#But jokes aside he is really well designed! I love his fit

[thicc-mint-cookie]

Ganondorfs big naturals have taken over the entire Zelda tag the people know what they want

[iamespecter]

TADC OCs: "The Die Quartet"!

"Oh but Ziku, who are these very handsome die?"

Well I'm glad nobody asked, because that would ruin the joke!

The Die Quartet are OCs of mine that I created for TADC, and for what purpose? Well, they're the minds behind show's music!

Hidden just behind a corner or two, or four, These obliviously mischievous and enthusiastic quartet play whatever music they can, one that certainly matches the current "mood" of what the cast is going through. Meet Cuba, Dodeca, Tetra, and Octa, The Amazing Musical Performers, for The Amazing Digital Circus!

LORE AND BOUNDARIES UNDERNEATH THE CUT!

When the Circus was initially created, it was feeling too barren for a place that's meant to be "lively". And so, Caine went and copy-pasted himself four times, while replacing the heads with some die props he found on the floor, retexturing and adjusting their bodies, to fit their new roles.

A little bit of a code rewrite to make them able of producing any sounds all on their own to be musically intertwined, and the quartet was basically ready to go: but there's only one problem.

Caine completely forgot to remove the admin privileges from their code.

So once the four spawned, they immediately began floating around, dancing and creating the main theme for the circus, and did it all perfectly. So Caine decided that as long as they don't interfere with anything major in the circus and did their job as the musical minds behind the show/game's soundtracks, he doesn't really care about fixing this error and would rather let these four run rampant to create more songs.

Ever since then, the Die Quartet has been messing with every circus members, most of the time playing obnoxious music that fits the "current mood". You'll even see their canes dance to the tempo they've set, like some backup dancers.

Think of it like: You now have x4 Caines with dice heads, flying and snooping around, so that they can "improve the mood" with their music! Ain't that swell??

(But really, all they do is just annoy the Circus members just like Caine does, for the better or the worse. Probably the latter.)

Fun facts about the Die Quartet!

Even though they've all been created at the same time and share the features of a die, they do not consider themselves as "brothers", and only see one another as colleagues instead.

Their names are related to the type of their die: Tetra (yellow), Dodeca (purple), Cuba (red), and Octa (green).

Despite being reused assets of Caine himself, they have distinct personalities that separate them from each other: Tetra is more joyful and playful, Dodeca is a more dramatic/theatric and over the top, Cuba is the natural lead and more stern than anybody, and Octa is the more closed off of the gang but willing to provide his best.

Yet, they all still lack awareness of personal space and boundaries just like Caine, and WILL be intrusive towards anyone they set their sights on, with the intent of predicting their mood and setting the current situation perfectly in musical form. (ex. if a character is sneaking, all four will follow "cautiously" behind while one imitates/pulls out a tiny piano playing to the theme of "tip-toeing". You know, like a cartoon gag.)

Although they can perfectly imitate ANY sound or instrument imaginable, They'll still pull out a "physical" instrument if the gag calls for it.

BOUNDARIES!

You can pretty much draw fanart of them! In fact I would REALLY love to see it and I encourage it! Really, just don't claim them as your own, or steal their designs.

NSFW of them is accepted, but please keep in mind that I have an SFW blog. Which means THERE ARE MINORS. Show them to me privately instead, I'd still love to see it <3

While NSFW is accepted (privately), please make it a morally decent one, because I don't really wanna see some disgusting stuff. This pretty much includes: non-con, scat, etc.

Aside from that though, I hope you all enjoyed these four! I really love how they turned out, and would love to draw them more. I was initially hesitant on showing my TADC OCs because I don't think people would like 'em, but fuck it.

My boys, they deserve to be seen even if just by a few people on the internet.

[galesdevoteewife]

Gale may not be so typical squishy wizard/scholar?

-My Galeology study note-

Looking at his character sheet in the Deluxe pack gets me thinking, maybe our wizard is not exactly designed to be the typical squishy one...?

[Act2 spoiler warning]

2 things caught my eyes:

1) Great physical fitness, and good reflexes. (For your reference, Gale & Wyll are the two companions who have the highest Con: 15. I put everyone's sheets at the bottom of the post.)

His Con and Dex are... very high?? I mean, higher than Karlach and Lae'zel...????

Note 1: I suspect it could have something to do with his background as Mystra's chosen, as they are somewhat "transformed" when they agree to become the goddess's chosen. A topic for another day since I haven't quite figured it out yet, for anyone who is interested there's a chapter about it in The Seven Sisters. Also, I have little clues on how much chosen lore credit Larian was taking into account while designing him, or how Mystra's "taking back the given ability" works. Note 2: Again, Mystra's chosen are often sent on missions that involve a lot of traveling according to Elminster's series. Mystra also mentioned that Gale and she used to have adventures together, which leads to an assumption: despite his preference he might be traveling quite a lot until he was cast aside and quarantined himself in his tower. Might be the type of scholar who is very keen on field studies?

Note 3: Can someone undress Elminster to exam my theory please??xD Neh won't work I think all human might share same body model in game

Come to think of it, there was a party banter between Karlach & Gale that went like :

Karlach: Whoa! Almost slipped there. Gale: You wouldn't be the first, I'd wager. It's been some time since these walkways felt the carpenter's hammer. Karlach: You gonna catch me if I eat a brick? Gale: With my reflexes? I'd catch you before you so much as stubbed a toe.

At first I thought that was a sarcastic joke but, seems like it wasn't? Also this:

Karlach: Ready to enter the belly of the beast? Gale: It's the stairs I'm dreading. I shall close my eyes, and pretend I'm climbing my own, far superior tower in Waterdeep. Karlach: In that case, welcome home.

...So it seems when I pictured him as a homebody, I should reimagine the concept of home... His has...lots of stairs? Just walking around in the tower could be counted as a workout, sort of thing? Note: I don't think the place he shows in the Act 2 cutscene is his tower. Otherwise, aren't these neighbors pretty much doomed?

2) Not THAT smart. Well, I love him, so I will speak in his defence: [1] He has a warm(s) digging holes in his brain. [2] Poisonous magical bile running in his blood. Maybe he's just not at his best, makes sense, eh? Wyll mentioned he is nerfed after tadpole too. After all, this man obviously memorized a DICTIONARY:

Gale: You promised to stay in Waterdeep. 'Promise,' verb, meaning to swear something will or will not be done. Tara the Tressym: And I decided 'will not'. And a good thing, too. You look like you haven't had a good meal in days

Player: When I said we could be more than friends, you answered 'perhaps'. What does that really mean? Gale: If I recall correctly, the Waterdhavian Dictionary of the Common Tongue of Faerûn defines it as an adverb that conveys the meaning of 'it may be that', or 'possibly'. Gale: Sorry, sometimes I just can't help being quite insufferable. In seriousness, I'm glad you asked that question.

Along with a bunch of you-may-never-need information:

Everything about ceremorphosis? Myconid? Why in the world have him read about Cazador??? And how can he not know the distance between Waterdeep & Baldur's Gate, even Karlach ―who spent a decade, which is likely half of her life in hell― knows better geography than him. Gale either totally ignored the subject or portaled everywhere; distance meant nothing to him?? Uh, but you can't take party banters too seriously; it's buggy. How could a bug bit Karlach in the swamp? It should've been burned into ashes before it even reached her, no?

Anyway, just rambling some thoughts <3 I would have gone to Harvard if there was a major in Gale...

-DISCLAIMER- Brought to you by a brainrot wife, Galerian missionary. Be warned the article might has (strong) bias because the writer is braindead and she thinks Gale is the most awesome character in the world.

[coralinnii]

❋ Crushing on a game character ❋ ↳ bonus: he kinda reminds you of your bf feat ⎸Leona ⭑ Azul ⭑ Jack ⭑ Kalim genre ⎸fluff, humour note ⎸no pronouns used with reader, established relationships, reader is kinda oblivious and scatterbrained. 

part one

Ugghh, the disgusted looks this man would give. Stop, I can’t handle the judgemental stares! 

Jokes aside, Leona’s not really going to care too much. It’s your life so you can like whatever you want so long as it doesn’t bother him. 

He may look like he isn’t listening to you as you gush about your ult fav, but he’s listening enough to get the gist of this fictional character that seems to capture your attention. 

“He sounds like a real jerk. You got some weird taste” 

“He’s actually a good guy, I swear!” 

“Well, for a good guy he sure acts like an as-“ 

Am I getting too meta on this?

Despite his supposed indifference, he pays enough attention to notice some similarities appearance-wise between him and your favorite character and of course he had to point it out at any given chance. 

“Can’t get your mind off of me, can ya?”

He can sleep through your gaming and your giggling well enough, and at the end of the day he’s the one that gets to have you in his arms as you fall asleep after a long gaming session.

But soon, you started buying some merch. At first, it was just some photo cards and keychains so it’s nothing too crazy. He almost can’t believe that people would actually spend time and money collecting those kinds of things. But when he realized that he could quell your anger a lot better now by handing you merch he made Ruggie get, he can’t complain about an easy out. 

Then the bigger stuff started coming in, and Leona starts to notice that this fictional bastard is taking more than just space in your phone. He doesn’t like sharing what’s his, fictional or not.

“You can’t be serious” 

Your lips curled into a pout as you glanced back at your new purchase that somehow offended Leona for some reason. “What? It looks cool, doesn’t it?” 

Leona doesn’t agree as he stood face to face with the monstrosity sitting on your desk.

A giant figurine of a certain character he’s starting to think he’s seeing way too much of.

It was a detailed piece with decor and props surrounding the character, showing off more of its 3D splendor. The smug expression on the figure, regardless if simply painted on, made Leona growled under his breath as it rubbed him the wrong way.

Your beastman boyfriend was waiting for you in his bedroom when the school day was done, expecting some quality time with his mate. Instead, he was practically left forgotten when you heard that a package was dropped off for you and you were excited to unbox your long-awaited splurge. Leona finally got your attention when he unceremoniously burst through your bedroom doors to find you rearranging your desk to fit your new figure.

“The damn thing is takin’ up your whole desk,” Leona sneered down at the piece of clay as though it offended his honor. “And it’s ugly as hell” 

“How dare you! He’s a masterpiece!” Leona felt a vein tense on his forehead. Did you really have to call it a he? “Besides, I still have space on my desk and just looking at him while I study relaxes me” 

As if to prove your point, you bent down to gaze at your new figure and a fond smile immediately found its place on your face. You playfully tapped the top of your character’s head, giddy as you took in the well-crafted design of the model. 

Leona on the other hand, can only feel a headache forming as he has to watch his lover go gaga over a cheap piece of clay (cheap to him, maybe!). It’s one thing to have your attention away from him when you're gaming, but he’s not gonna fight with a freaking toy for your loving looks outside of that. He’s the boyfriend here. 

You felt yourself pulled back by your collar, making you fall backwards unceremoniously onto your bed. You wanted to get up but Leona immediately joined you, trapping you as he laid his body atop of you, wrapping both his arms and his tail to keep you in his hold. He didn’t say anything but you could see his flattened ears and a sour expression across his face. 

“Do you really not like it?” You asked him, carefully caressing his head in hopes to ease his tense ears. Leona tried to ignore your question but one glance at your worried look just wouldn’t let him. 

“It’s fine… now stop talkin’ and just sleep already.” Quickly snuffing the conversation, Leona pulled you close to rest his head on you, being lulled by your heartbeat. Leona isn’t gonna tell you to stop if you really like this stuff, but his time with you is not negotiable. 

His first thought was how obsessi- I mean passionate you must be. 

Though, having been around Idia and even Jade long enough, Azul wouldn’t be that surprised as he assumed that this sort of infatuation with such a trivial thing is not something uncommon. Not something he would do but not surprised if you have something you like to such an extent. 

Azul would be curious and have many questions about your fixation. What’s enticing you so? How is it addicting for you? How can he possibly market on this- 

Being a doting partner, Azul would let you play your game in his office while he works on some paperwork. But Azul would secretly listen to you as you gush about the game and your favorite character. 

And I mean, ACTUALLY listen. He remembers your expressions as you ramble about that character’s favorite food or how good he looks in his new “skin” as you call it. He’s very attentive and he does find your goofy smiling very cute. 

But if this goes on, Azul might start to get worried. Is this character perhaps your ideal type all along? This suave and admittedly well-designed game character better suits your fancy than anything or anyone else. 

Azul would start comparing himself to this fictional character and wondered…is that who you wanted? 

You were starting to worry about your boyfriend so you made your way to his office. He seemed to be a lot busier lately and you noticed there were more papers on his desk than the usual contracts and bills. However, whenever you near him Azul was quick to hide certain things on his desk from your sight which you tried to convince yourself that something like that should be expected considering the confidential documents he may have as an owner of an establishment. But the way he forces a tight-lipped smile when he does so…it leads your mind to upsetting thoughts.

Working to dispel those thoughts, you knocked on his door but there was no response. That was strange since Jade assured you that the Housewarden was in his office and Azul would always respond back from beyond the door. 

Your worries deepened, you carefully opened the door just slightly in case Azul was actually preoccupied with a client. Thankfully, you saw no one on the guest seats and when you pushed the door further, you noticed your fair-haired boyfriend slouched in his seat pouring over some papers, mumbling to himself. 

“Azul?” 

Your voice startled the merman as he flinched out from his trance, his hands accidentally scattering his papers off his desk and close to your feet. 

“Ah no, wait!” Azul yelled in panic but you already took a good look at what was printed on the sheets of paper. 

It was your current favorite from the game you’ve been playing, with facts taken from the game lore as well as from fan theories. There were also pictures of his CGs with special dialogues catered to the players. 

Upon closer inspection, you soon noticed written memos and certain sections highlighted on these fact sheets, all in Azul’s intricate handwriting. 

Light-colored attire… prince-like aesthetic 

Skilled with swords…athletic appeal? 

Potential date sites? Food-sharing ideas….Hand-holding opportunities…

Littered all over the papers were scribbles as such which made you initially assume that it was for research purposes only. However, between these notes were details about you which made you rethink that assumption. 

You saw your personal interests, your food preferences, whether you would enjoy such date scenarios. Notes pondering if you would enjoy such a thing or if you find this attractive on Azul. 

Your boyfriend must have gone through so many websites, forums, and postings to find this much information without playing the game. Heck, you recognized some of these CGs from mini events that weren’t promoted as much as others. All this detailed research…you smiled at how adorably Azul-like of him. 

Azul eventually built his courage to break the awkward silence. “I can explain, my dear” 

You raised your brow but nodded. “Ok”

“I became intrigued by your fixation of this game and decided on checking on myself the appeals of this game” Azul pushed his glasses to cover his nervous countenance. “I must say, I am quite impressed with the details this company puts into their characters. Perhaps I can find some way to implement these elements into Mostro Lounge as a limited time event” 

You couldn't help but chuckle seeing Azul trying to compose himself, but the flushing of his pale skin betrays him. “I see. Well needless to say, I agree with your thoughts from what I can see, especially the date scenarios”

Your tease successfully flustered your Azul even more, but you want to fluster your cute lover further “While I do like the aesthetic of the handsome, princely type…” 

Azul watched you approach him at his desk, wary of the cheeky look on your face. Smiling, you proceeded to surprise him with a kiss on his face, teasingly close to his beauty mark. 

“…I like the very cute and clever merman better” 

How skilled you are to turn an octopus boiling red without fire.

Very confused. He understands that people have their own preferences and interests but he’s just…so, so confused. 

He supports you and your passions but you will have to explain the concepts like “simping” and “biases” to him. Very much a normie, but a supportive one. 

He makes sure that you balance your gaming life with your personal life, which means no late night gaming, no 3AM game check-ins, and he paces your grinding sessions with breaks. 

We don’t deserve him 

He would notice that your favorite character seems to be a beastman like him, but doesn’t connect the reason why you would be so infatuated with this silent wolf-like character in particular. 

Such a coincidence they look similar to each other, huh… 

He would chastise you if you get too absorbed into the game but he does respect your dedication and your gaming knowledge. 

If you offer, he wouldn’t mind trying out the game you love so much just so he can understand your interest better. 

“Ughh, I lost” 

You laughed as you watched your tall boyfriend groan, ruffling his hair in frustration. Jack decided to finally try out your new obsession and after a quick crash-course explanation from you, Jack tried his hand at the battle portion of the game. It ended unfortunately in his defeat as all his players died and the screen on your phone darkened. 

“You were really good for your first time, though” you tried to cheer him up. “Sometimes it just comes down to luck” 

You could tell however that Jack was still bummed about his loss, his tail slowly flicking around and his ears flattening on his head. 

“This is actually pretty tough” Jack grumbled under his breath, not realizing how complicated the game mechanics were. “I always thought you were amazing with how good you were at this game but wow…” 

“This man, complimenting me like it’s nothing…” 

Trying to cover your flustered expression, you crawled over to your boyfriend who was currently sitting down. Gently, you pushed his arms in order to climb onto his lap, your back resting against his chest which flinched upon your touch. You took back your phone from Jack’s hands. 

“Here, I’ll show you some stuff to boost your chances” you looked to your boyfriend, who went suspiciously quiet…quieter than usual. “Jack?” 

You could feel how Jack immediately stiffened at his name before he slightly yelled out his response “Right, got it!” 

Stifling your laugh, you made yourself comfortable as you continued with your gaming. Although, you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling when you felt a pair of muscular arms wrapping around your waist, and a fluffy tail resting on your legs.   

Another clueless but supportive partner. 

Kalim’s really glad you have something you really love and is happy to hear you talk for hours about anything and everything related to the game and your favorite game character. 

“He can do that? Wow!” “What? That’s such a sad story, poor guy!” 

He understands why you would like this character, seeing how jovial and sweet-natured your ult fav seem to be. 

“What a real nice guy, you must really like these types of guys, huh?”

“Yea…guess I do” 

He’ll go to conventions with you, even wait in long lines with you, and listen to fan theories while not understanding a single thing, all because seeing you so happy is worth it.

You will have to be the one with self-control because the moment Kalim finds out there’s merch out there, he’s buying them without hesitation. 

Even the less…subtle merchandise out there 

“Kalim…where did you get this?” 

“Do you like it? I saw this while searching for stuff you might like” 

You questioned what Kalim thought of you if he assumed that this would be something you like, because you’re faced with a large body pillow of your bias character laying on your bed, with your boyfriend joyously showing it off. The picture printed on the cover showcased your favorite character in a cute pose, which you were honestly grateful for because you wouldn’t know the best reaction to have if Kalim bought a less than school-friendly image. 

“It’s…wow” despite the insanity of the situation, you started to smile in amusing absurdity “I mean…I never thought I would have the chance to hold a body pillow, let alone have a cute looking one” 

Kalim, oblivious as ever, grinned as he assumed you were happy with his purchase “Right?! I heard from some people at the convention that pillows like these were really popular!” 

Ah, so that’s where he learned about this side of the fandom. Kalim is such an easy guy to talk with so he would occasionally start conversations with other convention attendees despite being a “normie”, so to speak. 

“I managed to get one commissioned with the fluffiest pillow I could get.” Grabbing the pillow, Kalim proudly held it out in front of you. “Here, feel it!” 

You did what your boyfriend asked, and your eyes widened at luxurious sensations under your fingertips. “Holy crap, this is so soft! And the picture quality is super good too” 

Any experience or expectations you had about body pillows is now blown out of the park as you can’t imagine anything ever beating the softness and quality of this body pillow. Heck, your regular pillows can’t be compared to the feeling of heaven you’re feeling. 

Kalim grinned at you, satisfaction and joy clear on his cute face. Gently, the tanned man pulled you onto your bed, making you lay onto the mattress with your boyfriend and your new body pillow. Wrapping his arms around you, you were now sleeping between the Housewarden and your printed-out ult bias. 

“See, even if I can’t be here, you still have something with you when you’re tired” Kalim’s ruby eyes shined with affection. “Though I don’t ever want to leave your side, I wanna make sure you’re never alone even if I can’t be with you”    

Internally screaming, you swore to protect this cinnamon roll.

[mtkay13]

My version of the wardrobe template! yay!! I had a LOT of fun doing this and feel like I could elaborate a bit more on each of those.

It's already linked up here, but here's once again a > link to the post.< Anyway! More about these designs below!

So first, for WKX's template! - Chapter 2: Grey robes I had already made my design of those for the full TYK lineup I made a while back. I really, really like those, and took inspiration from some of the robes SHL!WKX wears in the show for the shapes. - Chapter 69: dark robes with dark red belt I expected to like that style for him, but not that much! I had seen a tutorial on how asymetrical hanfus were worn by archers in the past and that inspired me, purely on a fashion level of course. I like how intimidating he looks with those and enjoy the touches of blue in the inner layer of the robes. - Chapter 75: dark red robes The GVM robes! which I also designed a while back when researching for the illustrations of the Mt Fengya battle scenes that I wanted to make. I reworked them just a little bit and got rid of some details that I didn't like anymore. I tremendously pleated skirts for WKX so I went at it once again. I also used shifts in hues to make it look like it could have been drenched in blood. - Extra 5: deep red robes For the reminder (since apparently some people are not aware of extra 5's existance), this extra is set 5 years post-canon. I wanted WKX to wear something that looked comfortable for traveling but also practical and fashionable. The teal jacket is of course another nod at SHL since the red and teal combo was an absolute banger. Let's say I didn't want WKX to just sport an all-red look. Furthermore, the teal really works to adorn the red hues. - My personal favourite I actually don't really know whether those are my actual personal favourites, but I've come to LOVE WKX dressed in red and white thanks to @kwehxing's designs. I think it really suits him and on top of that it avoids the question "is this Hua Cheng" LMAO--okay jokes aside, I combined most of the shapes that I really like for WKX (wider shoulders, wide sleeves, and long robes with pleated inner robes) and I find him very elegant like this. Now, for ZZS! - Chapter 1: sapphire blue scholar robes Those had already been designed before as well! They're my go to generic TC!ZZS robes, haha. I was a bit extra with the blue colour here, but oh well. I'm quite obsessed with the silver brocade cynching his waist, haha. - Chapter 2: stolen farmer robes A classic as well as far as I'm concerned--of course, inspired by his hobo fit in SHL because it was quite efficient. I'm forever fond of my scruffy hobo!Xu and his toes poking from his sandals. - Chapter 18: luxurious robes from the Gao family Those were a new design! Which I had a lot of fun coming up with. Putting ZZS in a different colour scheme was also really nice. For those who don't remember, ZZS feels quite ridiculous when he sees himself in a mirror wearing those fancy robes while being so emaciated and still sporting his hobo mask. I wanted to give this "out of place" feeling; and also work on a very "wuxia" style for the robes, since this is jianghu and they were provided by Gao Chong. - Extra 5: black robes I'm incredibly fond of this design. I worked quite a bit on it, since I wasn't sure of where I wanted to go. My main guidelines were: practical and cool. I really like ZZS having a lot of room to move so ideally not too much fabric in the way, and I think he also needs arm braces to be rid of annoying sleeves. Of course, him looking much healthier and having a dynamic ponytail really works to "complete the look", and I find that he looks really cool there haha. - My personal favourite This one has been refined over the months, but it's definitely, overall, my favourite look for him in terms of shapes and construction. I like that the robes are short, I like the more fashionable jacket. I'm especially into the "pants tucked into the boots" silhouette, as well as the little ribbons keeping them tight around the ankles. I'd say that this leg shape + short robes + a bun (or sometimes a ponytail) is THE ZZS design combo for me, haha. It looks practical and fun and adventurous, just how I like it.

To conclude the whole post, I had more fun doing this than I even expected, and needless to say that I'm very excited to see other versions of them following this template. It was a good opportunity to try and project what the characters look like throughout the book, and a fun design exercise as well. I actually don't really like doing character design usually, but for characters I'm obsessed with, it's of course a much nicer experience. Anyway, thank you for reading!

[legendary-guest]

All outfits I made for my Drakgo Teacher AU! Discussion under the cut. Lore/casual fic/part 1 here.

It was very important to me for all of these outfits to look like things that canon Dr. Drakken and Shego would wear, not just by lifting palettes from canon, but by incorporating design elements seen in the clothes they wear and finding outfits that feel appropriate for their ages.

I personally believe that the age gap between Dr. D and Shego is not insignificant, there's a clear difference in the way they behave and carry themselves in canon that signals this to me, aside from the fact that Drakken went to college with James. I'd say about 10-15 years, and their clothes should reflect that, not to mention their overall tastes. Dr. D's the butt of a lot of mid-life crisis jokes (by me, LOL), but he doesn't strike me as the sort to dress like he is going through one (this is what the villain career is for, aside from it being an extended and hilarious mental breakdown. The mullet is a holdover from the 80s, not trying to recapture his youth, in my opinion).

I wanted more 80s/70s older style clothes for Drakken, but a lot don't feel like him, and the brown palettes for many of them cross over with Mr. Barkin too much. Dr. D loses his identity with the shift in colour. He works well with deeper purples and reds, but him being listless, and honestly just plain depressed, had to be reflected in the colour choices. Even the long sleeves, hinting at this insecurity he has over his skin that I have made a point of in my Teacher AU. I've seen it a couple of times in fanfic, and I've enjoyed it immensely as an element of characterisation for him.

Chinos make their appearance here, and this Ms. Go's outfit is a slight remix of the original. I characterise that outfit, where she was effected by the Attitudinator and became Ms. Go, as something she would wear at the very beginning of her training as a teacher. Here, she has a bit more bite, more of the Shego we know and love, not as demure.

I gave her a tie in one of them because I love ties and she looks so chic with it. I really wanted to incorporate her belt from her original suit, but it's too garish to fit in with any of her outfits here, and it doesn't suit anything 'normal' or anything slightly professional/chic. Drakken's was easier to implement, more subtle.

Ms. Go palette is mostly green here for story reasons, too. It helps her in gaslighting the kids. If she wears greens and neutral colours, mostly, they won't be able to really tell that she IS green. I love the idea of a teacher Shego just seriously messing with kids' heads, I've had a few teachers like that in my life, who take great amusement in watching them trip over their words, or just outright lying to them to get a funny reaction.

The Good Ms. Go also has shorter hair, which I thought was so interesting - long hair as a hallmark of Shego's evilness - even Drakken's - so I just tied it up here. If I want her to go into evil, I can just by having her let her hair go, or if she just settles down with Dr. D, it's fine, too. It's also just practical as a teacher, makes her look put-together. Headbands make women look young, I find, there's a real girlishness to them. Ms. Go is a woman! And WHAT a woman!

Finding clothes that were professional yet edgy - o my God. The trek. Shego gave me a run for my money, I will tell you. If I had to redo any of this, I might be inclined to incorporate more asymmetry. I love her original suit, it's so striking and disorienting, it's actually insane to me that Stephen Silver designed that and everyone JUST AGREED, AND SAID IT WAS FINE, YEAH, WE'LL ANIMATE THAT?! Crazy. IN 2D, TOO!

Now, original Ms. Go has heels, and even Shego wears heels in So the Drama. Why no heels here? I didn't want to draw new feet and adjust the height, okay - BUT ALSO! She's still got that holdover from her hero days. She's got to be ready at any time, to spring into action!

FORGET THE FACT THAT SHE RUNS AND JUMPS AND SOMERSAULTS IN THE DAMN THINGS IN SO THE DRAMA, OKAY! She can afford to go to Mount Olympus and have Midas karate chop the calf and lower back pain away. She doesn't have a good masseuse/physio/chiropractor here in this AU. PRE-MIDAS! (Hm, maybe Dr. Lipsky could help with that?)

[miralyk]

love the drawings you've been making for desmond and alex, what's ghosts in the machine? first i see them crawling out of your screen and now everyone's angels devils or monsters, i don't know if i'm missing something!

ah man, think it's time to try to summarize everything and apologize LMAO;; ty for asking though, i should've made things less confusing! this will be a Pretty lengthy post for irl context/backstory and "actual au" info so be ready if you want to read everything!

(for starters, the title's just a pun on the philosophical phrase "ghost in the machine" interpreted Literally and taking inspiration from clay in ac revelations, since he Was a ghost in a machine and jokingly called "my guardian angel" by des, haha)

the short version: basically, "ghosts in the machine" is what i've called the au(?) where i just doodle silly "artist talking to her art muse(s)" stuff like these kinds of comics instead w me,, the ""art muse"" is whatever i'm hyperfixated on (currently desmond, the assassin brotherhood as a whole, and alex/prototype lmao):

the Full LONG version: when replaying prototype and ac awhile back, i also posted fanart on LOFTER (china’s local version of tumblr) and made a mainlander mutual/friend who drew fanart too, like her oc w the assassins in an animal shapeshifter 刺客信条乙女向 (assassin’s creed otome) au! as i’m vietnamese-american and she’s chinese, we use translators and send pictures/doodles to talk about the games and our days, and when i was replaying prototype, she started ac2 too and sent me this as commentary:

from there, whenever we’d text or send pics/art, it became a running joke of sorts to also include our ""game companions"" like that fanfiction thing of “author’s note where the author and fictional characters comment on the situation and/or talk to each other”, and my doodles also became us or our computers being accompanied by them LMAO;; that’s pretty much the origin and setting of the particular doodles; just the daily shenanigans and art struggles of an artist (me and her) talking to their art muses (characters from special interests) haunting them and their computers

as for the "supernatural" aspects, at some point desmond and alex got drawn an as angel and devil because i’ve had ridiculous “protected by a guardian angel” luck lately like surviving a car crash unharmed, they’re my favorites and associated with me, the motifs match the duo, etc, it's not really that deep and/or for a "Lore Reason";;

likewise, the brotherhood got drawn as ghosts to emphasize the “we/our computers are haunted by them” joke more, along with how my friend and i are both asian and used to like ghosts and ancestral worship casually being a part of our lives already LMAO (ig in the context of the au then, they’re basically desmond’s ancestral spirits disney-mulan-style that freeload off of his vietnamese protectee (me) for both spiritual veneration or "worship" like staying relevant in this modern age via fanart)

for example, i'm also considering drawing like altair, ezio, connor, and edward as the vietnamese four holy beasts just to play around, things like that! there's no special lore reason aside from just personal thoughts and "oh that'd be fun to draw", they just thematically fit well being four prominent “legends” and being desmond's ancestors, etc,, haha

at the end of the day, "ghosts in the machine" are just silly shenanigans of me drawing what's on my mind, from who/what i'm hyperfixated on (aka impromptu art muses for me), any thoughts/frustrations i have w daily life or drawing stuff,, and "hm this sounds cool, i could draw this design or Cool Thing" stuff. it's not really an au persay (plus i still really cringe and feel self-consciously wary about the embarrassing self-insert aspect of all this, help lmao), it’s just,, just silly personal scribblings that are kind of sharing an inside joke to everyone now, but i'm happy to know people still humor these silly drawings and are curious if there's more to it, thank you!

[viilpstick]

HI GIRLLL HELLO HEYYY😍🥰 (me trying to act as if I didn't just come here without any warning whatsoever to gush about this new scenario idea I had like a week ago)

Ok but like jokes aside and before I get started: how have you been? How was your day? :] I hope school was less stressful to you today and that you were able to study well!(⁠＾⁠∇⁠＾⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♪

•••

Kalim might not be the smartest student, some might even say he didn't even fit with Scarabia’s values, but Kalim was not dumb. Sure, he wasn't book smart like his servant, Jamil, but he could read people's emotions well, even if they didn't realize it.

And one thing he caught on right away was that Jeanne Hook didn't love him.

Jeanne looked at him with hunger and greed, she looked at him as one would look at a newfound treasure. The same beautiful blue eyes Kalim fell in love with were the same eyes that looked at him as if he was nothing but a means to an end. He would lie if he said it didn't hurt him, but at the end of the day, Kalim was completely enamored with Jeanne. He couldn't deny himself, he couldn't deny his feelings. So he would be honest, and trust that she had some compassion in her.

He would let her stare all she wanted. As long as it meant her eyes were fixated on him and only him.

“Where are you taking me anyway, Asim?” She asked, a performative smile on her lips as he gently held her hand and led her to the balcony of Sacarabia. “Jamil will soon notice that we’re missing from the party and he’s not gonna be happy about it.” He turned and smiled at her as they finally reached their destination, holding not only her right hand but her hook she used to replace her left hand.

“I just wanted to show you something.” Kalim smiled, his dimples showing. “I want you to meet someone.”

Jeanne’s expression showed confusion as the boy stopped holding her and walked straight to the edge of the balcony.

“You… want me to meet someone?”

“Trust me, Jeanne, you’re gonna love this.” Kalim said confidently as he stood on the edge of the balcony, Jeanne's eyes widening in a mix of surprise and maybe even worry, if he dared to hope.

Then, Kalim let his body fall, letting gravity do its own thing. Jeanne hurried to the edge, calling for the white haired boy frantically, looking everywhere but somehow being unable to find the body of the Asim heir.

What was he thinking?? Jumping from the balcony all of a sudden! Jeanne gritted her teeth and started climbing the edge, ready to jump to find him, but before she was even able to get her right foot up, the familiar voice of Kalim called to her from behind, and as she turned she witnessed him, wide eyed and standing on a carpet.

A flying carpet.

“Wha- were you going to jump after me?” The boy asked, touched, and Jeanne let out a big sigh of relief, passing her hand through her dark hair.

“Duh! I thought you might’ve hurt yourself, how the heck would I explain that to Jamil?” She expressed, but then decided to leave that aside, looking at the carpet he was standing on. “So… this is who you wanted me to meet?”

“Oh- yes! This is my magic carpet, Jeanne.” The carpet flew closer to the girl, she laughed as a portion of the fabric seemed to hold her hand and pretend to kiss it. Well, it was just as intriguing as Kalim himself. “Do you like it? It’s been my friend since I've known myself.”

“It’s wonderful, Asim. Really.” Jeanne said, passing her hand on top of the fabric of the carpet, in awe of its beautiful and intricate design.

Kalim kneeled down and looked the girl in the eyes, a hopeful smile on his face as he asked: “do you want to go for a ride?”

Jeanne’s smile dropped, turning into a rather… stunned expression. She looked at the carpet and then back at Kalim, chuckling at the idea.

“Oh no, Asim. I’m way more friendly with boats and brooms… this is such a thin piece of fabric, I doubt it could-”

“Do you trust me?”

Jeanne's eyes locked with Kalim’s, his ruby pupils seeming to make her dizzy. She learned from a very young age that the only person she could count on was herself and her sister, no one else seemed worthy of her trust… yet… looking at this boy’s eyes, she didn't feel a single ounce of doubt. It was as if she knew him her entire life, despite being sure to have only known Kalim for a few months.

"I... Asim, it's not-" she hesitated. Well... It was just a ride, right? If he tried anything, she could slice his neck open with her hook. She sighed at the idea. "...sure." she said, hesitantly, as her hook made its way to Kalim’s hand, and the boy gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen.

His gentle fingers touched her hard, cold metal hook as if it wasn't dangerous. As if it couldn't be used to harm him, as if the idea of Jeanne hurting him never even crossed his mind.

Kalim dragged her onto the carpet, and as they sat the white haired boy guided the object up high in the clouds, letting out a scream of enjoyment, and Jeanne held onto his waist for dear life. Why did she say yes? Forget about feeling like she knew Kalim since forever, she was clearly going to fall at any moment!!

Kalim's hand made its way to touch hers, squeezing it as if reassuring her that she was fine. He said: “open your eyes! Trust me, Jeanne!”

The taller one squeezed his waist, and, taking a leap of faith, opened her eyes, and she saw the most wonderful sight she had ever seen: a view up on the clouds, the sky filled with stars with nothing to hide their shine... She had never seen the world in such a beautiful way.

She truly had never seen anything like this, not even in her travels with her parents.

“So? What do you think?” Kalim asked, catching the girl's attention.

Jeanne stared at him, noticing every part of his face: his red pupils shining with expectation, his round cheeks with dimples that showed as he shot her the most genuine and caring smile she had ever seen. Her heart skipped a beat, her own face went red as her gaze softened.

She chuckled embarrassed, finally letting go of his waist, and Kalim instantly missed her touch.

“This is beautiful. I never knew how incredible the view from up here was.” She admitted, avoiding his gaze. Kalim took her hand and she felt her whole body stiffen.

“You can come ride on the magic carpet with me anyday, anytime. I’d love to show you my world.” He giggled shyly, looking to the side but still refusing to let her hand go. “I know I would love to spend even more time with you.”

“You're… very trusting, Kalim.”

Kalim shook his head.

“No. I just choose to believe in people.” He looked at her and smiled softly, though she could see a bit of hurt in his eyes. “I believe in you. I know that you're not as bad as Jamil thinks. For example, you just called me 'Kalim' instead of my family name.”

Jeanne quickly put her hook to her mouth in shock. Since when did she let herself call him by his actual name? Since when her perspective on him changed so much to the point she would think of him as Kalim and not the Asim heir?

“I’ve no idea what you mean by that.” She lied.

“It's ok, you're not the first to have come to me for my status.” Kalim laughed as if it was nothing, but Jeanne couldn't laugh with him. “But… will you call me by my name? Please? I adore it when you say my name.”

It was true. Kalim's chest felt like it would explode the moment Jeanne said his name, the word sounding so melodic and he felt giddy because he knew she was speaking so beautifully about him and no one else. His heart felt warm and he couldn't help but smile.

Jeanne looked at him again, his red eyes forcing her to give in once more. She sighed, before she opened her mouth: “Kalim.”

And he smiled, and giggled, and kissed her knuckles. He looked at her as if she was the most precious jewel, and Jeanne felt at a loss for words.

She has no idea how on earth she's going to take advantage of him now.

u rlly said "i can show you the world" when wrote this scenario.

i need a moment, a minute even...

GIMME AN HOUR.

I NEED TO CRY.

THIS IS SO MAGICAL- IDK HOW TO EXPLAIN IT.

IT FELT LIKE WATCHING ALADDIN FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAIN.

CHILLS, LITERALLY CHILLS.

i need them to kiss. mah. i need them to kiss rn. plsplsplsplsplsplsplspslplspls.

THIS IS SO AAAAAAA I LOVE IT JEANNE AND KALIM MY BELOVEDSSS

[fairybenz]

✦ "a date with death" review! ✦ 

the game "a date with death" was released earlier this month on the 7th, making it a fairly new game! i had originally played the demo and fell in love, which led me to install the full version as soon as it released! (the game is completely free to play on steam!)

here is our love interest, the grim reaper! he's super cute, i know (he's my current laptop wallpaper haha)

✩ let's talk about him!

-> a basic intro to the plot of the game: you, the player, have lately been experiencing some strange things. wherever you go, tragedy nearly strikes and you have many near death experiences! you return home from work to find a program installed on your computer, and when you open it (after some reluctance), you realize it's a chatroom. inside, you are greeted by someone claiming to be the grim reaper!

-> i won't get into much more detail out of fear to accidentally spoil the game, but the story is really cool! so far i've played one run through and unlocked one ending, but i believe there are 7 possible endings, alongside an extra if you purchase the DLC!

-> the love interest, let's call him Grim, is absolutely adorable. No, like actually. He's definitely the tsundere type, but not in an overly annoying way. He teases and gets flustered often, but he's not outright mean or disrespectful with his words. in fact, he's actually really sweet.

-> also, his CHARACTER DESIGN??? dude, he's so cool. i'm obsessed. the entire artwork of the game is really nice, the artists clearly put a lot of work into it. maybe i'm biased because he's a pretty boy with white hair, but hey! i think we can all agree he's pretty good looking, haha.

✩ okay, simping aside, how's the actual GAME?

-> the game takes place between chatrooms, each of which include a series of choices the player can make to affect which ending they'll receive.

-> don't worry, the chatrooms aren't automatic and are only triggered when the player specifically chooses them to be via clicking on the laptop and opening the chatroom.

-> aside from the chatrooms, the player can interact with different aspects of their room, even following a small mini story within the game. even the laptop mainly used for chatrooms has small games and easter eggs within it. it's very cool!

-> the game also has a lot of options for character and room customization considering it's a new game. i thought it was great to see them allowing the player to choose things like body type, pronouns, and what sort of compliments they're comfortable with. it's great to see dating sims leaning into being more inclusive!

-> the dialogue itself isn't super complex or deep, but it is pretty cute and fits the characters well. a lot of internet references and jokes are made throughout, which i thought was pretty fun. i liked all the different options the player can choose from.

-> i thought the character development throughout the game, while not insane, was pretty good. it was fitting for the time that passes, and it was really nice to see. i liked seeing how the relationship between Grim and the player progresses and changes with each choice.

-> overall, it's definitely a game i'd want to play over and over just to unlock new endings, art, and cutscenes! i think the game itself is a super cute and fun idea, and i'm so happy it came out to be great now that it's fully released.

✩ final verdict: i'd definitely recommend this game to anyone looking to try out a free, super cute dating sim! there is also DLC available to purchase if you want to support the team (which is encouraged, but not necessary for the actual game to play well and be enjoyed.)

✩ let me know what you thought if you played the game! i'm happy to discuss it :) this was my first time ever writing a game review, so any tips would be appreciated for future reviews!

with that said, holland signing off!

[anjumbai]

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis – Thoughts

“… and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.”

First of all, this is one huge book. I was skeptical of whether I should really even pick this up, will this put me in another reading slump and yada yada. Surprisingly, I managed to finish it in a very short time. The narration style and dialogues are something I found to be absolutely hilarious. Bret Easton is very crafty with the dialogues he constructs and I don’t understand how he comes up with such elaborate and funny conversations. Honestly, I’d research a little bit more about the book and the writer but there is no network in my country as I’m writing this. So yeah, giving it to you raw.

Can I talk about the movie first? I’ll talk about the movie first. I love Christian Bale. He’s one of my favorite actors, a master at his craft and worthy of respect for his diverse set of roles. His dedication to play a role is unmatched. He starred as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho and I’m glad I watched the movie first. The book is written in first person narrated by our P&P executive, working in murders and executions, Patrick Bateman. And every time I imagine a scenery with this guy, pop, it’s Christian Bale’s goofy ass acting popping up in my head and I absolutely love it. Somebody said while working with Bale that during the shoot of the film, he thought that Bale was deliberately acting horrible. He couldn’t understand why and when the movie came out, his doubts were gone. He seemed like the perfect sociopath, trying his best to fit in while being absolutely horrible at it. His deliberate bad acting just made the character Bateman come to life. It was bad acting to the point it was amazing acting. I don’t know, 10/10 for Christian Bale.

Let’s start off with the contents of the book. The book is a series of narration of the events happening in Bateman’s life and his mind by Bateman himself. There are often whole chapters dedicated to Bateman naming designer and luxury brands, describing popular music bands and their history and what their songs mean, there was even a whole chapter dedicated to his panic attacks; considering he is always high on Xanax, Velium or some other drug. Pages and pages worth of creative and witty dialogue, callbacks or just the total unhinged way of how Patrick treats everyone else when he is on bloodthirst mode. So much to highlight. So much to highlight, cause all of it is just so funny. Something like- “What is this continuing inability you have to evaluate this situation rationally?” when Patrick is being harassed by his fellow gay co-worker(who thinks Patrick loves him cause that one time he was trying to strangle him but dude thought wow Patricks in love with me) is just comedic. Or something like – “Patrick, why aren’t you looking at me?” “I’m ignoring you, Luis.” Just makes me laugh out loud. And of course, the movie. Lines from the movie written out in the book and you’re just sitting there Leonardo DiCaprio-ing all over. “He said the thing.”

All jokes aside, it was also a very clever critique of the free market. All the characters are extremely self-centered to the point of obsessive narcissism, where Pat just takes it up a notch. I don’t need to describe some of the scenes from the movie or the book because I can’t. It’s just not possible, the things Bret writes in the book, to put in a review. If you do wanna see an uncensored review, do pull up your Platinum AmEx card and sign up for my patron, where you’ll find exclusive content. Seriously, if you don’t have a Platinum AmEx card you might as well just be gutter garbage. Did I tell you that Patrick just gave me a face care routine that’ll set me back thousands of dollars but it’ll make me feel, quote, “I feel like shit but look great”?

Overall, my thoughts are all over the place and there’s nothing in particular I want to say about this book. It’s just the day to day life of a psychopath who commits heinous and gorey acts of crime, murder and what not. The book is basically him trying to fit in society while also maintaining his bloodlust. The lines “My nightly bloodlust overflowed into my days and I had to leave the city. My mask of sanity was a victim of impending slippage” sums up the book pretty well. He doesn’t necessarily leave the city all the time but rather he leaves his “I work in finance” façade behind and goes full on Ted Bundy all over the city. Graphic and gorey descriptions of his murder, torture, assault is just horrifying to even imagine. The very fact that someone thought all of this and put it in a book is gut-wrenching alone but let’s just say that the book tries to put some heartfelt moments too. Sentences like “I just want to be loved” are spoken out loud by Patrick after he, pretty graphically, cooks a part of a human body for his dinner. Words are written but not said out loud when Patrick feels love from someone. Genuine, heartfelt love that doesn’t want fame or money or anything else from Patrick, unlike every other girl he has slept with. “yet she weakens me, it’s almost as if she’s making the decision about who I am, and in my own stubborn, willful way I can admit to feeling a pang, something tightening inside, and before I can stop it I find myself almost dazzled and moved that I might have the capacity to accept, though not return, her love.” A slight attempt at humanizing a monster, I’d say. Not very successful. And I found it funny that even until the end of the book, I couldn’t tell most characters apart from one another. Just like in the movie, and I think the movie captured that essence pretty well.

Most of what you can know about the story is summed up pretty well in the movie, except that the book delves into much more comedy and, of course, gore. The movie ends at a better note in my opinion, simply because the part where the movie ends is just one of the few final chapters of the book. The movie couldn’t have done well with what the book offered as its ending and well done to the script writers for that. The book is hilarious, graphic and just a really funny mockery of materialism. It’s definitely worth a read but it does drag on without a proper goal or anything. But did I still enjoy it a lot? Yes, I did. 8/10. Hilarious and witty.

Now you know what to do when life is getting you down. Just tell yourself “You’ve got a negative attitude. That’s what’s stopping you. You need to get your act together.” Wise words, honestly.

Big ideas, guy stuff, boy meets the world, boy gets it.

[nikkiruncks]

Hi friend you're officially legal wow! I love the toph + azula concept they're a similar age and it's wlw which is so good. I recently watched t9s and wanted to come into your inbox and share my ThoughtsTM

so like there were a LOT of weird parts about the show (jay trying to seduce leia's mom out of revenge was ???) but the actors were gradually figuring out their footing which was fun to watch, it felt less like flat disney channel line delivery at some parts. nikki and nate's actors did a great job with their acting for the breakup/post breakup plotline and I enjoyed watching their casual exes fling lol, even if it's not a good relationship it's really fun to watch onscreen.

all three girls are beautiful but gwen got insanely hot, i loved her hair and fashion she's so pretty. her actress had genuine chemistry with the Boyfriend (I already forgot his name he's just arm candy at this point) so that definitely made the overall show's acting a bit better as well.

the thing with the nate/leia conflict was that it was dumb because I get how they're both softies which lends itself to personality compatibility but I could not see it as a romantic ship at all, I'm not convinced that they're attracted to each other (the friendship interactions were barely developed) and it honestly felt random/designed to produce conflict. i can buy it on nate's side but not at all from leia's. however the thing where nate had to pretend she's gross is actually funny - overall the jokes and humor got a little bit better this season.

great talk, hope you're having a wonderful day!

So happy to see you in my inbox again Anna! Been a long time since we talked lol.

Haha I actually turned 18 over 6 months ago but ty! It took a while for me to terms with being adult ngl, but I ended up getting used to it. I still don’t know what the fuck I’m doing sometimes tho haha.

Ty! Toph and Azula are a two year age gap, so I feel like it’s very fitting. I just love the idea of them as enemies to gfs. I think in general, I have a thing for ships where two characters are "similar but different" (i.e. gwikki, tophzula, zenmasters, dair, etc). It’s just so fun to see them get closer and realize they aren’t so different after all.

I personally was fine with the acting, and the kids are 15-20 years old so I cut some slack lol. Also a hot take, but Jay trying to seduce Donna was funny as fuck idec. Like the music, Jay's mannerisms, Donna being like 'wtf', and Jay "turning Donna down". It was perfect imo.

Nikki and Nate soured for me after the 3rd episode of the first season, but I’ll admit that I love their fwb storyline in season two. I just don’t want them to get together and be a couple. I’ve talked about it here why I don’t want them again and I still stand by it. I just don’t want my girl (and Nate) being limited to that relationship haha.

Completely agree. Their glowups are INSANE.

Even though Gwikki is my otp, I really liked Gwen and Cole together. They were really sweet together and it was nice seeing Gwen navigate a serious relationship for the first time.

When it comes to Nate and Leia, I hated them for so long until like March. Then I started shipping them for their potential, chemistry, and prettiness hahaha.

In canon, I don’t want Neia to happen tho. Aside from the fact that Jeia is my otp and I don’t anyone to touch them, in season 2, it’s canon that they only used each other for comfort so I can’t see them getting together at all haha.

Tysm! Hope you are too!

[peachsequence]

Dead By Daylight Drabble Character focus: Jake Word count: 900 Synopsis: Jake Park makes himself a tent. Content: no ships, sfw, indulgent headcanons, poorly written Manchester slang lmao

The others were unsure about Jake’s plan, at least at first. They watched, whispering to themselves, while he scavenged for metal scraps, tarps, and sturdy sticks. Anything that could help with making a covered structure. 

Some felt that a tent meant admitting this was their home now. Others were scared it somehow broke the rules of the place. 

Maybe they were right, but Jake didn’t care anymore. He wanted privacy. It had been fine when there were just a few people but now there were well over a dozen flowing in and out from trials. He couldn’t go anywhere without tripping on someone sleeping by the fire or hearing David King’s rancorous laughter over his own stupid jokes.

After dozens of trials and free time exploring, he gathered an impressive pile of junk. Most of it came from the meat packing plant, much to the chagrin of the young woman that guarded the place. She’d nearly killed him several times for stealing from the supplies she used to adjust her traps. The tool sheds of Haddonfield had plenty of tarps. Michael hadn’t seemed to care even when Jake stole the sheets off the beds in the neighborhood. 

What resulted in his work was an angular tent of blue and yellow tarps sewn together, held up by a string tied several feet off the ground to two trees. The ends were staked apart with nails and metal pieces, spread far enough that Jake could lie down any direction with plenty of room. He could even stand up without hitting his head. 

Sure, the ends were still open so anyone could see inside if they really wanted to, but he had plans to alter the design to fix that problem. That, however, could come later. First he wanted to enjoy the effort he went through. 

He slipped into his new hiding spot, tucked away a few yards from the campfire. The light slipped through the openings at each end, reflecting the color of the yellow and blue walls of the tent. He lay on a few layers of sheets, just enough to keep from feeling the uneven ground jab too hard into his back. 

A smug grin tugged at the corner of his lips. This is perfect.

---

It took three trials before someone broke the threshold of his new home. Jake was tying knots on a piece of rope he’d found when David King barged in without so much as knocking. 

“Park, make me a tent,” he said, ignoring the way Jake glared up at him. He dumped a stack of folded red fabric with gold thread embellishing the fraying hems. The smell of chemicals permeated from them.

“Did you tear down the tents in the circus for this?” Jake asked, noting the blood stains on the coarse surface.

“Yeah. Got a nasty scar for the trouble,” King said, grinning wide at the admission. “Oh, since I know you’ll throw a strop without pay, I brought you a toolkit. Weird one, too. Look at it!” David shoved the toolbox in Jake’s hands like a child wanting to show off a new toy. 

While he remained stone faced, Jake was intrigued by it. Rather than the plain white toolboxes he normally found, this one was bright red with gold clasps and handle. Opening it up, he found it packed full with firecrackers and sparklers that once might have made him think of New Year’s festivals. Now it just made him wonder if he could hurt a killer with them. 

Rather than ask where it came from – something that David would probably love to brag about – Jake simply closed it and set it aside. 

“Fine,” Jake relented. “Just don’t expect anything special.” 

From there, it became a downward spiral. He’d barely gotten started on David’s tent before the next person asked. Some were fine with anything Jake gave them, others wanted room to fit their partners too. Then new people arrived at the campfire and assumed getting a space was part of the norm. He made a rule after that: supply your own materials or pay out the ass for the trouble I’m going through. 

Jake hadn’t realized just how much work he’d gotten done until he took a step back to admire a pale blue canopy he’d made for Kate. Seven tents were nestled in between trees and around the campfire, their colors adding the atmosphere of life to their hellish purgatory. Claudette’s small pink and green tent was surrounded by her garden. The white one Dwight shared had a clothes line which Ace hogged to store all his ridiculous outfits on. Meg and Nea were at that moment attempting to make stands outside each home for some lanterns they’d found. 

A warm feeling settled in his chest, one that made him nervous to think about too hard. He hated to admit that he enjoyed the strange little community they’d all cobbled together. As standoffish as he acted, he liked these people. Even David King. Eventually that would get him hurt, he’d experienced that pain before, but for a moment he let himself enjoy it. 

He made his way back to his own tent, ready to rest after finally finishing the last bit of work he’d been commissioned, and settled into his makeshift bed. Jake’s head hadn’t even touched the pillow before a man tugged open one of the flaps and peered in. 

His beige trench coat popped against his dark amber skin, which was tinged pink in the cheeks as he sheepishly tried to find the right words to say. “Sorry to bother you but I was told to ask you about a tent?” the man asked with an accent Jake couldn’t place.

Jake sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temple. So much for my genius plan to be alone.  

[darklight-owl]

3,5,7,10,11,16,22 and 13,you said 3 years but what has changed since nice then?

EEEEEE tysm for the ask!!

3.) any recurring images/elements?

I'm not really that good at using motifs tbh, but I have a lot of scattered feathers deliberately placed in a few scenes. Smoke as well, even though I haven't illustrated any of those yet. I'll leave the interpretation to the readers :]

5.) pick a theme song for the tv adaptation.

Laplace's Angel by Will Wood! (this has been the theme song from before my Will Wood phase started, it's just got very similar themes)

7.) how would you describe the relationships between the characters in the story within eight words or less?

Not friends, just people sharing the same pain.

10.) if your story is titled, why did you choose that title?

It was always going to be called after whatever I named the organization. I had this idea of a kind of cultish group of assassins who worshipped a god of hunting. Since all the characters are animals hunting is pretty much just murder in this world, after all. My placeholder name for it was Artemis' Children, but I wanted to create my own mythology since I know virtually nothing about irl myths. the name Ullyca (and Ramedin while we're on it) was a result of me mashing words together at 1am until it sounded right. (I think it sounds cool though)

11.) give a general summary of the plot/world/characters.

Set in a world populated by several species of anthropomorphic animals, a serval named Umbra finds herself covered in blood, a body at her feet. With no memory of what happened, yet desperate to keep her involvement in this event from coming to light, she winds up making a deal with an organization of hitmen known as the Children of Ullyca, and by the time she realizes she's in over her head, it's too late to turn back.

16.) imagine the entire story takes place but in the meantime the characters all also have tumblr. what kind of (terrible) tumblr posts would happen?

Ahhhahahaha yk I'm pretty sure Fier has a tumblr (if anyone in this series does it's them) but for the other ones I'm absolutely sure Amala would be blazing Umbra's vent posts all the time, Hadron would do nothing except rb the worst takes known to mankind, Rena would have a bait account and Uriel just uses his to promote his fanfiction. Not sure what Kan would use his for, but something tells me he keeps getting blocked because he never made a profile and everyone thinks he's a bot.

22.) you have been given unlimited funds to make two adaptations of some sort, however you cannot make any other adaptations of any other sort. which two formats do you choose?

Ohhhh this is a tough one. I've always thought CoU would make for a banger animated series but for the second adaptation? Maybe a novel. I would have really loved for it to be a novel (even if the comic medium does fit better)

13.) how long have you been working on this project? what has changed from the outset?

SO much has changed in the past three years. Hell, not even joking this thing started as a bunch of Beastars ocs until I realized they didn't have anything to do with Beastars anymore and I was just a furry. Now, aside from the anthros and the canniballism, they have absolutely nothing in common.

The architecture has changed, it used to be just normal human cities but somewhere between the original chapters and the Call to Action entry I changed the buildings to use more natural elements like trees and cliffsides. I still struggle with it (a lot) but I love how lively and a little wild it looks.

Some designs have also changed, the uniforms used to all be plain dark grey jumpsuits but now all of them have their own unique design for each character for different purposes (Kan's uniform has armor plates, Rena's is a wetsuit, etc.) Out of all the characters, Kan has changed the most physically. I didn't know how to make the "grizzled war veteran" look I wanted so he just kinda looked... weird. Also he didn't have any scars which I later realized was stupid, he's been an assassin for 20 years.

Speaking of characters, Umbra's character has changed a LOT. She used to be the definition of an edgelord, a cold hearted killer with no remorse. However that was boring as shit and I thought it would make for a more compelling story if she really didn't WANT to join the CoU but was pressured into it.

I used to post pages on Instagram (i know, ew) but I realized the story was very disorganized and stopped to work on the script. I'm remaking the first chapter bc my art has... definitely improved. This is 2021 vs. 2023:

I know they say don't redraw old pages but... I think you get why I started over in this case lol

[aurora-313]

I got interested at Bleach again recently, and sadly, some of my favorite characters in Bleach is very minor characters, include Kaien and Masaki. I came across your fic just about a week ago, and thank you for the great works. I think I read each and every one of your fic at least four times last week. I never knew I needed some good Ichigo-Kaien cousins relationship, and your works scratched an itch I never knew I had.

So, how long do you planned to write your works? Most Bleach fic writers hate lost agent arc (I dont like it either, but the concept of fullbring is good. I just hate Ichigo's final fullbring design), and you jokingly said something about BB!Kaien flirting some of the female quincies on other asks. Nepenthe starts even before turn back the pendulum arc, so it may take a completly different course of actions from canon. The twin fic, you said it will go under a rewrite, didnt even started soul society arc. I am just curious how long I can enjoy your fic.

And I admit I am curious about how Kaien will play out in some of the anime only arcs. I am manga only reader, and I dont really watch anime in general, but I am seriously considering to watch the anime arc only episodes. Im pretty sure that you will skip those parts, but can you show us what do you think of them?

I'm glad you're enjoying what I've written so far.

Kaien is a criminally underused character and he was one of my favourites for a good long time. I genuinely believe he and Ichigo would've gotten on extremely well, and that Kaien would've been the big brother Ichigo never realised he needed.

For Black and Blue, obviously its going to be canon divergent by virtue of Kaien's living status and his speed-running Ichigo through 'How To Train Your Hollow'. Events will not marry up to the canon timeline. At least not completely, Aizen will face the music - that's a given.

Truth be told I actually dislike Thousand Year Blood War. And in my story, several character's fates set in stone. Many of which run heavily contradictory to the events of TYBW, so I'm electing to ignore that arc. If I touch the Quincy conflict... I'd probably rejig a lot of lore for my narrative.

Tangentially, regarding the flirting with a Quincy joke? BB!Kaien already has an endgame love interest. Hilarious as that would be, they are not a Quincy.

Lost Agent Arc is... one that I've grown to appreciate as I've gotten older, but back when I was reading Bleach week by week, I found it completely insufferable and I spent most of my time bemoaning 'Hurry up and give him his powers back, Kubo."

Though, frankly, I never bought why Ichigo had to lose his powers in the first place, especially when the Hyog had established weaknesses within it which would’ve allowed victory by attrition. And Duex Ex Final Getsuga hits a wrong note with me no matter how you slice it. You can’t describe it as anything other than an ass pull and hand of the author at play.

My conclusion as an adult looking back; Lost Agent, I sit comfortably on the fence. Its okay. Not offensive, not inoffensive, just average. That being said, I have touched on Ginjo Kugo's existence in BB, so that might be another thing I'll have to explore as part of the epilogue. Or in a side/sequel story.

However. My dislike for TYBW aside, I do intend to write independent What-If scenarios for certain events that take place; Kaien's reaction to Ukitake's sacrifice, what Sternritter I'd of had him fight. Things of that nature.

My intention for Black and Blue is to conclude the Winter War with Aizen's defeat and have the Zanpakutou Rebellion arc (anime only) function as a winddown with some rejigging to make it fit into BB's narrative. Then a 'Where are they now' epilogue some years or decades hence because after this hell, these guys have earned their happy endings.

Once More To See You Again I'm focusing on transforming it into a cohesive narrative with some liberties taken with worldbuilding. Rather than have Rukia be persecuted for creating a Shinigami Substitute when there's clearly provisions for one; she pleads guilty to interfering with the Cycle of Souls and reassociation with a reincarnated soul. In OMTSYA Rukia is trapped in a catch-22; Report the Shinigami substitute which reveals the reassociation and end in both their executions, or request a transfer, which leaves a substitute undocumented and unsupervised and end in both their executions. Dealing with that conundrum is going to be interesting. :)

(That, and I didn't like Kaien's aspects fighting each other during Ashewallen. Especially considering how Ichigo's aspects only ever desired to protect him.)

That will last until at LEAST the end of Soul Society. But I do have ideas for interactions with the Visoreds, other Arrancars and how Hueco Mundo would go down. Let's face it: Neo!Kaien vs Aaronerio!Kaien would be a delicious match-up and great character exploration.

Nepenthe was inspired by Cywscross' Swinging Pendulum (but really, what Bleach Time-travel story isn't these days?) - but I wanted to take all the usual time-travel clichés attached to Ichigo and play them completely straight. Rather than pretending, Ichigo does legitimately have amnesia. Rather than hiding his power, Ichigo was injured in such a way that he needs to regain his powers the old fashioned way. Effectively, I dumped him in the past with a clean slate and I look forward to seeing how he adapts to living with and as a Shiba.

But to answer your question: So, how long do you planned to write your works?

For as long as people keep reading and commenting on it, I suppose. :)

There's a criminal lack of Kaien content. I aim to rectify this.

[rose-of-pollux]

You like Pokemon and 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo. Do you have any particular Pokemon in mind that Vincent, FlimFlam, Shaggy, and Daphne would own?

Ooh, yes, I do! Get ready for the incoming ramblings--

So, the first step in all of this is determining which Pokémon Scooby and Scrappy would be in a Pokémon AU. This is not easy since, as of Gen 8, though there are plenty of dog Pokémon, none of them are based off of Great Danes, with the possible exception of Suicune (and someone on DeviantArt agrees with me), but as much as I love the idea (and that fanart), our boys Scooby and Scrappy wouldn't be legendaries (that, and there's no puppy form of Suicune for Scrappy to be). There's that post going around pointing out how Scooby (and Scrappy, by extension) are not up to breed standard (which was discussed in an early Where Are You ep re: Scooby trying to impersonate a show Dane and getting scoffed at for it), so as awesome an idea as Suicune!Scooby would be, I don't see it happening.

That being said, the automatic Big Dog of the Pokémon universe that comes to my mind to represent Scooby is Arcanine. I've also seen Boltund and Lucario as Pokémon AU versions of Scooby, and while I can see it, Shaggy holding a great big Arcanine in his arms is the closest thing to the real deal, imo.

One would think this makes Scrappy a Growlithe by default, and while I can see that, Riolu honestly fits Scrappy a lot better.

With Flim-Flam being under 10 years old (I assume; he seems about 8 or 9); he can't really have Pokémon yet, but rules have never really stopped him before, so until he is 10, Riolu!Scrappy is unofficially his Pokémon. Once he's old enough, he probably catches a few Pokémon native to the Pokémon equivalent of the Himalayas--Snorunt, Sneasel, and Snover.

Shaggy would've had Arcanine!Scooby since he was 10 (possibly earlier, unofficially), and I'm wracking my brains trying to think of any other Pokémon he might want to catch, and I'm coming up empty, not because I can't find any others that suit him, but because he and Scooby have such a bond that I can't really see him wanting to catch any other Pokémon--Shaggy doesn't seem like the type. He'd be one of those NPCs with just one Pokémon who doesn't really want to battle anyway.

Daphne, on the other hand, would be really into raising multiple Pokémon, and her first Pokémon would've absolutely been a Pikachu. Daphne is exactly the kind of girl who would've begged her parents for an adorable Pikachu for her 10th birthday and would've gotten one. However, she steps up and takes responsibility in a way that no one would've expected of her (to go along with how she seems to be a stereotypical rich girl on the surface but is, in fact, a deeper character than that) and raises it all the way to Raichu. The rest of Daphne's Pokémon are also ones that are stereotypically cute/beautiful, but she's ended up raising them well, too--Gardevoir (can Mega), Sylveon, Lapras (shiny--because Daphne would be the one to have a shiny Pokémon), and Roserade.

As for Vincent, there are already 2 Pokémon I strongly associate with him: one is Alakazam (I even named my 93% shiny Alakazam in Pokémon Go after him) and the other is Absol (which fits his Dark Is Not Evil motif excellently), so those two have to be on his team (and can Mega, naturally).  I also see him with a G-max Corviknight (as a nod to The Raven, which the real Vincent Price was in), and Galarian Moltres (...which involves explaining a rather long in-joke that involves yet another fandom of mine, so I’ll spare you the explanation).  It is notable that, aside from Galarian Moltres, which is a legendary, that the rest of Vincent’s Pokémon can either Mega Evolve or Gigantamax, and that’s by design--he’s the most powerful warlock in the world, so of course his Pokémon would be OP!

[multifandomshell]

Adaman, Irida and Volo 1, 8, 14, 22, plus one wildcard for whichever question you want!

Oh hey!! Welcome to my blog, you're my first ask! Dunno if I'm supposed to choose one for each question or do all of them, so I'm doing the latter. This is gonna be pretty long, so buckle up lol

Why do you like or dislike this character?

I'm pretty neutral with Adaman, he's a character with solid design and personality, but I just wish there's more story to him. The only noteworthy story stuff I find about him is that he has a lot of siblings, which make for a fun dynamic, he's a bit unsure being a leader (altho that appears few and far between), and that's kind of it? He's kind of boring imo Adaman fans pls don't come @ me ;A;

Irida, on the other hand, I actually get attached to a lot more than I expected. She has the same solid design and personality as well, but I like that there's more focus on her personal conflict. Since she's young and a recent leader, the insecurity of being a leader is stronger on her side, not to mention the whole thing with Palina. You can actually see that she's growing as well over the course of the main story.

Lastly, Volo. He has a death grip on my soul Unsurprisingly my fave, mainly because of the angst potential he has and his way of thinking. Personally, I take one look on his idea of "The world is unjust so we need to start over" and thought 'oh, big mood'. (The same reason I got attached to Cyrus lmao) Unlike Cyrus tho, he's a lot more human and he acknowledges it, which is where I like to imagine how shit goes down with him, especially with his vague backstory.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

When it comes to all of them? Just water down their personality by A LOT. One thing I saw in how ppl treat them in fanfics, especially with Volo, is either making him a terrible irredeemable monster with zero personality other than 'evil' and 'master manipulator' and making him the butt of the joke, or he's a soft fluffy UwU boy that instantly regrets what he's done and becomes good after the MC kisses him or something. Like I get that it happens in memes for the former and x reader indulgences for the latter, but cmon guys. Once or twice is fine, but I feel like it's so overdone. You can't just erase the canon like this. Volo is a compassionate guy. Volo knows well the weight of what he's doing / will do to the world. Those things can and do coexist.

I also have a really long tangent for Volo being compared to Kamado in terms of evilness and being hated / loved by the fandom, but that's for another post if you actually want to see it.

While I don't see much of their depiction in fics (because I'm not wading through 157 submas or x reader fics just to find a decent fic of them), I do also think that, like Volo, Adaman also suffers from his character and story shoved aside because ppl focus more on the fact he's hot, be it in fanarts or fics. I do occasionally see some interesting takes on his character that are explored further, but it's either a) a hidden gem, or b) overshadowed by the main plot of more popular fic focuses (again, submas AUs or x readers)

And for a main character, Irida is just really shoved aside in the fic department. You have to actively scour for stuff about her, although I don't actually do that so I don't really know how bad this gets.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Why would you make me do this I am the worst at this aaaaa- (ded)

Adaman is not formal. At all. Assigning him a steampunk aesthetic because of the association with time is really cool, but expect him to be fussy about it. He is 100% casual, bonus points if the clothes are long sleeved and baggy or loose in any way. (Which is ironic since those are a nightmare to clean in boggy terrain. Whoops, sorry bud) In a way, his modern drip is actually really fitting.

Irida is definitely the opposite of Adaman. She NEEDS her clothes to be at least somewhat revealing, otherwise she won't survive the summer. I can also see her choosing light colored clothes instead of the black undershirt in her modern drip since it reflects light (and therefore heat) instead of absorbing it. Also jewelries. Nothing too excessive, just a bracelet or maybe some earrings to match her outfit.

Volo is definitely an ancient greek aesthetic, although he may be open to other things as well. Like Adaman, his clothes tend to lean on the more comfortable side, although he doesn't mind revealing clothes too much. His default is thick jackets or hoodies with fur linings (and the fandom also agrees since it's the consensus modern drip for him lmao) but I imagine him wearing more traditional celestica clothes in private since his heritage is near and dear to his heart.

Literally no polyester, rayon, nylon, or any synthetic fabric for these guys. They would die of rashes within 30 minutes. (Aside from Volo, but he's still dropping it after a while)

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

While I'm mainly a Volo x Reader fic main (yes I'm one of those ppl pls don't judge ("o_o)) I actually enjoy the fics that analyzes their characters and behavior more. Potentially also worldbuilding and relationship dynamic with some other character (that don't involve romance) is also really good and I keep coming back to them.

Some of my recommendations for Volo in Ao3 is teach me a kinder world (whatever you can bring) and a lot more Volo and Cogita stuff by absolutenadir. Another one is 成功を祈ります (English ver.) and while it's presented as an x reader, reader barely appears and there's zero romance scenes at all. After the story itself, there's a really detailed breakdown of Volo's character as the author has a philosophy masters degree (bless your soul Laurentine, hopefully you're doing well out there) and I think it's a good foundation for understanding and writing Volo as a character as well.

While I don't actively read Adaman and Irida focused fics, there is The Importances of History (Class) by annasofroma which is a series dedicated on worldbuilding and relationship building. While the main focus is on the Galaxy Team, I've read all of them and there's at least one fic in there where both are prominent figures and actually express a distinct way of thinking. There's also same earth; same air; same sky which explore their sibling-like dynamics.

But on that note, shoutout to jdphobe for making that and Apotheosis as well. Definitely the most invested I have ever been in a long fic. There's two other legends arceus fic of theirs as well that focuses on Volo but be sure to give them a read as well!!

And I think that's it!! This post's gone on for long enough so no wildcard for today. Thanks for sending me the ask!