little fearless kitten act sparked the connection in your brain, out of pure unleashed confidence that seemed to have come from nowhere you ask,

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Huh? What is it now?!"

"You are so stinken adorable you know that?"

"HUH?! W-what the hell is that about?! Are you crazy?! What the hell did my punches knock the sense out of you are som-"

"Your so annoying dumbass. I'll do it myself."

Before he's jumping to his feet, your grabbing him by his cheeks, which by the way, are soft and squishy and are so perfectly molded into your palms, and his eyes, his pretty little eyes, their shining like new marble, and oh my goodness- oh my gosh-

Your kissing him.

You've just kissed Sakura Haruka.

And this time for sure, your a hundred percent sure, that he is not supposed to blush with his full face and body. But the way his lips are so sweetly clasped around yours and the way his surprise melted off his stiff stone cold body as he leaned in and closed his eyes (thank goodness... it would have been weird if he kissed with his eyes wide open too), really swept you off your feet. His hand is practically grappling with your own hand as he's pulling it down and lacing his fingers with yours off of his cheek, when finally, it seems he's reconnected the puzzle in his brain.

"Y-you, I-, what-, wh-what. What. The. Hell. Was even that?!!"

SUO HAYATO (freestyle wrestling)

"Listen... All I'm saying is being all sly and hinting never gets you anywhere Suo", rolling your eyes, you glance over at Suo.

He's busy whistling to one of the stores radios. Once more flashing his annoying little grin as he accepts an apple from the store owner.

"Who said I was being sly? I've got nothing to hide! I'm not sure what you mean dear", bowing as he accepts the saccharine apple he nods his head in approval. Grinning, his eyes, or is it eye? Pirate man over here might not even have more than one... Before side eyeing you, watching you groan at his antics.

"Suo you are quite possibly the most conflicting man I've ever met... You know what I mean. Like just now! You called me 'dear', what sort of friend does that?" grumbling, you snatch the apple out of his clasped hand.

Chomping on it in one clean bite, crisp juice running down the side of your lips. Sweet, and cold, perfect for the warm summer weather.

"Hmm?... You consider me a man? Wow! What an honor [name], truly I couldn't ever ask for a better friend.", before your answering, he grasps at your hand. Sneaking a glance at you as he cheers,

"Not everything is about being blunt and forward [name], mmm, if I had a say, maybe you're too aggressive!", lacing his fingers between yours. His fingers sweep them up past his own body, intertwining your body in front of his.

"My apple!", but-

Oh gosh, oh wow, is the Japan heat getting hotter or is it the heat radiating off of you?

Your standing stunned, turning around to glare at his sudden theatrics, only for him to snake his other arm around your waist. Pressing your bodies together. The apple now long forgotten on the dirty ground.

He is really, really, way too good at this...

Leaning into your ear, pressing his body into yours, his arm sits around your waist as he grabs your other wrist. Pushing it away as you try to strangle out to punch him.

"Suo I swear-"

"Wouldn't you say [name]? Not everything is about strength is it..." his lips press against the canal of your ear. Whispering softly into your ear. His grip lets loose before he pounces down, dropping as you swing-

"Suo you absolute fucking brute-",

"Aw come on... Is that the best you can do? Are you really even trying sweetheart?" Palms facing outward, thumbs neatly folding in, Suo mocks you.

He's smiling all innocent like, -gosh you could just kiss that smirk off him- toying with you as he hops over your shots. Bouncing up to your knees, you hop towards him, shoving at his shoulders angrily.

"Whoops! Looks like your hands slipped dear!", tilting on the front of his foot, he sweeps the side, pushing your outstretched hands past his shoulders.

"Goddamn it Suo come here!"

Taking a single leg shot, you knee flies past his right foot. Grappling at his knee as you finally clasp around his leg. Lifting it up in one swift motion. Palming the back of his knee downwards, watching as he falls-...

Back into a flip.

Landing gracefully on his toes, bouncing up and down, he smiles. Launching at you, he spins, flying upwards as he lands the axe of his leg downwards. Eyes widening as you tumble past him, loosing his moment you abandon your technique.

"Now you've done it brat!"

Reaching out hands wide, you wrestle him down by the waist. Tightening your grip before he somehow slips, crashing harshly into the hardened dirt of the towns shopping plaza.

"Ow-... Ouch... Okay that was totally not deserved", you grumble, opening your eyes from the impact, looking down.

"Well, this is interesting... Hello sweetheart", oh god. He's underneath you.

His smiles lost, his eye making contact with yours as he shifts awkwardly underneath your weight.

Oh gosh- He's gorgeous. Wait- How has his eye patch not shifted at all? Is it just permanently glued to his face?... What if-

Get a grip [name]. Suo is right under you. And right now, he is awkwardly watching you, oh wow, his eyes... They're really reflecting the light now...

"Well, I do suppose you deserve some closure after that little stunt..." painfully, he's avoiding eye contact now, shifting his gaze conveniently to whatever was more interesting behind you.

"So... Do you... Mean it like that?"

Regaining himself, he chuckles,

"Like what?", and in one swift motion, he grasps at your wrist, flipping you over.

Oh god. Now you're under him.

"You- I- You know what I mean!"

"Mmm? Are you a child? Please, do tell?"

"Never fucking mind!-" you snap, glaring at him as you puff your cheeks, kicking your feet as you try to get up. God, he was such a lost cause.

"May I kiss you?"

"What-"

"May I?", he's really uncharacteristically quiet and forward now... He's gotten all serious, looking at you in longing. His eyes are watching your own surprised shock.

"I don't know?! Yes? - Maybe? - Where did this-"

Mwah.

His lips just pressed perfectly against yours, warm as they molded against your own. Sweet and faintly tasting like ginger and some sort of biscuit; had he spent his morning trying out new tea cakes again? They taste really good on his lips... Maybe you should ask-

Focus! He's kissing you! Get a hold of your stinken self [name].

His hand finds its way to the side of your cheek, stroking gently against it as he licks across your lips.

Only to abruptly stop and shoot upwards to his feet.

"What? - Suo why did you-"

"We're in public! I shouldn't have done that... Really how improper of me... How shameful" he shakes his head, patting off his hands on his BoFurin pants as he covers his face with his hand.

"I can't imagine if one of the townsfolk saw us... Truly how shameful"

"But- Suo-", your reaching out. Is it weird you desperately want to continue?

Continue what?...

But before your grabbing for him you notice a small dusting of red spread across his usual teasing face.

Oh my.

He's embarrassed.

You're sure to soak in this memory like a blooming bud. He is never living this down.

"Suoo..." you smirk, watching as he frowns and mutters to himself. Cursing himself for his impropriety maybe?

"Look [name] I apologize, that was so very rude of me. I just... You were there and I couldn't hold myself back. Really what kind of man does that-"

Mwah!

You peck his cheek. Smiling.

What happened to adulthood Suo?

Kiryu Mitsuki (muay thai+kickboxing (video footage of reader))

"Come on Kiryu, I swear, put some effort into this... You're killing me!", grumbling as your shins make contact with air, yet again.

Kiryu sways his knees, -gosh, like an old grandma he is- as he flips your leg up and away. Eyes widening in surprise as you flip over yourself. Tumbling backwards in full force against his tai-chi.

"Come on, come, on, come on, dude! Just a little push Kiryu! Then we can finish training!" you yell, scrambling up on your feet as you switch your legs in a twin kick.

Just as quickly, he sweeps them off himself, swaying with your momentum.

"But this is so tiring... And it really isn't cool to sweat all the time..." he mutters, yawning as his hands, palms outwards, retracts.

"Kiryu! [name]! Hurry up and finish sparring! You should both be tired by the end of today! Try harder! Fight faster! You kids need to-", Hiragi yells, spitting out at you both as his forehead wrinkles. It really is so weird how his face looks forty at the age of 17- has he always had sharp jawlines? Weird-

"Now who's the one not focusing [name]... You heard our senior... Put some effort in!", is he mocking you right now?

The absolute nerve of the punk.

"Why you- Come here you lazy piece of gum!", now you're really frustrated, throwing punches as you level change. Kicking at his shins and elsewhere as you watch him sway against your movement.

Damn those old Asian grandmas who taught him tai-chi.

"You stupid sly little brat! Where is your energy! Are you some perma-frozen over nutjob?!", he's got this stupid lazed smile as he sways against you. Nudging your attacks with barely any effort left and right. It feels like moments before someone finally butts in, both you and him dancing around maniacally, taking over the whole of the tatami mats.

"Aww... Is our little Saenchai getting pumped up? What happened to all the silly antics [name]?" Suo teases, pompous little him standing straight hands behind his back as he walks up. Having finished his own sparring against someone else.

"Shut your mouth Suo! Come here and show me you can beat this asshat before you talk to me!" you yelp, panicked as Kiryu suddenly grasp onto your shin, pushing you out.

Only for you to thankfully slip into a tumbling square off.

"Eh? Wow [name]! You were so quick with that one! That was so cool!..."

The nerve of the kid. "Come on [name]~ Open up your eyes! Watch him! The more you let your emotions effect your body, the more he uses it against you!~" Suo grins, backing off as Kiryu stops mid swaying block to whine,

"Heyy...! That's not fair!... That's cheating now Suo! Not cool at all!"

The unfortunate thing about Suo, is that regrettably, he's worth listening too...

As you slow down and pace yourself, bouncing up and down, you watch Kiryu copy your pace, sleeves bouncing lightly as their way to big for his body.

One strike, to the leg.

He grabs it and flips you over again.

Another fist to his face.

Watch as he backs off and shoves it past you.

Finally, watch as his arm lifts up to follow yours in a pass to the side. And land your kick straight to the side of his gut.

"Eh?- Woahh!-" he slips and falls on the hard wooden mats.

"That's it you two! Finally! Hurry it up and clean off!" Hiragi yells, pinching his forehead in disgusts as Kiryu chuckles and palms off the dust on his crisp trendy uniform.

"My, my... Now that was certainly the improvement [name]!" Suo chuckles, helping Kiryu to his feet.

Man, those two would really be the death of you.

...

Watching as he licks a piece of yellow custard off the side of his lips, the cool air conjures up puffs of white smoke. Tasty little breaths of air escape his lips as he huffs a small sigh.

"Mann... I wish they didn't make us train during winter. It's way too chilly for this [name]..."

"Your custard bun is piping hot Kiryu, finish feeding your stomach with cozy treats before you talk about how cold it is dork!" you grumble, flicking his forehead lightly.

"Ow!... That really hurt. You know hurting people isn't a trend, right? You're so uncool [name]..." he mumbles, taking a nibble at his pastry again, watching keenly as the steam wafts up into the air. A sweet vanilla scent wisping into your own nose as you scoot in closer to him on the bench.

"Mm? What's with the sudden closeness? Are you cold too?" he raises one of his pretty green eyes, looking at you so naively as you glare back.

He looks absolutely kissable right now...

His lips are perked up and rosy pink as the rest of his face is. Pink hair frizzed up a little more wildly then usual as his earmuffs puffs the strands out. His cheeks are so warm looking, and quite honestly, invitingly holdable.

And then you're realizing you've been staring too long.

"Oh shut up Tsuki- No wait I meant Kiryu-" you panic. Turning your glance quickly away from him as his eyes widen in shock. Pupils dilating.

"Eh? No wait! What did you call me just now?...! Let me hear it again!" He's held down his steamed dessert now, leaning into you more as if you weren't embarrassed enough.

"Come on... I liked it. Let me hear it one more time please..." he mumbles, shying away as he looks down at his pastry.

"What- What did you just say?"

"Hmm? I liked it?..."

"It didn't make you uncomfortable?..."

"Nope... Not at all... Actually, it sounds really cool coming from you."

"Don't-... Lie about stuff like that-" you mutter, huffing embarrassment. It would be really nice to drop dead right about now-

"But I'm not?... I don't mind at all...", he's whispering, watching his tone carefully as you look away. Ignoring him in an effort to gather yourself.

"Hey... Listen to me [name]..."

"Heyyy..."

"[name]?"

When all of a sudden your face is getting pulled over back to him.

Cheeks pressed against the chill of his own finger tips.

"If you won't listen to me, then I'll have to kiss you..."

"What- Kiryu, let me go- Your being childish!" trying to rub your face away, he lets go easily, much to your dismay.

"I'm only acting like how you were... Now will you listen?"

"Hm... Fine-"

"May I kiss you then?"

"What?-"

"May I?"

"You're absolutely fucking crazy Tsuki'. Yes- Yes you can dumbass"

He's quick to plant a quick chaste kiss on your cheek.

"You fucking missed!"

"Eh? Did I really?... Be patient love..."

With one more quick sweep, his lips plant against yours. Wetting them between as he cups your cheek. Hot steams of smoke bouncing off the both of you against the winter air.

His tongue rolls over your bottom lip in quickness, soft touches against your cheek as he rubs his thumb up and down your cheek bone. Comforting you as he scoots in.

What's left of his pastry drops to the floor as he takes a hand to the back of your head. Peppering kisses around your mouth, leaving you gasping for air in the momentary escape.

"I guess... These are for bruising my hip earlier..." he smiles, lifting up to look at you through your fluttering eyelids.

He only lets you huff in annoyance before attacking your poor neck next.

SPECIAL BREWS... nonavailable, sorry customer!

BARISTA'S INQUIREMENT... part II of two, up next togame jo, umemiya, sugishita, and kaji ren! look out! I just so desperately needed to get out these routes into the world first... I must admit windbreaker has definitely been helping me write fight scenes and characters... (pls send me questions abt why I chose each readers martial art im so desperate to explain lolol)

word count. 1k-ish

tag list form !

PART II

@lilimalia do not copy, repost (on other platforms), or plagiarize ANY of my content

banner credit: satoru nii

[not-so-plus-ultra]

Okay, maybe unpopular opinion time, but I started watching DanDaDan (ADORE it so far) and some of you are starting to become the meme of "that one friend who is too woke" about what happens in the first episode

TW for sexual assault + CW light DanDaDan spoilers if you haven't watched it yet. Its gonna be a bit ranty

First of all I wanna preface this with saying that, if Momo's scene with the aliens impacted you and / or you found it triggering, that's extremely valid. I am not claiming it isn't, specially for people who have any kind of sexual trauma. What I'm gonna say is not about that

What I mean is; I think we have gotten so used to a very big number of anime using sexual assault as a "funny" gag, having characters violate other characters' physical boundaries, or having a token perverted / incestuous / p*do character, all in the name of terrible "comedy" or fanservice, that we have started bracing up for any mention or showcase of sexual assault to be treated as a gag or as a "sexy" thing; specially when it comes to female characters, because sadly they're the victims of this 99% of the time. This, without going over the sexualization of characters in general, even when mundane things are happening

It's a sentiment I understand and share. I hate all of these tropes and "jokes" and it makes me really sad when a series I otherwise like has to include something like that. I actively criticize these kinds of things no matter how big a fan I am of a work in question

However, I think because of all this, we have forgotten that media can choose to use scenarios like that as an actual Bad thing to show. A bad and unfortunate thing that happens to a character that isn't used as comedy or as fanservice

I had heard about the sexual assault scene in DanDaDan prior to watching it, and I had decided I was gonna skip that scene, as I am someone who is both disgusted by these things and has trauma related to them. However while skipping quickly through the scene I thought it didn't look as bad as I was bracing for, so I decided it was something I could stomach. I was really surprised when I saw that the scene was strictly being handled as a bad thing happening to Momo, and that it also ultimately ended up with her escaping her assaulters before anything truly scarring happens

No jokes about the situation per se, no compromising shots other than the fact that she was in her underwear - and regarding that, the fact that she was built like a normal girl, her proportions and physical features weren't presented in any objectifying or exaggerated way, and through the whole scene she was fighting against it and being uncomfortable instead of submitting to the situation or being made to blush and get flustered about it like you can Disgracefully see in many other instances of other shows

DanDaDan is ultimately a horror / paranormal series. It's not as dark as others and it seems it doesn't pretend to be, but bad things are bound to happen. I think that, as long as you do it tastefully, almost any subject can be used for those bad things. Sexual stuff is sadly EXTREMELY misused in anime, and tbh in media in general, but I don't think it has to be a taboo thing to have your characters go through as long as youre not being weird about it

Furthermore, I think it's pretty clear that, at least the parts that have been adapted of this manga so far (I am not a manga reader btw, I have only seen the 5 anime episodes that are currently out, so if the manga later proves me defending it wrong, I'm sorry, and I'd like to hear it), are in part talking about bodily autonomy

Our mcs BOTH get assaulted, but nobody online ever pays attention to Okarun losing his genitals as him also having been assaulted simply because it's presented in a more unrealistic way. His initial motivation in the series is to retrieve his genitals, and even when he seems to have gotten them back the first time, something is still wrong (another part missing) and he can't just go about his life normally again as if nothing had happened, which I think is a clear metaphor of a victim's feelings after having been assaulted; and what is more, our first arc ends with the revelation that the ghost who did that to him seems to have done it to protect the place she's bound to, a tunnel, from men, for we get told that many girls have gotten sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered in it

About Okarun, I DO get that his situation is shown in a bit of a silly light because haha penis, but I am also afraid that people would have reacted a lot more if he was a girl losing his genitals instead even if it was painted in the same light. Both Momo and Okarun got out of the situation fighting, both of them were brave and as nonchalant as they could to their assaulters, but it's only Momo's situation which gets treated as the bad one. Both get terrible things done to them ! And both of them are being shown as bad things !

None of this means you personally can't be uncomfortable with any of the mentioned scene; after all, they're portraying something horrible that happens in real life. And again, I get that in Momo's case, although unrealistic elements are involved, the situation she's put in can look closer to a real life assault, and thus, it can be more triggering. But the fact is that the sexual assault of both characters is being used to showcase a terrible thing, it's not there just for a gag or for people to put their eyes on the characters' bodies, and I personally just think it's silly when I see people lump in the situations in DanDaDan with series like Undead Unluck, when the former is portraying assault as not only a genuinely bad situation but also as part of the many points I think the first act of the series makes about bodily autonomy, and the later uses it as a reocurring "funny" gag (I have seen people say it gets better later, but still, it's still used as a gag at some point)

This is brought to you by me seeing people on Twitter compare DanDaDan's assault scene to incestuous characters from other animes like Yuri from Spy x Family, Makoto from Saiki K., and Lance from Mashle. I am a big fan of two of those three series and let me tell you: those characters can fuck themselves, I don't find haha incest jokes funny or necessary in any piece of media

[lj-lephemstar]

Progress Checkup! (Apr. 2025) | Scratchin' Melodii Devlog

Hey there! I felt like it was time for another devlog, it's been a little longer than usual I think. I felt it was less of a priority since I'd just shown off a gameplay preview, so my deepest apologies to all 7 dedicated devlog readers...

First off, in case you missed it, Lucid Mode was shown off in a recent gameplay preview of Stir & Mix!

During stages, freestyling well enough on two consecutive lines will allow you to ascend into Lucid Mode, a state where there are no charts or suggestions to follow, just your own freestyles! Successfully completing the stage in Lucid will give you a special ending scene and an emblem on your rank as lasting proof of your success.

To answer a few questions about it I've seen floating around:

Q: Does this mean the other parts of the song are gone? A: No, going Lucid is something that only happens if you manage to activate it yourself. Otherwise, the song continues as normal.

Q: Can it be disabled? A: Yep, if you're like really good at freestyling but still don't wanna ascend into Lucid, there will be a toggle in the Options menu to enable/disable the ability for it to activate.

Q: Can this happen in every stage? A: Probably! That's the plan, unless I find a rare reason it wouldn't work well for one.

In the preview, you can also see that Stir & Mix itself has been updated a bit in the vocal and artwork departments! Compared to the 2023 beta version's vocals, 2cada tuned them with a bit more stylization this time. In terms of artwork, the animations were redone in my current art style, as another step towards a consistent art style by release. In the process, I was able to make the animations much more fluid and expressive!

Little fun fact about that, Jamtine's hair actually used to cover up more of her eyes/eyebrows as if they were bangs of some sort, but I eventually moved it out the way so I could have more freedom with her expressions, which I found important for a character like her. An inverse of that philosophy would be Nami, who has her sunglasses and bangs cover up her eyes/eyebrows to give her a more mysterious feel. It's hard to tell what's going on in Nami's head! (If anything at all!)

Now, let's talk about the gameplay and UI again. Here's a little quickfire of some changes I've made: 

The Next Line Tab has a "NEXT" text sign above it and will stay at the end of the Player's line to help with clarity

 The background bar of each line now adjusts to the line's length to also help with visual clarity

When points are gained or deducted, it now briefly flashes over the score counter instead of having a separate bubble

Holding the button on pow notes instead of tapping them will accumulate extra points until you either release it or reach the max amount. The more buttons you manage to hold at once, the more points you'll get!

Landing notes on the later end of a beat marker without being off-beat can count as swing rhythm, adding extra points.

To account for the new score system and its balancing, you won't need the Perfect Bonus to be eligible for an S-rank anymore

Overall, I'd say the new rhythm/scoring system is much more consistent, balanced, forgiving, and accurate to the game's inspirations compared to how it was in the beta demos.

As for future stuff I'm working on, I've been animating the Boss battle for Act 2. Not much I can really say about it atm, but the song's going for an electro-funk style. Pretty happy with how it's been turning out so far!

I've also been redesigning the stage select screen to be easier to navigate and easier for me add more stages and acts to it. This one's able to just pull the needed information from each song/act and arrange it all accordingly instead of me having to manually do it each time I add something. It's still very much a work in progress, but it's functional! I haven't gotten to drawing McWave's new icons yet... (Don't look too deep into the number of acts here btw, it just stops at 3 because that's as far as I've indexed it at the moment!)

I've also started working on a redesign for the results screen. Since the new scoring doesn't have equal spaces between the rank requirements, I decided to replace the linear rank meter with a more dial-like one that goes through a cycle per each rank threshold you pass. Along with it, I'll have to finally make new results screen animations for Melodii at some point. Not sure yet if the pose Melodii's doing in this concept sketch will be what I end up using, but I definitely will be letting them aura farm more.

To save the most boring for last, optimization. For the notes in stages, I've started using a method called "Object Pooling". (Which I actually hadn't heard of until recently.) Basically, note objects get recycled now when possible​ instead of created/destroyed, which helps reduce memory usage. For materials, I've managed to up performance by using Texture Arrays and a pretty convoluted shader trick where I put the vertices of UV layers at specific coordinates, which are then decoded to be used as material info. (e.g. color, spec, emission) That way, more meshes can share materials while looking different instead of loading in separate ones. Not really sure how common this is, as I couldn't find much info on it, but it seems to be working pretty well so far! I was also able to cut performance costs in some areas by taking a screenshot of a background model and having the game render a flat image instead of the entire model. This works pretty well for shots where large background models are far away or when the camera angle stays static.

That's all for now! As always, thanks for reading.

-LJ

[anim-ttrpgs]

Sorry if it's a silly question, as I'm still reading the book and haven't gotten to the full scope of the Narrator's job yet, but how 'long' are Eureka! games designed to go on for in-world wise - and more importantly, how alive are Investigators supposed to stay, generally? For context: I'd like to do multiple smaller investigations that are part of a larger conspiracy, individual mysteries that may fail or succeed at being uncovered, that give out pieces of what's actually going on. And, because progression (level-ups, new toys/weapons, etc.) are a big part of what appeals to my players, I think they'd prefer to keep their characters relatively alive to enjoy the benefits, and not replace them through multiple investigations. Is Eureka! able to be played like that? A broader campaign with "meta"/character progression for not being brash and getting yourself killed?

Like most TTRPGs they are billed as “highly lethal,” the truth is that Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is really more “potentially lethal.”

Every character has 5 Penetrative HP and they die instantly if this hits 0, and any bullet deals 4 Penetrative Damage. The most common handguns in Eureka are capable of firing up to 4 bullets in a single action, so yeah, PCs can die pretty easily. They can also kill pretty easily, and it is up to them, not the GM, to make sure they don’t get killed.

Despite this, having played Eureka myself about... 15 times maybe? I have never once personally seen a PC death.

A good number of PCs have died in other people’s Eureka games that I know of, but off the top of my head it feels like around a third of those were killed by other PCs.

The thing is, when the players know the game is lethal, and the PCs know what they’re doing is dangerous, they both tend to be very careful, and a good lethal game will provide lots or mechanics that allow PCs to mitigate the danger. For instance, Eureka is primarily about investigation. The chances that the PCs will get involved in a shootout in any given session is very slim. Most Eureka adventures end up having between 0 and 2 instances of violent danger across the entire adventure. Additionally, that combat is mechanically deep. It is this depth that allows the PCs to make smart and informed decisions that make them less likely to die. For instance, cover mechanics and incremental range penalties that make those 4 bullets each a lot less likely to hit.

As for in-world length, that really depends of course, but we find that many of the game’s mechanics are best suited for adventures that last about 2-14 in-game days. The stuff that characters do in Eureka is usually a short, but extraordinary period of their lives.

That doesn’t mean that they can’t return for another aventure later, it just means that if you’re going to try to run a real big mystery, running it as several smaller mysteries is definitely the best way to do it. Just make absolutely sure that no one of those smaller mysteries needs to be solved or completed a certain way, or in fact needs to be be completed or solved at all, for anything about the larger mystery to work. In Eureka, success is never a guarantee.

This is a good thing, because it means that accomplishments are real, but also, Eureka is deliberately set up so that there’s entertainment value in seeing the PCs involve themselves in and be affected by the mystery, regardless of if they succeed or not, or even if they survive.

Another thing that you as GM I’ll need to do to run this kind of campaign is to make sure you know ALL the facts of the mystery before it starts. This is not something you can make up as you go along. This doesn’t mean coming up with the plot or how the PCs will solve the mystery, in fact you as GM shouldn’t interfere with that all, but you need to know exactly what the bad guys have done, are doing, and will do, and what evidence their doing has left behind. This means you’ll be prepared for whatever the PCs start snooping about, and if they do ask a question you didn’t anticipate, you’ll be able to answer from a place of knowledge informed by the existing facts you did write, rather than making something up completely.

[lynnuvo]

Golden Retriever's Leash

Characters: Midoriya Izuku x Female (Y/N)

If there's one thing anyone knows about Midoriya Izuku, it was that he was the sweetest boy in all of UA. His kindness and seemingly never-ending flow of support played a great part in your romantic interest in him, after all. Fueled by his oblivious encouragement, you surprised Midoriya with a date consisting of some of his favorite activities and merch to ask him out. He was a blushing mess and cried on the spot, sputtering acceptance between sobs. After being bullied for years and being fixated on his quirkless or now-quirk-filled body, he hadn't expected anyone to see him in such a light.

But the truth was that more than a couple did. You just happened to have the balls to get to him first.

It was unfortunate you weren't in his class. After learning about what happened at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint (USJ), you were quick to ask for his number that day in the cafeteria. His classmates' gushing made your insides swirl, but you continued, telling Midoriya you wanted to learn more about him. He--with a face as red as a tomato--happily gave it to you. Since then, you both messaged pretty often and went on a few hangouts outside of school. With trouble brewing about with villains, however, Midoriya had been messaging less, and you two haven't gotten to hang out as much.

Your classmates and even some students outside of class gushed about how lucky you were to have Midoriya by your side, but you knew there were at least a few that were jealous. Or at least you guessed. Though you displayed confidence about the security of your relationship to your friends, a part of you was anxious about him losing feelings. This was especially so now that he lived in a dorm with his entire class.

One day, you were leaving class when you heard your name being called. You turned to the right to find Midoriya in his school uniform, with his tie still not properly done, rushing over to you. His smile was beaming so hard, you would have been blinded if it were possible.

"Midoriya-kun, nice to see you," you greeted with a smile, ignoring the gushes of your friends as they hurried to leave you alone with your lover. "It's not often you come all the way to my class. What's up?"

"Oh--uh--I just missed you is all," he replied with a blush. One of his hands grasped yours. "It's been so hectic lately. I was thinking maybe...seeing you would make my day better. Can I walk you back to your dorm?"

You chuckled. "Better yet, why don't we go sit in the courtyard? I missed you too. Let's talk before we have to go back!'

"Really?! That'd be great! Yes please!"

You both headed to his dorm for your spontaneous date. His classmates waved upon noticing your presence, and a couple of the girls made noises that sent Midoriya into a blushing mess. His class has met you a few times, all of which you managed to squeeze in free time to be somewhere around them. Most of their welcoming aura, however, likely resulted due to Midoriya sharing cute pictures of you to them and gushing about how in love he was. At least, that was what you knew according to Mina Ashido.

Once you both settled on a bench, you stretched your arms. "Ah, it feels good to hang out again. Are you busy this afternoon?"

His smile fell a bit. "I am, unfortunately. I was hoping to ask you on a date, but I need to prepare for my Provisional Hero License Exam. It's really important."

"I know it's important to you, love. I don't know what hero would exist without one," you chuckled, ruffling his fluffy green hair. You reached into your bag and pulled out a bento box and a pair of chopsticks. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to finish the leftovers from lunch. Would you like to try some?"

"I'm okay, don't worry! You don't have much left, so you should eat them all."

"It's fine. You won't hurt me by trying my cooking again."

"I wouldn't want you to go hungry later because of that one scoop though. Oh! Hold on! I almost forgot!"

Your boyfriend dug through his backpack and withdrew a box of chocolates with an adorable red bow wrapped around it. As he undid it, he explained, "I was visiting the grocery store the other day when I ran into a student here at UA in their uniform still. I don't know why they were outside UA in their uniform since it's especially dangerous, considering the USJ attack. I was in my civilian clothes because of that. Maybe they were running a quick errand before heading back to the dorms? Um. Anyway, she saw me and ran away almost immediately. I was freaking out and wondered if I did something to offend her that badly, but then she came back while I was at the register with this box. She said she just bought it and wanted to give it to me."

The excitement you had for the chocolates faded away the more he spoke. Maintaining a smile the best you could, you took a piece of chocolate he offered and asked, "Why did she give you chocolates?"

"She said it was because I was cool and thought it could help me relax," he answered with a slight blush. You'd learned a long while ago that his blushes were prone to emotions of different kinds, but your stomach churned despite your brain acknowledging he was probably just flustered at the praise. "I said thanks and thought about giving it to you."

"Awww, that's...so sweet, love." You ate the chocolate and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for thinking about me, but it doesn't feel right for me to eat something meant for you."

He frowned. "Please? Do you not like it?"

"Oh, no! It's delicious. I just...."

"If you like it, don't hesitate to eat. Pretty please? I'll try your leftovers in exchange for you eating some more chocolate."

You rolled your eyes with a smile. "I just can't resist an offer like that from you, can I?"

The two of you spent the rest of the hour you had together chatting about classes and what else has been going on in your lives. It didn't take long to finish eating, and you both decided to conclude your meeting then. Once you both parted, your mind returned to the girl who gifted your lover the chocolates. Even as you tried to fall asleep, your heart was heavy while your mind conjured up different scenarios that endangered your relationship. Although you doubted that Midoriya would ever betray you, security wasn't set in stone. You two have been together for less than a year, and people could be unpredictable.

A few weeks went by. You and Midoriya privately celebrated the acquisition of his new license by enjoying dinner at a restaurant. The boy was all nerves, a cute sight. He'd never been on a date until he met you. Despite having been on several since then, a meal in a dimly lit, fancy location set such a romantic tone. You both shared a gentle kiss at the end of the night. Things were looking up for you two.

Until Midoriya came up to you with another gift from a girl.

And another.

One was flowers and another was an All Might keychain, both to celebrate his accomplishments thus far. Now, you didn't like thinking of yourself as the jealous type. It was smarter to acknowledge that those gifts were likely given with his well intent. But what bothered you was that not only was Midoriya not reassuring you, but he was also clearly oblivious. Despite knowing you needed to either talk to him or figure out how to dissolve your emotional conflict yourself, you opted for the second. It'd be less embarrassing for him to not know this side of you.

What made you sad upon thinking about it shifted into agitation when you were approached by a girl in one of the Support classes. You had just finished a mathematics test. After a night of cramming information, all you wanted to do was go to your room and take a fat nap. Alas, lunch was in the way, but you could use some energy. While you were in line, she tapped you on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, I hope this isn't too invasive to ask, but do you and Midoriya-san know each other personally?" she questioned, twiddling her fingers. "I've seen you two talk in the halls a couple times; that's why I ask."

You nodded. "Uh--yes. How come?"

"Well, I was wondering...um...sorry this is embarrassing."

You smiled and ushered her in front of you. She didn't have a lunch box and didn't reject your indirect offer to enter the line. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"Thank you, thank you." She bowed before taking a deep breath. "Do you know if he has a girlfriend?"

Your heart dropped. "Oh. Are you interested in him?"

She nodded, hands shooting to cup her cheeks. "Yes! I've been admiring him for a while. I saw this other girl give him flowers and was wondering if those two might be together. Maybe I lost my chance..."

"Oh, no. Um. They're not dating."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Me and him are."

Her eyes grew as wide as saucers as she let out a gasp. "You?! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

You chuckled. "It's fine, really. We haven't had much time to see each other during school, so he's been without me lately. Otherwise, we hold hands sometimes."

"Aww, that's so cute! Congratulations!"

You were grateful she was such a kind girl, but it unsettled you how sought after your boyfriend really was. It made you wonder at night if he received even "closer" treatment from his female classmates. It irked you. It ate at you. It made your stomach flip to think about too much.

Your last straw came on what was supposed to be a happy day. Classes were preparing for the school festival, an event you'd been dying to participate in. If any Japanese school's festival was meant to be eye-catching, then UA's was bound to be one of--if not--the best. Midoriya had been messaging you about Eri, a child he'd saved during his internship with Pro Hero Sir Nighteye. You were relieved to hear both he and the girl were safe. He promised to make up for your worries by giving you the "best festival experience ever!"

You were really looking forward to it until the day you came over to his class while they were building their set outside. His peers invited you over to help, but it ended up being the guys encouraging you to sit and catch up with Midoriya while they handled the heavy work. Urakaka, a sweet soul, gave you a glass of lemonade along with the rest of the class.

As you two talked, a notification from Midoriya's phone made him reach for it out of his pocket. He smiled and showed it to you. "I almost forgot. Do you remember the girl who gave me flowers?"

Your lips tightened into a smile. "Yes. What about her?"

"She came by my class last week and asked for my number. I gave it to her, and we've been making great conversation! She's nice and really encouraging. And guess what? She also collects All Might figures!" He leaned forward with sparkles in his eyes. "She invited me to come to an All Might event at the mall! I didn't even know one was happening! Isn't that cool?"

"Yes, dear. Does she know you have a girlfriend?"

"Um. Not yet. The topics of our talks have been on All Might, classes, and other stuff. Not about relationships."

Without wasting a second, you set your glass of lemonade on a table, stood, and walked away.

Midoriya called your name and raced over to you, but you yanked his hand off your shoulder and continued storming away from your boyfriend. Your chest quaked as tears escaped your eyes. You wiped them away to avoid unwanted attention, though you were likely already getting it from the distancing chatter of Class 1A. Even though you should probably have let your classmates know you were turning in for the day, you stormed all the way to your room and locked yourself inside. Sobs escaped your mouth at last. Throughout the rest of the day, your phone buzzed with messages and missed calls from the green-haired boy, but you didn't have the energy nor desire to answer them. A couple classmates came to check on you, but they got the hint to give you some space after a small talk.

You knew you couldn't avoid the situation long, though. When you woke the next morning, you turned on your phone to find apology after apology from Midoriya. He begged to see you and talk, and he apologized for bringing up another girl into the conversation. You sighed and messaged for the next time he'd be available to meet privately. He messaged back immediately that he can come over to your dorm as soon as possible. You hesitated before replying that he can come over in the afternoon and sent directions to your room. He'd never been to your dorm before, but luckily, it was a weekend, and you were sure your classmates wouldn't mind him coming over after they noticed your gloomy demeanor.

Time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye while you readied yourself and your room for his arrival. A knock sounded on your door, and you opened it to find Midoriya holding a bouquet of your favorite colored flowers.

You let out a heartless laugh. "Is this one from another girl?"

He sucked in a breath of air and bit his lip. "No. This one is for you. Can I please come in and talk to you, (Y/N)-chan?"

"Sure." You stepped aside and gestured him to sit on the bed. He did so after handing over the flowers, their sweet smell tickling your nose. As much as you wanted to bury your head in his display of affection, you set the bouquet on your desk and sat next to him. "Hon, I'm sorry for walking off so suddenly yesterday, but we need to talk."

He nodded. "I know. I know what I did wrong."

"What did you do wrong?"

"I..." His eyes fell to your lap. "I kept on accepting gifts from other girls, and I let them get too close to me. I talked with Mina since she seemed to know more about relationships than I do, and she told me that...I wasn't really good at making myself look taken. She was there most of the time when those other girls came up, except for the one with the chocolates. She told me I should have rejected those gifts."

"Do you believe her?"

"I...I do, but I don't want to be mean to those girls."

"I understand. I do, really," you told him, resting one of your hands on his. "But it's not as much the fact you're accepting their gifts that makes me upset."

"It's not?"

You hiccupped and wiped your eyes with your other hand. "Whenever you tell me about these interactions, you never tell me you love me right after, or that I'm your only girl. Gifts are sweet, but letting another girl have your number AND not telling her you have a girlfriend already right off the bat is too far! You know, this one time at lunch, this girl came up to me asking if you had a girlfriend. It hurt a lot. Not because I don't think you'd be a good boyfriend, but it hurt knowing that if she were to make a move, you'd probably accept it."

Midoriya moved your hands aside and cupped your face in his hands. He kissed your tears, despite needing to wipe a few tears of his own. "I'm so sorry, (Y/N). I'm sorry. I'll do better, I promise. I'm sorry for hurting you so much. From now on, I'll make sure you know you're my only girl. I'll make sure the world knows. I promise. I love you, my dear."

"I love you, Izuku," you cried, wrapping your arms around his neck. "Please don't leave me for anyone else."

"Never. I promise."

He held you for a moment before pulling you away. Your lovely boyfriend wiped your tears with a gentle smile, a gesture you couldn't help but smile back at even as your face was a mess. Impatient for more of his affection, you pulled him for a kiss on the lips.

════════════════════ ⋆★⋆ ════════════════════

"Hey, did you read about that scandal Deku-kun got dragged into?" Uraraka questioned as she removed her hero gear. Her shift had finally ended, and she was more than ready to clock out of work.

Jiro shoved her jacket into her locker and yanked out her civilian backpack. "Yeah, I don't know why that one tabloid company keeps bringing up 'anonymous' accusations against him. We both know how head-over-heels he is for (Y/N). They're married, for fuck's sake."

"I can't imagine Deku-kun cheating on her. I guess we're all bound to get into a scandal of some sort since we're basically celebrity-level popular." Urakaka sighed. "I'm terrified to find out what scandal I'll get into."

Jiro bumped her shoulder with a grin. "As long as you're honest, you'll be fine! Now come on! The others are waiting for us for lunch. Kirishima texted me the address."

Urakaka changed as swiftly as she could. Then, she and Jiro got into the latter's care and drove to the restaurant. Every now and then, members of UA's former Class 1A planned a hangout for those who were available. Last time, the location was a western-styled buffet. This time, it was a casual ramen shop.

"There you two were!" Kirishima cheered, pointing his bottle of soju as the pair as they entered. "I was worried you guys would cancel last minute."

Jiro rolled her eyes, dragging an excited Uraraka into the seat beside her own. "Please, I have some manners. Pass me a bottle. I'm pooped."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat before drinking?" (Y/N) passed her a steaming bowl of ramen. "We ordered some to have them ready as you guys came. It's delicious!"

"Well, if you insist."

"Thank you, (Y/N)-chan!" Uraraka exclaimed as she started shoving her face with noodles. After swallowing, she looked around the shop. "Where's Deku-kun? He's usually here with you during our hangouts."

You chuckled. "Yeah, but he told me to go ahead of him. Have you guys seen the new issue of that one tabloid we talked about a couple days ago?"

Jiro scoffed. "Yeah. I was shocked when you sent the link in the groupchat. I got a magazine later that day before work just to make sure it was real. The audacity."

"I don't get the point of bringing up this drama," Kirishima stated with a frown. "Midoriya's so honest. If anyone were to do any cheating, it absolutely could not be him. Imagine! Midoriya, the cheater?! Japan would go insane!"

Uraraka laughed. "I think 'insane' is a bit of a stretch."

"I don't think so!"

You shook your head with a laugh at your silly friends. "Izuku saw the tabloids too. That's why he's not here with me right now. He wanted to go to the company himself and talk to the person who's making up such things."

Uraraka's jaw dropped. "Can he actually make them stop?"

You shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think getting an earful from the Number One Hero is enough to intimidate any person out of gossip."

Just then, the shop's bell rang. All heads at the table turned to the entrance to see a built man with a bouquet of roses in one hand and a small box in the other. His eyes lit up upon seeing the group.

He rushed over to you guys, laid the items on the table, and embraced you tightly. "There's my darling! Hey guys!"

"I wanna hug too!" Kirishima pouted, Despite it being a joke, Midoriya laughed and squeezed him into a hug as well. The two were balls of positive energy even years later. After Kirishima let him go, he scanned the items. "Wow. You make me feel so single."

"I'm sorry! That wasn't my intention! I just felt so terrible after reading those tabloids; I couldn't shake my mind from (Y/N). I just had to get her something."

Uraraka held the bouquets, feeling the petals. "Remind me to never settle for a man who's less of a husband than you."

"What?! I'm just doing my best! It's nothing much!"

"It's everything, love," you reassured, kissing your husband on the cheek before opening the tiny box on the table. Upon seeing the gem, you rolled your eyes and lightly punched him. "Again with the bracelets?!"

"But this one is totally your color!" Midoriya pouted. "Try it on! Please!"

After doing so, you couldn't help but roll your eyes once more. "Okay. You didn't lie, but you still have to save your money."

He kissed your forehead. "Spending money on you is the best kind of spending."

You absolutely adored him.

Jiro tugged at your shirt. "Hey, lovebirds, why don't you guys kiss tonight and eat now? The food is getting cold."

Midoriya's face exploded red. "Sorry, sorry! Eating now!"

[lqtraintracks]

Writing Interview

Thanks so much for the tag @starquestingfordrarry! <333

how many works do you have on ao3? 337

what's your total ao3 word count? 1,454,047

your top 5 stories by kudos

Right Hand Red (with freakin’ 40,662; sorry, I just noticed that it had ticked over the 40k mark and I’m flabbergasted and so grateful as well <3 )

Hung Like a Horntail

Slip Into My Lover’s Hands

Weeds or Wildflowers written with sdk / @unmistakablyoatmeal

check this hand ‘cause I’m marvelous

do you respond to comments? Er… yes?? Like, very. verrrrry. slowly. But I’ll admit that some will never get answered because I lose steam and then when I start trying again, I start with the newest ones. This might sound horn-tooty, which is not how I intend it, but with the number of stories I’ve written, I get a lot of comments. I’ve found it impossible to keep up, but I do my best, even if my best is sometimes a bit crappy. I do read and appreciate every comment I get though!

what's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? I don’t really do angsty endings often. When I do, it’s usually a Prongsfoot or something. Of the Drarry fics I’ve written, I have one open ending but it’s still pretty hopeful, and that’s Burning the Ground. 

what's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? All of them. :D My goal in life is to get readers (and myself) to cry with joy at the end of my stories. Some standouts just from memory are Heart Like Neon, Bolts, Take You Home, Jasmine in Bloom, Right Hand Red, Blood and Fire, and The Most Splendid Thing. 

do you write crossovers? Maybe one or two over the last 25 years. So, statistically, not so much. 

have you ever received hate on a fic? LOL of course. :D But I don’t linger on those comments. They’re quite few honestly. 

do you write smut? No, never. 

have you ever had a fic stolen? Yes. 

have you ever had a fic translated? Yes. Quite a few have been. Not even sure how many languages, but I know there are several in Russian, Chinese, and I think both Spanish and Portuguese. 

have you ever co-written a fic? Yes! With the incredibly talented sdk, @the-starryknight, and @nv-md! (And one round robin with like 552 people lol.)

what's your all-time favorite ship? Drarry, my beloved. <3

what's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I don’t really have wips. I’m a chronic finisher. I did start something last year for a friend’s birthday and then pooped out. I ended up writing her a completely different pairing months later. And then I took some of the vibes and ideas from that unfinished fic and wrote them into other fics that I *did* finish, so… Cannibalism. Yeah. 

what are your writing strengths? LOL finishing things! :D Also: smut, for sure. Humor. Sort of achy, hot romances? My trademark is writing tenderness and filth simultaneously. I’ve gotten good at pacing things well, so that beats and arcs feel well-rounded and satisfying, I think. 

what are your writing weaknesses? Ugh, plot!!! Specifically non-romance-or-pairing-based plotlines are difficult for me. Heavy angst. Also stakes. I struggle to up the stakes for my characters enough to give a big payoff. I struggle to make my characters change enough or to effectively write that change in a satisfying way. (This applies more to my original writing than to fic, I think.)

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’m not sure what the hot take here is and if there is one I’m missing it. My original novel has a Spanish speaker and he will sometimes slip into Spanish during conversation. I wanted to get that right, so I had a native Spanish speaker (hi @capipuff!) read it to correct my bad Google-translated Spanish. So I guess my thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic is, do your best to get it right?

what's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?  If I want to write something, I write it. :D 

what's your favorite thing you've ever written? Oof. Wow. I want to say my original novel, even though it’s also more flawed than my fic tends to be. It’s certainly one of the things I’m most proud to have written. <3 Usually my favorite fic is the last thing I’ve written and that’s true right now as well. I love The Most Splendid Thing. But before that, my favorite was probably Jasmine in Bloom, and before that it was Take You Home. Bolts is for sure in the running. Heart Like Neon is way up there as well. As is My Name in Your Mouth, because I love that Teddy Lupin with all my horny heart. 

Okay I'm going to tag some of you fine folks now: Ali, you're it! Also, @writcraft @shiftylinguini @phoebe-delia @wholahoop @saintgarbanzo @academicdisasterfic @citrusses @corvuscrowned @lettersbyelise and @magpiefngrl

[gachagon]

I've enjoyed this arc a lot even though it really did seem to drag on for literally ever. Because in the end, we got to see our protagonist and our Antagonist swap roles for the first time, and they've finally been put in the other's shoes. Kaiser has to deal with the fact that he not only lost this battle against Isagi, but that he had fun while doing it. Playing alongside a person who truly understood him deep down from the beginning was the most fun he'd ever had playing soccer, and all it took was him emotionally coming to terms with his own identity on the field, and destroying his own ego in the process. I love when characters have to experience something akin to ego-death so they can enjoy the mundane things about life...like playing soccer lmao T_T

Honestly I find it hilarious that in order for Kaiser to actually enjoy soccer with another person and to feel human he had to do the actual impossible...which was let someone else use him to make a goal, give up all of his own ideals and take a step back so someone else can be the king on the field for about 5 seconds. The thing that lead to him losing was the simple fact that he let go of all of the grievances and anger and hatred he had toward Isagi for not even 5 minutes on the field.

Do you know how ridiculous and silly that sounds lmao? Your rivalry ends because you end up enjoying the time you spend on the field with them and when you realize that simple fact, you're more angry at yourself than the other guy? Playing alongside Isagi made Kaiser finally realize things about himself that Isagi had already seen ages ago, and now he undoubtedly feels very stupid and maybe a little embarrassed.

It all goes back to the time when Isagi compared him to the Emperor with no clothes. This is Kaiser not only realizing that he wasn't as great as he once thought he was, but that the key to reaching that greatness lies in his ability to connect with other people on the field as a person and to not see them solely as stepping stones to get to where you want to be.

Kaiser's backstory showed that he was a heavily isolated person and that isolation was a burden. It gave him a strong ego sure, but was it good for his mental well being? Was it what he needed to stay level headed and sane on the field, is it even what he needed to become number 1?

And I fully understand that by saying all of this it makes it seem like I believe one side is more correct than the other. That the empathy a person feels is more important for fueling their ego than cold, hard logic. I don't really know yet though I just haven't thought enough about it lol. But Isagi who was once a deeply empathetic person on the field to the point where that was how he was able to defeat other people, is now someone who is using that empathy for cold hard logic.

In my opinion, it seems like Isagi is treating his empathy for other people as a tool to use them. He understands how the people on the field around him work because he knows what they're feeling and is able to use those feelings to his own advantage. So when Isagi says "becoming a machine for the goal" I think what he means is that he is coldly using his own empathy and ignoring any conflicting feelings he may have about winning over other people, or using them to score in order for him to score.

I only say this because to be honest this is only like what, the third or fourth time Isagi has been this outwardly "cold" towards a rival? Granted, Kaiser kind of does deserve this I'm not even gonna pretend like Kaiser wasn't a huge asshole for the whole manga up until he had his one epiphany.

But Isagi just straight up called him a clown, and then extended his hand out to help him up, which if anything is probably the "meanest" Isagi has ever gotten towards Kaiser T_T (You know, besides that other time he said he was gonna fucking kill him but who's really keeping track!) I think this time's worse because Kaiser is used to people talking to him angrily and with threats, but he's not used to people who he (used to) deem beneath him treating him like a fool.

Their positions have been totally swapped and the worst part is that Kaiser let this happen. He willingly let all of this happen, and Isagi didn't even say much of anything to him the entire match or convince him to do any of this outside of asking for help. It took Kaiser losing to Isagi hard in one game for him to get to this point lol.

I have to reread this whole arc some time because I already know I'll enjoy it with fresher eyes, but honestly it's probably the best arc we've gotten because of just how deeply introspective it got with the characters.

[scorpioriesling]

Too Hot To Handle - Episode 4

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *

Characters featured: Reader, Feyre, Morrigan, Gwyn, Elain, Emerie, Amren, Cassian, Lucien, Eris, Tarquin, Rhysand, Helion, Azriel, & Tamlin

Warning(s): Nothing real crazy.

SR’s Note: Wine? Check. Cozy blanket? Check. Dog on my lap? Check. Alright... *cracks knuckles* let's get to it, then! Tags: @velarisdusk @lilah-asteria @starlightazriel @panther-girl-124

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *

Episode 3

"Anybody have a makeup wipe?"

Elain's hand reaches out, towelette in hand from the makeup mirror beside you. You take it from her, meeting her apologetic stare.

"Thanks," you mutter, and wipe at the gentle fallout of your eyeshadow beneath your eyes. From your other side, Feyre sighs, gazing at your reflection in your mirror from her seat. She sounds as dejected as you feel right about now.

"Damn, mami!" Morrigan's rich voice fills the bathroom, and you glance toward the doorway as she strides in, clad in the skimpiest of red bikinis as she raises her martini glass above her head. "No wonder Lucien has been sweating it out all day, huh!" She flashes you an only-joking, award winning smile as she strides over to you, many of the other girls engrossed in their own conversations to take in the one unfolding before them.

"No, Mor, he's been sweating it out because Rhys has been keeping him pre-occupied at the outdoor gym all day," Feyre says, her brows furrowing slightly as Mor leans over your shoulder to inspect her own makeup in your mirror. You shoot Feyre a thankful glance.

"Has he seen this number yet?" Mor's fingers hook under the strap of your simple black dress, her brows wiggling as she stares at you in the mirror. You roll your eyes.

"No, no he hasn't." You say with a say. "I actually haven't seen him... all day..." you shrug sorrowfully. After learning last night that you were chosen by the newcomer for the date tonight, Lucien had been acting strange.

"Oh my," Elain sighs from your side. "He might be... upset." She says thoughtfully. Feyre and Mor turn their heads to her, seemingly just realizing she was a part of this conversation too.

"I mean, I'd be pretty pissed if someone with a name like Azriel was trying to bag my lady," Mor says. You unscrew your mascara, opening your eyes wide to apply it to your lashes. "He sounds sexy as hell already."

"Well, I don't even know him yet," you clip. "And, yeah, maybe his name makes him sound suave, but... I really, really like Lucien, guys. I don't know if one date with a new guy is going to change that." You shrug, moving to work on your other eye. "And besides, I'm not Lucien's "lady", I mean, not officially, anyway."

"So, you're not a couple?" Elain asks. Feyre leans forward, peering at her around you.

"I think what she means is, we've only been here a little while, usually people become official after they leave the retreat," she explains, looking up at you. "Right?"

"I dunno," Morrigan drawls. "He seems pretty attached to me."

You blush slightly at her words, realizing just how close you and Lucien had gotten. Spending so much time together, getting to know one another, and you hadn't even cost the group money yet!

But, now you were being whisked away to a beachside picnic with another male.

"Is he really your type though?" Elain prods, and Mor looks at her quizzically. You continue with your makeup.

"I mean, not typically, no," You reason. "But, that doesn't really matter now, I mean... I met him, I like him. It's not something that really bothers me."

At some point, you hadn't realized Elain stood up until Morrigan plopped down in the chair she had been sitting in. You only took a few more minutes to fuss over your hair, remembering Lucien's request not to look "too good" from last night. He said it with a light heart, but you could tell from his avoidance today that he was uncomfortable. Elain was right, he probably was upset.

"Good evening, ladies."

Every head turns to the light up cone, responding simultaneously with one another.

"Good evening, Y/N. Are you ready for your date with Azriel tonight?" Lana asks. You feel multiple eyes on you -- all the girl groups in their respective huddles as they finished getting ready for dinner.

You gulp. "Um, yes."

"Good. Please make your way to the beach, everything is set up already, and the new member is ready to meet you."

Feyre and Mor walk you out, reassuring you everything will be fine. You look between them, hoping to convey that everything is in fact not fine.

"If you see Lucien... just tell him it'll be alright, please?" Feyre places a comforting hand on your shoulder, giving you a light squeeze.

"You can tell him when you return," she says, winking at you. Mor brushes your hair back one last time before you wave to your friends, walking across the concrete path toward the beach. You spotted Eris and Helion in the pool, but glancing toward the gym -- it was dark.

Where was he?

You didn't have time now to find out.

Continuing toward the beach, your adrenaline started flowing when the dusty white sand invaded the flats of the cute Tory Burch sandals you were wearing. Your speed slowed, and you looked out at the dusk filled sky, the calming sound of waves lapping at the shore.

That's when you spotted it.

Well, him, rather.

And, oh boy... did Lana do you dirty.

･ﾟ: *

"Hello," you say, your voice coming out quieter than you'd hoped. You almost thought he didn't hear you at first, but he turns to fully face you, a wide smile spanning across his face as he sees you approaching.

"Hello there, gorgeous," he stands, extending a hand to you. You politely take it, and he presses a featherlight kiss to the back of it with his... very, soft lips.

"Please," he motions, guiding you to the blanket laid out on the soft ground. He only lets go when you've sat, taking in the array of fruits, cheeses, and wine laid before you.

"My name is Azriel," he says, and you meet his gaze. You smile, hating the tiny bit of excitement in your stomach at the tenor of his voice.

"Very nice to meet you, Azriel," you say, and he chuckles. "I'm Y/N."

"My name sounds lovely on your lips," he says, and you blush. How did Lana know you had a history with men just like this? The smooth-talking, dark-haired, handsome kind...

"You're quite adorable, you have to know that," he continues, reaching for the wine before you as well as the bottle opener.

"Isn't that why you picked me for the date?" You lull, trying to keep up with his level of suave. Mor was right... this would be harder than you thought.

"Oh, without a doubt," he says, shaking his head as he screws the metal into the cork. Clad in a loose, navy silk button down, you can see the way his biceps flex as he works against the bottle's tight hole.

....Gods, don't even go there.

"Well, what drew you to this retreat?" You ask, trying to keep your tone even. You smoothed out the stretchy fabric of your mini dress as the cork came out with a soft pop.

"I saw the application out for a mid-season arrival," he begins, making to grab both wine glasses and balance them between his fingers in one hand. You gulp nervously, watching the clear liquid flow into the glasses as his long digits held the bases securely.

"...and, I haven't had much luck with women in the past, so I figured why not try it out this way?" He continues. He hands your glass to you, a tiny tingle passing through you as your fingers brush his for a moment. You raise an eyebrow, taking a swig from the glass before looking at him once more.

"You? Have had trouble, with women?" You ask. He shrugs, tipping his glass back and swallowing hard. You unashamedly watch the apple of his throat bob with the action, and bite your lip nervously.

"You're surprised?" He asks, holding the glass lazily as his arm drapes over his knee. He scans the plates, finding a cheese cube and popping it into his mouth.

"I mean... yeah, I guess so. You're... well, I mean you're really attractive, so I just kind of figured..." You trail off, not really sure what to say. He chews slowly, peering at you with his beautiful hazel eyes sidelong.

You grab a cracker, nibbling on it to avoid getting too caught up.

"I'll take the compliment from the pretty girl," he chuckles, and your cheeks flush again. "But, I can't say I'm surprised that someone has already coupled up with you." He says, grabbing an apple slice this time.

"I mean," you swallow your cracker, and take another sip of your wine. "We're in couples, but, nothing is really like, official yet-" You say, reaching for another Ritz and stuffing it into your mouth to avoid saying something you'd regret.

"Oh? So, you're not really... tied-down, is it?" He asks seductively, and you cough, nearly choking on the dry cracker you're praying works itself down your esophagus. He laughs, and you can't help but enjoy the lovely sound.

"I... no, I, uh... what I meant, is, the guy I'm in a relationship with, we're not like... labelled, or anything..." You explain, gulping down more wine. You begin to feel a light buzz -- how much wine did he put in these glasses?

"So... it would be alright if we took advantage of the rule-free conditions on this date, then?" He asks, suddenly a bit closer than before. His natural oak scent fills the air, his hand resting casually atop yours on the blanket. You gaze up into his hazelhalf-lidded eyes, the last remnants of daylight highlighting the various colors in them. He's so close... you can spot every freckle on his cheeks... his hair is practically tickling your forehead...

He reaches to take your wine glass from you, and though the thought was there, both of your hands glance toward it when some sloshes out at the contact and runs down the side of the glass, dribbling onto his fingers.

He chuckles, setting it down behind him. "Little sticky, but, I can overlook it." He smiles genuinely.

Suddenly, a memory flashes through your mind. The boat taking off on the first day; the lovely embrace of those strong hands around you when you stumbled; the gorgeous smile, handsome male that was there from the start, already making you laugh from the second you'd laid your eyes on him.

He was yours. He was your sticky fingers. Not Azriel.

You return to the present, your hand lightly splaying across Azriel's smooth chest, slightly exposed from the few undone buttons of his shirt. He halts his forward inching, his hand tucking your hair behind your ear stopping mid-motion.

"Azriel, I... can't."

His eyes search yours, the only sounds coming from the waves crashing against the moonlit-shore. The small beach lanterns have kicked on, illuminating the space, creating the perfect date for two under the stars.

But, this wasn't who you wanted to share it with.

"Alright," he says after a few silent moments, a look of defeat crossing his face at your rejection. He moves back, his hand retreating from yours, as he runs a hand through his hair. "I mean... I tried, right?" He grins lopsided at you, and you smile warmly at him once more, taking his hand in yours.

"I'm flattered that you chose me," you say, eyes roaming over his handsome face once more. "I truly, didn't think I'd be picked. This was a very nice date, and a nice night that I spent meeting you," you continue. He chews on his lip, his eyes still raking over you and closing softly when you lean in.

You press a small kiss to his smooth cheek. "But, I think you're meant for someone else, maybe you'll meet them when we get back. And, I think I'm meant for someone else too."

･ﾟ: *

Walking back from your date with Azriel was quite pleasant, actually. He asked you about what brought you to the retreat, and you indulged him in a little preview of what to expect when he got to the villa. He seemed excited, especially at the mention of a few of the single girls still looking for someone.

What was not so pleasant, was seeing the group divided when you got back.

Around the firepit, you passed the group of guys first. You felt safe meeting the eyes of Rhysand, Tarquin, Helion even -- but looking around, your eyes never met the heterochromial pair that you'd adored so much.

"Hey guys," you say, and Rhysand stands to greet you with an embrace.

"Hey!" He says cheerfully, others standing to greet the newcomer. Azriel looks from person to person, sticking his hand out and introducing himself with a smile.

"Where's-" You begin, and Rhys lets you go to look at you directly.

"I honestly, have not seen him since the gym earlier. He skipped dinner," he says, hands up in surrender. Your face falls, and Rhys only smiles lightly at you.

"So, I take it the date didn't change anything?" He asks, and you shake your head. You watch his eyes as they linger just over your shoulder, and he jerks his chin to the cabana across the pool deck behind you.

"He'll turn up, but, I think the girls are waiting on a "full report" or somethin'... that's what Feyre was saying earlier anyways." You nod silently, chewing on your lip before meeting Azriel's eye.

"You good if I leave you to fend for yourself?" You joke half-heartedly, and Cassian claps the newest villa member on the shoulder.

"Oh, he'll fit in just fine. Go on, I'm sure the other ladies are waiting to talk with you!" Cassian smiles, and you return it, stopping only when Rhys catches your shoulder before you walk off.

"Hey," he says calmly. "...take a deep breath, okay?" You do, the tension in your shoulders dissipating as you realize how uptight you'd been all day.

"Everything will be fine, I'm sure he'll come back around later, alright?" He winks, and you grin at him hopefully before making way toward the girls.

･ﾟ: *

"Was he kind?"

"Did he try to kiss you?"

"Is he really that handsome up close?"

The rapid fire questions from all of the girls was starting to feel more like a cross-examination, and less like a recap of your date with Azriel.

"Guyssss, guys, chillax," Mor drawls, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Giving me a damn headache, I can only imagine being Y/N right now." She squeezes her eyes shut, and you take a deep breath.

"Listen, guys, the date was lovely, and yes, he truly is handsome," you say, meeting all of their intrigued gazes. "...but he just isn't the one for me, I was just thinking of Lucien, and that wasn't fair to do to Azriel. Maybe he will meet one of you and just, know." You shrug, getting a few awws from the girls.

"Did he say who he was sharing a bed with tonight?" Gwyn asks quietly, and you meet her turquoise irises with a look of realization. You hadn't even thought about that aspect yet.

"No," you respond, and make to stand. Looking around, not all of the girls were actually here.

"I really need to find Lucien, do you guys know... where...?" You trail off, a few of the girls shaking their heads. You sigh, waving your goodbye to the group and making way toward the bedroom inside. Feyre follows you in, and sits on the bed you and Lucien share. She toys nervously with the end of her braid, chewing on the inside of her lip. You're slipping into more comfortable clothing when you halt, noticing her shift in behavior.

"What's... going on?" You ask timidly. Feyre fidgets on the matress, looking everywhere but you. She stands, walking over to look in the bathroom, closets, everywhere before sitting close on the bed with you again.

"Y/N... I need to tell you about something I heard today." She says, her crystal eyes wide in seriousness. You cross your legs beside her, prepared to listen.

"I... I heard Elain today. At dinner." She stammers. You nod for her to continue, and she starts picking at her braid again.

"She was... talking to Amren, I don't think she knew I could hear her, but she was... she was saying she was going to move in on Lucien. Tonight." Your eyes grow wide in fear, and Feyre rests a hand over yours.

"Now, we both know Lucien, I don't think he'd simply-"

"Feyre, I need to find him. Now."

You spring up from the bed, slipping on your Birkenstocks before making for the door. Feyre follows you, and you run past the group of girls still at the cabana. Feyre stops chasing after you when she reaches them.

You recieve many confused shouts, a few of the guys staring from the other side of the pool. You run, as fast as you can, around every corner of the villa, looking past every bush. Where would she have taken him?

You round the final corner, a little too quickly and the edge of your rubber show catches on the tiled wall, sending you flying toward the ground. You cry out, your knees hitting the pavement as you skid forward, the palms of your hands screaming in pain at the impact. You turn your head to the side, blinking back tears as your gaze comes back into focus.

That's when you see it.

Lucien, the male you'd ached for all day. He was there, right before you -- holding Elain against the wall, his hands pinning hers beside her head. You look between the two of them, and Elain meets your eye, smiling cruelly at you before giggling and biting her lip, Lucien's face so close to hers.

He finally catches sight of you in a heap on the ground, the tears running down your cheek as you gawk at the scene before you silently. Immediately dropping her hands, he rushes over to you.

"Oh my Gods, Y/N-"

"Don't," you bite out. He rears back, a pained look on his usually so joyous face. "You... just, don't touch me." You glare at him, and his eyes lower painfully.

"Y/N... it's not what it looks like, I swear-"

"It was, exactly, what it looked like," Elain strides over, smirking as she looks down at you. You stare hatefully up at her, and she only shrugs, stepping over you and making her way back to the villa.

"My bed will be empty later!" she calls over her shoulder. Your eyes focus on the ground before you, small drops staining the concrete wet with your tears.

After a few long silent moments, Lucien clears his throat. "Y/N, you have to trust me, it really wasn't-"

"Wasn't what, Lucien? You holding another girl in a private alley against a wall, inches from breaking a rule with her when you're already with me?" You ask, another stream falling down your cheek. He kneels beside you, and you back up a few inches.

"Y/N, I promise I was just trying to get her off of me, she wouldn't stop; all night, she's been on and on about how you told her I'm not even your type, and we..." he huffs, his brow furrowing. "She said you told her we weren't actually a couple."

You scoff. "Oh don't turn this back on me, right now. Why would you believe any of that, Lucien? Have you ever, ever seen me talk to that girl anyway?" You ask, and he sits back on his hands, thinking quietly for a moment.

"No. No, I guess not-"

"So what. She overheard me before the date earlier saying that yes, you're not my typical type." Hurt flashes in his eyes, and he looks down. "I don't care, Lucien -- I like you, a lot." Your voice cracks on the last word, and he sits up straight, placing his hand on your knee.

"Y/N..."

"Well, I did, anyway," you sniff, wiping your nose with the sweatshirt sleeve closed around your fist. "Until I saw you pinning another girl against the wall." You shake your head.

"I promise it wasn't like that..."

"Whatever. Most relationships don't actually make it out of places like these, anyways." You scoff, and Lucien stands, grabbing your wrists and tugging you up with him. You stand, his eyes boring into yours as his hands wrap strongly around the small of your back.

"Y/N, please don't talk like that... I want to make it out of here with you, truly!" He pleads, and for a moment you just might believe him. "I promise, what you saw tonight was me attempting to remove a handsy female from me," he continues, holding you close to his chest. His familiar scent brings you comfort in a way that has your eyes welling up with tears again, and his hand cradles the back of your head, petting it lovingly.

"I promise you, the only female I want, is you." He says, and you pull back to meet his eyes again, a fresh wave of tears free-falling down your cheeks at the sight of him, being so open and honest before you.

"I know how it looked, Y/N... and I'm sorry I avoided you all day, I just... I really struggled knowing you were going on a date with someone who could just, take you right from me," he chokes out, his eyes lining with silver. You reach your hand up, wiping the corner of his eye and allowing your fingers to lightly trail down his cheek. You knew you were in deep -- you'd been so good, doing everything by the books and trying your best with Lucien this whole time.

But right now, you didn't really give a fuck what the rule books told you to do.

"No one is taking me from you." You say confidently, and his hand slides to cup your cheek. "Not tonight, not..." He pulls you so close, backing you up a few inches until your back meets the wall of the villa, his hard chest pushing into yours.

"Good. I really, really don't think I could let you go." He whispers. You pull him closest, closing the gap between the two of you in a passion-filled kiss. You sighed, tasting the lovely delicacy that was Lucien, all Lucien — body against yours, lips devouring you like you were his last meal. Heavily breathing, his hands roaming down your back, gripping your ass and lifting you up -- so much, you wrap your legs around his torso, groaning as he pushed you against the tile. His teeth toyed with your lower lip, halting just to slip his tongue in, battling for dominance with yours as he continued to relish in your delicious taste. His hands ran over your curves, respectfully staying above your clothes. Gods, how you wished they were off...

He pulls back, gasping for breath with you as your hands cling to the toned muscles of his back. He stares as you intently, every emotion and feeling flowing between the two of you as fresh as the tear trails down your cheeks. Then, he smiles at you, grinning and chuckling in the most handsome way.

"What?" You ask, your own smile failing to be surpressed. His hands hold your waist as his eyes scan your face.

"I... I've been waiting for that, since... that day, on the boat." He says, smiling at the memory. "I knew then, that I'd do anything just to get to know you, and..." he kisses the bridge of your nose. "Well, thank Gods I did."

You blush at his words, unhooking your legs from him and making to stand once more. His hands hold your face as you continue to hold him close to you.

"You mean... you thought about our first kiss?" You ask, and he rolls his eyes. Now its his turn to blush.

"Yeah, yeah, sticky fingers, I did." You chuckle, kissing his cheek. His fingers slide through your hair, all the emotion in your heart not able to be conveyed in this moment through words alone.

"I bet it was exactly like this, wasn't it?" You ask, raising an eyebrow. "Me in my cutest outfit... only a sweatshirt and sport shorts would do, right?" You laugh, and he chuckles before kissing the top of your head.

"You know I wouldn't have it any other way."

･ﾟ: *

Episode 5

[chibinasuu]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five of your other fave writers. Spread the self-love! 💕💕💕💕❤️

Thanks for the tag @sheerxfiction and @softlypaintedseafoam !! And can I just say I absolutely adore both of your writings 🫶🏻

Honestly this was kinda hard since I'm my own biggest critic asasdkjalk but after rereading some of my works, I've decided on these five as my favorites!

Captain's Seat | Luffy x Reader

The Thousand Sunny Slice-of-Life Series was the first thing I've ever posted on tumblr. I'm a firm believer that One Piece should have more fillers of the Straw Hats just goofing off and doing domestic stuff on the Sunny, and this series was my take on that! All 10 stories are so dear to me, but I gotta go with our dear Captain for this one.

Little Mouse | Sanji x Reader

I don't usually write my readers with a devil fruit, but this one had a Mouse-Mouse Fruit, inspired by Sanji's soft spot for mice. I loved the idea of a Sanji x MouseZoan!Reader pairing and I've been wanting to make more follow-up stories set in this universe, but I haven't gotten around to doing it just yet 😔

reunion; kisses | Ace x Reader

I've always thought that the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope fits so well with Ace, and I absolutely loved writing this one. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this was received too! I wasn’t expecting this to get so many notes!

snowstorm; cuddling | Sanji x Reader

SOFT SANJI. That's it. That's the fic. This is another one from my cozy holidays event, and boy, is this fic cozy. I am such a sucker for cuddly, clingy Sanji. He's a sweetheart, and obviously one of my favorite characters to write for.

Unexpectedly | Law x Reader

Ah, much like this story, I never really expected to like Law as much I do now. He had crawled up my list of favorites and is sitting smugly at number #2 now. I love writing his brooding, quiet, and serious side that we see in canon all the time, but it's also fun to imagine him having an unexpected shy and sweet side too.

no pressure tags - @livelaughloveluffy @stuckinmymind22 @wetdeadroses @kultofkorii @inseobts + anyone else who wants to share their self-recs!!

[papaya-inspiration]

Foreach 2024 Reader Survey Results

So, my buddy @lumsel makes a lil webcomic called Foreach. I help 'em out with it sometimes. The comic's website doesn't have a comment section, so I thought it'd be fun to do a little year-end survey to see who was reading and what they think!

We had an incredible response, with 279 respondents to the survey--more than are in the Foreach discord server! So let's get into it.

Character Popularity Poll

Alright, let's start with the thing I know y'all are most excited about. As the comic creators, we love all our characters equally... but clearly you guys don't!

☀️ SUNNY SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! ☀️

Y'all REALLY like Sunny, eh? Don't worry, us too. In fact, 80.3% of you listed her in your top 3 favorite characters. Hell yeah.

The next top four characters are the four game protagonists, with Jiro ranking top, then Nix, Cliff and Coral. A lot of readers also mentioned Jiro as particularly relatable/lovable in the write in box at the end of the form. (Don't worry, I won't tell him y'all like him this much. Though with this many Love Warriors, Proteus won't stand a chance invading the island.) I was a bit surprised to see Jasper/Coral ranked as the lowest of the four protagonists! Given that the comic initially presents her as the "anchor" character and a jumping off point for the story as a whole--but that also means she's among the least unusual of the four protagonists, and thus stands out less? It's a hypothesis.

After that, we have Polyta (which makes a lot of sense, she's had some of the most page time of the side characters), then Mercy and Doctor Kree'zik. I wonder if some of this is recency bias, partiularly in Kree'zik's case, seeing as we haven't gotten much past xer character introduction yet. I'll be curious to see how these numbers shift if we run this again next year!

We also got some minor character write ins! Several people said they enjoyed various Aveans, with two votes specifically for the Avean Captains and someone else voting for the avean grunt from page 106 who says "Thanks a bundle!" And I agree: they're pretty adorable. Another person listed "the author" as their favorite character which... you know what, it is a fairly meta comic, so I'll allow it. (Even though, hilariously, Lum is the only member of the creative team to have not had a character cameo in the comic yet.)

Also shout out to the person who wrote in that they almost listed the character cameos for Peri and Kiki (the rat and the rabbit from pgs 24-25) as their favorites. I see you and appreciate you <3

Game Popularity Poll

Not a ton to say about this. People seem to like cozy-ish indie games and furry aesthetics. Makes sense to me.

Comic Info

How are people finding Foreach?

As always, word of mouth is CRUCIAL for indie webcomics getting off the ground. You guys sharing and linking it to friends and communities is really the engine behind getting eyes onto our art--so thank you!

We got another big boost from joining the @spiderforestcomics webcomic collective. So far, it's been a great experience and we've been loving the community over there. So if you're in the market for more comics, definitely go check out some of theirs!

I should note that there is definitely some overlap between these categories. We let people mark multiple answers, so many people marked "Word of Mouth (online)" in addition to other categories like Tumblr and other discord servers. In that broader category, there where several places that people specifically noted finding the comic including:

Our reader Digamma has been tirelessly reposting the comic to the Something Awful forums, and it looks like quite a few people have been keeping up from there! Thanks, Digamma, you're a certified super-spreader!

Dan of @thewebcomicsreview has linked to Foreach several times!

People also mentioned finding it through various discord communities, including the Star Impact server, a server for puzzle games, Foxglove Comics, and others

Rilly had a cameo in @erinptah's webcomic, Leif and Thorne!

Several people discovered it directly through the Neocities discover page!

Cohost, Cloudhiker, and a fairly lukewarm substack review... which nonetheless garnered us a few readers. I'll take it!

Currently, Foreach doesn't pay for traditional banner ads of any kind. So everytime you tell a friend about the comic or share a link to it, you're helping us out a ton! Thank you!

How are people keeping up with comic updates?

Not too much to say on this. Lots of manual checkers, and it looks like we're getting good mileage out of that RSS feed. Excellent!

Readership Info

Discord Membership

We had more survey responses than people currently in the Foreach discord. But even more excitingly, only about one third of survey respondents are also in the discord. Which is exciting, because it means there's more of a readership out there checking the comic updates than we knew previously!

Additionally, I'm personally excited by this result because hearing from those quieter members of our reader base is precisely why I wanted to put out this survey. We have a lovely, active community in the discord, but as a side effect that means we're hearing a lot of opinions from just one, disproportionately vocal part of our reader base. My hope with this survey was that we'd get a chance to hear some voices that we don't usually get to interact with... So for all you silent majority readers out there: Hello! Thanks so much for chiming in!

Patreon Membership

Most of our readers don't back the patreon. Which is to be expected! We actually got a few new patrons signing up after the survey was posted, which is absolutely lovely of y'all. (Hi new patrons! 👋)

If you're wondering what the Patreon money gets used for, it's a mixture of funding extras the comic and supporting Lum's future creative endeavors. This year, we used a big chunk of the funding to commission the Love Bomb portraits for the new Cast Page, which were done by the talented Beajrb (go check out their work!) In the future, some of it may be used for commission work related to the comic, and also for the long term goal for Lum to take some time off their day job to draw comics/make games/etc.

We also asked what else people might like to see us do with the patreon. Right now, we post author commentary on pages with about a 2-chapter lag time, and people seem pretty happy with that over all. There were a few requests for bonus character art, pin ups, or character-asks, and we'll keep that in mind going forward. Since all of us are working full time, there's only limited time we have for making additional content, but who knows what the future holds!

Reader Geography

So where in the world are our readers? Well, I I thought it'd be fun to make this cute little map:

...which turned out to be a huge pain in the ass and a little misleading with the color ranges. So here it is another way:

Our reader base is very American-heavy. Honestly a little moreso than I was expecting? Maybe it's the magnetic charisma of Cliff Mason that keeps drawing them in?

But is it a good comic?

According to our readers, it's a 5.35/5 star comic. Make of that what you will :3

Final Thoughts

At the end of the form, we had an open response box for anything else y'all might want to say to us. And let me just say: y'all blew us away. Thank you so much.

So many of the comments were incredibly kind. People told us about characters they connected to, about how excited they were for to see what happens next. Some of them were sweet, some were horny, some of you compared Foreach to some of OUR favorite webcomics, (which was absolutely unreal to read!) Some of you guys wrote whole freakin' essays! I can't recap everything, but please know that we read every single one of them.

Thank you again for joining us on this journey. Here's to a great 2025--and another year of Freachin' it together!

[frownyalfred]

20 Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @lurkinglurkerwholurks

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 146! It would be a larger number if I hadn't deleted all of my Supernatural fics back in the day. There were at least 30 of those, maybe more...

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

913,163 - I'm hoping to hit a million soon!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Batman, Superman, Justice League, Star Wars, Marvel

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Take Care of Business Everybody Wants You It Was Always You a sky of honey Anything Like Me

5. Do you respond to comments?

Not anymore :/ I have a really hard time keeping up with writing if I'm responding to comments. I hope my readers understand.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm. Probably lonely town? Dick is getting de-fibbed in the alley by Bruce, and it's not clear if he's going to survive or not.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

here as I am is hilarious if you're into jealous!Clark. otherwise the weight (salmon ladder fic) always gets me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yep. Mostly on borderline, but on other fics too. I love how, as I've gotten better at writing, it's changed from "wow this sucks, your writing is awful" to "you suck because you chose to have [character] do this." Luckily I think most of the hate filters over here to Tumblr, where I can happily block and forget. These days, I mostly get people commenting about how I'm wrong about something. Wrong about something I researched and triple checked before posting...

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yep! All of them, I think? At least, I haven't balked at much yet. I'm not really into the excrement related ones, so I think that would be one of my no-go's.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Yep! bloodletting (Mandalorian/Star Wars and DC Crossover) and a few Marvel/DC crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yep, a few times. What I'm more pissed about is all of my textposts being monetized over on TikTok and IG. I could be making bank off of those, considering the reach. And several of them are basically mini-fics.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Tons. Check them out here. There's also some podfics and related works there.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really. I've made attempts but I'm really bad at it. I tend to write spur of the moment and follow my gut on where the conversation/action goes. Planning out a fic with a partner would do them a disservice, I think.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I really love Superbat, but Codywan is right up there with it. Something about Cody being a loyal BAMF soldier and long-suffering big brother gets me.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

My vampire AU. Not because I don't want to continue but I cannot decipher my notes as to what should happen next.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm very quick, I can type up a full draft in a few hours. I like natural, snappy dialogue and I think I'm good at it. I don't shy away from weird or uncomfortable situations. I'm comfortable with writing a lot of sex/etc.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I write too quickly, sometimes I get ahead of my plot. My dialogue and descriptions can sometimes be a little too bare, or I overcorrect and become too flowery. My fics take on the tone of whatever I'm thinking about at that time.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

If you're confident in your language abilities, go for it. If you're just plugging it into google translate, consider why you're doing that first. Is the addition of this new language actually something someone would say in that moment? Or are we just using it to signal to the audience that they speak another language? Is there a way to show this without telling? That being said, I love using Mando'a in my Star Wars fic, and I've studied it for a while now to be able to do so.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Supernatural

20. Favourite fic you've written?

Probably borderline or a sky of honey. Both took a ton out of me and I'm proud they're whole and standing on their own right now.

---

I'll tag anyone who wants to play! Go wild.

[loquaciousquark]

DAI Update

I haven't forgotten Tav's BG3 playthrough (I have the pictures put together, just need to assemble the posts), but now that I've gotten through the first Solas romance scene, I felt the need to share some DAI screenshots to mark my progress.

This is Adahla Lavellan, electricity/spirit mage. She likes history and religious study and puzzles and, much to my chagrin, Solas.

She's got the vallaslin of Dirthamen (secrets, knowledge) and a hunger to understand the roots of major historical & legendary events. I'm still learning her as I play, but so far I know she's very self-assured and has almost no regrets; once she commits to a path, she lets go of wondering what else might have been and completely focuses on the decisions still ahead.

I've been trying to lean into the spy stuff mentioned in the prologue & in her codex. I know she was a foundling left with the clan at birth by non-elves, and she has a fascination with other cultures and especially with the various theologies scattered across Thedas. (I'm pretty sure she devoured every Genitivi text she could find growing up.)

While she does worship the elven gods, she doesn't disbelieve in any of the others; rather, she's deeply curious about finding ways where the elvhenan tradition and Andrastian tradition can both be true, or where the legends of the Old Gods and Tyrdda Bright-Axe might have overlapped at their religious root.

Her familiarity with these cultures made her the most suitable to represent the Lavellan clan at the Conclave. The mark is more of an exciting mystery to her than a painful burden, and though she does believe in the diplomatic efforts of the Inquisition and is firmly comfortable in her place leading the charge against Corypheus (since he wants to kill specifically her), she's secretly most invested in the Inquisition's acquisition of ancient texts, access to libraries, and uncovering of secrets. For her, "Inquisitor" is a decidedly literal title.

Romance stuff under the cut.

I was very unsure of how the Solas romance would go with a character like her. As @silksieve said, I'm coming at the romance from the wrong end; I already know who Solas is and yet know literally zero of the romance structure. I needed to create a character who could survive a heartbreak, and I think I've done that, but I'm fascinated to see how the intermediary beats shake out.

However, the romance ended up sparking naturally due to lovely happenstance. I've been keeping Solas in the party almost constantly so I can learn to like him, which meant he was present as I worked through all the astrariums and ocularums in the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, and most of the Emerald Graves. (Yes, even here, I'm still a completionist.) This led to a nice bit of headcanon that Adahla & Solas worked through a lot of the star puzzles together, which meant that later in the Graves, when I stumbled upon one without Solas in the party, Adahla & I both had a moment of seriously missing him and wishing he was there.

It felt natural, therefore, to examine (logically and methodically) why she was missing him so much, and after bringing him a copy of the unsolved map so she could watch him solve it and judge the number of tries it took him, I think she realized she was growing interested in more than his stories of Fade wanderings and legends out of time.

Considering this whole relationship started with him being grabby and rude while she felt like death, I'm amazed they've gotten this far. She may not have always liked him, but she has always respected him, and I the player was surprised at how smooth the change in her opinion felt.

Also as a player, I'm still a bit unsure of Solas myself. I like the deep wealth of history and knowledge he provides, but there's a...a sort of rigid pride to him that I personally still find off-putting. As I mentioned on stream, I'm going to need to see some chinks in the armor to really buy into the romance in any major way. Plus, he's just so...blandly designed! I dunno. Bald, beige, and a boring dresser? I know this is a me thing, but dang, seeing the concept art with dreads...well, a girl can dream.

Adahla, however, is having a great time. Once she decides on something, she commits with her whole heart, and now that he's admitted to being thrown off-balance during the Fade scene, she's made it her mission to keep him on that back foot as long as possible. I again have no idea how the romance plays out, and please God don't spoil me, but she & I are both hopeful that she'll keep him guessing through the end.

In terms of gameplay, I've about finished the Hinterlands, the Storm Coast, the Emerald Graves, and the Forbidden Oasis. I plan to do Wicked Eyes & Wicked Hearts (or whatever it's called) next, followed by Crestwood, and then will keep working through the maps one by one. The level gating isn't quite as bad as I remember, though still annoying, and my few QoL mods have shaved off the worst of the gameplay irritants (thank you @bettydice!).

All in all, I'm having a really good time! Like I said, I'm still a little doubtful about Solas myself, but the character concept coming into shape for Adahla feels sound, and I think she's resilient enough to weather some of the revelations that Priory wasn't. I'm excited to keep going and find out! :)

Also, my girl, because I still love her best:

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

behold, sausage not beating the watcher allegations that he started for 5 minutes. and this isn’t even including my absolute string board theory about his new life ending.

video transcription below the cut

Clip 1: Sausage is at the Vigil in Pixandria.

Sausage: Ok, really quick, I'm glad we're here. We're gonna pay our respects for all the death that's gonna be happening, uh, in that other reality. [Cut]

Alright, really quick, oh! I have candles here. One second- this is cool! I actually wasn't planning on this. Le- let's see. We have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Oh! Perfect number, actually. I guess we can add this to the Vigil! 14... Let's do one here, one here, let's go... boop! Perfect. 14 of them, man. Let's do another one there. This shouldn't mess with space time or anything. This might be the past, but that's fine. I've done this so many times, it's not gonna ruin anything. Ah, there it is. Let's do another one there, perfect. You guys can figure out which candles' for who, hehe. And let's- let's leave this side open, let's do it on this side. Oh, perfect. Let's light 'em all for the deaths that happened today and last time. 1, 2, 3, 4- I'll leave that one. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. Perfect! Alright. Now let's bow our heads, right here. Oh, screenshot moment! Everybody, a moment of silence for our lost, uh, brethren who have met their demise. But at the end, one did- did win, right? I don't know who that one was cause I haven't gotten that spoiler yet, but, one is alive, at the end. Rest in peace. [Cut]

o7s in the chat for all the death that happened. This is a safe space to cry, but it's okay. Because at the end, there must have been a winner. Time runs out for everybody, everyone. Time runs out for everyone. All we gotta do is just sit back and watch. And maybe listen. But I don't wanna hear any whispers out there, you guys talk with your chest because at the end, it's fine! It was worth it, it was a good fight. May they rest in peace, all the fallen. Especially Jimmy. Dying first. Canary curse, forever and ever.

Clip 2: A screenshot

Clip 3: Sausage is in his church for Bdubs in Sanctuary

Sausage: And I did throw in that that was Cleo, because that was just funny when he said his mom was calling him, so I had to do it. Uh, it's almost like my character knew that happened, somehow. [Cut]

Ah, yes. I'm not a Watcher! Ask Martyn, he can confirm.

Clip 4: Jimmy is flying around his Christmas world

Jimmy: -one. [reading Sausage's chat message] "Jimmy! Really weird thing I saw last time I was online but I forgot to ask, if you go into the first igloo, stand in the door and look directly to the opposite s- side of the mountain"? [Cut]

Here... [Jimmy sees the Secret Keeper remake and goes silent for almost 30 seconds. He gulps and then stays silent for another 15 or so seconds] I'm not pressing any of these buttons. I'm not- I'm not pressing any of these buttons! Don't tell me that's me! [A few seconds of silence] What in the-? [Another few seconds of silence] No, the buttons don't work. [He presses a button] Good. This is where the server just blows up, [laugh]. Well, that's odd. Genuinely, I don't know why- how th- how that is there. I think it's Sausage playing pranks on me. He knows I have nightmares, still, about this fella.

[oldfaneworld]

I need some clarity.

I don't know how I want to start this so I'm going to ramble this out. The discourse around Lanolin is something I don't really get in all honesty. The plot we have been following since the beginning of The Misadventure arc isn't anything new. The Fandom has dealt with trickery and guile before so I don't understand why this is such a hot topic to begin with. I have a few ideas why it's a hot topic and I'll touch on it soon but first I want to make this very clear. Looking back at the few posts I have on this website, I think I've made It very clear that Lanolin is my favorite character in all of the idw run. I can say this with my chest she is tied as my number 2 favorite character in this franchise with Bunnie d'coolette from the Archie run of the comics both reboot and pre-boot. My number 1 being Sonic from the story book games specifically the sonic and the black knight game.

I have only ‘recently’ gotten back into being a fan of the franchise about a year ago and most of that time has been me sitting down quietly playing Forces, Frontiers, Shadow Generations and reading first the entirety of the Archie run of the Sonic comics and then later the IDW run of the Sonic comics(i’ll get to fleetway soon i’ve just haven't gotten there yet). As for someone who’s been quiet for most of this time, seeing the Lanolin discourse flare back up because of the Riders arc is very interesting to me.

The big thing that gets me about the majority of it feels disingenuous to me from both sides. I am someone who has been very lucky to have patient friends that are willing to listen to me for a few hours on end talking to them about all of this. I am a Lanolin defender if it wasn’t already clear, so to my fellow defenders please don't go out of your way to call people misogynist(its true that there are some who are, but please be a bit more tactful when you do it) just because they don't like Lanolin. More often than not you're just throwing the wrong label at someone and it’ll just make things worse and poison the water for everyone. To those that dislike Lanolin you need to cool your jets just as hard, calling for violence to be done to her and to kick her out of the comics entirely because she’s been tricked is wild to think about especially because we have characters that are beloved that have been tricked and done way worse then she has that never received this kind of backlash. 

My reason why I think Knuckles, Silver and Shadow haven’t received the same kind of backlash Lanolin currently has is for a few reasons. The first is because all of their mistakes they’ve done have been nearly a decade ago if not longer so there's so much real time that buffers them from receiving such a backlash on top of that. Also we didn't necessarily have places like twitter, tumblr, or reddit back then like we do now.

The biggest reason why I think Lanolin is getting so much backlash where the others never did was (knuckles got it the worst but in the end it was turned into a gag) because of the medium her story is being told in. Everyone else was in a game Knuckles (S3&K, SA1, SA2), Silver (06), Shadow(SA2)  in comparison to Lanolin her’s is in the comics. A medium that is way slower than that of the games, just because of the nature of how long it takes for an issue to come out not including any delay. So I honestly think because of the slowness of comics in general people were allowed to sit and let an annoyance at best (in a games case) fester to hate (because of the comics timeframe).  A sonic game can be done at fastest in a few hours (forces) or a month (Frontiers) and that's not including 100 precenting a game. where in the comics Lanolin’s arc is taking longer than a year and a half and it's still going. 

Comparing her story to the three above we are what 2/3rds ¾ of the way through her personal arc about learning how to be a new leader and the challenges that brings, especially when she’s forced to make a choice that feels right in the moment but is wrong in the long term. People saying you can't compare her arc to Silver, Shadow or Knuckles is being dishonest in my book. The only difference in the way the arcs works is that the three’s arcs are done and hers isn't. Silver and Knuckles were tricked by their villains respectfully and Eggman and Mephiles nearly won because of it. Once they realized what they did they worked just as hard to fix what they messed up. Shadow was ruled by revenge allowing himself to work with eggman so he could get closer to the Ark to get rid of the Earth but Amy and others were there to open his eyes and it nearly cost him his life to fix what he allowed his rage to start.

So we know we aren’t done with Lanolin’s arc yet so why is there so much hate? We are just starting with her being redeemed. Why are people so adamant with burying her? I can't imagine another character in this moment of the comics that deserves her redemption more than her. She’s been here since issue 2 of the run and has been working hard in the background since, to get where she’s at and with her first real mistake and people want to tear all her accomplishments away from her. I don't get it? What I do get is having a casual dislike for her because of the way she talked to Silver and Whisper(misadventure) and Sonic and crew(Riders).

With all of what I have said, can someone please explain to me what I'm missing? Even in the newest issue when she is at her lowest she puts herself in the same position she put Silver in! She gave Tangle and Whisper the same power as before to vote her out because she knew she messed up and she’s not holding herself above any of the consequences she placed on other people. This is admirable she messed up and is willing to lose maybe her only chance to make a real difference in her world instead of doubling down and trying to make herself look right.

[ar0rin]

any lore about your agents to share?

Probably only minor facts and stuff like that, since I'm not really good at writing a lot!! I've done some concept art recently, so I'll include that alongside a WIP or two.

The theme of Veronika's story/character development is belonging. Being an inkling raised by salmonids, it's difficult to feel that you belong anywhere. Since i can relate to this theme to an extent, I want to write them a happy ending as a sort of motivation for myself.

If my agents' lore was one progressing story, I would pick Veronika to be the protagonist. Since they're young and have a lot to learn compared to my other characters who are all adults with experience, their story ends up being a lot more interesting.

Ikizu, my agent 8, parallels octavio's late niece Miharu, another oc of mine. Miharu's death represents the beginning of the octarians being trapped underground, while Ikizu escaping the metro represents the octarians being free to live on the surface again. Actually, can you really call that a parallel? Am I using these words right?

Ikizu and Octavio grieve in the same way by shutting down at first, but "pulling themselves together" by suppressing any reminder of their loss. Eventually they'll face their grief, but I haven't actually figured that part out yet.

Kanava, agent 4, has recently gotten a lot of sun motifs. Ikizu on the other hand has the moon. This can't be seen in my old art because I didn't do much for them in terms of motifs other than Kanava's starry eyes. Speaking of stars, Shiokara (captain 3) and Veronika both get star motifs because they share a number. There's no deep meaning behind these symbols. I'll let you know if I actually come up with something.

Ikizu's main ink color used to be pinkish reds and warm colors, but I think I'll switch it to cool colors to emphasize the "moon" symbolism. Her eyes used to be brown (A common color to represent the fact that she was a normal girl before the events of OE), but I changed it to a sunset gradient just to make the moon theme fit better.

Veronika's golden eyes hold some kind of significance that I haven't fleshed out yet. Most likely a salmonid prophecy of a golden eyed savior or something.

I imagine "Lil Buddy" to be a nickname, while his real name is Kojake followed by a traditional salmonid title.

Gejang, Bao Yu, Hachi, Nakji, and Kuri are all octoling ocs of mine and were in the same platoon in the Domes alongside Ikizu. Ikizu and Kuri are twin sisters. Too lazy to find pictures of everybody. Sorry.