#with someone who looks like he likes the color green

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

@sailor--poon

I love how they gave him the Classic Sonic treatment and made his eyelids match his secondary color and not his main body color like the Modern characters, which really does help the blinking actually stand out and emphasize his confusion in the middle of the battle, instead of muddying up the visuals. Considering Mephiles doesn't have a mouth, his eyes and body language are how he emotes, so making the eyes more readable was a good step forward in his character evolution.

As someone who used to milk the hell out of the limited footage we had back in the day for AMVs and screencaps edits, I found out really quickly that Mephiles didn't have eyelids programmed into his original character models, especially after getting ahold of the game assets and loading the models into Blender to inspect the models on how they're built.

Mephiles absolutely does not have eyelids modeled into his original forms, even though everyone else does.

It's especially notable if you were overlay the default model poses of Shadow and Mephiles' Shadow form over each other, as Shadow has the eyelid layer, and Mephiles does not, which is odd because it's either a conscious design choice, or Mephiles' Shadow form model actually ISN'T a color shifted Shadow and was also made from scratch. The lack of any known concept art of Mephiles outside of render poses for later game appearances really points to him being made late in development for Sonic 06, which could account for some of his janky visual quirks that aren't present in other characters.

If you also overlap the models in thier default pose and size, you'll notice that they're in slightly differing stances, and Mephiles is just a tiny bit shorter than Shadow for some reason.

((Also, Mephiles' texture maps are labeled as "Evil Shadow", meaning that he didn't even have a decided name during development))

Really, for some reason, Mephiles is a tiny negligible amount shorter than Shadow, which is really wierd if he's supposed to be a Sega mandate official recolor in that form.

You can actually see Mephiles default back to his T-Pose in this scene, when he's exiting the frame, which really does seem to indicate that they just didn't have time to polish him out when he was added to the plot.

Another interesting quirk about him is that there's actually TWO Mephileses ((Mephili?)) in Sonic 06 at any given time.

Take a look at these two shots. What do you notice right away?

Yes. The imitation Inhibitors. One has bronze. The other has blue. How curious. For over the last decade and a half, I've referred to the phenomenon as "Bronzey and Bluey", and it's not the only differences they have.

"Bronzey" is the Mephiles we see in Shadow's Story. He also has brighter green eyes, a more unstable body posture ((such as stumbling and letting his arms hang to his sides)), and has a more unhinged personality, particularly in regards to his insistence on attacking Shadow and only Shadow. He's the Mephiles we battle directly in the game, the Mephiles who puts Shadow on a chase through time, and is the Mephiles that is likely the one that returns in Shadow Generations.

"Bluey" has softer colors, and is the one we see in Silver's Story. He has darker green eyes, walks with a more controlled and straightened posture, and is more subdued in his presention on screen. He just keeps out of the action, and only appears to direct Silver and Blaze for expostion. We never directly fight him, but he's also the one who kills Sonic and reforms into Solaris.

These two Mephileses never cross paths, and are likely unaware of the other.

"Bluey" has brighter colors in his crystaline form, by the way. He and "Bronzey" both have different color pallets, and are consistently exclusive to thier respective story beats. "Bluey" is never seen in Shadow's Story, but is glimpsed in Sonic's Story, and "Bronzey" is never seen in Silver's or Sonic's Story.

So, not only did the developers make a slightly altered Shadow model for a villain and made a powered up form... They did it TWICE under the time crunch development schedule somehow, and the lack of concept art of Mephiles compared to the various concept art available for Silver really does make me think Mephiles was scratched out during a lunch break and they called it a day.

There's literally no concept art or production images of him for Sonic 06. He's probably the last character made for the game, which is odd considering how intertwined into the plot he is. They had the idea of him, obviously, because he's present in the script drafts. But they didn't have time to give him eyelids. 👀

"Shadow Generations" is so funny from Mephiles' point of view.

Imagine getting erased from the prime timeline, spending who knows how long is some sort of limbo void as your essence leaks out around it, spending all that time plotting your revenge, waiting for the right time when your target finally arrives

I mean, Mephiles already had a grudge against Shadow for that paradox they were stuck in back in Sonic 06, where it's basically Mephiles was sealed by Shadow in the Scepter, but Shadow only has the means to do so because Mephiles broke out in the first place to attack Shadow, who goes back in time to seal him, blah blah blah repeat repeat repeat, so of COURSE Mephiles ain't missing his chance to catch him off guard

Presumably, Mephiles spent his countless length of Time in White Space, fantasizing about finally taking down Shadow, planning his attacks, his counters, maybe even his quips just to throw some references back in Shadow's face

Then it finally happens, Shadow finally shows up, and he takes his chance

Sure, Shadow doesn't remember him, but what else is new? At this point, Mephiles is probably considering the possibility that Shadow just has memory problems or something because, wow, this is like at least the third time he's been forgotten even though he's pretty sure been enough of a nuisance to stick in Shadow's brain.

No worries, he's got Shadow's moveset memorized, he knows all his weakness, he's been primed for this exact moment, there's absolutely no way Shadow could possibly scrape by without getting significantly damaged-

And then Shadow turns into a squid.

Mephiles absolutely cannot with this guy

[respectthepetty]

I really love that Wa and Yotha are good exes to each other now that they are in other relationships fifteen episodes into Perfect 10 Liners. And I love that they keep talking under the "Don't text your ex" sign.

Because even though Wa's relationship with Klao has more than its share of problems, they balance each other out. Klao needs someone to save him from himself, and Wa wants to be a savior.

And Wa couldn't be that person for Yotha. Wa couldn't rescue Yotha all the time. Yotha needed a guy who saw all his darkness and embraced it.

Sometimes a Black Brooder doesn't need to be saved by a Heavenly Human. Sometimes he simply needs a chill Green Guy to remind him that the world isn't such a dark place.

And Yotha found that light in Gun.

Much like Red Rascal Arc realized he could experience happiness every day instead of believing every day was a fight through his love for Yellow Yal Arm.

And Blue Boy Sand and his elite Mean Girls shirt found the perfect guy to understand him in Orange Oddity Pond.

Pond makes him breakfast and leaves little orange notes with daily encouragement.

And Sand loves every second of it!

So it's time for these color-coded boys in love to follow their seniors into domestic bliss, so now that Yotha has apologized for hurting his Green Guy, all is well.

Regardless if Faifa likes it or not.

They could have at least waited until Faifa was pretending to be asleep. The disrespect!

But our pretty Blue Boy still comes out on top after becoming the newest campus star, and he gets a beautiful crown of flowers for it because he deserves nice things.

So while his brothers and brother-in-law are about to go through trails and tribulations, Faifa is just going to be enjoying his win.

And while MY HEART IS BEING RIPPED OUT OF MY BODY, Faifa is going to be celebrating in the bar with his friends.

AND WHEN YOTHA'S HEART IS BEING RIPPED OUT OF HIS BODY AND BEING SMASHED IN FRONT OF HIS FACE, Faifa will be drinking the night away knowing he is the bestest boy on campus.

Narrator: Faifa will, in fact, be very pissed off.

But thank goodness Newton is about that business and decided to bring a gun to a knife fight, so the Jets and Sharks will have to sort out their differences another day.

(These two are so dramatic and constantly remind me that this is a JittiRain series)

But, thankfully, Faifa and his "Where there is love, this is life" shirt exit quickly once he sees everyone is okay and notices that Gun is wearing Yotha's black shirt since he knows that shirt isn't going to stay on long now that Yotha is aware of his feelings.

Gun is pulling a Sally Field right now and is shocked that Yotha actually loves him when all of the signs pointed to Yotha being in love with him, but I love this journey of realization for Gun.

And now Yotha has to negotiate how many cows he is willing to give Gun's family so he can keep him and Gun's dad said he just needed to pay a utility bill every now and then (probably electricity, am I right?), and he can keep his son for life. I love this for them!

BUT I DON'T LOVE THIS! Love does not heal trauma, babes! NO! You are not certified to perform exposure therapy! Don't make Gun cry like this. IT HURTS ME!

*rocking back and forth* I'm going to look at the parents' books about colors and design to calm down. Just leave me here for a second. I'll be fine.

Now this is more like it. Just be there for him when he wakes him. Comfort him. Love him.

Be his sunshine in the darkness.

But do NOT do what you are thinking about doing in his childhood room in his parents' house.

You know what? Actually, go for it! They deserve this.

I have a sister to put to bed anyway.

AYEEE

[vantetaes]

BOOK WORM {PT TWO} 🫧🥂

ONYANKOPON X ARMIN X BLACK FEM READER

SUMMARY!!! continuation of book worm

WARNINGS!!! mutual yearning, oral {f}, threesome, competitive men, whiny men

start of christmas break rushed like a breath of fresh air for your friend group. everyone making plans for trips, indulging in everything they couldn’t with the hellish exams, and even finding physical attraction along the way. the weather finally cooling down to jacket attire and twinkling lights draped from businesses.

the air is thick and warm with the smell of spiced cider and half-burnt sugar cookies, mingling with the sharp tang of pine from the christmas tree.

the spiked cider pressed flush to your lips, drawing in the flavor while the scene around you grew more intense. eyes scanning the small crowd of companions, basking in the way the christmas tree lights kaleidoscoped off their skin, illuminating everyone in a warm glow of red and greens. jean slaps down a green reverse card, smirking as he looked over at historia, who’s hand had gotten smaller.

“sash’, you saw that right? fuckin’ cheater.” mikasa huffed, slamming down a black ‘draw four’, confusing the other game players. you throw your hands up, legs crossing as you lean more into the couch.

“it’s not your turn! how is he cheating when yo ass don’t even know the rules to the game?” connie bit back, pushing the card back to the girl who looked a few seconds away from sliding him across the table. the game continues clockwise, a few huffs as draw twos and fours were thrown out.

“just be saying shit.” jean mumbled, throwing out his red card.

helplessly, your eyes were latched onto the blonde haired boy. his long golden locs slipping from the clip you jokingly put on him earlier in the night. his hand held one card, tucked under the table.

“uno out.” armin says simply, placing the card into the wild stack, drawing attention to his now empty hand. everyone halts in movement, the roar of the group growing.

“i told yall someone was cheating!” sasha agrees with her black haired best friend, lips curled down in a pout while placing her losing hand down.

“how did i cheat when you can’t play?”

eren recollects the cards, starting to reshuffle the colorful deck. you take the last swig of the drink, clinking the empty bottle against your rings.

“anybody want something to drink?” asking the group collectively, everyone shakes their heads no, too focused on winning the next game.

standing from your spot on the couch, armin shuffles to get up, moving the blanket that covered his shoulders, eyes meeting yours.

“i’ll come grab my beer.”

you inch around the pillows that littered the ground, avoiding slipping with socks on the freshly waxed wood. armin follows behind carefully, eyes locked on the curls that extended to your lower back, almost swaying in the wind. the air you left behind wrapping him up in an intoxicating spiral.

he felt like he was in a fucking cartoon. it’s felt like being lifted into the air completely, following a glorious scent his nose and body followed.

“minnie?” recollecting his thoughts, his eyes snap to you, the light from the refrigerator the only source of sight. you’re holding out a glass, staring at the man in concern.

your eyes pinned on him. the light cascaded a gentle glow on the left side of your body.

taking the bottle, putting it right back on the granite countertop, he begins walking towards you, the shadow from his height casting over you. your feet inch, moving backwards to the wall.

“we can’t right now, min.” your voice small and hushed. with you pressed against the wall, he smiles down at you, lips glistening in the dimly lit area.

“just one kiss baby. they don’t gotta know.” his hands come up, sliding carefully under your shirt. cold fingers slowly caressing your skin, pinching the places he knows you’re a little more sensitive. closing the gap more, he finds himself leaning over into your ear. the gusts of wind from his nose sends chills down your back. you couldn’t take it.

ever since you and armin had sex, you’ve spent almost everyday together. no more classes, no more tutoring, means a lot of time to lay

“please armin-“

with a quick motion, his lips are pressed into yours. the mix of cider and beer cascaded your lips. swallowing you in as his lips deepen. arms finding rest on his shoulders, you could feel the warmth beginning to pool in your underwear, coating you in hunger for him.

“we gotta go back.” whispering against his hungry lips, the head of blonde just shakes.

“one more.” the entanglement felt like it went on forever, hands clawing messily in his hair as he lifts you by the waist off the floor.

without wanting to, he pulls away, forehead resting on yours before setting you down on your feet again.

“i want you tonight.”

without saying anything else, he takes the beer from the counter, motioning for you to walk in front of him. falling for his bait, his hand places a light slap on your butt, the motion causing your skirt to fly up a little.

everyone sat in their same positions, new cards in their hands and pleasant smiles across their faces. you opt to take the same spot, alone on one of the two leather couches historia designed with.

the doorbell rings, a jarring sound that cuts through the noise. historia and sasha hop up to answer, and you sink deeper into your spot, trying to focus on the new game starting up, already getting glimpses of everyone hand. the laughter fades, replaced by a murmur of voices. then you hear his name.

your stomach drops.

when he walks in, it feels like the room shifts, tilts even. his presence is magnetic, confident as always, broad shoulders clad in a dark coat still dusted with snow. he greets everyone with a warm smile, the kind that once made you feel like you were the only person in the room. but when his eyes land on you, something in them flickers.

“yn, nice surprise, didn’t think i’d see you here.” he says, his tone casual but lined with something sharper.

you force a smile, your hands gripping your glass like a lifeline.

“well, to be fair i didn’t think you’d come.”

he shrugs, his smile never quite reaching his eyes.

“historia invited me. hope that’s not a problem.”

“of course not!” you say, but your voice is too tight, hands begin to crate moisture.

the game starts, but the energy has shifted.

you knew your friends wanted you two back together. you knew that in the deepest parts of your body and mind, this wasn’t an accident.

onyankopon takes the spot next to you, legs wide as he adjust in the grey sweatpants. he was close, close enough that his knee brushes yours and you can smell the cologne he’s wearing. you can feel the weight of his presence, the unspoken questions hanging heavy between you.

you thought you were over it. but the man sitting beside you made it impossible.

across the room , armin is unusually quiet, his knuckles white as he grips his cards. your eyes flicker to him, noticing the seething anger he’s masking, face curling up slowly.

he watches as onyankopons fingers shamelessly danced over your arm, small conversation now consuming the both of you. how his eyes never left yours. how you were instinctively leaning into the man’s touch.

he hated onyankopon.

“so!” jean says after a particularly loud laugh from connie, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade.

“how was finals for yall? stressful?”

the question feels innocent enough, but ony’s eyes are locked on you.

“same as always.” you reply quickly, too quickly.

“really? because you seem… different?” onyankopon presses, leaning in just slightly. you rear back a little, face furrowed in confusion.

the words are casual, but the undertone is unmistakable. your cheeks burn, and you glance at armin, who’s staring down at his cards like they hold all the answers in the world.

onyankopon doesn’t miss it.

his smile sharpens, twitching a little at the corners, his gaze flickering between you and the blonde.

“interesting.” he says softly, just loud enough for you to hear.

your chest tightens, the weight of his unspoken accusation pressing down on you.

the next round begins, but you can’t focus. your heart pounds in your ears, drowning out the chatter around you. onyankopon leans over, head almost resting on your shoulders.

as the night progressed, you, ony, eren, and connie sat on the balcony, passing around a thick blunt. watching as the smoke escapes and quickly gets pulled back in by ony, he taps the burning tip against a small ashtray. carefully handing it to you.

“see i need me something like that.” eren laughs, rolling up another blunt, turning his body to shield from the stray snowflakes.

“something like what?” connie asks, taking the blunt from you in rotation.

“like them! they ain’t even together and all up on each other!” ony rolls his eyes, catching a quick glance at you.

“yall acting like i cheated on her or something.” he shook his head, using the arm thrown over your shoulder to wipe away the snow.

to tell the truth, you and onyankopons relationship was the most solid one you’ve been in. ever. there was no doubt in your mind that you loved him.

unfortunately, he loved football. too much for his own good sometimes. from trying to schedule days to see you and work around his practice, and you having extra classes this semester. you both decided it would be better if you stayed friends.

eren tucks the fresh blunt behind his ear, finishing off the one that circled through the small group.

“im going in, it’s too fucking cold out here.” connie bites, standing from him spot on the patio furniture. quickly tucking his hands into his pockets, the boy rushes inside the warm apartment. eren looks at you and ony.

“want me to spark?”

“you want some more or are you okay?” ony asks you, full attention and eye contact. his deep brown eyes sparkle in the moonlit night, using one of his fingers to push your curl out of your lashes.

“um, im okay.” eren nods, grabbing his beer before standing.

“where you going?” ony asks, reaching for his beer to finish off.

“back in, my fucking face froze.” with that, he shuffled quickly back in, sliding the door closed.

“what you been up to? since, well-“

“i swear im not falling apart without you, onyankopon, texas’s greatest quarterback, prodigy since eleven, uh- may i go on?.” tone joking, he shoves you a little in the arm, holding onto you so you didn’t actually fall against the side of the sofa.

“im glad. y’know i always want you to be good.” he’s leaning forward, elbows in knees, eyes focused onto the moving city.

“then, can i ask you a question?” you whisper, able to see your breath in the air, watching as it rises.

“you know you can.” he reaffirms.

“why did you decide football was more important than me?” in taking a sharp breath, he turned to fully look at you.

“so you think that’s what that was, yn?” nodding your head and unsure ‘yes’, he begins to slide closer to you.

“i never wanted to choose between you or football. i just wanted to get where i am, right now. i wasn’t motivated enough for the sport. wasn’t motivated enough for you. i was doing terrible.” his eye shimmered, glossing over a bit as his body’s warmth began to radiate onto you. without thinking, your palm comes up to caress the man’s face, nails running against the smooth skin. legs side by side, onyankopon leans into your shoulder, embracing the cool gentle touch of your fingers.

“i never wanted this to happen.” he raises his head from your shoulder, faces inches apart.

“me neither.” you push out, eyes look down to his lips. “kiss me ony.”

his lips take over yours with passion. moving at the same rhythm, you begin to lay backwards, eyes snapping to check the door. wrapping your arms around his neck, he starts to nibble at your earlobe, teeth gently grazing. one of his hands rest on your thigh while the other rest on your waist.

releasing a small, restrained moan, the man hums with enjoyment.

“let me get you back baby. everything’s different now.” listening to his pleas was getting harder to do as he snaked his hands up your sweater. gently teasing your stiffened nipples between this fingers.

“let me lift this up.” you lift your body a little, allowing him to pull your sweater up.

god he wish he didn’t. there on your right breast was indeed a large, circular, maroon and dark purple mark. without saying anything, he just pulls your sweater back down, not completely sure what he just saw only knowing it was blowing his high.

“wanna go back?” he asks, grabbing his empty bottle. your body jolts into a sitting position, confusion filling your brain, and panties.

“uh, yeah sure.”

-

“what’s that?” he asks, genuine curiosity fills the question. his jeweled finger points to the glass you held. the orange-brownish liquid.

“spiked cider. wanna try it? i don’t think you’ll like it.”

“you don’t know that!”

this is why you should’ve avoided the man. subconsciously watching how simple it is for you to treat him as if he’s your boyfriend, still. his lips press against the cool bottle, taking in a sip before immediately curling his face up. a loud laughs slips from your mouth before you can catch it, earning a side eye from the man.

“i told you.”

armin clears his throat, taking down the rest of his beer before throwing another ‘uno’. his gaze meets with yours, something else filling him now. this draws onys attention too. noticing the smoke coming from armins ears and nose, he decides, why not?

“armin!” onyankopon says smoothly, leaning back in his spot, his voice dripping with curiosity.

“you’ve been quiet tonight. nervous about something?”

“what?” armin replies, voice a little tight, helping shuffle some of the colorful cards.

“yeah man i mean- what- what im saying is we usually talk a little more, what’s up?” his tone was sweet but intimidating.

the question is a loaded gun. the air in the room shifts. armins head snaps up, his eyes low, and for a split second, he looks at you. it’s a mistake. a terrible, damning mistake.

when he turns back to you, it’s with a look that cuts through you like a blade.

“very fucking interesting, yn.” he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. but it’s loud enough.

“onyankopon, let’s go talk on the balcony.” you start, your voice shaky, desperate to diffuse whatever bomb is about to go off.

“no,” he interrupts, his tone calm but laced with steel. “i think i get it now.”

the room quiets, the playful chatter fading as your friends start to notice the tension radiating from your corner. historia glances over, concern flickering across her face. jean raises an eyebrow, and sasha freezes mid-bite of a cookie. mikasa and eren both place their cards down, glancing at one another.

“what’s.. going on?” connie asks, breaking the silence, his tone half-joking but uncertain, still high from the balcony session. mikasa just shakes her head, indicating for him to be quiet.

ony doesn’t answer. his eyes are locked on you, unrelenting, his voice steady when he speaks again.

“tell me something.” he says, leaning in just slightly, his voice low enough that only you can hear.

“did it even mean anything? or was it just sex?”

“stop.” you whisper, your throat tightening, but it’s too late.

“or was it just convenient?” his words slice through the air, louder this time, the venom unmistakable.

the group stares now, all eyes darting between you, armin, and onyankopon. armin stiffens, his face pale as a sheet, his fingers clenching so tightly around his cards that they crumple.

“what’s he talking about?” sasha asks, her voice small, uncertain. crumbs of cookie falling from her glossed lips.

“yeah, are yall fucking each other or some-“ mikasa launches a used paper towel at the back of jeans head.

your vision blurs, heat rushing to your face as the walls feel like they’re caving in. you want to disappear, to melt into the floor and escape the unbearable weight of their stares.

but onyankopon doesn’t stop. he laughs, a bitter, hollow sound.

“don’t play fucking stupid.” he says, his voice sharp enough to cut.

“watch your mouth, onyankopon.” armin speaks, jaw clenched in anger.

“shut the fuck up, mommas boy. like i was saying.” eren opens his mouth a little.

“let me finish. it’s obvious, right? finals week, all that tension, you two couldn’t help yourselves, could you?”

“ony-” you choke out, pleading, but your voice falters.

armin finally breaks.

“im sorry man.” he says, barely above a whisper.

it’s like a bomb goes off. historia gasps, sasha’s jaw drops, and jean lets out a low whistle, muttering, “no way.”

the room erupts into chaos, voices overlapping as everyone reacts, but all you can focus on is onyankopon. his eyes hadn’t left yours.

“can we please do this outside? all of us.”

at the end of the night, which was shorty after, nothing was said. not even in the group chat.

-

a week to new years.

it’d been two weeks since you’d seen either of the boys. only talking to your friends about the situation once before they respected wishes and never brought it up again.

your slippers padded against the floors, echoing off your walls. pink and gold glitter covers your floor, a few shards of broken glass ornaments lay when the small pine used to decorate your apartment. soft rnb lulls in the background, keeping your mind preoccupied as you box away what decorations you didn’t break.

lola, your ragdoll, sprints down the hall before extending her limbs, stretching from her nap on the bedroom widow sill. she drops down onto her side, licking off a spot on her belly.

“wow, you work so hard, you must be so tired!” you say sarcastically, bending down at your knees, petting the cat. nudging you with the wet tip of her nose, she begins to purr.

“what would i do without my sweet lola baby? you know just how to distract me-“

the doorbell rings once. your cat rears up, sitting and looking directly at your front door, a small meow breaks from her. you wait two minutes before determining it was an accident.

but then it happens again. reaching for your phone, you quickly open the ring app. the doorbell camera catches armin, swaying side to side, fingers fidgeting with each other. wasting no time, you wander over to swing the door open. in the hallway, all you could see was him getting ready to walk away.

“yes?” you answer softly. he turns quickly in his heels, you could’ve sworn he was going to burn a hole to the next floor down. his blue eyes light up once they’ve seen yours.

“yn. can we please talk?”

inviting him in, you apologize for the mess.

“i’ve seen worse from you.” joking lightly, he takes a seat at the bar chairs, watching as you wipe off the glitter from your black lululemon set.

“haha, so funny. are you doing okay? why are you all the way on this side of town?” taking the chair next to him, you could tell the man was holding something in. hands gripped into fists, eyes locked ground, you couldn’t react before he took your face into his hands.

his plump pink lips press against yours, groaning at the feeling of you beginning to kiss back. you couldn’t help but to cave in. feeling how soft and warm his lips were against yours. he pulls away, still connecting your forehead with his.

“please, yn. you’re everything i’ve ever wanted.”

before you could open your mouth to say anything to the man, another ring at the door pulls you away. armin walks to the living room, taking a seat on the couch, watching as lola made biscuits in the throw blanket.

you swing the door open, eyes wide when you see onyankopon standing there, eyes low and red.

“what-“ he just pulls you in for a hug, lifting you off your feet. naturally, your legs swing around the man’s waist, feeling his large hand across your ass as he holds you up.

you’re wearing his favorite set, smelled like his favorite perfume of yours. the hug lasted well beyond a full minute , unmoving from the hall. his head dips down to the crook of your neck, groaning a little.

“ony, now’s a bad time. i have something to straighten out inside. come back over later?” you try to climb down from his hold only to be held tighter. he just shakes his head, kissing the exposed skin of your neck before placing you down gently.

“let me just come in, you wont even notice.” your lips fold inwards, turning to look at the adjacent door.

“look. to tell you the truth, armin showed up like two minutes before you did.” onyankopons face drops, a laugh starting but ultimately ending up in a harsh frown.

“so you chose him?” he asks, stepping away from the door.

“no. ony, i didn’t ‘choose’ him. i��m going to hear what he has to say, then he’s leaving. if you can be an adult and stay to talk, i’ll hear you out too.”

-

“you’re a fucking idiot, why would she want to wait sixteen years for you to pay off student loans when she can have it all right now?”

“until someone knocks that rock of a cranium on your shoulders hard enough.”

you stood in the kitchen, throwing away trash and cleaning up your area. them coming over wasn’t going to stop your cleaning day.

“i can hear you two!”

finishing off the counters of your kitchen, you head back to the living room. watching as both men sit quietly now, head hung in shame and guilt.

“okay since the men in here want to act like babies, i’ll start. armin i really enjoy your company, you’ve been my friend for a really long time now and i cherish that. you know that.” the blonde man looks up at you, an expression of knowing but also pain crossing his ocean blue eyes. walking over to sake a seat in your chair, lola follows behind, waiting for you to sit before she jumps up, curling into your lap. you eyes flick to onyankopon who has his head thrown back, arm shield his eyes.

“onyankopon. you need to understand that whatever me and armin did happened when we broke up. we weren’t texting, weren’t talking. i had given up already. but you know i love you too.”

“i get it, yn. just something about thinking of his hands over you just- i never wanted to break up.”

“yet you were quick to leave.” he pokes the inside of his cheek with his tongue, a bitter ‘ha!’ coming from his chest.

“yn. when we played there and talked, that was the most i’ve spoken to anyone personally in a really long time. you care about me, i care about you.”

“ugh i don’t know! it’s all just- complicated.” the two men make eye contact. a first, anger, hatred. then, as if they shared a brain, something shimmers in their eyes. onyankopon shifts in his seat, nodding at armin.

“then at least, let us make you feel better. you can tell us whoever you want when we’re done or we can just leave, princess.”

-

you’ve got to stop putting yourself in these positions.

armin sits in the chair you once occupied, watching intently, hand wrapped around himself as he stroked slowly. letting some saliva from his mouth fall onto his swollen tip. hands twisting to coat himself in the slick.

his eyes daze at how large onyankopons hands wrapped around your torso, holding your arms behind your back, as he bounced you on his length. lips attached to your swollen nipples, his eyes focused on your face above him.

“fuck, ony! just like that!” releasing your arms, he pulls you into a full sit on his dick. fingers digging into your waist. you feel it stretching and filling you up, pressing against your spot as the man nips at parts of your neck and chest. small red spots being left behind.

he picks you back up, holding you a little higher, using the leverage to fuck into you.

“look at me, ma. let me see how i’m making you feel.”

this was the position he used to love putting you in. showing off his strength but also how no matter what, he knew what was going to make you crumble.

“want your lil friend over here so he can see how to actually make you cum baby?” you whine, head lolling all the way backwards to look at armin. he was a mess under his own doing, shirt hoisted to his chin, hand still wrapped around his sticky skin. his eyes low, burning right into yours.

“oh fuck- i’m gonna cum! ony fuck! im-“ eyes rolling to the back of your head, youre shooting warm squirt all on the man’s bottom half. he lays you down on the couch, letting your orgasm shake your body while he rubs your side soft.

“come here.” onyankopon motions for armin to come over. the blonde man checks on you before turning to look at the other male.

“might as well go home.”

-

armin has you on your side, facing onyankopon straight on. his hand wrapped around your throat, other holding your leg up by the knee. his dick pumps slow, feeding you every inch of him while his lips suck at your exposed neck.

“min! min! oh my god-“ you cry out, feeling his he’s making your stomach bulge, your hands reaching behind to try to keep him from going so deep.

“keep your hands to yourself, baby.” he used his body strength to pull both of you up into a sitting position. with you facing your ex, armin folds your knees up to your chest, fucking into you from below.

“fuck- pussy so fucking nice to me baby.” he groans, slow strokes killing you.

“im so close armin please!”

onyankopon couldn’t lie. this was driving him crazy. watching as the drool falls from your pretty pink lips. how you’re pressed up against armin, his teeth marking your skin.

pumping his cock, his head falls backwards, listening to the moans fall from your lips. the sound of your pussy filling the space.

“im cumming! oouu shit, baby.” watching as the white ring formed around the base of armins cock becoming thicker as he continued to fuck into you. not caring about who you picked, just wanting you to feel your best.

“fuck- that’s not fair!” onyankopon watched as armin flipped you into a new position, aligning himself on top of you.

“stop being a fucking pussy and come help then.” armin bites back, positioning himself, he pushes into your clenching hole.

“ah! s-so sensitive i can’t take it!” you feel onyankopons hands rub from your breast, sliding up before taking control of your arms. holding you in place as armin beat you into the couch. the blonde digs his thumbs into the crease of your hips, dropping his cock into you.

“yes the fuck you can, ony go open her bedroom door.”

the two men help shuffle you down the hall, both grabbing at your body like vultures. you climb onto your bed, eyes locked with onyans. he fully strips himself, climbing right beside you. you attach your lips, humming into the kiss as his hands roam your tits.

“i missed you.” he whispers between a kiss, catching you off guard as armin turns your head the other way. he presses into you gently, fingers drawing faint lines on your spine.

“who do you want to fuck you, princess?” armin asks, watching as your head snaps back to onyankopon. the man wastes no time bringing you to his lap. lips reattached as he flips you onto your back.

“go sit behind her.” he instructs armin. the man climbs behind you, you feel his hard length against your back as your ex dips his head down.

his mouth places a few kisses on your bottom lips, begging a delicate as he possible could. he uses one hand, speeding you open before licking from your throbbing hole to the abused bud. letting some spit fall from his lips, his tongue spreads it around.

“oh! ony! love your fucking mouth so much.” armins hands play with your nipples, your hands up playing with his locks.

the man below sucks at the bud slow, eyes watching as your lips connect with armins. saliva coating both your faces in hungry affection. climbing back up, he pushes your legs back.

“hold them.” armin listens, holding your legs back while the other places himself at your entrance. his eyes watch you hungrily as he pushed inside, bottoming out.

“i know she missed me, look at how she’s taking me baby.”

he teasingly pulls out, watching as your mouth forms an ‘o’ shape, before sliding back in. your pussy making noises as he continues to fuck you into the mattress.

“doing so well for us baby, taking all his dick huh.” armins watching down at you, lips curled into a smile while his hands played with your nipples.

“how this shit feel baby? you missed this dick?” ony asks, head quirked to the side as he watched himself fill you up. you nod, lost in pleasure and close to yet another orgasm.

“uhn uhn let me hear you say it baby. tell me how much you missed me fucking this pussy.”

“i missed you so much, daddy- oh fuck! im so close please- i cant!” he doesn’t stop, relentlessly pounding into you, feeling your nails dig into his arms.

“yeah, give it to me ma, come with me.” before you know it he’s releasing long white ropes across his body while armin is turning you around on all fours. onyankopon climbs into the spot armin occupied, smiling down at you.

“you’re doing so good, mama. just one more okay?” his large hand comes up to slightly rub the side of your face. tears flood as you feel armin start to fill you up. your ex watches as your face contorts into pleasure, looking as you peer back at his acquaintance.

it’s like they both were trying to find something important. slow strokes stealing your soul as he hikes one of his legs up, pressing down on your back with both his hands.

you could feel him in places you didn’t even know existed. face rested on onyankopons hands, back arched, armin digging into you from behind. your body’s on fire.

the sound of his balls slapping against your abused clit fill the room. your moans turned to nothing but gasps of air and drool falling out the corner of your lips. eyes rolled back into your head.

“one more, princess. just one- shit- one more.” he reassured, hips dragging quicker.

“pussy so good. m’i making her feel good baby?” you nod, lost in pleasure. he could feel you clenching around him. how your hands shot out to grab hold on your exs chest as you release all over armin. clear liquid shoots out as you collapse. the two men move off the bed, sighing at your beaten frame.

“you take her to the shower, i’ll wash her sheets?”

onyankopon agrees, picking you up bridal style.

“let’s go princess.”

© vantetaes. do not modify, repost, translate, or plagiarize any of my works. ageless/blank blogs dni.

[queer-ragnelle]

hello! hope you're having a good day :)

I'm slowly introducing my girlfriend to arthurian legend and I was wondering what films you would recommend for a complete beginner (her). I will be next to her explaining things but I also wanted to start off with something more digestible. We've already watched the green knight (2021) (I know) and excalibur (1981) together. thank you for all you do!

Hello, I am and I hope you are too!

Oh yayyy this is so awesome. I'm going to suggest things that I personally feel really give a newbie a grasp of the characters in such a way that if they were to watch something else afterward, it would actually aid them in understanding. There are some films that are so experimental they're unrecognizable (like Knightriders (1981) or Shadow of the Raven (1988)). Those are amazing, visionary films. But they're entrenched in their respective cultures (American and Icelandic respectively) so they don't really help someone new grasp the foundational lore like the things I'll be suggesting will. This list offers self-contained stories with solid writing, great acting, and entertainment enough to keep one engaged, without any requirement for prior knowledge to appreciate.

Here are the beginner friendly options listed in order of release:

Knights of the Round Table (1953)

Details the rise & fall of Camelot from Arthur pulling the sword from the stone to his & Mordred's deaths. It has everything, the A/G/L of all time, adorable Percival & Elaine as siblings, Orkney bros Gawain, Agravaine, Gareth, & Mordred (who is not a product of incest), sassy clever Morgan beefing with fatherly sweet Merlin, gorgeous costuming, moving script.

BBC The Legend of King Arthur (1979)

This is technically a show but hear me out. It's only 8 episodes, half hour each, & covers the full Arthurian story from Uther's battle with Gorlois to take Igraine all the way to Arthur's passing. Morgan is a central character & fascinating. Arthur raised by Ector alongside Kay. Goes to battle against Lot & Accolon & the other rebellious lords. Great Lancelot & Bors. Guinevere is strong & interesting & sympathetic. Orkney bros Gawain, Agravain, Gareth, & Mordred (who is not a product of incest). Elaine of Corbenic & Elaine of Astolat both present as separate women. Grail quest led by Galahad (no Percival unfortunately). Mador’s brother Guido poisoned “by Guinevere” like in Le Morte d’Arthur & a trial by combat ensues. It’s a really compelling version of events that can give a beginner a great overview of the legends.

Sword of Lancelot (1963)

Opens with an older Arthur looking to marry. Lancelot is his bestie & champion. Other knights include Gawain, Mordred (who is not a product of incest), Bedivere, Dagonet the jester, Lamorak, Kay the seneschal, & eventually Tor. Lancelot/Guinevere have great chemistry they were married irl.

Gawain and the Green Knight (1991)

Faithful adaptation of SGATGK complete with three days of kissing! Unique by having Gawain recount the reason for his journey as he’s already on it. Flashbacks show Gawain at the high table with Arthur & Guinevere, sitting next to his brother Agravaine, when the Green Knight comes in, & is beheaded. The events at Bertilak’s castle play out just like the poem with the lady coming to tempt Gawain & then he forwards those kisses to Bertilak in exchange for the animal of the hunt. Colorful & fun!

Tristan & Isolde (2006)

One of my favorites. I think the leads have great chemistry & gives a decent overview of the Medieval story without too much access. Mark here is morally way better than in Medlit but it does make the live triangle more juicy. Brangain is really funny here too. There is no magic in this version, so no love potion. Just pure unaided adultery.

Sir Lanval (2011)

Short & sweet indie movie adapting Marie of France’s lay of the same name. Great casting, beautiful costuming, pretty sets. Lanval’s rags to riches story thanks to his fairy lady Tryamour. Sport but well-meaning Arthur not doing his marital duties gives Guinevere sufficient motivation to try & seduce Lanval. Kay is here as Arthur’s foster brother & seneschal but sort of acts like an attorney? Lol? Great movie.

Sire Gauvain et le Chevalier Vert (2014)

Another SGATGK poem adaptation, this time in French (with English subtitles) & condensed to a mere 28 minutes run time. Visually stunning & beautifully acted. A little more mature than the 1991 version, bc of course the French have to get freaky with it sexual style (this is a good thing). Another awesome adaptation worth checking out.

Okay I think those are all my suggestions! Hope that gives you and your girlfriend a solid watch list and you both enjoy them. Take care!

[jrueships]

i’m revealing myself as the Jimmy Licking Anon (😭), but like… LOOK??? HIS INSTA STORIES??? HELLO??? CAN YOU BLAME ME???

URE JIMMY LICKING ANON ??!?!?!?????YOU wROTETHIS

you talking about jarebears thighs so highly.... i think... i know what you are .

but i also know you are SOMEONE OF GOOD TASTE !!!!! which means legally i am not allowed to laugh at the jimmy licking anymore 😭 he is very pretty like a mythical deity kind of.. Greek statue sense. Like marble perfection but obsidian (LMFAO) he usually plays with athletic leggings that show some calves... ong he is teasing us 😭 good thing they thin sometimes (the leggings)... 😼. His insta stories are always so aesthetic, there's no way he's not beautythirstposting on purpose here!!! Him n deebo are probably one of the few athletes on YouTube who post actually pretty thumbnails and not... the typical ugly BIG REACTION FACE EXCLAMATION POINT QUESTION MARK photos.. their competition .. deebos is a lot more philosophical and bojack horseman analysis video thumbnaily while Jimmy's is kinda gq style. His insta stories are definitely manic pixie dream girl. He loooves posting romanticized photos of his life without regret. He wants you trapped in his web of coffee and legs and tennis yoga 😭 but u seem more than fine with that so it's okay 😭😭

U SHOULD COMMENT THE WATERMELON CRUSHING ON HIS YOUTUBE LMAO, HE'D DEFINITELY DO IT FOR YOU!!! and the views.. like. Let's be honest he's probably not getting out of that finals with a ring. Let's give him ideas of things to do that'll make him AND his viewers... Very Happy . . It'll be a win win!! he'll get views!! you'll get fantasies LMAO

ty for having the courage not only to type this but to out urself with a photo, u thought it was so sexy (AND I CAN SEE IT), i look at this ask whenever jimmy needs help. id love to hear more about your jaren thigh thoughts... BECAUSE THEY ARE QUITE UNAPPRECIATED, meTHINKS and ure so insane for pointing them out U ARE MORE REAL THAN ANYONE WHO CLAIMS TO BE!!! i loved this ty

[oozeandgoo-art]

had an odd dream that i was reading a comic book. sketched a couple of the pages i could remember.

[sqlmn]

Sebastian (pink hair) and Cornella (blue hair) meet as children and realize "ah, that's the kid my parents told me to avoid because of business reasons" and immediately decide "hey, we're going to be best friends and not fight". Which... in the long run helps a lot in regards to their parents companies because now the parents have to play nice around their kids.

long history below lol

So they're just bffs throughout their youth and a couple years before their high school graduation, Sebastian spots a kid with messy hair who looks really nervous. Since it's early in the year, maybe the kid needs help finding somewhere? So he goes over to offer to help him to class buuuuut the guy flinches and runs away. So Sebastian is ready to report to Cornella at lunch but she slams her hands down on the table saying "I JUST SAW THE CUTEST GUY EVER". And Sebastian puts his concerns on hold until he realizes they're about to talk about the same guy.

The duo then decide "operation befriend shy guy" and spend like an entire school year getting Matis to warm up to them. Good! Except now they're seniors and STILL both pining for the underclassman (only a grade below) and they have an agreement to not pressure Matis into any weird situations about picking between them.

Matis and Sebastian like to draw though and so one day as Sebastian is vibing and sketching Cornella while stealing glances at Matis, he decides to put little hearts around her head. It's fine, it's not weird, it's totally cool. And Matis sees and comments he must really like her and while he DOES really like her it's .... not quite like that. So he laughs it off.

The two graduate and then start to train at their parents companies while attending college and the years go on. They still sometimes think about Matis and go "wonder how he's doing" "wonder if he's more outspoken now" "wonder if he'd remember us" because they're both very normal about the lingering crush they have. Cornella walks into the building she works at one day and is going directly to her office in hopes no one sees her since she's supposed to be off when she hears her name.

"I'm not here, you didn't see me and you REALLY didn't see me if my dad's asking" is her immediate response but the guy's like 'oh, sure, understood. i am interviewing someone who said he went to school with you' and so she looks over and is just. Floored. Yup, still nervous looking, definitely remembers them, he's doing fine, and he's apparently now working at her company. Fabulous.

She does say hello and then nervously excuses herself to go to her office before anyone else sees her but hey see you around good to see you bye haha... and calls Sebastian with "He's hot now" with no context. So he asks who and she's like "oh only the cutest boy to ever plague our brains for years" and Sebastian is just "wait wait, Matis ? ? YOU SAW HIM? WHERE? HELLO? Why was I not invited to see him? Why did you not video call so I can see him? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S HOT" and then they scheme how to actually meet up and involve Matis. And they agree while he's definitely handsome dealing with other people, the fact he still blushes and looks nervous around them and looks to them for approval is the absolute cutest thing on the planet.

[aq2003]

reblog the moon coded martha post too, you cowards

[alsaurus-loves-dean]

.

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

i remembed "original flavor spader" and promptly changed my name

[4giorno]

oh yea i actually came across some ocean dye so i got to dye this "armor" to this absolutely beautiful color

[yesyourstalker]

Mahi: hey, some guy in a suit came in today and he handed me this paperwork. I think it's for you. You need to sign some things

Neta: let me see........... Why'd they make this shit so small?......

Mizole: uh-oh looks like Grandpa needs glasses

Neta: hey, I can ban you from the store at any time so keep playing with me... I do have glasses hold up. I don't know where they are........I usually put them under the register.... Here they are

Mahi: those are actually really....... Interesting Where'd you get them from?

Neta: I got them from eel eyes they're prescriptions... I really need to renew them...... eye sight getting worse...

Mizole: ohh ma eye sight's going and ma knees are popping ohh cod I'm a feeble old man.... I could die any minute

Neta:... One of these days I swear ..... mahi take care of your boyfriend before I take care of him myself

Mahi: okay that's enough babe....... It was really funny though.... if they're prescription shouldn't you wear them everyday

Neta: Not necessarily, but in my case I actually do need to start wearing them

Mahi: so why don't you wear them?

Neta:.................................. Because...... I don't know!! they didn't match my aesthetic at the time..... Stupid reason I know

Candie: Maybe you should get nicer glasses like they're nice but the rim is too thick Maybe get some rimless ones that would be nice

Mahi: Maybe circular ones or maybe semicircle like oval glasses

Mizole: that will make him look even older!

Neta: you get one more old joke and after that I'm yanking that thing you call to goatee off your face

Mizole: oop calm down sir. We don't want you to overexert yourself... hehehe...ok..ok I'm done... Maybe try being a different color glasses I mean turtle shell is nice but a solid black or maybe a silver would be good

Warabi: you should get contacts

Neta: I figured it out later!!!..... Shit. I really need to get new glasses. These things aren't working... I need to get them before I leave next week

(after work)

Neta: what about these ones?

Ikkan: mmmmm... No... I don't like those

Neta: okay how about these?

Ikkan: why does everything you have to have be green?

Neta: because I like green! Why is everything you own purple?

Ikkan: Not everything I own is purple!

Neta: what color is your phone case..... No wait better question. what colors are your underwear?..... It's plum. You're wearing the plum ones right?

Ikkan:.................................... Shut up....

Neta: uh hu...yeah.....ohh how about these?.......

Ikkan: ..... Those are nice. I like the thin frames.... They kind of look like mine

Neta: yeah except yours are lavender which is....purple.... You need to wear them more.

Ikkan: it's actually actually mauve..... I don't need to wear them that often not as much as you do

Neta: you squint when you drive! You pretend like I don't I don't notice but I do babe. You need to wear glasses and I need to wear mine......oooooh. We were matching glasses!

Ikkan: no... Babe, that's- no

Neta: yes!! look they have it in.......'red shiso'...........Oh! and they have it in 'deep forest!'.... That's it! Send me your information. We're getting matching glasses!!.... *gasp* they have them in kids sizes! Cirrina-

Cirrina: no!

Ikkan: hahahaha! you're ridiculous.....fine.. just send me the link and I'll order them myself

Neta: hehehe yes ..... I Love you...bye

Ikkan: love you too...bye

Cirrina: You guys are dorks

Neta: but we're your dorks crab cakes!

The gremlin known as Mahi was discovered by by@fish-at-fish-fish-resort

[fate-pride-order]

What's been interesting about managing this blog so far is that I've really gotten an entirely new perspective on how the different FGO illustrators color their artwork. For example, if I ever meet whoever it was again that does the colors for Takeuchi's art, I am going to take a hammer and bash their hea-

[solalunar-eclipse]

To everyone in the comments begging for a fic about this: PLEASE go read Heart of Gold with Blood-Red Eyes!!! It’s by this artist and features Shadow in a similar dynamic with Fleetway Super Sonic, and it is fantastic.

[creatingblackcharacters]

No, That’s Not ‘How Color Works’. - Whitewashing

Whitewashing, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

"to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as a) to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people and B) to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character"

In fandom context, we know it to include:

Making someone’s skin lighter

Making someone’s hair a thinner texture

Changing someone’s nose to be thinner

Shrinking their lips

Changing the character in their entirety to be someone else

The Normalization of Whitewashing

Remember how I mentioned last lesson that despite the nature of poorly drawn Black characters, most audiences are not turned off enough to discourage the action in professional works? Similar idea with whitewashing. Not the same- unlike the Ambiguously Brown Character, which claims to have plausible deniability, overt whitewashing is usually enough to make fans speak up! But that’s the key word here- overt! It has to be “bad enough” to make enough people speak up, but as we’ve seen many a time, “bad enough” seems to have a much higher threshold for nonblack viewership (sometimes the limit doesn’t exist!)

Some visual examples

This is a link to my personal thread on a Netflix show I was watching- Worst Ex Ever. Now, while the show itself was quite enlightening, there was something I could not get over. I thought I was going crazy. And that was that no matter how dark the person of color would be in real life, the animated portions would draw this light pinkish-brown. Every. Single. Time. It's like they couldn't fathom scrolling down the color wheel. And this is a Netflix original! Netflix has plenty of money for someone to have caught this in creation. But... it was produced. And put out. And they're making more of it.

I asked all of the Dragon Age fans about the series, and uh… I didn’t know things were this bad, guys! Apparently this is a man of color, but it doesn't seem like the creators want you to know that 🤣. Jokes aside, as I’ve discussed before, the noticeable whitewashing- and that was one of many racist things I was told- was not enough to prevent sales... so why would they stop? I can only hope this new game, with all the updates, is enough to turn the tide. But the series has gone on for a while now, that if they’d chosen to do ye same olde… there clearly would not be a lack of financial support to prevent it.

Colorism as a Tool

Even when actors of color are cast, colorism often plays a role in normalizing whitewashing to audiences, even to Black audiences! People think “oh well at least they’re Black!” as if that is the only important part. It is not.

While Aaron Pierre, the actor cast for John Stewart of Green Lantern fame, is a GORGEOUS, STUNNING man, he is not the dark-skinned man that John Stewart is supposed to be and should not have been cast! To me, this is overt colorism, but clearly for many people this is not “enough” to warrant concern or even prevent the casting itself- including the studio behind the movie! Black fans have plead for years for the character of Storm to be played by a dark-skinned, preferably African, woman, and it has never happened.

It naturally happens in fan spaces as well, which is another indicator that colorism as a tool for whitewashing is quite effective for audiences. If I see one more Zendaya fan cast for Kida from Atlantis, I will scream. It’s been happening for years, and I don’t think any of the people who just want to see her and Tom on screen either understand or care that Kida is a dark-skinned character. Zendaya doesn’t look anything like Kida- it doesn’t matter if she’s Black too! Just because someone is Black does not mean they can play every single Black character! I’ve even seen people fancast Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame, to which… I don’t have the words. I can’t fathom what would cause these decisions other than racism.

The Common Excuses

I must be honest. I don’t really feel like re-iterating how certain things are not okay and how to fix them, because I’ve already discussed these things in massive detail. So I’m just going to direct the excuses I regularly hear to my lessons, where you can read up on them.

“Their hair/eyes are like that because they’re biracial so-”

Relevant Lessons: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 8, 9, 10

There is nothing wrong with having biracial characters with a range of features. I am not saying that! Because yeah, genetics do happen!

But I mentioned this in my last lesson, and I will re-emphasize here, that using biracial identity as a way to whitewash is a sinister form of racism. The intention here- the real intention- is the issue here! The idea that somehow this character can only look the way you want them to look by "diluting" their Blackness… I don’t know how you can explain yourselves out of that one.

You don’t get to use us as an excuse for diversity while still trying to maintain your preference for Eurocentric beauty standards. Black biracial people don’t always look light skinned, thin-haired and ambiguous, and even the ones that do don’t deserve to be treated as your fetish for pretend antiracism. If you just want to draw a white person with a tan, do that. But don’t change a character’s entire look just so you can work in some whiteness. If you want to claim that canon Black character’s mother was white, then I guess they inherited some of her personality because their features should not change.

“It’s my style/It’s the color-”

Relevant Lessons: 3, 4, 10

I hate all excuses for whitewashing, but I’ve grown to despise, hate, abhor and loathe this one the most as I’ve become an artist. I wish there were stronger words to describe just how much I hate the “style” and “color” excuse.

Are style and use of color oft intertwined? Absolutely. I’m not saying they aren’t. But out of everything, there are two things I want artists to understand:

1. Style does not cancel out racism! No style forces you to choose ashy greys and to change peoples’ features. That’s you! If you look at something, and it looks offensive, you change the style. You grow as an artist!

2. “Everyone who is brown will look ashy so I just-” if you recognize that your Black characters look strange in comparison to your nonblack characters, then it’s time to try something else! I don’t understand this sudden need for “realism” when it comes to color and lighting, but not when it comes to hair, for example. No one cares about realism when giving every and all Black characters wavy tresses they probably wouldn’t have, but suddenly milquetoast watercolor attempts at brown and off-putting lighting is “how it works”. That’s not fair.

The color picker is an available tool! I use it often!

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if someone gets the outfit color palette right via color picking, but the skin color is multiple shades lighter. That means they were looking at that character and chose not to proceed.

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if the white characters in the show are completely correct in their palettes. Again, that means they cared enough to look at everyone else… and not the Black characters.

If you use the color picker and the color picked is… disrespectful, you do not have to use that! You can simply choose a better color that is still similar to the brown that ought to be depicted!

“It’s the lighting-”

Relevant Lessons: 4, 5

If your white characters do not shine like snow in the sunlight because of your lighting, then your lighting does not make your Black characters suddenly light tan.

If your Black characters look bad in your lighting of choice- for example, putting a very dark-skinned character in electric white lighting can be ghastly- try changing the intensity or the color of the lighting. DON’T change your character’s skin color!

I'm going to show you some pictures of South Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech. Pay attention to the choices of light, color, and makeup.

Look how BEAUTIFUL she is! Look at the choices of intensity and color of light, and how they make her look different in each image.

Now look at this image in comparison:

In this image, whoever did her makeup and took this picture did not take into consideration her skin tone. She's also under this really intense lighting. This is an example of "increasing the lighting does NOT make an image "better"". She didn't need to have lighter skin or "more lighting" to look good. She needed BETTER lighting, lighting that worked with HER.

To see this as an example in drawn art, @dsm7 makes an excellent argument for proper lighting and color, why it is an issue to use it as an excuse, and how to solve that problem.

‼️DISCLAIMER FOR NEXT EXAMPLE‼️

Okay. I am about to show y’all a fan-created example from my personal experience. It is a TEACHING EXPERIENCE ONLY. I am not including the artist’s name in this image. It happened a couple years ago, and it’s over- they’ve chosen to be who they are despite me kindly confronting them about it. The only reason I’m including it at all is because I feel like it would be remiss to have such a clear-cut, multi-level example, and not teach with it. That said, no, I am not telling anyone to act out towards them. Again, that is not what I’m telling you to do. The last thing I need is a literal lynch mob of angry nonblack viewership for trying to teach you all, and y’all sitting there watching it happen to me. Every example of whitewashing is not going to be so obvious, but I hope you learn how to spot the examples in the art you see and share.

I'm obviously a Hades fan, particularly of Patroclus- despite my disdain for the lack of effort in his canon character design. So I've seen a lot of things. That said:

“Well it’s just MY design of them-”

Relevant Lessons: ALL

The sepia coloring did not do this. The lighting did not do this. The design is the exact same as the Hades version, even down to the shape of the hair curling in the back. The only thing that is different… is the man himself.

Y'all. Y'all! You CANNOT take a pre-existing Black character and say “oh well this is my design of them” …and the design is of a whole white person. Because if the rest of the fit is the same, and the only thing that changed is the Blackness… Racism. If you’re going to “make up your own design”, then do that!

“Blackwashing”

Speaking of: I’m sure someone edgy out there thinks they’re so smart as they retort to the screen: “but if that’s not okay, then why is Blackwashing okay?” To which I say- shut up. 😐

The “definition” by fandom: making a nonblack character Black, usually an anime character, but characters in general.

Funny enough, the actual definition in the dictionary (or closest to) is “to defame”, in contrast with whitewash (as in whitewashing history). Maybe racist fans ARE using it correctly when they say you’re blackwashing their characters, when they mean you’re making them “less likable because they’re Black now”. 🤔

Anyway: Blackwashing is not real for the same reason reverse racism is not real.

Me painting these characters brown is not going to take away from the fact that there are far more of you in media than there is of me. Me saying that I ‘headcanon a character as Black with 4C hair’ is not going to make the studio go “oh! Well they must be Black with 4C hair now!” Me saying “oh I think I’d like this character better if they were Black” as a beta tester (less overtly, obviously, because I’m not racist!) will never make a studio change that character. Black viewers have minimal value in comparison to the power of the white viewer’s dollar. I could draw white characters Black every single day of every single game media… and they would still produce majority white characters. There has not been centuries- if not millennia, when we consider Jesus Christ himself, even- of purposeful “Blackwashing” with the intent of removing the original ethnicity- and thus importance- of white people. No one has ever been allowed to forget when someone is white. No one has ever been allowed to forget or not acknowledge white people.

How it could be "solved"

Personally, I love Black edits and I welcome them here. I find them creative and fun. But if you really, REALLY didn’t want us to make those edits, then naturally, we need more Black characters in all of our media!

I wouldn’t have to make edits if I saw more of me to begin with in the things I like to watch- but when we have those characters, racists act an ass about them. We’re not allowed to even be present! I’ve seen too many gamer bros mocking the existence of Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed, and he was a real ass man. But if we made a game about African peoples in African societies, how many of the gamer bros would actually play those games? Do you think there’d be as much support, when we hear so much about Black characters that are treated so abhorrently? How many games do we have where people would love their faves just as much if they were Black? I even learned that Solas was apparently supposed to be a man of color. IMAGINE how many people would not have liked that man, with the same exact plot and characterization.

Something I’ve noticed recently: apparently "Blackwashing" is not a thing when White fans “allow” it. Take this recent trend with Miku. International Miku was beloved! But if you draw any other character as Black on any other day, there will be people that are horrid about it. Ask any artist, Black artists and Black cosplayers especially, who’s ever done it what their comments are like. I’ve read entire missives akin to white supremacist drivel on how it’s somehow morally wrong to make characters Black. Meanwhile no amount of “hey maybe you shouldn’t do this” prevented the movie Gods of Egypt from being created, with a cast full of British White people.

Solutions to Avoiding Whitewashing!

1) Using References!!

Do I think you should know what Black people look like? Yes. We’re humans. It’s 2024. Everyone knows what we look like when it’s time to hate and discriminate against us, so you know what we look like when it’s time to love and depict us. If you’re on Tumblr, you have access to the Internet. ESPECIALLY if you’re in the U.S., as Black people are the source of damn near every piece of online pop culture. If you can find my dialect to make my jokes, you can find pictures of me.

Would I rather you use a reference every single time so that you can only strengthen your depiction of my people? ABSOLUTELY.

Anyone on the Internet telling you not to use a reference or that you shouldn’t need a reference? Unfollow them. You don’t need that negativity in your life. Why would you deprive yourself of a tool to create? The greatest portrait painters in history had to look at their subjects! You are not getting paid nearly as much to do this as Hans Holbein, and he had to stare at Henry VIII correct else lose his head- you can pull up multiple references. I’d far rather be judged for using hella references than be judged for being a racist!

Part of the issue is people draw what they’re used to, what they’re comfortable with (thus last lesson). But if what you’re used to is not what someone will look like… That’s not okay. Their features are not the issue, your skills are the issue. Learn! Practice! There is no rush. No one is rushing you to be perfect at drawing Black characters, and no one is rushing you to post them. You can just practice! If you’re not a professional, you can take as long as you need to draw! If you need to draw that piece of hair over and over until you feel like you have down the shape, you do that! If you need to use a tool that would draw the hair for you, you get that tool!

If you want to post, you can say you are practicing! If you make clear you are practicing, then be willing to accept that people may have feedback. I’d far rather deal with someone saying they’re unconfident and practicing, than someone posting a whitewashed caricature and closing their ears because “well at least I’m trying!”

2) Empathize! Care about actual Black people when you create a Black character!

Imagine, if you will, in the Twilight Zone: you went to an artist, and you asked for a white character (I typed in “regular looking white dude” on google). There’s hardly ever any white characters, you’re so super excited about this one! You paid good money, because you’ve seen just how amazing this artist creates! They’re so good at drawing characters of color! But no matter how many times you ask, they send you back an image of… Assad Zaman.

That man might be fine as hell! Gorgeous! Beautifully done! Chef’s kiss. Stunning! But… He’s not white. That’s not what you asked or paid for. You can’t even fathom how they mixed this up, they don’t even look alike! And when you confront them, they gaslight you, they call YOU the issue for not understanding how you can’t tell that this is a white man! They would never get this wrong! They have white friends, you’re the racist! But you’re not stupid, and you have functioning eyes- you can SEE what this drawing looks like! And… It’s not you.

It’s dehumanizing. It’s being told that there’s a “better way” to look like you, and that’s by… Not looking like you. You, as you exist, are what’s incorrect. Your identity is incorrect, not their drawing. It’s better to have thinner hair instead of an afro or locs, it’s better to have lighter skin, it’s better to have a straighter, thinner nose over a round one, and smaller lips.

And what makes it worse is knowing that people who don’t look like you? Probably won’t care. They won’t be willing to see- not unable, but unwilling- that playing with this caricature is harmful, that they’re propagating harm by not acknowledging it. They’re letting you know that your humanity means less to them than the clout received with a whitewashed or half-assed Black character, and that people will applaud them for that ‘attempt at inclusion’. And people will applaud! They will be entertained by the mere performance! And that hurts.

I’m going to say this, and it’s awkward and I try not to say it directly on here, but… Having Black friends and/or being around actual, real life Black people would help. I can tell from some of the questions I receive that Black characters and their traits- especially things like our hair and our cultures- are being treated as… alien concepts. But even if, for whatever reason, you legitimately don’t know any Black people, you do not need to know us individually to care about our humanity as a whole! Even if you do not know we’re there, we are, and we could possibly see your work!

By acknowledging Blackness and making room to understand what it means- and that includes how we can look- you are doing the bare minimum of acknowledging our personhood. If you cannot do even that, you don’t need to be drawing us.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing: if you want to draw a white man with tanned skin, do that. Just do it! You do NOT have to erase me to have more of you! There is not a single fandom where the majority of the white fans ever said “gee, not another white guy!” It simply doesn’t happen. God knows we wish it did sometimes. You will always have an audience for white characters. There’s no danger to any of you of “being erased”.

(Without putting on my political hat, I will say that a lot of white people who consider themselves to be far from white supremacist will express beliefs in line with great replacement theory if you push them hard enough. It is unfortunately not as uncommon an idea as you might think. I would do some self-evaluation.)

People are going to notice that you only ever draw white people, but… To be frank, that has never stopped anybody from being successful. Again, Jen Zee, at Supergiant with the terrible dark-skinned characters… Still has a job. at Supergiant. A professional studio. Dragon Age. Multiple games of consistent whitewashing and racist writing. Still going. If racism prevented creation and popularity, I wouldn’t have to have this blog. Alas, that is the society we currently live in.

But if you ACTUALLY want to depict Black characters, if you ACTUALLY want to do right and be respectful- not because you want the clout, but because it’s the right damn thing to do- then you need to commit! This means drawing them as they are meant to be! Accept that you’ll likely lose some fan base, who was there (whether they were aware of it or not) for the white and lighter skinned characters. Accept that this means that trying to appeal to those people by whitewashing characters is 1) wrong, 2) racist, which is 3) something you chose to do when you could simply have just… Drawn more white people.

I’ll say it again: antiracism is hard. It’s hard doing the right thing in a society that rewards racism so easily. It’s really hard knowing that people will stop supporting you or caring as much about your work when you start including Black characters as actively as you do white ones, especially if you start talking about the importance of it. But in my honest opinion, I’d far rather be someone that cared about others, with genuine fans, than someone that was racist for the fleeting internet clout of strangers. And that may be less ‘hopeful’ than I normally am in these lessons, but… People make choices. And people who have been informed- as you are now- are aware of the choices they are making. It’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers- let’s choose better actions.

[cvnt4him]

Think’n ab cock warming izuku

A lazy Saturday morning, he has to get up later to finish some papers but that's a problem for later izuku. You wake up earlier than him for the first time ever, you admire his beautiful features whilst hes in slumber land.

His forest green hair being portrayed in the most beautiful lighting, said lighting brightening up his face despite being asleep, he's such a bright person he doesnt even need the suns array of beautiful sunshine for that. His slightly chewed lips dry yet so plump and kissable, the freckles that popped out more due to the sun's colors beaming on his beautifully tanned skin. He was gorgeous.

You leaned down to plant a gentle kiss onto his sleeping face, cupping his cheeks as you do so. The touch on his face makes him jolt and try and scoot away, his eyes squeezing shut and annoyance being painted on his features, he groans and tries to pull away but only to stay in the same place due to you holding his face.

Izuku was annoyed and opened his slightly crusted eyes to see your face, his eyes immediately softened. Finally being able to see his gorgeous emerald green eyes, you smile in content. He hums and closes his eyes again before you pepper kisses all around his face.

“ good morning~“

You sing in his ear, making him hum once more. He didn't want to be awake, izuku wanted to lounge around all day and be lazy with his other half before he had to go and teach a bunch of noisy kids, who he did love dearly.

“ you're always awake before me! I'm surprised I managed to get up before you!“

Izuku peers his eyes open slightly to look up at you with furrowed brows in annoyance, he groans and rolls his eyes before closing them again, all you can do is giggle at your adorable husband. You scoot in closer to him and squeeze his cheeks making him huff.

Izuku then sits up and yanks you into him making you bury your face in his chest. Your eyes widened in surprise but you weren't exactly complaining. He holds you close with a tight grip ensuring you can't move even if you tried.

“ go t’sleep baby. ’know you're tired, j’s get some rest hon.“

Izuku lazily gets out, his speech slightly slurred and his voice raspy and groggy do to the morning. He was a morning person, by all means but sometimes all he wanted was to be lazy with his significant other, and you seem to be ruining it by touching him whilst he's trying to sleep.

“ ’zuku m’not tired.“

“ shut up.“

Trying with all of your might you manage to squeeze out of his arms and roll onto of him making him turn over on his back, he groans and looks up to you with angry eyes ones you never really seem to see.

“ can I cockwarm you?“

His once angry eyes were now wide and confused. You wake up and the only thing on your mind is dick? Really? He groans again with a blush to his freckled and still baby-like cheeks, a scar on his right cheek. He was hesitant, he really was fathoming it, debating, thinking about it, whatever you want to say he truly was.

Izuku was having a hard time deciding, he did want you to do that to him only because he was particularly pent up, you two hadn't had sex in about 3 weeks? Thats far too long for someone like izuku, he would never force you to do something of the sort, normally you initiate sex and he happily obliges, but you both have been very busy recently and haven't had time to do much more than hold each other when nightfall returns at the end of everyday.

Izuku finally had an answer, he gulps and looks back up at your happy and waiting eyes. You would've been okay with either answer, really. You just wanted him to be inside of you. With a blush still on his cheeks, he nods to you before looking away.

“ I want a verbal answer my love.“

He sighs at your words, eyes shutting as he clears his throat trying to get rid of the grogginess of the morning time.

“ yes, you can c... cock.. warm me...“

Izuku manages to get the confirmation out as you giggle and lay down beside him, confused he follows you insuit, you scoot back into him and pull down his sleeping shorts just enough to get his flaccid cock out. You stroke him a little trying to get him to harden up, gentle tugs at his fat and heavy cock in your hand, the weight of it is always nice but the stretch is always better. The thought alone brung a smile to your face.

Izuku watched your movements closely, admiring the way you were so sweet and gentle with his member, so careful with such soft movements it made him twitch in your hand. With that, you knew he was ready. He gulped as you turned around and pulled your underwear to the side scooting back onto him and pushing his cock inside of you.

You both wince and groan and make some kind of noise as he tries to push his way inside, you were tight and he felt just how much so, going straight to his head as he gulped down hardly. His brain was getting fuzzy from the intense squeeze to his cock, you really should've prepped yourself first. with a couple of minutes waiting you finally manage to get him inside, he bottoms out almost immediately he's always so needy and impatient when it comes to things like this he ended up thrusting into you making you fall forward and moan.

“ zu what are you.. doing?“

You ask slightly out of breath, he was choking on his breath trying his hardest not to absolutely ram his cock in and out of you like he knows he needs. God izuku was so horny he just wanted to fuck you so badly.

“ s- sorry.. hon I- ngh~...“

He sentence was ended by a muffled groan, you really were squeezing his cock so tight. You take breather and scoot back into him, his cock still being buried deep inside. It makes him moan softly into your ear as you get closer, a beautiful noose that you always welcome and are always pleased to hear. He hums in a whiney tone on accident, getting extremely red when you laugh at the desperate sound escaping your poor husband.

You sigh happily as you can feel his heavy cock stuffing you full, twitching occasionally when you pulse around him. Izuku held you close wrapping his hands around your stomach, he buried his face in your neck trying to lull himself back to sleep, you intoxicating smell so sweet and driving him absolutely feral. He tried so hard to go back to sleep but he was having a hard time, his cock was so deep inside of you and only getting deeper as time passed yet he wasn't fucking you. Not like he wanted to.

Izuku sighed desperately and defeatedly as he looked down at you only to see you asleep with a smile on your face. For fucks sake. There was no way he was getting back to sleep, and absolutely no way hes not blowing his load deep inside of you.. if he even gets to cum.