#It’s fun writing in Japanese (^^)

[joyong-iii]

Personal HC for PLA Ingo (Submas)

Since Hisui is ancient Sinnoh and Sinnoh is based off of Japan (specifically Hokkaido) I thought of implementing the language in (^^)

Putting an American train man in Ancient Japan basically, the language barrier is going to be a biiiiiggggg problem for Ingo.

I love adding different languages together (plus extra practice for my Japanese!) of course the translation and grammar may not be 100% correct!

A very quick sketch of a sudden train of thoughts.

I kinda wish there was more interaction between Laventon and Ingo since they both (technically) speak the same language and has the same habit of putting English words into their vocabulary (Bravo and Old champ) plus both have a deep interest in Pokémon which can help Laventon fill in most of the Pokédex depending on what Ingo knows and what Pokémon is present in Hisui.

My artstyle is still fluctuating and I’m not sure when I’ll get a good grip over a style I’m confident in…

[mxystan]

taiwan travelogue by yang shuangzi tr. lin king is indeed an award-winning banger and perhaps the first time in my life i've ever felt vindicated for dual-wielding a novel with its english translation because the act of translation itself is such a big theme in the novel. big win for metafiction-obsessed himejin everywhere!!

[bruhstation]

I want to know more about Top Hat past before she became a member of the Star Fleet

alright it’s time to strap in because this is gonna be lengthy and heavy at certain points

cw: japanese colonialism, mentions of misogyny and toxic masculinity, internalized transphobia

hwang dong-ha hailed from keijō, which will eventually become seoul after korea gained its independence. at that time, korea was under the japanese colonial rule, and mass industrialization progressed at a rapid speed. dong-ha’s father worked as a laborer at a railroad construction site, and despite the hardships the family faced, dong-ha lived an uneventful childhood. that’s just how things are with other families, she thought. dong-ha had little interest in playing with other children and prefers accompanying her mother at home.

as the iron grip the japanese empire had on korea tightened, the hwang family’s living condition didn’t seem to get any better. in 1921, the hwang family moved to the states, looking for better job opportunities. at least dong-ha still has her parents. 

after dong-ha’s father’s contract as a plantation worker in hawaii expired, the hwang family decided to open their own business in san francisco, utilizing mrs. hwang’s specialty in sewing. a small tailor shop/boutique that specializes in western coats and suits, squeezed between a tight row of stores. things were going slow with the culture difference and all, but business picked up at a steady pace after the hwang family met other korean immigrants in the neighborhood.

due to her upbringing, young dong-ha held onto rather conservative beliefs regarding success. her father is stubborn about the way things have to be done and that rubs off on her. look, dong-ha. look at what we have now! see? if you work hard, you’ll make it in life. you’ll always be rewarded. you wouldn’t have imagined this kind of life when you were a kid!

those questionable words of encouragement didn’t permanently work on dong-ha, though. as she grew older, dong-ha questions more of her world – what will she be doing in the future? will life always be like this? where does her agency start and end? will her world only consist of her, mother, and father? and like every single teenager out there, dong-ha rebels.

the hwang parents noticed dong-ha sudden interest in how she presents herself. if she wasn’t taking enough interest in fashion already, she’s now dressed to the nines in glossy suits and thick coats (conveniently conceals her figure, definitely not some foreshadowing) and acting like some sort of elite socialite, much to her parents’... worry. dong-ha had always been obedient, but attempts at suppressing her just resulted in her pushing her parents away more. she was just having fun with self presentation, being raised during grueling times, and her parents were being annoying about it? fine. she’ll seek her own people.

dong-ha’s companions throughout her young adult years were sons from upper class backgrounds. although her family is not wealthy, dong-ha was friendly and said yes to everything. being invited to cabarets and bars for pool games has now become a regular occurrence to her. she even acquired her liking towards wine from these outings. she will be normal. she WILL fit and everyone WILL like her and her clothes. and her personality – speaking of which, dong-ha becomes more arrogant and self-absorbed as she spends more time with these people. she often lied when asked about her personal life, losing more of her humility. and after a particular incident that got mrs. hwang dragging dong-ha back home in front of her friends, her relationship with her parents deteriorated.

as time passed, dong-ha grew increasingly wary of the subjects her “friends” discussed. how their parents become rich not out of hard work, or how the working class aren’t working hard enough, or the way they talk about women, or the way they view marriage as something transactional, or children… it’s all disturbing to dong-ha. but she doesn’t have any other friends. these men were her only companions besides her parents, and she had to stick with them. that’s how men are supposed to be. this is what she had to do.

this poses another problem – dong-ha was supposed to be a proper “man”. not to mention that she’s the only “son” that her parents have. is this what it means to be a man, then? be crass and rude to assert their dominance? flaunt their physique? fall for women and have them for himself? dong-ha is disgusted, but they aren’t… as if it’s something natural. it doesn’t make sense, and when people can’t make sense of something, they get angry. a man is supposed to be masculine, dress the part, control those below him, woo a woman, then marry her. that’s how things are supposed to be, damnit. but she doesn’t like any of this. dong-ha felt like an outlier.

dong-ha admires women not in a way that’s supposed to fit how a man is expected to: not in an attraction, borderline domineering way, but as if they’re something… graceful. nigh unattainable. they’re resilient and beautiful. they’re beautiful not because she wants them for herself, but because they just are. she was disinterested in the idea of masculinity before, only performing it because that’s what is expected of her, and now she’s wholly appalled by it. looking back, she preferred the days when she was younger and helped her mother with sewing rather than mingling with loud, callous, and misogynistic men.

dong-ha’s friends noticed how dong-ha became less talkative, only drinking with a condescending glare directed at them. she averts her gaze when they were talking about annoying maids or girls, and the streisand effect gets into work. they’d poke fun at dong-ha and joke about how she probably had a bad night; “do you not like women? did a girl reject you or something? you’re being so weird, dong-ha.” and she still had to put on a facade. “they’re so annoying. but what if they aren’t, and the one who’s wrong is actually me? utter nonsense, dong-ha. have some self respect.”

so comes the turning point. after a late night out drinking her frustrations away, she came back home to think about reconciling with her parents and retreat back to her small world – consisting of just her, mother, and father. though she constantly goes back and forth between thinking she’s in the right and feeling guilt towards her parents, the latter of the two consciences won. she found mother and father in the living room that night, and a verbal fight quickly broke out. despite her attempts at apologizing, mother and father kept scolding dong-ha, and in reflex she came to her own defense. dong-ha’s father ended up making hurtful remarks about how she’s an ungrateful son who never appreciates what they have, instead distancing herself from her family to hang out with random wealthy strangers, and how he hated the way she always flaunts herself and other nitpicky things and that clearly cuts deep. because she has never seen her father this mad before. and her mother just stares at her, unmoving. not only is the world outside confusing, now her own world has been tainted.

she is furious. and prideful. and stubborn. wait, she is? she’s stubborn? no. it was them! they don’t understand her. nobody ever does. she’s the one who’s unlucky. the world doesn’t give her the answers even though she has asked so many of them. everyone’s just so incompetent! beneath her!

having given up in trying to make sense of the world outside her own, the disillusioned dong-ha moved to bigg city port while only leaving a single letter to her parents. she needed a new scenery to escape this contradicting world. no more family boutique, no more hangouts with the narrow-minded morons she used to call “friends”. she didn’t fit in with them, or anyone, really – is there really a place for her in this world? logically, there should be. dong-ha is prideful and stubborn. she believes she deserves much more than what she’s given as much as she feels sick at herself.

the boundless sea stretching beyond the docks and piers gained dong-ha’s interest. she asked for a job and some guy directed her to a certain captain archibald star. dong-ha landed a job in bigg city port as a helmsman for the star tug & marine. she was assigned the #4 railway tug “top hat”. captain star’s bouts of american patriotism often made top hat raise an eyebrow, but he was a pretty okay guy. as long as she views him as her employer and nothing else. still, she is quite vain, and due to a lot of dockside workers being men, top hat viewed everyone around her as beneath. doesn’t matter if you’re a star, or a zed, or the two idiots (her own words, not mine) from the railhead, there’s a high chance top hat has broken down your character and constructed several lists of thesaurus-sanctioned phrases personalized just for you inside her head.

though… dong-ha’s coworkers were far, FAR better than her “friends” from her youth. they actually have something meaningful to discuss during breaks besides objectifying women and money and other weird things. hercules is nice and pleasant to talk to, not to mention his open mindedness that earned top hat’s liking. warrior and big mac often gave her headaches, but they put up with her bouts of vanity with a wisecrack or two, much to her surprise. OJ was annoying at times, him being the wisest yet kind of old fashioned, but he’s still decent company. eddie and frank… they’re thing 1 and thing 2. (she likes them. nahhhh she doesn’t. that’s just how she is. actually she does like them. she’ll knock herself on the forehead before even smiling at frank and eddie.)

the stars (some of the zeds too, but you know how they are) also didn’t make any weird comments on how she likes to dress extravagantly even during hot weathers, and even if they did, said comments only go as far as mentioning how fitting it is with her character, nothing more. this is all pre-FBC, and she was still referred to with he/him pronouns. though top hat still hadn’t figured out that she’s a woman because she didn’t realize it’s an option for her (due to the morons she used to hang out with), she has thoughts about ditching the concept of being a “man” fully after reminiscing about how she’s often uncomfortable at being referred to as a “man” or anything that points out her lack of interest in anything masculine. her self discovery is further supported given the healthier environment she’s in, and the revelation that she wasn’t the only person who dealt/was dealing with gender issues (there’s hercules who broke the news for her, then she later met lillie, then ten cents, then sunshine, then boomer, then zip (THIS IS A WHOLE NOTHER CAN TO OPEN)) led to her embracing herself as a trans woman. fortezza bigg city is a tough story for the young’uns like ten cents and zip but things are much better on top hat’s side at this point 

of course, like how everything in this world follows a certain order, this is top hat’s world now. by the events of fortezza bigg city, at the age of 27, top hat is still her usual prideful self, but she’s working on being more compassionate towards people around her (lord stinker says hi). she’s sharp and quick-thinking and is quick to make stinging remarks just for the fun of it, but what’s top hat without a one-liner every five minutes? she’s no longer bitter and withdrawn. top hat’s having fun now <3

[a-stars-art-blog]

First Name Basis

My own silly little interpretation for how they might have started calling each other by their first names

I got this idea from @euporie-art I really hope you don’t mind bc I got this idea from the list of ideas YOU have that you had posted once and I just thought it was really interesting and wanted to throw my hat in the ring. Not trying to steal anything I swear!!!!

Happy BenBaro Tuesday!!

[starssoblue]

"the reason adrien is just instantly good at everything he tries is because he is programmed to be that way as a senti" aside from the fact that i don't think that's how it works (and also while he was decent at everything he tried with marinette he wasn't instantly good at all of them, and what marinette actually said to him was that he could improve in anything with practice but it was a great first attempt) did we all collectively forget about how adrien actually canonically isn't the best singer?

[littleplantfreak]

For good luck

Two leaders leave their partners to go to battle - not without a token of their love though

or to put it less dramatically, you give Choji and Ume something for good luck before a fight (separately)

SFW anddddd no other warnings ig

Characters: Umemiya Hajime, Choji Tomiyama

Tomiyama Choji

You're holding two cards left in this UNO match and one happens to be a draw 4. Just as you're about to put in down on the pile, Togame walks into the room carrying Choji's jacket.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's about time for that fight, Choji." He looks to you apologetically and your boyfriend looks at the clock on the wall.

"Uno," you place your second to last card down and he looks back to the pile.

"Again?" Choji whines drawing four into his now ten card pile. It isn't the first time this round you had him drawing stacks of cards. You think he might just be incredibly bad at the game given how often you win.

"When you get back, the color's green," you say faking grumpiness at the fact that he's leaving right before you secure victory.

"If I win can it be red?" he pouts and furrows his brow. It's his equivalent of puppy dog eyes that he pulls out at least once a day, so although he looks adorable, nose all scrunched in upset, you're used to this ploy. There is no mercy in UNO and he knows that.

"You know you're going to win, and no, it's green." His cheeks are puffed out like a hamster as he puts his jacket on, but his mood switches up and suddenly he's the trusted leader of Shishitoren, ready to lead his guys into their next brawl. He still silly and excited, your little lionheart, as he gets pumped up to fight, but he's a little more serious too. "Choji." Never one to want to interrupt when he's about to go all out, but knowing it wouldn't feel right to let him leave like this, you're standing, waiting for him to remember the small tradition you two began in the beginning of your relationship.

The first time you ever sent him off to a fight, you were so nervous even Choji could tell. He'd said you were really lucky, so if you squeezed him as hard as you could the luck would rub off on him like a charm. You weren't really lucky, but you knew he was practically unbeatable if what Togame told you was to be believed. It did also calm your nerves, so you elected to always send him off this way just in case.

"I almost forgot my hug!" He spins and runs into you, grabbing you in an embrace.

"Big squeeze!"

"Even bigger squeeeeze!" Stretching your words to prolong the hug, you both release the insanely tight holds you had on each other. He's out of the door before you can say anything else, Togame close behind.

Leaving the cards on the stage of the Ori you were playing on earlier, you decide to make a quick trip to the store for snacks. Surely they were gonna be hungry when they got back, right?

Umemiya Hajime

"I'll hold down the fort while you guys are gone," you say, not looking up from the song book. Your boyfriend is the last to leave after hearing there's a fight outside the Karaoke Bar on Keisei Street. Nakamura and his gang were surely already there taking care of whatever troublemakers showed up, but your Furin boys couldn't hear the word fight without running towards it.

"Babe," his voice is strained as he's ready to head out. "can you...y'know?"

"Can I what, Hajime?" You put on an unaffected act, but it's not one you can hold for long. He taps his cheek as he bends towards you, a little bashful now that you're actually looking his way. "What do I get in return for giving you all my hard-earned luck hm?"

"My everlasting love and affection princess," he says bending his knee in front of you in an equally regal display. He places a small kiss on your hand and sees you crack a smile despite your initial play of indifference.

"How could anyone pass up an offer like that," you giggle, giving your prince a good luck kiss on the corner of his mouth as by accident. "You'll get a full one after you're back and in one piece," a hint of warning in your voice as you send him off. You hate when he comes back hurt, even if he says it's not that bad and that you really should see the other guy. A heavy sigh leaves you as you're left alone for whatever amount of time it takes for your boys to return from battle.

Once they're back, more people than had initially left showed up. It seems some of the Roppo-ichiza group heard there was karaoke and decided to tag along dragging some new faces into the room, not that you mind. Umemiya pops in while everyone is saying their hellos and takes his seat next to you again.

"You're back from war huh?"

"Yes ma'am! Can I collect my kisses now?" He's extra clingy, feeling bad that he left you alone for even a short while.  You can see no one is really hurt from the fight save for a few bloody knuckles and swollen cheeks. Ume himself only has a small bruise on his jaw and small cuts on his hands. "Gotta heal you first," you say putting your lips to his knuckles, your intention to kiss every injury being made clearer the farther along you progress. What he doesn't know as you're distracting him is that you've queue'd up 'baby shark' on the karaoke tablet about 20 times as payback for leaving you by yourself.

[witchofthesouls]

Okami and Transformers crossover??? ideas thoughts??? Maybe with the best girl Miko???

I had several (a lot) ideas about a crossover between them:

One, Team Prime find themselves in Japan, and Miko becomes a tour guide. Something calls out to Optimus, and its a massive cherry blossom tree in full bloom. He shares a 'feeding the animals' moment with a white wolf with peculiar red markings. The wolf disappears without a trace. Miko leads them to the shrine dedicated to Nagi and Shiranui. Miko sees Optimus staring at the statue of Shiranui and later on leads him to the Cave of Nagi. She's a descendant of Nagi and Susano, so she's well-aware of Ammy.

Two, crossover with the soulmate au with Miko/Tarn where the Jasper Trio had been cyberformed. Miko's yōkai ancestress serves the Dragon Palace under Ryūjin , and since the Great Divide, there are no full-blood yōkai residing in the world of humans, but their descendants are able to live there and humans are still able to travel across worlds. Due to her many runs Elsewhere, Miko is now capable of tapping into a yōkai form that followed her cyberization. Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all, searches for someone to allow her passage into the elusive, ever-moving Dragon Palace.

Three, the Divine Instrument Tsumugari is actually a Primal Artifact. Megatronus Prime's. The legendary bloodline of which Nagi was descended was actually one of the Primal descendants that followed the Fallen. That's why Tsukuyomi was able to fully seal Orochi and could only be moved by someone of the bloodline: Susano was Primal-descent. Megatronus was Prima's opposite yet equal. It's no surprise that Tsumugari, reborn from the slain Orochi's blood, would then accompany Amaterasu's journey to slay evil across Nippon. Tsumugari now sleeps somewhere in Japan, and the Star Saber resonates out to search for its lost brother. The lost sword awakens once more as Unicron stirs and its solar twin sings.

Four, Transformers Prime is actually set the world of Okami. The inhabitants of Nippon believe the Cybertronians are a kind of Celestial Beings or new type of yōkai/demon. The Autobots and Decepticons must navigate a strange world where higher beings and otherworldly spirits roam the earth, sea, and sky. And capable of bringing them down. (Miko is here, too. She's guiding the Heavenly Beings, the Autobots, across the land. The Cybertronians are adamant that they're not from the Celestial Plains and think their transformation sequences and technology would speak for themselves. It doesn't. This Earth is rich with the supernatural and magic, so Miko gets more adamant that they're Heavenly Beings. Waka is no help either.) It doesn't help that the origin of the brush gods is actually Megatronus Prime, who split himself to seal the planet. His physical self to chain the Unmaker as his immense cosmic power remained as Celestial Beings to act as a counterbalance and protect the world. That's why Amaterasu is able to wield the diverse cast easily. Much like Prima, Ammy is the Sun.

[thevikingwoman]

March Year of the OTP prompt - Phone Sex. I'm behind but finally wrapped this up. Had to go with some fun linkpearl shenanigans! Happy Sunday Sinday

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV | Words: 1325 | Read on Ao3

Tansui x Meryta Khatin (warrior of light) | After endwalker | smut Rating: Explicit (18+ only). Linkpearl sex, suprised Tansui, reference to alcohol use, no major enw spoiler

Silks and Distance

“What are you doing, Tansui?”

“I’m –” he fumbles with the linkpearl, unused to the buzzing in his ear. “– how does this work? Can you hear me?”

A giggle, sweet and girlish and pleasantly surprising in its levity. “Yes, I can. Tell me, what are you doing?”

“Repairing the cabin of In Tomi-Maru. The siding has started to come apart on the aft.” He’s unsure why she wants to know, but delighted she has time to use the linkpearls. He had it with him, just in case.

“So, you’re all working and sweaty…”

“I suppose?” The day was mild and breezy and thought he’s more or less done as the evening approaches, he did build up some heat doing the much needed repairs. “Why?”

“Mmmm, Tansui. Because I’m thinking of you, Tansui. And I’m naked. Naked and thinking about you.”

He drops the hammer and just manages to move his feet out of the way.

“Um so –  you are?”

“I’m thinking about your back, broad and warm and nice to touch.”

He needs a moment to get his bearings. This was not what he had been expecting when she convinced him to take the linkpearl, but it’s not unwelcome.

“Let me get somewhere private, Meryta.”

It’s simply too far to his apartment, he has no desire to rush down the dock, cock half hard and Meryta whispering filth in his ear. Tansui slips into the cabin, latching the door behind him and sinks into a chair. Alone, he spreads his legs, feeling comfortable. Ready to catch up on the game she decided to play, unexpected or not.

“Naked, you said?”

“Very naked.” There’s some sounds of movement, and she mumbles something undisguisable, and she lets out a small gasp.

“Are you are touching yourself?”

“I wish it was you, Tansui. The bed is so soft, the sheets so fine. Like your haori.”

“I wish it was me too. Pretend it is, my hands on you. Touching your shoulders, your belly. Sliding my hands up to your tits. They fit so well in my hands.”

He imagines it, now he is alone with only her voice in his ear. She gasps again and a small moan escapes her, soft and feminine. He closes his eyes, and sees her in his mind, naked in soft and luscious sheets, light reflecting off her scales.

“Touch yourself where I would – are you?”

“I am. My hands are on my – tits.” She giggles, and he smiles. She’s not foulmouthed, not in the least, and this seems like a new idea to her, as well as him. A woman of action and not of words.

He’ll put that action to good use.

“I bet your nipples are hard little peaks. Pinch them for me. A bit harder, I know you like that.”

“Yess...” she makes a drawn-out sound that makes his cock jump, and his hand goes to it. He strokes himself lazily through his pants, focusing his attention back on Meryta.

“I’d like to touch you all over, Meryta. The soft skin on your belly, your scales. Holding on to your hips.”

“You like them, my scales?”

“Aye.”

“I want to wind my tail around you, pull you close.”

He’d like that too, to have her close. He has had lovers with tails before, but none for more than a quick or tumble or two. He shivers, thinking of her and all the places she can reach and touch with it, the feel of smooth and warm scales on his skin.

“I touch you lower, Mertya, spreading those pretty legs and teasing you, soft and slow.”

A sound somewhere between a moan and hum is his only answer.

“Are you touching yourself? Is your cunt nice and wet?”

He’ll have a foul mouth for the both of them.

“Yes, yes it is. I’m so wet thinking of you. Of you touching me.”

 Her fingers in her sweet slick, writhing somewhere across the world. Heat flushes his body, his hand tightening around his cock. The fabric is too rough, the feeling too dull and too much and not enough. He fumbles with his pants until he can get them open, away, and his hand around himself, skin against skin. His hands are bigger than hers, but he can almost imagine it’s hers, with her small sounds in his ear. He closes his eyes. His fingers are calloused from work and the seas, and he can pretend it’s her callouses, from weapons and wars.

“Meryta, Meryta, I want – ”

“What do you want?”

“To touch you. To put my mouth on your tits, and my fingers in your pussy.”

“Fuck – “ a giggle and rustling of cloth.

“You like that, don’t you?” His voice sounds too rough for his own ears.

Meryta does not sound bothered. “You make me feel so good, I want you to feel good too. Are you touching yourself too, Tansui?”

“I am. My cock is in my hand, hard for you. Thinking of how you’d surround me, your sweet cunt clenching around it.”

“I want to put my mouth on it. I want to taste you, to suck you.”

It’s his turn to groan, his hand sliding firmly along the length of his cock.

“I want to fuck you.”

“Yes, please –“

“Let me hear you, Meryta,”

She lets out a loud moan, and another. She’s never been quiet, and he likes it that way. Especially when she draws out his name in pleasure, as she does now, her voice becoming sluggish with bliss. He thinks he can hear her moving, writhing, in her sheets, breath ragged.

“Good, good. You’re close, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I, yes – “

“Come for me, Meryta.”

“I am, ah, Tansui!”

He imagines her, lifting her hips against her own hand, her eyes closed as she comes. The image shifts and he pictures her here, sitting astride him. Bouncing on his cock, her pretty tits in front of him, soft and touchable.

Heat courses through him, and his hips jerks, his orgasm taking him by surprise. He grunts and tightens his hand, warm spend running over it. When he opens his eyes, Meryta is sadly still not there.

“Mmm this was nice. So nice, Tansui.”

A pause.

“Tansui.” His name again, the last syllable dragged out in a slur.

“Meryta, are you drunk?” he has to ask, noticing the slur in her voice. Another unexpected turn – Meryta doesn’t seem to indulge from what he has noticed.

“A little. Maybe?” she laughs sweetly. “I met with Ogul – my cousin – and we had some kumis. I don’t know where she got it, but I think she’s homesick.”

“I see. And are you safe?”

Maybe this makes two unexplained things make sense. He can’t help his concern, he’s seen too many drunken pirates – hells, he’s been one too perhaps too often – stumble about and sleep wherever they were.

“I’m in my Thavnair suite. Vrtra has said I can use it whenever. He’s nice like that. Nice dragon. Ogul got me here. She’s not really my cousin, but she’s – family, from my clan. She’s happy in Thavnair. “

“Good.” He breathes a sigh of relief. “I miss you Meryta.”

“Mmm. And I miss you.” A yawn, a rustling of sheets, and he yearns. “I thought it better not to use the aether-currents while drunk. Doubt Shtola would pull me out. Thought the linkpearl was better.”

“I’m glad of it, though I admit this was not quite the scenario I had thought of when you gave me one.”

“Did you make a mess, at least.”

“I did, lover.”

“Mmm, good. Good Tansui. I made a mess too.”

“I’ll make another if you keep on like that.”

“Tempting, but I think I’m falling asleep.”

“Goodnight, love.”

Another rustle, a whisper that may be a goodnight or goodbye.

He leans back in the chair, closing his eyes and imagining her, asleep and alone, surrounded by the Satraps fine silk.

Time to clean up in a minute.

[tgrailwar-zero]

Ooo! What role did we get?

OKUNI: "I haven't decided yet. Like I said, read through it, come back with questions. If a part sings to you, I'll consider it."

With that, she waved and wandered off to another part of the deck, leaving you to your own devices.

RICHARD: "I admit, I'm excited as well. Let's look through, shall we?"

You flipped through the script.

A few details you noticed simply by skimming.

Firstly, OKUNI had kept the names.

Augustina had been subtly re-written to be a scion of a noble house, and personal (and excessive) notes of her beauty courtesy of LUCIUS had been dulled down. Not as if the character wasn't beautiful, they just didn't talk about it as much.

Xavier is noted as being an amnesiac- a detail that you're not sure was new, but was either omitted or forgotten by LUCIUS until the presumed 'Act 3' that this is based off of.

The 'Divine Chalice' has also been re-named to be the 'Waning Moon'.

Scenes are cleverly contrived to have no more than four people on 'stage' at one moment. If it calls for extra, there's notes for puppetry, shadow play, or pre-recorded noises. The stage directions were also a lot clearer, and while they were very bombastic, they were a bit more comprehensible.

Regardless, the majority of the setup is the same. Impressively accurate, considering that OKUNI was working from Act III from context clues alone. Augustina and Xavier were participants in the Tournament for the Waning Moon, a magical artifact that would grant someone's greatest desire.

The tournament was a grand free-for-all, with 124 participants. If you were defeated, you perished. There were plenty willing to risk their lives for such a grant artifact.

A golden king capriciously lending his aid to a young freedom fighter. A giant deadly automaton, protecting a frail girl made of doll parts. A noble warrior blessed by the sun, serving a young prince of a grand kingdom. A draconic baroness and her servant, a vile maddened murderess. A greedy seafarer who served a young wizard who stank of seaweed and cowardice. A roguish bowman who allied himself with an aging noble knight.

…There were more, those were the notable ones. With the exception of one more.

A man named Secundus and a woman named Vulpa. A powerful pair of wizards that seemed to destroy anyone who they came across… a surefire victor for the tournament.

Their power and skill dwarfed that of the other participants, to the point where the other participants that came across them and survived seemed to grow suspicious about just who they were. The man, Secundus, used his immense magical power to summon forth a more powerful servant-- however something went wrong with the summoning spell, spelling disaster for Secundus and Vulpa.

With Secundus perishing, the woman, Vulpa, began to fade away- as the losers of the tournament were ought to do. Xavier, taking pity on Vulpa, took her hand and used his own magic to save her life.

Xavier: "Your lord did seek the heavens. And left you behind. Please, take my hand, fair mage, To join us and live." Augustina: "Is this truly a wise choice? She may stab our backs." Xavier: "Everyone deserves a chance." Augustina: "Your caring heart is lovely. I won't complain then." Vulpa: "My, such a charming hero. And handsome as well. Shall I call you my husband, While warming your bed?" Augustina: "I take back not complaining!"

This resulted in a bit of a bit of a love triangle. Lots of banter. A bit of infighting. Augustina, at this point, doesn't trust Vulpa in the slightest- especially because Vulpa refuses to share any details regarding her past. But still, they had to work as allies.

Augustina: "O' vixen so soft and fair. Bewitching mine lord. I believe you be a foe. Do you prove me wrong?" Vulpa: "Hah! What must I prove to you? Fool with flaxen hair. I care not for your thoughts, girl. Merely our Masters'."

Due to being a sub-par magician, Xavier was barely making it through even with two warriors- and yet he was still making progress. As the act reaches its close, Xavier and Augustina re-encounter the Blacksmith and the girl that accompanied him that had lent Augustina some proper battle attire. Learning that the girl's name was Frances, they have a brief connection…

Xavier: "You are familiar to me. Your face… a sister? If only my mind was whole, I long for it so." Frances: "I feel the same way. A brother perhaps? But still, Ugh, my head, my mind… My memories have faded…"

Before they can examine this any further, there's a rumble- a terrifying crash.

Narrator: "The heavens crack wide apart. A hand white as snow. And with it came a herald. Who proclaimed world's end."

...And that was the end of the act.

[moongothic]

So the One Piece brand has been doing radio broadcasts called Strawhat Space (/Mugiwara Space) where they bring in voice actors to chitchat about the series etc, most of the episodes they've featured just the main cast but they've started bringing in VAs for other characters too (one episode was Mayumi Tanaka/Luffy and Tomokazu Seki/Lucci, another was the OG three admirals etc) This week's broadcast featured Ryuuzaburo Ootomo and Yuriko Yamaguchi as Crocodile and Miss All Sunday respectively

The promotional images for Strawhat Space have been Extremely Adorable and I know I'm a simp but god, this one is so cute

Now unfortunately, while my Japanese listening comprehension is good enough to follow along your average kids anime where the VAs speak clearly and take their turns, yeah, a radio show where the VAs stumble on their words a little and speak over each other is too hard for me to keep up with (not to mention my vocab just not being suited for this kinda thing)

But, if I didn't completely misunderstand Yuriko at one point, she seemed to mention that she hoped Crocodile would remain in the position of an ally in the story (after having teamed up with Luffy during Impel Down), and like. Yuriko I love you, you so are so right

[multifandom-nonsense]

I seriously need to finish that Tillivan drawing

Also it's 2 in the morning and I'm only awake cuz some mfs car alarm went off and it woke me up GAH

Guh and I have things to do tomorrow (technically today) but it's okay I can just draw them later (surely I won't forget to amidst the other tasks on my plate)

[immabebaby]

Cassettes in Prime

So I was brainstorming with my brother earlier on how to input Soundwave's other cassettes into the pre-existing story/world and we came up with some pretty cool ideas, because it's too sad to think they all simply died (long post ahead)

First up, Ravage:

So MECH wants to re-create cybertronians right? What if they followed one around to see how they can make it, and that so happens to be Soundwave? Obviously he's fully aware of them and their plans, which is why he lets them. They create the " Robotic Assault Vehicle and Automated Ground Enforcer" with behaviors and patterns picked up from him. Once they're done, and it works, Soundwave can just swoop in and take it for himself probably blowing up MECH operations (whatever base they were using at the time). Megatron just let him keep it, bc if there's one bot he lets do whatever they want, it's Soundwave, just asks for a name, to which Soundwave plays back a clip of the scientists, "but for short, we call it R.A.V.A.G.E." "Well then, make sure you take Ravage to Knockout so he can give them a check-up,"

Cool, cassette count to 2, now for Rumble and Frenzy (it's a bit longer) :

What if, to better acclimate to Earth or something, the cons were trying to make cybertronians to fit in better with humans, maybe a decoy, infiltration, work as a spy, whatever. Point is, they're making smaller bots, two to start, to see how it goes. To test them out in battle, Soundwave takes them on a trial run against the bots. It probably goes well for the minis, since he would keep taking them out for 'testing' bc he's clearly not attached to them, no sir.

Now, as to their names? Well, y'know how the kids tend to tag along to fights? Miko saw them, and asked about the two new minis since they haven't showed up before, but the Autobots can't name them bc they didn't exist before Earth, (not that any of them knew that) so she just has to figure out their names, ("Calling them 'Thing 1 and Thing 2' is boring Jack" "So is calling them Aka and Ao!"). She tosses so many names back and forth with the other bots, even mid-battle ("What about Throwdown and Kickass?" "Not appropiate Miko") They started keeping a list to rank the best names, everyone expected to give at least one suggestion ("Raf you haven't said any names yet, c'mon just one?" "Jose y Maria?" "nevermind") Funniest thing is that once Miko finds the perfect names, ("Fisticuff and Hysteria are so cool, I have no idea what you guys are talking about") it turns out our minicons also chose. ("Hey, Rumble's a cool name!" "Yeah, Frenzy sounds awesome!")

Obviously, just like Ravage, Soundwave keeps these two for himself, and totally didn't help them pick names by replaying Miko's chatter among other internet searches. "Another one Soundwave? You're collecting extra bots like humans collect cassettes,"

For funzies, it's even better if Starscream had done one of his disappearing acts before Soundwave gets the twins, so when he comes back there's a mini hoard. "I swear when I left you only had two mini drone-" "Cassettes" "Right... Make sure your cassetticons are ready for the next mission,"

And that makes 4! Time for Buzzsaw :) :

Right, so typically Buzzsaw is counterpart to Laserbeak just like Rumble and Frenzy are to each other right? So what if Soundwave already had Buzzsaw, just how he already had Laserbeak, but during a mission they split up? Before they crashed on Earth, Soundwave had sent Buzzsaw on a scouting mission or something and wasn't able to get back to him before they left. So this whole time, he's been trying to find his way back to Soundwave, when he comes across, say, a Decepticon emergency shuttle that no bot was piloting and decides to take advantage of it, ignoring what looks like a bot in stasis. He pilots it to Earth, and when it crashed he flew out immediately, flying straight into the Nemesis, which he knows where it is bc if he can track Soundwave from lightyears away, he obviously can track him when they're on the same planet.

When he makes in on, he probably runs into everyone but Soundwave first, ("Oh... you're back," "Wow you really do look like Laserbeak" "It's good to have you back in our ranks,") Before he finally reunited with Soundwave, "Buzzsaw- you're back- Welcome"

Bringing it up to 5, let's move on with Ratbat! :

So when Shockwave's recreating the predacons, he doesn't go big or go home, it's only logical to start with a smaller creature to hammer out every detail before he makes the full scale ones. Soundwave is checking in on him for reasons when he sees the small prototype, and considering habit of collecting small bots it shouldn't come as a surprise when he pointed at the creature and asked "Oh shiny~ It's mine now, right?" in Knockout's voice. Shockwave just waved him off with a "It's merely a prototype that has outlived it's usefulness. If you deem it logical to keep, do with it what you will"

When he introduced it to the others, there was a it of mixed reactions, ("Wow, that looks just like that earth creature, a-" "Bat" "Rat" ... "Bat!" "Rat!" "Well I think it's small" "That's because you're huge Rav," "It has wings, that means it can fly right? Does that mean less shifts for me?") "Prototype- designation... 'Rat' 'Bat'? - is our new- cassettes" "You really just named it Ratbat? That's so uncreative, boss"

And then there were 6, as a little bonus, Wingthing! :

Y'all remember when they used a bit of Laserbeak to track down the Nemesis? Yeah so what if the bots designed a proper drone, building around the wing or whatever it was, making it as close to a real bot as they could to encourage it to return to Soundwave.

("We gotta name it!" "Miko no," "But why not, the last time I didn't get to name a bot so I wanna actually do it now! Let's see... it's a thing with wings...")

Obviously it made it's way to Laserbeak and Soundwave, who welcomed in the weird new drone bot. ("Does- creature has a- designation?") "Cassettes- welcome- Wingthing"

[snowshinobi]

Jess Aarons' snippy inner monologue is so funny, it reveals this petty and passive aggressive side to an otherwise earnest, clumsy, sweet kid.

Maybelle tells him "Ellie got herself a see-through blouse and mama's throwing a fit" and Jess, privately very tired of his siblings' frivolous attitude towards money, thinks good. But he tells Maybelle "That ain't nothin' to cheer about."

Leslie finally notices he's insecure around her worldly, academic, well-to-do family and confronts him about it -- "Jess. How stupid do you think I am?" Jess, privately resentful that it took his very smart friend *weeks* to pick up on this, thinks pretty stupid, sometimes. But he says "I don't think you're stupid.

Those are just the ones I remember off the top of my head!

Surely there's more woven between all the tongue-biting and quiet "yes'm"s he's grown used to coughing up.

He is such an older sibling who's clinging to childhood as it slips through his farm-calloused hands. He is both the bursting ache for adventure and the firm press of responsibility holding it in. These sassy little moments let him vent that frustration he's too polite to let loose. And those goofy doodles he loves to draw help to sublimate his existential , financial dread into humor. Something he dares not share with anyone because he's lectured about "waste -- wasted time, wasted paper, wasted ability," wasted YOUTH!

Jess feels so stuck until Leslie comes along. She flings open the door to adventure. Writing that prank note to teach bully Janice Avery a lesson. Recounting their heartbreaking bathroom sob-chat to Jess afterwards, marking that as an understandable yet unkind decision. The bridge-swing that transports them into a whole new world in the woods, dreamed up by their collective imagination. And the golden room -- the living room wall color Jess was unsure about (iirc?) until he stepped back to admire their handiwork. Such an ethereal touch to such a normal space. Transformative.

It's Jess's idea to gift the Burks a puppy -- free from a box by the road along the school bus route, and worth infinitely more than some fancy object. An eager, energetic, unpredictable friend.

I just. Look back at these moments of sass and see how much more Jess lets himself say as the story progresses. How much life Leslie, his music teacher Miss Julia Edmunds, and even Maybelle (much, much later on) give him. How much personality he was holding onto, and how high it soars once he has the right people to let it out to.

And how much it hurts to love that deep. To lose that freedom, that energy. I think of the wreath him and Leslie construct to celebrate one of their real-and/or-fictional victories. "Thy right arm hath given us the victory", Jess says, not really knowing what the words meant or where he'd heard them, but it felt right. And Leslie builds on his improv.

Drowning in grief, Jess thinks Leslie. I'm just a dumb dodo and you know it. What am I supposed to do?

Well, you mourn. You pick up the pieces. You keep going. Like Leslie did every time her windblown parents uprooted their lives to go somewhere new.

Jess learns how to love louder. He already had the love, and several great people to pour it into. But he didn't know how to get out of his head and into an admittedly standoffish world.

Leslie broke through. She shows him magic in the trees and unlikely sides to old school drama. And yet she didn't always feel so sure, either -- "She loved you, y'know," her dad whispers as he hugs Jess. "She told me once, if it weren't for you ..."

Leslie goes out on a limb and Jess cautiously steps after her. Takes her hand. Steadies her. Which lets them steady each other.

He is such a different person by the end. He holds his feelings and lets them out. He's sadder and warmer and a whole lot less scared.

Well, you just have to stand up to your fear and not let it squeeze you white. Right, Leslie?

And the Leslie in Jess's memory replies, Right.

[sysig]

Hey, hey! RnR not requested! (Patreon)

[power-handmaiden]

Day 10: Anode beetle

It's Fictional Bug Friday! I think a lot of these are going to be from Pikmin because I adore their bug designs... According to the Piklopedia they're in the scarab beetle family, so that means I have been drawing scarabs for a full week lol.

[anbaisai]

Your art tastes like cheesecake keep it up

Help- cheesecake is such a specific way to describe it but I love it 😭 thank you!!