#why do I keep making art that no one else understands except for me

[midnightgorefest]

“You can only reach heaven for so long.”

sbrt chapter 7 hype chat let’s gooooo (it’s almost done and will arrive soon :3)

[soulprompts]

THE ART OF TIME SLIPPING. ( A PROMPT LIST! )

an absolute genius of a nonnie requested these, and i had a weekend off, and i wanted to write these because, i mean. time travel is a tasty concept on its own, but ACCIDENTAL time travel???? exceptional! anyway, my beloved nonnie, i truly hope that these are what you were looking for! and i hope everyone else enjoys them too! as always: DO NOT ADD TO THIS LIST OF PROMPTS! and do not claim them as your own!

FROM THE ACCIDENTAL TIME TRAVELLER:

“ look, i get it. I do. you have no reason to believe what i’m saying. but i promise you: i’m from the future. “

“ how many times do i need to tell you?! i’m not even born yet! you won’t see my birth records for months/years/centuries yet! “

“ wait… hold on a second, what year is it? “

“ you don’t even have the first idea what this feels like. i just found out that i somehow missed the last [INSERT TIME SPAN HERE] of my life, and in the blink of an eye. “

“ listen, this is going to sound mad, but… you’re my mother/father/parent [OR OTHER RELATIVE]. i can’t prove it, but you are. It’s the truth. i swear. “

“ i don’t understand how i came to your time. but i do know i need to get back to my one. “

“ i seriously wish you’d all stop asking me these questions! i don’t know how i got here! i just… slipped! it just happened! “

“ it’s so weird. all this stuff that’s going to happen between now and my time… i don’t even know if i should tell you about it. “

“ all the times i wanted to be alone, or i wanted to just be somewhere that nobody knew me… this isn’t what i wanted. “

“ i just want to go back to my own timeline. okay? I didn’t want any of this to happen. i never meant… this is so messed up. “

“ wait, you believe me?! i just told you a completely wild story about being from another time, and you just… trust that i’m being honest?! “

“ the wildest thing is, i didn’t do anything to get here. you know? i didn’t drive super fast, i didn’t turn a hot tub into a time machine. i just… i was home, then i was here. “

“ i guess there’s a risk it could happen to other people in my timeline, but i’m more concerned about me right now. “

" if i don't go back... there's no knowing what could happen. and if there's the slightest risk that you might stop existing if i choose to stay, then i don't wanna stay. your world needs you. okay? "

" hey. no matter what happens now, i want you to know that i'll never forget you. you believed me and my unbelievable story about time travel. that's not something that gets forgotten easily. "

TO THE ACCIDENTAL TIME TRAVELLER:

“ prove it. prove that you’re from a different time. then i might think about believing you. “

“ …sure… you’re from the future, yeah? okay pal, i believe you. so tell me, when was the last time you slept? “

“ this is some kind of dumb prank, isn’t it? wow. well done, well played, you nearly had me. jeez, time travel… that’s just next level insanity right there… “

“ i don’t know why, but… i think i’m going to believe you. it doesn’t make a single bit of sense, but fine. you’re from the future/past. “

“ how did you end up here? or should i say… now? “

“ haven’t you seen a single time travel movie? if you stay in this time, that could mess up the entire world! “

“ i… imagine this must be very weird for you. right? or is that the dumbest understatement of the millennium? “

“ if you’re from the past, then that means we should probably keep you away from the history books. it feels like a solid rule not to spoil your future for you. “

“ look, i can’t watch all those cheesy sci-fi flicks and then ignore the possibility that people can travel through time. “

“ no. no, i don’t believe you. i don’t believe a word of what you just said. but i figure i have nothing better to do, and i kinda wanna see where you’re going with this crazy story, so… let’s go out on a limb and say you’re telling me the truth. “

“ hey, i’m asking the questions here! you don’t get to just zap into my back yard and then assume you get to ask all these questions! who are you, and how did you get here?! “

“ did you live here before? or… like, in the future, i mean? “

“ the way i see it, there’s a lot of far easier lies to believe before you could ever expect anyone to swallow the whole time travel schtick. which probably means you’re telling the truth. “

" look. you wanna get back to your own timeline, right? that means we need to replicate everything that happened the exact second you showed up here. so let's go. "

" this is completely absurd! how did you end up here?! science? magic? how! this completely destroys any and all theories of quantum physics! you just... blinked into the past/future! it's just not possible! "

" from what you're telling me, it sounds like you could end up destroying the universe just by staying here too long. so let's find a way to get you back home. "

" you don't get it! if you're from the past, that means you need to stay there in order to keep this timeline safe. right? like the butterfly theory. if you're not there in the past, then you can't do your part to secure this timeline. we could stop existing if you don't go back! "

" i mean... would it really be so bad it you stayed? sure, a new timeline would exist, but... it'd be our timeline. where you and i get to stay together. that's not so bad, is it? "

[cococaffeinated]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any little headcanons on Jax, Kinger, and Gangle? Like maybe a story on how they bonded or something like that? Also, have a good rest of your day! I love your art!

I keep thinking about Jax and how he might have potentially gotten his key. It's been a source of so many branching possibilities for headcanons! One of the things I've headcanoned is that maybe Jax had received the key from Queenie just before they abstracted. A little token for "just in case". Drabble below and extra thoughts CW: angst, implied abstractification, mentions of Queenie

┍━☽【❖】☾━┑

Jax frowned as he looked at his hand, a golden key resting upon it; placed there by the dark queen piece that Kinger took a fancy to. It was the middle of the night, or at least Jax assumed it was. When Queenie entered his room, Jax assumed it was morning and he was being fetched for another adventure, but no one was awake yet, except him and the queen. "What is this?" the rabbit asked. Queenie simply smiled, despite the absence of a mouth, it seemed apologetic. "It's a key!" they replied, and Jax rolled his eyes but not with any real annoyance. "Yeah, I know what a key is, Queenie. This place makes people crazy, not stupid." Jax retorted, nervously twirling the heavy metal object in his hand. "What's this for?" 'It couldn't possibly be for an exit. If it had been, then they would have all gotten out by now.' Jax thought to himself. "It's a key that opens what is closed. It's something I won eons ago when Caine would let us ask for things after winning games and adventures." Queenie explains. This gave Jax no form of reassurance, where was this conversation even going? He furrowed his brow. "Okay..." he says slowly, unsure. Holding the key a little tighter now. "Seems, kinda important, don't ya think, toots?" he finished, trying to lighten the now heavy atmosphere of their conversation. Queenie nods their head once, "It is and that's why I'd like you to keep it... In case anything happens to me." With that Jax raised both hands in mock surrender, in disbelief. He laughed darkly as he shook his head.

"No. No, no. We're not having this conversation, Queenie. I'm not hearing this talk, not from you." Jax felt cold, dread sweeping through him. He couldn't imagine Queenie abstracting. Jax knew it could happen, it happens to anybody who so much as slips away too far into their own mind. Abstraction can happen to anybody, and Queenie was no exception to that. But still... It was hard to imagine. "It's just in my nature to take precautions, Jax. I'm not saying goodbye, this is just me making sure that if anything happens to me..." Queenie insisted. "No." "If anything happens to me, I need someone who's equally grounded to check on the others..." "No! No, I'm not listening to this cr#p, take the d$mn key back—" Jax felt Queenie's hands grasp gently onto his shoulders, he didn't realize he was trembling. A fragile silence passed between them. "Please, Jax." "Why me... If anything happened to you, I don't think I can lose Kinger too... And Gangle's not going to..." "Because I know, in your own way, you care for those two as much as I would, Jax. This key can help you go into rooms that are locked. It always starts with isolation, Always. Remember that. If Kinger or Gangle... or god forbid anyone else starts locking themselves away, even in the morning, you be your obnoxious self and charge right in, you understand?" Jax closed his eyes, pained at the thought of what this favor and responsibility entailed. "Jax, I need you to promise me you'll do this... Jax..." --- "Jax!" The rabbit blinked his eyes open, he looked confused and scared for only a fraction of a second before his eyes focused, and he lazily leered down at Gangle who looked up at him with concern. "Pomni was asking you a question..." She pointed out, Jax simply shrugged, his lazy grin stretching as he stretched his sleepiness away. "Mn, oh yeah? Did you, really? You normally whine so much Pomni, I keep thinking you're a squeaky toy NPC passing through." Voices droned away in his mind as the usual lecture from Ragatha about being mean to others carried on. His eyes casually swept to check everyone's attendance. Everyone was present today, ready for a new adventure to start. 'Good.' He thought, the golden key weighing heavy among the items he secretly carried. ┕━☽【❖】☾━┙ Of course, I don't know how Jax might have gotten the key or keys in the first place. I can't wait for the canon explanations (if any) if TADC ever gets a full season (I'm hopeful)!

Chess is one of my favorite games and knowing that queen pieces are powerful in their own right and can move in any direction, I kept thinking about how the key Jax now has could have belonged to Queenie previously.

And Jax's low-key (haha pun intended) checking on everyone who was left in the circus after Queenie abstracted was one of the many ways Jax became even closer to Kinger and Gangle.

But the little drabble above implies I also headcanon that Kinger, Queenie, and Gangle are Jax's cornerstones, his friends that he grew close to. Enough that when Queenie felt herself starting to slip away, she confided to Jax with the responsibility of checking on their remaining loved ones. It's a heavy responsibility but it's neat to think that Queenie knows that Jax has a certain way of coping with his surroundings that ensures that he'll last longer than most.

Also, imagine:

Jax is the one who gives Kinger the idea of making a pillow fort (an impenetrable fortress). To make it in the middle of the circus. If Jax sees Kinger is there, it puts him at ease that Kinger is still there, wearing his madness just as well as he advised him to (in a previous hc-comic I made) when he first arrived in the circus.

[sekai-headcanoning]

Alright I've got a few (🪼)

Akito is a MMJ fan (his favorite member is Airi), much to Ena's embarrassment

Ena has her driver's license, but never drives because she's prone to road rage

Ena wants to travel the world someday, probably for a worldwide art tour. Kanade comes along too and converts to Steelers Nation after a two-week stay in Pittsburgh. Also both of them only use public transportation. It benefits both of them because Ena can draw and Kanade can compose songs while on the bus. Also no way is Kanade walking to Acrisure Stadium.

Also Kanade would end up interning at a psychology center over the summer, but she'd only do online communication because the bus station is too far away

Ichika's favorite Vocaloid producer is Deco*27

Ichika doesn't like thrill rides due to being scarred for life when Saki dragged her onto an Intamin gigacoaster when they were both around nine years old

Mafuyu used to keep fish in her aquarium when she was younger, but her mom killed them because caring for fish is not a "sustainable hobby"

Once Haruka graduates from being an idol, she's gonna play basketball in college and end up on Japan's national team

Nene plays Geometry Dash but is embarrassed because she's bad at it and Emu is better than her

An and Akito have been sent to detention once for running in the halls as part of an argument, and this caused An to be suspended from the disciplinary committee for two weeks

Rui is the only member of WxS who knows how to compost because he's gotta do something about those veggies in his school lunch

Minori watches Hololive

Alright that was a lot I'll do more later

Akito MMJ fan is SO true to me and no one will ever make me think otheriwse

One of my friends said that Mafuyu would be the only one trusted to drive because none of the others would even have their permit or drive without swerving off a ditch. This just proves their point

OH I LIKE THESE. KanaEna traveling sounds so fun, I would love to see an event with them flying out somewhere and doing all that

It’s like VBS and Giga. Ichika and Deco*27 are just meant to be glued together

GOD DAMN IT SAKI💔 That’s so funny in my head. ‘Ichika why don’t you wanna get on?’ ‘Once when I was 9 years old-‘

DUDE THATS SO SAD?? I think she would just stare at the empty tank and still care for it after that

I just randomly remember Haruka plays basketball and think it’s so badass. Give us more baller Haruka please SEGA

Nene being good at every game she touches except for Geometry Dash is such a curse. Imagine not being able to play peak

IMAGINE TSUKASA WAS THERE TOO WITH RUI. Tsukasa and An make eye contact and see that the other is accompanied by someone else (Rui and Akito) and just immediately understand to not bring it up later

Is why he’s such a good gardener. He’s so dedicated to not eating vegetables that it’s strengthened his craft.

HOLOLIVE MINORI FAN SPREAD THE WORD

[arn359]

Your brainrot for coffee please🥺🥺🥺?

Btw I love your drawing,is this the coffee from "only asgore live"?

Yesss the drawing is Coffee in "Only Asgore is alive" ending. He is called Champagne (香槟) in that Ending. (He became just like his brother.)

I have a sketch of something i wanna draw before i actually talk about him, but it would take some time for me to finish the art (cuz of things)

And.... Anon... Your ask made me think about more of him than i already am. Read more under the cut.

(((Woah we got a thumbnail (why?? For what?) This is a lil sketch. I was planning to make temporary tattoos out of them four swap paps but i dropped it.))

For Wine, who i had a bit of HC of him before i even got to read his setting. Because he's a leader of dictatorship government, i know how someone like that would be(as much as i know)

So it was easy for me to understand him when his setting(backstory) is exactly what i thought. The oppressed became the oppressor. The system created such a person.

But for Coffee. I don't think I can understand him much. I feel like the settings only gave us what Coffee thought in N and T endings. Like his view of things. I wanna talk about Coffee in N and T endings when i finished the art.

So let's move on to something else that I just realized after you asked.

They (the creator) gave us a lot of Coffee's settings. But didn't give us what he thinks, like- it's so little.

Coffee was bullied. but they don't tell us Coffee's thought about that or his reaction to the bullying. Only that he just didn't go to school anymore.

Coffee wasn't born like Wine. He was created. This information sounds so important, but they didn't give us what's Coffee thought about that shocking information at all. Or maybe because Coffee didn't know.

Most of Coffee's thought is from his talking that's only about "Wine"

"although my brother is a good brother, he will be cold to outsiders like you. please don't trust my brother." "such a person" "it's okay as long as my brother thinks it's good."

We hardly know anything about him. Even his feeling, we know he feels 'family, love, regrets and resentment' all of these are about Wine.

It's like Coffee lack his sense of self. (or any other words, im not sure)

Coffee was created by Gaster, he supposed to be the best creation. But Coffee turned out to be something not what Gaster see as good. Coffee would be use as calculator in the lab, like no one see him as a living being. Except Wine who care for him and be his brother.

Coffee did want to be himself as it said in the setting. But i think he stop wanting that after the 'incident' the incident that happened after he realized reset exist. Seeing Wine reaction to that incident. Coffee only live for his brother. "my life is my brother's motivation to survive"

So it begun the unhealthy relationship of the brothers. oh- nope. maybe it was unhealthy since the beginning. It just got worse after the incident.

Wine wants Coffee to be alive, to grow up, to be good, be able to live alone. But his view of how a 'living' should be was to be 'perfect'. The 'perfect' that Gaster always told him. Something like that does not easily disappear like his mother(that he kicked down to the Core) He forced that ideal on Coffee whether intentionally or subconsciously.

Coffee prioritizes Wine before himself. Also, the 'incident' have impacted him. With those mindset Coffee let Wine do what he please.

There's other thing too. About Coffee's view of life is "to live in the present" but it's also related to his N and T endings. So i will keep it for later.

ah isn't this is so so long words in one post

[skykashi]

So I just had to turn off the reblogs of the Gai art, it seems like some popular blog reblogged the post with the ridiculous reblog of the baseless accusations that has absolutely no evidence or proof whatsoever and ppl have been reblogging it from them to point me out as the new villain on Tumblr, just because someone think they are too smart for this world and has a built-in AI detection sensors in their brain that they can throw serious accusations like that with literally nothing to back it up except that their Spidey senses are tingling!

I just can't believe how easy it is to destroy someone's reputation and years of hard work in seconds just because someone wanted to, you have no idea how discouraging this whole thing is, to work your butt off to create something just to be met with this at the end, am I supposed to record the process of every artwork I create and post it with my artworks from now on? How am I supposed to keep working on myself and challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone and improve my skills if the second I post something a little different from the usual I get attached like this? You have no idea how hard it is to have to work with such a crappy tablet, how time and effort consuming it is to keep trying to create something pretty on a lagging screen and no pen pressure sensitivity, but I have no choice but to be stubborn and determined enough to just keep trying anyway and spend 10x more time and effort than anyone else because that's what I love to do and it's limiting my creativity so much but I just have to make it work with what I can afford... and then the one time I had enough motivation coming from wanting to create something that will put a smile on my friend's @depressedhatakekakashi face just like they continue to put a smile on my face so I chose to do something different this time for them, something that I don't usually go for because of how extremely hard it will be on a stupid tablet like mine but my appreciation and gratitude for them gave me the push I needed to do it and challenge those limitations even further, not knowing that there's someone lurking in the shadows waiting for a moment like that to destroy all of my hard work.

First, they said "oh, I think it's AI because some parts look pixilated" so I recorded a video showing how things get pixilated when I move them between Adobe Illustrator and Clip Studio Paint and why I'm forced to use both software together for a piece like this so they then say "I don't understand how what you said is relevant" then changed their reason to "because the art style in this piece looks different from your usual art style" and um, my usual art style is meant to look like cartoon and this one is meant to look realistic HOW COULD IT NOT LOOK DIFFERENT?!!!, like I don't understand, am I stuck with only one type of artwork now because that's what I usually do? Am I not allowed to try something new for a change or try to challenge myself or develop my skills? Can someone tell me where I can get a permit to have freedom with my creations? Or am I supposed to just stop trying all together?!!!

[luckystarchild]

STOP SHARING THIS TWEET.

This is 99.99% likely to be fake. As someone who works in the anime industry, let me tell you why.

This has been sent to me dozens of times over the past few days, and it's pretty obvious to me that it's fake.

I work in the anime industry. Here's why I don't put any stock in this "official" announcement at all.

1. THE 'SOURCE' IS A TOTAL RANDO

The source is a random Twitter/X account. It isn't a studio or licensor. It's not even one of the "reputable" leakers. It's just some random person making a claim with zero backing and slapping the words "official" and "confirmed" on it.

Accurate leaks have happened, but they're usually accompanied by some kind of source claim (a leaked press release, a leak within the company, etc.) and a claim that an announcement is coming soon. This has nothing. This is just a random person saying shit for clicks.

Every one of their posts has "FOLLOW FORE MORE" in a subtweet. They're just farming for followers. The rest of the account is just random anime edits and posts + promotions for a discord they run.

I could literally write anything in a tweet and slap "OFFICIAL, CONFIRMED" on it, but if you see those words, you need to be asking, "Who confirmed it? What makes this official?" And in this case, it's NOTHING and NOBODY in the world of anime.

Media literacy, folks. It applies to Twitter/X. It ESPECIALLY applies to Twitter/X.

2. THIS 'SOURCE' DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THE ANIME INDUSTRY

"Studio has not been announced" is a WILD thing to suggest here, because YYH's rights are LITERALLY OWNED BY AN ANIME STUDIO. Studio Pierrot is still a license-holder for this IP, and it would be weird as hell for them to not handle a remake.

(Also, "studio not announced"... NOTHING has been announced. The wording here is very sneaky, as it implies an announcement was made but the studio was just left out of it. If an announcement had been made, it would be Pierrot/the studio/Shueisha doing it.)

Not only has Pierrot made animated content for the series as recently as the 2018 OVAs, their copyright info is on literally every piece of YYH merch being produced this year (alongside Shueisha and Togashi). They still have some rights. They (in part) hold the IP. They still make art for it. They will be the studio for any remake unless they willingly let go of that license. Considering they're still making money off of it through merch sales and the liveaction adaptation (tho that's another can of licensing worms we could discuss), that's highly, HIGHLY unlikely.

The likelihood of Pierrot letting some other studio handle the remake is very, VERY slim. It's one of their hallmark, legendary series. Why would they ever let that go to a competitor?

The "studio hasn't been confirmed" bit tells me this person doesn't know who actually owns the rights to YYH, and when they don't even know that basic piece of information, it puts everything else they say into question.

3. THE TIMING IS SUSPICIOUS

Anime series are in production long before they air. How long in advance depends on the project. You can't keep a lid on a high profile project for an extended period. For big projects, studios want to start the hype train sooner rather than later. (Obviously there are exceptions to this (see the Fruits Basket remake) but we'll get to that later.)

This tweet claims the project is coming out in 2024. We are at the VERY TAIL END of 2023. It is basically 2024 already. That tweet isn't an official announcement (despite the word "official" on it), which means the studio/license holder would have to announce it even LATER than this tweet did. The latest anime seasonals begin airing in Q4/October/the Fall Simulcast season. That gives Pierrot less than a year of lead-up time to market the anime before its latest possible air date in 2024, and for this particular property, that does not seem realistic OR wise.

Let's examine Pierrot's recent treatment of the latest Bleach installment as evidence. They announced the project in March 2020 via a livestream event. They began airing the project in October 2022, MORE THAN TWO YEARS LATER. That gave them two years to market the series.

YYH, like Bleach, is one of Pierrot's hallmarks. The idea that they'd give it less than a year of marketing is just not realistic. They'd likely give it the same kind of treatment as the new Bleach arc, given it's one of their past tentpole titles getting revived.

(Also note that Pierrot animated the new Bleach installments after years of no new Bleach. They didn't let go of those rights. They held on and made more content later. Now apply that logic to YYH, and arrive again at: To suggest another studio would handle a new series is farfetched.)

If the tweet had said the series was dropping in 2025 or later, it would be much more believable. But the details they gave, again, discredit their claims from the jump.

If a new YYH was coming out in 2024, btw, the series would already be well underway and likely have been in production behind the scenes for quite some time. They probably would've announced it last year if they intended a 2024 release.

4. THE LIVEACTION OF IT ALL

A liveaction adaptation for YYH is about to drop (December 14 on Netflix).

I can already hear the argument of, "Oh, well maybe they'll announce a new anime for 2024 when the liveaction comes out," and while that might be a possibility, I think there's another, far more likely alternative.

If the liveaction does well and the license holders make a fuckton of money on it, or if they at least see a large resurgence in interest in the IP, THEN I think the license holders/anime production committee would start thinking about a new anime adaptation to cash in on that interest. But I do not see them making that decision before the streaming numbers for the liveaction come in, and I do NOT see them working on the anime before the liveaction has even aired.

The anime world moves slowly. The execs and committees behind the scenes like numbers and sales figures. If they see good numbers, balls might start rolling. But it's unlikely they're already in production NOW, let alone far enough into production to support a 2024 release for a remake.

If the Netflix show gets the ball rolling on a new YYH anime, that anime won't come out in 2024. There just isn't time.

And I can now hear some muttering the argument of, "Oh, well they probably just held the news to time it with the liveaction," but see again their habit of announcing projects with lots of lead-up marketing time.

CONCLUSION: THIS SEEMS FAKE.

BUT...

Given the details above and the COMPLETE LACK OF EVIDENCE supplied by the tweet, I do not expect we'll get an ACTUAL "official, confirmed" announcement for a remake anytime soon.

In the event that I'm wrong, what I'd predict is the announcement of a remake (one made by ACTUAL official sources, AKA Pierrot and Shuiesha) sometime in Q1 or Q2 2024. Pierrot would be the studio, and the project would be slated for late 2025, or even more likely, sometime in 2026. (And yes, projects slated for 2026 and later are in the works right now.)

I think the above is a longshot, but it's possible. The timing suggested in the tweet everyone is sharing isn't realistic at all, however.

Long story short:

DO NOT TRUST RANDOM TWITTER ACCOUNTS.

ANYONE CAN SAY "OFFICIAL" or "CONFIRMED"

THE ONLY OFFICIAL SOURCES FOR ANIME NEWS ARE STUDIOS AND LICENSORS

QUESTION EVERYTHING

[claire-starsword]

Status Update On The Final Conflict Sprite Hack, alternatively titled, The Thrilling Saga of Promoted Julia, or even, Claire, Give Fucking Context To The Dumb Shit You've Been Posting Already

don't worry besties, i keep the world's most ridiculous hacking notes for this stuff, and i'd really like to share some of them now. Ever wanted to know how messy a Game Gear ROM can be? Ever wanted to read a mad scientist's ramblings about it? come on a journey with me.

(note that i'm not gonna explain much of the technical stuff for now, i'd love to document everything about this game eventually but that's a big task, tonight is for funsies only. so just stare at these bytes like they're eldritch abonimations for now because frankly, they are)

Anyway it all began more than a year ago, when I started digging data on this game. I started with palettes because those are kinda easy to understand, and i honestly don't recall how i got to the map sprites from there, but i did, and thus registered it was in my mad scientist ramblings.

and on that beautiful note, i kinda put aside this project for a whole year, until going back somewhere around last october to try to make a script to imitate the game's compression and thus finally be able to insert sprites. As you might know, it took a christmas miracle to finish it. And because I was and am still afraid of how many extra bytes my battle sprites are gonna take, i shifted my attention to map sprites first, since those were obviously going to be much simpler. *ominous silence* I mean, I already had all these addresses above, right? I'd just have to replace them all, and then go find Julia.

and yeah! that's the last post I made about it on New Year's Eve, I had fun, I bragged about the compression working well only to regret my hubris later because it very much ISN'T, we're desperate for extra space in this land, I championed centaur rights only to again regret my hubris because they're currently the only ones with no promotion sprite, I'M SORRY OKAY i'm trying to fix it we're really lacking bytes in this land

but anyway, it was still going great. Not like the centaurs change much after promotion anyway, the art was still an improvement, and thus I filled the whole memory block. Everyone was there. Except Julia.

It feels clear to me that the devs just ran into the same problem, ran out of space right at the last character. Still sucks that they didn't place her at the next block, but hey, whatever, I easily coded a sprite ripper now that I knew how to deal with the compression, she couldn't be that far, right?

of course she was i'm making a post about it

(note: "hooded" mishaela was me misremembering things. i meant this simpler sprite of her, as opposed to the one with a visible face that shows up for most of the game. The fact that this one is the one stored in a coherent way makes me think it was the first one they made, and only later they decided to give her a better face as someone who was gonna have so many scenes)

this is the mess I was looking at, and here's the full sprite for comparison. I have nothing else to add, I understand having separate eye tiles for the animation and I accept that some stuff just got thrown in the end of unrelated block to use the space. But the chair tiles??? no idea what's up with those. For all I know the entire image is just spread around like this.

I haven't looked though, because I had other priorities at the time.

to summarize the next ten billion annotations, this block had a bunch of out of order pointers for every spell effect in the game, including some blank pointers god knows why. Because my script for ripping stuff is amateurish and jank as fuck, i also couldn't tell how many tiles exactly each image has, so this took a lot of trial and error.

There were way smarter ways to find Julia btw, and i'll get to them soon. Still, do i regret this? Of course not. I was gonna want to scrub the whole ROM for unused data one way or another, and knowing all these addresses paves the way for a lot of future changes should I decide to make them. It's pretty nice to know this much about the game. Now, do I regret doing all of this in a single sitting, in a single sunday, ten or so hours of looking non-stop at some garbage bytes?

yeah

i have a few regrets, yeah

remember kids, sometimes it's good to step away from your complicated project a bit.

Anyway, the smarter way of doing this that I mentioned earlier is to use a goddamn debugger to track where the game is reading stuff from, especially since I already knew where the function that reads and decompresses images is located. I'm not very experienced with using the debugger, and even so it wasn't too hard to find it. The pointer led to block $38000. If you're keeping track of these numbers, you might realize this is before the place I started, not after. Despite that starting block.. really looking like a starting block. You know, with all the first characters. Why is there stuff before it? The likely answer is that things got messy the more stuff the devs had to put in, but I also like the answer that they just hated my guts personally.

Anyway! I put my little scripts to the test. Attempted to rip all the offset in the block. First ones did not work, and are likely not even graphics, because again, this is a mess. The 23th came out broken, and eventually I figured out it was a tileset for Galam Castle, see I told you there was a reason I was messing with maps all of a sudden. The reason was, a tileset can be in the middle of the characters. Actually, I have already found way two tilesets, both in the middle of unrelated stuff. I have yet to see a block consisting of mostly tilesets. They're just, around.

Who cares though. After this tileset, finally the clouds parted. There it was. The joy of my life, the light of my eyes.

i was so stressed between searching for Julia and dreading the upcoming task of redrawing 50 or so enemies that I don't care much for, that it completely slipped my mind that eventually I would get to redraw Adam for this game. I legit screamed his name when I saw him, absolute joyful moment, you had to be there.

So yeah, stole Julia's thunder a little, sorry woman. She was there though, very last character on the block, after a bunch of NPCs. Not wanting to mess up this far, I was a bit more careful than I was with the previous block, taking the time to count how many bytes I would need before inserting stuff.

the byte economy is harsh and unforgiving.

anyway, it was always obvious that i would have to learn how to reallocate sprites to other blocks, but this made it clear that i would have to start looking into that like, now. And I would have to find a block with enough space to receive new stuff too, which was looking unlikely with how many things were shoved around in all of them. I tried to save space on this block by messing around with the castle tileset first though.

I saved a total of 50 bytes.

Yeah.

Without much idea on what to do, I just went looking for Mishaela's sprite since it was one of the few missing at that point. Hilariously, she's all alone in a certain block that contains no other graphical data as far as I can tell. It's just her there. I really don't understand why they gave her two sprites, and I would guess it wasn't a very organized decision.

And that's when it hit me, like, yeah, society really has no use for two Mishaelas. It wouldn't hurt much if I reassigned her to use a single sprite, and used this space for Julia instead, right?

So uh, Mishaela's sprites are 557 bytes.

You see Julia's sprites above? Sum up all their sizes together.

The byte economy is harsh and unforgiving.

Small setback though, I could reallocate one of NPCs in her place, as some of them had compressed better.

And that was it, I found the table that points each character to their respective memory block and index, I tested it by bullying Max because of course, and then I assigned the thief NPCs to Mishaela's address. See it all makes sense in context.

And at long last, several weeks after doing the whole rest of the team, I could finally see the final force member.

And my beloved Adam.

And even other NPCs, like Cynthia's grandpa abo-

...

anyway, yeah, it's still a work in progress.

[lordgrimwing]

okay, i know about all the aus in your post except the Art Therapy in Mandos one. can you pleeeease enlighten me? :>>>

Ok, it's very simple and here goes.

Art Therapy in Mandos

So, we all know how Feanor must constantly be working on projects and doing things or else he might actually die (exaggeration), right? Well, filling your mind with projects etc isn't great for having time to meditate upon your actions and heal from traumas in Mandos, but Namos can clearly see that the traditional 'meditate in silence and isolation' that works for most of the eldar is not going to cut it for firey Feanor.

Namo comes up with a new kind of healing method for Feanor that involves 12 crayons and one of those adult meditative coloring books. He gives these items to Feanor without explanation.

Feanor hated it so much. It's so dull and pointless to color everything in, but he has to be perfect and the best so he colored the first several books in shocking realism given the limited colors, staying exactly inside the lines. Every time he finishes, a maia comes and takes the book away and replaces it with another.

He doesn't understand the purpose of this ridiculous assignment, the maiar hardly speak to him, and Namo won't answer his shouted demands for answers. They just keep giving him fresh books and replenishing the crayons and the only explanation Feanor can come up with is that he somehow isn't completing the books the way the Vala wants him to.

'Namo is unreasonable' he seethes to himself as he creates yet another near exact replica of Lorien's gates. Never have any coloring books been competed with such exacting attention to detail and symmetry using only the waxy crayons given to children who have yet to earn the right for better tools. 'The Valar are unreasonable,' he spits as he recreates a swan boat with the lightest touches of yellow and orange and pink and white.

So it continues until one day Feanor has screamed himself nearly hoarse at the absent Vala. Why persist in playing this game when Namo makes it clear he will never accept his work and will always make him do it again, he wonders. He takes up the red crayon. It has no purpose here in this picture. He drags it across the page anyway, crossing over the lines with an out of place streak of red.

Somehow, through all of this, Feanor learns to let go of his perfectionism, accepts that his ability to create wonderful and miraculous things does not determine his worth, etc etc, healing and understanding, etc etc.

Eventually, Namo lets him out of Mandos :)

Ask me about fics that live rent-free in my head!

[gffa]

These two pages from Dark Victory have stayed with me ever since I first read it because they're visually hella interesting, I enjoy Tim Sale's art for how stylish it is, but also because every time I see it, I hear the click of a spotlight being turned on, almost like this is a play being acted out. It highlights the connection between the characters, but that it also is shutting everything else out. That makes sense in the moment, Dick just watched his parents die, there's nothing else in the world for him. Bruce is reliving his own trauma of having watched his parents die, as well as watching another child go through the same thing--but, in a way I can't shake, it almost feels like Bruce is intruding on this moment, too. That Dick's loss gets interpreted as a mirror of Bruce's loss--Dark Victory goes to great lengths to hammer home that parallel, it is not at all subtle about it:

But what strikes me about the moment of the Graysons' deaths is that it feels almost like a play being acted out, that Bruce becomes part of it because they mirror each other so strongly, that for all they grow as individuals and come to love each other as uniquely different people, they will always be rooted in this mirroring of each other. Bruce isn't just a bystander to Dick's loss and grief, it fundamentally connects them and defines them--that in many ways Dick understands Bruce the best because, as Dick says about himself, when he was Robin, he was smaller than everyone else, so he had to learn to read people better, to know what they were going to do, because Dick was with Bruce the longest, because Dick and Bruce often are the most similar. But it's also that Dick understands Bruce best because Bruce allowed him in because of this mirror, that sometimes it feels like Bruce only understands people through the lens of his own grief, that's why Dick's the closest to him, because Dick shares that same loss. This isn't to undercut that Dick was a bright, lively child who brought laughter and joy because that is also absolutely true and I will fight tooth and nail anyone who says otherwise. Bruce loves that kid because Dick refused to not be loved, because he's not the same as Bruce, he's brighter, he's better, he's more in so many ways. Bruce and Dick's relationship isn't just one thing or another, there are times when it borders on almost being kind of healthy and then there are times when it's toxic as hell, yet it's always underscored by how much they genuinely love each other, how Bruce keeps thoughts of Dick in his mind to turn to for solace just like he turns to thoughts of his own father, how Dick demands to be worth just as much to Bruce's parents even when they've traveled into the future to be directly in front of him, and Dick gets that worth from Bruce. But sometimes I think about that panel, I hear a spotlight clicking on in my head, I think about Bruce unintentionally inserting himself into this moment of Dick's loss and how Bruce sometimes holds him closer to his heart because Dick's hurt mirrors his own so much. How sometimes Bruce sees the world through that lens of trauma and only how much people can understand it, that the rest of the world drops away and is nothing but black, empty space, except him and the person who understands his hurt.

That I can look at that panel and see it as its meant to be--a moment of pure connection, "I understand what you're going through, I can't take it away, but I can be here with you." and how that saved Dick Grayson's life, how it allowed him to heal and grow and thrive. I can see Bruce's heart breaking because he would have done anything to save this kid from that pain. And sometimes I can look at it and see Bruce watching a horrific play unfold before him and relating to it through his own issues, rather than true empathy. Ultimately, it's really more that they're kindred spirits, that's what the follow-up pages show, that Dick goes through the same process that Bruce went through, he does the same things Bruce did, all while Bruce isn't there to influence him into that at all. Dick is his own person, Bruce couldn't make him be a copy of Bruce if he'd wanted to, he couldn't even win an argument with a nine-year-old about putting on a costume and fighting crime with him and absolutely not staying out of the line of fire. Dick Grayson did what he was going to do, Bruce had nothing to do with making him into that person. But part of the reason they're such an interesting dynamic is because they're not just purely one thing or another, that for all that at the end of the day, Dick and Bruce are naturally like each other in a lot of core ways, it's also possible to read them as unhealthy co-dependent on each other, that them being everything to each other comes with some sharper edges, especially when Bruce sometimes resents Dick for growing beyond him and leaving him, even while desperately proud of him at the same time.

It's a thing Bruce struggles with a lot when it comes to Dick and I think of this tangled web of emotions every time I see that second splash page above. That Bruce came to love this kid as a son, but also as someone who understood what it was like to live with that kind of devastating loss, and how hard Bruce connected with that--and then how hard it was to let him go, when Bruce can't let go of his parents. That it's hard for Bruce to see Dick grow beyond being the son who understood him best, who mirrored his tragedy best, and he'll do it, he loves his kid enough to keep climbing back up out of that desire to hold onto him as his reflection even if he falls back into it sometimes, that some part of him will always see Dick as the one who had that connection that blocked the rest of the world out and understood him in a way no one else could.

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Superman #19 - Speaking as someone who has huge gaps in their Legion knowledge, I loved Time Trapper's boast to Superman that the two of them are eternal and will wage war until the end of existence. And when he lowered his hood at the end and revealed himself as Doomsday I actually cackled. Of course, who else could endure until the end of time? And Doomsday's evolution ability actually works with how the Time Trapper (as I understand) has very vague powers and actually shifts (you might even say evolves) with how time changes. Alright Williamson, for the first time since I read DoS you've got me interested and excited for a Doomsday story. Doomsday talking about Superman's immortality harkens back to the Knight Terrors tie-in, if this is something Williamson has had on his mind for a while, optimistically he has something to say about it. Atomic Skull is confirmed to have reverted to being a bad guy, signaling what I expect to be an editorial push to undo the majority of the "redemptions" we've seen villains undergo recently. I bet Livewire reverts when "Superwoman" starts getting more attention and press than she does. Lex will presumably revert after getting his memories back to synergize with the movie. Mora on art is a beauty, this is probably the most enjoyable the book has been since Campbell stopped being the regular artist.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1 - Great first issue. Thompson proved she knows what the core of Wonder Woman is via that scene with baby Diana first scolding, then kissing, the baby dragon/demon after it tried to cook her. Sherman's art evokes this gothic atmosphere that suits a Wondy raised in hell perfectly. My favorite portion was the flashback to Circe raising Diana as her daughter. Seeing that spread of how their home evolved as Diana grew up hit hard for some reason, and I'm eager to uncover the mystery of what happened with the Amazons, why were they exiled, why was Diana spared, etc. However the modern day portion was weak. The Harbingers seem like generic evil monsters, at first I wondered if that was the Absolute Center given it was a floating island that spewed out dinos. We'll see what Thompson has planned for them, but they didn't immediately grab my interest the way the Party Animals over in Batman did. Credit to Thompson however, unlike Snyder she actually showed Diana struggle and did a better job of portraying this Wondy as a hero who is on the backfoot while Snyder had Batman blow through thugs as easily as his mainline counterpart.

Zatanna: BDTH #5 - I enjoyed it as an Elseworld take and thus wasn't too bothered by her dad being evil here. Tamaki's writing was solid albeit nothing exceptional, the real star was Javier Rodriguez. His art is what made this book fantastic! Would love to read a sequel that explored Zatanna with her daddy issues resolved up against a new threat. Glad to see Diana show up at the end to recruit Zee alongside the expected Batman cameo, anything that shows Zee and Di having a long history of friendship makes me happy.

Nightwing #119 - Was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly Watters shifted everything from the lighter tone of Taylor to his own darker style. Dick flooded Bludhaven with money in Taylor's run, which made it more attractive to criminals, which of course also brought in supercriminals. Watters has a good handle on Nightwing's voice, "anyhow time for jail" made me laugh. Jokes are there but he also writes Dick as serious and, when he needs to be, downright scary. Soy's art is great, he's long been a favorite of mine and I both his portrayal of Bludhaven as well as his designs for the villains.

Incredible Hulk #18 - My token Marvel book of the week! Earls' art is improving imo, and the section where Hulk tries to rip Banner out of himself was grotesque, man I love Klein's art. Hmmm, is the One Below All still protecting Hulk somehow? Or is this something else keeping Eldest from taking control of Hulk?

[justanerddummie]

I really wanted to make a post about about Viktor, he's one of my favorite characters after all but then I always spiral into a bunch of extremely clichè morality questions to which no one has the answer to. So I guess I'll just talk about a bunch of stuff that really hit me during ep 6.

How Viktor doesn't simply heal people, but also the land, the place when he first arrived was barren, no plants, no water, no sun, no nothing, now it is blooming, plants grow high and healthy in full cooperation with hextech and the sun shines non-stop. We can see some of them even have the purple lines like the ones that kept dying in Viktor's lab. I guess I really did enjoy the duality of Viktor needing shimmer to force hextech to work with nature, but having to sacrifice his morality to do so.

The way Viktor's comune was portrayed into such a positive light was quite jarring, at the end ep5 we see it in a very ambiguous way and now it seems that it's just a force of good. Like this is a hive-mind situation, then why does this place feel so warm and cozy? I blame it all on the warm colors and the light fortiche used to lull the viewer into a sense of safety.

Vi, baby, I know you feel the same, I know the promise of forgiveness has lured you in, but seriously except for the mistake of hitting your sister in the worst moments of both of your lives, which isn't justifiable but understandable you haven't done anything wrong ever since. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything bad in your life and start putting at least part of the blame on your sister and your gf 'cause seriously they fucked up way worse than you.

Why was Jinx's color palette clashing so much with the environment? I mean, Vi and Isha seemed to blend in just fine, fuck even Warwick felt fine at some point but Jinx felt like a thumb in a sore eye the entire time they were in the comune.

Singed I love you, I also really loved the way this episode felt more like a clash of his and Viktor's phylosophy more than anything else. The only thing I'm sorry about is how in the end he is always right.

I enjoyed Vander's flashback sugarcoated as they were, as they turned into Vi's memory. I guess that's the whole point of nostalgia so no notes here.

I guess that placing this episode at the end of act 2 was a really smart move, we've just come from five episodes of darkness and smoke, everything from the situations to the art felt oppressive and the moment it started I asked my self if I was watching the same show as five minutes before. Putting a breather right before the situations plunges back into darkness destroys the viewer's heart way more than keeping the tension high the entire time.

Ambessa doesn't look like your typical villain, and honestly I don't really recognize her as one. She's framed constantly as nothing but a warmonger, yet she rarely ever leads sword first. Is it because of her situation as a destituted Noxian looking for allies across sea? Is it because she fancies herself fox and wolf? Guess we'll see next act, hopefully.

Isha, I've been side eyeing that little girl since the begging of the season, everyone knew she was going to die, and we all cried like babies. I really do hope that they don't go the way the leaks have suggested, because seriously then what's the point? Other than that I want to watch act 3, because right now I'm honestly speechless.

[duhragonball]

Just out of curiosity, who was your favorite character in part 1 of Chainsaw Man?

I'm gonna go with Makima, since she's basically the straw that stirs the drink.

I think the main problem with CSM part 1 is that a lot of the main cast is sort of just... there. A lot of Denji's coworkers will show up, do a few things, and then get massacred. The ones that stick around for a while can be difficult to keep track of. Even some of the cooler villains just sort of fizzle out as the plot passes them by. Part 2 might improve upon this. As I understand it, some Part 1 folks do come back for Part 2, so that seems like a good sign.

But as far as Part 1 goes, it's really just Denji and Makima. Everything else is just window dressing, diversions that get eliminated one by one as the plot reveals that it was only ever about Denji and Makima and no one else. I'm not saying Power and the rest were bad characters, but you could swap out any of them with others and the story isn't affected much.

Part of the reason I read CSM was because I was intrigued by the Makima design. I'd see images of this lady in fan art or cosplay or whatever, and she looks fairly ordinary except for the hypno eye thing. It's a great design, one that draws my attention and makes me wonder what her deal is. And when I read the comic to find out, the answer is complex and interesting enough to satisfy my curiosity.

These days I've been going through my comic book collection, trying to read old books that I've bought but never actually read, and a lot of them aren't that great. I'm currently in the middle of Showcase, a DC Comics anthology book that ran from 1993 to 1996. Some of the features are good, but most of them aren't, because they star forgettable characters in short, formulaic stories. This week I've read three different tales where a hero in a slump gets a kick in the pants. Aqualad assumes the new identity Tempest, the Golden Age Green Lantern becomes Sentinel, and Arion... well, I think he keeps his name, but he stops moping around a deli and decides to get back in the game. And all three of these tales involve the heroes regaining their resolve thanks to the manipulations of a wizard.

As it turns out, I think the Showcase series probably wasn't the best way to present all these minor super-heroes, because all it does is expose just how trite and boring their stories are. Worse, by sandwiching them between two other superhero features, you just expose how same-y they all are. No one seemed too concerned about making these characters stand out.

Well, I guess that's why I was eager to read Chainsaw Man but I left so many unread comics gather proverbial dust for so long. If it was just Denji carving up bad guys with his chainsaw head, it'd get old really fast. Makima added a counterbalance to the story that made the whole thing work. Somewhere along the way you begin to realize how insidious this all is, and yet Denji's way too simple a hero to fix it, so what can he do? And yet it all works out in a very satisfying way. Makima may have manipulated everyone else, but I got what I wanted out of her.

[samcarpentersgirlfriend]

hii, can you please do a liv mckenzie x fem!reader headcanon? like, an enemies to lovers where liv doesn’t like reader at first, then slowly falls for her. thank you sm <33

thank you for the request, writing for liv is so fun <3 hopefully this is what you wanted!!

ENEMIES TO LOVERS HCS || LIV MCKENZIE X READER 𖤐₊˚.

warnings: swearing, fem!reader, mentions of reader wearing makeup, a little bit of chad bashing but it’s just for story purposes… I love him i promise <3 I’ve never done enemies to lovers before so sorry if anything feels off or rushed

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

- the funny thing is, nobody even really remembers why you and liv are seemingly incapable of getting along together.

- all anybody knows is that innocent conversations within the group slowly divulge into petty arguments between you and liv, snarky comments exchanged constantly.

- for example, one time, a conversation about where everybody wanted to eat quickly turned into a utterly unrelated spat.

- “liv, did you even listen to a fucking word I said just then?”

- “no, because every word you say is stupid!”

- “wow, harsh. how long did it take you to come up with that one, hannah montana?”

- “you know, I’m not stupid. maybe if you got off of your high horse and stopped judging me for once-

- “why should I, when you make it so easy! besides, if you want to talk about judgemental…”

- chad and wes think the two of you’ll work it out eventually, tara doesn’t understand why you can’t just be real friends, amber thinks the bickering is completely entertaining (and instigates most of the time) and mindy thinks you both just need to make up (and make out).

- from why you can tell, liv thinks you’re a prissy, pretentious know-it-all.

- and from what liv can tell, you take her for a shallow party girl with more mini-skirts than brain cells.

- you both try your hardest to avoid each other, but seeing as she was dating chad and tara had been your best friend since you’d moved to woodsboro, so were forced to run in the same circle - because why should one of you have to make new friends just to avoid her?

- but it seems the universe just seems to hate the two of you - because you were forced together constantly.

- you have to sit next to eachother in chemistry and art, and you both live practically right next next door to each other- meaning you walked the same route and, when wes would offer to give you all a ride home, you’d be huddled in the back seat with liv whilst everybody else got dropped off first.

- and you mean huddled; you’d be so close that your legs were touching and you could smell her perfume (it was infuriatingly perfect and reminded you of strawberries and summer and warmth - not that you’d ever tell liv that, though).

- when she’s feeling particularly annoying, liv has a habit of flashing you her most shit eating grin - mostly because she knows it irritates the living hell out of you.

- seriously, most of the time, you want nothing more than to wipe it straight off of her face.

- “liv, I swear, if you don’t stop that right now…”

- “what are you gonna do about it, huh? we both know you’re not gonna stop me- that would require little miss princess to lift a perfect finger!”

- but fine, whatever. she could be as immature as she wanted - you weren’t going to rise to her bait - except from all the times you did, obviously. you regarded yourself as being better than that.

- arguing over partner work in class, and making sure liv knew when you’d scored higher than her in a test.

- really, it was just all pettinesses - but in your defence, it was always liv that started it (at least, you think it is - nowadays, it’s rather difficult to keep track).

- one friday night, when the rest of your family was out of town, you’d thought you’d invite a few people over.

- though, of course, when chad and mindy were involved, a few people turned into practically half of the school.

- seriously, your house was filled to the brim with people you didn’t even recognise - which meant you inevitably bumped into someone and, just your luck, spilt the entire contents of your drinks down the front of your shirt.

- and aw, damn it, you’d liked that shirt. so you were forced to go upstairs in an attempt to find something else to put on - except, when you open your bedroom door, the last person you expect to see is liv mckenzie.

- a crying liv mckenzie, nonetheless, sitting on your bed as mascara runs down her pretty face. and as bad as it sounds, a part of you is tempted to pretend you saw nothing and creep back down to the party, stained shirt and all.

- the thing is though, deep down, you know that it wouldn’t be right - no matter how much you and liv tended to disagree.

- you uncomfortably shuffle beside her as she looks up from her spot on your floor, all teary eyed.

- “shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude in your room. I can go-“

- liv apologising to you is never a good sign, so you catch her arm and slowly urge her to sit back down, imploring what’s wrong.

- “it’s chad! he fucking dumped me- he says there’s somebody else! you know what, I bet it’s tara- I’ve seen the way the look at each other! god, how could I be so stupid?”

- and, oh. you though chad and tara were a little touchy-feely, but you’d never suspected it was like that. and you’d definitely thought chad had more decorum that to dump liv at a party for one of her best friends. god, what a moron.

- you tell liv exactly that - albeit a little awkwardly - and she gives you a smile at that. a real smile.

- “you really think he’s a moron?”

- “yeah. moron, asshole, whatever you want to call him- that was totally shitty of him! and you deserve better than that - better than him.”

- so you change your shirt and sheepishly, you offer to help liv fix hey ruined makeup. and when your fingers brush against her skin as you apply a fresh layer of concealer to her face, you definitely don’t feel jolts of electricity run down your spine. you don’t.

- but you do go to bed that night, after everybody else has finally left, replaying that rare, real smile on a loop in your mind. and you try not to think about what that means.

- and after that night, you make more of an effort. you really, honestly do.

- because when you aren’t too wrapped up in yourself to notice, you realise that liv doesn’t exactly have it easy within the group, what with mindy and amber’s apparent dislike for her as well as your own.

- and sure, she was irritating at times, but that didn’t mean everybody had to call her out on it, right?

- you don’t magically get along immediately - how could you, after months of pointless arguments? - but you seemed to have forged a civil, unspoken agreement; you were the only ones who could insult each other now.

- and even then, insult was too harsh of a word - the jabs became more light hearted, and you slowly found yourself often laughing in retort instead of being on the immediate defensive.

- as much as it pained you to admit it, you start to find yourself often having actual, genuine fun with liv.

- which somehow, happens to lead to the pair of you spending more one-on-one time.

- and before you know it, you’re suddenly going to the mall together, picking out clothes for yourself and each other.

- you find yourself visiting to a lot of museums too, because as it turns out, liv has a total interest in all types of art - and god, who would’ve expected that? maybe you, if you’d actually taken a chance to get to know her when you first met her.

- you start to notice a lot of things about her that you never had in the past: the way she pouted when she was confused, the way she fiddled with her jewellery when she was nervous, and the way most of her necklaces were completely handmade.

- the more you found out about her, the more you wanted to know.

- the first confession between the two of you comes when you were hanging out in a cafe near your houses.

- “you know, I never really hated you,” liv randomly says into the quiet as you take a long sip of your milkshake. “I thought you were annoying as hell, but I never hated you. we just irritated each other- that’s the way it always was with us.”

- you take a second before you speak yourself. “you know, I don’t think I ever really hated you either. hell, I can’t even remember why I was supposed to dislike you in the first place.”

- the realisation is so stupid that you can’t help but laugh, and suddenly, everybody else in the place is staring at the two of you as you giggle over the ridiculous nature of it all.

- by then, the two of you are inseparable. liv even seems to be getting over chad, and she doesn’t even flinch when she sees him and tara holding hands.

- you know the two of you have really bonded when amber comments on your newly discovered friendship, saying how weirdly quiet it is without the bickering and that she wishes you’d hate each other again.

- you both pointedly ignore that comment - well, liv does give her the finger, but that’s neither here nor there :)

- the real confession - rather ironically - comes in the place where you realised that liv mckenzie wasn’t as bad as you’d thought she was; your bedroom. you’re both sprawled out on the bed, legs messily intertwined, as liv flicks through some shitty magazine and declares that she’s found a makeup look that she wants to try out on you.

- “come on, it’ll be funnn!” she promises, and she looks so adorably desperate that you can’t help but give in to her.

- and before long, you find yourself fully vertical on the bed, with liv somehow ending up practically straddling you as she paints your eyes and lips a bright pink .

- “stop moving,” - she warns, so close that you’re breathing in that perfume or hers again. you take a breath, and if fills your lungs once more. “seriously!” she says as you stir, dragging a thumb slowly across the bottom of your lip. “see, you’re smudging it!”

- you don’t care about that, though. it doesn’t even cross your mind. no, instead you’re too focused on how you can see the brilliant blue of liv’s eyes perfectly from this angle, how her pretty pink hair tickles your throat as it spills over her shoulders. how soft her lips look from down here.

- you’ve barely even registered what you’re doing before you’re suddenly leaning up, your lips pressed against hers in an instant. you know she’s not expecting it, what with the way her body tenses up and she all but drops the brush in her hand.

- and no. you’ve gone and ruined it all, you’ve kissed liv and why would you do that because she’s never going to talk to you again and you didn’t even know you liked her like that and-

- and she’s kissing you back, and it’s absolutely perfect. it’s everything you’d never known you were missing in life, and you can’t help but wonder that if you hadn’t wasted all that time arguing, you could e been doing a hell of a lot more of this a damn lot sooner.

- but you just promise yourself you’ll have to make up for all of that wasted time <3

- when you walk into school the next day, hands interlocked, amber nearly throws up, tara gives you a cautious thumbs up, and mindy - well, mindy said it was just a matter of time, and declared that wes owes her 15 bucks.

⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹

(had to insert THE iconic wlw reference pic I was thinking of when I wrote this)

[riyangiis]

I LOVE FILO ZB1 CONTENT SMMMM i usually have these random thoughts in my head abt what the members would be like as filos AND BRO for me ricky is definitely englishero. specifically those kinds that are fluent in tagalog but just prefer speaking in english

actually ricky is so me what the heck.. 😬😬 HE DEF LISTENS TO HEV ABI😬😬😬 it's either he's conyo and is horrible at filipino or he's just what you described him.. this guy is a bgc boy you can't say no

I think I would still keep the chinese and american in him😂😂.. guys guys what if he's a chinese-filipino that grew up in the us and has little to no knowledge abt the philippines.. bro when he gets there he would be THE airport crush wtf.. his parents told him that he should try to go to a public school but he's concerned and worried that he might get made fun of.. A LOT. so he goes to a private school first, then goes to public once he's able to speak filipino properly and stuff but he's only gonna stay there for a year..

bro def goes like "what's the orange ball with the little egg inside?" LMAOOOO🤣🤣🤣🙏🙏⁉️⁉️ he cringes at those err what do you call them.. the genggeng boys😬 they often tell him to try and hangout with them but he just.. ignores them.. "kumaldag ka nga!!" "wtf is a kaldag??"

bro tries so hard not to show off in the days where you're able to wear civilian clothes instead of the uniform but does it anyway.. "bat may lalaking mukhang pupunta sa party.." he even ricky-fies his own uniform and makes it look richer and more classy than it was originally supposed to be.. ehh you get it

def the guy that has EVERYTHING you need for a project, he doesn't really do anything except make the art and have the supplies.. "gaga nawala ung ink ng marker!" *biglang may 7 na marker, bago pa..* the main reason why he doesn't really do anything in the project because his group mates find it hard to communicate with him since his first languages are english and chinese and when he speaks filipino, he has this weird accent..

he knows how to speak filipino naman, it's just that accent that messes everything up.. medyo insecure siya abt it so he just doesn't speak at all. he also doesn't understand kanal humor AT ALL so his classmates don't really like his type of humor.. when he found out that he actually has english-speaking classmates with aircon humor, he tried his best to befriend him but they thought he was weird or didn't want to become friends with him since they thought he was some rich spoiled kid who knows nothing but money.. heck people even used him because of his wealthy status and got hold of the fact that he likes giving gifts to people he's close with..

he's famous around the school just for his looks, nothing else. when he thought his popularity would give him an advantage to get more friends and have a good image. he caught girls trying to sneak gifts or trying to state at him, he thought that this whole thing was making him uncomfortable but he can't do anything though. that's only gonna ruin his reputation. so he didn't mind and ignored the admirers, they're not really his business anyways. he knows he's handsome, he doesn't have to show it off at all times.

he stopped trying to make friends in his school and just sticked to doing his hobbies when he was bored and continued talking to his friends from china and usa, the others just viewed him as some rich kid anyway. the teacher assigned a project that needs a partner for the class, everyone gets to pick their own partner. he looks around with people debating on who should be their partner. he just continued drawing whatever was in his mind waiting for some unfortunate person to have no choice but be partners with him (to his admirers it's very fortunate to be partners with him.. you can see them fighting on who should be his partner, ricky is just enjoying the thought of being alone with no one disturbing him.

ricky suddenly felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. he looked up to see someone, is it an admirer?

"hello? can I be your partner?"

"huh? oh, sure.."

his attention is now on you instead of the drawing of a rose, ricky was caught off guard because of how.. quick this person asked to be his partner without being shy or nervous. he looked at the group of admirers, now fuming because he already has a partner.

(medyo inaccurate ito sorry😭😭)

[sodor-spirit]

Lady continued floating away, the clear sighted boy still following after her. She only reached to a few feet before the Steam Creator let loose another sigh and turned back around to face the inquisitive child.

“Surely, someone is taking care of you,” She spoke to him, her tone of voice still hard and icy then how it normally is. “Your… (What is that word?) Parents? Where are they?”

The boy’s face melted to one of utter misery, washing over him and slumping down onto his shoulders. “I… I don’t have parents…. Not anymore…”

Hearing this made Lady drop her cold expression and closed off body language. She looked at the little human with clear shock in her eyes. The Creator didn’t really consider herself a parent, since she always sent the steam spirits souls down to Earth the moment they’re created (except for one special little soul), but she knew that parents seems to mean some among humans.

Lady was about to open her mouth to ask what happened to them, but the sad young boy beat her to it. “Someone set my old house on fire and… they did make it…” He wiped away the tears and snot away from his face. “I don’t have anyone else to care for me… expect my friend, Tasha.”

“Oh…” The Creator extended her hand out to the boy, only to hesitate and bring it back. “I…I”m so sorry that happened to you, little human…” It was no lie. She truly was sad for the poor boy loosing his parents in such a way, like how most of her Steam Spirits are being scrapped and melted down.

But… she still wasn’t sure whether to trust the young boy and take him with her. “Regardless, my answer is still no. I understand how hard it is to lose someone so precious to you forever, but I still can’t take you with me to find my other half on this strange dimension.” A scoff left her lips. “Why would I even trust you? Considering how your kind treats my creations.”

The boy’s cheeks puffed out in indignation. “You can’t blame me for being one of them and I can see you so that must mean I’m different!” He grumbled, trying to keep up with the magical lady, floating a few feet of the ground and away. “And besides, you don’t even know where he is or anything about my world. Wait up!” He started running after her. “I can help you! Let me help you find your husband!”

Lady was about to yell back that Diesel 10 is not her husband (Humans and their weird labels for everything, she’ll never understand it), but started to really consider the boy’s words. He had some points in his attempt at trying to convince her; Lady didn’t know much about the human dimension, she had no way of knowing where Ten has fallen after that shadowy monster attacked them. and this incredibly annoying and stubborn child has been living on this world for his entire life, so he must know how to get around this horrid place and survive.

And he may also have some potential in the mystical arts considering he’s able to see her. Maybe one day even as her successor when he reaches the end of his lifespan, but we’ll see how that goes.

The Gold dust creator let out one final sigh, brushing some of her bangs out of the way and turns back to the human child.

“Okay, fine.”

He looked up at the mysterious lady, eyes filled with surprise and disbelief. “Really? I can go with you?”

Lady’s face turn a slight shade of stubborn pink. “Yes. I do need help to finding my other half on this dimension, you’re the only one who can perceive me and…” Her features soften, but only a short amount. “I don’t understand how human families work but no one should be leaving you all alone if your parents are gone. So I guess you are better off guiding me.” With that display of swallowed pride, she held her hand out to the boy.

Sparkles appeared in his eyes, running up to her and taking the hand. The two started walking towards the Mountain range where Muffle Mountain is situated.

“Well then young soul, enlightened me,” Lady spoke to her new guide. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Burnett. Burnett Stone.” The young boy introduced himself with the largest smile on his face. “What’s yours?”

“My name is Lady.”

END?