#and I’m goth so I treat alt characters well

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Okay so like I’m trying to do my YA designs for my MRU but I have to ask one question before I Do Billy’s

[nitewrighter]

I’ve been lurking around your blog trying to find all the Cinderella posts, but it’s been difficult bc I’m on mobile and for some reason I can’t see “common tags” on ANY blog when you click the “search in blog” function, so I don’t even know if the Cinderella story HAS a tag but. I just wanna talk about how much I love it for a second?

Your narration style genuinely feels like YOU are the narrator, and we’re sitting in the lounge or study of a lovely cabin mansion in the woods and I’m a fourteen year old who’s begged a story off of my favorite older cousin, who’s fun and doesn’t give a shit and cares more about the story than the Way they’re telling it. It makes it more fun and casual and I think it harkens more to the way oral fairy tales would’ve been told back when they were more often oral rather than written. And in the same vein you reflect modern times in how you tell it, along with the humour while (as another ask pointed out) retaining the feel and time of the story. It’s actually facinating and makes it SO MUCH fun to read.

And I love the takes you have on the story that make the characters both recognisable but also unique and different enough to be interesting, and also fills in a lot of plot holes people lovingly look over in the og stories. And also how you characterised the fairy godmother is so amazing sjdbdjdbd like she’s normally matronly, motherly, and mature and wise and dignified and this is more like “you’re the “loser” main character in an early 2010’s disney channel movie and you dress in soft colours and you’re sweet and your best friend is the emo/goth loner with a weird sense of humor, ripped shirts and lots of eyeliner whos rly only here for the people and it’s SO FUN. I love the vibe of her. It’s so different

In the vein of fairy tales using children as currency, I would happily give my first born child for you to continue this series, or if you’ve already started doing that, directing me to a tag or master post where I can read more. (I read the intro and the two parts linked on it. Idk If there’s more? Looking is Very Hard on mobile >:| ) thank you so mcu for writing

Oh gosh! This was so flattering to read! I mostly just tag it under Cinderella, I didn't really think to call it something like I had the "Fightin' Daphne AU" a couple years back... "Cool Rat Girl Cindy," maybe?

The Fairy Godmother as the Quirky Alt/Goth Best Friend in a Disney Channel Original movie... oh my god... I can see it.

Honestly what inspired my take on the Fairy Godmother was a Blindboy podcast I heard a couple years back where they had an Irish folklorist on the show, and at one point the folklorist says, "You know, honestly, I feel like leaving gifts for the fairies is like paying protection money to the mafia" and that kind of stuck with me. I'm Irish on my mom's side so I'm very into the concept of "Do Not Under Any Circumstances Fuck With The Good People Under the Hills" so I thought it would be fun to have a fairy godmother who's like, a fairy godmother, but I also like scrappy characters so the concept of a Fairy Godmother who's kind of flying by the seat of her pants was appealing as well. I think like... one of the thing that makes Cinderella a hard tale for people to get through--certainly what makes it a hard tale for me to get through--is how you get so pissed off at how Cinderella is treated, the injustice of it all. Like in a lot of film adaptations, stretching it out often leaves you with like... 75% of the movie being Cinderella being treated like shit. I kind of liked the idea of the Fairy Godmother kind of having all that anger and spite that we, the audience, have on Cinderella's behalf. And there was also this one post about people on the east coast being "Kind but not nice" and I really loved that concept so that went into my Fairy Godmother as well.

[smilepal]

a nightmare on elm street: top 5 fav songs rn?the texas chainsaw massacre: what’s ur favorite food?

halloween: what’s ur favorite holiday?

the evil dead: do u have any weird/obscure interests?

final destination: what’s something everyone else hates, but u love?

Author ask for@faepunkprince 💖

A Nightmare on Elm Street: Top 5 fav songs rn?

Mm right now my favorites are Who you Talkin' To Man by Nostalghia, Saints and Liars by Gary Numan, Circus Minimus by JVZEL, Mad Visions by Royal Blood, and Therefore I Am by Billie Eilish--kind of a weird mix but honestly, it fits right now. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: What's your favorite food?

Aaaa this is really hard to answer! I have a ton of them 😅 One I find myself craving a lot though is Thai curry. There's this restaurant near me that does an red curry with chicken and mixed vegetables and it's absolutely amazing. The portions are also h u g e and it's really cheap. They also have great eggrolls and very strong/delicious thai coffee. Really, how can you go wrong with that? Halloween: What's your favorite holiday?

Well, definitely Halloween. It's always been one of my absolute favorites. An excuse to dress up (and change your mind on your costume at least three different times) AND you get candy too? I see no downsides here. There's also just all the fun stuff that goes along with it--carving pumpkins, haunted houses and scary movies. I miss getting dressed up with friends and going trick or treating but now I just go buy a bag of candy for myself and have a horror movie marathon/maybe order some takeout. <3 Some years I go clubbing at the local goth/alt club instead and they usually have really cool costume contests so that's fun too. 🖤🖤

I also do really like Christmas. My family isn't really religious, but it's a chance to see a lot of them and do some amazing cooking together. We make pirogi from scratch every year, and there are always plenty of good cookies (and almond braid, and poppyseed bread). I think one of the most meaningful parts is the sharing of oplatek, a thin wafer. You break it and everyone exchanges pieces with everyone else in the room, and it's the opportunity to share words with everyone--ways they've made you proud, good wishes for them in the new year and just tell them you love them. It usually gets pretty emotional and maybe I'll make it through someday without crying at least once. Probably not though 😉 The Evil Dead: Do you have any weird/obscure interests?

Well, I mentioned my love for Medieval manuscripts in an earlier post but I also have a soft spot for old botanical illustrations, or medical texts. They both make really good art references, and honestly are just really fun to look at <3 I'm also really into typography/typefaces--both from a design and a history perspective. It's so cool to be able to look at how characters evolved and shifted from one thing to another--sometimes very gradually, especially when you start comparing it to all the other cultural/technological changes <3 Oh man, do not get me started--I will go on about history stuff. Final Destination: What’s something everyone else hates, but you love?

Okay, this is kinda weird but cleaning/organizing stuff. I'm a liiiitle bit type A and it's actually something I enjoy doing? I get to listen to good music, and it gives me something repetitive/time consuming to do, so I think it actually makes me less anxious? And you always feel really accomplished when you're done/everything looks really nice too <3 I used to love doing product displays/doing the pastry cases when I worked at a bakery, and there's that very visual/design aspect to it--and the organizational one too.

Thanks for asking!! Was super fun (except for the whole 'accidentally deleting the entire thing the first time and having to re-write all of it' 😂)

[gritsandbrits]

Also Jora's abilities and the full extent of them because I barely talk about her powers

I got the idea from watching Mr. Anybody's videos on Gwen and Charmy :) So now would be a good time to talk about what Jora's elemental power can do.

Overview: Jora is my main OC for Ben 10. A nature Elemental, her powers encompasses natural decomposition, giving her the ability to make plants rot, control multiple species of fungi, and minor Chronokinesis. She is the only main member of Team 10 to be a full human with no alien connection or origins. This was done to give a character a different theme from Ben, Rook and Kevin (aliens) and Gwen (magic), as well as to enhance the context of a human character having powers based on the planet Earth and aspects of the natural world.

Capabilities

- Mushroom Generation: Her most basic power, she can grow mushrooms and fungi. However she can't grow them outright as the environment and soil has to be suitable for any shrooms to take place. She can use existing visible samples of spores and expand them for useful attacks.

- Spore Manipulation: Jo can increase or decrease the toxicity of fungal spores, spray them directly in front of enemies, or create thick, blinding clouds. She carries spores in special vials that she keeps on her person. As an adult she csn sense spores floating in the air around her.

- Poison Immunity: Jo is immune to even the deadliest of mycotoxins. Her knowledge of poisonous mushrooms allows her to create healing potions to treats those suffering from mold poisoning, and to decrease toxic mushrooms to be safe for eating if other foods are unavailable.

- Healing Shrooms: Jo can use mushrooms clinically and scientifically proven to be beneficial and makes special concoctions to heal ailments such as bruises or dehydration.

- Hallucination Inducement: Using the spores of magic mushrooms she can cause a person to hallucinate by spraying the spores on them. It's not a power she typically likes using as she dislikes mental manipulation.

- Rot Inducement: Jo's second major ability, she has the power to spoil organic materials. Her power extends to plants, wood, fruits, and natural fibers. She has trouble using this power on humans as it only leaves swelling & bruising, worse case nasty open wounds, and her own reservations of using this power in combat. She has to get into close contact with that object and touch it with the palms of her hands. She can't shut it off, leaving her to wear gloves all the time (however this only applies to her hands). On the flip side she can slow and even stop the rate of decay once in place, and she can reduce the intensity of her power (removing dead skin cells, perfect for a facial). Her decaying power is weak against metal, minerals, glass, plastic, certain types of fabric, and most synthetic materials.

- Super-Fermentation: A sub-skill, Jo is able to ferment organic materials into alcohol, penicillin, perfumes, etc. She uses her penicillin & alcohol as essentials in her health kit; and perfume for smoke bombs (and emergency deodorant). As an adult she gains the ability to manipulate fossil fuels

Acid Spit: She gains this ability in her adult years; pretty useful for quick escapes.

Weapons and Gadgets

- Pixie Dagger: A pair of short pink and turquoise blades that serves as her primary melee weapons

- Thorn Cutters: A collection of flower shaped throwing projectiles and her primary long-ranged weapons

- Harvest Moon Crown: A diadem adorned with flowers and fruits, this grants Jo limited plant and fruit generation. To charge the crown she must place it under the light of the full moon; it's also weakest during the day and on nights of a new moon.

- Amanita Staff: A long elegant wood and crystal staff modeled off of the Amanita mushroom and her secondary melee weapon.

- The Oculus Oyster: A black seashell embedded with a pearl holding mystery power really me not knowing what power to give it shaped like an eye.

- Swamp Witch's Wand: A magical wand given to her by an alien swamp witch as a token of friendship during the Galactic Monsters Arc.

- Mother Nature's Gift: One of the most holiest elemental items, this grants the user all access to elements and nature. For a temporary time. The trick is that the token works with someone of a genuinely good heart. Anyone who tries to use it for malicious intent well...you'd see why they say "Damn Mother Nature you scary." The token also tends to change its shape depending on its current wielder or time period.

- Communicator: A wrist watch that looks exactly like the OV Omnitrix but allows her to talk to her teammates, access to the Extranet, and store data. She also has all her costumes "downloaded" so she can change out of them easily instead of having to find a bathroom or hiding spot.

Costumes

I plan for Jo to have a total of ten costumes, with a main costume for each season based on the colors of the rainbow & styles

- Season One: Pink, the magical girl inspired Petal Pixie suit

- Season Two: Orange hazmat based on earlier designs

- Season Three: Yellow, a frilly Belle inspired dress called the Enchanterelle suit (pun on enchant & the chanterelle mushroom)

- Season Four: Green, Forest Ranger-esque suit

- Season Five: Blue, another Hazmat called the Cryohazard suit

- Season Six: Indigo, possibly goth because we need more gothic magical girls

- Season Seven: Violet; scifi inspired Galaxy suit

- Season Eight: White; her "Ultimate" form with a decidedly goddesslike aesthetic

- Alt. Costume 1: Her adult suit that she wears in the 10k timeline; it is mostly red

- Alt. Costume 2: Scarab Suit, powerful ancient warrior armor colored mostly black modeled after the scarab beetle

Other

- Jo is adept at hand to hand combat stemming from her unwilling to use her full power on people

- However she is not the fastest nor physically strongest, otherwise she has balanced stats

- Jora's tends to forget things so she often keeps a list; she does make up for it by her resourcefulness and quick learning

- She can combine her powers with the life-granting Phoenix to restore the natural cycle of life and death

- Jora may have been born with her powers bur they haven't manifested until she was six years old. This is what makes her unique to Ben & Gwen in the OS: they had to learn to use powers they weren't born with to fight, while Jo was born with hers and never had prior use for them in certain situations.

Ok I'm going to have to stop there since I kinda made this post too long! But let me know what y'all think of her powers! Is she overpowered? Underpowered? I didn't want to make her a Mary Sue too much 👀 but overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. :)

[thefudge]

any trash songs that are dear to you, dr. fudge? especially that go well with trashy ships hehe

sorry for replying eons later 

well, this question has the power to truly Expose™ me on the first day of Christmas, but… here goes nothing

i think ppl expect me to respond with something like “tear you apart” from she wants revenge, which is a great song! but i’m afraid i’m going to have to take you back to the ye olde days and show you what really embarrassing, early ‘00s trash sounded like. 

first, a few concessions: 

 trash by suede and poison by alice cooper are 80s/90s classics of the “you’re bad for me but i can’t help it” dynamic. but they’re too classy for this list. there’s not gonna be any Divine on this list, no 80s late-disco jams, no “west end girls” by pet shop boys, no britney doing “toxic” or “momma i’m in love with a criminal”, no christina aguilera wrestling in the mud while singing about being “dirty”, no baz luhrmann-esque “lady marmalade”. that’s all great. it’s just not this list.

 you also won’t find any my chemical romance, panic at the disco, evanescence, papa roach, marilyn manson etc. because they weren’t part of my trash experience. i mean they were there in the background, i was aware of them (and who hasn’t watched edits with “bring me to life”? don’t lie…)… and they’re kind of similar to what i have here, but they weren’t the trash i was particularly attuned to (plus, manson can choke).  

some other exclusions: i remember the original p&p edits back in 2005 had all of these “cuz there’s you and me and all other people” songs that were really wonderful, cheesy, shippy songs. but that’s…not this list (although that would make a great list too! remind me to do that one too!) 

i once got a message about how “mr. brightside” by the killers would make a great song for a bonkai edit, and…i like the killers just fine, and that’s a great song, but…no. this list ain’t that. 

the trash here is not trash on purpose, it’s not tongue-in-cheek, it’s not a “steamy hot mess”, it’s just…really bad and angsty and earnest and totally committed to the “no one understands me (but you)” vibe that a lot of early ‘00s trash ships fostered. 

okay…let’s…shame…me…: 

1. cold by crossfade - back in the late ‘00s, you couldn’t find an anime AMV that didn’t have this song in the background, ESPECIALLY if your male character was a murderous, brooding (secretly soft) boi who disdained the female sex because “feelings are weakness” or something. it was baaaad, but it’s a nostalgic fave.  the whole song is basically about how that arrogant, cold guy who’s shunned you and treated you badly was secretly into you all this time. yeaahhhh. (i remember this song was also popular with m/m ships because you had that classic dynamic where one of the guys was still in denial about his “gay” feelings. god i miss 2006.)

2. vermilion pt. 2 by slipknot - another 2005/2006 era song that capitalizes on the bad guy/good girl trope where she’s too “good” for the brooding antihero, but he can’t help but ruin her. or something. it’s soooo angsty. it has the great, eerie feeling of a doomed romance which was also definitely written by teenagers. i love it. 

3. i hate everything about you by three days grace - obviously, you can’t leave out the big dick energy song. 

4. anything by nine inch nails’ 2000-2010 period, but especially “fragile” and “we’re in this together now”, because they’re very much trashy power couple aesthetics, but also aaaaangsssst. “fragile” always cracks me up because it’s basically that one direction song about how the girl doesn’t know she’s beautiful, except it’s alternative rock and trent reznor is screaming about how he has to save this beautiful, pure soul from the corruption of the world. (for anyone expecting “closer”, that’s a great song…but i said real, embarrassing trash).

5. vampire heart by HIM - because OF COURSE. 2006 me was LIVING for Vampire Hunter D AMVs. that iconic line “love me like you love the sun” POETRY OKAY. another fave line has to be “you can’t escape the wrath of my heart”….like, whew, what a badass. 

6. hate me by blue october - AAAANGST. aaaaaaaaaangst. maybe the apogee of late ‘00s cheesy alternative rock. but probably not. there’s always one that goes harder. this list, unfortunately, is 90% this genre because they really SLAPPED when you put them together with trashy ships okayyyyy there was an innocence and earnestness that the ‘post-9/11 iraq invasion’ atmosphere really captured. 

7. let me go by 3 doors down - see, i was wrong, THIS is the apogee. “you love meeeee, but you don’t know who i aaaaaam” belts the lead singer of this oft-forgotten band aaaaand 15-year old me screamed yaaaaaaaaas

8. pieces by sum 41 - WRONG AGAIN. IT’S THIS ONE. the anime AMVs…my god….i can even tell you, beat by beat where the angsty edits happened depending on the breaks in the song.

9. sour girl by stone temple pilots -  “bad” boy waxing about how he’s ruined a good girl? check. super Extra lyrics that go “what would you do? what would you do if i followed you?” check. sarah michelle gellar/buffy being a dark goth muse for the tormented bad boy? triple check!!

10. hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me by U2 - i meaaaaaaan. it’s in the title. 10-year old me WAS LIVING. this is THE batman song, and if there’s a god, it will be featured in the upcoming robert pattinson movie. ppl wanna say this song is more of the “trash on purpose” variety, but i don’t think so. i think joel schumacher plays this dead straight (and “batman forever”, while being one of the cheesiest movies ever made, takes itself extremely serious). 

11. insatiable by darren hayes - finally breaking away from the alt rock scene a bit for this one. ppl who are now trying to make this song “respectable” and classify it as sweet 00s nostalgia are WRONG. everything about this song is convoluted and overly wrought and pitch perfect, even the fact that you would never believe that this waspy blond dude in the music video has anything to do with the actual song.  

12. behind blue eyes by limp bizkit - don’t look at meeeee. this is basically a meme song. the band itself turned out to be dumpster fire and fred durst is…blehh. but this song stiiiiiill slaps, i have the courage to say it.  the video definitely helps, i mean u got that trashy dynamic of prisoner/guardian @___@ and halle berry @___@. half-naked fred durst kinda ruins it, but it’s still got its charm. 

13. i have to include some linkin’ park songs here at the end and i’m choosing the ones that were trashiest to me and that’s gotta be “one step closer” and “somewhere i belong”  because they were always juxtaposed with villain/heroine ships in edits, and i remember fanfic authors would use them in songfics. “in the end” and “numb” are waaaayyy too classy.

additional “kinda too good for this list” rec:  the entire Queen of the Damned soundtrack, but especially “slept so long”, “system” and “before i’m dead” and really ALL the songs.

this disaster list could definitely go on (i’m sure u guys can pitch in. and hey, i might be persuaded to do part 2) but imma stop here before i lose my last shred of credibility on this website lol. k byeeeeeee

[dejwritesarchived]

i have a pair of the regular doc martens and thought they were aesthetically pleasing but these are so cute!!! ☺️ i have 3 kinds of platform shoes i want and they are expensive so i’m currently trying to save and get a job or ask my parents for christmas or sell my arm and leg 😭 i love wearing alt and goth clothing and just black clothes in general so i am not giving up on those shoes! when you said the shoes or a winter jacket i actually felt that bc we always buy what we need and sometimes don’t get the chance to buy what we want!!!

i can make a list for each fandom i’m into when it comes to 2D men in anime i am actually down bad astronomically 💀

for naruto i am absolutely down bad for itachi, kakashi, minato, neji, hashirama and madara although naruto himself had some moments too 😌

for bnha i actually am a huge simp for midoriya, bakugo, aizawa, fatgum, kirishima, and every todoroki male except endeavor 💀

for jjk…. i have it bad for almost all the characters bc they are written well, have good personalities and are too fine and this includes yuji, nanami, sukuna, gojo, geto, and both fushiguros

for haikyu there are a lot of characters in general but the ones that stood out to me were kenma, kuroo, bokuto, iwaizumi, semi, ukai (the coach at karasuno not his dad💀), and a few others not mentioned

and for knb since i know that you like midorima ill add this one too! (those posts had me dying💀, also hes a cancer and you’re a pisces i believe so that makes you guys very compatible[i like astrology so i wanted to throw that in]) i like kagami, murasakibara, kuroko, kiyoshi, and a few others

i read the gangsta manga for a bit until i couldn’t find the other volumes but the men are *chefs kiss*

if there are any anime/manga you watched/read that i missed lmk!

(i am waiting for possible judgement since this probably screams a mess 😭😔😅)

-🌻

well i hope you do find a job during the winter break or/and your parents bless you with some money as a christmas gift. i think it's very important to treat yourself, no matter how expensive it is lol. me...i thought a telfar bag would make me happy...so i brought a telfar bag lol. it may have broke my pockets...but i was happy as hell when i got it.

but ma'am....i need a top 10 simp list...with all these anime in one giant bowl lol. break it to 10 ! i know it's going to be hard, but it'll be easy to tell your taste in anime men

[italicwatches]

Comic Girls - Episode 06

Aaaargh. Bureaucracy makes one’s life a living hell. But, phone calls made. Now I just have to…make more of them tomorrow. …Great. Just…Just great. Anyways how about that anime? It’s Comic Girls, episode 06! Here we GO!

-We begin with…A blood moon rising once again! Be careful, Kaos! Wait, am I even in the right show? …Yes. So Kaos is in the baths, when she has a newtype flash of insight about her manga. She has it! She…She…She just saw someone out there! Hanging from a noose?! KYAAAAAH

-So tiny Kaos screaming causes the others to come running, and they see Kaos as nude and tiny as the day she was born but also Koyume doesn’t see…Oh god.

-Oh god she’s coming! SHE’S REAL

-Opening! Complete with an intense mood whiplash from the legit horror.

-So Koyume and Kaos come out to look more thoroughly, and can’t find a damn thing…It was probably just a trick of the light. Better to write it off and just get some ice cream. Though Kaos is still pretty freaked out of possibly seeing an evil spirit.

-And then as they’re in the house, the sky turns red, and the Ringu ghost is upon them again! Kaos goes FULL PANIC and hides behind Koyume, as the terrifying ghost girl steps forward and Kaos ends up fleeing into Ruki’s room because A GHOST IS TRYING TO KILL HER! With all black hair in a white dress and you can’t see her face and AAAAAH

-Okay, okay, calm down, it was probably nothing…Wait where’s Koyume?

-Koyume screams! SHE’S BEEN CAUGHT BY THE GHOST

-Wait Koyume is friends with the ghost! THIS MIGHT BE EVEN WORSE!

-Actually know this is just the spooky goth Fuura-senpai. Fur Suzu, a horror specialist. Who has come back to the dorm to see her dear friends! And she is fascinated by little Kaos’s excellent screams. …Kaos is no less terrified now that she knows Suzu is made of meat. Especially when Suzu comments about her lovely long hair and how it’s said that long hair connotes spiritual strength, and oh the ghosts would love you, aaaand there’s our episode title. Suzu, I think you broke Kaos. Also, Koyume is way too into being snuggled by this spookily cold goth if it means relief from the summer heat. But then, Koyume’s middle name is “way too into”.

-New day! Kaos is trying to think in the stark light of morning, and figure out how to avoid Suzu. OH GOD SHE’S RIGHT THERE. Apparently Suzu actively likes to sneak up behind people when they’re using a mirror just to fuck with them.

-And later, she brings by cookies. In the shape of skulls and severed parts. Or later, she brings by a skeleton! And a mouth full of fake blood. Oh wait, I’m sorry, it’s a dessert treat made to look like fresh gory brain. That’s much less freaky.

-And she puts Kaos to work, posing her with Mr. Bones. Kaos wants off the ride, but Suzu is loving her screams and it’s making such good poses! Aaand then she passes out. Which is about when Ruki and Tsubasa come to the rescue, and Tsubasa has what I am certain are costume prayer beads bought at an anime convention, as she just babbles good sounding words and Suzu is kind of enjoying the idea of Tsubasa purifying and exorcising her.

-Tsubasa please quit turning the spooky goth more gay. You’re causing a ruckus.

-So while she has Suzu pinned, everyone get Kaos out of here! NOW! So eventually Kaos is sobbing into Ruki’s lap as they hide out in Ruki and Tsubasa’s room. But Suzu has taken a liking to Kaos’s screaming and panic. How can they fix this…Ruki, you had to deal with her when you were here, right?

-…Right. Even when sleeping. Or bathing. Or trying to hide. Suzu was always there, always on her like a problematic moral lesson in a slasher movie. She eventually ended up putting the horror of it into her dark romance miniseries The Stalker’s Wife, just to clear her head…But Kaos doesn’t even have the brain-juice to do that. She’s just cowering, terrified, in the corner. So there’s only one way to ditch Suzu…and it’s to make her feel bored. She’ll leave you alone once you’re no longer a fun toy.

-So as night falls, they barricade the door to Ruki and Tsubasa’s room, and prepare to make their grand last stand…The skies turn black, and then to red, as the blood moon rises once again. Furious red rain comes down, and scarlet lightning splits the sky, as Suzu comes seeking her prize! She bangs on the door, demanding her Kaos-chan…

-When a bolt of lightning strikes close enough for the thunder to be deafening, and Suzu panics, screaming as a woman possessed to let her in! She’s terrified of the thunder! Terrified and lonely…Lost without her own roommate, who got out of the game…So alone…So cold and alone…!

-The wind breaks the window, Suzu’s fingers pierce the rice-paper door, and basically everyone just starts screaming at each other. But some real earnestness comes out of Suzu, who knows she’s weird, knows people are afraid of her, and she’s so very alone because of it…

-And Kaos, suddenly feels a flash of empathy. She knows that fate all too well. She knows exactly what it is, as she slams open the door, standing before the crying Suzu…Who then promptly steals her away into darkness. Dammit Kaos, you’re too kindhearted.

-Also she notices how big Suzu’s chest is, and dammit Kaos, you’re too thirsty. But as the lights come on, and the wind clears Suzu’s hair out of her eyes, Kaos sees not a terrifying spooky goth, but an adorable goth-girl who she kind of wants to fuck. Well shit.

-New day! Kaos and Koyume are trying to get to know Suzu better and more calmly in the light of day…And Suzu is finding all this normalcy a bit overwhelming. While Ruki works, and reflects on how Kaos just seems to have a way to bring out the vulnerability in otherwise mature girls…Feeling like you have a rival? No, nooooo, nnno! Shut up. Uh uh. Sure thing. She’s just glad that Suzu has someone who gets her…

-SUDDENLY SUZU IN THE MIRROR

-Ruki screams.

-Episode 06: I’ll Go Shave All My Hair Off!

-Another new day. With another face. It’s…Ah haaaaa. The cosplayer from before, Miharu! Who’s not one of the editors, but their beautiful teacher lady! Her secret otaku life is still safe! And now she’s going to head out.

-Cut to the dorm, where Tsubasa got like zero sleep. She went up in the readership rankings, which is good, but also more pressure, and she doesn’t know what changed…And if she falls asleep in class, oh, it’ll be the worst.

-To school, where the girls run into their stern but beautiful Nijino-sensei and Kaos is letting her thirst overwhelm her nerves. …Dammit Kaos. She even drew a cute and beautiful teacher based on Nijino-sensei…Who hears them whispering about something, and did she hear her name? Oh god, they know her secret! They know she’s a secret otaku! Basement dwelling trash! A weirdo! A real freak! She hides, and tries to listen in…

-As the girls critique Kaos’s new character design and try to figure out how to give it that last little pop. You’re going for cute, but she needs a bit of that gap moe. A little splash of something different between how she presents herself and how she really is…Ruki’s mind goes to the erotic, like she’s super serious but secretly wears sexy lingerie! And Miharu hears that and just goes beet red. WHAT WERE YOU GIRLS TALING ABOUT???

-Okay, class. Calm down, Miharu. Just teach the girls like normal. Just teach your class. Just teach the girls and every…Tsubasa is already asleep. At least PRETEND to be here to learn! And so she hauls Tsubasa out into the hall, to ask why she’s so very tired…Of course, Miharu is suspecting it’s late night otaku behavior. And Tsubasa cannot, possibly, ever, admit that she’s drawing manga. Are you staying up late at night, Tsubasa? Um, well, er, you see…

-And finally, Koyume leaps out into the crossfire to try and save her senpai, and tries to take responsibility! Koyume you’re not even in this class.

-By lunchtime, Tsubasa’s trying to wake up with caffeinated drinks, and they’re trying to figure out a plan that doesn’t involve admitting that Tsubasa draws manga for a living. …Also Kaos please put your thirst away and focus. I swear to god getting this girl to function is like dragging a dog away from a boneyard, full of squirrels, that are made of bacon. The metaphor kind of got lost there.

-But Tsubasa has no options. Not least because Wing V must be kept secret. None can know that Wing V is just a high school girl who grew up reading Jump…Also everyone quietly realizes that Tsubasa actually still thinks that pen name sounds cool. Oh god she’s a dork. Look, at least stay awake through the next class, okay?

-And Tsubasa tries to stay awake…by…drawing instead of working or taking notes. Which Nijino-sensei finds! Oh god it’s all over! They’re doomed! They’re all going to be expelled or forced to quit their jobs or BOTH! And Nijino-sensei, at the end of class, doesn’t just take Tsubasa aside, but all the way out…to…the…roof?! This looks less like a scolding and more like a confession, Nijino-sensei. And out here, she wants to know, very seriously…

-Are you also a fan of The Dark Hero?! Wait what now. Miharu’s been a fan since the very first chapter! She’s a huge fan of Wing V’s work! And this…This is so good it almost looks official! …Yes. Fan. Fan of Wing V. Exactly. That’s it. What do you like about The Dark Hero, Nijino-sensei? It’s the art, and the story, and the cute protagonist! …Cute, not cool and badass?

-Yes, he’s like a spunky little brat, but he’s got such a good heart despite his acting out, she just wants to discipline him and clean him up into her own little handsome man! Wait you didn’t hear that. So Tsubasa had never considered this layer of appeal to her hero, but also Miharu asks if Tsubasa ever goes to fan events and stuff. Um, well, you see…

-And that’s when Kaos comes and runs out, and…Reveals that Tsubasa is…Is…!

-Oh shit I thought it would be like some fakeout. No she really just straight up revealed that Tsubasa IS Wing V! …Miharu doesn’t take it well. In fact, she rolls to disbelieve. She refuses to accept this possibility! But with no option left but the truth, Tsubasa reveals her manuscript she was working on just this morning…

-And Miharu is overwhelmed by its brilliance! To see the raw work of her favorite mangaka before her very eyes, here, at this school! To be standing before greatness! She is humbled, to her very knees to beg forgiveness! And she can only ask, if Tsubasa was there for the anime event at the amusement park last week…

-Nnno. She just happened to go to the park that day to, you know, go to the park. OH GOD MIHARU’S SECRET IS SAFE. And Tsubasa has to admit that she can’t ever go to that stuff. So many people think Wing V is an older man, since she pulls on such classic tropes and styles, and so she’s got to hide herself for now. So, please keep her identity secret. …But…It really, really was something special, to actually stand before a fan.

-And Kaos is watching the whole thing and sees the gap moe she was looking for! She can USE this! Also soon all the secrets are out. Well, some of the secrets. Nijino-sensei gets to learn they all draw manga, though I imagine not what, say, Ruki does. I don’t think her heart could take discovering that she has Wing V and Big Boob <3 Himeko in her class. And she hears they all, live in a dorm together…wait…wait wait wait.

-That night she calls her good friend who runs an artist’s dorm and THREE OF YOUR GIRLS ARE HER STUDENTS YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING! She could have, well, not gone easy on them, but…The point is you should’ve told her!

-To Kaos’s latest submission meeting. Where she has a pitch built entirely on gap moe, on girls who are far more gentle and kind than their various intimidating demeanors would depict! From the spooky but cute ghost girl, to the stern teacher who’s a secret fan of cutesy shonen manga. These are great characters…Where’s the story go?

-Story?

-…Keep working on this and come back next time, kiddo. ababababa

-Credits! WITH SPOOKY SUZU HIDING IN THE BACKGROUND THE BLOOD MOON RISES ONCE AGAIN BE CAREFUL KAOS

Oh, that was fun. That was ridiculous fun. Suzu is incredibly spooky…And is going to be in the next episode OH SHIT MORE SPOOKY GOTH. …Hell yeah. Look forward to that next time, in episode SEVEN of Comic Girls! Wait for it!