#They're easy to like and think about! What am I to do about that

[inkskinned]

i'm still trying to piece together the truth of it. when you left, you said: feel free to spin this narrative however you want. i have no idea if you were being cruel or if you just genuinely don't remember what you've done to me.

it's hard because i'd done so much of the work for you. i had seen the parts that flaked off, the rust underneath. i started separating you into two people - the one i loved, and the one who hurt me. i had this fantasy version of you - my partner - and then i had this stranger, a third person who would show up randomly to shatter me. i am deliriously glad i'm no longer with "the stranger". i miss the gentle (unreal?) "other" you terribly.

at first, i was so strict about my boundaries. i remember telling you to get the fuck out of my house if you were going to talk to me like that. by the end: i would justify your behavior for you, accepting even your mistreatment as "my fault" in the grand scheme. i look back on the person i was before you - smart, independent, confident - and i feel a strange sense of detachment. i don't even recognize me.

even in one of our last conversations, you said: if you want a partner that always talks warmly to you, find someone else. there was a time that a comment like that would have made me leave. and instead, somehow, i just placidly accepted that kind of thing. you were literally telling me that i wasn't allowed to have a reaction to your cruelty - and i just took it, because you'd so fully turned things around on me.

when people are faced with irrationality, a rational brain tries to make sense of it. this is the trap. they're lovely in the morning, gentle and blue-eyed and sweet. like nothing even happened, they breeze around the house and kiss you on the mouth. but at night; who is that? they snap almost randomly; flying into an impotent rage about just-about-anything. it just doesn't make sense. so the problem must be me, and my brain, and how i think.

the traumatized brain just wants peace. so maybe i'm misremembering. maybe you were just having a bad day. maybe it's actually me.

you eventually would fully turn on me and start implying that i am the bad actor in our relationship. that's what happens, right? that's literally in the playbook. you went to therapy for all of a month, told her a half-truth, co-opted therapyspeak. you figured out how to reframe your actions as "seeking peace." any time i stood my ground, i was "gaslighting." when i asked you to be more gentle, you said i was "tone policing." you said, randomly, i had emotionally manipulated you - i still have no idea what that's even specifically referring to. maybe my consistent requests for calmness and empathy?

and while i literally know better, and i'm sitting here, trained by you, thinking: wait, fuck. was i actually the person you made me out to be?

and the thing that scares me is that i literally do not know if you ever actually saw what you were doing to me. when you'd tell me how you remember arguments, you'd always summarize them in a way where you come off as gentle and easy: "i was trying to set an important boundary." what had actually happened was 15 minutes of you shouting at me i know you did something shady, just admit it already. eventually you'd say my reaction to your shouting (when i finally reacted, which usually happened around hour three) was inevitably "disappointing" and "another way i'm silencing your feelings."

how many times did i ask you - beg you - to just take accountability? looking back, i don't think i ever heard you say: you're right. the way i talked to you was wrong of me.

i am trying to tie together the two people into a full version of you in my head. yes, you made my coffee and made me laugh and spent hours on the phone with me. and yes - you would scream at me until i had to run away and hide behind something.

i wish i did have a narrative i could pull out and shape to my whim. i wish i did have some semblance of reality. instead i just stand here, strange and vibrating, wondering: what the fuck just happened?

[miss-m-winks]

Yeah honestly, I just appreciate fantasy that puts thought into its world. I don't think every fantasy needs to go into detail about like, why there are potatoes there. A lot of the time, "potato" is also just an easy shorthand to tell the audience "starchy root vegetables exist here", like in LotR where a lot of the details you might consider anachronisms are very easily overlooked with the "this is a translation" explanation. And LotR makes that explanation work because of all the other unique details present in the worldbuilding.

The problems with anachronisms usually come in when they don't feel like they've been integrated well with the rest of the world. I can believe Hobbits have potatoes because of how much farming they do. Of course they've managed to breed their own starchy root vegetable they can call a potato. It's easy to picture them having every fruit and vegetable known to man, because they love food and they do a lot of farming. That's all it takes to make the potato and the cornfields fit into their world.

But if I'm reading a book set in a standard UK-ish middle ages/vaguely old fashioned time period, and out of nowhere they're using oranges as a casual common breakfast fruit, or coffee just shows up to be a regular morning drink, or cheap chocolate candy just exists now, all with exactly the same connotations they have in our real modern world, i find that weird. It throws me out of immersion.

I don't need the author to write a whole paragraph explaining where those things came from, but I am going to need a little more set up and a reason to feel like those details actually fit the world. They need to fade into the background, easily overlooked. If they stand out, they end up feeling weird. If your worldbuilding can't stand on its own enough for me to glance past the morning coffee, there's a problem.

I think the root cause is authors who just toss in details from their own modern life experiences without really considering whether or not it fits. They're not immersing themselves into the world they're writing, and you can kinda feel it. So authors just need to get into their own worlds and think about what it's really like to live there, and I think that fixes most of the immersion problems.

All it takes is a little description of a fantastical orchard and I can believe the oranges. Mention the import market and I can believe the coffee. Maybe give it a new cultural context while you're at it.

For the longest time I opted on the side of "no coffee, potatoes, etc" in fantasy writing, on the argument that if I was writing a pseudo-european medieval story, featuring elements brought to Europe by colonialism would imply the existence of colonialism, and if I was going to include that kind of elements, I could not just mention them casually, it would have to be a major theme of the story.

Then I scrolled past a post on tumblr specifically about "can you have potatoes in a fantasy setting for no reason" that had pics of Peruvian potato farmers and asked "are you really too much of a coward to not write these people into your stories?" (the tone was probably not that accusative, I paraphrase from my own perspective of this), and something clicked in my head, and this epiphany manifested in my head as Gordon Ramsay yelling

"IT WAS NOT THE FUCKING COLONIALISM THAT INVENTED THE FUCKING POTATO."

[destinysbounty]

I think I wouldn't mind Zane's NPC-ification quite as much as I do, if it didn't feel like they were also retconning the fact that he was ever a person to begin with.

Like, sure, I totally understand. Dragons Rising has a huge ensemble cast, and the RGB trio + new ninja are the clear focus. And I don't mind that! Everyone who does get proper narrative attention is written so wonderfully and I adore what we have. But...sometimes it feels like they're just kinda divvying up everything that makes Zane who he is and giving it to everyone else, and never even briefly acknowledging Zane's ties to those traits.

Remember when Zane used to have prophetic dreams foretelling future events? Me neither. Hey Lloyd, how are your visions coming along?

Or, y'know how one of Zane's most integral plot lines, character details, and motifs is his struggles with memory and identity? Remember that time he got amnesia and was then both manipulated and magically corrupted into being a villain? Nah that never happened, anyway check out what Jay is up to now

Or, does anyone recall how Zane is a canonically really good cook with pies so delicious they made Jay cry on screen? No that's Arin's thing, actually

Heck, we even have our quota of ~Silly Robot Beep Boop Bop~ jokes fulfilled by Lobbo!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on any of the other characters for having these traits. Nor am I arguing that Zane should have a singular monopoly on these types of storylines. But when they take traits that have for so long been primarily associated with Zane, like cooking and visions and amnesia, and share them with someone else without even briefly acknowledging Zane's prior involvement...idk. It just feels like they're trying to repackage all the things that make Zane interesting while still writing him out of the narrative. It feels like they're going "whaat? Zane, have personality outside of being a generic robot character?? That never happened!" Like they're just trying to have their nindroid and kill him too.

And I mean, to some extent I can understand their hesitation. It's the same reason the Mr. E/Echo reveal got scrapped in s8 - theres just way too much going on right now, and the narrative load required to explain somwthing this complicated during a reboot/sequel would just bog down an already very complicated story. Zane has a very convoluted backstory that, for new fans dropping in to the sequel series for the first time, may be difficult to explain. How do you recap Zane's history with amnesia in a neat an tidy way for the next gen story, when there's already so much going on?

Like i said, i get that. But they could at least make, like, brief blink-and-youll-miss-it allusions, yknow? Like how they played the Ice Emperor theme during Zane's existential crisis during drs1, or when Zane told Zanth not to follow dancing birds in drs3. Tasteful, subtle, doesn't require much insider knowledge and newer fans could easily interpret it as a noodle incident comment without losing out on their comprehension.

Maybe after Jay gets eliminated from the Tournament, Zane offers to go after him saying, "I've lost myself once or twice before. If anyone understands what he's going through, it's me." And if you want to preserve the plot unobstructed, maybe you can have it so that either Zane fails to get through to Jay or Jay is gone without a trace before he can get to him. Maybe there's a brief scene of Zane making a pie to try and cheer Sora up, but she can't eat it because it reminds her too much of Arin. Or maybe Lloyd has a panic attack over his visions and Zane is the one to offer him the advice about not fighting the vision and letting it come naturally.

Don't you see how easy that is? You would change literally nothing about the story at large, and you're not detracting from the main plotlines or character arcs that are quite validly dominating this series. But you're also throwing a bone to the people who actually like Zane. Like???? I'm not even asking for much here, man :/

Idk. Maybe I'm just bitter and need to touch grass, who's to say

[noctiva]

Gonna be a lil depraved in your inbox~

I just got done buying some new underwear, and man. Toby with a girlfriend who likes the cute stuff, drags him to Victoria's secret so he can help her choose. Thrusting pair after pair into his hands, cooing over how soft the silk and lace is, "ooo do you think this color would look cute?", holding them up to see how they'd fit in that cute v between her tummy and her thighs, making him sweat bullets as he tries so hard to keep it down, be goooooood boy be good!!

Not allowed in the fitting rooms while she tries em on so he's getting selfie after fitting room selfie of all the styles like "hmmmmm I cant decide, which do you think??" And it takes all his willpower to not drool on the screen as he frantically types "both, all, yes, every single one-"

Cute absentminded girlfriend, who gets dressed in the morning in bed next to him. Leaves the pair she wore last night on the sheets next to him like a little present, just for him to fondle that silky cottony softness between his fingers as he ruts himself mindlessly against the mattress. Groaning when he lifts them to his face to get a sniff, press his mouth against the soft material, hips stuttering as he creams a mess into his pants.

Cute girlfriend getting frustrated cuz she JUST bought new pairs and now they're all gone? Weird 🤨🤨

oh this is so based.

toby is THE #1 panty sniffing freak in my brain. he’s just desperate like that LOLLLL. he’s just like, super big on scents. like a sniffer dog. he’s one to take a good hearty inhale before eating you out so yeah he’s DEFINITELY snagging whichever pair of your panties he can get his hands on. (preferably from the hamper. it’s no fun if they’re freshly washed and your scent has been all stripped clean 🙄🙄)

ANYWAY this is WONDERFUL brain food for me. Toby is such a socially awkward boyfailure that quite honestly you’d have to probably drag him into victorias secret with you by the collar of his shirt.

“Am I e-even allowed to go in there?”

“Are you s-sure? You’re 100% sure?”

“I can just w-wait outside y’know, the-there’s a bench right there-“

And once you do actually manage to wrangle him in there he’s a goddamn mess. his brain would like, short circuit. Eyes darting around at all the mannequins, all the expensive lingerie, garments that left barely anything to the imagination. Imagining what they’d look like on you. How fun it would be to peel them off of you.

He would resort to gluing his gaze to the floor, his ears burning red as he shuffles along behind you, already fighting against his own dick LOLLLL

of course though, you wouldn’t make it easy on him. where’s the fun in that!!!!

“Oh, these are cute!” As you hold up a lacy thong for him to see, forcing his gaze upwards. When you hold them up to your body his eyes go wide, and his shoulders tense up. “Imagine? And they’re so soft! Feel!”

He doesn’t really have a choice, so he curls his fingers around the material you all but shove into his hands, letting out a strained hum and a shaky; “Y-Yeah. Cute. Soft.” All while donning the complexion of a tomato.

And the dressing room?? It’s like you’re trying to kill him. You have to know what you’re doing to him, right? Sending him photos of you nearly bare, lit in the sultry lighting that the change room provided. If he had to be honest, he’s barely paying attention to the stuff you’re trying on - swallowing back drool that pools in his mouth as his shaky fingers type back replies that are riddled with typos but no less enthusiastic.

‘so prwtty. you should gt that one’

‘you said that about every single one I’ve showed you.’

‘I kno. get them all.’

And also? Yeah. They aren’t lasting a week in your home until they’re going missing. Toby keeps one pair shoved in his jacket pocket at all times. another, he swiped from you after you got dressed and drooled all over it - so he’s got to wash it first. another, because it was just so silky soft. perfect to stroke his cock with.

(he’s really not slick about it either. you’ll probably find a pair under his pillow on his side of the bed.)

(to which he’ll just go. ‘huh. wonder how that got there.’)

[codeword-art]

I don't want this to come off as judgemental or like I'm personally attacking anyone that thinks differently about this specific scene, but I'm not going to lie and say I won't be a bit dramatic/harsh in these statements either. Ultimately I can sort of understand why some may think this is funny or humorous given similar jokes and scenes in other media, but to me personally, I don't. When Henry rescues Hans at Maleshov, and they're discussing the secret passageway and how Hans refuses to take it because of his claustrophobia, I don't think its funny to then physically assault Hans and drag him unconscious through the passageway anyway. Is it easier as a game mechanic, sure. If people are having a hard time getting through this quest the other way, I can understand simply making this option to just move on.

However, to me, that option is not acceptable under any other circumstance when RPing a good or neutral Henry. It'd be one thing if this scene was played humorously, like so many questlines in KCD and KCD2 are, but its not. If Henry presses Hans about not going through the passageway, he damn near has a panic attack, it's actually awful to watch. Hans is dead ass serious about his phobia, says the idea makes him nauseous, and he'd rather take his chances at the front gate. He is damn near close to crying here, while trying to make Henry understand. He is not doing well.

I understand this is frustrating, I'm not saying I wasn't frustrated at first either, from both a players and Henry's POV, but phobias are irrational fears that cannot be controlled, especially in 15th century Bohemia where therapy wasn't even a science yet. Hans has a good reason to be scared, he already was uncomfortable in tight spaces, and his fear was exacerbated during the "Finger of God" quest, and he hasn't really had any time to process what happened. He was immediately kidnapped and thrown into a tiny room with Brabant, of all people.

So to have Hans express this fear, lightly or seriously if pressed further by Henry, and then to think I'd immediately turn around and betray his trust and bodily autonomy to just make my quest objective easier, it's just gross to me. Hans is allowed to make that decision, no matter how annoying it is in the moment.

Also Henry is already weirdly written out of character here anyway, in my opinion. The non-romance options are just weird.

If it was the only choice to make, or if the second option had worse negative outcomes that'd be one thing, but it's just a little more sneaking around a subjectively easy area with light patrol.

Now again, I understand this is just my opinion. I don't think people are monsters for taking this option towards a fictional video game character. I know people like to play evil Henry, or depending on the conversation you have with Hans, some players may not even realize how serious Hans in being here, and surface level it's an objectively easier choice to make. If you're just trying to get through the quest, doing a speedrun, mistakenly misinterpret the scene, or whatever that's fine. We all play differently, I just don't think the choice itself overall is a funny, "Ha-ha, jokes on you Hans."

Also, I think this should lock Henry out of his romance. If I relayed a fear to a dear friend or partner and they actively force me through that fear, especially by choking me out? Yeah, were done. Relationship is over. Hans is far better than I am in that circumstance.

[rincent-van-uggh]

Ahh this is so much what I have been thinking. Even if I agreed with intellectual property in principle, IP law benefits corporations far, far more than small artists (because the law only protects those who can afford to enforce it).

All the notions that AI is cheating because it makes the process of art making too easy are not at all distinct, so far as I can see, from people saying the same things about any new art making technology (digital art, electronic music, people say these things are not real art for the same reasons). I mean, people trying to pass off AI art as if they themselves hand painted it are just idiots telling lies, nothing new. If someone uses AI to generate the background for an drawing they did, and they're honest about it, thats just art. People do the same thing with backgrounds not generated by AI too.

I find a lot of AI criticism comes down to "this tool is being operated and peddaled by idiots" rather than that the tool itself is bad. "People who use AI to study for them get lower grades" well duh, having anything study for you is incoherent, you necessarily have to use your own brain for that. If what they mean by this is that people are using AI to write notes and summaries for them to read, this is also misguided as AI cannot reliably create accurate summaries, if it adds in nonsense, you may not realise and study stuff it entirely made up.

There are also adjacent issues. Like I dont take issue particularly with public data being fed to the machine apart from how empowering AI in our current system means empowering shitty corporations. But sometimes private data may be fed to the machine, corporations are getting increasingly sneaky and invasive, changing ToS to say that they can use any of your stuff, even non-public things to train AI. While AI tends to mix together loads of stuff into its outputs, it is feasible that an AI could be fed private data and spit it out wholesale, and we have no way to prevent this currently. I am glad that i have managed to move entirely off of things like google drive because I don't trust them to uphold privacy at the best of times, but especially not in this context.

My main issue with AI, honestly, is that I find it annoying. It keeps being put in places I dont want it, to solve problems I don't have. I think this is a popular position to hold here on tumblr, where we have several times pushed the website management to allow us to opt out of new trendy features we dont like, such as "best stuff first" and other algorithmic generated features, and "tumblr live". I object to having new technology replace the old stuff, not only because the old stuff is what I am familiar with, but because often times it works, in at least some important ways, better than the new stuff. I don't need AI generated art, I enjoy making art myself. I do not want AI customer service chat bot, it is less effective at addressing my needs than the humans are.

The tool is fine, but almost every time I encouter it, it is being used by idiots to uninteresting ends, and I would like to not have to encounter it if I don't want or need to.

Worst part of popular left wing AI discourse online is that there's absolutely a need for a robust leftist opposition to use of cognitive automation without social dispensation to displaced human workers. The lack of any prior measures to facilitate a transition to having fewer humans in the workplace (UBI, more public control over industrial infrastructure, etc) is a disaster we are sleepwalking into - one that could lock the majority of our society's wealth further into the hands of authoritarian oligarchs who retain control of industry through last century private ownership models, while no longer needing to rely on us to operate their property.

But now we're seemingly not going to have the opposition we so desperately need, because everyone involved in the anti-AI conversation has pretty thoroughly discredited themselves and their movement by harbouring unconstrained reactionary nonsense, blatant falsehoods and woo. Instead of talking about who owns and benefits from cognitive automation, people are:

Demanding impossibilities like uninventing a now readily accessible technology

Trying to ascribe implicit moral value to said technology instead of the who is using it and how

Siding with corporations on copyright law in the name of "defending small artists"

Repeating obvious and embarrassing technical misconceptions and erroneous pop-sci about machine learning in order to justify their preferred philosophy

Invoking neo-spiritual conservative woo about the specialness of the human soul to try to incoherently discredit a machine that can quite obviously perform certain tasks just as well if not better than they can

Misrepresent numbers about energy use and environmental cost in an absurd double standard (all modern infrastructure is reliant on data centers to a similar level of impact, including your favourite fandom social media and online video games!) to build a narrative AI is some sort of malevolent spirit that damages our reality when it is called upon

It's a level of reactionary ignorance that has completely discredited any popular opposition to industrial AI rollout because it falls apart as soon as you dig deeper than a snappy social media post, or a misguided pro-copyright screed from an insecure web artist (who decries a machine laying eyes on their freely posted work while simultaneously charging commission for fan-art of corporate IPs... I'm sure that will absolutely resolve in their favour).

It would be funny how much people are fucking themselves over with all this, except I'm being fucked over to, and as a result am really quite mad about the situation. We need UBI, we need to liberate abundance from corporate greed, what we don't need is viral posts about putting distortion filters on anime fan-art to ward off the evil mechanical eye, pointless boycotts of platforms because they are perceived to have let the evil machines taint them, or petitions to further criminalize the creation of derivative works.

[laserbobcat]

as someone who's 33 and writing Narilamb and reading your comics, and also kinda interested in different kinds of art myself, it is so so nice seeing someone around my age who's into this fandom and making art. I feel so stupid sometimes that it's hard to even pick up a pencil or stylus - and I'm new new new to art like that so I need that practice time. seeing people like you making what you love and not giving a good goddamn is really inspiring. I'm sure you get lots of love for your comics but idk I just wanted to say thank you 💗 your cat and Leshy make so many people smile for so many different reasons :)

AW I do get a lot of kind feedback, but it's rare that I don't have the time/energy to answer. I really appreciate messages. I do read and see all of it, and every little tag matters. It's why I try my best to leave at least a little tag when I reblog art, and I'm not shy about sending messages to creators when I have, again, time/energy. People are shy, but we are all dorks, you realize it pretty quick when you start interacting more with the artists you follow. Warning surprise super LONG life dump bellow. I was like "Inspiring, are you sure? I'm also wreck, let me tell you just so there's no misunderstandings" and bam, novel.

About being 35 and making whatever I want: I do in fact feel self conscious about a lot of things, it's just that people on the internet don't really matter. That sounds harsh, but it's true. It's like people you meet on the street, or at bars, or at work: mostly polite positive interactions, some nice memories, a few of them will form solid bonds with you, the vast majority of them will be lost as soon as they're not in the same vicinity as you anymore. And it's normal, and it's ok. Humans aren't made to nurture too many relationships, even the social ones. So I personally enjoy fandoms in a detached sort of way that might feel like I don't give a damn. I think it's healthy tbh. But it's easy to appear calm and detached when you don't really have skin in the game. I really care about this blog it's my fun place, but it's completely detached from my actual life. I'm being an anonymous dork among dorks, it's nice. Some people are dumb sometimes and I don't care. What are they gonna do, sue me, lol. BUT LIKE. I almost deleted that blog once because and IRL person I know found it? I panicked SO HARD. Y'all nerds can look at my silly comics with cute cats kissing: not people in my real life. I'd rather be found drawing hardcore tentacle porn or sniffing paint. I'm not like, brave or anything, I'm hiding online XD

And honestly life is haaaaaaaard right now. For everyone lately. but for me personally: fanart is a nice hyperfocus to forget that life is a bitch. A distraction. I've always been "too sensitive" never could hold a job for too long, because people are awful in low level entry jobs, I never got one that I really like. I've been studying art and digital art, it's been hard, and it didn't lead me anywhere professionally for various reasons. I paid a private school and I am just finishing paying a big loan, just for the (average) skills I got being used to draw a cartoon bush with legs, kissing a cat, on a dusty website. It's so incredibly easy to feel like a failure. And being an artist SUCKS in this world. I'm not an artist by choice, god I would love to be smart enough to have done different studies, and have some kind of job that actually pays. But no, just did a professional profile, and all my affinities lead to creative work, I'm doomed to be good at things that are hell to make money off of when you don't have twice or thrice the energy a regular job needs. I just can't stop. Even when I take breaks, I always come back to creating things. A life's curse, truly.

I feel depressed now, so let's filter this shit through my "15 years of therapy" voice translator: -I'm not too sensitive, people telling me this in my life have all been notorious assholes. If we had more raw hearted people, daily life would be softer, and we wouldn't have wars. Us kind softies are vastly underappreciated. -I haven't been paying a school for nothing, I met my best friends there, learned a lot of skills and methodology that serve me today, and will serve me later in ways I can't just pinpoint yet without hindsight. I also have a lot of experience and help I can share with younger people and beginners. I'm a great art teacher. -I'm happy that I can't help being creative. So much people trail off into things they don't like, and realize later that they're utterly miserable. It's harsh, but not having the strength to pursue something you don't like is kind of a blessing. You avoid so much shit on your life path. it's not a life worth living. I've seen people with good paying careers give them up to get fully into a passion. -It's okay to draw a bush kissing a cat, who fucking cares what you do on your free time, the cops? It's ok to enjoy cute and silly things even when everything gets serious- especially when everything get serious. So much of us get our inner child crushed it's terribly sad. -The silliness is serious actually. You can get a powerful life lesson from deep books about philosophy and self-care and shit, but they're not rare everywhere else. The silliest movie, comic or fanfic can have a line or a character that will resonate enough with you to change your life. Like a tiny little piece that was missing in your personnal puzzle. I felt deeply moved by some comics online, so my own comics online 100% have the same value. What are "serious" media but hobbyists getting their art to a bigger professional scale. We're all telling stories around campfires and there's nothing stupid, shameful or weak about that. Egyptian gods were dramatic furries ffs.

I'm eternally stuck between "Yeah follow your heart and do art" and "It will lead you to hell though" because I feel like both are true. But do you really have a choice? What are the other options? I personally don't, so I just pick up the pen for a hobby, and started applying to ceramic courses for a career change. We'll see where it goes.

Well that was a lot, but I have some serious anxiety issues that make me over-explain stuff, and I'm talkative, and I'm on my period. Enjoy.

[noxiatoxia]

Beta Sprites in Danganronpa File Folder Merch

So, yes, I finally got all my Danganronpa file folders scanned!

To bring everyone up to speed, some time ago, I was browsing Dangan merch in hopes to find any with beta sprites, when I came across this on the Danganronpa Wiki:

Despite its low quality, I could tell already that both Mioda and Pekoyama's sprites were...not quite right. As such, I went online to hunt down this and other similar folders to buy. Luckily, they're not super rare, and I was able to get a bundle including this and the other major one I was looking atーplus several othersーfor only ¥2500 (roughly $17 USD).

I got them a while back and just have been...really bad about scanning them XD but I finally got them professionally scanned! Here is the HD scan:

Besides just being cute, there is a lot to talk about here in regards to beta sprites.

First, though, I open with bad news: the Hinata sprite used is not a beta sprite, which really bums me out. The good news is, every other sprite is! And some I've only ever seen on this one folder!

Let's start with the most glaringly obvious one.

Not having the white sparkle in her eye is a massive tip-off to this not being the same sprite. But of course, that's not the only difference; Mioda's entire face was reworked including her mouth, chin, right eye, and nose. As well, her left eye was moved more to the center of her face.

Minor changed can also be observed, such as the detailing in her ear, her hand, her neck, and the folds on her clothes.

This is not the only time this Mioda sprite can be seen. It is used in the other file folder I'll cover, but more notably, is accidentally used in UTDP as one of her cards:

Now, truth be told, if it was just this Mioda sprite being the only beta, I probably wouldn't have bought it (oh, who am I kidding, I still would have...) because at this point in time, I already knew of her UTDP card. But what really interested me was Pekoyama's, as I had never seen a beta of that sprite before...

Now to finally have the folder in question and able to do a proper comparison, it's more different than I could have ever imagined!

Pekoyama's whole face was changed, which seems to be a bit of a running theme with a lot of Pekoyama's beta sprites. Her face used to be much wider, and in this particular sprite, her expression much more angry. Her hair was not fully detailed yet as you can tell from the lack of some line art. Her ear was also redone. As well, her bangs changed a lot. It's hard to tell with both Saionji and the palm tree blocking it, but it seems her hand was much less detailed as well.

I'm actually very in love with this beta sprite, and would love to recreate an HD version of it sometime.

In time since, I have found one other place this beta sprite can be found...albeit in much worse quality and the non-blushing version. Would you believe me if I told you it was from the game's Taiwanese manual?

Buuuut that's for another post. Don't worry, I'm already in the middle of writing it up.

For Saionji, I decided to try and help the comparison a bit by using some color-changing-magic since her changes are so small they're easy to miss. Sadly, Saionji betas are about as rare as Hinata ones. But this one I don't think I've ever seen outside of this folder! So, that's cool.

Anyways, back to the sprite. So, here are the smaller changes: it seems the bottom of both of Saionji's ears were increased a bit in volume. More noticeable is her hand; they added the wrist joint and erased some line art to her fingers. Below her hand, it looks like they increased with width of her Kimono sleeveーspecifically, the orange outside layer.

Elsewise, I don't see many other differences.

This Sonia sprite is one we've seen briefly in the original PSP version when it comes to the consent sprites. However, there, it was tightly cropped, not letting us see much outside her face. Here, we get a better look: many changes were made to her hair, from the strands that go down her shoulders to the bangs and the braid. The hair in the back is less wide in the final sprite (which I tried my best to highlight underneath since just layering the image would make it hard to distinguish).

Many folder in her clothes were redrawn, including the cuff on her right arm. Speaking of arms, her elbow was made less sharp and more anatomically correct.

I also find it interesting to spot an error in the bow's coloring. At first, I thought the beta sprite simply had three big dots clustered together instead of two. But looking closer, it looks like some of the coloring for her hair accidentally got overlayed onto the bow!

You can see the white dot just underneath the cloud of bright gold.

What's also interesting is this "cloud of gold" seems to follow the formation of Sonia's hair halo. Overlaying the beta's bow to the final sprite's hair...

The trajectory matches! Which makes me wonder why the hair halo is appearing on the bow but not Sonia's hair in the beta sprite. I imagine the hair's coloring must have been on a higher layer than the lighting. So the layer situation might have been:

Layer 1: Hair

Layer 2: Lighting

Layer 3: Bow

When in fact, Layer 2 was supposed to be moved above Layer 1... That's what makes sense to me, at least.

As for Nanami, she has some very minor but noticeable changes. Specifically, her mouth was redrawn, and they hadn't quite sharpened the line art for her bangs yet. The two stray hairs curled by her throat were also touched up on come the final sprite.

Also, she seems to have a stray, very long eyelash on her left eye XD. Thankfully, this was fixed.

Nanami is also another example of a character who has their exact beta sprite being reused for UTDP.

Moving on...

I'm always entertained by how wonky Tsumiki's betas often look XD. For this one, her eyes got entirely realigned. When I first looked at Tsumiki's sprite here, I could tell it was off but I wasn't quite sure how. It seems the eyes are pretty different! Not only that, but her hand was made a lot smaller, including her pointer finger, while adding the wrist joint. Some folds in her clothes were redone on both shoulders, and it appears the line art for her right arm nook was decreased in length.

The only other place I know of this sprite appearing is a one-off merch line that is much harder to come by, so I'm glad we have this folder to give us a better idea.

Finally, we're down to Owari and Koizumi. Both these betas only appear on this specific folder as far as I know, which is super neat!

Don't let the stark color contrast disorient youーthere's quite a few small changes happening here.

For one, Koizumi's left eye has the bottom eyelashes fixed, whereas before they seemed to be crooked and oddly numbered. Hair wise, we can see one of the blades of hair near the tip of her left eye was sharpened instead of being left blunt. The line art in general for her hair was sharpened and extended.

Something interesting to note is that Dangan sprites will often fix the line art layer but not the color or shading layer to match the new line art. The shading will be in compliance with the old line art that was erased. With this in mind, I can't help but wonder what Koizumi's hair was supposed to look like. Look at the shading for her bangs; it looks completely wild! What the heck did the line art look like before...?

Moving on though, we can see that the folds in her clothes were largely changed, as well, seam lines were added. It also appears her tie was extended horizontally by her chest.

Finally is Owari, who I also tried to edit the colors on to make the comparison a bit easier.

A lot has changed here in ways I wouldn't have expected. Usually, clothes are largely left alone save some minor details, but it seems every major fold in Owari's clothes were redrawn, including the buttons. Her left hand was given a bit more detail, as was her neck. Sweat was added to her neck and to her breasts also.

As for her face, most notably, it seems her mouth is one solid color! Instead of a tongue and back mouth, only the color of her tongue was used to color in her mouth, which is rather odd. Otherwise, her eyes were changed ever so slightly to be less narrow and her ear was redone as well.

Also quite interesting is the fact her hair was considerably shrunk; the beta sprite has much larger hair off to the side and her ahoge was significantly decreased. Funnily, you can still see the shading from where the ahoge used to be placed on the final sprite.

As said, shading usually doesn't get updated with the line art for whatever reason.

...And that's it! Whew! What an amazing treasure trove of beta sprites in just one piece of merch. I have one more file to analyze, so I'll be back pretty soon. Once I upload that, I'll upload all these scansーas well as the scans for the regular folders that just have generic (but pretty) splash artーonto my site for all to view in HD!

Before I go, I also want to share the back of this folder because it's just as cute:

[shiinayumi]

This is actually a good point that indigenous people have already gone over a lot in discussions about colonization and tribal affairs! In short the phrase is used for indigenous people with landback and getting our own homelands back but lets explore it a bit. (Note this will largely be rough as I dont do my best work unpaid)

Really think the "own homeland" part. A large area (such as North America) is home to many tribes territories. The small area where a tribe is is their homeland. For instance, the Cherokee are largely the Appalachain mountains, so that is their indigenous homeland. If they attack another tribes area, one could call it colonizing (not really but more on that in a minute). I am talking about a specific area, not a whole land mass.

As for the colonizing part, largely tribal attacks aren't with the intent to create a colony for a home force. They're expanding territory, but its connected to the land they already have. Its sounds like semantics but its not and is an important distinction.

Also never said people cant oppress other people on their own homeland, they can. I said colonize which is why I made that distinction above. Oppression and colonization while can have overlap are still different things. Like the Aztec are a good example of taking over what is objectively their own people without it being colonization in how its defined.

If we're going to talk about the Americo Liberians we have to talk about how and why what happened. They themselves as people wouldnt be considered settlers or colonizers, however the reason they were scent to Liberia was by and for a separate colonizing force namely the American Colonization Society, with the goal of removing Freed Black people from the US but with also expanding US territory. The colonizers in this case are the ACS and the US as a whole. Whereas the Americo Liberians were a native cugdle in hopes it would work better.

This has historic precedent in many cases one such example was the Birtish using other Celtic groups as plants in Ireland with the goal of when they gave the signal they'd rise up for the British overlords and take over the Irish. The vast majority said fuck off and so the plan failed.

Anyway this is all to say yea the answer is definitely longer than the phrase of "you cant colonize your own homeland" but frankly I didnt feel like typing this whole thing originally. I reminds me of the phrase "no one is illegal on stolen land" where most people kinda it but to really understand what its saying you have to do some digging.

Anyway if anyone wants to pay for the labor I have to put into this shit when learning how to know what are good sources are, and it's free and easy and so is Google here is my paypal and venmo

(Also forgot to add no shade i enjoy sharing stuff and engaging its just a bad audhd day so I probably come off bitchy when im not im sorry if I do 💀 also body pain)

That part was not in the Jose Martinez Cobo definition of indigenous peoples.

Ironically the reason it was add was to prevent indigenous people from achieving self determination.

“Most Israelis are colonizers”- Jews are a single ethnic group either we are all indigenous or we are all colonizers.

[demonslayedher]

Things that went through my head while watching this episode (in 2025!)

--This episode exists in this format because somebody at Ufotable probably said, "You know what this series needs more of? Tengen's legs."

--That being said, two things I don't really like that I'm gonna just put out there: 1. I don't like seeing how beefy Tanjiro is, and 2. Ufotable is really hit and miss with filler. This one, which is mostly filler, has parts that work for me and parts that I think would have worked better if they were reigned in a bit.

--Okay, to come straight out with the point they wanted to make at the end of this episode (and in just about every other trying-to-add-personality-to-the-mob filler bit in this season), the other Corp members know that they aren't capable of defeating Upper Moons, let alone Kibutsuji Muzan. However, they are filled with hope that people like the Hashira and Tanjiro can, and they will do their best to get stronger so that they can support them.

--...Okay.

--First off, I am fine taking that at face value. That is a valid point to make in a series like this. In the end, many of them will make good on their commitment to their shared goal by sacrificing themselves to save those who have the real capacity for accomplishing the goal. They are, as Tanjiro has so often reiterated, bound by each other's wills, and pushed forward by the wills of many people.

--Also, it is a shonen. I am not going to read into this saying that harsh training in a short period would have just tired them out before the big battle. They're fine. Each and every one of these Corp members has clawed their way here with determination, commitment, and enough strength to break my arm bones in one hand alone. I wholeheartedly accept the storytelling premise that they have all benefited from this grueling training and that they will all come out stronger because of it, even if that does not mean they will be of the same caliber as those with more Gotouge-given talent.

--But gosh, dang it, Ufotable, did you have to be so heavy-handed with it!??

--There were hints leading up to that "I know I can't do it, but I believe you guys can! And I'm gonna do my best to support you!" declaration at the end, but gee whiz, I wish it could have been handled with more grace.

--As for what I think worked in this filler, Tengen's outright disgust with Corp members talking about getting out of training. These guys are committed--just as much as anybody who was driven to the Corp for more than money or (within a secret organization) glory--but Tengen can only see the gap between their commitment and that of Hashira who have trained to the point of spitting blood. He cannot see beyond that gap. And that is why there is some satisfaction in the "I can't do this, but I'm going to get stronger to help you guys anyway" ending. Tengen needed some hope restored in them.

--This is something I really like about the Hashira Training Arc--it was, for both the Hashira and the regular Corp members, a chance to get to know each other better and care about each other, and feel united in a common goal. This, after it has been so commonplace for the Hashira to seem like an organization all their own, with the others all just dragging on their heels. Until very recently, it was easy to just complain about the poor quality of the other Corp members, because the Hashira cannot see beyond that gap. It is like the curse of knowledge--once you know something well, you often cannot remember what it was like to not know it, so this can make you impatient with people who haven't got it yet. It makes it easy to overestimate others. These other Corp members have been saviors to so many people, but all it takes is one demon to end all that. And the Hashira have seen that too many times, and it colors their view of these very powerful people who have all been doing their best.

--More on that in the following episode, which I think improves on this a bit more

--Because this episodes is basically fan service

--Because we all like seeing Tengen's legs, right

--Because we all like seeing Tanjiro just hanging out and having domestic time with the girlies, who finally have gotten to process their new life and what they all went through on Yoshiwara

--Not that they have bothered to remember Zenitsu and Inosuke's names, but I'm sure they served them tea too and made sure to thank them (whether or not Zenitsu has any idea what he did, who knows)

--But that being said, this probably the first time Tanjiro and Uzui have seen each other since that battle, and Tengen's assessment of him and how he has grown--both in what he says to Tanjiro right away and what he thinks to himself during the fanservice mock-battle on the mountain is so satisfying, both for Tengen himself and for everyone who has been rooting Tanjiro on. So happy for Tengen that he gets to feel that he has contributed to the future of the Corp, despite his retirement.

--But, I love that flick of his eyepatch, dang, how satisfying

--Though it feels like Tengen does have a part of him who wishes to still be fighting (especially when he appears to find these Corp members unreliable and says how he'll look bad (to his former peers) if he sends them in such poor condition), Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma are all loving this new peaceful life and I am so happy for them.

--Now, having seen this in Toho Cinema with the short bit of them having bad movie-going etiquette because they just don't know any better, I looooove the idea of them all going out and doing things like going to the cinema for the first time. But, seeing as they were all essentially raised in a cult, they just don't understand some normal society stuff. Sure, they could work their way around the nighttime society of Yoshiwara because it was work and being ninja means infiltrating in order to spy, but even in their hobbies like going to hidden onsen and even in their chosen location for this training, they are still isolated from society, because that is what they know. I would looooove to see them be like, "Hey, have you heard of these things called 'caa-fei'? Tengen-sama, let's go to a 'caa-fei.' How do we dress for those? Do we need to wear Western-style dresses? Tengen-sama, how do we get those? Oh! Oh!! We can try that thing!! In those big buildings! Sho... that's right! 'Shopping spree!'" (Tengen probably knows how to handle large amounts of money and Hinatsuru can handle small purchases like groceries and supplies, but I'll bet Makio and Suma have no money-related sense because they just haven't needed to deal with it.)

--Okay now as for the other filler I think is working here

--It is a little heavy-handed, yes, but I do enjoy the scene with the two Corp members on patrol. Yes, it is a lot of exposition, but at least they just get to be normal dudes about it expressing what is normal to them. Corp life is normal to them now, they hate and fear demons and it gets pretty routine but they do take their work seriously. And like, if the Kamaboko boys get to be goofballs, these guys deserve to be goofballs too.

--And, frankly, letting them be goofballs is the best way for us to bond with them.

[doingnotsogoodalso]

thunderbolts wing thoughts under tha cut because it's actually long.

Now you might be thinking (as in I am always thinking) there are so many guns all the time so much concrete and glass and dangerous materials for such delicate limbs to be out. Which is why I'm implementing the common sense rule of keep-it-in-your-fuck-ing-costume(and-stop-wearing-just-hoodies-yelena) or KIIYFIC. When applicable.

The bird of prey wings I give super soldiers (Bradley with epic hawk wings dot png he deserves them) and supers of that general type are often too large proportional to their lame human bodies to fit comfortably. Maybe an in world point for Why The Shield? Wing Shields!

It's fun to draw big wings shielding people you understand.

What does this mean for the taco shield literally do not even worry about it. Don't worry about it.

Ava keeps her hummingbird wings proportionally small and easily foldable in her suit, easy! Do they phase also and need to be covered with torches or material? Why does her suit material turn invisible? I do not know and I'm not willing to watch AMatW after being burned by Quantumania.

Bucky I've seen be given metal wings in times of old but I'm kind of unwilling to fuck with the extent and implications of his disability and limb differences for funny bird when it's already so mishandled, so sorry James. So we're keeping the bat hawk wins because they're Metal in Style. Sleek and swag. Congratulations James.

Yelena also has smaller wings, they're also black and white and I personally think they would look great with her outfits. Monotone as they are. Does she disguise her wings for operations don't know she doesn't change her hair. The red room isn't crazy about disguises. Maybe because they're so good you'd never get a profile on them ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Alexei I don't like you but I think that your Black Widow Ohio Look is the funniest thing and I think this random Dahmer-looking suburban guy should have giant fuck off wings.

I'm attached to pigeon Bob now thank you commenter. I hope he leaves dust all over everything all the time. I hope someone startles him and it's the loudest thing in the world (pigeons have a 'noise feather'). Godspeed.

John I'm putting in a blender. I think he's just as awful with regulating with his wings as he is everything else like a giant emotional banner that's knocking over furniture and probably Bob. Ruffled feathers. Why are you posturing in the kitchen you're fine. You're hitting the ceiling.

Did super soldiers have different wings before if they're so personal in choice? Yeah Probably but I don't know how that'd work and I'm unwilling to figure it out right now. Steve Rogers grew new bones and muscles in like ten minutes they'll be fine.

[radicaldreemurrs]

just found your blog from that stupid twitter post: im incredibly sorry people are being mean to you. i feel like theres some sort of disconnect in how people view online discussions: if people dont like your tone they can be rude back, even though youre talking to yourself on your own blog and theyre coming in to harass you. maybe due to people forgetting that a tumblr 'blog' is supposed to be a journal of sorts. i hope you dont feel the need to temper your own expression for others. you arent giving a lecture.

anyway: i read through much of your posts describing your interpretation of the story. theres many things i could say but i dont find most of them relevant. people could stand here poking holes in each others arguments with facts and logic for hours and it wouldnt accomplish much of anything (especially since this argument stakes more on thematic preference and gut instincts than anything else at this point). where we are in the story any sort of read will have holes because we have half the story. people can try and 'get you' by asking how you justify the soul reading noelles thoughts or whatever, but its mostly to make themselves feel better that theyd sweat if someone asked them how theyd justify whatever else holes there certainly are in their takes. its easy to be insecure when your work will always be unfinished because youre working with paint that still has years to dry, i guess.

i find your read on the game completely fascinating and its making me consider facets i havent before. i think it provides incredibly nuanced reads of kris noelle and ralsei that people should look into whether or not they 'believe' you as i thnik theyre relevant anyways. the way i see it, honestly, is that the idea that the game about dissociation is true no matter how you look at it. in this interpretation, that is literal while the player commentary is a metaphor to service that. while in a standard read, the player commentary is literal while the dissociation aspect still exists as an allegory. they work in tandem and so i think people would find a lot in reading your work. that would make the game more complicated, of course, which i suppose is what people are afraid of.

theres really no point in people getting mad over your opinions differing from theirs seeing at the POINT of art is to interpret it in a way that is personal and meaningful to you. as someone with different life experiences, i cant fully agree with you, but i wouldnt be surprised if by the end of the game you were right on the money. who knows exactly where tobys working from after all. not to mention how undertale pulled the same trick with making you think flowey has meta awareness before rugpulling.

i hope you have a day that is not ruined by whatever obnoxious people are certainly currently in your askbox with me.

this was a very nice thing to receive today.... thank you very much for saying so. that's all i can ever hope for when i pose my own ideas, that it'll help people consider alternate perspectives and come up with interpretations of their own that relate to their experiences too, i always just wanna open up discussion and get new angles going. and yeah you're right, people could just try to keep poking holes in my argument thinking they're pulling some absolute gotcha but unfortunately for them i'm an adult human being with better things to do, and i don't owe my time to anyone who doesn't care to understand my experiences. i know this well by now, trust me.

and don't worry, i'm very stubborn. it would take a lot for me to change my temperament just cause some dickheads online didn't like the way i expressed my points. if it were that easy, i wouldn't be where i am now, heheh. i hope you have a good day too, this was very thoughtful of you to express.

[wardenbloom]

Zayne: Within Grasp (Part 4)

Reader x Zayne

Self-aware; ongoing series (Here's the link to chapter one if you haven't started it yet!)

Part 4: Landing a job is easy if you're handsome

"Are you ready for the presentation later?" Your co-worker, Missy, asked.

You sighed and typed in the finishing touches of your powerpoint presentation, adding more designs and layout.

"I do not understand why I have to present this. Can't they wait?" You frowned and stared at your screen. "The last time I checked, I am not in a managerial position."

"Haha!" Missy laughed and gently patted your back. "He's still on leave and the presentation can't be delayed as per the management." She shrugged. "Who knows, you might get the promotion if you pull it off." She winked then went back to her desk.

I honestly just want to go home. I wonder how Zayne is faring with his job hunt... I told him not to push himself too much since he's still adjusting in this world...

"Now eyes up." The gay make up artist instructed Zayne while he applied a thin layer of foundation on his face and he followed as other people tended to his hands, wardrobe, and hair.

Zayne found himself being recruited (on commission basis) by a start up company that needed a model for their product. He mumbled to himself as if memorizing various words or lines.

After his make over, the employees crowded around him.

"Woah... you did well with his make up..." The photographer said while he changed the lens of his camera. Beside him was the videographer who adjusted the angle of the camera.

"I didn't do much to his face, though." The makeup artist said while cleaning up his area. "His face has a good structure... Like it was manually sculpted by god himself!!" He exaggerated.

"Thank you..." Zayne said and nodded.

Around him was a photo studio with complete equipment and he was asked to do various poses while the employees watched in awe. The shutter of the cameras are not new to him, after all, way back in Linkon City, he gets a lot of appearances on TVs, informative videos and the like.

Meanwhile, you started presenting the report from last month. In front of you were your superiors who asked questions on the Return of Investment regarding the marketing strategy you pitched to them and got approved.

"Yes sir, I understand." You smiled. "You see, here, the trend tends to go higher, albeit slow, the sales will definitely exceed if we continue on promoting this way."

"Further, compared to other marketing platforms, the ads on this..."

You continued on answering their queries and presenting the rest of the report. After an hour, they mentioned their expectations for the next quarter and finally let you off.

They better raise my damn salary at this point. I was not supposed to do that.

You took a deep breath and sat on your office chair and sighed loudly.

"I HEARD YOU DID A GOOD JOB!!" Missy happily sat beside you.

"I should. After all, I'm doing all the work our boss should've done." You sighed again. "At this point, I should get his salary too... Scheduling a leave at the start of the month... despicable!" You frowned.

"Haha, I'm sure they're still on a honeymoon phase since he just got married the other week." Missy tried to cheer you up and be a voice of reason. "Anyway, you should email him to remind him about what happened and also ask him to treat you out for an expensive lunch when he gets back."

"Right... I should do that..." You forced a smile and Missy went back to his work station.

After being beaten up with workload, you decided clean your cubicle and go home on time. You opened your phone and checked if there's any messages from Zayne.

Zayne

"What time are you going home tonight?"

Sent by: Zayne

"I'm actually packing up right now."

Sent by: You

"I see"

Sent by: Zayne

"You're going home early too?"

Sent by: You

"I think so, yes. I'll see you at home."

Sent by: Zayne

You heart felt giddy upon sending him a text. It used to be automated chats and scheduled calls and posts from the game but now... It is real. You can't help but smile and be excited to get home to see him.

Ding!!

The elevator rang and you made your way inside it and upon reaching the ground floor, you noticed an unusual amount of murmurs and gossips around you.

"Oh wow I think he's a model!" A woman said to her friend while looking at the reception table.

"You should've asked for his photo..." The other replied.

Curious, you looked at the direction where people were staring and saw Zayne talking to the receptionist. Your heart skipped a beat while looking at him. The man who once was out of your reach is actually here with you now, breathing and alive.

You slowly approached him and you can't help but noticed that he looks more handsome than usual!

"Zayne! What are you doing here?" You asked. He glanced at you for a bit then looked back at the reception. "It looks like she's here now. Thank you."

He finally looked at you again and smiled. "I was hoping to surprise you today. He held his hand out to you, gesturing to hand him your bag.

"Oh! Well, you have surprised me, doctor Zayne." You casually replied to hide the fact that your heart is pounding since the moment you saw him earlier and handed him you bag.

He gently hung it on his shoulder and with his free hand, opened his palm and you held his hand.

"Did something happen? You look more handsome than usual... and your hair... it's pushed back..." You asked while looking up at him as the two of you walked along the city streets.

The sky slowly became darker, indicating night time, and the streetlights were lit. Suddenly, you noticed that his face was more... happy than you usually see in game.

He looks happier for some reason... did he land a good job today?

"Let's just say that I made a bit of money on commission today." He replied.

"On commission?" You tilted your head. "I see. Commission-based jobs usually do not require or need identification, just your output."

He nodded.

"Your make up looks good on you." You grinned. "Did you land a modelling job

"Yes." He smiled. "They were nice people too. I told them I didn't have much money but they still took care of me, even fed me before we did the shooting."

That's nice... At least his first employer is a good person.

"I'm happy for you, Zayne. That's great." You childishly smiled and he gazed at you.

You're always happy for other people... You never changed in every universe.

He thought and squeezed your hand.

"Thank you." He replied. "Do you want to eat outside or at home? I'll cook for you." He asked and you shook your head.

"Let's just eat at home. I'll cook for you to celebrate your first salary!" You happily said.

"Shouldn't we spend my first salary for the celebration?" He chuckled.

"No! You should save that first so you could land a job with stable income! Then your first salary from your stable income work would be our celebration funds." You explained and hugged his arm.

"I see. Alright, let's go home."

Once you reached home, you rushed to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients for tonight's celebration while Zayne placed your bag in your room then washed his face. After, he joined you in the kitchen and helped you in cooking. You had him wear a frilly pink apron while you wore an apron with duck prints. You giggled while tying the ribbon behind Zayne's apron and he let you.

After cooking dumplings, fried chicken, stir-fry beef, and rice, he placed down the dishes on the table then you two started eating.

"What kind of product did you promote anyway?" You asked while munching on the fried chicken.

Oohhhh this is good!!

"Its a secret. I signed a contract." He replied.

"Oh. I see. It must be something top secret or something." You giggled.

You then talked about your day and he listened intently. Nodding when you said you felt happy about today's reports and how you handled the question from your superiors.

"You did well." He replied and patted your head. "I'm proud of you."

He said those words gently and it brought you comfort. After a week of stress from the corporate pressure, you felt at ease while you were with him.

A week after, you sat on the couch and opened the television to watch the news. Zayne was still out job hunting so you decided to just stay at home and maybe catch up with what was happening in the world.

Commercial came up and you noticed that it was a commercial that you've never seen before.

Oh? A new commercial?

You thought as you watched. It was a story of a salary man who's been going to work everyday --

WAIT???!! IS THAT?? IS THAT ZAYNE!??!?!

Your eyes widened as you saw him in the commercial. Continuing, it was about a salary man who's been going to work everyday. He found a feral stray cat who's been living under his porch. Everyday, he places cat food for it until the stray cat became familiar with him, enough for him to give it cat treats. Eventually, he adopted the cat and the cat became healthy and fat.

Eventually, the cat went blind and Zayne became older but the cat, even though he was blind, he could still smell the trusty cat food Zayne's been feeding it ever since.

It was a cat food commercial.

You found yourself tearing up with how the commercial narrated the relationship between an owner and a pet.

Zayne suddenly arrived home, finding you in tears after you watched the commercial he starred in.

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME IT WAS A HEARTFELT COMMERCIAL!! I THOUGHT THEY JUST TOOK PHOTOS HUHU" You wiped your tears with a towel.

"Oh, did they broadcast it already? It was a nice commercial. The cat was friendly too." Zayne smiled then showed you a plastic bag with take out food. "Let's eat."

<< Chapter 3

>> Chapter 5

[sirensoul-min]

Hello! I would like to ask how pjms feel about the possibility of a new JM project with JK, music-related or otherwise. I wasn't in the fandom space during AYS?! to see the reaction, so I would like to know how the fandom deals with this. Because from what I've seen, JK's fans are already saying they won't support it, some even say they'll stop being his fans because of it. In my opinion, pjms are smarter and have an unconditional love for JM. Personally, I support everything that makes Jimin happy. He always gets very involved in all his projects, which gives me even more satisfaction to show my support.

subunits have happened before and is always a possibility within BTS. this topic was even mentioned during the minimoni album exchange, so it shouldn't really surprise us if it happens more often now.

jimin has already collaborated with jk on a few projects: their feature on lauv's song Who, song covers—which were more like gifts rather than for commercial success—and their latest, AYS?! i have supported jimin throughout these; both when i was still part of the army fandom, and during AYS?! when i had stepped away and was not jk's biggest fan (and i still am not).

AYS?! isn't perfect, but seeing jimin relaxing before MS was enough for me. now, judging by the sightings, it's almost confirmed that both of them are back at it with AYS and might even drop a theme song for the show. it doesn't surprise me. they both enjoyed the show and have already said they want more seasons, so it makes sense.

what i'm skeptical about is a potential song collab between them (outside of AYS?!) so soon, because although it's always a possibility, what we are getting so far are rumours without basis. for all we know jk probably doesn't need additional song, especially one with jimin, because his new ones are likely already written and ready to be sung, courtesy of the company. anything that jk would want to do would have to be approved by bang pd and scooter before it could come into fruition, so good luck with that. we're also clueless if jimin plans on making a single with jk in the near future.

regardless, if any of this turns out to be true, will i support them for jimin? yes.

jimin working with jk or other members doesn't completely repulse me because my appreciation for jimin outweighs any negative feeling i have for the others and their fans. jimin has a great bond with the members, and in no way will i and can i control that. i know my boundaries as a fan.

yes, jimin's solo works are my top priority, but i will always show up for his side projects/collabs. the difference would only be the level of support and energy that i'll give out depending on the project and on how much i think it would benefit him. (having reservations isn't always bad.)

obviously, i cannot speak for all pjms/jiminettes, but i trust that many of us are mature enough, in touch with reality, and would focus on our love for jimin. constructive criticism is okay, but straight-up hating and acting like a goddamn dictator is not.

i couldn't fully blame fans if they might prefer to protect their peace and would only wait for jimin's solo works. i get where they're coming from given all the challenges we've faced and could face again. however, i hope that they could at least reconsider or give any collabs a chance. it's not easy, but we can always support jimin without getting too caught up in any drama.

remember that ultimately, it's up to jimin. if he's happy doing something, who are we to get in the way? after all, when making a decision, he's probably focusing more on how it could make his fans happy and not the negative effects.

and if jjks won't support, that's on them—that's indicative of how far their support for their fave could go. many of them are unbearably shallow and hateful towards their own fave, so...🤷🏻‍♀️.

anyway, nothing is official yet, so let's contemplate and weigh things in the meantime. let's try to ease into the possibilities.

PS. i also touched on this topic (but about the group comeback) in this post. feel free to check it out. 👇

[sysig]

Enecomimi Banzaiiii (Patreon)

[starry-sophrosyne]

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In every universe. “It’s always you, isn’t it?”

Her voice is thick with a fading resistance, more tired than it is accepting. Accepting of her fate.

“Always us,” he corrects, without a hint of anger. It’s a reminder of their fate, just as cruel to him as it is her. “Always me and you.”

“Never them.” She finishes.

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