#cipher twenty-two

[dingoat]

Three of Pentacles

Upright: teamwork, collaboration, building  Reversed: lack of teamwork, disorganized, group conflict

[orellazalonia]

Escape Room Chaos

Summary: You take Steve and Bucky to an escape room for a fun, relaxing evening, but things quickly spiral into chaos. Both somehow ignore the obvious clues in favor of dramatic theories and property damage. You’re just trying to survive until you can successfully escape without a lawsuit. (Steve Rogers x reader x Bucky Barnes)

Word Count: 1.6k+

Main Masterlist

You really should’ve known better.

The moment Bucky rolled up his sleeves and said “This’ll be easy,” you felt the first ripple of doom. You’d booked the escape room as a fun, harmless activity. Something like a little post-mission team bonding that didn’t involve hand-to-hand combat or collapsing buildings. You even picked a cheesy detective theme, thinking they’d enjoy something grounded and puzzle-y. Maybe even quiet.

You were wrong.

The three of you stood in the lobby of “The Great Escape,” surrounded by plastic magnifying glasses, dusty fedoras, and a suspiciously chipper staff member in suspenders and a fake mustache. She gave you the usual speech: 60 minutes to escape, no real danger, don’t break the props, yada yada.

Steve nodded solemnly like he was being briefed before an intense mission. Bucky? He crossed his arms and smirked. You could already tell his competitive switch had flipped.

The room itself was dimly lit and lined with fake wood panels. A ticking clock glowed red above the door while there were clues scattered everywhere ranging from files, books, old telephones, and even a fake fireplace. As soon as the door clicked shut behind you, Steve took a deep breath like he was about to deliver a speech at a press conference.

“We should split up to cover more ground. Look for patterns, numbers, keys. And be sure to keep a level head.”

You blinked. “It’s not a hostage situation, Cap.”

But Steve was already kneeling to inspect a lockbox with the intensity of a man deciphering enemy codes. Meanwhile, Bucky was tapping along the walls with the knuckles of his metal hand.

“Could be a hidden panel,” He muttered.

“Could be drywall,” You replied, dragging your palm down your face.

Ten minutes in, you had two clues solved and one increasingly serious argument about whether the bookshelf was a red herring or not. Bucky was now trying to climb it.

“James Buchanan Barnes, get down before you collapse the whole set!” You hissed.

He looked down, half-smirking. “It’s not real, doll. Look.” He gave it a little shove, just enough for it to creak ominously. You glared.

Steve, across the room, had located a cipher wheel and was mumbling to himself. “It’s gotta be a Caesar shift. Or maybe Morse code…”

“Steve, it’s literally a riddle that says ‘Look in the desk drawer,’” You pointed out, pulling it open and revealing a key taped inside.

He looked genuinely offended. “They’re dumbing it down.”

You exhaled through your nose. “Yes, they’re dumbing it down for people who aren’t 100-year-old super soldiers who do escape rooms like they’re battle strategy.”

By minute twenty, you were regretting everything. Steve had taken charge like a squad commander and Bucky had declared himself the “wildcard” of the team, which essentially meant “loose cannon with a metal arm and no patience.”

You were the only one actually reading the instructions on the wall.

By minute thirty, you’d reached the room’s second stage which was a secret chamber revealed when Bucky yanked on a wall sconce you definitely weren’t supposed to touch.

You all froze when the wall creaked and groaned like a bad horror movie. Then, with the slow drama of a B-grade haunted house, the panel slid open.

Steve actually clapped, cheering.

“I knew there was a hidden passage!”

“No, you didn’t,” You said, stepping cautiously inside. “You were still trying to decode that cipher wheel that said, ‘The butler did it.’”

The new room was darker with a desk, some faux-blood splatter, and a very questionable plastic skeleton slumped over a chair. Its skull was tilted sideways with a bowler hat perched on top of its head. There was also a magnifying glass clutched in one bony hand, and a suspicious envelope glued to its chest with “CLUE #6” scrawled across it in marker.

Steve stared at it. “I think we’re meant to… talk to him?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes. “Interrogate the corpse.”

You opened your mouth to say something, then thought better of it. You just took out your phone and started recording. For science… and for future blackmail.

Steve crouched beside the skeleton, folding his hands like he was addressing a witness. “We’re here to help. If you can tell us who killed you, we’ll bring them to justice.”

You bit your lip so hard trying not to laugh, you swore you tasted blood.

Bucky leaned over the desk and yanked the envelope from the skeleton’s chest.

Steve’s jaw tightened. “You’re contaminating the scene.”

“It’s a twenty dollar prop, Steve. I don’t think it’s going to trial.”

Then Bucky poked the skeleton’s head, making it fall off and clatter dramatically to the floor.

Everyone stared at it. Steve looked personally offended.

You raised an eyebrow. “Did you just decapitate our only lead?”

“It… it was barely hanging on anyway,” Bucky muttered, setting the skull back with exaggerated care. “These things happen.”

Steve knelt beside the fallen plastic remains, eyes full of regret. “He served his purpose. We thank him for his sacrifice.”

You threw your hands in the air. “It’s a skeleton, not a fallen comrade!”

The intercom crackled. “Hey guys,” The perky staff member’s voice rang out, “Just a reminder: Please don’t disassemble the props. Sir with the metal arm? Yes, you. Please don’t interrogate the decor.”

Bucky gave a small chuckle. Steve immediately stood at attention. “Sorry, ma’am.”

You looked between your two supersoldier boyfriends and the half-decapitated skeleton, then turned toward the camera in the corner and gave it a deadpan stare. “I just wanted a nice evening. That’s all. Just puzzles and maybe a little fun but no. Instead I get a dramatized cold case and two very intense golden retrievers with trauma.”

“Hey,” Bucky said with a shrug. “You’re the one who invited us.”

You squinted at him. “…You know what? That one’s on me.”

By minute forty-five, you were starting to suspect the real puzzle wasn’t the escape room. It was figuring out how you were going to survive this without needing a drink afterward. Bucky had taken it upon himself to test “structural weaknesses” in the fake brick walls. His version of “testing” was punching one lightly. With his metal arm.

The wall cracked and the room went silent.

From the intercom: “Please do not damage the set. Also, we are not responsible for injuries caused by over enthusiastic participation. Thank you!”

You turned on him like a storm. “What happened to ‘this’ll be easy’?”

“It is easy. The wall just looked suspicious,” Bucky replied, wiping fake cobwebs from his sleeve like a man with no regrets.

“It’s foam!” You yelled. “It’s suspicious because it’s clearly styrofoam!”

Steve, meanwhile, had discovered a locked chest with an old rotary phone on top. He was pacing in front of it like he was expecting it to ring with instructions from headquarters.

“I think it’s a code,” He murmured. “We dial something, and it opens. Maybe if we spell out a word using the numbers-”

“Steve,” You interrupted, pinching the bridge of your nose, “The clue literally says: ‘Dial 911 to unlock the final key.’ That’s not a code. That’s just instructions.”

Steve blinked. “Oh.”

He dialed 911 on the dusty phone. The chest popped open with a ding and a dramatic puff of dry ice that startled all three of you.

Inside was a black keycard and a note that said “Final door: 5 minutes remain.”

Bucky snatched the keycard. “Let’s finish this thing. I’ve got a hot date with a milkshake and a nap.”

Steve furrowed his brow. “We should think this carefully and plan. There could be traps in the last room.”

You looked between them and snorted. “What, like the staff’s gonna throw in a booby trap just to spice it up?”

“…They could,” Steve muttered. “It’d be unexpected, that’s good design.”

You made a mental note to ban both of them from anything resembling a mystery game for the rest of your natural life.

Then came The Moment.

You all stepped into the final room that was all dark with eerie music playing from a hidden speaker, and a blinking red countdown above the last door. Dramatic fog rolled out across the floor.

There was a button on the wall.

Just a red, glowing button with a sign above it that said:

“EMERGENCY ESCAPE – DO NOT PRESS UNLESS YOU GIVE UP.”

You hadn’t even opened your mouth to say “don’t” before Bucky pressed it. The room lights blared on and the music stopped. The countdown froze at 00:03 as you all stood in stunned silence.

The intercom crackled again.

“…So, you technically escaped, but also forfeited. That’s… a first.”

Bucky blinked. “What? It said emergency. I figured it’d blow something up. Or, like… open a trapdoor. Something dramatic.”

Steve looked personally betrayed. “We were three seconds away from winning with full completion.”

“You were still looking for tripwires,” You snapped. “I was reading the last clue. He just wanted to blow something up!”

Bucky looked sheepish. “You can’t give me a glowing red button and not expect me to press it. That’s on them.”

You stared at the ceiling like it might offer you divine intervention. “I invited two enhanced soldiers into a puzzle-themed children’s attraction. This is my fault. I accept that.”

As the final door clicked open and the staff came in to escort you out, one of them gave you a pitying smile.

“Hey,” She said brightly, “At least no one tried to climb into the air vents this time!”

You blinked. “Wait. That’s an option?”

Steve immediately looked intrigued.

You grabbed both their arms. “Nope. Out now. I’m buying you both ice cream so you don’t break anything else.”

[daisychainsawman]

i can go back and forth with bill cipher's feelings on the individual pines family members for big amounts of time because on one hand: bill was literally going to kill dipper if he'd succeeded in sock opera, and he threatened to do the same to mabel with a letter he probably knew she'd find. but also, when he tricked mabel into giving him the rift, he had every opportunity to just kill her then, but instead he put her in a bubble where all her dreams come true? okay, plot armor, but also alex hirsch's input in the sock opera commentary exists and he says bill sees himself a little in mabel (makes sense, because mabel parallels stan and stan parallels bill so they're narrative cousins). i kinda doubt that him seeing similarities within himself and mabel means much, though; the way i see it, their shared traits are just things that he can exploit, which he did do. of course he does literally say "now THIS kid i LIKE!" in tbob. game recognizes game. being liked by bill probably isnt a compliment but its still noteworthy. maybe he DID sympathize enough with her to deliberately give her a nice little party world she commanded (similar to what he himself wanted) as long as she never got in his way again.

dipper is less complex because yea he hates that kid. he was obviously gonna kill dipper first in weirdmageddon 3 guys, come on, that eeny meeny miney mo was NOT SUSPENSEFUL! i just think its ironic how: bill hates stan more than mabel, bill hates dipper more than ford. like a seesaw. what he sees in stan that reminds him of himself, he despises, but what he sees in mabel and himself, he kind of respects? and then alternatively, bill is obsessed with ford, gives him the chance to be a hench maniac, uses his one phone call in the theraprism on him, and then when it comes to dipper that kid is just ANNOYING! DEDICATE TWO WHOLE PAGES IN YOUR BOOK TO HOW PATHETIC HE IS! i chalk it up to the circumstances in which they met. dipper was never under the impression that bill was a Totally Stand-Up Guy and finger gun laser blasted his bowtie off, embarrassing bill after he ranted for twenty five minutes about how he was the boss of the mind scape. ford on the other hand, was buying everything bill was selling because he didn't have the benefit of a forewarning (unless you count the thing on the cave wall that said "do not summon" but i think we all would've broken down in that situation).

anyway yea. its just interesting to me.

[inkedintothepaper]

I’ve come to make an announcement, Bill Cipher is a bitch ass mother fucker, he pissed on my fucking grunkle. That’s right, he took his dorito fucking dick out and he pissed on my grunkle. And he said his dick was THIS BIG and I said that’s disgusting. So I’m making a callout post on my new sweater: Bill Cipher, you’ve got a small dick, it’s the size of this gnome except way smaller. And guess what, here’s what my dong looks like. That’s right baby. All points, no bricks, no pillows, look at that it looks like two balls and a bong. He fucked my grunkle, so guess what, I’m gonna fuck the earth! That's right, this is what you get! My SUPER LASER PISS! Except I'm not gonna piss on the earth. I'm gonna go higher. I'm pissing on the MOON!! How do you like that, Time Baby? I PISSED ON THE MOON YOU IDIOT! YOU HAVE TWENTY THREE HOURS UNTIL THE PISS DROPLETS HIT THE FUCKING FALLS, NOW GET OUT OF MY FUCKING SIGHT BEFORE I PISS ON YOU TOO

[crows-in-the-house]

Envy

summary: hc's for Bill being jealous and doing awful things to everyone around you

pairing: yan! jealous!Bill Cipher x gn!reader

tw: toxic behaviours, mention of sex (at the end), death of a pet

his actions would be dependent on how much you spend time with either him or them - whoever "they" are. A pet? How cute, how silly, oops it's dead! What? It would die in a year anyway, stop making a fuss.

do you have a pack of friends? He wants to meet them! Let's see what kind of worthless scums try to take your attention from him!

a partner??? Do you know how much those things take from yours his time? You should break up with them this instant! Chop chop kid we have galaxies to overthrow!

at first he would be delicate, testing the ground and just manipulating you into spending more time with him. Maybe he would start adding some praise here and there, maybe doing actual nice things, like creating an (actually edible) meal out of thin air, or stopping the rain when you don't have an umbrella on you

just for you kid, just for you

soon it wouldn't be enough tho. He would start possesing you - promising he needs only twenty minutes and won't harm your body. Why not, what could go wrong?

this way he would "meet up" with your friends. At first he would just break in to their hauses and watch them sleep, wondering what do you see in them. What alse would you possibly need that he can't offer?

he would start reading their diaries, sometimes destroying the pages in the fit of rage at a mere mention of you. (The same would happen with their minds, if he would notice them dreaming about you)

would put ropes and knifes everywhere, break every lightbulb, draw triangles and ominous runes that somehow make their insides itchy. Maybe he would switch their salt with sugar. Or arsenic, who knows.

what would happen if all of that wouldn't work? That you still hang out and are even closer? That you start suspect Bill has been doing something suspicious lately? He would move to a different tactic of course.

also would tie them in their closets and set their homes on fire

it would be making you intruduce him to all your friends. He would make you sing praises of him and all his good deeds. After all, he's your inspiration, companion, best friend, your everything! Why not spend time with your other friends and "loved ones" together?

(he would not acknowladge your partner as gf/bf, no, it's just "that other mammal", but what's wrong with that, Bill is just Bill, he calls people stupid names all of the time!)

oh how cute you are, not noticing how uncomfortable all of those meatbags are. You just adore him, right?

every time you'd leave the room he would start gushing about you two spending time together. He would imply you prefering him, loving spending time with together, laughing and doing interesting stuff alone, just the two of you, kinda like a pair.

he would make gross remarks about their appereances, getting right into their insecurities. But why would that matter? They are not good enough anyway!

he would also posses you during sex making you moan his name instead of your partners. But don't act so fussy! It was just a joke!

if he would want to especially get under your partners skin (not litterally this time) he would gush about you hugging and kissing him every day. In reality it's just him squizing and licking you but tbh he doesn't see the difference

he would destroy all your matching clothes and accesoriess, no matter if it was with your friends, family or partner. It could be some 6 year old ex memrabilia, he doesn't care, it goes to the fire when he finds it, the only one you can match with is your lord and saviour Bill Cipher!

but don't think he would be only cruel! He would always whisper you just the sweet nothings when you're tauching yourself! Oh come on, just go on and stop telling him to leave, he needs to study human anatomy!

over all, this guy would be possesive and cruel not only to you, but also everything in your proximity

[linopls]

kinktober day twenty-three

deep throating chan x gn!reader warnings: SMUT MINORS DNI, oral (male receiving), throat training 0.3k words

“you got it, baby. you’re doing so good for me.”

it was hard to respond to chan when his cock was buried deep in your throat. this was the farthest he had ever been, his tip touching the very back of your throat. you could feel your air becoming restricted but at this point you didn’t care, you just wanted to make him feel good.

you’ve given chan head plenty of times, but you always ran into the same problem. it was big, almost too big. you could take a decent amount of him in your mouth, but you wanted to take the whole thing. you suggest throat training and each time you would try and take more and more of him. and today was the day, you were determined to touch your nose to his pelvis. 

your nails were dug deep into his thighs and you look up to his handsome face through your eyelashes. he looked so hot like this, standing above you, holding your hair out of your face, as he guided his cock down your throat. 

“still doing okay?” he asks, stroking your cheek with his thumb.

“mhm,” you moan around his cock and chan’s eyes roll back in his head.

you tap his thigh three times, a signal the two of you made to let him know you can take more.

“more? are you sure, love?”

you moan around him again and you swear his jaw could’ve hit the floor at the rate it fell. chan gently pushes more of himself into your mouth. he watches your reactions closer, ready to pull out if it becomes too much for you. but to his surprise he’s able to push all the way in until your nose brushes against the skin of his lower stomach.

“holy shit, y/n,” he whimpers. “fuck, g-gonna cum, so tight.”

you such in your cheeks and move one of your hands to his balls, massaging them gently as you feel thick ropes of his cum spill deep into your throat. chan wraps his hand around the base of his cock and slowly pulls it from your mouth where you release the tip with a pop.

“my god, y/n,” chan sighs admirably. “i’m so proud of you.”

short and sweet unlike his c...

@rockstrhanji @hyunjinhoexxx @mixtape-racha @euphoric-univers @haruharu-egypt @shit-why-what @twiggoblin @kookiesbunny @virgohannie @nataliee10 @ihrtlix @aaasia111 @lolli4me @lilcutieana @changbinsrightboob @hanjisunglover @chansducky10 @elissasimp @boi-bi-ahaha @lilquokka04 @anglerfishiey @sirenscall1031 @might-be-a-rat @jihyun2monster @kpflyn @samsmitty @imwithurmother @meilix @summer3sworld @mysweethannie @kittykattime @linoots @yaorzu-blog @sofiaeli 

@alemi-i @cupidsmoons @yoongles2025 @vixensss @chlooooop @lemontried @idkluvutellme @superiorbrownskinn @ana-stasssiaaa @amayaaseees @ilikecatsanddoritos @alnex05 @esairevmp @greysweaters-blog @sanzusfavgf @jutannies @faraonatojishady @hanniemylovelyquokka @chloeskzboomboom @quinnluvsmoney @burningupp-replies @aisha-md @jo-dinner @jeannie-beannie @httpsimmy @hazneezs @cuffier 

@dvbkie099 @il0v3skz @chrishak@quokkaaah @bex90997 @sheeshhhhfelixsworld @leeknowyah @tumadreposts @hyunniebunni @cipher-ipher @alice630 @jinnies-princess @bangtancultsposts @evrythinghqppened @rebellescauses-blog @juicypebbless @fawnpeaks @the-life-of-stella @lakoya @compersian @seung-mine @mal-lunar-28

[tinkrtailrsldrspy]

Gravity Falls Fanfic Ideas That I Will Not Finish But Encourage You To

= Amnesia for Everyone!

(if you want, please steal these ideas, no credit needed - just send me a link once it's done cause I wanna read!)

Bill heaved out a weary sigh at the sight of blue fire surrounding them. His eye creased in a sad smile, watching as Ford stood from the plush red chair in the room he’d conjured. The man tried to keep his expression neutral, but the gentle, resigned smile he gave Bill told of his emotional state deteriorating as his mind was destroyed.

“Thought we’d have forever, Sixer,” Bill admitted softly, catching Ford’s hands in his and leaning their foreheads together. “That this was all just… you being contrary, I guess.”

“You really wanted me forever?” Ford chuckled bitterly as his grip on Bill’s hands tightened. “Thought that was just one of your lies.”

“I always wanted you to rule by my side,” Bill’s voice was small as his body began to glitch in-and-out of focus. “There’s never been anyone, in any universe, in any timeline, that could make me feel like you do, Sixer.”

“Please,” Ford hissed, his expression morphing into one of open grief as wetness gathered in his eyes. “No nicknames, not right now.”

“…Ford,” Bill whispered. His eye blinked open, when had he closed it, and he extended an extra hand to lift Ford’s chin up so their eyes could meet. “!Nruter yam I taht rewop eht ekovni I !nrub ot emoc sah emit ym ,L-T-O-L-O-X-A.”

“What does that even mean?” Ford laughed as tears finally broke past his barriers. “You and I are dying, and that’s the last thing you say to me?”

“No, that was just in case,” Bill admitted with a wry twist of his eye. “These are my last words: Stanford Filbrick Pines, you are the only being I have ever been capable of loving.”

Ford opened his mouth to respon-

-

Fiddleford had helped to restore most of Ford’s destroyed memories, but there was still a large gap in them. For instance, he remembered all the information he had gotten from traveling dimensions for three decades… but he couldn’t remember how he’d gotten that information, or even why he’d run through each dimension so quickly.

He remembered fighting to save the world alongside his brother and great niece and nephew. He didn’t remember what they’d been fighting against.

He remembered having a fallout with his best friend thirty years ago. He didn’t remember why or how it’d happened.

“It’s him,” Dipper had told Stan over the phone, bitterness still obvious even through the static over the line. “It’s Cipher. He doesn’t remember him, so he doesn’t remember anything associated with him.”

Stan hummed as he watched Ford enthusiastically explain to Soos each and every moth in his collection, with Soos comparing them with different iterations of Mothra through the years. He’d not actually expected the two to get along, but it settled something in his heart to see his pseudo-son getting on with his twin brother. And Ford hadn’t looked this happy and carefree in…

“Let’s hope it stays that way, kiddo,” Stan grumbled as he smiled. “He’s the brother I remember, not what that monster turned him into.”

A knock on the door interrupted the call, but Ford was quick to get up and pat his brother’s shoulder as he made to get it, knowing the weekly calls with the younger twins were something Stan looked forward to desperately. When Ford reached the door and pulled it open, there was a sudden rush of frozen air in his face that wrapped its tendrils around his warmed body. Then, looking down, he was able to see the reason for the late-night knock.

A young man, in maybe his twenties, stood before him, thin arms wrapped around his emaciated body, teeth chattering and body trembling in the cold. His hair was long, waist-length, blond roots with black tips, and might have been curly when clean. He had only a single working eye, midnight-blue, while a horribly fresh scar ran over the closed lid of the other. The injury stretched from the far left of his hairline, over his closed eye, nose, down his cheek, and disappeared down his neck into the thin sleeveless shirt he wore.

“My goodness,” Ford hurriedly ushered the young man into the house, shucking the coat he was still in the habit of wearing inside and wrapping it around him. A hitch in the man’s breath warned him of incoming emotions. “Are you alright? What in the world possessed you to be out in that weather?!”

The blond looked up at him, lips trembling as tears spilled from his singular eye. “I don’t know,” he whimpered. He shook for a moment before he threw skinny arms around Ford, burying his face in the older man’s chest, sobs wracking his body. “I don’t know!”

Hesitantly, Ford returned the embrace, rubbing the poor creature’s back. An inquisitive noise had him turning his head to give Stan an utterly baffled shrug.

[smol-vehvi]

Here's a list of all my fics!

Hello, I'm smol-vehvi and I love to write Gravity Falls fan fiction! Check out my AO3, or don't I'm not your parent. :3

^^ Here's the first book in my Among The Stars series, a Drifting Stars fic!

Fic description: When Mabel falls through the portal during the events of Not What He Seems, she meets her long lost Grunkle under unusual circumstances. On the other side of the portal, Dipper and Stan are left to pick up the pieces to get their twin siblings back.

^^ And here's the sequel! (Currently in progress)

Fic description: Two brothers set off on a quest to repair their relationship and bring peace to the Multiverse. In Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher sets his sights on revenge...

^^ I got a really angsty One of Us AU fic too if you wanna try it!

Fic description: Stanford Pines made a very different decision at the base of a church the day gravity fell and earth became sky. Over twenty years after that event, the Pines family still feels the consequences of his actions.

That's all I got for now but I'll add more fics to the list as I write more. :D

[yandereonepieceimagines]

Can you do yan arlong x mermaid reader thats part of a crime syndicate?

--------

What a unique request! I’ll see what I can do for you. It may not be my best work, since the ending ends a bit dry, but I hope it’s close to what you were hoping for.

------

Arlong the Saw

It started with a theft. But not the petty kind typical of the East Blue. Kuroobi- Arlong's trusted officer and one of his strongest swimmers, had been sent on a dangerous recovery mission far beyond the usual routes. The waters were treacherous. Swirling with unseen currents and predator-filled reefs. But the treasure waiting there? Worth the risk. Or so they'd believed. It had been scouted. Secured, supposedly.

Kuroobi returned bloodied and seething, a deep scratch etched across his cheek, and the heavy bag of treasure he’d been sent to retrieve? Gone.

"A... A mermaid," Kuroobi muttered, rubbing the wound with barely disguised fury. "She was fast. Much faster than me in the water. Her aura... I couldn't move. It was like drowning while still breathing. Just her glare nearly crushed me."

Arlong's sharp teeth clenched at the word. A mermaid. One bold enough to steal from a fish-man. Worse. One so powerful that even his own men, trained warriors of the sea, had no chance.

At first, he was furious. How dare you? But when he got the description; long, lean tail covered in scale patterns unfamiliar even to seasoned fish-men, a powerful swimmer's build that clearly outclassed the average mermaid, and a perfectly human upper body with toned arms and eyes as deep and as clear as an efficient maelstrom, his curiosity twisted into something darker.

Interest. The first waves of obsession.

He sent scouts. He scoured harbors. He even set aside his manipulations with Nezumi and the corrupt Marines. All to learn who you were. And over time, a name began circulating through East Blue’s underbelly like a whisper: the Tide Fang.

You.

The syndicate's silent fin. A slippery thief. An opportunist who could breach any vault, crack any marine base and vanish into foam. Rumors claimed you could navigate deep currents that would crush lesser swimmers and knock a ship sideways with just a single tail whip.

Your bounty? Four hundred million.

Arlong scoffed at first. That had to be exaggerated. Until he saw you himself.

From afar.

Slipping aboard a human pirate ship under moonlight, you moved like a predator through bloodied waves. He watched, stunned and wide-eyed, as you tore through the hull with a single, thunderous whip of your tail, splitting the vessel clean in two. The two halves of the ship sank in opposite directions, creating violent undercurrents that twisted through the wreckage. The human crew screamed and flailed as the chaotic pull dragged them down, swallowing them whole without mercy. Their desperate cries echoed in his ears. Not with pity, but with a sick thrill that made his gills tighten. You vanished into the depths with seastone cuffs and the most valuable loot, leaving behind a graveyard of splintered wood, drowning men and the undeniable proof of your power. And still, he had no idea who you were working with.

You didn't even care to see him.

And that pissed him off.

He dug even deeper. Terrified pirates. Shady traders. Even whispers among low-ranking Cipher Pol agents. You weren’t just a strong thief. You were the scout for a powerful crime syndicate operating in the shadows of the world. One that welcomed humans. Fish-men. Merfolk. Minks. Even skyfolk.

Humans.

Minks? Skyfolk? Arlong had never seen either one before. The idea that you worked beside them should have filled him with rage.

But it didn't.

Instead, it twisted him inside. How dare you grow so strong without him? How dare you walk this path, and make it look so effortless? Your Haki? Much stronger than his. Your bounty? Twenty times his. Your alliances? Unthinkable.

And worse… You looked happy doing it.

Laughing beside some Jackal-like mink who still sparked with electricity when fighting enemies with zero effort. Sharing food with a human who wore confidence like a coat. Trading secrets with brokers from all walks of life.

You were everything Arlong told himself he hated. And yet, he found himself watching you more. Wanting to be near you. Fantasizing.

He couldn’t take you by force. Not unless he wanted to die painfully. Your Observation Haki was razor-sharp. Your Armament could snap his spine in two. And that syndicate of yours? Rumors said your leader was a giant. A real one. The kind that had crossed into the East Blue, too. No one knew how. But if it was true, then even Arlong Park could be reduced to driftwood in a single step.

So he waited.

Plotted.

Let his obsession fester behind his dilated pupils. He lingered near ports you passed through. Intercepted messages that mentioned your alias. Polished his blade more carefully. Wondered, idiotically, if you'd ever notice him.

He told himself it was strategy.

But in truth? Arlong, once the proud voice of fish-man supremacy, had become a shark swimming circles in very shallow waters. Mad for a woman who didn’t need him. Mad for you.

He wanted to change that.

Word was spreading now. Quiet, urgent whispers lapping at the edges of the underworld. The Tide Fang and her giant-backed syndicate weren’t planning to linger in the East Blue. No, their mission here had been small, sharp, and critical. Some unknown objective no one had details on. But it was done. And they were moving. Back to the Grand Line. Maybe even back to the New World.

Arlong's time was running out. He wanted to try to change that. Even if it killed him.

[whencyclopedia]

Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots is presented through the lens of her surviving correspondence in this new book by Jade Scott. This intimate exploration of Mary's life, primarily focused on her time incarcerated in England, utilises her letters, and most intriguingly, her ciphered letters, to understand the intricate relations and happenings surrounding the unfortunate queen. This is a well-researched and accessible book for those interested in Mary, Queen of Scots.

Captive Queen: The Decrypted History of Mary, Queen of Scots by Jade Scott is a new book focused on the life of Mary Queen of Scots, primarily during her period of incarceration in England by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England. Even more specifically, Scott has used Mary’s correspondence during this period to form the foundation of this book, and most significantly, includes some newly discovered letters. Jade Scott is a historian who specialises in Mary, Queen of Scots; Scott's expertise in the queen’s letters and her passion, and respect for Mary shine through. The book follows Mary, Queen of Scots from her second marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, and the troubles that ensued from that relationship through her third marriage to James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, to her forced abdication from the throne of Scotland and her twenty-year imprisonment in England before her execution on the 8th of February, 1587.

The concept of ‘decrypting’ is particularly interesting. Mary was often in correspondence with those in her confidence around plots and plans to free her from her imprisonment in England. To keep her letters secret, Mary and her correspondents wrote in cipher. The beginning of each chapter includes a single chosen cipher symbol that represents a person of interest that features in the chapter, a quote from a letter, and a short, reimagined scene of Mary or one of her friends or confidants. It is a great way to initiate a chapter by easily framing the focus of it. Because of the use of letters as primary resources, there is a focus on Mary’s personal relationships with those who she was in contact with, such as her cousin and captor, Queen Elizabeth I of England. There are also intimate insights into her letters to her son who she was unable to see past his infancy, and with those working to free her from her prison, with the lofty hopes of placing her on England’s throne.

Captive Queen does what I think many historical biographies and history books in general struggle to do, and that is to bring the subject close to the reader. This book feels like an intimate story of the second half of Mary’s life. Letters are in and of themselves, a more personal kind of resource, for in some cases we see Mary’s handwriting and her signature and the detail in which her ciphers were crafted that, as Jade Scott puts it in the preface, ‘is like she is reaching out through time’.

This book is a perfect balance of up-to-date research and recent discoveries whilst being completely accessible to the general history enthusiast. I think it is so important to make cutting-edge history and archaeology research accessible to the general public, and this book is an exceptional example of this. I had not heard about the discovery of the new ciphered letters from Mary, Queen of Scots, so in particular, I enjoyed learning about the new aspects of Mary and her correspondence that we have learned from these new documents. Of course, it is also nice when books include images to supplement the text; this book included black and white images throughout and two colored image sections. The inclusion of images of full cipher keys, which is essentially a cheat sheet to be able to understand the cipher code letters were written in, was a highlight. Further, Scott has included both a Dramatis Personae at the beginning that lists all of the important figures that will be encountered in the book, and a helpful chronology/timeline at the end as a simplified rundown of the main events throughout Mary’s life.

Overall, I thought this was an exceptional book. It was easy to read, well-researched (and referenced!), and used the letters in a way that supplemented the story of Mary’s life, whilst also illuminating new information we have learnt about the queen. I would recommend this to all lovers of history, and particularly to those with a love of historical texts, and of course, Mary, Queen of Scots.

This review was first published on Kell Read.

Continue reading...

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 2 Redux

Masterpost

"Okay, so. Like I said before, the first video is pretty basic.” Bernard tells Tim. He’s got his laptop perched on his lap and Tim leans into him as he clicks play.

He’s not wrong, either. The video in front of him looks like it was made with movie maker software from at least a decade ago. Hell, Tim’s pretty sure he remembers using a couple of those transitions in elementary school projects. The background remains stagnant, for the most part, with just the pictures at the center of the screen and the text beneath them changing. The pairing pretty obviously is supposed to be a caption for the videos, but the letters are a jumbled mess. Still, it feels familiar.

“Yeah, that’s definitely a Caesar cipher,” Tim mutters. He’s seen enough of them used by shitty two-bit rogues to recognize the patterns on instinct. It’s a bit harder to determine the exact amount of shift just by looking – especially since the shift amount seems like it’s changing on the different captions. Presumably the ciphers have already been solved, so Tim turns his attention away from them for a moment.

Looking around the screen, he can spot hints of distortion against the blank background. It’s blurry, almost invisible to the naked eye, but there’s not really any reason for it to be there naturally.

“The background looks weird,” Tim says.

“Oh yeah, there’s a text overlay on the video. It’s real blurry but somebody identified it as a poem. Something by Emily Dickinson; I don’t remember what the name was, though.”

“Hmmm. Did anyone recognize the song?” It sounds off, but it doesn’t seem to be random notes either. In fact, Tim almost feels like he could hear it on the radio.

“Yeah, a couple people recognized it as Space Oddity, only its been transcribed in a different key. There’s also some random discordant notes in there, too.”

“Heavily modified audio. Doesn’t sound like it’s poor quality, though.”

“True.”

They let the video finish playing. It’s not very long; they were probably timing the visuals to the song, rathen than the other way around. Tim stares at the finished video for a few moments. He’s never really had time for ARGs before. They weren’t exactly very big when he was younger, and now he spends so much time solving rogue shit and actual crimes that he doesn’t really need to go seeking out more puzzles to solve.

“So?” Bernard prompts. “What do you think?”

Honestly, the vibes aren’t the best. It’s clearly intended to be creepy in a way that’s probably exciting for most people, but just sort of reminds Tim of a rogue.

"I can see why you called it basic," Tim says.

“Yeah, it really didn’t seem like it was gonna be much at first.”

“Okay what does the decoded text say?”

"Here," Bernard switches tabs, to an impressive document with screenshots of the actual video, and loads of color-coded notes. “This is a copy of the community document so far.” Tim leans in, and considers the transcriptions.

Honestly, the transcriptions seem pretty basic, too. They’re all simple captions; just a name for the person or location in the image, and some semblance of a date. Notes next to each transcription denote the cipher used. First, a shift of four, then twenty-five, then seven, then nineteen. It’s a simple trick, scrambling the cipher between captions. Even without a key, Caesar ciphers are pretty easy to solve – there’s only ever going to 25 possible solutions, after all. Changing up the key ensures that it takes a lot longer to solve.

“Odd choice of content, too, honestly?” Tim says. It seems so simple, so benign, in comparison to the upsetting music.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, imagine if a novel started with that. They’ve literally made their first video just about names and setting.”

“Huh. Yeah, that is odd.”

Tim lets Bernard consider that, and turns back to look at the document. It’s pretty obvious from the lack of mention of a solution path that they brute forced it. Which, that could be the intended method of solution, but there could also be a key hidden somewhere in the video. Possibly, that’s the point of the poem, or of the music choice. But either of those are something that’ll take further looking into.

Tim may have taken a few years of piano lessons as a kid, but he’s certainly not capable of transcribing music himself, so he’ll probably have to hire someone for that. The document also names the poem as A lane of Yellow led the eye. Tim sits up, reaching out to pull the laptop towards him.

“I’ll see if I can’t get someone more musically gifted to look at the audio. For now, I wanna know more about that poem.”

[kiir-do-faal-rahhe]

wip wednesday!

hello hello! I find time in my not-so-busy schedule to participate in wip wednesday again!! this week I was tagged by @lillxart and @hircines-hunter (thank you!!) and will be tagging @lathez @bougainvillea-and-saltwater @illumiera @aureli-us and @nuwanders (no pressure!!)

here is a piece from chapter nine of The Gallows and God’s Whisper!

~~~

She stared at him with large, shining eyes, enthralled by his words. Her scrubbing with the washcloth slowed, put aside in her mind as she thought deeply about his words. “That’s very lovely—quite a bit of that sentiment has survived until now, though we’ve explored more of love with others and all kinds of intimacy.”

“‘We?’ You are part of the order?”

“The Temple, yes—in a sense. I’m not a Priestess or anything.”

“Considering your penchant for murdering people, I assumed you were not.”

“It is not a penchant, and look who’s talking. You were twice a Priest and probably murdered more people than I have.”

Miraak waved his hand. “Different times.”

“Really? It was socially acceptable and legal to murder someone in your time?”

“It was mildly easier to get away with it.” He shrugged. “I never saw the inside of a cell. Have you?”

Odette rolled her eyes, lightly scrubbing her shoulder. “You never saw the inside of a cell because you ruled Solstheim. I’ve never seen the inside of a cell because I truly got away with my murders. They are not comparable.”

He opened his mouth to argue, realizing he couldn’t really argue considering she was correct. The Coliseum was bloodsport, technically not murder, and his first act of wrath began with that dreadful place and its occupants.

“How many people have you killed?” she asked, sinking further into the water to wet her hair and plush ears.

Miraak let out a long breath, thinking deeply. “I cannot say.”

“You can’t say?”

“I cannot count, I should say. I am not certain how many people I had killed. Are you as well counting people that I had put to death?”

“Is it going to sway the result?”

“Not really.”

“Exclude it.” She poured some of the same floral soap into her palm, lathering it in her hands before scrubbing her hair. “You can’t have personally killed that many people.”

“I was titled The Father of Death.”

She opened one eye to look at him in mild disbelief. “I watched you weep over a bowl of soup.”

“I am a changed man.” He leaned back in the water, letting it lick at his scars despite the tender pain that followed. Gods, how he missed bathing. “I decimated the Coliseum, I slaughtered Hevnoraak and his followers, Konahrik and their followers, and…hm…twenty-one dragons? During my time in Apocrypha I would torment the Ciphers I could get my hands on for fun—that was during the Second Era—they often died from that.”

~~~

yeah idk what’s wrong with the two of them either.

[southparkthetwosidesofacard]

I am listening! I am invested! Please yap about your au idea!!

AHHHHHHHHHIIWJHDIEHDIANRRUFIFBFIEBF HFHDB I GET TO YAP ABOUT THIS YAYYYYYY

ok so, I honestly don’t have much of an idea as to where exactly this would go, but just for the basics (which I’m mostly coming up with on the fly, I’ll be honest) here we go:

(this ended up being quite long so everything else is under the break, sorry!)

obviously, ford and bill were not always… separated, as it were. growing up and into his teens and early twenties it was just stanford pines, no “alter egos” or masks or anything of the sort (much as he would’ve loved to be able to hide who he was).

then, when he moved up to gravity falls and began his research, he began to realize that there were so many things that he wanted to do, couldn’t do, because of his reputation. he needed to keep his record clean because if he didn’t, he could easily have his grant money revoked, and any future opportunities in the pursuit of science dashed due to one small slip up. so, he began to look into, well, changing who he was, splitting himself, so to speak, as to be not one but two at the same time.

eventually, it worked somehow (probably through a potion, as jekyll uses in the original book), and he found himself as not just one, but seemingly two people in one body. there was the stanford pines most people knew, the eccentric, odd mad scientist that lived in the woods at the edge of town, and then there was another, completely new facade. bill cipher, named for his often frustratingly vague double speak and extreme use of overly complicated metaphors (yes I’m giving bill’s name a reason, it sort of annoys me that theres no reasoning for hyde’s name in the book but thats a rant for another day).

to begin with, bill seems content with simply switching back and forth at ford’s will, being the way for ford to kick back and let loose with no fear of the repercussions. at least, until ford begins to have trouble getting back to himself. thats when he begins to doubt the true intent of his other self, of bill. its around this time he calls fiddleford. the man may have studied engineering, but in this world he also knows a little something about psychology, and paired with his brilliant mind, ford’s very precise notes of the situation (ahem the journals ahem), and the fact that hes basically ford’s only friend, it felt like the best course of action.

of course, in actual gravity falls, ford does his best to hide bill from fidds but here bill is exactly why ford called him. anyone else would’ve called him crazy, tried to experiment on him or worse, but fiddeford would never do any of that and ford knows it (just to be clear, I do think that if I ever wrote anything for this au college fiddauthor would be heavily implied here).

fidds does his best to help but when bill goes on a rampage one night, going so far as to kill the heir to the northwest family, preston northwest, he knows ford is beyond fucked (just a heads up, the person bill kills being preston may change but idk, we’ll see if I ever actually come back to this au haha). the reason fiddleford originally makes the memory gun in this au isnt for himself, its actually to try and erase the memories of what bill has down from the townspeople’s minds. the only problem is that the next time they see bill all of the memories return and everyone is back at square one. its just too much for fidds, and he begins to turn the memory gun on himself in an attempt to get rid of the fear, pain, failure, and regret that helping his friend brought him.

ford on the hand is mortified by what hes done. I highly doubt that there would be a confrontation type scene, it would be closer to how the book goes, where ford quickly begins to be unable to switch between stanford pines and bill cipher. the au would probably “end” (as in if I turned this into a fanfic/comic/whatever the story would end there) with ford figuring out where stan is, calling and begging him to come up to gravity falls and help him, before ultimately turning the memory gun on himself and ridding himself of “bill” once and for all.

the only problem is that in order to remove bill, he has to remove stanford pines and all that he is as well. now, we all know how this goes in both the show and most aus; stan or ford or whoever it is that is possessed by bill erases themselves/has someone erase them, is weirdly blank for a bit but ultimately regains their memories. well here it… wouldnt work like that. bill(/hyde) is an integral part of ford(/jekyll), to remove bill(hyde) is to remove stanford pines (jekyll), theres no way around that. so, ford sort of ends up in that “blank slate” state for the rest of his life. he called stan prior to erasing himself because he knew stan would take care of him no matter what, and he was right. for the rest of their lives, stan takes care of his brother to the best of his abilities, and while they never get to sail the seas together, and some nights bring unimaginable sorrow for stan, knowing he’ll never speak to his brother again, despite the fact that very man sleeps just a few doors down the hall, they make it work. ford (or, well, whats left behind when you remove everything that makes a person who they are) sees that his blankness hurt stan but he cant do anything about it, and to begin with almost avoids stan, at least before they finally have a talk in which stan reassures “ford” that he’s sure whatever reason ford may have had for erasing himself, it was worth it.

as for fidds, well it mostly works out in a similar way to canon, he does eventually regain most memories but of course some bits are still fuzzy. the fuzzy bits are never fully recovered, as the one person who may have been able to fill in the blanks no longer exists, but fidds is still mostly alright.

the journals… sort of exist? but not in the way that they do in the show, and what does exist stan had from the very beginning. ofc the twins still have to deal with monsters and spooks and whatnot in gravity falls, just not anything that has to do with bill (which means that, of course, weirdmageddon physically cannot happen). at some point, dipper begins to insinuate that the weirdness of gravity falls might have something to do with “ford’s”… situation, which is when stan finally fully comes clean with all he knows about the situation. its not until fiddleford begins to regain his memory, however, that any of them learn the truth of what was going on.

oh yikes, I wrote a lot more for this than I meant to, whoops!

oh yeah, I’m naming this au the “Dr. Pines/Mr. Cipher” au for now, but if anyone has any better ideas or if thats already been used for something else, please let me know!

also, @aaabatteryy I LOVE MARINEFLAMES’ CONFRONTATION ANIMATIC, THAT WAS ACTUALLY WHAT I WAS REFERENCING WHEN I MENTIONED OTHER ANIMATIONS USING A SIMILAR CONCEPT TO THIS AU

oh, and I just want to say that I’ve never watched the musical so thats why this doesnt (intentionally) incorporate any elements of that.

[lathez]

Some Vahlok thoughts for my Miraak thots <3

Under cut because long <3

Vahlok ruled Solstheim for 70 years following his battle with Miraak. Though his reign extended long past the fall of Alduin, his rule was respected by Ancient Nord leaders, and therefore remained unchallenged. Upon his death, he would simply turn over his rule to the unification efforts. Solstheim would no longer be a sovereign nation but a proper part of what would become Skyrim.

He did not construct a temple, but rather constructed a worship Sanctuary now known as ColdCinder cave. This was once part of a beautiful open Narthex on the shores of Solstheim. Over the many years following Vahlok's death, lowering tide levels and the full parting of Solstheim destroyed the softer stone constructs.

Although Konahrik was bestowed upon him by Nahkriin after his defeat of Miraak, he seldom wore it except for ceremonial purposes. Though the power of their masks greatly extended a priest's lifespan, Vahlok did not wish to extend his own.

He was humble, forgoing his dragon attire for simple black hooded robes, walking amongst his people. He discarded the formal titles of the Dragon Cult altogether and chose the title "Reverend" rather than "Cardinal" or "Priest." Worship of all known Divines was permitted in his Sanctuary. With the fall of the cult in progress and the blessing of Alduin, he had little to fear regarding retribution for his unconventional leadership.

He bore a simple scythe as a weapon, an iron head with a wooden handle. The desire for Miraak's defeat was strong in both the rebellion and the dragon cult; while Odahviing flew him into battle at the behest of Alduin, it was Paarthurnax who bestowed the scythe, blessed by Kyne, upon him.

His people had many names for him: "The Good Reverend," "Vahlok the Gracious," "Vahlok the Brave." He would not allow anyone to call him "Vahlok the Jailor."

In the wake of the dragon war, many children were left orphaned. Vahlok is credited with starting the first private orphanage in Tamriel.

He could never bear to clean up the razed remains of Miraak's temple. The bones of the twenty-two dragons were abandoned to be taken by the Earth, and the temple was left to rot.

Vahlok was a quiet, thoughtful man. In his silver years he spent much of his time reading to the children at the orphanage. The poor would never go hungry; each night he would serve a warm meal to his people and dine in the Narthex amongst the downtrodden and dismayed.

Yearly, the people of Solstheim would celebrate the defeat of Miraak with a bright and jubilant festival, in which Vahlok would set an effigy of Miraak on fire to great applause. As time passed, Vahlok's guilt became so consuming that he outlawed the festival. Eventually, he outlawed the talk of Miraak altogether, beginning Miraak's erasure from history.

In his last ten years of life he became overwhelmed with grief over what he had done to Miraak, believing his own hesitation to take his friend's life mercifully had condemned Miraak to a fate worse than death. He acquired a Black Book and went thrice in search of him. Hermaeus Mora was aware of his presence, and would ensure that Miraak was somewhere around Vahlok's wanderings, so that Vahlok might hear Miraak's voice and question his sanity.

Upon his last week of life, Vahlok hastily composed the final version of a spell book crafted to give Miraak an attempt at escape and made one final trip to Apocrypha to leave it on the shelves. This would be the magic used upon the Cipher scrolls during the second era. He was found twelve hours later, dead in his sleep.

He was buried in the tomb specially crafted to honor his eternal commitment to watch for Miraak's return, along with two gatekeepers who were buried on opposite ends of the tomb. His soul would ascend to Sovngarde, but until the 4th era when the Last Dragonborn absorbed Miraak's soul, he was still soul-bound to return to Nirn should his eternal enemy rise.

[inanewmoon]

Leaf's Ranma AU - Character Profile Tendo Akane

Born and raised in Konoha proper, Tendo Akane is the youngest of three Tendo sisters, and unlike all other members of her family, she hasn't set foot outside the village gates once in her life.

The Tendo Clan is small, consisting of only five shinobi: the Clan Head, Tendo Soun, his three daughters - Kasumi at eighteen years of age, Nabiki at fifteen, and Akane at twelve - and  Kasumi's husband Tendo Tofu, age twenty.

At least on paper, Akane’s family were always known heroes and prodigies. Her father was a famous hero of two Shinobi World Wars, her mother - an experienced veteran of one. Her oldest sister Kasumi was a rare prodigy, graduating early from the academy, and even her middle sister Nabiki is a documented generational prodigy when it comes to ciphers and codes.

The Tendo Clan squandered their potential after Akane’s mother passed away. It happened when Akane turned seven years old. Her mother’s death was not caused by a mission gone wrong, nor was it a loss to a dangerous foe that could be avenged, simply a disease that wasn’t caught on time.

Tendo Soun stopped taking missions soon after, choosing to spend time in the Hokage Tower, helping with paperwork instead; barely training himself or his family after his wife’s death. Tendo Kasumi’s team was disbanded soon after losing its Uchiha member, and what followed was a well documented steep decline in mission frequency and ranks, culminating in a retirement request to get married at sixteen years of age. Lastly, a scant few days after getting her Chunin promotion, Tendo Nabiki put in a transfer request for a cryptography desk job, making her the last Tendo to drop out of fieldwork completely.

Akane’s academy records showed a slump too, but it was followed by a serious course correction soon after. Her academy instructors name her as hard-working and a promising student. Even without direct instruction from Tendo Soun, Akane is showing signs of slowly mastering her clan’s fighting style, and regularly receives top marks in her taijutsu lessons.

The girl maintains a few well-known rivalries both during and after Academy hours. Most noteworthy of these is Nara Shikako, a serious contender for a top kunoichi graduate. While Tendo Akane’s clan taijutsu style can give her an upper hand in their spars, the Tendo needs to improve her grades and skills in other areas to match the Nara.

Akane’s opinion on her new betrothal isn’t publicly known, but there is talk of Tendo Soun naming Tendo Ranma the clan heir, a position that Akane had expressed she always wished to inherit; according to her Academy instructors.

Known mission history - no missions taken. 

Currently part of Team Yamato (also known as Team Four), with Tendo Ranma and Hibiki Ryoga as her teammates. The newly minted team is yet to take their first mission.

----

Art by the wonderful @beedokart 💙💙💙 See also https://linktr.ee/fernvbedek. I'll eventually ask her to draw all of the team four, be patient 💙 Other teammates: Tendo Ranma Ryoga Hibiki

----

This has been a draft of Tendo Akane's profile for the Merger AU in which I have transplanted a handful of Ranma characters into Naruto (Dreaming of Sunshine) universe.

I suspect that the knowledge of Dreaming of Sunshine is not gonna be needed, but I didn't wanna remove Shikako from the setting, since she's very dear to my heart. 💙 And hey, she's mentioned in this one! Leaf's Ranma... coming to an archive of our own... someday in the future.

This is part of a larger effort to showcase more of my writing, and an attempt to force myself to sit down and write. 💙

[moonlight-coffeebean-147]

Practice Headshots and New Characters ✨

So I wanted to test out colors for some of my twst ocs as well as introduce some new ones.

First: The Fearsome Five Gang

I honestly love how they all turned out. Castella loos like a dork (as he should). Jax has heterochromia. Tino my precious flower boy… mind the Venus flytrap though, that thing’s alive. Beck looks ho *gets smacked*. And Sterling…. Scares the shit out of me 💀 But yea really like how they turned out

I’ll put reminders for who they’re supposed to be

Castella Sparkvolt - Megavolt

Tino Rosebush - Bushroot

Jax Harlequin - Quackerjack

Beck Loman - The Liquidator

Sterling Doppelt - Negaduck

Next is the Ramshackle Gang (Minus Grim 💀)

…I did not intend for them to all have black hair but I think it’s funny. Of course we have the one and only Usagi. We got Jim.. who to be honest, I might change his age to be older (late twenties, maybe early thirties), because thinking more about his story… this mf in my opinion would not be in his early twenties. Maurice…. Anyways, Clancy’s hat was a nightmare to figure out but I think I like how it turned out. Also, new boi! His name is Jules Allis, based on Julius from the Runaway Brain short with a hint of Julius the Cat from the Alice Comedies.

He’s an experiment that escaped from his creator and would find his way to Night Raven College. I feel like while bunking at Ramshackle he was disguised in makeup around the others to look more “alive”, because Jules is absolutely terrified of being sent back to his creator. He’s overall a big cuddle gentle giant… with an equally big appetite, take that how you will ; )

Usagi Yoshinari - Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Jim Percival - Peg-Leg Pete

Maurice Slicker - Mortimer Mouse

Clancy Wolfram - The Big Bad Wolf

Jules Allis - Julius

Miscellaneous & 3 More Newbies

I intentionally made front-facing Alex look uncanny because this man can’t human lol. It’s also the reason he has two differently designed eyes, .Giffard stares into your soul.. it comforts him to know you’re still here : ). And now… three more because 12 twst ocs wasn’t enough 💀 Camille, Cedar, and Reynard

Camille Dreadfox is based on Don Karnage from Talespin… I love him dearly. Camille is Hispanic (like meeee lol) , because that’s what his 2017 Ducktales iteration leaned towards, but like his Talespin counterpart, Camille’s got some French and Italian in him. He’s just as egotistical as Don Karnage… and as much as a goof as him too lol. He’s also got bushy ass eyebrows (He just like me fr 😭😭😭)

Cedar Goodwyn is based on Mr. Cedric from Sofia the First. He’s been held back and is put under a lot of stress by his family. To the point where he actually started getting grey hairs. Like this man is 20 yet he looks like he’s 40 😭. He’s a lot more cocky than he lets on and being put in Diasomnia was his worst nightmare incarnate. (Because yes put the one who messes up his spells frequently in the same dorm as one of the most powerful mages 💀💀💀)

Reynard Raposa’s based on Foxy Loxy from the 2005 Chicken Little…. Yes really. It was a part of my life growing up and it’s a guilty pleasure movie of mine. Reynard being sorted into Pomefiore is a play on Foxy Loxy’s fate in the movie. Plus I thought it’d be super funny if Reynard was the type to constantly get on Vil’s nerves since he (Reynard) is not afraid to openly show a slight rebellion to Pomefiore’s ways. Him being a more chill, nice bully came from Foxy Loxy’s promotional video, how Foxy feels about Chicken Little is the same as how Reynard feels toward Usagi/The MC. To quote one of her lines but to fit Reynard “Bless their heart they’re such a loser that you just love em, okay? It’s a big zero but I put a one ahead of it so I give em a ten~” Like, he’ll tease you but it’s all in good fun and he won’t really go too far with it. Also… don’t talk to him about his braces.

Alex Goldeye - Bill Cipher

.GIFfard Heartcable - .GIFfany

Camille Dreadfox - Don Karnage

Cedar Goodwyn - Mr Cedric

Reynard Raposa - Foxy Loxy

And finally

Headshots of @twistedtummies2 ‘s ocs.

He was actually the one who helped me settle on Reynard’s last name since I was dissatisfied with the old one. Once again dude ty so much ^^. Now this… is actually practice for a bigger project I’m working on, I’ll keep that to myself for now ; )

As for the characters.

Nakoda’s always fun to draw, and now I think I’ve finally settled on how I draw his face scales. Billy is also, as usual, a joy to draw. Elias… I’ve drawn him so many times that I can do it in my sleep 😂. The perks of being the favorite. I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO DRAW RENO’S HAIR HOLY SHIT 😭🎊 I am not kidding, that’s how not used to drawing short hair I am 💀 James is finally in something normal for once since the two times I’ve featured him was for a meme and a shitpost 😭. Now he can look like his regular handsome self. Smitty is adorable and I care him very much ^^. Maelstrom was a character where I felt intimidated to draw him but slowly got the hand of. I think it was the hair but it was mostly the combed back bangs or whatever that style’s called. Theodore is another case where the two times I’ve drawn him… were for silly stuff 😭, figured to draw him in his natural glory before he curses my ass lol…. Grit… that look I drew him with, idk how I pulled it off but I really like it

That’s to for now, hope you guys enjoyed

- Moon