#we’ll have to see where things go from here but like. been seeing Cool Art about it so expect a reblog spree of that sometime-

[multiversal-pudding]

Dumb/crack Roblox Pressure idea:

Sebastian getting 3 fingered webbed/shelled hands treated as body horror… except its working with the blocky player model instead of assuming he starts as human. The body horror is him growing hands in the first place /j

[eldritch-araneae]

Sparkpulse XII - Jewel of Vos

Summary: Bumblebee and Windblade are searching for cultural artifacts to take with them to the stars. What they found wasn't just an ancient heritage, but direct key to Bumblebee's past. ((Hello, I'm back with new update and amazing art! Enjoy! <3))

Days go by as Autobots prepare to leave Cybertron while searching for the missing AllSpark. Despite scouts' best efforts to find the most important cybertronian artifact, they still have zero clues where it could be. As if it’s just vanished from existence.

Trying to distract himself, Bumblebee switched his focus to gathering resources, historical artifacts, and anything with cultural value. They are leaving but still will part parts of Cybertron with them. Thus, he and his amica are exploring nearby regions.

“We’re finally here,” Bumblebee says, gazing at the ruins of Vos below him as he leans into Windblade’s side.

“So eerie to see the city we often see in your dreams being busy and full of life, being so quiet and empty.” She looks at the horizon, seeing nothing but ruined buildings and rubble everywhere. The silence is almost deafening, only a howling wind making it a bit more bearable. Her optics land on the particular building. “I see our destination.”

“Yep, Jewel of Vos, the city amphitheater. It has seen countless people and history in making.” Bumblebee nods, “I hope we’ll find some cultural artifacts intact. The more we take with us the better.”

“Couldn’t agree more!” Windblade smiles and opens her arms. “Shall we?”

Bumblebee happily jumps into her embrace, letting her grip him tight as they fly into the air. In a few minutes they reach the amphitheater, Bumblebee sensed a layer of sadness coming from Windblade’s spark. It’s been like this since they returned from the Spire. Initially, he thought it was stress over seeing him badly injured, but the mood still prevails weeks later, even though he recovered fully without issues. It troubles him, but he doesn’t want to push either.

They head inside, stepping carefully around the unstable floor.

“So, do you like new weapons Wheeljack made for us? That ammo system looks very cool!” Bumblebee tries to bring up the mood.

“Yes, I even tested my sword in the training arena. It’s a bit noisy but very effective! I think those “undead” stand no chance against us.”

“Ugh, right, those things! It would be great if we won’t run into them… but last scouting reports said they’re crawling everywhere.”

“Not good. Is Shockwave sending them or do they just wander around? If yes then why? They don’t seem capable to execute even trivial tasks.”

“Who knows…” Bumblebee sighs, trying to not think around it. Seeing her mood isn’t improving too much, he changes the topic. “By the way, did you hear Arcee and Slipstream are dating now?”

“Huh, really? Looks like your matchmaking efforts paid off!" she chuckles, but her mood still fades quickly. They carefully pass the ruined hallway into an open arena-like space. This was the center of everything for everyone.

“Windblade, are you alright?” Bumblebee finally asks, seeing how dancing around the subject proved no help. “You’ve been feeling sad for a while now and I’m worried about you.”

“Am I?” her optics widen in surprise. ”Hm… now you mention this, I do feel some kind of sadness, but never bothered to stop and examine it.”

Bumblebee perks, seeing being direct was a good choice. He spots a few benches intact in the front of the arena and takes her hand. "Well, we don’t have to rush with the mission, and I feel anyone near us. I think we should rest. And talk.”

Windblade’s expression softens, following Bumblebee to take the seat. They relax in the front row, taking in the melancholy of the forgotten place. Bumblebee opens his arms, offering her a hug. She gladly accepts it and pulls him closer. They stayed like this before she gathered her thoughts.

“The fight with Decepticons near the Spire.“ She says. ”I wasn’t thinking much at the moment as I was afraid for your life, but now the danger is behind us I keep thinking about how I reacted.”

“You were protecting me.”

“Yes, but it’s not just that. Usually, I count hits in my head, always aiming to subdue my opponent as fast as possible. But when Starscream stabbed you, my mind went blank and the next thing I see is his tail in the ground.” She sighs as she slightly nuzzles his head. Bumblebee feels fear in her spark as she said the last sentence. “I know he’ll grow another tail in a few days. His regenerative abilities are impressive… but still.”

“Are you afraid of losing control?” He asks while being impressed if he was honest. He knew she was an incredibly skilled warrior, but he never thought how much precision and focus goes into it.

“Exactly. I don’t want to kill somebody when I don’t intend to. Or killing in general, even if I want to.” Windblade trails off in the end as if now she is not sure she should say it out loud.

“Did you ever have to?” he asks carefully, sensing he’s getting into touchy subject territory.

“Unfortunately.” She sighs. She looks down to see his face. He nods, encouraging her to keep going. ”It saved the rest of Autobots from death, but it’s not something I can easily brush off and get over it.”

“I’m sorry, it must be tough.” He squeezed her lightly. ”No one should be forced to kill for the greater good, and wish I could take this burden from you.”

“You’re very kind, but I wouldn’t want this for you.”

“That’s alright, I think I used to do this kind of thing. Rarely, but I would have to kill a beast only because it grew too big and powerful it started to decimate its ecosystem. When it comes to awful people in power, I tend to think the same. I would take this burden so no one has to do this. That’s what I was made for, I think.”

“That’s fascinating! You’re full secrets, aren’t you?” she lightly boops his nose, earning a cute giggle in return. Bumblebee feels her mood is getting better after she let out the burden from her chest.

“Apparently yes. I still can’t grasp my past, but little dreams here and there show I used to be some kind of guardian. Watching over nature, making sure ecosystems are stable and overseeing evolution.”

“Your vast biology knowledge definitely supports this!”

Bumblebee looks up and reaches with his face to gently nuzzle her face, causing more giggles from both partners. Windblade’s improved significantly, and he sighs in relief.

A shuffling sound nearby interrupts the peaceful moment. After exchanging confused looks, Bumblebee carefully moves towards the noise with his weapon drawn from subspace containment.

“RAAAAWR!” a creature jumps out from the wall crack, ready to maul whoever dared to get close. Sharpened reflexes guide the minibot, he beheads it in one swift motion. Electric pure energon spills everywhere, its limp body collapses onto the floor. Windblade was immediately at Bumbebee’s side.

“Here they are…” she says with much disdain.

“Yes, I forgot they were sparkless, no wonder I couldn’t sense anyone nearby except you— wait!”

“Hm?”

He went still, focusing deeply on his senses. “No way! Now I feel someone else, right at the edge of my radius. They’re deeper into the amphitheater and very stressed. Can’t really tell who it is from here, but they might need our help.”

“Lead the way, Bee!” she says with her sword ready.

Carefully the duo proceeds deeper into the establishment, trying their best to not alert the undead husks. It was easy at first, but the number of monsters raises significantly as they keep going.

‘This is getting tricky.’ Windblade says into Bumblebee’s mind to keep it quiet.

‘And in addition to my inability to sense them - they all look gray, merging with the surroundings.’ He grimaces, trying to see how many husks are on their path. ‘At least the spark is nearby… and it sounds like Frenzy or Rumble. Can’t say which since they’re twins.’

‘Right, being split sparks and all.’ She nods, mentally preparing ahead of time since either of the cassette twins can be an absolute menace. ‘Something tells me the husks hunting anyone alive, no matter which side they’re on. Megatron has such little regard for his own comrades.’

‘I’m not surprised, he still lets Shockwave do anything he wants.’ He almost growls but manages to keep it inside. ‘Let’s get moving.’

Tip-toeing around the horde, Bumblebee tries to not react to the unnatural sounds the undead make. They groan and moan nonstop, shuffling and stumbling to stand. He could say they act like dying beasts, but even this wouldn’t be the right comparison. A beast would be silent as it’d weak, it would hide so no one can found it. Meanwhile, the undead has no rhyme and reason! Their behavior is random, only controlled by a simple algorithm that occasionally triggers some other functions.

They shouldn't exist. It’s nothing but a waste of precious mechon that could become a brand new living being housing the brilliant spark! Instead, it’s nothing but a flex of the disillusioned scientist who’s thinking he’s above nature! Every protocol in his mind urges him to fix the balance and return the stolen mechon to the core.

But the core has been broken for a long time! Littered with corpses, nothing gets recycled. It’s the reason why he’s stuck with a fragile cold constructed body that can’t even form into his dragon alt-mode!

Bumblebee takes a deep breath to cool his raging core. He feels the comforting hand of his amica, grounding him. She knows how he feels, but she’s right - no time for distractions. They successfully sneak by the horde into a big round room.

“This looks like a small auditorium.” Windblade stares in awe at the surrounding. Despite the destruction, she can make out detailed ornaments on broken walls. “I can only imagine how beautiful this place used to be.”

Bumblebee took a few seconds to admire the craft before his attention moved to the spark to his right. “You can come out, it’s safe here for now.”

“So you can kill me? Naaah, I’m good!” A distressed voice replies." Especially you bug, you’re scary!”

“What? We won’t?” Bumblebee says, glancing at Windblade in slight confusion. Autobots have never carelessly wasted lives. Even when Sentinel was in charge, he couldn’t convince every Autobot that unnecessary violence was necessary. But, of course, Megatron has to keep what remains of his army on a short leash.

“We aren’t on the battlefield right now, nor killing you is part of our mission.” She says. “And the undead doesn’t differentiate the sides it seems. I think it will be beneficial to all of us to stick together and get out of here before those things overwhelm us.”

“…Fine.” After a few seconds of shuffling, a purple and pink cassette crawls out rubble.

“Rumble, you look terrible!” Windblade gasps, seeing several injuries all over his plating.

“Well… I thought those reanimated people will be friendly to us since Shockwave made them…” Rumble averts his visor away from taller mechs, embarrassed by his naive thinking.

“He has never been on your side, to begin with,” Bumblebee says in the matter-o-fact. “Anyway, let’s go.”

“Wait, Frenzy is out there! When the horde attacked us, I lost sight of him.”

“Huh?” Bumblebee focuses on his senses, trying to locate the other twin for a few minutes. “He’s not nearby. Do you remember where you separated?”

“Sort of… I think? The ruins look all the same!”

“Show me.”

They follow the cassette, avoiding the horde, to the opposite side of the building from where the duo entered. Eventually, he stops. ”I think it was over here.”

Bumblebee’s keen optics notices huge scratch marks on the floor. The size is too big for any creature they have seen so far. That’s concerning, but maybe it’s just old marks left by a beastformer. Like Grimlock! But his claw marks look different. In fact, he can’t recall anyone with such a claw shape among the living.

“Hey? Are you there?” Rumble’s voice snaps him back to reality.

“Uh, sorry.” He focuses on his senses once again. Immediately he catches a distressed ping several meters away from him. “He must be in the next room, let’s go!”

Without hesitation, the group sprints into another auditorium to find Frenzy being cornered by an undead abomination.

“Why is it so huge? What’s wrong with it?!” Rumble yells in horror as Bumblebee and Windblade froze in place. It wasn’t just another reanimated cybertronian. It was a blob welded together from different parts of several people. Countless arms are twisting several faces around like worms, armed with jagged claws. The minibot realizes where the claw marks came from. Those claws looks like roughly cut sheets of metal, welded to creature's fingers.

“Stars! One thing is seeing this in movies and another when it’s in front of you!” Windblade grips her sword tightly.

“Cut this thing to pieces!” Bumblebee growls in fury, loading his glaive. It crackles with electricity. Without fear Bumblebee charges at the blob of hands, unleashing his anger. A loud thunderclap shakes the air as the blade cuts through the arm tendrils.

Windblade follows. His sword hums with energy, heating up so much it activates the fan in the hilt. With a precise motion, she slices another tendril off. The creature backed away from Frenzy, shifting its attention to the duo.

“It’s working!” Windblade cuts closer to the core of the creature. His optics catch a glimpse of amalgamated faces beneath. “Whatever power source it has, it must be where the faces are.”

“Got it!” Bumblebee replies as he cuts through from his side. The moment he sees the core he lunges for it. He misses. One creature’s arms grab his leg and yank him hard.

“Oof!” he falls onto the flower before the hand drags high up allowing more hands to restrain him. Bumblebee snuggles against several arms trying to squeeze him hard. His chest wails in pain and the spark loses its rhythm. He gasps, the pain is getting sharper.

“Bee!” Windblade flies up above the creature, then dives right at the arms holding her amica, severing them off successfully. Immediately she catches him in mid-air, landing a few meters away from the monster. Bumblebee freezes in her arms, waiting for his pulse to stabilize.

The undead amalgamation hisses and retaliates against them with its remaining arms, but the sudden earthquake forces it to lose its balance. Windblade looks over her shoulder to see Rumble using his stompers to stall the monster.

“Come here, you ugly face!” Rumble taunts and it works as the abomination charges at it. It chases the cassette around until he tripped and fell right in front of it. The monster would have injured him if not for the glaive and the sword piercing its core. Everything went still before was sliced into three pieces.

The undead abomination falls apart, revealing Windblade and Bumblebee behind it. The core hits the ground, revealing its power source - a crystallized pure energon. The minibot growls and crush it into pieces with his foot. It was over. Rumble stares at him with a frightened expression, noting to never anger the yellow minibot no matter how harmless he appears.

“Primus this thing was horrible! I almost died!” Frenzy finally gathers his bearings.

“You shouldn’t wander around the horde alone.” Bumblebee reloads his glaive just in case.

“They aren’t supposed to attack us!”

“Uh-huh.”

“We should leave before more of them come,” Windblade says.

“Yep, not staying here!” Rumble grabs their twin’s arm and hurriedly to the exit. For a second he pauses. “Um…thanks for the help by the way. You’re not bad. For Autobots I mean.”

The duo silently watches the cassettes leave.

‘Do you think we should leave or explore a bit more?’ Windblade talks into Bumblebee’s head.

‘I think we can stay for a bit. Hate coming back empty-handed. And our new weapons were great! Wheeljack outdid himself.’

Windblade smiles and they continued to explore the building. It appears that dismantling the big creature was enough to scare the rest of the horde, making the search much easier. They kept going until they stumbled upon a locked room. Locks are nothing to Windblade. The door opens and both mean light up, finally!

“Musical storage room!” Windblade rushes to pick up an ancient violin. “It rusted all over and missing strings, but I’m sure Perceptor can fix this.”

“That’s amazing! I hope we have enough subspace to carry all of this!” Bumblebee runs his hand over a drum kit. “You know, I always wanted to try this.”

“And I wanted to learn guitar!” She picks it up after storing the violin. “Imagine us making an actual band, with Jazz and Arcee.”

Bumblebee smiles at the possibility, this can brighten everyone’s lives. He looks around to see what else they can carry home until his optics land on the familiar-looking filigree lantern sitting on the table. His optics widen as he hurriedly runs over to make sure he’s not seeing things.

It was indeed the object from his dreams that houses the protective black hole, hiding him from terrible monsters. He sees the effects of time on it: the silver oxidized into black and the shine long faded long ago, the glass is broken and some bits of filigree are damaged or fallen off completely. He hears a soft gasp behind him as Windblade saw it.

“Lightbright’s lantern! And it is still intact despite how much time has passed. She must be here but she wasn’t part of an orchestra or a singer.” Windblade says.

Bumblebee stares at the lantern as if it can tell him, answerers, then he noticed a bundle inside it. He carefully reaches inside, trying to not damage it further, and picked up something warped in black cloth. Unwrapping it reveals a small metal key. The duo exchange looks.

“A mystery she left behind!” Windblade whispers in slight excitement, making Bumblebee giggle softly.

“There is nothing else, so the lock must be nearby.” His first thought is to check the same table where he saw the lantern. There are a few containers stashed under the table. He pulls each one by one while Windblade goes through counters for something that might resemble the lock until they find an old black case.

She places it on the table and Bumblebee tries the key. It fits perfectly and with a soft few clicks the case opens. Inside is a small hexagon shape a purple ornate box made out of biometallic tree plating, giving it a unique texture. It is decorated with patterns made out of white gold and with crescent-shaped morganite gem sitting on top. A winding key sticking from the side makes it clear - it’s a music box.

“Woah!” Windblade stares in awe. “This box must be ancient, just judging by the materials its made of. Absolutely stunning!”

“Yes, the master made it with love and care. It looks so familiar thought.” He smiles, revering the masterwork. He opens the music box. Inside is a beautiful lotus-like flower, with petals carved of rose quartz. Then he winds up the music box. The flower opens up and begins to spin slowly as music fills the silent room.

The melody and beautiful and serene, yet with notes of melancholy in it. Bumblebee listens carefully feeling the song stirring so many memories in his head, but they are just out of reach. His optics tear up. He knows this song is incredibly important to him. And the fact he forgot because of the seal makes his spark ache.

Meanwhile, Windblade is entirely zoned out, feeling like she’s in a different place and time. She looks up to see Bumblebee’s face which is towering over her like a mountain, telling him he won’t be lonely anymore. He gently smiles as tears float down his face.

But it’s not her memory.

The moment of realization snaps her back to reality. What was that she had no clue, but before she could chew on this thought, her optics caught another thing in the case - a small datapad. She reaches to pick it up, activating it in her hand.

“Voice Auntification.” A robot's voice says.

Windblade glances over at Bumblebee, who also heard it. She passes the datapad to him, feeling like the content stored in it must be addressed to him.

“Um…” he hums awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

“Welcome back Bumblebee.” Looks like it was enough to unlock it. Immediately he sees a message for him left on the home screen. He opens it.

Dear Bee, you probably won’t believe this, but I did! I found your music box! It was hard to track it down. But now it’s here and I am happy to —

The music abruptly stops, making the duo snap their heads where the box was only to see Frenzy holding it in his hands!

Bumblebee’s expression immediately changes fills with the fury that only a few people had the chance to see, giving the cassette a death glade that would incinerate him if it was possible. “Put. It. BACK!”

Frenzy freezes for a second, feeling like he’s just angered something he never shouldn’t, but it’s too late. He stoves it into subspace and bolts out the door as fast as he can. Bumblebee roars and runs after him.

“THAT’S MINE!” he yells as he pulls out his glaive and swings it at the cassette. Frenzy barely dodged the blade. Fear strikes Bumblebee’s spark. He cannot lose this music box! It has such huge significance to him and he won't lose it to some lousy con! He pickles up the pace and leaps after the con, capturing him successfully. They roll for a few meters as momentum carried them into the wall.

“Let go of me!” Frenzy yells, attempting it wrestle himself free.

“Return the box and I’ll let you go!”

“Make me!”

Something inside Bumblebee snaps and he roars, and Frenzy’s vision distorts drastically. The colors and waves fill everything, the chromatic aberration lining everyone's objects to see, becoming blurry and sharp again. He hears the minibot's demands, multiplied by hundreds of voices until he can’t hear anything else.

Frenzy had never been so terrified in his life. What kind of psychophysical warfare it is? Since when Autobots were capable of this?! No wonder many ‘cons are scared of this guy!

Unable to bear the assault on his mind any longer and he obeys. The moment the music box is pulled out of subspace, Bumblebee grabs it immediately and back away from the gasping cassette.

“Frenzy, what are you doing?” Rumble rushes in, confused about what’s going on. “We’re gotta leave!”

“I’m fulfilling Soundwave’s mission! He told us to go and bring this thing!” Frenzy point to the box Bumblebee’s protective hold. He growls at him in return.

“Well, but he saved us!” Rumble objects. “And he looks furious!”

“But Soundwave—“

“Soundwave can shove it where the sun does shine!”

“How dare you! He’s our caretaker!”

“A caretaker that doesn’t CARE about us anymore?! Wake up Frenzy, grows more neglectful each year! Only ‘Megatron this, Megatron that!’, when did he last time remember us outside of his stupid missions?!”

The twins loudly argue, looking like they were about start fighting. The emotions are high and unpleasant, the pain that has been setting in their sparks now is erupting out of the unhealed wound. He feels Windblade’s hands on his shoulders. She soundlessly asks if he’s okay. His expression softens and nods.

“Fine, you know what I don’t care! We’re leaving!” Frenzy throws his hands in the air, and stomps outside through the hole in the wall. Rumble sights, not sure if it was in relief or disappointment.

“Uh…” he feels like he needs to say something but can’t find the words.

“Do you always fight like this?” Windblade asks him.

“Not really, it's only a recent thing. Soundwave is the reason why.” Rumble says as he goes after his twin. “Not your business, though. Forget what you saw.”

‘That was a terrible fight.’ She says telepathically.

‘Yes. Decepticons’ life wasn’t great when I was infiltrating them and seems like it’s just gotten even worse.’ Bumblebee sighs. ‘No wonder so many left.’

Windblade hums in agreement, gently caressing his shoulders. ‘I have the lanterns with me and the datapad. And we got what we came for.’

‘Let’s go home.’           

They returned safely, and Jazz was ecstatic to see many musical instruments the pair recovered. A crowd formed around them to see and make plans to leans an instrument. Optimus Prime couldn't believe his optics when they showed the music box.

“You have no idea how rare this music box is!” he says in awe, carefully looking at it while Bumblebee holds it up to see, not letting anyone hold it. “Many experts dated it to the Primordial Era! The motifs on the box are showing the old world before Quintessons took over. And because of its rarity and one of the kind status, many rich people would do anything to get their hand on it. From blackmailing to murders. We are very fortunate to have it intact.”

Bumblebee grimaces at the thought, thinking about how many times it was passed around like it was an expensive thing for the rich to own.

“Can I keep it? I don’t know why, but I feel really attached to it.” Bumblebee asks, fearing he might have to give it up.

“Huh, I wonder why.” Optimus murmurs, before he nods. “Alright, you can keep it. Just take a good at it. It is one of the rarest Cybertronian artifacts we’ll ever get.”

“I will. Thank you.”

After a little party Jazz decided to throw to celebrate the mission's successes, the duo retreated to their room. It’s past noon and they desperately need sleep. But despite being tired Bumblebee is wide awake staring. The last message is occupying his mind, but at the same time, he is anxious to read it.

But he cannot wait any longer.

Bumblebee carefully crawls over Windblade and takes the datapad.

“Can’t sleep?” Turn out Windblade wasn’t asleep either.

“I keep thinking about the letter and everything. I must know what Lightbright wanted to say or I will never rest.” He lets out a sad chuckle.

“Fair enough,” she says and relaxes against the soft bed. “The melody was beautiful, can we hear it again?”

Bumblebee smiles and winds up the music box again, filling the room with music. Then he activates the datapad, this time he can read in peace without any distractions. His optics began running through the strokes.

Dear Bee, you probably won’t believe this, but I did! I found your music box! It was hard to track it down. But now it’s here and I am happy to return it so the memory of Starjump will always be with you.

Starjump. The name echoed in his mind, making his spark ache. Tears are slowly gathering in his optics as the memories try rushing into his head, but only to be stopped by the seal yet again. But his spark remembers.

It knows.

It grieves.

I’m leaving my lantern with it. I don’t know if my suspicions are true, but Shockwave has been stalking me lately. More cityspeakers are murdered, I feel my end is drawing near. So, if anything happens to me, I beg you not to blame yourself. What happened wasn’t your fault.

Bumblebee chokes softly, his spark hurts more as foggy tears float down his face.

You did all you could to save us. I hope one day you will be free from your prison and live your life again. So, please, live no matter what because I will find you in the next life. I promise!

I love you, Bumblebee. Until we meet again.

Tearful mist flows down his face as the realization hits him. Lightbright knew what was coming, and yet she wished for him to move on without guilt. Part of him that hates him denies this truth. It wants to object, that he deserved suffering for letting her, Starjump and others die. He feels Windblade’s gentle arms wrapping around his chest, pulling him closer.

This is when he knows Lightbright would comfort him if she was in Windblade’s place. She wouldn't want him agonizing over the past. He knows it. It’s hard to accept, but he can try. She asked him after all, he’ll do it for her.

Bumblebee turns around to hug Windblade fully. He buries his face into her chest, allowing himself to feel all his emotions as the music keeps playing.

-------

Author's Note: Phew, that took a while for to update, go hit with burn out really badly that cause me to rewrite this chapter multiple times! And they I decided to be ambitions and to make a title-card-like art for the chapter... which also took a while to draw xD

I'm sorry for all Soundwave fans, Earthspark planted the seed into my head, and now I want to explore this. But don't worry it, won't be just a drama for nothing I promise~

I hope you enjoyed the update! Like, reblog, comment until the next update! Cheers! <3

[conceptmobius]

Staff Recruitment

Greetings! This is a post regarding staff recruitment for Concept: “Mobius”, as you probably surmised. Vertekins and I always looking to add to the ranks and make the site as detailed, informative, and cool as it can be. If you’re interested in joining, great! Let’s find you a spot! Incidentally, you may be able to fill multiple roles, but first things first. You need to run before you can Spin Attack, after all.

Concept: “Mobius” is a Sonic the Hedgehog site dedicated to information about the games within the franchise and the worlds, characters, and events within. While there are multiple wikis and whatnot that serve this purpose, we’re trying to do things differently. We want to enrich the world of the Blue Blur and hopefully make it more cohesive, less muddled, and more fun. Obviously, this is too big a job for a few people, hence the slow trickle of updates over the years.

So, we need a team to tackle this endeavor, and we have many branches for all skill sets. You'll also be asked to help out here, as well, but more on that at another time.

Writers

Arguably one of the most important roles. Writers will be contributing the bulk of the site’s content, from articles and reviews to think pieces and news blurbs. You’ll be expected to be able to spell, know your grammar, and write coherently. If the most writing you’ve done is on Twitter, you may find yourself at a loss here, especially since you’ll probably have to be your own editor, unless you ask your teammates for help (which you can, to be clear).

Artists

Another absolutely crucial role. You’ll be responsible for how the site looks: graphics, character art, zone landscapes, etc. It’ll be a big task, but you’ll always be credited for your work, with links going to whatever platform you choose.

Programmers/Modders

Your job will be to modify the games. Why? Two reasons.

We’ll be using various games for clips and showcases, and we need them to be accurate as possible. Many of them are either missing content, have various inaccuracies between one another, or just don’t look/sound/play right for our purposes. We can’t very well show Sonic’s world if it’s lackluster, can we?

We want to show what even the worst of the franchise could look/sound/play like if given the TLC they deserve.

I know this doesn’t sound necessary or worthwhile, but I assure you, it will make sense in the future.

Theorists

You’ll be helping with various theories and doing your best to plug up various plotholes in the Sonic universe. Unlike certain other game theorists, however, you’ll be expected to show restraint when speculating and not go off on tangents or grasping at whatever straws you see.

Cartographers

Your job is a doozy: making a single, DEFINITIVE map of Sonic’s Earth. You see, there have been many in the games, and they’ve been different every time, depending on the game or the area it's based in. And each one has been inconsistent. Heck, people don't even know where Green Hill Zone definitively is, despite its number of uses.

THIS.

WILL.

NOT.

DO.

If anyone is going to take Sonic lore seriously (and few people do), we need one map that can be used for every game. That way, there is more consistency in the narrative and people have a more defined view of the world.

Modelers

Your role will be to make various character renders to be used for the cast in the Character Database. You’ll be working with the artists to make the most “true to life” representations of Sonic and the others as you can. You might also find yourself recreating certain areas or scenes from the games, demonstrating various abilities, or just letting the cast style on each other.

News Reporters

You’ll be reporting on everything Sonic-related that is newsworthy, whether it be a game announcement or a funny pic from Sega. Just try not to post any memes.

That'll do for now, although, we're welcoming anyone with a notable skill set. If you think you have something to contribute to Concept: "Mobius" that is or isn't listed here, let us know. Just be aware that we can't afford to pay anyone for their work.

Thank you very much in advance!

~Ryan

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Portugal Day 1!

The view from my hotel room is perfection! I am in a cute little attic room (does me three flights of stairs plus a spiral staircase) with a view of the river and city.

I also perfectly timed catching the bus at the airport and was easy to just get my ticket with the bus driver with cash. The flight was fine (although my pasta did sadly have mushrooms in it) and customs was a breeze.

I relaxed in my room for a bit before heading out to wander. First thing I found was a handmade market where I acquired beautiful purple earrings.

And then it was time for my ticket to the Clérigos tower. There were a bunch of museum rooms on the way up and you could see the chapel too. A lot on the history of the tower and general religious things, like the room full of crucifixes which was a little creepy (some were quite bloody) and then also a Picasso room and general art

The view from the top of the tower was great and I caught golden hour and a bit of the sunset orange

And then I wandered a bit more and acquired my first pastel de nata, and it was in fact delicious and I am excited to eat so many more. I also loved that in some places the streets are so hilly that the chairs and tables outside need extenders on one side to be flat.

And then I head to a wine bar where I had veal pies and chocolate cake with a ruby port. And then it was shower bed and asleep by 9.

Overly long travel diary

Day 1!

Finally we were off. I got a blanket and a pillow and tried to sleep as much as possible only waking up for dinner and breakfast. For dinner I got the pasta! Although it had mushrooms and some of it was over reheated and crunchy the middle tortellini were good. And I like the Carmel cake for dessert. I didn’t sleep well but hopefully enough to get through the day. And I finished book one of the trip. Passport control was a breeze (although my stamp is kind of faint :( ), my bag came out pretty quickly, and now doubt at all the my green with painted purple flowers one was mine haha. Customs was not existent. I stopped at an atm and I hope I did it right to get the better conversion and that Charles Shwab will refund the atm fees. My timing for the bus was perfect. I was going to get a transport card but didn’t see a place to do that but was able to just pay cash, 2.50 for the bus fare. And the timing was perfect!

Obsessed with the guy on the bus who got on at the ikea stop with a large rug and nothing else. Love how the bus has a giant screen with the next stop on it.

Easy walk to the hotel and easy breezy up and into my room with key codes. They did put the wrong WiFi password in the email but it was also in the stairwell so all is well. Other than that my hotel room is absolutely perfect. It’s so cute the view is to die and I am so pleased. It even has a mini fridge in it!

I hang out in the room for too long gathering myself and then head out to wander the streets. I find what I think is one of the view points and am underwhelmed (the actual view point is higher and much better)

And then I stumble upon on handyman artisans fair in a cool building. They have so many earring! And many of them are reasonably priced. This is my dream. I get a pair of purple ceramic flowers for 15 euros that smell like perfume. Haven’t even been here an hour and already found my ideal souvenir.

I wander a bit more and head to my timed tickets for the clerigios tower. I am hoping to catch sunset at the top but we’ll see. The museums on the way up are much more extensive than I thought! Many are about the church but there’s also general crucifixes and a piccaso room. I was worried the climb to the tower would be miserable on so little sleep but it was broken up so much that it was totally fine. Got up there just as the sun was beginning to set which I think was perfect. Just the hint of orange and pink in the sky but could still see everything. The ideal golden hour.

They also had to take dorky green screen pictures before going all the way up and they are so kitschy but I still paid ten euros for one anyway haha.

I put my photo back in my hotel (it is so close!) and watch the rest of the sunset from my room with its great view.

I am so sad because the wine bar right next to my hotel is closed on Sundays and the two sandwhich places I was thinking of, are also closed.

But there is another wine bar so I head there. I try my first port, a ruby, and is very good although tastes strong. I have it with veal pie (dinner) and chocolate cake (recommended to go with the port so how could I say no). It’s a little weird to be in a wine bar by myself but there is some fun people watching at least. A little more street wandering and then thankfully to bed. I’m so excited for bed. Showered and in bed by 9.

[moonlight404-translates]

A3! Izumida Azami | SSR - The Shining You | Translation

Quote: "I haven’t had the chance to put my hands on a traditional musical instrument until now. Learning new things to understand my role is pretty fun… I think."

-------------

A Contemporary Hikaru Genji / 1

Kumon: Good morning, director!  Azami: ‘Morning.  Izumi: Good morning, breakfast is ready. Omi-kun made it, though.  Kumon: It looks SO good~! Thanks, I’m digging in!  Azami: Thanks for the food.  Kumon: Oh, right. Today is the elective class day, isn’t it?  Azami: Ah… yeah, I guess.  Izumi: Elective lesson?  Kumon: There are several subjects and we can choose the one we’d like to receive something like a special class— Kumon: It’s different from the usual because all the grades will be combined!  Izumi: Heh, there are classes like that. What are the subjects?  Azami: There are various related to culture, art, and PE. You can do practical activities too. Izumi: I see~.  Izumi: Since all the grades are combined, does that mean you two can take the same class?  Kumon: What! You’re SO right! I didn’t think about that!  Azami: That’s true…  Kumon: Hey, so which class are you choosing, Azami?  Azami: …That’s a secret.  Kumon: Eh~! Why?!  Azami: It won’t be fun if I just tell you. …Thanks, I finished.  Kumon: What, already? You eat so fast!  Azami: That’s because you’ve been talking all the time. Besides, we’ll be late if we don’t go out soon.  Kumon: You’re right. It’s so late!  Kumon: Munch, munch… Thanks, it was all good! Then, we’re going out!  Azami: We’re leaving.  Izumi: Have a nice day. Be careful! 

Teacher: The elective class will be next. Each student has to go immediately to the designated classroom.    Student A: Where was mine?  Student B: Let’s check the paper!  Azami: (My lesson is… in the multipurpose room?) Azami: (I haven’t gone there that often… but I’m almost sure it’s under the stairs.)

Azami: (I’m here, but… there aren’t many people. That will make it easier—.)  Kumon: —HUH?! Is you, Azami?!

A Contemporary Hikaru Genji / 2

Azami: …Huh?  Kumon: Eh! No way, you’re in this class?! I’m in this class too! That’s crazy!  Azami: Hey… lower your voice. Everyone is quiet,  Kumon: Ahaha, sorry! I got too excited.  Azami: Anyways, why are you here, Kumon?  Kumon: What do you mean by why? I chose traditional musical instrument practice as my elective class!  Azami: Really…? That’s so unexpected.  Kumon: Originally, I wanted to choose another class, but they rejected me after reaching their max.  Kumon: And since there weren’t many here, I decided to come and try traditional musical instruments. I didn’t know we would be together!  Azami: Sigh…  Kumon: But, why did you choose the musical instrument practice, Azami? Azami: Ah… for nothing in particular.  Kumon: Uh-huh~? 

Kumon: …And, and, Azami and I ended up in the same elective class!  Azami: It freaked me out to see him in the classroom.  Izumi: Ahaha, I can imagine that happening.   Izumi: How was the class?  Kumon: The instructor taught us how to play the koto. Azami got praised a LOT~.  Azami: I wasn’t the only one who got praised, though.  Izumi: The koto, huh…?  Izumi: (Hm? That’s like—)  Citron: Could it be that you are interested in traditional musical instruments?!  Kumon: Woah, Citron-san?!  Azami: Where did you come from? Citron: My Citron sense was tingling, so I came!  Kumon: Your sense?! That’s so cool!  Izumi: Eeh… what happens with the traditional musical instruments?  Citron: A madam from the shopping district invited me to a traditional musical instrument lesson.  Citron: I was sad because I won’t be able to go that day when I heard you all talking about the koto.  Citron: If you’re interested, I’d like you to go in my stead!  Kumon: Eh! I want to go!  Citron: Ooh! That’s Kumon for you!  Kumon: The director and Azami will go too, right?!  Azami: …I don’t see why not.  Izumi: I’m okay with that too.  Citron: Thank you! I’ll tell the madam about it. 

A Contemporary Hikaru Genji / 3

Izumi: This feels unexpectedly prestigious. It gives an authentic vibe.  Azami: Yeah… completely different from the high school class.  Kumon: I’m getting a bit nervous!  Instructor: Greetings, everyone! Are you Citron’s friends? Hello and welcome~!!  Azami: … Izumi: (I thought the koto instructor would be quiet and graceful, so her energy surprised me…) Kumon: Great, this will be fun~! As expected of Citron-san’s acquaintance!  Azami: Her passion is impressive…  Instructor: Now tell me, have you put your hands on a koto before?  Kumon: Azami and I have played for a little in one of our high school classes.  Instructor: Oh, is that true? I’m so happy to hear that.  Azami: We can’t play it quite well, though.  Izumi: Ah, I don’t have experience with it.  Instructor: It’s okay if you don’t have any. I’m glad you’ve come.  Instructor: The koto is a relatively easy-to-learn musical instrument for beginners. I’m sure you’ll have a great time playing it!  Izumi: I see… I feel more confident now!  Instructor: Then, let’s start right away! 

Izumi: (Eeh, is it like this…?)  Izumi: ♪~   Izumi: Ah, it made a sound!  Instructor: Indeed, my dear. You can use only your thumb for now. Be sure to pluck them from the front to the back—.  Kumon: ♪~  Instructor: What a lovely sound! I wouldn’t expect less from an experienced one!  Kumon: Hehe, thanks!  Azami: ♪~... ♪~ … Instructor: Well… Very well… That’s…! There’s an ephemeral feeling in his melody—.  Instructor: It’s like you were a contemporary Hikaru Genji!  Azami: —  Kumon: Hikaru Genji from “The Tale of Genji”? Instructor: Yes. The radiant master could play any musical instrument wonderfully.  Instructor: Since it’s a story from the Heian Period, there are traditional musical instruments in it… And the koto is one of them.  Kumon: So that’s the thing! Did you know that, Azami?!  Azami: …Yeah.  Izumi: …In the end, Azami-kun chose traditional musical instruments as his elective class because of their relationship with Hikaru Genji.  Kumon: Wait, really?!  Azami: …Is there a problem with that?  Izumi: Of course not. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about him. 

Choice 1: It suits you well. 

Izumi: Besides, the koto seems to go well with you, Azami-kun.  Kumon: Exactly! You know, it gives off… a nostalgic aura!  Azami: You just wanted to say that, didn’t you?  Kumon: Ahaha, you got me! 

Choice 2: Were you interested in the koto? 

Izumi: Did you get interested in the koto after your role as Hikaru Genji? Azami: …Something like that.  Azami: I mostly listen to hip-hop, which is completely different from traditional musical instruments. But it’s not that bad to listen to it sometimes.  Azami: I don’t think I’d have played traditional musical instruments if it wasn’t because of acting.   Azami: Things like that broaden my horizons… and make me think that acting is great.  Izumi: …Fufu, I see. 

Instructor: But seriously, his aura is quite wonderful.  Izumi: Azami-kun played Hikaru Genji until not long ago.  Instructor: So that’s the reason! How marvelous!  Instructor: The three are so good at this that I want to teach you more and more things!   Instructor: Then, let’s keep going! Follow my lead~!!  Kumon: Yes, ma’am! Please continue!  Izumi: Why does this feel like sports encouragement?!  Azami: And suddenly we get the spartan training…

-------------

I'm very sorry if I messed up the line that explains the next step to play the koto. Musical instruments are not my strong suit, so I appreciate any feedback about it.

[taintedevesayori]

Sayo's Route: Dark 09

Sayo's Route Masterlist

Monologue

A few days had passed since the incident in the infirmary.  Despite how Reiji had told me to fix things, the situation with Laito was more strained than ever. I had no idea how to fix it anymore. It truly doesn’t seem like Laito wanted to anymore either.  Kou’s request to be friends continued to bother me. It was just a reminder of how far away my friends were…of how much things had changed since I had been forced to move here.  Maybe that’s why I found myself lingering in front of the magazines in the library. They weren’t something I would look at on my own. The only times I had read them before was with Rena, when she was showing us fashion or art in them. 

-Sayo picks up a magazine, taking it back to a table so she can sit and read

(This really is nostalgic…I remember Rena bringing volumes like this to school. We would gather around her desk before class started so we could look through it together. Her and Kisa got really into the fashion sections…I miss them so much…)

-She continues to flip through the pages

Sayo: Hm…?

(Hold on…this picture is of Kou…He’s an idol? I can’t believe I didn’t know.)

-Someone suddenly covers her eyes from behind

Kou: Guess who!

Sayo: It’s not a hard guess, Kou.

-She reaches back, pulling one of his hands away

Kou: Didn’t that photo turn out nice? I really like it. Why don’t we look at my cool photos together?

-He sits down beside her

Sayo: You want to look with me?

Kou: Why not? You can ask me questions too. Like why a vampire became an idol?

-A Q&A section on the page catches her attention, specifically the question about his skincare routine under one of his photos. She grins cheekily, pointing it out

Sayo: I would ask about your skincare routine but I imagine being a vampire takes care of it for you.

Kou: Ah…! So you do smile! You always look so unamused.

Sayo: Fufu…because you show up when I usually am.

Kou: I’m a little surprised to find you looking at this sort of magazine.

Sayo: I don’t usually read this kind of thing. Not by myself at least…I saw it and wanted a change of pace….A reminder of what a normal life is like, I guess?

-He stares at her for a moment

(This is weird…feels like he’s trying to read my thoughts or something…)

Kou: Hm…okay. Let’s go out then.

-She stares in surprise

Sayo: Go out? Where?

Kou: We can skip the rest of school and have a night on the town! I’ll help you remember what a normal life is like.

-Her cheeks flush pink at the prospect

Sayo: Kou…You really don’t have to do something like that…

Kou: But I want to. It’s worth it to see you make that expression. Come on, it’s not like that guy will even care.

Sayo: That is true…Ya know what, it has been a while since I’ve gone out and had fun with someone. Let’s do it!

Kou: That’s the spirit! Let’s go on a date, Sayo-chan!

-Kou grabs her hand, pulling her up from her seat

Sayo: A…date…?

Kou: Is something wrong with that? You even ran away when I asked to be friends too…You’re going to hurt my feelings, Sayo-chan.

Sayo: T-That wasn’t personal…How was I supposed to react when someone who obviously has a hidden agenda asks to be my friend…?

Kou: Fufu…I know. That just means I need to give you a reason to want to get closer to me, right~?

Sayo: Ha…ha…I guess…?

Kou: We’ll start with our little date!

-Kou takes her to a large outlet full of shops, places to eat, and even an arcade

(It’s been so long since I’ve been to this kind of place….It’s a bit overwhelming…but also nostalgic. I used to have fun in places like this often, didn’t I? That seems like so long ago…)

Kou: You said earlier that you didn’t read magazines like that by yourself. So that means one of your friends liked them, right?

Sayo: …Yeah. She loved those kinds of magazines. She would bring them to class and our group of friends would look at them together. 

Kou: Did you come to places like this too?

Sayo: Sometimes. We did all kinds of things together. I was with them all the time. 

Kou: Fufu…It’s hard to picture you hanging out with a group of girls. Those guys really did a number on you, huh?

Sayo: Well…I can’t say you’re wrong. I don’t like living with them…I miss all the times I had together with my friends. I would give anything to go back to how things were.

-Kou frowns, squeezing her hand as he leads her into the arcade

Kou: I didn’t bring it up to make you sad. Cheer up! I’ll help you experience the good times again!

Sayo: Fufu…Okay. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this, so you take the lead.

Monologue

I followed Kou around the arcade for what felt like hours.  I only had a little bit of money on me, so I told him I would only play a few games at first, but he wouldn’t let me pay for anything. He told me that since it was his idea, he would treat me.  We played all sorts of things. I discovered he was really good at dancing, but that made sense since he was an idol. He told me I was unexpectedly a natural at rhythm games. We took silly purikura photos. I still had some together with all my friends hidden away in a drawer. I tucked these away in my bag so I could hide them as well.  Our last stop was the section of games where you could win prizes. Kou missed what he was going for, but I managed to snag a black cat keychain. 

-Kou grinned, holding up the stuffed keychain to get a better look

Kou: What a cute little cat! You’re pretty good at that. I couldn’t figure it out at all. 

Sayo: I was just lucky. It is pretty cute, huh?

-He tries to hand it back to her, but she closes his fingers around it

Kou: Hm? What’s wrong?

Sayo: You keep it.

Kou: But you won it?

Sayo: If anyone finds out I got it here with you, I’m afraid someone will steal it or destroy it. I would rather you have it. Consider it a gift for taking me out like this.

Kou: You’re so sweet~! Thank you, Sayo-chan!

Sayo: No, thank you for taking me out like this. 

Kou: What do you want to do now? It’s too early in the night to go home, you know! Are you hungry? 

Sayo: Kind of, yeah. We can get something to eat. 

-Kou takes her hand and starts leading her out of the arcade 

Kou: Let’s go then!

-The two order food at a cafe before finding a seat to eat

Kou: Something’s been bothering me…Have you really never tried to escape? I figured with your personality you would have at least once…

Sayo: Listen, Kou…When I make an escape plan, I want to make sure I can live and that nobody will drag me back.

-She leans forward, a small smirk on her face

Sayo: I’ve had one this whole time. It’s just taken a while to put into place…but we’re getting there. Give it a month or two. Then I’ll be gone without a trace.

(I’ve never talked to anyone but those involved about this…Telling Kou is a little crazy but obviously I’ll never spill the details.)

-He frowns and is silent for a moment. On one hand, the former human in him was glad to hear she had an escape plan. But the vampire who needed to become Adam couldn’t have her running off and disappearing without a trace

Kou: What about with me?

-She stares in surprise

Sayo: What do you mean?

Kou: I’ll run away with you. What is the term…elopement? The thought of giving it a try is appealing.

Sayo: Ahaha…Oh come on, you can’t be serious. 

Kou: Why do you think I’m not?

Sayo: You have brothers. I’ve seen you guys together. It looks like you all get along really well.

Kou: Well yeah, of course we do.

Sayo: I couldn’t get in the way of that. The sentiment is nice, though.

Kou: Aw~ So you’re saying you don’t want to be mine?

Sayo: Fufu…If that’s what you were trying to say, be more straightforward. But we just met, so don’t expect a decision soon.

-She winks with a cheeky grin

-He stares in surprise. That wasn’t what he expected her to say at all. He couldn’t figure her out…and that was saying something. It made him want to steal her away even more. 

Kou: That’s a better answer than a straight up rejection! I’m not giving up, you know?

-He grins, taking her hand in his. Her cheeks flush pink

(I can’t remember the last time someone has held my hand this much…This feels like a real date. Kou called it one…but was he being serious?)

Sayo: Is that so…?

Kou: Fufu…that guy has never seen this side of you, has he? He already tries to latch onto you, but I’ll bet if he saw this, he would cling to you even more. 

Sayo: Haah…that sounds unpleasant…

Kou: Haha…! You really hate that guy, don’t you? 

-Sayo shrugs

Sayo: I didn’t used to hate him. He was annoying sometimes but before all this, he was never this bad towards me. If things went back to normal, then I could honestly say no, I don’t hate him…but the way things are now, I think I do.

Kou: I’m actually surprised you didn’t hate him before now. 

Sayo: He wanted my attention sometimes, but not like this. He wasn’t always around, and he never acted this clingy or needy. But he has always been a pervert. That will never change. 

-A nearby customer catches her attention. They have a strawberry shortcake with the rest of their food

Kou: Hm? What are you staring at? 

Sayo: Oh, sorry…I was looking at the dessert that lady had. 

Kou: Do you want to try it? 

Sayo: I actually used to make it with one of my friends. She loved to bake. 

Kou: Really? You know how to bake? I have a great idea~! Why don’t we make it together? I don’t really know much about baking but it sounds fun! 

-She stares in surprise

Sayo: You want to…?

Kou: Yeah, why not? We can shop to get the ingredients on the way to my house~

(I should say no…I can’t forget that he and his brothers are after me for some reason. He has an ulterior motive for getting close to me. Who knows what could happen if I go to his house with him. But…it really does sound like fun…And this has been a lot of fun already…)

Sayo: Okay…let’s do it. 

Kou: Yay~!

(I know better….I should have said no…This is exactly why I didn’t want to answer him when he asked to be my friend…Guess I can only blame myself if this goes south…)

[bellygunnr]

Tomorrow and Our Other Futures

My half of an Art Trade with the wonderful @twilighthomunculusart / @twilighthomunculus

This was a total blast to write!! Thank you!!

-----

Humidity makes the air stuffy and warm, thick to breathe, but Kai sucks it in anyway, grimacing as sweat collects against his skin, perspiring happily around folded joints and scrunched fabric. He has to swap his phone ear to ear to dry his palms, half in the mind to put Kyoichi on speaker phone just to avoid the hassle, but something stops him. Maybe it’s how public his apartment is, or how well sound carries from balcony to balcony. He doesn’t want anyone having the entire conversation, but maybe he should duck back inside anyway. It’s getting late.

“You know, me and Seiji were considering heading up to Fuji Speedway,” Kyoichi says, voice crackling slightly over the phone. “That’s near you, right?”

“Close enough,” Kai says slowly. “I haven’t-- I’ve been focusing on more local things. Haven’t hit there yet, so…”

Shuffling on the other end of the line. Something dark flits across Kai’s vision. He tracks it to the railing, where light floating up from below illuminates the shell of a beetle. Bits of wing stick out from its carapace.

“So what? You should come with us. We’ll crash at your place for the weekend, since the drive’s so long. Sound good?”

“Woah, hey. I’m cool with coming-- you know that. You sure you want to crash here, though?”

His apartment’s tiny. Barely more than a studio setup, with most fixtures a combined room except the closet and bathroom. Not to mention all the stuff he still hasn’t unpacked. Really, he’s been living out of his MR-S more than his room.

Kyoichi mumbles something unintelligible. The faint click of a lighter twinges Kai’s inner ear, followed by the snap of a zippo. Kai can see it perfectly in his mind’s eye, and, fuck.

It’s only been a couple weeks since he’s moved out. No one was particularly friendly in Tochigi, but Kanagawa is a new type of hell, trying to meet people. He’s lonely. He’d had a routine-- and now?

“Can’t be any worse than my place, Kai,” Kyoichi says.

The beetle flares its carapace, stretching out its wings. Kanagawa even has different bugs. The summer works differently. The pavement on the touge is an unfamiliar formula. Kyoichi, at least, is the same, voice tight with a perpetual edge of being irritated.

“Got that right,” Kai snorts. “Alright, okay. When should I expect you guys, huh?”

“Dunno. Guess you’ll have to call Seiji for that. It’s late here-- good night, Kai.”

The cell goes dead. Kai stares at the screen with bemusement, Kyoichi’s words echoing in his head. He’d gotten breathless and rushed, there, at the end, probably because he started having an emotion. Maybe one of them should have started an argument instead.

But he can’t deny that he feels a little better.

—

The Evo III slides up next to his MR-S like it was always meant to park there and Kai just stares at its glossy black paint, throat choked, until the doors pop open and the remnants of Team Emperor come spilling out. Kyoichi runs his hands through his hair, headwear tucked into the collar of his shirt, betraying the impact the day had on him. Opposite of him, Seiji stretches, groaning loudly as he chases off the aches of riding in a stiff sports car. 

“Well! That was fun,” Seiji says. “Oh, shit, Kyoichi, pop the trunk, will you? I just remembered–”

Kai tilts his head, watching silently. Kyoichi waves a dismissive hand and tosses his keys at Seiji, who catches them without looking halfway to the rear of the car. The parking lot lights frame them perfectly, throwing them into that stark relief so reminiscent of Iroha’s slopes. Maybe something’s wrong with him, or maybe that’s all he’s ever known, and dealing with change is– hard.

“You guys better not have gotten me anything,” Kai calls. “I didn’t get you anything!”

“Obviously,” Kyoichi says.. “And if you had, I’d hit you. Go on, we’ll catch up.”

Kyoichi has the nerve to wave Kai on. Sputtering, but compliant, Kai turns on his heel and hurries up to the upper level. At least this way, he’d have time to pick up a little…

Not that he hadn’t already! Kai had spent the better part of a week making sure his stupid flat looked presentable. Some boxes got unpacked, he scrounged up some extra bedding, and he even had food in the fridge. Drinks, too. It’d have to do.

He has enough time to shove a few things into unseen corners before there’s knocking on his door. He hurries to open it with a flourish, only to gape at the gift brandished in Kyoichi’s hand.

“You guys didn’t have to get me anything,” Kai laughs. “Is that–?”

“Sake,” Seiji sings. “And movies. And an extra futon.”

Kyoichi’s footsteps are loud and heavy as he crosses the threshold. Kai wonders if he looks this huge everywhere, or just here. Seiji takes up room, too, but he slips in far more delicately from behind and immediately sets to untying his boots, overnight bag pinned under an arm.

“The movies were Seiji’s idea,” Kyoichi says with a grunt. So we’re watching them because he’ll be sad if we don’t goes unsaid.

Kai accepts the proffered gift of sake, the shiny wrapping crinkling against his arms. He’d have to get cups, and maybe popcorn, even as he reels at the sudden turn of events. Really – this was a lot. This was downright sappy for Kyoichi, no matter how dour he looks. It’s saccharine. 

—

They never flipped on the lights. In the dark, they’d shoved everything over and made the bedding, spearheaded by Seiji’s giddiness, leaving Kai feeling– pleased but unbalanced. The sake helped settle him a little, but not even it could soften the sharp sensation of Kyoichi’s arm around his shoulders. When he steals a glance at him, all he sees is a barely-suppressed smile and a pink flush across his face.

The movie is a quiet one. Foreign, either French or American, Kai can’t tell, but it’s good. Seiji leans his full weight onto Kai throughout it, humming.

“Do… either of you… know what’s going on?” Kai manages to squeak out.

“Car race,” Seiji says, with a grim inflection. “It’s good.”

Well. Yeah. Kai snorts a laugh. He’s not wrong.

“Where did you even get this from, Seiji? What happened to Perfect Blue?”

“Oh, yeah, Perfect Blue. Great buddy film,” Kai says, giggling. He grips his sake closer to his chest. “I saw it in theatres awhile ago.”

“You were a baby awhile ago,” Kyoichi responds, flicking his shoulder. “Seriously, Seij–”

Seiji flaps a placating but dismissive hand, then throws his arm around both Kyoichi and Kai, dragging them closer. The pile of pillows and blankets they’ve wrested onto the floor with them shifts haphazardly. Music and noise blare from the television as one of the quintessential car races goes belly-up.

Kai stares as the scene is repeated from every angle. He thinks about SW20s, autumn, and dangerous hairpins. He thinks about the blind corner in the track he hit last week. It’s all part of the game, here. He needs to rotate his tires. 

A strong hand tugs his drink out from his grip. 

“Hey!” Kai says, grabbing for it.

“No,” Kyoichi grunts, and downs it. “Stop looking so maudlin. You’re giving me depression.”

“If it helps, I got the movie from Fumihiro,” Seiji says conversationally. “And you already have–”

Kai squints at the screen, theft momentarily forgotten. Who the hell was Fumihiro? Kyoichi seems to know, as he has to duck underneath his fist, striking out at Seiji with a clumsy swipe. Laughter overrides whatever the TV is doing, and Kai breaks down into giggles between them, burying his face in the blankets. 

—

Kai wakes up slowly in the morning. His neck hurts. He’s too warm. There’s something sharp jutting into his lower back. When he tries to move his arms, he finds he can only retrieve one, and opens up sticky eyes to investigate.

His apartment is a disaster, is what he registers first. Not unusual, but strange because didn’t he just clean it? And then, oh, right, Seiji and Kyoichi are here– and wow, okay.

He’s half lain out on top of Kyoichi, who folded himself into a pretzel, and Seiji is the one who has his arm trapped by reaching across the gulf to grip his team leader’s hand. Sunlight flickers in through the curtains, casting a slice of light over the three of them. Kai debates waking them up, or moving, or anything, really.

But that’d be a waste. It can’t be that late in the day. Besides, Kai can’t let them know he saw them holding hands. That’s– that’s gotta be saved. 

And he does feel better. More settled. Huh.

With that last thought, Kai tries to turn over, curling into the mess of bedding and Seiji’s side. He’s asleep within seconds.

[p5x-theories]

The way this summer event is being handled makes a P5D collab much more likely

In the past I’ve speculated about collabs with other P5 spinoffs, mostly in regards to what new dungeons and characters could be brought in.  I’ve also speculated about alternate units for existing characters, mostly that they could use second and third tier Personas.  These things may come in time, but if they ever do happen they’re a long way off.

The first alternate character units are here and it seems the main selling point is the swimsuit skins.  I’m sure there will be other differences like being 5-star instead of 4-star and possibly other differences in their stats and attacks, but the new skins are what’s going to be in all the advertisements.  And it makes sense, this allows the devs to create a new unit with minimal resources that will sell anyway.

P5 and Royal had a lot of skins, but most of them were either the characters’ real world outfits or cross-promotion for other games.  I have no doubt that we’ll eventually get swimsuit versions of the original Phantom Thieves, but most of their real world outfits are a lot less likely to be used as the basis for new units.  Skins based on other properties could have licensing issues.

Stikers had new outfits for the characters, but they were real world outfits.  Q2 and Tactica had new chibi designs for the characters, but the art style is different from P5X.  These are all “maybes” for being the basis of new units, designs exist that could be used but how well would they fit into the game?

Dancing in Starlight is the P5 spinoff where dressing up the characters is the focus.  Most of the skins are still based on real world outfits or crossovers with other properties, but there were a few new costumes designed for the game that could easily be the face of a collab.

The Ball Stage outfits are the big one.  They’re the face of P5D and look cool enough to sell as separate units for a collab.

The crossdressing outfits for the boys were fun.  There were also a few new dresses for the girls.  But I don’t think the sexy armors will show up because of censorship issues.

P5D also had Halloween costumes could easily be used for a Halloween event, but I guess this wouldn’t have to be part of a collab.

Depending on how this shake out maybe P5D is the spinoff most likely to be collaborated with.  Creating new skins is a lot less work than creating new dungeons!

Well, first and foremost, let me clarify right out: The Summer characters will have entirely new movesets, as far as I can tell, considering Motoha is Bless (instead of Electric), and Tomoko’s a Rescue (instead of a Superior), haha. Motoha was also confirmed to be a 5-star, so we can assume Tomoko likely will be as well. But I do agree that I’m sure the main draw is intended to be the alternate outfits, rather than the alternate skills, haha.

While I see where you’re coming from with the theory about P5D, though, I do think it’s worth taking into consideration that the summer event will also have its own plot. Obviously, we already have a rhythm minigame here as well, but any characters added for collabs and events so far have come with a plot, and P5D is one where that’s a bit trickier. I’m sure they could pull it off! I’m just not sure we should be taking “which games have the most alternate outfits, and which of those alternate outfits are the easiest to sell” as the primary criteria here, heh.

Also, as a less important aside... I’m pretty sure all of the alternate outfits in previous games have been from other Atlus properties? The other Persona games, SMT, Devil Summoner, Catherine... I don’t know if there’d really be an extra complication with licensing issues for those?

[graycats-arcane-blog]

I just made this cover art for my new Lightcannon fanfic, Fight and Flight! It’s an AU where Lux and Jinx are fighter pilots.

Fic preview and link below the cut.

(Future chapters will be explicit, but this one is clean)

Fight and Flight, Chapter 1: Flight Partners

. . .

"You're fresh out of training, right?"

It was cool in the Wing Commander’s tent. Beige walls quivered under the constant breeze which whistled through Zaun’s ravines.

Tugging her thick, standard-issue bomber jacket tighter around her lean-muscled body, Lux met Wing Commander Sevika's cool, gray eyes with a determined grin. "Freshly trained and ready to fly, Commander."

Commander Sevika pulled a cigarette from her pocket and lit it in a movement too swift for Lux to clock. As the leader raised the burning cig to her lips, dogtags clinked around her neck.

Despite her carefully composed expression, Lux could tell that her superior was troubled by something. Maybe it was the crease between her brows, or the way she sucked in smoke like a parched man chugging water.

Briefly closing her eyes, the Commander let twin trails of black char trickle from her nose before turning her hard gaze back upon Lux.

"Your trainers had a lot to say about you," she grunted. "I hear you've got a good eye."

Pride glimmered in Lux's chest. "I've gotten a lot of positive feedback on my ability to spot trouble."

"I also hear they've nicknamed you 'Searchlight.'" The Commander narrowed her eyes. "Do you like that nickname?"

"I don't mind it."

"Nicknames stick like glue around here, so you'd better say so now if you don't want everyone in the camp calling you that by tomorrow."

"Searchlight works just fine for me," Lux reaffirmed.

The Commander nodded. "Alright, Searchlight. My name's Wing Commander Sevika, but you'll address me as Commander. I'll be your leader for as long as you're in my squadron." She extended a hand, which Lux accepted firmly. "You'll notice that a few people around here call me 'the Ogre.' As I said before, nicknames stick, and you don't always get to choose what you get."

Lux nodded. She'd heard as much from her trainers, most of whom had their own nicknames to contend with. "It'll be my pleasure to serve under your command, Commander."

Sevika huffed. "We'll see about that."

Before Lux had time to wonder over those words, Sevika continued, "You'll want to know how things work around here. Wake-up call is at 6, breakfast in the mess tent at 6:30. Your schedule for the day will be posted just inside the tent. Check it early, so you'll know if you have to rush breakfast for an early flight.

"We go up in twos, once or twice a day depending on how busy things are. Most flights are patrols over the East Port of Zaun, or EPZ, about eight miles southwest of here. We guard our troops and shipments from the enemy's bombers and fighters.

"Once you have your schedule, you're free to spend your spare time as you like. Some pilots meet in the mess tent for cards; others stay in their tents and write to their families. What's important is that you're always ready for action - you never know when the enemy is going to soar in and try to strafe us, and you need to be prepared to get your plane in the air at a moment’s notice. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Commander."

Sevika heaved a deep sigh. "Now, the next matter of business is where things get tricky. Since we go up in twos, so you've been assigned a flight partner. She'll be the one you'll trust to have your back when flights get dicey, and you'll be sharing a tent with her."

"I'm used to sharing a room," Lux replied. "There were twelve of us sharing a barrack in training. I enjoyed the company."

Lux was confused by the pitying look Sevika had fixed her with. The Commander propped her elbows on the table, folded her hands beneath her chin, and leaned forward.

"Searchlight, would you consider yourself to be a friendly person?"

"Yes," Lux assured her eagerly. " I got on well with the other trainees. By the end of the month, I felt as if I knew them as well as my childhood friends."

"You like getting to know the people you work with?" Sevika pressed.

"Of course!" Lux let some of her confusion trickle into her voice. "We're fighting a war together. We've got to know that we have each other's backs!"

"Hmph." The Commander took another long haul of her cigarette. "We'll, here's a bit of advice for you: don't bother with your flight mate." Lux raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth to protest, but Sevika cut her off with a wave of her hand. "You'll understand when you meet her. She's a nasty piece of work with an awful attitude. Bratty from the start, and watching people come and go has only made her worse."

Lux frowned sympathetically. "It has to be difficult, seeing so many of your friends go down in the field."

"Whatever you do," Sevika stressed, "don't ask her about the old guard, the pilots who aren't here anymore. Better yet, try not to talk to her much at all. Give her space. Find friends in the other pilots. And... " With a deep sigh, Sevika finished, "if she gets to be too much, let me know. I'd rather triple you with two pilots in another tent than have you quit because she's driving you mad."

Lux wasn't sure if she was more concerned or curious. She'd heard that odd sorts of people popped up in the battlefield - war brought out the best in some people and the worst of others.

Was her new flight partner really as bad as her superior said?

Stubbing her cigarette out against the desk, the Commander rose from her chair. "Let's take this conversation to the Field - that's where we keep the planes when they're not in the air. I'll show you yours, and you'll have the afternoon to work in some practice flights before you enter the flight rotation tomorrow." She grimaced. "Your new partner might be out there too - I can get introducing you two over with."

"What's her name?"

"We call her Jinx."

. . .

read more on ao3

[voidsentprinces]

FFXIV feels like a weird tv series in terms of how I feel about each expansion

1.0 is the pilot season that people agree was bad but there was charm to it. It had its moments and if given a better writing staff and perhaps more budget. It could of been something great. But the season’s cancelled now so we’ll just have to post on the forums about missing its charms.

ARR feels like the reluctant second season after they got cancelled after the first season. It airs on SciFi (or however the fuck they’re spelling it nowadays) at a 1am dead block in hopes to never see it again. Its rough around the edges, the writing has some spots to be desired, the costuming is iffy but functional and all it all it becomes a cult classic.

Post-ARR is a lost season, extra materials, some unconnected filler but a few episodes that actually link back and boy does the finale really shake things up. Causing a massive fandom to grow around it and pester executives for a third season.

Heavensward is the return of the king. Final Fantasy XIV is back, it has budget, production, and cast and man with the special effects blow you out of the fucking water. After the Post-HW you hear stories about the cast loving their time on set and with the directors and really getting invested in the “characters”.

Stormblood is the unlucky season which has big shoes to fill cause its coming up after Heavensward and like thats like being the Dark Knight Rises after the Dark Knight right? And while it comes close to Heavensward. Some studio heads got involved and wanted to change stuff up because they saw another TV show do it and thats super popular so why don’t we do that? It returns to being a bit rough around the edges but the new villains really are here to chew the scenery and be memorable as all get out.

Post-SB is uneasy, it feels like the execs aren’t happy it didn’t bring in billions like the Heavensward Season did. Some actors go on to different projects and its really up in the air where its going to go. Are we going to stay in Ala Mhigo? Are we going to stay in Doma? Going to Garlemald is on the table. And this new Solus character just seems like Lahabrea but then BAM! The Call Episode happens and everyone is fucking LOSING THEIR GODDAMN MINDS! There are leaked trailer footage online and Y’shtola is now Master Matoya, Urianger is half naked and IS THANCRED WIELDING A GUNBLADE?! WHAT THE FUCK!?

Shadowbringers hits and it is the best thing on television since sliced bread. Everyone is invested, the budget is back, the writing hits hard, the Solus character is changed and given new dimension. Everyone is up in arms about fist fighting Thancred over his initial treatment of Ryne. There’s fan art of Runar and Y’shtola even though the actors are just good friends. And that Finale? Holy shit. There is some sleeper episodes like the second Amh Araeng arc but the emotional pay off of seeing Minfilia return for a last cameo is well received.

Post-Shadowbringers is making the most of the new world sets. Tying up lose ends, here and there. Setting up the next big bad with this Fandaniel dude and Zenos being back by fandom demand. But the mid-season finale has everyone hooked, I mean after the Seat of Sacrifice arc, who can top that?

Endwalker hits, a love letter season. Some stuff feels overtly long, like was an entire half an episode necessary to show extras turning into monsters. But the baby rescue episodes has people emotionally invested, the loporitts are beloved, everyone loses their shit that Zodiark is introduce and fought only like five episodes into a 24 episode season. Speculation flies left and right and then they get the Elpis and the Ancientsona Fandom from Shadowbringers’ initial season is reignited. People are getting into fights whether to fight or protect Meteion and everyone cries at the finale of the Ultima Thule arc.

Now we’re in the after season of Endwalker, its had sort of monster of the week villains. We’ve seen some cool set design in the Thirteenth Shard and this Golbez character seems like a stand in until they figure out what to do next. But everyone is absolutely LOVING this Zero character. Nidhana’s fandom is also reignited. And there is some debate over Vrtra and his avatars but everyone is also absolutely losing their shit on whats going down in Pandaemonium and with the Twelve. Though its getting close to the end of the season and people are wondering where we’re off to next.

...if that makes any fucking sense whatsoever.

[ask-carmenpondiego]

I asked and there was interest so here is the story! Chapter by chapter! It will be tagged by chapter number, so if you ever want to go back without scrolling, just use the tags! Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Loves and Crimes of Carmen Pondiego

This is a look into the life of Carmen Pondiego and the beginnings of her new VILE agents as they roam the multiverses, looking to steal various famous artifacts from various fandoms with the use of Library Door tech and the internet. This entire story has various scenes that include sex (both consensual and non-con), drug use, violence, and foul language. This is not your everyday wholesome romance story. It does get very dicey and may give plenty of not so good feelings.

This is also my first attempt at fanfiction as a whole. I usually RP semi-para. My author grammar and all may not be the absolute best, I just write what my mind sees. Thank you for reading and being patient with me.

This is a parody adaptation of an anthropomorphic character mashup originally between Carmen Sandiego and My Little Pony. The universe takes place in a parallel world but characters can travel and sample things from multiple series and different fandoms that are mentioned in the story. Any correlations such as family relations between any Carmen or Pony series could vary in detail to the original source and would not be canon anywhere else other than this story. All individual characters portrayed in this story are copyright to their players. This story has been put together with the help of multiple friends through rp.

Chapter 1: Museums are highly flammable

As the rain drizzled down, thunder had been distantly rumbling, a suited figure steps into the chrome retro style diner and shakes his umbrella by the door. A pure snow white haired, tan unicorn, dressed in a red and black business blazer and skirt, looks over from a booth with her purple glasses, raising a hand that had been fitted with cybernetics, the panels so closely fit and natural looking, one would never have thought her hands were not her own. She sipped her coffee as the suited figure sat down, taking out a cellphone, with a recording session ready to record. “Evening. Are you ready?”

She nods, “What would you like to know exactly?”

“Everything.”

“Everything? Thats quite a lot to ask for. Where shall I begin?”

He had already pressed record on the phone and slid it across the table towards her. “Like all stories do. At the beginning.”

It was a cool evening, just before dusk and a family of anthro ponies were mingling around an art museum. A mother unicorn of the classic hourglass shape, tan fur, dark reddish brown hair, spring green eyes, dressed in red and black blouse and pencil skirt, was pushing a stroller containing an infant toddler unicorn colt, seafoam teal in fur, brown hair and currently chewing on his father’s red and white beanie hat, cooing happily. The father figure was a tall earth stallion and had a somewhat lanky build dressed in jeans and a striped red and white sweater, pale blue fur with brown hair and rather nerdy glasses, he looks up at a little filly riding his shoulders, her little yellow sundress gleaming in the few stray rays of exhibit lights, her little wings flap excitedly as her pink eyes are wide, peeking under a rather haphazard attempt to tame the grayscale locks into bangs and ponytail. “Dada!! Look!! Daggie!” The father, Wally, chuckled, keeping hold of the child’s squirmy legs. “Yes, Adora. I see the dragon. Thats is statue. Can you say Statue?”

“Statoo! Dat.. chachoo!” Her face scrunched as she tried to say the new word.

The mother, Carmen, laughed “You know, I used to know some dragons on my explorations. And so did your Dad.”

The filly wriggled more, holding onto Wally’s hair, “Wreely?! For wreal life?! I wanna be exploder too!!!” She screeched happily. “An Ahm gonna marry big daggie when I growd up!”

The parents looked at eachother with a mix of concern and laughter. “We’ll… come back to that idea for another day, how’s that sound?” Carmen reached up and gently pulled her daughter down, giving Wally’s shoulders a break. “Yeah, kiddo. You got your whole life ahead of you. Its ok to stay a kid while you are still a kid. Your only job right now is to have fun and be a good big sister to Blendin.”

He bent over to ruffle the colts hair before scrunching his nose. “Speaking of which.. I think someone needs a change.” Carmen sighed and rolled her eyes, “Rock paper scissors for it. Loser gets the diaper duty.”

After three quick rounds, Wally grinned and swaggered to the gift shop as Carmen headed to the restrooms with both kids in tow. After a quick stinky change and a little princess piddle, the three emerge to a bit of a crowd. There was a faint scent of fire burning the edges of Carmen’s nose. She held Adora’s hand and grabbed Blendin from the stroller, as it became more apparent the crowd was becoming panicked and an alarm sounding. “Momma? What happening?” “Its going to be alright, little one. Just stay close to me, do not leave my side. I just need to find your father..” Carmen frantically looked over the crowd as best as she could but saw no sign of Wally.

Smoke started to billow as a tapestry and curtain started to burn. She finally caught sight of him just underneath and unaware, him looking as lost as confused as she. “Wally!!”

“Carmen? I’ll meet you outside! Get the kids out!” He shouted into the crowd, not seeing her across the room. Just then the curtain rod falls, trapping Wally and a few others with a wall of fire.

Carmen cried out for him but couldnt hear him afterwards. She adjusted her hold on Blendin and gripped Adora’s hand tight, “Come on, babies. We need to get to safety. Daddy will meet us there.” The crowd was like a rushing river, they could only go in the same direction until they all pooled outside in the museum’s open courtyard, fire crews already rushing in with hoses and gear.

The three found a small area by a tree and huddled together as they watched the building engulf in flames. Carmen’s heart was pounding as she watched for anyone coming out from inside.

A few hours passed and both children were asleep in her lap, her eyes still glued to the scene. A figure came up to her, and for a moment she felt huge relief until she realized it was not Wally, but instead a police officer and the fire chief. They had been going around to lingering folks checking for injuries. “Please.. my husband.. he wore a red and white sweater.. where is he? Did he get out?” The fire chief handed her a large medallion, “Was he the owner of this Wander Society coin? If so, then I’m afraid he’s gone.” Carmen trembled and her chest felt like it imploded inward, she shakily took Wally’s coin, water dripping onto it. She touched her face, realizing tears were pouring down. “I.. I need to see him. Please let me see him.” She carefully stood, the filly slightly stirring from sleep and the colt was still cradled against his sister, unbothered. Carmen started to walk towards the museum ruins but was held back by the officer, “Wait. I know you. You held that heist by the Hoofer dam! You’re Pondeigo!” She wrenched her arm from his grasp, “I dont care! All I care about is being with my husband! Let me see him!” She sobbed, grabbing hold of the uniform and sinking to her knees, screaming out Wally’s name. The officer grimaces solemnly, “Look, I cant just forget your alleged crimes. You still have active warrants. I have to take you in.” He looked towards the kids, Adora rubbing her eyes and watching as she held her baby brother. “Those your kids?” Carmen nodded, reaching out for them and scooping them into her arms, burying her face into them. “Is there anyone you can leave them with until we can get this sorted out? I mean, I aint dumb, you will probably escape before you’re even sentenced.” The officer kindly offered, not blind to the sensitive situation at hand.

Carmen kneeled silently for a moment before letting go of her children and reaching for her bag for a couple slips of paper. Her hands shaking as she handed the papers over, “Wally and I decided that if anything should ever happen to us, my daughter Adora would be in the care of this location.. and my son Blendin will be at this location. Just let the keepers know who their parents are. Its all arranged… please.. I just wish that you would let me go this once. My children are all I have left..”

The officer spoke into his walkie and reading off the slips of papers, and after a moment or so a suit clad individual took the papers and scooped up the kids. Carmen flung herself at him, trying to reach her children, “No.. please!! Not yet! Dont take them yet! Dont take them too…” she begged, the officer gently taking her wrists and handcuffing them behind her back, she pulled against the officer trying to follow the suit. “Adora! Blendin!! Mommy loves you! I’ll come back for you! Mommy promises!!” She screams out in despair as she was loaded into the police cruizer, watching as they drove away from the worst night she had ever lived.

The next few days were a blur, she was checked in and registered, given a quick hearing and sent to a holding facility, all while she was numb and nearly catatonic from grief. Her expressions were blank and listless, she didnt speak even to defend herself in front of the judge. She was loaded onto a bus and sent to a building further from the city. Only then did she furrow her brow.

[nickmaghighlights]

Nick Mag Highlights - #20 April 1996

Greetings and various apropos felicitations. Once again it’s time for another issue of Nick Mag Highlights! Today we’ll be heading back to the 90’s and taking a trip through issue #20. Ready to see if this “Mega Movie Issue'' is really as mega as it says? Then let’s get on with the show!

Man, that cover is a blast from the past for me, and it might just be the same for some of you. I haven't seen the film adaptation of James and The Giant Peach ever since I was a kid. I forget how I even first experienced it, since I couldn’t have seen it in theaters and I never owned a physical copy. I think a babysitter put it on for me once. 

Whatever the case, despite the time it's been I can still envision a smattering of visuals and emotions from the experience. So it must’ve been good if it’s managed to still stick with me positively all these years later. I guess a grade-a art style and memorable visuals will do that for a film. So as shallow as these behind-the-scenes “previews” tend to be when it comes to Nick Magazine, I’m still excited to go down memory lane and hopefully gleam one or two cool bits of trivia. 

Beyond my nostalgia bias though I’ve gotta say I’m surprised by the lack of promises this cover is making. A preview of James and The Giant Peach and a “Special Flip Book” is all you’ve got to wow the proverbial audience here, Nick? Even issue #1 promised more content on its cover to grab your attention if Ren & Stimpy weren’t enough for you. Let’s hope 20 issues in they weren’t starting to struggle for content.

You can read along too, if that’s what you wanna do. The issue’s right here.

Alright, go ahead and roll your eyes, but I’ve got a thing or two to say about this Cheetos ad. Or rather, “Chee●tos”, as it's called here and would be titled as such until Frito-Lays dropped the hyphen from the name in 1998. Not the worst name change, if I’m being honest.

First off, let’s just bask in the moment for a second. This is a wacky snack from the 90’s, even a “spinoff snack”, if you will, of a still very popular snack brand… that hasn’t been brought back to capitalize on nostalgia! 

Yes, Cheesy Checkers have yet to return to shelves since their discontinuation in ‘98. Suffice to say, I’m stunned. In a world where Ecto-Cooler returned from the grave, Trix Yogurt is still readily available, Boo Berry, Count Chocula and all those other monster-themed cereals manifest themselves every Halloween, and the McRib seems to come back whenever the heck it feels like, Cheetos Cheesy Checkers of all things is barred from re-entry into the mainstream to take advantage of your sorely missed childhood. 

Guess they really just weren’t popular enough? You can’t capitalize on nostalgia if there’s no nostalgia to capitalize on, after all. And yet it seems like a foolproof idea for a snack if you ask me. Waffles and waffle fries have already proven that checkerboard patterns are naturally delicious. And on top of that it even had a rad commercial featuring an awesome Chester Cheetah puppet. What’s not to like? I guess 33% more cheese is crossing the line of “Dangerously Cheesy” into something more like… “Hazardously Cheesy”.

Oh, and by the way. I may have never had a bag of Cheesy Checkers, but I sincerely doubt the snack pieces were that big. You really want me to believe one checker is nearly 1/3rd the size of this magazine page? They don’t even look that big in the commercial.

Just like the cover said, this is indeed a movie-themed issue. And I’ve got good news regarding this: I actually know about movies! Well, I like movies, anyway. Okay, I know more about movies than I do about music, which should mean my dissection of the content at hand will be a little more thoughtful than my retrospective of the music-based issue from last time. Hopefully, anyway.

Can’t help but feel these jokes are trying a little too hard. I guess when you’ve got to come up with twenty and base them all off of movies and TV shows, it can’t be easy. It probably doesn’t help either that there’s only like, three or four good puns in the whole world to begin with.

Anyway, look. Bugs Bunny in Nickelodeon Magazine. Woah.

Well, it’s a little less surprising for those, ahem, in the know. 

Nickelodeon actually aired Looney Tunes shorts for more than ten years, from 1988 to 1999. Once Warner Bros. established their new kids’ entertainment channel, Cartoon Network, they were pretty quick to take back their old school cartoons to bolster their numbers a bit. Although even following the departure of the classic Looney Tunes, Nickelodeon would go on to license other Warner Bros. content for their channel in the following years, airing shows such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures in the early 2000s.

Oh, how convenient! Now I can prove my film expertise by trouncing this quiz and- 

Hey! Some kid already answered two of the questions. Well now there’s no point in doing the quiz now. Its sanctity has been compromised.

But yeah, this book’s been written in just a bit. Sorry if that bothers you, but it’s not like I can clean the pages off. I do kinda wish the scan was totally clean just for the sake of archival purposes, but as long as the marks stay minor I’m not too picky. If anything I guess it helps make things a little more interesting. Kinda adds to the whole “time capsule” aspect of it, doesn’t it?

Shouldn’t be an issue so long as it’s not-

Ah, criminy! The kid got me again! Now this is stepping over the line. Answering a quiz question or two is one thing, but completely solving the hidden pictures puzzle promoting the home video release of Babe? That sours my mood. I don’t even feel like watching Babe now.

This a neat activity: a screenplay for two kids to act out and potentially film like a home movie. It actually caught me off guard with its originality, and in hindsight it seems like a no-brainer. Kids love to play pretend after all, and I know I certainly loved shooting little movies with my family’s cheap digital camera. Well, here kids, we came up with the story for you. Go nuts. Not to mention it's a good excuse to whip up a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches.

Here’s a nifty fun fact for you: The writer of this screenplay activity, David Lewman, has basically been on Nickelodeon’s speed dial since the 90’s. He’s written tons of Nickelodeon tie-in books, spanning a bunch of different franchises including SpongeBob SquarePants, Jimmy Neutron, Rugrats, among many others. If you’ve read a SpongeBob book before, I say look him up. There’s a good chance you were reading something of his. 

Kind of nice of them to make a whole game out of their adspace, eh? I mean, I’m guessing the amount of people who played isn’t particularly high, but… uh… The art is cool!

Speaking of the art, you never see these mascots in 2D anymore. Which I find unfortunate because I think they look a lot cuter and tolerable here.  

Also wow, you can see the orange and brown candies before their designs were finalized. Or before their transitions, either or. Very proud of them regardless!

Pretty awesome article here about some of the gimmicks that filmmakers tried out during the black-and-white days of cinema. Love a bit of history alongside my Nickelodeon.

While we’re here, I’d like to contribute my own similar black-and-white movie gimmick factoid that I find amusing:

In 1961, a film called Mr. Sardonicus featured a gimmick called the “Punishment Poll”, where each audience member was given a card to decide the fate of the titular villain, Mr. Sardonicus, by either showing the side of their card with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on it right before the end of the film. Once the total was tallied, the theater was supposed to show the ending with the most votes.

The funny part is that the movie only has one ending. The gimmick was just a total lie and the only ending filmed was the one with the negative outcome for Mr. Sardonicus, so I guess the director was pretty confident that potential audiences would mostly be comprised of sadists that want to see a bad guy get his comeuppance. 

Speaking of the director, Mr. Sardonicus just so happened to be directed by a mister William Castle, who also directed four out of the six films listed in the magazine article here. Guess those gimmicks really were good for profits.

Imagine watching a whole movie while sitting in a pool. Now stop imagining! I don’t like that very much. Your eyelids would prune shut before you could even see the ending. 

Man, all these movie gimmicks and funky types of theaters is making me wish I was around when movies were more of an event. Y’know? The movie theater experience has pretty much been ironed out at this point, so the idea of watching the big screen outside or with the looming possibility of a big plastic skeleton popping out and waving around is particularly alluring. Take note, modern movie theaters, this may be your way of competing with streaming!

What? No, it doesn’t bother me at all that whoever owned this magazine already filled out this Sanrio quiz advertisement. Why would I be ENRAGED and UPSET about that!?!? IT'S NOT EVEN A BIG DEAL!!

… Anyway this ad is weird. I guess they didn't know how to market Sanrio in the west yet*. Cause I'm not exactly the most familiar but I'm pretty confident blaring red and yellow colors and funky multicolor Wow! text isn't exactly befitting of the Sanrio spirit. Also there's not really any point to the quiz. It's not like you can mail in your answers and get a free Hello Kitty lunchbox or something. I guess they just figured that kids love quizzes and will always jump at the opportunity to do them, circling the correct responses in permanent pen ink, and causing them to not consider the possibility that someoNE MIGHT WANT TO READ THE MAGAZINE AD AFTER THEM AND WOULD WANT IT MAINTAINED IN PEAK CLEANLINESS FOR THE SAKE OF THE SANCTITY OF THEIR ONLINE BLOG i must calm myself.

*Which is weird to me, because Hello Kitty feels like one of those characters who’s always been popular. Like Mickey Mouse or Steven Spielburg.

Don’t mind me, just gonna insert this contest page here so that if I ever do the issue that contains the actual responses, I can link back to here and go full circle. Pretty excited to someday see the responses! I wonder what they could be. I also wonder why you had to include a phone number with your response. Maybe Tommy Pickles congratulated you on the phone? 

Okay, so I think this issue might be missing pages. I can’t prove that exactly, considering I don’t have the real thing sitting in front of me, but the way this ad has text that’s oddly cut off on the right side leads me to believe this was a two page spread originally. Maybe not, maybe the magazine was really like this and it's a printing error, maybe they spilled juice on the design document for page two and couldn’t fix it in time for publishing. 

Whatever the case, I really wish I had that Aaahh!!! Real Monsters hat.

A rather understated cover for this edition of The Comic Book, and I can appreciate it. Simple and effective bit of zaniness with a spin on the old “fake-can-with-a-scary-thing-that-pops-out-when-you-open-it” gag. This comes to us from award-winning illustrator Jim Woodring, who’s got probably one of the nicest websites of any artist I’ve mentioned on this blog so far, so kudos. I took a look through his gallery, and it’s a lovely trip, so go take a look if you want some eye candy.

Been a while since we’ve last seen the Southern Fried Fugitives on this blog, one of Nick Magazine’s earliest recurring comic series. Unfortunately they’re not exactly in top form here, I’d say, even as someone who’s not the biggest fan of the comic to begin with. This is essentially a bit of filler so they could make their deadline and finish up the next “all new real adventure” that this episode tells you of at the end. I mean, I get it, this comic usually spanned a full three or four pages, I’m sure they took quite a bit of time. I just don’t really appreciate being shown a gross naked stitched up chicken. 

A great hidden picture puzzle here, I could see kids having a lot of fun with this one and just looking through all the art. I guess my only issue would be that none of the answers are exactly hidden, since almost every figure in the page is related to one of the film titles below. But that’s a small nitpick considering that for just one activity of a much larger publication, it’s still pretty entertaining and eye-catching.

And here we’ve got ourselves what the powers at be call Smudgy and Scribbly. A comic about two inventive robots that I thought were supposed to be pencil erasers at first considering their names. I’m not sure if these abstract little guys ever had more than one or a couple of comics, but I know they didn’t stick around forever, since this is the first time I’m hearing of them. They’re cute! They’re fun! They don’t have a lot of personality per se, but that’s okay, because they eat fruit cocktails. And that’s a lesson for the kids.

I’ve been really impressed with this issue so far! They’ve really been making the most of the movie theme, what with aforementioned stuff like the quality movie gimmick article and the nice hidden picture puzzle. And to top it all off now we’ve even got an interview with Siskel & Ebert, two of the most famous film critics of all time. I’m not even sure how many kids at the time would appreciate this sort of thing, but whoever did must’ve been pretty happy. Said interview was conducted about three years before Siskel’s incredibly unfortunate passing, and three years after being parodied in an episode of Doug.

Anyway, yeah the interview questions are really silly, but that’s pretty par for the course by now. I just think it’s just cool they’re even in an issue of Nickelodeon Magazine at all.

Talking about the calendar included with each issue has become a bit of a tradition for this blog by now, hasn’t it? Although I’m sure I probably forgot to mention it one time. Overall this one’s not bad, it’s chock-full of facts and the little set-up & punchline at the Charlie Chaplin section is a ‘lil funny. And I think it’s sort of themed around artisans, maybe? Well worth being pinned on your bedroom door if you ask me, the only problem is that you’d also be ripping out a page of the Siskel & Ebert interview that’s printed on the back of this. At least the kid who wrote all over the magazine showed some restraint there.

Oh come on… I spoke too soon about showing restraint. The kid ripped out the flip book! What a trick… now I’ll never know what it looks like. At least we have the instructions here, which also could be doubly used for instructions on how to make your own flipbook by following the format, which is cool. Sorry for anyone who clicked on this post because you wanted to see the flipbook specifically. Sorry to you.

Moving past a five page article about the history of movies and movie effects (which is solid but doesn’t have much for me to say about), we now come across the cover story: James and the Giant Peach. And this is an alright interview, but it’s especially good  for Nickelodeon Magazine! The questions for the film’s director, Henry Selick (director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline, among others), actually allow for some pretty nice informative detail regarding the process of stop-motion animation and how aspects of it work. For an interview intended for kids, this is great, especially for ones with an interest in the medium.

Interviews, interviews, and more interviews! If you’ve ever wanted to learn all that you could ever want to know Kenan & Kel, these are the pages for you. It’s nice to hear that apparently these guys were good friends off set, I guess. But y’know it’s never really bothered me finding out that seemingly inseparable co-stars actually aren’t best friends in real life like it does for a lot of people, I can still watch MythBusters perfectly fine even if I know Adam and Jamie aren’t going to go get drinks together after they finish dropping a car off a mountain for science. Acting’s still a job and I’m not expecting people to become friends just because they both stand in front of the same camera. 

But hey, if K&K really were as good of friends as this magazine says, that’s really cool for them. Pretty lucky too, since this was just mere months away from the premiere of their own All That spinoff show, Kenan & Kel, which ran for four years, and less than a year before the premiere of their own movie, Good Burger*, so being friendly must’ve helped when they were spending that much time together. Not to mention they’re getting back together for Good Burger 2, so I guess when your legacies are so intrinsically tied together, I guess you’re bound to find some things to like about each other.

*One of my favorite comedies by the way, and no I’m not sorry. There’s very few films that match its vibes.

Feels like I should mention the 9th annual Kids’ Choice Awards was just around the corner, which featured such notable moments like Jim Carrey taking home two awards for Ace Ventura and his performance in Batman Forever, alongside Free Willy winning “Favorite Animal Star” for his(?) performance (?) in Free Willy 2: Willy Goes to Chile*. That category in particular got pretty heated, considering he was up against fierce competition in the form of Babe from… Babe. “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio won best song. Although Brandy would beat out both Coolio and Michael Jackson for winner of “Favorite Singer”, so it wasn’t exactly a Coolio sweep, per se.

But of course, the real big winner of that night was Tim Allen, for winning “Favorite TV Actor” and being enacted into the Nickelodeon Hall of Fame (yes, for real). All while Home Improvement won ”Favorite TV Show”, which I find is an outright snubbing of the also nominated Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Again, just my opinion.

*(Okay, it was actually called Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, but I like my idea more).

Before we go, I’d just like to draw attention to this winner of a parade float idea contest held in a previous issue, finally presented in all its glory here. No offense to the kid who designed it but I can only imagine the type of child nightmares that could spawn from a giant Elvis making its way down the street, pulled along by his Elvis impersonating minions. Just a thought.

This was a really good issue, I’m actually pretty shocked with how much of it I found interesting and entertaining, even now as an adult. They really put their all into this one and I think the movie theme really paid off.

Some parts I didn’t get to were the aforementioned article on the history of film and film effects, which isn’t a bad read, especially if you’re into the good old days of practical effects. 

There was an interview with at-the-time child star Michelle Trachtenberg, to promote the upcoming release of the Nickelodeon film Harriet the Spy, which featured her in the starring role. I partly didn’t talk about it because I didn’t think there was much to say, and partly out of spite because that movie was pretty bad. Also because I’m running out of available image slots on this post. But mainly the first two reasons! Sort of.

Oh, yeah, and that alien mongrel QZ made another appearance, answering kids’ questions and just looking gross as usual. Avoid page 52 at all costs!

So yeah, that’ll do it! I’m glad I got to tackle another 90’s issue. I’ve also been thinking about branching out a bit, maybe talking about other Nickelodeon books, or heck, maybe even doing retrospectives of some of their shows! If anybody’s interested or has any requests (Nickelodeon Magazine related or otherwise), feel free to let me know. Otherwise I’ll just keep using my little spinner board that I use to make all decisions related to this blog. 

Until next time, have a good one, and keep on reading!

[marisoft-paint-adventures]

Pgs. 271 - 308

There are some dark forces you just don't want to mess around with. You understand this better than most.

I think it’s kinda funny how people will be all over the meta parts of Homestuck but act like it didn’t start until like halfway through the comic when you have the Exiles who literally make use of the medium of the comic’s command system in-universe.

I gotta bring up this GameFAQ section, I haven’t been talking about it much because it’s mostly just Rose in her prosey words describing what’s been going on, but here we have uh

a choice of words???

Removing the lid signals the moment your life becomes a great whirling batshit pandemonium, somewhat resembling the chaos of an especially ethnic wedding. Somewhere, a soused uncle deliberately shatters china on the floor. Muddy livestock is decorated, and then lost track of. The question "Who's mule is this?" at times can be heard over the din. This is now your reality.

I just... what???? huh???? excuse me????? Rose???? Hussie???? what did you mean by this???? what the fuck are you talking about??? bro????

things are looking FUCKED.

Homestuck except John’s sprite is the side-side-side-villain of the entire story.

Homestuck except John’s sprite is a racist.

also what is he doing.

EB: no, i have to go! bye! TG: wait wait TG: armageddon's gettin waged on us TG: but im-a gettin armed and dangerous TG: sending men in space for savin us TG: see which playa's more couragerous TG: ben or bruce? dudes reach a truce TG: put their blowchutes to use and up-suck it TG: afflecks saclifice, i mean -crifice, would have to sufflice. aw fluck it TG: bro be a stained-glass saint, up on a cross gettin hella christ-plagiarous TG: bruce's like offa that cruciflix, nuff a this fuckin savior-fuss TG: restrained his ass per mclane-redux while buscemi remained derangerous TG: when a plan gone astray pays off a wasted craterous TG: ash tray caterin to layers of matt maconnaheys vague remainder-dust TG: wait TG: uh TG: macconahey wasnt even in any of those meteor movies was he TG: ill have to make a rap about TG: i dont know TG: morgan freeman or something TG: being the president TG: itll be called TG: "obama made it so that no one gives a shit about black presidents in movies anymore" TG: see youve got to fill me in on whats going on TG: so i have something to rap about besides all your dumbshit movies

I very much like the visual of Dave being completely alone without anyone to talk to and simply resorting to making up a shitty rap called "obama made it so that no one gives a shit about black presidents in movies anymore" which is such a CinemaSins-style film critic thing to say might I add.

I have to give partial credit to Homestuck for the inevitable modern day memeification of Barack Obama, it was ahead of its time.

SHOCK.

look at John smile as he talks to Jade, how adorable.

and then Dave is still fucking going.

TG: when the film crew zooms where the presidents at TG: im like if that dudes black ill eat my hat TG: turns out he is, so we're all "damn, director's got gumption" TG: like we'll all flip our shit he aint shining shoes or somethin TG: its called freemancipation. if its not pres-election its god-ascension TG: in bruce almighty. whoops, different bruce from the one i just mentioned EB: aaaaaarrrgh! TG: cant explain to me why this aint condescension to think ill shit a brick TG: not even he can convey the intention with his quickspun wit TG: rather defray all this tension, sit on his lap while he whittles a splint TG: and some guy eyes what he does and patronizes: i guess negrocity's the mother of invention

There are some dark forces you just don't want to mess around with. You understand this better than most.

haha yeah Rose imagine falling into the dark arts, ha.

her ass is READING‼

I’m a big fan of the fake Lovecraft lore going on here.

god these intro pages for the kids are so cool.

but this one is not the coolest, there is a cooler one.

and then we continue onward and OH MY GOD IS THAT DAAAVE STRIIIDERRRR FROM HOOOMMEESTUUUUUCK?????

[emmalostinwonderland]

WIP Wednesday

I'm feeling kinda melancholic or whatever today. Pastor's Queer Kid Blues, if that's a thing. I've been listening to Semler all day.

Anyway, I was planning to post more from my Bioshock AU today, but y'all are getting a snippet from the MCU Conversion Camp fic I've been fiddling with on and off since March instead. The endgame couple is SteveTony, but this part is SteveBucky since that's where it begins. I'd love to talk about what I have planned for this, so please reach out if you're interested- ask box and DM's are open.

Bucky sets the headphones down and leans his head back against a shelf support. “I don’t want to go home, Steve.” “I wish you didn’t have to. But-“ “I know. You don’t have to say it. The Reverend would have my head.” “Exactly. Pierce is no joke.” He sighs softly, a faraway look in his eyes. “Yeah. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t dragged you into this.” “No, Buck-“ Steve is cut off by the sound of Ms. Hill, the art teacher, loudly announcing to her otherwise empty classroom that she’s finished the last of her laminating and should probably lock up soon. He squeezes Bucky’s hand once and helps him to his feet. “Come on. I’ll walk you part way.” They slip out, neither of them acknowledging the teacher just as she doesn’t turn to acknowledge them. It’s the closest they have to an ally, but it counts. Steve would do anything for her. He would do everything for the boy walking beside him. The air is cooling off and the leaves are starting to turn. They take the shortcut through town, passing Bucky’s adopted father’s enormous church along the way. Bucky waves to a woman tending to a flower bed in the front, and she waves back, presumably recognizing him from services.  “She seems nice.” “She is, when she’s not speaking in tongues. Then she’s just terrifying.” “…Baptists are so weird.” Bucky shrugs. “Religion is weird. In every flavor.” “Fair enough,” he says with a snort. “At least I only have to attend mass at Christmas and Easter. And mom quit making me pray the rosary before we moved.” “Punk. So rude.” “I’m just telling it like it is, you jerk!” “Rubbing it in.” Steve bumps shoulders with him. “Hardly.” They reach the intersection they typically part ways at, and Steve hesitates when he sees the empty look returning to Bucky’s face. “Hey. I’ll see you Monday. Won’t be long now.” “Yeah. Monday.” Steve reaches out and gently brushes their fingertips together. “Just us here today. I’d like to hug you goodbye.” Bucky nods a little, and Steve pulls him into a tight embrace. “Two and a half days. Anyone can survive that, and you’re stronger than anyone I know.” “I have a really bad feeling about this, Stevie. Something’s coming.” “Yeah. Monday’s coming. I’ll save you the seat next to me in homeroom, and we’ll trade leftovers at lunch.” “Okay. I’ll see you then,” he says with a resigned sigh. Steve glances around again and risks pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before he steps back. “Bye, Bucky.” “Bye, Stevie.” He makes himself turn around and head down his street. When he eventually gives in and glances behind, Bucky is already gone.

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (5/03/23)

there’s a buncha new Jump SQ series but they’re not on Manga Plus yet cause of Viz so I’ll read them whenever they arrive there. I could do it on Viz but don’t feel like fiddling around with vpn for it, I can just wait a week lol

I wanted to do this last week, but didn’t get around to it, but from now I’ll have a list of everything that’s under the cut, in order (left to right), here so you can know what’s in there without opening it EDIT: Witch Watch Ch99 is between sxf and bb, completely forgot about it tehe

Dandadan Ch95

the training arc is finally over and now is the time for the big fights to begin 👀also didn’t say last week but it’s crazy to me how yukinobu manages to, consistently, have crazy pages like this on a weekly series

One Punch Man Ch178

thank you for the excellent food like always murata 🙏 I feel bad for poor metal bat at the end tho lmao

Kaiju 8 Ch81

oh yeah there was no kaiju last time but I’ll keep it short. it’s really good, just a good ol hot blooded battle manga. I especially appreciate having an older mc (30s) for once. anyway I figured what happened in this chap was the case from when the 1v1 fights started but still, stuff is looking dire monka

Show-ha Shoten! Ch16

it’s about manzai comedy and drawn by takeshi obata of death note fame, I wasn’t sure about it at first cause comedy stuff either gets you or it doesn’t but it’s pretty good even ignoring the jokes and all that. also been a while since last chap so I forgot they had introduced a baddie sheesh

Ichigoki’s Under Control!! Ch13

another bad chap, at least it should be ending soon so that’s good cause I’ve been over it for a while

The Ichinose Family’s Deadly Sins Ch15

not much to say here either, still as edgy as ever, tho it’s certainly gotten a lot better since the bullying arc. but I’m still waiting for it to end soon like ichigoki, fabricant and ginka

Fabricant 100 Ch12

honestly? one of the best chaps it’s had. the scene under was cool and the reveal and spread at the end was neat

Ginka & Gluna Ch24

some really gnarly art in this one, which has been ginka’s biggest strenght from the start and this chap really shows it. tho good art is not enough to save it and it seems to be setting up to end soon, which is expected considering it’s rankings

Jiangshi X Ch7

more sprinklings of the overarching plot and setting up the main villains, expecting the mcs to get saved by the big boss and then for there to be a timeskip of sorts to when they’re strong enough to actually fight scary stuff but we’ll see

Tokyo Demon Bride Story Ch25

damn thing’s didn’t go according to plan and they got caught by the big baddie? what a shocker. leaving my prediction here that next chap is gonna be mostly talking and a cliffhanger at the end with them about to fight

SPY x FAMILY Ch76

anya focused chap with her being a fool as usual, not much to say really lol

Witch Watch Ch99

a teacher chap oh no. thank you for your hard work translator and typesetter. teacher chaps are always rough cause they’re super wordy and it’s all hardcore otaku rambling but this one had a nice message along with it so that was good

Blue Box Ch91

another incredibly good chapter. yumeka’s extremely relatable for me as I also used to do sports and quit for the exact same reasons she did as she explained some chaps ago and her feeling in this chap too. it’s just crazy to me to see a character like this in a sports manga where every chara just loves the sport and rarely has any second thoughts or negative feelings about it.

incredible work as usual miura-sensei, jump really needs more female authors

Cipher Academy Ch14

a nice chap, however I’m very excited for the murder mystery game. it seems like it’ll be very fun especially considering the 2 cards that got revealed and the narration box at the end 👀

Mashle Ch146

well that was fast, I expected that to last 2 or 3 chaps total not just 1 lol

Sakamoto Days Ch109

you’re gonna hear me say this a lot but the action coreography in sakamoto is some of favourite in anything, it’s soooo good

The Elusive Samurai Ch100

always very exciting to see a series reach the big 100. a nice chap too, done with upgrading the mcs tho this line had me very 👀👀👀

Akane-banashi Ch52

holy moly, another incredibly good chapter, continuing from the last one and further setting up and characterizing akane’s biggest rival

Ayakashi Triangle Ch122

a nice conclusion to that mini arc and a cute ending, thank you yabuki as always

[lookismaddict]

LISTEN. LISTEN. gun w/ lana del rey's songs... esp:

1. diet mountain dew (demo)

2. honeymoon

3. west coast

4. yes to heaven

5. cinnamon girl

you're welcome 😵🙏

OMG I LOVE LANA DEL REYYYYYY. HNNNNGGGGHHHH. 😩😩😩🖤🖤🖤🖤 Her songs Summertime Sadness, Radio, Young and Beautiful, and Doin’ Time have a special place in my heart since they’re so nostalgic. ❤️ (Mostly Summertime Sadness, Radio, and Young and Beautiful. Doin’ Time is much newer, that’s why. 😅) I’ve been meaning to listen to other songs from her, and now I get to listen while thinking about Gun. Let’s do this… 😳

Diet Mountain Dew (demo) - Already the line, “You’re no good for me, but baby I want you.” REALLY DOES RESONATE WITH HIM LMAAOOOO. UGHHH it really do be like that. 🥲💗 And “Do you think we’ll be in love forever?” really got me thinking. That eventually, my obsession for Gun will die down and that lowkey terrifies me. Like baby, pls don’t leave me- 💀💀💀

Honeymoon - I like how dreamlike her voice is in this one. And even though it’s a long song to listen to, it’s like listening to a work of art. A masterpiece. “My honeymoon, say you want me too~” ✨ God, I love how minimal and simplistic the background instrumental is. Just to hear her lyrics clearly. BUT ANYWAYS- back to Gun LOL. It’s like… UGH. It’s like seeing him in one of my dreams. Specifically, that “Gun’s Classroom” dream. 😳 If only I could record my own dream and show it to you. But this song made me remember how mesmerized I was when I even saw this man in my dream. Just imagine. Him walking towards you in slow motion. With that alluring gaze of his, wearing that attractive suit and tie. Interacting with you almost “intimately” behind the closed curtains where it was just only you and him standing there so close… AHHHH THIS SONG MADE ME FEEL SOME TYPE OF WAY. MOVING ON-

West Coast - This gave me The Neighbourhood vibes ngl. 😭🖤 The bass guitar and the cool vibes in the background. With this song, it made me imagine a scenario if I was in a night ride with Gun down a highway. Either inside a fancy Porsche car with him, or riding on a motorcycle. Wind blowing through your hair, speeding away through the night. Think about it. If it was in his car, imagine his right hand grabbing onto your thigh while his left hand was firmly gripping the steering wheel. If it was on his motorcycle, imagine wrapping your arms around him from behind, ever so tightly. You lean your head onto his back tenderly as he took control of the handles… Ahhhh this song is so 😩❤️‍🔥 good for actually thinking of hot Gun scenarios LMAO

Yes to Heaven - God, this song… Made me think about (Y/N) from my story, Rendezvous. This song is literally her perspective and it makes me cry. 😭 Like deadass, it made me tear up, idk. It’s a really beautiful song. 💞 UGH IDK WHY THIS MADE ME TEAR UP. IM SO DRAMATIC. 💀💀💀 I HATE MYSELF LOL. I think the lines, “Say yes to heaven. Say yes to me.” and “If you go, I’ll stay. If you come back, I’ll be right here.” really does match with her character so well. Because whenever Gun leaves, she’ll always be there at home, waiting for him to come back. And I think the reason why it made me a bit “emotional” is because of the idea of how (Y/N) is just waiting for Gun to confront his own feelings. Like yeah, the guy is known to be a heartless bastard, but he also is now starting to actually FEEL things. I guess I got an emotional attachment to my own story. Call me crazy and a Drama Queen. 😭✨

Cinnamon Girl - Ooooo I love how soft and mellow this song is. Also, awwww… shit. 💀 This one too, reminds me of Rendezvous LMAAOOOO. Making me think of (Y/N) x Gun. GDI… 😭😭😭 These lines, “There’s things I want to say to you, but I’ll just let you live. Like if you hold me without hurting me, you’ll be the first who ever did.” Specifically, made me remember Ch. VII when Gun found (Y/N) in the convenience store, crying her eyes out. 🥲 This song made me think about how she was thinking about him without even realizing that he’s been there watching over her. And those thoughts while he was away from her, made her think about how she truly felt about him.

ALSO, THANK YOU FOR THESE WONDERFUL LANA DEL REY SONGS!!! YOUR TASTE IN MUSIC IS AMAZING!! THANK YOU ANON. 😭😭🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽💗💗💗💗