#started as a manga coloring and now we're here

[tartagliove]

kaeya alberich ✧ pathfinder: choose your own adventure game

he moves with such fluid motion that he barely seems real, graceful and elegant as he rests his elbows upon the bar and folds his hands neatly under his chin.

for @venexus. inspired by his genshin fic, pathfinder, where you can vote to choose what path to take next!

[merylstryfestan]

DETERMINATION

decided to start coloring some manga panels as a way to practice working with color, so here's the first of many. this is from trigun maximum vol 1 ch 5, genuinely one of my favorite moments

[snalsupremacy]

Why this is my favorite panel in hgsn

Hgsn has some incredible art and page composition, but out of the entire manga so far, to me this is the best panel of them all. Hell, this might be my favorite panel of any manga ever. (Note: Due to respecting the scanlator's wishes, I blanked out the dialogue and replaced all necessary dialogue with the official English source)

1- Build-up

Before I get to the panel itself, lets first talk about the pages before: For context, this is in chapter 2. Yoshiki has just found out about "Hikaru", and its trying to adjust to this new reality. As they walk from school to Yoshiki's house, Yoshiki asks him if he killed Hikaru. This is how the previous two pages look like:

Notice how the half shading effect is done in hatch marks. This is the first sign the all-black shading is a stylistic choice used to convey something.

Look at the balance the two pages form when you put them together: half white, half black, half black, half white. They compliment each other, both in color balance and in panel shape.

We have to turn the page to hear Hikaru's answer to Yoshiki's question. This gives the control of the narrative back to the viewer. This creates tension and build-up to it, it is a common tactic famously employed by Junji Ito in his famous "page-turner" moments where the viewer has to turn the page to see the monster. Except in this instance we are not revealing monsters, or are we?

2- The page

I'm not gonna get into too much detail on the page itself, I just want to point out the juxtaposition between the page composition of this page and the previous two. The last two were balanced and had all the panels closed while this one is much more liberal, bringing a feeling of unbalance, like something just shifted. I'd say the black and white balance is still there, with the Hikaru on white and Yoshiki on black panel side by side and all, which actually brings me to my next point:

3- Black and White

Honestly this could be an entire analysis post of itself, where do I even start?! Let's go from the very beginning. This is the very first time we learn of "Hikaru" :

Notice how the panel is colored black. In fact, throughout the story, we see black panels being spoken by "Hikaru", usually right before he does something unnatural:

And here are the only two instances we see of the Brain-snatcher's true form:

• He's literally a black blob, just like the text bubbles! And now combine that with Hikaru's white hair, and the fact his name means to be bright, and what's the brightest color but white, and there is a clear color symbolism going on:

Hikaru=White

"Hikaru"=Black

4-The Panel

And now we're back to the original panel! Taking all the other points in mind, we can analyze the panel itself

First, his expression. My G-d, his expression! His raised eyebrows and his squinted eyes, making his pupils way larger, make the expression seem almost childish and pitiful. But the half black-out face turns this pity look to an ominous one. Not being able to see the face or having your face obstructed is easy path into the uncanny valley, which I think is the case for this scene. Immediately 180 from "aww the poor guy" to "what is he hiding?"

The white panel says "I like you" while the black panel says "I'm crazy for you". HOWEVER, The white bubble is by the black side of his face and the black bubble is by the white side of his face. So which Hikaru is saying that? Is "Hikaru" crazy for Yoshiki, while Hikaru just liked him, or the other way around? Did the original Hikaru ever love Yoshiki, or is that the monster's feelings? Well we don't know! That's the premise of the whole manga! In one panel!

And that's why it's my favorite :)

[codenamesazanka]

never liked the childhood imagery for bnha. It's cute, nauseatingly so, it's 100% calculated to evoke easy feelings of adoration and protection and sympathy for a character. Which is fine, I'm not against it as a trope, I think it's very cute too!

But that childhood imagery was always Not Real. It takes place in the Past. It was Things That Could've Been. And here, as the official account puts it, Things From Another Lifetime.

But why not this lifetime? Why can't the hand holding and connection and bright colors and healing be in the lifetime the characters are in now? Yeah, it probably can't ever reach this level of Brightness, but it doesn't mean it's not worth it?

But Childhood Imagery + The Conclusion We Got means it was just too late. The time to save Toga was when she was 3 years old. Being 17 means it's all over. Can you save Villains? Yes, but only when they're age 5 or less. So before they became Villains. Before they even become 'misbehaving' children, actually.

So can you save Villains? No.

The satisfaction from Childhood Imagery isn't from solving the problem, it's from a 'what if'.

And that's fine! I love AUs. But I'm not reading fanfic here, i'm reading the canon manga and the story asked 'can the Heroes save the Villains' and the answer is a no. But Maybe In Another Lifetime.

Which is also fine, if we are to take this to mean the Heroes lost and failed. But that is a downer conclusion to give to your heroic protags. idk. Maybe hence the conclusion of 'well, next time then, so just keep reaching out.' But this was the first and only time in the story Ochako tried to reach out to a Villain like Toga so we're starting off not too good, with a total record of 0. Will next time work? Or will it have to happen In Another Lifetime?

(Plus also we don't see that Heroes reach out and save the next crying taboo-quirk 3-year-old. That radio blurb of 'expanding quirk counseling' doesn't count. What does that even mean, 'expanding'? Because more importantly, that wasn't what Toga needed. She needed her parents to not be so emotionally and verbally abusive towards her. She needed a mom and dad that didn't tell her 'we gave birth to something inhuman'. Because her parents couldn't get her into quirk counseling fast enough. They depended on the counselor to 'iron' out her deviancies. What does Expanding quirk counseling solve here? Expand therapy techniques so that the parents can have a quiet child that wouldn't embarrass them so much they have to yell at them that they're subhuman? Is expanding quirk counseling going to do anything about the parents who want those expanded two-hour long sessions, expanded to every day, to 'fix' their child because else they'll have to abuse the abnormalities out themselves?)

(Else they have to lock their kid in a basement? and only when the next disaster comes, the kid can finally escape and get rescued by a guilt-ridden civilian? Instead of a Hero who hasn't done their job of 'saving' at all in this kid's years of suffering????)

Childhood Imagery is so cheap to use. smh horikoshi

[spockandawe]

I painted another room! This is honestly so rewarding, the level of like... technical complexity is a bit less than what I usually seek out in crafty activities, but the sheer SCALE of the result makes it just as thrilling. Maybe it will be less thrilling if i ever pick a reasonable color, but i had a pink chair and a pink faux cow skull, so my hands were tied!!!

I didn't take a proper before picture (I got excited), but the room was plain white all over, just like the last room. The picture with tinted primer has a little more personality, but it was all uphill from that starting point!

Pink! Fair warning, this color won't photograph consistently for love or money. It's somewhere between the bright pinks and orange pinks you'll see here, but I've frankly given up on trying to color balance

Now, that built-in wasn't staying the way it was. I toyed with the idea of doing wallpaper along the back, but my adventure with the stair risers taught me that getting the corners to stick can be tough when the old paint job is a little blobby, and I was worried about getting things crisp in the little bottom cubbies, ESPECIALLY since one of those has the outlet connected to the light switch. My diploma mats and another wall hanging I planned to use have a deep red in them, so I leaned into that!

Finally, I did the trim and shelves and doors, touched up my edges, and hung a sheer curtain. I might add a beefier curtain later, because BOY the sun hits this room harder than I thought, but this is pretty good for now! If/when my parents fix their old electric piano, that will be going against the empty wall (they don't love me enough to give me their piano-piano), and I want to add storage to the closet, but we're in pretty good shape! This is my new manga and music room.

[mitsvriii]

Attraction, pt 2

Pairings: Tomioka Giyu x reader, Obanai Iguro x Mitsuri Kanroji

TW's: none

Word Count: 730+

A/N: all images are from the KnY manga, thank you for the support on part 1. Giyu and Muichiro treat each other like siblings.. Again, sorry if anything is inaccurate. Sorry if it's shorter than you expected, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Tags: @vkqxc20, @minnipe, @imyourbrokenfridge, @sugaremedy

It wasn't long before you and Giyu had made it to the ramen shop, still hand-in-hand. Despite how off-putting he might seem, he was actually enjoyable to be around. You two had chatted about random things, like favorite colors, weather, different breathing styles. And he surprisingly answered all of them, even your stupid questions like, was he a dog or cat person, would he cry at weddings, and do you snuggle your pillow when you go to sleep.

He seemed to be enjoying your company, and he even smiled at you. To which you responded with smile yourself. You were glad he was so comfortable around you, he wasn't like that with anyone besides Muichiro.

"We're here", Giyu interrupted the silence. "What do you want? I can order for you."

You looked up at him, "Just chicken ramen."

Giyu nodded at your words, "Then I'll get some, too." He gave you a short smile before opening the door to the shop for you.

You sat down at a small table, waiting for Giyu to come back once he ordered. You let out a small yawn as you looked around, the shop wasn't that full. But you supposed it was because it was about to be three, everyone was finishing up work.

It was a little later when Giyu returned, sitting down beside you. "It should be ready in less than ten minutes."

Okay so ten minutes more with Giyu, that wouldn't be awkward at all. You two had talked about everything, well, you had talked about everything. Giyu was more of a listener than a talker, although that was mostly obvious. Maybe you should ask him if he wanted to ask you anything?

"Do you want to ask me anything Giyu? I've been the one bombarding you with questions after all", you turned your head to look at him, awaiting his answer.

"Oh um, not really", Giyu fiddled with his hands, "I don't have any right now."

You nodded and rested your chin on the palm of your hand. A minute had to have passed by, right? It's not like you didn't enjoy Giyu's company, you just didn't know what to talk about with him. The Water Hashira went on most missions alone for god's sake.

But at the same time it was calming to stay in silence. You yourself only chatted if it was with someone new. You remember going out to eat with Kyojuro once after a mission, and having to listen to him say "Omai!" at the top of his lungs every time he took a bite of food.

You and Giyu sat in silence for at least another minute or so, sneaking glances at one another. It wasn't long after that when a waiter had came with your ramen bowls and chopsticks, leaving with a bow.

Giyu looked at you, as if expecting you to start eating first. You glanced at him before taking your chopsticks in hand, picking up a bite. You blew on it, taking a bite. That seemed to be the sign Giyu was looking for, as he did the same. So he was waiting for you to eat first, what a gentleman.

You two ate together, cracking little jokes here and there. You were glad that Obanai had eyes on Mitsuri, because Giyu was much more enjoyable to be around, to be with.

You two had finished eating after a few minutes, you were now heading back to headquarters after you had paid the bill, well. Giyu had paid the bill for you, much to your protests. He insisted that it was his pleasure, so naturally you relented and let him pay it.

You didn't seem to notice the way Sanemi's mouth dropped when you and Giyu walked back to headquarters hand in hand. Or the way Gyomei gave a knowing smile, and Muichiro looked on, confused on who you were. Shinobu smiled in victory as Uzui groaned and handed her 300 yen, and Kyojuro seemed to beam at the sight of you two. Not that you both noticed anything. You honestly didn't even bother to notice that Mitsuri and Obanai were out again, your mind now focused on the raven haired man holding your hand.

The one thing Obanai had done right to you was not recuperating your feelings, because if he did you wouldn't be as happy as you were right now with Giyu.

[that-student-that-has-homework]

Heyy, I’ve been reading your wonderful one piece works for a while — and I couldn’t stop wondering how are you actually doing those magnificent headers?

Like… hello? The great quality, with additional 3D-alike details I could catch by my eyes? I got only Ibis Paint X on mobile, since I’m only a young man that literally two months ago went on a life-time ‘adventure’ of living alone in a small apartment.

In short — I got no money to pay for additional graphics/drawing programs, not yet at least

Hello!

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy my writing - I'm curious to know what's your favorite piece / part? Also I'm so happy you like my headers? Makes it feel worth it to spend time on them! :D

I have excellent news for you, I used a mix of Canva and Photopea. They're both FREE!

I'll be explaining the process for making these two kinda? The full tutorial is below the cut, to be courteous to the other folks, hope you don't mind?

Though I am hearing that Canva has given people some grief. But Photopea is just *chefs kiss*

If you've ever used photoshop, Photopea is essentially a free photoshop, and it even has the automation tools! An absolute lifesaver when you have multiple layers you want to export (but that's for larger projects not this)

I'm going to assume you have basic knowledge of layers in digital drawing programs for this. If anything isn't clear: ask me, I'll clarify!

//-------------------------------------------------

My General Process is:

Search for official art / images

bring it into canva / photopea

crop / arrange images to match the dimensions

select a thematic color that is associated with the character

separate the foreground from the background

mess around and test things until they work

//--------------------------------------------------

Given "Louder than Words" is the latest one I've made, I'll start with the process for it.

Dimensions: 3000 x 1055 px dpi: 96

//-------------------------------------------

Let's Get Crackin'

Alright let's grab some official art so we're not using any fanart without the artist's permission

I try to pick images that feel relevant enough to what I'm trying to make. For example: the image for the Matching banner shows the ASCE tattoo which is super important in that fic

2. Let's arrange them onto a banner where each individual image has the same/similar dimensions to the rest

That's probably part of why you like these. To a certain extent they have similar dimensions, so they have a uniformity that's pleasing to the eye! (It's not perfect because I threw perfectionism to the wind because this is tumblr not my portfolio) Tip: if you have 3 images and only 2 that have similar dimensions, and the 3rd one can't be cropped logically: but the one that's a different aspect ratio in the middle!

3. lets arrange them in such a way that the borders all feel like they're the same/equal width/thickness

you might find that you have to shrink some images for this, that's fine.

ALTERNATIVELY: if you're going with one image crop it so it's just the relevant info and it matches the dimensions (3000 x 1055 px)

We have our base! Now let's add some color, and direct the viewer's eye together!

4. pick out a color that you think matches your character / vibe - that color is going to be your background Given I'm making an Ace banner: orange is the color I'm going with

I went and named my layers for this lol. The numbers represent the opacity, and they aren't important. I just kept changing the opacity until I liked the way things looks. But here's the secret to the 3D feel:

Motionblur (+ moving it about)

Separating the foreground and background and dulling out the background.

I'm going to show you my process so you can see the effects, but first let's give you some quick skills:

//------------------------------------

SKILLS / THINGS I THINK ARE HELPFUL

//------- Select Similar

magic wand -> select something -> right-click -> select similar This works best when you have high contrast images (like manga panels that are black and white). You can select the black or the white areas. Depending on what works better for you. TIP! Invert selections with ctrl + i Say you know that you want to select everything but Ace's face in the second panel. Select his face with the magic wand then ctrl + i, and that's the only thing NOT selected

TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please, please, please, duplicate your original image and work on the duplicate layer. This helps you SO much. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TIP! Check your selection tolerance! This could be why too little, or too much is being selected.

//------- The Move Tool

Shortcut key: v While the move tool is active, you can nudge the stuff on whatever layer with your arrow keys Shift + arrow key = 10 px move (generally)

//------- Layer Locking

1- Layer Blending Mode (see Overlay vs Multiply vs Normal) for how this can affect results) 2- Opacity: how see through it is / isn't 3- Lock Transparency (it's the little checker board) 4- Lock Layer (looks like a lock) 5- Lock icon that appears when anything on the layer has been locked More on 3 Lock Transparency: You can only paint on / modify what's on that layer. You CANNOT add anything to any area that is already transparent Here's a demo of what you can do with this power:

Here's the original Image - notice how it's just the lineart with a transparent background.

It's powerful: abuse it

//------- Overlay vs Multiply vs Normal

I think seeing this is the best way to visualize how different modes can affect the color.

//--------------------------------

Back to the Tutorial

!!I IMPORTANT NOTE !!

Please play around with the opacity slider to figure out what opacity works best for you on the multiple different layers we're about to make / work with. It's up to your own style to figure this out. Next: please feel free to not follow all of it. Add more layers, add less layers, take the base principles and go wild! :D

5. Separate the lineart from the background and save it as a new layer 6. Duplicate it and set it to overlay, or set it to overlay immediately

7. Duplicate that lineart layer twice and set the blending mode to overlay 8. lock transparency on the top one and change it to be a dark grey 9. Apply motion blur to both:

Main menu bar -> Filter -> Motion Blur I made it so that the grey layer was blurrier than the black layer

10. More them around a little to give it a "3D effect" as you called it.

It creates shadows under the lines - I was aiming for an effect similar to chromatic aberration (chromatic aberration is a valid way to add punch to your stuff too!)

So this is what things look like now - painful, but let's keep going

11. Duplicate the ORIGINAL / BASE lineart layer, that you DID not apply motion blur to -> set the blend mode to multiply (reduce opacity for it to actually take effect)

okay that's less painful here's what the layers look like right now:

let's bring more focus to Ace's face, and push the background farther away:

12. Use the magic wand tool to quickly select large areas of the faces / focal area / foreground and the lasso tool to refine things

TIP! Hold shift + click -> add to selection Hold Alt + click -> subtract from selection

13. On a new layer with blending mode -> lighten, fill that selection to be white

If you look at it, you'll notice that it is ALREADY starting to draw our attention to his face, but the background is kinda aggressive, so let's dim that down

TIP! Right-click on the gradient tool to find the paint-bucket tool

TIP! Sample All Layers: Turning this option off makes it so that you only work with the content on THAT specific layer. Turning it on makes it so that it is working while taking all other layers into consideration.

14. ctrl + click on the "white foreground" layer to select the contents of that specific layer (pink thing is your mouse)

15. ctrl + i to invert selection and ON A NEW LAYER (layer mode -> multiply) fill that with a complementary color

16. I did one last thing where I took the original base (before we separated the lineart) and added it to the very top and played with the opacity to get something less in your face (layer blend mode was set to NORMAL)

And that's it!

More considerations that I take:

I want the banner to be "thin" or not square, so it doesn't take up too much screen real estate on people's devices

I don't want readers having to scroll too much to get to my writing (which is the whole point of the post, let's not waste their time making them look for things)

I want the banner content to be relevant enough?

ie: with Matching: I wanted the ASCE tattoo to be visible. With matching I wanted Ace to not look too happy in some of them.

I'm also trying to avoid spoilers, I hated getting things spoiled, so I'm trying to be careful that the images I pick don't spoil anything really.

Congrats on starting life on your own! I did that whole living by myself thing too! Tip: keep the pantry stocked with lentils, beans, pastas, baking essentials, rice. They really come in a clutch when you're hungry.

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on JJK chapter 253 (spoilers)

There is so much to say about this chapter, especially about the art direction.

First, a coloured version of Maki's sneak attack against Sukuna this time with Yuji photobombing it

The chapter starts with a flashback that tells us that Kusakabe is the strongest first grade sorcerer outside of the clans. This sets up the end of the chapter and fits with Kusakabe being able to tank Kenjaku's full blast Uzumaki. His specialty is most likely Simple Domain.

Important to note about the flashback: it dates to before the Shibuya incident and mirrors the question of who's the strongest sorcerer. This means that since Gojo's apparent death, we still have not seen him in any normal flashbacks which is extremely strange considering how often we've seen the gang strategize in the timeskip. Suspicious.

Gege made an extremely important artistic choice this chapter: coloring Maki's and Sukuna's faces and bodies in black at various times. This is significant because it underpins Sukuna's excitement and later statement about being given a role (like he mocked Yuki previously) as well as Maki's strength.

The shadows show us who has the upper hand in any given moment, sometimes it's equal, sometimes it's not

Sukuna throws a car and Yuji is not there to see it. But also, how many have caught the detail that Sukuna is still actively bleeding from Maki's wound?

In terms of artistic choices, I don't remember Gege drawing panel constellations like this in the past. Our man's experimenting with new things (other than getting inspired by the anime)

Kusakabe used Nanami's weapon and his 7:3 CT. We still have no explanation on how that weapon came to be but I have a theory on that that I put onto my JJK Meta Analyses on Ao3 if someone wants to check it out.

Even more clever art this chapter: I saw the way the columns were cut but I didn't understand the purpose behind it. Cue Maki a few panels later kicking cut blocks of concrete and rebar at Sukuna.

The narrator puts Kashimo, Yuta and Higuruma into the same category. Kashimo we already saw being at a special grade level, now we can assume that Higuruma with more time would've reached the special grade status as well.

Sukuna is ecstatic and he pulls out his first Black Flash to show that his way of cursed energy is the superior one, something he had to prove for the first time in his life. For a moment he even achieved speed rivaling Maki's.

The BF is shown in 3 panels from 3 angles, showing us the scale of the impact it had. But hold! What did I say about faces drenched in shadow? Maki's face is black again, expressing to us a level of strength even while blasted backwards

Don't forget that BF multiplies your power exponentially but Sukuna already lost most of his CE by this point putting him on Yuta's level. That's still extremely high but the hit wasn't as powerful as it could've been and we're talking about perfected Maki here; someone who isn't bound by fate through CE anymore

Maybe at the end of the manga and when Sukuna potentially dies, he'll think about Maki and her freedom from cursed energy again.

This chapter ends with Kusakabe having to face Sukuna on his own even though he would rather flee but sometimes a man has to stand his ground. Let's see how he, sorcerer without a CT, will hold up against the King of Curses

[vay99]

Chifuyu x reader

Wounds

Anime/Manga: Tokyo revengers

"And another strike!" you cheer, score far ahead of Chifuyu who's currently sulking over the reults. "Awww don't be upset, you'll win eventually. One time you will win. Someday." 

"Thanks for the motivational speech." he grumbles as you two make your way out off the bowling center. 

"Any time." you laugh, wrapping your arms around his. "What's next?" 

"We can go to my place and play some video games." he suggests, scratching his neck with his free arm.

Before you could answer a group of men gets in your way, surrounding you. 

"Hey you! We've heard that you're from Toman. What's a looser like you doing here with such a bad chick?" one guy laughs making you wanna punsh his brain out. 

"Yeah why don't you get fucked while we have some fun with her." another laughs and if Chifuyu wasn't mad already he'd be boiling now. But... 

"Hey babe, why don't you ditch your boyfriend for me?" one guy steps closer to you being in the perfect range for you to kick his ribs into pieces. 

"I may not be a captain in Toman but I'm the one who taught them how to beat loosers like you are up." you smile as you use an uppercut to break another's chin. 

*20 minutes of fighting later*

16 guys knocked out on the ground has you smiling with satisfaction. Meanwhile Chifuyu knocks out his last opponent before sitting down on the street. 

"Chifuyu are you alright?" you kneel down next to him. 

"Yeah no worries, I just took a punsh in the face." he laughs it off as his nose starts bleeding. 

"No worries my ass, come with me we'll treat your wounds." you take his hand in yours as you walk to your house which is close by.

"It's not that bad." 

"Your face is not a punishing bag, it's not made to resist strong impacts. Yet you always get your face beaten in all colors of the rainbow." you point out as you make him sit down in the kitchen. 

"I like the rainbow." he puffs his cheeks. 

"Use make up not fists to decorate your face with it the next time." you ruffle his hair. 

"Do you have lipsticks in all 6 colors? If yes you could cover my face with lipstick stains then." 

"Wow they must've hit your head pretty bad." you fight back a smile, Chifuyu loves to tease-flirt from time to time but becomes shy right away. 

"They did but still." 

"I'll get my make up set when we're done then." 

Whenever you two hang out your friends would comment how you look like a couple or more than just friends. They'd call Chifuyu your boyfriend all the time. All the flirting doesn't help you two when you say that you're friends. You're unsure if it's just playful teasing or if he's for real so you two just keep going in circles. 

Cleaning the scratches and his bloody nose you loose yourself in your thoughts. 

/Now I wanna punsh these douchebags even more, his nose looks pretty bad. I can't take this, he's strong but if something happens to him I could never-/

"Hey, why are you crying?" Chifuyu asks, wiping the tear that escaped your glassy eyes. 

"Oh I just got emotional for a second, hate seeing my friends getting beaten up." you explain, rubbing your eyes. 

"I used to get beaten up even more before you thought me some tricks. Now I just take some hits and knock them all out." Chifuyu poses with his arms which makes you giggle. 

"Sure you do, I'll show you some more tomorrow." 

Silence surrounds you again as you put the plaster on his face. 

"That guy called me your boyfriend... why didn't you correct him?" he breaks the silence again, avoiding your eyes. 

"I liked the sound of it." you answer honestly, shrugging your shoulders. 

"Ouch ouch ouch that stings." he whines as you use medical alcohol to clean his wound on the lip.

"The more you whine the longer it'll take." you keep the tissue on his lip. 

"I can't feel my lip anymore." Chifuyu complains, tugging on his lower lip Inc you remove the tissue. 

"Let me test that." you wipe your thumb over his lip a finger under his chin. 

"How-oh. Sure." he looks at your lips and then into your eyes. 

"You felt that?" 

"No." Chifuyu gulps, one hand holding onto the shirt your wearing. "Maybe something else might help". 

"Anything particular in mind?" you step right in front of the chair, leaning down slightly. 

"The lipstick idea sounded nice. But for now please do it without the lipstick."

"You could've just asked me to kiss it better." you whisper, pressing a kiss on his swollen cheek and then on his nose. While his cheeks explode in a red blush you switch to his lips, softly moving against his. 

"No feeling yet, do it again, please." Chifuyu says not even a second after you remove your lips. "I don't feel pain when your lips are on mine." he flirts, leaving kisses from your neck until your collarbone. 

"Oh my bad boy huh~" you chuckle squishing his cheeks as you softly press another kiss on his lips. 

"Always~ And I'll omg is that a cake." he notices the chocolate cake on the cupboard. 

"Aaand bad boy is crossed out of my list of nicknames." you sigh as you hand him something to cool his lip with. "You'll get some later, use that cool pack first your lip is swollen."

"But I'm hungry now."

"Well if you wanna whine instead of cuddling up on my couch and get you face covered with kisses then it'll be that way." you leave him as his brain processes what you just said and immedi ately runs after you.

"I want kisses more than cake!"

[sarahjtv]

My Hero Academia Chapter 429 Spoiler Talk: The Penultimate Chapter

So here it is. The second to last chapter of My Hero Academia. Unless Horikoshi gives us a sequel series like Naruto: Shippuden, this and the next chapter is the last we'll get manga content about MHA. Well, at least until Horikoshi gives us another Ultra Analysis book or an art book with extra information. It's still hard to believe honestly. I don't know if I'll be able to accept that our beloved series is ending until it actually does. Let's see what Horikoshi-sensei gives us until then. Also, my health isn't 100% today, so I apologize if my writing sounds messy:

First off is our last Weekly Shonen Jump and Chapter color pages! They are absolutely beautiful celebrating both the 10th anniversary and My Hero Academia as a whole. Everyone is smiling and it's a wonderful sight to see. I won't show them here because I think they deserve to be seen with your own two eyes. Let's just say that I love them and I can't wait to get the HQ versions of them when the official release comes out. Just know that you can tell Horikoshi put a lot of love into these pages.

From here on out, I think I'm just going to talk about what I thought of the chapter because I'm not 100% down to type everything out tonight. Sorry about this:

I think the chapter was another solid one, though it somehow still doesn't feel like the series is ending yet for me.

I'm glad we got to see Ochako and Deku talk about not being able to save their respective villains because we all know how badly this was haunting them. Neither of them would have been able to move on and genuinely smile again until they got that all out to someone who understood. Thankfully, they have each other 💚💖. I'm also really glad Deku told Ochako she was his hero and let her take her hand. This is the closest we'll probably get to an actual romantic confession from either of them unless Horikoshi does something for them in the last chapter. The thing is, it works because this wasn't the time for a love confession. This was a time for two broken people to talk their trauma out and get reassurance from someone close to them.

Really sad to hear that Himiko Toga did die. Granted it was from Ochako's dialogue and we didn't see any panel with her body drawn, but we can really only take her word for it now. Horikoshi could absolutely pull a fast one on us and show a glimpse of her alive in the final chapter. However, I think it's safe to say that she is dead and that honestly sucks.

I love the slice-of-life panels we get of the rest of the kids and seeing Aizawa smile is beautiful! He's so proud of his kids 🥹.

Monoma getting a statue at the school and bragging about it is fucking hilarious 🤣! He honestly deserves it though because the whole world would've been dead if not for him. Deku better get a statue too or else I'm going to throw hands.

Eri excitedly singing at Aoyama's farewell party is the most wholesome thing I've seen in a very long time and I truly hope she achieves her dream someday 🤍! Make her the best idol in the world, Horikoshi!

Finally, there's that mysterious man we saw a few chapters ago. We still don't know his name, but we're told he was abused and abandoned by his family because he has a mutant Quirk similar to how Eri's Quirk in the sense that neither of their Quirks were inherited by their family's DNA. He looked like he was going to walk down a similar path as Tenko, but the old lady who first ignored Tenko many years back found this new man and finally offered him a hand thanks to Izuku's inspiration. This is sort of a redemption for the old lady. I know that she was a catalyst for why Tenko became who he became, but I think this is a start for her to start over at least. Thankfully, I think this man is going to be ok.

I remember reading the interviews Horikoshi did over the past week and one of the things he said he wanted to express was that even someone having your back is heroism. Someone who can do something so simple as reaching their hand out when someone is in need is a hero to that person. You can tell that that is what Horikoshi is telling us here. He also said that making us cry was an important part of the story too because it's how he wants us to connect with it, so I expect to shed tears next week.

So, yeah. That's the second to last chapter of the main My Hero Academia manga. It still doesn't feel real to me. The final page of the chapter left things open-ended, so I would not be surprised if we got a time skip of some sort in the final chapter. I honestly thought that Horikoshi was setting up one more villain for the kids to fight with that mysterious man, but it was wrapped up in a very simple yet poignant way. I will agree that it feels rushed and that there's something missing, but I can't pinpoint what. Horikoshi's been writing and drawing this manga for 10+ years at this point, so I can't entirely blame him for wanting to finish things up. However, I'm a little more nervous about him sticking the landing for the ending. While I think he can still do it, I've seen too many mangaka end their story on a bad note for one reason or another. Our best bet is that he revises or adds some things to make the chapter better in the volume version. I'm going to do my best to keep my optimism alive for the next few weeks.

I honestly can't begin to accurately predict how the manga will end. I could see it ending with the kids continuing their lives at UA, at graduation, or as pro-hero adults maybe with families of their own. Honestly, anything goes. Part of me wants to be here when the chapter might get leaked next Wednesday, but another part of me wants to wait until next Sunday for the official VIz release so I can read and cry together with everyone else. I think I am going to try to do the latter and then write some kind tribute to honor the series, but I may or may not be out of town next week, so I'll have to see about that.

One more chapter left.

[halliescomut]

Thai BL: The Fanservice Problem...

Now here's the thing... I'm not here to offer solutions, though I do have proposed ideas that I may include at the end, but more just to breakdown my thoughts on fanservice in Thai BL.

First, we'll start with a general definition of fanservice:

I think that the connection to print media originally is important when we're looking at modern BLs series and movies, as they have a base in print media. In Thailand you have niyaai waai (“Y” novels), kaatuun waai (“Y” comics), as well as the Japanese Yaoi Manga and Korean BL Manwha that are very literally the basis for numerous series, in addition to original story BL series.

In terms of the fanservice we see in relation to Thai BLs...that goes a step further, moving out of the fictional world and into the real one. The fanservice we're now talking about is actors whose characters are couples often being paired for promotional events and they are expected to on some level act similarly to their onscreen characters. This includes individual character behavior, but also having the two actors behave in a way that could be (and is intended to be) read as romantic by fans. This includes a lot of different actions, but skinship (which I'll breakdown later), general chivalrous behavior (like serving your partner first), going on 'dates' specifically with the intention of presenting those experiences on social media. The important part about fanservice in this context is that it is always done with the intention of being seen by fans. It doesn't matter if it's a publicly streamed and hosted event, or just an Instagram post, if it's made public by the actor, or their company, it's intentional and it's likely fanservice.

What is the purpose of fanservice then?

Profit, essentially. For these companies, who both produce BL, but also often represent these actors as a talent management agency, there's a profit to be increased by presenting actors in this way. Having these 'couples' become popular to fans means continued view of future series, but also means that they can set contracts to have them promote various products. You will see the actors often promoting the same products that are used in product placement in their series. A brief list off the top of my head: the Lays chips, whatever that flavored water or juice they're always drinking in Wabi Sabi shows, Epson printers (I think it's Epson), various skin-care serums, L'Oreal hair color, the menthol inhalers, the list is likely endless. In the series, product placement gives them direct funds to actually make the shows, but by having the actors promote the same products, these companies are getting a percentage of that payment also because they are also working as representation for the actor.

To make easy numbers, while Gemini's contract might have been $1000 for this post promoting this brand of Ramen, because GMMTV set-up that partnership/contract, and they represent Gemini as talent, they'll get $200 for themselves, Gemini takes home $800 minus taxes. Again, these are made up numbers and I truly hope that no one is actually getting a 20% commission, but I trust none of these companies, so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was higher.

But because this is genuinely how a good majority of production companies gather capital to be able to make shows, the more popular a ship is can directly equal out to how many ad partnerships they can create for them, as well as the price they can charge. In order to give an approximate view, I chose two actors from the same company, Domundi's Zeepruk and Tutor. Because of Zee's vastly higher popularity and the wide difference in follower counts I wanted to have a third actor for comparison, and so I chose PP Krit. It's not an exact match across the board, but I think gives a good view of scale. Here is the break down of their last 30 Instagram posts:

Now I'll start with some definitions of how I categorized things. Ads are things that have clearly been shot specifically to promote a product, and often have instructions in the captions on where to purchase, or specific benefits about the products. Sponsored posts are any posts where they tag a brand in the caption, but it doesn't have the detail of the Ad posts, or posts of them at a place or event where they were invited to attend by the brand for the purpose of being photographed there. Self-promotion is trailers, photos from their series, or fan events. And finally candid is any pictures that are just there for the fun, thirst traps, vacation pics, pics from behind the scenes of events, and while few of these are actual 'candid' pictures, they're not for the purpose of promoting a 'brand' in particular (outside of the fact they are all clearly intend to promote the 'brand' of the actor). The Couple+ 'whatever' is the same as listed above, but is for any posts that include the other half of their acting pair (meaning Yim, Nunew, and Billkin). The Couples Candid is only found once on a post from Tutor, and is clearly taken when they were filming their Tiktok BL short, but there's no tags for the short series, nor instructions on where to watch it, so I'm calling it a candid post. For PP Krit, there are two posts that I'm categorizing as 'Self-Sponsored' as one is for PP's own brand (Caremate) and the other is for a Car Repair shop owned by a family member. Later when I do math with this information those posts won't be included in the 'potential profit' as I can't guarantee he was paid, and if he was I doubt he charged his standard rate.

Looking at Tutor 7/30 of his latest Instagram posts are ads/sponsored and 5 of the posts are 'couple' posts, meaning they also feature Yim. For Zee 10/30 are sponsored and 5 of those are 'couple' posts also featuring Nunew. It's also relevant that the earliest post I counted of Zee is from April 8, 2023, for PP is April 6, 2023, and the earliest one from Tutor is from December 6, 2022. Given that we have about 30 posts from Zee in 2 months, I'm simply not going to scroll back to December to see what the comparison is time wise, but if the ratio remained the same 10/30 in 2 months, that would equal 30/90 over 6 months, with 15 being 'couple posts'. So you can see the difference made in terms of money brought in by more 'popular' actors. If we stick with our $ 1000 per post cost for individual posts, and double that for 'couple posts' ($ 1000/per actor) that's $ 45,000.00 total brought in and $ 9,000 kept by Domundi as commission. For Tutor, in the same 6 month span, he (and partially Yim) brought in $ 12,000, with Domundi keeping $ 2,400 as commission. That's a marked difference for Domundi. And completely ignoring the very high likelihood that Zee is probably bringing in 2 to 3 times what Tutor his because of his popularity and longer time in the industry. If we look at those same number with PP, he has 15/30 posts that are Ad/Sponsored, at $ 1000 per post that's $ 15,000 directly in PP's pocket essentially, since he has his own independent company that represents him. Which causes it's own complications, as he has many more sponsored and ad posts on his company account, many of which he also appears in with Billkin. (Sidenote: I actually find it fascinating that there's no sponsored/ad posts featuring Billkin on his personal account, in fact it's surprisingly rare for him to post Billkin on his account at all outside of stories, at least recently.) So all of this to say, you can see how having these actors promoted in pairs is more profitable for the company as far as ad promotion.

The additional benefit is we're looking at is fans being able to follow pairs through different stories. Like many fans of media, we will often find actors we enjoy, and then proceed to actively work to watch different projects they are in because we like them, find them to be incredibly talented, think they're handsome, etc. This general expectation is capitalized on by companies by having pairs act opposite each other in multiple stories. At this point for ZeeNunew and TutorYim, we've seen both in the Cutie Pie series, but both also have future work to look forward to. I've previously mentioned the BL Tiktok shorts with TutorYim, and they are going to be the leads in Middleman's Love, which is due to come out at the end of the year. ZeeNunew have a new film, After Sundown, as well as new series The Next Prince, and will be returning as Lian and Kuea in Naughty Babe as second leads. All of these future shows and series are produced by Domundi, meaning they will get a portion of profits from appearances, merchandise, etc. that goes along with those series, as well as the potential ads or product placement in the shows. There’s also a high likelihood that product placement in Naughty Babe will garner a higher price, as it’s a spin-off of an already popular show with already popular actors, where Middleman’s Love, as the first series showing Tutor and Yim as leads, would be ‘cheaper’.

Fanservice as perceived by Fans

Now this can be difficult to break down, because it all depends on the fan. Fanservice as a concept is widely understood by Thai fans. They actively recognize that it exists, and they enjoy it. Other East Asian countries also recognize that Thai BL employs fanservice, and while they accept and enjoy it, they generally do not want to see the practice taken up by BL actors in their own country. In fact, it’s generally rare for actors in BL series in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc., to have actors paired for multiple series, outside of appearing as the same characters over various series. The first to come to mind is the characters of Bo Xiang and Zhi Gang from HIStory 3 having in a small guest appearance in HIStory 4, played by the same actors, Wilson Liu and Zhang Han Yuan. Because they are rarely kept as an acting pair, fanservice outside of the actual scripted media is not expected and would have little benefit.

Moving away from East Asian, very particularly to Western, audiences where fanservice is something that many media consumers ONLY expect to see in the media itself, never outside of it. Speaking as a western fan myself, I was genuinely surprised at the amount of ‘bonus content’ that is the expected norm with Thai BL’s. The fan meets, sponsored events, concerts, the vlogs and excursions, the behind-the-scenes content, all of it is generally beyond what I am used to as an avid media fan. Director/or actor commentary, behind the scenes documentaries, while popular generally fell out of favor with the decrease in popularity of physical DVDs, as it was originally intended to be a selling point of purchasing DVDs instead of VHS. (But honestly, that’s a different post.)  And observing the behavior as someone with the perspective of a western fan, it is both the requisite behaviors of fanservice, as well as the difference in cultural norms, that causes confusion and blurs lines. The number one thing that is seen as surprising by western fans of East Asian media, is skinship, particularly skinship between two men.

The concept of skinship isn’t directly unfamiliar to western people but is generally something that occurs between direct family members (parent-child or siblings) or between romantic couples. In East Asian culture it’s moves beyond familial and romantic bonds to include all platonic bonds as well. You can expect to see skinship practiced between any two people who are close and feel affection for each other. So, in the context of fanservice and Thai BL acting pairs, not every occurrence of skinship (hugs, holding hands, sitting especially close, playing with hair, fingers, etc.) is fanservice, but it is a tool in the fanservice armory. Given that it is a cultural norm, and that many of these actors are at least well known to each other and friendly, it is likely an easy one to enact in the name of fanservice.

Watching these interactions through a western lens however, causes the viewer to more easily see the behavior in a romantic context. And there’s honestly a lot of factors that play into that, the biggest being ‘masculinity ideals’ where most western cultures don’t promote or encourage men to show affection outside of family (generally strictly parents or children) or romantic couples. Then you also have good ol’ homophobia, men don’t want to show too much affection towards other men for fear of being seen as gay. And this is a very broad sort of description, as the ‘norms’ for what is acceptable platonic contact will of course differ in immigrant families, or indigenous communities, or among black Americans, even just geographically. I’m just a white person speaking from their own experience and observation, though I do have the benefit of knowing, working with, and interacting with a remarkably wide variety of humans.

Why is Fanservice a ‘Problem’?

If it’s widely understood that fanservice is an extension of the acting, that it’s very often something required by contract, that it’s not an indicator of a romantic or sexual relationship, then it’s not a problem. But that’s not widely understood. And that lack of understanding or even the preference of fans to ignore that knowledge has created a problem in the Thai BL industry. We’ve watched over the last several months personal attacks on actors for ‘queerbaiting’ (which is a term intended ONLY for fictional characters), fan clubs being upset over actors going to appearances alone or without the other half of their acting pair, personal attacks on close friends of actors (very particularly female friends), and even the attacking of an employee and friend of an actor for ‘pushing the fanservice agenda’. What is intended to be cute and fun, is turning into something that is having real life negative effects, both on the actors themselves, but also people connected to these actors. It’s also spreading beyond Thai BL, with fans (mostly western fans) being upset at non-Thai actors for not engaging in fanservice.

Fanservice, by virtue of it being monetizable, also indirectly exploits the Queer community. This is something that’s recognized and often brought up by western fans, as culturally, we’ve reached a point where the expectation is that Queer media will cast Queer actors in roles. This is done specifically in an attempt to help Queer actors to get more roles in the entertainment industry in general (which is a worthy goal) but is also only considered in the context that while being an out Queer person in the West is easier/safer than in many other places around the world. Many Western nations have not only marriage equality, but anti-discrimination laws that give additional protection to Queer people. And even with these laws there are still hundreds of thousands of Queer people who don’t feel comfortable being openly out in all aspects of their lives. In many East Asian countries, legal protection against discrimination is not guaranteed, and even in those countries with anti-discrimination laws, there’s often caveats. And that’s completely setting aside societal discrimination, which would be a top concern for these actors. Taking Thailand specifically, homosexuality isn’t illegal, but there are no laws in place for marriage equality or even the recognition of same-sex relationships. While there are anti-discrimination laws in place, those rest on the ability of a Queer person to PROVE discrimination, which opens its own can of worms.

So, what I’m saying in regard to monetizing or exploiting the Queer community, is that it is understandably frustrating for actual Queer people in Thailand to see actors ‘performing’ queerness through fanservice, and being rewarded for it, while many regular citizens are living in situations where being out could be damaging to their livelihoods, cause loss of friendships or family relationships, and even put them in physical danger. Now, are some of these actors part of the Queer community? We know for certain that some are, we know for certain that some aren’t, but the vast majority we don’t have any concrete knowledge of their sexuality or Queer identity (and we are NOT entitled to it!).  But it would be understandable and reasonable, given the current political and societal landscape of many of these countries, that any actor would have to very seriously consider potential ramifications of being out. Like any Queer person anywhere, there’s a laundry list of considerations that have to be addressed. Top of the list is ‘Would I be physically safe if I came out?’ but you also have to consider possible negative effects on your career, the potential limitations if you want to move outside of BL to mainstream content. We also have VERY clear examples of societal discrimination and hatred towards openly Queer actors, both from ‘local’ fans as well as international fans. But we do very often see BL actors being openly supportive of their local Queer community, promoting proactive voting in elections, and even this past week making appearances at PRIDE events. This is in addition to potential work they are doing quietly to support the community, like donating to non-profits that work to assist or advocate for Queer people, both individually and as a whole.

So, What’s the Solution?

I have no idea. I stated in the very beginning that I’m not here to give solutions. (That’s above my pay-grade.) But I do have some ideas. Now, these are not going to be the easiest for many BL fans to hear, I’m sure. They bother me too, to be honest.

I think an excellent first step is to have companies be upfront about whether fanservice is part of actor’s contracts. We know for a fact that BOC does not contractually obligate fanservice, but any other production or management company that works in BL more than likely does, though the scale and level of expectation may vary. I don’t 100% know if this would actively work, at least initially, because the actors themselves are aware that fanservice can help to raise their popularity, which enables them to be contracted for ads, sponsored social media posts, and appearances, which is how most of these actors make the majority of their money, NOT through the pay they receive for their actual acting work. So, they may perform fanservice as it’s currently known even if it’s not contractually required, but I do at least prefer the actors being in control of the level of fanservice they take part in, if any.

A second step, or option, is to have companies not solely send actors to events in their ‘pairs,’ and not keep them in the same pair for multiple series. I think if a company took the step and intentionally mixed up their ‘pairings’, specifically those from lead roles, then we would see less direct attachment to the ‘pairs’ and more to the actors as individuals. This could help in the long term prevent the fallout we’ve recently seen from acting pairs “breaking up,” very specifically the hateful attacks we’ve seen directed at the separate parties. But I think it could also prevent the fans from ‘choosing sides’ as I’ve also been seeing frequently in online BL spaces. In other direct online discussions, I’ve likened it to having a friend couple break up, and all of the other friends in the group essentially have to pick a side. Sometimes, you knew one person before they were a couple, and you stick with them. On occasion, one of the people will have done something terrible, and even if you knew them first, you stick with the other person. But often these are people who became your friend already a couple, and neither really did anything wrong, they just grew apart…so is it right to throw one aside in favor of the other?? Or is it more reasonable and realistic to maintain friendships with both separately? In a similar fashion, when BL pairs go their separate ways, isn’t it more reasonable to continue to follow them separately, assuming you find them both to be equally talented, versus putting one aside?

As a supplement to my suggestion of not maintaining static pairings I made this lil picker wheel with the actors at GMMTV...

…to be honest I’m quite intrigued by the idea of First and Gun. Both are phenomenal actors. I can picture the vibe of a potential story, based mostly on my desire to see Gun as a homme-fatale. PICTURE IT: Gun is a sultry assassin, beautiful and deadly, First is the ever-weary federal agent on his tail…but he begins to find an interesting connection amongst Gun’s ‘victims’, they’re all users and abusers, arguably far more detrimental to society than Gun himself. As he tracks down Gun and learns more about him…he begins to fall for him. In the end…does he stay true to the commitments he made to his country, or does he breaks those promises in favor of following his heart??

Anyway...this was 3,500 words. Hopefully some of them made sense. PLEASE share your thoughts, if you have any on this subject. I'd be especially interested if you are outside of the US.

[angelfeed]

Finally acquired all Wet Moon volumes :D I came across some of them at Half Price Books one day and was so happy to see her art again, it was a huge source of inspiration for me as a teenager and remains inspirational today. I love how colorful this set is, and it fits perfectly at home on the bookshelves alongside our comics n manga.

Besides purchasing random books here and there, Hune and I have nearly stopped all unnecessary purchases and outings as a form of protest against our government's involvement in genocide. Rest assured when we do buy anything we find the cheapest deals tho- The Wet Moon set for example was only $30.

My cooking continues to improve as I make more meals at home. That Marx quote is so true where he talks about, "the less you [spend], the greater is your alienated life." I rely on food stamps so it's always important to figure out the best nutrient dense meals on a budget, and I'm still needing to invest in home gardening that accommodates a small apartment patio. Need to acquire some 5 gallon buckets which I'm thinking about starting off with potatoes, tomatoes, kale, and green onions (carrots, cucumbers & blueberries would be good too). I briefly talked with Ella @pinkmoondoll9shihtzu recently about "victory gardens" which were popular during WWI & WWII, and the concept seems more relevant today as food prices rise and this insidious global fascistic political atmosphere accelerates. It's also just good to be as self-efficient as possible while allowing oneself to save what amounts to be a pretty penny when living in poverty. Then I can use my food stamps on other yummy things.

Maintaining layouts also feels like tending to a virtual garden of sorts and I'm happy with the look of this new theme for lovehael. Every time I play with coding it reminds me that it's actually fun and I need to set up a Neocities page. Besides tending to things around the house and online, a lot of my time and energy has been going towards volunteer work with Palestinians seeking help amplifying their donation pages. It's incredibly heavy on some days, the stories and pictures and videos I am processing for months on end, but they've been enduring so much worse in large part due to my government's policies, and this is just one thing I can do to acknowledge that and help alleviate their suffering to some degree. I find myself connecting to many Palestinian families primarily through Instagram, and getting news thru accounts there as well as Twitter & Tumblr. Twitter actually feels better to use now that I'm focusing on more political accounts and leaving the pretty pictures and memes etc for Tumblr. Still waiting for a day where we're all using different platforms altogether free from oppressive creeps tho.

[sleepsentry]

Hi hello I just popped by to tell you just how much I absolutely LOVE your art. The dynamic poses, the color, your shapes, you’re very much an inspiration to me for my own art. I was curious if you’d be willing to share your own inspirations/process in drawing? No need to if you don’t feel like it though. Again, thank you for sharing your art with the world.

Gosh, I'm not sure where I'd even start for that...

I don't think I can get into process atm because it changes so much in such tiny ways all the time. I have a basic skeleton of a process, but the rest is all over the place.

As for insperations:

I follow many many artists online and have picked up many small things just from looking at their work and trying to "reverse engineer" their process in my head.

I've noticed I tend to subconsciously "study" artists just by thinking "how do I draw this? Oh this artist drew it that way! Lemme try..." and I do that many many times while drawing.

Example: I look at the way an artist draws hands, then I look at my own hand and try and mimick the position in the artwork.

I study both and try to connect the dots between them. I feel the way my hand moves and the way the bones and muscles flex and relax.

I try and draw broad shapes, then the underlying mechanics of the hand, then I finish things by drawing what we actually end up seeing on the surface.

I dont draw the bones and muscles of a hand and then the skin just to be clear! I just try and keep them in mind as a draw the outlines.

Like a sculpture having a "skeleton" made of two bits or wire. I don't draw the skeleton, I draw the rough blueprint of where everything goes in quick simple lines. Then I build the "clay" on top.

I don't go that in depth every time but it helps to stop and "be more considered" if you have the time and energy.

Now that I think about it, watch sculpting videos!

It's a very similar process to drawing but 3d instead of 2D! I recommend clay sculpture but I'm sure 3d modeling has similar principles too, even if a very different approach overall.

Here are some channels I recommend:

For cute character dioramas with ridiculous fidelity while being very stylised

For impressive fake food that really shows just how much of an illusion art is

For amazing Dino statues with an eye for detail and convincing naturalism

For 2d artists I follow current professional and/or hobby artists, or even old masters who's work is archived in artbooks and social media accounts. All ranging a wide variety or styles, cute, horror, cartoon, realist, ect... and most importantly, the styles wich aren't as easily definable.

The variety of influences is great! As long as you figure out how to pick and dissect the elements that drew you to the work and how to apply your findings to your own work.

My biggest inspirations as a kid where animation (Disney, pixar, ghibli, ect...), manga, Belgian/French comics my dad had as a kid.

I didn't have the patience or means to learn to animate, but these comics had so much life and motion in their panels! I always found American comics really stiff and more difficult to read because of the detail and "realism". I know American comic art can be very expressive and fluid, but for my undiagnosed eye/brain issues...

This:

Was leagues more "readable" than:

They where literally easier to read.

That comic cover takes me a good few seconds to dissect and process, whereas the two examples above it are instant.

I'm terrible at studying from life due to my poor eyesight and spacial awareness issues, also I have ADHD so, not only is the information my eyes are giving to my brain suboptimal, but my brain is also terrible at processing and reconstructing that information.

Also tracing is a valid way of studying btw, that's how I learnt as a tot and it can be great to try and reverse engineer a finished peice and break it down to it's construction.

Obviously it's not the same as building something from scratch but we're talking within the realms of practice.

I also started trying to "re-learn" some art fundamentals in ways that work better for me, and it's been massively helpful.

I'm already working with fuzzy simplified abstractions of the world around me, so it's horrible trying to see accurately and THEN re-simplify it onto paper.

So something that has helped a lot and I mean A LOT with teaching my brain art basics in a digestible, step by step way, has been:

ART ACADEMY for the DS!

It's great for walking you through art fundamentals in a way that is digestible and no where near as overwhelming as just jumping straight in to a massive, complex, digital art programme.

It gets all the fuss of materials and subject and reference out of the way and let's you just focuse purely on the process of making art itself.

THIS:

WAS MADE WITH THIS:

This is the first drawing lesson:

This is the lesson after that:

This is all with the original DS version!

On a tiny screen with very primitive approximations of pressure sensitivity and no opacity or pen size options.

It mimics traditional art making in the sense that you make what you can with what you have and that limitation allows you to focuse on practice rather than get overwhelmed and over correct everything digitally.

These where tiny, crunchy, microcosmic, simplifications of digital art making back in 2009!!!

It's so refreshingly accessible and manageable.

I haven't even started the newer 3ds game that came out.

So if anyone reading is struggling with their art I highly recommend this little art exercise giver! It's helped me a lot.

OK hope that's readable and helpful. ^^

[fearfylsymmetry]

less of an ask and more of a compliment i love the way your tags are organized…”decay as a commodity” “bodies shifting in narrow spaces” etc is it your own original work or quoting from a song/poem/or something?

helloo angel and welcomee to the show, its always such a joy when people appreciate my silly little tagging system. they're all just random sentences i thought up ages ago, , just to make sense of the mess in front of you etc y'know how it gets love. i couldn't really get behind tagging things as "art" "people, faces places things" etc. i needed to inject a bit of flavour to the whole thing (let this not be read as a subtle jab towards any new york based tumblrinas , we're above that c'mon now). i wouldn't say these little phrases are "personal" by any means but they have been motifs i wanted to actively explore in the art i make so no harm putting them up here i guess haha

for posterity's sake i thought i'd just copy an explanation of my tags from an old ask

decay as a commodity : okay so i envisioned this as a way to just summarize modern living? i think of a whole blueish neon color scheme with this one. my line of thinking was,, with the world slowly rotting away and living becoming so expensive and exhausting, whats the one commodity we all share? wouldn't it be decay? aren't we all slowly fading together etc etc. i use this for images with cooler muted tones and anything with a futuristic vibe,, along with some grimey, monochrome photography

the setting dawn: this is the polar opposite of decay, i think of it as "hope beyond hope" a la Prior Walter's line in Angels in America. i know "the setting sun " might sound more natural but i think of it as,, dawn , when the sun breaks through - in this short period the world starts to wake. qs the dawn sets the day kicks in, with all its routine misery. Dawn i think, is the only time the sun is kind to you, because its still hidden away at least slightly. But the day truly starts and itbeats down on you. And yet we continue to live, past the boredom and the pain, we live past hope, past the quiet comfort of dawn. I use this for pictures with earthy tones and things on the more uplifting side

bodies shifting in narrow spaces: this has some overlap with the decay tag, im not as organized as i need 2 be. i use this for figures & portraits ill want to draw or just really any photography i like that features a human presence. think of it as people so dependent on an outside gaze they constantly try to reinvent themselves, or just, everyday people, getting less and less time to live, having to work and forcing themselves into relationships with any real connection

original sin and other contingencies: im trying to fit this in for more risque photography and maybe things on the more gory side. how do i explain this.. okay so... when there's nothing left to do you'll always have sin to turn to just yo keep yourself occupied, along with other methods/contingencies u get the jist

linen that lingers: my fashion tag nothing more 2 it

the canvas as testimony: for art that is made for the gallery or art that is held in higher regard i guess, more high culture. it includes painting, sculptures,along with architecture,, but maybe i should make an architecture tag. i think of the things here as more personal efforts

motion on a still surface: for art that is energetic and really pops off the page. includes comics, manga, fanart, animation. stuff here may be more low culture but really its not. i just differentiate these art tags as ,,one is stuck to the canvas whatever that canvas may be, while the other leaps off the page

word on a wing let me soar: books, poetry, articles, journals , all words that i adore

a conversation with the self: i wanted this to be for things that are very personal to me but i just use my other tags

angels in descent: my little funny haha tag for yknow ,,, funny haha. yknow the "devil's rejects" the movie? like its a way of saying people so horrible no even the devil would take them. okay so i thought " god's rejects " but that's lame. so i landed on this, like idk...imagine angels falling from grace

arcade shuffle: for my little viddy games lol. sorry for being a #gamergirl but yes it happens sadly ,,moving on

jet jump jive: for songs

at the pictures: for movies,, like imagine im going "cant talk im at the pictures wheee ^_^"

there is such a great distance between now and later: to track my art and writing progress but i barely use it cause it barely draw or write these days i blame the wave of despair that washeth over me

proof of concept: photos i took but there's like almost nothing here

misc that are just funny 2 me like i do it 4 a little chuckle i deserve it:

screw it posting hole - for hole the band

bowies in spaaace - for bowie, after the flight of the concords song cmon its a little funny at least cmon now

twink speaks- for twin peaks lol

[crabbeychick]

People you'd like to get to know better

I was tagged by @igotsnothing, my shotgun rider. Always a pleasure and thanks for the yummy snacks! You can beep the horn next time we're out! Thank you, my friend! ❤️

last song: I've been listening to Ateez all evening while Sims surfing, so I'm not sure which one was the last one. I think it was Promise!

favorite color: Black (it's a power color) and light pink (yet I'm still a girly girl sometimes!)

currently watching: People Investigates and Law & Order. Love my crime shows!

last movie: Smile. Totally freaked me out!

currently reading: Rereading The Shining by Stephen King. I love allllll his books! Also reading some hot BL manga!

Sweet/spicy/savory: Not a big sweet person (I do crave it now and then but that's rare) and I do not like spicy, so I guess that leaves savory!

last thing I googled: Hmmm, I don't remember, it might have been a food list for the story I'm writing involving my two hot and angsty pretty boys for their Italian dinner night (and when I write is the ONLY time I like spicy, heheheh).

current obsession: I won't lie, BG3. I just started and I am reallllly looking forward to finding Haslin (I hope I got that right) so he can have his way with my lovely fighter! Asterion is more than welcome to as well.

currently working on: a lot of stuff! Painting decorations for Halloween, writing about my boys and their one-night stand turning into a full fledged relationship (even though one swears he's never going to date anyone - hah, silly boy!), and desperately trying to sort out my Sims CC folders so I can finally make my boys and post them on here!

I invite any of my very few followers to participate. It's fun!

I'm ready for a road trip anytime you are! <3

[cherry-pyon]

The four seasons of Mankai Company

Synopsis: Tachibana (Y/n) and her older sister Tachibana Izumi received a letter that came all the way from a theater company called Mankai company. One day, you both decided to go to the designated destination written at the letter and to meet the mysterious sender, in hopes of finding answers about your father's whereabouts after 8 years of disappearance, only to find the said theater to be in debt from someone!

⚠️Reminders⚠️:

May contain incorrect grammars (English is not my first language)

Will follow the manga, but there will be a lot of changes.

Different flow of story due to two protagonists (you and Izumi)

Reader is 16 while Izumi is 24 (not canon but is considered)

Fem!reader

Long ass series so I won't blame you if you get bored the first time you look at it.

P.s: A3! Characters are legally and respectfully owned by Liber Entertainment Inc. and I do not claim them. I only own the changes in the plot of the story.

Chapter 1:

Theater Town

"Wake up (y/n), we're here" you were awoken by a soft pat on your head, you soon realized you were leaning on your big sister's shoulder and fell asleep. You raised your head, stealing a few more seconds to doze off as you yawned and told Izumi just about how good your sleep was as she chuckled at you. A voice can be heard from a large speaker as it announces the train's destination, finally reaching your stop—Veludo station.

Izumi got up first, signalling for you to follow her behind so both of you won't get separated from each other. You began looking around as your sister took out the letter together with the company's exact location.

"So this town really is full of theaters!" You exclaimed in excitement, admiring the colorful triangle banners surrounding the town, together with different theater companies on sight.

"Now that you said it, it really is. The map says the Mankai company is in the corner of Veludo street, I wonder if this is really alright.."

Your sister mumbled the last words, clear enough so that you're the only one hearing it. It seems like she's taking your mother's words seriously about the letter. I mean it's suspicious to find that after all these years, your father's company would still be searching for him.

"I don't even know where that man went! We've already cut ties and it's been 8 years since he left" you can still hear the words your mom said, sounds like she still holds a grudge against your father.

Lost in your own thoughts, you were snapped back into reality when someone accidentally bumped into you, the impact left you both sitting on the floor, hissing at the pain in unison. He was quick to process anything and immediately apologized, offering a hand as soon as he got up—which you thankfully accepted, earning a relieved sigh from the poor boy. He was a cute boy, you guessed he was a little bit older than you or maybe younger than you but who are you to judge, he was very lively-looking, you kinda envy him for it, and not to mention how he looked similar to a ball of sunshine.

He looked like he ran away from someone, or rather finished a whole marathon, some of the strands of his dark-pink hair are sticking to his forehead which concerns you more.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't looking at my way!" He bowed at exactly 90° making you flinch. He stayed like that for almost a minute.

You're going to have to thank him for his politeness (even though he looks way younger than you) but this is too much!

"Ahhhhhhhh! Please raise your head now, it's okay it's okay! You don't have to apologize"

you panicked, continuously looking around as people are starting to stare at the two of you. He raised his head, showing his apologetic expression. He's thankful that you accepted his apology—lips forming into a charming smile as he giggled.

You swear you can see cherry blossoms blooming just around his face, and it made your cheeks surprisingly burn.

Everything went well after that, not until you heard him meek and saw how his eyes widened looking at his wristwatch, it seems like he was late for something and it must've been super important based on his facial expressions. You feel more guilty than you were before.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were going some-"

"Ah no! It was my fault! Sorry, I have to go!" He cut you off as he ran away hurriedly—leaving you processing all the things that happened just a while ago, 'Ah...I forgot to ask for his name' you smacked yourself.

'I forgot to ask for her name!' he thought as he starts to blame himself for not asking such an important thing, 'I just hope we can meet again' he looked through his watch again as he starts to run faster.

You start to look around your surroundings. You didn't even realize your older sister was gone, and she probably didn't even realize you weren't with her anymore.

'what a perfect sibling dynamic' you jokingly thought.

But as soon as you walk through a corner, there she is! Talking to a guy who's crouching on the floor, together with another guy who looks just as concerned as your sister does. I mean who wouldn't be concerned about a guy crouching down on the side of the streets that looks like he's in pain?

You're curious to know what happened, who knows? Maybe it might be best if you judge the situation first based on your understanding and let it live up to your imaginations—maybe it's two guys falling head over heels to your big sister and are fighting for her love the first time they met her exactly on the streets of Veludo way. Yeah, that's probably it!

'I mean I'm not going to blame nee-san if boys fight over for her' you thought, trying to sneak in behind your sister.

"What's happening? Is he okay?" You said, clinging onto your sister's arm, making her see the Gods from above for a second but sooner thank the Gods upon realizing it was just you.

"(Y/n)!" She glared at you, apologizing to her by clinging more tightly. She does nothing but to let it slide for now since she can't do anything about your behaviour sometimes.

"Do adults really like to argue outside the streets?" You asked in curiosity, eyes glued to the scene infront of you—the crouching man before was standing now together with another man. It looks like they were having a complicated conversation.

"That's not it, (y/n)-"

"Hey look, a street act!" The three of you stole a quick glance from the source of voice behind, and realized there were a lot of people watching.

"I saw that guy on the stage before!" A passerby said. "They're so handsome!" Schoolgirls began squealing from the side. Yup, they're definitely popular.

It seems like everyone enjoyed the performance, you won't even deny that both of them are very good at portraying their characters' actions and emotions. Not too long after, both of them bowed in unison, as they thanked all of the people watching them, a full-round of applause was heard as people began tossing lots of coins on a box infront of them, both you and your sister decided to toss coins too to show appreciation as they continuously thanked everyone who showed generosity.

"I didn't even realize that was an act just now" Izumi clapped her hand once as she chuckled to herself, making the guy beside her ask in shock.

"Eh? That was a play?" The light brown-haired guy must've been way more surprised than your sister does.

"Mhm! Actors from theaters usually do these street acts in order to advertise or serve as a fundraising project for their upcoming plays, the scripts are most likely coming only from their ad-libs so it's really impressive once you knew about it" Izumi babbled. Both you and the guy were happy to know about this new discovery. Your nee-san is knowledgeable about things such as this which left you very impressed as she acted not only as an older sister, but also as your second guardian and your teacher.

"As expected from a theater town...I think I need to study more" the guy mumbled something under his breath that you cannot hear quite clearly, but you just shrugged it off even though you are curious to know what it is.

The crouching guy from before apologized to both of them, then the latter began scolding his friend that he came out so slow earlier when they performed.

"Excuse me! Are you now recruiting members for God?" The light brown-haired guy suddenly asked out to the two actors, which both you and your older sister curiously watched from behind.

'Maybe he wants to be an actor too!' you assumed.

You examined the conversation they exchanged—upon discovering, he was looking for a dorm to stay on. You were sad for the guy after hearing that the God troupe doesn't have a dorm. He thanked both of them and parted ways, leaving both of you proceeding to your main objective.

"Now i'm really looking forward to this play after seeing a street act" your sister's eyes beamed in excitement, and you nod to yourself as your eyes beamed as well.

"Romeo Gakuen Heaven.." you mumbled, remembering the play's title when you saw it on the company's map as Izumi—who cannot wait any longer, led the way.

"Mankai theater is supposed to be here, right?"

That was the first thing your older sister questioned, looking up to see a theater infront of you with a huge signboard that says 'Mankai Theater'.

"I mean it's in the signboard up there, so this must be it. We can't be seeing lots of Mankai theaters here when I'm sure father only owns a single one"

"But this one is...honestly crumbling" although you're hesitant whether it's right to comment about the appearance, she's got a point. It looks like it holds a LOT of history.

"There's no sign of people even though there is a play today, is this really fine?" Izumi added, slowly pacing back and forth while lost in her own thoughts, unable to comprehend the things happening today. Was it a prank? Or probably the wrong map? But it can't be, the signboard literally says the theater and the company both of you are looking for.

Because of this, your conversation with your mom suddenly came into mind, again.

"The letter said it's from the Mankai company" you said, handing it out for your older sister to see.

"Mom! Mankai company is dad's theater, right? The sender might know something about where dad is!" Izumi said as she called out for your mom, waving the letter for her to see.

"Maybe if we meet, we'll definitely know something!" She added, insisting to know your mother's response.

"Then do it by yourself because mom doesn't know and-"

"Can I go with you, nee-san?"

"You're not allowed to go with your big sister, (Y/n). You still have classes to attend tomorrow!" Your mother stated, too busy to look behind her to see your disappointed expression—arms crossed, pouted lips, and furrowed eyebrows.

"Can't she just transfer to another school? One that's near enough to the company? In that way we won't have to go back here and go back there" Izumi suggested, even though it sounds too much trouble to handle all of it, your mother only replied with an annoyed sigh, one that secretly makes you celebrate early.

"I'll take care of her, trust me on this mom" she added, smiling at your mother as she looked over through her shoulder to look at both of you, rethinking whether she will choose the right decision on this.

"I hope you won't give too much trouble to your nee-san, (Y/n). I'll let this slide but if I ever receive a letter that you skip classes without my watch, I'll be forcing you to go back home here, got it?" Mother warned you, glancing at the two of you back-to-back as you both nod in unison. You thanked your mother—hugging her as Izumi joined too.

You were back to the Earth as you looked down at the letter in your hand and turned it around to examine it.

"I didn't notice the sender's name was here. Nee-san, do you know who's Matsukawa Isuke?" You questioned, to which she replied back instantly.

"I don't know who that person is but I'm curious to know what kind of relationship they have with dad"

You were about to reply back to your sister when a voice suddenly spoke out, it made you flinch, while Izumi looked behind in a flash.

"Hey, do the two of you need something from this theater?" Now it's your turn to looked behind. It's an adult man with blonde hair and glasses, and if you tend to look closely and carefully, he has an attractive mole under his right eye. 'He's good looking yet he's intimidating' you thought.

"Matsukawa-san?" Izumi said in a low and hesitant tone. Wait! He must be the sender of the letter, and with that you stand next to your sister which made the blonde-haired man slightly raise his one eyebrow.

"You must be that person we're looking for, right mr.?" You asked, patiently waiting for his reply as you felt a ray of hope was there and you can almost reach it, but unexpectedly, it made him react the opposite of what you imagined.

"HAHH?!" He reacted. You can clearly tell by the looks of his face that it's the wrong person, you squeaked and your body felt frozen because of fear.

But his face suddenly changed when he glanced over at your sister's face and looks like he found something, which weirded you out.

"Wait aren't you.."

"Okay wrong person, nee-san! I repeat, wrong person!" You carefully but hurriedly grab both your sister's shoulders to back her up from the mysterious person who kept looking at her like he's going to devour her, your big sister only stood there as she nervously laughs, sweat slowly forming on her forehead.

"Sorry, we got the wrong person. It's not like we received any letter! We're just passersby letter A-B!"

You began panicking, not having any choice but to agree with your sister's choice of words. It was obvious but there's no backing away now. Whoever this man really is, you know he's got something to do with this theater!

"If you don't want to encounter a dangerous sight, it's best for the two of you to leave quickly. People who don't have any businesses here are not needed".

It was the last thing you heard before the ground began shaking, and a loud noise could be heard going nearer as you felt scared and decided to cling onto your sister. The latter gripped your hand tighter in a way that will assure you that everything's fine. And there goes a huge excavator that was coming towards the theater! Where did that even come from?! And why is it going forward?! And who is this man trying to destroy the theater?!

Your eyes widened, both you and your sister are surprised that this would take an unexpected turn of events.

"Wait wait wait!! Please stop!! STOP!!!" A pleading-crying voice can be heard as another mysteriously looking guy with a rather ragged outfit came running very fast in an attempt to stop the excavator, but the scary blonde guy ignored the other as he instructed something to the one driving the excavator, the latter even called him 'Aniki!' so they were accomplices after all!

"Do it, Sakoda. Make sure you completely destroy the signboard, this will be fully demolished after and reconstructed into a bar-"

"H-hey! What are you doing!?" Izumi suddenly blurted out, there's no other way but to talk it out and that's the only help she can think of.

"I just told you it'd be dangerous, didn't I?" He replied back, looking behind to steal a glance at the two of you, you can't do anything as your feet felt numb, almost as if you're stuck and unable to speak, but your hand kept a firm grip on your big sister's arms as she argued with the blonde man.

"I beg you Furuichi-san! Please stop it!!!" The poor guy wasted no time and bowed, he stayed like that for minutes and completely began to sink lower and lower until his forehead became in contact with the floor, 'the theater must be super important to this guy' you looked down on him in pity, surely there must be some way we can help him, he might be the person we are looking for.

"You're the one who said that if you can't pay all of your debts by the end of the show, I'll have to use force here!"

"Today is our main show!" He cried out, looking up at the blonde guy, who looks down on him in dissapointment.

"I could pay at least the interest if I can get money from this performance! Just please think this over and let's talk!" He continuously cried out, being really vulnerable infront of him. It looks like there's no way of getting into him until he sighs in annoyance and gives another instruction from his accomplice.

"Sakoda, stop"

"Yessir!"

As soon as the blonde haired guy named Furuichi-san stopped talking, the pitiful guy sighed in relief and stood up but soon got tense again when Furuichi wrapped his arms around his shoulder, making the pitiful guy petrified.

"How many tickets have been sold?"

"Zero!"

"How about the full-house tickets?"

"Also zero!"

"What time is the performance?"

"3 minutes by now!"

The pitiful guy ended his sentence in a nervous laugh as Furuichi doesn't look a little bit amused by his answers.

"Sakoda, do it"

"Yessir!!"

"WAIT!! WAIT! THE AUDIENCE ARE ABOUT TO COME!!" He said as he begged again, lots of crying noises can be heard as he purposely tried his best to leave the theater untouched for any damage, although it looks like it's gonna break by itself.

'This is too much to handle!! God please help this poor guy!' you cried out in your mind, the cries of the pleading guy and the cruelty of a guy who doesn't look like he'll show mercy at any time is too much for your heart to handle, this is pure torture!

"Where are they?"

"Errr...uhmm..ahhh"

"Why do I feel like we're being stared at..." Your older sister muttered, her body stood still like a mannequin as her face made a weird expression.

Your hand made its way to fidget on the hem of your skirt, looking down as you slowly backed away, hiding behind your sister.

Izumi might have seen your movements as a sign of telling her to help him, you might look tough at first but sometimes you're at a loss of words. That's why she took up all the courage and decided to speak up.

"The audiences are right here" She defended, pressing her hand on her chest in a way she can present herself, while you remained hiding.

"SEE?! T-THEY'RE HERE!!" The ragged-looking guy's face switched into pure excitement, too loud in your opinion but you understand his situation if you were in his shoes, you'd definitely be too hype.

"Didn't you just say that you're just a passersby A and B?" He clicked his tongue.

"We have the flyer as proof!" You showed him the flyer. It was the theater's exact performance for today which you're really looking forward to.

It seems like it's enough proof to present, he sighed in defeat. "A few more audiences might still be on their way here, it'd be a total waste if we didn't get to watch the performance" you added, hoping it could warm this cold-hearted man.

"Did you even watch this theater's recent performance?" He asked, his purple eyes piercing a hole through you. It's truly agonizing to feel little sometimes.

"No..I don't?"

"That's what I thought"

"But this place. It feels familiar.." Izumi joined in the conversation, clutching her hands in her sling bag. She looked at the large banner right above the signboard—Deja vu coming through her, "It's like I've been here when I was little" She added.

"I see.." he pondered as his eyes landed on your older sister. You're really really sure for yourself that he LOVES to pierce a hole through anyone with how sharp his gazes are. It's scary.

"PLEASE WATCH OUR SHOW! WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER AND IT'S GOING TO BE HIS FIRST PERFORMANCE!" The ragged-looking man begged, desperately crying out as you swore you felt you ear ring just now.

"So you got a new recruit?"

"THAT'S RIGHT!!" he yelled, obediently answering to Furuichi's questions.

"HAVING THE THEATER DEMOLISHED RIGHT BEFORE HIS FIRST PERFORMANCE IS TOO CRUEL" His hands clasped as he still wouldn't stop crying.

It's a huge relief that people rarely walk by here and witness a chaotic scene infront of the theater, where a large excavator is going to demolish a crumbling theater and the ragged-looking guy who you don't know the name of starts sacrificing his sanity just to keep the building untouched, and two audience who just wanted to know their father's whereabouts are now being forced to witness everything that's happening.

"Sakoda, stay here"

"Yessir!"

Furuichi stood still infront of the theater, his back facing the three of you. You felt shivers down your spine, making the air feel colder than it was before.

"Start the show now" the three of you suddenly feel like you've been free from the suffocating silence, especially the ragged-looking guy, who happily obliged and replied back with a "YES!" Quickly assisting the three of you inside the theater.

You looked around the interior—eyes wandering at every corner. You followed your older sister as she sat on the front row, sitting beside her as your lips can't stop itself from smiling. You're excited and I'm sure you and your big sister are in the same boat.

Furuichi sat right beside you, and now you're in between, you feel the awkward air flowing inside the room. 'This is not good' you sighed to yourself.

"Don't regret that you stopped us earlier"

"Eh?" You looked at him, only to witness his eyes closed and face in a much more relaxed expression. His index finger softly taps on the sleeves of his coat several times, it's probably the best not to bother him at this time or you'll regret it, the thought of it already makes your anxiety rose up.

When the buzz stopped, the curtain lifts up, the lights from the stage started to warm up the atmosphere in the pitch black room. Your (e/c) eyes lit up as its only focus is on the stage, and to the familiar dark-pink haired boy.

'W-what? Isn't that-'