#trying out ibs paint

[kittielover22]

Merry Christmas!!! :3

(I just realized I forgot the r I’m sorry TwT)

[glowinlemon]

Chopper starts worrying that the tooth/antler fairy might not be real. Zoro spends the rest of the night dressing up to try and convince Chopper that it’s real. Sanji takes as many blackmail pics as possible.

[catdemons13]

cool sword

[alicenpai]

🥀💙❤💛

"loves me, loves me not..."

heart buttons are on preorder in my store here!

i can FINALLY... share some of the art I've been hoarding this summer... the in-stock buttons sold out, but ive now put them on preorder. the ETA for finished PRODUCTION is by oct 31 AT THE VERY LATEST. tbh youll probably RECEIVE your buttons before that. but dont quote me on this it depends on if the package gets stuck in customs or not...

Ib has absolutely tickled the gothic horror part of my brain for ... 10 years now... the game is not gothic horror per se, but i like to interpret it as such :) it aligns so well with the victorian gothic horror genre because of the haunted paintings and prominent rose imagery.

i've been trying out different brushes for lineart this summer (well like, since last summer?), as i felt i haven't really felt like myself as an artist in the last 2 or so years. i tried a new brush, trying to re-capture the flow and quirk in my 2017-2018 art (i think this is a good example) with a similar chisel tip brush. although i think... it didn't really click with me & serve my needs anymore, and i think moving on from art tools you used to love is okay.

[feathersnflowers]

Trying out ibs paint for the first time

I haven't quite gotten used to it yet so they look a tad wonky but yk

[kodydrs]

The Vice Admiral’s Daughter - Portgas D. Ace (|||)

a/n: part 3!!! idk why but this part was honestly the hardest to write and idk why bc i always right smut. um, anyways, this is gonna have like 1 or 2 more parts and then it’s done 🫶🏻 and i’m back to other fanfics (i have an iceberg & franky one sitting in my ideas box). feel free to send in asks / requests, and comment & reblogs are appreciated!!

warnings: ace x fem!reader, pirate!ace x marine!daughter!reader, fxm, 21!ace, 19!reader, oral (f & m receiving), (slight) fingering, cunnilingus, smut, mdni, i’m bad at tagging, not proofread (it’s never proofread)

ib: tagged in earlier post

request: yes / no

You’re awoken in the (very) early hours of the morning a few months later when you’re back at Loguetown. The transponder snail that sits beside your bed feels like it’s screaming in your ear and you groan into your pillow.

‘Hello?’

The voice on the other side comes over clearly, and you’re almost motivated to hang up right then and go back to sleep.

‘Hey sleepyhead.’ Ace laughs quietly. ‘I’m surprised you picked up. Did I wake you up?’

‘No.’ You lie through your teeth, rolling in your bed. ‘I was just walking my fish.’

‘Oh. That’s good… Have you missed me?’

You’re silent on your end of the line, and you can hear Ace’s smile drop.

‘Ace? How did you get my number? It’s private.’

You hear his laugh crackle over and it warms your heart a little.

‘Don’t worry about that. I just need you to come into town. To that bar we met at last time.’

‘The Smog Cutter? That place has been closed for a few months. It’s all abandoned now.’

‘I know, but I really need you to meet me there. Please.’

You groan again, weighing out your options before inevitably agreeing.

You don’t bother properly changing into clothes. Instead you just throw a shirt over your bra and shorts before running out of the house and into the township.

Ace is standing outside of the Smog Cutter. You hadn’t lied when you said it was closed and abandoned. The paint that used to decorate the front of the building had long since peeled off, and you could barely read the name of the place.

‘So that’s where you live?’ Ace said, looking at where you’d come from.

You’re out of breath when you reach him, but you stand up straight with your hands on your hips.

‘Well yeah. It’s the Vice-Admirals house aswell.’

‘They do live well, don’t they?’ He scoffed. You give him a sideways look as you both walk into the empty tavern.

‘Did you just call me out here to make comments on my lifestyle or what?’

‘���I missed you.’ His smile stretched and you’re met with piercing blue eyes looking straight at yours. ‘And I wanted to talk to you.’

You freeze for a second before giving him a “are you fucking serious” look.

‘Why would you “miss me”?’ You ask, sitting on one of the counter stools.

‘Because you’re special. You could’ve turned me in at any point, but you didn’t. You’ve talked to me. And the second time we met, you drank with me and made me laugh. And we’ll forget about the 3rd because that was a little messy, but besides the point. But the point is you’re special and i can’t get you out of my head.’

You listen to him closely, finally breaking a soft laugh at the end.

‘Careful, Fire Fist. You’re making it sound like you’re in love with me.’ He blushes and looks away, and you realise at that moment what he’s trying to say. ‘Oh. Oh.’

‘What on earth do you mean “Oh”?! I just poured my heart out to you and your reply is “Oh”?’

‘It’s an “Oh”, as in “Oh. The Vice-Admiral's daughter was correct in thinking that Portgas D. Ace did in fact want to take advantage of a 17 year old girl that night.’

‘Well, duh. But that only because you said-‘

‘Oh just the fuck up.’ You grinned, grabbing his chin and pressing your lips together chastely.

It takes Ace a minute to register before he relaxes into the kiss, being quick to add more fervour. You wrap your arms around his neck and he steps off his own seat and stands between your legs. He wraps his own arms around your waist, pulling you closer as he continues to return your kiss passionately.

‘This is stupid.’ He whispers, trying to pull back from the kiss slightly. ‘We should stop. You have no idea how much trouble you’ll get in if we’re caught.’ He smirks, knowing he’s about to get a reaction.

‘Oh. But my warnings for the past 3 years have been ignored? Seems a little unfair.’ He chuckles and rolls his eyes.

‘Fine. But I’m being serious. This is dangerous. What happens if your dad finds out?’

‘He just won’t find out.’ You’re quick to reply, and even quicker to lean back into the rejoicing your mouths. Ace grins, pulling you impossibly closer. You take the opportunity to deepen the kiss. 3 years seems long enough for a starved man. He sighs into your mouth, pulling back to see your slightly dishevelled look.

‘You look so beautiful right now.’

You smile, lightly nipping at his jawline.

‘I want you so bad, Portgas D. Ace.’

He brings a hand to the back of your head, guiding your face back up to meet his lips. He bites down on your bottom lip, inciting a moan from you.

‘That’s not helping. I’m gonna go crazy if we keep doing this.’ He groaned, leaning over you so your back was pressed against the counter, one hand holding him up. ‘But god, do I love you so much. I’m gonna marry you someday.’

‘A bold statement.’ You whisper as he begins to explore your neck and collar. ‘Especially to make to the Vice-Admiral’s daughter.’

He grins and nods.

‘Well, you know me, princess. I like to take risks.’ He winks, coming back up to capture your lips once again. Sweet noises drip from your mouth and they all go to Ace’s dick as he slowly grinds his hips against yours. His free hand moves from your hip down to your ass, grabbing at the clothed muscle. Your own hands run up his forearms, then down his torso til they’re resting just above the waistband of his shorts. Teasingly, you grab his belt, holding him like he isn’t as close as possible.

‘Cheeky.’ He hisses, littering kisses over your shoulders. ‘Don’t make me fuck you in an abandoned bar.’

‘It’d be awfully fitting though, wouldn’t it?’ For once, it’s your voice that drops to a seductive tone. Ace groans lustfully, pressing his forehead against your skin. You bring your hand up to pull on the hair on the back of his neck. ‘Come on, Ace. Please fuck me in the bar.’

He feels himself fold right there and then. All sense of dignity fell out of him faster than he dropped to his knees for you.

‘You’re gonna be the death of me.’ He sighed, kissing your stomach. Wanted hands followed slowly after him, tracing the bumps of your spine. He kissed each of your thighs, biting lightly then smoothing the wound, littering your skin in love bites.

Your back’s digging into the counter as he decorated your body, even with your arms keeping you stable. Calloused fingertips trace your inner thighs, parting them slightly. Black eyes meet yours, the pirate leaning back to look at you.

‘You’re so hot from down here.’ He coos, resting his chin on your stomach.

‘I could say the same about you.’ Your hand finds its way to his face, caressing his cheek. ‘You look good on your knees.’

A fire lights in him, hotter than the one already there. You’re so unbelievably attractive, and he can’t even begin to process how he’d come to be blessed enough to get you.

Your thighs are once again littered in kisses, marks all along your inner skin. Your lips are slightly parted as he gets closer to your core. The only thing obstructing him is your thin pajama shorts. Your eyes met again and neither of you need to speak to know what he’s asking. You nod, holding your breath as your soft, pink folds are exposed. The hand on his cheek moves to his hair, running your fingers through his soft black strands. His eyes don’t leave yours as he takes the final step, his tongue flicking out to taste you for the first time. You gasp, mouth open and your head back. Ace smirks, lapping at your folds, then slipped a finger inside you, watching your wetness already coat his digit.

‘Ah fuck.’ You moan lowly, harshly massaging your breast through your top while the other tugs at his hair. A groan from Ace sends vibrations to your clit, stimulating your core. He smirks against your cunt as he thrusts his fingers deeper into you, finding your sweet spot. You’re a whimpering mess in a matter of minutes, and you can feel your legs threatening to buckle beneath you. As if he can tell, Ace adds another finger, stretching you more as he thrusts increasingly deeper and eats you out.

‘A-Ace.’ You cry, tears threatening to spill. ‘I’m gonna cum.’

You’re holding his hair so tight you’re sure you’d have pulled some out by now, but it’s the last of your worries. His grin grows wider, feeling you pulsating around his fingers increasing his own arousal.

‘Cum for me, baby.’

Euphoria washes over you by his command, eyes squeezed shut and head thrown back.

Touching yourself for the past 3 years had surficed, but this was by far the most intense orgasm you’d spent in your entire life, and all it took was Ace’s mouth and fingers.

Ace continued to lap at your folds, tasting and milking you through while you shake and shudder in pleasure.

‘Are you alright?’ You nod slowly, taking a moment to look down at him while you struggle to stay up. He chuckles softly, pulling back to look at you. ‘Quite the climax, aye?’

‘Shut up.’ You pant, pulling him up to his feet so you can kiss him again. You cringe slightly at the taste of yourself on his lips, but it’s so hot that you ignore it. As you’re making out, you run your hand down his torso, letting your fingers drag over his abs, then past his belt til you’re delicately palming his erect cock. He groans into your kiss, his body already trembling slightly from both your touch, and the adrenaline.

‘You don’t have to if you don’t want to.’ He whispered, holding your wrist. You’re quick to shake your head, pulling away. His hair is messier than usual, and he looks absolutely divine like this.

‘That wouldn’t be fair.’ You pouted, putting on a sad girl act. You hold his shoulder and turn you both around so it’s now his back pressed against the counter. ‘Plus, you mustn’t think I love you enough if you think I’m going to wait another 4 months to give you head.’

His gaze is one of surprise, but then a soft smile emerges.

‘You think I’m gonna disappear again?’

Your foreheads are pressed together, and you slowly begin to stroke his dick, watching his breathing change.

‘Please don’t lie to me and say you won’t.’

He laughs lowly, hands finding your hips.

‘I promise I won’t leave. Not now that I have you. Do you trust me?’

‘No.’ Your reply is plain and harsh, but yours holds more truth than his. ‘You’re a pirate, Ace. You’ll need to leave whether you want to or not.’

He shrugs, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips and holding your gaze.

‘True. But I meant more in the long run. I’m not going to leave you if you’ll be mine.’ He feels your smile against his lips, and it makes his heart flutter. You peck then quickly before lowering yourself to his knees.

‘I’ve been yours since Day 1, Fire Fist Ace.’

A shallow gasp escapes as Ace’s breath hitches, focused on your movements as you undress him. You’re working slowly, teasing him as you pull him free of his shorts. His hands slide round your face to your scalp, holding your hair back in a makeshift ponytail. A hum escapes at the slight tug. Eyes lock as your tongue pokes out in kitten licks against his tip. His reactions makes your insides giggle. His eyes roll back and his hands shake, hips leaning forward at your subtle touch.

‘You’re so sensitive, baby.’ You tease, peppering kisses down the length of his shaft. He just groans as you moan, your hand wrapped around him to pump rhythmically.

‘That’s because-‘ He’s cut off temporarily by a squeeze to his base and your lips pressed to his tip.

‘Because what-‘ You whisper, finally letting his cock slide into your mouth.

He shakes his head quickly, taking a deep breath to try to steady himself.

‘Because I’ve been avoiding other women since I saw you.’ A moan fills the bar, his dick plummeting deep into your throat. Your face lights up and you feel your heart melting at his confession. With an internal smile. you quicken your pace, stroking where your mouth can’t reach. Your other hand rests on his thigh, running your hands along the skin to keep him calm.

His fingers are digging into your scalp, holding your hair tightly as his hips involuntarily thrust forwards to meet your rhythm.

‘Oh fuck… I’m yours.’

You can hear your own muffled moans bouncing off the walls, and you should probably be concerned about who else can hear them. But that doesn’t matter when your boyfriend that you aren’t going to see for another long while is with you.

Ace’s breath becomes ragged, his other hand coming down to your cheek.

‘You feel so good, princess.’ He releases a long, low moan, his climax shuddering through his body. Your gag reflex kicks in as the fluid shoots down your throat, but you swallow it nonetheless. Common courtesy as he’d done the same for you. He’s shuddering in pleasure and relief while you milk him through, not releasing him until you’re sure he’s done.

You laugh quietly to yourself, pressing a few kisses to his thighs before standing and kissing him softly.

‘Are you still alive?’ You whisper, holding his waist. He gasps, heart racing and shaking, but nods.

‘Yeah… I’m alive.’

‘Good.’ You reply, pressing your foreheads together. ‘Do you need anything?’

‘Maybe water in a minute.’ He laughs, his breathing slowly returning to normal.

‘Mkay.’ You hum. ‘You lie down in one of the booths and I’ll get you a drink of water, ok?’

A weak attempt of helping him to the seat is made before you’re running off to the abandoned kitchen to look for cups. Ace’s eyes follow you as you run, filled with love and gratitude. You’re back in only a matter of seconds, 2 glasses of cold water in hand. You help him drink some of his water before taking a sip of yours and laying beside him.

‘Better?’ You ask, watching his carefully while love clouds your vision.

‘Much.’ You nod slowly, lips pressed together in a line.

‘Can I hug you?’

Ace stares at you with a raised eyebrow.

‘We just gave each other head and now you’re asking if we can hug?’ It’s a dumb question, you knew. But you’d have much rather asked and he’d said no than just “attacking him” and it’s not being reciprocated. You shrug and he just laughs, opening his arms to welcome you into his embrace. A welcome you take very quickly. Your face is quickly buried in the crook of his neck, feeling his breath fan against your skin.

‘If I was to sleep, would you still be here when I woke up?’

There’s a long silence between you both, and it makes the last event feel like a fever dream. It’s a silence that answers your own question.

‘You should come with me. To sea, I mean.’

You sigh, holding him tighter like he’s about to escape.

‘I can’t, Ace. Not right now.’

He hugs you just as tightly, twirling your hair around.

‘I promise I’ll be back soon. Ok? And then someday, I’ll come back and I won’t leave you.’

You’re not quick to respond, but a simple nod seems to suffice.

‘Ace.’

‘Yeah?’

‘I love you.’ You whisper, feeling your eyes start to droop and sleep start to take over. ‘And I’m really glad you manned up and asked me to be yours.’

Ace smiles softly, pressing his lips against your forehead for a long second.

‘I’ll make sure I never stop reminding you.’

You’re unsurprised when you wake up in your room the next morning, no sign that you’d even left (mind the slightly open window). There was a tinge of sadness knowing it would be a long while before you saw the pirate again, but you smile, tracing the marks he’d left on your body. These were the marks of your first time.

taglist: @rotin0

© kodydrs

all rights and reserves are copyright to kodydrs on tumblr. this material is not to be copied or translated onto any other platform or media.

[smoking-converse]

My digital art progression #1

Ok this is part 1 of a multi part series where I try to improve my art over time. I'm a traditional artist who doesn't have an art style and at most can only copy head shots I see on Pinterest. I never color my drawings and I want to learn how to do that as well! (Note- I use ibs paint for my art)

Area I'm trying to work on: this is supposed to be a perspective piece where you're looking down at him. I don't know how to do perspective or anatomy/pose work so I tried it out here.

Any advice and healthy criticism from artists and non artists alike would be greatly appreciated!

[trueguertenaexhibit]

random headcanons go!

garry has strabismus and it gives him pretty severe double vision, but he doesn’t want to/can’t afford to get the surgery that fixes it, or glasses (he doesn’t think they would look fashionable enough) so he just covers the affected eye.

ib prefers chocolate over other kinds of sweets, but after garry showed her the wonders of macarons, her eyes are opened to fruit candies as well. mary is like a vacuum when it comes to food, she doesn’t care what kind it is.

they’re all autistic. look at garry and his coat that he probably wears everywhere because it’s a good texture. look at ib and her. everything. mary might be adhd instead though

speaking of mary, in the timelines where she escapes, she struggles in school because she’s never learned any math or science and her previous world literally operated on dream logic. if garry lives, he tutors her! if he doesn’t, she can get ib to try, but she’s kind of out of luck otherwise

paintings bleed paint. I think that’s pretty much canon. but what if it was fun colors?

ib’s parents aren’t horrible, but they are a little restrictive, and so when she goes to college she does a lot of fashion experimentation. big scene phase for a bit. she probably settles on a similar look as the one she started with, though.

i know the popular idea is that garry carries around a lighter because he’s a recovering/current smoker, and i don’t reject that headcanon, but i think he’s just a bit of a survivalist. my evidence for this is that in the original translation i think it’s implied that he has a knife? but i don’t know about the new version.

feel free to add your own or argue with mine :)

[play-rough]

Hello there!

I’m not really sure how to start this, but I’ve been in a bit of a sad mood. A few days ago, some drunk scumbags cursed me out in the street because I’m a practicing Muslim. So, I’ve just been sad; so to cheer myself up I’ve been thinking about the baby Otter. And, if it’s okay, I wanted to share some of my thoughts.

So, this one is a little sad, but I hope this is okay.

I can imagine Dazai forcibly regressing while he’s in hiding, because he’s just so sad and going through withdrawal of his suppressants. He’s curled up into a ball on a cheap motel mattress, hugging his knees to avoid having more body parts than necessary touch the scratchy sheets. His nose is red, fresh tears paint his face, and there’s dried snot everywhere. He’s hugging a bunched up towel, and trying to pretend it’s Fishie giving him a hug.

He needs Chuuya so badly; but Dazai is bad. He left without saying Bye-bye, and that wasn’t kind. He knew Chibi hated when he just left without a word. He’s a bad baby.

He doesn’t deserve to be Chibi’s baby.

Without thinking, he subconsciously dials Chibi’s number off of his most recent burner phone. He just listens to the phone ringing, and starts to drift off; but, then he hears it.

“Hello,” the sound of his Chibi’s voice wakes him from his trance. He rises up, and shouts out a greeting.

“This is Nakahara Chuuya, I’m unable to take your call, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” With that, Dazai breaks down into sobs. Chibi always answered his calls, but Dazai should’ve known better. He’s not Chibi’s baby anymore. He left, and Chuuya hates him.

He sobs out apology after apology, begging Chuuya to understand why he left, and to please forgive him. Eventually, he reaches a limit to how long of a message he can leave, and Dazai drifts off into a painful slumber. When he wakes up, he doesn’t remember much of the night before. He bleaches the motel room, leaves through a window, and chucks his burner phone into a random trash can.

Unbeknownst to him, as he sits on the subway taking him away from Kobe. A very hungover Chuuya wakes up, who stayed out way to late drinking with a new recruit named Tachihara. As he slowly wakes up, and absently drinks a coffee, he checks his phone. Nothing really stands out, except for a voicemail from an unknown number. Chuuya usually just deletes those without listening, but he felt a tug to listen to it anyway.

“Ch-ib-i, it’s me,” even though it had been a year, and the voice is sob filled, Chuuya would always recognize his Baby’s voice.

Chuuya’s heart shatters as he listens to Dazai self deprecate, as he says sorry for not saying Bye-bye to Chibi and Fishie. Calling himself a bad baby, but he was trying to be good. Saying he promised Oda he would be good, and that’s why he had to leave. He sobbed and sobbed, and said how much he missed Chuu and Fishie.

Dazai’s voice his cut off as the voicemail limit has been reached. Chuuya immediately tries calling Dazai back, but the lines been disconnected. Anger fills him, as he chucks his coffee against the wall using tainted. Arahabaki is screaming in his head, that Chuuya must kill those who made their Baby cry.

Chuuya had failed. His Baby had needed him, and Chuuya didn’t pick up the call. He had spent a year thinking that Dazai didn’t want him anymore, and he felt like such an idiot for believing that. Well, no more. Chuuya was going to find his Baby no matter what. He wouldn’t fail again.

Um, I didn’t mean to basically write a whole one shot, and I’m sorry if I’m being a bother. You’re series just brings me so much joy.

I hope you’re having a wonderful day,

-Rosie 🌹

Rosie I am so sorry that happened to you 🩷 thank you so much for sharing this, it was delightful and deliciously angsty 🥺 i hope your day gets better, you’re beautiful and kind and important and people care about you 🩷🩷 fuck those drunk losers

Again this is so beautiful and I really appreciate you sending it my way 🩷

[be-ly]

Ok so I have a theory about Ib that i briefly talked about in my twitter last year but I want to post it here with more information.

The theory is about the creation of the Fabricated World.

There's a bunch of random texts and books around the game that explains more about this place, but one book in the original game, (that for some reason didn't make to the Remake) called my attention.

There's a diary in a bookshelf in a trap with three mannequins, it says:

Based on the fact that this entry was written about an artist reflecting about his artworks and people's belief in the paranormal, I believe that this diary belongs to Guertena right before his death.

Guertena was in some kind of terminal state, and for a way to become "immortal", he decided to put his spirit in his creations.

And for that, he made the Fabricated World.

An enormous painting containing the majority of his paintings and sculptures. And, after he died, the Fabricated World became alive.

It was said ingame that Mary was Guertena final work, but I believe that Mary was his last published work. Because everyone that got in contact with the painting got sucked into the Fabricated World.

There are reports of other people that got into the Fabricated World and were trying to survive it.

Also, it's not the only evidence, even Mary implied that other people got into the Fabricated World, and most importantly, they never got out.

Which brings me to another theory of mine: The people who get stuck in the Fabricated World and die there, becomes one of Guertena's Work.

One spirit isn't enough to maintain the place living, so the Fabricated World kidnaps and takes the soul from the people from the outside.

They get there, their flowers (which represents the soul) gets torn off, and they lose their individuality for the gallery.

And this is why the works are so obssessed in taking the flower from the protagonist. It could be that, but also because they're in some kind of "zombie state" and desperately tries to claim the other soul/flower as their own.

The statues "Death of the Individual" could be a foreshadowing of this phenomenon, the loss of one's identity to become a piece of art.

It also happens with Garry in the ending "Forgotten Painting", where he dies in the Fabricated World and became part of the works of Guertena.

And that's it! It's probably obvious but I never see people really explicitly talk about it so yeah!! thanks for reading!!

[water-mellie-seeds]

Ok, actual thing!

I got a few more Ib endings! Garry was dead in all of them:(

I’m replaying to get the good end!

Also, I kinda wish the endings had custom illustrations? Like it’s not a big deal, but it gives them less identity to me, like the one where you go with fake Garry

I think maybe your garry doom counter is too high? It has to be below 3 or he Will die. Try not kicking the doll, not kicking the mannequin head and not viewing the sinister painting? All of these add to the doom counter ummm ok basically heres what NOT to do in every area if you want to g...... garry-antee . . . pfft...he makes it

Gray

-Don't let garry kick mannequin head

Violet

- Don't pull cord on far right in the cord room

-Don't kick persistent doll, move it aside

-DON'T fail the doll room it adds Two points to the GDC (garry doom counter)

Brown

-Don't tell Mary you'd leave with Garry

-Don't break all 3 mannequin heads

Alternatively! These are how you get bond points up with him

Gray

-Read poster about trick in the maze room

-Stop Garry from kicking the mirror room mannequin

-Pick up Garry's coat in safe room

-Talk to him in the safe room at least 7 times (After giving back his coat)

Violet

-Read diary in rope maze

-Look at milk puzzle (answer doesn't matter)

-Make sure to answer Garry (either way, just not '.......' when the lights go out

Sketchbook

-Talk to Garry at least 6 times in the fake sun

-Answer Garry properly after falling (either or, just not '........'

If theres anythinf else gamewise i can help with lmk and ill try!

[leggerefiore]

if you would be willing to write about that ib dream you had with any characters.. the aesthetic of that game fits so well..

using ingo and Emmet over Cyrus though it was him. Most of this is more of me expanding on it.

Just maybe going on a blind date that a friend set you up with at a local gallery. You wander around, maybe interested or unnerved by the art pieces. The artist is not someone well known to you, but you went as it was a public area with people around. Eventually, however, you go through a certain hallway and find yourself captured by a large painting. The light flicker and distress you. Letters seem to appear on the floor, inviting you somewhere.

Deeper you go into the strange gallery, falling into a painting and ending up with a strange rose that seems to determine your vitality. You can only wander and solve increasingly complicated puzzles. Gruesome choices seem to be a common regard. Somewhere you find a strange man after his rose had been taken from him. He introduces himself as Grimsley and takes his rose back from you. An offer to work together does not intrigue him so much, but you do stay within a certain range of him. He mentions seeing another man in his exploration, but they never really had a chance for a conversation.

Though, somehow, you end up separated from Grimsely completely after a wrong turn. When you moved back around, there was a wall where you swore there was a hallway previously. You wander alone for a moment. It was distressing being completely alone after being with another person in this strange gallery. Before you can fall too far into despair, you heard footsteps. You rushed around a nearby corner to see someone – no, two people. They stood side by side, clearly surprised to see another person themselves. You stared at them and how unreal they almost seemed for a moment. Their identical features almost were too perfect. They introduced themselves in a trained manner. Ingo and Emmet.

Both offered to walk with you through the gallery, seeing it was best to be in a group together. You wandered with them in a certain ease, slowly gaining something like trust towards them. Ingo was polite and amicable. His conversation made the puzzles feel less stressful and the oppressing atmosphere more bearable. Emmet often worked to solve the puzzles, almost as if he were trying to impress you. Both helped you relax a bit.

You make it quite further until you finally reach Grimsley again. He seems panicked about something and asks you to come alone with him. You struggle to do so, not sure about his shift in behaviour. Emmet's gaze even narrows at him, clearly not trusting him either. Whether you follow him or not really determines your fate.

The truth about the twins could finally be revealed, and you could work with the gambler to get out of this world while sadly having to burn a painting of two beautiful, identical men reflecting one another. Reality comes without memories for a moment until you encounter Grimsely again, and both you recall the nightmare. You even come to the realisation that he was your blind date partner. Maybe something blooms from the shared experience. Or, you could stay with the twins and remain ignorant. Leave with them and create a new reality, one where you perhaps had chosen to go on a date with your boyfriend (or boyfriends). They are all too eager to leave the gallery after seeing how unwell you apparently look.

[joannaliangart]

Nests series:

Flee The Nest (2020) 29.5 × 21 × 23 cm Old wood planks, eggshells, dried plant material (bindweed, ivy, bramble), paper and ink, pencil, fork, serrated metal, broken ceramic, broken seashell, sharp rocks, acrylic paint

build a home (2020) 3.5 × 15 × 15 cm Dried plant material (grass, moss, birch bark), fabric, tinfoil, old pen, feathers, eggshells, dried acrylic paint, cat hair, paper and ink, pebbles

Flee The Nest is about unnoticed struggles behind closed doors. From the front, the birdhouse looks pleasant and unassuming, but the back reveals a mess of broken eggshells in a nest built with sharp objects like broken ceramic, or serrated metal.

build a home is about rebuilding after a bad situation. Sharp bits of eggshell serve as reminders of the past. This nest is made of sentimental materials: fabric from childhood clothes, an old pen, a maple seed for flying off to new beginnings. 

---

Two of the staple pieces in my ib art exhibition! fun fact while shaving down one of the planks for the birdhouse I fully stabbed my left palm with the craft knife and it wasss fairly deep! not fun. so that piece really did take blood sweat and tears lmao

Initial idea came from wanting to use eggs in a piece! Especially quail eggs.. the beautiful blue colour on the inside! So I would very carefully peel the eggs I had for lunch and clean them hehe:

I believe I made these pieces over summer break, or maybe it was in the spring term? pandemic times got a little soupy. But I remember pretty distinctly going out to gather plant material in the sunlight. For Flee The Nest's nest, I used bindweed and brambles (to fit the 'trapped/unsafe' themes. Was kinda tricky trying not to get poked by thorns during nest building lol)

Nest building! did have to use glue for the foundational structure of sticks/leaves at the bottom, but nothing else is glued down. Made me appreciate the skills of birds...

Used an old fence plank for the birdhouse! Which included taking a hammer and pliers to fuck up one of the walls for the broken-in part of Flee The Nest haha (+a little peek at my very first garden in the bg of that first photo below!!)

Bird house building (ie the part of the process were I got stabbed at one point lmao) (I say lmao now but hoo boy it was. kinda rough I feel like I could see visible flesh/fat ???? it was wild But! I'm healed now and have a scar to fuckin immortalize this piece forever into my hands lol):

Here's how I wrote about these two pieces back in 2020 for my class:

Flee The Nest is about how we are unaware of the struggles going on in other people’s lives. From the front, the birdhouse looks pleasant and unassuming, but the back reveals a mess of broken eggshells in a rough environment. They’re in a nest with sharp objects like broken ceramic, serrated metal, and seashell shards. Although the nest’s main structure is made with what looks like soft plant material, I used two plants that can kill and overwhelm other plants: bindweed (an invasive species in my area) and ivy. I also used sharp plants like holly, bramble, and rose stems. I chose lines from the more negatively charged poetry I’ve written to copy onto strips of paper, interwoven into the nest to show how personal and emotionally draining these unseen struggles can be. Although build a home is a sort of continuation from Flee The Nest, I personally do not consider them a series in order to emphasize their separation from each other*. build a home is about recovering and rebuilding yourself after getting out of a bad situation, which typically involves staying as far away from it as you can. This nest is made of symbolic things in my life that are comforting like fabric from childhood clothes, an old pen I wrote with, binder clips my cat likes to steal, feathers from pillows, my cat’s fur, and strips of paper with lines from more positively charged poetry I’ve written.  Bits of broken eggshell, tinfoil, and seashell shards serve as little reminders of the past. The dried maple seed is there to remind the viewer of the journey away from the bad situation, like how a maple seed flies down from the branches to start growing into a tree itself.

*author's note: that is sooo funny cause they are definitely a series to me now. Interesting how that changes. I think the progression is important, their connection is also their separation; the implied time in-between them is the escape to something better, a crucial step.

(cough can you tell I'd been having a Bad Time being stuck in the house during the pandemic lol)

Oh huh found another version of me writing about these two pieces in 2020 lol:

Flee The Nest is about the unawareness we have of the struggles in other people’s lives and the difficulties of living in and having to leave a bad situation. The front of the birdhouse appears pleasant and unassuming, but the viewer would need to look at the back to notice the messy nest inside. Only an even closer look would one notice the dangerously sharp materials making up the nest. I wrote lines of my negative poetry to symbolize an emotional struggle.  Harm happens all too discreetly. Build a home is chronologically after Flee The Nest, but they are not a series to emphasize their separation from each other. Build a home is about recovering after getting out of a bad situation, which typically involves staying as far away from it as you can. The nest is made of symbolically comforting things in my life like an old pen I wrote with, pillow feathers, my cat’s fur, and strips of paper with lines from positive poetry I’ve written. It’s built on feelings of safety and love.

[ninjagirlstar5]

This is Part 2 to my IRL Sannotori fankids. Part 1 can be found here in this reblog.

Anyways, onto the fourth kid:

Name: Ryo Otori

Age: 13 to 14-years-old

Birthday: September 5, 202X

Height: 157 cm (5 ft 2 in)

Weight: 52 kgs (115 Ibs)

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Asexual Biromantic

Likes: Rock music, spray painting, destruction of some jerk's property, math

Dislikes: Authority, belittling others, not being good enough

Theme Song: Get Well - Icon for Hire

Ryo (meaning excellent; refreshing, cool; distant; fact; reality; dragon) Otori was born and raised in a wealthy but perfectionist family that had survived the Tragedy against all odds. However, that did not mean that they hadn't lost many assets due to the Despairs and criminals stealing and destroying their way of making money. As a result, the latest inheritor and patriarch of the family chose to be ruthless in his pursuit of business and continuing their wealthy life, and his family was not spared from this. His expectations weighed heavily on his daughter, Ryo, having her spend more time studying and trying to gain academic achievements than playing, drilling into her head that her worth is reliant on how skilled and "perfect" she can be. This is the environment Ryo grew up in, and even at a young age she was torn up about this. She wanted nothing more than her parents' approval, but the constant stress of trying to live up to their expectations when she's barely old enough to go to school affected her well-being and ability to even focus on her education in the first place. Her parents did not help her and even punish her for her mediocrity with more studying with tutors and the like. This eventually culminates into Ryo having enough and just running away from her family, hoping that they'll go out of their way to find her and just show her some love for once. Being, like, seven or barely eight-years-old at the time, she...did NOT think through the practical issues of this idea and quickly realizes that she needs food, water, and money to survive. Just trying to toss around her family name wasn't enough as some people either brush her off, or ask her if she's lost and offer to call the police to keep her safe so her parents can come and pick her up. Ryo, in her stubbornness of wanting her parents to do the finding and not show up just because they were called, refuses to take the latter option and just stayed on the street and stealing whatever she could since no one was willing to give her what she needed. Unlike Eiki and Hisano, who spent months on the streets, Ryo only lasted a few weeks when a Remnant of Despair attack happens nearby and she had to seek shelter. You see, while the Tragedy has long since calmed down after many years, there are still those that hold very firmly to Junko Enoshima's Despair ideals but have mostly gone into hiding or were captured, detained, or going through a rehab center, depending on their crimes (if they have any). It's why the Foundations are still active to this day, to make sure there aren't any Despairs around to hurt more people and to act on these kinds of attacks as soon as they possibly happen if they're not tipped off on time. Ryo just so happened to be nearby when one of these go off, but luckily for her, she remained completely unscathed and was never found by a Despair. By the time things had calmed down, Ryo took a risk and came out of her hiding place to see the damage that had been caused. Out of curiosity? Or just plain confusion to a child that has never experienced something like this before? Either way, the destruction and death that Ryo sees before her eyes becomes seared into her memory, horrified that something like this can even happen...and then she hears crying. A crying coming from a baby. Panicked at the thought of a baby, Ryo searched for where it was coming from and eventually finds them underneath a dead woman, protectively shielding the baby with her body but inadvertently crushing them under her dead weight, hence the crying. Ryo pushes the woman, who she assumed was the mother, off of the baby and picks them up, realizing that they seemed to be fine for the most part. The baby, who is probably over a year old, instantly starts to calm down in her arms, holding onto her like she was a lifeline and Ryo tries to wrap the baby up as best she could in her sweater before beelining it out of there. After a few hours past, she eventually realizes that she's hungry, and assumed the baby was, too, and enters a nearby store to get what they need.

This is when Teruya, who had been helping the Foundation out with resources and shelter for citizens inside the Otori Mart after the Despair attack, gets a call from security that there's a child trying to break into the baby formula cabinet that's under lock and key. He goes down there to check what the hell is happening to find Ryo pouting while a security guard is helping her feed the baby with some healthy solid foods as it turned out that the baby is much too old for baby formula now. When Ryo sees Teruya, she immediately assumes that she's in trouble and tries to book it with the baby but Teruya manages to stop and calm her down before anyone could get hurt. He willingly gives her some snacks and water, which was enough to get her to sit down and listen as he asks for her name and such. When he carefully asks if she's seen her parents, Ryo, after spending weeks on the streets struggling to survive and witnessing a horrible event, finally caves in and spills everything: from the way her family treated her to her running away in an attempt to gain any sort of loving attention from them and just trying to survive up to this point. Teruya is, frankly, horrified to find out that her parents had treated her like that at such a young age and says that what they're doing is wrong, but Ryo insists that they must love her, she's their daughter, after all, and they must have come around after realizing she was gone. They're probably looking for her as they speak now! Teruya is hesitant as he knows that that's not always the case, but seeing that Ryo is stubborn and deep in denial, Teruya instead says that he'll look into any missing people forms that have been filed with the Foundations to see if her parents really are looking for her. Ryo brightens up a little bit as she never considered that and thanks Teruya, who tries to temper her expectations as best as he can. In the meantime, he offers to let her stay at his home so she can be safe and be in a place where her parents can find her. She agrees to it but then hesitates when she's reminded of the baby that's clinging to her. Ryo asks if they can take the baby with them and Teruya isn't sure but decides that they will if no one comes up to claim them and verify themselves as their guardian. Ryo, after a bit of complaining, reluctantly agrees and they let everyone in the store know about the baby and wait. By the time the Otori Mart officially closes its doors as a store, no one came up to claim the baby as theirs, and Teruya just takes these kids home with him. Yep, it's Teruya's turn to bring home a pair of sad kids to take care of. At least this time, Teruya gives Mikado a heads up about what he was doing.

So, Ryo ends up staying with the Otori family for the time being, waiting for news about her parents which Mikado and Teruya are strangely hush hush about. Shinra, being a teenager, and Eiki and Hisano, being ten to eleven-years-old, are old enough and experienced enough with a loving family to recognize that something is not right with Ryo's family. But she's very insistent to them that they'll come for her and she'll be loved and happy again. Shinra and Hisano don't really believe that but they have more tact to keep that opinion to themselves, unlike Eiki who questions the lack of freedom her parents give her. They bud heads over this but Shinra stops the argument before it could escalate, saying that he's sure that their dads will figure things out as they look into everything. Regardless of what happens, Ryo should be treated with respect and kindness and they shouldn't argue over what ifs. It's a bit much for their young minds but they make a truce for the time being and go off to play. They tend to bud heads a lot as Ryo is staying with them, while Shinra shows her around and Hisano shows Ryo the books she's been getting into. It's the most fun Ryo has had in a long time and she can't help but feel bad about it cause she knows she should be spending more time studying than goofing around. When Shinra notices how conflicted she feels and asks what's wrong, she hesitantly opens up about how much time she's been spending playing instead of studying but Shinra tells her to not feel bad about it. It's fine to study but if she turns it into something that only ever matters, she'll be missing out on so much more life could offer her like friends and hobbies. Ryo doesn't really understand since her parents made it pretty clear that her achievements are all that mattered but Shinra says that she's more than that, and it's okay to just be herself, even when she's not "perfect." Ryo is uncertain about it but appreciates that he had stopped to listen to her problems. But, eventually, Ryo starts to notice how long it's been taking to just have her parents show up and is on the verge of asking Teruya and Mikado about what's happening...when she gets her answer.

(Note: I do not know enough about the law, so I don't know how feasible this is to real life.)

Ryo was playing in the basement with Hisano and making fun of the "ghosts" she's been trying to contact (much to her displeasure) when they hear the door slam open. Another slam echoed throughout the house and they both flinch but grow curious at what could be wrong. Carefully going up the stairs, they sit by the door and peek through the crack to see Mikado and Teruya fuming in the kitchen. With them unaware of the audience they have nearby, Teruya furiously speaks up about why he's so pissed: not only have Ryo's parents not lift a single finger in trying to find Ryo, who had been missing from their perspective for over a month now, when they finally found them and confronted them about it...they said that they no longer consider a "mediocre runaway" as their daughter and says that if they want to keep her, they'll give away all her papers to them. He has half the mind to charge them for abandonment, only for Mikado to point out that they're technically willing to "give her away," not "abandoning her," their words, not his. So long as they're willing to go through the legal processes of letting someone take Ryo into their family, they'll probably get away with this unscathed, especially if there isn't any concrete evidence of abuse involved. Teruya points out the obvious neglect on their end, especially when it came to letting the authorities know about their missing daughter, but Mikado, who clearly does not trust the law to do it's job when necessary, questions if it'll be enough to stick this onto them. What if they proclaim that they were simply "too busy" to notice and try to play up their innocence on the matter? Or worse, pin it on an innocent staff member for neglecting to inform them about Ryo's missing status when they're so "busy?" Then what? If they don't do this right, this could end up hurting a lot more people, and they may even get away with this. The argument peters out after that, the silence only lasting for a moment before Teruya bangs his head on the table, wondering how the hell people like these have the audacity to become parents. Mikado makes a dry joke and says, "I don't know, ask Void," which gets him a glare from Teruya but keeps his mouth shut since he knows that he had the privilege of having a loving father, even when he lost his mother to childbirth, so he genuinely can't relate to this kind of trauma. Mikado then sighs, saying that he'll call Rei up to help him search for a lawyer, and Teruya wonders out loud how the hell they were going to tell Ryo about this...when she finally makes herself known and the basement door creaks open to reveal both of the girls there. Realizing that she had overheard EVERYTHING, Teruya gets out of his seat and kneels in front of Ryo, scrambling to figure out what to say before settling on asking if she's alright. Ryo...isn't, and asks that what he said isn't true, right? It can't be true, right? Her parents love her...right? Right?!

Teruya hesitates, carefully pulls Ryo into a hug in case she didn't want it, and apologizes. He apologizes that her parents aren't what she thought they were. And then Ryo...lashes out, saying that she doesn't believe it, she doesn't believe her parents would leave her, they would never leave her! She gets out of Teruya's embrace and runs to the guest room, locking herself in there and crying to herself. The family tried to coax her out of there, but she refuses to answer to any of them. The only reason Shinra is even allowed in there is thanks to his teleportation magic, and even then, he recognizes that Ryo needs space and leaves her be, just focusing on taking care of the baby that shares her room as she's become distressed at Ryo's crying. When she finally stops crying, the family do their best to show support for her while they figure out what they can do legally. But despite their best efforts in looking into the parents, they're frustratingly clean when it comes records of any crimes nor do they have any ties in current ones, and there isn't any concrete evidence of abuse they can use against them as they still gave Ryo the basic necessities she needed to live and grow up relatively healthy. They're at least able to stick the neglect charge on them as they never reported her missing but they simply accept the charge, admitting that it was wrong of them to not do more for their missing daughter, and that they'll take any kind of punishment for their "oversight" on the matter so long as it's not jail time. Teruya and Mikado clearly do not believe that they're remorseful about this, but by the time the legal processes are over, the judge proclaims that that the parents will have to pay a fine and nothing more, much to both of their fury and shock (mostly Teruya's, though, since Mikado somewhat expected this). But Teruya has to keep his rage on the downlow as he had to restrain Mikado from straight up killing one of the parents for what he sees as an injustice lest they end up in court for a completely different crime, let alone ruin their chances of taking Ryo in. Since neither of her birth parents contested them on the transfer and adoption of Ryo into their care, all that was left was to get the greenlight from the system on their house and care, and they were able to sign off on the papers. When they go to Ryo to confirm to her that the adoption went through, they try to be very gentle about it even though there was no way to soften the blow that she truly has been abandoned by her parents. With Ryo's fears confirmed true, that her parents truly don't care about her, that they...they see her as a failure, that they would willingly give her up if given a chance, Ryo is crushed. And any sense of love she may have had for her birth parents turns into a burning hatred.

Unlike Shinra, Hisano, and even Eiki, Ryo has a VERY hard time adjusting to the Otori family. Being abandoned by her birth parents was very traumatic for her, and she becomes very closed off and prickly to her new family as a result. The family is doing their best to be patient with Ryo as they understand that this is a hard time for her, and Teruya and Mikado don't force her to call them her dads or anything like that. They simply give her lots of love and support as they try to help her process her trauma with some much needed therapy for everything, including the Despair event she had witnessed. Ryo, however, has formed a coping mechanism that tends to get her into lots of trouble: anger. Anger has become her crutch as she hated the lack of control she had over this entire situation and how apparent it has become that she had been belittled by them when she was still living with them. She's angry that they've hurt and abandoned her for simply being "mediocre" and has started to lash out because it's better than feeling sad. It's better than feeling useless. It's better than feeling like she's worthless. Even if it means lashing out to those closest to her, those that were simply trying to be kind to her, she just doesn't care. Or rather, she doesn't want to care. She doesn't want to get hurt. She doesn't want to open up if it means getting backstabbed by someone she trusted. They're all trying to help her in their own ways, but one day, Eiki tries to close the gap between them by offering up one of his favorite rocks to her as a sign of peace and starting anew. Ryo, however, doesn't exactly understand the significance of Eiki offering a piece from his rock collection to her so early into her addition to the family, and berates him for giving her a useless, dumb rock like this and, before anyone could stop her, she tosses it to the floor and the rock smashes into pieces. Ryo is surprised when it broke so easily but before she could properly process what she just did, Eiki screams and immediately gets physical with her, causing her to fight back. Mikado and Shinra are able to separate the two of them, with Eiki breaking down over losing one of his favorite rocks while Ryo calls him crazy for getting that upset over a rock. Realizing why this had happened, Mikado scolds Ryo and tells her to go to her room, and when she tries to justify herself in that the rock was dumb and getting upset over a few broken pieces is dumb, Mikado shuts it down, saying that just because she's hurting, it does not justify any harm she gives to the rest of the family for simply trying create a bond with her and tells her to go to her room, now. Ryo relents with some big stomping but can't get Eiki's crying out of her head. Even Hisano was glaring at her from across the hall, slamming the door to her room as she clearly did not approve what Ryo did from what she overheard. Ryo spends the rest of the day simmering in her anger in her room while the baby, Moriko, stares at her from inside the playpen. Just looking at her calms her down and she complains to Moriko that it just wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Does she even deserve to stay here? And Moriko...simply reached out and tugged on her sleeve. When Ryo tries to pull away, Moriko only grips her tighter and she sighs, deciding to try and play with her to take her mind off of things. Around dinner time, someone knocks on her door and Ryo tells them to go away, but that someone tells her that her food would get cold if they do that. Realizing it was Teruya and knowing that he'll be very persistent for days on end, Ryo relents and he comes inside to set her food on the desk. He tells her that it's her favorite and Ryo just sinks into the playpen, wishing she can move but Moriko had fallen asleep on top of her and she doesn't want to disturb her sleep. Knowing that she can't escape him now, Teruya sits down and gently asks her what happened. Ryo says that she doesn't want to talk about it and besides, Eiki, Shinra, and Mikado already told him what happened, why does he need to even ask?

"Because I don't know your perspective, Ryo." Teruya crosses his legs together. "And I can't understand your thoughts if you don't tell me."

"Why?" Ryo holds Moriko closer, even as her lips start to quiver. "Why do you want to know?"

"Ryo..." Teruya hesitates but looks directly at her. He puts his hand over his chest. "Even...Even if you don't see me as your dad, even if you can't bring yourself to, you're still our daughter. And I will treat you as one for the rest of our lives. So please, tell me what happened."

Ryo didn't want to tell him.

She really, really didn't.

But the sincerity in his voice, the concern in his brows, the way his eyes shined almost like he was so full of love for her...it just made a crack in her shell.

"...It's stupid. So stupid..." Ryo finally pushes Moriko off of her. She yawns but rolls onto her back, falling back asleep. "I just...I dunno, it's stupid."

"Maybe start with what led to that fight?" Teruya suggests. Ryo inhales harshly but stands up so she can climb out of the playpen.

"Like I said, it's stupid." The girl struggles to get her short legs over the bend but she manages to slide over them before Teruya can offer her some help. Once her feet hit solid ground, she sat back down and crossed her arms. "I wanted to be alone, but Eiki followed after me. He showed me this stupid rock, said that it meant new beginnings or something and I smashed it. Then he got really upset about it and started hitting me so I hit him back and got in trouble for it."

"Oh." Teruya takes a deep breath. "...Yeah, that's nearly one-to-one what Eiki said."

"Then why-"

"Ryo, please let me finish." He runs his fingers through his hair, passing over the ahoge that Ryo thinks is really dumb, even if it's memorable. She frowns at him but shuts up to sulk. But she was still listening as he spoke. "...Trust me when I say that Eiki is in trouble for hitting you. In fact, he'll be grounded for a week and will be doing the dishes the whole time."

"He should be getting something worse!"

"And he was offering you something he considers to be precious." Teruya said in a tone that suggested he will not be budging on this. But he wasn't scolding, either. "Ryo, I know you've only been here for a few months as a part of the family, but you need to know and understand that Eiki was giving you a moonstone from his rock collection. A rock collection the he loves very dearly, and even gave names to. You may consider it dumb, but to Eiki, these rocks are like the world to him. And you just destroyed it right before his eyes. How would you feel if someone you cared about did that to you?"

Ryo tightens her frown but averts her gaze. She knew she was in the wrong. But her unwillingness to say it out loud showed how stubborn she can be, to her own detriment. Teruya exhales, getting up so he bring her plate over to her. It was vegetable curry rice...her favorite.

"Mikado didn't scold you for no reason, Ryo. You're hurting, and we want nothing more than your happiness. But that doesn't give you the right to hurt others, either. So when you're ready to come back down, be sure to apologize to Eiki. Genuinely apologize. No excuses or anything like that. Just apologize and try to make things right with him. Even if he doesn't forgive you right away, it's more important that you hold yourself responsible than to force him to forgive you. As long as you do that, he will forgive you with time." Teruya reaches for her head, but when Ryo leans away, he pulls back. He gives her a small smile and starts to leave. But he pauses at the doorway. "...And just so you know, you are grounded for a week and will be helping me at the Otori Mart. Alright?"

"....fine." Ryo shoves a spoonful of curry into her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything dumb.

"Good. I love you." And Teruya closes the door, leaving Ryo to think to herself.

...Ryo does eventually work up the nerve to apologize, and like Teruya said, Eiki doesn't forgive her for what she did. Just when she starts to get defensive, Hisano steps in and says to Eiki to give Ryo another chance since she's their sister after all, and then says to Ryo that she should give Eiki some time to sort out his feelings. It takes a couple of months, but with a little bit of nudging from Teruya and his family tradition of creating a collage out of things that they break (which is a headcanon that the Mod of ASOOT came up with and it lives rent free in my brain, and I will forever borrow this) and using the remains of the moonstone, Eiki does forgive Ryo and their relationship improves with time.

As of today, Ryo really regrets what she did back then, and even went as far as to buy a new moonstone for Eiki when she saw it in a store. Eiki appreciates it but also reassures her that he had long since forgiven her...plus he still has that collage they made together with the broken moonstone from way back then. Ryo gets very embarrassed and insists he keeps it anyways since she doesn't know what she'd do with it, but he insists that she keeps it, that way they both get a moonstone. She relents but only cause he won't budge otherwise, so now she has the moonstone on her desk. Ryo and Eiki still bud heads a lot to this day, though, constantly getting on each other nerves and arguing over the little things. But God forbid anyone insults or tries to harm the other one, they will team up to hunt them down. They may not get along all the time, but they've learned to respect each others' interests and hobbies. She still struggles with her temper and has become a delinquent over the years, tending to get into fights with others, disturbing the peace, and just not getting along with any authority figures. Ryo's attitude tends to clash with Hisano's, who sticks to the rules and has more respect for society at large. She usually scolds Ryo for her rule breaking while Ryo just kinda tunes her out whenever she does. Teruya and Mikado worry about her delinquency and how that would affect her future, but after Ryo's experience with her birth parents, she kinda dislikes the idea of education altogether. She still goes since it's a requirement and frankly doesn't want Teruya and Mikado to get into trouble just because she chose not to show up. That being said, Ryo and Hisano do get along, as their opinions outside of rules tend to line up more often than not. She'll even join in on Hisano's ghost hunting, although she takes it a lot less seriously than she does and tends to fuck around, much to Hisano's horror. Ryo actually looks up to Shinra quite a bit, and the two of them don't clash as much compared to her relationships with Eiki and Hisano. Shinra tends to encourage her delinquency despite being a golden student himself, and they just go off to fuck around when no one is looking. Ryo feels pretty comfortable around Shinra and tends to confide to him with her problems. His advice may not always be sound, but she appreciates that he lets her vent to him. If there's one relationship she has the least strife with, it's Moriko and man oh man, does she dote on her from hell to back. She loves Moriko, always has the moment she had her in her arms. She spends a lot of time with her, plays with her and takes part in her interests even when she's not interested in it herself. She'd do anything for her, so don't you dare hurt the girl, you're just asking Ryo to break your kneecaps. Ryo has a creative side to her through her spray painting, but she also uses it to vandalize other people's property. Mostly jerks that have pissed her off. But other times she finds a quiet, abandoned spot for her to do some pretty beautiful work when no one is around. It doesn't remain on there forever, but she always takes a picture of them before she leaves. It's both taxing and rewarding for her whenever she finishes a piece. She does music as a hobby and tends to use it as an outlet to her frustrations. Surprisingly, she gets her lessons from Hibiki, whom she crossed paths with hanging out with Setsuka, recognized her through the music Teruya listens to, and proceeded to ask if she could teach her. Although she rarely interacts with Teruya and Mikado due to the events of the Utsuroshima Killing Game, Setsuka does encourage Hibiki to go through with it and the two of them grow close as a result. Ryo is usually taught about singing but sometimes when Hibiki is feeling good, she gets a few pointers on her guitar as well.

Ryo's feelings on Teruya and Mikado are mixed due to her trauma, but she has come around to loving them. Mikado and her tend to clash due to his nagging over her grades and certain choices she's made from her delinquency, which frustrates the hell out of her due to her past even though he's just trying to get her to care about her education on at least a base level. But she tends to follow his advice more often than Teruya's since her moral compass lines up more with his than it does with Teruya. But sometimes she's seen working at the Otori Mart with Teruya. He appreciates the help and sometimes allows her to come into his office to show her how it all works. Ryo is surprisingly attentive as she listens to him and Teruya can tell there's a spark of a merchant in her gaze just waiting to flourish. Not only that, her math skills were really good and it's apparently one of the few classes she doesn't skip on. He's just not sure if it's a good idea to make her his heir due to her background of unrealistic expectations being set upon her. He doesn't want her to stress over something she may not even want nor dredge up old feelings. But after awhile of her being in middle school, Teruya decides to take a chance and carefully broaches the subject, asking if she'd be interested in running the Otori Mart in the future. She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to, of course, she's still young after all, and is allowed to say no or even change her mind. But to his surprise, Ryo looks like she's trying to restrain her excitement as she agrees to it, wanting to know what it's like to run the Otori Mart. Teruya tries not to get too excited and says it'll be just like the times when his dad taught him and promises he'll do his best to teach her. Ryo tells him not to make this embarrassing but he can see a ghost of a smile on her face as they start working together. And while becoming the Otori Mart heir does bring back old habits from when she was living with her birth parents' toxic perfectionism, it also makes her take her possible future a bit more seriously as she eventually starts cleaning up her act and striving for proper (but more achievable) academic goals. She has something to work towards now, something she genuinely wants to do for herself. And hearing that makes...makes her dad happy for her. And that's all she ever really wanted. (Cue Hisano's existential dread as she still hasn't figured out what she wants to do with her life.)

Fun fact: the birth mom Ryo grew up with isn't related to her through blood. She's actually her stepmom and her actual birth mom had long since disappeared from Ryo's life. Ryo doesn't remember her since it had happened when she was still a baby and her birth father remarried pretty quickly. And without Teruya's announcement of naming Ryo as his heir, she may have never reached out to her, leaving her extremely confused, conflicted and angry. But her family, her true family, is there by her side, and will support her regardless of whatever decision she makes...

And now, the final kid:

Name: Moriko Otori

Age: 8-years-old

Birthday: November 4th, 202X

Height: 119 cm (3 ft 11 in)

Weight: 22 kgs (50 Ibs)

Pronouns: She/Her

Orientation: Likes girls (Asexual Lesbian)

Likes: Ducks, her family, drawing, certain fabrics and sewing, plants and gardening

Dislikes: Pricking her fingers on needles, attention, being forced out of her comfort zone, injustice, invasion of personal space without permission

Theme Song: 7 Years - Lukas Graham / Photograph - Ed Sheeran

Moriko (meaning forest; child) Otori was born to a happy couple that loved to travel. The father had lived on the road in an old RV and had met his lover through a sanctuary running a food drive during the Tragedy. He spent time helping out and providing entertainment through his music on the guitar at the sanctuary, the two of them falling in love through their support and work with each other. When the Tragedy started dying down, his lover decides to join him on his travels and they continue to live together happily and content. They eventually have a healthy baby girl, and it seems like they were going to have a happy life. But alas, only a year passes since their daughter was born when tragedy strikes: a Despair attack happens while they were in the city for supplies and the family was split apart. The father had disappeared amongst the chaos and the mother did not survive, trying to protect their daughter with her final breath. The baby was crying out from the stress and danger of the situation, unable to move from her dead mother on top of her. That was when Ryo came out of hiding and picked her up. She instantly latched onto her for the sake of comfort and the two of them stuck together upon meeting Teruya. Teruya calls out for anyone to claim the baby, but when no one came to take her, Teruya chose to take her home with Ryo. While looking into Ryo's parents, Mikado and Teruya also looked into the baby's as well to see if she has any relatives. However, due to the mother being dead and the disappearance of the father, they struggled to find any connections related to her, let alone a single living relative. Even tracing her deceased mother's family tree didn't give them any satisfactory answers as the grandparents has just passed away a few months ago with no other children to know of. After many months, they hit their final dead end, and the court declares the baby up for adoption, which Teruya and Mikado immediately jump to do. Especially since Ryo is clearly still attached to her, even after it became apparent that her birth parents are abandoning her. They didn't have the heart to separate them, and Mikado didn't want Moriko to go through the orphanage system. His experience may not have been the worse beyond neglect and he had only stayed in there for about ten years (due to his own actions cough), but he knew that the system has yet to fix most of it's issues when it comes to how it handles adoption and helping children feel wanted. So they simply signed off on the papers and bring her into the family, keeping her name as Moriko.

Moriko adjusts to living with the Otori family very well, although it's clear that the Despair attack had an effect on her mind. She gets very stressed whenever Teruya or Mikado leave her alone for a minute to take care of something else, watching them as if she's in shock and almost inexpressive. She barely even played with her toys whenever they tried to get her interested in it. Teruya and Mikado sought out help, of course, to try and understand what they can do for her. What seems to work is recognizing the signs of stress in her and reacting as quick as possible to soothe her and feel safe, trying to maintain a routine of being held, sleeping, and feeding, and just spending time with her in their arms. Mikado is usually the one that works at home, so he's usually the one that spends the most time caring for Moriko as she adjusts to her new surroundings. Sometimes when he has to put her down to take care of a chore that requires two hands, he'll ask one of the kids to hold Moriko to help soothe her clinginess. The kids are very willing to dote and care for Moriko, although some may complain when they were in the middle of something else (cough Eiki cough). Still, they're all very protective of her and Teruya likes to take her outside and rock on the porch as a way to spend time with her and soothe her. Eventually, Moriko seems to be recovering very well and her development and growth proceeds at a gradual pace. When Moriko became three-years-old, though, they start to recognize the signs in her body language: she barely gives them eye contact, she no longer has a shocked expression but still lacks expressions in general, and aside from the few times she cried, she hasn't spoken any words at all. Both Teruya and Mikado become very concerned over their daughter's strange behavior and worry that she may still be struggling with her trauma, so they set up an appointment to get a diagnosis. The good news is, it doesn't seem to be related to her trauma. However, they do get a diagnosis that Moriko has autism since these are the earliest signs a child can show at such a young age. Honestly, Teruya and Mikado are just relieved to know that Moriko is more or less healing from the trauma of experiencing a Despair event and losing her mother when she was only a baby. But now that they know that she has autism, they have a better idea of how to approach and support her.

As Moriko grew older, it becomes apparent that she's nonverbal and barely speaks through her mouth, if at all. While Moriko goes to speech therapy, she still does not want to or cannot speak verbally, so the main focus has been to teach her how to use nonverbal communication skills like using gestures and other communication tools like sign language, and recognizing subtle cues and signals. While Moriko is able to understand language even before then, she can have trouble expressing herself or recognizing other people's social cues so it helps that she's being taught other ways to communicate her wants and needs while trying to recognize other peoples' emotions. Moriko doesn't really like being in the spotlight and prefers to spend a lot of her time alone. But whenever she wants to hang out with someone or if someone chooses to hang out with her, she will give them her attention. However, if that person tries to get her to do something she doesn't want to do, she gets very upset and tends to knock them away before huddling up to herself. This gets her very few friends, and while the staff try to be understanding, many kids aren't and either leave her alone, or bully her. She hates it when people treat her differently for simply being herself and just wants to do what's right for her since it gives her comfort. Thankfully, Moriko isn't alone and does have a best friend who comes to her aid whenever she's around and the two of them spend a lot of time playing together and figuring out what they want to do for the day. Her family accepts and loves her for who she is, of course, and are patient with her whenever they have to be more clear on what is happening or what they want with her. Shinra loves showing Moriko his magic, making her little toys in the shape of her favorite animal, ducks, and share similar sandwich snacks with each other, and she loves how safe Shinra makes her feel. Eiki tends to get on her nerves sometimes since he sometimes gets into her personal space without thinking and can be pretty affectionate through touch. However, he does try to respect Moriko's boundaries and is very apologetic whenever he accidentally upsets her. That being said, Moriko loves listening to Eiki infodumb about his interests in rocks and how each one forms, and whenever she's in the mood for one, they both hug each other tightly as the pressure provides a sensory input and that can be calming and comforting to them. Hisano likes to read to Moriko before bed and she loves the ones with birds as protagonists so she usually goes out of her way to find another one like that or rereads the same story. Other times, they simply sit together in silence as they read their own books. But the one that Moriko looks up to the most is Ryo, who is always on her side and showing her support. She follows her around all the time, learning how she acts and sometimes mimicking her cause she thinks she's so cool. Ryo is sometimes concerned whenever she sees this cause she worries that Moriko will land herself into trouble by using her as a role model. But she's also really flattered and does her best to be a good role model...that doesn't take shit from no one. Moriko tends to add fuel to the fire by encouraging her to fight some jerks that demean either one of them. Kinda like this one video at 4:14 (justifiably so, you go, girl). They love each other very much. ^^

Moriko is attached to her dads very much. She's the most comfortable with touch around Mikado and doesn't mind having him in her personal space to the point that she likes to cling to him when he asks if he can touch her shoulder or carefully move her aside. He gave her her favorite toy which is a big duck plushie that she carries around everywhere. It gives her the greatest of joys and she's allowed to carry it around everywhere, although she has to keep it in her locker at school cause it's not allowed in her classroom which makes her really sad. (Rei lets her keep the plushie with her whenever she's tutoring her and it makes her really happy.) But between the two dads, she ends up spending the most time with Teruya and would often sit on his lap to watch him sew his latest fashion project. When she shows interest in trying it out, Teruya starts teaching her, helping her rock back and forth as she happily works on her first ever sewing project. It's not great, but she's happy nonetheless. She also spends some time figuring out how to garden on her own, but she can only do it with gloves cause the dirt underneath the nails annoys her senses a lot and would spend hours washing it out from underneath. While Moriko isn't always understood by her peers, she does grow up into a healthy young woman that has the confidence to be independent on her own thanks to her family and friends' love and support. As a grown up, she does fashion design for costumes and such for theater and films, and is decently popular in her career. And having a more background role in design suits her much better since she prefers making clothes for others than showing them off on herself.

Fun fact: Moriko's father is still alive but had been hospitalized for a long time due to the Despair event. By the time he woke up, he had to get identified due to the loss of his IDs and eventually found out that his lover is dead. He enters a pretty depressive as he had lost someone he loved and while he never gets a confirmation that Moriko is dead, he's pretty sure she is because he had trouble believing that she had survived when she was only a baby. So he just continues his travels on his own, playing his own music but becoming distant from those around him.

And that's all the IRL Sannotori kids! I'm quite happy that I got to talk about them, they're my favorite chaotic family that I've come up with. :]

Also, here's Adult!Moriko's design:

[galgenwerk]

𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮'𝙨 (𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛) 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮

just because i don't think i've ever elaborated on this in an actual hc post rather than just my application + mentions in threads: garry's (lack) of humanity, now that she's in spirale!

garry is taken from a point in her canon after she's died in the gallery. this is essentially the pinnacle of a mountain of threads that connect her to the gallery. garry is often put in direct contrast to the painting of the hanged man, the painting she stands in front of at the very beginning of the game, before everything goes bad.

when starting the game and starting to travel through the haunted gallery, it's assumed that all of the awakened paintings and exhibits are creations of guertena. art of his that has awakened and is looking to pull other people into the gallery alongside it— none of it originally human, is the point i'm trying to make.

but what happens if all of the petals on garry's rose are plucked? if she dies in the gallery?

she turns into the forgotten portrait.

forgotten, because ib, the main character, has forgotten about garry entirely after escaping the gallery by herself. when ib looks at the painting, she thinks that it depicts a sleeping person, the same thought she had when finding garry's corpse: garry is sleeping.

what this means for my garry in particular is that she's not really human anymore. you can't quite tell, not upon any first glance. she looks human, and she definitely thinks she's human. but sometimes there's paint stuck to her clothes and shoes without her ever using any, and sometimes there's a red line around her neck despite no jewelry or fabric ever touching it. if she bleeds, it's oddly thick. when you see her out of the corner of your eye, she looks kind of wishy-washy, like a bunch of paint strokes taken from an impressionistic painting.

she's not really human anymore. she died in the gallery. she's essentially a painting. it barely changes anything about her day to day life, and she doesn't want to think about it anyways, so she doesn't. but if you pay really close attention, you can definitely notice the small signs.

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

It’s my time to shine, I have had my ib special interest since 2012 and had my entire life changed just for this

I will be talking about both the original ib and the 2022 remake. I will include the new game + area as well!

So to start off, We find him literally about to fucking die and it was fucking set up for him to die. Through context clues we can find that in the room where he got his rose, a lady in a painting was waiting and stole his rose, him being able to flee two rooms before falling onto the ground. For context, your rose is your life bar, if you lose all petals you genuinely die, a very painful death, when you (mind you, a 9 year old girl who relies on him to read things) retrieve his rose from the lady, there’s only one petal left.

As mentioned, he has a designated doom counter, but what isn’t mentioned is that MULTIPLE OF THE WAYS TO RAISE THE COUNTER APPEAR WHEN HE ISN’T ANYWHERE NEAR YOU, HE LITERALLY HAS NO CONTROL OVER HIS PAINFUL DEATH.

It’s heavily implied, especially in the original, that he at the very least used to be quite poor, as well as the fact that gotten from his lighter and the lemon candy he gives you that he’s likely a recovering smoker.

The canon and best ending where he survives can only happen when you talk to him enough, i’m not joking- not to mention it’s only one of the TWO endings where he survives and both are bittersweet as hell.

After meeting mary, you find yourself in a room full of what look like cute bunnies-

NOPE, CREEPY DOLLS. WHICH ONLY GARRY CAN SEE.

Then after leaving you two get split off from garry, who doesn’t know if you’re safe and so is very worried about you and mary.

The section has him be stalked by one of those dolls and from both perspectives you have to help each other, another area where he lives with only 1 petal happens. Then it’s time for the doll room…

He has to rip out the key from one of the many dolls to escape. If not, his mind breaks (unless you have enough points and can snap him out of it) which leads to the two worst endings in the game, with nobody leaving and the worst even having nobody survive, both have him getting killed!

He finds out mary is a painting and after breaking out of the doll room he doesn’t even have enough time to process the trauma before having to save ib from being murdered by mary.

I’m skipping a lot obviously please play the games, including for example the fucking eyes and that fucking room with sudden writing everywhere which has him literally say “this is not good for my mental health” but-

Mary pushes you into a toy box area and you need to relocate both garry and ib’s rose, which is where that doom counter comes into play.

If it hits 3 (btw letting the doll catch you increases it by two no matter what), your rose is nowhere to be seen and he trades his for yours to Mary, who then plays “loves me, loves me not” with it and he dies a horrible death.

Anyway, if he did not die, you are pursued by Mary (who kills you if you’re caught) in her room until you come to her painting and burn it, where most of the bittersweet comes from because he and Ib WATCH A CHILD GET SET ON FIRE AND BURN TO ASHES IN A TRAUMATIZING WAY-

to get the best ending you have to give Garry your handkerchief so you don’t lose your memory.

In new game plus, you get a new area which scars Garry even more! Also your false mom tries manipulating you into staying by her when you try leaving and Garry needs to convince this kid to escape with him

If that doesn’t show why he should advance idk what would

Anyway i can ramble on so much more about IB like Ib’s mom being abusive most likely but vote for Garry he changed my life

[Propaganda]