#there is lots of overlap though so I do take bits and pieces from the live action ads for my own canon

[heartbeetz]

My "every version of Anton is the most handsome man ever" post does Not include silly live action Anton. Sorry. Very funny when they post behind the scenes stuff for those videos, though. Who is this skinny white boy...

(it's the lead dev btw. cosplaying his oc.)

[tackytigerfic]

tacky! if you’re not fed up with talking about it: what was your macro process for first watch of the night, soup to nuts? wondering about how you broke down outlining, drafting, editing. was it different in scope from your ordinary process, or just scaled up?

soup to nuts, baby (i had to google that, it is one of those delightful phrases that we don't use here and i'm hopelessly charmed by it).

thanks for the ask, pal. i'm always interested in people's processes myself, particularly since I came to writing so late (late 30s) and have never approached it formally. i do read an awful lot and that i think is my main influence and teacher (less so in recent years but am trying to get back to incessant reading). i have also been trying to read more works in translation and to revisit classics too, as well as try more formally inventive works. this i struggle with as i'm a bit basic when it comes to reading, i like the segue 'twixt page and brain to be seamless so it's like i'm absorbing it rather than thinking about it, while ofc a more experimental style does often necessitate thinking about it. My partner (approvingly) described my original work as a 'stylistic blank' (the cleaner the better i say) and that's exactly what i like best to read - though it's always a pleasure to be dragged by the throat out of my comfort zone too.

I would always have described myself as a pantser - I never outline, never do writing exercises or character work or beat sheets or whatever (i'm quite resistant to a very structured formal approach). every fic i ever write starts with the germ of one very specific idea - a cameraflash-quick image of a scene, a piece of dialogue... whatever it is. and then i usually start to write at the start and then work my way through.

This one was fairly similar in approach, initially. I opened one doc for loose note-taking — it's where i jot down any ideas i had for scenes, any snippets of dialogue, anything I'd need to remember. I then started writing the fic itself - in this case, I actually skipped through and wrote out of order, not that I knew what order things were going to go in, as such - but I just wrote any scenes I had thought of that felt interesting to me, and skipped a lot of the world-buildingy scenes or the sort of "texture" scenes, the ones that construct a sense of the world they're in and the relationships they have. I then found myself in the position of having to go back and write those bridging scenes, and make the connections (which in some cases did not naturally fall into place) - it was not easy, and I wish i had taken a more linear approach to the writing, in retrospect.

So by the end, some scenes in this fic were written in 2021 and some in late 2024, which means that when I finally finished the rough first draft, the writing quality was patchy, the pacing was off, and some plotty stuff really didn't make sense. That's when the real hard work started.

A few people had looked over very early scenes, but the bulk of the fic was written with no input from anyone else - just three years of writing it into a vacuum without any sense of perspective. Showing it to my alpha/beta people was so nerve-wracking. they read it at different times, which was great as i could concentrate on their feedback one by one, and all three of them had different suggestions (as well as lots of overlap ofc). It was extremely helpful to see what made sense to them, and what they liked - but more significantly, what bits they went 'what the fuck' at, or which bits all three of them had issue with (i'm thinking of the ending here, i really had to kill some darlings there when all three were unanimously just like... tacky no). i had different docs for all three of them, and i worked off one master doc, deciding which changes i wanted to incorporate and how i wanted to approach them. plot stuff was a HUGE issue. the writing quality could be smoothed out - but i'm not a plotty writer and sadly this fic has A LOT of plot. so i needed to work on that. i also have some wolfstar (including a sex scene) which i was nervous about, as i have never read any wolfstar.

Once i finished all the edits, i then did one more read-through myself. I've never edited on such a significant level before. my other two longer fics were written for fests, usually in a scramble to get them done on time — this felt expansive in a way i couldn't have imagined allowing myself to be before i was in it, but as i was working it didn't feel necessary to try to force myself into speed i couldn't hope to achieve or maintain.

@sweet-s0rr0w and i had a really happy morning organising the chapter breaks, and then i had to decide on a title and write a summary. tagging was easier as i had my friends to advise.

another big difference to previous processes is the posting schedule. now i'm posting a chapter every two days, i spend the day between posts working on the upcoming chapter one more time. in all but one chapter i have made quite a few changes immediately prior to posting, which just goes to show that the work is shaping itself as it goes. It's been fascinating to me how putting the fic out into the world is giving me a sense of perspective, creative distance, and dare i say a tighter control over the narrative now that it's not just in my head anymore? so i do think any tiny remaining wrinkles are more satisfyingly flattened than i could have ever hoped for.

so in short, this work is different in scale, ambition, and process in almost every way to anything i've ever written. I can't imagine i'm likely to be able to pour myself into something so profoundly ever again, tbh. it took me by surprise, but it's been the most creatively satisfying thing i've ever done. having people finally reading it (and so generously too) is like getting a very special gift.

Regrets? Being the slowest writer in the world, being too perfectionist (not that i think it's perfect in any way, just i wanted it to be the best i could make it, when it probably would have been grand if it was ehhh fine, you know?) Also, i think i could probably have refined the pacing a bit more. We're on chapter 7 now and six months have passed, so basically the last three months of the fic take place over the last 14 chapters 🙈 But that's because this is where most of the romance and plot develops, so it makes sense that it would take up more space. And i do firmly believe that fics should be a bit self-inulgent, so why not stretch out in the parts i'm most interested in writing?

tagging @citrusses @maesterchill and @sweet-s0rr0w who i can never thank enough for the work they did to get me to this point. everyone already knows what brilliant writers all three are - what a lucky bastard i am to have had their insights and advice.

[raayllum]

Been also thinking about the line between "the text wasn't meant to be interpreted this way but it's a solid reading / line of critique (with caveats)" (#1) versus "the text wasn't meant to be interpreted this way and doing so actively worsens the story they're trying to tell" (#2).

Going to do some TDP specific examples.

But basically: When your in-depth reading takes away from the Surface Level reading rather than providing contribution, that's usually a good sign you're going into a story with 1) an expectation or reading that was never promised or 2) are weakening the story through a typically unfounded analysis.

A TDP specific example is the relationship between Viren and Harrow. Canonically, textually, they had a brotherly relationship, both in the dialogue that Viren conveys ("I think of you as my brother" / "You're my brother") and in their persistent parallel framing with Callum and Ezran.

However, that doesn't stop many fans (myself included) from reading a romantic and sexual attraction between Viren and Harrow, especially in their youth. Not only do they just have the vibes, parallels to other couples, and subtext, Viren very much places Harrow's importance in his life in a way that's usually reserved for lovers. Viren having been in love (or ongoing) just makes sense. That doesn't mean any of us are expecting TDP to ever make it Canon — like I said, it's canonically very much Not that — but it does add a layer to Viren always wanting to 1) matter to Harrow as much as he does, and 2) his frustration and severance with Harrow because he wasn't getting the acceptance and affection that he wanted.

This is what I would consider #1 avenue: it doesn't take away from their dynamic, and to me adds a layer, but it allows the text to stand as is. Viren wants Harrow's love and attention in the gradual and then sharp deterioration of their dynamic. All I'm changing is a little bit of the why per my personal reading.

Meanwhile, if I went the route of "Yeah I know canon shows Harrow appreciating, taking Viren into account, and smiling at / loving him, but I don't think Harrow cared at all and he was just a bad friend to Viren for years" then... Yeah I could read it that way — it's not as though Harrow or Viren were hardly perfect friends to each other, and Harrow's discard of Viren is harsh (even if it was a long time coming in a lot of ways) — but what does that leave me with? Frustration, maybe; a poor view of Harrow; immense sympathy towards Viren? At best, I'd maybe resent how Viren learns the lessons Harrow was trying to teach him by paying for it with his life; at worst, I'd think the narrative was being fundamentally unfair to Viren without recognizing that his previous modes of self sacrifice were always couched in ego, shirking the immediate consequences of being saved, or that he was routinely willing to sacrifice everyone around him first, including his own children.

This is where we get into area #2, and I see it happen all the time with TDP, whether it's from the series not portraying monarchies as a bad thing or the ever persistent "issue" of dark magic. Quite frankly, it's silly to walk into TDP post-S1 expecting dark magic to be anything beyond — given all the current textual evidence — "morally complicated" magic at best. Yes it can be used for good things, but that doesn't automatically make it good, and while we could spin logistical wheels for ages, the Point the story is Making with dark magic is about power, desperation, love, self-destruction, violation, and agency, and how all those things can overlap or counteract each other. Toting out "well I think dark magic is blanket statement Okay and Good actually" misses all of that, and actively makes your reading and experience with TDP worse. The surface level reading is important to take into account when examining a piece of media, otherwise it can lead to a very warped view and effect your ability to be well founded in your reading of the text.

That doesn't mean you can't desire a more morally neutral form of dark magic — plenty of fantasy series and stories have it, and some I adore (like "the legend of Zelda" — but it does mean accepting the story is never going to broadly speaking do that, and it's Okay that it won't. I'd be silly if I walked into LOZ expecting them to get into the ethics of its form of (non) dark magic of using monsters for spell parts because it's 1) a game mechanic and 2) it's not interested in the ethics of it, and no amount of me saying "well it should be" will change that, nor is it a Story Flaw that it doesn't.

This is all to say that I think asking "Why would the writers do this?" is one of the most useful, if basic, questions to ask when it comes to analysis and when figuring out whether your viewpoint is falling into avenue #1 of being grounded, or avenue #2 of veering towards warped territory.

For example, if I take Rayla not being by Callum's side when he's struggling over the pearl reveal in 6x06 as an indicator she doesn't care about him, I'm doing a deep dive that ignores all the very Surface Level emphasized scenes of Rayla caring about and supporting Callum a whole lot. I could make the claim she doesn't care based on that scene, but it wouldn't be well founded because it's ignoring miles of other much more prevalent, consistent scenes of her being there for him; it's not a well founded claim.

For something less obvious, let's look at 5x08. While Callum could've given Finnegrin the wrong spell on purpose, as some fans have thoughtfully proposed, as a sneaky wink for die hard fans... why would the authors do that? What does the story gain from that reading or intention? Well, it makes it seem like Callum was less desperate in his dealings with Finnegrin, which makes him doing dark magic afterwards come off worse. It also lessens the battle Callum has throughout that episode for feeling in control and recognizing that he can't always be. It's a reading that, in my opinion, not only strays away from the surface level reading, but is one removes elements from the text that the text would otherwise be stronger for having. In comparison, after all, if Callum gave his version of the right spell without thinking it through, he did so entirely out of desperation, which better affirms just how desperate and worn down he had to be to do dark magic, and is another instance in the episode of him feeling very much out of control (especially since we don't see the 3rd with dark magic on screen, so otherwise, we'd only have him punching Finnegrin as an example and nothing else).

Same thing with the old (now debunked) theory of Callum's bio dad being elven in nature. It's an interesting idea, exploring the implications and backstory and how'd grapple with it, but it'd weaken what canon is actively striving for, which is that Callum's magic use is special precisely because he's an ordinary human who's gained primal magic, and having elven ancestry would counteract that. It doesn't mean that the idea isn't a Good one or that it's not fun to explore in fanon, but there's a lot of reasons the story isn't (or decided not to) have it be canon, because it was stronger for the story they Wanted to tell for it not to be.

Sometimes, as fans this means acknowledging that what we want or prefer in a story is just blatantly not what's being set up, because the story is going to do things regardless of what we want or personally like. That doesn't mean those decisions are bad, and it also doesn't mean those elements or decisions or constructions are beyond critique, but it does mean to ask yourself some key questions:

Is there anything my reading is missing? (ie. if TDP shouldn't have monarchs and that's the critical focus, we lose the messages about leadership, family, and legacy that are engaged with through the vessel of hereditary monarchy)

Why might the story or scene go in certain directions? Are there story constraints (time, tone, etc) they have to abide by?

Am I expecting the story to ascribe to my worldview or preference, and am I open to things that don't do that? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Is my in-depth takeaway aligned with a surface level reading? Are both readings working together, or are they opposed? What other surface level readings might be plausible here for a casual viewer?

Even if this is not personally compelling and/or believable to me, does my personal takeaway match up with the characters' responses to it? Why or why not? (Think every Disney movie where they fall in love in 3 days. Realistic? No. Does it matter within the context of the story? Also no)

Again, this is not to say that 1) what the casual takeaway Is is an objective singular monolith (it isn't) or 2) if the casual takeaway and your interpretation is at odds that you're wrong. But through context clues, we can usually narrow it down as to what the story intends, and that if our interpretations do veer heavily to examine why and to manage expectations accordingly.

Anyways hopefully this all made sense Viren x Harrow forever

[20dollarlolita]

What are notches and how can I pirate them?

If you've ever used a commercial pattern, there's a good chance you've encountered notches. They're little markings along the edges of your cut pattern pieces, and you use them for identifying the pieces and aligning them with each other.

Notches are important for a lot of things. First of all, sometimes parts are not easy to tell apart from each other, so notches make similar pieces visually distinct. They help you know which parts align, so that you don't accidentally sew something to the wrong edge of a piece. They also allow you to align parts that might not otherwise line up. If you're connecting an inside curve to an outside curve, or you're connecting a gathered piece to a flat piece, or you're connecting two similar pieces made out of different fabrics, notches help you make sure you're lining pieces up.

However, as much as I love using PDF patterns from indie brands, sometimes a small pattern company will, <screams internally> just not use notches.

We add notches to the pattern piece, and not to the fabric, for a few reasons. We cut most garments on the fold, so when you add notches to the pattern piece, the notches will be symmetrical across the garment. It's also easier to manipulate paper without distortion than it is to manipulate fabric.

For many reasons, one being a lack of notches, I started a blouse and had to scrap the entire thing and start over. The fabric that I was working with was relatively fragile, and couldn't stand to be ripped and re-sewn too many times. Since I'm making this again, from a new size of the pattern, I thought I'd take the time to show everyone how I add notches:

The basic technique for this is called "walking a seam." You're going to need a tool to use as a pivot for your pattern, and a surface where you can stab through. Carpet, ironing boards, and big pieces of cardboard all work well for a work surface, and you can use a push pin for your pivoting tool.

To walk a pattern seam, the first thing you need to do is to draw your seam allowance onto each pattern piece. When you walk the seam, you're going to be aligning the actual seam lines, not the edges of the fabric. If your pattern won't tell you what included seam allowance is on every piece, ask for your money back. That's basic information you should always get.

Start at the top of the seam, and stab your little stabby tool through both layers, so that you line one seam line up with the next one. You can now use that point as a pivot to swing either pattern piece around.

It's hard to see what's happening in photos, so here's an illustration.

In this illustration, the red dot represents your pivoting tool. In the top row, you a) place the pivoting tool at the end of both lines, so that they overlap. B) turn one of the lines/pattern pieces. so that the lines overlap. Due to the curves of these lines, it only overlaps for a little bit, before they start curving apart again. Now C) You move your pivoting tool so that it's at the point where the two lines diverge.

Second row: You now, using your new pivot point, move one of the lines so that it overlaps the other line. You can now move the pivot point to the spot where the lines start to come apart again. Once you've moved the pivot point, you can rotate the seam lines to once again make them line up.

It makes a little more sense in video form, though GIMP was being uncooperative and not saving this as an animation properly.

Anyway, the point of all of this is that it's an accurate way to make sure that two curved lines are the same length.

Now, if you're walking a seam, and you put a mark at a point in the walk, the mark will be at the same length on both pieces. This is how you use marks to make sure that two pieces line up if they're curved in different directions.

For example, these two pieces are different shapes, but they're the same length. Because fabric is weird and it stretches, if we don't put a mark in the same spot on each piece, when we match them up, we can't know for sure that they're actually meeting up evenly on both spots.

For princess seams like this, I like to do one notch above and one notch below the big curve.

If you're making a pattern to sell to other people, it can be really helpful to look at where notches are supposed to go in modern pattern making convention, and to stick with that. For example, a lot of the time notches are meant to line up with base foundation lines such as bust or natural waist.

If you're just doing this because you got a pattern with no notches and you fucked it up last time, the only thing that matters is that you give yourself help.

You'll see that I have a single notch above the curve, and a triple notch below. This is because on the front, I had a double notch below, and that would look too similar if they were the same number of notches.

Okay, so other pattern making convention here: see how the side back and side front both face the same side? This is technically wrong.

The reason this is wrong is that you should be able to put your pattern together like a puzzle and get half of a garment. Fronts and backs face opposite sides so that you can line them up on the side seam. When I wanted to walk these two pieces so that I could add a notch, I had to turn one upside-down and work on the back. That was really annoying.

Walking patterns is really important for complicated pattern pieces, like this rectangular collar that goes onto a very curved neckline. To ensure that this collar fits correctly, I wanted to add notches on the bottom that would line up with the shoulder seam. To walk that line, I had to place all four of my bodice panels together, so that the collar was all in one place. Again, you can see how half my pieces are wrong side up, and that's just becuase that's how this designer made this pattern.

You'll also notice that, for notches, I clip an actual notch in the pattern paper. I'm using a special hole punch for this, but you can use all kinds of different things. You can just cut a slit in the paper, or use a pen or something to draw in your notch.

Anyway, there's a way to just give yourself a few clues about what's the proper side of things in this crazy world of patterns.

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

thoughts on society but not really

[Hi maggots, it's me, your kind of scarred mascot. I already made a post about the carnage that I witnessed in taking even one step into the ofmd fandom, so I won't go there.]

But at this point tumblr is where I go to for comfort and social interaction so here's me making a post before I pass out with the medications. The sore throat is killing me and honestly it's all a bit blurry right now, so things are gonna be not very clarified. Clarity. Idk.

I don't know at what point reality bleeds into fiction, and fiction bleeds into reality. I suspect not a lot of us do. More importantly, I have no idea what the consequences of that overlap are, and the whole artist from art theory. Like, if trans people get joy from the Harry Potter franchise, where JKR is a transphobic piece of shit, should they give up their joy for no fault of theirs or continue to indirectly support her? As a trans guy, I still find comfort in what the fandom created. Why is everything so messy-

Anyway fandoms, they're all so strange, aren't they? Whole communities with defined roles that also evolve and overlap, fade out and emerge. But physically they don't exist. Or do they? Are fandoms the people/the fans, or the source material, or the fanon material, or the canon creators, or the canon cast/crew/publishers? Which fans are representative and which aren't of the fandom as a whole? Is it about numbers or is it weighed against the intended message of the show and its impact and other factors?

Jesus christ my hands hurt I'm so close to passing out hnngh painkillers are wild.

hello maggots if anyone sees this i'd like a hug and some love, please? *holds out arms*

sending you all love. and comfort. it's a fucked up world. i hope i bring you some joy in it. i know for sure that you all do.

i'll hopefully function a bit more if the illness doesnt get worse, so I'll continue with GO/DW then. Maybe OFMD, though I'll have to see how without damaging my mental health severely. i think i used tumblr too much today i made a fake show and an ad for GO and honestly i do not remember what i did. night night.

[themsthenow]

Ok so this is kinda a tutorial but not really cause I don't recommend doing some of the things I did, cause it's not safe.

The pic on the right is 1 out of 12 thingys I cut out of ply wood

I used a saw to cut them out.

you could probably just use something slightly wider than a regular lollipop stick to get the overhang , like the free wooden utensils at a cafés.

You'll probably need 2 or 3 if so for each finger joint

The claws were cut out of some board I found in my house, but a clipboard should probably work, maybe double up just incase idk.

I don't recommend getting a knife and hammering out the outline of each individual claw thing, a scissors should hopefully be enough.

I dont have a photos of:

1. drilling holes into each end of all of the stick joints(the black dots were holes I burned, until my wood burner died, they're also held together with bent nails)

2. Cutting out the board for the palm part where my hand is

3. Taking a bunch of clothes pegs for the springs to attach the fingers to said palm board using a long piece of metal? To hold it like the bent nails, you could probably just use a skewer

4. Tying wires like a cm apart from the drilled holes(you can't really see it in the image) to thread string through, so it can move the joints when pulled, you can see the twisted part on the outside of the finger joints, once they're tight just flatten them into the joint and put hot glue over them so they don't catch on anything like your clothes or skin

5. Gluing a foam sheet and elastic band to the palm board

6. Gluing the half pegs on to the outside of each of the finger joints so they don't go backwards

I added another Layer of foam to the board to cover the elastic and the painted them.

There was a lot of trial and error (and hot glue) trying to get these things to not overlap when moving them but they work now

Hopefully this helps someone somehow, be careful and stuff

Each finger joint was made with 2 lollipop sticks and 1 ply wood cut out thing, with the ply wood thing hany out . The holes were put in at both ends

The wires on the joints can be any type, I think, as long as its sticks

The claws and hand board can be made out of layered clipboard(probably)

I used acrylic paint, idk if it matters though

When drilling or burning the hole be careful, for both your safety and not breaking the lollipop sticks

Idk if the bent nails could be replaced with anything. Wooden skewers?

The thread I used is actually fishing wire because it's thin, strong and passes smoothly between the joints

Soo for 2 hands

Lollipop sticks x 24, bring spares

Ply wood cut outs/ an alternative x12

Clipboard board cut outs of claws x6

Pully wire /fishing wire

Craft Foam x1 sheet

Clothes pegs x12

Nails /an alternative x12

A bit of elastic fabric

Paint

A glue gun with lots of glue sticks

A SAFE way to cut out everything

A SAFE way to drill the holes

[faraway-sunshine]

What about the split in half one? That one looks most like you, I think

Meet Whoever's Inside My Head #2: Sunny Omori (Myself)

Once again, bulk of info under the cut.

You can address me as: Just Sunny and He/Him's fine. Calling me Omori might trigger something, I'm not sure.

(Saturday 16th September, 2000, 11:39 PM)

(Yeah, I stayed up all evening figuring this stuff out)

Until recently, I would have made this a separate page.

Omori was my most prominent other self. After Mari died, I escaped from reality via dreaming and sleep, and when I was awake often these dream elements were carried with me to the waking world. But every time I managed to escape for a while, I'd remember and it'd all come crashing down again.

Remembering a memory when I sat at Mari's piano, a uniquely crafted model the maker called an "Omori", I adopted that name when I felt myself kind of form another version of me. One twelve years old from a few days before Mari died, who played with his friends and existed in a vacuum, who only ever existed in this faraway alternate world with no parents or rules or school or music lessons or anything. One who was, for the most part, oblivious.

But Omori grew curious, as I, Sunny, faced the reality of moving. I think maybe Omori realized so many times before, but either I managed to get rid of his memories or he did so to himself. For all I know each wipe could have been a brand-new Omori. I also felt two extra pieces break off Omori after a time, one protecting us, the other a punisher of sorts.

As I developed and started facing fears and reconnecting with friends, this bled into Omori's world. At the end of it all, when for the first time I decided not to let myself fall back into unknowing and when I saved Basil, I had no need for this sort of escapism. I thought maybe Omori would vanish or die, that the vicious scramble in my head was for his own self.

But that didn't happen. Instead, Omori's presence changed. I could tell which "memories", which emotions and thoughts and likes and dislikes that I felt unified on or weren't coming from me or any other distinct voice. And I never really felt Omori either go away or take charge. I don't know if this is the right terminology, but I think maybe Omori and I merged? Became one person? I'm not sure. But it's a nice thought, really, that after years of separation and infighting that we're both starting to properly live.

Having said that, there's a lot more me than there's Omori, as Omori largely thrived on distance and neutrality and drifting by and also kept himself very guarded. That doesn't make Omori any less important or deserving of nice things, though.

Although we both have overlap, Omori is more left-brained, focused on logic and facts and straightforward ways of getting through things, while Sunny is more right-brained. We can play off each other pretty nicely. And although I (Sunny) never feel Omori take total control anymore, sometimes he lets me zone out while taking control of a tedious chore or boring conversation so I don't have to think about it.

The parts of me that feel more like Omori aren't interested in deep conversations. Or blog passages. But there's a bit of Omori in everything I do now.

Design

I tend to think of Omori and I as like a yin-yang symbol, so the black and white is paramount. Splitting down the middle was more of an introductory thing; visually I see us as kind of the same person wearing one outfit rather than half of two. However, I do imagine myself being a bit lopsided, as Omori did not really age in any way and when Omori totally fronted he completely believed we looked as we did when we were 12. And for the white in our eyes, I tend to draw only a little bit in one eye and a larger bit in the other, as when Omori was almost always confined to my lucid dreams I tended to think of him as having lightless eyes and I think it's a nice visual metaphor for getting used to the sunlight.

[veinsfullofstars]

hey just wondering, how do you draw daroach? i wanna figure him out for myself but dont feel like i get down how he looks well enough. thanks for the help if you have any, if not then thanks for just answering

Thank you for the question! And, yeah, I totally get it - that rat can be a nightmare to draw sometimes, haha. I definitely struggled with him a lot at first (you can kinda tell if you compare my earlier works to my recent ones). I think it’s because so much of him is obscured by his outfit in official art? The way the brim of his hat dips over his face or how his cape likes to defy physics - all in service of a cooler silhouette, sure, but taking away a lot of readability and foundation to work from in the process. I’ll try to offer some tips that work for me (though I’m hardly an expert on this, and teaching's not exactly my strong suit, so please bear with me if things get muddled, haha).

The main piece of advice I can give is gather and study as much reference as you can. Official art, concept art, promotional stuff, sprite sheets - whatever you can find, just grab ‘em and put ‘em somewhere you can easily pull up when you’re drawing. I get most of mine from Wikirby, Spriter’s Resource, and official sites like the Kirby JP Twitter, as well as screenshots taken directly from the games (a great way to get in-motion poses and back views, I’ve found). Here’s what my ref sheet for Daroach looks like (I also have a separate one for color swatches):

Kind of a mess, yeah, but very worth it, I assure you. The more visuals you have to work off of, the easier it will be to detect consistencies in design. Which brings me to my next point: shapes!

Most Kirby characters are, at their core, just a buncha simple shapes. It can be hard to tell sometimes when they wear clothes (like with our rat buddy here), but they still have similar foundations of circles and other rounded features. A way I've found that helps with this is to try redlining (that is, take a piece of reference and trace over it for the purpose of study, learning where lines connect, how silhouettes look, how different parts overlap, what shapes are used, etc.). Here’s an example:

This is a great way to find those design consistencies I mentioned before. I did these a bit messy for a better sense of movement (and ‘cause I’m practiced enough to sketch a little quicker), but you can always start slower and cleaner if it helps you see the shapes and layers more clearly. You can even do them multiple times to familiarize yourself with the design and eventually try copying them without tracing, like doing gesture drawings or life studies.

In Daroach, I’ve found that his head isn’t a perfect circle shape, but more like a rounded diamond, with his ears connecting at or just above the ���points” on the sides. His body is a bit smaller than his head, and his snout smaller still, each having sort of a teardrop-like shape. His eyes are bigger than I expected them to be, half circles tilted down slightly, often cut off by his snout and hat to create a shaper angle (meant to make him look more intimidating perhaps?). His ears are taller than his hat, though they can tilt back to look shorter. There are also a lot of arcs and triangles present in his design, especially in his cape when it sits across his form or flares out, and the brim of his hat pointing down from just past his ears to right over his snout. Also, unlike many Kirby characters, he does in fact have a neck - it's just hidden behind his collar and bell most of the time (don't ask me why I spent so long verifying this, no I don't have ulterior motives, don't look at me).

Of course, these observations aren’t set in stone. Kirby characters rarely stay perfectly on-model (see Dedede for proof of that), and Daroach is clearly no exception. I mean, just look at these official pieces (all collected from Wikirby):

Even the folks at HAL Labs are not immune to style inconsistency. And that’s not a bad thing! We love a little personal flair in this house. There’s nothing wrong with altering the design a bit to fit your own style - in fact, it’ll probably happen naturally the more you practice, especially once you’re comfortable enough to work without a guide. Here’s some studies I did recently, no tracing, just observation (with different colors used to help me figure out layering):

I’ve seen other folks take their own designs even further than this, adding more fur or sharper shapes or even realistic rat features to our favorite thief. Nothing like stretching those creative muscles once you’ve got the basics down! On that note, don’t be afraid to be inspired by unofficial sources as well. If an artist you like draws Daroach (or any character) in a way you find appealing, ask yourself what it is you like about it, study it as you study official works, and find ways to incorporate elements of that into your own art - “steal like an artist” as the saying goes.

Another thing I recommend for Daroach specifically is studying how real top hats and capes look, especially from various angles and poses in motion. I find it helps to see exactly how fabric sits on a figure or what sides show at different positions. It might seem weird to use human reference for a cartoon rat, and it might take some finagling to get proportions right, but it’s surprisingly effective. I do this with fighting and athletic poses all the time to help figure out weight distribution and line of action. Don’t be afraid to expand your art repertoire into other fields - you never know when it might come in handy!

And, of course, the key thing to hammer home here is practice, practice, practice! Do studies, do gestures, draw with and without references, build muscle memory, do sketches you show to no one, draw memes, draw angst, take your time, fill pages with messy doodles or just drop one in a corner and call it a day. The more you draw this smarmy rat, the better you’ll get. That’s the long and short of it with any skill, creative or otherwise. You gotta try in order to get good, you gotta make mistakes in order to improve, you gotta be kind to yourself in order to do what you love.

Anyway, I think that’s all I got for now. Forgive me if this got a bit rambly or incoherent - I have trouble putting my thought process in words sometimes, haha. I sincerely hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with your own future rat-creating endeavors!

Sketch started and finished 06/14/24.

[archandshri]

23rd May ‘24 - [arch] Witch Hat Atelier Takeover Episode

Greetings! I am back from the dead! I have had a fair few weeks of rest and admin and now I have lots of art thoughts! (lets see if I can get some down)

OMG Shri I am in LOVE with your last few posts!!! Have you considered not hitting it out of the park every time?? I have thoughts about the mind’s eye thing and picturing your work… maybe at some point I’ll write a blog about it :0

I’m working on a super cool comic for some people I can’t yet talk about but I’m going through a HUGE research process for it. It’s awesome, it feels like I’m back at uni. Learning so many skills and documenting my research properly in my slides again 💪💪

Though I can’t talk about the project itself, I would love to share a bit of analysis I’ve been doing on Witch Hat Atelier!! (Heads up - the following post contains spoilers for the first half of the first volume)

Expressions!!!

Though not unique to Witch Hat Atelier (WHA from now on), the manga uses a combination of subtler, realistic illustrations combined with goofy exaggerated ones - in particular using styles found commonly in manga.

The first few pages have quite minimal facial expressions - they’re still obvious (and to a degree, exaggerated in Coco's case) but not goofy. Shirahama uses additional techniques like text and sparkles on the right hand page to communicate Coco's excitement.

Traditional manga expressions, with more exaggerated and goofy features, are saved for comedic moments - in this instance from Coco’s childlike excitement.

Here we have quite realistic expressions, exaggerated by a combination of shadow (right-hand page) and tight close-ups. This. brings us into Coco's wonder, and communicates her high level of engagement.

In fact, the goofy expressions are almost exclusively saved for smaller panels, whilst more high drama or wonder moments take up larger panels and whole pages, so there's space for that high level of detail.

In this spread, expressions are playing a more minor role until the last two panels. In the panel circled in red, Coco’s expression is distressed. Because it’s a smaller panel, mid shot panel, her expression is emphasized by more cartoonish techniques (eg. The lines down her face.)

The last two panels return to slightly more realistic expressions, without the more cartoonish aids. This makes the moment feel more dire. Shirahama emphasises this once again by using close-ups and darkness surrounding them for the appropriate ambience.

Shirahama uses a high level of detail to capture moments of high wonder. They force the reader to take in the extent of the image. These are usually paired with minimal text which also requests that the reader takes time to absorb the image, rather than skimming over text.

Panel Pacing and Flow :0

For the ‘day to day’ ordinary scenes, pretty straightforward paneling is used. On a grid, straight lines, very little overlapping.

This is broken in moments, like introducing Qifrey. A three-quarter image of him breaks the panel structure to say ‘hey, this guy is important’.

Overlapping panels are first introduced in this moment - which is huge for Coco, as she realises how magic is used. The change in format once again tells the reader that this is important by adding more visual interest. The images sit like a bunch of disjointed puzzle pieces, like she’s about to put something together.

On the second page of the spread, the format returns to (mostly) normal as everything slots into place.

What can I say... line of action!!! Look at those gorgeous textures that lead the composition into that curve. That's all from me today folks, hope you enjoyed reading through! I've got a bit more stability in my life now, so hopefully I'll be more consistent with my uploads. (no promises I'm taking it easy) lots of love! :D Archie

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Live Action - OP Fan Review

So it's finally time.

We waited on bated breath and anticipation to see if Oda's masterwork could in fact translate to live action, much less Netflix live action. Titles such as Death Note and Cowboy Bebop have caused sincere fears that it would not go so well, but with Oda in the production there was hope, and now we see if it's rewarded.

Knowing that this is an adaptation and they were covering most of East Blue's saga in 8 episodes there will of course be differences. But whether or not they work remained to be seen, so let's talk about it.

Spoilers for One Piece, both Live Action and manga/anime because there will be overlap to discuss

First and foremost we will need to pour one out for those who didn't make the cut; Woop Slap, Ripper, Ritchie (referenced but not seen), Gaimon, Django (he had a poster but not a presence), the Usopp pirates, Johnny and Yosaku, Carne, that fly in Fullbody's soup, Pearl, Moocy, and most surprisingly Hachi. It's a shame to not see them (also 3 future-warlords in the audience of Roger's execution) but I can understand them...minus Hachi he's kinda an important connective piece in the long run. Also no Usopp Hammer or Usopp Rubber Band, the sacrilege!

So as far as adaptations go though this was really good. Opinions are of course subjective, so a lot of fans are welcome to say that Live Action has done arcs better than the manga/anime, but I'd say it's either as good or a little less, but that's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of people who haven't watched or read One Piece get a nice introduction of almost the first 100 chapters/45 episodes, which contrary to the memes of 'yeah One Piece gets good at episode 629' should be enough to whet people's appetites to see if they wanna take the plunge.

Of course, change is scary and sometimes not accepted, so not all the changes made were ones I liked, at least as much as the original source. I kinda feel like we did a few characters dirty; Makino (no flirtatious chemistry with Shanks? come on), the Orange Town Mayor, Mohji, Chouchou (again, I get it, can't really get animals to act so easily), Fullbody, Gin, Krieg, Genzo, and Nojiko did have a bit more to do in the source material but often only got one scene or lacked the same spark they had. Also the amount of death was surprising, I get most of it but at the same time killing off Merry (and recontextualizing how the Going Merry was named by not having Merry be its creator even with the lore change that Syrup village makes ships) does kinda leave Kaya even more alone, in the original at least she had him and the Usopp pirates for company. While Buggy as a character is awaiting praise later down the line I will have to say that his role beyond episode 2 was a bit lackluster, he was never gonna help the crew for sure but it was weird for him to just saunter away from Arlong Park, I also feel like we could've better explained Devil Fruits and water's effect on DF users, because it is a very big misconception by those on the outside that Luffy simply loses his powers when hit by a splash of water, rather than his strength being sapped when more than half-submerged; rain, splashing waves, that doesn't effect DF users that way, and it's not like it's an off switch Luffy could still stretch while in water it's just harder to do so. It was also a shame not to have Shanks and Buggy's backstory shown. The CGI did have some rough moments too, I was not too much of a fan of how they did Kuro's pussyfooting (no you don't understand it's literally called the pussy foot technique) in episode 3, episode 4 was better, I felt that Luffy vs Arlong relied a bit too much on it too. Zoro's flashback was oddly placed in episode 4, given how it's more fitting as a build up to Zoro vs Mihawk, also felt like the context of Zoro losing to Kuina 2001 times in a row was sorely missed in that flashback. I will also have to admit that while the costuming is great, there is a very glaring case of it being very easy to spot the important characters from the crowd.

Some changes I was more than fine with, Alvida changing her call to most powerful makes sense since insulting her appearance wouldn't really go down too well, Zoro could've been a bit more mellow but he still played the edgy deadpan guy well...at least until Luffy eventually wears down his brain cells, and as cool as the Mr. 7 fight was it does not help debunk those 'minority hunter' memes. Changing Sham's gender worked pretty well too, the actress wore the look very well, and though people were a little let down that Benn Beckman is not super handsome I didn't have a problem with his look.

Of the changes I liked more it's probably that we saw more of Nami growing vulnerable to the crew, sure in turn we lost her fake-stabbing Usopp and grabbing a lit fuse but we got her bonding with Kaya and staunchly try to convince Zoro not to fight Mihawk - whereas in the anime/manga she had already ran off with the Merry - plus I feel like we got more friendship between her and Zoro at this stage, it's not that they didn't get along but I do feel like Zoro's dismissal in the live action is almost tied to feeling a little hurt by her betrayal. I enjoyed and was surprised with how much Garp we got, and how much he and Koby interacted with Luffy this early, since while we get the cover story of Koby-Meppo it's more it's own thing and we don't even learn of Garp's relation to Luffy until about 3 more sagas (sagas, not arcs, sagas), but it did help flesh out Koby's character more and his own character growth in parallel to Luffy. Think the change I was most approving of was confirming Kaya x Usopp, like she loves that liar so much so it was sweet to see a kiss in there, no romance my ass Oda, I also liked that they made it that Kuro was poisoning Kaya, since her original illness suddenly going away was a bit strange.

Every major character in this show translated very well to their characters in the source, even if they are a little different in some traits. Inaki as Luffy is a perfect fit, being equal parts charismatic, serious when necessary and aloof, he handled the big pressure that would've come with a character of Luffy's character in fantastic stride. The other crewmates were of course very well casted too, having wonderful chemistry with each other, as were their child counterparts, but I found myself most impressed by the villains; Morgan, Helmeppo and Kuro especially surprised me by how well they came across, Jeff Ward as Buggy was always gonna be a perfect fit in my mind too, given how much I saw of him in Agents of SHIELD. Arlong did take a bit of time to grow, but I can't deny he does the laugh perfectly. Side characters such as Kaya and Zeff also impressed me, having been given a bit more content to chew on in their stories, and Shanks did soothe my worries I had from the trailer by being jovial and true to character.

The biggest positive impression I got from One Piece was the sense of wonder and vibrancy, the settings were all wonderfully crafted with care and style fitting to Oda's vision, I particularly liked the added carnival entertainment stands in Arlong Park to better reflect its homage to Sabaody Park, the same can be said with costuming - referencing previous colour spreads - and motifs like the bounty poster introductions and the leitmotifs of characters like Buggy, Arlong and the Straw Hats, plus the instrumental of 'We Are' is wonderful. Most important is that the moments landed, especially Shanks giving the Straw Hat, the barrel scene, and Nami asking for help, but we also crafted some newer subtle moments, such as Luffy being drawn to the Merry and pitching to Kaya regarding it, and Zeff and Garp's conversation. Easter eggs were also hidden well enough to not be blatant to non-fans but rewarding to those who know.

So yeah, it was very much a huge success, one I hope will be translated in its positive reviews and viewership. If there's a second season I'd anticipate that we'd cover Loguetown and the Alabasta saga, but with that comes more castings I do not envy the team to find, because outside of campaigns for Jamie Lee-Curtis to play Kureha there are a ton of big and iconic players in those arcs that'll need perfect casting to pull off; Ace, Crocodile, Vivi, Bon Clay, and Tashigi (since you'll have to have a comparison with Kuina's actress) is tough enough but we're also gonna have to make the 'puppet or CGI' decision with Chopper and somehow cast the most beautiful woman on the planet to play Nico Robin. Then perhaps Season 4 (providing they do the Skypeia saga all in Season 3, only needing to cast one to three properly big players depending on whether they have Shanks meet a certain someone) they'll have to struggle with even more casting difficulties.

Still, if they're up for the challenge go ahead and do it, I'll be there for Season 2 if they're willing to make it.

[muninnhuginn]

So, going to link a couple of things before I start with this.

Firstly, the new MV for the Vortex/Overthink/Tides medley which is going to form the basis of my observations.

Secondly, this post, which makes a strong argument that Link Click is deliberately drawing from other time travel media. In this case, the 2002 version of The Time Machine. Also, a fun fact not mentioned in the linked post, but that I recently discovered is that the name of the girlfriend the time traveller is constantly trying to save is *Emma*.

Now that I've linked these two, I just want to say that this rest of this post is me having fun and I would love for these to be deliberate references, but let's be real, a lot of time travel media understandably shares a lot of visual language. Hourglasses, butterflies, and clocks are all fairly recurrent themes.

Click the read more for a mix of potential references to other time travel media and screenshots of specific details of the new MV I found interesting:

Left: Link Click (note the photo reel design). Right: Doctor Who (specifically one of the intros for the Twelfth Doctor)

And to add to the photography aesthetic present throughout, the photo reel clock resolves itself into a camera lens:

Next, we have a main character centred within a clock. In both cases, the character casts multiple shadows that resemble clock hands.

Left: Link Click. Right: Steins;Gate

The shot where Qiao Ling is stood still amongst a moving crowd is neat for two reasons. First, the people she's surrounded by seem to be those related to the cases CXS/LG have taken on. You can see Emma just behind in the above screenshot. And the other thing is that the first time this sequence plays the moving characters are too blurry to easily make out. When the sequence reverses however, and the lyrics speak of "pausing" the scene actually freezes with all the characters clear for a tiny bit. (I didn't screenshot purely because it was a pain to get the exact moment but you can check this if you want)

Upper left: Link Click. Upper right: Higurashi Gou/Sotsu. Bottom: Steins;Gate 0.

Next up: fragments! This one is honestly a real stretch, but hey, there are at least two other time travel adjacent shows that use them as visuals in their openings. I would really like the use to be similar to in Higurashi (the example screenshot is from the anime sequel Gou/Sotsu but the sea of fragments is present in the og too). In Higurashi, each time "loop" is actually an alternate timeline (wherein events would differ slightly even without intervention) and so each fragment represents another timeline. For Steins;Gate, it's more a visual that exists purely in the opening sequence to play into the whole shattered clocks aesthetic.

Left: Link Click. Right: Steins;Gate.

This one is inspired by me watching the opening only to go "Okabe Rintaro????" when Qian Jin showed up. But also. We can clearly see some of Qian Jin's scars in this shot. There appears to be one on the back of his neck and two over his left shoulder. These have to be relevant and obviously his eye colour has me side-eyeing but I don't think we have all the pieces for this character yet. (Him being a former cop with a connection to both of our focus cop characters though makes me think)

And a final one with generic anime trope no 58382929:

Left: Link Click. Right: Steins;Gate

I know, I know. This is typical anime/donghua. But! It's deliberately a shot in Steins;Gate that returns again and again throughout the series. It's also very associated with the character of Mayuri so take that as you will.

Bonus whatever this is:

Multiple Cheng Xiaoshis in different states of doing badly. I wonder if the centremost one is the one Lu Guang appeared to be thinking of in episode 1? Possibly another "fragments" situation or if not then it may be various things Cheng Xiaoshi will go through in this season

Anyway, the Steins;Gate opening visually has a lot of similarities and of course a lot of it is natural overlap because they're both time travel series. And they both draw inspiration from The Time Machine (especially Steins;Gate's sequel, Steins;Gate 0). But I find it pretty neat how all these series from different times and places do have these recurring themes.

[supertale-au]

just as a fun bonus thing for anyone who’s curious, here are the original outlines for the comics i’ve posted so far

(there aren’t outlines for all of them because for the first few i skipped that step until i remembered that it makes the whole thing like 50 times easier)

some stuff did get cut, as you can see. some because i thought it messed with the pacing too much, some because i forgot and didn’t realize until it was too late to go back and add it without having to do a bunch of extra work (still kind of sad i forgot the “yup. right. glad we’ve established this.” bit from the gaster ask because it still makes me giggle.)

the ones that are more detailed are generally that way because i was trying to get their expressions right. neither frisk or sans are very expressive characters (especially since i don’t like to draw eyebrows) so figuring out how to get them to do enough visible emoting to make the jokes work properly has definitely been a struggle a couple times. this isn’t the first time i’ve done undertale comics by any means so i do have some practice with it, but usually everything i do is angst, so getting the goofiness of this comic to come across right requires a lot of stuff i haven’t really done before.

plus, almost all of my stuff prior to this has been lyric comics, which don’t have a ton of overlap as a medium with something like this.

an askblog is definitely different to what i’m used to. it feels weird drawing so many talking heads, but it’s definitely a lot faster and easier than the more complex stuff i do in my other comics, i can usually fully draw and color a full 4-6 panel page of this comic in an hour or two max, which is definitely not something i’m used to with comics. honestly, the time investment is part of why i do them so rarely normally, so seeing how fast i can churn out ones in this format is kind of cool. maybe it’ll motivate me to do more stuff in the future…

though part of that is also probably just that i’m refusing to let myself go perfectionist mode for this comic. i have a bad habit of setting my standards so high with projects that i end up just never finishing them, which i’ve been trying to get better about lately. that’s probably my news years resolution, honestly. to just half-ass more stuff.

overall this has been really fun so far and i’m glad i decided to finally bite the bullet and try it out. i’ve always wanted to do an askblog, but i always managed to talk myself out of it before, either on the basis of the quality of my art or my ability to actually keep working on a project long-term. the former is of course an incredibly goofy rationalization from someone who first got into webcomics via xkcd of all things… (aka the comic where they’re literally all stick figures) i should’ve remembered that art quality barely even matters in comics if the writing is good. like, it helps, but it’s definitely not essential, haha. and the latter reason… well, i’ve got a few longer pieces of fanfiction under my belt at this point, so i have a lot more confidence in myself on that front than i used to. i’ve also just gotten better at not beating myself up about not finishing things, i think.

for some portions of this comic, i actually think i’ll do fic interludes, or bits that are mostly fic with a few images for flavor. mostly for segments that have a lot of complex moving parts, like fight scenes or longer conversations or stuff like that, since doing that stuff in a pure comic format can end up taking prohibitively long even if you’re efficient about it. plus, i’ve always wanted to play with a multimedia story, even if i’ve only really gestured at it in my previous stuff… like, different mediums are good at different things, so since i’m fairly good at both art and writing, surely it’d make sense to do something that combines the strengths of both, right?

maybe once i finish this project i’ll finally revive my roleswap au…

[acestories]

Arc 1; Chapter 1

In some ways the world hasn’t changed; Karens still scream at grocery store clerks for no reason, Douchebags think they own the roads, and the sun continues to rise every morning. But, it’s definitely changed; people fly through the air on their own, a car mechanic lifts the car he’s working on with his bare hand, and a thief outruns a squad of police cars.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself. 2020 was terrible already, but as if that wasn’t enough, it had one last fucking piece of shit to throw in our faces. Christmas night, there was a violet star in the sky. By new years eve, it had become a sun. By new years day, a violet mist that brought with it plague, one with a 10% mortality rate, and the rich and powerful hid themselves away from it. As they always did.

But as it turned out, ⅕ of those who survived it got what could only be called Superpowers. And very few of the rich and powerful got Superpowers. The inevitable started to happen.

And where do I fit into all of this? Well, I'm the ñonbinary cat boy waiting for their take out to be ready. What? Just because I got Superpowers doesn't mean I don't want tacos. And these guys make a gochujang teriyaki sauce that is to die for. And I'm not gonna let some random ass fuck wad villain destroy this place, I can't recreate the sauce!

The villain (who I think called himself Syndrome or some shit like that, I can't remember) charged at me, fist raised high. I'm able to dodge at the last minute, the concrete street corner shattering as it took the blow, which when combined with my latest bruises, are enough to tell me that this guy has one of those god damn Escalating Strength powers in addition to the basic stuff.

Gotta take them out fast, before they start punching Blackholes or something. I think someone could do that.

The villain starts monologuing; ooooooh, his name is "Symptom." That's actually kinda cool I gotta admit. Regardless, thank fuck this guy is long winded. Or really into L.A.R.P.ing. Doesn't matter now though; I charge at him with the speed of a bullet and unleash a flurry of blows. After a few seconds of what sounds like a machine gun going off, he starts to fall backwards, a look of surprise on his big stupid, neck-bearded face.

Heh, I caught him Monologuing. Guess that makes me a sly cat instead of a sly dog. :D

Oh yeah, the cat parts. While only ⅕ of survivors got super powers, over half of survivors got "fantasy bits." I got turned into a cat boy, but I've seen people with other things. Someone I went to high-school with got turned into an Orc.

Oh, and these things aren't a package deal, but there is enough overlap that it's testing fate to make a cat girl angry. So the Boomer who's screaming and making threats at me for not saving his car is either really brave or really stupid. I'm betting on the latter.

CRACK!

Shit, wasn't paying attention! Mmm, that's gonna smart tomorrow. I stumble to stay standing, looking for who hit me. Dammit, my vision is still blurry.

POW!

Again, but from the other side. This time though, I'm able to recover faster, and I see a trail of dust kicked up by a wind. Great, a speedster.

Dick wads didn't just get standard stuff, they get to be stupid fast. Faster than even I can see. But, based on the fact that I didn't explode, safe to assume that they're not too much stronger than I. Probably not much tougher either.

I suppose I should explain myself, huh? So, almost every super is significantly stronger, tougher, and faster than they were before, with heightened senses to boot. Most can lift one end of a car. I'm one of the ones that can kill a building. We don't got any Supermans or Omnimans, but we got some guys who're way the fuck up there.

But after the basic stuff, lots of people also got other powers, some coming into them easier than others. Symptom from earlier got Escalating Strength, which makes him stronger the longer he fights, but not tougher or faster (no, I don't know how it works exactly). Our new friend is a Speedster, so they get to move at Mach speeds (or close to it).

But now that I know what to look for, I can look and hear for them. And with my Cat Ears, I'm really good at hearing them tear through the atmosphere. They might be faster than sound, but the air sure as shit isn't. As they come towards me, I fly 30 m (100 in freedom units) up into the air, the Speedster's momentum carrying them past where I was.

Yeah, I got flight. Which is also pretty common, and lots of people make it work. I can't. I can jump up to this high, and after that I can fall with style. If I try to actually fly, I become a hazard to everything around me. Aside from knowing you guys are there, the only other power I know I have is Laser Eyes. And the only time I've used that, I destroyed my bed and first print Power 9 mtg cards! Those are worth $165,100!

As I drift down, I can see the Speedster trying to get her bearings. Well, she's practically where I was, and I can make myself come down really fucking hard. Choosing occam's razor, I bring myself down to the ground. Hard. Hard enough that the Speedster is now a good couple inches in the pavement.

I stand up, keeping my foot down on her head. After a minute or so, I felt confident in assuming she was down. Long enough that I can try to tie her up for the cops. And tie up Symptom. And actual–

"Oh, thank you señior!" I turn around to see the old Latino lady who took my order running up to me. Before I can process this, she glomps me in a bear hug.

"Uh, you're welcome. If you don't mind me asking, what did I do?"

"You saved us." This time, I turn to the Old Japanese man who cooks in the kitchen walking up to me, but picking up a bag I hadn't realized the Speedster had dropped before also hugging me. "The fast one stole from us while you were busy. You're a true hero."

"I'm not a hero. I was only here for tacos."

From the face pressed into my chest came "No, you were the only one here, and you helped. That makes you a hero."

I tried to form a response, but a slight rustling brought my attention, not to the store, but to the hole in an apartment above it. To a family. Their family. Their grandchildren.

As what I just did begins to really sink in, a young teenager comes up to me carrying a bag of styrofoam boxes. "But I only ordered one thing of tacos…" is all I can say weakly.

"The rest is our thanks." The only response I can think of is tears.

[wodania]

A series of notes on my cultural/fashion inspiration for some miscellaneous houses and regions within ASOIAF! Unfinished bc I can only fixate on so many families. A basic rule of thumb is that fashion may overlap closer to borders or with characters who have a close connection to a region outside of their native one. Not tagging this bc it’s a commentary to go with my own art and not an analysis of actual inspirations for Westerosi cultures. Like at all.

The Northmen (-Iron Islands) : the main inspirations I’ve always come back to for the North is Indigenous and Slavic inspirations. I use First Nations, Inuit, and Métis fashion influences alongside Slavic fashion as well. In terms of ethnicity it’s a mixed bag as well. The Starks, minus the inclusion of Cat, in particular I’ve always seen as Algonquin, based on the irl region of these people spanning north in wooded regions. Ukrainian fashion specifically comes to mind as an inspiration for many of my pieces, including those I’ve yet to post.

The Iron Islands: Scandinavian 100%. I do imagine a lot of overlap from the mainland indigenous-inspired population, which also has irl historical merit, fun fact (Erikson’s expedition circa 1000). Major Viking vibes with the islands, as GRRM intended. I also like to include “foreign” jewelry, fashion, and accessory styles with Ironborn designs due to the Iron Price, as well as their trading with foreign merchants.

The Free Folk: Iron Islands/Northmen love child. Scandinavian and Indigenous inspirations, though the Slavic has fallen out at this point. More Inuit inspired fashion starts appearing in my inspo list at this point.

Riverlands: Ireland. House Tully especially. Those girls are Irish. Plaids are common fashion, which overlaps into the Stormlands (see Stormlander category). Flowing fabrics and leather armour alongside the more modern chainmail. Knotted pattern embroideries. This would make the Stark kids, minus Jon, Indigenous-Irish inspired, though most take after their mother over their father.

Stormlands: Scottish icons. Especially House Baratheon and House Connington. Like the Tullys, plaid is a common fashion. Tight hairstyles or head coverings for women for efficiency against the wind. Differs for formal wear where weather is not an issue. Paler features due to lack of sun, rather weather beaten depending on the occupation and habits of the person (do they sail often, do they hunt despite the weather, etc). Thick Scottish accents because there’s no way Robert and Jon don’t have a Scottish accent, I don’t buy them being British one bit. Kilts would be pretty cool too. Generic historical drama chainmail with a hint of kilts or plaids depending on the person in question.

The Reach: Mediterranean Europe is my go to for the Reach. Dark hair, tan skin, artistic clothing. A huge focus on art and renaissance, with fashion and accessory inspirations coming in from Dorne in the south. Italian renaissance, with a hint of Tudor England in the fashion. The wealth of the region is evident in the higher class’ fashion sense. Nice jewelry, embroidery, and fabrics. Even prettier armour.

The Westerlands : to be determined. I’ve been playing with a bunch of different fashion eras and have settled on Tudor as a default, but this may change. I’ve been debating playing around with French and German fashion in the future.

Dorne: I read somewhere that Dorne was inspired by Palestine, “Moorish” or Islamic Spain, and Wales (?) and the first two stuck with me. Don’t know where the third one came from but ok. North African/European/West Asian cultural overlap. Islamic European fashion and architecture is a new endeavour of mine so I’m still playing around with combinations and stuff but I have the vibe figured out. Ethnically, North African and West Asian inspired peoples with more European overlap or even complete European the further north. Different houses/regions have different irl inspirations but that’s too deep for me to dig into at the moment.

The Targaryens : BYZANTINE!!! The oldest Targaryens of old Valyria were Byzantinian, yet the fashion and culture began drifting away and is only present in small forms by the time Rhaegar and Viserys come into the picture. Now the fashion inspiration for the Targs is often imitations of fashion from different kingdoms within the Targ empire. Ie Rhaegar was probably a Reach fashion kinda guy.

The Vale: I’m gonna be honest with you I often forget these guys exist and have put almost zero thought into them. English? I have no idea.

Dothraki: Mongolian. Not gonna go much deeper as I’ve yet to explore Essosi inspo.

[fairydust-stuff]

Freddy's Boy damsels part 2

I could do a full review on some of Freddy's less popular kills from the 1989 Freddy's Nightmares series. an anthology with Freddy Kruegar as the host sometimes showing up in the episodes.

Its not a well acted, written or shot series. The writers were just told to go to town and do whatever they wanted. Due to its later airing time. So it is an oddly sincere series though. And all the episodes aren't bad. This is one of my favorites.

So lets talk Dana, yes he is a boy. He appears in the two parter Safe Sex. He's basically into this girl Katlyn he really likes but she's got a thing for Freddy. I have mixed feelings because the boy doesn't respect her lack of interest but Katlyn is the worst.

Keep in mind Freddy in this universe was a pedo killer who lived in their hometown. Its hinited he wasn't killed that long ago. The therapist even mentions he's still talking to the parents of the children Freddy killed. So Katlyn is a self centered dipshit mooning over a child molester.

Dana starts having creepy nightmares of Freddy chasing Katlyn though the graveyard. Then attacking him.

So its pretty clear the episode is a commentary on sexual attraction and the idea of some objects of your affection just not being worth it. Freddy even says " Their are some girls you just don't go to pieces over."

There's a lot about teenage fantasies and the idea its more about the idea then the reality. Dana's theropist even telling Dana she's a person not an object. Also Dana confessing he spends more time dreaming about Katlyn then thinking about her in real life.

Which foils Kaylyn's attraction to Freddy and how she created this fantasy of him in her head.

" I'm afraid if I get her, she'll be too much for me." he confesses at one point.

Which plays into how Dana's dreams involve his sexual attraction to Katlyn and how it evolves into nightmares.

He listens to some advice and starts to tap into his fantasies when what appears to be a dream version of Katlyn vanishes his clothes. He starts to become scared " No no, i'm ok we just have to wait." suggesting he doesn't feel ready to actually have sex.

After which a vision of his best friend appears telling him he's blowing it and not doing him proud. Which highlights peer pressure from other boys to have sex and Dana's anxiety about not having it.

Also his mother appears and Kaytlyn kills her. After she states Kaylyn isn't right for her son. Suggesting fear over his mom's opinion and that she might be right.

Dana runs around in nothing but a towel when dream Katlyn corners him. he tries to flee but the door is locked and Kaylyn leads him to the bed and shoves him onto it. This is the point where its starting to veer into noncon. With Katlyn saying their going to do it.

Dana appears back in bed screaming and tosses his fantasy book aside. Kaylyn appears in his room "poor baby, you're scared to death aren't you?" she mocks

He nods looking terrified but unable to take his eyes off of her. She mocks him about it being his first time. then promises she'll do all the work. The whole scene suggests fear/ desire for sex and how they can overlap for teenage boys in particular. He is scared of both having sex and not doing it at the same time.

The scene cuts but according to this review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An0Zd1xBamQ A bit of footage was cut and what is show highly suggests that Freddy was Katlyn all along which I heavily knew.

Also Freddy basically raped Dana to death. though it is potrayed in a very silly over the top manner.

With Freddy screaming ride em cowboy while rocking back and forth on the poor kid. Its still very dark in implication with Freddy's " Ready for the big bang cherry bomb." accompanied by a puckering sound, not being really that low key. You can see the footage in the review.

But what they go with is just the Katlyn growing Freddy's claw and stabbing him. I don't know if the earlier idea was gotten rid of for being too dark or too silly honestly.

But its one of those yeah Freddy was supposed to be a pedo piece of shit and it shows in how he's written moments. This came the closest to making the idea actual text. That he's a molester/ child killer.

Then Dana's mom walks in and sees his dead body. The first episode ends even darker with Freddy grinning at the camera " Aww the first time you never forget it....if you live!"

I also listened to writers' commentary on the Freddy's Nightmare podcast. They said this episode was stressing safe sex because people were still shaken by the Aids crisis which ended not too long ago. So a lot of people were promoting this idea of safe sex at the time to young people in particular.

Which gives you a whole new perspective on this episode. Knowing that this stuff was going on during the time.

[yusuke-of-valla]

Whumptober Day 2: Good Friends And Good Food

AO3

The second Wednesday of the month usually marks the time where people pack their own lunches and avoid the cafeteria, on account of the head chef having free reign on that day to try her “experimental” dishes.

(To the chef’s credit, she’s been at the school for 50 years and is otherwise a talented cook when she doesn’t get the urge to experiment and is just about the sweetest woman ever, so no one has the heart to tell her everyone’s taken to calling her original concoctions Mystery Food X after a teacher slipped up and called it that.)

There are very few exceptions, one of them being Yusuke, who’s diet of generally anything he can find that’s edible has left him with an iron stomach.

As such, Yusuke’s a little surprised to see someone else there when he gets to the cafeteria.

“Oh, hello! Did I miss something?” A girl with close-cropped white hair asks. “No one else is here.”

“No, most people just avoid the cafeteria on these days,” Yusuke explains. “If you don’t mind me asking, are you one of the Italian exchange students?”

“Yes!” she says, sticking out her hand. “Maria Lucrezia Fiore.”

Yusuke opens his mouth to speak but she keeps going.

“And it’s either Maria Lucrezia or just Lucrezia, I never go by Maria, that’s my oldest sister. She’s Maria Teresa but she goes by Maria, my second oldest is Maria Alessia, my younger sister is Maria Sofia, we’re all Marias, so only Maria Teresa answers to Maria.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Yusuke says. “I’m Yusuke Kitagawa, a third year student in the art department. You?”

“Art as well, though I’m with the second years.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Fiore-san.”

“Please, call me Maria Lucrezia at least.” 

“If you insist. Are you in the joint art show?”

While the Italian students were at Kosei, they were challenged to try a painting inspired by a Japanese artist, while the Japanese students were challenged to try a painting inspired by an Italian artist.

The best pieces from each year were going to be on display in a few weeks, along with some cross-cultural music and poetry reading, at a farewell gala the night before the exchange students leave.

“Yes! You as well?” 

Yusuke nods. “I wish I had had more time to touch up the piece, but the professor approved of it anyway so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Great! I’m excited to see it. Who did you base yours on anyway? I picked Taikan.”

“I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try something inspired by Boccioni.”

“Bella, bella! I’m sure it’s wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Yusuke says. 

“Kitagawa-kun!” The head chef says. “Good to see you! And Fiore-san, I’m so happy you’re here! I’m hoping you two can tell me what you think. I want to try and create some fusion cuisine for the gala, so I was hoping to get student feedback.”

The head chef takes them back to the kitchen and plates them… well it looks like sushi. However instead of rice the chef used spaghetti and made a dip for pasta sauce.

Yusuke takes a bite, and is a little caught off that the spaghetti is warm.

But he never turns down free food, so he gobbles it up.

“Ah! Delicious!” Maria Lucrezia says.

“Yes, thank you for the meal,” Yusuke says.

“I’m glad you think so, but do you think the other students will like it?” The head chef asks.

“Probably not,” Yusuke says bluntly. “The consistency is very strange.”

“I think it’s great! It kind of feels like it’s crawling down my throat on it’s own!” Maria Lucrezia says. Then she thinks for a bit, “though my brother thinks all my favorite foods are gross, so I guess I can’t speak for anyone else.”

“Well, thank you for your honesty. I just can’t stand the thought of making regular hors d'oeuvres for the gala! I mean it’s a celebration of two cultures coming together! That should be included in the food.”

“Well Italy and Japan have to have a lot of culinary staples that overlap,” Yusuke suggests. “I mean they’re both more or less surrounded by the ocean, at the very least they have to fish.”

“Yes! Seabass, cod, swordfish!” Maria Lucrezia says. “So maybe you can do sushi the way they’d make it if it originated in Italy! So use orzo instead of rice or something!” She gasps. “Oh or you can make a Japanese Timpano!”

The head chef nods thoughtfully. “Yes, yes, I must consider this. Both of you, out!”

She shoves them out of the kitchen.

“It’s good to see someone passionate about food!” Maria Lucrezia says. “So many people think of it as just something to eat.”

“Well it is,” Yusuke says. “I do agree that it’s nice to take the time to savor your food, but good food made with care isn’t always available.”

Saying that makes Yusuke miss Leblanc. He hasn’t been in awhile.

Futaba’s busy enjoying her school life to the fullest, and Ren’s back home, so neither of them have invited him over and he can’t go on his own. Otherwise he’d be taking advantage of Boss’s hospitality.

His stomach aches for the warm curry, though.

“That’s such a shame.”

Maria Lucrezia’s words shake Yusuke from his thoughts.

“Getting to enjoy food you like is important! It’s a part of being alive, no?”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Yusuke says.

~

Yusuke stares at the piece he submitted for the Gala. Their teacher is keeping it in her office since too often students will try to edit or touch up already submitted works, but he can see it through the window.

Honestly, he doesn’t know if he wants to touch it up or take the katana he hasn’t touched since February and slice through the canvas.

He’d told his teacher he was inspired by Umberto Boccioni and the Futurist movement, but that was a lie.

In reality futurism happened to be well suited to capturing the spirit of the Phantom Thieves. The futurists had declared: 

 “We shall sing the great masses shaken with work, pleasure, or rebellion; we shall sing the multicolored and polyphonic tidal waves of revolution in the modern metropolis.”

And how could Yusuke resist?

The form, light, and dynamism of Boccioni’s artwork reminded Yusuke of his friends, who, even outside of the Metaverse, are leaping forward into the future.

And here he is. Still doing the same thing he’s always done. 

Everyone’s off trying new things, pushing themselves to grow and be better than they were, and Yusuke doesn’t even know where to start.

He does know he misses them. 

But at the same time, he can’t distract them, clinging to them just because he feels lost.

~

Yusuke doesn’t know how he got volunteered to be on the planning committee for the gala, he just knows he’s here.

Maria Lucrezia’s there too, and she instantly invites him over to sit between her and a boy who must be her brother.

“Ok, so we’ll need to split into groups to do tasks. Since some of you joined late you’ll be assigned, and— Kitagawa and Fiore-san, you’re on flier duty.”

“Huh? But I heard there was an option for arranging the food that was still open!” Maria Lucrezia says.

“You’ll just encourage the chef to get experimental,” her brother says. “Not all of us can eat trash like you two.”

The head of the committee looks sheepish, confirming that it’s exactly as the brother said, and continues on with the assignments.

“I���m sorry for my brother’s rudeness,” Maria Lucrezia whispers. “This is Benito.”

“Hello. Nice to meet you,” Yusuke says, offering his hand.

Benito simply glares at it. “Don’t cause trouble for my sister, alright?”

Maria Lucrezia rolls her eyes. “Yes, yes, very helpful Beni.”

“I’m serious, Lucrezia. I’ve heard about him, he’s the weird one. Think about it, how out there does he have to be to be weird to the eccentrics at this school.”

“I can hear you,” Yusuke says.

“I know.” Benito turns to his sister. “He doesn’t even have any friends despite being about to graduate.”

“I have friends,” Yusuke interjects.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do, they just all go to other schools.”

Benito rolls his eyes. “You can’t come up with a better lie?”

“Why would that be a lie? There are lots of schools in Tokyo.”

“Sure but if every single one of your friends goes to another school, and no one else has heard of them, that’s a lie.”

“Hifumi Togo’s met one of my friends.”

“Oh, the shogi prodigy?” Benito fake gasps. “You mean the one currently at a tournament in Nagoya and thus can’t verify that you have friends?”

Yusuke rolls his eyes and pulls open his sketchbook. “Think what you will.” What does he care if this random exchange student believes Yusuke’s friends exist?

“We can meet them at the gala!” Maria Lucrezia says. “We’re the Flier Squad! So we’ll make sure they know about it!”

Yusuke blinks. “If they can come.”

Benito scoffs. “Oh sure, they’re all going to be busy, right? How convenient.”

Yusuke’s grip on his notebook tightens. “You never know.”

~

Yusuke stares at his phone as people walk past him in the underground passageway. 

There’s no point in asking Ren, Ann, and Ryuji since they can’t make it out to Tokyo. Futaba, Haru, and Makoto will be around, and maybe it’d be worth asking Sumire as well on the off chance she doesn’t have a gymnastics meet?

He sends a picture of the flier to each of them.

Yusuke: My work is going to be on display, would you like to come?

There. That didn’t sound desperate. He’d hate for them to drop plans to come out of pity. 

The task done, he puts his phone in his pocket, and tries to focus on watching the people passing by. Normally he’d work on capturing individual people, but since he’s on a bit of a futurism kick, he tries to capture the movement of the crowd itself, and the leaving, breathing bustling of the subway.

He’s almost in the zone when his phone buzzes, at which point Yusuke practically drops his sketchbook to drop his phone.

4 New Messages.

Yusuke takes a deep breath and checks them

Futaba: Sry, next Friday I’m in a gaming competition. Tell me about it after tho! Is there an award? Kick ass!

Makoto: I’ll be in a study group prepping for a big test, I’m so sorry. Will you send pictures?

Haru: Oh no, I’ll be at a business dinner, you must tell me when the next one is though. I’m sorry!

Sumire : Gah! I’m so sorry Kitagawa-senpai! I’ve got the regional finals that day and I won’t be back until late. I might be able to make it before the end?

Yusuke quickly texts “don’t worry about it” to each of them and leans back against the wall. 

Yusuke turns off his phone and slips it back into his pocket. This is fine. It’s not like it’s a show with anything on the line. He’s just showing off a piece that’s already been recognized.

And it’s not like he needs them there to show up some jerk who’ll be back in Italy the next day.

No, he’s being ridiculous. They all have things on the line, he doesn’t. This won’t affect his grade, or his chances of getting into college, or anything.

They have more important things to do because they’re actually taking risks, Yusuke thinks to himself.

Because they’re putting themselves out there and trying things, while Yusuke remains falling back on what he’s always been good at. On what everyone’s always expected him to do.

He’s in place and they’re flying forward.

Yusuke realizes some people are staring at him, and it’s because he’s shaking. He packs up his bag and goes.

No matter how sorry he feels for himself, it doesn’t change the fact that it doesn’t matter his friends can’t come to the gala.

~

“Please come to Kosei High’s first Biennial Cross Cultural Gala! There will be food, music, and artwork on display!” Maria Lucrezia says. 

Every day after school for the last week and a half, Yusuke and Maria Lucrezia have been handing out fliers in different neighborhoods near the school. They really want a large turnout from the local community.

Yusuke’s not sure how many people will actually come, but they have been taking a lot of fliers at least, which is the important part on their end.

“Yo! Inari!” Yusuke turns and spots Futaba running towards him. “Whatcha doing?”

“Handing out fliers,” Yusuke explains, showing her one.

“Oh yeah! The thingie! I’m sure it’ll be cool,” Futaba says. “What’ve you been up to, prepping for this?”

“Yes, pretty much.” We both know I never have anything else to do, is the part Yusuke bites back. He cannot draw his friends into his problems.

“You ok?” Futaba asks. “You eating? Because you’re always welcome at Leblanc.”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” Yusuke says. 

“Sakura-san!” 

A boy and a girl Yusuke doesn’t recognize run up to Futaba. 

“Oh! Hey guys, this is my friend Inari, I told you about him. Inari, this is Aoyagi and Kusanagi, they’re who I’m entering the gaming tournament with. We’re here to practice at the arcade.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Yusuke says. They’re not even wearing Shujin uniforms, so Futaba’s managed to make friends on her own. She never could have done that a year ago.

The swirl of pride in Yusuke’s stomach is weighed down by a tinge of jealousy. Look at how far Futaba’s come, and yet here he is.

“Are you ok?” Futaba asks.

“I’m fine!” He won’t tarnish her moment with his own issues. “I have to keep handing out fliers, I’ll see you around.”

Yusuke runs off before Futaba can say anything, and almost knocks over Maria Lucrezia.

“Oh, there you are, Yusuke-sanpai!”

“Senpai” he corrects her.

“Right, sorry! Senpai. A month in Japan and I’m still not getting it!”

“You speak it fine,” Yusuke says.

“Ah, thanks. I’m… slow at learning things sometimes, you know? I like to take my time.” She sighs, “the next time we come to Japan, I want it to be for longer.”

“Thinking of studying here?” Yusuke asks.

“Perhaps, I don’t know. I’ve lived lots of places, and they’re all so different! I want time to appreciate them all.”

“Oh, you travel around a lot?”

“Yes, though my sisters and I have a bet to see who can go the longest without going to America.”

“Do you travel for your parents' work?” 

Maria Lucrezia’s normally cheery demeanor drops for a second. “No, they died a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Yusuke says. “I understand… my mother passed away a long time ago too, and my previous caretaker is out of the picture.”

“You ever get jealous of people complaining about their parents? Like ‘oh no they make me do homework!’”

“Can’t say I do. I suppose it depends on the parent.”

Maria Lucrezia nods. “Yeah, good answer. Beni’s mom…”

“You have different mothers?”

“Yeah. She was a massive fucking cunt, pardon my French.”

“You’re speaking Japanese.”

Maria Lucrezia laughs. “Kitagawa-senpai, you’re so funny! I seriously don’t get why no one hangs out with you!”

Yusuke tries to keep his face neutral, but Maria Lucrezia seems to catch it. “Oh, I didn’t mean—”

If he wanted he could take her to the arcade and introduce her to Futaba, but all that would do is grant him some satisfaction at the expense of Futaba’s time with her friends.

“It’s fine,” Yusuke says. “Let’s just get back to work.”

~

The gala, at least, is a resounding success. Tons of people from the neighborhood come to visit, including some Yusuke suspects who are just here for the free food, which he respects.

The head chef’s fusion cuisine has come out well from the looks of it, everyone seems to be enjoying it and she’s beaming with pride.

Once the final performance finishes, people begin to trickle out, and the head of the planning committee grabs Yusuke aside and asks him to help put away things.

He’s joined by Maria Lucrezia and Benito.

“Shouldn’t you be preparing for your plane ride?” Yusuke asks. 

“We’ll be fine,” Maria Lucrezia says. 

“I don’t want to leave her alone with you,” Benito adds. “Since your friends didn’t end up showing up after all.”

Yusuke rolls his eyes and pushes past Benito, grabbing several chairs and heading back to the storage closet, Maria Lucrezia following behind.

The door slams shut behind them.

"You'll have to forgive Beni," Maria Lucrezia says. "He's doing his best, even if he can be blunt sometimes."

"I'd like to stop talking about this."

"You know what I think?"

"No,"

"You're a real artist, you know? So many feelings that you're pouring out into the world. And it's killing you that no one can match that. Everything you give you'll never get back because your so-called friends don't care about you as much as you care about them. If you were in their shoes, you'd have noticed if they were upset. You would have been there for them. But then again, they can't. Because you're not their whole world the way they're yours."

"Fiore," Yusuke says sternly. "This is not the time for this conversation."

"You're right, you're right, I need to stop playing with my food."

Suddenly she grabs Yusuke's arm and yanks him downward so they're eye-level. She grabs the back of his head with other hand and to keep him still as she plunges a pair of fangs into his neck.

Yusuke struggles to push her off of him but she's too strong and he's rapidly losing feeling in his arms and legs.

"Senpai," Maria Lucrezia purrs when she stops for a second. "You really are perfect, you know? I mean you could be a bit shorter but your blood's worth the extra effort. Anemics taste so good."

"What... what are you going to do if I die," Yusuke breathes. She's completley supporting his weight right now. 

"Oh don't worry about me, I've done this for a long time. I know how to be patient, even when it was killing me. By the time anyone finds your body, we'll be flying back to Italy, at least. Assuming anyone bothers to notice." She pulls his neck close again. "Now be a good boy and let me eat. There are worse things to be than a good meal, you know." 

Damn it. If he were Fox, he’d be stronger. Faster. Able to fend her off.

If he were Fox he could summon Goemon and have his weapons.

If he were Fox, the rest of the Phantom Thieves would be with him.

But he’s not Fox right now, he’s just Yusuke, and he’s going to die in the back room of a tiny gallery and no one will be any the wiser.

He feels himself fall to the floor with a thud and he can’t even bring himself to move.

So he just closes his eyes and drifts off.

~

“I’m sorry guys,” Futaba says as they exit the gaming tournament.

“It’s not your fault. Who would’ve thought another gaming competition would have a print stickers contest,” Kusanagi says.

“And this time we didn’t have anyone good at it…” Aoyagi adds. “Still, there were about 20 teams and we came fourth. That’s not bad. Let’s grab our seats and watch the finals.”

“...Actually, do you mind if I leave early?” Futaba asks. “I might be able to make my friend’s thing still.”

“No, go ahead!” Aoyagi says. “Tell him hi for us, and remember that thing I said about my partner’s sister?”

“Yeah, we gotta set them up on some kind of art playdate or whatever. Inari’d totally love another artist he can actually nerd out with. See ya guys!”

Futaba heads out to the front of the arcade and opens up her phone, texting the group chat.

Futaba: Hey, any of you guys still at Inari’s art thing?

Ren: ?

Futaba: He’s doing an art show with school. 

Haru: Give him my regards!

Makoto: Me too.

Sumire: Tell him if he doesn’t mind waiting we can swing past and grab some dessert!

Ann: Aww he didn’t tell us he was doing an art show!

Ryuji: Yeah we coulda at least texted him good luck.

Futaba: I don’t think it's a competition, it’s just a display.

Futaba: …wait.

Futaba: So did everyone in the Tokyo group say they couldn’t make it?

Haru: I can’t.

Makoto:  Me neither

Sumire: We’re trying, but we won’t get there before it ends without breaking some traffic laws :(

Futaba: Oh shit… when I saw him last time he looked really bummed about something, is it because none of us could make it?

Ann: When was the last time any of you hung out with him in person?

Haru: That would be, after Sumire-chan’s last meet, right? The victory dinner?

Makoto: That was over a month ago!

Ryuji: Ah shit. I haven’t had a voice chat with him in awhile either.

Ann: Me neither

Ren: Not us.

Futaba: oh noooooo Inari istg if you’ve been all lonely and didn’t want to talk to us.

Futaba: Ok the gallery or whatever isn’t far from here, I’m gonna run over rn.

Makoto: Gonna tell my study group I need a break, I’ll be there ASAP

Ryuji: gl!

Futaba sends a text to Yusuke to say she’s on her way, and sprints/walks over to the gallery.

When she gets there she spots a familiar head of red hair.

“Sumire!” Futaba gasps. “I thought… you’d be…”

“Later?” Sumire finishes. “My aunt was driving and I explained the situation and she, well, broke several traffic laws. But I’m not sure if anyone’s still here.”

“Hold… on…” Futaba says, pulling out her phone. “Yeah… he’s here…”

They follow Futaba’s phone to some storage room, and Futaba pushes it open. “Inari? You– AH!”

There’s a girl with Yusuke’s blood dripping down her chin, and Yusuke slumped over, completely unconscious.

Sumire’s faster than Futaba, and runs over to smack the girl— vampire?!— over the head with her gymnastics bag.

“Hey!” the vampire girl gasps but Sumire keeps going, while Futaba rushes over to check on Yusuke. His pulse is very slow.

The door bursts open again and a dude who looks like the vampire girl runs over and grabs Sumire’s wrist, and she elbows him. Soon the two of them are fighting while vampire girl heads over to Futaba and Yusuke.

Then the door bursts open again.

Makoto’s in the doorway, stares at Futaba holding Yusuke, the vampire girl with blood on her mouth, and the other guy currently wrestling with Sumire, and wastes no time.

She dashes over to the guy wrestling Sumire and throws him off into the path of vampire girl. The dude and the vampire girl look at each other, then turn into bats and fly out the small window.

“What—”

“Vampires! Inari! Hospital!” Futaba gasps, motioning frantically to everything.

Makoto still looks confused, but picks Yusuke up.

“T-take him to my aunt’s car!” Sumire shouts, getting up.

They sprint over, throw Yusuke in the back, and Futaba climbs in while Sumire frantically explains that they have to go to the hospital right now.

~

Well, Yusuke can’t say he was expecting to wake up, but the smell of antiseptic does make sense.

What’s the most surprising are Futaba, Sumire, and Makoto curled up on various chairs around the room.

Then Haru enters with a mug of coffee.

“Oh good, you’re up!” Haru whispers. “I came over as soon as I heard what happened.”

Yuske’s throat is dry. “Is what happened to the Italian exchange student was a vampire?“

“Yes, apparently.”

“Huh.”

“Are you feeling alright?” Haru asks. “You needed an immediate transfusion with all the blood loss.”

“Tired, I suppose.”

“Then do you… have an insatiable thirst for blood?” Haru asks.

“Um… no?”

“Ok, good. You know there are so many different types of vampires it’s hard to tell how real ones work.” Haru explains. “Ren, Ryuji, Mona-chan, and Ann have been texting info all night.”

“Oh, but Ann has class right now?”

“It’s an emergency,” Haru says simply.

Yusuke feels tears start to drip down his face. 

“Huh? Yusuke, what’s wrong?”

“I’m just very happy you all came,” Yusuke says.

“‘Course,” Futaba mutters.

“Sorry, did I wake you up?” Yusuke asks.

“Stop worrying about us you big lug,” Futaba yawns. “Anyway, totally thinking we should have a Tokyo gang group chat so we can hang out more.”

Haru nods. “Great idea! I do feel awkward making plans in the main chat when the others can’t come.”

“I have a break from meets for a while, I’d love to hang out. I see Futaba at school all the time, but I’d like to see the rest of you more. “

“We should do something that’s not too strenuous when Yusuke gets out of the hospital,” Makoto adds. 

“The arcade? I need to get good at print stickers,” Futaba says. 

“Print stickers?” Yusuke asks.

“Ooh! You take pictures in a photo booth and then doodle on them, you’d be great at it, Yusuke!” Sumire says.

“Also I’ve gotta introduce you to this chick, Ena Shinonome, sometime. She’s an art student like you, you can have art friends.”

Yusuke just starts crying harder. “I’d… I’d love all of that.”

Suddenly he has much less to worry about when he can be with his friends.