#this was honestly an excuse to draw them in fun outfits hehe

[spac3trash]

they all couldn’t decide on appropriate attire for their date night…

+ individual outfits & silly meme below !!

[xxmissarichanxx]

✨XMACX Monthly✨October 2024

Happy October!!! A younger me would’ve told you Christmas was my favorite holiday of the year, but I’ve come to enjoy Halloween and October. Dressing up and eating candy is still as much fun as it was when I was a lil girl.

You can read the update on XXMISSARICHANXX.com or under the cut below!

Anyway, the update this time around is short since not much happened in terms of project progress last month.

What’s Happening in October?

Nothing too exciting project-wise. I decided to be real with myself, so I’m taking a small break from drawing and dev work to plan our wedding and prep for a lifting competition. Once those things are out of the way, I’ll fall back to old habits (lol…).

In the second half of October, I’ll be on vacation! I was told to spend more quality time with my fiancee and to enjoy our wedding planning process more, so I’m taking full advantage LOL.

As for the upcoming cover art, here are some potential cover models! Poll drops Friday, October 4, on Instagram Stories and Twitter/X Polls!

A) Kou, an ex-gangster who now owns a bar B) Noel, a shy were-lion C) Mochi, a bratty Pomeranian D) Monty, a stoic Siberian Husky

To me, November screams “Thanksgiving” and “Fall/Autumn”, so here are some themes I’m considering for November’s cover…

A) Feast: a spread of the cover model’s fave foods. B) Pumpkin Spice: the cover model in desert, but make it pumpkin and make it spicy… hehe… C) Specifically if Mochi wins, brat outfit lmao. But I guess “brat” fits Kou too…

VN Dev | Froot Basket White

I didn’t give myself much opportunities to work on my projects last month. I just felt overwhelmed with work and a bunch of other projects and life stuff. When I did have time to sit at my desk to draw, I chipped away at some of those new Sutoro sprites! Here’s a lil peep!

Other than that, I’ve been figuring out some fun compositions for the CGs in Sutoro’s route. I can’t seem to settle on anything, though, so I’ll be spending this month trying to tackle it again.

The holiday season is coming up, so progress on project work will probably slow down drastically. I hope to at least finish drawing the new sprite art and coding it into the game this month so I can spend next month worrying more about the CG art and other extra art items and visuals.

Cover Story | Kaimana as Vegeta

I love love love Vegeta. I love his overwhelming confidence, his witty comebacks, his arrogance. Wow. Honestly, so hot. Plus he’s so cute when he gets flustered!!! When everyone cast their votes last month for the tsundere character Kai should cosplay, Vegeta won by a hair! I was so excited!!! I’ve been a long time DBZ fan and I don’t often draw DBZ fan art. Having the opportunity to draw Kai dressed as one of my fave character’s of all time was such a treat! I also mentioned wanting to draw someone cosplaying with Kai, but who that would be depended on the character that won. Of course, if I��m drawing Vegeta, I have to draw Goku! And who better to cosplay Goku with Kai than his best friend, Satoru! It honestly fits them so well. Satoru is so fun-loving and energetic, he plays off of Kai’s grumpiness well.

I went with Vegeta’s Namek Saga look because that’s the outfit I associate him with the most. I considered having them pose in their iconic battle poses, but I went with Galick Gun and Kamehameha because they fit together on a cover better. It looks so cool!!! Also it gives me an excuse to have fun with rays and beams of light!

Here’s the final illustration! I removed all the extra fun stuff for the actual cover because, otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to read all the words…

I considered doodling a lil Masa as Frieza in the background, but ended up leaving him out. That would be pretty funny tho… Maybe next time�� xDD

Other News…

Not much honestly. Just vibing out here, picking up as many shifts as my body will allow me to make more money to fund my wedding vision lol and enjoying time with the boo thang. Actually, for the last six months I had enjoyed working at a single location, but now I’m back to traveling for work. It was easier before and I didn’t mind it as much, but now I just have to get used to it again??? Or just need to figure out how to make things work better for me again??? But no biggie. Gotta make my bread somehow, know what I mean? lol

If anyone’s interested in fitness or lifting at all, I’ve been training for a powerlifting competition! It’ll be my first meet, so I’m a lil nervous. I’ve been having a lot of fun though! I dunno, but carrying heavy things is just fun. Better than running LMAO (sorry, i dislike cardio so much…) Right now just been struggling to make weight… Is it stress? Is it my inability to stay away from ice cream? Or a bit of both? Maybe its my refusal to do cardio LOL.

Next Month?

The plan is to get wedding stuff out of the way so I can focus more of my creative energy on my projects again. Meaning, don’t expect much updates about project progress from me in November LOL. Just being real.

Peace. Love. Rock’n’roll. xxAri

[milkybonya]

Hello! I just recently fell in love with 1team but I feel like there’s not enough content for them :/ so if you could just do a first date au for them please and thank you (:

i agree!! teamones RISE ! i’ll be posting this in time for Jehyun day hehe HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCE JEHYUN! i hope it’s okay that i wrote for all the members at once, and made it bulleted :D

First Dates with 1team

Warnings: mentions of food 

-

BC (Sungho)

So we all know our boy BC loves cats

he literally wrote a song for his cats

but because cat cafés are not entirely ethical :(

he’ll probably take you to go window shopping for cats as a first date?

by that i mean

going to several pet stores and just a d m i r i n g the cats

“[y/n], that one looks like you”

*deep giggling*

giving them names

talking about which ones you’d want to own

and if you don’t really like cats or animals

Sungho will make it up to you by taking you to a coffee shop

something very niche, unique

and he’ll be pointing out the cool design of the space

if you say something like

“you look cooler, though”

he’ll look down while smiling

it’ll just be a really fun day of driving around to pet stores

music turned up

the two of you vibing

and then grabbing something to eat

you’ll be looking at the cats

but Sungho will be looking at you

he’ll be SUPER excited when you agree to a second date

of course he’ll try to act all calm on the outside like

“sounds good, I’ll see you soon then”

but he’ll immediately text the rest of 1team like

“I GOT A SECOND DATE !!”

Rubin

RUBIN IS GOOD AT DRAWING OKAY

A lil artiste

I imagine he’ll invite you to some art classes

and maybe it might be unclear that it’s a first date?

because he won’t state that it is

and he’ll bring up the art class thing so casually

bUT at the classes

he’ll always find any excuse to initiate as much skinship as possible

putting his hand around yours to show you how to properly hold the paint brush

holding your arm and gently moving it to show you how to create strokes on the canvas

Will always get really close

Constantly smiling at how cute you look while working hard

Will stare at you A LOT

When you compliment his work, he’ll laugh and try to act cocky as a joke

“I know I’m really good, aren’t I?”

he’s just hiding how h a p p y and soft your compliment makes him :’)

When you make mistakes or mess up

He might giggle a little

but then he’ll tell you that it’s okay and he’ll help you fix it

“I was bad at first too, you’re honestly doing amazing for your first time!”

Will shower you with compliments

A lot of “wow, good job! You’re doing so well!”

Will ask to keep your art when the class ends

and will be super happy when you agree to come to the next class

Will take a picture of your art and send it to 1team

“Look how well they did!”

Jinwoo

THIS BOY loves to eat!

Will take you to his favourite place, somewhere you’ve never been before

It won’t be fancy, nor very trendy

Just very unique

The decor might not be amazing

and the place might be small

and if he notices you look disappointed

he’ll say, “just wait for the food!”

and he’ll point out all of his favourite foods

“actually, I haven’t tried that one, but it looks good!”

OH before you even sit down

he’ll be wondering if he should pull out your chair for you or not

and he’ll stare at the chair for a long time

“Jinwoo, are you okay?”

“Yeah, um, just take a seat!”

he’ll eventually decide not to, because it might be too extra

juST LOOK AT THE GIF, HE’LL BE DOING A LOT OF THAT

a lot of nervous giggling and fidgeting

but he’s trying to look confident!

Will try his best to make conversation

and as you continue to talk

will begin to feel more comfortable as he finds things the two of you have in common

When the food comes

he’ll wait for you to try it first

and he’ll be S O happy when you like it !!

When the meal is over, he’ll say he hopes to see you again

Jehyun

HAPPY PRINCE JEHYUN DAY, PLS GIVE THIS BOY YOUR LOVE,, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEHYUN !!

a first date with him will be simple - a trip to a local shopping centre !!

he likes to walk around when he shops

so the two of you will talk a lot while walking

getting to know each other and your fashion senses

you’ll take him to your favourite stores

and he’ll take you to his

it’ll be a very comfortable and chill date

he’ll probably already be looking into couple outfits

“hey [y/n], i think this will look lovely on you !”

he’ll try on outfits and make you shy with how good he looks

winking at you every time he leaves the changing room

making you laugh and cover your face

when you try something on

he’ll compliment you so much when something suits you

“you look like you just left the runway”

but he’ll be honest if something you’re wearing doesn’t suit you

HE’LL SAY IT KINDLY OF COURSE

“i don’t think this matches you too well... let me find you another colour!”

when you’re hungry

he’ll be willing to go to get your favourite food with you

“wow, this is actually really nice!”

will wipe the food off your face with his thumb while smiling

he’ll definitely want to go shopping with you again

“let’s do this again sometime, [y/n]!”

and he won’t stop telling the rest of 1team about his day with you

Junghoon

I don’t know why I imagine a really chill first date with Junghoon

I feel like the two of you will have been friends already

and after he confesses

he’ll be very cool like 

“so do you wanna just come and chill for our first date?”

because he’s already quite comfortable around you

and the two of you will lay down on the floor of his room

like in the gif

and he’ll share his earbuds with you

“I’ll let you choose the first song!”

and he’ll nod his head to the music

“this sounds really nice, [y/n], I’m adding this to my playlist!”

then he’ll giggle as he chooses the next song

and he’ll end up choosing a soft love long

before it starts he’ll say

“and this one’s for you”

while pointing at you

he’ll proceed to lip sync

and eventually start singing

his voice might crAck a little

but both of you will just laugh it off

but inside you’ll be dying a little

because he specifically chose to play a love song for you

I feel like Junghoon might fall asleep

because he feels so relaxed around you

and you’ll just admire his deep breaths and calm expression

if you run his fingers through his hair

i feeL LIKE he’ll end up smiling a little 

even if he’s still asleep

[ssho25]

Hopelessly Devoted to You

@thatsthat24 makes a list for inktober prompts and I really liked day 18: Draw your OTP in Halloween costumes that are designed to go together! (Shout out to him for the inspiration) But I am unfortunately not an artist, so I wrote a fic instead. So...yeah.  (also available on ao3)

“Thank you for your patronage. Please come again,” Kazuya repeated for the umpteenth time that day. He focused on maintaining his gentle bow and smile, trying his best to ignore the giggling girls as they walked by him.

“Miyuki-kun looks so handsome,” one of the girls whispered.

“The waiter uniform really suits him,” her friend agreed.

“Ahh~, I should’ve taken a picture for my phone background,” chimed the third.

Once they rounded the corner, Kazuya let out a large breath he didn’t know he was holding. He whipped his head over to the clock. 12:45pm. Good, only 15 minutes left of wearing that ridiculous outfit.

It was the annual cultural festival at Seidou High School, and Kazuya was designated as a waiter for his class’s café. Usually he’d weasel his way out of things like this, using baseball practice as an excuse. But this year, the girls had guilted him into it.

“We know you don’t have baseball practice Miyuki-kun. Maezono-kun already told us,” one complained.

“It’s not fair if you make us do everything,” said another.

“You can at least do some work the day of…”

“Okay, okay, I got it,” Kazuya said, his hands at his chest raised in surrender. “Just give me whatever job there is. I’ll do it.”

That was how Kazuya found himself in a well tailored, form-fitting waiter costume that looked like it belonged to a high-end café. The flattering uniform made him stand out way more than he liked, earning him unwanted attention not unlike the girls who just left. He inwardly cursed his past self for giving in so easily and not getting the details beforehand. And just when did his classmates get his measurements? These clothes fit waytoo well to be a coincidence.

“Hey,” Kuramochi called out. “Stop slacking off and bring these orders to table 4.”

“We’ve been doing this for the past 2 days now. I’m allowed to complain,” Kazuya argued, yet still walked over.

“It’s just until your shift is over.”

Kazuya picked up the desserts one by one and placed them onto his tray. “Easy for you to say. You’ve been hiding behind this curtain all weekend.”

“You’re fault for saying you’d do whatever,” Kuramochi muttered as he cooked some fried rice.

Kazuya pouted, but quickly replaced it with a professional looking smile as he approached table 4. “Here is your parfait and pancakes. Please enjoy,” he said to the couple at the table.

“I agreed to help out,” Kazuya continued when he returned to Kuramochi’s cooking station. “What I didn’t agree to was being stared at by so many girls.”

“Don’t pat yourself too hard on the back,” Kuramochi commented sarcastically.

“I’m not bragging, I’m uncomfortable,” Kazuya corrected. “Why are there so many girls anyway?”

“You can thank our classmates for that,” Kuramochi explained while cooking an omelette. “Ever since the fall nationals, you’ve been really popular, especially among girls. So, they’ve been telling everyone that you’re the waiter here as our selling point.” Kuramochi scooped some rice into his omelette and began folding it up. “So, congratulations. They’re all here for you Mr. Ladies Man.” He drizzled ketchup onto the finished omurice and handed Kazuya the plate. “Now quit whining and take this to table 1.”

Kazuya took the plate to the corresponding table and came right back to Kuramochi. “Don’t get mad at me. I didn’t ask them to take my picture.”

“I bet you’d be okay with it if it was Sawamura,” Kuramochi countered.

“Why would I let Sawamura take a picture of me?”

“Besides the crush you have on him?”

“I don’t have a crush on him,” Kazuya said defensively.

“Uh-huh. Yeah, sure you don’t,” Kuramochi replied unenthusiastically, clearly more focused on cooking than he was on the conversation.

“I don’t!”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“Because that’s the truth.”

“Mm-hmm. Whatever lets you sleep at night.”

“You think I lose sleep thinking about Sawamura?”

“I didn’t say that. You did.”

“That doesn’t prove anything,” Kazuya said matter-of-factly.

“How’s this? Haruichi and I know you keep a picture of you and Sawamura in the side pocket of your duffel bag.”

Kazuya froze in shock, but brushed it off before Kuramochi noticed. “You’re just making that up.”

“It’s from the time the newspaper club asked to write an article on the baseball club after we won the fall tournament. Sawamura has his arm around you and looks cheerful as ever, but you weren’t looking at the camera.” Kazuya didn’t retaliate, so Kuramochi continued. “I’m guessing the photographer caught you off guard, ‘cause you had quite the gentle expression while staring at Sawamura.”

Kazuya’s eyebrows scrunched up. “How did you…?”

“A few weeks ago before practice, the picture fell out without you noticing. Haruichi picked it up and was going to call out to you, but then saw what it was and thought better of it. After practice, he gave it to me and I slipped it into your bag while we walked to class.”

“…Okay, so maybe you do know about it,” Kazuya reluctantly admitted. “But there’s no special meaning to it,” he quickly added.

“Oh?” Kuramochi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s…it’s just a good luck charm,” Kazuya answered.

“What an interesting choice of a good luck charm. Why that one?” Kuramochi inquired.

“N-no reason…”

“You sure about that?” Kuramochi pointedly asked, his gaze boring holes into Kazuya.

The conversation was cut short when Kazuya and Kuramochi heard the familiar sound of a cell phone camera shutter. They turned towards the sound and found Sawamura had snuck up on them, a self-satisfied smile on his face and his cell phone primed and ready to take photos.

“Hey, no pictures,” Kuramochi called out.

“Whoops, already sent it to Onii-san,” Sawamura unapologetically said.

“I thought I told you no,” Kuramochi retorted, a scowl on his face and his fist raised as a threat.

“Sorry Kuramochi-senpai,” Sawamura replied more seriously, “But Nii-san asked for it. And to be honest? I’m more scared of him than you.” The look on Sawamura’s face was more than enough proof that he wasn’t messing around.

“…Yeah, that’s fair,” Kuramochi reluctantly said, recounting the not-so fond memories he had with Ryousuke.

Rather than sympathize with the two of them, Kazuya was more concerned about something else. “How long were you standing there?” he asked Sawamura.

“Hmm? Oh, not long at all. I just got here,” Sawamura replied.

“So, you didn’t hear us talking?”

“About what?” Sawamura gasped. “You were bad mouthing me, weren’t you?”

“Actually, we were complimenting you and that last game we played. Your pitching was the best you’ve done so far,” Kazuya said.

Sawamura blinked in disbelief, though it quickly turned to prideful acceptance. He folded his arms and upturned his nose. “Hehe, it’s rare to hear that kind of flattery from you Miyuki-senpai. Of course, I did work hard on those pitches, but…”

Sawamura happily chatted away while Kazuya let out a small sigh of relief. Thankfully, Sawamura didn’t hear the conversation from earlier. Even so, Kazuya couldn’t help but smile at Sawamura’s energy; it was quite infectious really.

Kazuya felt a pair of eyes staring at him and found Kuramochi to be the offender.

“Still don’t have a crush?” Kuramochi’s raised eyebrow seemed to ask.

Kazuya waved his hand in dismissal causing Kuramochi to roll his eyes and go back to cooking. Kazuya, wanting to forget Kuramochi’s ridiculous ideas, returned his attention to Sawamura. “So, what brings you here?” Kazuya asked, interrupting Sawamura’s monologue.

“Huh?”

“Did you really just come to take Kuramochi’s picture?”

“Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask if you wanted to go out with me.”

Not only did Kazuya freeze, but so did Kuramochi who had been eavesdropping. “Go…out with you?”

“Yeah. Go out and see all the booths in the courtyard. I heard there’s a really good yakisoba stall down there.”

“…Oh.” Kazuya felt a little disappointed, but paid no attention to those feelings. “Why me?”

“Well, everyone else I asked said they were working at their classroom booths. And since I needed a picture of Kuramochi-senpai, I thought I’d might as well ask you too.”

“…I see.” Again, Kazuya wasn’t too happy about Sawamura’s response. He tried not to show it because he knew Kuramochi was still watching and would comment on it later. “Unfortunately, I can’t walk around with you, Sawamura.”

“Aw, why not?” Sawamura asked.

“Yeah, why not? Your shift is done,” Kuramochi chimed in, pointing to the clock.

Kazuya’s eyes followed Kuramochi’s finger to the clock and sure enough, it was a few minutes past 1:00pm. He glared daggers at Kuramochi, but Kuramochi was unfazed. 

“Just take him Sawamura. He’s been whining all day and I’m sick of it already,” Kuramochi added.

“Yay!” Sawamura cheered. He grabbed Kazuya’s wrist and began to drag him out of the classroom. “Let’s hit every stall we can!”

“H-hey, wait!” Kazuya protested. “At least let me change first!”

…

“Man, high school cultural festivals are so much fun!” Sawamura exclaimed.

Kazuya chuckled. “You say it like it’s your first one.”

“Well, it kind of is. Last year, we were so busy with club activities that I didn’t get to enjoy the festival. It’s the same for you too isn’t it?”

Kazuya shrugged. “Can’t argue with that.”

For the past hour, Kazuya had let Sawamura drag him around the school, trying out the many different food stalls and booths other students had set up. It was honestly a lot of fun and it was a shame the festival would be over by the end of the day. But at least he got to experience it before it was gone.

Kazuya suddenly heard paper crinkling next to him and looked over to see Sawamura taking a large bite out of a taiyaki.

“Mmm,” Sawamura said as he happily munched away.

“You’re still eating?” Kazuya asked. “Aren’t you full?”

“But it looked really good! And I was right. Here, try some.” Sawamura extended the treat towards Kazuya.

Kazuya looked down at the taiyaki in Sawamura’s hands, debating whether or not to take a bite. Wasn’t this the infamous ‘indirect kiss’ girls always talked about? Wouldn’t he be giving people the wrong impression about them?

…Wait a minute. Why was he concerned? This was simply his junior offering Kazuya a taste of some food. Thinking about this any longer would mean he wanted something from Sawamura. But that couldn’t be true. Nope. Nuh-uh. That’s something someone with a crush on Sawamura would think.

Kazuya leaned forward and took a bite out of the taiyaki. He straightened back up as he chewed. “Mmm, it is good,” he said in between bites. He turned to his side to see Sawamura was no longer there. Confused, he craned his neck behind him to find Sawamura frozen in place, shock and a light blush dusting his cheeks. “What’s wrong?” Kazuya asked when he returned to Sawamura’s side.

Sawamura’s eyes wouldn’t meet Kazuya’s. “I…I thought you were going to hold it yourself,” Sawamura answered, his hands slowly returning to his chest.

It occurred to Kazuya that he basically let Sawamura feed him like a real couple and what they did was quite embarrassing and intimate. “…Oh,” was all Kazuya could lamely say as the heat crept onto his face. He rubbed at the back of his neck, his eyes suddenly very interested in whatever he could see through the building’s windows.

“Did something happen?”

“Are they fighting?”

Whispers from other students reached Kazuya’s ears. He realized they were drawing in an audience and needed to keep moving. He cleared his throat before speaking. “You said you wanted to visit Kominato’s classroom?”

“Y-yeah. It’s this way.” Sawamura pointed down the hall and they resumed walking in that direction.

Though the noise and energy of the students around them continued, the silence between them grew thick. Kazuya wasn’t quite sure how to approach the situation. Should he brush it off like it was nothing, or completely forget about it all together? And again, why was he so concerned?

Kazuya suddenly felt something nudge his arm, bringing him back to reality. He looked at his elbow, but figured he must’ve been imagining things when he saw nothing wrong. A second nudge prompted him to look again, and he realized they were coming from Sawamura.

Sawamura didn’t say anything, only gave Kazuya a look. Being battery mates for so long, Kazuya became accustomed to reading Sawamura’s non-verbal communication.

I’m sorry.

Kazuya raised an eyebrow.  What for?

I kind of…made it weird. Sawamura diverted his eyes, letting his shoulders droop and his head downcast.

Kazuya hated to see Sawamura like that and gave him an ever so gentle nudge back. Don’t worry about it.

Sawamura peeked at Kazuya through the side of his eye. Really?

Kazuya shrugged. Wouldn’t be the first time you did something weird.

Sawamura’s cheeks flushed red as he shoved Kazuya. He didn’t put much force into it, but it was enough to make Kazuya fumble a little with his steps.

Kazuya chuckled at Sawamura’s antics, knowing that Sawamura wasn’t as hurt as he seemed. Eventually, Kazuya could hear Sawamura quietly laughing along with him. He smiled at Sawamura and gave him another nudge. Yeah, really. It’s okay.

Sawamura reciprocated the gesture with a soft smile of his own. But instead of a nudge, Sawamura left his arm to rest against Kazuya’s. Kazuya was surprised by the intimacy, but welcomed it all the same. He kind of…liked it.

They continued to walk shoulder-to-shoulder until they heard…

 “Miyuki-senpai! Sawamura-kun! Over here!”  

Kazuya and Sawamura turn their heads to see Toujou standing by a classroom, one hand holding up a large sign while the other beckoned for them to come over. Kariba was standing beside him, waving as well. Sawamura dashed ahead to meet with his friends, leaving Kazuya behind to catch up.

Kazuya didn’t want to admit it, but he was a little hurt by the lack of hesitation from Sawamura. He also didn’t want to admit how he almost reached out to stop Sawamura from leaving his side, how surprised he was with himself when he realized what he was about to do. Kazuya actively ignored how he missed the warmth of Sawamura’s arm against his own, and how Sawamura’s bright and cheery smile directed at other people made his chest feel funny.

Acknowledging all these things would mean acknowledging Sawamura had an affect on him. Coming to terms with that was hard, and a little bit scary. Worst of all, it would mean Kuramochi could be right and that Kazuya might actually have a…no. No, no, no. It’s not a crush. Infatuation maybe, but definitely not a crush.

“Senpai! Hurry up!” Sawamura shouted.

Kazuya shook his thoughts away and made his way over to Sawamura.

“Miyuki-senpai, let’s take a picture!” Sawamura said.

“Picture?” Kazuya questioned.

“Our class is running a photo studio for the cultural festival,” Kariba explained. “We have a bunch of props and costumes you can use to take pictures with your friends.”  

“You can trust Kominato, he’s really good with the camera,” Toujou added.

“So let’s go!” Sawamura said.

“Yeah…I think I’m good,” Kazuya responded. He had enough pictures taken for one day.

“Aw, please?” Sawamura begged.

Kazuya wanted to resist, but found it incredibly difficult to do so. Since when was he so weak to Sawamura? Probably when he started thinking Sawamura was cute…but when did that happen? “All right, but just one picture.”

Sawamura’s whole face lit up with excitement and Kazuya hated how adorable he thought it was.

“Right this way,” Toujou said as he gestured to the doorway.

Kazuya and Sawamura walked into the classroom and were surprised to see how elaborate the makeshift photo studio looked. There was a hair and makeup stations, racks of costumes, boxes of props, and a blue backdrop in front of Haruichi. A group of guys were making silly poses as the camera flashed before them.

“Whoa, this almost looks like the real thing,” Sawamura commented in awe. Kazuya had to admit, it did look quite professional.

“Hello there!” One student said as they approached the duo.

“Hello,” Kazuya replied. “How much are the photos?”

“You can get 1 photo for 200 yen, 500 yen for 3, or 600 yen for 6.”

“Could we just get 1 picture, please?”

“Certainly. Would you like to try on some costumes?”

“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary,” Kazuya replied.

“What are you talking about, Miyuki Kazuya?” Sawamura exclaimed. “Of course we have to put on a costume!”

“We can just take a normal photo.”

“We can NOT ‘just take a normal photo’. Where’s the fun in that?” Sawamura linked his arm around Kazuya’s and began to drag him towards the racks of clothes. “Come on, we’re going to find really cool ones!”

“H-hey, I don’t…” Kazuya tried to protest, but to no avail. Sawamura was already sifting through the costumes, trying to find the ones he liked the best. Kazuya sighed and began to look at the costumes as well, but was doubtful of finding something he would agree to. A butler’s suit? No, he already felt like a butler all weekend. A vampire? Yeah, no. He wasn’t too keen about wearing a cape.

Kazuya went through an entire rack of costumes, each one worse than the one before. He made a silent prayer that Sawamura wouldn’t make him wear any of these. He looked to his side expecting Sawamura to be there only to find that Sawamura had stopped moving in the middle of his rack.

Kazuya approached Sawamura and saw Sawamura’s eye sparkling at one particular costume. Kazuya took one look at the costume and knew exactly why Sawamura was so enamored by it. You could only see the back, but Kazuya could tell it was a Yomiuri Giants baseball jersey. A big number 14 was centrally located on the jersey, but the most important detail was the word ‘SAWAMURA’ written in capital letters above the number.

“It’s like it was made for me,” Sawamura whispered, his eyes wide in amazement.

“It’s the jersey for Sawamura Eiji,” Kazuya explained. “He was the pitcher. The ace even.”

“Really?!” Sawamura’s head whipped over to Kazuya so fast, Kazuya thought Sawamura might’ve hurt himself.

“Yeah really. He was so good as a player, he retired the number 14.”

Sawamura’s jaw dropped in bewilderment and turned to look at the jersey again. “I have to wear it.”

“I mean, do you have to?” Kazuya asked.

“Yes!” Sawamura quickly replied. “And look! There’s another jersey here. So we can match!”

Kazuya looked at the jersey Sawamura was pointing to and saw another Yomiuri Giants jersey. This one had the number 10 and ‘ABE’ written on the back.

“You told me Abe Shinnosuke-san is a catcher, right?” Sawamura asked.

Kazuya nodded in reply.

“Isn’t he the captain as well?”

Kazuya nodded again.

“See? It’s perfect then! An amazing pitcher and catcher, just like us!” Sawamura exclaimed. His enthusiasm and excitement were so blinding that Kazuya forgot how to say no.

The two boys donned the jerseys and found the matching baseball caps in a prop box to finish their ensemble. They walked in front of the blue screen and turned to face the camera.

“Hello Miyuki-senpai, Eijun-kun,” Haruichi said.

“Hey Harucchi!” Sawamura replied.

“I see you’ve found the baseball jerseys,” Haruchi said, gesturing to their outfits.

“Yeah! Where did you find these?” Sawamura asked.

“I brought them from home,” Haruichi answered. “My dad is a big fan and so I asked if I could borrow them. I figured there would be some baseball fans who’d want to wear them.”

“Nice going, Harucchi!” Sawamura complimented, giving his friend a big thumbs up.

Haruichi chuckled. “You’re welcome Eijun-kun. So, how many pictures would you like?”

“Just one is fine,” Kazuya said.

Haruichi nodded. “Just let me know whenever you’re ready.”

Sawamura quickly threw his arm around Kazuya’s waist. “Ready!”

Kazuya wasn’t sure he should do, but eventually let his arm settle around Sawamura’s shoulder. “Ready.”

“Okay, I’m going to take the picture on the count of 3,” Haruichi said as he positioned himself.

“Hey, Sawamura?” Kazuya whispered.

“1…”

“Yeah?” Sawamura whispered back.

“2…”

“Thanks for taking me out. I had a great time,” Kazuya replied.

“3!”

Click!

Haruichi caught the picture as it came out the front of the camera. “All done,” he announced.

“Huh?” Sawamura said confusedly.  

“This camera is a polaroid. That means the picture develops right after you take it,” Haruichi explained. “So, who wants to keep the photo?”

“Sawamura can have it,” Kazuya answered as he took off the costume. He gave it to the student waiting on the side.

“Really? Are you sure?” Sawamura questioned as he began to take off his outfit as well.

“Yeah, you’re the one who wanted to do this, right? So you should keep it.”

Sawamura smiled brightly. “Thank you, Miyuki-senpai.”

Kazuya smiled back. “Don’t mention it,” he replied as he walked to the front of the classroom to pay for their photo.

…

“Here you are, Eijun-kun,” Haruichi said as he handed the photograph to Eijun.

“Thanks, Harucchi.” Eijun looked down at the photo and was surprised with the results.

Haruichi had zoomed in so only their upper body was showing. Miyuki’s playful charm was captured in the picture, with his all too knowing smirk and his angled baseball cap. Eijun on the other hand, wasn’t even looking at the camera. He had a gentle smile while staring at Miyuki.

Eijun realized the camera shutter must’ve went off when Miyuki was whispering to him. He never expected Miyuki to thank him, or even say something so nice. But Eijun was glad he heard it.

“Now I have a good luck charm too,” Eijun whispered as he smiled at the photo.

“What was that?” Haruichi asked.

“Nothing, it was just something I heard Miyuki-senpai say before,” Eijun replied as he slipped the picture into his pocket.

“Sawamura, hurry up or I’ll leave you behind,” Miyuki called out as he exited the classroom.

“Coming,” Eijun called back. “Thanks again, Harucchi,” he said before lightly jogging after Miyuki.

“What took you so long?” Miyuki inquired once Eijun caught up to him.

“Just admiring the good job Harucchi did,” Eijun explained.

“Is it really that good?” Miyuki asked. “Let me see it.”

“No,” Eijun rejected.

“What? Why not?”

“If you wanted to see it, maybe you should’ve said you’d keep it,” Eijun cheekily responded.

Miyuki looked appalled, but it quickly changed to a playful smile. “You little brat,” he said as he locked an arm around Eijun’s neck and began to ruffle up Eijun’s hair.

“Hey, cut it out,” Eijun said through laughs, trying to get out of Miyuki’s hold.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” Miyuki said.

“What if you make me lose all my brain cells and then I can’t pitch?”

“Do you even have any up here?”

“Hey!” Eijun shouted.

Miyuki laughed. “If that happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Then you have to promise to catch for me every single day until I die!” Eijun negotiated.

Miyuki’s grip on Eijun loosened as Miyuki started to laugh again. “Aren’t I already doing that?” Miyuki continued to laugh, seeming to have forgotten all about the photo.

Eijun stopped trying to escape Miyuki’s arm and smiled at Miyuki instead. He liked it a lot when Miyuki genuinely smiled; it was a rare and beautiful sight. It made his face feel warm and his heart beat fast, but he made a mental note to not say anything until Miyuki’s feelings were the same as his.

Hurry up and say you like me too.  

[anotherler]

So I kinda binge-read LQ’s blog for several hours last night and today and I’m still not back up to the most recent post...there is so much material on his blog...bless. It’s been an emotional journey so far. I can’t really put my feelings into words sometimes and I just read some parts of his blog quietly but my notes capture some of it.

It’s a little odd, if you ask me for both aproach the blog from an analytical standpoint but be really emotionally invested at the same time. Without further ado, heres part 3.

Part 1 / 2 / 3

113. LQ gets defensive about his surroundings��that’s a bit of a red flag, isn’t it?

114. Oh shit. Oh shit. We’re getting to the part where I voiceacted some of LQ’s lines HAHaha. I kinda…know these posts too well after reading through them aloud and listening to my own recordings…oh boy. Kinda tempted to try my hand at voiceacting again.

115. LQ first mentions the possibility of him being cursed. He later calls HQ his curse…just saying.

116. FUCK. LQ IS TOO ADORABLE WITH THAT PEN  IN HIS MOUTH. FR ICK

117. LQ is a butt pervert

118. Oh dear…LQ thinks that being himself and being alone is all in one…oh man.

119. LQ really doesn’t think he’s worthy of anything…but I think he’d certainly want to be.

120. This really hurts.

121. LQ has probably been taking medication for mental reasons as well…maybe. I remember he had a box of medication given to him.

122. He claims his mother doesn’t like people acting “abnormal”…possibly another reason why he’s so hard on himself and why he tries to hide and excuse his emotions.

123. Suddenly he’s very pale.

124. FemLQ! Spot the diff

125. Poor LQ…he’s pretty uncomfortable and weirded out…

126. I’m…laughing about Mori leaning in with the askbox for the “dressup as my OC” answer. That’s the icing on the cake. Also LQ looks really good in that outfit.

127. Take a shot everytime LQ says fake it till you make it…but on a more serious note, it’s important to keep a positive mind but not good to ignore a problem when you have one.

128. Well well well. If it isn’t Static Oncie.

129. How can you feel nostalgic if you’re living the mentioned great time? (He’s not)

130. TBH I had a theory that Static Oncie became HQ but that’s…kinda incorrect and correct because it was confirmed to me that they are not the same BUT HQ DID come from LQ’s mind like static Oncie did so Static Oncie, LQ and HQ are all one in the same probably.

131. LQ repeating his opening speech. It never gets old.

132. Here we are at the waking up event by the way. Buckle down, folks.

133. Here is the second time LQ cannot read his monitor. Frankly, he probably only doesn’t read it cause he doesn’t want to.

134. He manages to forget entirely for a whole day.

135. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! SPOOKY GHOST LQ

136. Omg I voiceacted this whole part…gosh that was fun…poor LQ though

137. HEALTHY LQ. MY HEART HRUTS….like………bro even his hands are okay this is too much

138. Oh man. I get it…being healthy caused his mind to work properly and he started to remember…oh shit.

139. Strange static formations…do they have anything to do with anything?

140. …Looks like LQ couldn’t find his Mom.

141. LQ comes back covered in blood and makes expressions like he killed someone…not suspicious at all.

142. Another side note. I’ve been thinking about LQ’s static. And it’s been explained before but it does really aid LQ when it comes to selective reading and not “seeing” certain things…the thing is, The static builds up between him and the viewer so he doesn’t really notice it (at first that is. He sorta sees it as normal for him). Like many other aspects of his blog, the static is a manipulation of what is seen.

143. Main reason why that comes up is cause he’s found Dr. L’s medicine and the static covers up the words on the box he finds it in. At the last panel he covers himself in static and tells everyone to go away.

144. The static formations behind him look like a face and it appears as though hands are resting on him. I’ve mentioned the possibility of it being HQ or static Oncie at some point but I think that generally it’s a manifestation of how he wants someone there with him but he’s alone.

145. LQ’s sticky note clad monitor. Golly. Really hard to read…and he’s pressed his bloody hand onto the monitor at some point too.

146. I wonder if LQ ever did sum up the courage to look back at his blog posts.

147. LQ has a major aversion to being called cute hehe

148. Oh shit it’s the crawling AMV. Shout out to Mori for making me cry when I hear that song. All thanks to LQ. But it was a good idea to make a shitty AMV…I couldn’t be happier tbh :” ) Also confession back when I watched this the first time I didn’t know this song had a…reputation. So I kinda took it seriously LMAO

…okay I’m not done talking about it uh. The song kinda fits???? And probably the reason why I took it so seriously was because of the subject matter at some points. The crawling AMV is a cinematographic masterpiece. Fucking fight me.

149. Merry Christmas from the year 2012

150. Tax evasion: just say two very simple words in the English language; “I forgot.”

151. Is…LQ blocking out his blush with static? He probably is

152. Also looks like theres static rising up from those papers he dropped…interesting.

153. aesthetic: floating things (Christmas cards in this case)

154: So it seems that LQ has in mind not to work for his company and have people under him manage the tasks for him with his directive…makes a degree of sense but then again I don’t know how companies work. Then again, I can’t help but think that LQ doesn’t do that work because he doesn’t feel that he can.

155. For someone so insecure He also sounds rather full of himself sometimes.

156. On a side note this is one of my favorite parts of the blog as well…for LQ trying to show that he’s working and the pretty colours the static and distorted picture make.

157.  Another major thing I give this blog a lot of credit for is how complex it is. I’ve been trying to figure out a few things definitively the whole time I’ve been making these notes but I’m still unsure. Things add up but not everything happens with clear reason. It’s very interesting.

158. The GIF effects on this blog are top notch tbh

159. Did Static Oncie (LQ’s subconscious) know the truth about LQ being an aftermath? Because everything he said could be taken in that context to some degree although it mainly pertains to part of the valley’s destruction. However, everything has been adding up to this moment. And the clues are abundant.

160. The moment at the end where the static goes off is apparently the moment LQ’s hope dies. Er…static oncie, that is. I think about that a lot. Was static Oncie only there because of LQ’s hope that things could change? Static Oncie was there to cryptically remind him of the truth when LQ wouldn’t look back on it. And though he was rather agresive, he definitely isn’t as aggressive as HQ.

161.  The truffula on LQ’s lapel…I used to think it withered but maybe he actually tore it off.

162. In addition, when static Oncie says unless you see spirals in his eyes. Like the motif of the seed.

163. I really like the perspective of his lurkim in these panels

164. At this point…I think LQ has started to starve himself just…generally neglect himself. You can understand why.

165. RIP.

166. swone. BODY ONCE TOLD ME-

167. Honestly Swone why did you think mr mc lives in a lerkim would have a functioning oven. Surely you had some other options…orrr maybe you didn’t okay Swone. Now I’m also lowkey gonna talk about Swone cause he’s visiting.

168. wow….this is awkward. Talk about breaking and entering.

169. I’m FUCKING LAUGHING AT SWONE’S BLUNTNESs. Apparently LQ isn’t so easy to fool.

170. Was Swone prepared to bring his cleaning supplies or does he just bring them everywhere he goes???

171. Off topic again but goddamn if Once-lers are a pack of weirdos. Litterally you have two of them in one room at like, neither of them is the straight man (figuratively and literally most of the time). They’ve kinda all got issues to iron out. And yeah, these two are no exception. Swone is a fucking weirdo.

172. LQ has pretty much remembered all sorts of things and why would he push his memories of Swone away? Yeah these two had probably never met till then.

173. ……….it’s not Christmas.

174. Stove-ler.

175. LQ’s gloves got all torn up as well….he may have also lied about wearing his bandages underneath his gloves cause I can’t see em.  Hard to believe I didn’t notice until now. They don’t get like that till he’s dishevelled…it’s hard to think that maybe he did that to himself…hrm..

176: He mentions he can’t take them off so he’s likely neglected the care of his arms.

177: Probably was something of a nightmare for Swone to navigate around LQ’s house…and LQ himself. No offense but he was definitely gross.

178. The posts without any dialogue can be very powerful.

179. HOPESPLODE (sorry that was…uh…RIP Static Oncie)

180. TIME FOR PAIN (specific to this but applies to a lot of this blog cause there is a lot of hurt feelings)

181: SELF IMAGE QUALITY JSKGLdkl

182. o mg I remember the post about the “do you like the colour of the sky” post I actually watched Mori stream the drawing for it aaaa good times UuU

183. Poor LQ…..

184.  LQ arguing against his own existence because new cgi movies hurt his eyes. I have nothing so say about that just. Think about that for a second.

185. Super high quality-ler spffpfff I love this blog