#i will do the next more illustrated though like themed and all cute

[namocchi]

hi hii!! i just posted a little digital notebook i made on my kofi-shop! -12 sections -33 templates -compatible with goodnotes, notability, noteshelf, xodo, etc totally customizable, you can check it out here <33 (ko-fi.com/namocchi)

[openphrase123]

woop woop new inutile update

as much as i know this fic is a LONG HAUL fic. i do not dilly dally. i like to get into the meat of things pretty quickly. so here's some MEAT!!!

also, this week's chapter has a piece of CUT CONTENT??? i wanted to make this scene work so hard in this chapter. but then literally Everything in this little drabble below was covered by a handful of different scenes later in the fic, and done better. and then i wrote the housemaiden population's Attitude towards siffrin different so this is kind of out of theme now

but i also didn't want to delete it? there are a couple jokes i like and it's cute.

so here you gooooooo - ! this can be read either before or after the chapter on ao3, either works. and no content warnings for it as far as i know

________

A distraction would be nice.

There are a few clubs and activities outside of classes that you’ve been interested in. The most interesting one to you is a romance book club. Surely if you read enough of those kinds of books, you’ll start to look around for a bonding partner of your own, right? That’s why you haven’t done it yet. You just don’t know the steps. If you see examples, it’ll get you thinking about it!

And that’s an easy Change!

You walk into the library and see a few Housemaidens chattering over a little table together. The librarian listens in and leans over to offer their own opinion once in a while, but other than that it’s a very private affair. You approach the table, shy.

“You were Housemaiden Mirabelle, weren’t you?” One of the older Housemaidens gets up and shakes both of your hands. “The one from Dormont?”

“Yes!” You’re already nervous. Great job. “Do you mind if I sit in on your book club?”

“We’re reading something a bit mature,” says a very tall Housemaiden with a flashy set of bonding earrings, “but you’re welcome to try it, if you’re not squeamish.”

Oh. Hm. That makes the club feel less exciting, actually. But!! You don’t want to be rude, so you sit down anyway. If you don’t like it, you can just not come back the next time.

“This is what we were reading, this week!!” The youngest Housemaiden at the table pushes a heavy anthology at you. When you were told mature, you were expecting a paperback with a wet, shirtless man on the cover, but this one has a dark brocade pattern carved into a very high quality hardback.

“Oh…!” You inspect the book further. The edges of the pages are painted, so the book looks lightless when it’s shut. The inside shows a bunch of short stories, all centered around a different ghost or monster. Lots of five-dollar words in there! But even with a brief skim, the stories are all pretty interesting. And gory! Every chapter has intense title illustrations, all pen and ink, brooding.

Oh, oops! There’s the mature part, in all its illustrated glory! You flip the page quickly.

… You un-flip it curiously. Is that a werewolf?

“I’m surprised she hasn’t left yet,” the older Housemaiden whispers as you flip through, “you didn’t start her out easy.”

The tall Housemaiden hums at you. “Getting scarred for life over there?”

No? It’s actually pretty interesting. You… don’t like how these Housemaidens are looking at you, though. It’s like you’re about to be eaten alive. If they’re trying to be welcoming, it’s not working too well. But you did kind of crash their meeting… maybe you’re being rude. Is it more rude to leave now, or to wait until you’ve given them a fair shake?

Okay. Your chest is all tight up. Did you forget to take your medication today? Is that why you’re overthinking this? Don’t panic, don’t read into this situation, just excuse yourself and leave. It’s easy to leave!!

…

It’s not easy to leave!! They’re all looking at you like they want to smack you with hammers…!

A loud thud next to you interrupts your spiral. You swivel your head to check, and…

Ugh, it’s Housemaiden Traveler. Now you have a headache, too.

The taller Housemaiden also seems to be put off by them. “Um, can we help you?”

“I’m also here for the book club.” Housemaiden Traveler folds their hands on the table. “I would like one (1) book, please.”

Wordlessly, the youngest Housemaiden scoots the big book from your hands to Housemaiden Traveler’s. They stare at it vacantly.

“What does the front say?”

The tall Housemaiden sighs. “We’re not going to read it for you.”

They stare blankly at the other Housemaidens before realizing they’re serious. He looks down at the book without any recognition. Cautiously, they crack open the book and immediately shut it closed again. Oh no… did he turn to the werewolf illustration first? That’s a hard sell!

“I don’t like that book.”

“Then you won’t like the rest of our books, either.” The tall Housemaiden pulls the book away from Housemaiden Traveler. “Do we need to make the flyers more explicit? That this is specifically about horror and monsterbonding stories?”

“Your flyers were mostly about the romance,” you admit.

“… Wait.” The older Housemaiden points to the bulletin board with all the event flyers. “Were those flyers for our group, or for the club that gets here in half an hour?”

Oh.

You did come early, that’s right…!

“Wrong club, then.” Housemaiden Traveler gets up out of their seat and scuttles off. You watch them leave. Were they really trying to come to the romance book club, too? He doesn’t look the type…

Once they’re out of view, the other three Housemaidens explode into laughter.

“Can you believe him?”

“Oh Change, I’m sorry, tiny one,” the tall Housemaiden pats you on the shoulder. “That’s what it looks like when someone’s not up to speed. You’re obviously fine.”

“Here, actually, if you like that one - "

You’re shown more books, of varying intensities. You’re the most interested in the horror anthologies, but the parts where the hero bonds with the monsters are fun too! It’s too bad there aren’t any monsters around you could bond with. Then you might be interested. Or maybe you wouldn’t. Maybe it’s fun because it’s not real.

As everyone continues to pile recommendations onto you, you look over your shoulder. Housemaiden Traveler stays at the door. Watching your group. You both exchange a look. He gives you a thumbs-up.

That was… strangely nice of them. To take the fall for you. Since they wouldn’t be… affected by it. Right? That feels right. Why do you think that?

Either way, you’re probably not going to come to this exact book club again. It’s not like you want to be friends with people who aren’t so welcoming to newcomers. And this wasn’t even the club you were looking for in the first place! But… at least you got bailed out of one awkward conversation.

… Bailed out? By who? Mirabelle, you need to give yourself more credit! You did that all on your own. Nobody else is even in the library, who would have bailed you out?

[ironbloodaika]

Happy Halloween 2023!

This is something long overdue. Even though I stopped posting my commissions on here that doesn't mean I've stopped getting them!

I've especially enjoyed getting Halloween commissions because those are really fun to conceive, order, and see made into reality. I've especially enjoyed getting them from Aeolus06 and he's never disappointed. Sadly due to me being between jobs I couldn't get any this year. :( That said I've decided to use this as an opportunity to show what I've got over the last few years and hopefully you'll love them as much as I do! :)

These first four are unique in that these were all from the same year (2020 to be exact). Since Aeo has a cool down period between commissions, I actually got these all done over a period of a few months. XD Took a lot of luck and prayer, but I got all the ideas I wanted done!

First one was probably the most complex, but was worth it because of how well it fit. Star, Marco, and Hekapoo from Star vs The Forces of Evil as AndrAIa, Matrix, and Older!AndrAIa from Reboot! Much like Matrix, Marco had a bit of age jumping that fit naturally (especially body types and eye scars). Plus Star and Hekapoo are shipped pretty hard with him so it was natural they dress as the different versions of Matrix's lady love.

Also, Fun Fact: Marco's scar/prosthetic eye is on the wrong side compared to his costume, but I felt it was better to ignore it than have Aeo flip the entire costume. XD

Next up we had some classic hotties from Canada, Lindsay and Courtney. Everyone with a pulse will know I'm a Courtney fan, so I'm always eager to give her some love. And while I'm not AS big on Lindsay, she's a fun character and I have some friends who love her too so I didn't mind them sharing the spotlight.

Obviously the theme/inspiration behind this pics conception is the fact Lindsay and Courtney pack the biggest T and A on the island respectively, so they needed some costumes to illustrate that. Thus we got Courtney as everyone's fave lady wrestler Rainbow Mika from Street Fighter and Lindsay as the boxing cheerleader Tiffany Lords from Rival Schools. Both ladies who kick ass and look good doing it! Give these ladies some love folks!

Another Fun Fact: This one took faster to do than I expected, mostly cause I didn't realize my refs were thigh high. In the end I feel it still looked good and didn't bother bringing it up. XD

Here's another cute couple and one I think deserves more love. Eclipsa Butterfly and Globgor are also from SVTFOE and honestly very sweet and adorable. While they're regarded as evil by less tolerant folk, they're honestly some of the sweetest characters you'll see on the show. I feel this is a nice contrast to their costumes, Sindel and Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat. I went with the MK9 versions of their outfits since they were both modern and simple. Didn't wanna be THAT guy who commissions SUPER complicated outfits. I'm not a sadist! While later games would retcon Sindel into being just as evil as Shao (something thankfully corrected in MK1) I still feel this outfit and character works for Eclipsa, even if she and her hubby are as far from evil as you can get. XD

Final pic of this year is another couples pic with Danny Fenton and Paulina Sanchez. I ship these two and take no shame in it. This was originally gonna just be Paulina as Phantom Girl from Legion of Superheroes since the name and colors matched Danny perfectly. But then I figured just having Paulina in costume wouldn't be fair, so I had him dress up as Timberwolf, since I recall them having a few moments in the cartoon. A cartoon, much like this pairing, is very underrated. XD

Now to 2021! This was a fun crossover and and me deciding to avoid "themes" and combining two character pin-ups in one! Once again we have Hekapoo and this year she's dressed up as Otedamako. Who's that? Only my fave Monster of the Day from Sailor Moon! :3 To her side with have a humanoid Rarity showing off her darkside as Martha from Helluva Boss! This one came from the animated opening in G5 that had Rarity showing off some spiky teeth and a crazy look in her eyes. IMMEDIATELY brought Martha too mind. All and all, very happy with how these two came out!

And now to the prior year of 2022. By this point Aeo started coloring the stream commissions and honestly, it was worth the price increase. Dude is a machine! If this one has a theme it's basically me taking the waifus of my close friends (Chill, Terrible, and Raccoon) and dressing them as other sexy waifus. From left to right we have Himiko Toga from My Hero Academia dressed as Harlequin, the Harley Quinn of the Gods and Monsters film. A very hot/underrated design for a VERY twisted take on the character. Toga makes it work! Front and center we have Wilhamena Mettle from OK K.O.! as Starfire, specifically the comic book version for obvious reasons. XD Finally we have Juri Han from Street Fighter dressed in the tight leathers of Penelope Spectra from Danny Phantom, specifically her second form. Lot of specifics in this piece. XD

Final Fun Fact: Was tempted to have Wilhamena as Star Canary, the fusion of Starfire and Black Canary from the Batman/Superman comic. Very hot design. XD

And a bit of a bonus! I ended up really helping out a new friend on deviantART back in 2020 and got to get a bit of art as a thank you. Courtesy of XJKenny we have Meteora Butterfly, daughter of Eclipsa and Globgor as Mileena. Also her MK9 design, this not only works for Meteora herself given her story, but also matches up with her parents' costumes as well!

Well that's everything I wanted to share this year! This has been a rough year for me personally and for the world as a whole. But I'm hoping we can turn things around a bit with what bit of the year we have left.

Happy Halloween everyone! Stay scared and stay safe! 👻 🎃

[jeremiahthefroge]

Alright cool, ok awesome, really great, loving S1 E20 at about 4:59 when Garroth straight up says Zenix was like a son to him. Can Garroth catch a fucking break please dude this poor fucking guy??

I also am just Thrilled at the ideas I'm coming up with for how I'd novelize early MCD and how I'd characterize Garroth and Zenix. I feel like I'll have to be tweaking them around a bit, but from what I remembered about Garroth in later episodes, I've been wanting to keep an eye on Garroth's themes of being a paternal figure to others around him, and I'm absolutely thrilled to ALREADY see it be brought up. I wanna write a bunch of scenes that really illustrate the bond between Garroth and Zenix that we're sort of just TOLD is there through dialog (limitations of the medium, it's expected that you'll fill in the gaps yourself a bit), where we have Garroth coaching him through a difficult and troubled time, teaching the boy how to laugh and have some self confidence. I want Aphmau and Zenix to bond a bit too, and have Garroth on the sidelines thinking that maybe Aphmau will help Zenix FULLY heal and get back on his feet, that she can help Zenix take the next steps into being a good man after Garroth helped him initially, and then all of a sudden, this all goes down, and Garroth has that all ripped out from under him. I think it also could do a bit of legwork in showing us why Garroth becomes so attached to Aphmau, because she's the most consistently good, reliable thing in his life. The one thing that doesn't turn out to only be using him for his station, the one thing that doesn't turn around and literally SHOOT HIM IN THE BACK as repayment for his friendship and goodwill. The world has lied to and betrayed and confused Garroth about what is right time and time again, but not Aphmau.

I think Garroth might be a really tragic character guys goddamn somebody help this poor minecraft man.

Also him wanting to keep talking to Aph after he wakes up but it's hurting him, and she tells him to rest, and he's like "I wanna keep talking... but you're right as always. I'm just happy you're home" is just genuinely a cute detail and I like what it adds to Garroth. He's honestly pretty interestingly characterized-- he's not SUPPOSED to exactly be a truly perfect, always-right type. He's a fallible man trying his best to do the right things in his position as a guard, the best things for the people around him, and he's seen enough to know that sometimes you can't be truly honest and transparent with those around you. He was wrong about Zenix. He has no idea about most of the big plots happening around him. I also like that, even though I know he ends up as a love interest later on, it's sort of like... the usual trappings of a romance setup aren't present in early MCD. He's not immediately smitten, though he does obviously like her and care, he's got other priorities, and he doesn't immediately bond with her or even truly communicate with her on a truly personal level all that much, most of their interactions in the videos having to do with guard-to-lord business or the weird goings on in the area. It feels like he and Aphmau just have more pressing shit to be doing, because by the stakes of the plot, they totally DO have more pressing shit to worry about, and I feel like a lot of media with romance plots tends not to give us this pre-romance interaction. I think it lends a lot to the emotional impact of Garroth falling in love with her, honestly, that there's this stage where nothing romantic is really building. It more closely emulates the feeling of falling in love in real life, with a slower build.

I just think it's neat ok

[cidthesquid]

My Debut! - MODEL Debut 3 #nicola

Trying a New fashion game today! Also, Happy Valentine's Day! If you don't have someone special to spend it with, try to at least do something fun for yourself! I'm going to be spending my day trying a new fashion game!

I've seen a few clips of this, And heard it's "the best fashion game on switch!", (Released around the same time as 'Fashion Dreamer') With the only drawback being it's only available in Japanese. So We probably won't be sticking with this too long, but let's get started! ---- Alright, it looks like we just passed our audition, and we're trying to decide what to do next... and wow.. Google Translate is really struggling with this game...

That's fine, fashion is an international language,

Ok, time to create my usual character...and..oh...

Is that really the darkest skin tone? I know this game is made for japan, but really? Style Savvy Ds had more options, and so did Fab Style on the DS/3ds They have a million eye designs, and a full RGB slider for hair colors, But for skin, all you get is a very mild tan :-/

Oh well, hmm this is interesting, they have a dedicated eye size/positioning section.

Three presets for each, eyebrow height, eye height, eye size, and pupal size. It may feel a little limiting, but that's a bit more control than style savvy/fashion dreamer, without overwelmming the player,.

Here's my final character design: (I hope they let me edit it later)

Okay outfit time!

Wow, this game has full layering, bags, and lets you equip multiple accessories! Even though the starting options are limited, the fact that you can (as silly as it sounds) wear a neckless under a scarf. Means you have more freedom than the older style savvy games! (even if I still prefer the outfit designs in SS)

wow there is a lot of dialogue in this game...

umm, I just wanted to have fun making outfits, what is all of this?

Ok, so I guess this is the SS 'Photo studio' equant:

You can't move the camera, but you can adjust the pose, expression and background. (real backgrounds in a game like this look pretty weird. You'll also have added controls for head position and gaze direction:

Anyways, with our first photo shoot out of the way, we now get to see the world map:

our only option is to go to the studio, so lets start there: And once we arrive, we're given a few jobs to choose from:

I really don't know what any of these mean, so we'll go with the 'Cherry blossom viewing coordination' as I think that may just mean "style using pink", maybe?

Nope, it looks like they want me to dress in a casual top for work, Luckily everything is labeled here, so you can just scroll over an item and check the tags.

I'm not sure if all items need to match or we just need something that fits the theme, so let's try this:

This is cute, but apparently dresses don't count for the 'casual top' category, (I should have guessed.)

Let's Try again...

Nope, They're still complaining about the "illustration, I'll need to look that up..." ok, I found a fantastic video from the youtuber "HamsterButtocks", and watched the start of her playthrough. Turns out, you need both tags shown to mach the item in question, so, we'll use the search function to find a top that matches both requirements.

And here we go!

Next up is posing and framing and we're done!

Once you complete the job you get points to 'rank up' as a model, and you get little NPC comments on your post.

And it looks like once we get further in, we'll eventually unlock some fashion show type event:

So very interesting, I should have guessed from the game's title, But unlike Style Savvy and Fashion Dreamer, this game seems to be exclusively about modeling, and dressing up your own character, rather than helping others find their own sense of style. That's fine, and it's a neat idea, Style Savvy Fashion Forward ad a similar event, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about sticking with a full game based around that. I'm still super early on, and I'm sure tons more options will unlock as I go, but this seems to be the core gameplay loop. I had fun trying it out, and I may go back later, But for now, I have to work on the new fashion dreamer event that just went live, and I still have to finish Style Savvy: trendsetters, so I got plenty of stuff to do! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed another entry in my weird fashion game blog!

[asocialmoth]

Oh look, it's the Fakemon I've finally gotten around to posting!

Sampanggal (Ghost/Flying) and Bridanggal (Ghost/Flying) is already familiar to this blog. They are the signature Pokemon of my gym leader OC, Frills. This line is also among my oldest Fakemon I've designed and still care about. They are based on the Manananggal, a creature from Filipino mythology that I for some reason got attached to when I first heard of them. During the night, Manananggal detach their upper torsos from the bottom and grow wings. They prey on newlyweds, newborns, and fetuses, and that's why I themed them around weddings. If Bridanggal is a bride, then my thought process was its pre-evolution would be a flower girl. The flower Sampanggal is based around is the Sampaguita which is the national flower of the Philippines, and I think that reason alone is why I chose it cause I decided to recheck what flowers are used for Filipino weddings and the Sampaguita barely comes up in the webpages I found.

In the night, this line preys primarily on Pokemon eggs, although it does eat already hatched Pokemon and berries as well (Sampanggal particularly prefers berries as they're easier to eat). During the day, they hide within caves or other dark places. The Bridanggal's veil is different depending on the ability it has. Uh honestly I haven't nailed down which abilities yet though.

Catersquint (Bug) and Chitopti (Bug/Psychic) were inspired by how butterflies/moths have eyespots on their wings, basically fake eyes that scare or confuse predators. Masquerain is also based around this concept and that's why it has Intimidate but I wondered what it would be like if the eyes on these types of wings were real.

All eyes on Chitopti work independently and uses Psychic abilities to fall slower needing less flaps or do more elegant maneuvers to take advantage of its eyes. Despite them being eyes, they are covered with hard material to keep them from being easily damaged or hurt. Also Catersquint is actually blind except on its front eye which is short-sighted.

Myelanket (Poison), Scarnvier (Poison/Electric), and Saltarings (Poison/Electric) are based on neurons, myelin sheaths, and saltatory conduction. They were originally Psychic instead of Poison since I was thinking about them the same way as the Solosis line plus the fact that they're neurons, but realized that since they interact and battle with neurotransmitters which are chemicals, Poison seemed a better fit.

Anyways, myelin sheaths basically insulate neurons and lets electricty move faster by "jumping" through them to the spaces in between them (known as Nodes of Ranvier). I thought making them into scarves and blankets were a good idea because of that, though I'm not super sure about if rings were the next logical evoulution. Regardless, even if they are I feel like the execution of Saltaring's design isn't the best and subject to future redesign.

Germibuoy (Grass/Water), Aydrofyte (Grass/Water), Bulaquatic, and Lumilypad (Grass/Flying) honestly exists just because I was amused by how flying in Filipino, "lumilipad", sounds like lily pad, and I like puns. No proper digital illustration for them, I felt like I really should be saving my art time for Art Fight and drawing another full line would take some time, plus the extra sketches were cute I think. Honestly I think the line is self-explanatory, however I will note that despite being the reason the line exists in the first place, I'm not super satisfied with Lumilypad's design, particularly the wings. If I had time to digitalize this I would've probably improved it, but for now I wouldn't say its too bad.

[magicalyaku]

Greetings! It's been a while, but here I am, same as before (as in probably talking to much. :P) Work sucked the life right out me, I had a few conventions to attend, and I wrote another book. But things are slowing down again, and as I'm reading regularly again, I feel the need to share. I have four months which were hugely different in reading volume to talk about, so I'll split it up by theme this time! First up is: Ace books and Academic setting!

Dear Wendy (Ann Zhao): I was apprehensive about this one when I read the summary for the first time. Because two aroace protagonists? Awesome! But the setting and the story themselves didn't appeal to me at all. Unfortunately, that stayed true as I actually read it. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's a good book. I liked how the discussions about aro/ace and gender topics where integrated quite naturally into the story thanks to it being a college setting. And I liked what topics were chosen. It's just that I couldn't care less for that social media war they have going on. I'm the weirdo who has never used instagram, twitter, or facebook. The only thing I have is my tumblr and even here, I'm barely interacting with anyone. Stories centered around social media just aren't something that appeals to me. It also didn't help that the formatting of the e-book edition from libby that I borrowed was kinda hard to read for the posts and comments. I think I remember wondering if I am actually too old to enjoy this, but then again, the last ace/aro book I read before this was Just Lizzie which hit really hard and that was about a 12-year-old. :'D So personally for me, it was more meh, but I can see it resonating with other people. Go give it a try, please.

Upside Down (N.R. Walker): Another book with two ace protagonists, male this time and homoromantic. This one had me wary at first as well, because the author usually writes gay romance with smut? (That's what the books look like at least, haven't read anything.) But it's super cute and really funny. The discussions about asexuality were more basic in here than in Dear Wendy, the usual "we're all valid" etc., but a) they were for the most part well intergrated again as one of the protagonists leads an ace support group, and b) if the author's usual readers can broaden their horizons a bit through this, that's a good thing, right? Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this. There's two cover versions for this one. Obviously, the new one with illustration is superior.

A Darker Mischief (Derek Milman): Ugh, this … was weird? Intriguing? I'm still not quite sure what I'm supposed to take away from the ending. I'd have to reread the whole thing for the analytical part of my brain to activate and I'm not going to do that any time soon. The prologue was wtf, then for the longest time not much happened. Except, you could totally see the slow descent into the abyss. That one guy? Not real. The other one? Walking problematic person with difficult tendencies? Next guy? Alarm bells from every side. Fortunately, the main protagonist is smart enough, he's just poor and sixteen and been through rough times, what reflects in his choices. Oh, and there's probably a bunch of references in here that I didn't catch (history is not my thing at all). I did get the apple thing, at least. Yeah, so a weird experience, but all in all I liked the book.

Darker by Four (June CL Tan): This is one of the two books I read in April, so it was ages ago. :'D I remember having fun, though! It's the kind of book that was basically written for me. Badass sword-wielding heroine, suffering boy hero who kisses other boys, interesting worldbuilding, magic, evil creatures to slay, action, a sweet romance that is not the focus of the story, actual story to think about. A ton of good ingredients! What I liked best was that you get to know both protagonists, Rui and Yiran, equally as people. There's two of them but only one can have the magic! There's no choice but to have one of them suffer! And it's so mean, which makes it so good! I'm very eager to read the second volume to see where it all leads, the sacrifices and the triumph. <3

That's it for today. Next up will be another five books in Part Two: France and Other Places. :)

[curried-mermaid]

A Review: In the Name of the Mermaid Princess

Author: Yoshino Fumikawa Publishers: Viz Media; Shojo Beat Illustrator: Miya Tashiro Age Group: Teen Type: Manga

Content Warnings: Verbal Abuse, manipulation, slight brain-washing

Spoilers ahead

Plot

Princess Mio is betrothed to Prince Chika. However, they’ve never met, and he doesn’t know her secret—she’s a mermaid! When her tutor, Yuri, takes her out of the castle to meet her subjects, Mio sees the world through new eyes. Can Mio stay true to herself against her father?

Yuri has a secret too…

Includes: A bonus story about a royal subject with…wings?!

Character Development

Mio is a princess that’s considered a curse. She’s verbally abused on a daily basis, manipulated, and brain-washed that she HAS to be human because she’s filthy as a mermaid. She’s super sweet, humble, and cares for others even if they want nothing to do with her. 

Enter Yuri, her tutor, to teach her about Aquatia (Prince Chika’s Kingdom) customs. He sees the injustice put upon Mio and shows her a different perspective. Making her realize that she doesn’t need to be human. She was born a mermaid and should be proud of it. 

As character development goes, this is a pretty standard trope where someone new is introduced to change the protagonist for the better. Using the strength they had within all along and didn’t know it,  they fight the abusive system they’re in.  As the characters are mostly tropes, they fall flat. They're not very complex characters, considering this is meant for teens.

World-building

There is some world-building at the beginning so we get the lay of the land (so to speak). We’re told that there are humans and humans with special abilities, ‘unhumans’. Some of the countries have banned unhumans because they’re ‘unnatural’. They can be mermaids, angels, beast-folk, etc. All have special abilities. 

We then get introduced to Mio, who is a princess of one such country…and a mermaid.

Themes

The main theme for “In the Name of the Mermaid Princess” is love yourself as you are. You don’t need to change for anyone. In fact, stand up for yourself and follow your own dreams. No one can tell you who or what you are. What you feel you are is true so don’t let anyone discount your own feelings. You know yourself better than they do. 

I wholeheartedly agree with this theme. We see a lot of people that are angry because others don’t fit into their boxes. It causes a lot of unnecessary grief and hate. So be you, because you’re all fabulous as you are!  This theme is really easy to spot in this story, making the story on-the-nose as it were. While the story is cute, it's not complex. It's something you could easily read in 15-20 min.

Observations & Predictions

This story is very simple to follow, even thought it’s considered teen. I’m interested in what will happen in the future installments. We leave off with Mio needing to flee her own country with Yuri. 

It is assumed they’ll be going to Aquatia (mostly because she’s told to do so).

My prediction: 

Mio will have to go to war with her own father in order to change her country’s views on unhumans with the backing of her fiance, Prince Chika, and Aquatia. Though the Queen of Aquatia may not want to get involved, but will allow Mio to claim sanctuary. 

Is this worth reading:

I believe is worth reading whether you’re a teenager or an adult. It’s an easy, cute story. I can’t wait to see what Yoshino Fumikawa comes up with in the next several volumes.  My Hopes: I hope that the characters will become more complex as well as the storyline. Right now, there's a lot left to be desired. I wouldn't have rated this teen, except for the abuse. It feels more like it's written for pre-teen. Making it more complex would fix this problem.

Source: FUMIKAWA, YOSHINO. In the Name of the Mermaid Princess,. Vol. 1, VIZ MEDIA, SUBS OF SHOGA, 2024.

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

01/07/2024 – 01/13/2024

Sunday

SpyFam was the only manga that updated today, and it was pretty cute. It hits all the typical SpyFam comedy beats, and I’m guessing that Anya will end up with 8 Stellas and 7 Tonitruses by the end for the drama of it all. We finally got to see Demetrius and wow…I guess he takes after his father in the looks department. I really hope that with all of the Desmonds introduced now, we can actually explore their personalities and dynamics in more depth.

Monday

Whoops

Tuesday

Chainsaw Man is back, and it’s still pretty bleak. I’m curious to see how this arc plays out, but it’s not looking good for our boy.

Wednesday

Ah

Thursday

This really isn’t a good look for the first Week in Review of 2024, huh. But in my defense, the weather’s gotten cold enough that my hibernation instincts have kicked in…

Friday

DunMesh is still really good, I love all the little animation flourishes and comedic moments, and the look and feel of it all is quite comforting. I guess the only little nag that I have is that because they’re putting all these manga chapters into one episode, I wish there was some more indication of time passing because it felt like they were eating three lunches in one day lol. I’m also glad to see Chilchuck, my favourite character, getting a lot of screentime and fun bits throughout the episode. The ending theme was cute if a little plain, but at least we got some gorgeous Ryoko Kui illustrations out of it.

Saturday

It’s time for the second Drag Race premiere, and it was pretty okay. Megami and Nymphia were the two on my radar after the Meet the Queens video – Megami for her nerd cred and entrance look and Nymphia for her Taiwanese rep and polished fashion sense and perspective. As a Chinese person, it’s really exciting to see a Taiwanese girl on Drag Race for the first time, and I think she might be my frontrunner after this episode…but more on that later. I also liked Plasma’s entrance line and personality, and her talent show number was fun. The photoshoot improv bit was much funnier than last episode’s – TS Madison is always a joy to see. The talent show was more lowkey, though, with only a few girls doing high energy dance numbers. I looooooooved Nymphia’s Chinese style makeup and water sleeve dancing, that was really the highlight of the episode for me. And it was ironic to me that Plane Jane was like “what’s your talent, holding up a sign?” when I could say the same for her (“what’s your talent, squirting condiments onto your boobs?”). Nymphia and Plasma were my favourites of the bunch for sure. Runway-wise, Nymphia’s was a little disappointing to me, but I’m hoping that after this episode she can veer away from the banana theming a little bit. Hershii’s dress was absolutely incredible – the color is stunning, for one, but also the fact that it’s all so perfectly smooth on her body is so impressive, plus I like the triangular glasses.

Plane Jane is a little…her incessant quips feel less fun mean and more just mean mean, so I’m not really enjoying her. Her attitude throughout the whole episode was kind of off-putting to me, especially with how she acted in the lip-sync and flipping in her hair in Geneva’s face. I’m usually not a reality TV villain fan, but I can see their merit in shaping an interesting narrative – here it just feels like she’s going beyond entertaining villainy and just into unsportsmanship and attention-seeking behaviour. Maybe she’ll get a sympathetic redemption arc later on, but right now I just want to see her comeuppance.

The theme across this split premiere has definitely been breastplate shenanigans…I’m looking forward to seeing the two groups mingle next week. As for my little Fantasy Drag Race activity, Megami unfortunately did not impress me enough to make the cut, so my final roster is Sapphira, Dawn, and Nymphia. I think these three are all multitalented and have a clear sense of self that’ll carry them far in the competition, so let’s see how the points stack up by the end of the season.

[kitty-cross]

[WARNING: ANIMAL DEATH. in the storytime too]

I'm more like the happy, cute illustration kind of girl - as you probably already noticed - who usually doesn't really do pieces from pure emotion, but this month's beginning was actually really hard for me. Like, rock bottom hard. Overall, life was too much, everything became overwhelming and around the 3rd of May I really thought for a second that I didn't want to continue it. I wanted to run away from my life, leaving everything behind. Understand as you wish, you're probably not wrong.

The only thing that kept me going was music, but The Poet and the Pendulum became my theme song, and if you know this story, you know what it means.

I had two panic attacks that day. Two breakdowns, but I had to go because of my work and then I scraped myself together enough to go to the nail salon. My nails are still short, even though it's been over a year and I haven't even touched a guitar. I was walking home when life hit me in the face with such a maternal slap as the world has never seen.

Call it the main character moment, call it destiny, intervention of the universe and beyond, or just a series of coincidences that turned out exactly like this. To be honest, I don't care, but for me it was the biggest slap I ever got, enlightening and sobering, the greatest manifestation of my strangely religious still without organized religion spirituality. And because of this ‘i’m one of the parts of Mother Nature’ belief of me, I am the person who, every time I walk down the street, even pays attention not to scare the birds.

I didn't for once. I was so down that I couldn't think about anything but my pain. The song on my phone switched from The Poet and the Pendulum to Amaranth, at the exact moment when a blackbird, scared of me and the people coming towards me, was hit by a car passing next to us. If you know me, you know very well that I will even take a thrown plant home to save it (...happened last week), not to pass an injured animal. The poor thing was very much alive, but it was terribly scared, so after we scraped it off the road, we tried to see if it had broken anything. Quite honestly, I'm not even sure if the car caused it or the little fool herself as she suffered on the ground, but when I caught her so that she wouldn't do more damage to herself, she was already behaving strangely. I started to go home with her to find a vet, but she did not survive.

That poor thing died in my hands. Literally.

And she took with her all of my pain, all my second thoughts about whether it made sense to continue.

Does it make sense? Or I'm really just delusional.

I won't lie, I publicly cried the rest of the way home. Then I cried all night, so much so that I couldn't open my eyes the next morning. My eyes were so swollen.

Like everything that happens to me, of course I told this too to my little sister, even if I wasn't able to put it correctly into words. Probably I still could not make justice in writing for what all happened to me because I’m not a writer or a poet, just somebody who draws. So I drew it. Out of my system, out of my heart. Is this the most unique creation in the world? Of course not. Do I feel that somehow I commemorated the little bird who saved my life from myself with her own death? I hope.

My little sister said that maybe I should check out of the meaning of blackbirds, although the meaning was completely clear to me without symbolism. But it's even weirder that it also resonates: “a dead blackbird may symbolize a release of negative emotions.” “One of the most common interpretations of the symbolism of dead birds is a fresh start, renewal, and transformation. It can also be taken as a warning for some danger that your soul is about to go through.”

Are there so many coincidences in real life? Why does this feel like someone wrote it and not like it happened to me?

[paigesprocessblog]

Week 7, October 18

After the midterm critique, I was super inspired and excited about the idea of a children's book for adults that I came up with last week. I felt like it was received really well, and I have soooo many ideas for the storyline and the illustrations. I need to focus in more on a topic, and I feel like I'm really comfortable in knowing that I want to make a book, so now I can finally do so. My plan was to do some research on illustration styles, children's books for adults, and get to storyboarding. Last week, I was referencing my inspiration that came from Alice In Wonderland, so I started with some scholarly research about this.

Scholarly Research:

Alice in Wonderland – what does it all mean? by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst

this article talks about all the hidden, scandalous themes in Alice In Wonderland including drugs, sex, jokes, food, and dreams. I was surprised when the paragraph on drugs was fairly short and not very detailed, considering the entire story felt like a crazy trip.

This is definitely a reference to drugs, but not very helpful or detailed. I decided to keep digging...

Is Alice in Wonderland really about drugs? by BBC News

this article confirms that Alice In Wonderland was truly not about drugs originally. Since it was created in the 1940s, psychedelics weren't really a thing yet. The theme of drugs was put into place by the readers in the 1960s. I think it's really interesting that the author wrote the story and didn't have psychedelics in mind, but when psychedelic lovers look at the illustrations and read the story, they totally relate to it. So, even though it's not actually about psychedelics, I'm still going to be taking inspiration from the illustrations and the weirdness of the story.

I then wanted to look at some of the illustrations more closely. These are some of the irig

Versus some of the modern ones in a book that I actually have:

I really love the modern illustrations; the colors, the busyness, and the odd proportions is all something that I want to take inspiration from in my story.

Children's books for adults

This book is super simple, funny, cute, and dark all at once. It takes the massive idea that everyone is going to die and makes it easier to digest and cope with for adults.

This story is a parody of the children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and it is a funny way to look at the dreadfulness of a brutal hangover.

This one is not for adults necessarily, but it takes this really intense theme and makes it easier to cope with for children.

Reflection: I think all of these books are great inspirations for me. I know that I have some really big themes to touch on, like body dysmorphia, eating disorders, addiction, self-love, etc. and I think taking inspo from these books will b e super helpful. They take huge, intense themes like jail, death, and drinking and make them funny, interesting, and more digestible, which is my goal for my story as well.

Works cited:

Creative research:

Since I knew I wanted to start getting to work on story boarding, I hopped right in. I really love the idea of the setting to be in a carnival so I could include all different illustrations for parts of a trip that can be scary (clowns) and others that can be beautiful (fun mirrors, rollercoasters, etc).

I feel really good about this progress, I am confident in the storyline and my plan for next week is to begin some of the illustrations! I feel like I'm finally moving toward a final form that I am really happy with.

[bidokja]

I so agree w that post where you described orv as a fever dream bc SAME. People are out there complaining abt their media like how "part x had bad pacing" "they ruined char x development" "bad writing" and then orv here is just??? Seemingly flawless?? Like all the characters and their developments are important and amazing, the concepts of like trauma (as you said)/other psychological topics are so well represented and there's literally a god given incredibly unique meta plot that hits u in all the right spots with all it's very unpredictable plot twists (at least fr me)

and the ending?? God the ending is what stories are supposed to do. it feels like a summation of everything up to that point and everything makes sense and your just there losing ur mind and dying bc every new thought u have hits u like a truck. It's like. the story of all time.

And tbh i think it's severely underrated, even amongt webtoons. Not to be a sore loser but if it was an anime or smn, i think it would have WAYY more hype than it has rn. Little to no large media I've consumed are as consistent as orv is. Like I genuinely think that this is just the beginning and that it has a long way to go in the next few years. I can't wait for the last ep of the live adaptation or whatever lol <3

LIIIIIIITERALLY THIS ORV IS SO GOOD ITS JUST TOO DAMN GOOD!!!

that being said!! i have Thoughts xhsjd

i'm on the fence about how i feel irt other adaptions of ORV, since ORV is best consumed as a web novel imo. the whole point of it, the biggest impact, is that you are Reading this Novel just like KDJ was at the very start of the series. his name itself means Reader. it's an important detail both for him individually and for ORV as a whole, thematically.

while i do like Seeing certain scenes illustrated, there is much about ORV that works best (or ONLY works) because it is a story of Words. still, i do like that it means we will keep getting more ORV content, and hopefully i will be pleasantly surprised by some well done adaptions down the road!

anyways yeah like. ORV is just so?? Well Done. Put Together (surprising given how messy it also is dksdjdkd). i can only think of...two or three complaints about ORV? and NONE of it is like...heavily consequential to what it is meant to convey, or even beyond personal taste of mine.

1) The inconsistent and sometimes inaccurate translations (which isn't the original writing's fault, plus i read it for free so i'm not about to lodge a formal complaint here or anything).

2) the lgbtphobia isn't a cute look i'll be real but it is unfortunately something i will choose to read past in cases where its not like, the point or focus imbedded into the media itself. it is not one of the take-aways or themes of the series.

3) in my opinion, there is actually a noticeable lack of various characters' interactions and developments, but this was likely done (mostly, though not fully) on purpose. i believe it's a writing decision fueled by the same Thing as their decision to have the novel be almost entirely in 1st person...and then slowly have more and more chapters where it's Not. it's about the impact, and what this lack of interaction/communication (and When it is most prominent) and what this viewpoint shift Convey thematically, qs well as the impact this has shown for the characters themselves at times. *points back at the ORV Is A PTSD Allegory thing*

[dreamties]

Slashers W/ a Punk S/O

T/W- q*eer is used a few times- in a positive, self affirming kind of way. But I can add other trigger warnings if needed. :)

A/n- Literally no one asked for this, but I wanted to make more HCs like the soft pastel one...so I just went wild and made them. 

I included a little bit of punk culture into this as well, because it’s not just about the fashion, but since there’s such a vast variety within punk culture I mostly stuck with my experiences in the community, and some bits and pieces from documentaries(mostly live footage from “The Decline of Western Civilization”).

Characters: Billy/Stu, The Lost Boys, Norman Bates, Michael Myers

Will make one(s) for Brahms, Amanda, Helen or Daniel if asked

Billy Loomis + Stu Macher

so early 90s, the Riot Grrrl movement emerges

bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy or Sleater-Kinney

it’s a very female-powered oriented movement, but I notice that a lot of minorities tend to be drawn to this music and community (LGBT folks, people of color, etc).

both boys, and yourself, being outside of the norm and all (polyamorous relationship, gay/bi) are sort of drawn to it!

and sure there’s a lot of really great queercore/homocore bands, and there’s probably a good LGBT+ punk scene out there somewhere, but in a little town like Woodsboro? Hell no. Sticking with this fem punk movement, while again mostly a space for women in music- it’s the most accepted the three of you have felt outside of you’re relationship. 

you’ve always been pretty into the music, stuff like Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, or the short-lived Germs- but it wasn’t until you stumbled upon Riot Grrrl that you really got into it. 

the music, making zines about local-ish political issues(probably not so much Woodsboro stuff, more Cali in general and neighboring towns) and a few ones with queer themes and hand-drawn illustrations of your partners, and DIYing all your clothes

since you’re so experienced with DIYing your clothes and sewing on patches, you’ve helped repair the Ghostface costumes on numerous occasions. they kind of adore this(Stu is the only one that will- and does, frequently- admit that)

Let’s face it, the three of you do everything together- but you especially enjoy when Stu tags along for thrift dates. 

he’s the more fashionable one, and he makes the whole experience more enjoyable- cracking jokes and just being his all-around goofy self.

Woodsboro is a very little town, so they don’t have much...but they do have a few small stores- usually you’ll make a whole day/date out of it though. driving to the next town or so over, since they have more stores and a better selection, and spending hours looking for cheap, old t-shirts, belts, clothes with funky patterns. heading out for pizza after.

Billy’s more likely to get into the music and everything with you(he’s kinda,, angsty, no offense to him)- will definitely go to shows with you.

just- imagine Billy in ripped jeans. and he’d have like one or two patches sewn on to it- one of them is your all time favorite band, and the other is a band that he found on his own time, and actually really enjoyed.

Stu is dragged along with you guys, you can’t just leave him at home- he’s gonna feel left out and sad. :(

He’s mostly there to keep y’all company- he really likes the energy of the shows though!

the two of them are such a chaotic duo though, so much so that you have definitely been kicked out or banned from a few venues. all for varying reasons. good grief these men can not be tamed.

The Lost Boys

as we all know, these vampires are total punks. so they’re gonna appreciate having a s/o who’s also into that whole scene.

How you meet:

you’re a baby punk, and it’s your first show ever, and you look so nervous. you’re dressed up in pretty plain clothes, a single homemade patch for your favorite band barely hanging to your jacket side(you were mid-way sewing it, when you realized you were gonna be late if you didn’t leave asap).

it’s a few local bands, ones you’d never really heard of really. you look anxious. but when they start playing? you look so unapologetically yourself, you’re so in the moment dancing- it’s completely mesmerizing to the boys. the music isn’t even that good, but you seem to be having the time of your life.

they greet you after the show, and you’re a tiny bit flustered- cause gosh, heck, they saw you. dancing. so embarrassing. 

David is the one that introduces himself and the group, and initiates conversation. Dwayne’s a pretty quiet guy, so he just listens to what you have to say. 

Marko’s pretty excited about you, and initiates in some small conversation, he may have complimented your little patch(Marko- patch jacket KING, complimenting your jacket?? more likely than you’d think) 

and oh, oh- Paul is out there being a total chatty-cathy, and is absolutely bombarding you with questions. like, okay, Paul is pretty talkative, but the other vamps are a little worried that he’s scared you off. and you had seemed so cool :(

you end up pretty engaged in your convo with Paul though, even if all the attention is overwhelming. He ends up snagging a date for the five of you the following week.

once you start hanging out/dating:

y’all just hit it off so well those first few days. they all love how sweet & shy you are- but also how much of a badass punk babe you are.

Marko helps make your patch jacket(collecting ones for bands you enjoy, how to make your own, sewing them on, etc). you probably could have done it w/out his help, but my gosh- you weren’t going to pass up this opportunity. Marko gets really soft around you sometimes, since he doesn’t really do this activity with anyone else, it’s saved for you. 🥺🥺

Dwayne likes listening to you talking about the local scene(outside of the shows you go to- mostly about stuff he can’t attend, protests and meetings during the daylight.)

all of them(especially David) are very protective of you. I mean, generally. but also when you go to shows. they let you do whatever the heck you’re gonna do, but the mere second that someone even thinks about starting shit w/ you?? well, y’know. those vampire instincts kick in.

the four of them obviously share a lot of similar tastes in music- but they all have different favorite bands, & fave parts of the community. which, they can’t even fully participate in,, but it’s okay.

they, individually, introduce their favorite bands to you. and they get it in their head that oh, they said they liked it. they must like it as much as I do. and awkwardly coming out to the four of them, as they argue about your favorite band, “Well, actually- this *insert band they’ve never heard of or barely listen to* is my favorite.” and their just kinda like, oh, okay. please tell us more about them. 

so it’s sorta like,, you’ve been learning all this cool knowledge from them, now you get to share cool knowledge with them.

idk. I think it’s cute. 💕

Norman Bates

so first off- let’s just pretend Psycho was in at least the 70s/80s for a moment. because realistically- the punk subculture didn’t really exist back then.

baby boy is absolutely fascinated by the way you dress (mother is less thrilled though)

imagine your jacket is getting a bit weathered, and needs some repairs- so he helps you to sew edges closed, and make sure the patches aren’t on too loose, etc

he enjoys hearing your stories of all the past shows you’ve gone to. you always get so excited about them, and he finds that so endearing. But he pretty much leaves the actual punk scene to you because of these stories.

he was already worried from the stories, and made sure you were well prepared for any trouble every time you left for a show.

but one time, you were able to get him to join you. never again though. he was so nervous!

the music was too loud! and he could hardly understand what they were saying- it was so confusing!

you stayed with him most of the night, standing near the back, holding his hand. he’d gently bob his head to the music occasionally. 

but you accidentally found yourself swept into the crowd, but you looked so blissed-out in the moment, that he figured it would be okay for you to dance* over there for a little bit...right?  

*Norman is still unsure if you’d even call that dancing.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened in the mosh pit.

you gotta give him lots of attention and reassurance afterwards though- you almost scared Norman half to death D:

He’s happy enough helping you out and listening to you though- and that’s okay for you, too. you still love each other lots, even if this particular interest doesn’t overlap.

Michael Myers

he thinks you’re outfits are pretty interesting. 

he’s a little worried at first, when you start experimenting with putting things like safety pins in your ears. cause like- that’s not supposed to be in your ear, Y/n, what the fuck

if you make zines at all, Michael really enjoys watching you make the illustrations for them(not that he’ll admit to it though), and helps to find newspaper and magazine clippings to incorporate into the spreads.

you always show michael the final booklet before distributing it

he doesn’t talk a lot, so he doesn’t ask questions- but he often does the little head tilt once you give it to him. since he’s not very privy to current events, and a lot of your zines are political, you spend a lot of time explaining them in depth.

he has no use for any of this knowledge, but he listens on, intently.

Important note:

dear god do not bring this man to concerts and local shows with you.

it is a nightmare, to say the least

Michael is sort of,, emotionless sometimes, doesn’t really care for people at all, and if he does? definitely not in the same way most people do. 

so imagine combining that part of michael, the fact that he’s also a giant stabby man, with super loud, energetic- almost aggressive- sounding music and a bunch of strangers that aren’t respecting any personal boundaries. 

you need to keep him at the back of the venue- lest your local scene may go missing.

[x0401x]

Jeweler Richard Fanbook Short Story #12

Feel free to message me about possible corrections, and please consider supporting the creators by purchasing digital copies of the official releases: Novel || Manga || Fanbook. In case anyone is feeling generous: Ko-fi | PayPal. ( ╹◡╹)っ’･*

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Suit Story

If you went through Ginza’s Main Street from 7-chome to 1-chome, the change in the city’s atmosphere would shock you. Bulgari, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Chanel. Felt like you could play shiritori with these high-class brand names. It was a fun neighborhood to stroll around during Christmas season, as all the stores would come up with elaborate plans for the decorative lights, but it was currently autumn. The store most closely related to me in these vicinities was the long-established stationery store where I went to buy stationery. It was, however...

“Please raise your arms a little more.”

“All right.”

“Pull your chin back a bit. Yeah, that’s great.”

“Haah. Is this really right?”

“Of course. Might be hard, but please do relax.”

For whatever reason, I was across the street from the stationery store, practically in front of it, on the second floor of a branded men’s fashion store originally from England. On the walls of this mysterious-gentleman-themed space, which housed a bar counter and even a huge aquarium, there were clusters of business suits, pants and waistcoats with basting threads attached to them in conspicuous spots.

It was a place for taking measurements for custom-made stuff.

I couldn’t get over the feeling that this was some kind of mistake. Wasn’t this the stationery store? The place where you could buy vanilla-colored envelopes for 30 yen each? Or illustrated writing paper with seasonal vibes, or pens.

“Seigi, you are too nervous.”

“Nakata-san is such an imp, but so are you.”

Leaning against the bar counter, Richard shrugged his shoulders, indicating possibility.

Today was Thursday. Having been called by Richard, who said he wanted to ask me to do some odd job, I went over to the front of Etranger, and then we came to this store in the green jaguar. Just when I thought he was gonna make me hang with him for shopping, the man on the driver seat hastily took out his phone, showing me a video letter from my dad, Nakata-san.

“Seigi, congrats on your graduation. I wanted to go suit shopping with you, but I’m in Jakarta, so I’ll be borrowing Richard-san’s assistance for that. Seems like people are getting them custom-made lately. Make sure to buy a good one. Well, see ya.”

Richard had watched over me in the passenger seat as my eyes got wet, but the tears drew back in when we stepped into the store.

While talking lightheartedly about the difference between English and Italian suits, the young clerk, who wasn’t all too apart from me in age, smoothly took my body measurements with a measuring tape and showed me countless textures.

“You can also choose the lining. What should we do about the pockets?”

When I started getting dizzy, said man, who was like a page of suits, began giving me suggestions from behind. I had nowhere to run. I was really going to have my suit made here. As I picked a charcoal-gray suit with blue lining, Richard quickly told me that tanzanite cuffs would look very nice in it. Of course, I was thinking the exact same thing.

By the moment that the Onii-san finished the measuring and disappeared into the back of the store to take notes, I heaved a deep sigh. “This kinda stuff’s been happening a lot lately. All I ever do is receive.”

When I said that, Richard laughed, giggles ringing up his throat.

Richard had two types of smiles, and whenever he raised his voice while laughing, if I refused to back down, he’d often give me a word of advice of some sort. When it was a silent smile, I’d feel like he was telling me in some way to “reflect about myself”, which would make me a bit anxious, but I liked both.

Walking up next to me as I stood in front of the mirror, Richard grinned. “It is no longer guaranteed that your body will grow out of your clothes. Isn’t it fun to sometimes purchase slightly larger clothes and try to wait for your body’s growth?”

“Feeling like this talk doesn’t have the ‘sleep well and drink milk’ kinda nuance to it.”

The reply was a smile. How strange. Richard’s face was right at my left side, but the smile in the mirror was looking directly at me. Clad in a double-button slender silhouette suit, his figure was perfect no matter from what angle I looked at it, like an extraordinarily fine jewel, so my own figure as I tensed up beside him appeared even weirder.

“Hey, Richard, I kinda have the feeling that suits are like the base metals of jewelry.”

“Are you referring to the foundation parts of rings, earrings and such?”

I nodded. The base metal was the metal part that formed the foundation for attaching gemstones to jewelry. In stores, people would often memorize the materials and call them by their names, such as gold base metal or platinum base metal.

It was a part that never played the leading role in Etranger, which handled accessories with gemstones on them. But it’d be hard to wear jewelry on the body without it, and it was also a part that allowed people to express their particularities regarding the materials, durability and design. Whether they would be prominent or not depended on the basis. Erm, this was probably what a jeweler from Kyoto that I was acquainted with would say. The contrary was also possible.

“Gotta psyche myself up. If I don’t become someone that won’t lose to this suit, I’d feel bad.”

“This is my personal opinion, but there is nothing more tiring to look at than a jewelry in which the gem and base metal are at rivalry with one another. What you should emphasize is the harmony. Just because you use the finest high-grade eggs and milk as ingredients, it does not mean you will create the best pudding – is that not the same thing?”

“Ah...”

When I replied that, indeed, high-end ingredients were often strongly in demand, the beautiful man nodded with an “exactly as you say”. By the looks of it, those were the sweets that he was into lately. I hadn’t been able to take time some for it at all due to being busy, but I decided to make pudding again one of these days and offer to him. Despite having a wallet that enabled him to eat as many high-grade desserts as he wanted, Richard would always be delighted anew no matter how many of them I made, which made me believe that, as one would expect, he had a talent for pleasing people. I was grateful for his existence.

“Both suits and jewelry are goods that exist for the sake of their owners. The initiative is clear from the start. You must handling it skillful and comfortably, not fight against it. That is why it is custom-made.”

“So you’re also ‘skillfully handling’ the clothes you’re wearing right now?”

“Evidently. Enough that I do not know anymore at what point it ends and I begin.” With that said, Richard sleekly patted his suit. I wanted to try saying that too someday.

We exchanged glances not through the mirror but directly.

When the clerk Onii-san came back, the measuring recommenced. I got kind of embarrassed as he praised me, saying I was well-relaxed.

   “Seigi-kun, good work! Wow, that suit looks really great on you.”

“Thanks, Tanimoto-san. Uh, this print on your furisode, could it be—”

“I was told it’s a modern type of print, but yep, it’s kinda like...”

“It looks like a bismuth crystal!”

With a face that said, “I know, right”, a dandy crease formed under her eyes, which were just a bit more on-the-mark than usual. Her bob-cut hair was the same as always, her cream-colored hakama paired with a yellow-green and dark blue furisode, which bore a mysterious geometric pattern print. On top of being cute, it was unique. She said it was rented, but I got emotional upon finding out there was a furisode that was so much like her.

As for me, I was wearing a double-button English suit that fit my body extremely well. It was a little embarrassing, but the creatures called college boys were more or less the same kind of individuals as myself, so they weren’t too mindful of their male friends’ clothes. Only one of them, who had found employment in the apparel industry, said that “the suit Nakata’s wearing is so nice”.

It was the graduation ceremony of Kasaba University. We gathered in the excessively large auditorium for all but an instant, and once we had our diplomas in hand, it was the beginning of a rapid shooting party, where we took pictures with our preferred friends in spaces near the auditorium. Tanimoto-san came running over to the spot near the central library, where we had decided to meet up.

“Seigi-kun, really, congrats. Things might get hard from now on, but if it’s you, everything will definitely be okay.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best. I don’t think I’m that big of a deal, though...”

“That’s not true. I know very well how awesome you are.”

I played around a little and bowed my head, also congratulating Tanimoto-san for her graduation, she laughed with a “huhuhu”, looking happy.

She had passed in teaching and she would officially be a middle school science teacher starting this April. She fulfilled the dream that she had told me about when we were in our second year of undergrad. So cool. She had laughed when I said I wanted to take her classes if it were ever possible, but now I knew her video communication address, so it might be that I could actually get to attend her lectures at least once. Even if I were no longer living in Japan.

“Tanimoto-san, the school you’re assigned to is...”

“In Okayama Prefecture. It’s famous for the Katsuta Group of vicarya fossils. Compared to you, it’s next-door.”

In a few days, my address would change from Japan to Sri Lanka. I was going to be a jeweler apprentice. I had been told that I would often have to move around in rough dress, so sure enough, I was going to dedicate myself to wearing formal stuff for the time being. It was a bit of a waste, but Nakata-san and Richard had probably given me a chance to wear this kind of thing because they knew about that.

I could hear a voice in the distance calling, “Shouko~”. It was apparently a friend of Tanimoto-san’s. She waved at them in response.

“Seigi-kun, y’know... I think I was very lucky to meet you in this university. Literally thank you. Thanks to you, university was always fun.”

“Those are all my lines. But Tanimoto-san, I only ever gave you trouble.”

“If you’re gonna say that, same goes for me. I feel like you’ve granted me many opportunities. Seriously, thank you.”

When she smiled, saying she was going to do her best, she looked really cute. Neither of us had any familiarity with Okayama, but surely, she would actively pave the way with her own strength no matter where she was. And on her days off, she would go out to the Katsuta Group to dig up fossils.

“From now on too, if there’s anything I can help you with, I want you to tell me. I’ll do anything. If you run into any weirdo, I’ll get on a plane and come give them a beating.”

“Me too; if anyone ever messes up with you, Seigi-kun, I’ll take my crack hammer and go finish them off. Look forward to it. Ah, Aki told me that a sniper rifle suits me better, apparently?”

“I-I wonder.”

After that, we talked for a while, seated on an inconspicuous bench, and when it was finally time, she told me to at least take care of my body, offering me her hand. I nodded and squeezed it back. Her hand was small but very strong.

“Take care of your body, at the very least. May the blessings of the stones fall upon you.”

“Thank you. You too.”

We bowed deeply, taking pictures with each other while we were at it, and once we were done with the commemorative photoshoot, in which the two of us kept a moderate distance from one another, we parted ways. Students here and there were hugging intensely and wailing, but neither she nor I were that type, and I didn’t think this would be farewell for a lifetime. We would definitely get to see each other from now on too.

However, this was our last time seeing each other while we were students. After the handshake, my angel waved her hand with a “see you”, even more brightly than an actual angel.

Later on, having finished looking around for the friends that I could call friends and going on a tour to tell them “thank you for everything until now”, lastly, I sent a brief text. Not to Richard. To Nakata-san and Hiromi.

“I was able to graduate from university without problems. Thank you very much, truly. I will be in your care from now on too.”

Rather than a greeting, it turned into a notice to announce my renewed determination. The stylish suit indeed gave off an extraordinary feeling of fittingness, but I couldn’t think I was fully used to it. Obviously. It finished being made just a while ago. It would start from here. If it would take on my shape the more I wore it, then I would make sure to wear it steadily to my own liking.

What mattered was the harmony, he had said.

While smoothly stroking the suit, which I still couldn’t deem as anything other than formal wear, as if I were stroking my favorite gemstone, I seared the contrast of cherry blossom petals against the blue sky into my eyes.

[alexis-medina]

Dissecting: Edens Zero Ch. 130-134

Kleene/Jinn

I was reading Ch. 83 and found this.

See, I don’t know if Mashima plans his story out or if he develops certain plots on the spot because everything is connecting. “Oh, I could use this later...” Brilliant. Amazing. For real though, I was like damn it’s the Mildian/Sun Jewel arc again (Xiaomei’s battles foreshadowing).

Shura vs Ziggy

It was interesting to read that Shura isn't the biological son of Nero. This leads me to think...what if Shura and Shiki are related? I mean they both have gravity ether and they both were taught by Ziggy. They both are also strong in their own right. We also have the theme from Fairy Tail of Good vs Evil (Zeref and Natsu) but in this instance it would be Shura and Shiki. We also don't know where they came from - their origins. Plus, Nero says that his power was incompatible with Shura but he was able to match with Ziggy's gravity powers.

Later, when the crew of Edens Zero find another relic (Robo Cola cap), they infer that Mother could be a place and a person. I was also thinking that because in FT: 100 years quest, Aldoron was a dragon god but his body was home to 5 cities.

So, if I'm right then, Shiki and Shura maybe are from a city on Mother...and maybe even Rebecca.

I'm noting that Shiki is younger than Shura. When Ziggy was training Shura, that was 15 years ago but, that's also the same time Ziggy found Shiki as a baby....unless Ziggy is lying and he has false memories. 👀👀👀 Is Ziggy truly good or bad? Does Shiki have additional powers like Rebecca?

What is the all-link system? Looks like Shura and Ziggy have the same idea. I think if Shura and Ziggy battle - Ziggy will win. What did you guys think?

Xenolith and the Crew of Edens Zero

I wonder why Xenolith's maintenance is lasting longer. Perhaps it may be revealed in the future. I would laugh if he moved his consciousness/personality data into a younger robot body.

Weisz stays being a perv lol with the bondage training.

Did Xenolith teach Shiki 'Black Sky?' For me, I feel like in the next arc, when Shiki is facing a really tough opponent we will get flashbacks of his training with Xenolith and him learning Black Sky. Then, he'll perform it against the enemy...which could be Ziggy. So, yes, I think Xenolith did teach him. Could be wrong but we'll have to wait and see!

Both Xenolith and Xiaomei have stated that Rebecca's power will change/save the world/universe.

- Xiaomei (Ch. 64): "She has only just begun to unlock the secrets of Leap’s real power. This power may truly save the universe one day."

- Xenolith (Ch. 132): "Her power is weak…but it is the most special. Special enough to change the world."

Witch calling Rebecca a 'Chrono Witch' is giving me Scarlet Witch vibes...

Math for Dummies lol

Stronger heart = Stronger gravity Strength + Tranquility = Strong Heart = Rise from darkness Strength - Tranquility = Weak Heart Weak heart = Weak gravity = Fall to darkness

Fan service with the bath scenes but, at least it is keeping the story going, in that, she has to train in the bath in order to get stronger. Sister makes me geek, "You better get out of those ropes before this turns x-rated." When I read that scene, it gave me Virgo vibes from FT.

I also want to see how Xenolith met Ziggy. So, I'm wishing for a flashback.

I don't know if I put this on a post before or not but, my thoughts are that Ziggy did reach Mother and found Shiki there. He erased the Four Shining Stars memories because something bad would happen if he didn't (like they would get infected the way he is now). So, he did it to save them.

UGHHHH BUT THAT CLIFFHANGER...WHYYYYY - It'll probably blow my mind when it gets revealed.

Also, WOOHOOO! Jinn and Kleene joined the crew. That cute ass smile!!! OOOMG his face when he isn't able to untie Kleene. 🥺🥺🥺

The Oceans

So cool to see the winners of the Edens Zero character competition featured as the Oceans 6! I'm a fan of all of them and don't you worry...we won't forget Shura's assistant even though she's not part of the 6. However, she might be since Shura killed off Cyca. Yikes.... RIP Cyca

Their designs are so clean!! (Sorry if the images look blurry Tumblr only allows 10 photos per post so I tried stitching them together in Illustrator but I think the file size is too big for Tumblr so that's why it may be blurry but, I hope you get the gist of their designs.)

Holy

I wonder what she means by that...I feel like this will be important later. We also don't know much about the other members of the Oración Seis Interstellar. I'm excited to see what their ether gear is...especially Eraser. 👀👀👀 Does his ether have something to do with erasing things? Are they corrupt or good guys? I guess we'll found out soon...

B-Cube

Rebecca has carved 'Edens Zero' onto her B-Cube. Did you guys notice in Ch. 134 that Rebecca's ingrained B-Cube is the same one we see in Ch. 4? That's the scene where there are two robots 20,000 years in the future who find two bodies (a man and a woman) and a B-Cube which we can now confirm is Rebecca's.

The Ships + Other Notable Mentions

LOL I feel like if I was a B-Cuber, I would be an entertainment/fashion channel....basically like Sorcerer Weekly but make it Space Weekly or a cool name like Into the Void. Maybe a play off of 'Cosmopolitan' but shorten it to 'Cosmos.' So many options.

Anyways lets get into the ships. I talked about this first ship in a recent post.

#1 Homura and Creed

I'll say it again...I SHIP IT! I am hoping for some more scenes with them together. He always looks so cute when he blushes <3 He's a Homura stan too hahah. 🥺🥺🥺

Predictions: - Creed and Homura will fight - Creed will protect Homura again - Homura will save Creed - Creed will join the Edens Zero crew

Now, I was reading on a few discord channels that people are comparing Creed to Mest (Fairy Tail). Now, I am really trying to understand this comparison because frankly, I don't see it. Creed has a crush on Homura. That's valid. Also, Creed doesn't just have pictures of just Homura, he has Weisz, Rebecca, and Shiki. He's not creepy like Mest.

Mest was a weird guy when we first met him laying in the pool or eating flowers. Their personalities are totally different IMO. We could talk ages about the age gap stuff but I'm not really gonna go into that.

Do you see the comparison?

#2 Rebecca and Shiki

Shiki escaping from his restraints to save 'Rebecca' made me happy lol. It makes me think what he would do if it was Homura or Weisz in that situation. What would Shiki do? Plus, after the simulation was over...we can see Rebecca in awe and blushing.

Then, Shiki is hugging Rebecca and they're both blushing 💕 That's a cute moment ngl.

"I'm not THAT into Shiki." - So, you don't deny that you like him 😉

#3 Hermit

I don't know if I mentioned this but I fucking love Hermit's name. It's such a cool name.

#4 Justice

Ch. 130 he was looking gooooood with his bandages. 🥵🥵🥵

Ps. Did you get a chance to view Edens Zero PV 2?!?

Did you notice the homage to Fairy Tail in Ch. 134? "Why are your ideas so Fairy Tale?"

[organabanana]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Supergirl Rating: T Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen  Characters: Alex Danvers, Kelly Olsen (Supergirl TV 2015)  Additional Tags: implied supercorp dumbery, alex's malfunctioning gaydar, strap-on talk, Domestic Fluff Summary: Alex and Kelly discuss sapphic culture, watch a movie, consider strap-ons, and make the most of same-day delivery. I could pretend there's a plot here but honestly it's just domestic fluff for a cute little prompt. Notes: Written for the prompt "Imagine Me & You" for the Pride theme at @femslashexchange. First time writing Dansen so I hope you'll enjoy!

[ao3 link]

“Stop staring at me like that! I thought you people were supposed to be non-judgmental.”

If Kelly takes issue with Alex’s tone when referring to psychologists as ‘you people’, she certainly doesn’t show it. She just keeps staring, body turned to face Alex’s on the couch and palms neatly resting on her knees like she’s trying to keep her composure in the face of an unhinged patient or something.

Which is, if you ask Alex, an overreaction.

“We are. I wouldn’t say I’m judging you per se, it’s just—“ Kelly presses her lips together for a moment, clearly trying to come up with non-judgmental words to convey her very judgmental (Alex can read it all over her face) thoughts. “It’s just— you’ve really never—“

“Never.” Alex shrugs, like it’s no big deal. Actually, you know what? She shrugs because it’s no big deal.

“But you’ve… I mean, at least you must be familiar with it? Word of mouth, if nothing else?”

Alex contemplates for a moment, lips pursed slightly as she looks up like she’s expecting to find some kind of cue card on the ceiling of their apartment.

“Not really?” she finally decides, after a few moments of soul-searching, “I don’t really— I mean I know it’s uh… lesbian adjacent?” Alex illustrates how unsure she is about that particular statement with a swishy hand motion, but it clearly does nothing to impress her girlfriend.

“Lesbian adjac— Alex!” Kelly’s eyes widen as she finally loses all semblance of professional poker face (not that she’d been doing a great job before, mind you) and lets out an incredulous chuckle. “It’s not lesbian adjacent, it’s— it’s a cornerstone of sapphic culture!”

“Oh come on, Kel!” It’s Alex’s turn to laugh now, more than a little bit charmed by just how passionate her otherwise very rational girlfriend seems to be about something as silly as this. “It’s so not a cornerstone of sapphic anything. Strap-ons? Sure, I could see that. Some dumb—“

“Do not finish that sent— wait, did you just say strap-ons?”

Alex shrugs. She said what she said. She’s also acutely aware of the very visible (and oh, so very pretty) glow on her girlfriend’s cheeks, no matter how hard Kelly tries to look unaffected.

“Anyway,” Kelly shakes her head just so, and Alex could not possibly be any more enamored by the way she clears her throat and shifts on her seat, “as I was saying, I’m surprised a lesbian over thirty has never seen Imagine Me & You, that’s all.”

“Eh. I’m not much for rom-coms. Can we go back to strap-ons for a minute, though? I feel like there’s a conversation to be had there.”

Alex can see the struggle right there in Kelly’s eyes. Will Kelly Olsen drop an argument, mild as this particular one may be, before it’s been thoroughly resolved? Will she give in to the heat Alex can nearly feel radiating off her cheeks and talk about sex toys instead?

“Would you wear it, or would I?” Alex asks, choosing to give her girlfriend a small nudge in the (obvious, if you ask her) right direction.

“You don’t like romantic comedies?” Kelly says at exactly the same time, looking at Alex like she’s suddenly sprouted a second head.

Alex groans, throwing her head back against the couch in such despair she nearly doesn’t hear Kelly’s next words.

“You. I think?”

Oh.

Alex is once again fully engaged with the conversation, licking her lips as she straightens her back and turns to focus on her girlfriend. “Yeah?” Alex can feel heat rising to her own cheeks now, oddly flattered by Kelly’s choice. “You think?”

There’s a certain warmth to Kelly’s smile when she looks into Alex’s eyes. The kind of warmth that lets Alex know Kelly has somehow read her thoughts and understood them, likely better than Alex herself. “I think you could pull it off, yes,” she says, long fingers wrapping around Alex’s and tugging lightly to encourage her to get a little closer.

Alex would love to be the kind of woman who can keep this back and forth of flirty banter going for a while. She’d love to be the kind of woman who can tease and flirt and play the part of the cool lesbian who knows she’s hot stuff. But the thing is, Kelly is just so beautiful. She’s soft and warm and she thinks Alex could pull off a strap-on and she’s practically begging for a kiss (which Alex immediately gives her, of course, she’s not a monster), and how could Alex possibly resist?

How could anyone, really?

Those cool lesbians simply have never had Kelly Olsen’s bedroom eyes directed at them.

“Wanna go on-line shopping?” Alex whispers between the second kiss and the third, grinning when Kelly’s fingers slide into her hair, “I bet they have same-day delivery.”

Kelly chuckles, light and sweet against Alex’s lips and fully obliterating whatever crumbs of coolness Alex may have had left. “In a rush, are we?”

“Lil bit, yeah,” Alex freely admits, a bit too taken with the way Kelly smiles at her to care if she’s proving once again she’s not the coolest where her girlfriend is involved. But, again — how could anyone resist? Kelly shifts on the couch, smoothly readjusting their position until she’s on her back with Alex on top of her, and Alex is pretty sure she’s peaked. Life simply doesn’t get any better than this.

(Alex has thought she’s peaked, on average, around twice a day since she started dating Kelly. Don’t you dare judge her.)

Kelly’s neck smells faintly of lavender when Alex trails kisses up warm skin towards the spot right behind Kelly’s ear.

“Soap thief,” she whispers, teeth gently nipping and making Kelly let out a sound that falls somewhere between a laugh and a gasp, “for shame.”

Kelly doesn’t answer right away. She lets Alex bask in the feeling of having the upper hand for a few seconds, slips her own hands under Alex’s shirt to grab at the solid muscles on her back, spreads her legs so Alex’s thigh can slot between them… and then she speaks.

“Will your cock be lavender too?”

Alex makes a sound. Unfortunately, because it’s neither sexy nor dignified. She sputters, really. Nearly chokes on her own breath. In her defense… well, honestly, she doesn’t think she needs a defense. Who wouldn’t be disarmed by her girlfriend, all warm and soft and rocking against her thigh with purpose, suddenly bringing up lavender cocks?

Come on now.

“W— would you like it lavender?” Alex manages to ask, voice slightly higher than normal as she pushes herself up on her hands to look into Kelly’s eyes. And maybe also to shift her weight onto her knee, her thigh pressing a little harder between Kelly’s legs. “Do you want it lavender?”

“Baby,” Kelly sighs and arches her back just slightly — just enough to make the column of her neck impossible to resist, so Alex presses an open-mouthed kiss to Kelly’s throat and feels the words vibrate against her lips as they come out, “I want it yours.”

***

Alex’s brain doesn’t fully recover until nearly two hours later, when she’s sitting at her desk staring at the tracking website for the package they will be receiving at some point within that same day.

Technology, right? What a wonderful thing.

“Are you still watching that?” Kelly’s tone is teasing as she walks out of the bathroom brushing her fingers through her freshly washed, still wet hair. “Are you expecting it to just teleport here by sheer force of will?”

Alex shrugs. She’s familiar enough with Martian tech to hold out hope for that happening. And honestly, considering the requests Kelly made regarding size while choosing the (lavender, yes) toy, Alex is pretty sure not even staring unblinkingly at her screen fully qualifies her as the most eager person in the room.

“You know it won’t be here for at least a couple hours,” Kelly insists, “but I know just how we could fill the time.”

It’s like a switch has been flipped. One second Alex is staring at the screen, and the next she’s pretty much forgotten there’s a package to receive. Alex wouldn’t call the look on Kelly’s eyes flirty, exactly, but it’s certainly something. Playful, maybe. Is playful better than flirty?

Alex is oh-so-ready to find out.

“Yeah?” Alex says, already on her feet and moving towards Kelly.

Kelly nods, eyes practically sparkling as she sits on the couch once again.

And Alex, of course, follows her.

Who wouldn’t?

Kelly kisses her first. Something short and sweet that leaves Alex smiling and hoping for a reprise. But instead, Kelly speaks.

“We can watch Imagine Me & You.”

Alex groans, and she’d be lying if she said there isn’t at least a bit of dramatic flair involved in the intensity of her despair. “Kelly! I told you I don’t like romcoms!”

“But you love romance!” Kelly motions in the general direction of the shelf that’s nearly overflowing with little mementos of their life together. A box full of movie theater tickets, a dried flower from the first time they celebrated Valentine’s day, the cork from the first bottle of wine they drank in their home… and the collection is very much maintained (and steadily grown) by Alex. “How can you not like romantic comedies? They should be right up your alley.”

“I like real romance. Not… fake, decaf romance.”

And it’s not a controversial statement, Alex thinks. It’s pretty much common sense. There’s real life, and then there’s movies. There’s real romance — the kind that makes her laugh and cry and get butterflies in her stomach — and then there’s Hollywood’s version of romance, which feels hollow most of the time. Everyone knows that, right?

So why is Kelly looking at her like she’s just cracked some kind of code?

“What? Stop being creepy. I liked it better when you were judging me earlier.”

“But you like big dramatic romance movies,” Kelly prods, “right?”

“Well, sure, but that’s different.”

“Because…” Kelly nods encouragingly.

“I don’t know, Kel. I guess because rom-coms are just kinda…” Alex sighs, “I don’t know.”

“Insubstantial?” Kelly offers, “hard to engage with beyond mindless entertainment? Alienating, even, in a way?”

“Right!” Freaking finally, Kelly gets it. Alex isn’t weird. This is a universal phenomenon, obviously. “Exactly! Exactly that.”

“Honey,” Kelly pats the back of Alex’s hand affectionately, voice down to just barely above a whisper, “that’s ‘cause you’re gay.”

Alex scoffs, somewhere between amused and outraged. “That doesn’t even make any sense.”

Kelly’s eyes narrow just slightly. There’s a glint to them that Alex knows very well. It’s the look Kelly gets when she knows she’s right.

“Tell you what,” Kelly says, leaning over to grab the remote from the coffee table and then leaning against Alex’s side as she turns on the tv, “you watch this one movie with me, indulge my scientific curiosity, and if you haven’t changed your mind by the end I’ll drop the subject forever.”

It’s not a bad offer. Alex purses her lips and pretends to think about it very seriously anyway, just because it’s one thing to be thoroughly whipped when it comes to her girlfriend, but it’s a whole different story to not even try to pretend she can put her foot down once in a while.

Besides, she loves the way Kelly’s face lights up when Alex finally (inevitably) says yes.

“Okay, fine,” Alex sighs just to offset the sheer size of her heart eyes when Kelly does, in fact, light up, “one movie.”

Kelly practically flies through their streaming options, clearly more than familiar with the location of Imagine Me & You. And there are so many questions Alex could ask. So many ways she could poke fun at her girlfriend for what’s clearly a bit of a fangirly obsession. But right when Kelly presses play, Alex notices something that pulls her attention in an entirely different direction.

“Piper Perabo! Oh, I love her,” she sighs, wrapping an arm around Kelly’s shoulders as her girlfriend snuggles into her preferred movie-watching position, “I watched Coyote Ugly a million times as a teen. My mom ended up getting me the DVD so I’d stop renting it every single week.”

Kelly chuckles lightly, draping one arm across Alex’s waist. “And that didn’t give you any hints that you might have been a bit gay?”

Alex shrugs. Whether she’d been really oblivious or just in denial, she’s at a point in her life and her journey now where she can make a bit of fun of her teenage self. “What can I say? My gaydar’s never been the most finely tuned.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Just look at the Kara thing.”

“The what now?” Alex looks away from the screen to stare at Kelly instead. As far as she’s aware — and she’s a very observant vigilante, mind you — there’s no such thing as ‘the Kara thing’, whatever that means. And what would that have to do with her (lack of a) gaydar, anyway? “What Kara thing?”

“Nothing,” Kelly points at the screen, “watch the movie.”

“No, what did you me— is that Cersei Lannister?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s so good in this. I may have a bit of a crush.”

“On Cersei freaking Lannister, Kel?” Alex lets out an amused chuckle. “I’m honestly not sure how I feel about that.”

“Will you please just watch the movie?”

“Fine, fine, sheesh,” Alex moves her hand down Kelly’s side just to gently poke at a particularly ticklish spot, “but I can’t promise I won’t be too freaked out about Cersei to fully focus.”

But there’s Piper Perabo in a beautiful wedding dress flashing a beautiful smile, and really, not even Cersei Lannister being on the receiving end of that smile can stop Alex from getting sucked into the movie and what’s happening in it.

She watches a ring fall into a punch bowl and exchanged looks and smiles. She hears, much to her surprise, unspoken lines between Piper Perabo and Cersei Lannister that make her smile at the screen because yeah— yeah, she’s been there. She’s smiled like that. She’s felt like that. She’s so enthralled by the movie that it’s only when she feels herself laugh at Cersei’s friend calling herself ecstatic that she realizes she’s been quiet for a while.

“Ok, that was funny. Most rom-coms aren’t even really coms.”

“You’re enjoying this,” Kelly says, her voice full of teasing glee.

Alex feels color rise to her cheeks. “Will you please just watch the movie?”

Kelly doesn’t argue this time.

There’s a science presentation in the dark, pinky fingers nearly touching, a very questionable choice at the movie rental place — “oh, no, you don’t want to learn from Georgie’s Bush” — and then there’s a date.

Alex feels Kelly hold her a little tighter when Rachel asks Luce — who cares about Cersei Lannister, anyway? — to put both her arms around her, and she feels herself smile like a fool when the lily’s meaning is shared. And then. Then there’s almost a kiss, but not quite, and Rachel barging into the flower shop, and Alex is fully invested now. There’s simply no turning back.

“Oh! Oh, no, Rachel, it can’t be over!” She says out loud, because this poor conflicted woman clearly needs advice. “Don’t leave her— oh, she’s back!”

Alex has seen so many on-screen kisses. So many.

She’s watched hundreds of love stories, from cartoons to dark thrillers and everything in between. She’s been having regular movie nights with Kara since she was a teenager, and most times the chosen movie has at least one romantic storyline, if not several.

But this.

This lands somewhere deep inside her chest. And when the kiss ends because Luce has thorns in her bum, Alex realizes there are tears running down her face.

“You all right, baby?” Kelly shifts to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek, catching a tear with her lips.

“Uh huh,” Alex nods. And then she stops nodding. She even stops holding Kelly, because she needs both hands to cover her eyes. “Oh, God. Oh, not him. I can’t watch this.”

But she does anyway. Through the spaces between her fingers at first, and then fully because one of her hands is covering her mouth now, the other holding Kelly once again.

“Don’t tell her to go!” She says, voice watery and just a little shaky as she struggles to keep herself together. But it lasts only as long as it takes for Luce to ask Rachel to remember her, because, “she won’t—“ Alex hiccups, “she won’t remember anything else, Kel.”

“I know, honey.”

Alex nods. She’s crying now. Really crying. Watching Rachel tell her sleeping husband doesn’t help, and neither does her conversation with her parents — though it does pull a watery chuckle out of Alex — or Luce’s talk to her mom. She’s still crying when people pile into a car and start chasing Luce’s cab, because she knows this is going to have a happy ending. Right? That’s the beauty of romantic comedies.

“Oh, the song!” She stage whispers, pointing at the screen when the cyclist rides past the car, and then gasps when Rachel climbs onto the roof of the car. “She’s gonna do it, isn’t she? She’s gonna call number nine a wanker for her lady?”

“A bit cheesy, huh?”

Alex’s eyes widen in utter disbelief. “Cheesy?” She tears her eyes away from the screen once that last kiss is over just to shoot Kelly an indignant look. “How dare you.”

Kelly chuckles, something soft and quiet as she rearranges herself on the couch to free her hands so she can help wipe tears from Alex’s face. “So? What did you think?”

Alex sniffles. She’s not quite done crying yet, but she can still try and maintain at least a crumb of dignity after spectacularly losing this particular argument. “All right,” she concedes, shrugging one shoulder like she’s not at all still a bit weepy over Piper Perabo getting her girl, “it was okay.”

“Yeah?” Kelly reaches for the tissue box on the coffee table and holds it so Alex can take one (or five).

“It wasn’t awful,” Alex says, blowing her nose, and then contemplates simply leaving it at that. But she can’t help herself. “Can we watch more?”

Kelly grins. “More romantic comedies?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” Kelly echoes, pressing a lingering kiss to Alex’s lips, “we can start a bit of a sapphic movie night tradition. We can ask Kara and Lena to join in.”

Well, that’s weird. Don’t get her wrong, Alex loves her sister and Lena and watching movies together, but she’s not following Kelly’s leap from sapphic cinema to them. And her confusion must be written all over her face, because Kelly explains even before Alex can ask.

“You know. To expand their film horizons.” There’s something in Kelly’s tone that makes Alex feel like there’s more to it than that, but she’s a bit busy dealing with her post-movie emotions to investigate. “Besides, Lena always brings amazing wine when we have them over.”

Alex is about to agree — Lena does have excellent taste in wine — but the doorbell distracts her before she can.

The doorbell.

Same-day delivery.

“Oh, it’s here!” Kelly practically leaps to her feet, pressing the button to let the delivery person in and standing by the door to wait for them to make their way upstairs.

“Dammit, Kel. Look at me,” Alex sniffles and grabs a handful of tissues to try and fully dry her face, “how am I supposed to — and I quote — ‘fuck you into the mattress’ like this?”

Kelly winks at her just as the doorbell rings. “Trust me, baby. I’ll help you with that.”

And you know what? Alex has no reason to doubt that she will.