#but i do not have the artistic skill to pull that off unfortunately for me and fortunately for her

[momentomori24]

Does anyone think about how isolated Fubuki might feel being the only one to keep her memories after rewinding time? Considering the amount of trouble she gets herself into or gets dragged into, ranging from relatively harmless to downright dangerous, how many times did she have to turn back time to save herself or someone else? She can get hurt or find herself in deadly danger, and while her powers can erase that ever having truly happened, they can't erase her memories. Someone could be injured or die on her watch and then just walk and talk to her like nothing ever happened, but she'd still remember. And that's the worst part: she remembers what happened, actually experienced it herself, but it never really happened. Not as far as anyone else is concerned. While she lives with whatever trauma she endured, everyone else remains completely indifferent and the world continues on the same. How alone do you feel living like that?

And it's not even like this all could've just happened before she arrived in Kanai Ward. She literally deals with this a bunch of times in the game. Whenever Yuma screws up in Chapter 3, Yakou being stabbed by the hitman in Chapter 4, that guy that fell from the casino in her DLC-- she has go back to prevent tragedy over and over again, and she only manages to save two of three people mentioned in the end. She had to live through watching Yakou dying, bleeding out on that floor twice, unable to do anything about it twice. Not to mention god knows how many times Yuma almost got them run over or blown into bits when failing to disable the bombs or caught by peacekeepers. Not to mention the two times the casino guy died on her before she unintentionally saved his life (by having him crash land onto her taxi which is already scary enough).

All this would be fucked up on its own, but her really spotty memory isn't doing her any favours at all (hell, her Forte might even be part of the reason she's as scatter-brained as she is). It kinda makes me wonder how she differentiates between what truly happened and what happened before she rewinded time (so what technically didn't happened). If she even can, that is. I would've loved to see a throwaway scene where she randomly mentions something that that only she knows happened or perfectly predicts the very near future only for someone to be like "wtf are you talking about" and brushing it off as typical Fubuki weirdness as a little hint of her Forte before its actual reveal.

Fubuki is pretty strong to deal with all the shit that gets thrown at her and still choose to be as happy and compassionate and optimistic as she is, but I'm so glad she had Yuma to lean on and didn't have to shoulder that burden of knowledge and the physical strain alone, even if it was only for a while. She deserves to finally confide in someone and some mental relief after all the times she didn't have anyone, I think. Her ability may be the most OP one out of everyone, but it's a blessing as much as it is a curse.

[hotvintagepoll]

Do you have any opinions on modern (post-1970s) movies that you feel capture the essence (in a good way) of Old Movies?

No, unfortunately. That doesn't mean I don't like modern movies or that modern movies aren't good, but modern movies—and here I'm really using modern to mean post-2010, so contemporary movies—have different standards for pacing, characterization, budget, and production that make it harder (or impossible) to capture some of the magic of old movies. Even when modern movies clearly try to emulate that old-movie feeling—I'm thinking of La La Land, The Artist, The Shape of Water, In the Heights—they play the homage too broadly, or they ignore crucial components that make the original films work.

There's kind of too much to go into here without writing a full essay, but essentially, the Old Hollywood system—ugly, failed beast as she was—made some movies simply more accessible to make, due to the ongoing storage of props, sets, master craftsmen, crew, and onscreen talent that could move from one movie to the next without pause. If you needed a dancer, he was already on staff. If you needed a fancy bed, it was already in the warehouse. That kind of longterm storage is invaluable if you want to crank out movies quickly and cheaply because it saves so much time on individual negotiation and sourcing. Modern production companies have to work out individual contracts for every actor on every film; crew members have to negotiate rental contracts and source pieces from scratch; if you need someone with specialist skills, you have to contract them specially at a high rate, which a lot of small companies can't (or won't) budget to do. There's sand in the wheels where there needn't be any. It's wasteful, and costly, but that's the system modern movies are made with.

Which all means that even if the modern movie system wanted to make a classic movie musical just like the old ones, they couldn't, because the talent isn't already there—it hasn't been trained up enough, and there's not that breadth of knowledge you can only get from people who have been allowed to work in the same department in the same place for decades. Movies like La La Land fail, for me, because they present themselves as descendants of Fred Astaire or Busby Berkley movies, while missing the bit where Fred Astaire was a master of his craft. When you watch Fred Astaire dance—or Moira Shearer, or the Nicholas Brothers, or Ann Miller—you are watching a true artist at work, purposely showcased by the studios because they already have them on contract. Modern movies, on the other hand, tend to take people who already have star talent (as actors) and try to convert them into dancers/singers—or they pull dancers/singers off of Broadway, but then they don't have the star power built in. You end up with lackluster musicals where no one truly knows what they're doing, or they do but they're not built up enough by the studios to sell. And that's me discussing just on-screen talent for musicals—there is a huge loss behind the scenes, as well, for all kinds of movies, where roles that would have been filled by union crew who moved continuously from one job to the next have been swapped for freelance labor who live with immense turnover, financial insecurity, and knowledge loss. You could hand me the budget and I could try to make an old movie, but the industry itself has changed so much it's impossible to recapture that charm of steady, niche talent, the amazing possibilities of bonkers set design, and the ability to take a risk on a smaller movie because the other films being produced by the same studio can help balance the budget.

I've talked way, way too much about all of this! Sorry, I just have a lot of thoughts—and the one above is just one of them; the talent loss and storage issues are only facets of a much bigger problem that extends to how we watch movies today, how we market them, what we expect of them, and what's allowed in them. It's a crying shame because the talent is still there, but times change and so does the industry, for better or for worse. (And, just again to clarify, I don't think modern movies are bad—they're just missing a lot of the juice old movies got to play with, even if there's more talent available than ever before.)

[fulgurbugs]

share with us some of your silly headcanons :)

hehe i got two asks about headcanons so im gonna make yours an OT1 post and the other one an OT2 post….

Ok for OT1 here’s a random list of

Alfyn is genuinely a very good artist, he’s spent a lot of time practicing (at first just trying to emulate drawings of medicinal plants working on his ability to understand and identity them) but it ended up just becoming a hobby of his, and he’s pretty good at drawing from life, he can just sit somewhere and draw the scene in front of him or a pretty accurate portrait. this contrasts with his completely illegible handwriting. (tressa specifically finds this baffling as a neat handwriting haver and a…. decent-ish artist. she mostly just likes to doodle. she’s like how can you draw that good and write that bad. tressa they’re different brain areas alright. they don’t translate to each other)

ok. nonbinary tressa. is so real to me. i feel like she’s nonbinary in the way where she doesn’t care about the way she’s gendered, like whatever cis passing she just doesn’t give a fuck, but inwardly she’s like. gender i hardly know her. doesn’t give a fuck kind of thing (ME PROJECTING ALERT) but as she gets older she starts to just have a tendency towards more masculine ways of dressing, keeping her hair shorter, etc. light androgyny. it kind of isn’t at the forefront of her mind tho.

Therion has like, a select few party-trickish skills that he basically never pulls out because they’re objectively useless in a fight or his work or whatever. and you know. he hasn’t really had the opportunity (or outward desire) to like. ever pull out the fact he can juggle or “is this your card” some shit. this is part of the two wolves inside therion (the nobody look at me wolf) vs (the show-off wolf) so even he’s like i don’t even know why the hell i bothered to learn to do this kind of crap. (it’s because he’s got a theatrical streak.)

ok and also i was also thinking abt this a while back from the worst poker game post, but here’s a ranking of how good i think everyone is

1. Therion (cheats, but even when he doesn’t he’s really good)

2. Olberic (experienced player)

3. H’aanit (really good poker face)

4. Ophilia (often underestimated opponent, and she knows it and uses this to her advantage.)

5. Primrose (good but not great)

6. Cyrus (understands all the strategies, but cannot execute and often isn’t able to read his opponents as well)

7. Alfyn (he’s better at reading other people, but unfortunately is basically incapable of looking neutral himself)

8. Tressa (though she, like cyrus, understands the game and what she should be doing, she lacks the experience to be deceptive, is easy to cheat against, etc. but give her some time and eventually she’ll figure it out and rise in the ranks. she can be molded into a champion eventually and win all the money. just not yet.

Here a bonus doodle for this one

[hiphop-rap-and-basketball]

Tattoo • Jayson Tatum

Pairing: Jayson Tatum and Tattoo Artist Reader

Word Count: 2,290

Summary: Tattoo artist reader finally gets the chance to have her first big name client in her chair, Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

A/N: Think of this as tension but like good tension, lol . Also, I swore I had posted this. But I didn’t realize I didn’t finish it but I was so close to having it done! What a treat to have something to post for now☺️☺️ plus I wrote it over a year ago so ages might have changed but oh well. Undecided on how many parts quite yet, just hope you enjoy for now ❤️

• • •

You had a lot of clients these days in the shop you worked at now. As the word got around that you were one of the up and coming new and talented artists, you gained more and more clientele as time went on. But there was one client who you just could not wait to see at the shop again. But this time around, you had hoped he would sit in your chair for his next appointment.

It was 11am now. Today when you opened up shop by yourself, you had to sweep and sanitize surfaces. Once you finished, you sat and waited for your first client to walk in.

You heard the familiar ring of the swinging door and you looked up, feeling pleased it was exactly who you wanted it to be.

“Hello,” you greeted him cheerfully as he walked through the door, all alone. You studied his outfit for a moment. It was casual and comfy. You wondered what he had planned on getting done today.

“Hello… Is Steve in today?” He asked, looking down at the glass table that displayed and array of different jewelry in between the two of you before looking up again.

“Oh- um no, not yet. Not until 1… how can I help you?” You asked, trying to resist the urge to sound eager.

“Ohhh, okay I’ll just come back then,” he stated. He was very soft spoken.

“You sure? Did you want to just book a consultation with him in the meantime?” You asked him while turning the front desk computer on to pull up the scheduling system. “He might have something booked at the time he comes in, I’ll have to check.”

“Ahhh-well I’m looking for a certain type of piece to be drawn up…” he began as he started pulling out his phone. You watched him as he focused on scrolling through his phone with his lip pulled between his teeth and eyebrows scrunched.

“This picture but… I want it to say ‘like father, like son,’ underneath.”

You held his phone and scanned the photo for a moment.

“That’s sweet,” you replied, “did you want to just sent it over to the store email?”

“Sure,” he nodded.

“You need it?” You asked him.

“Nah, I still got it,” he stated, keeping his eyes locked on his phone.

When he sent it and you pulled it up, you admired the photo.

“That’s my son,” he stated proudly.

“That’s so sweet,” you grinned, admiring the photo. You gave him a price estimate and he shrugged and agreed to it.

“Will you be doing it then?” He asked you softly and you smiled at how sweet he seemed.

“Depends… Do you trust me?” You asked while looking up at him. Your tone came out more flirty than you intended. You almost missed his small eyebrow raise.

“I mean- if you got the job here I’d hope you have some skill,” he responded and you weren’t sure if you should be offended or not. You crossed your arms and listened to him as he continued.

“It’s just the placement… I didn’t want to make a woman uncomfortable… I wanted it right here,” he stated, patting on his thigh.

“I’ve unfortunately tattooed penis’s before… so at this point I don’t think it can get worse than that,” you shrugged and he chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“If it’s cool with you,” he shrugged. “I’m Jayson by the way.”

“Y/N,” you responded nonchalantly. “And hey- it’s my job and it’s on your body. Are you comfortable with it?” You asked him and he nodded.

“Okay, I’ll just get this drawn up then but before that, I’ll just need you to sign some papers.”

•••

He shook off his sweatpants and readjusted his shorts he had underneath before he sat down. You felt your throat get dry in response and caught yourself before you started staring for longer than you should.

When he sat back in the chair you remembered how you’d have to keep it professional. Reminding yourself that he was just another client. A really well-known individual who smelled amazing the closer you got to him. And clients should not make your heart beat and hands sweaty because it was your job to stay still and focused while you worked.

You watched yourself, avoiding any fumbling before he thought any worse of you.

You performed the usual procedure as you sanitized his skin and shaved the hair off the area. You focused on the spot avoiding eye contact with him at first until you relaxed. You were pleased at how calm he seemed and you looked forward to gaining his trust in the process.

You regained focus again, gathering together all your tattoo guns and ink included. You kept your cool and managed to get a conversation going with him.

“So what if I told you you were my first real person I’ve tattooed?” You asked him and he chuckled softly, shaking his head.

“I wouldn’t believe you, I was looking at some of your work in the front while you drew it up, You’re really talented,” he smiled and you quickly looked down before his smile became the next distraction you didn’t need right now.

“Well thank you… I could say the same to you,” you responded as you began filling the tattoo gun with ink.

“Plus, I think I’ve seen you in here before, you getting your reps in,” he responded and you couldn’t help but stop what you were doing to look up and smile at him for a moment. From this angle, he was looking down at you with his big brown eyes. His broad frame intimidating yet calm.

“Oh yeah? Well, I started a couple months ago. Have you always come to this shop?” You asked nonchalantly even though you hoped and prayed he would be back at some point.

“Yeah, since I started living here so, a couple years now,” he yawned. “Steve’s my guy.”

“Hmm,” you hummed in response as you continued inking up his legs, small grin on your lips. “Not for long.”

You were working your way down and needed to get closer to the side of his inner thigh. As you began to tattoo that spot, you noticed him shift in his seat a bit, gripping onto the chair more now.

“You okay?” You asked him.

“Yeah, yeah, might need a break at some point though,” he stated. “My legs are usually… sensitive.”

You smirked up at him. “Break already?”

“Ha-ha,” he replied teasingly. “It’s not an easy pain.”

“I understand. “You need anything right now?” You asked him, your flirtatious eyes were clear now, and he grinned slowly.

“I’m good, for now,” he replied, scanning your expression. “Thanks.”

You continued your work with a great deal of silence between the two of you. He remained focused on his phone and you remained focused on your piece.

“Steve might kill me for cheating on him…” he stated, breaking the silence after almost a half an hour.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him… for now,” you smirked, looking up at him.

“Well well well, how’d you get the apprentice to convince you to give you a tattoo?” You heard Steve’s voice ask.

“Ahhh what’s good Steve,” Jayson greeted him with a handshake.

“I’m just messing, she’s amazing that Miss. Y/N, but don’t go stealing all my clients now,” he said with a wink before walking off to the back.

Steve had been an incredible mentor and you were grateful for how much he had taught you.

Jayson gave him a friendly smile and it was quiet again between the two of you now as you made progress on his piece.

“So about that penis you tattooed before…” Jayson began and you quickly shot your head up at him at his curiosity.

“What’d they get tattoo on it? He finished.

“You won’t believe this but… they wanted a tiny dick on their dick,” you replied and he laughed.

“What the hell,” he laughed, bringing his palm to his forehead before running his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, um-“

“Did it have to be- uh… stiff?” He asked and you couldn’t help but giggle at how curious yet uncomfortable he was.

“ It was on an off,” you replied quickly.

“My god- I’m so sorry,” he said while shaking his head.

“It’s okay,” you giggled. “I still love this job. Everyday is different. And when I get to do meaningful tattoos like this one- it means a lot.”

He smiled at you before licking his lips, eyebrow twitching at the pain of the needle.

You felt your throat dry at the sight as you swallowed before you spoke. “How old is your son?”

“He’s 5 now,” he replied.

“And how old are you?”

“24,” he replied.

“Ahh, me too!” You grinned, mentally slapping yourself for saying that.

“How’d you get to practice?” He asked.

“Lots of drawing… a lot of it.”

“Hmm,” he responded, keeping his eyes locked on the needles going in and out of his skin.

“What about you? What made you so good at basketball?”

“Same thing, practice,” he chuckled. “It was my dream to play since I was a kid.”

“That’s sweet, you should be proud of yourself,” you smiled, continuing to work your magic.

“I am,” he smiled confidently. “Wait- how’d you know that’s what I do?”

“Well um, your height was kind of a dead giveaway. Plus, I don’t live under a rock.”

“Damn,” he chuckled. “Okay miss.”

“Haha my fault, I didn’t mean to come off sassy. Is this your hometown?”

“No, I grew up in Missouri. What about you?”

“I’m from here, yeah,” you replied.

“You like it?” He asked.

The curiosity in his tone made you feel warm inside.

“It’s okay, but I love that with this job I really could go anywhere. So I can’t wait to get out of here.”

He chuckled in response, unable to give a good answer as his face scrunched in discomfort as you dragged the needles through his leg.

“You’re doing great,” you smiled up at him. The slight gleam in his eye increased by your encouragement.

“I’m going to have to get more in between your legs for your inner thigh…are you comfy with that?”

“Yeah that’s okay,” he replied quickly.

He spread his thighs out and you slowly admired his tan and lean long legs through your lashes and the way they looked in your chair. You felt your cheeks grow warm as you tried to regain focus on the tattoo. Yeah his leg was blistering red from the endless stabbing of the needle but he looked incredibly fit. You wondered what his body looked like under that fabric.

“So do you have a boyfriend?” He asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.

“W-what?” You asked, shutting off the needle to make sure you heard him correctly.

He chuckled nonchalantly, “I said do you have a boyfriend? I mean, it must be kinda tough tattooing other guys the way you said you do and him not being jealous,” he chuckled, scanning the look on your face as you loosened up.

“Oh- haha, right,” you nod. “No, I’m very much single.”

“Oh, I see,” he responded with a nod, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth in a thoughtful manner. “Sorry- that was kind of a personal question.”

“It’s fine,” you smiled sweetly. “Do you have a girlfriend? It must be hard for her watching you get all the attention from women,” you smirked to yourself without looking up from the ink, dabbing it and wiping it as you continued.

“No, I’m also very single. Pretty focused on the game right now and taking care of Deuce,” he replied calmly.

“Hmm, I have a hard time believing that,” you chuckled, standing up to stretch your limbs for a moment.

“Why’s that?” He questioned, smirk tugging at his lips and he crossed his arms. His golden skin almost glowing against the hoodie color he wore.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind there’s not a woman in your life right now,” you retort, taking a sip from your water.

You had always suspected that NBA players are exactly that as you’ve seen; players. From long conversations you’ve overheard at the shop of men talking about all the women they dated. He was definitely capping.

“Well, I’ve dated a couple of women, for sure. I’m not a perfect man. There’s women out there who want you for who you are or just want you for your money, a chance at fame. It’s an unfortunate circumstance to be in, especially in my position.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say unfortunate is the right word,” you replied and soon regret it. You don’t know what it’s like to be in his shoes and yet, here you are challenging him.

“Oh you think so?” He smiled playfully. “How would you describe it then?”

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t fully understand what it’s like to be in your shoes, but it must suck only being wanted for your money.”

“Yeah, well,” he exhales. “There’s only so much you can do. I can either keep searching or just wait for the right one to come along. When you’re basically defined by your financial status, everything is so different.”

You nod in agreement, unsure on how you got on a topic so deep.

“Well, you’re still young. There’s time,” is all you can say. How far do you push it with a guy you just met but no so much about already?

“Yeah,” he lets out a big sigh. “Not gonna lie I’m feeling a little nauseous.”

“Did you eat?” You giggled.

“Not enough,” he chuckled.

“Let’s take a break then,” you smiled.

•••

Lit lit. I loved this. Still figuring out where I want to go with it but I’m excited for this new beginning 😊😊

[blackfilmmakers]

Just had youtube recommend a video that literally titled "Wish's Animation is Bad and it's Spider-Verse's Fault". Man that is the FARTHEST scapegoating I have ever seen! This person seriously didn't realize that the REAL perp wrote their name in the movie's title! DISNEY'S Wish. DISNEY 👈 Right here. That's what made Wish's animation bad. Don't sit there and lie on ANOTHER movie to excuse Disney like that 😠 Come on 🤦

Bruh I saw that on my dash and was so annoyed

"Into the Spiderverse made the 2D+3D popular, and Disney had no choice but to follow the trend" hmm maybe stop that?

That was all on Disney. They had the means to actually pull off the effect they wanted to. But no, they had to rush this team to finish an unfinished movie. Did you know this was originally going to be a 2D animated movie? And they've been on this for 8 years? That tells me they've planned and workshopped a lot of material originally intended for 2D, only to have that all scrapped at some point

What's funny is that Disney did actually create something with a 2D+3D blend style: Paperman

AND THIS WAS MADE IN 2012!

All the other movies that went with the 2D+3D blend also had their own gimmick. Spiderverse had the various comicbook style. TNMT was going for hand-drawn sketchy look. And Disney wanted the storybook look, which cool in thought

Unfortunately they messed that up tremendously. All the human/animal subjects look unfinished, and the backgrounds have no depth. Half the time I was figuring out if a background was real or if it was a mural . There was also lack of color, lack of proper lighting, and staging issues

Animating all that in cinema scope btw? Dumbass choice on whoever decided that. It doesn't make everything look cinematic, it just forces the artists to put in extra work to essentially make empty spaces no one cares for. Look at this, some of these characters are forced to be cutoff for no reason

(Disclaimer: these are screenshots from a recording of the movie)

Sure you can use cinema scope for things like westerns or deserts. It's to show how vast those sort of places are, and maybe even emphasize how lonely and isolated a character must feel when placed there. This is a kingdom, we do not want that. It is such an empty movie. I questioned whether the castle even had servants or knights who I don't think were shown until near the end. But even then there would be like 2 at a time

None of this helps the animators, writing and directors whose credentials are either: Frozen staff (that are also doing 3 and 4 as we speak) or newcomers. Newcomers are already struggling. And Frozen staff are notoriously known for changing up entire storylines last minute, so now characters change personalities out of nowhere

So yeah, the movie is either AI generated in a lot of places, or the skills of the staff are lacking.

Either way, all that to say Disney is to blame for their failure as an animation company and also

[dyrewrites]

In fog -- 17

We became a spectacle at the market, through no fault of my own I will attest, repeatedly, no matter what the street artist and her paints have to say on the matter.

It kept me close, always certain every eye knew the nature of our relationship, and I adored it. I will not lie to you now, my love, what with all I have divulged already. Those eyes were delicious on my skin, their gasps a lullaby to my nerves instead of the discordant racket they would have been back home.

I was safe with who I had on my arm.

Oh, but they did more than stare. More than murmur to themselves, they had opinions, my love, do you remember Fornel and Lavinia’s opinions? Where that landed you, me? I remember bloodied noses and angry parents, threats of suspension.

It would be worse in the market.

The innocent comments were the start of it, bothering if not riling.

“A—are those men?” “No, no, too smooth and...froofy lookin’ to be men.” “But they’re in trousers, what woman wears trousers?” “What women walk that close?” “Whores.” “They ain’t whores, too bright out...and they too pretty.”

You can understand, my love, why the following occurred.

It did not mind the attention, not a bit, smiled through it all in fact but I, well...I maintain that I did not cause the spectacle. But I may have aided in its creation.

My thoughts were not my own, as I have said, but rarely did I take advantage of that. Until then, Love, if they insist on treating us as a show...should we give them one?

The lips on my neck were my answer, and that alone set the crowd ablaze. But while I was content to end it there, to rile them a little before we slipped into the shop, I was alone in that.

It did not stop with my neck, nor did its hands stay on my arm.

We did, indeed, become a show and many of the ignorant questions were answered by where our hands explored...

Too much, love, too much, I begged through thought alone, terrified of the moaning that would escape my lips with any words.

It whimpered, in my ear it whimpered, fingers too firm in my trousers, but it pulled away, allowed me my breaths. Right then, collecting ourselves, adjusting buttons and vests, was when I spied the painter. As did it.

“How much,” it was asking as I hurried up behind it, smiling perhaps too proudly at the stunned faces doing their best not to look at me.

“Ten,” she looked it over, then me, and added, “Free if you answer a question.”

It gave her the ten, taking the painting with more delicate fingers than it had taken me, and despite the horror we inflicted on the minds and sensibilities of the townsfolk, we made it into the shop without trouble.

No one called any guards or ran us off; they were simply curious and a bit too loud about it. Delightful, is it not, my love? The further we traveled from ‘home’, the freer we were allowed to be.

Once inside the shop, I was treated to cooing women.

“Oh! Such lovely young men!”

“Are you called men, dears, would you prefer something else?”

“Look at them, all tangled up, how precious!”

At least they were kind.

And eager to assist, with one grabbing my free arm and another its, “Come, come, let us get you out of those dreadful clothes.”

Although the women were insistent, and quite skilled in their profession, it chose to clothe itself. And, bursting from their curtained dressing room, it sang, “What do you think, darling, is it me?”

It wore a silk suit of reds, blood reds, with a white ruffled thing it insisted a shirt for contrast—though not truly, seeing as how it matched the rest of it so well.

But I smiled, and nodded my agreement, “Beautiful, love, if not a bit...obvious?”

The huff was new, delighting the women into giggles as it followed with a spin back into the dressing room. I wondered then, with unfortunate volume, how does it know what it looks like...without a reflection to check?

Hearing me, always, it held the curtain open to show me the mirror inside...and its reflection in it. Smiling at my surprise, it did what it had not previously, what I did not know it capable.

It spoke into my thoughts as easily as it heard them, Are you curious, darling?

My gasp drew one of the ladies, “Your turn, dear!”

You will explain later, love, I did not ask.

And it did not answer, but the smile grew.

I became a doll, my love, hair to toes those women fussed over me.

When at last they finished I stood before a mirror in a soft black suit, with a red tie and accessories as compliment. They wanted me to match my partner. Again, my love, the further from home...

“Beautiful, darling,” it was on me before the women could move, but they did—giggling all the way. “And I do enjoy the red...”

The suit was comfortable enough, and would turn enough heads to keep a smile on my lips, but my favorite part of our trip to that shop was what they did with my hair.

Do you remember, my love, when we spent all afternoon in the dorms and instead of the usual way we spent our stolen time...you braided my hair? No one had ever done that, many in fact chased me with scissors, but you loved playing with it.

I missed that, and I had not realized how much I missed it until one of those women braided my hair. She even tied it with a red ribbon, to match the other red they clothed me in. And, my love, I was not alone with that braid. It was, in fact, common in that town for men to wear their hair in such a way...so, despite my distaste for the constricting term of male; I appeared as any other when we left that shop.

But I felt beautiful, especially when it told me I was, over and over. And with the softness of the material, there was no keeping its hands off me on our walk back to the cabin.

The ladies were sad to see us go, but less so with the large sum they were handed for the suits—and the dress shoes for the suits, and roughly four other more casual outfits and matching shoes they talked us into.

You wonder, perhaps, why I share this seemingly mundane event when I insisted what I would give you were confessions of my sins. Well, I wanted a moment of calm, of average, something sweet and beautiful in its normalcy...to soften what followed it.

See, I had expressed my disinterest in cutting anymore pain or death from anyone. It knew I would, eventually, because it had told me I had to, that to be with it required I feed my darkness. But it meant it when it told me it was trying to accommodate my hesitation, to make concessions for me.

And by the time we returned to our cabin and changed out of the nice new suits and into something more comfortable...it had devised a way to feed me without hurting innocent souls or killing anyone.

Before I tell you this part, my love, I ask that you remember my warnings. That I have much to confess, many sins, that dark spot is my entire being now. It did not happen over the months before that lovely market adventure, nor in the singular event that I will share. It was a process, long, arduous, but I would not have followed it, would not have pursued those shadows...were it not for that day.

[primeministerofantarctica]

A3! reading club: prologue

Starting off with a prolepsis is a nice technique, although I think it's interesting that only Harugumi gets spotlighted here. Probably to avoid spoilers from later troupes.... Either way, I love how Sakuya's observations serve as an introduction to the other members. Masumi's cool-headed, Tsuzuru won't rest until his scripts are perfect, Itaru's anxious about pulling this off successfully (he does care :')), and Citron's a man of mystery.

I never really thought about this before, but I like that the prologue establishes that Izumi has the experience and knowledge necessary to qualify as a theater director. She's not just diving in headfirst with no idea what she's doing.

Also, this whole "street act" thing sends me every time it's mentioned. Veludo Way has to be a tourist destination, surely Izumi's not the first person to freak out over someone faking an illness. You know those horror stories about comedians dying of heart attacks on-stage bc the audience thought they were doing A Bit; this seems like a disaster waiting to happen. What if you got into an argument with someone and a bunch of strangers started clapping.

At least Tasuku's nice enough to come over and make sure Izumi's alright. He's not going to be really relevant for a good long while, but we're already establishing that he does care about other people, despite Godza's "every man for himself" culture.

Oh, Tsuzuru, just be glad you're not a college student in the US. >_>

Sakyo, you JUST recognized the first and only person you had a crush on, the daughter of Yukio himself, and you're telling her to get lost? Why? Are you trying to save Izumi from the heartbreak of caring about something futile? Because if so, you absolutely suck at it.

Izumi's reactions are the best. Also, shout-out to Sakai-san for being able to pull off "bad at acting" without dissolving into the 100% flat monotone typical when actors try to play bad actors. You can tell Sakuya's trying, but his pauses are placed just randomly enough to be awkward. From an acting standpoint, that's got to be incredibly hard to pull off.

This makes me wince. In retrospect, it's so obvious how much Sakyo cares about this theater. He was willing to pause the demolition project for the absolutely miniscule chance that Matsukawa had somehow, miraculously, secured a bestselling performance. Of course he hasn't, but the fact that Sakyo was still willing to give him one more chance speaks volumes.

Unfortunately, he's also a realist, and he's right. People love touting "hard work" as the only thing an artist needs to succeed, but without money, most people simply don't have the financial stability to really dedicate themselves to their craft. It's harsh, it sucks, and it's unfair, but it's also true. I don't remember if we get Sakyo's backstory in the main story or a later event, but going off it it makes sense that this is the additude he's adopted.

This hits harder after finding out Sakuya basically ran away from home :(. Not like he couldn't go back to his aunt and uncle, but that's got to be crushing.

I love how Izumi is mentally pspspsing Matsukawa SO HARD to back her up, just like he did with her earlier. There is a single braincell ping-ponging between these two and Sakyo's just watching this trainwreck.

Sakuya's reaction to Matsukawa saying he cooks all the food is gold. Ofc he's too polite to say it outright, but the fact that even Sakuya feels the need to warn Izumi about Matsukawa's culinary skills is just. So funny.

Speaking of which, I think it's interesting how Sakuya's (known optimist and sunshine child) first reaction to realizing Izumi was lying is a despondent "Does that mean the troupe is going under after all?" He immediately cheers up and snatches the smidge of hope offered to him, but this little piece of character writing goes a long way in setting up his hopefulness as something that isn't based on naivety.

I'm running out of screenshots and too far in to consider making another post, but gosh. Masumi, I love you, but you are making it REALLY easy to remember why I didn't at first. I will concede that his blushing and not being able to look Izumi in the eyes is cute, though. If there was more of that and less of...this, I might have warmed up to him a lot earlier.

Also, Tsuzuru agreeing to join after finding out there's free food is an absolute Mood. Five minutes of screen time and he's already a voice for college students everywhere.

The last few minutes are pretty much what we'd expect - Tsuzuru (very conveniently) says he's a scriptwriter, Izumi eagerly accepts the free labor before he can join a union (I'm joking, I'm joking.), they run back to the theater and Sakyo says he'll give them one more chance. The conditions won't be revealed until the next chapter, but it really is a testament to Sakyo's love for Mankai just how lenient he's being. A month might be cutting it pretty close when prepping for a play, but Sakyo's a debt broker in the freaking Yakuza, and almost definitely acting as a middleman between this company and someone higher up. Ofc the Yakuza here are a lot more lighthearted than the ones in real life, but that's still got to be incredibly risky.

[lovelessmotel]

kinktober day 3- glove kink

happy october!! starting off kinktober on this blog with some buddie! <3

Eddie is a great firefighter. Everyone know’s this. His skills in the field are part of why Buck fell for him in the first place. 

However, Eddie as a paramedic? Well that’s a whole other beast. 

The confidence, the laser focus, the skill, the way he commands the scene. It’s a turn on, all of it.

By far the worst thing though, has got to be the gloves.

Eddie’s hand oh, his hands. Buck’s been distracted by them many a time, but Eddie the paramedic snapping a glove over his hand and barking at Buck to give him a tourniquet? Anything you say McDreamy. Or maybe Eddie is more of a Mcsteamy. 

It definitely isn’t just the gloves that he finds attractive, that he knows. He doesn’t pop a boner whenever Chim fills one up with air with his mouth and lets it go flying around the truck bay. It’s just that when Eddie is wearing them, on his beautiful, strong, skilled hands, that it makes Buck a little weak in the knees. 

Sometimes he feels like Eddie’s hands must have been sculpted by an artist, by one of the greats, gifted to him by Michelangelo himself. If Buck were any sort of artist he would try his best to recreate the long sharp lines of his hands in a sketchbook or even put them on canvas. Unfortunately he isn’t good at either of those things, so instead he just chooses to look. 

Well, more appropriately, stare.

“Buck, are you with me?”

He blinks, head snapping back up to see concerned eyes looking back at him. 

“Yeah, uh sorry.” 

He hands Eddie the blood pressure cuff he requested and ignores the spark he feels when their fingers brush.

The dreams that come along with it are sort of a problem too. Well, he’s always had dreams about Eddie, ranging from the mundane to the romantic to the downright X rated.

These ones are mostly the latter.

Eddie jerking Buck off with those magnificent hands in the station showers. Thick fingers in Buck’s mouth to get him to stay quiet. A particularly sweat drenched dream where Eddie rolled up his sleeves, snapped on his gloves and ordered Buck to his knees. 

Buck swears that when he woke up he could still feel the tight grip of Eddie’s latex covered hand in his hair.

Buck’s able to hide it pretty well, his affinity for Eddie in gloves, for long enough that thankfully it becomes moot when they start dating. Now he can stare as much as he wants without worry. Even though he still feels extra tingly when paramedic Eddie makes an appearance. 

Bobby's assigned the two of them to take inventory of the trucks, mainly to keep them out of trouble on a particularly slow day. They’re sitting inside in the back with the doors open, pulling items out from underneath seats and off the doors while Buck clicks his pen and scribbles on his clipboard.

“First aid kit?”

Eddie grabs the box next to him on the seat, giving it a shake. “Check.”

“Now would you please open the box so the contents can be properly inventoried?”

Eddie rolls his eyes and smiles, popping open the plastic lid. “Yes I can. Hit me.”

Buck runs his pen down the list. “Bandaids?”

More shaking. Eddie hums. “Mmm I’d say half a box left.”

Buck would prefer something more accurate, but they still have a whole other truck to do before the end of shift. “Alright, antibiotic ointment?”

“Check. Brand new tube, unopened.”

Buck smiles, pleased with the thoroughness of his boyfriend's answer. “Gloves?”

“Uhhhh, yeah there’s-oh. Wait.” Buck frowns, looking up from the sheet to see Eddie pulling a blue glove down over his hand, flexing it back and forth, wiggling his fingers. “Hmm, my bad. Thought I saw a hole.” Eddie makes a fist with the gloved hand, clenching in and out. 

When Buck finally looks up to meet Eddie’s eyes, he realizes in an instant that he’s been had.

“Oh you asshole.” 

Eddie laughs, pulling the glove off and shoving it in his pocket, now used and useless. “Sorry, but I had to. You’re not exactly subtle about it.” Buck reaches across to shove Eddie in the shoulder, and he just laughs again, grabbing Buck’s hand before he can pull away. He places a kiss on Buck’s palm, before letting go. He returns his attention back to the first aid kit, pulling out more supplies.

“By, the way-” Eddie smiles over at Buck, innocent as ever. “Now, we’re out of gloves.”

[ask-s-offenderman]

Hey arc, I just saw your post about the game with Smexy. I gotta ask, when you first created this character, did you expect him to become as big as he’s become, and did he developed in a way that you like after the fans got a hold of him. Also if you could do one thing differently. What would it be?

Arc: I expected him to become big, but I expected somone else whos actually interested in pornographic stuff to run off with the basic concept I put forward while I would be anonymous and get back to drawing superhero comics and pokemon.

But it turns out, counter intuitively, an asexual person (somone who doesn't experience sexual attraction) is actually one of the best kind of person to handle heavy topics like assault and abuse, because I couldn't be horny about that kinda stuff even if I tried.

And rape is the one sexual topic you don't want somone to be horny for.

So I kinda had to toughen up and try to take responsibility, despite how entirely contrary the character and everything he stands for are to my actual interests.

Because the current norm of either relegating such topics to either porn or discussions with a often prohibitively expensive therapist, often only serves to let misconceptions about the topics run rampant and push survivors of abuse out of communities.

Like I'm the sort of person who really wants to do good by people. Nothing grinds my gears more than innocent people suffering horribly for no good reason. With it seeming like almost everyone around me was and is suffering from some sort of suicidal depression or another.

And ultimately I had to face the facts that more good could be done by using offenderman as a tool to encourage people to face their biases, have opportunities to talk about heavy topics openly with their peers, and help to set up methods by which assault and abuse could be, for lack of a better term, desexualized and depicted as horror rather than erotic.

Unfortunately though, the further the fandom gets from my original content, the more generic sexyman and less of a satire he becomes.

Not that I can really blame most people though.

People underestimate how difficult of a task this sort of stuff is to pull off well.

Like it sounds absurd (because it is) but trying to undo literal centuries of really awful cultural baggage through media is a nightmare to try and pull off even on a small scale.

Even more so when you have mediocre skills and zero budget.

And I only have so much time and motivation to be able to deal with that kinda stuff.

Though I am making one last big push to try and fix the problem somewhat. Hence the kickstarter.

Basically I'm making a guide book for the cannon of the offenderman character and how to use him. The kickstarter is to pay artists to help with the visuals for the book and make it more engaging to read with drawings and comics and stuff.

You can see a teaser for the book here.

And if I could do one thing differently, it woulda been trying to make the guidebook much earlier.

[penny00dreadful]

OOOOOOOOH! You did the Steddie ask game tooooo.

If you don't mind, I have a few questions for you!

2: Favorite Steddie fanart artist? (Because I want to share the love!) 6: Ghost Eddie or Vampire(Kas) Eddie? Why? 9: Do you imagine they would have been childhood friends? WHYYYYY? :)

If you've gotten any of these questions from other asks, feel free to sub in another of your choosing or just strike the question completely. :)

I did do the Steddie ask game! Please send me as many questions as you want! 🥰

2. Favourite Steddie Artist?

Oh boy okay. There's so many! I follow so many and they're all so good?? Like how do make drawings look like that??? I could never. The skill! The talent! The way they make me feel things??? I'm obsessed but I have to narrow it down so I'll give you the three I follow the closest. @fernandesart @inklessletter @resande adore them all 🖤

6. Ghost Eddie or Vampire (Kas) Eddie? Why?

So I do love Ghost Eddie, I do. But there's too much opportunity for heartbreak there so I can only do Ghost Eddie when I get a happy ending because I'm ✨ sensitive ✨ 😅

But Vampire Eddie? 😳🫡

God it can be SO good. And it can go in so many different directions! Possessive, feral, unhinged, protective (all A+(within reason)) OR he could be soft, he could want to burn the world with his love, he could be a cute little rat man (or bat man) who needs taking care of, dedicated or loving and it's all magnificent.

Probably helps I've had a healthy interest in vampire lore for a long time and I keep trying to ignore that creeping spectre of that Dracula AU because I am DETERMINED to have my other WIPs finished first!

9. Do I think they would have been childhood friends? Why?

So like listen. We all know children are not biased. Children are blank slates (complimentary) and don't have the prejudices and issues adults have so I cannot see any reason why Steve and Eddie wouldn't be childhood friends.

If it was their decision.

I think Steve's parents (at least his fanon parents who knows what his canon parents are like) would take issue with it. I know people like Steve's fanon parents in real life and rarely will they say "I don't want my kid playing with him because he's poor or whatever" they KNOW that's not a good look, they'll say "I'm not a bigot BUT" so they'll go about it in other ways.

They'll be wary around the other kid because either that kids parents didn't do things the 'right' way; had the kid out of wedlock, never married, didn't pull themselves up by their bootstraps enough (gag), don't keep up with the latest fashion trends, their home looks old fashioned. Or maybe they have a criminal/alcoholic/addicted family member (whether they do or not is often irrelevant) and they seem to think it'll rub off on their kid (???)

So I think if Steve and Eddie did play together as kids, I unfortunately don't think it would have lasted long before Steve's parents steered him more towards people 'like them'

Thank you for the ask, my love! I hope I answered your questions. 🖤

Ask me Steddie questions!

[more-than-a-princess]

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐏 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖

I like to be called: Rae

one thing you should know about me: Ooh, I haven't actually answered something like this in awhile! So perhaps a few things then. The main one, I suppose, is that I Am Not Fast (just like Baymax). I have a full-time job, family, other hobbies, and I'm getting some health issues under control outside of RP, and so I'm prone to utilizing my queue most of the time. Alongside with how much I tend to write and the time it takes to write starters and replies (and research, and plot, etc), I tend not to post too much each day but I post consistently. Please be patient when looking for a starter or reply from me! In most cases, I will tell you if I'm no longer feeling muse for a thread or if I want to end an interaction. If you're someone who prefers instant replies or starters to asks and threads, I'm not a great roleplay partner for you (same goes for one-liner or one paragraph replies/starters, too!). I also try not to take on more threads than I can handle, so those I have active threads with won't be waiting months for replies while asking for more memes/starters (this is a pet peeve of mine!). Besides all of that, I try to be around to plot and chat as much as I can, but with the aforementioned things outside of RP I'm not always around or able to do so: sometimes I'm at work or needing to be working, sometimes I need to be writing, etc. I'm not ignoring you: I will usually reply back to questions or messages on tumblr and discord, but it sometimes slips my mind. You're always welcome to ping me again if you think I've missed something!

thing you should know about rping with my character(s): Respect goes a long way, but perhaps the biggest issues I run into while playing with Sonia is that sometimes muns have assumed the following things about my muse: she's not smart/she's an idiot, she's easily romanceable/shippable due to her friendly personality and aforementioned supposed idiocy, and if she's not in love with a muse that it's a slight against a ship in general. I tend to keep 'canon divergent' in my bio just to address these points specifically, as I've seen them be common interpretations of this character in the DR fandom and, personally, I don't agree with them nor do I choose to write Sonia that way. The most important thing I can stress about Sonia is that Sonia is a sheltered, pampered person, but she doesn't want to remain that way. She's not a snob (unless you are a member of the upper class and look down on those poorer and/or less fortunate than you) and she wants to engage with as many 'normal' aspects of life as possible. She does get some phrases mixed up, particularly slang, but as she grows up her proficiency with Japanese is much better, so there's less slip-ups in her adult verses. Additionally, she's far less naïve in her adult verses just for the fact that she's spent considerable time away from home at this point. The sheer amount of skills she has listed in canon (many of which never show up in the game, unfortunately) isn't something that someone dumb or dim-witted could possibly pull off. She is booksmart and relatively athletic, but her common sense and artistic talents? Mostly terrible (and that's not even mentioning her culinary skills, or lack thereof). Sonia is also a slow-burn romantic muse with a lot of responsibility and familial/duties baggage that comes with being in a relationship with her. I pull a lot of inspiration for her family and for Novoselic from both real life and royal-inspired fiction, and I understand and respect that some of the views of her family and country are, at first, very close-minded and potentially uncomfortable for some muns.

joy to work with: See all the mutuals I'm writing with on my blog! Yes, them! But on a more routine basis, it's rare that a day passes that I don't at least chat with @cantillat and @quickdeaths for a little while. I admit I'm not the easiest person to chat about whatever with or gush about muses, mostly due to limited time and offline commitments. But Sin and Bryn are very understanding about that and patient with me, which I appreciate. I also throw inspo at @dcviated when I see it and chat with @orderbourne and @obfuscatingveil a little more often recently. But otherwise, yeah: check out my blog and see the blogs I'm threading with? Yes. Those blogs. I like writing with them! I will say though: plotting usually equals more detailed replies, as I can plan for certain scenes and situations that are coming up in the storyline.

first language:  English, some French. I may have retained a little Latin and Japanese from my school days, too.

age range: under 13 | 14–17 | 18–22 | 23–25 | 26–29 | 30+ | 40+ | 70+ 

am I okay with nsfw?: yes | no | some nsfw (depends entirely on the ship/muse/mun writing said muse)

my favorite/most common thing to rp is: angst | adventure | fluff | smut | crack | action | plots | AUs | violence | darker themes | other

this rp blog: does contain ooc posts | doesn’t contain ooc posts | occasionally contains ooc

tagged by: technically Bear tagged me in this

tagging: You, if you're looking to avoid writing replies or any other pressing commitment.

[openly-journaling]

Wrath: Friday January 20th 2023

Was in the middle of working on a mini animation and our last nib broke and we move in a little over a week now provided the weather is good. Kind of late to order more so now we won't be able to draw for two weeks unless we desperately pull out our old tablet and learn to redraw on that thing.

I'm sobbing dying inside because we finally got off block and got our creativity back after nearly an entire year it feels like. Like we really got back into it.

I never really realized how much of a coping mechanism art was until we fell out of after healing from a lot of our trauma and now are dividing back into it since we're we're staying in the town that legitimately gave us all our worst traumas. And then of course the creativity came back.

Does make me wonder if we ever get comfortable enough if we'll ever even somewhat give drawing up. I say somewhat because we do want to try architecture but at the same time I have a feeling there a couple people down south that may very well resurface a lot of trauma for us. Which, while we don't exactly want and definitely try to avoid, it's good for our art.

So maybe our trauma isn't all bad.

But I've also come to this realization that a lot of artists really hate their art and their art style. Which is odd to us because we've been in that same boat but not to such severity. If we make a mistake we hate specifically that mistake but let it be to learn from it in the future. I think the early gentle parenting growing up that our dad gave us before foster care shattered us helped shape our confidence early on. So we don't struggle quite as much. We rarely compare our art to others and when we do it's more of an obsession over their art that we try to even semi copy that art style or implement it into our own.

Perhaps the worst hate we put on our art is when something just isn't working perspective wise or the lineart isn't working. I suppose we have worked to be perfect but perfect to us. Which was almost always good enough.

The way the whole class would stand over our shoulder in amazement and watch us draw gave us a confidence too. It made us feel good and adored. Considering we didn't get a ton of attention growing up.

It became less and less impressive to people as we got older but there are still some people that absolutely go wild for our art. We've finally found a comfortable community that loves it! The furry community has been very kind to our art.

I think our problem for so long was trying to draw furry art in front of people that decided dogs having head hair must mean that's a horse despite the different nose and sharp teeth. That was annoying. Completely different face shapes. We drew animals in front of people that preferred human art.

Which, while we still enjoy doing sometimes, we are still heavily learning and even come to learn more how much happier furry art brings us. So.. we'll stick with what we love most, what we're good at whether people like it or don't. And eventually we'll find our crowd.

I'm just glad we don't have a huge lack of confidence in our skill of art. We can look back at the oldest shit and wonder how people thought that was good. And it makes us realize that we have come a very very long way. We're proud of ourselves. Really.

Next we're going to attempt to work on more perspectives. Like this piece I'm so damn proud of. Our first drawing where we're really trying a different perspective.

No actually, that's the second one. Now that I think of it, this is our first. Unfortunately so many people want to call it inappropriate though and it never hit off. Like I'm sorry that people legit have asses? I'm sorry for drawing it right? She fell that's the whole point of this piece was just to get a literal difference in perspective. It's not like I'm exposing her or giving you a full on ass shot in the face. My god. And that was before a signature change as you can see

Anyway. We've come a very long way since then and I'm just happy with all of it. Satisfied that we can do so well.

I guess I do sometimes wish our art style wasn't so set as it is because there are definitely artists that have art styles we're jealous of. But to be fair, if we all had the same style... I think art would get pretty boring. So.. I'm glad I have a recognized art style of my own.

It does change depending on the headmate but not always. I'm not arguing with that. Hell most of our headmates can't draw at all! I'm glad to be one that can.

[ikykwkleeknoww]

Wait, Kim Seungmin?

seungminxgn!reader

a/n: I love feeding into my delusions of meeting them some random day 😃

wc: ≈1k

“Alright guys, I have to go now”. Bidding goodbye, Yn parted ways with their friends and strolled towards the bus station, headphones plugged inside their ears.

They saw a young man in the distance, desperately running to catch the bus but failing miserably. The man pulled a phone out of the pocket of his wide jeans, fingers moving on the display. He lifted the device to his right ear, the screen clinking against his earring.

By the time Yn had arrived the bus station, the male started talking on his phone. “Hey old man, I missed the bus. The next one? Uhm, wait lemme check…damn it, the next will be here in 20…yes, I’ll take care. I’ll hang up now, bye Channie hyung!“

The voice is kind of familiar, Yn thought. But they couldn’t make out whom it belonged to, quietly they sat down on the bench together.

Yn pulled out their phone to chance the music playing in their ears.

Choosing the playlist they created of their favorite artist, they clicked the shuffle button and streetlight started playing. It was one of the a little older songs they liked.

The male next to them copied, he pulled out his headphones too. Though, he selected an audio message he was sent.

Yn checked the time after a few minutes, the neon pink of the song’s cover catching the man’s attention. He knew the bright and contrasted colors all too well.

He plugged out the wireless headphones, tapping his bench-mate’s shoulder “excuse me?” Yn flinched a little since they had looked into the other direction and did not notice the latter’s movements.

They immediately took off the earbuds too, “yes, can I help you?” They looked into man’s eyes, unfortunately, his face was covered by a black mask and the shadow of a cap, so that was the only thing they could see.

“Not directly. Are you a STAY by any chance?” The man scratched his blond head nervously, only then did they notice the perfectly cut and blond mullet he had.

“Yes! Do you listen to Stray Kids too?”

The man nod his head abruptly, “yeah! Can I ask who your bias is?” Yn giggled slightly, “I love that question. So,” the stretched the last vowel while adjusting on the bench, making them face the young male.

“I don’t really have a bias, I adore them all equally. But oh Changbin, he is so adorable. I think he is my bias wrecker, I mean, have you seen him? That man is god sent! He is so so beautiful and his arms -I wish he could take me into a headlock with them, to be honest. And his rapping skills? And the vocals?! Ugh. But beside him, I am ot8 biased!”

Yn didn’t realize that they had begun ranting from excitement. They couldn’t help the dose of dopamine that flooded their body. “Man, I really hope I could meet them and tell them how much I appreciate their music, but more than that, themselves.”

The other one just listened to what they said carefully, his eyes sparkling with joy. “I bet they know how much they are loved”, “oh, they better do!” And with that, the little small talk turned into a conversation.

They didn’t even notice how fast time had passed in their enjoyment, until the bus pulled up. “Well, I need to take this one.” The boy looked up and checked the vehicle’s number, “hm, that’s my bus too!”

Inside, it wasn’t all too crowded. The man sat down, patting the free seat beside him. “Aren’t you going to sit down?” Yn grinned, sitting down next to him and pulling their bag into their lap while replying with a small “thanks”.

The first few seconds passed with a comfortable silence, the two youngsters looking outside the window peacefully. Until, the man spoke up: “by the way, what’s your name?” The latter huffed in amusement, “it’s Yn. What about you?”

The man hesitated for a second, but he knew what he was getting himself into when asking that question. “My name is Sky”, it wasn’t necessarily a lie. “That’s a pretty name, suits its owner”. Sky blushed at the compliment, his eyes forming into adorable crescents.

“Cheesy”, “I know” Yn shrugged their shoulders, grinning while doing so. “Cats or dogs?” They laughed out loud at his question. “Playing 21-Questions, aren’t we?” The latter only giggled entertained, “cats though, I like cats better.” That made him gasp dramatically, “HOW could you?!”

Yn laughed out loud again, “you behave like Seungmin, it’s cute”. They commented as they nudged his side with their elbow. He only chuckled, scratching his head, trying to act nonchalant.

“Well, you could be Minho-hyu- with your cat obsession!” His seat mate laughed at that, “fun fact: I’ve named my kitten ‘Lino’”.

They’ve continued the conversation until it was time for Yn to get off the bus.

“That’s my sign to get going, it was very nice meeting you, sir Seungmin-2.0!” Sky chuckled before quickly asking, “will you go to the fan meeting that is soon?” The other person nodded as they stood, “of course, I’ve even managed to get 3rd row seats!” They excitedly told him. “Really? We’ll meet then, I’ll look for you!”

Yn waved goodbye as they hopped out the bus’ doors, “I’ll look for you too!”

What they didn’t hear was Sky mumbling “that won’t be too difficult”.

The night was windy, so they hurried to get home. Only a few minutes they were cuddled up on the couch with a packet of instant ramen in their favorite flavor. They were just about to continue watching their show, when a notification popped up on their phone.

Quickly checking it out, they saw it was a YouTube live, started by the one and only I.N. As a result of that, Yn selected YouTube on their TV, rather watching the live than continuing their show.

Jeongin was answering to comments already, his ginger and white highlighted hair falling into his face. A door shutting was heard from the other side of the screen, making him look up by the noise.

“Oh, I think Seungmin got home”. And indeed, the boy in question appeared on the screen, wearing the same cap like Sky. A black mask in his hand as he waved at the screen. “Hello STAY, how are you?” He asked as he adjusted his blonde mullet, leaning onto the younger’s shoulder with all his weight. Jeongin whined, pushing the elbow off of him.

That’s when it hit them, inside Yn’s head the wheels started to work. “Wait, no. This can’t be, right?”

Yn is kinda stupid for taking so long to figure it out, lmfao

[aeoki]

Fist of the Shangri-la Idol - Epilogue 1

Location: “Fist of the Shangri-la Idol” Movie Set Characters: Hokuto, Subaru, Mao, Wataru & Eichi Season: Summer

TL Note:

Eichi makes a pun here as the first character used in Tomoya’s first name is also the word for “friend”. I opted for alliteration by changing “friend” to “teammate” because I couldn’t come up with a suitable pun, unfortunately.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ< The next day. The official start of the filming for “Fist of the Shangri-la Idol”. >

Hokuto: “ARRRRGH…!?”

Hokuto: “Dammit! Why? Why can't I win!? Why can’t it be me!?”

“Hey! Look at me! Don’t ignore me! Recognise me as ‘someone importaaaant’!”

Wataru: (How wonderful! Hokuto-kun, you’re doing a great job demonstrating the character’s narrow-mindedness! That’s correct for the underdog – the “Evil Martial Artist”!)

(See? You can pull off other roles apart from the “prince” when you put your mind to it!)

(You’re the type of person whose talents mature late. In reality, sometimes even I do not have the ability to perceive how broad your abilities may be.)

(Perhaps that’s precisely why others who don’t know you well see you as someone aloof.)

(You always have an indifferent expression on your face, so most people see you as a calm and collected type of person, after all.)

(I don’t think that’s quite right as an actor… But you must struggle with expressing your emotions, don’t you, Hokuto-kun?)

(That’s because you can’t see your own emotions.)

(But you have a huge passion that swirls around to form a nuclear fusion. That was once a driving force used for the revolution at Yumenosaki Academy.)

(You must take hold of that passion and learn to use it! Just like how you became aware of your sense of inferiority and shame within you and made it a part of you!)

(You’re always carrying the large sense of inferiority you feel from your parents, who are living legends, but you treated it as something that didn’t exist…)

(No, you were mistaken and thought you could use it as your sustenance.)

(I’d like to copy Shuu-kun and say, “Non!”, but you’ll just pretend you never saw that!)

(Or that was hit the nail on the head so accurately that you were just unable to acknowledge it!)

(But right now, you were able to learn of those emotions because of the friends that stand side-by-side with you.)

(That is a bridge connecting the large amount of passion you feel towards your parents and the volcanic crater.)

(The friends you’ve felt closest to you have awakened those emotions – And you were able to acknowledge them.)

(It was nearby so you were able to hold it in your hand and take a good look at it.)

(It’s not Barubaru, or rather, Subaru-kun who is always aware of that fact.)

(But because it was Makoto Yuuki-kun, who supposedly shouldn’t be able to face those emotions, was your opponent…)

(That’s why you thought it was strange and wondered “What is this?”, observing it closely!)

(As a result, you were able to come to terms with it and made it a part of you!)

(You were able to obtain a new weapon that uses the familiar emotions everyone can sympathise with as bullets!)

(This is where it gets interesting! Turn all those infinite emotions within you into a weapon and show it to the world!)

(Once you’ve done that, then you’d have experienced “acting” for the first time! Simply using skilled movements is not enough!)

(Ahh, I’m beginning to want to act my heart out!)

(I wish I didn’t have such a role! I wish I had more scenes!)

Eichi: Hehe. If you’re wanting to appear in more scenes, shall I have a talk with the director and arrange that for you?

I can whine like a child and say, “If you’re going to increase more of my scenes, then do the same for Wataru.”

Wataru: Oh? You read my mind quite easily there, Eichi! That’s my party skill, you know?

Eichi: It’s only because you let your emotions show. It’s rare to see that from you.

Wataru: Hehehe. It’s not my turn right now, so there’s no need for me to be in the scene~ And I’ve already been poisoned to death in the story~

Besides, I ensure my acting is professional when I’m with you, but I do have times where I express myself honestly.

Eichi: Hehe. It seems we’re still seen as children who should act that way, somehow or another. 

Wataru: Indeed ♪ Perhaps it’s because of the fact that “fine” has a childish impression due to Hime-kun.

But the world sees us as an innocent and pure unit…

The staff were shocked to see your acting as the “wicked merchant”.

Eichi: To be honest, that sort of villain-like behaviour would be closer to my true self, as opposed to my public image of a “pure and elegant angel”.

Maybe that’s why I was able to do a good job. They ended up having to include me in more scenes, though.

Wataru: That’s a good thing, no?

Eichi: Yeah. It’s just a movie character, after all. It’s nice to show the fans this side of me too.

…We never know when there might be an enemy who’ll force us to show our hidden sides to the fans.

If anything, that’s a conventional method used for idols who make a living by being popular.

I’m sure they’ll be shocked when they see my “dark” side for the first time and I figured it would be nice for them to slowly get used to it through fiction.

It’s just a stopgap measure though – it’s better than not being prepared at all.

Subaru: You got this, Ukki~! You can do it, Ukki~!

Mao: Yeah, get ‘em~! Get revenge for us~!

Eichi: You’re quite the noisy bunch. The tape’s rolling, so be quiet. We were also chatting so we can’t reprimand you too harshly, though.

Subaru: Gotcha ♪ But I feel like those emotions are infecting me, so I’m starting to get excited too~!

In “Trickstar”, Hokke’s the only one who’s an enemy in the story, so it’s sad that we can’t support Ukki~ together!

Eichi: Hehe. It’s also unfortunate that our adorable Touri is with you on the good side.

But Hokuto is on the bad side instead, hm? I suppose he’s charming in his own regard.

Mao: Um, judging by the way you’re speaking… you’re not the person who decides who gets what role?

Eichi: Nope. Of course, as the movie’s sponsor, I did tell them what I vaguely wanted.

I told them I wanted to prioritise the opinions of the professionals in the moviemaking business – of the directors and the other staff.

They say to go to the specialists if you want the best results, after all. So I’m pretty surprised, if I’m being honest. I didn’t expect Yuzuru to be the “rival” and Makoto-kun to be the protagonist.

But the director told me Yuzuru had the best acting aside from Wataru.

It seemed like he was able to pull off any role. He always appears to be wearing a mask, so I assume it’s just because he’s used to it…

Maybe Wataru’s successor isn’t Hokuto-kun but Yuzuru instead.

Subaru: Say what~? What about him? The princess, Shinonon’s teammate, Tomoya-kun?

Eichi: His teammate Tomoya-kun?[⁎] Hehe. Of course, he’s a potential candidate as well. He’s skilled enough for me to want to throw him right into the audition.

But the cast for the movie has already been decided to be from StarPro.

Mao: Is it kinda political…? But now that you mention it, Yuzuru has been doing a great job acting all this time.

He doesn’t make mistakes and he seems like someone straight from the movie.

If it was an idol movie, it’s pretty common for others to see them as the actual “idol” as opposed to the “character from the movie”.

Eichi: We’ve made adjustments to the script in order for it to appear like that.

That sort of tradition exists, you know? Behaviour that’s not fitting for the idol’s image isn’t allowed to be incorporated in the movie.

It’s there to protect the idol, but at the same time, you could say it also places a limiter on idol movies.

It’s quite a troubling subject.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ← Previous Chapter ᠂ ⚘ ˚⊹˚ ⚘ ᠂  Next Chapter →

[csmeanerr]

(Stygian-Shade, but also applies as a general vent) I fucking hate it when someone joins a server and immediately grind every damn quest and prompt with their shit art then start acting like a veteran with their bank. And even worse when immediately start demanding for things in the suggestion channel as if they've been here for years. It's just so unfortunate that since art is subjective, experienced artists can't exactly press an "extra polish" button for extra rewards on CS prompts. So we have to watch as beginner or new artists grind and finish quests that were meant to be complete in a matter of months or years in a few days with maximum point output because they can just draw some flat lines with a flat "background" much easier and quicker at that stage. If I were to attempt something like that with my existing portfolio that shit would get rejected or judged for laziness, understandably. Someone who pretty much just started in art recently grinded almost 1k worth of shadow tokens in quest commissions within what may be a week and above. What the fuck. And we know people buying don't give a shit about the art quality and just want quests done in the shortest time possible. Yet it's impossible for regular artists to even think about getting this level of output without breaking their fingers.

I'm not trying to blame anyone it's just maddening to see in general, my skills just feel so fucking devalued. Heck, even the whales in Stygians still can't bear to offer even a SINGLE REAL LIFE DOLLAR when looking for quest art in the server (5 gacha pulls for a piece of quest art, really?). And I know this is a hot topic so people will start trying to refute by making me sound like an asshole. "buh buh buhttt" No. I don't care. Put yourselves in our shoes. This whole thing is shit. (Sorry for the long rant. Do not post if off anon please)

it's a difficult balancing act with a community full of so many people

[chloe-the-ice-queen]

This Doesn’t Mean We’re Friends - Ch. 2

Hey guys! Another chapter done and posted, I hope y’all enjoy it!! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, I probably won’t cap it unless I really need to :)

First | Previous | Here | Next

Marinette and Chloe rode in the Bourgeois limo from Marinette's bakery to the Grand Paris. Chloe filled her in on what to expect and what to do. "I'll be with you most of the time, so I can tell you who to steer clear of, and who you should try to talk to. I'll try to introduce you to a few people I know would be interested in your designs. You made that dress, right?"

"Yeah, designed and created it from scratch." Chloe eyed Marinette's dress appreciatively. It was tastefully made, the dark blue complementing the girl's dark hair and bluebell eyes. The top was halter-style, with a high neckline and no sleeves. It fit Marinette's form, with rhinestones glittering on her torso. The bottom half of her dress was long and elegant, falling loosely to the floor, the front hem higher than the back, showing off Marinette's silver heels. It wasn't half bad. 

It was actually quite impressive, as most of Marinette's designs were. She had upgraded from her normal pink capris and grey cardigan outfit after Lila had come back to school, transitioning to a more stylish, modern look. But this dress was nothing less than gorgeous on the small girl, but wasn't overly classy and overdone like some dresses she was sure to see throughout the night. It looked nice, but it didn't look like she was showing off, which Chloe could appreciate.

Chloe herself wore a sleek, sleeveless yellow dress that highlighted her fair skin and bright blue eyes. Chloe's hair flowed freely around her shoulders, curled and styled, while Marinette had hers up in an elegant bun, with loose curls framing her face. Together, the two girls contrasted each other, but the stark differences went well together. 

As they pulled up to the front of the hotel, paparazzi and reporters swarmed the red carpet, bombarding the famous partygoers.

"They shouldn't be too interested in us, but just ignore them." Chloe advised Marinette, before opening her door and sliding out of the car. Marinette slipped out behind her, adjusting to the flashing of cameras and the buzz of conversation. She shut the door behind her, and joined Chloe in walking up the front steps.

Just going to the event was sure to bring her some recognition, especially accompanied by Chloe, but she wasn't too worried about being bombarded by paparazzi. Only a few reporters bothered them, and as instructed, Marinette tuned them out.

Once they entered the ballroom, the chatter became more of a dull roar. Chloe greeted a few people mingling just inside the doorway, before they were accosted by a very familiar voice. Adrien, who was dragging a disgruntled Lila along behind him. "Hey guys! It's nice to see you here!" Adrien enthused. 

"I'm sure." Chloe said, unamused. "Now if you don't mind, we need to-"

"I thought that you could introduce us to some of your friends here, Chloe. That way Lila can make some new friends-" Adrien interrupted. Lila suddenly looked interested in their conversation. 

"Well, since we know how many connections Lila has, I'm sure she doesn't need me to introduce her to anyone." Said Chloe. 

"Don't be like that Chl-"

"Chloe!!" Someone near them half shouted, turning the heads of people around them. A boy around their age was walking over to them, waving. "I wasn't sure if you'd come or not. It's been a while." 

"Henri!" Chloe said, looking entirely amused. "I haven't spoken to you since that party in London."

"I doubt either of us will ever be invited to that again." Henri said, making Chloe laugh. Now that he was closer, Marinette studied him. He was very handsome, objectively, of course. The kind of easy beauty that makes you want to laugh or cry. He had dark brown curls, and kind brown eyes that sparkled with amusement. When he glanced at her, she felt her face flush a little. Chloe and the stranger, Henri, traded stories and jokes for a minute, while the other three observed. Adrien seemed to recognize the newcomer, and Lila was waiting for her chance to jump into the conversation.

"Now," his voice was quieter, teasing, but making sure the other three heard him as well. "You should introduce me to your very pretty friend here. I don't believe I've seen her at any of your events before." He smirked at Chloe, who rolled her eyes. 

"This is-"

"Lila, nice to meet you." The green eyed girl said, sticking out her hand, which he ignored, looking at her with annoyance and slight disbelief, if Marinette had to guess.

Chloe seemed taken aback, "This is Marinette, an amazing up-and-coming designer who my mother and Gabriel Agreste have both scouted for their brands." She turned to Marinette, "This is my friend Henri, his parents are both models and his mother is a designer my mother has collaborated with. I'm sure the two of you have quite a lot in common, so why don't we go find a table to chat?"

"Why don't we come with you? You know that I happen to be friends with quite a few designers and models myself, I might be able to give some input." Lila said, while Adrien, who had been looking angry at Chloe, perked up. 

He and his date began to follow the trio, when Chloe said, "Sorry, you two, but my mom reserved a table just for three. And I'm sure Lila can get you guys seats next to someone much more important anyways." She grabbed Marinette and pulled her along with her to a table near the front, Henri following behind them.

"Adrien's gotten worse since last time." The boy remarked as they sat down.

Marinette looked at him disapprovingly, when Chloe responded, "I agree. I thought it was just because of his dad, but his social skills have somehow become even worse since he started going to school."

Marinette looked surprised. Probably because she felt surprised. Didn't Chloe like Adrien? Wasn't he her best friend? Maybe they had a falling out, or maybe Chloe had stopped liking Adrien for the same reason Marinette had. Whatever the case, they could all agree on one thing. 

"That girl is nasty." Henri said. "Do you know her?"

Marinette and Chloe looked at each other. "Unfortunately," Chloe supplied. "She's in our class."

"Ah, my apologies. Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Marinette. If you're as good as Chloe said, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around more."

Marinette smiled as Chloe said, "She is quite talented. She made the dress she's wearing."

The bluenette looked at her shoes under the table. "Ah, an excellent designer then. I'll be sure to mention you to my parents when I get the chance. In the meantime, though, Chloe, I need to be going. I need to talk to a few people before I head out, it was good to see you again." 

The three stood, and Henri turned and hugged Chloe, and then turned to Marinette. She smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Henri."

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." Henri said, and took Marinette's hand, kissing the back of her knuckles lightly, his eyes teasing. Marinette laughed, blushing slightly. 

The trio separated, Chloe pulling Marinette off to meet other people.

Through the entire interaction, two pairs of green eyes watched the small group from across the room. One filled with jealousy, one with annoyance and maybe a little sadness too.

----

Throughout the night, Chloe introduced Marinette to dozens of people. A few designers, models, artists, business moguls, celebrities, you name it. In return, Marinette stayed with Chloe and endured tedious conversations she had to engage in for her parents' sake. Chloe would never admit it, but having the baker girl there was nice, it made the evening slightly less unbearable. 

For the bluenette, it was great exposure into the fashion world. She got to meet several of her idols and make connections with influential people. People started to hear about her designs, many of them admired the dress she wore that showcased her budding talent.

Style Queen herself was thrilled to see her there. Chloe had let her mother know who she was bringing once Marinette was invited, of course, but Audrey was still happy to see her favorite young designer.

At the end of the evening, Marinette and Chloe rode back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery together. When the limo pulled to a stop, Marinette started to get out, then paused. "Thank you so much for everything Chloe. I know you don't like me much, but tonight was so much fun and I'm so grateful that you introduced me to so many people. And thank you for inviting me to come with you, even if it was just to tick off Lila." Marinette gushed, honestly honored by Chloe's thoughtfulness, even if it was caused by spite.

"Yeah whatever, you're welcome Dupain-Cheng, this doesn't mean we're friends, okay?" Chloe grumbled.

Marinette smiled. "Good night, Chloe." She closed the door before Chloe could respond, and walked into the bakery. 

----

When Marinette went to bed that night, she went to sleep with a happy buzz in her chest, Tikki nestled beside her on the pillow. 

Alrighty then, I guess that’s Chapter 2 done! I hope y’all liked it!! And that should also be the end of these super short chapters, the next one will definitely be a lot longer, and will hopefully be posted sometime tomorrow?? I love you guys, thanks for all your support!

@agentofscifi