#I know normally with the palette challenges

[im-no-jedi]

I had planned on drawing something this afternoon but I ended up just looking up references the entire time lolololol

anyway I’m going to attempt an outfit/palette challenge this weekend. I might even ask for suggestions at some point 👀

[unicyclingdogs]

How about Hero’s Shade and ebb?

ok ok i was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did!!!! I really liked trying to make the face look good by playing with how i placed the highlights and shadows and im honestly very proud of how this looks 👍👍👍

[hwaightme]

Safe and San

THIS IS 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI FOR MOUNT'S SAKE (nsfw tags under the cut) (masterlist)

🟡 pairing: san x afab!reader 🟡 genre: smut, pwp, fluff, established relationship 🟡 summary: in the coolness of an early morning, choi san reveals to you what it means to love in a quiet timelessness, where all that exists is you, him, and the sunrise. 🟡 wordcount: 5.3k 🟡 warnings/tags: fiance san, falling asleep in the living room reading together, sharing hoodies, just loving each other, summer season - yes it is spring but now it is summer because san said so, hoodie san, cuddles, hugs and kisses, sort of edited sort of not (lmk if there is intense chaos anywhere) 🟡 taglist: @doom-fics @legohwa @acciocriativity @justhere4kpop @honey-lemon-goose @byuntrash101 @shakalakaboomboo @starillusion13 @hongthoven 🟡 a/n: seriously idk where this came from, all I know is that I have been occasionally mindblanking and... here we are. Much love and all reblogs, comments, notes welcome <3

🟡 nsfw taglist: the petname content is intense in this one (sun, moon, stars, summer, honey, darling, love... nicknames...), all the praise, lazy sex, no protection (wrap before tap c'mon), cum inside, cockwarming, sex while in a state of semi-dress, fingering, the softest dom san, basically a service dom

The early morning haze entranced you. An ever-changing palette, the walls of your living room appeared to take on a different hue every time you languidly blinked, still fighting the heavy remnants of sleep. After having forgotten to completely draw the curtains, the luminescence of the cheerful, expectant sun crept across the cold wooden floor in a shy line, barely caressing the cream wall on the other side of the room, centimetres away from producing a kaleidoscopic scene by hitting the glass inserts of the shelving unit. The soft cushions that lined the l-shaped couch, and the woollen throw that hid you from the chill, were a cloud suspended in a tranquil bliss. You studied the familiar, adored surroundings as they metamorphosed from a lilac wonder to a glowing mandarin masterpiece, the brushstrokes of a pastel pink, coating the awakening sky, peeking from the other side of the window, capturing your bleary attention.

Not a sound, except for the level breathing of the man beside you. The man who had your love so fully, so deeply that you were not sure if the slow thudding in your chest was real, or was simply an echo, a comfortable illusion that you had agreed to settle for just so that you could give the heart away for him to keep. He would most definitely keep it safe. Find a neat little box for it, and, if you were lucky, find a place for it somewhere between the books and the video game DVDs, and admire it whenever he would walk past. Or perhaps he would be crafty enough to find a way of putting it in his pocket and carrying it around with him wherever he went – that way, you could miss him less than you normally did when you were apart. Shame you only had one heart, because you would give Choi San the universe if you could.

Your fiancé was like the grand starry expanse in the night, paving the way for explorers, lovers, and mystical creatures alike, and the radiant manifestation of Apollo in the day, bestowing upon the earth a hope, a heavenly brilliance, a magic the secret to which only he knew. With each moment that passed, you had come to understand that there was always more to San. Be it hidden in a sigh, in an enchanting glimmer in his eyes or in a simple gesture, he was an ethereal enigma that you were shocked, and infinitely grateful, existed.

Careful to not disturb him, which was a challenge in its own right considering that you had used his broad chest as your pillow, you lifted the throw ever so slightly and rose into a seated position. You gingerly adjusted the material back, and twisted yourself to be seated on the edge, and facing the literal sleeping beauty before you. You let your eyes travel across his resting face. From his forehead that was obscured by adorably ruffled onyx locks that poured out from underneath his grey hoodie. To his eyelids and lashes that showed the tiniest movement, making the soft light occupying the room land onto the little hairs and turn them to white gold. Down to the perfect line of his nose, the tip of which you liked to plant a quick peck on when you wanted to see your fiancé get flustered. And to his alluring lips which were parted ever so slightly. In the somnolent daze there was an angelic quality to him, a peace that you wanted to sink into and never depart from.

This was one of the first mornings in a while, that you had all the time in the world to keep on staring. For the most part, it was either you or San, or both of you having to get up and rush out of the door for work after having snoozed the alarm a ‘healthy’ number of times. Which is why it was surprising that you were even awake – five o’clock was not exactly your usual territory, and if not for the summer season blessing you with longer hours of sunshine, it was likely that you would not have distinguished between dream and reality, and dozed off lulled by the rise and fall that came with San’s every breath. But your wakefulness had its beauty: there was no stress spurring you on, and the sight of your love beside you, serenity written across his features, made you grateful for the surprising perkiness. For this short while, your personal heaven could be committed to memory, and serve as a transformation for every future when you would need to ‘rise and shine’.

You spotted San’s reading glasses lying, discarded, between his body and the back of the couch, inches from being squashed, while the books you and him had been reading were lying in awkward positions on the floor, much to your amusement. Careful not to damage the pages any more than they had been, you reached to pick the novels up, momentarily studying the covers before marking the pages with what turned out to be a folded receipt and a post-it with the glue segment torn off, and placing them on the coffee table. You settled back into a seated position, tucking one of your legs under you and pulling down the base of your oversized tee. A shiver passed down your back, reminding you of the fact that the air conditioner, your saving grace after the summer heat kicked in, rendering natural ventilation impossible if you wanted fresh air not laden with pollution and unbearable humidity, had been running at full power all night. Only now that you have removed yourself from the human radiator that was your fiancé did you realise this, and began to construct an escape plan that, hopefully, would not break San's peaceful slumber. If you were lucky, perhaps you could snatch and save his glasses.

These small troubles, trivialities of daily life were what brought a smile to your face. Endearing dilemmas that left you confident that what you were experiencing was a continuous blessing. Tongue between your teeth, poking ever so slightly out of your mouth, you concentrated on stalking towards the spectacles. Having stood up from the sofa, you were in a half crouch, bare feet sinking into the soft carpet, with only the rumble of the air conditioner to accompany you. When you were already hovering above San's chest, arm out reached to fish out your target, your breath hitched as he shifted and smacked his lips, following the adorable gesture by placing his arm, which previously was your only line of defence against falling off the sofa, over his abdomen, which in turn made the glasses fall a little deeper, just out of your reach. You mouthed a 'now what', contemplating your next course of action - you were getting cold, but too stubborn to accept a so-called defeat in this miniature game of capture the metaphorical flag.

The only way out was to summon the powers of feline agility and hope that San decided to be a deep sleeper today. Knee sinking into the edge of the pillow, the stitching digging into your skin as you inched forward while trying to keep a toe still on the ground, a peculiar source of security for the case that a quick retreat might be needed. Fingers flittering across the material, reminiscent of the pitter patter of rain - every effort to blend into the dormant landscape, an accidental echo of a season recently culminated. Closer and closer, your leg was a mere few centimetres away from San's torso, and you were arched over him, checking for any sudden changes in his position. But he was still. Almost too still. You narrowed your eyes and scanned his face, but could not detect any difference, aside from his mouth now being pressed together, however he did that in his sleep on occasion, so you paid it no mind. Suppressing a shiver, what used to be careful manoeuvring turned into risk as you took one final look at what you determined to be the sleeping form beneath you, and made a reach for the glasses, quietly hissing out a congratulations to yourself as soon as you felt your fingers touch the frame. Just a little more and you would be able to go get a sweater. Or turn the air conditioning off. Perhaps, since you were still occasionally blinking away the remnants of dreamland, you would get a cup of morning brew ready, and properly greet the sunrise by lounging on the tiny, but nevertheless welcoming terrace encased in shimmering glass. Or so you had hoped, until, as you were making your so-called journey back, a strong pair of arms snaked around your waist, and sharply pulled you in, so you now found yourself pressed flush against your sleepyhead love.

“Hmm… where are you going?” San mumbled, voice deep and groggy, resonating right above you as you wiggled to nuzzle into his neck, triumphantly holding onto his specs with one hand, pleased with yourself for having accomplished your initial task.

“‘s cold, so I need something warm.” It always took some time for him to register what you would say to him as he was waking up – on a number of occasions, he had not been able to recollect a single thing. So you kept your words simple, but even that made him give an exasperated whine as he hugged you tighter and rubbed the side of his face against your head, resulting in his hood being pushed back to reveal more of the heavily ruffled locks of jet black hair.

“But you have me… Y/N…” while answering you, San had managed to kick away the blanket fully, so that it now formed a dark grey heap at the other end of the sofa.

“I didn’t want to wake you, love,” you whispered back, shutting your eyes and relishing in the sensation, “you looked so cute and so peaceful.”

“What?” the sudden question made you raise your head momentarily, only to find San squinting right at you, “Nah… no.”

“No? My Sannie isn’t cute?” you asked, voice tinged with playful disappointment as you let your head fall back down, and took a deep breath.

Much like the early morning light, the mixture of cotton and San’s cologne was unequivocally captivating. It was the scent of the lazy days, the moments when you would allow yourselves to fall asleep, much like today, on the living room couch, legs intertwined after having spent the entire evening reading. An aroma of an embrace, a slow dance and a humming of a tune that only you knew, the notes that carried with themselves the melody of sweetest memories. The interplay of hemlock and bergamot, accompanied by heliotrope and mimosa – when you had pestered San enough times, he had read the profile out for you, the brief paragraph now forever imprinted in your mind in his timeless timbre.

A hand travelled underneath your t-shirt, trailing up and down your spine a couple of times before settling on tracing random patterns on the small of your back. You stifled a gasp as your fiancé took to toying with the waistband of your tracksuit bottoms, and, still laden with sleep, grunted and uttered his short, gruff retort.

“Not when I’ve read what I’ve read… ‘m surprised I even fell asleep.”

“Oh? And what was it you read?” a soft grin settled on your face as you sank into the feeling of San’s hands moulding you to his heart’s content. Unable to settle for one place, they roamed your body, worshipping every curve.

“Mm… too sleepy to explain…” he leaned into you, and upon nudging you to lie down a little bit higher, trailed a series of kisses down from your jawline to your neck, nipping at the sensitive skin, “…but I could show you.”

“Is that so? Well, I’m more than interested.”

“Wake me up a little bit more and I’ll give you a spoiler.” One of his hands travelled to meet your chin, and tilt it forwards so that his dark, glowing pools of adoration could meet yours, pupils trained on every micro expression despite being cradled in a blur, contained by relaxed lids and wispy eyelashes.

“Such a tease, Sannie.” You whispered, and gave into San’s guidance towards his soft lips, closing the space between you.

The infinite gradient of the sky’s spectacular hues exploded in your vision, as love’s intimate caress ignited a radiance within. With every passing moment, just as the cherry blossoms twirled to the ground in a muted waltz, giving way to flamboyant hydrangeas and mystical lilies, you too, fell deeper and deeper only to bloom once again with a new evolved adoration. A love that grew day in, day out. A love that motivated you to go on until tomorrow, for you knew that you would love even more then, and come to understand the naïve emptiness that you had trusted to be infatuation in the past. Fuller and fuller the soul became. The fuelled up inner fire that contained and protected your safe haven and your eternal paradise. While lilac skies and lavender fields blended into a heavenly unity only for a season, gifting natural beauty for a fleeting appreciation of its temporary existence, the reality that you and San had crafted was evergreen. It was, of course, expected to waver, much like any flowers that were meant to bloom, but together, you would sway and intertwine, two lifetimes turned to one harmonious duet in an everchanging landscape.

New leaves and blossoms replacing those that wilted, but to inexperienced eyes, devoid of recognising the impeccable, intricate details of time, it meant continuity. It meant immortality and a youthfulness that did not know time. This was how life with San had been and will continue to be forevermore. Each tender gaze and caress, the sweetest sigh into your ear was a rekindling of something greater, and left you in an ecstatic daze. The invisible paths of his strong hands exploring every inch of skin left behind a budding desire as you thought back to the transforming garden of hues outside the apartment, now turned to a colourful prologue for the beginning of your hazy summer day.

“Tease… I’m very polite, I’ll have you know.” You giggled as San broke away from the kiss, revealing his lovable pout. Unable to resist, you pushed your free arm up and cupped one side of his face, running your thumb over the cheek, poking his nose with your own as you broke into a wide grin. The action had an effect on San as he moved and tightened his grip to your hips, not once breaking his gaze, while the expression changed entirely.

Like a traveller who had finally found their oasis after an eternity of roaming the scalding hot sands, persevering through madness, he revered you. An unfiltered, unabashed, quiet love that could only be felt amidst total tranquility emanated from him as he resisted the urge to never let go, instead relishing in the beautiful, fleeting instances that you could spend together. Timeliness had taught him to treat each moment with special attention, but with you, he need not try. You were the moment. You were the one who shared his rhythm. You were the meandering river that he would forever prefer and worship over a roaring, cacophonic ocean. Elegance, grace – an identity that could never be replicated. In the rolling tides of strangers, he would always search for where the river met the sea, and would marvel at just how quickly he gravitated towards you. His priceless love and life, the one with whom he wanted to see every sunrise and sunset.

“Well then, gentleman, care to warm me up? Since I have been so politely intercepted.” The attempt at a joke flew over San’s head, but nonetheless, your wish was rapidly granted as he propped up his left leg so it was bent at the knee and his foot was steadily positioned on the couch. Arms still wrapped around you, he gave you another peck and inquired, voice low:

“Y/N, may I… roll you over?”

“Yes, you may. See? Such a sweetheart.” Words of praise always found their way into your responses when it came to your fiancé. Sometimes to obtain his shyness – a breath of spring, or relief – to last the autumn and the biting winter, or, like now, to lie down, impressed at the evoking of the blazing, sultry summer.

He encouraged you to give up any balance you had, and with impressive care switched you places, so that you were now the one resting on a fabric pillow, enveloped between the echoes of San’s body heat on the material, and the man himself, who had one arm on either side of you, and a goofy, proud smile adorning his features. Unable to contain yourself under his intense scrutiny, you raised the glasses you had been securely keeping, and unfolded them to try place a barrier between San and you. But to no avail. Reading your intentions, what used to be a pure cheekiness suddenly gained a darker colour, that of an intimate dusk, and lifting a hand, he hooked the spectacles right out of your outstretched hands, and raised an eyebrow.

“I can see you pretty well, darling. I am more than awake and focused now.”

He tossed the glasses onto the coffee table, sighing in relief as he saw them stop their sliding journey right before the far edge, which earned him a rolling of the eyes from you.

“All these efforts to get them, and you are ready to throw them into oblivion, yeah?”

“No idea what you mean, all I see is that everything is how it’s meant to be.”

The strength of his glances as he brushed your hair out of your face was reminiscent of the sun at its zenith, while the kisses he peppered on your forehead, flushed cheeks and longing lips were the rays of sunshine that would trickle down from the skies through cloudy barriers. The contrast in his light touches and their intentions as he slid a hand under your t-shirt and found your bare breast was immersing you in your personal summer. Your head fell further back, and you let out a satisfied sigh as San took the opportunity immediately, searching for the sensitive spot on your neck.

Taking his time, San nipped at it, while sending your mind into a disarray once his hand pinched your nipple and began to rub languid circles over its very tip, sending an electrifying shock to your core. One kiss after another, he was soon sucking on the sweet flesh, proudly giving life to a garden of unbridled lust spurred by a desire to show closeness. San wanted to melt into you. Melt with you. No embrace was close enough when souls could be together, and so through intimacy and the approach of ‘a small death’ did he strive to express his adamantine devotion to you. Any evidence of your harmony was nothing but heavenly music for him, and it was with pride that he claimed you, and was elated when you claimed him, be it in gratitude, in bliss or in frustration for your yet to be released high.

Your hands snaked themselves around San's perfectly sculpted torso, pulling the hoodie and the black tee underneath, higher and higher, until you could slip beneath, and your cooler skin touched his. The action made San stop his teasing and chuckle against your neck, while his body reacted automatically to roll his hips against yours, member concealed by layers of clothing growing more prominent and pressing against the material of his bottoms.

"Cold." The comment, uttered hoarsely though holding nothing but excitement for what is to come encouraged you to tilt your head and kiss San’s jaw, preparing to return his little, colourful favour.

"Told you."

"Mm, I know a way to fix that." Alas, you were not fast enough, and he lifted himself off you, the loss of contact making you whine. To remind you of his proximity, one of his legs remained between your thighs, knee too close to your core for you to interpret his steps as unintentional, innocent, serene.

With one final smirk in your direction as he caught you eyeing his body voraciously, San took off his hoodie, and motioned for you to sit up – only for him to grab your hand, and cautiously pull you towards him, grinning once you understood his mission and raised your arms above your head. It did not matter – the design, the colour, the cut… any item of clothing that belonged to him, in his opinion, looked better on you for the simple reason that it could hug your form, be an extension of him if he was away and could not wrap you up in his arms. At times, when you were showering, he would purposefully replace your clothes with an item of his just so the scent of your favourite shampoo could linger, and your image would be even more easily imprinted in his mind. Not that it was much of a challenge in the first place, but having all of his senses being preoccupied only with perceiving you was a state he wished could turn into permanence.

“Ah, but there’s a catch, my love.”

“Come on…” you whined and fluttered your eyelashes.

“These,” he grabbed onto the waistband of your tracksuit pants, “off.”

“Yes sir.” As soon as you uttered the phrase you noticed a lustful darkness flash in your fiancé’s gaze, one which he, much to your surprise, suppressed and shook his head.

“Y/N don’t do this to me, or you will not get up ‘til sunset.”

“If that’s your plan, would I even be able to get up?”

“And that’s why I want to make love, Y/N. I want to love you quietly… lie down for me, darling?” he requested, interlacing his urge with the words of one of your favourite poets. A tenderness in his directing you, how he reduced the bottoms and panties he had hooked along with them to a mere accessory on the floor, and how he caressed your thighs, revering every detail, was leaving you breathless. But, just as he was approaching your exposed, aroused sex, you called out to him, reaching for the hand that was resting on your leg.

“Then look at me.”

“Hm?”

“I want to see your pretty face, love.”

The dimples that fell into his cheeks as he beamed at you, crawling up to be right by your side much like a cat would, and letting you roll over so that you were nose to nose, sharing hot breath, made you fall in love again. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say ‘rise’ in love, for when you were like this, vulnerable, and yet so totally safe, you felt like you were soaring.

San took no time in finding your lips, relishing in the stifled moan that escaped you as his fingers teased your moistened labia. A leg resting over his, you were enamoured with the gentleness of his worship of you. The tip of his tongue begged for entrance and elicited a muted sigh as it entered to explore you. With an approving hum, San curled his digits and let your walls clench around him, as he proceeded to set an unhurried pace, knowing you, knowing how to coax out every feeble mewl and build you up to an unforgettable ruin. You had the luxury of time, every worry replaced with the opportunity to connect and combine into one.

There was an added pleasure that came with the surpassing of the excitement of your relationship’s novelty. The intricate mapping of your fantasies had now taken on a new level of complexity, and the sequences transformed into a language only you and San shared. Delighted in the lewdness of sound that was produced by the relaxed pumping of his fingers into you, the gorgeous man further deepened your kiss by taking the strings of his hoodie, now adorning your frame, and drawing you in. Whatever illusion of space between was now entirely gone, and all that existed for you was San’s touch, San’s fragrance, San’s body heat, and the knot in your stomach that was getting tighter his thumb ran circles over your aroused clit.

There was no urgency in his movement as he unravelled you, even though, as you adjusted your positioning, you became aware his stiff erection. The sudden friction caused San to gasp, and, when you brushed your leg against his again, to test the waters, he pleaded, voice ragged and airy:

“Let me take care of you, honey.”

“But San-” you protested, hand palming his length, but denied as he kissed the response away from you.

“You’ll help me out with that later.”

“But I can get an early start.” A final attempt, only spurring San on to push his fingers deeper into you, massaging your pussy until he hit your most sensitive spot, earning a yelp and an approaching tender pulsation.

“Needy for this cock, huh?”

“Ah…What happened to… mfph… sentimental lover boy?” you joked through shallow breaths, choking out every word as you clung onto San’s t-shirt for support in your approaching high.

“I’m still here. Still here… You look beautiful, Y/N… taking my fingers so well, dressed up in my hoodie…” he praised, emphasising his role in your unwinding. Gazing at the love bites he had left on your soft skin through hooded, lust-filled fog, he was motivated to give you any satisfaction you could possibly desire.

“Sannie, please… ah that feels so good…”

“Please what, darling? Hm, tell me.”

Continuing to relentlessly abuse your g-spot, San sweetly took in your writhing form, enjoying the power that he had in this moment, while a ray of the morning sun crept across the floor towards you, traversing the territory of the living room like a foolishly courageous voyeur.

“Faster, please…”

“But it’s so early sweetheart, don’t you want to take it easy?” he inquired, knowing full well that you would not give him a well-structured response, intoxicated by the intensifying arousal, climbing closer and closer to a climax.

“Ah… please… Mm… I need…”

“Elaborate, or I cannot heed to your caprices.”

“I need you inside me.”

“Is that so? Well, I can’t deny you anything, my love.”

Reduced to a whimpering mess, you waited with bated breath as San shuffled to finally push down his trousers and reveal his throbbing member, now adorned with rivulets of pre-cum after having been left abandoned while his digits satisfied you. In a matter of seconds, you could feel its tip against your folds, gliding up and down the slick until you inadvertently bucked your hips towards him, unable to hold on for any longer without a stronger stimulation. Luckily, San was in a loving mood, and submitted to your silent begging. Soon enough, he began to drive into you, so agonisingly slow so as to not force how perfectly your pussy accepted him, and once his pelvis was flush against yours, embraced you. He strived to have you entirely, as if, even when you were with him, he missed you.

Overwhelmed by the fullness your head tilted forward, your forehead meeting San’s as he barely withdrew his cock, and re-entered you, mumbling fuzzy words of praise at how well you were taking him, and just how heavenly your soaked cunt was as he went deeper, rocking his hips upwards to drown himself in your heat.

The world on fire, skin lapping against skin like waves of a mountainous current, painting the landscape in the hues of a blazing sunrise, much like how hedonistic desire washed over you. It grew at an alarming speed until it was threatening to bloom, a crimson rose of undying attraction and adoration for the man who was offering himself to you as your cunt clamped around him. San was entranced by you, and wanted more than what ‘more’ could signify, lifting your leg and throwing it over his to bring you to your sensual demise. Your grasp of his tee tightened as the pounding became hungrier, and you dropped the act of being able to contain a portion of your moans, letting the salacious melodies go right by San’s ears, interlaced with expletives and your beloved’s name.

With every affirmation to roll off your tongue that he had only recently confronted with his own, he would grind harder into you with ease, now that you were propped up just how he wanted you. San could never get enough of your flushed cheeks as the ripples of pleasure ran through you, with his cock rendering you speechless, muscles tightening in anticipation of a crashing orgasm. Only feeble, high-pitched gasps bounced around the walls of the living room, blending into the warm ambiance as your climax hit you – a monsoon, the season controlled by none other than your fiancé, who kept up his flow, mumbling barely coherent phrases:

“So gorgeous, my love, that’s right. Come for me, come over my cock-”

It was not long after your orgasm that his thrusts lost their steadiness, San’s grip on your thigh grew unbelievably tight and he dived to find stability in the dip between your shoulder and neck, leaving feathery kisses and biting the area to suppress his low grunts, now turned to helpless moans that served to prolong your own high.

The erratic motions of his hips culminated in a series of deeper thrusts as he buried his dick as deep as he could inside you, groaning as ropes of cum painted your still-pulsating walls, that seemed to be pleading for more, greedily taking every drop. You rolled your lower half a couple of times, ecstatic from the dizzying fullness that his cock and thick release provided, causing some of the cum to ooze out, threatening to coat your inner thighs. San had no plans on moving, at least not until mist lifted from his consciousness, and he could conjure up at least one thought that did not relate to having you again.

While his dick twitched inside you, you attempted to remain as still as possible, regaining San’s attention by whispering his name. Through half-lidded eyes he gazed back, sending you a shy smile so endearing, and so much brighter than every star, contrasting the remnants of earlier intimacy in the form of a bead of sweat that concealed itself under the hair that fell over his face, and the reddened, plump lips.

“San?”

“Hmm?”

“I’d say I’m very warm now.” He chuckled, making you bashfully glance off to the side, catching the reflection of the sky in the coffee table. The simple ability to hear San’s husky voice as he drifted with you in post-coital bliss, an arm lazily resting on your waist, was a blessing.

“Anytime, my love.” He matched your lightheartedness and squeezed your side.

Your precious sun and moon. The one with whom your heart beat in unison, the one who had read you like a novel, front to back, back to front until he could recount every detail better than you ever could. Time stood still as you lied there, on the couch, sharing addictive nectar and basking in the afterglow. The day only beginning, the room decorated in a light gold hue. Unwilling to part just yet, you shared another kiss with San, in adoration for how the early morning haze entranced you.

[goingferalapparently]

dialogue taken directly from chapter 6 of @definitelynotshouting's fantastic fic, lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart).

(be mindful of the fic's tags!)

hi, its the anon with the doodles! only the doodles were a lie, because i blinked and suddenly i had the draft of a 3 page comic, and then i blinked again and it was 4 pages because the 3rd was overcrowded. and then there were colour palettes and scribbled notes and mockups of the colouring and. well. yeah. uhm. it got. more out of hand than i thought it would, really quickly too. xen be normal about your interests challenge failed.

but yes, the fic is absolutely amazing, definitely worth a read (or a reread. or 34 reads). it's heartwrenching in all the right ways and the prose is so vivid. the details. the details. and the worldbuilding on it is insane.

its only been like, 1.5 months? doesnt matter. lost in the dark has got to be up there on my list of comfort fics. which. uhm. is a weird thing to say. because the first additional tag is angst. and i just called it heartwrenching. um.

anyway!

anyway, hunger au has literally written itself into my brain and. consumed it. the proof is. uhm. the fact that this is a comic??? and that its complete??? do you know how many unfinished comic drafts there are in my folders.

i was so tempted to just. do the entire chapter. but i also know id never finish in that case. so.

[freciunia]

HAZBIN HOTEL CAST REDESIGN

PART 4 - LUTE

This redesign was a quite challenging one cuz the original one was kinda plain.. I know it was said executioners fight with small amount of armor, but it felt so wrong for me. I felt the need to give her armor, cuz for me they're just like ANGELS OF DEATH - and I needed to give her some cool armor.

I changed the silver/black/white color palette to gold/black one cuz I felt it really suit her. By that I mean - She's right hand of Adam, of course she needs to stand out from everyone. I'm sure he was the one who gave her this golden armor in my AU.

I gave her this eye-horns cuz I couldn't match the horns for her in "normal way" and I wanted to make sure her golden eyes will be noticeable. Also I added some golden eyes to her dress.

I changed her skin tone a bit - I made her skin mixed - a bit white and a bit black. Because angels of death would be dark skinned for me, idk I just feel it this way. Maybe because I was influenced by Azazel from The Binding of Isaac.

and her sword. Its gold and the think you HD it by it it's made by glass.

Also her black wings.. They scream ANGEL OF DEATH.

And I added portrait as an extra.

I think that's it.

Хохо

[waxflowerwoes]

Pearlescentmoon as a changeling warlock for @shepscapades 's hermitcraft character design event! (closeup and design philosophy below the cut)

okay i love love loved this pose. it lent to such great movement and positioning of the clothes (specifically the sleeves oh my gosh the sleeves were so fun to do). but anyways this design is originally based pearl's normal skin with the infusion of red for double life (i wanted to make her look a little more deadly + i love coloring red) and the fanon moth antennae. honestly i could have thought out the color palette a bit more but it's a little too late for that now isn't it lol. this was a good warmup for the rest of the design challenge :) i mostly made her a changeling so i could give her the moth antennae, but i also think it works with the trickster elements of a lot of pearl's personas. her warlock patron would probably a watcher inspired great old one. i think pact of the chain would be cool bc then she could have tilly as her familiar (i know wolves/dogs aren't on the normal list of familiars but it's d&d i can do what i want :D) i'll probably be doing pearl for the rest of the prompts, but who knows maybe scar or mumbo will make an appearance! those three seem to be the only hermits i draw lol. (okay i lied i have drawn grian twice. perhaps i should expand my horizons but why do that when i have a perfectly lovely comfort zone.)

[surlifen]

guide to surlis sonas

aka an excuse to Poast Images and drone on because I love to do that!

current main sona I think and closest to a truesona: this otter guy who remains unnamed because all the names that are my name have already been used at this point LMAO

art by nepeteaa and by me! I'd honestly draw him more often if he weren't hard to draw? surli was easy because. Fox. (and Generic Thin whereas my body type is, while still pretty thin, specific in a way that's hard for me to draw) and honestly I enjoy drawing him more oTL.... otters are super hard to stylize cutely + in a way that looks Like Me... surli does not look Like Me teebeehaiche

surli fennec surlifen main sona of the past and still like... kind of me it's complicated

imbages by jilf and vhsdruid

i kinda ended up disconnecting from his Design as a Whole and the alt palette didn't really fix it but nonetheless he's never leaving my possession. it's weird cause my brain can really only connect fully to one character per Thing/Setting as a Sona who is Me so ever since splitting off into otter I don't feel FULLY connected to either the way I once did to surli :( but I am experimenting with having multiple sonas and maybe ill try that thing people do where they also do sonas for different Aspects of themselves so I don't just have an army of Normal Nice Blonds

pokesona: liam

art by me, cicadaghost, me

not much 2 say he is me pokemonned! he's much Smaller Cuter than I am and I really enjoy his simple design + imagining him in the pokemon world :3 like what berries he'd like best and what specific cities/landmarks he hangs out at... hiking in ilex forest and visiting the national park yk

lee: bunny....sona....?

art by me, purrker

he was a bit of an experiment in "CAN I have more than one fursona?" and also "CAN I make a sona who isn't Exactly Like Me?" i've always seen people whose sonas have Supernatural Elements and been like how can you do that. I respect it so much but if EYE am a normal human person how can I connect to something with strange abilities and qualities. and I still couldn't go so far as like... my friend whose sona is an honest to god several stories tall kaiju with a backstory and shit, but lee has supernatural luck and a connection to/control of storms/lightning because that's sick and awesome and cool. and also glows and has cool antlers when he wants. he's not as me as the others but he's there and he's not... NOT me?

fucking... willie dustice, silver city "self-insert" joke guy

unfortunately I DO love his stupid ass. you know how sometimes in a comic or animated show there'll be some obscure reference to one of the creators or someone on the team like as a gag that goes over most people's heads well he's supposed to be that. his appearance is me at my worst (needs haircut + shave) and he has the OP superpower of putting people in pocket dimensions of altered reality he controls entirely but he ONLY uses it to make stupid filler bottle episodes like They All Have To Play Softball or Beach Episode or whatever. represents my oft-abused ability as a creator to Put Those Guys in a Situation. he's not so much a sona (cause if I made a silver city sona it would be genuine not this greasy freak) but he sure is Representative of Me.

horse: horse

i was challenged to make a horsesona. I don't plan to do anything with him but kept him around because I liked his design. someday I might make a more natural horse sona for in case I ever joined some kind of equine rp setting or some shit equivalent but for now my sparklehorse

spinxynsona: coast

art by capricorne, me, me

coasty woasty... made for the nephfei world for the spinxyn closed species. first closed species sona ive ever had and i think hes neat! nephfei is such a well designed world that is really conducive to stories and characters influencing each other's arcs but coast is just some guy he's just there. he just lives there and minds his own business. (he has no gifts or curses so nothing really requiring a Story) but maybe i should get him some Friends at least maybe i can have a sona who has Story OC Friends from other people and still be like yes thats me if i was friends with everybody's ocs

dnd character who was based on me: august

art by me, thembodino

it was suggested since I have a very hard time being In Character (i get so self conscious) that I start with a character similar to myself! so august is incredibly Just Me FR. if i were to go on an adventure i would be bad at it and terrified. his campaign is suspended due to Life but i accidentally, due to knowing nothing, picked a pretty OP blend of stats that has made him bizarrely competent (not like. the best in the party or anything but he really can hold his own and once like critted twice and turned invisible and flew and killed a dragon) and honestly that's hilarious and I like it for him

that's it! the rest of my characters are just characters not sonas though I still love them dearly, some of them even more than some of my sonas i won't name names though ty if you made it this far. i love to Talk

[delta-orionis]

Tuesday Again No Problem 5/14/24

Oops! All Rain World!

Listening

While browsing the Rain World mods page, I found a mod that adds threat music to areas in the game that don't normally have it; they're created by the artist Roasted:

I've been listening to them a bunch. When I get the chance I look forward to downloading the mod and seeing how they sound in-game.

Watching

Not much, honestly. I've been mostly re-watching old commentary youtuber videos that I don't feel like remarking upon. (Honestly it's just background noise for while I play Rain World or crochet...)

Instead I'll link my favorite short video from this week:

Playing

I've been messing around in Rain World's Expedition mode again. I started a new run as Monk but eventually abandoned it when I realized how insurmountably difficult the challenges that involved killing enemies would be. I then switched over to Survivor and I'm doing decently well now.

Making

I continue to tinker with Rain World mods. This week I've been mostly playing around with the in-game dev tools. Changing palettes, adding and removing items and enemies, etc...

I haven't actually made much of anything yet, but I did mess around with palette swapping things in Five Pebbles' General Systems Bus to fit TSAC. I might start editing the actual room layout once I become more familiar with the level editor.

I also added some stars to TSAC's chamber, which seemed appropriate.

I have an idea for a unique Memory Conflux room that I'd like to make in the level editor, so I think I'm going to work on that next. I imagine that is going to be a lot of trial and error.

In other news, I'm almost done with my Looks to the Moon amigurumi! I just want to add a few more details and finish weaving in any loose ends. Then I'll try to get around to taking some pictures of both her and Five Pebbles in proper lighting.

I also started on an amigurumi for Three Stars Above Clouds, because they're my OC and I can render them in yarn form if I want, dammit.

The stars are a little wonky but they were the best I could do... I considered embroidering them but it looked awful (I don't know how to embroider), so I crocheted some tiny stars and sewed them on instead.

I'll have to check, but I think I have all of the right colors of yarn for Seven Red Suns, so maybe I'll give making them a go later. I'll have to think about it.

---

As always, thank you for reading. See you next week!

[eru-iru]

Can you tell me some wholesome headcanons you have about the silly sheep man!

ive shared some of this before here but some of them are: - loves theater and movie making, he aspired to create films/plays as a director someday - he also loves mathematics, linguistics and literature and tinkering with his machines and magic. he knows everything ofc coz thirst for knowledge but these ones are the ones he loves the most - when he actually like sleeps normally, he doesnt sleeptalk. he sleeps like a log ahaha he will get grumpy if you wake him up too early for his liking so get ready to see him glaring at you and if he has the energy then his speed rants - he likes horror, gore then cute and fluffy things that reminds him of sheep. for the horror thing, he doesn't get scared of those and instead finds joy in it and ppl's different reaction to it. i can definitely see him judging horror movies and how bad it is ahaha - he has a preference of wearing oversized/loose clothing, esp for the top. it feels freeing and added benefit of hiding his small frame (coz he never really grew due to his unique brain condition. in modern aus i see it mostly casual, shirts then sweater/hoodies). he'd sometimes try to wear footwear that elevates his height (smth similar to what delilah is wearing). he got a little pissed when delilah was taller than him coz of her shoes (coz i see their height listed as no shoes or any headwear whatsoever, just their natural height) - the arrow in his hair is a hairclip. he has tons of them in different colors (like with his different color palettes). he got one for himself then gifted it to delilah so they could match - he can play the piano easily coz to him it's just like math (and this man loves math very much) - if he finds smth cute he likes to take a picture of it or a selfie - a silly hc because of a fic i read and thats just how i interpreted it but yeah. he can drink alcohol and not get drunk easily. dont challenge him in a drinking contest you'll lose ahaha (and dont ask him how he cant get drunk we'll never know) - he can sleep while standing while delilah can sleep with her eyes open - i think he can sing somewhat. he's not a pro or anything but it's still good. this man can do some mean raps with that speedtalk XD - also he sleeps best with his favorite pillow in his arms (like me)

[thatlittleegyptologist]

Hello! I learned how long of a period ancient egypt covered recently and just saw your blog and was curious: I assume there were changes in the Pharaoh system across that time? How far back can we go with that royalty, do you know? Was incest always a big deal? I'm fascinated by the notion of a sort of monarchical system that lasted millenia so far in the past, I wonder who the first pharaoh was 🤔

The first King (Pharaoh wasn't used as a proper title for a King until the reign of Merenptah) of a united Upper and Lower Egypt was Narmer, creator of the Narmer palette. Kings existed before this point, but there were two separate kingdoms (Upper and Lower Egypt) and the information we have on this era is spotty at best. We can trace kings back to roughly 3200 BCE, though they likely existed before this point we just don't have documented information on them. Both these questions can be answered by googling 'Who was Egypt's first Pharaoh?' and 'List of Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt'.

Incest, while practiced during earlier periods of Ancient Egypt in royal families, is mostly contained to the Ptolemaic period, where, to consolidate power, they married their siblings. In earlier periods it was more common to be Uncle/Niece marriages, cousins, or brother/sister marriages (most of these were ceremonial rather than done to produce children). The most common one cited is Tutankhamun and Ankhensenamun, which is complicated because ancient dna can really only tell you if they're related just not by how much (I mean Ay, his successor, was his great uncle or grandad in law...we think??). We don't even know that Tutankhamun is Akhenaten's son, despite Hawass claiming him to be so, because it merely shows he is a close male relative but not necessarily his son. Anyway, the reason Tutankhamun was likely married to Ankhensenamun was to try to hold on to the royal line after the Amarna period, and you could do that by marrying two people of royal blood, thus quelling (for a limited time) any challenges to power. I mean a huge deal is made out of 'incest' in Ancient Egypt, when it's more often than not centuries apart in instances, ceremonial, and done to consolidate power. To me it feels deeply othering and frankly, I'll say it, pretty racist (not you, just the idea of it) to focus on the Ancient Egyptians and incest as an overwhelming negative 'eww look at those people doing barbaric things' when you see the same practices across World History in almost all cultures. Look at the Habsburg's for goodness sake! European Royalty in general! That lot have been marrying their cousins for centuries because it was politically convenient. So when we say 'incest happened in Ancient Egypt' we mean 'incest happened between a small group of people mostly for power consolidation and ceremonial reasons, and wasn't considered 'normal' for most people'.

As for changes to the Monarchical system; yes, there were some. Nothing can go 3000 years completely unchanged. The change is incremental, though, and difficult to explain to people since it takes place over such a long period of time. So in very general terms; we start off with the King as a living Horus, a divine being. This is during the Old Kingdom. They're not quite a god, which is a misconception, but we tend to run with it since that's the easiest way to get people to understand the level of power we're looking at. They do, however, have a full council of Viziers, Governors, Overseers, Scribes and the like to do most tasks. Pepi II dies after reigning for 63-94ish years (accounts differ), his son only reigns one year, and things start to go to shit. And just because I can I'm gonna meme it

[id in alt]

Anyway, just like the time multiple people declared themselves pope, many powerful men in Egypt declared themselves King and Egypt's Old Kingdom crumbles into the First Intermediate Period and it's chaotic. This is where we lose 'King is Horus, a divine being on Earth' and move towards 'King was sent by the gods' in the Middle Kingdom.

Due to the previous problems, a lot of Middle Kingdom propaganda, and it is propaganda, is all about how the King is listening to his people and looking sad. Google statues of Senwosret II & III (not Senwosret I, he's always smiling because @rudjedet found him and it's kinda weird), and you'll see they have very large ears and Senwosret III in particular has a very sad expression. This is supposed to be a reflection of their care that the country has Been Through Things™ and that their people are Going Through It Rn™. They've still got all the same council people as the Old Kingdom, they just project more of an idea of 'we care about you uwu' than the previous ones did.

At the end of the Middle Kingdom, Queen Sobekneferu dies childless and the two subsequent very short dynasties (13 & 14) cannot control Egypt as a whole. This allows the Hyksos to get in and rule for about 150 years and we call this the Second Intermediate Period. As far as I can tell, aside from moving the Capital city about, their rule is fairly standard in that government continues to function as it always has done. They're ruling over about 3 million people in Egypt in total, which is a 3rd of the population of London now. Things don't have to change that much.

The Hyksos are driven from Egypt, Egyptian Kings are restored to the throne with Ahmose I, and the New Kingdom begins. Ahmose I is later deified at Deir el Medina, and this starts a trend of Kings claiming divine intervention in their birth/parentage, rather than 'the gods sent me'. Most of them will have things like 'Amun worked through my father to divinely impregnate my mother, and thus both he and my kingly father are my fathers'. The one who really drives this home is Hatshepsut, but that's because there's a whole lot of political issues during her reign so she's hammering home her divine parentage. Doesn't make Amenhotep II destroy her monuments any less, though. Again, the ruling elite remain as they ever were, just with more governors as Egypt established itself. Then you get the Amarna period within the New Kingdom, where Akhenaten keeps the same council of men, but says bye bye to the Priesthood. This is a chaotic period to put it mildly and he changes it from 'Amun is my dad' to 'the literal Sun is my dad'. Anyway, the result of this is people not really trusting the King to do his religious job anymore, so they start worshipping the main pantheon at home rather than letting the king and priests do it as it had been before. After this it all gets put back to the way it was, but there's a lot of political infighting, and eventually a general, Horemheb, takes the throne. Things continue to work as they always have done, and then you get Ramesses II.

I'm bringing back Mickey for this:

[id in alt]

Ramesses II, like Pepi II, lives a long time. Into his 90s, in fact. He has so many children that we're still excavating the tomb of his sons (KV5) and many of them died before him. This meant that by the time he did die it was his 13th son, Merenptah, that succeeded him and he was already pretty old, as were his children. So you get a scenario wherein kings are dying every 5-10 years. While their mode of government functions essentially the same as it always has, the propagandistic image the king puts out falters heavily. People loose faith in their government, the government struggles to function, chaos and famine happen, and basically everything goes to shit. What you get by the end of the New Kingdom is civil unrest and political chaos. No one believes in the power of the King anymore and it shows on a society level (this is where you get Tomb Robbery and plots against the king).

After this you get the Third Intermediate Period, the Late Period, then the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. These are periods of significant change, when it is mostly foreign rulers that are in charge of Egypt, thus bringing about massive cultural and social change. I can't speak much for the functioning of Kingship in these time periods as we've moved beyond my secure knowledge base. It's the same, but also very different due to aforementioned changes.

I think that covers everything you asked, but let me know if something else needs clarifying :)

[popfizzles]

Can you explain how the neopet brush challenge work I don't know anything about neopet

(disclaimer; if this sounds familiar to anyone, i'm basically copy and pasting it from an old ask i already answered!)

Based on the 2000s pet site Neopets, it’s basically just an aesthetics challenge!

You send me a character along with one of the paintbrushes on the list, and I’ll draw them as if they were “painted” with the brush.

The brushes can vary from simple colors (like just making a single character all blue instead of their normal palette), put them in an outfit (the pirate brush is a good example of that), or completely change the character’s physical structure (the Maraquan brush makes them aquatic/merperson-esque)!

If you’re confused with an aesthetic, this site here is a good compilation of every available neopet color that exists, and you can sort it to look at specifically every pet in a specific color:

[Neocolours.me.uk]

Slight disclaimer; the meme is a tad outdated so there’s a few paintbrushes that exist on the site that are not on the meme (like Toy, Valentine, and Steampunk to name a few), so be aware of that while you browse!

[seleniancalamity]

what's that, another AF post? featuring all of the designs i.. for some reason never posted! read below the cut for more info and yes im aware some of these poses are garbage these are once again in my old style i drew these like weeks ago :sob: also the text below is Stupidly long so bear with me

bet you're wondering "gee, steven, where's cyalm/celesteal and voixer?" Welllllllll there's a bit of a problem with those designs and it's called "i might of taken a bit too much inspiration from a different artist's designs and i dont remember said artist's username" and so i'd feel REALLY bad for posting them (which is sad because voixer is my favorite design of literally all the ones i drew)

anyways, some design notes

arrolin was an actual fucking pain to design. red/green is such a difficult color combo to work with. i originally tried adding yellow but a challenge i wanted to do for this artwork is stick as close to the original palettes as much as possible

mino and morward are meant to reflect on each other since morward is meant to just look like mino but Advanced since.. here they're both robots

solgon and naen are married you can't convince me otherwise thats why i gave them rings

(yes i know naen is doing the "you know i had to do it to em" pose)

signol is a deliberate design disaster. i love them. (i also made them genderfluid because i said so)

i made shallare look like the most Guy of All Time with intent he's meant to look like if a normal ass guy was a point

i've already uploaded stratosfear in a different post so i'll probably post my own design for the first star savior later since i dont have any actual art for them besides a low effort sketch

pasless looks like a farmer i'm gonna be real i had no idea how else to incorporate Woah he's the guy that represents The Past (tm) other than make him look like a farmer

yawgate is meant to straight up deadass have a portal in his torso like i just thought it was a sick idea so i did that no i didnt think of the consequences

please ignore compale's shoes. they're meant to have snow shoe spikes but i cannot draw perspective for shit

ploque is best described as having designed to look like he'd work at home depot

ixol is meant to look like they made hawaii part II miracle musical into a personality trait

anshine is just an angel bro idk what else to say about him i made him very angelic looking to contrast stratosfear looking demon-y

ulipse was very fun to draw idk why also i have no idea where i got the inspiration for her design other than just "damn what if i made her more fem presenting because all of the other points are very neutral or masc barring signol"

and finally, staraza! my design for the second star savior! they have no personality atm i just think they're neat i gave them three colors and made them a point because... Well funny story i was on actual AF2 restored and someone said something along the lines of "point star savior ocs are bad" and i was like, internally. "fuck you" and decided to do it out of spite

I'll post a celesteal/cyalm/voixer design eventually but idk if it'll be the one i use personally

Also how the fuck do i tag any of this im just not gonna tag all of the characters i cant be bothered im sorry

[joviantwelve]

a story about video game preservation

The original reason I was interested in the GB Operator is because my Pokemon GSC cartridges had their CMOS batteries die, so the saves disappeared along with the clock functionality. Thankfully, this does not extend to every GB game I own (besides Pokemon Yellow, which I have no idea how that one corrupted, RIP), but I do know that, in general, physical media can't last forever, so I've been interested in how to preserve the rest of what I own...

Now that I have the Operator, this has all been done, but this was not without the terrible tragedy of the aforementioned Pokemon games. I've been with Pokemon since RBY, but GSC is when it felt like a truly huge phenomenon, when I'd chat up random kids and trade with them, etc...

...and more importantly, when I'd start fudging things a little, and cheat. Shh.

This is where our story begins.

During those RBY days, I was vaguely aware of kids using Gamesharks and whatever to hack their teams and Pokedex. I'm fairly certain one of my elementary school friends was doing just that--he'd trade me max level starters, Dragonites, even Mew, etc., when I knew, reasonably, that it didn't make sense he had all of these. There was no breeding yet!! How did he convince someone else to give up their own starter Pokemon?! I never asked him about it, and he moved away, but it's always been in the back of my mind.

Fast forward a couple years after GSC came out. I'm like 11. I see this thing at GameStop:

The Pelican BrainBoy. This is my own photo from today. I have dug this out just for you. (NOTE: The "colorizer" button was so you could apply your own custom palettes into GB games, which was a pretty cute feature, looking back.)

This baby basically let you do anything to Pokemon RBY/GSC, at least as far as Pokemon were concerned. You could modify anything--nicknames, gender, EXP, movesets, etc. It was especially funny throwing the results into Pokemon Stadium and seeing Pokemon Fly or Surf that normally couldn't.

I usually played it pretty low-key though, just marking my Pokedex as complete and raising my 'mons to level 100, because fuck grinding. Reading up about this thing at present though, and I hear stories of people hacking Pokemon to distribute at recess for all their friends...lmao. Why didn't I do any of that?!

I always regretted the Pokedex bit, though, since that wasn't something you could take back. I was really proud of completing all 151 in Blue (though with the help of said suspect-of-cheating friend above), and never had the patience to fill a Pokedex in any game again. Even if I had thrown that challenge out, I still kind of wish I had like…the organic proof of how far I had gotten. Oh well!

(The site does not lead anywhere nowadays. I just checked.)

Anyway, this shit looked absolutely ugly already, but it looks doubly ugly jutting out of a GBA SP. The GB cart goes in upside-down on the other side of the device, creating a monstrosity basically as long and as thick as the SP itself.

I hadn't actually touched the BrainBoy since RSE came out. There was no need to. I had long lost my GSC saves, which still stung. There was still a lot of "me" left behind there. Gold was when I first built a team using entirely what I liked aesthetically, whereas in RBY I was mostly following what seemed the coolest and most powerful. Even though I hacked the Pokedex, the Pokemon in my PC were still all ones I caught organically. I even caught my first shiny, a Spearow! (It only looked one shade different, back then, and I was so disappointed I never evolved it.) Crystal and Silver were more my "anything goes" carts, where I did the majority of my goofy tinkering.

After the batteries died, the only evidence of these games were my teams that I had imported into Pokemon Stadium 2. In some ways it made it hurt more, since the personal decorated bedroom also showed up there after importing a game.......I really loved that feature, lmao. All of that was now just a reminder of nostalgic times I can't even revisit for funsies.

I boot the BrainBoy partially because I want to see if the GB Operator can back it up (it can't; it just detects the cart attached to it), and also to hear the absolutely asinine, obnoxious menu music that bored its way into my brain back then.

God I did not miss that menu music.

But then I notice something.

Huh?

(anime girl voice) EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!??!?

Oh god, I didn't remember this feature at all! Please please please let 11 year old me be as smart as I hope she is PLEASE--

OUGHAURYGHUHARGHHUHRJHUAYRH JACKPOT

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE?!

At this point I am basically screaming. All along, my prodigal save file was hiding away in some cheat device I bought on a whim 20 years ago. I had previously contemplated throwing out the BrainBoy MULTIPLE TIMES, since I had no use for it anymore.

BUT I GUESS. I DID ACTUALLY HAVE A USE FOR IT. I JUST. FORGOT?

Honestly, it's likely I just didn't even think of it as a backup device, and used the feature exactly once, just because it was there. I had no idea the clock batteries running out meant the death of your save. I didn't even know those carts had special batteries. I was just here to hack Mew and Celebi into my games. It's no wonder I forgot about it.

I have no idea when these save snapshots were taken, but they seem to have everything I remember. I wasn't really fucking around with my Gold cart until after I beat Red, at least.

Of course, the battery still being dead in the cart means that it doesn't "stick" and still can't be backed up (since turning off the console to put the cart in the GB Operator nukes it), but this is so much more than I ever expected to see again. Like, an actual fucking time capsule. These Pokemon could never escape the GB era; meanwhile, Pokemon from RSE and up could still exist in a game today. It just never felt quite fair to let RBY/GSC be subjected to a slow death of dead batteries and bit rot.

What a surprise this turned out to be!!

And the biggest surprise of all:

I had no idea I nicknamed my first shiny. Her name is Shinygirl.......I kind of got emotional. Shinygirl...!! 😭😭😭

WELL THEN.

I immediately ordered the special kind of screwdriver you need to open up a GB cartridge. Going to pop some fresh batteries in, flash the save through the BrainBoy, and finally preserve these forever!

Moral of the story...always check things before you consider throwing them out. One last time can't hurt.

PS: Pokemon Yellow also had a backup, which is great, because as I said before, I have no idea how that cart erased itself. Maybe I accidentally powered off while saving or something?? But it has no fiddly clock battery, so the cart's holding my save again.

PPS: If you're still here, behold! The Operator also has preserved my old GB Camera pics, which was also shocking to me, because that's another cart I thought erased itself:

????!?!??!?!?!?!??!???!??? We HAD digital cameras...but I deliberately took vacation photos of Yellowstone with the GB Camera, because I was 12 and that's what 12 year olds do when they have a funny toy.

I SWEAR to GOD I distinctly remember, like around college I wanna say, digging out the GB Camera, wanting to revisit that, and being devastated because there were no photos in the gallery. And yet here they are. I didn't even do anything. Magic.

Thank you GB Operator. Thank you Pelican BrainBoy. Wow.

[cactusblossom]

Thank you @charmingmushroom for tagging me in this! I'm honestly excited to get to my answers because I loved yours so much! To anyone I tag, please don't feel pressure to complete this, especially if you have already been tagged, or honestly just don't want to! 💜 I tag @ohthesefaces, @kissalopa, @theworstsimblr, @simsdada, @igglemouse, @faeriefrolic, @lunelfy, @dragonplumbobs All of my answers are under the cut!

What’s your favorite sims death? This is a hard one for me, honestly, because I usually play with aging off because I don't want to deal with my Sims dying. Much like @charmingmushroom said about cowplants being a classic, I gotta say, I love that and death by meteor. I'm so glad that finally came back into the Sims 4 with the normal-sized telescope!

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? It depends on the version of Sims I'm playing! If it's Sims 4, I love the big, round, clay-looking CC. If it's Sims 3, I want the sharper, thinner, structured style of CC. I would say that Sims 2 is kind of in the middle of both styles. So honestly, I just try to match the aesthetics of the world and game around my Sims.

Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Not at all! I try to match their lifestyle and character choices.

Do you use move objects? Oh yeah. I honestly couldn't play without it.

Favorite mod? More columns in CAS. It took me way too long to get on this train, but the more berry palettes I collected, the more out of control my hair and eyebrow swatches got. And as a tie for second, I absolutely could not play without brntwaffles' SweetFx or softerhaze's Sunblind in my game.

First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? So… I'm one of the people that got Sims 4 a few months after its launch. At the time, I was playing on a 2011 MacBook Pro, not made for gaming, and I was desperately playing The Sims 3 in Windowed Mode and restarting every 30 minutes to avoid crashing. If you guys know anything about Sims 3 and Macs, they were not made to go together. It was a whole thing. I've gotten the packs as they come out in order, which the exception of kits and Journey to Batuu. (I have that now, but I waited for a 1/2 off sale.) So my first was Outdoor Retreat, which is still one of my faves!

Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? I used to always pronounce it like aLIVE mode, but since Sims Youtube blew up, I now say LIVing mode out of habit of what I hear.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? At this time, Mentha from my Not So Berry (But Berry) challenge. This happened in the first version of her that I wasn't documenting before I lost my saves because of some of the updates, but after she made her freeze-ray, she walked up behind a coworker who was sitting and had no idea she was there, pointed the ray and whispered, "Dag-dag". Literally the highlight of my gameplay. She is WILD. I hope she does more things like this in this iteration of her!

Have you made a simself? I have! And I update her regularly. She's always a Witch or a Spellcaster, too! I'm planning to take some pictures of her and my wife's (@ohthesefaces) simselves for Pride this month! 💜 They're some of my favorite private gameplay that I have!

What sim traits did you give yourself? I also have a Simself in Sims 3, so I've got a few different traits. Sims 3: Neurotic, Light Sleeper, Loves the Cold, Avant Garde, Green Thumb Sims 4: Art Lover, Perfectionist, Squeamish It's a lot harder in Sims 4 with only three trait slots to start with.

What is your favorite EA hair color? cheese hair. Classic, iconic, weird. I love it!

Favorite EA hair? Honestly, this is tough for me because some of my favorite hairs are not EA. Shoutout to ClumsyAlien and Miiko who make CC I can't play without! But I have to say some of the updated Afro-textured hairs. Since I had Sims 4 when it first came out, not only were the options for Afro-textured hair basically non-existent, but they were carelessly made. Over the years, since they've gone in and redone some of those earlier textures and worked with creators to make new ones, I've really appreciated having those in my game. Guys, it wasn't always like this. lmao

Favorite life stage? I hate to be that guy since Sims 4 is basically a Young Adult simulator, but like, Young Adult. I'm closing in on the Adult life stage of my own life, and it's scary.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? When I first had Sims 4, and because I played on Mac and was trying to limit my CC (aka, play CC free), I was strictly a builder. I didn't play as much as I built, but now that I have a PC and the space for my 50GB of CC (yes, that's right), I play too! And honestly, I don't even have lag. A lot of it is recolors, and I have limited actual mods, so my game runs beautifully still! I have really been into renovating EA lots lately, though.

Are you a CC creator? no. I wish, though. It's something I feel like I could get into, I just haven't put in all the extra effort to learn how to do it.

Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I don't think I do--no disrespect to anyone who thinks otherwise! I just feel very new, still, and on the outside. Thank you again to @charmingmushroom for tagging me in something like this! It's so much fun and gives me warm fuzzies! 💜

What’s your favorite game? This is a huge category for me because I play a lot of other things besides The Sims! I'll just list some of my current favorites in no particular order that are part of my rotation right now. The Sims (obviously, and if we're talking strictly gameplay, it's Sims 2 all day, baby), No Man's Sky, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Stardew Valley, Skyrim, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Sims Medieval.

Do you have any Sims merch? I do, actually. I have a print from the game that I still haven't found the right frame for that my wife, @ohthesefaces, got for me for my birthday one year!

Do you have a YouTube for sims? No! I don't think I would be entertaining enough, tbh. And my god, how horrible would it be to hear my own voice??

How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Since my CC explosion in the Sims 4, I've really gotten into Berry Sims! I can't believe I didn't know about it before when I played the Sims 3, but I wasn't on the Simblr side of Tumblr.

What’s your Origin ID? Pass on this, as I share it with my household.

Who’s your favorite CC creator? I have WAY too many, but there are definitely some I couldn't live without. I mentioned the lighting and overall color correction mods I play with earlier, but for some of the CC, I 100% always need tainoodles Sorbet Remix, anything and everything by miiko, anything and everything by clumsyalien, anything and everything by teekalu, anything and everything by treefish, and honestly, so many more that I can't think of right now. But those come to my head right away!

How long have you had a simblr? Only since August of 2022, but I've been on Tumblr since 2010. My other Tumblr is just art aesthetic though.

How do you edit your pictures? I don't have or use reshade/gshade, so all of my editing is done manually with the strong arms done by SweetFx and Sunblind. But I'm currently obsessed with Kaleeko's Clean & Clear, and early-grape's Glowe Kit.

What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? I'll do one from each. EP: Get To Work. I love the active careers, ESPECIALLY the Scientist Career. Plus, aliens, helloooo. GP: Though I'm an Occult simmer, I have to say StrangerVille is by far my favorite. I love the storyline and having the tasks to do! Like most things with Sims 4, I only wish there were more. SP: Paranormal, hands down. With Tiny Living as a close second. They really nailed it with both of these Stuff packs and they were only $10?! As insane as them giving away Desert Luxe for free, honestly. Kit: Pastel Pop, 100%. That pack was made for me and I use everything from it way too often.

What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Give me Faeries and/or give me Futuristic. But whatever they give me, please just give me gameplay.

[bangtannies-stories]

Perfect

Summary: The one time Jin entrusts someone to watch over you while he is away, you dare not to act like his obidient housewife with some encouragement. However, Jin will let you know your place.

Warning: Yandere themes, Jin is emotionally abusive and manipulative, mentions of murder.

Broken. That's what you are. Completely broken inside. There's only a small, tiny amount of hope left in you, and you had to hide it. Or else your husband, Seokjin, would smash it too.

He loved you. You think. You really aren't sure anymore. He treated you like a disobediant teenager a lot, when in reality, you really weren't that rebellious or devious. You just wanted to live a normal life. But then your parents had to arrange the marriage with Jin, out to keep their own lives. Yeah, what great parents.

Why you? After six months of hope, trying your best to fight back, trying to escape, to keep that spark in you, Jin had taken it little by little each time and killed it. You were sure that it was completely gone at this point. Nobody could bring it back.

Until one day...

"Princess, I'm going to an important meeting. I'm having one of our men watch you. I know you'll be good and not try anything, yeah?" He whispered that last part against your ear, squeezing your hand tightly.

You chuckled. "Yes, dear, I understand."

So later on, the guard, named Johnny, arrived and took his place in the living room. Jin kissed you goodbye, but not before threatening you once again.

"Behave, or you'll face consequences, darling."

---

You were going on with your life as normal. Jin always had a schedule for you to follow, to be a proper housewife. From chores such as dishes, making the beds, laundry...

You were folding clothes and ironing Jin's shirts to prepare them to be hung, when Johnny approached you.

"So, this is what it's like to be married to Kim Seokjin, huh?" He remarked.

You couldn't believe it. None of the guards were supposed to converse with you. Jin believed that if they did, they'd corrupt you and break you out of your submission.

"I cannot speak to you without Jin's permission." You stated. It was something that Jin broke into you to say in case if the guards broke the rule.

"Oh come on, he's not even here. Surely you can dare not to act like a perfect housewife for once?" He challenged.

You winced in turn and repeated the statement from before.

"I cannot speak to you without Jin's permission."

The guard sighed.

You wish you could be able to speak to him though. He seemed like he wanted to talk to you. But if you broke that simple rule, Jin would hurt the poor man. You wanted to protect him from Jin's wrath.

"Hey, look what I found!" Johnny exclaimed after you put away the iron and finished hanging up Jin's shirts.

You turned around to see a box with your old art supplies.

Before Jin, you loved to paint and do art. It helped you relieve stress and have fun. But when Jin came around, he took all of your supplies and hid them so you could never use them again.

In his words... "They will make a mess. Housewives do not make messes, they clean messes."

You didn't want to go near them out of fear. What if Jin saw you with them? He'd be mad at you, you'd have broken the rules. And what about the guy? He'd suffer.

"I cannot use them. They make messes. I'm supposed to only clean messes." You said.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "So we can just clean it before he gets home. Let's have some fun!" He exclaimed.

He took out a large piece of paper.

"Watch, I'll go first!"

He poured some paint on his hand and smashed it onto the paper.

"See? Have some fun!" He exclaimed.

You thought to yourself. Maybe if you just play for a little and clean up before Jin gets back, he won't find out.

You sat down and joined Johnny. He was pouring some paint on one of your color palettes and dipped his fingers in it.

Placing your hand in the purple, you slammed your hand down on another piece of paper.

That felt, good!

Before you knew it, you were dipping your hands into all sorts of different paints, constantly slamming your hands against the page, swiping them along, splashing the page with color and life.

You were having so much fun, fun that you hadn't had since you met Jin. It felt good, you loved feeling like this. Careless, happy, like nothing else mattered. So what if you were making a mess in the process? Messes can always be cleaned. But the messes come with memories too.

You and Johnny continued to have fun, so much fun that you didn't hear the front door click open and Jin's belongings fall to the ground.

"Well, isn't this a sight to see?" He said softly, yet still with hints of aggression behind it.

You both looked up to see Jin staring at you, with paint all over your hands and the living room a mess.

You quickly stood up straight and hung your head, while Johnny panicked and stood up as well.

Jin slowly looked over at you, walking up to you, tucking your hair behind your ear.

"I expected better from you darling. I leave one afternoon and you're perfect, and I come back at night only to find you with paint all over you and my home a mess."

He then looked at Johnny.

"And you. Come with me." He growled.

Jin dragged Johnny by his arm and brought him to the basement door, pushing him down before slamming the door. Walking back over to you, he pushed you back onto the couch.

"I should've destroyed this shit a long time ago. But whatever, I get to do it now."

Walking into the closet, he finds a hammer, and tosses it onto the couch.

Dumping all of the supplies onto the floor, he then grabs the hammer and begins smashing it, creating a huge mess all over the living room. After he calms down, he walks over to you, takes you by the arm, and shoves you into the mess.

"You, clean this up. Perfect little housewives fix what they broke, and they clean messes."

He then went to the basement to deal with Johnny, as you sobbed to yourself.

Jin ruined what made you happy, again.

Jin took your last bit of hope, and crushed it.

Brokenly, you spent hours cleaning up the mess, knowing now that you were wrong to break out of your bubble.

You'd never stop being perfect as long as he had lived.

[vespertea]

@/panicking0no 's Color Challenge, but I turned the Rise boys into Gemstones! (I drew this in October, forgot to post, forgive me) Normal colored alts on right side.

I thought the palette looked very SU-themed (I guess it was the shapes and how the colors were aligned?) but I wanted to do some research to get the best match for everyone and the best results as well. Original Challenge. Notes and AU stuff under the cut!

Forehead - Intelligent, detail-oriented, perfectionist. Right Hand - Action-oriented, sweet, friendly, rough. Right Bicep - Humorous, aggressive, cocky, challenging. Chest - Emotional, flexible, silly, intuitive.

Donnie - Purple Jade (Forehead) [ 6.5 mhs ] Forthright, Immortal, Remembered. Attunes one's spiritual body while promoting clarity and expansion of the mind Recognizes the soul's desire to ascend and wake up

Raph - Red Ruby (Right Hand) [ 9 mhs ] Courageous, Pure. Fortitude, courage, strength, prevents negativity, and redirects / repurposes energy positively Inspiring, intense, vivid

Leo - Blue Moonstone (Right Bicep) [ 6.5 mhs ] Beautiful, Aware. Aid in relieving everyday stress, bringing peace in times of need Self discovery, intuitive, paves the way for growth, opportunity, and action

Mikey - Orange Carnelian (Chest) [ 7 mhs ] Content, Friendly, Boundlessly Creative. Manifest dreams and desires, stimulates creativity Ability to ground positive and negative emotions, while manifesting emotional growth and desires

A note on the hardness: Raph would be the physically strongest of the team, so I picked a gemstone that reflected that. Mikey is the next one on the list mostly because he is the youngest and has a lot of raw potential. The twins get the same hardness, but are the weakest. Obviously, everyone is stronger together and have different strengths and weaknesses, but I wanted to distinguish them individually as well.

In terms of AU / Story expansion, hmm… I guess… the "Hamato Clan" comes from one singular gemstone, that is constantly reborn as a half-human hybrid. If Pink Diamond became Rose Quartz, and Rose Quartz became Steven… Maybe when Steven has a kid, instead of physically raising it, he "rebirths" in the same way, and becomes that kid… and then it goes on forever ? That's kind of how I think of it, Steven could live forever and never die or could have kids the regular old human way, but I think rebirthing like PD/RQ is another option that works. Let's say that's how the Hamato Clan does it, but the clan also consists of other members who help raise the gem and teach it. Yoshi is "reborn" and decides.. well, he doesn't wanna do it the old fashioned way. Much of his past is the same as in the series, become an action star, meet Big Mama, Battle Nexus, blah blah blah…. then Baron Draxum comes to take the legendary champion. I think Draxum would be some kind of enforcer-type gem like nose jasper or limb-enhanced peridot, but would definitely have been making his own type of home-made kindergarten machines where he takes organic life and fuses it with the power of, yep, you guessed it, the Hamato gemstone. To create the greatest warriors alive, they would be more durable than regular gemstones, where they can sustain damage without "poofing" away into their gem immediately. Draxum would have his gemstones of choice fused with the organic life form of choice, and all he would need is Lou Jitsu's gemstone energy to power the machine and fuse everything together.

A Jade, which is quick and intelligent, able to find unique solutions to problems.A Ruby, the standard bodyguard of any noble gem or military force, sure to be a powerful and fierce ally.A Moonstone, while very pretty on the surface can be quite deadly in combat, having impossibly fast agility whilst being excellent army leaders.A Carnelian, able to mirror any enemy and hit back twice as hard, would have the most potential as a soldier, especially when able to learn from it's peers.

And then you already know that Draxum would fuse them with turtles. Draxum is probably a pure gemstone, completely born of rock and terrain, and the other "Yokai" will also all be pure gemstones. I think SU is unrealistic in that the obviously "alien, other-worldly" gemstones always look human except for the corrupted ones, and they don't exactly explain why…? Just that it's easier for humans to perceive if they look like humans, otherwise people go crazy, and then they laugh it off and it never comes back up again.. but how would the gems know to look "human" on the planets they destroyed across the galaxy to make more gems ?? idk, so, I thought maybe if the Yokai were actually aliens they could still be "yokai". A ruby would look different on every planet, since they may have a slightly different composition of minerals in the rocks that form them, along with the native species maybe influencing them if they really wanted to "blend in" or otherwise just have a reason to not look normal. That makes the "mutants" of this series the gemstone hybrids-- the half human Yoshi, and the half-turtle gems, along with any humans turned half-gem by Draxum's attempts to make organic based gemstone warriors. The rise boys still grow up as normal-- if not slightly accelerated by gem properties. I don't think they could get poofed entirely since they still have organic flesh and blood from their turtle side, but I'm not sure. I kind of want them to, just for sad bubble moments, but then they would have had to "die" halfway because they're still living… also hard to do that if they are just turtle shells since their gemstones are all on their skin except.. mikey… so you wouldn't even see the gemstone on the shell.. this is too hard lol, i have no idea what to do for that.. If they never get hurt, how could we have angsty teenage mutant ninja turtle gems!? there's gotta be a solution. idk man..

Oh well, that's my little SU AU for ROTTMNT with this silly little color challenge ! I thought a lot about this stuff while making it so i hope you enjoyed reading and if you want to expand on this feel free, I'm sure I'm not the only one with the same concept and the designs are literally based on someone else's color scheme so.. I can only take credit for the small stuff, really. But yeah, I was a huge Steven Universe fan and made a million gem designs and always thought about revisiting and this was a nice, easy way to do it. Fun!