#and i tried really really hard to keep to 90s fashion for all of them because. well. it was 1998.

[theonlyadawong]

alt outfits for claire, ada, and leon

[struwberrii]

Hi! I love your American high school headcanons! Do you have any headcanons for the Karasuno third years hehehe

haikyuu!! at an american highschool ⋆⭒˚.⋆

thank you for the request!! hopefully u all enjoy ^.^

pt. 1, pt.2

characters: tanaka, noya, kiyoko, sugawara, daichi, asahi

🫧𓇼𓏲*ੈ✩‧₊˚🎐

tanaka

there’s a 50/50 chance he’ll actually show up to class

drives the most beat up busted car with no tint and no bumper

he and noya in the parking lot blasting music with the windows down

cafeteria lunch defender

probably pulled the fire alarm at some point as a joke

teachers have to tell him to pull his pants up bc he sags 😭

speaker in his bookbag

has been high in class multiple times

literally has no school supplies

does interview in the halls with his phone as a mic and is constantly getting humbled by pretty girls

somehow pulled kiyoko (everyone rips on her for dating him)

falls asleep in class and snores

bro is not graduating 😭

he and noya troll teachers

noya

uses a children’s bookbag bc he thinks it’s funny (people think he’s actually a child)

tanakas #1 meat rider

always making mildly gay comments and everyone in their friend group gets so mad at him

gym try hard

doesn’t have a car but skips in the bathroom sometimes

probably smoked one time and saw literal demons now he’s too scared to ever do it again 😭

his mom drops him off at school

another boy the girls have to hit with the “hear me out”

actually gets his work done but hardly passes

brings like whole family packs of cookies for lunch

crocs all day everyday

makes fart noises in class then blames it on other people

let’s his friends hype him up to ‘rizz’ up girls and 9/10 the girls laugh at him (poor guy lol)

kiyoko

unproblematic and everyone loves her

guys probably spread rumors about her when she rejects them but nobody believes them

you either want to be her or be with her

half ap classes

accidentally starts trends (like fashion trends)

tries to help tanaka with his work but he doesn’t ever pay attention

the only thing people criticize her for is going with tanaka 😭

quiet and keeps to herself

takes super neat notes

drives a pretty nice car and it always smells like japanese cherry blossom

always has one airpod in too

probably class buddies with suga and asahi

girls in the grades below her view her as like big sister

takes low effort instagram pictures and always ends up on the explore page with thousands of likes

suga

takes ap classes

the best and safest driver and offers everyone rides

sketches and doodles on the corners of all his assignments and notes

color coordinated notes with pastel highlighters

people think he’s gay but he just likes cute stuff

shit talks with teachers

everyone trusts him and he is very reliable

boy next door

has the cutest keychains and pins on his bag

‘takes notes’ on his ipad but actually just plays roblox

probably has a job at like a pet store or bakery

daichi

him and suga are the unexpected best friends bc they’re so different

spends all his free periods in the gym working out

has social media but never uses it

drives a truck but isn’t annoying about it

curbs #1 enemy

has really random knowledge about dumb stuff, like you could be complaining about your ankle hurting and he knows exactly how to fix it

he does not tolerate disrespect, shuts it down real quick.

plays cod during his free time

takes all regular classes but his grades never fall below 90s (As)

him suga and asahi get lunch together off campus at least 3 times a week and he always drives

working out 24/7

asahi

works at barnes and noble or a coffee shop

has a car but never drives because it makes him anxious

gets rides from suga

plays word cookies in class

smells really good and citrus y all the time

the craziest rumors go around about him, like about him being a grown man and being held back or being a criminal

nicest guy in the entire school

staff has stopped him in the halls multiple times because they thought he was a grown man and had to see his school ID 😭

always gets vending machine frappes

dresses like a youth counselor

watches movies during class

underclassman call him unc

[casketjones]

I'm not sure how to info dump for a bunch of character concepts in a way that's digestible but eh whatever

Concept work for a group of mafia hitwomen and their long suffering handler. They're likely going to be used in a underground illegal wrestling ring arc because that's all I really want in my media.

This post plus additional sketches and more background info will be going up on my patreon and kofi tomorrow.

more under the cut,

They're all vampires that I really cooked up to test a concept for vamps for my comic project. Based on a blood sucking animal and a historical anti-vampire burial method, some of the burial methods are gonna be pushed and fibbed because there's not that many of them. so yeah incidental vampires will have a cage motif even tho I know good and well that cages were to prevent resurrection men getting in not vampires getting out. I feel that's thematically close enough. There's so many really good sanguivore animals out there these are maybe too safe even.

The other thing I really wanted to accomplish with these designs is targeting lesbians, hey ladies these are for you. How am I doing?

going left to right here we got

Flea- She's a Flea I tried taking a lot from Blake's Ghost of a Flea but I don't think it comes through. Her grave-shackle is that scythe coming out her shoulder, it's maybe a bit of a stretch, the real thing was buried in the ground next to the corpse so if it rose it would decapitate itself but I didn't really want to complicate the design with a bunch of dirt or something. Regardless I like her design a lot. Short hairy goblin of a woman, someone stop me from naming her Puce.

Mosquito- Her hair took a little bit to sort out, it used to be real bad but this mess is perfect. Horrible 90's stylized part call back, reminiscent of boxer braids while being ostentatious enough to work in any setting. That cool bangle is her grave-shackle, an actual shackle this time. Her build was immediate, huge arms, weird long butt, perfection. She's the easiest to dress which isn't that surprising considering shes thinner but usually big arms are really difficult in women's wear. Flea is actually the second easiest to dress. There's gotta be a better name than Malaria, but i could call her Mal.

Geo(?)- small mafia man, constantly put upon, constantly behind the 8-ball with upper management; you know the type. The other guys definitely tell him he's lucky all the time but they'd never switch assignments with him. Why is he so small? because I can do whatever i want. His name might be Geoffrey.

Lamprey- Went through the most iterations, was very hard to piece together a woman this disaster lesbian. The spike through the heart, traditionally meant to keep the alleged vampire pinned to the ground was always part of the design, so was the long neck and heart lipstick, the hook earring came and went. Everything else was difficult; general build was pretty similar but i didn't actually work until I gave her a gut and dropped her waist. I used to have gill markings on her neck that looked like vampire bite marks and that took a while to give up but that hair is too good. She probably will end up being named Nakkila, it's a Finnish town with lamprey on their crest.

Leech- Took just two stabs to get her hair, body and face where I wanted it. Those bright red eyebrows work so well to subtly mimic leech markings, her hair shapes are perfect and I love drawing them. It's hard to tell at this size but her lips are sewn together which works almost too well for the theming, the cartoon jack'o lantern shape just sits right on a leech. Being built like a brick shithouse with fantastic fat rolls really gives the body diversity in the group the punch it needs. But dear god in heaven she is so hard to dress! I'm liking this dress a moderate amount right now and I really love the shoes but it's not perfect. I've tried suits instead, I've down active wear, all crazy difficult. It's like fashion doesn't want to accentuate horizontal stripes on large bodies or something? I gotta keep trying on it. I've almost convinced myself to name her Annelid.

[the-epic-hiram-lows]

ignoring all visual staples in the comic and show... if you were tasked with wardrobe for riverdale, which aesthetics would you pull from?

Ooooh!

This is difficult, but I love it. For the sake of sanity, I am going to maintain color-coding to some extent. Also, please read my explanations and look at the pictures, because they both add a lot of context.

I will probably only get to one or two characters in this post, but if this gets a good enough reception I will happily continue the series.

Veronica Lodge

For Veronica... I would basically scrap the entire thing and start over new. I want to see a business-savvy teenager, sure, but I also want to see a former Hermes-toting NYC socialite who knows how to party. How do you marry those two concepts? The outfits do not all need to 100% represent every aspect of her, but her wardrobe should.

Though Riverdale (the show) fully embraces camp, Veronica's outfits should always look somewhat effortless. We should get the impression that her wardrobe is endless, and wardrobe is second nature, though it doesn't have to be tasteful. She would embrace a high-low aesthetic fairly often (think: perfectly undone waves and a white tee with a vintage Chanel skirt, or pair of black ankle boots with a delicate lace number and pearls.)

Veronica is a trendsetter and early adapter because she has her finger on the pulse. There is no excuse for these tired PDA mom looks. Here are aesthetics I would pull from when styling her:

Clueless/90s Academia Prep Revival

This is a girl who name-dropped Cruel Intentions! She knows these references. These looks are not only chic and young, but they scream 'old money' while also fitting into the Riverdale 50s academia undertones. We get to keep Veronica's signature stuffiness- but with the addition of casual pieces, a sense of novelty, and lots of upper thigh, we get a youthful, refined, sexy aesthetic. Unfortunately, most of the examples I used are not in the desired color palette, and many of them are cheapo material, but let's use our imaginations.

Click for more!

Y2k Socialite/It Girl

I want to see the glitz and glam! Veronica is the kind of girl who's had the $1k sundae at Serendipity 3's more than once, just for the hell of it. Where is the fun?! My immediate thought was Paris Hilton's famous 21st birthday look with the silver dress. Ignoring how she accessorized it, this would be a perfect reference (however inappropriate it would be in a school scene.) I want details like sheers, sequins, glitter, maribou trims, etc. The colors would be more subdued here- washed out metallics and neutrals, mostly. There are ample ways to make this more 'wearable,' but maybe sometimes Party Mode Veronica is too much.

Mob Wife

I know, I know. I was going for minimalism up top! Effortless! What happened? Well, what happened is this is Riverdale, and Veronica is Veronica. All characters in Riverdale are subject to extreme lifestyle changes- and, often, seemingly contradictory traits. In Riverdale, you are only one arc or setting change from a different aesthetic. Veronica is both the daughter of a mobster who tries really, really hard and (should be) the cool fashion girl among her peers. She wears many hats. I am just trying to make sure they're all stylish. Veronica should have a chameleonic quality to her. We should get the impression there are several Veronicas, all of whom had a wardrobe ready for whatever the occasion du jour is. A heist? Dinner with a crime family? Church with daddy? She has the tools necessary for all of these occasions, even if her wardrobe looks a bit contrived. In other words, Veronica didn't just fall out of a coconut tree. She exists in the context of all in which she lives, and what came before her. With this aesthetic, we get to have fun with some European and femme fatale influences.

Business Bitch

This is where Veronica as we know her gets to shine- it is the closest thing to her actual Riverdale aesthetic, but cuntier. You'll see all of the above come together here, as it is the fourth quadrant of her personality. Though this iteration of Veronica would be heavy on the black and white, high contrast thing she already has going (which I love!) there is plenty of room for color... even if the examples I pulled say otherwise.

[charlesandmiranda]

Arrival!

Writing to you this morning from our hotel breakfast! Just wanted to fill in everyone about the rest of our trip before we start our first full day. I doubt we'll be able to post EVERY SINGLE DAY WE'RE HERE but we're definitely gonna try and keep it frequent enough to be interesting!

From our last post, we were heading from Baltimore to Toronto, which was a very quick hour and a half-ish flight. From Toronto, we headed straight to our gate to which started boarding shortly thereafter, so it was a pretty quick turn around. It was almost kind of a shame because airport was actually kinda pretty, and I wouldn't have hated a few extra minutes to look around at all the really lavishly decorated restaurants and stuff.

Then came the 14 hour flight. It IS a very long time, don't get me wrong, and by the end my back was VERY achy and my legs definitely craved stretching but also they keep the windows closed and the lights low for most of the trip so you honestly kind of lose track of how long you've been on there.

Charles and I both watched some movies on the flight; we started the first two episodes of Severance (which was also provided on the flight and I've been curious about for a while anyway -- anyone else here seen it?) and played games on our Switches. I also read a lot; I loaded my e-reader up before we left. In a weird way it was kind of nice to have such a long, uninterrupted time where there was nothing to do but leisure activities even if you're doing them in a mostly uncomfortable way --I think Charles and I (Charles especially) struggle with justifying how we spend our free time, always feeling like there has to be something else we can be working on or doing, but it's kind of a bad habit and terrible mental state to always be in, so we're working on it. Unfortunately, neither of us managed to get much sleep on the flight despite our best efforts, I think I managed maybe 20 minutes total?? So it wasn't super restful for sure.

Thankfully, our flight was kinda ahead of schedule, and we ended up landing around 5:00 PM / 17:00 which is like....3:00 AM for those of you in the Eastern US timezone! We're 12 hours ahead of y'all, so when I'm writing this, I'm writing to you from the future!!!

After getting through customs and immigration, baggage, etc. we were stopped by a news crew from a show called Why Did You Come To Japan? They seem to stop tourists at the airport pretty regularly, and we ended up talking to them for a while. Charles said that as someone who used to be a camera guy himself, he always tries to stop for folks filming stuff like that, because he knows how hard it can be to get people to talk to you and work with you. They were very interested in the fact it was our honeymoon, and that we got engaged here, and even more interested that we were really into Oishinbo, which is a food manga from the 80s/90s. It's not super popular in the US although personally I love & recommend it, and I kinda get the impression from the crew we spoke to that it's a classic but kinda old fashioned here. They said in all their years of doing these interviews, it was their first time having a foreigner mention it. They gave us a card and a slip of paper and asked us to contact them again, because they may be interested in meeting up with us again later in our trip to film more for the show (!?) so we'll see how that pans out I guess!

Speaking of, after we finally left the airport, we took the Skyliner train to Nippori, and then transferred to a JR Line train to get us to Shinjuku station. We've stayed in Shinjuku for at least part or all of our trips in the past, and it kind of feels like a home base for us now. We usually stay in or around the Kabukicho area, which is known as an entertainment district with lots of nightlife. If you want brilliantly lit signs and that crowded cyberpunk-y look, Kabukicho is a great place to be!

NOT THAT IT SUPER MATTERS, BUT the card in the photo, with Hello kitty and other Sanrio characters on it, is a Pasmo card, we each got one. Basically it's a little card that you can add money to, and you can use it to pay fare on most trains and buses, as well as lots of vending machines and stuff like that. You can top it off as you go as well.

We checked in to our hotel, the Shinjuku Gracery, and IMMEDIATELY needed to stretch out on the bed and shower the sweaty airport off of us, haha. The Gracery is built on top of a Toho Cinema movie theater, and the whole hotel has a very classy Godzilla theme to it. There's a to-scale Godzilla head built on top of part of the building, looking like he's about to demolish it, and he roars and blows steam out of his mouth, haha. To be honest, a night in the Gracery is one of our "we're on our honeymoon, we deserve this!" splurges -- it's one of the more expensive parts of our trip, given the rest of the time we'll be staying in smaller hotels and airbnbs and the like. We dished out a little extra cash to stay in what they call a Godzilla view room, where you can see the head of Godzilla that is mounted to the roof of the hotel from your room! Totally cool. I had to include specifically a picture of the shower, because I loooove these big hotel showers!

(sadly the filter for this exhibit not only doesn't fit my phone screen but also insanely reduced the image quality LOL)

We took a rest, then headed out to get a bite to eat. We hit up a ramen shop we'd been to in the past, and spent a while walking around the Kabukicho area, including the micro-bar district, Golden Gai. It was interesting to see what's changed and what hasn't since we were here last; for example, they were in the process of demolishing a VR arcade when we were last here, and now there's an ENORMOUS, lux-looking hotel in its place!

We ended up in the unfortunate position of feeling physically very tired but mentally pretty awake, and even though we spent time in our hotel room soaking in the bath, it was probably 1 AM our time before we actually fell asleep, meaning we were up for like....32 hours straight, I think?

Today, our plan is to check out a few shops in the area around Kabukicho, and a little later we'll be checking out and moving on to Akihabara, where our next hotel is. It's well known for being crammed with electronics and used and new like....nerd stuff, and is pretty close to a district jam packed with guitar shops, so we'll have a pretty full day! Stay tuned I suppose!!

Til next time!

[covenofthearticulate]

1 & 2 for the writer ask meme!

Writer's Ask Game

1. What is something you wish you could change about your most recent fic/chapter? I think the last self-contained thing I posted to AO3 was Crimson Incarnate. I don't know if I would change anything necessarily, but one day I'd love to go back and add more to give it more of a proper ending. When I was writing it, I was writing to get towards a very specific part (which is kind of obvious when you read it). Once I reached that part, I think I honestly just kinda ran out of steam, so the way I wrapped the piece up was rushed and sloppy because I was so ready to just post it. That tends to be the problem with 90% of my fics— by the time the end goal in sight, I just get so anxious to finish because I need instant gratification, so that's one skill I'm trying to work on!

2. Share a snippet of an old wip that you never posted. OH BOY i got like 3k words into this piece but had a hard time focusing on just one thread (the hard part about louis and armand and lestat is that their dynamics are all crazy complicated so it's easy for me to get overwhelmed easily) so eventually let it go. But fun fact!! after struggling with this piece, I was actually able to come back a month later and write Crimson Incarnate, so I guess you can think of this as like a prototype :)

“This is absurd.” It’s both a chuckle and a groan as Louis squeezes his eyes shut as if it’ll somehow make him disappear.

“What’s so absurd about it?” Armand asks with a genuine crease of concern between his brows.

“What’s absurd is that we’re still talking and not…oh, what was that saying Daniel brought up the other day? Something about guts.” Lestat rakes one hand low across Louis’ belly, delicately admiring said guts, warm and slightly plumped from whatever poor fool had stumbled across his dear Louis’ path earlier this evening.

“Rearranging his guts.” Armand offers with an arch of his brow.

“I’m going to get up right now if you don’t stop.”

“Just say the word and we’ll stop, Louis.” Lestat decides to call his bluff outright, and it pays off beautifully with a soft blush beginning to blossom across Louis’ cheeks. 

The problem, of course, is that Louis doesn’t want to stop. Quite the opposite, in fact. But saying that sort of thing in so many words is not something that comes naturally for him. It isn’t even about the power, though lord knows surrendering to Lestat and Armand may just be one of the most ill-conceived decisions of his life. It’s something about the humiliation of vocal admittance that doesn’t quite sit with him. 

Lestat and Armand have always been good at begging, at knowing what to say and how to say it, at investing in the drama of it all and indulging in the playful fantasy of seduction. But the words feel clunky in Louis’ mouth. Forced and awkward and much too pathetic to be considered seductive in any form or fashion. 

And so he keeps his mouth shut, swallows the indignities until his throat burns with the unvoiced yearning and he sits still, vulnerable, trapped between the only two souls on this earth that hold the key to his undoing. 

“Let him protest, he needs to get it out of his system. Plausible deniability, and all that.” Armand smirks as he readjusts his weight in Louis’ lap, and it’s…humiliating, actually, being caught out of his little game before they’ve even really begun.

Louis moves to cover the unmistakable rush of blood pooling in his cheeks, but Armand catches his wrist, holds it just tight enough for Louis to remember the frightening strength beneath his fingertips, then gently folds it back down, pinning his hand to the mattress. Loving and merciless, all at once.

“Oh, enough with the hollow objections! You’re outnumbered, anyway. If anyone asks, you can tell them we held you down and ripped your bodice like a bunch of lustful brutes.” 

Louis can feel the hearty vibrations against his back, the way Lestat’s chest puffs when he gets impatient.

He tries to grumble something like “That isn’t funny, Lestat.” But it’s hard get the words from his brain to his mouth with Lestat’s breath on his shoulder and Armand’s hand on his chest.

“If it’s the guilt troubling you," Armand draws lazy circles with his nail, traces up and down the delicate slope of Louis' collarbone. "I’m happy to provide apt punishment.”

[septemberrie]

About It was just red and Battle lines: would you tell us a little bit about each characters' (fashion) styles? I usually don't care much about these things but your stories, especially the characters, are so real and dear to me that i feel like there's still more things i want to know about them 😊. If you could tell us or use pictures to show how the golden trio & co used to dress as teens or in later years (when they weren't in their uniforms lol), or Farah and Bloom in Battle lines (i don't think saul ever wore anything but his uniform 😁). Or if you'd like to talk about other stuff, little bits of trivia like what kind of music saul likes or what class farah or ben failed at when they were at alfea or Andreas' guilty pleasure... i'm all ears 😉

omg 😍 what a fun question, anon!! I love thinking about this and I'm so flattered you're also not ready to let go of either of these fics bc that's the bestest compliment from a reader, and also same here lol you can pry my beloved characters from my cold dead hands!!

I would also love to hear your opinions on all these things!! What am I missing? what am i not thinking of, besides that Andreas absolutely had ...Baby One More Time on repeat?

Anyway, lots of clothes and excellent fashion beneath the cut. Also apologies these are shitty screenshots from Pinterest lol.

Battle Lines

I was about to post and reread your message and realized you asked about Farah and Bloom, not Farah and Saul, but I already wrote about Saul so I'm keeping it in 😅

Alright so as you already mentioned, Saul pretty much only ever wears his uniform. I'm also an evil capitalist and never gave him a day off the entire time he worked for Domino lmao. But when he does get days off, he rocks Roy Kent, black slim-fit t-shirt look, maybe throws a black leather jacket if it's cool (I'm really threading the "vow of poverty" needle here lmao).

The two times I call out his outfits as something besides his Alfea uniform (which I visualize as very similar to the show, black long-sleeve shirt and black pants) were after he gets shot and he gets to slouch around in a comfy hoodie for a change.

And of course... the masquerade tailcoat. Seen here before it gets covered in blood 😌

Farah I visualized as, basically, "classy girlboss (affectionate)." Lots of form-fitting but otherwise unrevealing cuts; bold colors but very few patterns; quite similar to her S1 look but a little more dressed up. I don't see her as eschewing function for form--both dresses and dressy trousers are fair game.

Bloom is much more of a free spirit than Farah. I see her in also-form-fitting but unstructured cuts, and much more casual than Farah. Jeans, but otherwise neutral colors to counter her hair and personality.

It was just red.

In the depths of my blog I actually talked about the fashion of the adults when they were in Alfea, which falls squarely in the mid-to-late 90s if you ascribe to the tenuous timeline we're told. But to recap/keep going:

I actually have a really hard time pinning Farah down fashion-wise in this. I love her in casual stuff that's practical for living under Rosalind's first regime. But I also see her having hand-me-downs that are actually quite fashionable although she doesn't really realize it.

Saul has the Joey Tribbiani "comfort + practicality" going for him, lots of plaids/sweaters/jumpers and always with an undershirt; based on some hairy men in my life who are insecure of their chest hair (even though I think they should slut it up, please) I hc Saul as self-conscious that he's not a hairless mole rat. Hey you asked for trivia anon, you're getting it 😅

I love Andreas being extremely tryhard although he tries to play it off like he isn't. He actually has done this exact pose in front of Ella in hopes she'd take his picture so it could make it into the Alfea yearbook under "We'll Remember These Days" or "Our Seniors Take Wing."

[iantimony]

Another Doublepost

last monday i was told, surprise, you are giving a presentation on your work to a small group of experts! and i shat my pants a little and hyperfocused on that for two days so no tuesday last week. presentation went really well, i survived!

listening: saw ELO concert last week, that was good ... ngl the lead singer guy was not looking too hot but it was a good concert nonetheless.

the fine art of takin' it slow (milly raccoon): i forget how i got recommended this? maybe some list of queer/alt country? only listened to a little bit of this album so far but i liked this song a lot.

found freshman biology on instagram but i think i have to be in a very specific mood to listen to them. very goblin-core type of thing, really interesting instrumentals, but i tried some of it and i definitely have to be in a very chill headspace to not get uptight listening to them.

chips & dip (extra chunky) (sam greenfield): finally listened to the whole album 'sam greenfield sucks', it whips ass, highly recommend; this version of the song on the album is only like 90 seconds which is criminal and i guess this is not an unpopular opinion because a month ago he did an extended version. delicious.

love and death (ebo taylor): also forget how i got this one. some really jammy jazz.

the next few from daylist:

mountains (message to bears), the sense of me (mud flow): smooth guitar. would be good for yoga background music probably.

but wait, there's more (ben folds): anxiety song

last night i did a terrible thing (fever dolls): kind of song that makes one sway side to side. harmonica doin a lot in this one.

runner up (al olender): sleepy lil song.

clean slate (mountain goats): went on a brief mountain goats kick when i thought i would go to their concert in [redacted]; did not do so but still have been enjoying their songs coming back up in my rotation.

really sad because .. i forget if it was last weekend or the upcoming weekend .... but basically there's a lot of good local events in my town that i am not there for :( including performances by some really dope bands.

amchoor (balkan paradise orchestra): as a horn player i am in physical pain to miss this performance :(

allenby (yemen blues): really good overlaying of instruments with the brrrrr sound in the guitar.

and chopin :) classic.

reading: Chappell Roan Confronts The Sickness Of Modern Fandom (kelsey mckinney): did hear about this in a dangelo wallace video. man this fucking sucks for her but good for her for setting hard boundaries and not letting angry weirdos dictate what she should be okay with.

Don't Prep Plots (justin alexander): good tabletop gm philosophy, one that i think i have unconsciously been doing for a while simply because like it says in there, it's so much more work to prep Plots capital P as if it were a novel, and i have always been a work smarter not harder kinda gal. definitely one of my biggest strengths as a gm is my ability to make situations and let the players fill it in, i think. one of the reasons i am still running that dnd group despite it all is because of the validation of being told how good a gm i am, lol.

the two fics in Shang Qinghua Becomes An Isekai Protagonist Love Interest by daddykeehl; cute and fun.

i was looking into Bra Alternatives and ended up on reddit where some articles on shortstays and regency clothing were linked: Underwear: what was worn under Regency gowns? and Historical costume pics: gowns, petticoats, dolls, even men. honestly pretty interesting! i have never really touched regency era in any capacity or media - art, fiction, fashion history, any of it - so this was definitely a cool first peek.

Is it possible to keep your voice and soul while writing for an international market? (Sascha Stronach) and The Uncanny Valley of Culture by damon: two articles from nz and australia respectively about how man, all english-speaking media really does focus on and cater to the american audience, and that fucking sucks.

also the wikipedia page for the ham sandwich theorem. just because.

watching: this video linked in this post. interesting!!!! i love optics i love physics.

some weird history food videos - pizza hut and papa johns, specifically.

playing: fallow but bonus screenshot from playing stray a few weeks ago (already that long. god)

making: incredibly funny and weird but my friend discovered a scifi/fantasy writing contest that is. like. funded? inspired by?? l ron hubbard. my friend did Not know who that guy was so i got to explain that which was fun. but there's a Free Online Workshop that my friend was like hey. we should do this together. and i was like sure why not. so now i am doing the free l ron hubbard writing workshop tm. so that's back in the writing zone for the first time in. a while.

sorry did not crop my images before uploading them to postimages and i simply cannot be assed to reupload.

can finally share these !! embroidered some patches for my friend's bachelorette party :) she does read these sometimes so i didn't want to accidentally spoil it. the bachelorette was summer camp themed and it was very cute. we made tie dye shirts and smores and played board games and all around had a lovely time.

finished painting the underglaze on this bird bowl. have literally been micromanaging it since april. enough.

started painting some new fat horses and cave painting hands but i am unsatisfied. dunno yet. don't love the mug shape either and given how long it's gonna take to paint all those fucking hands on there ... i wonder if i could make a stamp. that would be really helpful actually. hmm.

some glaze kiln came out! bf made the world's goofiest chopstick rest based on sacabambaspis, i glazed it for him, and it's so silly. a very boring flowerpot came out. disappointing because i was going for this glaze layer. didn't do a thick enough coat of the vert lustre? the vert luster itself is too watered down? not enough texture on the piece despite the ridges? all of the above? idfk. i even made an insane chart of all the amaco glazes in the studio and how they might layer. sigh.

pillbug coaster in progress to match my worm coaster which i thought i posted but now i don't remember. i think i posted it before the kiln but it has since kilned and i can't actually find a photo? it came out well though lol. when i get back to apartment i will take a photo of it.

my magic the gathering gaming group made our friend some coasters at one of those paint pre-made pottery places and they came out cute!

eating: last night made some deb smittenkitchen and by god she's done it again. fall bliss salad: yeagh. really good. i simply was not going to blitz the shallots in anything so i just chopped em up after roasting and mixed them in. had to use dried cranberries instead of pomegranate because grocery store limitations but that was still very tasty and served a similar niche. lemon chicken with potatoes and chickpeas: so because of a different oven chicken thighs recipe i like that has radishes i added radishes to the veggies. i also had to double the recipe and, uh oh, potatoes super would not fit in there, so i just did normal-ass baked potatoes and they were good. really satisfying meal, the amount of chopping means it's definitely more than 10 min prep but once all was chopped it all came together nicely.

i've started looking at some of her rosh hashanah recipes for next week ... she has a crazy russian layered honey cake that looks great but is a multi-day project so i think not. her normal honey cake looks great, and so does her brisket, so that's what i'll be doing. i haven't done rosh hashanah with my family in years so it will be nice.

misc: bonus image from my apartment. i miss her.

my brother is having A Procedure done today and we're all shitting our pants only a little bit about it. my mom dropped his ass off at 6am and now we're just ... waiting.

[spaceprincesszil]

My partner has been very supportive of anything I want to do and claims to love my body no matter what. I don’t think it’s untrue but he definitely likes the hourglassy-ness I’m developing better. He hates that my hips/ass shrunk.

In 2007 I was dating some lameass dude, fucking during a totally manic phase one summer. I was getting dressed and he looked up admiringly and told me I had a fat ass. I always have an ass, I guess, but as a white girl who hit puberty in the late 90s and grew up in the age of aughts fashion where midriff was king and your hip bones MUST show and that collar bone had to pop…it was like napalm. I had a fat ass. I was probably about 150-160 and convinced I was way too fat, my BMI at 5’7” was overweight.

Spiraled.

And that brings me to the other night. My guy says he likes thick girls, but when I look at who he looks at (since I’m queer af and have some overlap in who we find attractive, we both look at porn together) really he likes curvy hourglass girls with fat in all the right places, big tits big ass small waist thick thighs, which is not how I’m built right now or when I first moved in with him. Or fit girls. I do not see him look at girls as imperfect as me. was grabbing my hips admiringly and my ass and said something like “this is my wide load.”

I froze immediately, bc all I could think of was how that’s one of the labels Lardass in Stephen King’s The Body (or film Stand By Me) gets. I made some comment about it, and he immediately got upset, like “jfc I’m tired I didn’t mean it like that.” I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, he likes phrases like that in bed, but I certainly don’t like that one.

On top of that on the lunar eclipse he had a meltdown bc as I am heading back into a more socially acceptable weight category and be idk, approaching conventionally attractive, he’s worried I’m going to leave him. I tried to explain that anyone who couldn’t see I was worthwhile before would have trouble landing my attention now or in future. I don’t like chasers of any sort.

Being fat isn’t a personality trait for me, but neither is fitness, to be honest. I tried to be body positive but it doesn’t work for me, I hope to achieve body neutrality, and just be able to be grateful for what my body can do.

But “wide load” keeps echoing in my head.

My body has changed a lot this past year but it’s still not enough. If I was a normal amount of fat it’d be more noticeable.

Almost all my underwear and bras are too big and so are most of my pants. I can almost wear my partner’s pants comfortably, which is exciting to me bc I’d love to present more masc at times and I’d like to express that more, which is hard in a fat curvy femme body. I really want some more clothes but what’s the point if I’m still shrinking? I wish I knew how to sew.

Wide load.

Fuck man, like why? I don’t really think he meant to neg.

On top of everything I am not sleeping nearly enough, I keep waking up at 4 something and can’t fall back asleep. I haven’t been walking or moving enough and I think that’s why I can’t sleep through. I have not been great about keeping up with motion as part of my mental health practice.

So this morning while I’ve been waiting I am adding lots of workouts to some playlists, and I even did an arm workout with some little weights that I can already tell kicked my ass and will make me so sore. One exercise in particular was really difficult and made me feel weak and pathetic so just means I gotta do more. I never like my arms, it’d be nice to feel good about them.

Really love the idea of getting really toned so can present more androgyny.

I’m trying not to let a comment he made sleepily at like 4 am get to me, but it’s been echoing and bouncing around in my head multiple times a day since he said it.

That’s its own kind of weight.

All i can do is move through it and do better on my end.

[thezolblade]

Jon asks to see certain outfits as a treat? I'm curious, what does he like to see?

Got a couple asks about outfits, so. Both their fashion styles contribute:

As a child of the 90's, Martin's vintage aesthetic leans towards the sort of things that have aged well from that decade, mixed with styles from the 60's - 80's, and newer stuff that goes well with it. Not that he wears anything so dated it looks weird, or so stereotypical that it could be straight from a catalogue. More of a vaguely retro and homey look, with lots of yellows, oranges, greens, blues and browns. Band t-shirts, TV show mascots and logos that look nerdy but not too childish, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' and other cheerful phrases, rainbow pride designs, scenic prints, and sometimes stripes and patterns, when he can layer them in a way that doesn't look too flashy. Cable knit jumpers, cardigans with wooden buttons, corduroy trousers, comfy jeans, and lace up ankle boots.

Since he tends to buy second hand clothes in plus sizes, everything he really likes was a lucky find, and he tries to look after it with a lot of hand washing, and occasional repairs if need be. For his first few years at the Institute, while he was quite desperately pretending to be older, he only wore the smartest clothes he owned to work. The button up shirts and jumpers that looked the most nondescript and professional. It took a few years for him to relax and start showing more personality, which Diana gently encouraged. So Martin understands Jon's insecurities about dressing for the job, he really does, especially knowing that he's been lying about his age too, but still...

Jon treats professional attire as a performance that he needs to participate in to gain access to opportunities and maintain his position, the same way he exaggerates his posh accent and his age. Working hard isn't always enough in other people's eyes, and he can't coast on being likeable or well connected, but he can make sure he looks and sounds like he belongs, to carve out a niche where he has some stability and respect. Once he's responsible for others, he's judged on their performance too, and in theory, smartening up ought to be the low hanging fruit; it's easier to remind someone to polish their shoes than to teach them Latin. (Of course, that goes out the window if they come to work in trainers, but... some people have other strengths to fall back on.)

In his time off, there's no pressure to live up to anyone else's standards, so when he's by himself, he draws the line at 'I won't leave the house in pajamas, even if I'm only nipping round the corner for milk', and some of his casual clothes get quite ratty with age before he gets rid of them. Still, he does like academic fashion for its own sake, and he's a history nerd, so he'll sometimes mix and match smart clothes with ones that are more quirky or relaxed, e.g. a maroon silk waistcoat, a white shirt with baggy sleeves, skinny black jeans, and a pair of combat boots that he's had since uni.

So when Jon has Martin all to himself, sometimes he wants to see him in the cute stuff that he doesn't get to see him in at work anymore; a particular top with a nostalgic design, which looks better with boxers than with trousers. Or a nice embroidered jacket, with nothing underneath.

Sometimes he wants to see him in his smartest clothes, to act out a fantasy about shaping him up into the perfect assistant, and stripping things off layer by layer.

Sometimes he wants to dress Martin in the same kinds of anachronistic and melodramatic fashion that Jon picks out for himself, purely for the aesthetics.

Sometimes he wants to see him in something new and exciting; lingerie, leather, 'club wear' that he wouldn't let him actually wear to a club. Clothes bought as souvenirs during weekend trips together.

Sometimes they take everything off as soon as they get home, and agree on a pajamas and takeout evening, and why would Martin put on trousers again at a time like that?

(With so many options, there aren't many days when Jon doesn't voice a preference one way or another.)

[candygrlsworld]

Back to school rebrand📝🎀

Ok so this post is gonna be kind of a guide/personal post. I’m gonna be talking about how I’m going to be rebranding myself this school year and little tips on how you can too!

Idk I feel like this is different from my usual posts but I think this will be beneficial for me and you guys!

Mindset ✨

I want to just be unapologetically myself this year,

I'm just gonna be focused on my school work, dressing cute, being myself. I'm not going to try and get anyones attention, love, or respect. Imma just be doing my own thing in my own world. I'm not going out of my way to please people. Or be nobody's friend. Like if you like me come up and talk to me. And if you don't idc. I can chill by myself.

I know it’s messed up but I’ve tried opening up myself to people. So I’m not doing that this year. I just wanna keep to myself because I got hurt last year by trying to be everyone’s friend. I just want to be totally mysterious.

Just focus on self love, & my happiness.

Another thing I’m doing is I’m becoming serious this year. I’ve officially decided I’m going to FIT or Parsons to get my degree in fashion design. So I will be working hard with my school work and extracurriculars. I’ve already created a notion account to organize my school work.

(Link to the notion template I used)

And im just becoming a total nerd. Everytime you see me I will be studying. Like im going to make Rory Gilmore and Elle Woods proud!

Style ✨

I want to dress very simple, and have all my clothes be form fitting. I don’t want to stand out I just want to be comfortable. I also just want to be girly 24/7. I want the way I dress to truly represent who I am. Instead of playing a character.

My style in 4 words: Preppy, girly, y2k, & sweet!

Goals✨

Be more healthy, excercise, stretch, eat better

Keep my grades 90 or above

Stay in an extracurricular the whole year

Also I’m planning on posting on YouTube more and starting my own depop shop!!!

No people pleasing

Take my fashion design career seriously (no “trying out” diff hobbies and careers)

Don’t let people take advantage of me (if someone disrespects me, drop them, I’m not tolerating bullshit)

Be selfish (Protect my peace, not giving energy to things that don’t benefit me, putting myself first)

2022-2023 vision board🎀

Lemme break this down:

Work on my brand

Make some money to move out (might make a post on why I have to move out as soon as possible)

Eat healthier

Get really good at volleyball and make the team (also get good at roller skating)

Get a genuine girly bff so we can talk about fashion and life. (All my friends last year were fake)

Get better grades (again I wanna try harder in school cause I usually do the bare minimum and get 80s-90s

Tips✨

I will be giving tips based off my experience in high school so far since I am a junior this year. And also some tips I’ve collected from the internet.

Obvi my first tip is my “study like me” post where I break down all my advice for studying, so check that out if your interested in more academic advice.

Make 2022-2023 school year vision board (goals, how u wanna dress etc.)

Surrond yourself with friends/people that uplift you/are better than you and inspire you

Clean out room and phone. Get a new wardrobe, get a journal & change your mindset, just totally reset

BE SELFISH don’t give all your energy to people, take time to take care of yourself (even if u are working hard for school)

Keep a planner to organize school work and a journal to organize your thoughts! (Also because they are cute)

Romanticize school (trust me if you pretend your Elle woods it will make school fun and easier)

Let go of toxic habits, behaviors and friends (anything you do not benefit from get rid of it)

Videos & posts

@angeldiscovery reinventing yourself post

Really thewizardliz whole YouTube but these two videos have helped me video 1. Video 2

@dreamgrlarchive faboulisty reset

@angeldiscovery become the best version of you

Localblackchilds YouTube has a lot of good videos for school here two good ones

Protecting your peace & stay organized in school

Theplaygirldiaries podcast how to brand yourself

I hope this helped you guys out!! And I wish you all luck on this school year! It would be so cool to see you guys create your own post like this. (#2022rebrand maybe???)

As always I love you guys!!!!🫶🏽

~yours truly 💋

[palmett-hoes]

wrote this at first to be a reply to this post by @annawrites but it got super long so i figured it would be better just to make it a standalone post

---

it’s a great post about how neil probably has a perfectly functional knowledge of popular culture and how continuously representing him as totally ignorant of it isn’t a fair read of his character or circumstances. neil has incredible street smarts and that involves knowing how to blend in and disappear in a crowd. his knowledge of popular culture is probably eclectic and not very american, so he may not know all the pop culture touchstones that his teammates know, but he definitely knows stuff

meanwhile there are several foxes it would actually make much more sense to have extremely limited or just similarly patchy knowledge of mainstream pop culture

(i’m using “mainstream pop culture” here to refer to a combination of movies, tv shows, celebrities, video games, entertainment and communication technology, music, fashion, pastimes, books, etc. each one has it’s own specific considerations but all together if it was new and popular and timely, it’s pop culture)

---

kevin, for one, i think definitely knows like, next to nothing, and i honestly think it’s weird that people decided neil was the “knows nothing about pop culture guy” rather than kevin. i mean, kevin was raised since childhood in an extremely insular and one-track-minded underground cult. he was literally raised under a rock! you think the ravens were taking the time to watch saturday morning cartoons and disney movies? absolutely not. like i truly do not believe that kevin has ever consumed media in his life. he does not know songs, movies, celebrities, video games, tv shows, nothing. and he also has absolutely no idea that he doesn’t know about these things. neil has a working knowledge of most things even if it has plenty of holes but he knows what the holes are. kevin genuinely does not know that the movie Titanic exists

(also i’m ragging a bit here but this is a genuine analysis and a fascinating way to view kevin’s character and i wish people took more time to think through and flesh out his influences and the effect they had on him)

---

nicky. son of a conservative christian pastor? his access to media was likely heavily censored to remove “sinful” and “ungodly” influences. the media he consumed probably had a heavy christian focus and there were probably tons of mainstream popular things he wasn’t allowed to even look at, like especially things that were maybe a little risqué or sexual, which a lot of 90s and 2000s pop culture was considered to be. i also wouldn’t be surprised if he went to a private christian school that would still keep his chances to access other influences limited even away from his parents’ immediate view. nicky grew up on christian rock and veggie tales. he was forbidden from going trick-or-treating because it was “satanic.” that vein. watch the movie Saved! (2004) to get a sense of what i’m picturing. obviously once he got away to germany he got the chance to branch out and experience a lot of things, but doing things as an adult is very different growing up with them as a child. i also think this feeds into like,, nicky’s enthusiasm and why he tries so hard to get everyone involved in things and get neil to hang out with him so much and it’s not because he pities neil for not knowing these things but rather that he himself is still enthralled by their novelty

---

dan. but also renee, seth, andrew, and possibly aaron to varying lesser extents. these foxes all grew up poor, and access to pop culture is heavily tied to having money, especially in the technology boom of the 90s and 2000s that the foxes came of age in. it’s common for kids from low-income families to be “behind” on popular culture because engaging with it costs money

dan and seth we know grew up in poverty. yes people need entertainment but money considerations have to take priority so what they had access to was probably very touch and go. it’s hard to pin down anything for sure because it just comes down to what their guardians prioritized, but i can say that i doubt they had cable (and it’s possible they didn’t have tv) so their tv influences would be public broadcast rather than like,, disney channel and nickelodeon. dan especially, as someone from the rural poor in north dakota is the one most likely to be out of the loop of mainstream pop culture imo

.

renee’s mother is implied to have also been involved with renee’s gang which makes it really hard to pin things down. gangs and other forms of organized crime tend to have a profit motive but because it’s mostly off the books it’s just,,, different. they may had some money but it’s,,, complicated, and she was still living in an impoverished neighborhood. i really can’t make any guesses about it because i just don’t have any context for it, but i think it’s fair to say her media influences wouldn’t have been entirely mainstream pop culture. then of course she spends a year in juvy and two years in the foster care system, which definitely has very limited access to pop culture

.

andrew being in the foster care system means that his influences were constantly changing. he could have been in houses from a wide range of economic means, but regardless he probably wasn’t treated well or given gifts or access to new toys or anything that requires an additional fee or tool to access. stories from kids who lived in foster care often reveal that even very wealthy houses enforce extreme limitations on their foster kids. the idea that andrew had a foster sibling with a gameboy, an xbox and a tv in their room while andrew himself didn’t even have a bed,,, isn’t outside the realm of possibility. so, probably no video games or internet. limited choice in what movies or tv shows he could watch. social services are wildly underfunded so what he had access to in group homes and “at-risk youth groups” was probably pretty dated

.

we don’t know much about tilda, especially things like her job, but we know aaron grew up in san jose which is one of the most expensive cities/housing markets in the world. this means that they were probably either rich or very poor. personally, i think they were probably poor, which means aaron would have been subject to the same sorts of things as dan or seth in terms of spotty or inconsistent access to a lot of things in popular culture

---

so yea, ig just remember that each fox comes from different and complicated circumstances, that upper-middle-class pop culture experiences are not universal, and it’s weird to think that neil has absolutely no concept of pop culture at all while every other fox is apparently highly in tune with it and all have the same up-to-date experiences

[vickyvicarious]

Ship asks: Eliot Spencer/Ennis the Goon (You had to know that one was coming, right? 😛 With *this* timing?)

PFF, OKAY.

Who buys flowers for the others: Ennis. What can I say, he's a romantic at heart! He also thinks it's very cute when Eliot gets flustered. And the way he reacted the first time: "What... what am I supposed to do with these?" didn't read as embarrassment but genuine confusion to him, such is his faith in Eliot's lack of brain. So that was a patronizing fun conversation.

Who makes the others coffee/tea: Ennis insists on making the tea, because he has no trust in Eliot's ability to prepare it well. The first time Eliot absentmindedly brews him a mug of tea and actually does it well, it shocks Ennis to the core. Eliot, flustered, says he wanted to sur...prise him? Ennis finds this very romantic. (Eliot makes the coffee, though. They both expect that.)

Who eats the most candy on Halloween: Neither of them eats much candy, but Ennis is actually stricter about his diet than Eliot... with less actual understanding of food. So he diets and exercises and sure, he stays in shape, but he is also needlessly depriving himself of delicious food because he thinks it's incontrovertibly bad for him. Eliot is put in the startling position of eating more candy out of the two of them.

Who tries new recipes all the time: Eliot, of course! Along with restricting his diet for misguided healthiness notions, Ennis also cannot handle any level of spice. He likes his food simple and familiar and for the most part, fairly bland. He makes exceptions for 'high class dining' which is often just expensive food that he still tries to get without a lot of spice or whatever. This appalls Eliot to the point that he leverages being romantic just to get some actual decent food in this man's mouth.

Who genuinely likes pineapple on pizza: Eliot. Again, same deal. Ennis doesn't even especially like pizza, but when he does get it, he likes white vegetarian pizza. Sometimes, Eliot thinks it would have been so much easier if he'd just murdered him on sight.

Who wears hats on special occasions: Ennis has a bowler hat left over from a fancy dress party a few years ago. Eliot is secretly tickled pink at the sight of him in it, and tries to convince him to wear it, saying he looks like a "right pro'er gangster" in it. Ennis rarely humors Eliot. (Eliot is also thinking of how to get Ennis in one of those Buckingham palace guard hats, without putting himself in the position of having to wear one too.)

Who likes ‘90s R&B: Neither of them, really. They actually have pretty similar tastes in music, though Ennis does have a fond spot for a couple of mopey British bands like the Cure, which Eliot has no patience for.

Who likes long walks on the beach: They both do. Well, Eliot is on high alert anytime he and Ennis are anywhere near a body of water, but aside from that. A long walk on the beach was the first time he actually felt reluctantly fond of the guy, in fact.

Who buys wacky picture frames: Parker! Ennis keeps pictures, and she breaks in to change out the frames. She has never met Ennis face to face and he has been growing concerned about a ghost despite himself, since he can never find any signs of a break-in and no matter what kind of cameras he puts up it he can't see anything that looks human. In fact, he's been hearing weird static on his radio sometimes in the dead of night, and he thinks it's possibly the soul of someone he's killed in his line of work????? (he has not told Eliot this.)

Who compares themselves to fictional/celebrity couples: Eliot, in prime dumb American rube, has done so a few times. It seems to be one of the few dumb things he does that legit seems to annoy Ennis, so he's actually done some research on famous British couples that he can ruin for the guy.

Who can solve a rubix cube: Eliot. Ennis sees him do it once and is impressed at the flashes of intelligence found even in the stupidest of people. He doesn't say this of course, but Eliot can tell. Eliot can tell and it drives him mad (especially since there's a trick to it, you don't actually even have to be smart, dammit!).

Who would wear Hawaiian shirts on vacation/during the summer: Eliot. Eliot, for sure. Once again, Ennis seems to find his lack of fashion sense somehow charming. Eliot is impressed despite himself at how this guy has very little sense of shame. He just amusedly indulges idiocy and doesn't get embarrassed. Eliot usually loves being a troll and playing dumb, but his limit is hit before Ennis's every time.

Who wears mismatched socks because they can’t keep up with the pairs: Ennis's socks are all pretty similar to one another, so he sometimes mixes them up without noticing. This irritates Eliot but he also knows that if he brings it up Ennis is going to think he's being all cute and domestic, so he is struggling very hard to resist the urge to comment.

.

Send me a ship and I will answer with who does what!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

The Mom Friend

Yeah… though Neku had certainly never signed up to be these four’s mom—and he still had no idea how that had happened—he now knew he wouldn’t change it for the world. Oneshot. Canon compliant. Mom friend Neku. Neo spoilers.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33385999

At first, if you had asked Neku if he had become the mom friend of the Wicked Twisters, he would have laughed in your face.

Because while he would admit he loved the youngins’—and was very protective of them—some old habits of wanting to be cool, and being somewhat rough around the edges, died hard.

But it was with Nagi that Neku finally realized that this was the case.

The girl had decided to go vegetarian, but her body was rejecting not having a lot of protein and thus needed something like nuts this very instance? Who was it but Neku, who went out to buy her some, at near three o’clock in the morning (because he was a good friend and had expanded his horizons that much), since her parents had recently died in a car crash and they could no longer do it for her, the poor girl.

So, Neku crept into Nagi’s dorm window around one-forty-five-ish—which, looking back on it, probably hadn’t been a good idea and could have scared his friend. But, hey: Neku had gotten used to being in the Game. And the week that Coco brought him back before he ran into Beat, he’d been in hiding, and had maybe gotten used to the idea some; and Nagi didn’t seem spooked, so maybe her mind was still stuck on sneaking around in the Reapers’ Game, too—and Nagi took the food out of Neku’s hands like it was the easiest thing in the world before ruffling his hair.

“Much obliged, Lord Neku,” she said as she fixed her glasses in this dim lighting, so she could see him better. Or so Neku guessed. “Now, hopefully, I can feel better enough, that I can work on my essay about the Canterbury Tales. …No one knows such suffering as me,” Nagi moaned, before going back to her bed and starting on the cashews.

“No, problem,” Neku said then—feeling sort of awkward, as he went to mess with a pair of headphones that were no longer on his person anymore—“if you need help with it… I, uhh, guess I could try and lend a hand. I have university coming up soon, too. And I know they’ll have me doing some English stuff, so…”

“Unless you want to be bored to tears, I suggest that you not make such a promise, unless your heart knows little joy,” Nagi warned him.

And Neku didn’t have to be told twice. So, he did backout of helping her with that paper.

But he knew when he visited Shiki soon—and she asked him what he’d been up to—she would still tease him about being the mom friend, for going out and buying protein for Nagi in the wee hours of the morning.

…

And it continued on like that… and Neku was somewhat loath to admit it, because hey: he had an image to uphold here.

But then again… maybe not, because if this was him pushing out his borders as far as they would go—as Mr. H had instructed him to do three years ago—Neku knew he would gladly do so… even at the risk was being called a “mom”, and even an “old maid”, or something.

Right now, Rindo had severely hurt his ankle… and who was he holding onto as they hobbled away, with designs to get him to a hospital? Neku.

“This is the last time I ever try something from the 90’s again!” Rindo complained, as Neku was half-carrying him to his car now (and how nice it was, that Neku could drive now—from memories of another him that hadn’t lost such formative years—that Joshua had implanted into his head).

“Yeah, Rindo… scooters were cool and everything—yours truly had one—but even I don’t know why you decided to try and bring them back now of all times… Especially since they had a bad habit of spinning right back around and nailing you in the ankle… which you know all too well now,”

And godamnit. Neku really had become the mom friend, huh, if he was now telling his younger friend this venture had been dangerous from the get-go, and how he could have easily seen that if he’d tried to?

Neku pulled on one of his spikes, irritated with himself here, but tried not to show Rindo, lest he think he was mad at him.

“Well, I’d thought about getting a motor scooter,” Rindo explained, Neku loading his pal into his backseat now. “So, I think that’s what got scooters on my brain… But I was trying to be green, and still think of a faster way to catch things in FanGo than walking! And now look where it got me. Oy! …But I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. This should be the least of my problems, when just a few weeks ago I was fighting for you guys’ survival, huh?”

And Rindo paused in where he’d been about to put a hand over his eyes, to peek at Neku now who was currently getting into the driver’s seat—as if he was asking for the past Living Legend to remind the new one to have his priorities straight.

“For real,” Neku told Rindo, whilst he started to pull away now. “When I got out, I was mostly thinking about the Game… about what Joshua did, and how even then, I still trusted him but couldn’t forgive him. And I was so excited to finally meet up with my friends—to finally have some and care about that—be glad, Rindo, that you got out with your friends, and there’s so much trust between you. Like there is between Josh and I now.”

And Rindo set down his phone then—apparently like he had when he first met Shoka in the RG—like he was really listening to what Neku had to say, and he had to appreciate that.

And it might have been his imagination… but Neku could have sworn he saw a flash of blue nodding his head at Neku’s words, as it sat back there with the injured Rindo.

…

The next time Neku ended up being the “mom” for someone in the Wicked Twisters, after the Game, it was with Fret.

It was towards the end of his and Rindo’s sophomore year of high school…

Fret had been ecstatic to come back to life, Neku had known, and wasn’t wasting his second chance. He had really thrown himself into his studies, Rindo had told Neku in private (quite proudly, Neku might add).

If he could keep it up, he would probably even be able to graduate early. And talent scouts were looking at him, Neku had been told: towards a kid who hadn’t strived that hard in school, but now was and excelling because of it.

Naturally, Fret had decided that his calling was fashion—everyone who had been playing the Reapers’ Game with him would have gathered just how much he loved clothes—and apparently he had really thrown himself into designing towards the end of the year, and was trying to put a portfolio together for Jupiter of the Monkey to look at: who the school was suggesting he try and intern with, as they had some connections with (and damn, if Neku didn’t wish he’d gone to Fret and Rindo’s school now, being a huge J of the M fan himself).

Part of Neku wondered why Fret just didn’t try to intern with Shiki during his senior year, but perhaps it was because he was afraid Shiki would just give him the position because they were friends and not because she really thought he was talented.

Anyway… Fret hadn’t gotten the internship. J of the M had said the Fret should try to use less color (you know what? Maybe Neku didn’t like them very much anymore…).

And since then… Fret had seemed to give up on his dream of being a fashion designer, and was trying to be an actor.

And, look: Neku had no problem if him wanting to do both, if he thought he could do it and this was really what Fret wanted… though call him crazy, but he felt like something else was at work here: something that Neku and Shiki had both experienced before.

So, Neku had sat Fret down to talk about it at Ken Doi’s—away from the filmmakers who were currently trying to film in Dogenzaka, that Fret had just been a part of—and laid it all out on the table, “It’s okay… to get Imposter Syndrome. I’ve had it before with my art. Even Shiki has before. But if you want to be an artist, you’re going to fall down a few times… Fret, I feel like you don’t want to be an actor, so much as you don’t mind people dinging your acting, because that isn’t something you care about as much as your designing.”

And after Neku had spoken, Fret somehow looked both like Neku had made him had an epiphany he hadn’t quite realized, and like Neku had stumbled upon the horrible truth he hadn’t wanted anyone to figure out.

Neku took a bite of the yummy curry that Ken Doi had been kind enough to make just for him, after he’d brought Joshua around recently (he’d said he’d missed the two of them. Go figure), and let Fret get his bearings.

And now he was sighing, and running a hand through his hair, much like Neku often did. Neku smiled, finding it hard not to sympathize.

“Oh, man. I really do have to get back into fashion, huh?”

“You do,” Neku agreed, wondering what wonderful articles of clothing Fret might come up with for him to wear in the future. Shoka, too. Really, with those two and Shiki and Eri, Neku had it made in the clothes department, and he was not complaining. “And it’ll be hard sometimes. But most things in life worth gaining are.”

And when Fret smiled back at him, Neku knew he’d made some progress here—which was good—and then he did one thing that was decidedly not mom-like, and let Fret get the bill. Why? Because Neku was a starving college student at this point, and Fret still had parents who paid for stuff for him.

…

And then the last person who needed Neku’s help (…for now, he guessed. Because apparently this was a full-time gig. And at this point, Neku wasn’t complaining because he happily would have taken custody of all the Wicked Twisters long ago if he could’ve), was Shoka.

…Who was freaking out after Rindo having tried to give her a promise ring and wasn’t at all being her usual FanGo loving self, where Rindo was concerned.

And, yeah… Shoka could be a bit of a tsundere sometimes, but Neku felt like the issue ran much deeper.

Neku also happened to see Shoka looking into the mirror a lot lately… And at first, he wondered if she’d become self-conscious like Shiki had been.

But upon hearing the arrogant comments that Shoka still said about herself—that Neku’s surrogate little sister so deserved to say, he thought—he knew that wasn’t the case.

He tried to use a bit of his soul power on her… because it turned out that Neku was strong enough to use it in the RG some, but all that really told the ginger was that it was a deep-rooted issue with Shoka and not what said issue was.

Finally, Neku knew he had to just talk to her.

“Let me in, Shoka,” he urged her—after he’d caught her looking at wedding dresses in her apartment at a group hang-out (it was just the two of them at said hang-out right now; everyone else had gone to get food for everybody). “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

And it was pretty fitting, Neku would later think, that he used Shiki’s old words to him with Shoka here, since she made him think of Shiki some—what with her favorite Mr. Mew hoodie and all. Especially when they’d been in the Game.

And at his question, Shoka sighed—like opening her thoughts to Neku was the biggest burden in the world—and dropped the magazine like it had burned her.

“What?” she demanded, fiddling with the zipper at her neck. “About Rindo? I feel like him wanting to give me a promise ring is silly—and of a time gone by—so of course I told him ‘no’, and give him a hard time about it. Not all of us can be you and Shiki, you know…”

And with that, Shoka seemed content to ignore Neku, and to go boot up her PS5 so she could play the “Stranger of Paradise” demo.

And, hey: more power to her—Neku thought it looked sick, too—but no way was he letting her get off that easily. “That’s a lie, Shoka, and we both know it. So, what’s really going on here?”

Shoka was sighing once more now—as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. And it probably was, with this tragic girl—but she shuffled on the couch closer to Neku, which he saw as a good sign. “Fine… I guess I should have known that I couldn’t lie to Mr. Soul-Reader… I just- I feel I look too much like them: Ayano and my little sister. And I know it’s dumb, but I worry about it.

“Will I be like Ayano and settle into one thing? Like, say I get really into being Rindo’s girlfriend here… but I force myself to marry him one day, because he really wants that: what if we end up living a loveless life because of that, I didn’t want to tie the knot but forced myself to just because it was what he desired? And since I look like Little Sis… If Rindo and I do end up together, what if I end up dying young like she did and leaving Rindo alone. It’s too much.”

And here Neku had to pull Shoka into a small hug and kiss the crown of her head, whilst he ran calming hands down her arms. Shoka had been through way too much trauma for someone so young. It wasn’t fair. But even with all of that… Neku had to make sure she was sure of one thing right now.

So, he got off the couch and kneeled in front of Shoka, so she was looking into his eyes, and wouldn’t miss how serious this was. “Shoka… you definitely have a lot of baggage there, that I do think you should talk to Rindo about. And I’m so sorry that you’ve lost so much family for someone so young… but know that your family isn’t you. Their lives aren’t yours, nor are the things that they did. The things you do are going to be totally different from them, and you have to make those decisions for yourself. Got it?”

“Okay, Neku,” Shoka allowed, while she helped to pull Neku back up now. And she seemed to be blushing a little… but that was okay, because so was he. Neku may have been the mom of this little group, but big declarations of the heart like that could still be hard for him.

“Thanks!” Shoka beamed, before throwing herself at Neku to give him a quick hug this time.

And Neku laughed slightly. “No problem. Now, what do you say we get super far in this awesome demo before our friends get back, for being losers in forgetting to take us with them to get the food?”

“I think that sounds like a pretty sweet deal!” Shoka agreed, already pulling away from Neku and going for the controller.

Yeah… though Neku had certainly never signed up to be these four’s mom—and he still had no idea how that had happened—he now knew he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Especially when the rest of his children came back happy—which was always a perfect sight to see—and Shoka did end up working things out with Rindo.

It was a wonderful world, indeed.

Author’s Note: Yeah, I’m headcanoning here that the last Dive that you do (not counting Rhyme) for the little ghost from Shinjuku was Shoka’s sister.

Hope you all enjoyed!

[carnationcreation]

Can you do a Reggie x reader where the reader is Luke little sister and also in the band who been dating Reggie before they died behind her brother back . And now that they ghost Reggie out them which makes Luke and her fight . Then Luke doesn’t speak to her for awhile only to see how much the reader and reggie really love each other he apologizes then.

TITLE:  Secrets (JATP Reggie x reader)

(Reggie x reader, Luke x sister!reader)

✌🏻Masterlist Taglist, Requests, and Works in progress!

Request: yes!

Prompt/summary:  Reader and Reggie were dating in 1995, what happens when her brother finds out in 2020?

Word Count: 1,295

Authors note: special thanks to my proofreaders, @dr-rigatoni 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been two years of them dating in 1995 and Luke still hadn’t noticed. 

Even after 25 years of them being dead, he still hadn’t noticed. (Y/n) counted that as an accomplishment. Her boyfriend Reggie did not like sneaking around, hiding their relationship from her brother, but the girl insisted, knowing what the consequences might be if they were caught. 

“Why can’t we just tell him?”

“Reggie, I don’t want to come between you guys. You’re best friends; you’re my best friends. I don’t want to be the reason the band fights. We just need to be patient.”

After Julie got them back to the real world it was a hard adjustment. Apparently, 90’s fashion is considered cringey now. Luckily she could stay behind the scenes, helping write songs and edit videos. 

“For a 42-year-old girl you sure can edit videos really well,” Julie laughed.

“This is amazing! If I had had this back in high school I would’ve been the most popular kid in school.” 

“So,” Julie said flopping down on the bed, “what are you going to do about Reggie and Luke?”

(Y/) sighed, “I don’t know. I should tell him soon but there’s never a good time.”

“The longer you wait the angrier he’s going to be when he finds out.”

“I know,” (Y/n) put her head in her hands.

“You’ll figure it out, I know you can,” Julie said, ruffling (Y/n)’s hair as she walked away.

At least now when Reggie and (Y/n) snuck out it was easier yet harder at the same time. On one hand, they could teleport to anywhere they knew, on the other hand, so could Luke. They had to choose places he wouldn’t think to look and come up with game plans for if he accidentally showed up somewhere. 

“Reggie,” (Y/n) giggled, “We have to go soon, the bands probably waiting on us.”

Reggie smiled as he placed a few more kisses on the girl’s face before grabbing her hand and teleporting back outside of the garage.

“Where have you two been?” Alex said, bringing Luke and Julie’s attention to the late band members walking through the door.

“Uhhh-”

(Y/n) spoke for him, “We went down to the boulevard to hang up flyers for this weekend's show. Like Julie asked me to.”

Julie’s eyebrows furrowed before she saw the mock flyers in the girl’s hand and decided to let it go.

“You two went alone?” Luke asked suspiciously.

“Yeah…” (Y/n) said quietly. Panic quickly rose in her mind as she tried to find another way out of this, “I- didn’t want to go alone! So Reggie offered to help me.”

She nudged the boy’s elbow telling him it was his turn, “Yeah! I mean, I just didn’t want her to be alone and have something happen.”

Luke seemed to accept that answer, “Next time I can go with you (Y/n).”

(Y/n) smiled before giving Reggie’s arm a squeeze and sitting down on the couch to watch practice.

A few days later the couple found themselves in a rather troubling situation.

Band practice had been going as normal for the most part. (Y/n), Julie, and Luke had all been working tirelessly on this new song and everyone was very happy with it.

(Y/n) leaned over to continue on a new verse, her hair fell down in her face and Reggie pushed it back behind her ear without a second thought.

 The action didn’t go unnoticed by Luke.

“So,” he said, placing his guitar on the stand and leaning back in his chair, “When were you two gonna tell me?”

(Y/n) looked over at Reggie confused.

“What do you mean man?”

“I mean when were you going to tell me you had a thing for my little sister?”

Reggie's face went pale and (Y/n) started to blush.

Reggie finally spoke up, “Dude, why would you think that?”

“It all makes sense now, why you guys are always missing and come back together, why (Y/n) always saves a spot next to her for you at dinner, why you always look for her first in the crowd. I thought it was because you were best friends. Why would you go behind my back like this?”

Julie tried to step in, “Luke they-”

“Stop it,” he snapped, “I really don’t want to hear it.”

Luke stood up and disappeared from the room leaving a distraught (Y/n) and shocked Julie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following that incident, Luke refused to talk to Reggie or (Y/n). Most days (Y/n) had to excuse herself from practice to go and hide her tears in the bathroom of the garage. Reggie always came to check on her after practice.

When Julie walked in on Reggie holding a sobbing (Y/n) she finally snapped back.

“What did you say to her?” she said as she stormed back into the garage.

Luke looked up confused, “Who?”

“(Y/n)! She’s outside sobbing and I want to know what the heck you said to my best friend.”

“I just said I didn’t want to talk to someone who keeps secrets.”

Julie rolled her eyes, “So you’re just going to ignore the fact that you go to your parents’ house without telling her?”

“That’s different,” he scoffed as he put his guitar back into its stand.

“How is it any different?” Julie threw her hands up, “Your sister is out there heartbroken because what she did to try and protect the band is blowing up in her face. She only hid it from you because she didn’t want it to affect how you see Reggie! Luke, if you don’t fix this now I’m not coming to the next performance.”

Luke gawked as Julie turned on her heel and walked out.

When Luke finally came to his senses he left the garage in search of his sister. He found her in the driveway, being held by Reggie as tears ran down her face.

“Hey,” he said, Reggie looked up with a frown on his face, “Can I talk to (Y/n) for a minute?”

(Y/n) wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and nodded at her concerned boyfriend. Reggie gave her a kiss on the forehead as he left.

“(Y/n)...”

She sniffled and held back more tears, “Luke if you don’t want me around just say it. I won’t show up to practices anymore and-”

“That’s not what I want you to do.”

“Then what?” she looked up at him and his heart broke.

 Standing in front of him was his little sister, the little sister he hurt by his own words. 

“(Y/n), I’m so sorry. I acted so stupid. I promise I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, I just don’t want you to be hurt by anyone.”

(Y/n) wiped her tears away, “You think Reggie would hurt me?”

“No! No. I just… I don’t want to have to beat up any boy for hurting you. I guess... if anyone’s going to be a good choice for you it would be him. I promise I won’t bother you guys about it anymore,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

“Promise?”

Luke nodded and wiped away his sister’s tears with his thumb. (Y/n) pulled him into a tight hug.

“Band practice is canceled!” Julie yelled.

(Y/n) turned to Luke and smiled.

“Go, you guys can go,” Luke said.

(Y/n) stood on her toes to kiss her brother on the cheek. Reggie walked down the steps, catching his girlfriend as she jumped into his arms. Both of them giggling.

Julie walked up to Luke, “You did good.”

“I hope so,” Luke sighed, “Cause it’d be a shame if I had to punch my best friend.”

Julie laughed, “They’ll be fine.”

Luke and Julie smiled as they watched the two run off hand in hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[taiteilija]

Die if you want to, you innocent papaya!

I’ve just watched Jesus Christ Superstar (2000). I’m on my marry way to check all versions of this musical and since I’ve been a little bit down today (and as of late, in general) I thought that watching what is apparently considered to be the most ridiculous version would be a good idea. It was. There’s a reason why I keep reading that this fandom thinks of it as something so bad that it’s actually good. It’s absolutely horrible... I LOVED IT! 

My spontaneous remarks:

I honestly think that they simply decided that 2000 fashion was great enough to be left as it is so most of Jesus’ fam looks like 2000 fashion trademarks with Simon being the peak of ‘00s with his bleached sticky hair and dot-like beard-thing under his bottom lip

Jesus in baggy ‘00s cargo trousers... XD

Why are there like tons of graffiti from all possible times, like hippie signs, antifascist slogans, slogan of french revolution... it’s just too much, it’s an absurd, like they could not decide which one should it be so they put them all there

CAMP is everywhere!

overacting is strong with this one... Oh, so strong!

Judas and Herod are just the worst singers I’ve ever heard in JCS... THE WORST... I mean, I keep thinking that Jesus has the blank, leave-me-alone-Judas face not cause Judas complains all the time, but because it hurts his ears to hear him singing like... for Someone’s sake, shut up, already! And it's the same way with Herod who, btw, reminds me of some Tim Burton's villain from 90s.

BTW, Judas is weird mix of being Very Gay & Jealous and being Violent & Pervy Little Shit... What the hell was that about when Mary kissed Jesus while he was sleeping (btw, consent, no?) and she looked up and there he was: the Pervy Stalker Judas and he tried to kiss her to be a Mean Shit (consent, again? Come on, guys!)? I don’t actually like the way he treats Mary in this version. Really, he gets handsy and violent and I hate it

And also... like in the last song, the Superstar, he’s like devil-style and looks far too happy making it hard for Jesus to carry that cross... and also why is he still there after Jesus is crucified? Dude, you are dead, I get the Superstar cause that’s the narrative thingy, but this? 

Gethsemane was not half as bad as I expected

Jesus singing that Judas would be sorry when he’s gone and then fainting dramatically like a golden diva he is 🤣

Why the Temple is full of the Orientalism shit? 

Pilate was so damn weird with his... camp Nazi clothes and gay dreams (yeah, that dream, dear ppl, was played out pretty gay here)

Pilate: Die if you want to, you innocent papaya! - I LOVED IT! Hahahaha! 😅

the creators really do love the slow motion, don’t they?

Caiaphas, Annas and the Gang are in... the Death Star?

Caiaphas voice is frighteningly low... and so damn slow? And then he has a vision I think cause he overacts wildly to my utter amusement!

And this one guy during Jesus Must Die who realised he had left his stove on...

The emphasis they put on Jesus loosing control over his fam is quite interesting to watch, like in the Simon song, Simon is giving people guns and Jesus is really confused and angry about it all. Usually the loosing control thing is a little bit less obvious... Actually, I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing in JCS 2000... too literal, perhaps?

Jesus face when they sing Hey, J.C., J.C., won’t you die for me?’ being like: O.O A whaaaaaaaaat?

Jesus and Judas chasing one another around the table during the Last Supper made me laugh so hard... and then after this: Look at all my trials <sob> and <sob_sob> tribulations <sob>... They really ruined the family dinner, didn’t they?

Judas crawling across the table to get Caiaphas and the Gang and they are all like... <panicking> Back off, gentleman, Judas went bonkers! 

I’m out of quick remarks, I think? Head empty. But even though it was so odd and just badly done it was campy, funny and made me laugh so hard I almost forgot I’m feeling down so, yeah, as weird as it sounds, this musical can be an odd ‘00 comedy. Probably it shouldn’t, but well... I’m not complaining.