#Or draw a character without figuring out how I should draw them

[huh-1260]

Day 11 of Month of Emmet: Visiting another Region?

The texts

Prof Laventon: Wake up!

Cyndaquil: is he awake?

Oshawott: I'm not sure if he's alive

Rowlett: Shush! Wait for him

Prof Laventon: Ohhh...Do wake up won't you?

Rowlett: oooh his fingers are twitching

Oshawott: don't over whelm him

Cyndaquil: Shh he's getting up

Prof Laventon: Are you alive, Sir?

Cyndaquil: oh he's getting up

Emmet internally: Where am I?

[insertdisc5]

🎮 HEY I WANNA MAKE A GAME! 🎮

Yeah I getcha. I was once like you. Pure and naive. Great news. I AM STILL PURE AND NAIVE, GAME DEV IS FUN! But where to start?

To start, here are a couple of entry level softwares you can use! source: I just made a game called In Stars and Time and people are asking me how to start making vidy gaems. Now, without further ado:

SOFTWARES AND ENGINES FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO CODE!!!

Ren'py (and also a link to it if you click here do it): THE visual novel software. Comic artists, look no further ✨Pros: It's free! It's simple! It has great documentation! It has a bunch of plugins and UI stuff and assets for you to buy! It can be used even if you have LITERALLY no programming experience! (You'll just need to read the doc a bunch) You can also port your game to a BUNCH of consoles! ✨Cons: None really <3 Some games to look at: Doki Doki Literature Club, Bad End Theater, Butterfly Soup

Twine: Great for text-based games! GREAT FOR WRITERS WHO DONT WANNA DRAW!!!!!!!!! (but you can draw if you want) ✨Pros: It's free! It's simple! It's versatile! It has great documentation! It can be used even if you have LITERALLY no programming experience! (You'll just need to read the doc a bunch) ✨Cons: You can add pictures, but it's a pain. Some games to look at: The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo, Queers In love At The End of The World, Escape Velocity

Bitsy: Little topdown games! ✨Pros: It's free! It's simple! It's (somewhat) intuitive! It has great documentation! It can be used even if you have LITERALLY no programming experience! You can make everything in it, from text to sprites to code! Those games sure are small! ✨Cons: Those games sure are small. This is to make THE simplest game. Barely any animation for your sprites, can barely fit a line of text in there. But honestly, the restrictions are refreshing! Some games to look at: honestly I haven't played that many bitsy games because i am a fake gamer. The picture above is from Under A Star Called Sun though and that looks so pretty

RPGMaker: To make RPGs! LIKE ME!!!!! NOTE: I recommend getting the latest version if you can, but all have their pros and cons. You can get a better idea by looking at this post. ✨Pros: Literally everything you need to make an RPG. Has a tutorial inside the software itself that will teach you the basics. Pretty simple to understand, even if you have no coding experience! Also I made a post helping you out with RPGMaker right here! ✨Cons: Some stuff can be hard to figure out. Also, the latest version is expensive. Get it on sale! Some games to look at: Yume Nikki, Hylics, In Stars and Time (hehe. I made it)

engine.lol: collage worlds! it is relatively new so I don't know much about it, but it seems fascinating. picture is from Garden! NOTE: There's a bunch of smaller engines to find out there. Just yesterday I found out there's an Idle Game Maker made by the Cookie Clicker creator. Isn't life wonderful?

✨more advice under the cut. this is Long ok✨

ENGINES I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT AND THEY SEEM HARD BUT ALSO GIVE IT A TRY I GUESS!!!! :

Unity and Unreal: I don't know anything about those! That looks hard to learn! But indie devs use them! It seems expensive! Follow your dreams though! Don't ask me how!

GameMaker: Wuh I just don't know anything about it either! I just know it's now free if your game is non-commercial (aka, you're not selling it), and Undertale was made on it! It seems good! You probably need some coding experience though!!!

Godot: Man I know even less about this one. Heard good things though!

BUNCHA RANDOM ADVICE!!!!

-Make something small first! Try making simple: a character is in a room, and exits the room. The character can look around, decide to take an item with them, can leave, and maybe the door is locked and you have to find the key. Figuring out how to code something like that, whether it is as a fully text-based game or as an RPGMaker map, should be a good start to figure out how your software of choice works!

-After that, if you have an idea, try first to make the simplest version of that idea. For my timeloop RPG, my simplest version was two rooms: first room you can walk in, second room with the King, where a cutscene automatically plays and the battle starts, you immediately die, and loop back to the first room, with the text from this point on reflecting this change. I think I also added a loop counter. This helped me figure out the most important thing: Can This Game Be Made? After that, the rest is just fun stuff. So if you want to make a dating sim, try and figure out how to add choices, and how to have affection points go up and down depending on your choices! If you want to make a platformer, figure out how to make your character move and jump and how to create a simple level! If you just want to make a kinetic visual novel with no choices, figure out how to add text, and how to add portraits! You'll be surprised at how powerful you'll feel after having figured even those simple things out.

-If you have a programming problem or just get confused, never underestimate the power of asking Google! You most likely won't be the only person asking this question, and you will learn some useful tips! If you are powerful enough, you can even… Ask people??? On forums??? Not me though.

-Yeah I know you probably want to make Your Big Idea RIGHT NOW but please. Make a smaller prototype first. You need to get that experience. Trust me.

-If you are not a womanthing of many skills like me, you might realize you need help. Maybe you need an artist, or a programmer. So! Game jams on itch.io are a great way to get to work and meet other game devs that have different strengths! Or ask around! Maybe your artist friend secretly always wanted to draw for a game. Ask! Collaborate! Have fun!!!

I hope that was useful! If it was. Maybe. You'd like to buy me a coffee. Or maybe you could check out my comics and games. Or just my new critically acclaimed game In Stars and Time. If you want. Ok bye

[patchwork-crow-writes]

The Roaring Knight encounter at the end of Chapter 3 is a masterclass at showing you that the REAL protagonist of Deltarune isn't Kris - it's Susie.

This doesn't really make much sense at first glance - you can't even really FIGHT the thing on equal footing without the Shadow Mantle, and to even get that Kris has to go through a harrowing gauntlet and fight a whole OTHER secret boss that doesn't even use the battle mechanics we've grown accustomed to. Kris Suffers to get that item, the one thing that can let them stand up to the Knight's merciless assaults. Hell, the game won't even let you retry if you lose until you have the Mantle in your possession. You would therefore assume that the Mantle belongs to Kris, and that they are the ones who should wear it.

And yet. Even when you don't have this item, who stands up to defy it? Susie. Who stops it from doing... whatever it was trying to do to Toriel, TWICE? Susie. And who gives chase across the boundary between light and dark, across the entirety of hometown, to stop it from abducting Undyne? Why, it's Susie. Her actions are those of a hero standing up to a terrible villain of unknowable power, and she does it without a shred of hesitation, even faced with the very real prospect of being killed.

And if that were it, it'd be kind of boring. But that's not it at all, because the reinforcement of this idea continues into the fight itself. Because if you can keep Susie alive for five turns, she starts monologuing against the boss, telling it how much it sucks and that she'll always have her friends behind her.

The Knight is presented to us as unknowable, invincible, unstoppable. Regular attacks bounce off of its absurdly high HP, it cannot be Checked like a normal enemy, attempts to reason with it fall on deaf ears. And yet, what's the one spell that can meaningfully hurt the Knight, to the point of temporarily disrupting its form? Susie's Rude Buster.

And then, when you throw yourself at the Knight again and again, trying to figure out its weakness, trying to outlast its brutal onslaught, it hits you - the Shadow Mantle does NOTHING for Kris in this fight, but it does EVERYTHING for Susie. Susie's the one doing all the damage. Susie's high HP perfectly compliments the shadow mantle's protection against the Knight's more absurd attacks. Ralsei has no way to meaningfully contribute to the fight at all, and while Kris can use Hold Breath to give the SOUL a boost, their utility begins and ends there. The most that either of them can really do is to act as TP and healing bots for Susie, and to equip weak armours that have beneficial effects, such as the TwinRibbon, Silver Watch, Blue Ribbon, TensionBow and Lodestone - the effects of these items persist regardless of whether the character wearing them is DOWNed or not, and, you guessed it, are equipped not to help them survive, but to allow them to support Susie even when incapacitated.

Then you start seeing it in other areas. Who is it that facilitates change in the other characters - Ralsei, Noelle, Berdly? Susie does, each and every time. She effortlessly upends their own myopic views of the world, defying them to change and be better, without even really realising that's what she's doing - is it any wonder that EVERYONE in the main cast seems to have a thing for her? She's magnetic in the way that heroes are, not despite her brashness and short temper but BECAUSE of them - because she cuts so effortlessly through the FICTIONS that other characters cling to, the stories they tell themselves about who they are, what they can do, and how they ought to be. Susie shatters those preconceptions and offers an alternative - live how you want to live, make the choices that you want to make, and let no-one else ever tell you who you are.

Susie is the hero of Deltarune, and the Roaring Knight's fight encapsulates why perfectly, without ever once drawing attention to the fact. It's sheer genius on Toby's part and I salute the skill with which it conveys those ideas in such an organic way.

[armxnh]

the first time he's ever been provoked to hit a child.

synopsis: he's jealous... jealous of a child.

characters: bakugo katsuki, denki kaminari, eijiro kirishima.

genre: fluff

warnings: fluff, jealousy( ? ).

masterlist.

bakugo katsuki

bakugo katsuki never saw himself as the jealous type.

he was top of his class—hell, probably top of the entire school. perfect grades, unmatched combat scores, and a sports festival champion. even as a third-year, he'd already built a reputation most pro heroes would kill for.

so no, jealousy wasn't something he thought he'd ever deal with. why should he? everyone knew you were his. and anyone with half a brain wouldn't dare look your way for more than five seconds—because they knew they didn't stand a chance. not when your boyfriend was him.

or at least... that's what he believed.

until today.

"god, villains really don't know when to quit, huh?" you groaned, stretching your arms over your head as your joints popped loudly in protest.

you and bakugo stood beside the police car as the cops made the villains enter the car—ignoring their protest about how 'they didn't do anything wrong'.

"yeah, well maybe if they had two brain cells to run together, they'd realize getting their asses kicked again isn't a fun hobby," your boyfriend muttered, handing you a bottle of water, before taking a sip of his.

you took the water gratefully, shooting him a tired smile, "thanks, kats"

bakugo just grunted in response, subtly brushing your shoulder with his as the villains were finally carted off. for a moment, things we're quiet. just another day of kicking villain ass walking away like the power couple you were.

and then it happened.

"(y/n)!" a small voice called out.

you turned just in time to catch a blur of energy as a kid—eight or nine maybe—came sprinting across the parking lot, weaving between police officers and tape like it was an obstacle course built for him.

"riku!" you laughed as the boy tackled your legs, "what are you doing here?"

riku looked up with the kind of sparkle in his eyes bakugo instantly recognized—and hated, "i saw the fight on the news and told my mom we had to come! you were so cool! you punched that villain through a wall!"

you crouched down to ruffle his hair. "it was more of a gentle wall-crash, but thanks sweetheart."

bakugo glared. sweetheart?

riku's face turned red as he rocked on his heels, fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt, "u-um... i-i made something for you!"

he fished in his backpack and pulled out a crayon drawing—poorly shaded and mostly stick figures, but it was you in your hero costume, fighting a bad guy, with hearts drawn all around the border.

you took it with a touched smile, "awe riku. this is amazing! i love it."

bakugo, behind you, looked like he was witnessing a crime. his eye twitched, "... are those hearts? around her head?"

riku turned around, "oh! i drew them 'cause she's my future wife!"

bakugo choked on his water.

you stared at the kid, caught between laughing and panicking. "riku- what?!"

the boy puffed out his chest proudly, "when i grow up, i'm gonna be a hero too. then i'm gonna ask (y/n) to marry me!"

bakugo took one long, slow step forward.

you recognized that face. it was the calm before the explosion.

"hey, little man," he said, voice low, "you know she's got a boyfriend, right?"

riku blinked, confused, "oh... you?"

"yeah. me." bakugo crossed his arms. "the guy who just blew up half a building and walked away without a scratch? ring a bell?"

riku frowned, then shrugged, "i'm not scared. heroes are supposed to be brave, right?"

bakugo's mouth fell open for half a second before he clamped it shut, visibly malfunctioning. "brave?"

you stepped in before katsuki declared war on a child. "okay! okay! time for riku to go back to his mom—who is very kindly waving and trying not to look horrified right now."

"but—!"

you gently pushed riku back toward the crowd, "thank you for the picture sweetheart. i'll hang it on the wall."

riku beamed at that, "i'll train really hard! you'll see!"

bakugo waited until the kid was well out of earshot before muttering, "i'm gonna buy you a diamond the size of your damn head. see how he likes that."

you laughed, slipping your hand into his, "you're not seriously jealous of a child, are you?"

"tch- i'm not jealous," he muttered.

you raised an eyebrow.

"...okay, maybe i am. a little."

"you do realize he still thinks girls have cooties, right?"

"he also thinks you're wife material," bakugo huffed, "which he's right about. but still."

you leaned into him, laughing. "don't worry, babe. you'll always be my number one hero."

he smirked, tightening his grip on your hand, "damn right i will."

denki kaminari

"c'mon, pretty—just one last game" denki pleaded, eyes glued to the glowing arcade screen.

you couldn't help but laugh. he'd been at it for nearly an hour now, completely hooked. according to him, beating the high score was way more important than studying with bakugo—who, in his words, was "an actual migraine in combat boots."

with a sigh, you crossed your arms, "alright... but don't come whining to me when you're up all night cramming for exam."

his face lit up like a kid on christmas morning, "you're the best," he grinned, pressing a quick kiss on your lips, "swear this is the last one. for real this time."

you just raised an eyebrow.

he did not, in fact, mean for real this time.

denki dove back into the game like his life depended on it, fingers flying across the buttons as neon lights flashed across the screen. you leaned against the machine next to him, sipping your drink and watching with an amused smile.

everything was peaceful.

until it wasn't.

"hey," came a tiny, confident voice from below.

you glanced down—and there he was. maybe eight years old, decked out in a gamer hoodie three sizes too big, and a pair of cartoon-printed sunglasses perched on his head like he was born to be a problem.

"are you with him?" the kid asked, jerking a thumb at denki.

you blinked, "yeah?"

he squinted at denki, unimpressed, "he doesn't look like a winner."

denki froze mid-jump, "...excuse me?"

the kid grinned up at you, "you're really pretty. you should ditch the loser and come hang out with me. i've got v-bucks."

you chocked on your drink, eyes wide, "what—?"

denki spun away from the arcade screen, "alright, little man. pipe down. she's mine."

the kid crossed his arms, "that's not how it works. if you're really her boyfriend, then prove it."

denki raised an eyebrow, "prove it how?"

the kid pointed to the screen, "final round. me versus you. winner gets the girl."

you looked between them, half-mortised, half hysterical.

"denki, he's a child."

denki was already cracking his knuckles, "doesn't matter. no kid's gonna flirt with my girl while i'm still holding a controller."

the machine blinked. player two joined.

the child took position.

you sighed, but couldn't stop the smile growing on your lips, "okay, but you're buying him ice cream if you make him cry."

denki smirked, eyes locked on the screen, "he started this. i'm just finishing it."

FIGHT!

the match was absurd. denki picked the flashiest character possible, spamming electric attacks like a man possessed. the kid? way to good for his age. thumb tapping like a professional, dodging and countering with perfectly timed combos.

a small crowd started gathering. a few people even started cheering. you stood back, arms crossed, watching your boyfriend and an eight-year-old battle like it was the fate of the world at stake.

"YEAH! TAKE THAT, PIKACHU MAN!" the kid yelled.

denki grinned. "big words for someone losing 3—1."

thee final round was neck-and-neck.

one bar of health each.

denki made the first move—risky—and landed a critical hit.

K.O

victory screen flashed.

denki dropped the controller with a dramatic sigh of relief and turned to the kid, "stay in school."

the kid pouted, "hmph. rematch when i'm ten."

he stomped off. denki turned to you, smug as ever. "so... still think i'm waisting time at the arcade?"

you wrapped your arms around his waist, "you just defended my honour in a video game death match against a third grader. i think that's marriage material."

he wiggled his eyebrows, "you say that now. wait until i beat someone in Dance Dance Revolution."

eijiro kirishima

eijiro sat on your bed, staring down at the phone in his hands—your phone. his gaze was fixed, as if he was trying to make sense of something that refused to make sense at all.

you two had been together for just over six months, and for eijiro, they'd been the happiest months of his life. he trusted you more than anyone he'd ever known. if you asked his to jump off a bridge, he probably would—because you'd only ask if you had a good reason—that's how much he trusts you.

not once in those six months had he felt the need to check your phone or asked for your location. his trust was solid. unbreakable.

until today.

when you stepped outside the room and your phone wouldn't stop buzzing, so he reached for it without thinking—just to make sure everything was okay. maybe it was your parents, or something urgent. he didn't meant to snoop.

but what he found knocked the air out of him.

over twenty messages. all from someone named yuki.

yuki: are you still coming over tonight???????? hellooooooo (y/nnnnnnnnn) i miss you i wanna play with you the same as yesterday!

and it kept going.

messages after message, filled with some kind of rope-related game and references to having done it every night this week.

and then it hit him.

you'd told him you needed to visit your parents because of family issues. was that a lie? had you used them as a cover to meet him?

the thought alone made his stomach twist.

his mind raced, spiralling, he didn't even hear the dorm door open. not until your voice broke the silence.

"i know you said you already ate, but i thought we could watch that new show together and—"

you stopped mid-sentence. you arms, full of snacks, lowered slightly as you took in the look on your boyfriend's face. his head was down, his grip on your phone so tight his knuckles were white.

you dropped the snacks onto the desk without a second look and rushed to him, cupping his face gently with your hands, "eiji? are you okay?'

he didn't respond right away. his eyes were a storm—hurt, anger, confusion, and something else you couldn't quite name.

eiji swallowed. his voice barely above a whisper, "do you... do you love me?"

"what?" you blind stunned. "of course i love you, eijiro! why would you even—wait... is this about those fans who started shipping me with izuku again? because you know that's just stupid—"

he reached up and took your wrist, gently lowering your hand then, he placed your phone in your palm.

"i need you to be honest with me..." he said quietly. "have i not been good to you? please tell me this is just some weird misunderstanding and not that you've found someone else—"

you looked down at your phone. the screen still showed yuki's texts.

"pffft"

eijiro's brows furrowed, hurt flashing in his eyes, "did you just... laugh?"

you bit your lip, trying to hold back the grin that was already tugging at your lips. "i—i'm sorry, it's just—you're so cute when you're jealous!" you leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to the tip of his nose.

he instinctively leaned into your touch, but quickly pulled back, still confused, "i don't get it..."

you stood up, tugging him up by the hand, "come on, big guy. there's someone i want you to meet."

thanks to your quirk—spacial manipulation—you snapped the two of you through a portal in a blink. one second you were in your dorm room; the next, you stood outside a house—your neighbours' house.

eijiro looked around, confused, "wait... why are we—"

"(y/n)!!"

a voice interrupted him—small, high-pitched, full of excitement.

"hey there, yuki!" you called back.

eijiro turned toward the voice. a child—no more than 10 years old—ran up to you, throwing his arms around your waist with a big grin.

a kid.

a ten years old kid.

and in that moment, eijiro felt his soul leave his body.

he'd been jealous... of this?

you ruffled his hair as he beamed up at you, completely oblivious to the emotional torment eijiro was hit with.

"yuki, this is eijiro," you said tugging him gently forward by the hand, "the boyfriend i was telling you about."

yuki's eyes lit up wide with excitement, "red riot?! woah—you didn't tell me he was that cool!"

you chuckled, "yeah, sorry, he gets shy when people fangirl."

eijiro blinked. once. twice. and then, the puzzle pieces clicked together.

"you... this is the yuki?" h asked, voice cracking slightly as the color rushed to his cheeks. "the one from the texts?"

yuki nodded proudly, "yup! we've been playing spy games every night this week! she ties me up, and i try to escape, and then she catches men again—like a ninja!"

your boyfriend scrubbed a hand over his face, groaning, "oh my god. i thought—i mean, i really thought—"

"that i was cheating on you with someone whose idea of flirting is pretending to be kidnapped and yelling 'no fair, i almost had it this time' while covered in couch cushions?" you teased gently.

he chuckled despite himself, dragging a hand through his hair, "i feel like the biggest idiot in japan right now."

you stepped closer, wrapping your arms around his waist, "hey, no. you're not an idiot. you just... overthink a lot. maybe a little too much for your own good."

eijiro melted into the hug with a sheepish smile, "i should've trusted you."

"you do trust me. that was just a moment." you leaned back, pressing a small kiss on his jaw, before meeting his eyes, "next time, just ask me. no silent suffering, okay?"

he nodded, "i love you... so so much."

you felt your face warm up at the way he looked at you, "i love you, too."

as yuki raced inside, yelling something about showing 'red riot his secret base,' you and eijiro followed slowly behind, fingers intertwined.

"so... you still wanna watch that show tonight?" you asked.

eijiro smiled, "only if you promise not to tie me up afterward."

you looked your boyfriend up and down, a smirk on your face, "no promises."

ⓒarmxnh

[chimchiri]

hello! I love your art! I just wanted to know if you use references for your poses and if so where you get them (if you're ok with sharing) thanks and keep making great stuff!

Yes! I use references a lot! I'd say about 50% of all pieces I depend on some form of refs.

I am not the best at figuring out dynamic or interesting poses. And using references always gives a better understanding and a nice body flow. It just looks nicer. Sometimes I make them myself, sometimes I google or go to specific sites. It kinda depends. But when I notice I struggle I always go for refs.

When I don't have a specific pose but just the general Idea in mind, I just google "X stock photo" and browse through them until I find one that speaks to me. The watermarked photos are usually big enough for me to use so I never really buy them.

If I already have a pose in mind and I feel I need some help, I either google and or will use aphrite (for whole body refs) or this website (for specific body parts) which name I don't even know? Since I started actively practicing, there's been less of a need for references to get the pose I want properly on the canvas, because I'm better at understanding the body. I still use them a looooot though.

If it's just a small detail I can't get right(usually hands) I will either make a ref myself or take a photo of my partner (he's used to spontaneous photo shoots lmao)

Sometimes I also just need a quick check of how different body parts align and will go look in the mirror (without taking a photo). Like for this one, I struggled while drawing and wondered if I truly understood how the arms aligned. Turned out I didn't draw it correctly initially.

For certain characters I also have a 'face claim' and have a loooot of saved references for all kinds of angles. But I'm not showing those because I don't want to reveal them. I just always make sure it's someone where I can get a lot of photos from different angles.

Vizref is an amazing app for storing and sorting references if you're working on an iPad. Definitely worth the $. I use it strategically for single pieces where I have lots of inspo and refs, or sometimes face claims and my own art of characters so I remember how the fuck I drew them lmao

For things you draw a lot: I also got myself a cheap cowboy hat and foam head for Applejack specifically, since finding cowboy hat references for that specific angle I'm looking for is often near impossible.

I don't like to search for long so I tend to use google + the above for any specific search. But when I practice I love to go to stock photo artists. They all have a large portfolio and a LOT of photos for free (do check their terms of use though, especially when money is involved).

You should check out their patreons because you get A LOT of value for a very good price (approx 1.5$ - 5$). But again, they all also have a lot of photos out there for free.

@adorkastock - A lot of different models and body sizes - Wings! Oh my god those are to day still the best references EVER. - ginormous archive jesus christ -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Instagram

@null-entity - Very creative poses, props - a lot of action (imo the best) - also creates quite a lot 360° rotation videos - ducks -> Patreon -> Instagram -> Twitter

@jookpubstock - lots of interesting lighting refs - also wears a lot of suits and cool outfits (love it) -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Twitter

TrueRef (not on tumblr?) - High-res photos, honestly insane quality (very professional) - enhanced/more extreme angles/foreshortening - a bit more pricey -> Patreon -> Website -> Bluesky -> Twitter

Whew, long answer! Hope that helps you out! Don't hesitate to use references! As you can see I take them pretty serious as well and incorporate them in different forms into a lot of art.

Happy drawing!

[byersandhighers]

Fairly certain Mike did see Will crying, he just didn't say anything. Like I don't think he realized it was because of Will feeling sad over him specifically but I thought it was obvious he did see Will crying but didn't draw attention to it. I also think it is very important for both of their characters and their relationship, as well as very telling of how deeply Mike cares for Will to not say anything when he is crying, to just act normal and move on without addressing it.

Every time in the show that Mike notices Will's emotions and behaviors, especially his negative emotions, Mike never brings it up until after (unless he thinks Will actively needs help like when Will looks scared). This is the same Mike Wheeler who noticed every eyeroll and time Will was moping at Rink-o-Mania when he was literally there hanging out with his girlfriend, but he didn't bring it up until later when the two of them were fighting. The same Mike who, in season 2, said he knew something was off with Will because ‘he was quiet today’ when his friends just wrote it off because he’s always quiet. Mike always notices Will acting up but doesn't usually say anything in the moment unless he thinks Will is in trouble, he just lets him feel things and if it’s relevant later he'll bring it up.

It’s implied he’s very perceptive when it comes to Will's emotions and behaviors and he is always watching, especially when Will doesn’t seem like he is doing well, so it would be so bizarre if he didn’t notice Will crying beside him. It's likely he just didn’t see a reason to bring it up, so he didn't. For all Mike knows, it may have just been that talking about El makes Will think about his sister who is currently missing and in potential danger, which is a justified reason for someone to cry. Or even that the painting reminds Will of the time in his youth he missed out on due to the mind-flayer and upside down and that his childhood of campaigns in Mike's basement is over, or Will could be grieving the party he is no longer near and his friends he is so far from. Or he could be so overwhelmed by many emotions over many different things that he doesn't know how to articulate.

Mike usually just registers what Will is feeling and not why Will is feeling that way. Mike never needed to know why because him and Will are a team and, before this season, Will was, to Mike's knowledge, always open and honest with him (hence where Mike got the 'friends don't lie' thing he told El in the beginning) and Will would come to Mike when he wanted to talk about things, so Mike probably figures even if their relationship feels strained right now, that wouldn't change and if Will wants to talk about it, he will come to him, much like how Jonathan doesn't push Will to come out.

I think it's important to draw parallels between Jonathan and Mike's behaviors, how both act towards Will: both are overprotective of Will, both very adamant early on in the show about how being 'weird' does not equate to being bad, and also about how Will doesn't have to feel negative about being different because they are weirdos as well (making it a shared experience so he doesn't feel alone). Both are also careful when it comes to making sure Will feels safe and comfortable which includes not forcing him to talk about things unless he wants to (while still reassuring him they are there for him should he want to).

This is probably why Mike doesn't bring up that Will is lying (he knew El's letter well enough to know she missed the flowers and brought her some he handpicked so they would be Hawkins flowers, so he would also know about the painting and how El had no idea what is was or who it was for, because Will wouldn't even let her see it), but he doesn't bring that up because he thinks Will probably has a reason for lying, and he trusts Will, so he is happy to let Will share in his own time. This is another parallel to Jonathan and Will when Jonathan hints he knows Will is not straight but doesn't force Will to talk about it, instead letting Will come to him at his own time when he feels ready. I don't think it's a coincidence both Jonathan and Mike act the same way towards Will because both probably witnessed first-hand how Lonnie treated Will.

When Will came back, we know Mike was protective, which we don’t know if it was him trying to cope with the trauma of not only losing Will for a long time but also the recent loss of El, or if he was always that protective over Will, but it is implied in season 1 this was a status quo of sorts from before Will went missing. Mike would feel protective over Will and he would fight back with no self-preservation in mind, especially when people would act in similar ways towards Will that Lonnie did (like the bullies making fun of Will for being gay just like what Joyce brings up Lonnie would make fun of Will for, which prompted Mike to shove them before getting saved by El), which is most likely due to Mike being around during the abuse Will faced from his father which caused him to be protective of Will, and to a lesser extent all his friends (not lesser in extremes, I mean season 1 he jumped off a cliff about to kill himself for Dustin and from Dustin immediately screaming for him not to do it, fully convinced Mike would, and to be fair he does without even knowing El is there to save him, we can infer it is a common thing that Mike is willing to go to great lengths, even risk his own safety, in order to protect. But in terms of frequency instead of amplitude, he is chronically protective of Will while only really protective of his other friends when he feels they need particular protection he can provide).

Mike said he became friends with Will on the first day of kindergarten which means they were likely around 5 and Lonnie was still in the picture. This was before Lucas and Dustin, as Mike says Will was his first friend, so Mike probably knows more about it than either of the two of them, and like Jonathan, was there helping Will through it and supporting him/protecting him to some extent, for longer, which is why he is likely so perceptive of Will's emotions and what Will is feeling, even if he can't pinpoint why.

We are told this whole time that Will is a ‘sensitive boy’, and Lonnie would abuse him and try to change him for that as well as his perceived sexuality, so actually I think it’s important Mike didn’t say anything and let Will cry because it shows Mike provides space for Will to feel, space that others didn't and sometimes still don’t. He lets Will be sensitive and cry even though both of them have had people trying to teach them to suppress their emotions, especially their fathers (Mike's parents, especially Ted, did not respect Mike's grief over Will when he was missing and was not taking him seriously because Mike was not following those same ideals of toxic masculinity Ted and Lonnie were both trying to enforce, to different degrees, in their sons).

Mike is actively trying to stop the cycles Will, and himself, endured. He is trying to be conscious but accepting of all Will's emotions so Will doesn't have to go through what he did with Lonnie. He refuses to give up on or abandon Will when he went missing because Will had a dead-beat dad who stopped caring and abandoned him. And Mike not only praised his art but kept every piece given to him, with binders of it in his room and hanging it on his walls, keeping and displaying it proudly when we know Lonnie didn’t like Will making art because it fueled the ‘sensitive kid’ who was queer narrative he tried to force out of Will.

That's also why Mike immediately looks so guilty in the rain scene when he said what he said about Will's sexuality, because he realizes it is something Lonnie would say. That is also why he immediately goes to apologize despite the same rain he was telling Will not to leave because of. Why he prioritizes making amends and admitting wrong-doing when it comes to Will in a way he doesn't even do with his girlfriend. He is trying to break the cycles and not enforce the toxic masculinity Will painfully had to endure with Lonnie for years and he is trying to, despite feeling the effects of toxic masculinity himself that he is trying to overcome in his own 5-season arc, make sure it is not in his relationship with Will, especially not by his own hands.

Overall, I guess I think it’s not that Mike didn’t notice, but that Mike lets Will feel whatever he feels without judgement or trying to change or 'fix' it. He just sits beside Will and acts normal because he doesn’t want Will to feel like it’s bad to cry; he wants to normalize emotions between the two of them because he wants Will to have a safe place to express emotions, which is important for someone who’s dad abused him and enforced toxic masculinity before abandoning him because he saw him as ‘too sensitive’. It shows Will he is not 'too sensitive' for others and that people won't try to change him or abandon him for being himself, or even for being 'too much' or 'emotional', like his father did and probably convinced Will everyone would do. I don't think Mike realized the crying was because of him, but I think he did notice that Will was crying. He noticed the what and trusted that Will will tell him the why when he is ready.

[bloodbluepearl]

i think that the phenomenon of people ignoring / leaving out swansea should be studied because there is a LOT of implicit fatphobia and ageism in that that people don't realize.

and even when people do include him in posts, he often gets boiled down to just being a father figure, which is yet another product of ageism- he's not really that fatherly in the game at all, but the only way that some people can really see an older man like him is as a father, so that's what he gets reduced to.

again, it's all implicit and subconscious more often than not, so it isn't like people are actively trying to be harmful in the way that they perceive him and exclude him, but it's important to recognize these schools of thought and call them out for what they are to nip them in the bud in order to seriously engage with the game on a critical level.

it can also manifest in actual explicitly fat-related jokes, which in and of themselves aren't necessarily indicative of anything, but when people are both dismissive of him as a character, dismissing his impact on the story and reducing him down to what they think an older man should be WHILE making these jokes, it's very clear that there are some very harmful biases at play.

i've been thinking of making this post for a while but what really pushed me to was a conversation i had in a server with someone who would not engage with the idea of swansea as a character outside of making jokes about him being fat, and when i pointed this out, they said theyd say it about anyone, that it wasn't because he was the only fat character, and then later that they couldn't be assed to understand what i meant when i explained how they and a good handful of people see him is really weird. this on top of a few artists i've seen who would draw every character MINUS swansea in a piece. these sorts of conversations need to be held! people will do and say these things without realizing the subconscious thought processes that motivate their actions, so it needs to be said that there ARE these biases and this DOES happen so that people can, at the very least, be aware of it.

[dollsinvogue]

It’s come to my attention that apparently many of you have not seen the movie Us and you don’t understand how amazing some of the accessories are! I’m a huge fan of easter eggs in character designs and I love this movie! ✂️ 🐇

(This post may contain spoilers, if you can I highly recommend watching this movie)

These two characters are Adelaide in white and Red in red. They are both played by Lupita Nyong’o and are meant to be tethered/mirrored versions of each other.

Starting off we have the box art background which was already previously leaked, it is of young Adelaide at a fair and it shows the house of mirrors she gets lost in which is a very important role in the movie

Then we have the classroom with stick figures on the chalkboard on the box, this is from the underground classrooms and is a drawing of all the tethered people

if you’ve heard of Us you should definitely know about Red’s scissors, you could not make a doll without these scissors, they were all over promotional posters, not only are they creepy but they do also represent something important for Red in the film

Red’s earrings are paper cut outs of tethered people and Adelaide’s earrings are the handcuffs that Red locked her up in

Adelaide’s outfit keeps core elements with the layering but the blood looks amazing and I’m so happy they went with it, she also has a pattern which I believe is bunnies but I could be wrong

Adelaide’s hair accessory is a fire poker, her main weapon in the movie

Adelaide has charms on her belt and I couldn’t tell what they were but my friend @the-ghost-rat pointed out that the top one is a ballerina! Ballet is a way that Adelaide expressed herself after she went through a trauma. The dolls also both wear pointe shoes which is a detail that I saw confused some people but I love it (also I love that they included some blood on the shoes!)

And finally (for now) the pet bunnies may seem random if you haven’t seen the movie (honestly the bunnies were a confusing part of the movie on a first watch) but there are a lot of bunnies in the film, it’s not just some random thing they threw in there I can’t even explain it

Another detail I really love is that Red looks like she is crying (at least in the art she does) and it is a beautiful detail to include. I can’t wait for these dolls to release and get better photos of them!

[alexa-yukiyu]

Hey! Have you ever seen Masha and the bear?

I was just thinking this idea while making breakfast for my family, so how about Masha!reader x Whitebeard pirates or young!Asl. You pick.

Thanks! Have a good day

Treasure Hound (Asl x child!reader)

A/N- and with this I officially have finished my June/July requests ✊🏽. Goal is to finish september’s this week. Also I have in fact never heard of this animation which is crazy after I read how popular it is so I tried to capture Masha as best I could but it probably is not that close but hopefully close enough!

Reader here is replaced by Dokucha which stands for Reader in Japanese for the enjoyment of both reader and oc character readers alike!

Dividers by @/firefly-graphics

“Sabo, are you sure she’s related to you?” Ace asked incredulously from his spot on his branch, watching as she rambunctiously ran around the clearing, putting even Luffy to shame as the latter struggled to keep up with the smaller girl

“Of course she is!” Had Sabo not known Ace to be so blunt, he would have likely taken offense at such a question

“Doesn’t look like that,” he muttered, taking a glance at the blond and looking back at the girl as she ran circles around Luffy, causing the latter to grow dizzy and fall back, eyes rolling around in his sockets

“She just needs to burn out all her energy. It’s always like this in the mornings,” he replied, letting out a snicker as Dokucha began shaking the poor boy in an attempt to snap him awake.

"We should let her take a look at the map we found the other day; maybe she can crack it," Sabo piped up

“No way! Sabo, we busted our asses trying to get that map; I‘m not about to trust it to a four-year-old!” Ace sneered, not willing to risk their latest treasure to what he thought to be an unnecessary risk

“She’s a lot, Ace, but she wouldn’t purposely try to destroy something, especially if she knows it’s important to me. Not to mention that, yes, she’s four, but she’s really smart; she’s especially good with plans and drafts like these,” Sabo called as he pulled out the Map

“Come on, Ace, trust me! Plus, I‘m pretty sure giving her the lead will tire her and Luffy, too!” He grinned, knowing that would be the last push the former needed

“Tch, if something happens, it’s on you,” he snarled, finally easing into his suggestion, ignoring the satisfied smirk the blond gave him as he jumped off the branch

“Dokucha come here! I got something for you!” He called, watching as the girl zoomed towards him, leaving the poor Luffy to fend off his spinning brain.

“Do you want to go on a treasure hunt?” he offered as he waved the map around, knowing the hyperactive child would never say no to an adventure or the chance to use her skills.

“Yeah!” She exclaimed as she snatched it from his hand and threw herself on the ground with him, stretching the map before them; Ace and Luffy following shortly after.

“We know the treasure is around here, but we couldn’t figure out these,” Ace told her as he pointed out what appeared to be a random arrangement of letters and numbers.

“Ah! It’s a cipher!” She beamed, stretching her arm out towards his brother without taking her eyes off the map; without any need for words, he handed her a pencil, watching as she began scribbling furiously

“Oh, what is that?!” Luffy questioned as he leaned in. Watching as the girl began to draw what looked to be a table, with each boxed being filled with a letter of the alphabet, adding some letters and numbers to the side and top of the table

“It’s a Grid code! Each letter and number stands for a specific letter! I just have to see where they intercept,” she prattled on as she continued writing away

“You already solved it?!” Ace gaped. The boy stared at the scribbles, shocked. He knew he wasn’t the best at solving puzzles, but he had thought himself to be above the girl in front of him.

“Told you she was smart,” Sabo boasted, a prideful glint in his eyes.

“Alright!” Dokucha exclaimed as she shot up from her spot, not paying any mind to the boys as she sprinted away following the directions she had deciphered from the map

“W-wait Dokucha! You need to wait for us!” Sabo called as he ran after the girl

“Don’t lose sight of her, Sabo!” Ace yelled as he, too, shot after the girl

“Hey! Wait for me!” Luffy cried as he followed after them

“Sabo, what the hell did your parents feed her?” Ace huffed out as he and Sabo threw themselves into the comfort of their sleeping bags. After they followed the girl as she traversed through the forest, crossed through rivers, and climbed mountains, they were exhausted, but it had been worth it after they had managed to find the biggest loot they had in years. To make it even better, it turns out that the plan had worked perfectly as Dokucha had also been tired out, not after running and bouncing around the place for another hour, which had also taken Luffy out.

“Well, our father and mother didn’t really fancy a daughter; they didn’t have any immediate use for her, so they just…locked her in a room, forcing her to study hours on end with no other entertainment but the books around her. So she hasn’t had the chance to run and play around like this.” Sabo sighed as he forced himself up and walked towards her, throwing a blanket over her and Luffy before returning to his spot next to Ace.

“Well, you’re parents are assholes, but we will show them, Sabo! Once we get our ship, we will show them all wrong.” he grinned as he lifted himself slightly to address his brother

“You will be a pirate that everyone will know the name of, and I will show Dokucha how big the world is and write a book about it.” Sabo grinned

“And Luffy will ****************” Ace cackled, remembering the jaw-dropping dream the crazy boy had uttered

“We will take this world by surprise, us four!”

Listen had to had my Oda moment with Luffy’s dream

@Imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

@hannahbarberra162

@epochal-oracle

[utane]

How difficult would you say it is to draw Diligence and Mud?

I think for me it's about... 6/10, but it's more because I don't have that many references.

For me they're very very easy to draw, like 1.5/10. (They're not intricate mecha after all :^D)

Diligence is a lot of simple clean shapes. Where only small details like getting the angles of his mouth or torso down correct get finicky. He is just spheres and cones

My Mud is super easy, albeit much more detailed, since he is just a skull with some melted skin draped over the lower half of his head. I've been drawing animated skull faces for a long while by now, hence why it's second nature to me.

The episode and animator showreels should provide a lot of good references. Especially the maya playblasts in showreels. You can see all the shapes very clearly without textures and only simple shading on. I recommend looking through frame by frame the episode if you need a specific reference. That's what I did to figure out how the characters work.

Looking good so far ! Just gotta keep practicing and studying, and you'll get them nasty boys drawn without trouble soon enough 👍

[rapilne]

-Ice Cold

beomgyu x fem!reader

warnings: sub!beomgyu, sex (?) this contains smut, not proofread, MDNI, beomgyu pov-ish

a/n: no summary cause i couldn't tell you what this is about. this is my first time writing anything like this, i wrote it on my notes so im not sure how many words there are, i think too many, this is without a doubt too long, pls bear with me. also english is not my first language, if something doesn't make sense well idk figure it out pretty pls, thankssss 🫶

--

"she's my girlfriend," beomgyu said, his expression a mask of utter sincerity.

his words hung in the air, the silence filled with unspoken questions. 

yeonjun squinted at him, scrutinizing his face before glancing at taehyun then back at him. "so, you're saying… you have like a crush on her?"

an exasperated sigh escaped beomgyu. “what? no," he protested "i mean, yes? ” he closed his eyes and said slowly “no… it’s like i said it. she’s my girlfriend for real.”

the weight of his words hanged heavily and his friends remained speechless, drinks on their hands and stares like daggers. beomgyu shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to do to stop them from looking at him like that.

"i just don't understand what's so surprising about it," he muttered, a pout forming on his lips.

—

choi beomgyu had always been the epitome of charisma. from his looks to his charm, whether he stepped into a crowded room or sauntered down a bustling street, all eyes gravitated toward him.

he was well-known and well-liked everywhere he went: university corridors, guitar lessons, basketball practice, even the corner store near his apartment. everyone is positively drawn in by his undeniable charm.

he likes to think he got that from his mother.

naturally, beomgyu thrives on the attention. the way people's faces lit up upon his arrival was a like drug he couldn't resist. 

specially when he is so used to getting his way. never in a malicious or manipulative way, it was jut that asking was usually all it took to always obtaining whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it.

so, all things considered, he'd never struggled to draw the attention of those he found attractive. one could almost say he had his pick of the litter.

that is the reason why setting his sights on you should be the most foolish thing beomgyu has ever done in his entire existence. and yet, there he was, unable to resist the pull.

from the first time he met you, in his advanced music business class, it was as though you existed in a world entirely apart from his own. not responding to any of his advances honestly threw him off but he tried to look past it attributing it to a fleeting lapse or perhaps an uncharacteristic bad mood on your part.

but after you acted the same way the next time he tried talking to you, and the next, and the next, he couldn’t help but take it personally. 

he soon realized it wasn't merely a matter of wounded ego. from the very first meeting, he had mustered his most charming smile just for you. after all, he thought you might just be the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life, and after just a few classes, he realized you were also one of the smartest people he knew. everything about you seemed to get his attention, like you were the main character in a movie he couldn't take his eyes off of.

so, whyy you, out of everyone, had to be the one to give him the cold shoulder like that? why couldn’t he just like someone who liked him back?

either way, he soon came to find out thanks to his seat mate jun that your behavior was not uncommon.

he couldn't shake off the words his friend had offered in consolation: "don't sweat it, she's like that with pretty much everyone."

of course, in true beomgyu fashion, he couldn't help but sweat it. 

he did pick up on your vibe—not shy at all, like he thought at first, but definitely serious and reserved— but he wasn't accustomed to blending in with the crowd like that; being treated like “pretty much everyone” didn't sit right with him. 

"it's all so high school," jun chuckled, shaking his head. "but people actually call her the ice queen.”

now it seems like getting on your good side might be a task for the gods.

good thing he is known for always getting what he wants.

— 

taking a sip of boba should never be this unpleasant. except that time he ordered matcha when he meant taro, beomgyu's boba runs are always a particularly happy time. right now though, it isn’t going so well. especially when yeonjun goes "you’re fucking lying," for what must be the seven-hundredth time.

“i only lied when i told you that mesh shirt you’re wearing was a look.”

the older gasps, "take that back."

beomgyu then stands up and looks at the counter. there are only a couple of tapioca pearls left on his drink and he thinks he might ask for some more. are tapioca pearls refills allowed in this place? he doesn’t think they’re allowed anywhere, but he might as well ask.

throwing a pointed look at yeonjun—who still looks mildly offended—taehyun tries again. "when did that even happen, beomgyu?"

entirely unfazed, he stirs his drink lazily and sits back down. "i only have like two tapioca pearls left."

"he’s talking about boba because he’s lying." yeonjun scoffs and beomgyu thinks he might punch him any second now.

"look, I don’t know what’s so unbelievable about me and Y/N being together when-"

"Y/N and me," taehyun cuts him off.

"huh?"

taehyun takes a slow sip of his drink before explaining. "the correct way to say it is ‘Y/N and me,’ not ‘me and Y/N.’ though, technically, it depends on the context of the sentence. like, both are grammatically correct, but ‘Y/N and me’ is considered mo-"

"what on actual fucking earth are you talking about?" beomgyu stares at him

"i'm talking about the proper structure of-"

“that is literally not important!” yeonjun interrupts them both with a loud voice, “can we please stay on topic? why are you lying about y/n being your girlfriend beomgyu?”

beomgyu glares at yeonjun, throwing his straw to the trashcan right next to them. they came in quite late to the boba shop and didn’t get the best table.

“for the millionth time, yeonjun, i’m not lying!” he says with wide eyes. “what is it that you want? i can call her right now, put her on speaker and asker to tell you how much she likes me, yeah?”

yeonjun narrows his eyes at him, suspicious. “do it.”

“you’re fucking kidding me-“ 

the door chimes and the older’s attention is momentarily taken by the sound. beomgyu takes advantage of it and quickly sizes yeonjun's cup only to realize his mistake too late and have the matcha flavor assaulting his taste buds.

he chokes back a gag and it’s impossible for taehyun to not roll his eyes. he appears to be the only one inmune to beomgyu’s charm, consequences of their close friendship.

yeonjun’s laughter fills the air once he realizes what happened. “that’s what you get,“ he says.

“how can you drink that?”

“matcha is tasty,” yeonjun shrugs.

“matcha is a gross,” beomgyu retorts, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

“the way you are just unwilling to talk about it makes me think that yeonjun might be onto something,” taehyun looks up at him propping his chin on his hand.

“why would i lie about me being in a relationship with someone?”

“that's what we want to know stupid," yeonjun says mockingly. "actually, why do you do half the thing you do?”

“yeonjun stop,” taehyun he says and then looks at this other friend, “beomgyu, it is not really about you being in a relationship. it is about with who.”

“what’s is wrong with y/n?” he asks with a pout on his lips.

“oh nothing,” yeonjun scoffs. “except everyone says she is quite literally a bi-“

"watch it, yeonjun,.” beomgyu cuts him off coldly with a hint of seriousness in his tone that wasn’t there before

yeonjun raises his eyebrows, frankly surprised "i was just going to say she's quite literally a big fan of not making friends,” he finishes instead, eyes wide.

taehyun intervenes swiftly, sensing the tension rising. "beomgyu," he began way softer that the other two, "i'm not doubting your feelings, but we kind of know y/n's reputation. she's known for being... distant, self-centered even. i just don't want to see you get hurt because you're too trusting."

taehyun's words struck a chord with beomgyu, but before he could respond, yeonjun chimed in, his voice filled with remorse. "he's right, gyu," he admits, a hint of regret on his tone. “and i'm sorry about before. but still, you need to be careful. y/n... people have tried to get close to her before, and it hasn't gone well."

beomgyu's heart sank at yeonjun's words with the weight of their implications settling heavily on him.

"look," he begins, "y/n is different, okay? she's not like anyone else i've ever met. and maybe i haven't been completely open about it because... because i know how you guys get. but i mean it when i say i’ve known her like other people haven’t. she is amazing”

there's a pause as beomgyu searches for the right words," she's nothing like that ‘ice queen’ corny, nonsense everyone is always talking about. I just wish you guys would give her a chance."

as the trio leave the place, beomgyu sips on his refilled boba. turns out they definitely don’t do refills, but of course the staff made an exception. “just for you,” they’d said.

he even got a new straw.

—

“and that’s my problem how?” you ask with straight expression.

the girl in front of you stumbles over her words, her voice quivering as she tries to play it off with a quiet laugh. "i-i’m not saying it's your problem," she began cautiously. "but, like, your signature could totally convince mr. yang to extend the due date. if we all get on board, he'd have to at least consider it. please?”

"no," you reply.

“what?" she blinks, caught off guard. "i mean, i’m sorry?" 

leaning back, taking a sip of your iced coffee, you return your gaze to your book. “you’re good,” you say in an almost nonchalant tone. "i’d just rather not be disturbed while i’m reading.”

"i'm not apologizing to you!" she snaps before taking a deep breath. "i just—why not? it literally doesn’t hurt you at all to sign? we really need your help y/n. it will even give you more time to finish your own stuff.”

"already finished it,” you say, not even making eye contact.

she lets out a surprised squeak, but recovers quickly.

"well, i guess that's cool for you," she mutters. " but we really need your signature or mr. yang won't even look at the petition.” 

nothing from your part.

mr. yang was a no-nonsense professor who smelled of tobacco and liked to look at everyone over his glasses as to remind you he is much more smarter than you. he hands out tough tasks, but always provides the necessary materials to complete them. though you weren't his favorite student, and he certainly wasn't your favorite teacher, you excelled in his class, meeting his high expectations. but you worked hard to get things done.

"look,” she tries one more time, “i know you're really smart, but some of us are really… struggling.“ she sighs sadly. ”it's taking forever to get through the text he sent, you know? if we all, like, come together and help each other out, we could totally make it happen. team effort. what do you say?"

once again she was met with silence.

"y/n?"

anna, the heroine in your book, seems genuinely tormented and you’re really starting to feel bad for her. if only she didn’t chose the red door. the blue door was the obvious right choice, but she decided to be adventurous. now, she will probably die. can vampires die? of course they can, you remember. for example, in twilight, you have to cut them in little pieces and-

"hello?! earth to y/n?" you hear a loud voice in front of your face.

you glance up. right, the ‘help us change the due date’ girl from your class. can’t really say you remember her name. 

“you're still here?" you ask flatly. can people get any more annoying? 

"oh my god, seriously?!" she practically yells this time. "i can't believe you're such a bitch!"

suddenly, and before things could escalate further, beomgyu steps in, appearing from around the hallway "whoa, why are we yelling" he asks, his guitar hanging on his shoulder. “what's going on?”

he could hear the shouting from a distance, but the details were lost to him.

on the other hand, you think beomgyu looks exceptionally good today. his dark, long hair framing his beautiful face, and eyes so deep and brown, pouty lips, you can not wait to get him alone…

"hey, beomie," you greet him with a smile. "nothing much. ready to leave?"

you've been waiting for him to finish his composition class. your own class got cut short, and you were ready to head home, but beomgyu insisted on spending the rest of the day with you, asking if you could wait for his class to end.

there's someone you can't say no to, and that's choi beomgyu, you've come to realize.

without waiting for an answer, you toss your book into your bag, grab your iced coffee, and take his hand, leading him towards the exit. your classmate watches you with wide eyes, speechless with incredulity. beomgyu glances back a little confused, offering her an apologetic smile and a quick wave as if to to smooth things over.

once outside, hand in hand, beomgyu asks carefully, "what was that?"

"oh, nothing at all,” you brush it off.

"she seemed mad," he remarks, and you stop in your tracks, making him stumble a little.

"did she? i didn't notice," you say, teasingly. "but i did notice i haven't kissed you yet."

with a playful glint in your eyes, you reach up and gently pull him down by the collar of his shirt, closing the distance between you as your lips meet in a slow, lingering kiss. beomgyu sighs contentedly, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you closer.

"you're the sweetest," he whispers against your lips, screaming girls all forgotten.

—

“look at this video i took on saturday,” hao leans over the table to show a clip to beomgyu as they sit with a couple of his classmates at the uni cafe. beomgyu recognizes the place on the video as the han river, and the performers on the clip as a dance team yeonjun showed him before.

“oh, i know them!” he says with a big smile, “they’re sooo good. don’t you think they should be like performing on music videos or something?”

“they should,” hao agrees. “i’ve seen them on tiktok though, and they’re making really big numbers.”

“oh shit, yeah, me too! i keep telling y/n to come with me to see them whenever yeonjun tells me they have a showcase.”

this caught the attention of gina, a girl from his music production class “i’m sorry, but i still can't believe you're with her, gyu.” she remarks shaking his head incredulously. 

beomgyu looks up from his phone to give her a questioning look, “what?”

“ah, she’s right” hyunjin says next to them through bites of his ham sandwich, "i mean, she's smoking hot, but she's also a total ice queen."

beomgyu rolls his eyes. "not the high school nicknaming, please” he says irritated “she is not an ice anything, you calling her that is cringe. and i’ll have you know she is really sweet, actually.”

"sweet? seriously, beomgyu?" hyejin chimed in, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "every time i've tried talking to her, she acts like i don't even exist."

“sh-“

"yeah, and remember when she snapped at mark for accidentally bumping into her? it was like she thought she was too good to even say sorry."

“but-“ 

"and what about that time she ignored seungmin’s text asking for help with the assignment? she could have at least replied!”

beomgyu's heart sank as he listened to his friends.

“remember last week? what she did to lila? the stuff with the signatures? honestly, she is such a bitch sometimes…”

before beomgyu could respond, you happened to walk past their table, expression colder than usual. hearing only part of the conversation and misinterpreting it, you shot beomgyu a hurt look, assuming he was trash talking you, and quickly walked away without a word.

"great, now she thinks we're all talking behind her back," gina mutters with her eyes flicking nervously toward you as you walk off.

beomgyu stands up abruptly, “you know what? that’s exactly why she doesn’t get close to any of you,” he says, voice low but firm. “you all love to run your mouths, but when it comes down to it, you can’t even look at her in the eyes. don’t talk about her like that again. if i hear it once more, i swear i won’t just walk away.”

glaring at all of them, he turns sharply, striding out of the café without a word. outside, he quickens his pace, determined to catch up to you and make things right before it's too late.

—

the doorbell rings incessantly, echoing through the hallway as beomgyu refuses to give up. he followed you from the school building to your apartment, his apologies relentless, his determination evident in every step, but despite his efforts, you continued to ignore him.

now in front of your door, beomgyu knows he's pushing it, but the thought of you hating him now drives him crazy. with each ring of the doorbell, he feels a surge of desperation, making him want to rip all his hair out. 

ringing the bell and knocking on the door with urgency, he's fully aware that he's risking disturbing the neighbors, they may even call the police.

but beomgyu will risk going to jail for you, he thinks.

the door suddenly swings open with a sharp smack, and you're finally standing there "knock it off!" you yell with frustration evident in your voice.

despite you glaring at him, he’s just glad to see your face.

"i'm sorry," beomgyu blurts out, his words coming out in a rush. “but i am sorry you had to listen to that, not sorry because i was agreeing with them or anything, because i didn’t. i swear i didn’t. i was actually telling them how amazing and sweet you are- i always do, you know that. they’re not even my friends anymore! i ended things with them i let them know- oh fuck, i always talk about how perfect you are, how you’re the best person i’ve ever met in my life, and i'm just-god, i’m just so lucky to have you! you don’t understand, i need you to know that! i love you more than anything, and i don’t care what anyone else says, i don’t care what they think because you’ve always been nothing but good to me, and i’m not gonna let them make you think otherwise"

his words spill out in a jumbled mess, but the sincerity in his voice is unmistakable.

you stare at beomgyu, your expression neutral, as his words hang in the air between you. his eyes search yours desperately and, for a moment, he thinks he might have finally pushed you too far, that his rambling confession may have been a mistake.

but then, without warning, you break the tension with two simple words. "come in," you say.

relief floods beomgyu's features as he exhales a shaky breath, the weight lifting from his shoulders. without hesitation, he steps through the doorway, the sound of the door clicking shut behind him.

—

an hour or two passed and now beomgyu is sitting right in front of you, in your bed, with red cheeks in anticipation. 

“beomie, do you think i’m a bitch?” you ask with a teasing pout on your lips.

“no! no, no, no i don’t” he responds, looking up at you with puppy eyes, long lashes and a slight frown on his face

“correct,” you concede, putting his hair behind his ear softly “you were dying for me to even look at you, beomie, so i did. how can i be a bitch when i give all you the attention you so desperately beg from me?”

beomgyu exhales, clearing his throat to prevent himself for making any noise. you look down at him, his dark hair, indolent eyes and pouting lips. so pretty, just for you.

“answer me.” 

“you’re not, you are so good to me, you’re always so good to me.” he whines, but somehow his voice gets lower. aching to touch you, but keeping his hands on his side, just like he was told.

"that's right" you move down, slowly positioning yourself to straddle his lap. he feels the heat of your body against him, every movement making him burn with anticipation “i’m so good to you…” you concede as you tap him to lift his hips and reach out with confident fingers taking his pants off. you pause halfway, though. a teasing smirk playing on your lips. "but, do you deserve it, beomie?" you ask, your tone laced with mock concern.

beomgyu's breath escapes him in rapid bursts, too stunned to speak, but he knows better than not to answer you.

“no..” he chockes out “i don’t deserve it, don’t deserve you.”

“you’re right, you don’t deserve any of it,” you remind him, “good thing i’m so wonderful and sweet right?” you mock as you shove the rest of his pants down and underwear down in a quick motion. 

his cock comes up against his stomach, twitchy and veiny and your mouth is watering at the sight in front of you, wanting nothing more than for him to cum down your throat. but today is not the day.

beomgyu chews down hard on his lip and closes his eyes at the feeling of you liberating his length. he’s always been too sensitive, but with you he feels like it’s always the first time.

“open your eyes, beomie,” you tell him. “i want you to see and remember what you have to be grateful for.”

he opens his eyes in an instant just for him to watch you kneel down and slowly wrap your mouth around his tip. he sucks in a a hiss and let’s out a groan when you draw your lips with a light pressure down his cock until he hits the back of your throat, only to come back up and leave a trail of saliva along the way.

“fuuck,” he lets out with a trembling breath. “oh my god”

you put him on your mouth again and swirl your tongue around him, he hits the start of your throat once again and slide up and down, up and down. you wrapped your lips around his tip one more time before running the flat of your tongue up his cock slowly as you stare directly into his eyes,

beomgyu is a mess of flushed skin and teary eyes and can’t stop whimpering at the feeling and sight of you using your mouth on him, he swallows, throat dry and bites his bottom lip to prevent him from spluttering nonsense.

“i don- don’t know if i can- fuuuck- i- i can’t.. can’t hold it, fuck y/n , you’re so- so good to me-“ 

with his hands on your hair loosing himself to the feeling of your mouth on him, you can’t help but moan on his cock as you can already taste his pre-cum on your tongue, threatening to spill past your lips. you take you mouth off of him. “beomie, don’t cum yet-“ you say between licks, before spitting on him, lubricating and using your hand instead “- baby, hold it in, not yet.”

“i- i can’t, i can’t” he cries and you stop, his chest going up and down aggressively before lifting his face to look at you. lips red and shinny from biting hard and cheeks rosy from all the pleasure. you think he has never look this pretty.

he sits up trembling, looking at you you slide your drenched panties off. then you straddle his lap once again, looking at his red erection up and proud, tip right at your entrance, and without any warning, you take his cock in your hand go down on him inch by inch, his arms coming around your torso in desperation as you hold yourself up wrapping yours around his neck, holding each other so close you could feel eachother’s heartbeat.

you completely sink down on him and you both gasp, automatically making you clench around him.

“fuuck, baby” beomgyu hissed. his hands coming down to your waist to keep you in place, he’s afraid he would cum in a second if you moved an inch. “don’t move, please”

so, you raised your hips and you both let out a breathy moan as you sat back down again. he whines.

“you can do it beomie, hold it baby” you purr in his mouth. repeating the action again and again. “don’t you want me to fuck you?” 

“ye- yes please,- fuuuck yes” he cries, holding you close. always eager to please, he lets you do as you want. obeying you just in time for him to become a whimpering mess.

it was embarrassing, really, how affected he got in literal seconds. and you, with the sensation of having his cock filling you up, couldn’t help but use him like a toy.

“good boy,” you sing softly, breath hitching. “good, good boy. i knew you would let me use you like this. kne- knew you would like to make me happy. right beomie? because you love me? you want to- oh my god” you whine, bouncing up and down on him with urgency, felling him thus up to meet you halfway. “you want to make me feel good”

beomgyu feels like fire inside you, feeling you squeezing him so tight he feels himself closer and closer. he takes his hand from your waist to massage your breasts, knowing how sensitive your nipples are, making you sigh, earning him a kiss so lewd he’ll dream about it. “yes, thank you, please,” he cries, “i want- i want-“

“you can’t even talk beomie!” you chuckle dryly, “wh-what would your friends say if they saw you like this? huh?” you whispered on his mouth, the feeling so good its sending your blood rushing to your head as you keep fucking him stupid.

“their proud, confident beomgyu is just- fuck” you gasp at the feeling of his lips closing around your nipple, ”just a dirty slut? huh” you throw your head back to give him more access as you continue to bounce on his cock “ a begging little whore is what you are beomie”

he feels himself closer and closer, your dirty talking sending him over the edges he pleads, “just for you, i swear is just for you, i love you”

“good boy” you panted on his mouth again, feeling the sensation of your orgasm looming over your body and beomgyu was hit with the staggering force of his release as he came inside you, calling out your name in pleading gasps.

you blinked almost sleepily, looking down at your boyfriend and his post-fuck look, a small smile on his face as you leaned down to place a little kiss on his nose.

“love you too, pup.” you sighed.

—

not matcha, but not taro, either.

beomgyu feels like trying something new as he looks at the menu. the scent of sweet tapioca and freshly brewed tea surrounds you two and he thinks this is exactly what dreams are made of, yet deciding on just the right drink feels like an impossible task right this second.

so he scans the menu, his eyes flickering between the various options. yeonjun said their new horchata drink was good, but he doesn’t trust yeonjun’s taste.

“do you know what you’re ordering?” he asks you with big, round eyes. 

you can't help but notice how his eyes resemble tapioca pearls – "just iced coffee," you reply with a hint of amusement.

“right,” beomgyu chuckles, realizing he should have guessed as much.

suddenly, the girl behind the counter approaches you, her bright smile matching the cheery vibe of the boba shop. "hi there! can i help you?" she chirps.

beomgyu's attention shifts to her, “oh! yes yes, just a second” he responds, his eyes scanning the menu once more.

"well, our special today is the pina colada boba blast," the girl continues with a playful tone "it's sweet, refreshing, and i guarantee you it will leave you wanting more!”

beomgyu looks up, and before he could respond, you step forward, "we'll figure it out ourselves, thanks," you say curtly.

the girl's smile falters slightly. "o-okay, let me know if you need any help," she mumbles, retreating to the safety of the register.

"come on, babe, she was just doing her job," beomgyu says, chuckling a little and reaching for your hand. "but i think is time for me to finally admit… there's something kind of hot about you being mean."

you rolled your r eyes, but a small smirk tugged at the corners of your lips. you figured that much way before he did “i’m not being mean, beomie,” you still say, feigning ignorance “i truly don’t know what you’re talking about.”

beomgyu grins, feeling a surge of affection for the girl by his side. as they placed their order and settled into a cozy corner of the boba shop, he couldn't help but think how happy he was to have you, even if you did have a bit of a mean streak.

[webbytbh]

My ducktales swap au

This is actually a remake of my old swap au from two years ago. The triplets are swap with Webby May and June, Della is swap with Scrooge, Donald is swap with Beakley, and Daisy is just Daisy. Although I won't show the adults in this post cause I'm still working on their designs.

In this one Webby is now thr biological daughter of Scrooge although I'm not sure if I'm gonna change that or not. She's now the brains of the group. Often takes charge and is a huge nerd. A part of the junior woodchuck alongside her sisters. Because she is no longer a clone her name is April here to match with her sisters' name.

She honest doesn't change much in this au because she was always really smart. Just in here she never goes into spy training. And isn't socially awkward. Although she still is very excitable and definitely takes up a lot more responsibilities as she now grows up with two younger sisters.

I quickly had a design for May but the thing I struggle was that since she is swap with Dewey she is now the guts of the group. So then I was trying to figure out her characteristics here while still trying to keep her as May. I already had April and June figured out but May I did have some difficulties with. And I still unsure with.

But I was thinking what makes Dewey the guts of the group? Obviously, it's his bravery, actions before thinking mindset, and impulsiveness. So then how could I transform that to May without her just being a second Dewey. Bc that's the difficulty of making this au. I don't want it to be a carbon and paste just with the characters swapping.

I want them to still be themselves just with their talents swap? I hope I'm making sense.

Also May and June don't have any actual personality in the show, I mean if you look hard enough you will be able to see what differentiate them from each other. But there still isn't enough to go off by besides fully analyzing the episode and vibes alone.

I'm not sure if maybe instead I should have her a reserve character who is the guts of the group not because she is really brave but because she grows to be brave? Or someone who doesn't care about the danger if it helps her write the next scene for her book or find the next landscape to draw/paint. Idk yet I'm still working on her character.

I originally just had June with a shirt and short but it looked a bit too basic compared to her sisters so I changed it a little. Making her shirt into an oversize sweater. And leggings underneath her shorts. I struggled way less with June compared to May. Because I already had this idea that with her being the charmer of the group. She would definitely use that charm for good and help convince many people into putting their money into charities.

Just like Louie she won't be a bug fan of adventures not finding how she fits in into this. Not being an action type of girl and would rather volunteer at the animal shelter.

Huey goes by Huey Vanderquack here. I didn't change much of his design. I just gave him the blue vest Webby wears. Donald is a spy in this au, so he finds Huey whole trying to stop fowl and takes him in as his own. Claiming he's his uncle and that his mom, Bella, is his cousin. A nod to how Della in the short film was Donald's cousin instead of sister, and her name was Dumbella.

Anyways, here Donald would teach Huey self-defense and instead of being Della's son, he's her clone. He is more socially awkward here as he takes Webby's fate of being in the manor his whole life without any contact with kids his age.

He is the fist of the group and is still obsessed with the jwg. He is the Webby to May's Dewey. And helps her find out what happened to her dad.

He is also overwhelmed easily, only because Huey is somebody who struggles with change and meeting three kids and his whole life now changing would definitely be a huge change for him, a good change, but still a lot to take in and adapt to.

[bumblebeeonthistle]

Anyone up for a game of tag?...with ODM gear?...where Levi's it?

Tags: Levi/Reader, slow burn, mutual pining, fluff, canon verse

Characters: Reader, Levi Ackerman, Hange Zöe

Summary: On orders from Erwin Smith, you have received private training lessons with Levi since you started as a cadet. One evening, Levi suggests that you play tag – for training purposes only, of course.

Excerpt from my Levi X Reader fic

It’s been months since you’ve last seen Hange, so as soon as you spot the familiar tall figure approaching beside a noticeably shorter silhouette, you feel your mood rise considerably.

Damn it. You’re growing soft, you guess.

“Hey, little prodigy!” they call, waving their arms at you in their signature greeting.

You’re just about to offer a half-hearted wave when you suddenly find yourself enveloped in a strong embrace.

“I missed you, little P,” they coo, their nose buried in your hair.

“I refuse to be named after a bodily fluid. That’s where I draw the line,” you scowl, trying to pull away from them without hurting them.

And failing.

“No no, not pee, but P! As in the letter P – for prodigy!”

“Nobody but you will know the difference!” you groan.

“What about L then? For little? Or for Levi’s, you decide.”

“I hate you,” you grumble.

Maybe not so soft after all.

And to think you’d been happy to see them.

You turn to Levi for support, but he only shrugs as if to tell you that you’re on your own this time.

Traitor.

“Can’t you just call me by my name?” you complain.

“Where’s the fun in that? Levi here is Shorty, I’m Four-Eyes or Glasses, and you’re our little prodigy!”

“I think you forgot the prefix to Glasses,” you mutter, earning you a twitch of Levi’s lips.

“So, should we start training, or are we just gonna stand here and chitchat all night?” you snap.

Before any of them can answer, you’ve grabbed Levi by the wrist and proceeded to haul him with you into the woods.

It’s first when you reach your forest clearing that you realise how casually you’d just touched him. Of course, you’ve done similarly before, but that was before the whole almost-kissing thing.

Mortified, you let go of his hand and whirl around to apologise, but he shushes you with a finger on your lips. “Do you really think you could have dragged me here if I hadn’t let you?” he muses, eyes twinkling silver and mouth curled into a smirk.

Your scowl immediately returns, and you stomp away from him.

“Oi, how are we supposed to train if you’re leaving?”

His words make you halt in the middle of the clearing. You can hear him approach you from behind and turn around to face him. “Okay, what’s on the program today then?” you ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

“We’ll play tag.”

You feel your jaw drop.

He can’t be serious…right?

“You’re catching flies,” Levi says dryly.

It takes some time before you’re finally able to string together a coherent sentence.

“What are we, five years old?” you scoff.

“It’ll be good ODM practice,” he points out.

You think about it for a moment before concluding that he’s right. Not that you like it – you’ll probably spend the whole night chasing him around, or the whole night being caught by him. Neither of which you’re particularly excited for.

“Who’s it?” you ask.

Levi’s eyes darken. It sends chills down your spine and you can’t decide whether it’s from anticipation or fear. Probably a bit of both.

“I am. You have a head start of thirty seconds.”

It takes you a moment to realise that you need to get the hell away  right now if you don’t want to get caught within the next minute.

You shoot into the air and begin zipping through the forest. If you can get far enough away, he won’t be able to hear the whizzing of your wires – because regardless of how much you oil the main housing, you know Levi will still be able to hear that – and you might be able to use the darkness to your advantage.

But you know it’s in vain when you hear him set off the ground after twenty-seven seconds have passed – because if you’re able to hear him, then he probably already knows where you are too.

Dammit.

Levi catches up to you after an embarrassingly short amount of time, like a shadow following you through the night. It doesn’t take long before you see the figure whizzing only a dozen metres to your right. You know you can’t outrun him so instead, you wait for him to get closer.

Closer.

Just a little closer.

Close…closer…closer…

Without warning, you drop to the ground. As you’d hoped, Levi continues his trajectory for a split second longer – enough for you to shoot in the opposite direction.

You swerve in and out of the trees, so fast that it takes all your concentration not to collide with anything. The wind whips your hair around your face and you feel your eyes sting and water. Furiously, you try to blink away the tears so they won’t obscure your view.

And before you know it, you’re back at your clearing. You aim for a tree on the opposite side, scanning the area for a glimpse of silver, listening for the faintest sound of whizzing wires.

But the forest has gone silent.

Too silent.

You should have known he was only waiting to ambush you.

As you shoot over the clearing, a figure comes hurtling at you from the side, too fast for you to avoid. The last thing you see before you’re thrown off course is Levi’s eyes and a glint of teeth. The impact of your collision knocks the breath out of your lungs as you both speed towards a large tree.

You feel Levi’s arms form a protective cage around your body, and he’s basically carrying you by the time he lands elegantly on a tree branch.

He loosens his grip on you slightly. “Got you,” he breathes into your ear before finally letting you go.

You stumble out of his arms, thinking that it wouldn’t surprise you if you keeled over from embarrassment right now.

Laughter sounds from below, and you spot Hange eyeing you from another tree, their long legs dangling over a branch and notebook at the ready.

“I suck at this,” you grumble.

Geez, you hadn’t even been able to evade him for longer than a couple of minutes at most – and he’d practically princess carried you because you were thrown totally off course during your collision and hadn’t been able to land properly yourself.

Levi’s fingers twitch at his sides before he curls them into fists, hiding them in his pocket as he answers. “It’s still a couple of minutes longer than most would’ve been able to.”

“If you say so,” you huff.

Then, you square your shoulders, sauntering over to him.

Fake it till you make it, or whatever the saying is.

“Well, is it my turn now?” you ask.

You really don’t look forward to chasing Levi around the forest – you’ll probably end up playing this stupid game until curfew starts because there’s no way you’ll be able to catch Levi if he doesn’t want to get caught – but you can still pretendto be confident, right?

“You don’t need to give me any head-start,” he says, just before setting off from the ground.

“You little--”

Seething, you set off after him.

As you’d predicted, you spend the rest of the evening following Levi around the forest.

You curse and yell and try any dirty trick you can think of to catch him off guard, to make him veer off course, to make him slow down. Anything that would give you just a glimpse of a chance of catching him.

But he’s always just beyond your reach. Sometimes, you think he’s letting you catch up to him on purpose, just to tease you – to let your fingertips barely graze the hem of his cloak just before he speeds up again, leaving you behind frustrated and fuming.

It’s like a game of cat and mouse, but where the mouse is the one toying with the cat instead of the other way around. And by the time training is finished, you’re gasping for breath, your uniform sticking uncomfortably to your back.

You land heavily on the ground after Levi calls it a night, swaying on the spot.

“Hey.” A firm grip steadies you before you collapse onto the forest ground. “Hey, breathe.”

“I’m trying to,” you hiss, “but someone made me chase them around the whole forest for an entire two hours!”

“Actually, it was only one hour and forty-three minutes,” Hange informs you.

You send them a nasty glare. They just shrug, then busies themselves with flipping through their notebook.

Sighing, you turn towards Levi. “So, am I excused now? I could really use a bath.”

“Actually…”

Read the rest on ao3 if you're interested! Call my name || Levi X Reader

[prokopetz]

Code Green

A game for 3–7 players, about being where you're not supposed to be.

Last night, you were suspended in a tube of brightly coloured goo in an underground research facility, operated by an organisation whose three-letter initialism's meaning is strictly need-to-know. This morning, someone noticed your tube was empty. Nobody has determined how that happened yet, and you're not inclined to stick around until they figure it out!

Or, in other words, it's been nearly a whole week since I got that massive revision to Space Gerbils out the door, and apparently my brain has decided that's enough of a break. This thing was written start to finish in under 12 hours, so let the circumstances of its authorship guide your expectations. Special thanks go once again to Caro Asercion, whose micro-RPG Dwindle introduced me to the design space I'm fucking around with here. Go buy their stuff.

Anyway:

What You'll Need

Code Green is a tabletop RPG for one game moderator (GM) and up to six players. Each player will need a copy of the Profile Grid, below, as well as three tokens of some sort: dice, coins, beads, etc. You'll also need at least five six-sided dice (for the whole group, not per player, though it's fine if each player has their own set). If you're using dice for tokens, it's recommended that the dice you plan to roll be visually distinguishable in case they land on someone's Profile Grid.

Rolling Dice

There are two ways you'll be asked to roll dice in this game: rolling d66, and rolling a dice pool.

To roll d66, roll a six-side die twice, reading the first roll as the "tens" place and the second roll as the "ones" place, yielding a number in the range from 11 to 66. For example, if you rolled a 3 and then a 5, your result is 35. You may also be asked to flip a d66 roll; to do this, take your result and swap the digits without re-rolling. In the preceding example, if you flipped your roll of 35, your new result would be 53.

To roll a dice pool, pick up the indicated number of six-side dice, roll them, and take the highest individual result. Duplicates have no special significance. For example, if you rolled a pool of three dice and got a 2, a 4, and a 4, your result would be 4. If you would ever roll a pool of zero or fewer dice, roll two dice and take the lowest instead.

Character Creation

Each player should create their own character. There are three things about your character which are always true:

You are newly born into the world. You may know things about the world (e.g., from your programming, having read them on a computer terminal, etc.), but you haven't experienced them.

You are implausibly good at remaining inconspicuous; unless you're deliberately drawing attention or doing something which requires a dice roll, humans will almost always fail to spot you.

You are not human. You can decide what that means.

To find out what else is true about your character, roll or choose three times from the Form table, and three times from the Function table, placing your results into the correspondingly labelled slots on the Profile Grid, below, in any order you please. Your three results from each table should be different; if you elected to roll and get the same entry multiple times, flip your result, and re-roll if it's still a duplicate.

Think about what your three Form traits and three Function traits imply about your character's physical makeup, but don't set anything in stone just yet – you'll see why not in a moment.

Finally, roll a six-sided die five times, and record the results in the order in which they're received. The resulting five-digit number is the only name your character has when play begins.

Table 1: Form (d66)

11–12. Blood 13–14. Bones 15–16. Brain 21–22. Claws 23–24. Ears 25–26. Eyes 31–32. Guts 33–34. Hands 35–36. Heart 41–42. Hair 43–44. Legs 45–46. Lungs 51–52. Nose 53–54. Skin 55–56. Tail 61–62. Teeth 63–64. Tongue 65–66. Wings

Table 2: Function (d66)

11–12. Accelerated 13–14. Autonomous 15–16. Auxiliary 21–22. Cryogenic 23–24. Cryptic 25–26. Elastic 31–32. Electric 33–34. Entropic 35–36. Invasive 41–42. Invulnerable 43–44. Kinetic 45–46. Magnetic 51–52. Phasing 53–54. Polymorphic 55–56. Projectile 61–62. Pyrogenic 63–64. Telescopic 65–66. Toxic

Playing the Game

Play proceeds in a series of scenes. In each scene, the GM will set the stage: a challenge to overcome, a peril to escape, a mystery to investigate, etc. Given the nature of your characters, most things will be mysteries to you!

Initial Token Placement

Once the stage has been set, place each of your three tokens on a different square on your Profile Grid. If you have no preference, you can roll d66 for each token and place it in the square whose marked numeric range contains the number you rolled, flipping or re-rolling your result if you get a square which already contains a token. The placement of these tokens represents your initial state when the scene opens. Depending on the nature of your character, this may be reflected by a shifting of internal focus, or by a physical transformation.

Participation

To participate in the scene, simply tell the GM what your character does; the GM will describe how the world responds, and ask what you do next. Whenever you wish – or are forced – to do something more than lurk and observe, you are obliged to make a test.

Making Tests

To make a test, first choose a pair of traits – one Form trait, and one Function trait – with which to face the challenge. For example, if your Form traits are Legs, Tail and Teeth, and your Function traits are Cryptic, Invulnerable and Phasing, you might test your Invulnerable Legs against the trouble at hand.

Next, count the number of tokens present in the rows extending from each of the chosen traits. The illustration below shows which squares would be consulted in the preceding example:

Next, roll a dice pool containing a number of dice equal to the number of tokens present on squares extending from the chosen traits. Do not count a token twice if it's on the square where the two traits intersect (e.g., the green square in the illustration above). In the event that no tokens fall on squares extending from appropriate traits, remember that you are allowed to roll a pool of zero dice by rolling two dice and taking the lowest rather than the highest.

Finally, compare your result to the following table:

1–3. Less than human. Whatever you'd intended to try still happens, but it cannot overcome human opposition (or adversity which would challenge a typical human), and any lasting effects are transitory and easily explained away. 4–5. Mostly human. Your effort can contend with human opposition (or circumstances which would challenge a competent human), and its lasting effects make it obvious that someone (or something) has been interfering with matters. 6. More than human. Your effort easily brushes aside any human opposition, and its lasting effects are impossible to rationalise as anything other than the intervention of inhuman forces.

Without Applicable Traits

In the event that you're forced to make a test and no possible pairing of your traits is applicable, you don't get to roll anything, not even with a pool of zero dice; simply resolve the outcome as though you'd rolled a result of 1–3. Other characters may attempt to preserve you from this fate by assisting you, in which case you roll one die per assisting friend; see below for more details.

Assistance

If you wish to assist another character in making a test, consult your own Profile Grid, considering only those squares which contain tokens. Only the specific pairs of traits represented by the squares on which your tokens fall are eligible for assistance; for example, if one of your tokens falls on the intersection of Cryptic and Teeth, you may assist with Cryptic Teeth, but not any other pair of traits involving Cryptic or Teeth unless those squares also have tokens on them.

If you're able to identify an eligible pair of traits that seems applicable to the test at hand, explain how you're using it to help, and hand the player making the test one extra die. Any number of characters may assist on a given test.

Providing assistance neither requires nor permits your character to adapt (see below) – it needs to be your own test for that!

Adapting

After resolving a test, your character adapts, shifting focus or form to reflect what they've learned. Take one token of your choice from your character sheet, and move it to a different square which doesn't already contain one. You can move any token you wish, but it must end up on a different square than the one it started on unless no valid destinations are available. Adapting is not optional, and must be carried out after every test.

Suffering Strain

If whatever you're making a test against is particularly strenuous or dangerous, you might suffer strain as a consequence. Strain will often be incurred on a result of 1–3, and rarely on a result of 4–5; only the most foolhardy efforts will incur strain even on a result of 6!

To incur strain, roll d66, and place a small X on the square on your Profile Grid whose indicated numeric range contains the number you rolled. If there's a token on that square, immediately move it to an empty square of your choice, unless fewer than three unmarked squares now remain; in that case, simply remove the token entirely.

For the remainder of the scene, tokens may not be moved to any marked square. In addition, if you suffer further strain, and the square indicated by your d66 roll is already marked, your character is incapacitated, and may not participate in tests at all until they recover.

All strain is cleared – and any discarded tokens restored – at the end of each scene. Incapacitated characters also recover at this time.

[cacodaemonia]

I've had this in my drafts for months, and I just saw a post complaining about fan artists (while having the nerve to start out with, "I love fan artists so much but...") who draw characters this way or don't draw them that way, so I figured it was about time to share this.

You know that unwritten rule in fandom that says you shouldn't demand that fic writers cater to your tastes? "Don't like, don't read"? Here's a reminder that the same goes for fanart.

Sometimes, I see complaints that fan artists don't draw character A exactly how they look in canon/in a particular slice of canon/according to someone's specific headcanons. Sometimes, I see complaints that character A is being depicted, say, without enough body hair, or with the wrong body type, or as a different age than they appear in canon.

If you find yourself getting upset with fan artists over things like this, I hope you'll take a moment to:

mind your own business

consider how fucking hard art is

I think a lot of people who haven't spent time in the art trenches have absolutely no clue how difficult it can be to draw a human, period—let alone human features you haven't already practiced a million times.

This can be especially true for artists who don't have a lot of drawing experience. When I was a kid, I mostly drew women, so learning to draw more typically masculine features was a challenge, and it took me many years to even get okay at it. It takes a lot of practice to figure out how to draw a variety of facial structures, body types, hair styles, ages, etc.

For a example, I have never known an artist who doesn't think drawing children is a bitch and a half, and wrinkle placement can mean the difference between drawing something that looks like an elderly human versus a shriveled apple.

Simply drawing body hair can be very time consuming. You also have to understand hair growth patterns and direction and take into account if the person's body hair is very curly or more straight, etc. If I just want to do a really quick sketch, maybe I don't feel like spending 10-20 minutes adding body hair. Maybe some people don't like body hair so they don't want to draw it. Maybe some people have carpal tunnel syndrome or medial epicondylitis and the extremely repetitive motion of adding body hair to characters is physically painful. You don't know. And it's not your place to tell them they're wrong.

Fanart, just like fanfiction, is about drawing the things we like—NOT catering to what other people want or think we should be making.

So feel free to talk about how much you love it when fan artists draw characters in ways you like! But don't be a jerk by demanding people draw what you want, and don't put down those who don't cater to you. You can have all the personal preferences you want in fanart, but it's rude and entitled to force those preferences on others fans or act like you're a better person because of your tastes in the appearances of fictional characters.

[howtofightwrite]

For a character that virtually can’t die and regenerates in order to keep living, how do you make action interesting? Emphasize they still feel pain, why they’re doing it?

I'm actually going to step back a bit from this question first, and complement it. This is a very honest question, and something most writers who include violence in their work, should really think about. Even if you don't think you have characters like this, you do.

Now, I'm going to dunk on Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw for a moment. Ages ago (I think it was in one of his Resistance reviews), Yahtzee described, “threatening to blow up the world,” as the laziest form of raising the stakes. Because, “hey, I live on a world.” He's mostly correct. Threatening your protagonist's life is even lazier. In the vast majority of cases, your audience knows you won't go through with it. That you won't kill off your protagonists.

With that in mind, when you decide your protagonist is completely immortal, that changes less about how you write them than you might expect. The biggest difference is simply that they're directly aware of their plot armor, rather than them engaging in faux indecision based on their perceived mortality. Again, this is something that every writer who uses violence should think about, at least a bit. It is natural for a character to fear for their life, and have reservations about risking their life, but making the part where your character's lives are on the line isn't automatically suspenseful. In a lot of cases (consciously or not), your audience will call your bluff, when you threaten to kill off a major character.

If you think back to major character deaths where something drops them without warning, part of what makes those scenes work is the lack of (apparent) setup. The writer didn't spend pages teasing you with the idea, they just went for the throat and ended that character on the spot. This is more respectful of your audience, because you're not telling them, “well, I might kill this character, or I might not.”

To be clear, I'm not saying that there's no place for teasing your audience with a character's impending demise, just pointing out that in a lot of cases, this won't generate the kind of suspense you'd hope for.

So, to get back on topic, how do you make it interesting? Remember that while this character can't die, the same is not true for the characters around them. Depending on the tone you're going for, you could create an absolutely brutal crucible effect, where everyone around your immortal gets burned off, sooner or later. Whether that's literal, or figurative, is up to you. Even if your character can't die, watching people they care about suffer and die is going to have an effect on them.

You probably don't need to draw special attention to the physical pain they experience, but you do want to be aware of it. Especially in the context of how pain affects the victim's behavior. Beyond that, there is probably an element of pain being far more annoying to the immortal than it would be to a normal person. They know it's not telling them anything meaningful, but it is distracting.

Long-term, both of these can easily result in personality shifts. And, legitimately, this is a scenario where a character may be immortal, but they would still experience significant changes over time, and with the growing emotional pain, could have very adverse effects on your personality. This does have some very real, “live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” potential. How many friends can you lose before you stop caring? How many funerals can you attend before you start taking the phrase, “you're either part of the solution or part of the problem,” a little too far? How many times can you pick yourself up off the pavement a blood-covered alleyway, surrounded by corpses, before you start to forget what made you human in the first place?

And, that's not the only option. The simplest answer for maintaining tension when one of your characters is immortal is keeping your eye on what they're trying to accomplish. Keep track of their objectives, because I guarantee they can fail those. Even just keeping their own nature concealed from the mortal world is probably fairly important, because of the idea that men in hazmat suits will drag them away to some research lab and poke them until they figure out how to replicate their immortality, is a classic (and potentially plausible) threat. (Bonus points, if you're wanting to loop in something like the medieval inquisitions, or some other secret societies that could pose this kind of a threat.)

So, what do you do? To dig out an old cliché threat, “there are fates worse than death,” and it's probably worth exploring them. This also opens up new possibilities for threats. Finally, it's worth remembering that immortality does not guarantee success. If your character is hoping for that, it might be time to give them a very harsh lesson.

-Starke

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