#some of the background stuff was too modern but also some was spot on

[fictionadventurer]

A Biltmore Christmas may be the first Hallmark movie to drive me to fanfic.

[zaephix]

I LOVE THE CAMERA SO, SO MUCH—AND THE CAMERA LOVES ME ! / / xavier , zayne, rafayel & sylus . . .

ever since you went viral on the internet, your relationship has become the evvy and dream of users globally. just what about you guys was so groundbreaking?

warnings: f!reader, established relationship, modern!au without the monster protocore stuff, ooc!sylus??? this is my first time writing him im scared, internet fame, fluff, suggestive on zayne's part, relationship tingz mostly inspired by douyin couple tiktoks (im so lonely brah.)

w/c: 2.15k (500-600 each)

author's note: if u guys can figure out what photo reference i ws talking ab in zayne's ily (hint hint that one nanami fanart) also did u guys peep the rv reference in the title??? art cred: angye on twt

XAVIER didn't think that he'd go viral for something as silly as interupting your tiktok by carrying you away, then again he didn't even know you posted it.

it didnt just go viral because the two of you were in the cutest matching hoodies, but because he swept you off your feet so smoothly and almost effortlessly.

soon after that, comments flooded your page gushing about how they'd wish they had a boyfriend as clingy and affectionate as him, and you two had started a new trend.

after that video, many followed you because they fell in love with you and your relationship, almost begging for more crumbs of you two. your page was then full of the two of you more so than before, photos of you two in onesies cuddling, stargazing, and even little day-to-day vlogs.

your fans just kept eating them up, and he had to deal with the impending consequences of it.

"XAVIER, come pose with me!"

the grey-blond haired man sighed, dragging his feet towards you. "don't you think we're done? we've taken so many already..."

you raise a brow, "we didnt take any this whole week? cmoon, the camera's rolling, let's do that dance i taught you!"

"but it's late, and i wanna go to sleep... we can take some tomorrow morning or something..."

you give him the sternest look you could muster, and he generates the biggest puppy eyes he'd ever done, looking down at you with a small pout as his hands hung loosely around your waist.

"a kiss then?"

you roll your eyes affectionately, "you can have your kiss after this i promise! pleaaaseee xavier?"

it seemed that he wasn't gonna take no as an answer, as he kept leaning in towards you, determined as ever.

your face was burning as you chuckle nervously, leaning away from him. he slowly inched closer, until you were at a point where you could go no further without any help.

realizing you had no other choice, you sighed with a pout of your own, and XAVIER took this as a chance to pull you closer and press a kiss to your lips, making you giggle. you pressed your fingers lightly to his lips as he swayed you side to side, and you couldn't help but laugh and follow suit.

"XAVIER!"

you posted the video not long after that, a cute song in the background to cover the sounds of your voices. within just 2 hours, it went viral, taking its spot as your number one video.

"ughhhhhh is this too much to ask for?"

"if you look closely you'll see me laying on the street."

"u guys r my fav couple ever pls don't ever break up!!!"

it was safe to say you never got your dance.

ZAYNE took quiet pride in being your boyfriend—and he took it very seriously as well. he'd fuss over you even more than before, making sure you were okay at all times

you'd joke about how he was acting more as your husband than your boyfriend. he'd brush your comments aside, saying you think too much (funnily enough his ears were quite red)

your relationship went viral due to the sillyness you brought into it, the little antics you'd pull around him as you two would go through your day-to-day life being the highlight of the week for your viewers

but what really made you two so popular was in the gentleness he'd treat you with. his words may seem curt and blunt, but his actions said anything but that. in your mini vlogs, ZAYNE would display tiny gestures of affection, ranging from delicately fixing your jewelry and carrying your purse to zipping up your dress and putting your heels on for you.

"hey god... it's me again..."

"i want a rich doctor bf too!"

"my parentsssss <3"

your viewers would nitpick at every little thing, hundreds of fan edits taking over the app by storm, and you'd repost every single one of them

"ZAYNE! i'm home! sorry, usually i'd be the one to be early but the association had-"

you stopped, frowning as you realized the lights were off, the only source of light coming from your kitchen. making your way there, you were met with the back of your boyfriend, seemingly working very hard on something.

"zayne?"

he turned around, greeting you with a soft look of surprise. "oh. you're here." he stepped towards you, and now you could see that he was wearing an apron over a dress shirt and pants.

"go to your room. i left a change of clothes for you on your bed."

you looked at him confusedly before realization and guilt struck you. "...oh! oh my gosh, i'm so sorry! i forgot it was our anniversary! i'll-"

you shut up as he looks at you with an amused lift of his brow, taking this as your cue to go get changed.

turns out, ZAYNE had taken a day off without you realizing it. he spent the day getting your apartment ready for your anniversary. and he had everything set alright.

"i can't believe you did all of this yourself... i mean- wow..."

you two enjoyed a nice candlelit dinner with your favorite foods and drinks, and you kept having to resist the urge to just tug him closer with his tie and plant kisses all over his face.

wait, unless...

"ZAYNE, could you come here?"

ZAYNE thought the two of you were done, wanting to spend the rest of the night with you in his arms-it turns out you had a different idea

"you still haven't gotten your reward."

you uploaded a new post to your instagram page, captioned "my sweet doctor <3" with pictures of your dinner that night

and on the very last slide, was a picture of him turned to the side with lipstick covered kiss marks over his face and shirt, ears a pretty shade of red, and your hand pulling him in by his tie

your fans could only ever imagine what happened after that

it was just after your date with RAFAYEL at the aquarium did the topic of who his lover was striked appeal to the media. apparently, some fans recognized him and sneakily took photos.

at first, he was annoyed by it, but after seeing compilations of videos where he'd see you two, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to indulge the public.

soon after that, his pages both on instagram and tiktok had tiny easter eggs of you, whether it be your clothes, a second of you in the background of his videos or even in his paintings.

the comments would be full of "did u guys see the ___ in the background?" or "to have a painter as a bf... im jealous..."

to fuel the fire, you'd feed your already large fanbase your own easter eggs of him. one of his paintings in the background, a shirt of his on your couch, a split second of your wallpaper shown, etc.

you were just having fun, you didn't expect anything to really come out of the antics you both were pulling in front of the public.

however, you both thought wrong, as it didn't take long for the people to put two and two together.

"RAFAYEL... my legs hurt... when are the fireworks gonna start?"

"shhh just be patient, we can stop here if you want?"

you two were at one of the largest beach festivals at linkon, and after a whole day of running around and trying everything, your legs had gotten sore.

you and RAFAYEL sit down on the cool sand, the water from the waves inching closer and closer. you could hear the commotion coming from the festival, but all you could focus on right now were the waves in front of you.

"ugh... you're right. all that running around has made me exhausted. don't be surprised if you have to carry me home."

you flick him on his forehead as he weakly puts his hands up in surrender and lays down on the sand. you lay beside him, your arm propping your head up.

"i had fun today though. it's felt like ages since we went somewhere in public together."

he hums, pulling your hand towards him to rest on his face. "yeah... its too much... maybe we should just settle down back at-"

"oh my god, is that RAFAYEL? and... is that his girlfriend!?"

you quickly turn around and were met with a group of fangirls. you turn back around to rafayel to see him already sat up, motioning for you to follow him.

"i know you said you were tired but..."

you read his mind instantly, getting up and grabbing his hand. you both start to run away from the clicks and flashes of the paparazzi, giggling and laughing while doing so.

the fireworks had finally started behind you.

after that whole fiasco, you and RAFAYEL retired to his bedroom back at his studio, breathless and exhausted.

as you two soundly slept, the internet was currently in shambles after finding out your secret relationship, leaked photos of you two running together and getting into your car having made it on every platform.

and as his phone rang with notifications, he had an inkling of what happened.

"whatever..." he thinks tiredly as he pulls the covers over you and him.

"...i can deal with that tomorrow."

SYLUS was never shy in showing you off as his girlfriend, but never once discouraged nor encouraged your moves to post the two of you together

yet the moment you posted the huge bouquet of roses he'd sent to your apartment via luke and kieran and it blew up, it was almost like he was urging you to show him off

you didn't even mean for it to go that big, you just thought they were pretty

and yet, he'd sneak in small comments during your conversations like "the view here is pretty, wanna comemorate it?" or "look, our outfits are matching, i could get kieran to take a picture of us together if you'd like?"

you'd taken the hint pretty quickly, rolling your eyes as you brushed it off each time, until you had a change of heart one day

you posted a video of you touring the city on his motorcylce, one hand wrapped around his torso and the other holding your phone, showing off the view and the well, broad, shoulders and back of your boyfriend

and as you can probably tell, it went viral, with many users commenting how they'd wish they had their own biker boyfriend who'd take them across cities

he scrolls through the comments in his freetime, lips turned upwards and already planning your next hit

"SYLUS...? what's the meaning of... this?"

just a minute ago, SYLUS walked up to you and asked if you'd like to go shopping, that it was on him. you agreed hesitantly as you got up, suspicious of his intentions already.

and without giving you time to think, he picked you up with one arm and has not put you down since.

"well, i thought it'd be nice to treat you, it's been a while afterall."

"...we went to a michellin star restaurant like two days ago?"

"hm."

sighing, you reel your head back and notice a glint in the dark hallways of his manor, along with hushed voices and camera clicks.

was that... luke and kieran?

"wait, wait, wait, wait— i think i saw luke and kieran—"

he swiftly glaces behind you two with furrowed brows, and then gave you a small smirk. sometimes you can't tell if he's teasing you or not.

"pay them no mind, they're probably up to something again. best not to find out now."

he looks at you curiously, "or is this your way of saying you want out? i was gonna pay a visit to the claw machine with you... i heard they had a new limited edition plushie..."

your eyes snap back to his, "no, no! this is fine... i'm sure i was just imagining things."

he gives you a triumphant smile and keeps walking, yet your mind can't help but wander back to what those twins were doing...

and it turns out your suspicions were right all along, for after you came back home from a successful night of shopping, your phone was abuzz with notifications coming from your friends

luke and kieran had secretly recorded the two of you when he picked you up, and made sure to show the black card that was in SYLUS'S possesion

you'd have never thought he'd go along with a plan as silly as this with the two of them, but they were his assistants afterall.

later, you were bored out of your mind, so you decide to scroll through the comments.

"hows it feel to live my dream!?"

"i'll get it one day... one day...."

"if i ever had a boyfriend like that, i'd never let him rest."

and as you look over at the sleeping man beside you, you definitely understood them.

[horrorvisuals]

Obscure (2004)

Obscure is a survival horror game emphasizing co-op gameplay with its wide range of characters. Taking place inside a massive school building, it lets you control five main characters and is still playable on modern PCs!

Obscure gives you the ability to control any of these five characters and what's better is, that they all have different features, personalities, and abilities.

There is technically a 6th playable character but I won't say more on that to not spoil things.

As I was saying, abilities. They are pretty interesting. For example, Josh lets you know if there is anything left to do in an area. Items to pick up or things to interact with, that kind of stuff. Pretty crucial for thorough exploration. It's important in a survival horror game.

Stan cracks locks easier due to his background, Kenny runs fast and packs a strong punch, Shannon gives tips when you're stuck on puzzles and heals other characters, and Ashley is better at using weapons.

They all have their own benefits!

Obscure plays pretty much like any other survival horror game from back in the day. It features semi-dynamic camera angles, with semi-tank controls. Exploration, item management, combat, navigation, everything is here.

As a somewhat unique feature though, Obscure also lets you combine some items with others and actively use them. For example, you can tape a flashlight to any firearm in the game if you can find adhesive tape.

Aside from firearms, the game also features melee weapons and they're pretty simple to use. There is a good "feeling" to them. They pack quite the punch.

In Obscure, darkness is your enemy. If you played Alan Wake, then you might recognize its flashlight mechanic. When focus your flashlight on dark areas, you banish the darkness around those areas. You also use it in the same way to weaken the monsters before attacking them.

The character change mechanic is pretty slick too. You just press a single button and change the characters. Obviously, you don't just run around with a party of 5 people all the time. You always play in pairs.

There are, however, meeting spots in the game and you are able to change to other characters in these spots. These also act as fast-travel points and help you navigate the environment more efficiently.

Story-wise, Obscure has some intriguing moments and an overall compelling narrative. The game starts with Kenny playing basketball by himself after school. His stuff gets stolen and he follows the thief to a suspicious-looking cellar inside the school grounds.

Later on, things happen, people disappear and you find yourself in a (mostly) abandoned school. It consists of massive corridors, classrooms, underground sections, and yards, it's a survival horror fanatic's dream.

Obscure has a perma-death mechanic. If any of the characters die at any point in the game, they are out for good. Obviously, you can go back to a previous save and get them back but if you are looking for a more hardcore challenge, it's there.

I keep emphasizing its co-op play feature but while Obscure is definitely more entertaining with a friend, it's completely playable solo as well. Whichever pair you choose, the other student is always controlled by AI and they're usually pretty decent.

The best thing about all this is that Obscure is still playable on Steam. It plays well, it's compatible with higher resolutions and you can actually play co-op using Steam's Remote Play feature. It's just like couch co-op.

Its sequel, Obscure 2 is also on Steam and it's also perfectly playable. I'll make another thread for it if you enjoy reading this one.

Seriously, if you haven't played these games before, I can't recommend them enough. They are great games AND they're playable in co-op. How many classic co-op survival horror games do we have these days? Not many, let me tell you that.

Let me know if you give it a shot. I'm curious if you're gonna like it. And if you have already played it, then tell other people why they shouldn't skip this one. Here is the Steam link for the game.

It's actually on sale right now along with its sequel.

[accio-victuuri]

SBMS Clowning Series ☀️ v.6 { finale }

It was a good run and we have been fed very well. if something else comes up then i’ll post an extras version of this clowning series. ^^

recap : version one / two / three / four / five 💓

this scene at the finale, where they won a production award and jian bing was making her speech. how she said that last year, she gained a good production partner ( referring to shengyang ) and like you could tell that it wasn’t just work related that’s she is talking about. it reminds us of that time in TTXS where WYB said that in the past year, he gained a good friend — XZ. and like we (cpfs) believe that it’s more than that, they both gained a life partner.

this is another example of what seems to be a trend in this drama. lol. maybe because it’s modern so they can use these scenes & lines. i don’t know. the coincidences and similarities of things that happened to them irl making it in the drama is something we can’t ignore.

• In XZ studio’s post, they shared more behind the scenes photos and the caption:

when you encounter a beam of light named shengyang, remember to return him to the sun☀️

it’s similar to what zz said before in an interview when talking about WWX. He said, return him to the one he loves ( LWJ ).

there is also a photo where you could see the number 9. It’s actually 19, which is in reference to the event his character in the show is attending. they blurred out almost all of the background to emphasize on him so why leave the 9? Maybe they can cause the big event in the finale is this award and him going onstage with Jian Bing. I’m a clown so the 9 is a great coincidence because who just celebrated their 9th debut anniversary???

• GG’s finale post on his weibo account too. Let’s clown on the time of posting, 19:50 9/5. Also how he mentions the sun which is supposedly to describe Shengyang and the name of the show itself. But the photo he shared is that of a sunflower. He really loves it. It’s why 🌻 is such a favorite symbol among BXGs!

( if you have no idea about sun/sunflower cpn then go here and here )

BONUS: shengyang x shuoshuo SZD 💟 ( similar pose! )

• Some more similarities between XZS and YBO editing 🙃

My favorite would have to be p4. The videos they both posted today had “easter eggs” at the end. So you thought it’s all over, but they include another snippet of them.

and another bonus on that YBO vlog, if you asked baidu what yibo is looking at. the scenery, a related topic will come up and it’s a XZS vlog.

omg even baidu knows 😂😂😂😂

• Spotted. A new water bottle they have that’s the same. Remember that Yibo’s skateboard video is not new. The Asian Games MV was filmed last year. Sooo…. They use other stuff that’s not Bottled Joy 😂😂😂😂

It’s so plain looking that you can’t really tell but i think that’s the purpose. Knowing how they were exposed with the whole “bottled joy” saga when XZ was filming YGY.

-END.

[charlottesbookclub]

Hello there!

I'm the main from @notfoundfootage , I came here to thank you for sharing your beautiful writing with us mere mortals! Your portrayal of Alistair is so good, you and @frodoshaggins do such an excellent job with this, my little heart be damned.

What do you think Alistair thinks of a partner/friend that wants to become a vampire?

Omg think about being buried in the woods with him !!!! Cuddling under a mossy tree !!!! Like lil turtles in winter!!!!

Meanwhile Carlisle is in the background happy that Alistair found a companion but questioning their life choices 🙂👍

hi my dear!! 💖

ahhhhhhhhh thank you sooooooo much for your super sweet words!!!!!! I am blushing, giggling, kicking my feet rn like this is so nice ahhhhh 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

honestly I'm having such a good time writing him (both in his historical timeline and in the modern one ☺️) and it was genuinely such a pleasant surprise to find people here who still wanted to read stuff for him! I mean, I think there's like 3-5 of us, but everyone's enthusiasm and kindness has made it feel like such a wonderful and welcoming community! team alistair is small but mighty I guess ☺️💕

okay also I was so excited about your question that I wrote maybe a bit too much, so I'm putting my answer to that under the cut! 🥰🥰

and omg my first official tumblr alistair meta question I'm so excited!!!!!! um okay so I think that if he were with someone who wanted to become a vampire, I think initially there would be a little bit of like "wait... you want... this??" and not in an angsty or religious-guilt way à la edward (and carlisle to a lesser extent) but in more of the sense that I think alistair is very.......... conflicted on vampirism as a concept. his transformation was hugely traumatic, and (at least in my interpretation of his character/backstory, which will eventually be addressed in "king of all birds" 😈) I think he lived for quite a while in confusion about what he actually was, which likely only furthered the trauma he was already experiencing. additionally, his entire vampire life has pretty much been lived in fear and on the run from various threats (both real and imagined), so it doesn't seem like he was exactly enjoying his time as a vampire

however, I think that at his core, alistair is a very practical person, and he realizes that being a vampire is the hand he's been dealt, so he just kinda.... goes with it?? I think he also realizes that in some ways, his transformation (and the events that occurred as a result of it) saved him from a lot of complications that were piling up in his human life, so there's also a strange sense of almost gratitude that further complicates his ideas on vampirism. also, in this scenario, it was him being a vampire that led to him finding his partner/friend, so there's also some gratitude that this very long life of isolation and fear finally led to something wonderful and good

but now that I've waxed poetic on alistair's complicated thoughts on vampirism (which was also not the question you asked, so I'm very sorry for going so far off course here 😭😅) I'm going to completely agree with @frodoshaggins assessment of this situation as they lay out in their sfw headcanons post (letter W) that alistair would end up changing his partner because he couldn't imagine living without them now that he knows how happy he can be (*cue "All I've Ever Known" from Hadestown*) 🥹🥹 so in the situation where his partner actually wanted to be changed, I do think he would experience a lot less stress over it, since he would come to the conclusion that he needed to do it eventually anyway 💕

and omg yes once they are both vampires they will ABSOLUTELY be sleeping in the moss!!!!! so frickin cuuuuute 🥹🥹 or like a nice little hollow tree covered in ferns??? top tier snuggle spots for alistair and his vampire partner 🥰🥰

and lmaooooooo carlisle and all the more "human-ish" vampires being like "uhhhhhh okay I guess" I'm WEEPING 😆😆 alistair and his partner visit just like covered in little bits of moss and lichens and esme is like "carlisle they are ruining my clean house why tf did you invite them??" and carlisle is just like "sorry babe I genuinely did not think that finding a partner would make alistair more weird but here we are I guess" 😆😆

okay, now that I've written a full novel here, I'm so sorry this got so long! 😭😭 I am clearly Not Normal™️ about this man

but thank you so much again for this absolutely lovely ask, and feel free to pop back into the ol' inbox anytime, I'm always excited to talk about alistair or anything else!!!! ☺️💕🥰💖

[sumire-no-nikki]

A Day Out

I had to do groceries this afternoon so I thought I would treat myself with a day out while I'm at it! The weather has cooled down ever so slightly and by that I mean from 30C down to 28C with a little breeze. Not much, I know. But that 2C is the difference between actively sweating just by breathing, and being able to manage walking outside without wanting to plop on the concrete and throwing a tantrum because I fucking hate summer.

That said, it wasn't helpful that the train was packed. Oh it was awful. Not a single seat open and the corridors were filled with people standing. I would have decided to go back home and just drive to a shop nearby, but I've made it that far already so I thought I might as well stick with it. In the end I'm happy to say it paid off. I had a very lovely day out!

First thing on the agenda was to try new beans but I'm afraid that part of the trip was a bust. I intended to purchase some espresso beans from this Mexican-themed cafe that I always pass by but it seems they've just roasted their beans (and they need to rest for a couple of days before they're ready to brew!) So unfortunately I will have to try them another time.

From there I entered my usual manga and general nerdy stuff store. I found some new manga I'm keen on but I stopped myself from spending. I don't really have the time to get into a new series right now, but I've definitely added a lot of new titles to my "to-read-in-the-far-future" list lol. I did make some really cool discoveries while browsing the store though! There's a manga series adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables! I read a couple of pages of it and it looks so good! And there's also a Junji Ito adaptation of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai which, as it is by Junji Ito, looks nothing short of spectacular. Oh, can you believe it!! All these new adaptations of modern classics! I hope there will be more! As bewildering as it was to see No Longer Human on "as seen on booktok" tables in bookstores (the very existence of which seems to trigger my fight-or-flight response lol) I'm ultimately just very happy people are reading these great works. These manga adaptations will get so many people into reading the classics, I think. And that can only be for the good.

From there I headed for my usual cafe. I ordered a slice of chocolate cake and a lovely pour over coffee from Kenya. The cup I had today tasted of bright orange with quite a full body. I enjoyed my treats while reading for about an hour or so outside. It was way too hot to stay inside, so as much as I hate inhaling second-hand smoke I chose a seat along the street.

You know, I didn't realise until after ordering that I was in fact speaking with the owner who happens to be a German Barista champion!! I was inspecting the trophies on display by the counter while waiting for my tray. When I sat down I looked up the name and only then did the face register lol. Knowing that the person who owns the place understands brewing and producing coffee directly and ethically (as opposed to being just a businessman who isn't familiar with the coffee industry) does explain the quality of the beans. And it's such a reassurance to know that they are roasted by someone who cares. I swear I've never had a terrible bag of beans from his cafe.

One last errand before the groceries: the record store! I brought the records I no longer want to keep in my collection and had them assessed. The owner of the store is a very jolly Greek man. I browsed the store while waiting for him to come up with an offer. I spotted some of the records I sold to him in the past (and that he is selling them for quite a mark up 👀) but I've also noticed that quite a handful of my old records were no longer there. The romantic in me is beaming at the thought of my records in a new home now, being played and enjoyed by a stranger with a completely different background yet identifying with the same music I once related to. Anyway, I got a surprisingly good offer for the records and I walked out of the store feeling very happy to get that task crossed off the to-do list.

The last thing was to go to the store, of course. I've run out of some staple Japanese ingredients so that was what I mainly bought. I finally found sake for cooking which has proven quite difficult to source so it's a relief to finally have it now. I stocked up on natto as well. I know it's an acquired taste (quite like marmite) but I like it for breakfast, especially with leftover rice.

When I got home I spent the evening putting everything away, and cleaning and prepping the fruits and vegetables I bought. It was a good day, I think. Quite productive. And it's always lovely spending time alone. I get to observe, swim in the lake of my own mind.

I leave you with a photo I took on my way home and a song I've been listening to a lot. The train ride home wasn't as hectic so I spent the entire time looking outside, feasting on how vibrant everything looks in the summer. I know I've overstated my hatred for this season but sunlight, the deep green fields meeting the blue sky on the horizon, the contrast--it's such a boost to one's mental health.

As for the song, this one is from a pretty old album actually, but I always seem to find new meaning to fixate on when I listen to it. This is the song that struck me this time around and I've been ruminating on all week. It's rare to find a song that describes who you are completely that it's rather frightening. This song does that for me:

Alright, that's it for now. I'm off to tidy up real quick--arrange the throw pillows on the couch, pick up all the cat toys and put it back in their toy box (a task I'm sure I will be repeating in the morning, lol), start the dishwasher, and turn off all the lights. I've had a good day but I am exhausted! My weekend has been a busy one so far. Tomorrow I have some long letters to write and emails to respond to. And then it's just about to get even more hectic with the new week, but it helps to know that the weather will continue to cool down in the coming days. Knowing it'll be rainy is such an uplifting thing to know (at least I hope it happens. I have a love-hate relationship with the somewhat-accurate weather app lol). I hope it isn't sweltering wherever you are.

Until next time!

[reborrowing]

How do you actually go about making conlang?

A love of language and probably some confidence that borders on hubris.

(this is kinda long and rambly and probably points to me not being inclined to teaching but)

I think conlanging is something works best if you jump straight into it, as long as you’re willing to learn as you go. Imo, there’s not a single “right” way to make a conlang, but there’s a dozen “wrong” ways that you only really discover/understand when you try them.

Really, step one isn’t going to be making anything, so much as deciding what you want the language to do. Are you trying to create a certain aesthetic for a given race/species? Are you experimenting with how communicate works—how to express emotions, maybe, or honesty or clarity or efficiency? Are you building off of a pre-existing language? Are you playing with grammar? With sound? What you want to do with a conlang should determine where you’re going to focus (and might also point out some blind spots). You should also think at least a little bit about who’s going to speak the language but imo that has the biggest impact when creating your words.)

Like, for Kíkítok, my first page is literally:

Language used by a diminutive people/mouseworld society that exists in parallel with a fictional version of the modern day, typically in urban environments. Culture values resourcefulness, knowledge, tenacity.

Reasonably naturalistic

Possibly toy with sound symbolism and/or ideophones?

Takes loanwords from English, occasionally from Spanish

Reduplication?

And then I looked up cross-linguistic onomatopoeia for mice and searched around for what languages people perceive as “cute” and picked a lot of my sounds from there. It doesn’t have to be too serious.

The actual language creation part is easier if you already have some linguistic background, but that background isn’t necessary. I started conlanging before I studied linguistics. There’s a lot of material out there that explains language building better than I can.

I’m pretty sure I started with Biblaridion’s playlist on how to make a language when I first got into conlanging. I also enjoyed Artifexian’s conlanging videos (It looks like he’s restructured his channel so things aren’t as organized anymore tho).

Zompist’s Language Construction Kit is probably the most-referenced conlanging starter guide. The material is free on the website and also available as a book if you prefer. (If you’re buying books, I really liked David J. Peterson’s The Art of Language Creation. But. Money.) It’s been awhile since I’ve been on reddit, but when I was, r/conlangs had a ton of useful references to work with.

Once you get the basics of a language down, most of your time will probably go into lexicon/dictionary building. It’s so overwhelming. I recommend keeping track of how you’re forming your words even though I’m super lazy about it. (It’s why I recommend it, I end up unhappy with some of my stuff lol). There are so many words. You will never ever have enough words. The last time I was working on mouse in the basement, I found out Kíkítok has three words for kill/cause-to-die but no words for injure or pain? Ugh.

Language is huge and majorly interconnected, so there's not really a single good entry point for starting a conlang. Especially early in the process, you end up going back and forth as other parts of the conlang evolve. You kind of have to just start somewhere, whether it’s sentence structure or a couple of words, and be open to the idea of changing things later. But! Do write everything down. It doesn’t matter how intuitive something seems when you first think it, you won’t remember your own reasoning. And it's fun to see how the language changes over time!

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 5/30/2023

all you can see is my hand over the back of the couch as i give a limp wrist flick of acknowledgement and point you toward the post ↓ 

listening

Smooth Jazz by GUPPY, a selfdescribed comedic punk band that makes secular guitar music with bedroom-pop overtones. said to myself out loud on my walk "this sounds gay" and whaddya know they are.

I’m listening to smooth jazz In the parking lot outside of Joann’s Fabrics & Crafts And I’m feeling like a dumb spazz Because my mind is moving way too fast

i have had this exact experience at multiple joanns. the last bit of the song has been on loop in my head since uhh thursday when i was catching up with my spot/ify weekly recommended list. the tired, slightly ironic last-number-in-the-musical performance is really doing it for me

Jazz, baby! That’s just jazz, baby That’s just jazz That’s just jazz, baby In my brain, baby So give me a lobotomy

-

reading

raymond chandler's the long goodbye.

this book destroyed me. there is some BREATHTAKING racism even for 1953. it's one of the cruelest things ive ever read. it's a sucking chest wound of a book. i'm going to think about it for the rest of my life.

i'm not able to talk about chandler novels objectively.

i am partially grieving the incredibly fucked up shit that happens to marlowe in this book (i have no fucking clue how you even go on after that, but he does) and partially grieving that this is the last full novel and there aren't any more. i know the unfinished poodle springs was finished after chandler's death but! i do not care.

-

watching

One-Eyed Jacks (1961, dir. Brando). widely available for free, pluto had the nicest copy but ads that weren't blockable. this is a film where the production is as much of a story as the actual film.

i don't actually know if i enjoyed this film or had a good time watching it. i don't know that i ever need to see it more than once.

it is artistically distinct, and i genuinely mean that as a compliment. it is a rare western-that-doesn’t-have-to-be-a-western, and such a weird artifact of a particular guy's career in a particular time.

surprisingly, this is a pretty okay western to watch if you happen to be a woman. katy jurado and pina pellicier are acting their GODDAMN hearts out. despite itself, the movie paints a very good portrait of a mother-daughter relationship and some goodass parenting. women make mistakes and don't die about it. nobody gets raped!!! the absolute lowest bar a western can possibly have. as a quick sidebar, it's not that i think movies should never address rape, it's that westerns always address it in a way that makes my stomach turn.

it is a slow-burning revenge that mostly takes place on a beach, but it also takes you in great uneven hurtling lurches toward its finale. it wants to have things to say about lies, revenge, and storytelling but cannot help but give itself a certain kind of ending. it can only push so far. it is fascinatingly earnest, horny, and earnest about being horny.

-

playing

grim fandango remastered (2015, originally 1998) by double fine. the EPIC tale of CRIME and CORRUPTION in the LAND OF THE DEAD!!! critically acclaimed, what we would now call Mexican Gothic i think, but billed itself as a Aztec-inspired noir.

technical details: i am not totally impressed by this remaster bc it still looks pretty fucking janky in parts (things clipping through other things, heavily pixelated stuff despite being on the highest quality settings, etc)

why i bounced off: i did not play video games growing up, and have not played many point-and-click games. despite this i do like walking simulators (the modern successor to point-and-click) and visual novels. i think bc i do not have the point-and-click background and am not playing this through nostalgia-tinted glasses for 1998, four years after i was born, the way the design team of this game expect the general population to solve problems and the way i personally solve problems are severely mismatched. i have spent about ten hours playing this game (in four acts) getting to about halfway through the third act, and i would say about half that time has been looking for/at guides or making up lost progress bc i didn't save. this is a tremendously frustrating way to spend free time.

what i did love: however, it does Look. i ADORE this tile and want it in my home. in a cutscene in this little automat there are not one not two not three but FOUR reflective surfaces. they're not real-time, of course, but i did say "what the FUCK" out loud. it's also hysterically fucking funny! many short sharp barks of laughter! i am greatly amused at how a game about skeletons invented permadeath! both the writing and the voice performances are so fucking top notch. i understand why this is a beloved classic and im glad a remastered edition exists in the world, but i do not anticipate finishing this game bc i don't get a lot of joy out of having to closely follow a guide to progress.

how i found this: it was free on GOG several years ago, i wanted to play something this weekend that was compatible with lying down on the couch and used a maximum of one finger for the controls.

-

making

i cannot show any of the extremely doxxable embroidery samples that will zhuzh up this cardigan for a work event in mid-june, but i can show how i tacked the buttonband down. this is somewhat indifferent stitch spacing but it stays down and is invisible at a distance from the right side, and that's what matters. gotta de-pill this also but that's a bit boring for a tuesdaypost

[zorinanana]

Kiss Me in the Dark is another illustrated fanfiction I made a couple months ago. It takes place in the same continuity as Like a Glass Bottle, but it's a completely separate story that doesn't really connect to that one. I also wrote this before Chapter 7 Part 1 or the Sunset Savanna event came out so there's some parts that definitely diverge from canon. There are also spoilers for chapter 6, by the way.

Rating: M (Strong language, suggestive content, A LOT of mentions of suicide and self-harm)

Pairings: Leona/Idia, background Malleyuu

Content Warnings: This story pretty much revolves around suicidal ideation, depression, and self-harm. I am serious, you probably don't want to read it you have a hard time with that stuff.

Word Count: Long as Fuck (~55k words)

“You’re beautiful.” Leona breathed.

Idia’s eyes blew wide. He tried to step back, but Leona stopped him with a touch to his cheek. Idia stared down into his upside-down eyes, searching for something. Maybe an escape.

“…I’m not.” Idia said. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“No.”

“You’re a jerk. You’re a mean kittycat.” Idia whispered, leaning closer. “And you’re a liar, too.”

“I’m not lyin’.” Leona replied.

“Then say it again. Convince me this time.” Idia’s lips hovered over his. Leona felt the warmth of his breath, of his hair spilling over the back of the futon and covering them like a curtain.

“You’re beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beauti-”

Before he could say it again, Idia silenced him with his lips.

Chapter 1 - Beautiful

Parked by a small, secluded beach on the west coast of the Kingdom of Heroes, a shiny new camper reflected the brilliant oranges and blues of the sunset. It had been built to look vintage, but a closer look revealed distinctly modern features and artificial wear and tear. Its owner had bought it because he knew that its kitschy fakeness would make people mad. He leaned against the fence separating the lot from the beach, watching the last of the beachgoers pack up their umbrellas and beach chairs. Parents carried their sleeping toddlers on their backs, ignoring him as they walked past.

Leona exhaled slowly, letting the smoke from his cigarette drift into the air in a dirty spiral. It stood out against the vibrant colors of the sky, a nasty blemish that soon dissolved into nothingness. It was almost poetic, in a way, but he would never write it down or say it out loud.

He hadn’t come to the beach for any particular reason. He didn’t even have a swimsuit on him. He had no reason to be here, or there, or anywhere.

Leona had been on the road for a good four months now, out of the Sunset Savanna, through deserts and mountain ranges and cities of all sizes, eventually making his way here. This wasn’t his final destination. He didn’t know what that would be, yet. He’d figure it out as he went along.

As long as he wasn’t home.

The parking lights began to flicker on as the sun sank further below the horizon. Leona flicked the butt of his cigarette against the asphalt, stomping it out with one of his heavy boots.

As night fell, the air grew chilly. Leona sighed, slipping back into his vehicle. Time to figure out what he was going to do next.

Despite its relatively small size, the camper was pretty cozy. He and Ruggie had customized the thing to hell and back. Most of the back was taken up with a kitchenette and a tiny bathroom, along with stairs up to the lofted bed. Way in the back, under the loft, hid a little nook with a loveseat for reading or just lounging around. There used to be a TV mounted there, but they’d taken it out after they had gotten back.

Souvenirs from their trip still hung from the rearview mirror and covered any stable service. He’d bolted a makeshift shelf to the wall where a bunch of tacky bobbleheads now wiggled aimlessly. It was cheesy, sure, but who was going to care? It was one of the last good memories he had.

Speaking of Ruggie. Leona pulled his phone out of his pocket, intending to open it and check the map for good spots to eat and sleep. But before he could, he saw the multiple missed calls from his friend-slash-employee.

“Can’t wait to find out what this is about.” He grumbled, despite knowing exactly what it was about. He dialed Ruggie back and waited.

“Boss! Your brother is pissed.” Was the first thing he said, his voice frantic.

“What else is new.” Leona answered.

“I’m serious, Leona. He’s about to go on the warpath.” Leona could hear the hyena whipping his head around to check that he wasn’t being overheard. “They found out you’ve been gone and now they’re asking him questions about it.”

“You guys still haven’t told them?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, that’s not part of my fucking job description!” Ruggie scoffed. “I’m already on thin ice with your brother, why would I stick my neck out just to get more people mad at me?! I need this job, Leona!”

“You know I’d give you a good recommendation. I wouldn’t leave you high-and-dry like that.” Leona rolled his eyes. Yeah, maybe he was being a baby. But Ruggie knew more about the situation than anyone and Leona thought that he, at least, would understand.

“Would still love to not get kicked out of the palace and give my grandma a heart attack, thanks.” Ruggie replied. “I can’t afford to be looking for another job.”

“Then I’ll pay you from my personal account until you find one.”

“That’s not the fucking point, Leona!” Ruggie growled in exasperation. “God! Do you rich people ever think of anyone other than yourselves?!”

“Ruggie, calm down.” Leona sighed. “I’ll tell them personally, okay? Tell Falena I’ll call tomorrow.”

“You’d better not mess this up for me.” Ruggie replied, but Leona knew he would do it.

“You know he’d still fire you if he ever heard you talking to me like that, right?”

“Honestly, it’d be worth it. I’d go out with a bang. Really cuss you out over all the shit you’ve put me through.”

“Don’t know what I’d do without ya, Ruggie.”

“Bite me.” The phone went silent as Ruggie hung up. Leona stared at the darkened device, thinking. He was running out of options. It seems he couldn’t pretend to be sick or out on “business” anymore.

Slumping against the leather driver’s seat, he let his phone drop to the floor. He hadn’t felt this pathetic in years. Not since he’d met Yuu and the others and gotten his ass kicked by a bunch of kids.

Through his windshield he watched the sun wink out of existence. He kicked his heel back, hearing a hollow “thud” from the metal safe he’d been keeping under the driver’s seat. Ruggie had suggested it for hiding weed in if they ever got pulled over. He just needed a reminder that it was there.

He could still do it. This was a nice enough spot, and the beach was nearly empty. Nobody would be there to stop him setting up, and they wouldn’t find him until the next morning. But he didn’t get up. That cowardly side of himself had grabbed hold of him, pinning him down. He tried to breathe, waiting for something to change. He never knew which direction the scales would tip.

Leona’s phone buzzed in his hand. He sighed and lifted it to his ear.

“What is it now, Ruggie?”

“Um, I’m not Ruggie.”

“Idia?” Confused, Leona double-checked the name on his caller ID. Yep, there it was, “radish sprout”. “You never actually call people.”

He tried to remember the last time he’d heard Idia’s voice. They still texted sometimes and played online chess in their spare time. But Leona didn’t get much opportunity to hang out with schoolmates these days, so many years after dropping out. Last he had heard, Idia had just finished up his engineering degree at some fancy school in the Sunshine Lands.

“I, uh… Didn’t think I should ask this over text.” Leona could hear other people on the other end of the line. He could picture Idia perfectly, sitting somewhere public with his legs scrunched into his chest, a bundle of nervous energy.

“The truth is, I need a huge favor.”

“…Why are you askin’ me?” He winced at his own rough questioning. Damn it, Idia would definitely take that the wrong way.

“…Oh, silly me. Of course the prince of the Sunset Savanna himself wouldn’t have time for a loser like me…”

“Shut the fuck up, I didn’t mean it like that.” Leona sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, more annoyed with himself than Idia. “I just know you have other options that you’d rather ask for help from first. Y’know, like Yuu or Azul.”

“They can’t help me.” Idia answered. “Azul is working down in the Coral Sea right now, and Yuu is… Well, they’re busy.”

“And you think I’m not busy?”

“I know you’re not busy.”

“Fuck.” Leona grumbled.

“Look, just forget it. This was a stupid idea.” Idia’s vice sounded shaky. Leona felt a pang of guilt and grimaced. Damn it, he knew Idia well enough by now to understand the way he was. He wouldn’t have called for help unless he really needed it.

“I didn’t say ‘no’, yet. Just tell me what it is.”

“…So my parents just disowned me.”

“What the fuck.” That was not what he expected.

“I know.” Idia said, dejected.

Leona’s eyes widened. He ran a hand through his bushy hair, trying to process what he was hearing. What could Idia have done to get disowned?

“…They only let me study engineering because they expected me to come home and keep working for S.T.Y.X.” Idia began, as if he could read Leona’s mind. “But I’ve been applying to other companies, and I got an offer. And they found out.”

“Shit.” Leona growled. After everything that had happened, they were still at it with him. It was just so… unjust. Unfair. Idia had never deserved that, and he didn’t deserve it now.

“You know this is just a power play, right? They need you more than you need them.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.” Idia replied. “That’s why I… I’m not gonna give in. Not this time. So I just need a place to stay for a little while. Just until my new job starts.”

“…Where are you right now?”

“At an airport in the Kingdom of Heroes.”

“Good, I shouldn’t be far. Text me the address, I’ll get there.”

Idia spluttered in surprise. “Leona?! You’re really going to-”

“What, you were expecting me to say no?” He scoffed, sitting up in the driver’s seat and turning the key. The vehicle rumbled to life, ready to go. “I’m not that much of an asshole.”

“Y-You don’t have to rush right here! I can make do for one night!”

“Not like I’ve got much else to do.” Besides killing myself. He added, silently.

“Nevermind, you don’t have to. You don’t have to! Th-this is a waste of your time, I’ll just figure something else out, I’ll-”

“Idia.” Leona interrupted him. He wished he could look him in the eyes right now, he could easily picture how terrified he must be. “I want to help. You ain’t a waste of time.”

That was part of the reason, yes. But it was also a way for him to stop thinking about the things he was keeping under his driver’s seat.

“…Thank you.” Idia mumbled. “I… I really appreciate it.”

“Damn right you do. I’m living in a van right now, by the way. Hope that’s not a problem.”

“What? Why?!”

“Long story. Tell you later.”

---

When he finally reached the airport six hours later, the first thing he noticed was that Idia had cut his hair.

He’d cleaned up a lot, actually. He’d put on slacks and a well-fitted shirt for once, instead of hiding himself away in a pile of baggy clothes. All he had with him were one suitcase and a duffel bag. Leona honked the horn as he got closer, startling him into nearly dropping his phone. He laughed at the glare Idia gave him through the window.

As Idia slid open the side door to throw his suitcase inside, he took a moment to look the inside of the camper over. He seemed impressed. “Wow. When you said ‘van’ I wasn’t expecting this space-defying pocket dimension.”

“I’ll give you the grand tour once we’re outta here.” Idia stepped inside, sliding the door shut behind him. He tried to wedge his suitcase into the little reading nook in the back where it wouldn’t be jostled around too much.

“You got a haircut?” Leona remarked when he finally sat down. It still looked messy, but that was probably because he’d been stuck at the airport for so long.

“Y-Yeah. Does it look gross?”

“How would a haircut look gross?”

“I… dunno, actually.” Idia let out a little laugh. He reached up to grab a loose curl of hair. “This is just the first time anyone outside of the Island of Woe has seen me like this.”

“It looks good.” Strange, but good. Idia’s long-haired look was certainly unique, but it probably attracted more attention than he wanted. It hadn’t made much sense that he had kept it like that in the first place.

“Y-You don’t mean that.” Idia looked away and hid his face behind his palm, a new habit he must have developed since he couldn’t hide behind his hair anymore. He pulled his hoodie from the duffel bag at his feet and slipped it on. Leona wasn’t sure why, but he felt a strange sense of relief that he still had it.

“You really need to learn how to take a compliment.” Leona sighed. With Idia buckled in and everything loaded up, he pulled out of the passenger loading area.

Leona navigated out of the maze of airport traffic and pulled onto the highway. “When was the last time you ate anything?”

“…Um…”

“Okay, so food first, got it.”

“W-Wait, I didn’t get to answer!” Idia protested.

“So what’s the answer?” Leona raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t look away from the road.

“…I grabbed some chips from the airport convenience store, but as for real food, it was the night before last. I had dinner with my parents.” From the corner of his eye, Leona saw him fiddling with the zipper on his hoodie. “I was kinda happy about it too, like an idiot. I don’t usually get to eat with them. But they must have already known by then.”

“What about Ortho?”

“Ortho’s fine. He’s at school.” Idia perked up. “Oh, yeah, he decided to go to the same university as me. He doesn’t need to, but I’m glad he did. He’s made lots of friends.”

“No shit? What does a robot study in university, exactly?” Leona asked.

“You’re not going to believe this, but photography.”

“Photography?”

“Yeah!” Idia turned in his seat. He was finally smiling, just a little bit. “He got really into cinematography and stuff like that in Vil’s film club. And he’s good at it, too! I can show you his portfolio when you’re not driving.”

“Huh. Sure, sounds interesting.”

After a moment of silence, Leona asked:

“Does he know what happened yet?”

Idia didn’t answer right away, but his head dropped just a little.

“No. He’d go berserk if he knew.”

“Hm.”

Idia shifted uncomfortably in his seat, as if he was expecting a lecture. Leona rolled his eyes. He knew he couldn’t judge. He’d never had a relationship with his own brother like the Shrouds’, but he could imagine how embarrassed Idia must be right now.

And… He was doing the same thing, so getting on Idia’s case would just make him a hypocrite.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Some fast food garbage would be great.” Idia answered. He’d started staring out the window at the deep black sky, even though there was nothing to see with all this light pollution. “I haven’t had any in ages.”

The streetlights lining the highway cast a warm glow through the window on Idia’s melancholy face, blotting in and out as they passed each one. It was nostalgic, almost. It reminded Leona of falling asleep in the back of one of his family’s cars after a long day out, his head resting against his big brother’s shoulder.

Leona tried to think of what to say. Years ago, when he first met Idia, he wouldn’t have cared about what happened. But now, after they’d worked together and become something like friends, he had too many questions and no idea how to ask them. If he wasn’t careful, Idia would shut down and retreat into his little introvert zone, and good fucking luck getting him out of there.

So he said nothing, idly kicking his free foot against the metal box under his seat.

---

Idia had barely started on his food by the time Leona finished scarfing down his two double cheeseburgers. He’d been driving non-stop since sunset, and he could feel his energy starting to flag. The restaurant they’d settled in was nearly empty this early in the morning, the only other occupant a tired cashier blatantly scrolling on her phone as she leaned against the counter.

“You look like hell.” Idia remarked.

“Could say the same to you.” Leona snapped back.

Idia rolled his eyes. Before S.T.Y.X., he never would’ve done something like that. At least not to his face.

“You know what I mean. Were you on the road this whole time?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Leona laughed and snatched a fry from Idia’s tray, ignoring the glare he got for it. “Stop eating so slow. It’s survival of the fittest out here.”

“We’re in a McDonald’s. There’s a playground for toddlers outside.”

“And what do you think happens to the ones who can’t find their way out of the tubes?”

“Pfft.” Idia tried to conceal his smile by taking a big bite out of his own burger.

He didn’t speak again until he had finished chewing. “I can drive, so you can take a break. I don’t know where you’re going, though.”

“That makes two of us.”

Idia looked confused. “You don’t know?!”

“Can’t a guy just fuck off for a while and have an adventure?” Leona leaned back in the restaurant booth, grinning at the man across from him.

“Sure, but a prince? Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me the whole story?” Pouting, Idia leaned forward to glare at him.

“Don’t we have more important things to worry about? Like what you’re gonna do.” Idia stared down at his food. Leona swallowed nervously. His deflection had worked, but he couldn’t help but feel bad about it.

“I accepted a job offer a week ago.” Idia explained, still not looking up. “I was supposed to start next month.”

“So let’s get you there, then.” Leona decided. “Where is it?”

“It’s, uh.” He finally lifted his head, sheepish. “They’re working on this big project in, well. The Sunset Savanna.”

Well, fuck.

---

He was going to have to go back eventually. At least, that was what he tried to tell himself. He was doing the right thing, doing a favor for Idia like this. And it might be fun. At least it wouldn’t be boring.

Once Idia stopped moping around, anyway. They had gotten a hotel room for the night, and all he was doing was sitting on his bed and staring at his phone, not texting or browsing the internet or anything. Leona felt like he should be worried, but all he could think about was how funny Idia’s hair looked after a shower. He’d never thought about what magic curse fire looks like when it gets wet.

“You’re gonna stare a hole in that thing.” He finally remarked.

“I’m trying to figure out what to tell Ortho.” Idia mumbled. “He’s starting his junior year soon and I don’t want him to think he needs to come and look after me.”

“So just tell him that.” Leona yawned. He took up a familiar pose lounging on his own bed, staring lazily in Idia’s direction. “He’ll listen to you, at least.”

“Have you met Ortho?” Idia scoffed. “Half the time I have no clue what’s going through his head, and I’m the one who made him.”

“He trusts you, though.” If there was one thing Leona was sure of, it was that. He’d seen the way they both doted on each other. If Idia said he needed space, Ortho would give it to him.

Idia sighed, but he didn’t say anything. After a few minutes, he finally unlocked his phone and typed something out.

“There, it’s done.” He stood and tossed his phone back on the bed. “Now I’m gonna do my dailies and go the fuck to sleep.”

“That’s a nerd thing, right? Sounds like a nerd thing.”

“Dailies. Daily tasks you can do for extra rewards in-game. I’ve only got a trackpad though, so I’ll have to do it with one of the braindead jobs that don’t require a mouse. DPS it is.”

“I wasn’t asking for an explanation.” Leona groaned, but he filed away the info for later. Just in case he needed it. Peeking one eye open, he glanced into Idia’s open suitcase as he rummaged around for his laptop. He was a little surprised to see it actually had clothes in it, mostly, but a couple board games and a chessboard had been stuffed in there, too.

The chessboard seemed familiar, and after a moment, it struck him. It was the one he’d given Idia for his birthday. The pieces must’ve been stored away in the little blue velvet pouch that had been taped to it.

“You actually kept that old thing?”

“Huh?” Idia looked up at him, then followed his gaze to the chessboard. “Well, yeah. It’s a nice chess set.”

After a moment, a familiar toothy grin appeared on his face. “Aww, are you embarrassed or something? You don’t like that I’m still carrying around evidence of your deredere side?”

“Shut up. I just thought you said it was too fancy to play with.”

“It is, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want it.” He faced away from Leona, the ends of his hair turning pink. “I didn’t get a lot of time to pack. I just grabbed whatever important stuff I had.”

Important. Out of all the games, merch and personal belongings Idia had left behind, he’d decided that that chess set was important enough to keep with him. Leona didn’t know what to think about it. He couldn’t tell if he was feeling flattered or sick.

He rolled over, facing the wall, staring at the slowly blinking thermostat. “What a waste. You coulda used that room for your clown suit.” He laughed.

Idia threw a pillow at him.

---

Five Years Ago

Leona woke with a start. It took a moment to decipher where he was as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Nearby shelves were covered in empty glass containers and lab equipment, and the soft surface beneath him felt like the old futon they had dragged in here for a makeshift break area.

He must be in the overflow lab that their group had taken over for their portal project. No wonder he hadn’t recognized it, he had never fallen asleep in here before. Groaning, he sat up. Something soft had been draped across his chest, and when he pulled it away from himself, he was surprised to see the familiar patterns on Idia’s hoodie.

“Oh, good morning. Or evening? Oh, no, wait, it is morning. It’s 3AM.”

The boy in question sat at a lab table behind him, typing away with only the blue light of his high-tech laptop for illumination.

“You’re gonna ruin your pathetic little herbivore eyes.” Leona remarked.

“Shows what you know. My last eye test said I had 20/20 vision.” Idia grinned smugly, but he didn’t look away from his screen.

“Why didn’t any of you wake me up?” Leona asked. He remembered what had happened, now, he had dozed off in the middle of Azul telling them about his latest “acquisition” of dangerous (and probably illegal, not that he cared) materials.

“Yuu told us you haven’t left in like three days.” Idia answered. “So we thought you needed the rest.”

“How the fuck would they know that?” He grumbled. Standing, he let out a long yawn to cover up how annoyed he felt. Figures that Yuu would still be butting into his business, even though they were barely talking anymore.

“They’re here almost as much as you are, and no offense, but you kinda stink. You should go back to your dorm and take a shower.”

“What a waste of time.” Leona sighed. He balled up Idia’s hoodie and tossed it towards him.

“Hey!” Idia yelped when it slapped against his face. “Fine, if you want something to do, check these measurements for me. You have to promise to leave after this, though.”

He slid a few papers across the table. Leona picked them up, scanning over them.

“You’ve been here a longass time, too.”

“Not as long as you. I got some sleep yesterday afternoon. These are peak work hours for me.”

“Weirdo.” Leona picked up a pen and circled two spots. “Go over these again. They’re close, but they could be more precise.”

“Huh? You can read that when it’s this dark?” Idia looked up from his screen, confused.

“Beastman, remember?” Leona tapped the side of his head beside his left eye. “I can see everything in here.”

A weird smile crept across Idia’s face. Leona felt a shiver go up his spine. “Just like a kittycat~” He crooned.

“Call me that again and you’re fucking dead.” Leona growled, tossing the papers back on the table. Idia chuckled, smiling at him knowingly. “What’s so damn funny?”

“You still think I’m scared of you.” Idia propped his head up on his hand, still grinning. It was infuriating. “We all know you’re a sweetheart, deep down.”

Leona huffed. “Don’t go telling everyone. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

“Why not? Your popularity would skyrocket if your moe side was public knowledge.”

“Whatever fucking nerd thing you just said to me, I don’t care. I don’t want to be popular.” Leona growled.

“Yeah, I get it.” Idia turned back to his screen. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

Leona frowned. Idia was just going to… Wave him off like that? Acting all smug, like he had won some game they were playing? He couldn’t just take that lying down.

So he snatched the laptop, slapped it shut, and tossed it on the futon out of Idia’s reach.

“H-Hey!” Idia squeaked.

“Oh, damn. Sure is dark in here.” Leona said. “Shame about your sad little herbivore eyes.”

“First of all, humans are omnivores,” Idia huffed, stumbling out of his chair. He glared in Leona’s general direction. “Second, you’re an asshole, and third, I can see your eyes just fine, kittycat.”

“Fat lot of good that’s gonna do you.” Leona taunted. “What, you gonna fight me?”

Idia leapt at him, Leona sidestepped him easily, watching him stumble into the back of the futon. Then he reached out and grabbed a fistful of Idia’s hair, not pulling it, just holding it.

“Let go of me, you-!”

“Naaaaw.” Leona tugged at his hair, but not too hard. He wanted to annoy Idia, not actually hurt him. The flames crackled in his fist irritably, transitioning into a red hue at the tips. Leona knew from the times Vil had fussed over Idia’s hair that it couldn’t burn him, but it still felt warm in his hand.

He shouldn’t have been focusing so much on that, though, because Idia grasped his own hair like a rope and jerked him forward, jumping out of the way at the last second.

Leona rolled over the back of the futon, landing with a surprised yell on the seat. He heard the laptop fall and slide across the floor of the lab to god-knows-where. Idia yelped in pain too, and he looked up to realize that he was still pulling on a fistful of blue hair.

“Owowowow! What the fuck, Leona!” Idia hissed. The pained look on his face jolted him back to his senses. He let the mass of hair go, and Idia bundled it up in his arms, stroking it like a sad animal.

The sight was bizarre enough to make Leona laugh, despite the guilty feeling in his chest.

“I’m glad my pain is so funny to you.” Idia grumbled. “Now will you please leave me alone?”

“Why would I do that, when it’s so fun to mess with you?” He replied, gazing backwards up at him. Idia could only barely see his shit-eating grin in the glow of his hair. He was pouting.

“I thought we were friends.” Idia sighed.

Leona felt something grip his heart painfully.

Idia was joking, he knew, but some little shard of doubt had begun to jab into his skin. Idia… was a friend, right? There weren’t a lot of people Leona felt he could say that about. Ruggie, sure. They understood each other in a way that other people didn’t, despite the differences in their personalities and upbringing. Jack, sure. He was a good kid who worked hard, and he was entertaining to have around. Epel, probably. He was funny, and his passion helped keep everyone else motivated.

Yuu? Leona… Wasn’t so sure about that anymore. He was here to help them, but he knew that the way they were ignoring each other was making everyone uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure if he should apologize, still. Or if he would ever get the chance to.

But that uncertainty was bearable, at least with Yuu. Even if they never made up, Leona could still be proud of how hard he was working to get them home.

The thought of Idia ever not thinking of him has a friend made him sick, though. And he still didn’t know why.

“…Sorry.” He said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Idia gave him a small, soft smile. “It’s fine. It was dumb of me to try and fight you in the dark.” He leaned closer, trying to get a better look at him. “You’re okay, right?”

Idia’s pale skin looked almost ethereal, framed by the soft blue flame of his hair. Reflections shimmered in his concerned eyes and on his lips.

Leona thought he looked like a creature from a storybook, emerging from the dark forest to spirit him away to the depths of hell. If he didn’t already know what faeries looked like, he would swear that Idia was one.

“You’re beautiful.” Leona breathed.

Idia’s eyes blew wide. He tried to step back, but Leona stopped him with a touch to his cheek. Idia stared down into his upside-down eyes, searching for something. Maybe an escape.

“…I’m not.” Idia said. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“No.”

“You’re a jerk. You’re a mean kittycat.” Idia whispered, leaning closer. “And you’re a liar, too.”

“I’m not lyin’.” Leona replied.

“Then say it again. Convince me this time.” Idia’s lips hovered over his. Leona felt the warmth of his breath, of his hair spilling over the back of the futon and covering them like a curtain.

“You’re beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beauti-”

Before he could say it again, Idia silenced him with his lips.

Leona gasped into his mouth, pushing himself up to kiss him back. He licked at Idia’s lips to coax them open, slipping his tongue inside. Idia tried to keep up, but Leona could tell that he didn’t really know what to do. But that was fine, he could teach him.

Leona pushed himself up on his knees and broke away for just a moment to turn and face him. Idia was back on him again in a second, a little more confident his time. His hands found their way to the back of Leona’s neck, fingers tangling in his dark hair.

Leona let him own hands settle on Idia’s waist. He felt their hearts pounding in sync, only separated by a few inches of flesh and ribs. One of Idia’s teeth nicked his lips, but he ignored it.

“Beautiful.” Leona murmured against his lips. Idia whined in protest, but he would have to deal with it. He would say it as much as he needed to, until Idia believed it.

He wanted Idia to believe it. He wanted to say hundreds, no, thousands of nice things to Idia, over and over again, and he wanted him to believe every word.

Leona knew he could never make up for all the things that had hurt him, but he wanted to try. At the very least, he wanted Idia to know that he was worth that much effort.

---

“Leona? Why are you still here?”

Leona blinked awake, disoriented by the bright light coming through the open door. Yuu stood at the threshold, arms crossed, frowning.

Wait, why was he asleep in the lab again? He racked his brain, trying to piece together the events of last night-

Oh, right. He had kissed Idia. Had he kissed Idia? He remembered that they had made out for a while on the futon, until the other boy suddenly pulled away from him and stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“I-I have to go.” He’d said, pulling his pinkening hair around his face to hide his expression. Then Idia stood and ran out of the room, leaving a stunned beastman behind.

Or had that been a dream? Leona looked down and saw that the hoodie was still draped over his lap.

“I told Idia to send you home when you woke up. Geez, don’t tell me he just left you here?”

“Did he?” Leona mumbled. His tongue darted out to lick his lips. He tasted dried blood.

“He left all his stuff. Wait, is that his laptop?” Yuu noticed the device under the table where their latest prototype was laid out and crawled underneath to retrieve it. “Why’s it all the way over here?”

“Who knows?” Leona lied. “I slept through the whole night, I’m fine.”

“Well, I don’t think you’re fine.” They marched around the futon with the laptop, reaching out as they passed to flick him in the forehead. “Go back to Savanaclaw and take a damn shower. Ruggie’s starting to get worried about you, y’know.”

“Fine, mom.” Leona put up a front of annoyance, but he couldn’t help the relief he was feeling now that they were talking to him again. Even if it was just to scold him.

They even smiled at him, a little, as they tidied up Idia’s stuff. “Your magic math or whatever will still be here after you’ve had a nice break, Leona.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see ya later.”

Satisfied, Leona stepped out into the fresh air of the open hallway. He took a deep breath, some of the fog from his head finally clearing.

But before he started making his way back to his dorm, he took one last glance out at the empty courtyard, searching for a head of bright blue hair. He tried not to be too disappointed when he didn’t see it.

---

Leona could recall every detail of that moment, down to the little fluffballs of fiber that had fallen off Idia’s shirt and gotten caught in his braids. He had gone over it so many times, searching for a reason why Idia had left. Why they had never talked about it afterwards. When they met in the lab the next day, he’d waited for Idia to ask about it. Instead, they’d just slipped back into one of their usual conversations about the project or chess or some anime episode Idia had seen or something.

Pushing it will just scare him away. Leona had thought, but he knew, deep down, that wasn’t true. It used to be, before S.T.Y.X. Before all of them had found out his worst secrets. Idia had already confronted and bested so much worse than this, and Leona had, too. So why was it so much harder to deal with?

The most frustrating thing was that he wasn’t even sure when or why he’d developed feelings for Idia. Maybe it had been at Ramshackle dorm, where they’d played chess while Yuu and the others screamed over videogames in the background.

Maybe it had been one of those many all-nighters they spent together, talking about dry tech stuff until everyone else left and their conversations shifted into something more intimate. Something dark and tranquilizing, something that their friends would never understand.

Maybe it had been during that fight in the Underworld, when he looked into Idia’s eyes and thought Oh. He already knows this isn’t going to work. He just wants to choose the way he dies. Like me.

That understanding had bonded them, somehow. The others had noticed that Leona was nicer to Idia than he was to other people, but they had never gotten the real reason why. They didn’t know about the morbid jokes the two of them told when they were alone, all so they could just feel that cathartic darkness wash over them.

They could find comfort in the fact that they weren’t alone. They could think, “Maybe we aren’t crazy. Maybe the world is just unfair, and we’ve drawn the short straw.”

Leona had missed that, but he didn’t know if Idia did, too. And without their misery to bind them, what exactly were they?

---

Idia's robot brother: Leona Kingscholar!

Have you abducted my brother?!

Leona: well if it aint the brobot

idias fine calm tf down

Idia's robot brother: Then why isn’t he answering my messages!!!

Leona: hes dealin with stuff ok

ill tell him to shoot you a text

Idia's robot brother: I demand proof that he’s unharmed, you normie scum!

Leona: uuuuuuuuuuuggggh y r u like this

You sent a file “ransomphoto.png”

Idia's robot brother: Fine, I’ll accept this, but only because he looks like he’s enjoying his dailies.

I’ll assume your tasteless filename is a joke.

Leona: sweet ive escaped robocops wrath for another day

Idia's robot brother: I’m not a cop, don’t insult me like that.

But he is okay, right?

He’s not sad, is he?

Leona: u sound like a mom tryin to keep her kid from gettin bullied

hes kinda down but i think weve both seen way worse

hell get through it

just dont murder your parents or anything aight

Idia's robot brother: Okay but they’re on thin fucking ice.

They’re not MY parents anyway, they treat me more like ‘Idia’s project’.

He’s the only one who sees me as family.

Leona: damn that’s the saddest shit i ever did read

Idia's robot brother: Oh, I don’t really mind.

They’re awful people, I don’t want them as parents.

Leona: ok cool

fuck em then

*thumbs up emoji*

Idia's robot brother: Fuck ‘em!

*thumbs up emoji*

Leona: where did u learn to say fuck btw

and read chatspeak

Idia's robot brother: Yuu taught me.

They did it to prank Idia.

Leona: i cant believe how not surprised i am by that

Idia's robot brother: Also I have access to the entire internet at all times.

Leona: sounds like hell

Idia's robot brother: It is!

I had to create custom firewalls to hide all the beheading videos and illegal pornography.

Leona: god its a miracle ur not way more fucked up than u already are

Idia's robot brother: It really is, isn’t it?

I have my big brother to thank for that!

I have other important friends too, but he was the one who cared for me when I was just a little baby AI.

So you had better take good care of him, okay?

I know you will, since you inexplicably seem to be fonder of him than you are of other people.

Leona: whoa whoa whoa where r u gettin that from

Idia's robot brother: It’s obvious to anyone with a modicum of emotional intelligence.

So everyone but my brother, basically.

Leona: boom roasted

kind of a mean thing to say tho ngl

Idia's robot brother: It’s not mean if it’s the truth.

I am well aware of Idia’s shortcomings, believe me.

That’s why I want him to spend time with people who will help him overcome them!

I think you might be one of them, Leona Kingscholar!

Leona: u think i can help ur bro improve himself?

so did he program u to be that stupid or was the ai/soul-merging to blame for that

Idia's robot brother: Joke all you like, but all our friends agree with me!

“He’s surprisingly insightful. Shame about his awful personality.” – Jamil Viper

“I would never want Leona as a business rival. He would raze my empire to the ground, and probably steal my spouse while he’s at it.” – Azul Ashengrotto

“He knows exactly how to get under my skin. Eventually, his luck is going to run out. I hope I’m there to see it.” – Malleus Draconia

Leona: wtf did u survey ppl about me

y r all of those so backhanded

Idia's robot brother: I think they’re very good character assessments!

You’re insightful, you’re charming, and you can easily find the weaknesses of others!

Leona: nvm i take back what i said about u not bein fucked up

u should ask idia for a tuneup next time u see him

Idia's robot brother: I feel quite fine, though.

And quite confident about your abilities!

Yes, I think this will be a great experience for him!

Leona: u just accused me of kidnapping him

Idia's robot brother: That’s all in the past!

Leona: it was literally five minutes ago

Idia's robot brother: Details. ------------------------------

Chapter 2 - Cool

“So what’s this job you got, anyway?”

Idia continued pressing buttons on his little handheld console, but he didn’t seem distracted. He was curled up in Leona’s passenger seat, knees pulled tight to his chest. “It’s a company that builds themed attractions for amusement parks and museums. Y’know, animatronics and ride vehicles and stuff. It’s pretty cool.”

Idia was trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but from the way he bit his lip, Leona could tell that he was holding back his excitement. He probably didn’t want to come off as annoying as overbearing.

So, Leona decided to indulge him a little. “Oh, right. I guess they’re building something like that back home. It seems like something you’d be into.”

“It’s part tech and part art. Totally up my alley. Theme parks are basically irl videogames, anyway.”

“Huh. I’ve never thought about it that way.” Leona furrowed his brow. “Hey, you ever heard of the Shadowlands?”

“What’s that?” Even as he asked, Idia was already pausing his game and searching online for it.

“This tourist attraction in the Sunset Savanna. I wouldn’t call it a theme park, but it’s… Some kinda park. They’ve got some tacky-ass haunted caves and carnival rides there. People mostly know it for the food.”

“Aw, it’s so cute!” Idia said as he scrolled through the image results. “It’s so cheap and kitschy, but you can tell they put a lot of love into the decorations. How’d you find out about this place?”

“Everyone knows it. It used to be this really creepy area that nobody wanted to go to, when I was a cub. But then somebody got the bright idea to buy up all that cheap land and turn it into a little tourist trap.”

“I gotta check it out sometime.” Idia said, grinning in excitement. “I love this. Look at this food stand, they made it look like an elephant skeleton! And one of the haunted caves has real lava running through it!”

“…It’s on the way to the city, y’know.” Leona coughed. “We could stop there, if you want.”

“Oh hell yes.” Idia was practically bouncing in his seat. “This is already giving me so many ideas. It’d be fun to pitch an upgrade to their theming someday.”

Leona turned his face just enough that Idia couldn’t see him smiling. It was good to know that he still had so much passion for stuff like this. He wouldn’t be Idia without it.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that. Idia scrolled through the pictures for awhile before returning to his game. They’d done this a lot, back at school. They’d take a break at the same time and Leona would doze off to the sound of games beeping and booping.

Until, out of the blue, Idia asked: “What have you been up to? Besides driving around, I mean.”

“Nothing.”

“Ah, I get it. Top secret royal duties and stuff, huh?”

“Don’t have those. Literally, I’ve been doing nothing.”

“Really?” Idia glanced over at him. “Nothing at all?”

“Not since I dropped out.” Leona answered, trying not to sound too bitter. “I tried, for a little while. Spent a whole year putting together this plan for reforming our welfare programs, but Falena wouldn’t even look at it. The rich fucks in the Senate wouldn’t like it.”

“Oof. What is it with rich people hoarding a bunch of gold they’ll never be able to spend? It’s like holding onto all your elixirs for when you ‘need’ them and then never using them.” Idia pouted. “But I guess I can’t talk, since I am rich people.”

“Are you really? I thought getting disowned usually meant no more money.”

“I’ve still got my share of the royalties from the portal patent. Honestly, I’m making enough from that right now that I don’t even need this job.”

“Huh.” Leona hadn’t checked on that in ages, but he assumed that he still had a good chunk of royalties lying around as well. “Still, you’re not guillotine-levels of rich anymore, unlike me. So congrats on that.”

“Hooray, I escaped the wrath of the masses.” Idia chuckled. “But it sucks that they wouldn’t look at your plan. I bet it was good. Maybe you should give it to a whistleblower, then everyone will at least know you tried. They might even let you keep your head.”

“I didn’t do it for that.” Leona grumbled. “I just got tired of listening to Ruggie complain all the time.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s why.” Idia smirked at him, and Leona rolled his eyes.

“Quit lookin’ so smug.”

“Smug? I’m not smug at all.” Idia returned to his game, still smiling. “You know, you could try writing.”

Leona glanced at him like he was crazy. “Are you high or something?”

“You’d be good at it! I’ve got tons of screenshots of funny things you’ve texted me. Yuu thinks you’re funny, too.”

“Yuu still thinks memes from 10 years ago are funny.”

“And you think I don’t know how to take a compliment.” Idia shook his head. “If comedy was a stat, yours would be maxed out.”

“Yeah, because I’m a retired clown. This van is so big because I got sick of riding in tiny cars with all the other clowns.”

Idia giggled. The sheepish smile he gave Leona made his heart skip a beat.

“Ya see? People would like that. You could start a blog. Or a youtube channel or something.”

“…I think you’re overestimating how much people care about what I have to say.” He grumbled.

“I care! Ooh, you could review bad movies or something and roast the shit out of them! I’d love to hear your take on Creepy Hollow!”

“I thought you liked that movie.”

“I do, it owns. But real horror movie fans know that sometimes the best horror is cheap, trashy horror. Or, you’re good at improv, you could be a streamer-”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. If I wanted to scream into the void of the internet, I’d just play one of your multiplayer games.”

---

“I didn’t know you smoked.” Idia said. He was walking out of the gas station they’d stopped at, arms full of snacks and a cup of some radioactive green slurpee in his hand. Leona just looked at him, flatly, taking another deliberate puff.

“Don’t get on my case about it. I’m gonna die of something, eventually.”

He was testing the waters. But Idia’s face didn’t betray any reaction, negative or positive. He just shook his head and walked around the front of the parked RV to put the snacks away inside.

Leona tossed the barely-burned cigarette to the ground, annoyed.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and, looking for a distraction, he pulled it out and immediately regretted it.

It was Falena.

Right, he’d promised Ruggie that he’d call sometime today. Falena must’ve gotten tired of waiting. He should ignore it, but he knew that his brother would just keep calling until he picked up.

Before he answered, he walked some distance away from the RV so Idia wouldn’t overhear him.

“What do you want.”

“Where the hell are you?” Falena demanded.

“A gas station.”

“You know what I mean, Leona. You’ve had plenty of time to work out your little temper tantrum. Come home, now.”

“Oh, you think this is a temper tantrum?” Leona scoffed. “I’m a fucking adult, Falena. I can go wherever I want, whenever I want.”

“Not when you’re a prince, you can’t.”

“So when I have real ideas for how to run the country I’m just a figurehead, but when you want to control my life I suddenly have princely responsibilities. Right, got it. I see how it is.”

Falena sighed. Leona could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. “Don’t make me have to be the bad guy, Leona. I hate doing that.”

“Coulda fooled me.” He snapped. “Look, if it’ll get you off my case, I’m already heading back. But it’s not because of your bullshit.”

“Good. When are you going to be here?”

“Who knows. Might be a week. Might be a month. Might drive into the ocean and start a new life as a merman.” Leona deadpanned.

“Very funny. This is childish. All I’m asking you is to give it some thought and-”

A loud rev and a screeching sound interrupted the rest of Falena’s sentence. Leona looked up just in time to see a beat-up sedan scraping against the back of the RV, leaving a huge gash behind.

“What the fuck?!” He yelled.

“Leona? What’s happening?”

“Some fucker just hit my van.” He growled. “Look, we’re done here. I gotta deal with this.”

“Hey! We are not done-”

Leona hung up on him. He stomped over to where the sedan had stopped, fur bristling with rage.

“What the fuck, asshole! I was parked!”

The driver of the sedan opened his door and stood up, glaring at him over the top of the car. He had perky canine ears that were already pulled back in irritation. “Calm down, dude, it was an accident.”

“Accident? What kind of idiot are you? You came barreling in here at like 60 miles an hour, you jackass!”

“Maybe your stupid RV is too goddamn big.” The other man said. The other passengers in his car were getting out now, another beastman and a human woman. “If it was a normal car, I wouldn’ta hit it.”

“What the hell kind of logic is that?!”

“Chill out.” The second man shrugged, like this was just a dumb thing that was above his notice. “Our car’s in worse shape than yours.”

Leona gaped at them. He couldn’t believe the audacity of these people. “You know what? This isn’t even worth it. Give me your insurance.”

“Why should I?” The driver asked. “You come up to me right out the gate screaming at me, and I barely scratched you. Fix it yourself, you look rich enough.”

Leona snarled and took a step forward, his tail lashing wildly behind him.

“Oh, this guy thinks he’s tough.” The second man laughed.

“Justin. Cut it out.” The woman said to the driver. She seemed more embarrassed than anything. “Just give him your insurance.”

“Leave this to us guys, babe. You wouldn’t get it.”

“Don’t talk to her like that. Your girlfriend’s the only one of you with any goddamn sense.” Leona growled. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with right now.”

“Try me, douchebag.”

Leona slapped his palm on the trunk of the sedan and the lid instantly dissolved into sand. The second man, the one closest to him, yelped in surprise and jumped back.

“Oh shit, he’s a mage!”

“The fuck are you doing to my car?!” The driver yelled, marching angrily towards Leona.

“Justin!” The woman said, much more urgently this time.

“Leona.”

Somebody touched his arm. Leona turned sharply towards them, startled. Idia was there, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Stop it. You’re just drawing a bunch of aggro without a healer to back you up.”

“This ain’t the time for your cute little video game references, Idia.” Leona growled, but the rage he’d been feeling was already gone. Idia just shook his head.

His hand still on Leona’s arm, he addressed the angry driver. “Look, I’m sorry about my friend. He got carried away. But you are the one who hit us, so maybe you shouldn’t be trying to start fights with guys like him. Right now you’re like a level 1 slime mob trying to take on the final boss.”

“And now you gotta hide behind your buddy. Coward.” The driver said to Leona. But then the human woman stepped between them, already holding a pencil and a pad of post-its in her hand.

“Justin, I swear to god, if you don’t shut up I am going to leave you here and walk home.” She hissed at him. Justin stared at her in disbelief as she scribbled their info down.

She held it out to Idia when she was done. “Here. I’m sorry about these idiots.”

“Thanks. We’re sorry about all this too.” Idia elbowed Leona. “Right?”

“I’m sorry your boyfriend was dropped on his head as a cub.” Idia sighed at him in exasperation.

“Whatever, that’s good enough.” The woman said. She turned and walked back to the car, dragging Justin with her.

---

“That sure was something.” Idia mumbled when they were finally back in the RV.

“Why did you stop me? I could’ve taken that chump.” Leona huffed as he sat back in the driver’s seat.

“And then gotten arrested for murder. You looked like you were ready to tear his throat out, Leona.”

“Hmph. He would’ve deserved it.” Leona grumpily rested his chin on the steering wheel, waiting for Idia to finish putting the snacks away and get back in his seat.

“Probably, yeah, but that was low-quality bait. You’re better than that.” He slid back in next to Leona, tearing open one of the bags of chips.

“…You didn’t seem scared at all.” Leona realized. “You just walked up and handled it.”

“Uh, yeah.” Idia crunched down on a potato chip. “Somebody had to.”

“You never woulda been able to do that when we were at school.” Leona sat up, looking at him.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on my DEF and RES.” Idia laughed. “I can handle a stupid little parking lot fight with some weak NPCs.”

“…That was cool.” Leona said, under his breath. “You’re cool, Idia.”

Idia froze, another chip halfway to his mouth. His hair was already starting to turn pink.

“I-I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are.” Idia squirmed, hiding his face behind his hands. Like Leona couldn’t tell how flattered and sheepish he was feeling from the pink hair. “You’ve always been cool.”

“B-by the way,” Idia began, trying to deflect, “What’s that big box under your seat? I thought it was a mini-fridge at first, but it has a lock.”

Leona felt a chill go down his spine.

“…Ruggie brought it.” He said, trying to keep his voice even. “He kept his weed in it so we wouldn’t get caught by customs.”

“Is there, uh.” Idia peeked through his fingers at him. “Any left in there?”

“Doubt it. And it’s been like four years, it’d probably be gross as hell. I forgot the combination for it, anyway.” He lied.

“Damn.” Idia grumble, slumping into his seat.

Leona couldn’t help but laugh at his pouting face. “Don’t look so disappointed. You smoke weed now?”

“It helps with my anxiety.” Idia admitted, fiddling with the ties on his hoodie.

“We can find someone to buy from on the way.”

“Really? It’s a pain in the ass to get it on the Island of Woe, I have to get it delivered through the dark web.”

“You talk about shit like the dark web and you still don’t think you’re cool.” Leona shook his head sadly.

“You’ve obviously never been on the dark web if you think it’s cool, it’s just a bunch of middle-aged perverts selling mushrooms out of their sheds.”

---

Leona: yo yuu

u talked to idia lately

plantmuncher dragonfucker: yeah, like two days ago?

why? dont you have his number too?

Leona: ye thats not it

hes stayin w/ me rn

plantmuncher dragonfucker: in the RV???????

why????????????????

Leona: whats with all the ?s

is it that weird he would be w/ me

and it’s a van

plantmuncher dragonfucker: it’s a gd RV leona it’s massive

vans don’t have LOFTS in them

Leona: semantics

anyway i cant tell u why it’s a kinda sensitive issue

but i think hed like it if u reached out to him

plantmuncher dragonfucker: awwww

you’re such a nice guy, leona

Leona: stfu no im not

plantmuncher dragonfucker: top-tier tsundere

Leona: stop talking like him i need to understand at least one of you

plantmuncher dragonfucker: it means you pretend like you don’t care but deep down you really do

Leona: i wasnt asking for an explanation

plantmuncher dragonfucker: youre going to need them if idia is staying with you

honestly sometimes he gets too into it for even me to decipher

like when he busts out the raid terminology

who fucking plays mmos just to memorize strats with names like “stario kart deathwall jenga stack skip”

I just wanna dress up my catgirl in cute outfits and gpose in a nice rp venue

Leona: i dont know what half of those fucking words r

r u gonna text him or not

plantmuncher dragonfucker: of course I will!

Im guessing he’s having one of those moods, huh?

Where he feels awful but he doesn’t want to tell anyone bc he thinks he’s being a burden :(

Leona: not a mood, just some pretty shitty stuff happening

plantmuncher dragonfucker: oh shit

did his parents do something

Leona: i told u im not telling u

plantmuncher dragonfucker: so they did. ugh

what the fuck is wrong with them

hes such a sweet guy and they treat him so bad

Leona: beats me

some ppl dont deserve kids

plantmuncher dragonfucker: fr fr

like my mom lol

i invited him to grind FATEs w/ my free company tomorrow night, we’ll hang out in vc then

Leona: like i said, dont know what that means, gonna assume its good

plantmuncher dragonfucker: ill invite lilia too, that’ll cheer him up

mal is too busy working tho :(

ill have to make it up to him later <3

Leona: brb throwing up

plantmuncher dragonfucker: you guys would like each other if you got over yourselves

and yes I mean him too, i know how he is believe me

Leona: i dont need to get over anything

i question ur taste more and more every day

plantmuncher dragonfucker: i guess you wont be very happy to see what im sending you in the mail then

Leona: oh my god

ur getting married arent u

fuck u so much

plantmuncher dragonfucker: loooooooool

now that I think of it you don’t have a mailbox rn so I might as well ask you here

come to my wedding leona!!! itll be so fun!!!

it’s an open bar!!!!!!! marrying rich rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leona: arent u a lil young for this

plantmuncher dragonfucker: im 3 years older than you.

and he’s 269.

Leona: nice

plantmuncher dragonfucker: nice

Leona: ofc u would know exactly how fucking old he is

just tell me whats the date

im only going bc i know hell be fucking furious when he sees me in the audience

plantmuncher dragonfucker: you’d be surprised! he’s mellowed out a lot since then

he might even be happy to see you

Leona: doubt it

plantmuncher dragonfucker: it’s October 31st of next year, so it’s a ways off.

Leona: a halloween wedding huh

i guess u do have taste

plantmuncher dragonfucker: of course I do <3

we’re gonna go all-out on goth shit

all black attire required

maximum spoopage

Leona: congrats i cant wait to watch the bloodbath

ur horrible face will give everyone two heart attacks instead of just the one

ill bring mirrored sunglasses for when ur walking down the aisle

im hoping theyll reflect ur deathgaze back on u like medusa

plantmuncher dragonfucker: joke’s on you bitch ill wear sunglasses too

we can ping-pong the death magic back and forth until it bounces off one of us weird and hits a bird or something

Leona: bet

plantmuncher dragonfucker: hey, don’t worry too much about idia

Leona: im not worried

plantmuncher dragonfucker: yes you are. you only text me so we can roast each other ruthlessly and reinforce our eternal bond of friendship

you don’t talk about other people unless I bring them up

Leona: that cant be right

ur full of shit

plantmuncher dragonfucker: deny it all you want, you’re not as mysterious as you think you are

look I bet he’s really glad you care

but he’s been doing a lot better over the past few years, so you don’t need to baby him

just be there for him when he needs it

Leona: thx for the advice love guru

plantmuncher dragonfucker: I never said anything about love idiot

haha gotcha

Leona: fuck

plantmuncher dragonfucker: btw do you still have me saved as “plantmuncher dragonfucker” in your phone

Leona: ye

plantmuncher dragonfucker: change it or ill photoshop your face onto pictures of cute cats and post them to magicam

I have vil in my camp and he’s going to like them all, it’s guaranteed to go viral

Leona: not until u stop munching plants and fucking dragons

plantmuncher dragonfucker: NEVER

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

Chapter 3 - Overwhelmed

It only took an hour or two of asking around to find out where to get weed in the next city. Idia stowed it away in the massive pockets of his hoodie, already grinning in anticipation.

“You don’t get weird when you’re high, do you?”

“Not really. I wasn’t joking about it being for anxiety.”

“Good to know.” Leona really wouldn’t have minded, as long as he was enjoying himself.

They were nearly at the border of the Kingdom of Heroes, now, about to cross into the Shaftlands. They had a whole month, but if they hurried, they could get back in about two weeks.

Leona… Didn’t want to do that. The longer he could avoid the Sunset Savanna, the better. But Idia probably wanted to get there as soon as possible. He would need time to find an apartment, get furniture, get all his stuff in order…

For now, though, they were free. They still had time. He still had time.

They’d come to the downtown area for this, ending up on a little shopping street that locals had called “sketchy”, but Leona suspected they actually meant “poor”. All the stores were grungy little mom-and-pop affairs fitted into worn out buildings that had probably been around for over a hundred years. Some kids were playing basketball on a side street, and they passed a tiny taco stand where an ancient boombox was blasting music into the street. It still sounded pretty good. Even the drug dealer had been pleasant to them. Maybe a little too pleasant.

This place was downright cozy in comparison to the slums he’d visited after becoming friends with Ruggie.

Beside him, Idia’s steps faltered for a moment. Leona turned to catch him looking at a store with a large display of comics and board games in the window. He looked up at the cheap sign hanging over the window, it read “Kevin’s Komix & Games”.

“You wanna go in?” He asked.

“W-We don’t have to.” Idia said, ducking into his hoodie to hide his face.

Leona rolled his eyes. Honestly, what did he think he was gonna do? Shove him in a locker? He walked past Idia and opened the door himself, striding into the overly air-conditioned little storefront.

The cashier (Kevin, maybe?) gave him a welcoming wave, then returned to the trading cards he was putting away in a glass case near the front. Leona looked around at the small room. The shelves were neat and tidy, all the latest issues out on display and the older stuff in long boxes on a nearby table. One of the shelves was entirely board games and tabletop rpgs. In the back, there was just enough room for a rack of figurines and a few little tables where some games were already set up.

It only took Leona a moment to see the whole thing, and when he turned around Idia already had his arms loaded up with board games and a stack of half a dozen comics.

He stared at Leona. “I’m supporting local businesses.”

“I didn’t say anything.” But Leona felt his face twitch into a smile, just for a second.

“I need to replace the stuff I had to leave at home, okay?” Idia huffed, bringing his purchases up to the glass counter. 

Leona hung back, a tiny spinning rack of postcard ads and little zines on the other end of the counter catching his attention. He spun it around idly, until he noticed that one of the cards had today’s date on it. Curious, he picked it up. A cute little mascot character was printed on it, along with photos of people in various costumes.

“10th Annual CON-ACLYSM Pop Culture Convention! One weekend only!

Games! Cosplay! Panels! Shows! Maid Cafes!

Come join us to celebrate 10 YEARS of fun and fandom!”

“Uh-oh.” Leona said.

“What is it?” Idia asked, walking up with his newly-bought big bag of nerd stuff.

“Looks like we’re gonna be stuck here for another day.” He turned the postcard towards Idia, smirking at the way his face lit up. Damn, it was cute.

---

Okay this probably wasn’t worth it.

Leona didn’t know what he had expected, but it wasn’t hundreds of people carrying around wooden prop weapons and recording absurd little dances in the courtyard outside. Through the glass walls he could see a massive line already forming at all the food trucks, even the one that was just hot dogs. People were staring at him, for some reason. A couple behind them in the registration line had been arguing about which of them was Bulma and which was Vegeta for the past 30 minutes. Leona didn’t know who those people were. When he asked, Idia just said that only a Bulma and a Vegeta would argue about something that stupid.

Overexcited teens chattered loudly in their little cliques, some dude was playing an anime song on a ukelele while a couple girls in costumes sang along, and a rowdy group of guys were screaming over a match of some trading card game like they were watching a knife fight. Idia should have hated this, but when Leona glanced over at him, he was practically vibrating with excitement.

He had the program booklet open in his hand and seemed to be comparing it to the schedule on their website. “Okay, we gotta go to the maid café. The one at 5 would probably be the best, but that means missing out on the ‘LGBTQ+ in Fandom’ panel.”

“Sounds like homophobia.” Leona joked.

“Absolutely.” Idia nodded. “This is the most homophobic thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Isn’t there one at 3?” Leona asked, leaning over the little booklet. He didn’t really want to go, but Idia seemed really excited for it.

“But that overlaps with the costume contest. If I have to make a choice, I’d rather miss out on the panel.”

“So you were the true homophobe all along.”

“Shut uuuup.” Idia groused, smacking his arm lightly.

Leona only felt truly lost once they had gotten their badges and been dumped out into this sea of nerds. He could barely comprehend some of the stuff going on around him. But Idia expertly navigated the crowded corridors, dragging him along.

Occasionally Idia would spot someone with a cool costume and ask for a picture. Talking to these strangers seemed to come so naturally to him, and Leona could barely believe it.

“Who’s that guy dressed as?” He asked, after Idia got a picture of a man in an impressive robot costume. It had been painted with a realistic patina and even had working lights.

“No idea.” Idia answered. He scrolled through all the pictures he’d taken so far, a complete mis-mash of disparate styles, genres and time periods. A gritty-looking samurai woman, a girl in a gothic lolita dress with enormous pigtails, some character with giant wings that could actually spread out, a superhero with an impressive custom-fitted suit, a fursuit. “I just like costumes that are well-constructed. It helps me come up with ideas for my own.”

Oh, yeah. Idia had always been into that stuff, right? The Halloween of their third year sprung to mind.

“Whatever happened to that knight costume?” Leona asked.

“I had to leave it at home. It was too bulky to take with me.” Idia answered. The happy expression he had been wearing slowly faded. Ah, damn it. “Well, it kinda got the crap beat out of it that year anyway. It was close to falling apart. And it didn’t help that you cut off some of those vines I hand-made.”

“What? I did that?” Leona blinked. He couldn’t remember that at all.

“I tripped over you and they got tangled with your tail. You don’t remember?”

“Man, I sure did get tripped over and stepped on a lot back then.” Leona grumbled.

“You did spend like 90% of your time sleeping on the ground.”

“It was 70% at most.”

In between panels and shows, Idia dragged him to the artist’s alley and exhibitor’s hall. Leona was surprised and kind of impressed by all the carefully crafted artwork and merch. Big companies didn’t put real love into it like these people did. He ended up buying crochet plushies of the meerkat and warthog characters from a cartoon that he knew Cheka liked.

“And you keep trying to convince me you’re not a tsundere.” Idia remarked, smirking. Leona whacked him in the back with the plastic bag he was carrying the plushies in.

People were still looking at him, and he couldn’t figure it out. Leona thought he just stood out, at first, but the longer he was here, seeing what a wide variety of people there were around him, the less sense that made. He’d already passed a half dozen tall, fit, intimidating guys in dark clothes today, and none of them were getting weird looks like he was.

He felt… Out of place here. Like he was intruding on something, and everyone was just too nice to tell him. It was uncomfortable. Idia stopped to talk with one of the artists and he unconsciously tried to hide himself in a dark gap between some booths, out of the way. Was this the way Idia felt all the time?

Across the aisle, he spotted a middle-aged man carrying a giant stuffed cartoon animal under his arm, while a costumed little girl who Leona assumed was his daughter skipped ahead. He made eye contact with the man, and they exchanged a nod of silent understanding.

“Hey. Can I see your keys?” Idia asked, smiling mischievously. Leona raised an eyebrow at him.

“What for?”

“It’s nothing bad, come on.” Idia held his hand out, Leona sighed and dropped the keys in his palm.

After a moment of fiddling, he handed them back. “Here.” Idia said.

Leona’s keys now had an extra acrylic charm clipped to them. Decorated with a cute little drawing of a smirking brunette in a pink dress, it looked completely absurd on his plain keyring.

“The hell is this?” Leona asked, staring at it. Its smug aura mocked him.

“She’s the heroine of Star Rogue. The main character’s love interest.” Idia answered. “You don’t think she looks like your echo fighter?”

“Are you asking if she looks like me? Because no, duh. For starters, she’s a drawing.” Leona huffed.

“I was kidding, of course she doesn’t look like you. But she’s a total tsundere and she’s super snarky.” Idia reached out again to flip the keychain out so it was more visible. “She’s one of the best characters, tbh. Real waifu material. Even the actress who played her in the movie was pretty hot, for 3D.”

Hm. So Idia did like “3D”, sometimes.

“She can be a real flatterer when she wants to be, too…” Idia added under his breath.

“She sounds like an asshole.” Leona remarked. He smirked when he saw Idia’s jaw drop, more offended at that than anything Leona had ever said.

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d watched the movie!” Idia protested. “Well, really you should play the game, but we don’t have time for that. But she gets a really good character arc! She starts out as a villain and then her love for the hero redeems her.”

“Isn’t that a spoiler?”

“Spoilers don’t matter. It’s the journey there that matters. And the movie came out like 15 years ago, you should know what happens by now.” Idia said, pouting at him.

---

“How can all of them be sold out?” Leona growled, like he could intimidate the vending machine into conjuring up more drinks. It seemed the only things left were a few waters and some gross-looking lime sodas that he had never seen before in his life.

“It’s always like this at cons, they don’t bother to keep it stocked because they want you to pay $5 for a coke at the concession stand.” Idia explained as he put money into the machine. He ended up getting one of the lime sodas, but when he cracked it open and took a sip he grimaced. “Yuck. This is like the opposite of hydration.”

“Don’t drink it, then.” But Idia ignored him and took another big chug.

There wasn’t a lot of space to take a break in these crowded hallways, so they took up a post against the wall outside one of the panel rooms. It was nice to just people-watch like this, especially in such an indulgently nerdy atmosphere.

“You’re gonna think this is dumb,” Idia said, “But part of the reason I like going to things like this is because I don’t stand out. People here just look at my hair and assume I’m cosplaying a character they don’t recognize. They don’t stare at me or act all weird about it.”

“Yeah, now they’re just starin’ at me because I look like I belong in a biker bar.” Leona remarked, glancing around at the half dozen or so people who were eyeing him warily.

“No, they’re staring at you because you look like a character from this game that’s popular right now.” Idia pulled his phone from his pocket, and after a quick search he held it up to show Leona a picture.

“What the fuck.” He was looking at what could easily be a drawing of himself, just with a neater hairstyle and wearing a fancy kimono.

“Yeah, when his banner was first announced I was like ‘lol Leona is gonna be so pissed’.” Idia flashed him a grin. “His personality is totally different from you, though, so I think it was just a coincidence. You’re a tsundere, he’s the gentlemanly character with a secret dark past.”

“Unbelievable...”

“Hold on.” Leona looked at Idia. His grin had gotten… Worryingly large. “I just had a great idea, brb.”

“Wait, where are you-?!” But Idia ignored him, taking off into the crowded exhibitors’ hall. Leona huffed and settled in to wait for him, cross-legged on the floor.

Idia returned a few minutes later, carrying a large black plastic shopping bag. He reached down to tug at Leona’s arm, rousing him from a half-dazed state. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Go where?”

“The bathroom. You need to get changed.”

---

Leona didn’t feel any less confused once the garment was on him. The style and fit were completely unfamiliar to him. At least there were pants (“Hakama”? Whatever that was.) included, even if they were massive baggy things that might as well have been a skirt.

“I knew it’d look great.” Idia bragged, like dragging someone into a bathroom to put on anime clothes was a totally normal thing to do.

“I look like the top of a broken umbrella.”

“No you don’t. You look like all the other cosplayers here. Better, actually. You could win a contest, but only scrubs enter cosplay contests with store-bought stuff.” Idia rummaged around in the messenger bag he’d been carrying and pulled out a makeup kit.

“You have makeup?”

“I thought something like this might come up.”

“Why would you ever think something like this might come up.”

“You clearly haven’t been to a con before, Leona. You gotta be prepared for anything.” Idia popped open the makeup kit and set it on the counter.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Idia ignored him. Brandishing an assortment of brushes, he closed in on Leona. The beastman sighed and closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

It was kind of pleasant, actually, having Idia put makeup on him. The brushes felt soft and cool on his skin. He leaned in a little, eyes still closed, and felt one of Idia’s knuckles brush his cheek accidentally.

Leona hadn’t worn any makeup since that stupid fairy gala. It wasn’t like he hated it, sometimes he even wanted to wear it, but he never had the energy in the mornings to bother with all that.

Maybe Idia would be around for one of those mornings. Maybe he would help him do it.

“Okay, done.” He heard Idia say. Opening his eyes, he glanced sideways at the mirror.

“I don’t look any different.”

“You don’t need much, especially since you already look like the character.” Idia explained as he started putting his stuff away. “Now if you were crossplaying, we’d need to do a lot more prep for that.”

“Do I want to know what that is?”

“Here’s a hint: the ‘cross’ part comes from ‘crossdressing’.”

Leona sighed. “No fucking thanks. I already look weird enough in this.”

“There are a few characters who’d be a good choice for you.” Idia smirked at him. “Buff ladies are pretty popular lately. You’ll get a bunch of obnoxious simps following you around and calling you ‘mommy’ all day, though.”

“If you’re trying to convince me to do it, you’re doing a shitty job.” Leona said.

“Hey, you might like it! You should try it out sometime… Maybe in private.”

Idia was still smirking at him. Oh, he knew exactly what he was doing. Well, two can play at that game.

“Why do you want to get me in women’s clothes so bad, Idia?” Leona laughed. He took a step closer, forcing Idia to back up a little.

“It’s fun to get out of your comfort zone sometimes, isn’t it?” Idia replied, unfazed.

“You know how weird that sounds coming from you?”

“Hm. I guess it does.”

Leona kept moving forward, until the other man’s back was against the wall. Idia didn’t look scared, though. If anything, he looked satisfied. Like this had been his plan all along.

“You’re talking like you have some experience with this ‘crossplay’ thing.” Leona leaned into his space, voice low.

“I’ve done it a couple times.” Idia replied. “Never in public. I did take some pictures, though.”

Idia reached out like he was about to adjust Leona’s costume, but all he did was run his fingers along the edge of his collar, barely brushing against his skin. His hand settled where the fabric overlapped, just beneath Leona’s clavicle, and stayed there.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing those sometime.” Leona said.

Leona placed his hand on the wall beside Idia’s head. For some reason, that was what made his face finally erupt into a furious blush. Huh. He would have to ask about that later.

“I… I wouldn’t mind… showing… you…?” Idia mumbled, his eyes darting between Leona’s face and the arm that he’d braced against the wall.

Maybe it was his predator instincts, but Leona knew when he had struck a killing blow. He cupped Idia’s cheek, more to soothe his nerves than anything. Yellow eyes met his and finally stayed there.

“I bet you look beautiful in them.” Leona said.

Idia drew in a sharp breath. His hand on Leona’s chest curled into a fist, bunching up the fabric of his costume and pulling him forward.

A loud clanging rang out as someone inside a stall kicked their door.

“Oh my GOD would you two get a room already! Nobody wants to hear you fuck in a bathroom!”

Idia’s face went pale, and Leona was pretty sure that his had too. They scrambled to grab their stuff off the counter and ran outside.

---

“So? How’d you like it?”

After hours of following Idia around his convention and getting asked for way too many photos, they had finally gotten tired enough to leave and return to the RV. Idia convinced him to watch Star Rogue on his laptop, the two of them sitting way too close on the loveseat under the loft.

“It was good.” Leona admitted. “I can see why it was so popular. The character writing was pretty solid for a two-hour movie.”

“If you liked that, you should play the game.” Idia said, grinning at him. “You get to spend 30+ hours with them then!”

“Meh, I’ll just watch a Let’s Play.” Leona shrugged. He was messing with him, but it was still funny to watch Idia get mad about it.

“You can’t just watch somebody play Star Rogue! You have to experience it for yourself!”

“I could watch you play Star Rogue.” Leona countered. “How would that work as a compromise?”

Idia reacted exactly like he expected: by overthinking what he was actually saying and interpreting it in the flirtiest way possible. His face and hair both turned a bright, soft pink.

“I’ll watch you play it” -> “I want to watch you play it” -> “I want to spend time with you and see this thing you like”. Idia’s thought process was kind of like an open book to him at this point, and it was cute to watch him go through it.

“…That’d work.” Idia eventually squeaked out. “Y-you’ll have to come visit me once I’m settled in, we can do it then.”

“I was already plannin’ to.” Leona smiled warmly at him.

“G-Guess I’ll have to put together a guest room fit for a prince!” Idia laughed, nervous.

“I used to sleep on the ground, Idia. Voluntarily.”

“O-Oh. Right.” Idia said, unable to meet his eyes.

Idia’s body felt warm against his. The longer they sat on that tiny loveseat, the more he noticed it. But he didn’t hate it. Quite the opposite, actually. He wondered how Idia felt about it.

“…Hey. Can I ask you something?” Leona asked.

“Hm? You wanna know something else about Star Rogue?”

“No. Why’d you kiss me in the lab that one night?”

Idia nearly dropped his laptop.

“D-Don’t just bring up the cringiest moment of my life out of the blue like that!”

“So it was cringey, huh.” Leona lifted an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean! Th-the kiss wasn’t cringey, the way I acted was.” He moved to pull his hair closed like a curtain. Realizing he didn’t have it anymore, he instead hid his face behind his hands. “Trying to act all smooth and flirty, like some normie…”

“And running away?”

“I was… overwhelmed.” Idia whimpered. “Th-that was the first time I ever…” He trailed off, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what he meant.

“I’m not mad about it.” Leona said. “I just wanted to know. Kinda thought I fucked up, but then you turned up the next day and acted like it never happened.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Idia sat up, gradually pulling his hands from his face. “I wasn’t very good at dealing with… that. I’m still not.”

“You’re telling me that the Idia Shroud didn’t turn into a total playboy once he graduated? What a surprise.” Leona laughed. Idia pouted at him. He closed the laptop and put it back on top of his nearby suitcase.

“It’s not like I didn’t go on any dates! Just, uh, none that led to anything serious.” Idia wasn’t hiding his face anymore, but he still couldn’t look directly at Leona.

“Huh. Well, they must’ve had awful taste if they didn’t want to snatch you up ASAP.”

“You see!” Idia suddenly grew animated, leaning forward into Leona’s space and jabbing a finger in the beastman’s face. “Nobody ever said things like that to me! How was I supposed to date anyone after hearing otome game dialogue like that?”

“I’m not even saying anything that weird.” Leona said, genuinely confused.

“Yes you are! You do! When I make jokes about myself, you’re the only one who takes it seriously. You’re the only one who’s like ‘no, shut up, you’re great actually’. It’s weird!”

“That can’t be right.” Leona scowled. He felt his ears flatten to his head. Had he really been that obvious? This whole time? “Yuu says stuff like that, too.”

“But Yuu is nice to everyone. Because they’re a crazy person and they don’t care if they get an emotional debuff. They just brush it off, like mitigating a tankbuster.” Idia paused, trying to put together his thoughts.

“You’re not. You’re only nice to people when they deserve it. Except for me, for some reason.”

“You do deserve it.”

“Uuuuugh no I don’t! You’re not getting it at all!” Idia sunk in his seat, exasperated. “When stuff like that comes from tsuntsun characters, it’s super effective.”

“So what I’m getting is, I’m such a big jerk that me complimenting you makes you even more embarrassed than usual?”

“It sounds mean when you say it like that, but yeah, basically.”

“You shouldn’t have told me that.” Leona leaned forward, propping his chin up on his palm. “Because now I’m going to do it more.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Oh Idia, you’re so great.” He said, grinning. “You’re the smartest guy I know. And handsome, too.”

Idia slumped even further off the loveseat, almost on the floor. “You’re going to kill me, Kingscholar.”

---

Leona had almost fallen asleep when he heard his phone vibrate on the hotel nightstand where it was charging. Letting out a little huff of annoyance, he turned in his bed and picked it up. In the gloom, he could see Idia in the other bed, his back turned to him.

Leona didn’t want to disturb him, so he rolled on his other side to check whatever message he’d gotten.

---

radish sprout sent a file “megcosplay.png”

radish sprout sent a file “megcosplay2.png”

radish sprout sent a file “megcosplay3.png”

radish sprout sent a file “megcosplay4.png”

radish sprout: you said you wanted to see them so uh

here they are

to pay you back for cosplaying for me

Leona: dude ur literally right next to me u coulda just showed me on ur phone

lmao

radish sprout: that would be way too embarrassing sahasdhhaf

besides I thought you might

want to save them

yknow, for whatever

Leona: i do thx

u look good

radish sprout: no I don’t I look creepy

there’s a reason I never wore it in public lol

Leona: shut up u look good

is that the star rogue girl

radish sprout: yeah

don’t post these anywhere ok

Leona: i wouldn’t do that

my eyes only

radish sprout: sdasfhfadfdasfa ---

Leona smirked to himself. He saved the photos to his phone and then stuck it under his pillow, eventually dozing off into a deep, comfortable sleep.

He was definitely going to jerk off to those later.

---

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_052322_01.png”

Leona: whats this for

Idia's robot brother: It’s a photo of my brother!

Leona: i can see that genius

y r u sending it to me

Idia's robot brother: Because I noticed that you don’t have any recent pictures of him in your photo gallery.

These are from his graduation a few months ago!

Doesn’t he look happy?

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_052322_02.png”

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_052322_03.png”

Leona: ye

he does

wait how do u know whats in my photos

Idia's robot brother: :)

Leona: dont u “:)” at me

ugh w/e.

did u take these

Idia's robot brother: Yep!

I had a classmate help me, though.

She held up the reflectors for us.

Leona: wait so this was like a serious photoshoot

howd u get him to agree to that

Idia's robot brother: I bribed him with a limited edition figure of one of his favorite characters, signed by the voice actor.

At least, I meant to bribe him with it, but he agreed to do it as soon as I asked.

So it ended up being a graduation present, I suppose?

Leona: wow

he rly will do anything for u, huh

Idia's robot brother: Not always.

A few years ago, anything out of his comfort zone was out of the question.

I think he only started really trying during the Starsending.

Oh, speaking of which!

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_stars_01.png”

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_stars_02.png”

Idia’s robot brother sent a file “idia_stars_03.png”

I took these before I had any formal training, so the compositions and lighting are pretty bad.

But I was able to edit them into something passable.

Leona: wut r u talking about these look amazing

Idia's robot brother: Only because Idia kept my specs really high back then, so I had a good high-res image to work with.

Leona: have u showed him these yet

Idia's robot brother: No, he says he doesn’t want to remember anything “cringey”.

Leona: awesome

ill turn em into giant posters and put em all over the van

Idia's robot brother: Because he looks good in them and you want to prove him wrong?

Leona: no bc itll embarrass the hell out of him

that thing u said is true too tho

hes rly sweaty, damn

i dont remember the costume showing so much of his arms

Idia's robot brother: Please don’t talk about how sexually attractive you find my brother in front of me.

Leona: all i said was he looked sweaty wtf

Idia's robot brother: I’ve seen the kinds of pictures you have saved.

Hm, but it looks like I deleted four of them from my memory banks.

I wonder what those could have been?

Leona: who knows i guess itll always be a mystery that we never need to look into again

and about that

dont snoop in my phone anymore, thx

didnt Idia teach u about privacy laws

Idia's robot brother: I normally don’t, I promise.

I only checked briefly because I wanted to see if you had any shots of him that are half as good as mine.

Leona: cocky, arent u

Idia's robot brother: Isn’t any student of the arts?

We have to be, it distracts us from the reality of our jobless futures.

Leona: y would u need a job ur a robot

Idia's robot brother: Jobs aren’t always about money and possessions.

Art has historically been undervalued despite its importance in society. Without it, we wouldn’t have any of the material comforts that enrich our lives.

If fae had never created weather and plant life, we would have no food.

If humans had never painted on cave walls, we would have no writing systems.

If beasts had never built their first dens, we would have no architecture.

The foundation of civilization is built on art, but modern society only affords the elite or the lucky the privilege to pursue it. How rich are the cultures that have been destroyed by unscrupulous capitalists exploiting our need for food, shelter and stability?

As a robot, I’m very fortunate that I don’t have the same physical limitations as organic lifeforms. Therefore, I have an obligation to keep creating, for the sake of the artists who have had to give up on their passions to survive.

Leona: wow

that really was a wholeass lecture on art

given to me by a robot

u rly r something, ortho

i dont think ive ever cared about somethin that much

Idia's robot brother: Is it really that impressive?

I was reading that verbatim from an art history paper I wrote when I was a freshman.

I got a “C” on it.

Leona: dont pull back the curtain too far dude ur ruining it

its still good tho ur prof musta been a dumbass

Idia's robot brother: Oh he was.

I had an argument with him about whether videogames count as interactive art. He didn’t like me much after that.

I’m pretty sure that’s why he gave me a “C”.

Leona: sounds hilarious tell me more

Idia's robot brother: I showed Okami to that ungrateful motherfucker and he still wouldn’t listen.

Leona: some ppl have no taste ortho

if ur gonna be an artist ur gonna have to accept that

Idia's robot brother: You’ve never even heard of that game, have you.

Leona: no

Idia's robot brother: Normies…

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

Continued ->

[avengedbiologist]

Thinkin about shit so I'm throwing out my headcanons on the Tracy brothers and general thoughts on em idk why.

Scott

Man's like 6'1 and v athletic, he's a slim fella with light muscle (none of these fuckers r having like mad defined muscle cause I simply do not like it lol).

The prettiest guy, like he's managed to go through puberty without getting bad spots or anything, he has like long eyelashes and is just one of those really pretty guys.

This guy is a calisthenics kinda guy, he's just out here just doing that anywhere he can.

He hates veg, he is a fruit kinda guy, apples and grapes are his favourite.

(According to that recent post) Scott has a limp, he's not got the best knees and obviously he's running around a lot and getting all sorts of bumps and bruises. He doesn't hide it because his brothers know about it and he can't help it.

He gets a lot of negative thoughts despite him being quite a positive guy on the outside, all of his brothers know about this*

If I were to assign him his favourite musical it would be a high energy one like hairspray or Moulin rouge (but the newer Broadway one, with the modern songs mixed in). Also come from away, not sure why.

He doesn't baby his brothers, never has, even when they were babies, he was always just a big brother with em, he would fully talk to baby Alan like the kid could respond to him, but alas he was a baby and he could not.

Virgil

I feel a lot of people see him as a tall guy but nah this man's got width instead, he's like 5 foot 8- 5 foot 10.

He is a weight guy, he does all his running and stuff on missions so most of his home workouts are weights, he doesn't even do it as an exercise chore, he just finds it fun weightlifting, and being able to just lift any of his brothers and dad at any point is his favourite thing.

Opposite of Scott, he's a Veggie guy.

He has alot of bulk to his body, his muscles aren't defined, he has fat that bulks it up and has a v soft tummy which keeps him safe and he's very huggable.

His legs are mad strong, like when hes lifting obviously he's lifting with his legs (cause he's smart) so if u wanna go against him in kickboxing or sommat I'll start digging Ur grave now xoxo.

So as u can see I'm assigning them all musicals and Virgil is the easiest, there are so many that could work for him, I'll narrow it down but I know for SURE that he loves Evita (no this isn't projection), Virgil doesn't have like a set genre like this brothers, since he's like here for musicals, so he likes classics he likes contemporary, he likes watching musicals not just for the music, but for seeing the set, costumes and the tech, Evita has some very nice staging, he also likes Falsettos both US and UK versions, the stagings are very different for both and he LOVES it. Finally he also likes little shop.

Going on from the above, in school he was involved in his schools production of little shop, he was a background character but he also made all the puppets for Audrey II.

Yes he is the medic of the group and I like to believe he has done a course/degree or sommat to be a proper medical person (idk the levels of medical but he's higher than just doing first aid but not too high)

Gay ✌️

John

He's a slim guy, similar to Scott, I see a lot people seeing him like veerrryy thin like he's been stretched cause he's a tall guy, I feel like he has a bit of fat on him, he has a soft stomach (not has beefy as Virgil's) and is still a little slim but he has very soft muscle.

He's not a musical guy but he did very much enjoy Cats.

6 foot 1 or 2. Him and Scott just tower over the rest like idk, towers?

Freckled guy, well more moles then freckles.

I have like no one's for John I'm sorry 😭😭

If this bitch has a sexuality it is unlabeled aka he genuinely could not give less of a shit, and honestly, respect.

Gordon

He is a classic guy by liking Mamma Mia and Grease but also loves Something rotten.

5 foot 8 or less, he's shorter than Virgil either way.

He has that Dorito body time since he swims butterfly.

Mullet, obvi. I genuinely cannot think of him without a mullet, I wish I could for everyone's sake but it's stuck in my brain.

I feel I spoke about this last time I did one of these but he suffers from depression and a little bit of PTSD, tho I don't know much about PTSD so I can't go in to too much detail on how he's like, he got it from the hydrofoil accident and (in TAG only) the SOS (I think) dealio.

And I'm mentioning this again from the last one, as much as all the brothers know all the issues of the family (as mentioned at the end) it's Virgil that knows the full deep depths of it, those 2 work together the most and are often left alone with each other so after a long mission or a quiet ride out they get talking and as conversations do they get deeper and deeper.

The bi-con

He has back pain a lot (question why do a lot of Anderson characters have back problems??? Like guys maybe don't break Ur backs, first Gordon, then Grey and then Shane Weston???)

Alan

5 foot 5, in any version, he is shorttt.

Not the best socially.

Is attached to Gordon, had a period in his life where he had to sleep in the same room as Gordon cause he genuinely couldn't sleep anywhere else (no I'm not projecting, maybe I am, fuck it, Alan slept in a dinghy for a year)

I've forgot all my Alan headcanons, welp

Favourite musical gotta be Emojiland, he likes the twists and turns and the costumes in this (again not me projecting). But he also loves Something rotten (along with Gordon)

*None of his mental health issues and such are hidden from anyone in the family, everyone is on the lookout for everyone, and also kinda takes any stigma (if there is any) away from talking about mental health issues, all the brothers have their moments and struggle at times and with this system they can get help with it.

[smurphyse]

For the Fanfic Writer Asks:

what is the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had?

what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

what’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic?

how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

(My phone didn't copy the numbers for some reason. Screw you too phone...)

what is the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had?

Uhh, I don't know that I've really had weird ones. My background is DEEPLY rooted in thrillers/police mysteries ahaha so I've mostly been writing about serial killers and stuff since I was a teenager. I read my first Lisa Gardner novel when I was about 14 and I have been obsessed with those genres ever since. I do have a psychological thriller I've been writing for years that's pretty wild, but spoiler- it's not a ghost, it's scopolamine lol (thanks CM!)

I am writing Out of the Cold, which is a modern-medieval fantasy marriage out of necessity thing. The weirdest thing about it is the dragons, I guess, because they're only the size of like horses. -.- I'm realizing i'm not very creative lol

what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh, oh god, really put me on the spot. I'd have to say military jargon, I guess. I come from a military family, so I've always been comfortable writing those stories, and I actually was about to go to bootcamp for the Marine Corps when I had to start chemo and was released from duty with them. There's a lot of weird shit I heard growing up and read about in regards to the jargon!

I am a big fan of research, but I think it's because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I have a hard time being lenient with facts when so much of my stories are rooted in a reality-based plotline. Like Operation: Sand Leopard, the most fantastical thing about it is a spouse taking over their dead husband's tour of duty! But when I'm reading other people's stuff? Who gives a shit about reality, I just like seeing what they come up with! Unless it's about guns... there are very practical ways that guns work and I get... weirdly irritated reading stuff where guns are written fragrantly wrong but maybe I'm just a dick.

what’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic?

Not really an insult, and I can't remember where I read it, but it went something like this:

"Fuck you!" I yelled

"Fuck me, then!"

Idk it made me laugh

how do you write emotional scenes? do you ever feel what the characters feel?

Well, I used to go full Hemingway with it and drink until I could force myself to cry. Now, I recognize it as one of the few ways I actually express emotions and try to dredge stuff up from very real places. if this was happening to me, would i get that weird pain under my diaphragm that happens when i cry? Would my cheeks feel like they're swelling because I'm embarrassed that I'm crying at all? Showing the physical ways of emotions are the best way for me to describe emotions.

Fanfic Ask Game

[misireads]

Detroit by Katri Lipson

[ physical book, read in finnish ]

the story of two young ice hockey players whose careers abruptly end at the height of their NHL stardom: one of them, timothy, is paralyzed from neck down after a particularly nasty tackle in one of their matches; the second, nathan, goes haywire after the accident and gets himself fired from the team. despite their prior closeness, nathan refuses to go see tim in the rehab facility for over a year. the story's perspective jumps between the two boys, tim's nurse at the facility, and a random hooker that nathan hires to keep him company while he's psyching himself up to go see his best mate and the love of his life

➕ wow wow wow WOW, this was the first book in a long time that took me on a genuine rollercoaster ride. no expectations, many low moments, and i was blown away at the very end. honestly there were so many spots where i was about to drop this, and the fact that i didn't and was thoroughly satisfied and enamored by the end is just positive positive positive to me. this is a very strange book. in a good way.

➕ it's LGBT! lots of very complicated LGBT feelings too. i went in having no idea i was about to get some very dramatic gay hockey boys. damn. like this was some kind of modern gay romeo&juliet tier shit. absolutely blown away, again. this is the main reason i wanted to keep reading let's be real

➕ this author has a mad way with words. sometimes i didn't quite understand the allegories but it's the kinda thing that you just go with the flow. there were also some interesting style switches between different chapters which i just might steal for my next fic tbh

➖ initially i didn't know at all whether i even wanted to read this and was kind of ready to drop it after 20 pages because it's confusing as hell and you don't even know who the main character is. it starts with descriptions about timothy in the rehab facility but there's a lot of stuff from his nurse's and control freak mother's PoV and other random gunk that you're not sure which one actually matters. in my notes i've written "i just hope the boy is gay." well the boy turned out gay but then the hooker suddenly comes in, with nathan who is not mentioned as nathan at that point so my mental image of that initial scene was that we suddenly jumped to talk about middle-aged bums with no connection to the first chapter, "what even." then it dawned on me that oh. oh that's the boycrush? and the hooker is 19 years old? um… weird but ok.

➖ that's where minus number two comes in, the way the dialogue is written is kinda insufferable at most times. that's why the 20yo characters sound like middle-aged drunks. or alternatively like edgy 13 year olds, which i'm more aligned to believe from young jock men, but reading it is annoying as hell.

➖ janet, the blind prostitute, is such a… like why is she even here. does her character exist just to be a plot device in the last couple of chapters? because i didn't get a thing out of her otherwise. she has no character arc like the boys do, no background, nothing. i thought there would be an actual point to her being blind tied to tim also being disabled but no not really.

➖ up until the end i was so confused what this book was even about, like plot-wise. it sure is vague and just kind of. meandering?? as hell. originally it's set up in a way that makes you think that the boys' reunion will be the grand ending and that's the story, but no there's quite a lot still left at that point. although the ending was worth it, it was still kinda… like the arc of the story is strange.

⭐ score: 4 -- this purely thanks to the ending. i just liked it that much. i really mean it when i say this is the only book in memory i remember closing and putting down thinking WOW! to myself.

[whichbobsburgersepisodeisthat]

what's your favourite episode of bob's burgers? mine is season 10 episode 2

This was a really hard question, but thank you so much for the ask!

Tbh Season 10 isn't a season I see a lot of people have favourite episodes from! Your pick is good! Though tbh I don't have many negative feelings towards any episodes from more modern seasons (I love all the seasons, but there are of course some earlier episodes to have qualms with, plus I have 'beef' with Best Burger lol)

As iconic as episodes like Work Hard, or Die Trying Girl (which tbf is probably my most rewatched episode) are, I'd have to put Laser-inth and The Amazing Rudy down as my favourites.

I do have a heavy soft spot for more emotion driven plots, as you could probably guess from those picks.

Laser-inth really sticks with me with how much I relate to Gene here. I do think his struggles here are written as neurodivergence, and it's done really well! I'm autistic and the way the music overwhelms as he starts shouting that he wants to go home REALLY hit me, plus staying in the car because he wants so badly to go back and experience it like other people can, but he just can't deal with it. And Bob is just so nice and supportive the whole time, plus the whole sneaking back in stuff is adorable, yknow?

I'm also not American so I don't have an interest in American Girl, but I'm a fashion doll collector myself (and enjoyed Our Generation when I was younger) so I can understand the b-plot on a level. Plus because of hearing from all the other people in the community who also collect American Girl. It's a really sweet story and, considering they bought the doll, I wish she'd make another appearance sometime, even just becoming a background peice.

The Amazing Rudy made me sob soooo bad. I have a seperated family too and that feeling of wanting to run away is SO strong when they all awkwardly meetup for you and I've never seen it depicted before. I've only seen the episode once, being a newer one, (though I want to watch it tomorrow now lmao) but when I did I was sobbing and curled up in a blanket.

I was very eh on Rudy before this, I didn't dislike him or anything and I found his earlier appearances funny, but I'm just not into the Rudy Louise stuff they push sometimes. Like I'm happy for them as friends but I generally just don't care for kid romances in stuff, I'm just not interested. This episode did give me a newfound appreciation for Rudy, though, and it was just so sweet! I really hope we get more like this in the future.

OH ALSO I LOVE VAMPIRE DISCO DEATH DANCE FOR SIMILIAR REASONS TO LASER-INTH BUT I FORGOT TO MENTION IT

[waywardsalt]

gonna ramble a lil bit abt loz au stuff so uhhhh

okokokokok. i cant go tooooo indepth abt bellum atm (iykyk) but im gonna. talk abt linebeck stuff specifically within au stuff bc hes fun to play with in aus esp since i hold the belief that he would be a bit different in aus on account of them tending to be very drastically different from canon. ofc the au set in space with hi tech and space travel and his backstory being that [REDACTED]. dw abt the space au idk if ill even get around to spilling the beans on that one any time soon lmao

like ok i have a whole bunch of aus and linebeck teeeends to play a major role in a lot of those aus bc Of Course and bc i think hes interesting

anyways heres the list of aus (took me ages to find this in my archive) but like. it is fun to experiment and be like ok how would this character act in work in x setting with y circumstances and z goals. theres a lil bit of nudging/shoving out of character w/ linebeck in some of these that im trying to wrangle back under control while keeping the story intact while some are fine cuz its like. vastly difference circumstances understandable. gotta keep some staples the same tho

like… without spoiling too much about any of these, crimson king au linebeck is like… hes similar to canon personality wise, if a bit more ruthless, while space au linebeck is just. Out There with some of that same greed and jumpiness, gimmick au linebeck is very much the same but with loftier ambitions and more of a willingness to risk getting hurt for something, in the modern au(s) hes going to be a bit different due to. well. technology going through full schooling meeting different people.

a lot of the fun differences are best expressed through how he fights or what kinds of conflicts he comes into contact with, and i usually try to think to myself how canon linebeck might prefer to fight and then somewhat sticking to that idea while branching out to fit circumstances and setting. crimson king au has him using a pair of knives and fighting in a style that keeps him dodging and moving quickly and aiming to dispatch as quickly as possible. space au linebeck is first and foremost a sniper, with some ‘fights like a cornered animal’ flavoring tossed in. gimmick au linebeck has to learn to fight, but fights dirty and takes every advantage and cheat he can find.

its fun to tinker with his relationships with returning characters too. i have a lot of wiggle room with his relationship with bellum, but i always like to root it in the idea that bellum finds him interesting and ends up being some form of beneficiary due to circumstances. it’s interesting with link, too, they’re usually close or grow to be close, kind of sticking with the idea that they make a good team, in the crimson king au theyre adoptive brothers, in space au theres a sort of (one-sided) rivalry going on, gimmick au is uh… complicated so its fun, in a few aus like the modern or… one of the ruined hyrules they only know each other in passing, and in some theyve never met before. other characters that are fun to play with are zelda, ranging from being enemies to close friends, ganondorf, extremes being an au literally centered around ganonbeck and then an au where they are enemies in a sense, midna is fun to play with, so is ghirahim, it’s fun to see how his relationship with other characters can be taken in different aus

the different designs are also a lot of fun, but theres not a ton i can say here (some aus hes pretty much the same as canon, but a few have him with alternate designs, or both. his space au design is prob my favorite lol. that au is fun)

a few times i have to forcibly put him in a background spot or smth so i cant constantly focus on him while hes still important (murder mystery au is a good example, hes important but not generally to the larger plot, hes kinda just a character who ends up somewhat helping in investigation, other examples being the amnesia link au where hes [REDACTED] and therefore not present for like. half of the story, or the gimmick au, where he has his own stuff to do apart from link and co, or the general modern one, where that one is generally meant to have a larger cast so i. just cant focus on him lol)

au stuff is fun with linebeck i get to put him into highly varied and highly specific Situations

[ladamedusoif]

Ok, here's my hc for you:

You're into old-fashioned/classical type stuff. Not old-fashioned in the sense that you have traditional views. More so in the fact that you are very into stuff that falls into the category. Maybe it has to do with your pfp and background on your main page or some of your stories, but you seems like a classics fan through and through. When it comes to art, literature, and films. But you're not necessarily a purist. You believe that modern works are just as good.

I have a feeling I'm going to be 100% wrong, but it's just what vibes you give off 🩵🩵🩵

This is pretty much spot on!?

I love old things: I grew up reading children’s classics and I still gravitate towards 19th and 20th century literature first, and I’m a massive film history nerd too. But you’re exactly right in saying I also like modern stuff - I couldn’t be one of those people that refuses to engage with contemporary art and culture!

(I quite like that this is my vibe ☺️)

Thank you for playing!

[thistlecrimes]

AND SO THE FINAL PART IS NIGH. 4/4. IT IS DONE.

Pg. 55 - YM

I KICKED MY FEET IN THE AIR FOR A MINUTE WHEN I SAW THIS. AKJDHFAJSDFHAKSJGF I’M INSANE ABOUT IT!!! THE ENERGY OF THIS PIECE!!!! Oh my god I love it, it’s so ominous and cool and weird and cursed and exciting, and it makes me feel like I’m about to watch a studio Ghibli adaption of the Damegeon dive campaign and Seeker looks so fucking cool and Elias and Mickey look so spot on I’m obsessed. I’m insane about the bonus campaign and I’m insane about this piece. I’m going to rub my eyes all over it. 🖤 👁 👁 👁 

Pg. 56 - Candace

AH WHAT A COOL MAERIE!!!! I really dig how you did her expression and the gold paint, AND THAT MOSAIC BACKGROUND OH MY GOD??? It’s so pretty, especially Kai’s face and hair, the way the tiles are organically shaped and placed in that area, it all comes together so nicely! I feel like it gives a really good sense of Maerie feeling trapped in Kai’s legacy at the beginning of the story, what a beautiful piece! HANG IN THERE MAERIE!!! 😭 

Pg. 57 - Sea

OH NO I’M SAD AGAIN!!! But this was very sweet, I like the diary format, and I think you did a really good job of capturing that ‘teen writing in a journal’ vibe. I thought you did a really nice job with the characterization and OH NO THE TEARS ON THE PAGE! Good job, you got me. 🥲 AND YOU ALSO ENDED IT WITH A KINGDOM HEARTS REFERENCE??!?!?!DHFADSJKHFASHF

You guys are too powerful. You’ve got to be stopped. 😭  Also the crossed out closing greetings got me as well, oof. Good work. 🙏 💦 

Pg. 60 - The Sleepy Pencil

AHHH HELL YEAH!!!! I love Almanac, and I love the energy and motion of this piece! This depiction is so good, love the character design and their expression, and I love the spotlight effect, reminds me of a TinTin cover! Also love the lighting on Almanac and the magnifying glass, it looks so good! I can’t wait to read this middle grade novel series! This child is so much cooler than I’ll ever be, thank you for reminding me of that. 😔 🖤 

Pg. 61 - Soda

YESSS DAMES SHOPPING DAY!!! THIS IS SO CUTE! I love an AU, and I love seeing everyone’s fun modern outfits in this! Loving Burger Jerger absconding with an entire club sandwich, and also I’m so glad I zoomed in to get to enjoy Laika, Zarune and Gingie having lunch together, it’s so sweet. Also DELIGHTED to see Ainsley, The Gap and Postminger hanging out in the background, they’re adorable! You would never know what little war criminals they are. Love all the businesses and posters, too! Love also there’s a rival coffee shop story unfolding in the background. Good stuff. 👌 💯 

Pg. 62 - Kat (not your DM)

Oh man, it’s like a Torvaic battle song! Very cool, I like to imagine the Torvaic forces singin’ it around the barracks. Love an ominous poem. Can also see it being something you find inscribed in some sort of secret Torva base as environmental storytelling. >> I like that it’s threatening, but also kinda fun! Looking forward to dying in our attempts. 👍 ✨ 

Pg. 63 - Lee Onysko

Whoa, I love how luminous this piece is! You did a really great job of rendering the glow of the tears! I love how intense and epic the whole piece came out, and all the characters as well! Marie looks so beautiful and so sad. Everyone looks so cool, you wouldn’t even guess that Corbin eats chum in his spare time! Gorgeous work! 💛 

Pg. 64 - Grace

WHAT KICK ASS STICKERS!!! Love all of them, but a few things in particular, I really dig the Slake sticker (I’m not biased), the rendering of Fran’s hair, Falen’s bitchin’ daggers, Laika’s character design- And then MAGICAL GIRL MAERIE!!! I love the costume design, all the details that incorporate elements of her guardians and the beast gods, and I the colors! I love that it’s so colorful but balances so well, I want to fight on her magical girl team for sure!!!!  💖💙💛💚  And of course, gotta love the hungry boy. A very cute logo design, but I’ll say this. I don’t trust him. >>

Pg. 65 - Fungh0u1

What a lovely, dreamy back cover!! 😭 I love how peaceful and magical it is, it’s poignant and bittersweet and of course… Closing it out right with a final fucking Kingdom Hearts reference. Bravo. Well played. 😔 My hat is off to you. The darkness may destroy my body, but it can’t touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. 🥲 

AND SO, IT IS DONE. What an incredible experience to read from cover to cover, again, I must state how wonderfully done this zine is! It’s been an absolute pleasure to pore over, and I’m sure I’ll return to it when my weary old-man spirit needs lifting. Thank you again to everyone who participated, and thank you again to everyone out there who’s ever made fan work for the podcast, you are so, so appreciated! We’ll do our best to make this last arc of the campaign something that you’ll love! 💦 And I’m excited to bring you all new stories in campaigns to come, and to continue seeing the wonderful things that you make! 💖✨ 

And wherever your journey takes you, always remember, "GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!!!”

At long last, the Roll to Fall in Love!!! zine is available for download! Everything turned out absolutely amazing and we are so excited for you all to see it.

The zine is pay-what-you-want, and all proceeds will be donated to the Wildlife Conservation Society!

Thank you so so much to all of our contributors for their beautiful work and to the Dames/Legendlark team for making such a lovely podcast!!