#it is so weird to see the same location in different angles with a different story BUT with some of the same actors

[scarefox]

Ok but all I see is the corner where Babe was laying on the floor watching Charlies accident video over and over again 😭 How am I supposed to unsee Babes house? So much stuff happened here, I will be reminded at every corner.

Ok I am trying to think in parallel universe 🧘‍♂️

[dancingdonatello]

2012 Leo X Fem Reader Leo just being the gentleman he is to his queen. Like literally the biggest gentleman. Like holds the door open when their walking, helps them get down from something, like everything he could possibly do he does

2012 leo x reader

Your turtle boyfriend had more manners than most human men you’d met in your life time.

You smiled at him as he opened a door for you, even if it was the door of an abandoned Kraang lab. A normal date location for sure. To be fair, it was the only place you two could really go together that wasn’t the lair.

He led you to an empty room that was filled with a bunch of candles. You weren’t sure if their purpose were to be romantic or just a way to light up the room since there was no other light source available.

He had dragged in a table, it was obvious with the deep scratch marks in the floor that lined up with the table’s legs, and had two chairs facing each other.

He waited for you to walk over and pulled out the chair you had chosen for you. “Thanks!”

You both jumped as a piece of the ceiling came crashing down onto the floor next to the table. He laughed nervously and kicked it the debris into a pile under the table. You used it as a dirty foot test. Good thing you had worn your old sneakers.

He set a half broken picnic on the table and rooted through it, having to almost stick his head inside to be able to see with how dark it was.

After you two ate, he seemed pretty bummed out and ready to go. He helped you back through the broken glass you two had to pass to get to the chosen room, holding your arm to help balance you as you tried to step on the empty spots.

“Something wrong?” You asked as he lead you the way back to your home through a bunch of secluded alleyways where it was almost certain no one would see you too. You never had to even think about the twists and turns, he never minded that you never knew the way he had shown you hundreds of times. He’d show it to you over and over, as long as it gave him more time with you.

“No,” he sighed, frowning at all the trash thrown everywhere. He shoved some aside with his foot to clear your path. “I just wish… This could be different.”

“How come?” You frowned up at him, grabbing onto his arm to stop him from walking. He turned to face you, head angled downwards to look at you.

“You deserve to be at a restaurant or something.” He grabbed the hand that was on his arm and held it in his three fingered one. “Not in an empty Kraang base.”

“But I can’t go to a restaurant with you… only the one with Murakami.”

“Exactly.” He gave you a pointed look. You frowned at him and forced your fingers to interlock with his. Yes, it felt weird and awkward but who cares?

“Even if some jerk head took me to a five star restaurant, I probably wouldn’t have had the same experience as going to some weird, jank, abandoned building with you. I haven’t met anyone as thoughtful as you yet, Leonardo.”

You pressed an angry kiss to his cheek and he stared at you, confused at the mixed signals coming off of you.

“Seriously, Leo, I don’t think you realize how good I got it!” You started to walk and swung your hands back and forth between the two of you, giggling as he gave you an odd look. “I mean it!”

“If you say so…” He tugged you closer to his side to avoid you stepping in a puddle you hadn’t noticed.

He had not a clue in the world, did he?

[avicinda]

Wish Master Chigda Reference Photos!

Bonus: fun secret forbidden photo mode backdrop location included.

Fun fact: once you put Chigda in the weakened state and get past the wall with the shrinking mechanic, there is, as far as I can tell, no timer to hit the core! Which, in true Nikki fashion, means photo time! If there is a timer, then it's longer than however long it took me to get these. (That's how I took what is now one of my fave screenshots I've ever taken!)

The thing is that you can only really do this in the first two phases, before the music changes from Faith, Beyond Lies! to Faith, Shattering Despair! It's possible too in the final phase, but he continues to fire thorns at you which have a chance of damaging you and dropping you out of photo mode.

Image heavy so it's under a cut. Note I don't put my game on high quality because I don't want my laptop to explode any more than it already has thanks to Infinity Nikki.

Closeups from different angles! There's always purple mist around him and dark essence coming out of him.

His robe by the way is very clearly still the Wish Master's robe, most visible in the way the hood's flaps have folded down (what Yoyoda/the fake Wish Master is wearing is how it should look).

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm convinced there is nothing under that robe anymore. Either his face turned into a Desperation Orb and the rest of him withered away or turned into the vines embracing his robe, or his entire body just kind of compressed into the orb.

Profile views.

Back view, you can see where the vines wrap around him.

Top views of the entire flower to get an idea of its shape. The petals constantly shift and move. Somehow it reminds me of the big machine in the middle of the wishing orb auditing station!

I've always though the "crown" of mutated vines around him was maybe intentionally shaped the same as the Wishful Aurosa headpiece, but I think combined with the way the flower is opened up, it's also like a throne similar to the one inside the flower.

Also, that throne/chair/bed/whatever...it has the same general shape as the one in the Temple of Wishes, but it's a different design and material. The one in the flower appears to be carved from a tree, while the one in the Temple is woven. perhaps it's just his old throne that he was laying on when he had Desperation Syndrome, and the difference in style is to show how much older Chigda is?

One of the main vines, obviously the buds are closed during this phase and open up otherwise.

Now, here's a secret: nothing except the immediate space around Chigda himself has a hitbox. You can walk under the vines and stand almost under Chigda.

(This is behind him, you can see I'm standing on top of the big hole his vines are coming out of.)

There's some interesting effects you can get from the purple mist and lighting (not the confetti, that's part of the pose which in hindsight was not the best choice for this showcase, oh well). I'm convinced this is intentional, Infinity Nikki is committed to letting you take pictures wherever, whenever you want, no matter the backdrop or looming threat!

Now you too can go and be weird with Wish Master Chigda!

[bluntblade]

Realised that this never posted, but I stand by it:

It's really weird that Rogue One's aesthetic, which was specifically developed for a Star Wars film which had minimal space wizards and was instead about much more subdued characters and murkier moral themes, has now become the aesthetic which gets slathered over all new live-action Star Wars whether it fits or not.

If you step back, Rogue One isn't just very different to the Saga movies either side of it, it's pretty damn different to what came before, what with the modern war movie influences. It's working to portray how the Galaxy often feels outside the saga, and the visuals are part of that.

Mando mostly works with the same look because while there are some big personalities, they're almost all side characters, while the mains are stoic and reserved except for Grogu (who's the only wizard regular). Andor looks downright great, not least as much of it is shot on actual locations and on full sets.

But apply this to Ahsoka and Kenobi, and it rather cuts against the vibe they're going for. Space wizards, with their operatic cosmic conflicts and connection to a mystic energy, tend to want something a bit more heightened (which I think is an under-discussed problem in the PT which is very muted much of the time, and a major strength in the more stylised Empire and TLJ). The colours are muted, the angles mostly flat, and it ends up being at odds with the story being told.

To extend Kenobi some goodwill, lots of the latter seems to have come from the Volume. You keep seeing where the cinematographer wanted to crank a shot of Vader to be sharper and more impactful, but couldn't because the Volume doesn't permit that. Although I do think there are some baffling bits of blocking like in the chase and the first duel, the floaty shaky-cam is a generally poor look and really, Lucasfilm shouldn't lean so hard on the Volume (I mean, seriously guys, look at Monarch. That looks miles better than anything you've done on TV except for Andor.) But point is, they tried and ran into constraints.

Meanwhile Ahsoka seems exceedingly comfortable with both feet in Gordon Willis' metaphorical bucket of cement. The characters' energy levels are tamped way down from Rebels to match the muted presentation, and things often feel low-energy even just within the context of these shows. Even when the show steps into the World Between Worlds, an explicitly supernatural plane (or goes into Ahsoka's coma dream) there's no real change in look. Contrast the way that Empire employs that low shutter speed in the dark cave, while TLJ steps into something surreal complete with voiceover and an impossible CG camera move. In Ahsoka, though, there's little attempt to make the place feel otherworldly beyond how the scenery looks.

And these are largely missing a vital part of Rogue One's look, which is scale. Both Gareth Edwards and cinematographer Greig Fraser are great at portraying large-scale things in interesting ways, and that's something which will tend to get lost with a move to the small screen and the massive use of the Volume, without shots from locations or physical sets to balance it out and make spaces feel more real. Without that, the Mandoverse keeps feeling... rather pokey.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi, Miss Raven! What're your thoughts on the new characters' designs and the new cards we're getting?

[You can see the designs for the Halloween 2023 cards and other related TWST news here!]

I'll post my general thoughts below! I unfortunately don't know enough about Pinocchio myself to point out all the little easter eggs in their outfits, so I'll leave that to those who are more knowledgeable than me.

***Spoilers below the cut!!***

Regarding the NRC boys' looks overall, I think it's a very fun theme and very fitting for the location of the event. I like that they all still wear masks, just in a different context than in Glorious Masquerade. One thing I did notice is that the masks seem... same-y? Like they all resemble thick tree roots or something like that. So maybe they aren't masks at all, but they're associated with whatever the conflict in the story is. (I previously suggested mind control or the loss of consciousness, so maybe the "roots" play into that???) You can see the marionette theme Yana was going for, as well as some design elements from Black Butler's circus arc, very clearly. The poses for each of the boys, even the R cards, are extremely dynamic and imply a strong sense of movement. The ribbons are such a simple detail that contributes a lot to this sense of whimsy and flow.

Some comments I have on specific designs and poses:

Suspenders are so... Trey 💀 THERE'S REALLY NOTHING ELSE FOR ME TO ADD HERE, THEY JUST SUIT HIM

I like it when Trey makes these kind of slightly sus but plausibly deniable faces... He should make more of them...

I can't see the front of Jack's outfit that well, so I don't know if I can fully comment on it??? But I can see his. Like. Physique... coming through... That chest to waist ratio/j

Seeing Jack's tail like that kinda weirds me out. I think that's the first time we've gotten a "full" view of how the tails look coming out of the pants??? So maybe I'll get more used to it with time...

J WORD MY BELOVED dghgqwktvwukdviu1vdutw1513FR7vuofOTVUofvfaafvfyivs.,bk;mobsdb;ibuafetvuqoffSEythTOTqebivfguovqnafCUtuiUIEtt please ignore my bias 🤡 The way his top hat is angled and how there's a dark blue ribbon around him... It vaguely looks like he's trying to pass as Crowley, LOL

I like how his undershirt is frilled and how he has that sash at his waist it reminds me of the genderbent design for my TWST OC! The fact that both he and Floyd have the eel emblem that resembles a heart is also really cute~

Lilis is my favorite design of the R cards!! There's a very good distribution of ruffles throughout the look, and his knotted skirts fit well with his personal flair.

I'm not a huge fan of the style of hat Cater's wearing (sorry to all the Cay-kun stans out there), but I can appreciate his look. His dress appears more militant than Trey's, and his posing is certainly more aggressive--it's nice to see him in this new light.

FHIBBAILAIBASIADIHBLBUDB EVERY TIME I SEE L*ONA NOW I'M GOING TO THINK OF THE ONE REBLOG I SAW THAT SAID "of course leona has his tits out again" BECAUSE THEY'RE RIGHT, HE'S LITERALLY THE GIRLIE THAT DRESSES SLUTTY ON HALLOWEEN AND SOMEHOW NEVER GETS COLD 😭 You go, king... Live your best life!!

Love L*ona-san’s new hairstyle here!! 👀

The way Floyd is posed reminds me of those people that walk around on stilts. I think I much prefer the coloration on Floyd's outfit than on Jade's, but I prefer Floyd's jacket to Jade's. I think Floyd's the best of the SR designs!

Shockingly, Vil's look doesn't stand out to me that much??? I enjoy his sash, but I don't immediately pick up on anything in his illustration that catches my eye.

His pose resembles that of a ballerina, which just makes me think about the time he assigned Epel and Deuce extra (ballet) dance lessons in book 5 ajdbhasivldsadued

Of the SSRs, Ace is definitely my favorite one. He just looks so dramatic soaking up that spotlight and trying to look cool while doing it... Bro's 100% thinking, "heheheheh, I'm SO awesome :))" in his head.

Ace's design also reminds me a lot of Jack Hearts (from Disney Villain Recruiters). Not sure if it was intentional or not, but I'm definitely super into it!

HHNNNNNGNGHGHHGHGNGNGHHGHGHGHGHHHHH I WANNA BITE HIS HEAD OFF AND BULLY HIM SO BAD, I WANNA WIPE THAT SMIRK OF FHIS DUMB FACEe Am I seriously about to revert back to my Brat Loving era for Trappola... Maybe so...

I was pretty much expecting a SSR Ace (because he's a trickster with a brother that works in an amusement park) and Ortho (literally a robot that became a real boy), but Kalim took me by surprise. In hindsight, I guess it makes sense though...? Kalim has a similar immature vibe as the other two (plus I do remember there being this one scene in Aladdin where the Sultan was dressed like a jester that was being maneuvered on puppet strings).

It's great that Kalim gets to be a little out of his usual element and make darker, more mysterious expressions like what we see in his new illustration. I'm not sure if I entirely agree with how he's dressed (the yellow jacket is WAY too bright), but I love his his coattails (???) trail behind him in waves.

OR-KUN MY SON 😭😭😭 As is the case with all of his gears, I adore how the devs creatively adapted clothing into metal parts for Ortho! The half-caplet is easily the best part of the whole look for me (the pattern on it reminds me of stars falling down)--and because Ortho has a smaller stature, the type of hat he's wearing isn't as offputting; it actually looks very cute on him.

ANYWAY, VERY HAPPY THAT ORTHO GETS TO HAVE A HALLOWEEN SSR TO MATCH HIS BROTHER'S HALLOWEEN SSR FROM LAST YEAR... They match!!!

... Is that the fucking cricket on Ortho’s cape... and the goldfish on Kalim’s scarf… AND THE CAT ON ACE’S WAIST… What does this meeeean 🤡

And now for my thoughts on the two new boys!! Honestly?? I don't actually have much to comment on in this regard because I try to reserve my judgment of characters until I've actually seen them in action. I haven't seen Pinocchio either, so I don't have a strong basis for what their personalities would be like based on their original Disney counterpart. I only vaguely understand that Honest John and Gideon trick children into visiting Pleasure Island... That's it, that's the full extent of my knowledge on that pair. I don't have any other expectations going in other than "yeah, these two are going to swindle me".

Gidel looks like a mix of Cheka and Ruggie to me (because of the hair and the eye shape). He seems like he’ll be the other guy’s goon, similar to how Jade and Floyd/Ruggie follow Azul/Leona. Nothing else for me to add, Gidel seems alright… Just a silly lil’ guy!

I have more… mixed thoughts on Ferro. One one hand, he looks like the exact kind of shady bitch I’d love. (You know, the ones that smile and lie and manipulate and drive a knife into your back and—LOOK, HE’S VERY J WORD CORE) On the other hand, I’m beating back the “you like cat/dog boys” allegations from my friends, so 💀 I can’t give in so easily/j

Looks-wise, Ferro’s iteration of the rat tail hair is not as ugly to me as Malleus’s is. (I think it’s because it looks more windswept!) I also really like how he dresses—very dapper 😌 and he can pull off green eyeshadow well!

I’m wondering how they’ll make Ferro different than the other con artists we’ve seen so far *eyes Octavinelle* but I’m keeping my hopes up since the devs did a good job remixing the “I have a dead brother and I feel immense guilt about it” backstory for Rollo (when Idia had a similar one). Looking forward to that~

I’m sure my thoughts will chance once I actually get to see them in the event! ^^ I’ll keep you posted. For now, I’ll keep cautious. (Actually, this fan art basically summarizes my current feelings on the two! I’m Rollo/j)

[shybongocat]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 11~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So why are we doing thing again?” Nero grumbled, irritated on why he had to go too when Vergil and Dante were more than capable of doing it on their own. He didn’t see the purpose of going but Trish, Lady and Nico begged him to spend some “quality” time with his father. “Come on Nero! You never see your father as much, get some father-son bonding why don’tcha!?” Nico exclaimed “fake” tearfully, her hands pressed together in a prayer. Nero grimaced hearing the words “father” and “bonding” in the same sentence, it felt foreign to him. Lady and Trish joined in on Nico’s charades. “One day you’ll regret not spending enough time with your father… I-I would know..” lady winced as her tone lowered, her face darkening. Trish patted her on the back cheering her up. “Yea kid, better get some bonding in now before shit hits the fan and Dante out and all you have left is vergil” Trish exclaimed eyes darting between Nero and Vergil hinting between them. Nero eyes darkened as he briefly glanced at Vergil who’s resting on the couch in the shop reading his book. His eyes were steadily studying the book like a piece of art, flipping through pages every so often. His gut was telling him they’re right and maybe It won’t be so bad to bond with your father but his mind saying it’s a bad idea. He doesn’t know what to do, this all feels so weird and foreign to him. He thought long a hard, silence spanning for what felt like an eternity until a sudden noise broke the void.

Knock* knock*

The rumbling of the front door creaked open as a shadowy figure loomed outside the entrance. Everyone’s eyes darted towards the door curiously. Nero nerves were on edge as he’s quickly whipped his red queen from his back taking a battle stance preparing to attack, his fingers at the trigger to rev his blade when Dante suddenly tapped his shoulder startling him.

“Oh hey Morrison! What’s up!” Dante waved walking over to him. Morrison slowly stepped into the shop as he his appearance slowly appeared. He wore his usual business casual with a fedora hat to match his blood crimson suit, he had a cigarette between his left fingers as he released a puff of smoke from his lips. “Just stopping by to give you men the details on today’s mission but I guess someone’s a little to eager to get to it” Morrison eyes darted towards Nero raising an eyebrow. Nero nervously Laughed, quickly sheathing his blade behind his back. “Oh don’t mind him, he’s just a bit tense right now” Dante chuckled joking as his eyes briefly glared at Nero. Nico whacks nero upside the head tugging his arm to make way for Morrison to enter. Morrison clears his throat as his struts into the shop taking place behind the desk, he rummages through his pocket until his finally pulls out a high tech device. Everyone’s eyes stare at it looking bewildered, then suddenly the device lights up as a holographic screen pans out like a virtual screen. Everyone was stunned seeing such a device, Morrison gauges everyone’s face. Vergil being Vergil payed no mind to the unusual display as he continued reading his book.

“So the remnants of the qliphoth are still very much alive and thriving” Morrison speaks making sure everyone’s listening. “There seems to be quite a few left on the other side of town, which looks like it’s being ruled be someone or.. something” Morrison continues, everyone’s faces carefully studied the hologram as pictures of the qliphoth taken at different angles as words displayed information regarding it and its location. Dante face darkened studying the pictures, him and Vergil destroyed the main source for the qliphoth.. so why is it still around and thriving even?

“This job isn’t a one man army, so Vergil, Dante And Nero, you three we’ll be doing it.. as a group” Morrison greatly emphasized the last words making sure Vergil heard it, only a low hum came from Vergil hinting he heard him loud and clear, his gaze still fixed on the his book. “Heard that Vergil?.. guess we’re partners in crime once more” Dante teased glancing at Vergil as he briefly meets Dante’s eyes before returning to his book. Nero lowly grumbled knowingly he’s now indefinitely stuck going on this mission. “Ah man! Cheer up why don’tcha, thought you love kicking demon ass?” Nico teasing slapped Nero’s shoulder flashing a smug smirk. Nero annoyedly rolled his eyes watching Nico giggle to herself. Nero lets out a long exaggerated sigh grimacing at the 2 brothers remembering the last time they worked together. He’s still to this day stuck up on Dante calling him “deadweight” like he’s trash.

Clap*

“Alright then! Now get to work boys” Morrison announces as his quickly made his exit disappearing into the streets. “You heard the man get to it ladies!” Lady called out as a smug smirk crept on her lips. “Yea yea we’re going” Dante lazily replied, tapping on top of Vergil book hinting to him it’s time to go. Annoyed being interrupted during his reading, he quickly slams the book close putting the book into his coat as as he lazily stood up stretching out tensed muscles. Dante patted Vergil behind the middle of his back flashing a teasingly smile but quickly Vergil swatted his hand away as he shot daggers at him with his gaze. Vergil steadily made his way outside the shop as Nero soon followed suit, Dante began taking a few steps before halting before the door “we won’t be long so be sure to take care of the ship while I’m gone.. capeesh?” Dante called out eyeing the 3 ladies, they all nodded. Dante flashed a quick smile before exiting the shop and shutting the door behind him.

Vergil already shifted into his SDT as his wings slowly spread out, preparing to fly. Nero u fortunately isn’t able to fly as hasn’t gotten that far in training his DT form. Dante eyes glanced at Nero seeing he’s not in DT yet. “You okay there Nero? Didn’t learn to fly yet?” Dante softly spoke, Nero rolled his eyes “nah not yet, still learning and stuff” Nero winced out feeling embarrassed. Vergil lowly chuckled seeing his sons face beet red in embarrassment. Nero quickly caught that quickly glaring at him “what’s so funny old man” Nero shouted tone laced in venom, eyes shooting daggers at him. “Oh nothing..” Vergil huffed out composing himself. Nero lowly grumbled as his slowly shifted into his DT. Dante soon shifted into his SDT form towering over nero, he glanced up at Dante briefly before annoyingly huffing. Grabbing ahold of Dante hand with his spirit wings absolutely refusing to even lock hands with that man. “Everyone ready?” Dante announces glancing at Nero and Vergil. They both hummed, giving Dante the signal it’s time for lift off and soon they were all soaring through the sky.

This was a new experience for Nero, though he doesn’t show it, he was really amazed at the view from up here, the pearlescent blue sky, soaring above the clouds, it felt breathtaking. The suns warmth cascading above them. “You know I could teach you, you know.. like devil triggers and flight” Dante loudly spoke hoping Nero ears heard, his voice was metallic and rumbly. Nero remained silent as he ignored his question, Dante heart ached feeling rejected from his nephew, he took the hint and continued flying remaining silent as they all made their way to the qliphoth. It felt like an eternity endlessly flying in the open sky until Vergil quickly called out “it’s just up ahead, let’s slow down” “right, got it” Dante replied as his speed decreased as the qliphoth soon appeared amongst the clouds. Nero face darkened seeing that damn qliphoth again. He was not excited to be back there again that’s for sure.

Dante and Vergil soon landed near the entrance to the tree, Nero quickly released his grip on Dante as he landed on hit feet, crossing his arms. Vergil hummed glancing at Nero before setting his eyes on Dante “so what do we do?” Vergil questioned, his arms crossed, his voice nonchalant. Dante sighed befitting taking a deep breath “same like we did the first time verge, nothing else to it” Dante replied voice hoarse with a hint of annoyances. Vergil simply nodded as he slowly entered the qliphoth. Nero eyes followed Vergil as he soon disappeared into the entrance. “You gonna be okay buddy?” Dante softly spoke resting his hand on his shoulder. Nero quickly swatted his hand off him as he glared behind him shooting daggers at him “fuck off” Nero spat, flipping him off as he quickly walked into the entrance. Dante sighed watching him disappear into the entrance, shaking his head in annoyance. “Guess they really are the same” Dante softly chuckled to himself as he too soon began to walk into the entrance.

-

Nero found himself walking into an endless white fog that appeared to stretch for miles. He walked and walked until he suddenly slammed into something. “Fuck!..” Nero yelped as his gaze slowly went up seeing he’s walked into a glass mirror. His face contorted into confusion wondering when the hell it got here. This was all to weird for him, maybe if he could make a break for it and leave the qliphoth to the 2 brothers, quickly agreeing to himself he bursted into a sprint back the way he came, seeing the exit slowly approaching his eyes lit up picking up speed until it was abruptly stopped. Nero shouted profanities as he ran into another mirror “what the fuck!?..” Nero grumbled glaring at the same exact mirror, annoyed now he pulled his blade from his back, piercing it into the ground as his pointer and index fingers pulled the trigger revinv the blade up, heating the blade. “You want to keep me trapped here huh? Give it a try fucker” Nero shouted, his tone heavy and low, feeling the rush. He pulled his blade from the ground as he soon quickly released a heavy strike at the mirror quickly shattering it into pieces. His eyes lit up feeling accomplish, when a blade suddenly pierced through his gut. His winced out seeing a glossy like blade coming out from his gut. The blade slowly pulls out leaving blood drops. Nero’s eyes slowly glances behind him, his eyes furrows seeing what looks to be a glass replica of himself, he was bewildered seeing what’s before him. The replica wasted no time as he quickly lances towards him, Nero quickly dodges, the replica tumbling missing its target. Nero heart raced seeing how fast the replica can move. “Holy shit..” Nero huffed, slowly getting up recomposing himself. With the same energy Nero quickly readied his blade and took a low swing toward the replica aiming towards its legs. The replica smoothly maneuvered across Nero’s body like a spring, tipping Nero’s body off balance as hit face meets the floor with a loud thud. Nero growled feeling humiliated as he quickly got up and took another swing at the replica, his blade soon connecting with it, slicing it in two. “Fuck yea!” Nero cheered seeing he actually did it until a blurred flash narrowly misses his face almost upper cutting his right eye. Blood dripped from his forehead, down his cheek as his eyes widen seeing the replica is still alive even when its form is cut in two. Well.. this is going to be a problem Nero thought as he readied his blade for round 2. The replica created 2 identical replicas of red queen dual holding each one, running both blades done its edges, taunting him. “Well shit..”

[fereldanwench]

I saw someone recently ask why their shots weren't turning out how they wanted them to despite being able to support the highest graphical settings, so I thought I could share a little behind-the-scenes tidbit re: my approach to lighting and post-editing in VP in case it's useful.

And for my money, lighting is one of the most important factors in getting a shot that I'm happy with. Yes, a high-end graphics card can absolutely help, but that's just one tool of many that can make a difference.

(This info is probably most relevant to folks who can mod their game, but the overall principle can also be applied to vanilla photomode, too. You'll just have to find good in-game light sources since you won't be able to spawn your own, and it might require a little more finagling with the vanilla photomode exposure and contrast settings. Here are some 100% vanilla shots I took recently that I think turned out pretty decent even with those limitations, just to give you some ideas if that's what you're working with.)

Lighting & Exposure

So referencing the photos above, from left to right:

A purely vanilla shot with ray-trace enabled but no lighting tools

The same shot with lighting tools on Valerie

The same shot with lighting tools + some Lightroom editing

Beefy graphics cards can certainly make a difference here since they'll be able to render more nuanced light and shadows, but as you can see in the purely vanilla shot, that ray tracing on its own ain't doing much when it comes to lighting Valerie. The neon lights in the background are pretty, but she's barely even visible in that dark ass street.

In the second shot, Valerie is in the exact same location but has multiple light sources on her. I mostly use CharLi lights these days, which is a free suite of lighting tools available on Nexus, and the customizable ambient lights in AMM, also free on Nexus.

I didn't think to screencap my exact lighting setup, but I'm pretty sure it was something like this:

CharLi spotlight on the left and right of Valerie, tinted pink/magenta

CharLi spotlight on the upper right, tinted teal

(I think I might have had an orange CharLi spotlight too, but it wasn't visible from this angle)

2 CharLi white spotlights directly on Valerie

Probably 1 or 2 AMM customizable point lights on her face (I like using the point lights at very low brightness to accentuate faces and give them a nice glow)

Now putting all these lights on a character could end up way too bright at the default vanilla exposure, especially if you aren't using any kind of major Reshade overhaul (which I do not).

Instead, I just use the vanilla photomode exposure settings to make a scene really dark and then light it back up with my own tools. (This is also a great way to shoot in areas that might have weird lighting effects, and it can be done indoors or outdoors and at all hours of the day.)

Just a simple example of that in these shots:

On the left, Valerie has a spotlight on her face and chest--It's pretty bright, too bright for my tastes. On the right, she has the same spotlight, but the overall exposure has been dropped down to -90 and the highlights have been dropped to -60 (now it's a little too dark for my taste--If this was gonna be a real shot, I'd build up more lights, but just wanted to show how much altering the exposure can affect a shot).

Post-Editing

As for making further adjustments to colors, shadow levels, sharpness, etc. of a shot, I know a lot of folks prefer to do that with Reshade presets, but... I don't, haha. I did make a basic shader to reduce the green tint of the game, and I use the Cinematic DOF and Real Long Exposure shaders to get a nice depth of field and reduce hair pixelating. Otherwise, all other adjustments I make are in Adobe Lightroom (or Photoshop if I need to make more precise adjustments).

And it's just a personal preference here. I just don't like having to mess with too many mods and menus in-game--I feel like it increases the chance of something freezing or crashing or me accidentally closing out of photomode. It also helps to give me a new perspective to see the shot outside of the game, especially if it's a portrait-oriented shot. Plus, I just like the process. Gives me one more reason to stare at the blorbos for a little while. :3

I adjust each Lightroom preset as needed depending on the color and exposure of the shots I'm working with, but these are some of the more common settings I modify:

I almost always finetune the exposure and shadows/highlights.

I like to do a global increase for saturation and vibrance.

A lot of my presets increase the saturation of reds and blues and decrease the saturation of yellows and greens, but this can vary; e.g. i like the greens to be vibrant if it's a nature shot.

I also usually make the white balance a little cooler.

I love tinkering with the global curves settings to "flatten" the shadow levels.

And I like really crispy shots, so I always increase the sharpness, and I'll usually bump the texture and add some noise, too.

These are all things that can be done in other similar programs/apps or even with Reshade. If you're just starting out, I think using pre-made presets and filters is a great way to go, and as you get more comfortable with the tools, you can start to make little tweaks and edits to personalize the style.

So anyway, there's some of my process! Everyone's got their own, and what works for me might not work for you--Don't feel like you have to take any of this as gospel or work exactly the way I do. But maybe this will... shed some light (ha ha, I'll see myself out) on how to get started with some VP tools. <3

[jessjustplay]

Currently Playing Final Fantasy XVI - 40 hours update (Part 1)

June 21, 2025

So much has happened since the last update. We visited a completely new area and progressed the other plot lines for the story.

You can't live in the past, no matter how nice it might've been.

It was cool to see that the emperor dude uses astrologers. I have been reading some historical fiction by Philippa Gregory which are set in the English royal courts of the 1400s and 1500s so her books and this game have a similar time era. The kings and dukes in the books I read also used astrologers.

I've been doing more side quests now, ever since I got a chocobo I realized I need to be doing them all. This one gave more information about bearers and their brand.

"The brand is more than just ink on flesh. It's a death sentence - milk of the wyvern tail lurking below the surface of the skin. One ill-conceived incision - a single slip - and the poison fouls the patient's blood. Failure means death." (Tarja or Clive?)

"The day I decided that I would take Cid's name was the same day Tarja took my brand. He always led from the front..." - Clive talking about how he felt like he had to get rid of the brand if he was going to start using Cid's name.

"Since then, Bearers have only ever had two choices: court the crystals' curse in service of their masters, or defy the brand and suffer the wyvern's wrath..." - Tarja

SO THIS INTERESTING INFO! The brand is a mark of enslavement (which has been obvious so far, I know) but Tarja putting it in an "A or B" option really hits home how difficult it is to be a bearer.

Hello Final Fantasy XII?? Felt like I was in the Dalmasca desert. Interestingly enough, Final Fantasy XII has a kingdom called Rozarria... that's a discussion for another day.

Dalimil Inn. This location was beautiful.

Clive's uncle is SO annoying.

Finally found out her name is Jote. I like her.

Interesting character.

"You and I have more in common than you might think. Not only are we both masters of the blade - and devilishly handsome to boot - but we are both the second people to bear our respective names."

Okay I admit, this made me laugh and it was the only time I liked Clive's uncle. Cahoots is such a funny word.

Okay Final Fantasy XIII??? Also what language is that lol

I think this sums up Clive's main objective. To get rid of the Mothercrystals so that people stop depending on them so much. We see this play out later in the game when people are marching towards Bokad to get into the Crystalline Dominion because they "need" more crystals. Clive says it's "because they don't know how to live without their crystals blessings."

It's almost like an addictive drug. A reliance. It's giving wifi dependence tbh lol I can easily imagine people moving to different locations if their wifi service in their area disappeared.

This random NPC was actually bigger than Clive which I thought was funny.

The water was overheating and the culprit was a bunch of bombs. LOL

He said it, not me.

I fight to build a new world now. A better world, where men can live and die on their own terms. - Clive

I think this was after Clive's uncle said that he (Clive) could take back the Rosarian throne. But Clive doesn't want it.

The views in this location are incredible!

Kupka, you have a beautiful home.

Who is this again? lol I just remember he is the one who picked up Kupka from our first battle. And then he is seen later talking to Barnabas, King of Waloed.

He really fell for Benedikta, huh?

Let the flames burn within you! - Clive

Battle 1 - Ifrit vs. Titan

Battle 2 - Ifrit vs. Titan

Battle 3 - Ifrit vs. Titan

3 battles!? Back to back!? Are they crazy!? This was intense. The 1st and 3rd battles were pretty "normal", but the 2nd battle had a different angle that was weird at first but thankfully when Ifrit shot his the fireballs they were still reaching Titan. I would have been mad if they fell down and "missed." I ended up dying in the 3rd battle with a Game Over but THANKFULLY when I clicked the "retry" button (or whatever it says) it restarted me at the 3rd battle and I was all healed up with my 6 heals back.

And to anyone who thinks that's weird or "bad" of the game... are you dumb? I value my time so the fact I didn't have to redo the first 2 battles was such a relief!

We saw Ultima again after the fight.

"With every sip you take, you grow in strength. And soon you shall achieve perfection." - Ultima

WHAT PERFECTION?

"You will accept us, Mythos. It is inevitable. You were created for this purpose. And you shall serve it." - Ultima

The other dude from above also calls Clive "Mythos"... what's that about!

"We see now. Human will is so insubstantial, it cannot exist in isolation. You mitigate its weakness by interweaving it with your consciousness. We believed we had merely to purge you of your will to claim our vessel. It appears we first have to sever every thread of the consciousness that supports it." - Ultima

OUR VESSEL? So this "body" that we see is obviously not what Ultima really looks like? It must just be a physical form for Clive (and us) to see.

"No matter. The time to build a new world is not yet upon us. We will contemplate..." - Ultima

It feels like this game has 3 major plots:

1. Clive wanting to destroy the Mothercrystals to create a new world, mostly because it was Cid's goal and he is carrying that responsibility now. I count Jill and everyone at the Hideaway part of this plot.

2. Dion/Sanbreque/Empire trying to take over, Dion dealing with being part of the family but maybe possibly not agreeing with his father's goals. I think Barnabas/the Royalists/Waloed fit in this plot because I think they both want to control the land. And I guess shove the Dhalmekian Republic in here too.

3. Ultima trying to control Mythos, who is inside Clive? Phoenix/Joshua is part of this, mostly wanting to stop Ultima.

OKAY THIS LITTLE GIRL, WHO IS SHE? I have seen her so many times. She is always around, trying to sell medicine, dealing with the destruction or violence in the places she's at. It is such an interesting perspective shift and I like that they've consistently been showing her around. !!! WHAT IS HER NAME !!!?

Click here for Part 2 update.

[givehimthemedicine]

El's 4x3 massacre flashbacks analysis

just want to chew on some of the unique massacre closeup shots in this flashback that are rarely or never used in the full scenes. gonna try to see what jives and what doesn't.

(I'm not even gonna touch the Brenner shots, not because they fail to raise many questions, but because he's been thoroughly analyzed already)

let's begin!

---

8 Ball

4x3 flash:

best look at this is in 4x8, and I think it's not consistent. the blood on the 8 looks a little different. and we may be missing floor droplets:

---

chess board

4x3 flash:

the angle/distance of the board seems a little different relative to the 8 ball compared to my previous 4x8 screenshot, wouldn't you say?

the chess board is also not as pictured in Brenner 4x1 scene. there's no blood on it or chess pieces around it when he walks into the room:

ah so then it must come from El's 4x7? also no:

ps literal dialogue about Papa "moving the kids like chess pieces" and then both dead kids and chess pieces keep moving around in the massacre footage. I'm begging them to be serious

it also doesn't match the 4x6 bullying scene flashback's chess board:

---

I don't know what you call this thing

4x3 flash:

it usually sits on the center bookcase in the RR, and we also saw tiny blonde El playing with it in Terry's memory.

it is present in 4x7 and its blood seems consistently oriented to the stripe on the floor.

it's also not a perfect match for 4x6 (it's lying on white floor and the blood spatter extends from red onto white)

---

maze

4x3 flash:

not much to say about this, we're never shown this area very closely during the massacre.

--

drawing table

4x3 flash:

this is SUCH a weird angle. this is the divider of one of those drawing tables seen from almost directly underneath.

I wanted to say it's obviously the left table, but this other shot from the montage conflicts - the surface I thought this was, is clean. but at the far right edge you can see the neighboring divider is bloody.

4x3 flash:

this is weird because that's a surface that's never exposed. the drawing tables are always kept right up against each other:

so I guess they got both shoved apart and bled on during the massacre? perhaps the POV and blood belong to whoever fell down in between them and landed on the floor?

whoever that was, it definitely wasn't El, not the El shown in 4x7 anyway. she didn't go over in that area of the room at all.

anyway, to actually compare it to the only time we're shown a decent view of that corner during a massacre scene:

okay, so I never noticed the drawing tables did indeed get shoved apart. and. well well! there is indeed a dead kid who's fallen between them on the floor RIGHT EXACTLY THERE where that pov had to come from.

which kid is that and why is pre-NINA El remembering that kid's pov?? what if that's Other Timeline Elev[gets chloroformed]

anyway, the drippy blood on the bookcase is a match to 4x7's massacre. however, we're missing some blood splatters on the yellow and green stripes above the right drawing table.

wait a sec. is this 4x7 shot not also from dead drawing table kid's exact location?

--

dice

we never get a good view of this area during the massacre, but it's this spot seen best in 4x6's bullying scene:

--

and my personal favorite! Two:

they only let you see a quick glimpse of him, and most of that is very dark. the lights only flicker on in literally one single frame:

even though this is exactly the same footage we're used to from 4x7, it's not identical, it's been changed in post, and no I'm not just talking about the color grading:

in 4x3's flashbacks his eyes are clear, and in 4x7's version of the massacre they're trance-white.

sooooo. who's killing you in this timeline, bud?

so it's hard to say which version these closeups are consistent with because no single version of the massacre is even consistent within itself. but you know what these closeups ARE a match to?

the ones in the HNL Control Room trailer.

aka NINA.

but, again, El experienced these flashbacks while she was still in California. before the s4 NINA plot even picks up.

(Regina George voice) so you agree? NINA has been used before?

another option is the inverse - that El's legit memories are the source of these images and NINA is their destination - they've been taped out of her head and the HNLCRT is a demo of that footage being shown to someone else. however that still requires that something super screwy is going on with El's memories well before the NINAing of 1986.

or, third option, this trailer isn't part of canon. but that's no fun.

I have a lot more to say but it belongs in my other RR analysis. let's just end here before I lose my mind

[someone-always-cares]

chapter 5, page 79

first - previous - next

[image description: an sac webcomic page. "hold on, stay still for a second". rami says, as he puts his hand close to lewis, the angle making him almost look like he's cupping lewis's face, as lewis stares back at him with very wide shining eyes. he then rips off the duct tape off, lewis jolting and making a weird face, the panel borders shaking from the shock, before lewis makes a different face like a grimace or like a cat would make after smelling something foul right before slapping the shit out of it. "sorry. you alright?" rami asks, holding a swiss army knife down near lewis's bound arm, the knife already out. "i- what- i will be? not important. what the fuck are you doing here??". lewis replies. "saving you, apparently. and your friend- sorry i'll get to you in a minute" "no really, why the fuck are you here? how did you find us? why did you come?" lewis says. this last panel is entirely black, aside from the speech bubbles. "you're the one that sent me the location. Is your friend concussed? They're not responding to me. Or you. And are either of you injured in general?" rami responds. "What? I don't think either of us are. And no, she can't hear you, just wave or something. Uh, not with the knife, like a friendly not about to kill you wave, like-" lewis's rambling is interrupted. "It's pitch black in here? Waving won't help?" end id]

edit: a bit late but forgot to mention: next con i have is on june 1st, at animangapop cardiff! feel free to say hi if you're going!

i've always gone back and forth internally if rami's supervision gave him better night vision or not but i'm going to go with yes, it does. lewis also has better night vision on account of his eyes being cat-like. jade has normal human vision unfortunatly. on the bright side (pun not intended), she can make her fingernails glow.

also, thought on book cover? tried a few ideas and this is what i came up with

[id: concept a book cover. mostly sketched, styalised like a corkboard with various photos, pins, ect. the front side (right) has a piece of torn paper with the title and a couple stickers, one star and the other rami's logo. below is a drawing of rami surrounded by eyes. the spine has a strip of washi tape, blue with star patterns, with the title and a "1" at the bottom. the back (right) has a few photos of various panels from chapter 1 and two, a top corner of a missing poster, a business card for iris's ice cream shop, pins of mindforce's eye, and pride pins of the asexual and transgender flags, and lastly a scrap of notebook paper with eye doodles (like iris's eyes), rami's logo, titled "blah blah blah" and placeholder text of the bee movie script opening. red string is scattered around. end id]

note: the panels featured will be redrawn (for the cover. the actual pages will not be) and the one on the front is just a placeholder. not sure what i'll change it to, but something with both rami and lewis.

so, this is fashioned similar to the back of the flyer i use to advertise my comic at conventions, it allows me to show off multiple things, allows me to put in easter eggs and similar, and it feels right, yknow? it looks like the same board i use for story planning, concept art, to do lists, and trinkets for conventions, ect.

i look up and i see my corkboard covered in all that, so it feels like me. like i'm already pouring everything i have into my comic, why not this? also, red string murder board. thematically appropriate, and similar to the one omen has. expecially fitting since they appear end of chapter two bonus pages, which is where issue 1 of the physical book ends (not including bonus pages)

anyway would love to hear your thoughts!

more rambling under the cut

keep jumping from task to task. eg started planning the cover. jumped from irl task to task and then got back but then needed to figure out 100% how big the book is page-wise, because spine width

so i go do the bonus pages first but despite me collecting all the stuff for that before i keep finding more. because i have been making pages for 7 years and worked on it for longer with just having them as ocs roatating in my mind

and, yknow, i am not an organised person at the best of times. and over the past 10 years, not much has been the best of times. so you can imagine the chaos i've gone looking through. most of it isn't too recent, because turns out i had a lot more time working to draw when i was still in school. and also right after school. also 2020.and most of it is bad due to me improving my skill over time! which is good but still. going to have to carefully pick out what to use

also unrelated but i want to make one of the exclusive kickstarter print rewards foiled because i just love how they look. specifically i want to do one of tsunami and the foil (silver or holo) being the sparkles his water does because it'd look cool!

[ageless-aislynn]

Back in the day, (around 2006 or so, I'd wager) I decided to try making a Bag End-inspired diorama display thing for my Lord of the Rings (and friends) figures out of plastic canvas and yarn. (No pattern, I was just winging it.) Here are some pics of how it turned out. 😉

The front with the famous round, green door. I also gave them some lattice-work windows and a couple of plant pots with greenery, just 'cause. 😉

Closer up on the door and one of the plants.

This is the wall that was beyond the window and plants, on the left side as looking in that orientation. I couldn't really do a hill without it looking weird so went with a tree motif on both sides.

The wall on the right of the door, this one with a "rope" swing, just for funsies!

Interior on the door.

Everybody needs a free standing closet to store your stuff in, right?

Yes, that's an Ian McKellen Magneto wearing Gandalf's hat and politely levitating his sword into the closet.😜

Behind the door standing open a bit is a coat closet.

I wanted a sort of marble inspired pattern. Plus, I really liked this variegated yarn so...

Everybody needs a table with a vase of roses on it! And yeah, that's a Nazgul wearing a tea ball strainer on his head. It was from a joke at the time. Also, we see our Hobbit guests putting their cloaks away in the closet.

Interior behind the big window. I thought of this as a combo kitchen/dining room area with a decorative rug.

Eomer CANNOT BELIEVE that we don't have his favorite brand of coffee! Storm thinks we should have a dance party. Boromir is heading over to lean on the fireplace mantel. 😉

Clearly Gandalf is HERE for a dance party! Oh and I do believe there might be a Boromir/Eowyn "leaning on the mantel" love connection going on back there? 👀👀👀😂

It's a little known fact that Darth Vader LOVES a nice tree swing! He even brought a droid friend, d'aww. That's my Xena poster on the wall in the background, btw. One of my most favorite Xena pics ever!

I also made Shadowfax, Gandalf's horse!

He can stand on his own. And yes, I made that fishbowl, including the Very Famous Fish Rear End on the side panel, lol! Nothing but UTTER ACCURACY around here, thank you very much. 😜

The chair was made from a kit. The cushion comes off and you can store things in the bottom box part. The mug of hot chocolate has marshmallows on top and also the rim raises up so you can store small things in it.

The flower vase was also from a kit. I famously got my hand stuck in it while doing the bottom stitch to finish attaching it to the base. I thought I might have to unstitch it a bit to get free but thankfully didn't have to. Absolutely no one who saw me with a plastic canvas vase stuck on my hand laughed. 😑🤣

(As well they should have. I laughed, too, once I got my hand out of there, lol!)

My mom loved lighthouses so I made her a day and night version. They're the same size but this was 2 separate pics edited together and the different angles made the night version look smaller.

Anyway, that's a few things I made back in the day. Nothing sophisticated but I just enjoyed playing around with it. The canvas got really hard to find for a while and then got very expensive once I located it again, so I stopped making things. 😢

Oh, almost forgot to add the pic that made me think to post these to begin with: Barbie with one of my ducks from my earthquake post.

I made a bunch of these little ducks for a project I never completed, then found them in a Ziploc bag the other day. Now there are little ducks all over the house, lol! 🦆💖

PS - I may have posted these pics before. I know I did on my Livejournal but couldn't find them on Tumblr. If this is the second time you're seeing them, though, apologies. Ais is old and the memory just ain't what she used to be. 😑😉

[spiegelgestalt]

Get fucked Kendrick! Get fucked!  (Drakes rhetoric strategy  part 3/? The OG Family Matters)

So after doing this breakdown I finally understand why Drake’s rhetoric strategy really didn’t work: it really needed Kendrick to fall apart like Wayne or Meek Mill. Or at least go ballistic after push ups like Pusha T (but that won’t sting as much because it happened before and Drake preempted the worst stuff) – and so imagine this:

Push Ups: Your label is abusing you – you are an industry puppet

TMF: You are only powerful when you hide behind people who are more powerful than you and now you are standing here all alone

A reaction where Kendrick becomes super defensive and/or goes low

Family matter part 1+2: Your wife cheats on you with your best friend. One of your kids isn’t yours. You stand alone and now I’m going to kill all the people you are hiding behind! Oh look they are dead! Well then, I’m going on vacation because I’m a completely unbothered king – try harder next time!

Are you seeing the vision? That’s a decent strategy. Conspiracy theories under the cut:

I believe that family matter originally only had two verses. Verse 1 about Whitney, Dave and Kendricks children and verse 2 about everyone else. Maybe there were some little changes made here and there (I mean Drake had to add the N-Word to show that nothing what Kendrick says bothers him. At all. Not even a little bit.)  but I think they were mostly done. The vid is shot at the same location just from different perspectives; the second verse has a clear ending [I’m going on vacation now] and it’s connected to verse 1 through the Abel line. These two verses together also make sense for the story Drake is trying to tell: after all Kendrick is only someone if he has people to defend him.

This angle would also explain the weird way Drake is treating Whitney. Because let’s face it: Whitneys role changes several times during the track: is she a thot (you know drop 29 for the thot?) does she cuck Kendrick with Dave Free (but why is the son light skinned? Did she also sleep with a white dude?) Is she a poor abused woman? In verse 1 it’s very clear – Kendrick cheated on Whitney/ Whitney cheated on him -> their relationship is broken and can’t be repaired. And they should break it off. You can take the “set that shorty free” in two ways: Either it’s Whitney who’s supposed to leave Kendrick and than give sexual favors to Dave and Drake (because she’s a slut you know)

Or and I’m inclined to believe that more just because of the way Drake used sexual imagery in this battle until now: It’s meant to be Kendrick. He’s supposed to let Whitney breathe instead of trying to save something that can’t be saved (remember her captions scream “save me”) and then accept the abuse by Drake and his general manager (notice how Drake removes all friendly ties of Daves and Kendricks relationship). After all he got fucked by Top, he got fucked by Taylor and now he can be fucked by Drake and Dave. It also alludes to Kendrick’s song “for free” which is basically about the fact that Kendrick won’t just be fucked over by the industry. Oh no Kendrick. You’ve always been fucked and now it’s Drakes turn.

And that would be the perfect ending for Kendrick Lamar.

If, you know Euphoria didn’t make this whole angle really really unlikely.  And also really hurt Drakes feelings ☹.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I love the beastmen in Twist but every time I look at their ears my brain just cannot with my perceived anatomy of their skull. I know it can probably be explained very logically and stuff but in my head cannot unsee it as weird, like someone plopping some fluffy ears on top of a round skull and calling it a day T_T :'D

I actually studied human hearing and ear structures so I can simplify it and explain it logically—

Mammalian ear structures are actually very similar to one another. Therefore, the hearing pathways for lions (or cats in general), wolves, and hyenas are like that of a human’s. It would actually be easier to understand the integration of, for example, human anatomy and physiology with that of a lion as opposed to that of a fish (ie merfolk) since fish operate completely differently than humans. (To this day, merpeople A&P still confuses the heck out of me 😂)

If you look at both diagrams above, the human skull and the lion skull both have external auditory meatuses in similar locations; the meatus is a channel that funnels sound to the auditory nerves for further processing as it gets passed up to the brain.

Since beastmen ears are usually placed on top of their heads rather than on the sides of their heads, I’d wager that there’s just a difference in the angle of the ear canal, as illustrated in the diagrams below. Cats and such have more slanted canals, whereas human canals are more horizontal. As you can see, cats and humans have the same structures in their ears:

Brief aside: yes, there’s a teeny bony in your ear called the “malleus”. No, it will never not be funny to me that Malleus has the same name because my mind always defaults to the bone 😂

The greatest difference is actually in outer ear structures, where humans have the disadvantage due to how cartilaginous their pinna are. The placement of the ears is different, of course, but the real reason why, say, dogs and cats hear better than humans is because their outer ears are more mobile. Their ears are able to change direction and shape to adjust to where sound is coming from—and this helps with localizing the auditory sensations into the nerves that process “sound”. Humans can’t do this as easily, so their hearing range is smaller than some other animals.

[yuriko-mukami]

His Possession Ecstasy 07

Beta reader: @ruki-mukami-dl

Chapter Selection

The living room of the Mukami manor was silent for Ruki had retreated to read in the library after gaining new books from Eden, Kou was at work, and Azusa was busy with whatever he usually did in his room. Yuma had been occupied with something for days, so he wasn’t around either.

The opportunity had been perfect from training transformation… or would have been if it hadn’t rained cats and dogs. The rain drummed the windows fifth day in a row and while it wasn’t uncommon around this time of the year, it was a bit inconvenient. But since others weren’t around, Yuriko had decided to use the living room for her needs. Perhaps that was better anyway. Outside there was always a chance that she would make her clothes disappear again and someone could see her.

Yuriko put her glasses on the living room table. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus. Yet, a figure with emerald-green eyes and a fedora was instantly painted onto her eyelids. She yelped, pushing it into the back corner of her mind. She was at home. There was nothing to scare, nothing to worry about. She could practice in peace here.

Yuriko rubbed her temples. This shouldn’t be that hard. She had managed to bring her ears out a few times already. Now, she would need only the rest of her fox body. Why was it so much easier to manage when she was sleeping? These days she had to go to sleep naked to prevent her clothes from disappearing… and many times this fact led to something else than… well… sleeping.

I can do this! I need to do this! Anything to save Mom and Yuuto! Everything was up to Yuriko, those two were counting on her. She still didn’t know why her relatives kept them in captivity, but they were her family, and she would fight for their freedom.

Suddenly, Yuriko felt like the air was swooshing around her. She opened her eyes, and the room was growing bigger and bigger.

No.

Yuriko was shrinking. It was like she was squeezing into a tiny ball, though… she wasn’t a ball but just this small furry creature. Her hands hit the floor, turning into paws and she could feel how a tail pushed out of her backside, soon swaying from side to side. She let out a whining bark. 

Again, it seemed Yuriko couldn’t talk. Whimpering, she gazed around.

I managed it… but now what? I still don’t know how to turn back. Last time it happened while I slept. 

The living room looked the same, yet different. There was surprisingly much dust under the couch even though Ruki was adamant about cleaning the house properly, and even the carpet had a dusty smell on it. Perhaps it was better not to mention that to him though.

Maybe this was an opportunity to practice Yuriko’s fox skills. After all, this was what she had been trying to do. Still, it felt weird to be in the real world in this form. Even with her sharp canine teeth, there was a lingering unsafe feeling of fragility. Yuriko was so small that Yuma could snap her in two pieces with his bare hands.

Well… truth to told, Yuma would probably be able to do that even if Yuriko was in her human form. 

Okay… no scary thoughts now! I will sniff around the manor to see if I can locate new scents. Maybe that will help me to learn how to find the gate in the forest. With that, Yuriko hurried to the hallway and lifted her snout. Once again, everything looked way too big, and the angle of her view was somehow wrong. Not really, but still. She couldn’t quite put it into words.

Instead of pondering too much, Yuriko closed her eyes for a moment and tried to catch every smell in the manor. There were so many! She could distinguish the remnants of the breakfast in the air but also the bit of poignant fragrance of Vampires that wafted everywhere. Even though it had always been there, Yuriko hadn’t realized how it stuck in the walls, carpets, in everything. It was so clear that there were Vampires housing the manor. So clear, and yet in her human form she had failed to notice this detail.

Moving on past both the entrance and garden hall, Yuriko kept sniffing. Even though her eyesight was much better now, her snout was still giving her even more information than her eyes. It was like she could feel her surroundings on a completely new level, and she couldn’t quite comprehend everything.

And there was something Yuriko was sure she hadn’t smelled in the manor before. A sweet scent mixed with something… something… vampiric? Or demonic? Yuriko wasn’t sure, perhaps both. Sniffing, she tried to locate where it came from. As she proceeded closer to Ruki’s study the scent got stronger, yet she didn’t think it floated from there.

“Anyone there?” A sudden voice along with a knock made Yuriko jump. She turned her head, staring at the door of Yuma’s room. “Is there anyone? Please… please let me out… Yuma-kun, please? I want to go back…”

Such a sad, quivering voice. Yuriko didn’t recognize it but it made her heart ache. She hurried to the door, sniffing it. Yes, the scent came from behind it! And judging by the voice, it belonged to a girl not much younger than Yuriko.

“Yuma-kun… I wish to go back to Shu-san… please…” The sentence ended with sobs.

Oh my gosh! Yuriko whimpered and rose on her hind legs, pressing her front paws against the door. Still, she couldn’t reach the door handle. She tried to jump scratching the door.

“Yuma-kun? Is that you?” 

Yuriko tried to jump again. She could see how the door handle went up and down without her reaching it, but the door didn’t open. Yuriko only managed to scrape the wood.

“Oi! Whatta hell!?” A rough hand snatched Yuriko by her nape and lifted her in the air so fast that the hallway was spinning in her eyes. She barked and whined, trying to meander from the grasp but it was useless. The pair of piercing eyes stared at her as the tall Vampire — he seemed even bigger than usual — leaned in. “...the fuck! A fox? Yuriko?!”

Yes! Yes! It’s me, Yuma! Let go of me! Yuriko wanted to shout but the only thing she managed to get out was whimpering. 

“Hah! Ya made it, Vixen!” Yuma’s laughter rumbled in Yuriko’s ears. Unfortunately, it died down as soon as it started, and he gave another glare that radiated anger. “Tried to enter my room, right? Ya have no business there.”

But… but… but… Yuriko opened her mouth. Again, only barks and whines.

“Yuma-kun, let me out!” A soft, sobbing voice pushed through the door, squeezing Yuriko’s heart.

“Shut up, Sow! Ya ain’t goin’ anywhere!”

Is that Komori-san, Yuma? Tell me! Why is she here? Yuriko squirmed and meandered, trying to slip from Yuma’s grip but it seemed that she wasn’t going anywhere either. If anything, Yuma clenched her nape even more.

“Whatcha doin’? I ain’t got time to deal with ya! I’m gonna take you to Ruki!” With that, Yuma marched toward the stairs and all the way to the third floor even though Yuriko did her best to struggle. Her heart was bouncing so fast that it was hard to breathe.

Tossing the door open, Yuma stomped in, and the fragrance of the old ink hit Yuriko’s nose mixing with the smell of a Vampire and Ruki’s musky humanity. He lifted his gaze from the book which he soon put aside as he rose from his armchair. 

“Good grief, what is going on?” Ruki stepped closer, his eyes fixated on Yuriko. Before Yuma had time to answer, Ruki had already reached his hands and pulled Yuriko into his arms, pressing her against his chest. “Do tell me, Yuma, why are you treating her like this? She is not just a common fox you can manhandle.”

“Fuckin’ vixen was tryin’ to get into my room!” Yuma’s voice made Yuriko’s ears ring. She buried her snout in Ruki’s shirt, shivering. His hands held her firmly, but fingers clenched slightly as he heard Yuma.

“You should not call her that.” While Ruki’s tone stayed collected, Yuriko could already smell his annoyance. Yet, he petted Yuriko’s back. “Is Yuma telling the truth, Yuriko? What were you thinking? You know that you are not allowed to enter my brothers’ private quarters.” 

But there is a girl there! A crying girl! Probably Komori-san! Yuriko met Ruki’s gaze, trying to give him a pleading look. She butted her snout on his chin and let out a whine.

“Haa… I cannot understand you at the moment…” Ruki sighed, turning his gaze to Yuma. “Perhaps she smelled something in there. The fox in her might have taken the lead since she has little to no experience with this transformation yet. You should know this, for she chatted away all her secrets to you in the garden the other day.”

“Fuckin’ hell! I ain’t got time for this shit right now! Just keep her out of my way!” Yuma grimaced. “I gotta make Eve realize that she should be with me and not with that damn neet!” Yuma turned around, heading back to the door with his hands clenched into fists. When he was gone, Ruki roamed to the couch, sitting down, and putting Yuriko on his lap.

The situation had turned into a catastrophe. Yuma’s words confirmed it was indeed Komori Yui trapped in his room for… What? For Yuma to make her his? 

Oh my gosh! That would mean he would —!

“Good grief, you are a handful.” Ruki took a better hold of Yuriko again. “Calm down, Yuriko. You need to turn back into a human so that we can talk about this properly.”

But there was no way Yuriko could calm down now. There was something terrible going on in this very house. Even though she didn’t really know this Komori girl, she didn’t want to think anything bad to happen to her. Yuriko had clearly heard how the girl had asked to get back to Sakamaki Shu — she had meant him with Shu-san, right? What Yuma was doing was completely wrong!

I have to do somet— Suddenly, Yuriko gasped as her body started to morph. Her paws turned into hands and legs, limbs growing longer again. Her ears pressed against her head, melting as part of it while her human ears grew back, and her tail disappeared. The air in the library felt cool against her bare skin.

“Oh my gosh!” Heat coursed through Yuriko when she realized that she was sitting on Ruki’s lap without any clothes at all.

“I hope you were not naked when you turned into a fox near Yuma’s room…” Ruki muttered as he collected Yuriko better into his embrace. The air swooshed around them when he teleported them into his bedroom. 

Yuriko hung onto Ruki’s blazer. “I… I was not!” As Ruki put her on the bed, she crawled to take her pajama shorts and top, dressing up hastily. Soon, she turned back and hung onto Ruki again. “Ruki… we… we must do something! There is a girl! Komori-san! She’s crying in Yuma’s room and… and… I think she’s there against her will! We must get her out of there!”

“I know.” That was all Ruki said while wrapping his arms around Yuriko’s shaking body. “Calm down, your heart is beating too fast. That is not healthy for you.”

But it was impossible to make Yuriko’s heart settle down, more like her breathing was starting to get rasp. “You… you know that she is there… or that we must help her?”

“The first one.” Ruki stroked Yuriko’s back as if they were having a gentle moment even though there was a family crisis going on in his manor. Slowly, the truth sank into Yuriko’s mind.

Ruki had known! Yet, he had done nothing to help the Komori girl but allowed Yuma to keep her in his bedroom. That was a crime. A kidnap!

“Ruki… she doesn’t want to be here. Yuma must let her go…” Yuriko looked Ruki directly in the eyes. She could feel how her bottom lip began to tremble.

Sighing, Ruki brushed Yuriko’s cheek. “We cannot do that, my angel. This is part of that man’s plan. I have told you about it, have I not? We are to follow it till the end. While it does not concern me anymore, my role is to support Yuma in this…” Ruki’s voice died down. What was he going to say?

“But… but… It’s not right! She clearly said she wishes to go back to Sakamaki Shu…” Yuriko enveloped Ruki’s neck with her arms, pressing close. “Please, Ruki… we need to do the right thing.”

Ruki frowned. “We are doing the right thing, Yuriko. You are to follow your master’s orders in this and not to approach Yuma’s room anymore. That man wishes we do this and as part of this family you are now doing as he says as well.” 

Yuriko couldn’t believe what Ruki was saying. This man… the said king of the Vampires whose castle she had visited too… He wanted to trap a mere human girl in Yuma’s bedroom. No, not a mere human, Yuriko reminded herself. This Komori Yui was something special, the most meaningful girl in the whole world for Sakamaki Karlheinz. Ruki had said so. But that still didn’t explain why she was treated this way. If she was so precious, shouldn’t the Vampires treat her like a queen or something like that?

“Other than that…” Ruki snatched Yuriko’s chin. “You have your own problems to worry about. We need to get you through the midterms and then use these fox skills of yours to save your brother. You have not forgotten that have you, Yuriko?”

“I… I… have not! But…”

“No buts. You will focus on these two things together with your master.” Ruki’s gaze bored into Yuriko’s. “Now, tell me what did you learn today? Clearly not, how to keep your clothes from disappearing…”

[causticsunshine]

any tips for fingering yourself (vagina) for the 1st time? i masturbate mostly through clitoral stimulation and it’s great, but i’ve tried it before but didn’t really feel anything. also felt like i didn’t know where to aim if that makes sense? i know you’ve done a squirting 101 before, i hope you don’t mind this question! love your fics btw <3

iiii am so sorry i forgot to answer this, i was on vacation for a week and hardly checking my inbox or DMs!

as always i just want to firstly assure you that if you're not getting anything from doing that, there's nothing at all wrong with you—just in case that's a fear or concern you're having. fingering is... it may take some time and practice to get comfortable doing it.

(it's honestly still not my personal favorite thing to do just because i've got some weird fears over hygiene, plus having longer nails (my fault for not filing them down more when i do a fresh set rip) makes me paranoid of accidentally scratching, so unless i jump straight to toys, i typically use protection over my fingers.)

but! i hope regardless i can still offer some guidance or advice!

what i'd advice first and foremost is when you're getting down to it, to start off how you usually do. i've found it's much easier to move onto any form of penetration once already warmed up, whether that's watching or reading something, using imagination, getting right into clitoral stimulation—whatever gets you going.

from there, i'd recommend maybe waiting until you start to get wet, whether you do or don't have additional lubrication to use. even if you find yourself 'adequately covered', there's nothing wrong with a little extra help!

(and saliva can be just fine starting out but remember that it does evaporate quickly, so if you're in for the long haul, don't find yourself wet easily, want to do some more stretching you haven't yet tried, what have you—particularly if it's still new to you—i'd recommend getting something all natural and water based to start.)

from there, i'd start with a tease of fingertips around the vaginal opening and dipping slowly inside to get used to the sensation of both being fingered as well as what it feels like inside of your body. some people start with the index and some the middle finger, so i'd experiment to see what's more comfortable to you. still work slow, both in terms of going inwards and adding fingers, as you don't want to surprise yourself.

btw, if you're typically used to clitoral stimulation, i'd keep that involved all the while.

once you're comfortable with the sensation of using your fingers, then i would try looking for some hot spots. there's so many nerve endings running through that part of the body, and a lot of them run through the same network so clit stimulation can help enhance everything.

the g-spot itself is located on the northern wall of the vaginal canal, roughly 1.5-2 inches inside—it depends on your body! it can also appear larger, smaller, slightly further or shallower in the body, as well as slightly to the right or left, but regardless, it's often easier to find once you're already turned on though, as it swells with arousal and the shape and texture of it becomes more apparent. the feeling of it may also be firm, or it may be sort of squishy.

the easiest way i'd say to reach it with fingers is with your palm facing upwards, towards your belly, and with the finger(s) inserted close to or to the base of the hand. most relate finding it with the sudden urge to pee, and while i find that true, i'd also relate it to the feeling you may get when you've found the perfect angle and pressure on your clit, and the feeling sort of reverberates from the inside out, deeper in than just your outside bits.

if you find it difficult or uncomfortable to reach it with your fingers, try using different fingers, or even situating yourself differently so the hot spots are easier to reach. if that doesn't seem to do much, i'd even suggest trying a toy to better stimulate things. no harm in experimenting! there's tons of toys out there made of different materials and shapes, with or without the sole purpose of g-spot stimulation.

i'd always suggest starting kind of 'basic' when it comes to internally-based toys, or even starting with ones focused on external stimulation so you may not be so focused on coordinating both hands at once. when it does come to the insertable toys, though, there's nothing wrong with a simple angled dildo or vibrator. i'd also stay away from things like rabbits to start as they're typically not fixed to everyone's personal dimensions, as well as anything too big, super firm, etc. you can work up to those things once you've got some more experience / know a bit more about what you like or need.

more than anything else, take your time with it! don't rush or put pressure on yourself if things aren't working out right away. there's nothing wrong with experimenting to find what works best for you, and if you find out in the end that hey, fingering just isn't for me, or i think i'd prefer using toys instead or i'd prefer someone else doing this particular thing to me, whatever, that's totally fine too! just as long as you're listening to your body, going at your pace, taking the time to learn what's best for you, you can't go wrong.

personally, it took me a long time to even get comfortable with putting one finger in, despite how badly i wanted to try it out. now i know i'm not typically into fingering myself, but i do know what to do to feel good when i choose to do so, and i wouldn't have figured that out if i hadn't given myself the time to experiment and learn.

remember—there's no one way to do things so take the time to curate your own best experience! good luck and thank you for reading my fics <3 if you have any other questions please feel free send them my way!

[totally-not-a-dod-agent]

TIMING: 26th of July LOCATION: The mines PARTIES: Beau and Eli SUMMARY: Elijah is in the mines working. Beau goes to see what's up with the mines? They both realize they know each other. CONTENT WARNINGS:  n/a

The memory of Jedidiah Sebastian haunted Beau like the ghost of Christmas past, present, and future combined. How often had Beau dreamed of that beautiful face and the way it smiled as it lied. How much did Beau fantasize about how that night could have gone so much different, in that motel where he used to work. The new janitor, too pretty for such dirty work, and the check-in guy. Hadn’t Jedidiah felt it? The moment their eyes locked together. Hadn’t he also felt the chill up his spine, the truth that they could have been so much more?

How often were these hauntings followed by Beau spiraling out in complete rage.  All his names. His life works. The only thing he’d ever truly cared about, stolen from him by some asshole with a charming face. One that he still dreamed about. That asshole was going to be the reason the warden finally tracked him down and showed an iron blade through his chest, Beau just knew it. He was going to have a few choice words when they met again, because they were going to meet again. Beau knew the threads of destiny tied them together. They were woven in the seams of the same story.

So, pretend for a second, dear reader, that you are Beau. You are going for a pleasant stroll to the mines because you know that this town has a weird crystal problem. Where do crystals come from? The mines. You’re curious. You want to take a look. You show up, not knowing what to expect, but you most definitely do not expect Jedidiah Sebastian to be standing there, in all his beauty. Just as breathtaking as the first time you laid eyes on him. How surprised would you be? Because Beau was blown away.

Beau stood there, gapping openly at the man that had taken everything from him. He was here. In Wicked’s Rest. Beau took one step forward. Then two. A hand coming up and pointing. “It’s you. You’re here.” The words were climbing over each other to race out of his mouth. “My- My names I want them back, give them back.” 

___

Henri or rather Elijah remembered him. “Sir, you have no business being here,” he retorted, holding up a hand before himself. The last time he spoke with him, he bore a different accent and a different name, but this wasn’t the motel anymore : the mines were a dangerous place, even for those who knew what they were doing. Henri had been sent here for this very reason. When people went missing, disappeared or died in such strange circumstances, it was a matter of time before his department got involved. They didn't concern themselves with wild animal attacks unless they rose dramatically. If they had, they would have lost sight of the bigger picture. 

“Sir?” It was near mesmerizing, watching the other’s mood go from surprise to awe, to surprise and finally settling on anger and betrayal. Ah, he had been rather cruel to the guy. What was his name again? His eyebrows furrowed, as if to suggest confusion. He rarely had room for doubt in his profession, but he’d have made a terrible spy if he couldn’t lie every second of his day. Henri simply did not want to deal with that guy. He reminded him of his crook of a father, untrustworthy and ready to backstab anyone for profit. Elijah however, didn’t know a thing about him, and had to stay professional.

“Your names? Did you hit your head?” each word was spoken bluntly. Henri might have been having a lot of fun now, Elijah would have wanted to see that guy out of his hair. “Do you not remember your name?” He picked up a walkie talkie from his belt, eyeing at him with narrowed eyes. “I’m gonna call for help from above. They’ll get you out.”

___

The accent was different, the words clipped in different angles than the one he remembered all those years ago. The eyes, the beautiful deeply brown eyes, that had mesmerized him all those years ago looked back at him. To his dismay, they reflected back nothing. No hint of recognition. No spark of humor, triumph or anything. The only look he got was indifference. Beau's hands clenched into fists. It had been years since they'd last seen each other, but didn't the man in front of him know what he'd done to Beau? He'd taken everything from Beau. Even the tattoos winding around his body had been shifted into unrecognizable swirls because of the effect this man had had on him. And all he got back was indifference. 

"My-My names." It was hard to keep a confident air, as Jebididiah looked down on him. As if this was just a stranger who happened to share a face with him and not the many that had ruined his whole life. "I don't remember my name because you took it." Beau took a step forward, even if this wasn't the right guy, he could still feel the anger inside him boiling and bubbling. An ocean of rage that he'd contained for so long, and was ready to break through the dam of that tight smile he held all the time. Reaching out a hand, Beau did his best to slap the walkie-talkie out of his hand. "You know who I am, Jedidiah. I know you know." His voice came out in a rough current. 

"You ruined me. You took everything I had. You destroyed me. You know that right? You're a life ruiner. No wonder you're pretending like you don't know who I am. I hope the guilt has been eating you alive. I hope you can't sleep at night. I hope every step you take, you're surrounded by the agonizing pain of your actions. You're the worst person I have ever met, and you deserve to be stuck in these mines. How would you like it? If I took everything from you. What if I took your ability to get out of here so that you're stuck in these mines forever, huh?" Once Beau got started, he couldn't stop. The floodgates were open and he'd been holding on to these words for far too long. 

___

“I didn’t take your names,” Elijah protested. “How do you even take names from someone, huh?” It was as if the other was accusing him of being some sort of identity thief. From what Henri had found out, while sporting the name of Jedidiah (what a fucking shitty name that was), [redacted] very much fit that label : identity thief. He had some fucking nerves accusing him of that. Still, Elijah couldn’t have known about all this common history they had, and he simply furrowed his brows in confusion, and furrowed them a bit more as the other whacked the talkie out of his hand. “That wasn’t fucking necessary,” 

The other was dripping with anger now. Dang, he really held a grudge against Jedidiah, heh? If that would have made him smile, he contained his glee on the inside and instead put a hand to his utility belt. The miner had a bunch of tools there that could turn into a weapon if need be. There wasn’t much one could do against a miner’s pick. Perks of having a blue collar job as his cover, he supposed. “That’s not my fucking name, you dumbwit. I’m Elijah,” he pointed to the label on his blue jacket. “Nazarian?” 

And so when the other spilled out what he could only assume had been building up within for years, all he could give back was a sigh. “Jesus. Are you fucking done? You’re knocking at the wrong damn door. I’m not your Jebediah, and I’m busy. Now fuck off,” with a tick of his tongue, he leaned down to pick up the talkie, his scowl still fixed on the little bugger before him. 

__

“H-h-how?!?” The word spluttered off of Beau’s tongue, disbelief coloring all his actions. “What do you mean how? What do you mean you didn’t take my names? Just because you’re a filthy human capable of your filthy little disgusting lies doesn’t mean you can keep lying to me.” Beau stepped closer, finger pointing towards the man who had stolen everything from him. The man who was the epitome of everything he hated and yet radiated like a magnet that made Beau want to know more about him. The man who was now claiming that his name was Elijah.

“Elijah?” Beau repeated the name, it tasted bitter and savory, like a good bleu cheese. It drew him in with the mystery while repulsing him with the lies. “Nazarian.” The name was good. The name was just as good as Jedidiah Sebastian had been. The name spoke to Beau, it called Beau, asking him to come forward and steal it. To claim it for himself. But how could he ever take anything from the man who had stolen from him. He obviously wasn’t a clueless human who would easily hand over his name. He had plans, moves, and lies. He was someone that Beau needed to be weary around.

“Then give it to me.” Beau demanded. “Give me your name. If you give me your name, I’ll go. Easy. See. Just say you’ll give me your name.”  It was like every single ounce of composure had left Beau’s body. Beau was a desperate man who’d gone without water for three days and was dragging himself across the desert, begging the first person he saw to quench his parched mouth. He stepped even closer to Elijah Nazarian, hands grasping at the collar of his shirt. “Say it. Say you give me your name and I’ll leave right now.” 

__

The miner’s eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t feel particularly threatened by the shorter man. He remembered him well, from long long ago. Beau might not have been the most frightening person, he was a menace. It was a wonder to him that no one at AARO had investigated all those name disappearances. 

“I’m not going to give you my name. It’s mine. You already are aware of it, and that’s plenty enough,” it didn’t matter to him that the other was moaning about it like a spoiled child in the toy aisle near Christmas. In his despair, he clutched at Eli’s collar. Just when he thought the other could not get more pathetic about his stupid name collection. The damn thing meant absolutely nothing to him, and he felt ever more disgusted knowing that instead of moving on, that guy had spent the last few years trying to build himself a new one. “Beau, you’re not going to ever get my name, do you understand?” Putting his hands over his wrists, gentle but firm, he looked down at the other, shaking him to get him to look him in the eyes. “You’re gonna let go, and you’re going to leave.” 

___

A tremble of rage sent Beau’s body into a spiral of shivers. He was a rabid chihuahua with his eyes set on the mail man that had stolen all his bones. “No. I need them back. Please. Please, I need them back.” The stages of grief were once again flipping through him. The years of having lost his collection may have passed, but now, seeing Jedidiah or Elijah, whatever the man wanted to call himself, ripped open the wound and left it fresh. “Please. Let's make a deal. I always make deals when they give me their name, because I am a kind person. Please. What do you want? What can I trade for it back? I have so much. Money? I could give you money.” 

Eli had his hand wrapped around his wrists, and Beau was staring into those big beautiful eyes. The eyes of the most beautiful man he had ever seen. After all these years he still felt the pull of him. It warred inside of him like two opposing wolves. One wolf wanted to give Elijah everything, it wanted to roll over and decide that this beautiful man was in the right. The other wolf was angry, angry that the human had lied to him, cheated in their game, and stolen all his names. The feelings created a turmoil in Beau that left him a confused and bumbling fool, focused on the warmth of Eli’s fingers wrapped around his wrists. “No. No! I can’t leave. Not until I get my names back. You’ll never get rid of me. You’ll see me every day. I’ll follow you until you give it back. You cheated in that game and you know it. You’re a cheater and a liar. Give me my name back.”

___

"Why would I want to trade something that's apparently so precious against something like money?" Elijah looked at their surroundings. "If I wanted to make money, I wouldn't work in mining," with his ease to carry a lie, he could have been an actor. He believed himself to be more than charming enough to land roles, but that kind of career didn't interest him at all. 

"And if I already stole from you, aren't you concerned I will do it again?" He looked back at the other, deep brown eyes settling on that little angry, confused, positively unnerved man. Elijah smiled, for a moment restoring the warmth the other must have grown accustomed to as he watched Jedidiah do the cleaning in that damn motel, always chatting up customers, subtly eager to find out more about the person staying in room 013. That wasn't [redacted] but he had to admit he found the cunning little shit immediately enticing.

"If I'm a cheater and a liar, you're better off walking on a different road," he insisted, well aware that the seeds of doubt he tried to sow wouldn't take. "Or you could apologize and we could start over." 

___

“What possible need do you have for names?” The words snarled and hissed from his tense smile. His fingers clenched and unclenched in a fist. “You’re just a human. A human! You can get a new name! You have nothing keeping the names to you. You can’t even use them. You can use money. I know you can use money. Even you know you need money. You just said you have no money in mining. I’ll give you money so you can enjoy mining more!” Beau was grasping, his words were reaching for any string of logic and begging to weave into something comprehensible. What was it about this man, this beautiful man, that unraveled Beau like a spool of thread being played with by a cat. 

Elijah Nazarian was smiling, and in that moment. Beau was REDACTED. He was back in the hotel, their eyes were meeting for the first time across a sparsely populated room. Jedidiah had seemed so kind then, when their eyes had met and he had smiled. Beau’s heart had fluttered for just a second before he waved back. This was another trick. Another trick from the bastard man that had ruined him. Beau steeled himself, he pushed the flutter out of his chest once more. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and I’ll ruin you. I’ll make sure you never work in this town again.” As if he had the power or the influence to make that happen. 

“Apologize? Apologize? What do I have to apologize for? You lied to me! You cheated me! You should be the one apologizing. You should apologize by giving me my names back! Give me! My names back!” Beau was spluttering and puffing. His face was turning red from the effort of trying to stay in control. Beau was not very cheesed to meet Elijah at this moment.

___

That man really wanted to punch him, didn’t he? Henri was having a field trip, of course. There was not much that could send him into a panic aside from perhaps, anything to do with his parents, but he hadn’t seen them in years, and that was all the therapy he needed. Though he wouldn’t reveal the other his actual name (a simple precaution), kind, charming, completely inoffensive Elijah really didn’t stand much of a chance against Beau. “You don’t have one,” he paused, looking the other dead in the eyes. One of the perks of having big brown eyes, was that a bit of anger could give them a whole different taste. “One thing that I could possibly want. I don’t want money. I don’t care for money,” he didn’t mind it, sure, but being comfortable was really plenty enough for a man who didn’t like to splurge. 

The empath’s smile softened. Good to know the guy was still, somehow, attracted to him. It was surely accidental that he chose this moment to move away from Beau, and let go of him. “You know, you should really do something about your temper,” he picked up the talkie again, hooking it back onto his belt. “Because I haven’t heard anything so pathetic in… When did I last see you again?” He knew when, he didn’t want the other to know that either. “What, two? Three years?” 

Running a hand through perfectly combed hair, the DoD agent took another step back, hands once again on his hips. “It’s terrible, isn’t it [redacted] ? Not getting what you really want?” He could see the frustration, the anger, mixed with a dash of shock and scandal. Those colors were a pretty look on Beau. It was a shame he was the only one to see them. “Perhaps you should see this as a teaching moment. Don’t fuck with people who can fuck with you in return.”

___

Each word coming out of Elijah’s mouth was an arrow through Beau’s chest. It pierced him so deeply, so completely. It left him staggered, and short of breath. Not a single thing. Not a single thing that he wanted? Elijah sat there with all the power, and all the cards. He held them in an iron grasp while Beau was clawing for any sort of ground in this confrontation. He just needed an even footing. But how when Elijah claimed there wasn’t a single thing he could want. Beau could feel the pricks of tears tickling behind his eyes. Anger was getting the better of him. Even his forced smile was starting to waiver. This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t fair! 

Then Elijah said the killing blow. The confirmation of another one of his lies. Of course, Jedidiah had remembered him. Of course he was standing there calling Beau pathetic and lording over his ability to maintain a perfect smile, composure and hair. Beau hated him as much as he admired him. He was as wicked as he was beautiful. Beau was enraged and incensed. “You’re still a filthy liar of a human.” Beau said, spitting on the round between them. “You’re the kind of scum that makes human hunting a sport of honor.” Beau knew other fae that liked to hunt and hold humans for fun. It wasn’t for him, but he wished some muse would come trap this liar in its embrace right now. 

Elijah was running his hand through his hair, the hair Beau wanted to run his fingers through. Instead, Beau stepped forward, fist balled, and went straight for a punch in his pretty face. The anger had gotten the best of him, driving his decisions and making Beau act rashly. “Perhaps you should learn how not to be a fucking liar, and give me MY NAMES BACK.” His words turned into a hoarse and harsh yell.  

__

Human hunting worthy? That revelation had Henri whistling in faux impressment, a mocking chuckle following behind to push it all underneath a carpet of deception. “You’re so funny,” but he shouldn’t have completely underestimated the shorter man either way. He knew [redacted] to be unpredictable, and he was well aware that angry people could do just that. A rookie mistake, all because he had hubris. 

It hit him in the jaw before he could block it, his hand wrapped once again around Beau’s wrist, this time not to hold it, but yanking at it. Incapacitate. The fabricated amusement on his face gone, he twisted the other’s arm, placating him against the nearest wall without a care for whether or not that would be uncomfortable, or better yet, painful. If the other was under some sort of impression that he had any chance at ever getting the upper hand, he’d crush it right here and then. 

He reached for Beau’s other hand and, pressing his chest against the man’s back, Henri decided to set the clock back to his timezone. “This is the only warning you’ll get. You give me this shit again, you threaten me again, no one will find you,” he didn’t speak any louder than a whisper. Sound traveled fast in those caves, and it was quick to echo. “Do you copy,” he asked, twisting a bit harder his elbow.

__

The punch landed. Beau’s knuckles cracked under the sudden violence. Beau wasn’t usually one for violence. His normal go to was words, or crying. Depending on what was happening around him. Just like when that one kid was coming at him with knives slashing, he’d crawled away and talked himself out of that situation. But now he was so enraged that violence really seemed like the only answer. At least he had the satisfaction of the moment. Elijah, Jedidiah, whatever name he used these days, hadn’t seen it coming. 

The satisfaction lasted for barely a second before a flurry of movement left Beau confused and pressed against the wall. His face dug into the stone of the mine’s wall. It was rough and bits of dirt flecked over him. A sharp protrusion from the wall was digging into one of his ribs, causing Beau to let a low uncomfortable groan. “Get off me.” He snapped, Elijah’s back was pressed against him, warm and strong, holding him in place. “What the FUCK is wrong with you?” 

Then Elijah was whispering threats into Beau’s ear, his breathing tickling Beau’s ear. “Fuck you.” Beau repeated. “You’re nothing but a dumb and stupid human.” The elbow being twisted harder and harder hurt. Beau struggled, but it was hard to struggle being pressed so firmly against the wall, and with his arm held so tight. Beau’s heart raced, as worry started to seep into him. Elijah probably could make that happen. Who would miss him if he was gone? Beau didn’t even have a pet to love him. “Fuck you.” He repeated, a cornered little man with nothing to do other than lash out because he wants to be the powerful right one, not some other man. “I’m not fucking scared of you.” The beat of his heart said otherwise. 

___

"A dumb and stupid human who beat you at your own game." Henri let his whispers sit in Beau's mind just for a few seconds, to let him do the inevitable math: if Elijah was so dumb and still managed to win, then what did that make him? 

He didn't let go, not yet. His warm breath against Beau's cheek, he listened to the other's emotions. Pain and worry were expected, given the circumstances but slowly, seeping over was the one thing Henri was waiting for : fear. "Are you sure [redacted] ?" If he found delight in using the man's real name, it would have been impossible to know it then. Warm as his words might have felt against the other's ear lobe, his voice carried them as if they were made of ice. 

"You give me this shit again, you threaten me again, no one will find you. Do you copy?" He repeated.

___

“Everyone makes mistakes.” Beau’s face hurt as it moved against the wall, the bits of dirt and rock scraping against his jaw with every movement. “Everyone has bad days.” That didn’t make him less of a fae, less of a spriggan. He had gotten cocky. He knew better now. He would never, ever offer a trade of all his names again. “You lied. You cheated. That’s the only reason you won.” Contempt dripped off his voice. 

Elijah was pressed against him, enough that Beau could feel the steady beating of his heart. The beating that was calm, and unrushed. Compared to his own racing pulse it was embarrassing. Once more he tried to wiggle his way out of the hold, but it only resulted in more pain from the hold he was in. Then there was the name. The name dripped off of Elijah’s words and hung in the air, like oil and water, sliding out of Beau’s ears with the disbelief that that could have ever been his name.

“Give me my names back and I won’t give you shit again.” He couldn’t let Jedidiah win again. He couldn’t let Elijah shit-head come into his new town and make him booboo the fool all over again. “Do you copy?” 

___

"Oh you hate that so much." Maybe Beau couldn't lie, but Henri didn't believe for a minute that there was no trickery, no cheating to his way of making deals. "You just hate that so much, knowing that you got beaten at your own fucking game by a human." Even if he hadn't had his empathy helping him out, Henri was confident that, that fateful day, he would have won anyway. 

He had listened to his old man lie too often, for too many years, and it would take a lot for him to fall for any sort of bullshit ever again.

Henri refused to be naive. That's how you got yourself hurt.

And so he didn't let go, not when the other tried to wiggle away, not when he groaned in pain. Why would he have done that? Old time's sake? The only common history they had was non-existent to him. He had done what he had to do then, and [redacted] was just collateral damage. If anything, Henri thought perhaps he had given him a lesson. That. That had been naive.

"That won't do." Henri sighed. "The work I do here, it's more important than one person, Beau. If you're gonna be difficult, you gotta go. Now," he ticked his tongue impatiently. "Do you, or do you not copy?" 

__

Beau wanted to scream, he wanted to rage, he wanted to pound his fists against the wall and yell until his lungs deflated and his throat hurt. Beau wished he could grow into a giant and crush this horrible horrible man and this annoying town under his huge giant foot. Instead, he was crushed between a rock and a hard place. Beau twisted and turned and shoved and groaned and tried his hardest. A squirming rat caught in a trap, but Elijah held fast, unmoved by anything.

Finally Beau was left panting, and forced to consider the words Elijah had been throwing at him. Of course he hated that a human had bested him. Humans were the cattle of the world, just livestock placed on the planet for the enjoyment of fae. It wasn’t right when cattel took it to be their own person, instead of property for the fae to amuse themselves with. Even worse, Beau was letting him win again. Again. Shame bubbled through him, popping in waves of disgust and disappointment. 

“I do not copy. Wherever you go, I will find you. I will find you and I will make  you give back my name. One of these days you will do something so stupid, and I will be there waiting. I will get my name back, mark my words. I will get my names back and then I will make you suffer for all of this. Everything you’ve done. I will make sure you know that you’re on borrowed time.” The anger was propelled by his own self hatred, he wasn’t a man of violence. Beau was a man of sniveling cowardice. How would he back up these words? 

__

“...” The mines fell quiet. You could hear faintly, far away, the sound of excavators, metal against stone, faintly, closer, Beau’s breathing louder than his own. Understandably. Unmoved, undisturbed by the anger and the pain he could feel through Beau, the federal agent assessed, for now, that the other was no threat to him, or his mission. He was just an angry, pathetic, cowardly man who focused on things, most likely to fill in a void he couldn’t ever replenish with people. It might have been prematured of a statement, but how many people did he see stacking property to hide how empty they were. 

He let go of him, but not without making sure the other knew that Henri had deemed him inoffensive. “I’m sure. I’ll be waiting,” the words were flat, lacking in emotion, and even as he leaned in to place a kiss on the man’s cheek, this emptiness he suspected in the other, it was there. 

Maybe he’d run into him again. Henri had no doubt about it, but for now, they needed to be apart from one another. He didn’t come here for [redacted]. He’d lie if he claimed he never thought of him at all, but he was never Henri’s mission. Already, he knew those tunnels well enough to make a quick exit and leave the other to his rage, and whatever else he would want to feel. 

__

Beau had been all blusters and threats. Sweat prickled his brow from the effort he made to escape. Elijah had been calm, cool, collected. Beau felt as his arm got released, and the warmth of Elijah’s chest against his back ceased. Beau was rubbing his aching arm almost instantly, ready to turn around and begin yelling again. But he didn’t turn around because the most unexpected thing happened. The gentle warmth of two lips against the skin of his cheek. The flutter of his chest as he realized Elijah, Jedidah, the most beautiful man Beau had ever seen in his life, had planted a kiss on Beau’s cheek. 

A heart beat, the sound of feet echoing off tunnel walls Beau turned around. There was no sign of him. He stood there, confused, hand brushing his cheek. His cheeks had flushed a shade of deep pink, a mixture of the anger that had rushed to his head and the blush that had just taken over. “What?” Beau whispered into the mines, all alone with no one to answer. “What did you mean by that?” Beau shook his head, trying to get it together. Surely the man who had stolen his names was just messing with him. He would not let himself get tricked again. Right?