#I want to draw a lot more of the other characters too

[onismdaydream]

♡ ⋆｡˚ keep your hands to yourself !

synopsis..!: your roommate found the bathroom door open! can you blame him for wanting to join? (3.1k)

warnings..!: MDNI. fem/afab reader. aged up character. pwp. perv!yuji. voyeurism. dubcon(at first). fingering. unprotected p in v. not proofread.

notes..!: first proper writing for perv yuji based off an ask i got that was too delicious to pass up. i had a lot of fun writing this even if i was a bit nervous bc i wanted to really lean into the pervy-ness. comments and reblogs are appreciated <3

yuji’s relaxing on the beaten up couch in the shared living area, scrolling past uninteresting videos on his phone while the tv screen plays an equally uninteresting show when the familiar jingling of various keychains clanking against each other filters to his ears. he's gotten better at recognizing the sounds you make — an unintentional side effect of sneaking around you.

well, sneaking sounds bad. it makes yuji feel dirty, like he's taking advantage of you without you knowing. he'd much rather say that he observes you. after all, there's no harm in looking, right? and there's certainly no harm done if yuji stays out of your sight during those moments.

the knob turns and the door opens and you let out a loud sigh as you kick your shoes off, dropping your bag on the closest surface available.

“long day?” yuji offers, straightening up a bit when you make your way over to him. his lips twitch upwards when you flop down next to him, your body sinking into the cushion. your hands run down your face, almost as if you're trying to wipe the exhaustion away. cute.

“you don't even know.” your eyes close and yuji takes the opportunity to let his gaze linger on your body, your relaxed posture practically begging him to look.

with your head thrown back and resting against the couch, your neck is exposed. smooth skin that he wishes he could nip and suck at, positive that you'd look even better covered in marks left by him. his fingers itch to reach out and touch you, to run them along your collarbone and down the valley of your perfect breasts. he'd love to feel the weight of them in his hands, to squeeze them and pinch your pretty nipples until you cry out for him. it's like you're playing with yuji, really, with how often you show off your chest. those cute swim tops you wear that barely stay in place or the shirts with the deep neckline, they drive him crazy. he's had to excuse himself to jerk off more times than he'd like to admit, images of your tits in his face as you bounce on his cock flooding his mind.

“we could, uh,” yuji starts, swallows when his mouth gets too dry, his tongue heavy where it sits. “we could watch a movie? get your mind off of it.”

it's a genuine offer; yuji does enjoy spending time with you and considers you a very good friend. it's just an added bonus that you always end up pressed up against him during those hang outs. your plush thigh looks so soft and warm and he wants to dig his fingers into the doughy skin, maybe even leave some bruises.

a soft exhale leaves your nose, and you shake your head before you open your eyes. “thanks but not tonight.”

yuji’s heart drops a bit, a disappointment he knows he never earns the right to weighing it down.

“i'm pretty tired so i’m gonna shower and then go to bed. rain check?” you stand, stretching your arms above your head and your shirt rides up with the movement. a small sliver of your stomach is exposed, drawing yuji’s eyes instantly. a moth to a flame.

“yeah, sure.” his words trail off, yuji only half paying attention to what you said. he can't help it — his mind goes blank when he gets a peek of your body. he watches you walk away, watches the sway of your hips in a trance until you step out of his line of vision.

there should be a feeling of guilt in the pit of yuji’s stomach, but there's not. there never is and he doubts there ever will be. instead, there's unbridled lust. he craves to touch your body, to feel your warm skin underneath his fingertips and to pull the sweetest sounds from your lips.

yuji’s hand falls to his growing bulge, the front of his shorts chubbing underneath the heat of his palm. a shaky breath slips past his lips as he squeezes his cock, wishing so desperately that it was your touch instead. he wouldn't even care how you touched him. as long as it was your fingers wrapped around his length, he would feel euphoric. hell, he'd even fuck into your fist if that's all you would give him.

he groans softly and shuts his eyes, imagining you leaning forward in that low cut shirt he loves so much, the one that shows off your gorgeous tits, and your hand just barely closing around his cock, a teasing touch that he doesn't deserve. shit, he wants it so bad — wants you so bad.

the sound of the shower sputtering to life snaps him out of his horny stupor, face flushing as he realizes that if you came back for any reason, you would've seen him. the tent of his shorts is obvious and there's no doubt that you wouldn't have known what he was doing. literally caught with his hands in his pants.

with a sigh, yuji decides to go to his room. if he's going to jack off to the thought of you, at least he should have the decency to not do it in a shared area.

the door to the bathroom isn't closed fully, the warm light spilling out from the cracks and shining on the opposite wall. it's like a siren’s call and yuji doesn't even realize his feet are moving again until he's standing in front of it, his hand hovering over the door. one small push and there'd be no privacy. one small push and he could see you fully. one small push.

there’s no hesitation.

yuji licks his lips, his mouth dry despite the humidity in the small room. water droplets cling to the glass of the mirror and shower, slowly running down the surface. the image is obscured but he can still easily make out the shapes. your curves look more pronounced now that you're bare and it's a sight that he never wants to forget.

he must be dreaming, seeing your hands move along your body through the textured and fogged glass. he feels his cock twitch, throbbing and aching in neglect, his erection forgotten as he watches you. you look so beautiful, so so pretty with the water cascading down your skin. one of those ancient marble statues carved in the visage of true beauty, now come to life in front of his very eyes. but here you were, hidden and protected by glass to keep admirers from touching what isn't theirs.

if only yuji could see you without the barrier, if only he could touch you like he wants to. he'd be so delicate with his handling, so thorough to ensure that you wouldn't crack or be damaged. all he wants is the chance to fully appreciate you in all your glory.

perhaps this is his only chance.

yuji’s movements are slow, careful, as he strips down to his underwear. his clothes fall to join your own on the tile. the muggy air sticks to his already hot skin, lingering in his lungs and making every breath heavier than the last. the few steps in the small bathroom seem to be multiplied tenfold, his heart hammering against his ribs and echoing in his ears.

it's not nerves rushing through his veins, though. it's excitement and desire; the mere idea of being able to touch your skin throws logic out of the window. even if you end up hating him, yuji isn't sure that he would regret this moment.

it's a blur of how it happens, his body acting on instinct as he covers your mouth and presses his broad chest against your back. you try to scream, jumping in his hold and fighting to get away.

(you feel so warm.)

yuji easily overpowers you, keeping you exactly where he wants you, a sturdy arm wrapped around your middle. he can feel you panicking, can feel the tenseness in your muscles and the rapid beating of your heart.

(so warm and soft and perfect.)

“‘ts okay,” his lips ghost along your shoulder, his fingers flexing as he tries not to move them yet. “please, let me touch you. i’ll make you feel so good.”

you're stiff against him, hands on his wrists but no longer actively clawing and pushing. he can feel the shaky breaths you’re taking, the exhales from your nose licking against his skin.

(you must want this, too, right?)

“please.” yuji repeats, his begging bordering on pathetic. “you're all i think about. need to touch you, please.”

and it's that honesty, that confession of obsession and desire, that seems to make you relax a bit. or, that’s what yuji wants to believe as you give a small nod, the movement slightly restricted from his hold on you.

yuji’s hand leaves your mouth slowly, almost afraid that you would break if he moved too suddenly. you're so fragile in his eyes, a beautiful doll meant to be observed and admired from afar. made of porcelain and only meant to be touched with gloves.

but the warmth of your skin underneath his fingers proves you are so much better than those damn figures.

“thank you.” his palms immediately cup your tits, gently squeezing the fat of them and groaning quietly at the feel. “oh god, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

it's nothing like he imagined. your tits are so soft in his calloused hands, warmth seeping through your skin and nearly burning him. but he can't pull away, not now.

“fuck,” yuji whispers next to your ear, his hands pulling you flush against him, his cock prodding at your lower back. hooking his chin over your shoulder, he watches in a daze as he gropes at your chest. “so perfect.”

you let him fondle your breasts, biting your lip when his fingers graze over your nipples, trying your best to keep your reactions neutral. he squeezes and kneads, pushes your tits together, makes them jiggle a bit, too — anything his mind can think of. it was only a matter of time, though, until he shifted his focus to your stiffening buds.

“look at ‘em.” he pinches your nipples, a sharp pleasure pain that zings down your spine and pulls a squeak from you. “you look so pretty.”

he's no expert, but yuji prides himself on being a quick learner. he repeats the action, adds a kiss to your shoulder for good measures, desperate to get the same reaction. he promised to make you feel good after all, right?

and if you end up enjoying this as much as he wants you to, well then, maybe you wouldn't hate him so much when it's all said and done. it's a win-win, really.

you whine softly at his touch and the sound goes straight to his aching dick.

“don't hold back,” he pleads, lips trailing up your shoulder to press against your neck. now that you're finally in his hold, he doesn't plan on wasting a single second of contact. “w’nna hear all your noises. please. always sound so sexy.”

“yuji,” a sweet moan spills from your pretty mouth and yuji swears that he could cum right then. his name on your lips sounds so sinful — no, heavenly. there's surely no better sound in the world and he wants to hear it over and over again.

“fuck, say it again.” his voice is dripping with desperation, hips jumping to rut against your back. you must be made for him, must be made to say his name because nothing will ever compare.

yuji’s cock leaks globs of precum as you do as he asks — begs for — his boxer briefs sticking so uncomfortably to his heated skin. they're soaked through, the white fabric becoming practically transparent and if you were turned the other way, you'd surely see how badly he wants you.

a hand runs down your front, gradually sliding until he reaches your pussy, cupping it and feeling the warmth bleed into his skin. his breathing is heavy and hot — suffocating, almost — with the water spraying around you. slowly, carefully, yuji presses his finger between your lips, feeling as though time pauses and the world shrinks down until it's just you and him. nothing else could possibly matter because he has your slick arousal gathering on his first knuckle.

it's a fucking wet dream come true.

you're tight around him, not so much that he can't move, but enough that his cock throbs when he imagines what it'll feel like when he sinks himself inside.

(would you let him?)

his finger starts a steady pace of thrusting in and out, gentle and shallow movements.

“so wet,” yuji mumbles, voice dropping as he staves off a groan. his other hand squeezes at your tit, a lot less gentle and a lot more hungry. an internal battle of wanting to drag this out for as long as possible and needing to push you to your limits immediately. he wants to savor this, take his time exploring every inch of your body that he can, but his dick hurts from how hard it is. he wants to devour you, too.

another finger prods at your dripping pussy, pushing past and making you moan so pretty.

your body is pressed so close to his own, pinned between his strong arms and hips, unable to control himself from humping onto you. your fingers wrap around his wrists, anchoring yourself as he rubs at your puffy clit. every sound you make spurs him to pull more from you.

“can i,” his tongue darts out to lick at his lips, his breathing labored from the desire flowing through him. “can i fuck you? please, just — hah — just a few thrusts, promise i’ll stop after, just need to feel you.”

you don't even finish nodding before yuji peels his wet underwear down enough for his cock to spring free, groaning softly. his tip is drooling when he pulls his foreskin back, shiny with precum and flushed red. he presses it to your swollen clit just to hear you whine softly, hoping you're just as desperate as he is.

“thank you, fuck, need this so bad.” yuji pushes you to the shower wall, the tile cold against your skin but the scorching heat of his body still makes you shiver.

his hand shakes as he guides himself in, sliding his cock into the person he's fantasized about far too often to be normal. finally feeling your body underneath his fingertips and hearing your delicious moans and tasting your skin on his tongue. he'd be convinced this wasn't real — just some cruel dream his horny mind conjured up — if it weren't for the squeeze of your cunt as he pushes another inch deeper.

“feel so good,” his hand on your hip tightens it's hold, fingertips sure to leave a beautiful bruise. every thrust forward sinks more of his cock inside you, sheathing himself in your perfect pussy. “so warm.”

it's hard, nearly impossible, to control his hips, to restrict himself from fucking you the way he's thought about. all he can think about is burying himself inside you until he can't go any deeper, grinding until he spills his load, staying in your cunt and starting all over again. your pussy would be so swollen, lips puffy and so much cum leaking out of you, and still, yuji wouldn't be satisfied.

and those noises that fall from your lips, your breathy moans and broken cries of his name, it just makes his cock throb.

he's going to cum. you're going to make him cum.

the embarrassment that would usually accompany finishing so soon is far outweighed by the tight heat hugging his cock. how could anyone expect to last when your pussy sucks him in so well?

“oh god, don't, don't make me stop, please.” the words tumble from his mouth, his hips slapping against your ass as he fucks you fast and hard. that familiar tightening in his stomach threatening to snap at any moment. he knows he said he would pull out but he doesn't want to. he really doesn't want to.

“d-don’t stop, yuji,” you whine out, your fingers scrambling for purchase on the smooth tile, the now cool water making everything more slippery. yuji’s broad body is there to keep you upright, his hands roaming over every part of you he can reach. “don't fucking stop.”

he's not sure if he could stop anyway, you just feel so good around him. he's gotten a taste for you and now he's addicted, already looking for his next hit. would you hate him if he did this again? if he falls to his knees in front of you and begs to be between your legs once again?

but with the way you're moaning and tightening around him, yuji might just be lucky enough to have your cum on his tongue later.

his teeth graze against the sensitive spot on your neck, nipping and sucking at it until there's a dark color blooming. a mark.

a claim.

this is what he's dreamed of, what he's jerked off to countless times. and it's so much better than what yuji could ever imagine.

your pussy flutters around him and he quickly snakes his hand around your front, frantically rubbing at your clit and hoping he can ensure you orgasm first.

“cum for me, please,” he whispers, breath hot against the shell of your ear. “w’nna feel you cum on my cock.”

everything feels so intense, the echoing of the spraying water mixing with the lewd sounds of fucking and skin hitting skin and a symphony of moans. and suddenly, the dam breaks.

“yuji!” you cry out, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you clench, hard. it's heavenly, feeling you spasm around his cock and milking him for all he's worth. he's meant to be here, meant to be inside you.

it's inevitable that he cums, unable to hold off any longer. his hips stutter, grinding slowly against your ass as you both come down from the high.

the water is turning cold by now, a welcome relief from the heat radiating from your bodies. yuji’s chest heaves as he catches his breath, his fingers squeezing gently at your hips before he pulls out. he should feel guilty. he should feel really fucking guilty for everything he did.

but he doesn't.

seeing the marks that he left on your skin and the cum dripping from your pussy just makes him determined to leave more, to fuck you more.

“yuji,” you start, and, fuck, he still loves the way it sounds coming from your mouth. “what… what just happened?”

you turn your head and for the first time since you got off the couch, you can see him clearly. a hand at the back of his neck, a sweet chuckle, and that innocent, boyish smile gracing his features. his face is flushed a pretty pink that matches his hair, the same hair that's stuck to his forehead from the water and sweat from fucking you.

“sorry, couldn't help myself.”

[nipuni]

Hello! Time for another blog post! I think my last one was two months ago and a lot has happened since 😊

We have been attending a ton of historical recreation events so I still have many photos to share, hope you don't hate those! It's been really fun! We are exhausted and all out of social battery however so we are taking it easy this month. Another thing that's been happening a lot is that even when we are not dressed in historical clothing we keep getting stopped by strangers on the street because of our everyday outfits, it's been like that for a couple of years now so we are no longer startled or nervous about it but it's happening more and more often now and it's so nice! we always end up chatting about the events we go to and our jobs and hobbies and exchanging contacts or they ask for photos and stuff! people are really kind and excited about it and I still find it so surprising in the best way. We grew up in a very hostile city and environment and that makes you paranoid and cynical so these interactions and response has been healing really. I know their words will stick with us for years to come 😭 Sadly the unbearable heat is starting though so that means our outings for the next three months will be limited to the crack of dawn and after sunset 😞 but at least the summer brings a lot of fruit with it so we can sit at home and eat pineapples and strawberries while we wait for autumn.

My family came to visit a few months ago too and we made them watch most of Doctor Who's season one to four and some of our favourite episodes from all the other seasons lmao. And much to our delight they really enjoyed it!! They both loved Ten the most and my step dad is now in love with Martha 🥰

We have also been watching the current season and it's been so fun keeping up with fandom theories in real time and talking about it and speculating with friends in person, it's the first time we get a chance to do it since we got into the series and we are enjoying it a lot!

We also watched season one of Jessica Jones and we loved David's performance as Kilgrave!! He stole the show for real. Kilgrave is such an incredible villain, one of the best I've seen and DT does such an amazing job portraying every aspect of him. He's detestable and volatile and frighteningly powerful and has such an intimidating terrifying presence in the narrative while also being pathetic and vulnerable and ridiculous and childish and so human with all it's worrying implications. It was just so gripping and I wish he had stayed for the rest of the show honestly!! Now we have to pick our next David Tennant series to watch! 😊

Also!! Dragon Age is back!! AHHH I wanted to thank everyone that commented on my last DA pieces, it has made my month to read the comments, I didn't expect so many people to remember my art or my character after so many years and it's so touching and flattering you have no idea 😭💘 I look forward to making more and sharing them with you all, I'm truly grateful for the kindness you've shown me both back then and now I hope you know.

I feel so spoiled lately with all these franchises that I love releasing new content!! I've never been in these many fandoms at once!! I have so many ideas to draw and keep jumping back and forth between drawings from different shows and games AAAAA it's a good and welcome change honestly, keeps me busy and inspired!

Anyway that's all for now I think! I hope you are doing well and this summer/winter is kind to you all ❤️

[factual-fantasy]

30 asks! Thank you!! :}} 🦷

Leave comments on my artwork! :D Either in the comment section, in my ask box, reblogs or tags! Reading all the responses to my artwork is my favorite part of posting on Tumblr and is what keeps me posting! :}}

<XD I wanted him to be. But the spawn rate for female Eevees is 12%!! Heck if I'm gonna run around for hours on end looking for a female!

Besides, drawing Sylveon in a more masculine and chaotic way is fun! And having his backstory be that he evolved out of love for his friends, despite being a man, is a fun origin story! :))

Oh nono, art fight isn't for me 😅 I like to keep my characters to myself and don't tend to draw other peoples characters-

@milk-powrit

I had this idea in my head that big Koopas like Bowser cannot retreat into their shell. But regular little Koopas troops can. But I'm kind'a rethinking that.. I'm considering making all Koopas unable to retreat into their shells :00

Hmm... good question.. perhaps his citizens know, but other kingdoms do not.?

..Are you alright-

@jeysecretive

I'm sure I'm not the first person to come up with this idea, so I have no right to say you cant do it too. Go right ahead!

Of all the food related Pokémon I can remember.. Alcremie is pretty cute :)))

@kermit-ydafrog (Sent after this post)

.....For some reason I don't believe you Kermit-

XDD THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :)))))

@untitled-7613

:0 A logo? Where would I put it?

@foxdemon-loser

Aww! What a cute widdle fox.. 🥺💞💞

(In response to an ask from this post)

No problem! Thank you for the asks! :))

@im-nice-but-i-dont-like-you

Today wasn't as bad as it could have been! Thank you! :)) I wish the same for you!

I think you're right about this. And yeah, involving money with my favorite hobby probably just isn't a great idea.. 😔

I haven't caught up with Octonauts recently, so I don't know who you're talking about.. <://

<XD For me its the opposite. I get so caught up in the routine of my usual candle run path that I forget to go out of my way to snatch up the winged lights-

:DDD THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :]]]]

I'd prefer a cold shower personally! <XD

@anikakitty11

The baby..... 🥺🥺🥺🥺

@dooflizard

Oooo! Nifty! :00 Thanks for telling me about this! :))

@wolfie-777

Ah nooo, I have no plans to do so! <:/

@olives-in-shadows

Something about this baby looks oddly mischievous...

@savetheearthbros

AAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :DDDD I should totally draw them again sometime!! :000

@teemhauntsSorry for the late reply! Tumblr ate this ask-- I use FireAlpaca! :)) Its free and easy to learn for beginners, but has a lot of tools for the pros! But be warned, it can be a bit buggy at times-

Grizzly Bears! :DDD

@mason-gaylord

Awe, thank you!! :)))

@charactersnatcher

:DD THANK YOU SO MUCH!! :}}}}

Man I haven't had pizza in a while- thank you! :))

I would prefer to be frozen actually! <XDD I don't take the heat well 💀

[babyrdie]

@annie-also-draws

I'm making a new post instead of reblogging because I was afraid this topic would be too long for a reblog lol! For the context of those who came to this post without knowing what we're talking about, it's about this other post here. I'm not going to put exact excerpts of everything I mention because I think the original post covers it.

And as always, my usual reminders:

I'm not a classicist or any other professional of that sort.

Disagree at will.

If you have something to correct or add, comment or reblog.

This post has a lot of details because I know that not everyone in these tags has read The Iliad, but they like to read posts about it, so I think it's good to provide as much content as possible.

But anyway, I guess the idea of Patroclus being sassy comes from Book 16 of The Iliad!

Typical portrayal of Patroclus

Patroclus is generally portrayed as a companion who balances Achilles's flaws: more patient, wise, approachable, and empathetic. This is also why Patroclus must be older than Achilles, because no matter how short the difference is, it's used as an argument for why Patroclus should be the advisor (and therefore the one who is listened to) even though Achilles is the one with more status.

Furthermore, Agamemnon generally had two advisors. One is Odysseus and the other is Nestor. And Nestor, a character portrayed as wise, thought there was a chance of getting to Achilles through Patroclus. This was because he knew that Patroclus would be more willing to listen than Achilles, and he was hopeful that, as he was someone Achilles would normally listen to, there would be a change in attitude. This happens in Book 11.

Nestor also doesn't appear to be the only one to have had this reasoning. Phoenix, also a character more wise than warrior, told the story of Meleager and Cleopatra which is a parallel to the story of Achilles and Patroclus. Although the text doesn't make it clear whether it's a purposeful attitude by the character or just a narrative parallel, I still think it's significant since Patroclus was present in this conversation and therefore heard Phoenix. This happens in Book 9.

Another example of Patroclus acting as a kind of "bridge" between Achilles and other characters is in the only line Briseis has, where she says that Patroclus promised that he would marry her to Achilles. The idea of marrying her captor seems horrible, but we have to remember that in the historical context Briseis would be safer as a legitimate wife than as a slave. I imagine she also didn't know about the prophecy that Achilles would die in Troy, so she probably thought she could ensure a stable life by doing so. This happens in Book 19.

Homer also has other characters emphasize how kind Patroclus was after his death. He also makes it clear that Patroclus was best able to control the agitated temperaments of the divine horses Balius and Xanthus. Overall, in The Iliad he's a controlled and pleasant character. That's why he's often portrayed this way in modern times too —because Patroclus is like that most of the time!

Patroclus' moment of aristeia

However, in Book 16 this doesn't happen. Patroclus isn't controlled, wise, kind or rational in Book 16. In fact, he's the opposite, he's almost a deconstruction of the character. This is ironic, since Patroclus' shining moment is precisely Book 16 — the moment of his aristea, that is, when a character proves to be the aristo, "the best". Ironically, his aristea happens in a setting where his personality isn't his usual self.

Achilles accepts the suggestion to let Patroclus go in his armor, but with one requirement: Patroclus had a limit on how far he could advance and, once he reached that limit, he had to return. He gives two reasons for this:

He's afraid that one of the gods on the Trojan side will kill Patroclus. Ironically, he even mentions Apollo, which later actually kills Patroclus.

He wants him and Patroclus to share the glory. This wouldn't be possible if Patroclus got all the glory. This makes me think that Achilles planned to return to war, even with Patroclus alive…after all, what glory would the two achieve together if not like this (since Achilles knew he wouldn't leave Troy alive)?

"[...] Once you have whipped the enemy from the fleet you must come back, Patrodus. Even if Zeus the thundering lord of Hera lets you seize your glory, you must not bum for war against these Trojans, madmen lusting for battle — not without me — you will only make my glory that much less… You must not, lost in the flush and fire of triumph, slaughtering Trojans outright. drive your troops to Troy— what if one of the gods who never die comes down from Olympus heights to intervene in battle? 110 The deadly Archer loves his Trojans dearly. No. you must turn back— soon as you bring the light of victory to the ships. Let the rest of them cut themselves to pieces on the plain! Oh would to god — Father Zeus. Athena and lord Apollo not one of all these Trojans could flee his death, not one, no Argive either, but we could stride from the slaughter so we could bring Troy's hallowed crown of towers toppling down around us — you and I alone!"

The Iliad, 16.101-119. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Achilles even makes a libation to Zeus, asking Zeus to guide Patroclus in the fight and bring him safely. Zeus accepts the first request, but not the second.

But Achilles strode back to his shelter now and opened the lid of the princely inlaid sea chest that glistening-footed Thetis stowed in his ship to carry, filled to the brim with war-shirts, windproof cloaks and heavy fleecy rugs. And there it rested… his handsome, well-wrought cup. No other man would drink the shining wine from its glowing depths, nor would Achillespour the wine to any other god, none but Father Zeus. Lifting it from the chest he purified it with sulphur crystals first 270 then rinsed it out with water running clear, washed his hands and filled it bright with wine. And then, taking a stand before his lodge, he prayed, pouring the wine to earth and scanning the high skies and the god who loves the lightning never missed a word: "King Zeus — Pelasgian Zeus, lord of Dodona's holy shrine, dwelling far away, brooding over Dodona's bitter winters! Your prophets dwelling round you, Zeus, the Selli sleeping along the ground with unwashed feet… If you honored me last time and heard my prayer 280 and rained destruction down on all Achaea's ranks, now, once more, I beg you, bring my prayer to pass! I myself hold out on shore with the beached ships here but I send my comrade forth to war with troops of Myrmidons— Launch glory along with him, high lord of thunder, Zeus! Fill his hean with courage — so even Hector learns if Patroclus has the skill to fight his wars alone, my friend-in. arms, or his hands can rage unvanquished only when I go wading in and face the grind of battle. aut once he repels the roaring onslaught from the ships 290 let him come back to me and our fast fleet-unharmed wtth all my armor round him, all our comrades fighting round my friend!" So Achilles prayed and Zeus in all his wisdom heard those prayers. One prayer the Father granted, the other he denied: Patrodus would drive the onslaught off the ships — that much Zeus granted, true, but denied him safe and sound return from battle. Once Achilles had poured the wine and prayed to Zeus, he returned to his shelter, stowed the cup in the chest 300 then took his stand outside, his spirit yearning still to watch Achaeans and Trojans struggle to the death.

The Iliad, 16.261-302. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Patroclus killed A LOT of people alone in his aristeia, but not just that. He's also described in a way that you wouldn't associate him with someone with a controlled temper. He doesn't seem like the calculating type of warrior, he seems like a more wild type. It can be said that Patroclus is really bloodthirsty in Book 16.

Hundreds of plunging war-teams dragging chariots down. snapping the yoke-poles. ditched their masters' cars and Patroclus charged them. heart afire for the kill, shouting his Argivesforward — "Slaughter Trojans!" Cries of terror breaking as Trojans choked all roads, 440 their lines ripped to pieces. up from under the hoofs a dust storm swirling into the clouds as rearing horses broke into stride again and galloped back to Troy, leaving ships and shelters in their wake. Patroclus— wherever he saw the biggest masses-dashing before him, there he steered, plowing ahead with savage cries and fighters tumbled out of their chariots headfirst, crushed under their axles. war-cars crashing over, yes, but straight across the trench went his own careering team at a superhuman bound. Magnificent racing stallions. 450 gifts of the gods to Peleus, shining immortal gifts. straining breakneck on as Patroclus' high courage urged him against Prince Hector. keen for the kill but Hector's veering horses swept him clear.

The Iliad, 16.436-454. Translation by Robert Fagles.

He's even compared to Ares, who in The Iliad is very clearly reaffirmed as a bloodthirsty type of deity. Even other gods don't see him in the best light. Although, of course, the comparison with Ares also serves to illustrate the character's warrior ability (in this specific example, speed). Menelaus, for example, receives the association with Ares as well and he's a good warrior..

Three times he charged with the headlong speed of Ares, screaming his savage cry, three times he killed nine men.

The Iliad, 16.912-913. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Achilles is the one remembered for what he did to Hector's corpse, but he wasn't the only Homeric character to wish to do so. He was just the only one who got to the corpse, and that's why he's more memorable. Hector wanted to do the same with Patroclus's corpse, even offering rewards to the Trojan who retrieved the corpse, and before that Patroclus wanted to do the same with Sarpedon after killing him. Hector was unable to do this because Menelaus saved the corpse and bought time for the Achaeans to help recover Patroclus' body. Patroclus also failed to get Sarpedon's corpse, as the Trojans stopped him.

But the Argives surged to Patroclus' savage spirit— he spurred the Aeantes first, both ablaze for battle: 650 "Ajax, Ajaxl Come — now thrill to fight as before, brave among the brave, but now be braver still! Their captain's down, the first to storm our wall, the great Sarpedon. If only we could seize his body, mutilate him, shame him, tear his gear from his back and any comrade of his who tries to shield his corpse— bring that enemy down witn ruthless bronze!"

The Iliad, 16.649.657. Translation by Robert Fagles.

That is, in Book 16, Patroclus attempted to commit the same crime as Achilles. And he would have committed it, if he hadn't been stopped. And while Achilles did this to Hector SPECIFICALLY because of Patroclus, Patroclus wanted to do it to Sarpedon because he "felt entitled" so to speak. It wasn't because he was angry, sad, etc, he was simply feeling like he could do anything.

Remember how I said that Zeus accepted Achilles' first request (to give glory to Patroclus) but not his second (to guarantee safety to Patroclus)? As I've already made clear, he did indeed give the glory, but he didn't guarantee the safety because Zeus is actually one of the reasons for Patroclus' death.

He kept them fixed on the struggling mass forever, the Father's spirit churning, thrashing out the ways, the numberless ways to cause Patroclus' slaughter… To kill him too in this present bloody rampage over Sarpedon's splendid body? Hector in glory cutting Patroclus down with hacking bronze then tearing the handsome war-gear off his back? Or let him take still more, piling up his kills?

The Iliad, 16.751-758. Translation by Robert Fagles.

He did it not because he was being petty or anything like this, it was just that Patroclus was destined to die and Zeus in The Iliad follows what is destined. For example, he wanted to save Sarpedon from Patroclus, but he didn't because Sarpedon had to die. So the reason Zeus quickly refused Achilles' second request is because he knew he couldn't compromise the fate. Later, Zeus declares Hector's destined death for having killed Patroclus. In other words, he's in fact doing this simply because destiny calls for this chain of events. It's not like Zeus wants Sarpedon dead, wants Patroclus dead because he's upset about his son's death, and then declares Hector dead because he suddenly decides he wants to avenge Patroclus.

In Book 8, Zeus is even described with a balance:

But once the sun stood striding at high noon. 80 then Father Zeus held out his sacred golden scales: in them he placed two fates of death that lays men low— one for the Trojan horsemen, one for Argives armed in bronze— and gripping the beam mid-haft the Father raised it high and down went Achaea's day of doom, Achaea's fate settling down on the earth that feeds us all as the fate of Troy went lifting toward the sky.

The Iliad, 8.80-87. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Just going a little off topic to try and contextualize Zeus because I don't want to make it seem like this is a case of "shit, damn Zeus!" His character here is sort of responsible for balance.

Anyway, Zeus chooses how to make Patroclus die. He makes Hector want to retreat, which consequently makes the Trojans retreat since Hector is the one leading them (in this scene, again the image of Zeus as responsible for the balance appears, since we have the phrase "He knew that Zeus had tipped the scales against him"). Zeus does this with the intention of making Patroclus disobey Achilles: that is, to go beyond the limit that Achilles gave him.

But Patroclus, giving a cry to Automedon whipping on his team, 800 Patroclus went for Troy's and Lycia's lines, blind in his fatal frenzy — luckless soldier. If only he had obeyed Achilles' strict command he might have escaped his doom, the stark night of death. But the will of Zeus will always overpower the will of men. Zeus who strikes fear in even the bravest man of war and tears away his triumph, all in a lightning flash, and at other times he will spur a man to battle. just as he urged Patroclus' fury now

The Iliad, 16.800-809. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Patroclus, in an inconsequential act, tries many times to attack the walls of Troy, but Apollo repels him on all occasions, shouting that not even Achilles is destined to conquer Troy, much less Patroclus. Apollo then incites Hector, who is uncertain, to kill Patroclus. In the confrontation, Hector's ally and half-brother, Cebriones, is accidentally killed by Patroclus as he attempts to hit Hector. And well, let's just say Patroclus's reaction isn't exactly the most honorable.

The sharp stone crushed both brows, the skull caved in and both eyes burst from their sockets, dropping down in the dust before his feet as the reinsman vaulted, plunging off his well-wrought car like a diverCebriones' life breath left his bones behind and you taunted his corpse, Patroclus O my rider: "Look what a springy man, a nimble, flashy rumbler! Just think what he'd do at sea where the fish swarm— why. the man could glut a fleet. diving for oysters! Plunging overboard, even in choppy, heaving seas, just as he dives to ground from his war-car now. Even these Trojans have their tumblers — what a leap!" And he leapt himself at the fighting driver's corpse with the rushing lunge of a lion struck in the chest as he lays waste pens of cattle— his own lordly courage about to be his death. So you sprang at Cebriones, full fury, Patroclus, as Hector sprang down from his chariot just across and the two went tussling over the corpse as lions 880 up on the mountain ridges over a fresh-killed stag— both ravenous, proud and savage — fight it out to the death. So over the driver here and both claw-mad for battle, Patrodus son of Menoetius, Hector ablaze for glory strained to slash each other with ruthless bronze. Hector seized the corpse's head, would not let go— Patrodus clung to a foot and other fighters clashed, Trojans, Argives, all in a grueling, maiming onset.

The Iliad, 16.862-888. Translation by Robert Fagles.

Ironically, in addition to Achilles dishonoring Hector's body (as Patroclus previously tried to do with Sarpedon), he also throws Trojan corpses into the waters of the Scamander River, precisely the reason that angers the god and makes him fight Achilles (and here Patroclus, also before Achilles, tries to throw Cebriones' corpse into the river). Patroclus' attitude of unnecessarily mocking an enemy (as Cebriones was already dead. It's not like it's a mutual provocation between warriors or anything, it's simply someone stronger humiliating someone weaker) is also something that Achilles does.

And then we have the other important moment. Apollo takes off Patroclus' armor and breaks his spear. Not enough, Patroclus is also stunned. The funny part is that even with Patroclus at a clear disadvantage, one of the Trojans doesn't dare to face Patroclus.

He was the first to launch a spear against you, PatrocIus O my rider, but did not bring you down. Yanking out his ashen shaft from your body, back he dashed and lost himself in the crowds— the man would not stand up to PatrocIus here in mortal combat, stripped, defenseless as he was.

The Iliad, 16.943-948. Translation by Robert Fagles.

As we already know, Hector hits him with the spear and delivers the deadly blow (as shown before, Hector wasn't responsible for the first blow. Patroclus was already injured. He delivers the fatal blow). While Hector is boasting to Patroclus that he defeated him (he was like "you idiot, you thought you were going to conquer Troy and screw my people! Oh, but you didn't! You must have come here under the orders of that damn Achilles, but now you're dead! Oh sucker, your body will be eaten by the vultures!"), Patroclus responds in the following way:

Struggling for breath, you answered. Patroclus O my rider, "Hector! Now is your time to glory to the skies … now the victory is yours. A gift of the son of Cronus, Zeus —Apollo — toothey brought me down with all their deathless ease. they are the ones who tore the armor off my back. Even if twenty Hectors had charged against me— they'd all have died here, laid low by my spear. No, deadly fate in league with Apollo killed me. From the ranks of men, Euphorbus. You came third, and all you could do was finish off my life . . . One more thing — take it to heart, I urge you — you too, you won't live long yourself. I swear. Already I see them looming up beside you — death and the strong force of fate, to bring you down at the hands of Aeacus' great royal son… Achilles!"

And then he dies.

Basically, Hector had just stabbed him with a spear and was bragging, but Patroclus somehow still decided to use his last words to basically go "lol you really are an asshole. Know that I'm so badass that you just managed to defeat me because of Zeus and Apollo, I would have kicked your ass 20 times if it weren't for that. But don't twist your knickers too much because of this, idiot, Achilles is coming!" and proceeds to die. So yeah…at least no one can accuse Patroclus of not being able to be sharp when he wants to!

Summarizing what Patroclus did in Book 16, regardless of whether it was designed by Zeus:

He has the most deaths in a single book, and is described in a savage and bloodthirsty way while doing so. So it's not just that he's a skilled warrior, Patroclus is also not being his usual wiser, more controlled self while doing this. More than his skill, his bloodthirsty attitude is more remarkable.

He tries to dishonor a corpse, and then tries to throw another one into the water. None of these attitudes were considered morally correct, even by Ancient Greek standards. So no, it's not a case of "oh, but that's a modern morality"…it's not. The funeral was a very important thing, so preventing your enemy from having one wasn't seen in a positive light. It could even be seen as a contradiction to divine laws, something that Sophocles discusses in the play Antigone for example (In this case, the enemy who is denied his funeral is Polynices and the one who denies him is Creon).

He becomes careless and arrogant. He mocks the enemy when it's no longer necessary (Cebriones was already dead, for example), he advances further than he should, in general Patroclus keeps getting closer and closer to death the less rationally he acts.

He decided to use his last words to be as acidic as possible! Seriously, I know it's sad that Patroclus dies, but I find his last words hilarious. Dude was like "you suck and Achilles will kick your ass!" and then his soul left his body.

Conclusion

I guess another possibility is the Clysonimus incident. Regardless of how accidental it was, Patroclus as a child still killed Clysonimus for a silly reason (dices). This, at the very least, indicates that as a child at some point he became angry enough to have a conflict with another boy that would result in a death. Also note that I'm combining different sources in this account (which are in the original post), as not all of them explicitly state the name of the dead boy or the reason for the conflict. Anyway, the sources don't actually tend to detail the event…it's just a quick background. So it's not possible to have a good idea of how exactly Patroclus reacted and how the death happened with certainty.

But most people see this Clysonimus thing as just an extremely accidental death, so I genuinely think the reason Patroclus is sometimes associated with "sassy" is Book 16 although he wasn't 100% his usual self and there was divine interference in at least part of this (I'm talking about Zeus helping him have honor in battle, but also manipulating his death). However, gods interfering is a common thing, so Zeus also isn't THAT big of a detail. I doubt it's sassy thing is from another source either because the other sources for Patroclus aren't known as The Iliad.

And I don't know if people take this into account in the fics you've read, but Patroclus didn't mince words with that description either:

"No time to sit, old soldier dear to the gods. You won't persuade me. Awesome and quick to anger, the man who sent me here to find out who's been wounded, the one you've just brought in. But I can see him— 770 I recognize Machaon myself, the expert healer. So back I go to give Achilles the message. Well you know, old soldier loved by the gods, what sort of man heis — that great and terrible man. Why, he'd leap to accuse a friend without a fault."

The Iliad, 11.767-775. Translation by Robert Fagles.

In short, both the portrayal of Patroclus being kinder than other characters and him being somehow violent or sassy make sense. He is a balanced character. But, notably, him being bloodthirsty isn't typical of him, so portraying him as being that way 100% of the time would be a stretch. But yeah, he's definitely not an angel!

There are other things to talk about on the subject of Book 16, but I suppose I'll have to leave them for another post because they have no relation to the answer to this question and enter another territory. It also should take longer to write.

[rikeijo]

Yuri!!! on stage pamphlet, Kubo Mitsurou - Character comments

Katsuki Yuuri

The character of Katsuki Yuuri, previously still vague, solidified in the scene in episode 4 when he touches Victor's hair whorl. That scene is also one, where I managed to express an idea I've had in my head for a very long time - I wanted to show something like a moment not connected to the main story, when their relationship changes, but not in a logical way. The same thing can be said about the scene in the last episode when, even though Victor is crying, Yuuri pushes aside his fringe and says "So you cry too!" - Yuuri has this very primal (原始的) characteristic of putting his own curiosity first before feelings of the other person, that's a desire he can't suppress. I think it was our intention to use this characteristic to make the viewers expect that he is surely going to act in a way they cannot predict. Throughout the series, Yuuri's character was shaped by misleading the audience to think they know Yuuri's personality and then showing them in each episode that they were not right about him. That's why the character turned out to be much more complex that we thought he would be in the first episode and I think the viewers can sense that the creators had a lot of fun writing him. We sometimes say that the characters are acting on their own, but in this case I think we were writing the character while being bossed around by him.

Victor Nikiforov

Just as it was with Yuuri, I couldn't fully grasp Victor's personality in episode 1, and so his character also solidified over time as I was writing the show. Beginning with the scene in episode 4 when he told Yuuri "I'm not going to hold back" during their conversation on the beach, and then when he was "really hurt" after Yuuri touched his hair whorl, little by little the underlying kindness Victor possesses started to show up more, as even though he had no idea what Yuuri was really thinking, he wanted to get to know Yuuri better and Yuuri to get to know him better too. Actually, I also thought the fact that even staff members couldn't fully comprehend Victor's actions made him all the more charming. Because his actions were impossible to comprehend, the audience too has been watching the show without being able to form any strong assumptions about him and the sense of insecurity you've been getting while watching him was probably also a sign that you started to like the character... I've created Victor by trying my best to draw a cool and beautiful human being. I don't think however, that he could ever be mine. Yuuri also feels this way, but in Yuuri's case he was able to form a very strong connection with Victor thanks to skating. I was writing the show while thinking that I'd like the audience to enjoy the feeling that in every episode, together with Yuuri, they too get to meet Victor they've never seen before, as the relationship between Yuuri and Victor is forming - relationship that was only possible because Yuuri had skating as an excuse [免罪符, it means something like "get-out-of-jail-free card" - funny word choice, but Mitsurou really pushes here the idea that Victor was way out of Yuuri's league. ]

Yuri Plisetsky

In case of Yurio, his character as well as character design were very clear from the very beginning. He was very easy to write. He is my favorite type of character and based on my experience I was sure he's going to be popular. He is the type of a side character, who can outshine even the main character in terms of popularity, so I was careful not to make him "angsty" by e.g. giving him a tragic past or making him have a difficult family situation. With Yurio I didn't want his character to be someone who gets popular because people feel sorry for him, so I gave him family and coaches, as well as new friends, and wanted to show his strength by making him achieve even greater success while being in a relatively good place emotionally. I think I've managed to use the basic manga trope of writing about a strength of found family instead of real family without focusing on the tragic aspects of this trope.

Christophe Giacometti

Chris was born as an ultra sexy character, a character who is very aware of his "eros" and at the same time has the strength to not care when other people stare at him. I decided on the visual side of the character first - I gave him those curled and long, stunningly beautiful eyelashes because I wanted the audience to think: "How grateful we are that such a beautiful skater exists in this world at the same time as Victor!". I also wanted to show the gap between his super cute look with curly hair when he was a child and his present look and suggest that a lot of growing up happened there. While I was writing him, or I should say it was more thanks to the choreography and music we created, the charm that was radiating from him was neither masculine nor feminine, but simply Chris' charm. I personally wanted to make him a "skater who looks good naked" and was having great fun writing him.

Phichit Chulanont

With Phichit, I was aiming to create a pure and energetic person. I've actually heard Thai artists active abroad saying that they want to show everyone the new face of Thailand and also that there are certain aspects of Thailand they were only able to see after they went abroad. So, I felt that young Thai people right now are really making a lot of effort to reconstruct themselves, so I wanted to make Phichit a person who has the spirit to create new things. With the fashion he wears, I was aiming for something Harajuku-like.

Ji Guang-Hong

I've come up with this idea of a Chinese competitor, young but with good skills, as a counterbalance to the great number of overwhelmingly strong competitors who appear in the show. I wanted to make him a character who shows all the signs of becoming terribly good in the future if he continues to gain more self-confidence and experience. When it comes to his personality I was imagining him following the latest trends, like all the modern kids do, or maybe traveling to the USA off-season to train at the same rink with Leo, for example. I intentionally didn't make him really stand-out, because I think he is still at a stage before he can bring out his individual personality.

Jean-Jacques Leroy

Before we even started to think about the story, I effortlessly came up with lines like "JJ won't give up! He can't give up!", so JJ is the character who has already been well-defined even before he was created. We placed a very rough order for his song: a song which feels like it was written by somebody who could win a Grammy. The request we've made for the lyrics too wasn't all that specific but the finished lyrics were well... absolutely amazing! I wanted to make JJ into a character who would make the spectators sing that song while he skates his short program. He is too egoistic, so other competitors who can't get along well with him, simply can't get along well with him, period. He isn't the type who can become friends with everyone. However, he doesn't really care. I wouldn't say that he for sure isn't hurt at all by this though, if you look deep inside, but one of the incredible things about him is that he doesn't let it show on the outside.

Georgi Popovich

We aimed to express different kinds of love and here is the type of competitor who puts all the emotions he's experiencing after he broke up with his lover into his performance. I was thinking that maybe in a country like Russia nobody would have a problem with him doing something like that and so I gave him this kind of artistry, different than the artistry Victor has. And again, also compared to Leo, he's a different type of artist. Georgi is very serious about practice and listens to what his coach says too diligently. But I think he loves himself the most, more than anyone else. He is a narcissist, so he loves his lovers very much too, because they love him. I think that's why he reacts with this "I am the one who can protect you!" thing after he gets dumped. The ability to transform all these feelings into a performance is his strong point.

Nishigori Takeshi

Nishigori was created because I wanted to introduce a point of view of somebody who has gave up on skating. He is also a childhood friend of Yuuri and somebody, who has been watching him from a very close distance - so he's a character with a quite complex setting. He is the only married man [in the show] so I wanted him to be masculine and not somebody who fret over things a lot. I also was thinking that the reason why Yuuri didn't want to go back to his home town for such a very long time, is because of Nishigori and Yuuko. When it comes to Nishigori and Yuuko's relationship, I think Yuuko is the one who started it. She didn't confess her feelings directly but I think it was probably very clear that she likes Nishigori. Because men from Kyushu don't go after a girl who they know they don't have a chance with. They never try to reach a "flower that grows high on a mountain top [an idiom representing a unattainable goal] (laugh).

Leo de la Iglesia

Leo, who was looking up to Victor, is the only competitor who choreographs his programs by himself. He wants to leave no doubt that he is self-producing his programs - he wants to skate his own choreography to the songs he likes to truly bring out his own charm. When it comes to figure skating in the USA, there is a lot of strong competitors in different parts of the country and so there are also skaters of different races. I think there is that conviction that to be able to show your own strengths in these conditions, the most important thing is to express the "I'll be saved by the things I love" core part of you. Leo can't for example jump quadruple jumps yet, but instead he wants to find his other strong points and show them - I wanted him to be a strong person in this way.

Minami Kenjiro

A skater who just made his senior debut, Minami-kun, was created because, just like Yuuri looks up to Victor, I wanted other Japanese skater to look up to Yuuri and Yuuri to be aware that there is somebody who looks up to him. Yuuri had a very bad start at Nationals, so Minami has already won with him once, but I thought I wanted another active competitor to tell Yuuri that he wants Yuuri to continue skating. And so I gave him this pure personality, the kind that Yuuri doesn't possess, so he can yell "I will definitely win with you!". Because of that, he became a character like a classic shonen manga protagonist. And because he has the vibe of anime protagonist I also gave him a matching haircut. I created him feeling that "If Yuri!!! was a shonen manga Minami would definitely be the protagonist".

Otabek Altin

He is a stoic, rugged and serious skater. A type of man who doesn't go to gatherings with other skaters. He left his family and was moving from country to country throughout the course of his training, so he had to wait a long time for a breakthrough. While training, separately from skating, he was also making friends among local musicians, so he has a lot of companions, who are important to him not only in Kazakhstan. He is the type of person who you can trust. He doesn't talk much and doesn't use social media much. But somehow you feel that he can for sure make a lot of progress. He also has this idea to do things that other people don't do. That's why I think that [since he started till the moment we meet him in the show] he's been treating skating very seriously. Otabek is more of a warrior or a soldier than an artist. I see him as this kind of person, who respects competitors who aren't on a level playing field with him and he treats them like comrades-in-arms. That's why, after he met with Yurio at a summer camp and saw his strength, he decided to find his own style of fighting, other than ballet, and he never forgot Yurio, who also had a soldier-like dream.

Michele Crispino

I think Michele loves his sister too much and that's why he doesn't really want to change. He has the skills and skates very good. That's why he managed to get to the GPF and is a very strong competitor, but there's also something missing there and he can't really break through. I wanted to show that his love is of a different kind than the rest of the cast's. I think the kind of love he has for Sara is a little bit different than familial love, but well I think that in his mind Sara is the only person he can trust. But Sara herself thinks she needs to change. I wanted to highlight this change by making Michele a tough/traditionally masculine guy. I was thinking that I want him to use the emotions he has because of his sister to have the break through even if these emotions are not necessarily positive. It was fun writing him.

Lee Seung Gil

SeungGil says pretty harsh things and has the most athlete-like mind of all the skaters. The pressure he is under is huge so, as the real athlete he is, to protect himself from being influenced by this pressure, he doesn't do any fan-service. I think that he is simply a stoic competitor, but because during interviews he says things like: "Is it really necessary for me to answer questions like that?", people misunderstand him and tease him for being cold. The story that I was thinking about for him is that he competes with this stoic attitude, but he knows that if he doesn't become more expressive, he can't win, so he chose a song and costume with an element of surprise. I think this gap is where his charm is. I think he, in his everyday life, isn't interested in things other than skating and usually wears clothes his mum bought for him, or jersey.

Emil Nekola

There are a lot of characters who stand out, so I wanted to design one, who doesn't, and instead simply has a sunny disposition and is like a younger brother or the kid in a group. Skaters from Czech Republic are popular so I thought that it will be a good match to his personality if I make him Czech. The image I have for him is that he is friends with Michele and is the kindest person among European skaters. I was thinking to make him "a big guy who you can depend on". He is very good at physical activities, so I think if, in addition to skating, if he decided to do snowboarding or extreme sports he would be pretty good at them too. He himself isn't really fixated on skating and has a lot of other things he likes to do. But right know he is focusing on skating. That's why, unlike Michele who is like: "Skating is the only thing I have in my life", Emil has a very good way of dealing with the pressure - he is a clever guy.

Closing comments

The things to enjoy while binge watching all episodes

At the end of ep 10, it was revealed that Yuuri at the banquet actually asked Victor to be his coach. If you re-watch the show from ep 1, while having this in mind, the relationship between Yuuri and Victor will surely appear very different. In the beginning of ep 1, when Victor ask Yuuri "Do you want a commemorative photo?", to him Yuuri wasn't someone who really stood out from the crowd. But then, he watched the video of Yuuri skating a perfect copy of his "Stammi Vicino" program, while having some prior knowledge of Yuuri from the "be my coach accident" at the banquet. And as the story goes, because of that Victor's got certain ideas and decided to travel to Japan. If we look at the events from Victor's perspective, it must have been very weird for him, because Yuuri himself asked him to come, but after he came Yuuri met him with this "Why are you here…?" reaction. I think you should be able to enjoy the story even more, if you change the perceptive you watch the show from when you re-watch all 12 episodes at once.

To fans…

I think without both the fans who were supporting us and the staff members who participated in production, we wouldn't be here today. I can't thank you all in person, but we are thinking of doing something, so you can enjoy the world of Yuri!!! even more, as a thank-you gift. I'm looking forward to your continuous support of Yuri!!! on ice.

[coquettedragoon]

could you expand a little on your writing and worldbuilding process for coquette? the way you write characters is really nice

my writing process is kind of informed by a sense of wanting every part of the thing i'm working on to be fun to work on, which sounds obvious... but well im one of those people who made webcomics excited to get to the big story payoffs 5 years down the track but didn't put any thought into what came before it and got burnt out. in the past i would've shown xios life before enlistment as a slow burn but instead i'm just opening right on it.

the overarching structure of coquette is informed by hxh... i really like how each arc of it is a drastically different setting and genre with a rotating primary cast, i don't intend for coquette to be as varied but it struck me as a really fun way of making longform work that feels consistently enjoyable to work on... ig as a brief example, the first section will focus on the zephyranthes, after this xio and co are sent to fight in sunset as part of the lilac occupation and then are left behind after the lilac force retreats (careful what you wish for ayane...) and Stuff Happens, ig what i mean is i dont want to linger on a status quo for too long.

as for the world, i mostly am drawing from legend of the galactic heroes/gundam 79 as a template. the duchy is the empire/zeon, the lilac is the FPA/earth federation, and sunset is fezzan/side six.

for the lilac in particular, i'm kind of drawing from like... how things felt being in school during the iraq war and the fervor among the students around me, i knew so many people who wanted to enlist after graduation etc and saw the army as like a winning ticket compared to the deadend town we were in, like girls wanting to join the army to get a degree as a lawyer or a pilot etc. the core of the lilac is its a society that exists to funnel people (especially like xio) into the army.

the duchy is a bit more vibes based, i just like when the baddies in scifi are anachronistic aristocrats. theres a section in the gundam origin manga about like... interpreting the zeon invasion of earth as a return to 'the sacred grounds of the soul' that carries a lot of weight. i think it sort of gave me an impression of the zeon as like... people living in the void of space and feeling spiritually/intellectually starved by it and driven mad by it, and i kind of used that as my basis for the duchy. they are obsessed with tradition and antiquity to feel like they have a sense of place in the world and aren't just drifting in space, the aesthetic sense is rooted in a sense of like.. older feeling things are more connected to earth and feel more 'human' to them. then ofc like the imperialism and arranged marriages and social stratification are all 'old' and can't be questioned so they are miserable anyway.

i guess it's all based on the thing in LOGH of how it opens on 'no human or society is immortal', and then depicts the slow collapse of the two nations founded on flimsy ideas. the lilac and the duchy are both dead end nations.

as for character writing... i think i kind of just take archetypes i like from moe anime etc and then try and dig into how their brains work living in the world of coquette. xio could be a happy little moeblob in most other worlds. ryukishis writing is probably what informs me better than anything else... i just want to try and depict what it's like to live inside these characters heads.

[sovonight]

I've been browsing your art, although I don't go there and I don't have much context, I'm consistently blown away by how you compose comics (plot aside, which is also amazing, the panelling is the one that really blew my mind). It's so creative and has a lot of variety, while remaining clear to read. If I may ask, but do you have any tips to keep oneself from being rather monotonous when panelling?

ahh thank you! i think the main tip i have is to know what you want each panel to show, and have a good handful of basic panel compositions at the ready to choose from

by "knowing what to show" i mean like, for each chunk of dialogue, i already have/had a visual in mind for the scene/characters when that line of dialogue is spoken. i know the emotion of the characters in the scene, and sometimes their pose/expression. when i sketch each panel out, i ask myself:

who/what should be visible here?

what's happening? what interaction is taking place? what poses are there?

what expressions are they wearing? should an expression be focused on, or hidden?

what is important for the viewer to see (or not see)?

where should i put everyone/everything in the scene, and what camera angle should i use, in order to ensure that all of the above is visible in the panel?

there's a lot of ways to answer those questions, but because i draw a lot of the same scenarios (often just 2 people talking), i have a go-to panel composition that i just modify slightly for each panel, which is "1 character closer to camera & 1 character further from camera"

i like to angle the camera like this just for a sense of depth because it's more dynamic than them being equidistant from the camera (although i do that too, if the pose calls for it or if i want the panel to feel flat/matter-of-fact on purpose). this angle also lets you swing the camera around during an exchange so that the conversation feels less static

you can extend this setup to 3 characters (or more):

and just within this basic setup, you can edit proportions & reframe to draw focus where you want it:

panels don't just live in a vacuum though, so where i can, i like to work with the page as a whole. with all of these elements (text, bubbles, art, panel frames) to arrange on a page, i kind of treat it as putting together a collage.

when i start a new page my first step is to add the dialogue to the page & split the text up into bite-sized chunks. then i move the text around the page, visualizing roughly how much space i want to allocate for each portion of text, and start to arrange the dialogue bubbles. i'll think about which text chunks are part of the same line of dialogue & how i want to connect them (should they stay near each other, or is there a panel change?), and about if there are any interruptions (where text bubbles need to overlap) or dialogue running off-page (where i'll need to find or create an edge to hide text runoff with). at this step i'm already thinking about composition of the page as a whole, bc the placement & portioning of the text affects the composition just as much as the art does

then i start doing rough sketches--like this rough, so that i can easily & quickly scrap and redo sketches if i change my mind. (this is kind of like my thumbnailing step, but i do them at full size bc i prefer to have the correct page proportions & text bubble sizes for the page before i start sketching)

for panel-first comics (like this or this) i set up my panels first according to my space estimates from earlier, then draw my sketches for those panels. tbh i've found that i don't really like going panel-first, bc i feel like it stifles my panel shapes & arrangements and keeps everything very rectangular and rigid, and i really have to think and make a conscious effort to make things more dynamic or organic

for art-first comics (like this or this) i'll do a sketch for each chunk of text, and let the sketch sprawl over as much space as it needs to (aka, not trying to confine it to a panel shape or anything; at this point i literally don't have any panel guides onscreen at all). i do each sketch on its own layer, and i generally keep my previous sketches up as i go so i remember my progression, but i'll also start to hide layers if i'm running out of room. after i finish all my sketches for the page, i unhide all my sketch layers, and move my sketches around the page to see how they flow & fit together. finding similar curves and tangents and natural cut-offs that i can use to connect 2 sketches is how i get the panel-less look, and for sketches that really need a clear line of demarcation to separate them from everything else, i'll draw a panel around them

after all that, i have my sketch for the page as a whole. if i feel a need to, i'll move the text around some more until i like how it looks & flows with my art, or i'll redo a sketch or two if a couple consecutive panels look repetitive. and that's pretty much it!

[quibbs126]

Can you do a Baguette x Coffee Candy fankid if you havent already?

Sorry for the kind of terrible rough sketch, but I’ve finished with Coffee Bun Cookie

Alright, let’s see about her character

She doesn’t work in the TBD like her parents, but she does still have to deal with a lot of paperwork and office spaces

One thing I’m aware of is that the TBD is supposed to be a secret, people aren’t supposed to know it exists outside of those who work there, probably because they deal with time travel. So the idea was that Coffee Bun (and likely other TBD kids, aside from maybe String Gummy ones) wouldn’t be part of it. Though I’m not really sure what she does know of it, considering both of her parents work there

I’m gonna be honest, I’m not too sure how to approach that question, because Ovenbreak doesn’t give us an answer as to how much TBD family members, would know about their jobs, because it isn’t necessary for us to know. And it becomes even more pressing of a question when you’re making a kid for at least one of them, someone who should probably know what their parent does for a living. And it’s made even worse in this scenario because both of Coffee Bun’s parents work in the TBD. So what do they tell her? Does this fly under the radar for her, and if so, how? This isn’t an answer the game gives me because none of characters there are parents, and so it isn’t necessary, and probably won’t be

I don’t know, maybe Baguette retired after Coffee Candy made manager, and she was Coffee Bun’s stay at home mom

Also sorry, getting back to Coffee Bun now, I just had to get that out of my system

So Coffee Bun works a normal office job, though she has a bit of a passion for drawing, and has had a long standing habit of doodling on papers. She considers it more of a hobby and doesn’t really think she can make a career out of it though, so it mostly goes unnoticed. Her parents did try to encourage her to maybe pursue it further when she was younger, because she has talent, but she insisted it’s not that big enough of a deal to her

And if I’m being honest, that’s about all I have on her. I really don’t have much on her character. I made up the office job thing right now as I’m writing, because I didn’t have anything for her other than being paper related, since I drew her holding paper. I’m not really even sure an office job fits her design, she looks to me like more of an artist, nothing about her screams “office worker”. Maybe in current day it is something she wants to pursue a bit more, but she still needs money, so she sticks with her regular job

Maybe I’ll rework the character description later, I don’t know

Anyways, on to the design I suppose

So her name is based off of these coffee buns, which I got as a suggestion. She’s called that because it is bread (I think) and contains coffee

Coffee bun:

Okay, if you couldn’t tell earlier, I’m just gonna say it here, I didn’t really know what I was doing with Coffee Bun

I made her rough sketch ages ago, and I quite liked it, I just…never really knew what to do with her. I kind of just made something up here because I thought “why not finish her now?”

Also personally, I’m dissatisfied with her outfit. I didn’t know what to do with it, and she’s kind of just wearing something generic, which is a far cry from her parents’ distinctive outfit designs

She doesn’t really even have coffee buns anywhere outside of her head, which again, I already made prior and is probably the best part of her design

I mean her outfit is supposed to be browns and yellow because of the color of coffee buns, with it being brown on the outside (and they seem to range in darkness of brown, as seen in the images), and light yellow on the inside, but that’s about it

I feel like this is something I struggle with when it comes to character designs, especially with my Cookies. I can give them distinct hair, but I never really know what I’m doing with outfits, or how to relate them to their ingredients (granted, maybe that’s because I’m someone who has no sense of fashion and only wears T shirts and sweatpants/leggings every day). I also just don’t know how to make accessories, especially distinct ones

And that’s another thing, I feel like I don’t really connect the characters back with their ingredients, especially with fankids. They’re more arbitrary than anything meaningful. But then I also don’t know a lot most of the ingredients I choose, and I don’t know how to learn that information, or I can use something similar as a basis for the character

Like take for example, the new Cookie teased this morning. She looks to be made of strawberry Pocky, and she’s a drummer presumably because the shape of Pocky is similar to drum sticks. It’s such a simple connection and it gives you something for the character. But I’m not able to make those easy connections, and it frustrates me to no end and leaves us in situations like this

…Sorry I got carried away again. This post feels more like me ranting about my struggles with making characters than much about the character herself. Apologies to the person who requested this for loading your request with all this

I mean, in a vacuum, Coffee Bun isn’t half bad of a design. But it’s the fact that she looks so bland next to her parents and the fact that I had nothing for her at the end that makes me bring her down in my eyes

But I suppose you can disregard me if you want and enjoy her if you want to

[tamamatango]

Unplanned character analysis I should’ve saved for 6/23 but I need instant gratification whenever I have a thought or I explode

Sup nerds, thanks for reading my master’s thesis completely overanalyzing what literal scraps we have in relation to the new anime. Unfortunately no updates yet on that front but I’m starting to go a little Cuckoo For Cocoa Puffs in anticipation so fingers crossed they drop something soonish. I have a couple of longer form posts in my back pocket that may or may not happen in a nearish timeframe, we’ll see what I get around to.

I was going to not do any more posts until one of those materializes but I’m detouring from that for a bit because I had an epiphany about Saburo now that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this series again. Those if you who know me and/or were around for when I was most active here know he is my favorite character behind Kururu and that’s still true. So here’s like. A reading of him that I think completely changes the way you will look at this character. If you don’t see him like this already.

Saburo(/Mutsumi since this goes equally for the manga side) is not actually cool. Like this kid is totally cringe and a weirdo right. Literally thinks of the most unnecessarily extra solutions to things, wardrobe that gets increasingly bizarre over time, writes poetry that is usually either obnoxiously cheesy or just doesn’t make any sense. Spends his free time doing stuff like talking to cats and collecting shitty kids’ meal toys. His drawings aren’t even that good most of the time. Unironically Momoka has more swag than Saburo does (granted Momoka has more swag than most characters but that’s besides the point). Yes he is a super genius and athletically gifted and conventionally attractive to other people his age, and (for manga Mutsumi only) it’s later implied he was modified by the N326 in some way. But here’s the thing—a lot of his peers either think he’s a smarmy ass show-off little shit (manga) or just completely inaccessible to the average person so why bother (anime).

The reason why he’s such a celebrity is because the only people who think he is really cool are children and preteen girls (and secretly Giroro but the whole reason that’s a funny joke is because Saburo is totally not appealing to adults at all let alone hardened super serious soldiers). But this is a very profitable and exploitable audience so he is really successful. He is the equivalent of a Disney Channel teen star. He’s like what Justin Bieber was in 2010 or whenever. In the manga Mutsumi gladly eats up this attention, but the anime pretty heavily implies especially toward the (until this year tee hee) end of the series that Saburo kinda dislikes being under the celebrity microscope and having producers who want to milk their child star as much as possible; he just wants to create and entertain and express himself freely which is why he does everything anonymously.

I think the anime tried a little too hard to make him unironically cool and my guess is that this is for a couple reasons. One, he has Akira Ishida’s voice coming out of him which yes was obviously chosen primarily because lol Kaworu but also his voice is just inherently associated with “we want you to think this character is a mysterious ikemen” most of the time. Two, compared to the manga there’s a lot more fillery stuff revolving around Natsumi idolizing him and because so much of the show is from Natsumi’s perspective, that’s the perspective the viewers (who were also intended to be children then, though I think now that it’s a 20 year old series they’re going more for the nostalgic adult audience) get as well. Don’t get me wrong though the VERY few serious moments he had were fantastic, 229 best episode movie 3 best movie etc etc.

You could also argue Kururu thinks Saburo is “cool” but I think he respects him more in the way that he’s kinda like him but younger so they understand each other intrinsically and that makes Saburo more reliable in fulfilling Kururu’s specific needs than most other characters. Saburo’s a lot kinder ostensibly but unlike the rest of the cast, who recoils at Kururu’s mannerisms and psychological torment of everyone, Saburo usually just thinks it’s funny. Kururu is much of a freak as he is but is very particular about his image and actively micromanages almost every aspect of his personality to get people to see him a certain way and avoid showing too many of his vulnerabilities (it’s all but confirmed in the anime that his entire cadence and vocal tics are an elaborate act and his normal voice is totally different). We don’t see it much on screen but it seems he can kinda relax a bit around Saburo who himself is totally out there but in a more genuine and unabashed way, like even in the anime where the radio persona is a secret it’s not like he acts that much differently on the air than he does in his personal life. Besides maybe the early manga Kururu is not really a romantic and probably thinks Saburo’s sappy wappy poetry is cringe too, but he likes Saburo enough that he supports him being himself no matter what bullshit that entails (besides getting himself killed of course). Sorry had to shoehorn best partners talk for a bit longtime Kirb readers know how it is.

So there is actually a specific thing that made me decide let’s do a fucking character analysis for the first time in like 5 years or something, and that’s that I was browsing through raws of the one 4koma book I don’t physically own (shoutout to @kagender for those scans along with some other cool stuff like Keroro Land issues, storyboards and ref sheets!), and it was these strips:

This is a 4koma series in which Meru and Maru from Movie 2 hang around with the main cast for funny shenanigans. Not super relevant because these two strips don’t have them pictured but anyways. They’re having a beach day and Natsumi runs into Saburo who is there to “surf” but actually there are no real waves and he is just pretending. Because he’s copying the 1978 film Big Wednesday (it is Sunday in the comic). In other words teenager larps because he saw it in an old movie once. I know this is not really a pertinent example because the Keroro Land 4komas are all very silly and non-canon (a lot of the artists are actually former doujin artists) but look. This is peak, okay. This is my ideal Saburo outside of serious scenarios. I’ve seen the vision.

I swore I was gonna make this a short post but it’s not I guess. Can’t resist turning these into goddamn essays. So to wrap it up: Saburo is some dorky kid who thinks he’s way more of a hotshot than he really is and totally owns it with no shame. This is adorable. I will defend him with my life. I need Anikero The New to agree with me here. In like 85% of cases I prefer the anime’s takes on everything but Yoshizaki cooked with the ideas behind this guy so listen to word of god. Give us more Silly Saburo. The TikTok teenagers of today deserve this representation.

[froqpi-art]

i read sakamoto days this weekend! it’s sooo good and i love all of them sm i can’t believe it took me this long to read it haha

[pa-pa-plasma]

hey i feel like we're really sleeping on that time Danny possessed Vlad & framed him for assaulting a minor

Editing with the clip because people don't believe me. Episode is 41: Eye for an Eye.

[medi-bee]

isat pokemon au, my liege?

my rambling in tags

[clownsuu]

Is Ulent (Plant dude) still alive my guy?

I miss the tired tree (´°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥ω°̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥｀)

YOU REMEMBER MY OLD ASS SON ULENT?????

GEEEEEZ he’s such an old fard character I am shocked anyone remembers him! Let alone ask for anything about him-

He’s completely fine btw! Still being the ye ol tree man himself Enjoying tea and talking to the trees-

[marblerose-rue]

got asked to draw two of my old wc rp ocs :-) left is cicadahop, right is scallopstar

[smile-files]

boys who are annoying on purpose (affectionate)

[puppyeared]

for like 3 weeks i was wondering why i was sleeping so much and felt listless. and just now I managed to email 3 people and responded to a month old message in the span of an hour because I got back to TAKING MY FUCKIN MEDS..........