#those i picked on purpose

[avo-kat]

soul of the steppe - cast

for the record i wrote my book when i was still a bisexual cis woman

anyway, heres my cast of characters:

ashe - the protagonist. shes grumpy. lives as a hermit/scavenger in the magical steppe after fleeing from her parents' house. only talks to vendors when she goes into town to sell stuff. has magical feelers that enables her to feel the magical signatures. secret desire: to have friends and go on epic adventures with said friends. her name started as place holder, 'A', and 'she', because im lazy and hate typing long names.

saki - magical kickass warrior and vice commander of a magical squad employed by the capital. shes tall and strong and cool and super hot. her girlfriend scarlett is the commander of said squad. she got kind of a stick in her butt and clings to rules and laws and takes her job v seriously. can get p mad.

lyra - imagine a magical girl with water magic. thats how he looks like. frilly blue dress and aqua blue curly hair. very happy and bubbly and a people pleaser and tries his best to befriend ashe. was forced to become a water mage by his parents due to $$$, prefers to play with mud (nobody knows this except for me. here u go. exclusive content.)

hana - shes short, got a pixie bob hairstyle, a cutting glare, is hella protective of her friends and has no qualms abt appearing rude and interrogating suspicious people. shes also the squads healer and knows how to use a bow. hopelessly in love w her girlfriend xara.

xara - very tall, has a sword, is basically just a big jock. inofficially 3rd in command, only cuz she cares about completing objectives and keeping up the group morale. huge softie, hopelessly in love w her girlfriend hana.

navi - shes. she. she is. the. navigator. of the group. only task is to lead the squad thru the deadly steppe with her magical sight. a cloth covers her head and the upper part of her face, belongs to the navi people, that live in secret in the steppe, her ppl are contracted by the capital as guides. shes like the only normal one in the group. gets worried like a reasonable person. nobody knows her real name or has seen her face. has only met the squad after it was formed and feels like an outsider.

gralja - kinda short, choppy short grey hair, baggy, black clothes, always glares at everything, looks constantly exhausted. prickly, only feels joy in combat, when they can use their magic. belongs to a rare group of ppl with "explosion" type magic, that only triggers when the user is relaxed, thus is required to stay in a constant state of annoyance, wears flameproof clothing cuz they are bound to explode if they relax too much while sleeping. legally they belong to the capital and are forced to work as a member of a squad their whole life. most ppl are wary/afraid of people like them. friends w scarlett.

scarlett - the leader. extremely short. long, curly bright red hair and red eyes. sakis girlfriend. is missing at the beginning of the story. according to everybody, scarlett is perfect. the little sister of the capital's president.

rao - hes an elf. nobody knows elves exist outside of fairytales. ashe finds the secret elven town in the steppe by accident. rao is very happy and bubbly and has been burning to go out on an adventure to see the world for years, but his parents wouldnt let him cuz hes the last child to be born. he secretly follows ashe and she puts up with him because hes like a stupid puppy.

zinnia - secret

fir - secret

The Mountain - huge fucking jerk (also p hot)

The S** - secret

The W*** - secret

Ra - secret

Kra - secret

Jars - hes a side character and barely appears and a mini villain but his name is fucking hilarious.

Fyle - hes based on eri**dan. im not even joking. only appears shortly. i wouldve been too distracted otherwise.

Zul - secret

Cat - the real MVP

[sillyabtmusic]

(240321) Intro : Crush + BBB - Swan

[nayruwu]

I wont lie, guren, shinya and mahiru as mlp ponies sounds awesome

i finished them!! yay!!! the catastrophic trio as fucking My Little Pony characters, featuring unnecessarily detailed cutiemarks. 🐎

please welcome with me, Guren as Crimson Lotus,

Mahiru as Midday,

and Shinya as Deep Night. (i guess he could've also been Midnight, but the little pastel ponies often seem to have double names)

i'm just kidding. of course i made him one anyway.

this would have been massively easier (and quicker...) if i had just drawn them as actual mlp style ponies, but horse anatomy is just too gnarly, i couldn't resist. i like horses. sigh.

either way, i think it's awesome how you can just translate their names into english, and BOOM, you have a pony name.

[brightstarblogs]

Yuma Month Day 31: Post Game

So I know I technically didn't actually draw Yuma for this one, but I wanted to draw my personal reaction to post game... which was to buy things for the best boy XD

When I finished the game I just was so in love with Yuma as a character that I immediately started buying merch/a cosplay for him so I could show my love for him. Yuma honestly means so much to me and became an anchor for me in a very difficult time, so I will always be grateful to him (and the rest of the NDA) for just helping me feel a little less down.

Not long after I became a fan of Kokobolt and met more people in the fandom and made a bunch of friends in the Kokobolt group chat and then later the zine server. You guys really helped me and I will always be thankful to RainCode and Yuma especially for helping me.

I also want to thank Kazin for hosting this event. It has been so fun to draw (and write) so many pieces for this bean I care about, so thank you for doing this. I've loved everyone's art and I'll miss seeing the new arts every day, but keep at it all of you! All your art is awesome and deserves more attention!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

*deeper sigh* *head in hands* What's sugondese?

Sorry anon, but you know too much now

[doctorbunny]

On one hand I'd love for most of the milgram cast to be canon lgbt (although Canon cis Muu is really funny in its own way)

But on the other, it's worth remembering the last Canon trans character Yamanaka wrote, whilst beloved also had his identity foreshadowed with non binary flag coloured shoes....

Like that's not a bad thing, but idk if any of the prisoners are on Gin Noto's level

[gifti3]

hii im posting this old fic for asmo, it was for his bday but i put it off cause i wanted to keep editing it and before you know it its been over year of it just sitting untouched 〒▽〒 so i decided to just post it without a reading over it again its pretty light hearted and silly, its an AU where Asmo is literally a queen and reader is one of those passing merchants (probably) reader is gn here and yep thats it!

----

----

Queen Asmodeus's Birthday

This was the first time you'd actually be present during Asmodeus's birthday. You heard about previous ones in passing during your travels, but now you'd get to experience all the hoopla in person.

You observe yourself in the mirror and smooth the front of your outfit down. It wasn't something you would usually wear on a day to day basis, but today….what the Queen says goes. Like any other day really, but now wasn’t the time to be contrarian. If any day needed to go smoothly, today was that day. So after one more look, you exit your room.

Making your way down the hallway you dodge several servants handling last minute preparations. You head downstairs and weave your way through mingling guests.

When you enter the grand banquet hall--not to be mistaken with the regular one--you whistle to yourself. It always looked nice but today it was at exorbitant levels of presentation. The long tables, the walls and even the ceiling seemed to be covered in the Queen's favorite shades and flowers. Everything was so flowery and pink.

Your eyes fall on the “Esteemed Guests” table and you make your way towards it.

"Hey guys." You greet the group of brothers. You nod at a few faces you weren’t quite familiar with, but they must be important to the Queen if they were at this table.

Before the brothers can say anything you interject. "No need to comment on the outfit. I know," you smile.

Several of them shut their mouths.

You take a seat at the head of the table, Asmodeus's spot. His chair was quite literally the center of attention. In the middle of the room it sat, the most immaculate and eye-catching. It was almost gaudy to be honest. And from here, you'd be able to see him from anywhere in the room.

“So…when does this start?” you ask.

“Hopefully he comes out within the hour,” Satan answers.

You’d think he was exaggerating if he wasn’t currently reading. In all this noise, you weren't sure how.

Lucifer sat back with his eyes closed, probably thinking of work, while Mammon and Levi talked (or maybe they were bickering) about something. Beelzebub frowned while rubbing at his stomach and Belphegor’s head was laid on the table.

Even though they seemed indifferent about being here, you knew they wanted to keep their brother happy. And anyways if they missed today they wouldn’t hear the end of it until his next birthday.

By the time his Majesty is formally introduced to the hall, an hour must have passed and Beel looks visibly famished. He gently nudges Belphie awake though. 

“Ah, the star finally appears,” Solomon says. You had met the sorcerer for the first time today but he seemed decent from the conversation you had. Mostly everyone at the table seemed a bit perturbed by his presence though.

Anyone standing around moves quickly to sit down so as not to be chewed out by other guests for blocking the view.

All attention turns to decorative stairs at the front of the room as the Queen appears. Slowly rose petals magically start falling from the ceiling. Everyone watches as Queen Asmodeus gracefully makes his way down, his (very expensive) skirts following down behind him. 

Mammon sits back crossing his arms and says under his breath. “He does this every year…” 

You wonder if anyone outside his brothers would ever grow tired of it though. You swear you could see tears glistening in some of these guests' eyes.

You manage to catch Asmo’s eye and he winks at you.

The whispers amongst the guests go silent once Asmodeus begins talking to his closest family, friends and allies.

"Thank you for gathering here to celebrate this special day--my birthday. Seeing everyone's lovely faces smiling for me makes me so happy!"

You hear a couple of dreamlike sighs among the crowd.

"I’m excited for the fun to start so please everyone enjoy the food. The festivities will start right after.”

There’s cheers and Beel’s face brightens as servants file in with various dishes.

Asmo makes his way towards his seat waving and talking to people along the way.

"How'd you like my entrance MC? Wasn’t it perfectly befitting for someone like me," Asmo asks by the time he finally makes it to the table.

Most of his brothers look exasperated but you grin. “It was very Asmodeus-like. You look really amazing by the way. Your dress is very beautiful.”

He smiles at the compliment. “Not as beautiful as me though, right?”

“Heh, of course.”

Satisfied with your answer, Asmo rests a hand on your shoulder.

"Thank you all for coming. I hope you all brought presents ❤️"

Lucifer smiles, already prepared with his gift, "Happy Birthday Asmodeus."

“I didn’t skimp out this year so you better be grateful,” Mammon says.

All the brothers take their turns passing their presents for Asmo to open and gush over. And these were no simple gifts. These were items the average person could only dream of having but apparently this was nothing too hard for these brothers to acquire.

You watch Asmo brandish the beautiful sword Santa had given to him. You had never seen anything like it before. Where did he even find that? Maybe you should inquire with him about it later.

During the rest of the dinner, you see a shift in Asmo’s demeanor from fairly pleased to absolutely bored. Finally, he stands and clinks his glass with a fork to get the room's attention.

He takes a drink and raises his glass high. "Let's get this party started!"

-------

It had been 3 hours so far. The beginning of what would definitely be a way too long party.

You hadn't seen the Queen since dinner as he was mingling with the endless party guests.

How many people could one person remember off the top of their head?

Escaping the noise would be impossible even if you wanted to. You could hear Queen Asmo's subjects singing, dancing and lighting fireworks through your room window when you made a quick stop for the restroom.

You take a bite of your kebab, waving at someone you don’t remember the name of. Galavanting from room to room to keep yourself entertained in this overstimulation fest.

Maybe you'd go back to the 'bathing room'. It was always interesting there.

Suddenly, you find yourself wrapped in a warm embrace and surrounded by the scent of fruit and alcohol. 

“Darling I haven’t seen you in so long.” Asmo says dragging out the end of the statement.

“It’s only been a few hours though.”

“Might as well been years.” 

You roll your eyes but pat his arm soothingly. “But you’re enjoying yourself right?”

He hums. “Everyone is here for me, adorning me with gifts and praise. I’d say it’s within the top 3 best birthdays!”

“...Isn’t a good chunk of your usual days filled with that though?”

He rests his head on you. “It’s different though.”

Before you can ask more, several people approach you two to talk to the Queen. Asmodeus hooks his arms with yours before you can walk off though.

----

“Asmo, please let me go. Keeping up appearances for this long is killing me.”

“But I don't want you to disappear again!” He nuzzles into your arm and you let out a sigh.

“Can we at least take a break?”

“Are you trying to get special private time with the Queen?” Asmo gives you that stupid innocent smile that was rarely innocent.

“Er, I mean it would be nice…” You hadn’t been able to spend much time with him these last couple days since he was so busy.

“Okay since you’re one of my favorite guests I’ll give you special attention. But you owe me!”

And with that Asmo drags you away to his room.

As soon as you’re behind closed doors you flop on his soft bed. Even with the sounds of a party as background noise, you’d be able to rest your eyes.

“Wait, did you invite me here just to sleep?” You feel the bed dip beside you.

You mumble incoherently before turning your head to look at Asmo’s pouting face. You couldn’t help smiling at his expression though. 

How did he do it? You probably looked very disheveled right now but there sat your Queen completely perfect as always even though he’d been all over the castle today.

“Hmm, has my beauty stunned you~?” Asmo’s lithe fingers trace a pattern on your cheek.

“Maybe…” you sigh and get up from the bed. “That reminds me. You said I owed you and I haven’t given you your birthday present yet.”

You beacon him towards his dressing table and retrieve the small box. You planned to give it to him this morning but he wasn’t here. So you left in his room hoping he would find it on his vanity before the day ended but inwardly scolded yourself for the choice when he eyed you at the dinner being the only one closest to him who hadn’t given him anything.

“Happy Birthday!” You hold out the gift to him with a small smile.

Asmo’s eyes widened a bit. Was he actually surprised? His expression turns pleased as he takes and carefully opens it.

“It’s beautiful…” He carefully pulls out the silver necklace and holds it up. It was adorned with several small jewels but the main star was a deep red painite that sat in the middle.

“And it’s very unique.” The merchant in you was screaming for giving away something this rare for free. But making sure Asmo was pleased with his present was much more worth it. 

You help him put it on and watch as he admires himself in the mirror.

“So you like it right?”

“Of course I love it!” Asmo stands, grabs your hand and leans in to press a kiss to your lips. “I might have to show you how much I love it. You always know what to get me…” 

You lean in hoping for another kiss but Asmo places a finger on your chin to stop you.

“After the party. I want to take my time with you….” He gives you a quick squeeze and leads you out of the room before you can complain.

----

The next day when you wake up in Asmo’s arms to the sound of people being unusually loud through his window. That couldn’t be what you think it was.

You stare blearily at the ceiling. "When does everyone stop partying exactly?”

Asmo yawns and cuddles into you. “Hmm, usually in several days.”

“...How are you sleeping through this?”

[yea-baiyi]

makin my way through the new tgcf edition(!!!) and one thing i noticed that doesn’t come across in the english translation is how much the ghost groom plotline is clearly just meant to frame our first impression of hua cheng.

the phrase for ‘ghost groom’ is 鬼新郎 (gui xin lang)— the same 郎 in san lang (三郎). ‘red wedding palanquin’ is 红花轿 (hong hua jiao) — literally “red flower palanquin”. then obviously hua cheng appears and escorts xie lian out of the palanquin, and even begins to lift the veil. the villain turns out to not be a groom at all, so the entire point of the misdirect was to create this association

so when hua cheng rolls up five minutes later, dressed in red, and introduces himself as ‘san lang’, to the reader there’s a huge blinking sign over his head reading

HUSBAND!!!! GHOST HUSBAND!!!!

[jemmo]

also i know we are all losing our minds over the way mohk looks at day, but i also think this ep esp and a lil bit of ep 4 made me so hyper aware of the way mohk touches day, how touch factors into their relationship and how mohk is almost trying to find a way to differentiate between touch that is like functional i guess?? part of his job as a caretaker and touch that is affectionate and bc he wants to touch as you would want to touch someone you have feelings for, not just bc he has to in order to help day. it’s the way before, and don’t quote me on this bc i don’t have a great memory, it’s just the vibe im left with, mohk was always close to day physically but never touched him as much as he does now. but now, esp on that date after august didn’t show up bc it was a date, he has his hand on his back and on his knee and slides it up his arm and these are all things the camera frames and focuses on so we can see that mohk is introducing touch that isn’t purely functional. and that’s hard for him to kind of wordlessly try to convey to day in this tentative kind of way, it is for anyone with feelings really to start crossing that line, but it’s bc the line was already crossed day one for them that it feels harder for mohk to convey that this is different. this isn’t just them walking around with their arms linked, this is him touching day bc he wants day to know he’s there and feel his presence and be reassured but also just bc he wants to touch day. simple as that. and after august’s introduction and how much focus there was on him touching day, it also feels very much like mohk wants day to know that it is him there.

[grimvestige]

"Sayonara Elric Brothers~! Come by for Gracia's apple pie sometime!"

more FMA:B fanart for my rewatch~

[yourqueenb]

I do not think it’s a good idea to keep Nia’s situation from the rest of the group. But the bitchy side of me is glad she doesn’t wanna tell anyone because I know the moment we do, it’ll become all about her again and MC’s issues will get pushed even further into the background 😑🤷🏽‍♀️

[biblicallyaccuratepigeons]

Rather proud of this self-portrait

[nostalgia-tblr]

I watched Avengers: Age of Ultron (apart from I skipped some overly long action sequences) and I am not sure so can someone tell me whether or not Tony Stark was the baddy in that film? Because about halfway through I was sure he was but then it was maybe just an evil robot after all and I am confused because either this film was surprisingly subversive or it was about robots hitting each other.

[coquelicoq]

you reread raksura after reading murderbot and you realize that the kethel in the last book is murderbot from an outside POV. like they don't have the same personality obviously, but if the murderbot books were told from the perspective of, say, eletra from the corporation rim, she'd be talking about secunits the way that all the protagonists of the raksura books talk about the fell. which i feel really conflicted about. you write a five-book series (plus two books of short stories) with a biologically evil race and in the later books start deconstructing it and being like "hey maybe our narrators aren't exactly reliable on this point" but by then it's kind of too late imo. idk. she's doing something interesting here but i don't know if it works.

[mxliv-oftheendless]

I just wanna know what Shane Acker put in 9 to make it EMOTIONALLY WRECK ME every time I watch it 😭😭😭

[adlamu]

help me understand | it's my favourite depeche mode album's birthday and so, in honour of my beloved some great reward's special day, i made a little set based on my favourite lyrics from 8 of the 9 tracks (it doesn't matter is missing bc i don't have a favourite lyric from that song + i dislike odd numbers on posts, i'm very finicky about it okay sh). while sgr wasn't my first introduction to depechay mowedTM by any means, it is the album i fully fell in love with first and i would do literally anything to defend her because i love it with every fibre of my being.