okay my thoughts on the new crow movie is they LITERALLY just had to rename the characters. that's it.

LONG post featuring my opinions on this design and her concept and also Vivs character design decisions in general

This design singlehandedly made my account rise from the fucking dead because of how much opinions I have on it

TO NOTE : I LIKE Helluva Boss as a show. Is it perfect? No. Do I think it has issues from both writing and design aspects? Yes. Do I like it regardless? Also yes. You can like a show and still have criticisms of it. Also Viv has answered some criticisms about Beelzebubs design and I will talk about them too

Final warning cuz this is LONG and rambled at points

By this point we are all aware that once a new character gets revealed in Helluva or Hazbin , there's always opinions on it.

But Beelzebub truly takes the cake on how divided people are on her design. People either adore it or hate it with a blinding passion (and some just don't like it cuz they have a Viv hate boner).

I have to say I actually really like it as a stand alone design. Remove her from the story and context it's genuinely an appealing design with fun and bright colors. I personally don't mind the early 2010's sparkle dog look. It has a nostalgic charm to it and if you followed Viv for long enough you know she really likes that aesthetic. She has good colors and color placement and my main real dislike is the weird hair.

And she's animated BEAUTIFULLY !!! Real props to the animators for being able to make this design look nice in motion because god lord is it complicated. This will be a criticism later, but again, its really amazing on how they made this design look good even though we all know this must have been a real bitch to animate.

The real issue that come to me with her design is when you put her in the show and have to think about who she is, what she is, what her lore is ect.

Firstly: Her not being 'lore accurate' kinda falls flat given that none of the designs thus far have been accurate to what they're based on. Like Asmodeus has elements that tie him to his demon name counterpart (with the rooster tail and 3 faces) but they're more allusions then design inspirations. Lucifer is literally just a top hat twink and Mammon (even tho we haven't seen his full design yet) is clown/jester themed. Viv has made it clear that this version of hell isn't supported to be an accurate depiction of biblical hell. So she can really do whatever she wants with her interpretation. Her not being an insect, although disappointing since we don't really have that in the show, is only just a matter of personal taste.

HOWEVER there's still a lot of discrepancies with her design.

So she's supposed to be a Bee-Fox hybrid... Where's the bee??? Like take away the hexagon background, where is the bee part of her design? She has antenna and wings but... They don't really do much. The antenna are fine and its smart they placed at the tip of her ears, but the wings are straight up not bee wings!!! They look more like pixie wings and they're so small half the time I forgot they were there. Couldn't you have added.. idk some stripes?? she has stripes on her ears but they don't look like bee stripers more so general Viv design details. It's weird given she uses stripes so heavily in other designs yet the BEE character doesnt. Maybe add some fuzz like how bumblebees have?? Maybe trade that stupid lava lamp tail/hair if its too complex. I really don't like how she has normal hair and also a weird liquid part and liquid tail. It adds too much visual noise and just doesn't gel well wit the rest of her design. Her lava lamp stomach too just feels like needless addition of animation work for something that just doesn't add anything. Her colors ( despite being nice) kinda clash against all the other hellhounds who have a muted black/grey/red color pallate. It makes her look like an 13 year olds OC thats been edited in

Literally the only things that changed are her colors, size and eyes. In my opinion this should have been her base design because the colors and bug eyes lean into more of the bee aspect. Plus with these colors she fits more with other hellhounds.

Like right now the normal design feels 97% fox with just the most subtle bee elements slapped on. If it wasn't for the background, look me in the eye and tell me this design is a fox bee hybrid.

She also doesn't feel like a prince? She's dressed very casually and doesn't have nearly have enough of an imposing vibe. I didn't know she was a prince until it was said in show. I thought she was just some high rank demon performer. Its kinda disappointing given how grand, larger then life look and energy Asmodeus had. They were introduced in the same way via big song number, but Asmodeus felt like a Prince of Lust, Beelzebub felt more like a performer of Gluttony rather then a ruler.

Also why if she a hellhound in the first place? i saw somewhere on twitter that its cuz her people are hellhounds but that doesnt make sense. Lucifer isn't a human and Asmodeus isn't a succubus, so why does Bee have to be a hellhound? We know that hellhounds are the lowest ranked amongst hell natives, so how do people outside of gluttony feel about her? She is treated like royalty but is also a hellhound, the lowest demon. It causes a needless paradox that makes you question the worldbuilding of the show.

Also why are hellhounds the lowest rank in hell ? and why are they associated with gluttony of all things? I am going to be honest when I say I completely forgot they were native to gluttony because gluttony has a beehive aesthetic and like wtf do dogs have anything to do with it . Like other demons shown have themes that tie them into their respective prince or sin, but we aren't shown why hellhounds in particular are gluttony. Like it feels like a minor thing but when you present information about worldbuilding and show stuff that contradicts it, people will question it.

And why is she dating a hellhound? Or more so why is she so open about it. Like its been shown in the show that Stolas and Admodeus dating imps is a taboo thing so her being so open about her relationship with someone whose even lower then an imp. Again its going back on lore and worldbuilding being contradicted. If you're going to make rules for a show, stick to them.

I'm putting these two side by side cuz I have the same complaint about them.

How are we suppose to know this?? First the gluttony ring severally lacks any circus motifs (it has more of a bee theme then a circus one), but Bee ESPECIALLY doesn't have ANY hints at being circus themed, let alone animal trainer.

I knew that all the princes had a circus theme but from I (and from what ive seen in other comments) though she was an acrobat or like dancer of the sort. Literary nothing in her design says she is an animal trainer. And also the hippie 60s spirit is also not anywhere in the design. Just because a design choice is clear to you doesn't mean its clear to everyone else. A good design makes its points across loud and clear so everyone can understand it. This really feels like she's making it all up as people ask. She probably isn't but it really comes across that way. You cant just say something about a design that just isn't in the design or its not shown properly. This is an issue a lot of Helluva and Hazbin Hotels characters have (look up any of their trivia and you'll see how bad some designs are communicated), but with Bee its emphasized tenfold because she's suppose to represent all these different things (fox, bee, prince, party girl, animal trainer, DA sparkle dog, 60s hippie free spirit) at it just isn't conveyed or is put in such a way where you cant clearly tell what it is. It honestly feels like Viv had in mind to have a Kesha pop party girl character and just made her a prince. Shes trying to justify all these things and saying them like they're obvious when they're clearly not!

This design suffers from having too many ideas slapped on it that just don't work and actively work against each other.It makes me less excited for the future prince designs

If youve come this far good for you for sticking around to this way too long of a ramble about a probably one off character in a popular indie cartoon :D

band name bestie and wild card for mercy, beginnings bandmates and tattoo for kian (hope it's not too much ddjdskjd)

THANK U!! it is not too much dont worry <3 but ill put it under the cut bc its long hehe

infamous mc ask game!!

mercy

Band name: How did they and the others come up with the band name? Has the name changed since it was founded?

- their band name is final girl, like the horror movie trope! mercy is a big fan of horror or gore or anything spooky. the name has been the same since the band was started, and it’s always been fitting since they are a punk band with a female lead and the aesthetics to match the ongoing horror theme!!

Besties: What’s their friendship with Rowan like? What are some things only he knows about them?

- she and rowan are super close!! he’s her best friend in the band. only he knows the full extent of her delusions LOL every day she texts him that she is fully convinced orion wants her bad and every day he says “u are literally insane ❤️”

Wild card: Tell us something about your MC! Feel free to really just roll us over with an emotional steamroller and crush the souls out of our bodies, if you’d like.

- shes super active on social media and has a decently large following even before botb. her fans love her for the drama… u better not piss her off bc she Will post call outs on her main ig 😭 during botb she absolutely heckles both soft violence and underground wastebasket and says mean things to their fans just bc she thinks it’s funny. besides being a troll she also posts a lot of selfies and thirst traps bc shes hot!!!!

kian

Beginnings: When and how did they know they wanted to be a professional musician? Was there a deciding factor?

- kian was a bored and lonely child and his parents felt enough guilt that they enrolled him in piano lessons so he could have Something to do(idk how canon this could be but its canon To Me). he was a natural, and he loved it. it was his introduction to his love for music and for a while he did think he’d pursue it as a career but ultimately decided it would be boring and his dream switched to being a famous rockstar instead. going to his first live shows, discovering misfit alley, and meeting seven/eventually starting the band in high school solidified that goal

Bandmates: How do they feel about the members of the band? Would they still be interested in stardom if they weren’t with that group?

- hes close to everyone in the band in his own ways. mostly rowan and devyn tho. rowan is a partner in crime, they have the most fun together and will always find a way to piss off orion. devyn is the rational one and kind of a calming presence. they got closer after the whole party/seven fiasco. if he didnt have the band i think he’d still pursue that kind of music, but probably as a solo singing type thing

Tattoo: Did they keep the tattoo with Seven’s initials? Why/why not? What was that decision/execution process like? (Bonus: What do they think of Seven keeping their tattoo?)

- he did keep the tattoo and he also doesnt conceal it on stage. so something about kian is that he is absolutely terrified of needles. hes never gotten piercings or any other tattoos, and the one tattoo he has for seven is a testament to how much he loves him bc it was a whole ordeal just to get it. so besides the fact that he is still horribly in love with sev, he also will not get it removed or covered bc he acts like sitting in the chair and being touched with the needle again is the same as being tortured to death. he says that he will get it removed once seven gets it removed, but the thought of seven removing his initials makes him ill 🤕 its like his last shred of hope that seven doesnt completely hate him

Anyway as something that’s oriented aroace and been in romantic, close platonic, and a queerplatonic relationship, and also as something whose neurons have been going Russian sleep experiment on themselves over cbeeduo for the past year and change and is finally losing outlets for this in Discord, and ALSO as something that believes extremely deeply in the particular meanings of little details: whether cbeeduo is romantic platonic queerplatonic ambiguous:tm: or anything is literally irrelevant to th entire substance of the dynamic like it changes nothing

This is not the case w/ every dynamic (like there’s definitive differences in a platonic vs a queerplatonic reading of emeralds for instance and tho I have no preference and think both r canon compliant reads there is a distinction) but it is the case with beeduo like there is genuinely nothing that changes in that context it is a purely aesthetic decision atp and it’s so far removed from the actual defining underpinnings of the dynamic and what makes it what it is (which again is not the case with every dynamic sometimes the state of it being platonic/qplatonic/romantic/ambiguous/etc is a definitional one just not here) that frankly asking that seems like a fucking distraction like it feels genuinely irrelevant. How can you think of shipping discourse at a time like this kind of thing

And I want to be clear I am not saying it’s ~canonically ambiguous~ or it can’t be discerned or pinned down I’m saying that it DOES NOT MATTER you can read or specify it in any direction and it DOES NOT CHANGE it is literally immaterial to the things that make the dynamic interesting and worth examining it affects nothing and in that context it feels like such a petty question genuinely. I’ve heard people say that it’s more messed up if it’s romantic but I genuinely do not think I agree like how? On what axis? What changes? It doesn’t change the implications it doesn’t change the context it doesn’t change the themes the literal only thing it changes is what Representation Box it checks

YOOOOO this music FUCKS. alright go off

BIG slime patch over there...yikes...possibly it's alive lol

once again, multiple "objectives"...i have to very reluctantly admit i'm just a TINY bit disappointed. i wanted Dungeons. these are just divine beasts with different aesthetics :/

it's fine if that's what they wanted to do but why advertise them as proper dungeons.....

i love that immediately i can't figure out a puzzle <3 thank you zelda devs for making me suffer absolutely nothing has changed since 98

WAHHHH mipha's theme coming into this...thats just cruel.............

OH and it's also got the theme that played when you rode into vah ruta on sidon's back...

SQUID? SHARK? SQUIDSHARK? WTF WAS THAT??????

that boss was FUCKING. BULLSHIT. i used every bomb i had and all but 30 arrows. i had almost a hundred when the fight started. FUCK that out loud

this sage sounds SO much like mipha. like her enunciation is IDENTICAL. am i imagining this?? i tried to look it up on imdb and failed utterly

NO WAIT I FOUND IT SHE IS IN THIS GAME THAT MUST BE HERE....................WHAT A COOL CAMEO i'm totally counting that as my bingo square

oh my god the helmets are so COOOOLLL she has an elephant design!!!!!

i always forget how comically large sidon is until you put him next to short king link

this hand-holding business along with the vows was reparations for nintendo sinning against link/sidon fans. i'm so sorry monarchs

sidon's sagehood feels so different to tulin's...it's like he finally came into something he was waiting for, vs tulin who was just a little underprepared. which is wild because tulin WAS waiting for it actively and sidon was not, but like...vibeswise. sidon needed the push and tulin needed the opposite. idk. it's late.

awwww dorephan is alive after all he's getting better <3 cmon nintendo would never KILL people (hoping i dont eat those words)

wait, if rauru's been dead all along does that count as "someone dies"? hmm

omg we're literally crowning sidon rn okayyy lol is he gonna get married too

wow. they literally did just call her the queen. okay??

i'm trying so hard to like her but lol

"i and my partner in life and leadership" COME ON. SHE JUST SHOWS UP AND GETS TO BE QUEEN......i'm so sorry girl. whats that fucking post like "sorry i cant defend you"

have sidequests to find the rest of the zora armor but liiiike...there's so much other stuff i wanna check out. def comign back for it tho

WHAT NOT TO DO WHEN INTERACTING WITH MY BLOG - Customizable Edition

BASICS !

Name / Alias: Spooky Pronouns: he/they Blog type: single muse | Multi-muse | non selective | semi selective | selective| mutuals only | private | other (specify) Type of muses: canon | OCs | both | other (specify)

GENERALITIES ! Triggers people MUST tag: animal death Interest tracker / checker: I have it and it's mandatory | I have it, it's not mandatory but I'm more likely to follow bad / interact with the people who fill it | I have one and I prefer it if people fill it in | I have it but it's to people whether to fill it or not | I don't have one | other (specify) Reblog karma: I practise it | I practise it sometimes | I don't practise it | I always reblog memes from the source | indifferent | other (specify) Rule passwords: I have one and it's mandatory | I have one and it's optional | I don't have one | I send passwords | don't sent passwords | I have to hype myself up to send one

3-5 ESSENTIAL RULES PEOPLE HAVE TO RESPECT

please read my rules

please be patient with me. irl stuff can get in my way or leave me too drained to do stuff, even if i WANT to write

the basic stuff, no metagaming, godmodding, infomodding, etc

3-5 IMPORTANT PET PEEVES TO KEEP IN MIND

I am 100% okay with my rp partner not matching my reply length. Be it shorter or longer. (heck, if they make it longer then I'll feel better abt my next reply being longer.) HOWEVER, if I give a paragraph or two, I will expect more than one line. which is what I actually got one time.

if my rp partner goes into a thread with me assuming something about my muse even though I make it clear that my muse is canon divergent. I'm absolutely free to IM if you have questions! I'm friendly and don't bite, i promise. QwQ

when i can't figure out your blog. please, readability is the most important thing to me. which is why the most I do is small text. I will change my theme if I think even one thing is making it unreadable or even slightly harder to read. bright harsh colors as well, makes the blog a mess to read anything on.

not trimming your posts. it makes it hard to follow whats going on sometimes. even if tumblr now makes long posts auto readmore. (at least it does for me)

i do prefer that ppl tag their posts most of the time, but that's not really a requirement if it's not like for a trigger or something. it just helps me search for stuff on their blogs if i can't find it through our notes.

2-5 THINGS THAT WILL LEAD TO INSTANT (SOFT/HARD)BLOCKING

if the blog looks like a bot in some way

if it's a personal who has repeatedly reblogged something after being asked not to

if it's someone i've known in the past to make me uncomfortable

2-5 THINGS THAT LEAD ME TO UNFOLLOW / SOFTBLOCK A MUTUAL / SOMEONE I INTERACT WITH

ooc drama between people, vague posts, bullying

minor/adult ships

very rarely, if they're spamming TOO MUCH ooc stuff, untagged or other wise, in a short amount of time. I mean like, many posts that are actually ooc not having anything to do with their character. not like aesthetic posts, headcanons, or art. I'm also not talking abt like, PSAs or updates on the mun's health/lack of energy. i get that it's your blog. but i didn't want to follow a blog that's being treated more like a personal blog.

also very rarely, if my dash is going too fast and it's clear someone isn't going to interact with me i might unfollow just to make things easier for myself to keep up with. but again, that doesn't happen very often.

if it's clear a blog has been abandoned. if they show signs of activity later tho, i may refollow. bc i know irl stuff happens, u kno.

2-5 REASON YOU DON'T FOLLOW (BACK) SOMEONE

if their muse is from a series i am uncomfortable with. (used to love HP, but i can't look at anything from it now. for example.)

if they ASK why i haven't followed them back. just feels weird, man. I will then not follow out of spite for how uncalled for that question is. nobody is owed a follow. not even me.

Stabs of Ten

Here we are again. It's always such a pleasure. Remember when these levels tried to kill me dozens of times? Hrrmm... not sure if that fits the song's metre or whatever. Whatever.

i should have liked this one way more than i ended up doing. It has a very charming and chill vibe to it i usually get right behind, but it spends way too much time building an environment, and not nearly enough for plebeian things like signposting or making sure objects behave in a consistent manner. i spent half the time asking, "but, don't you want me to go over there? Everything in the scene says i should be able to go over there. Why can't i do that?" Weirdly, there is one bit of signposting way at the end of the level, and it's the most obvious, out of place, just put big actual arrows to the lever the players need to pull kind of thing imaginable. It's, like, pick a tone, creator? This level got Team Picked, and i might have some feelings about that.

We talked about Wheely last week, and it was amazing then, and it continues to be amazing now. Go play Wheely. Seriously.

This level is honestly more fun than it deserves to be considering how kludgy and clunky almost everything about it is. i actually kept going back in to see if i could get a better score, so, like, that's kind of high praise? i don't hardly have the time on hand to go do that.

This is... cute... i guess? Cute-adjacent? i never had the chance or self-loathing to sit down wiv I Want to Be the Guy, so Dr_Vab did their best to bring the experience to me. i honestly did have fun wiv it, but the gimmick was wearing pretty thin by the end.

This isn't a bad level really, and it does have a few charm points to it (i really did like the Thx For Playing reveal at the end, i do like when creators do a little something to acknowledge players as players like that), but it doesn't really do much to make itself stand out from a host of similarly themed levels in LBP2. Still, it's not a bad trip down memory lane by any means.

i ended up quite liking this one by the end. Sometimes it's nice to just have something straight-forward and gameplay focused, and it fits the bill. The intro by the creator was charming (tho', i'm not entirely sure what in the level was cranking the thermo so high like they said), the aesthetic is clean, and it manages to mostly keep up momentum throughout. Wasn't a big fan of the trap panels in the red section, tho'. There really wasn't anything to indicate to the player the third one was going to kill them, and the first two are really hard to notice. The only other fly in the ointment was the level link they provided seemed to be broken; i actually was kind of interested in what they were recommending.

One of the consistent problems i have in reviewing old levels, is it can be hard at times to tell if something is poorly designed, broken in its original form, or broken because of a change in physics between the older games and LBP3. Like, i don't want to slag off on a creator because of something that got changed well after they walked away from the game, and that they had no way to anticipate or control for. i feel like something is different about wall jumps now, because this is multiple times it's come up where they've made things way more difficult than it seemed like the creator would have intended (like, when you consider the average difficulty of the surrounding sections?). There was definitely something screwy going on, tho', wiv that bit where it seemed like all we could do was throw ourselves out of level for, like, five minutes.

This one and Wood-B-Good were what put it in my head to maybe try to put together that Ace flag level i talked about a week or two back; i really had a good time wiv the simpler, more focused play. This one is definitely the stronger of the two. A nice (if slightly over-bright) presentation, and just a bit more in the challenge department. Honestly, it plays a bit like Baby's First HARD Level, 'cause some of the obstacles use techniques i've seen in those levels, but in a much easier, and easier to engage wiv format. Having played one of Robot's actual Hard levels, i'm pretty sure this was purely for player benefit, and not lack in skill in designing that level of challenge.

We talked about this yesterday. Let us never speak of it again.

There are some interesting ideas here, and i really liked the presentation, but i feel like it never quite gelled right. The creator mentioned that it was an older level that they'd finally got around to finishing, and i wonder if they hadn't really updated any of the logic for LBP3 (for one thing, there was no real reason to put the player in a SackBot when you've got Broadcast Chips right there that will do the job far more smoothly). There's a bit halfway through (or round abouts?) where it seems like they forgot to electrify a bunch of the hazards, which was weird but helpful; and somehow, when i got myself killed on the last obstacle, it just spawned me at the checkpoint nearest the scoreboard? Which, i was fine wiv really. The level had long worn out its welcome by that point, and i was ready to be done wiv it.

--------------------------------------

So there's another 10 down, only 9+ million to go. Had a very nice stream last night, and @hirunda-maxpw dropped by to drop some great logic knowledge on us, and that was super cool. My deadfeesh are even better than before and you better believe it (at least they won't kill everyone when they're only supposed to kill one person from now on. Ope). We're only 20days off from my early deadline for my next level, and this is getting into put up or shut up territory. i would lay at least even odds that i do neither.

△ HEYA FLESHLINGS, BILL CIPHER HERE! LET ME TELL YOU HOW THIS IS GONNA GO. YOU ADMIRE MY SHRINE TO MYSELF, AND IN RETURN, I DON'T TRAP YOUR MIND IN THE NIGHTMARE REALM FOR ALL ETERNITY. DEAL? 🤝🔥△

[A Bill Cipher kinnie aesthetic blog. Feel free to send asks and I'll respond in character!]

[More below the cut:]

DNI:

△ Pro-ship (especially pines//cest and bill//dip, or if you ship Bill with any minors) △ Truscum/transmed △ Yandere △ LGBTQ+ exclusionist/gatekeeper (including but not limited to: anti-nonbinary, anti-ace/aro, anti-mspec lesbians/gays, and many more) △ Anti-kin, and/or pro-factkin/faitkin △ TERFs/SWERFs △ Racist △ Anti-endogenic/System gatekeeper

INFO:

ABOUT ME: △ I post a lot of horror content, be warned! Body horror, gore, unreality, etc. △ The mod is a nonbinary adult, you're free to use they/them for me. I'm not likely to post much OOC here, but will if necessary, so don't be afraid to ask if you've got questions for Me specifically △ Bill Cipher here is Also nonbinary - you're free to refer to me-as-Bill with he/him, it/its, and xe/xir. Those are my preferences, but I'm always looking for new pronouns, so if you have neopronouns you think would fit for Bill, feel free to try em out. Bill isn't extremely concerned with what people call him. △ In our post-canon, Sixer resurrected me as a human-ish entity that ended up living with him in the shack. We're gay and in love, you know how it goes. I run this blog as if it's during that time period. △ Bill Cipher is aware of the multiverse, including the one(s) where Gravity Falls is a cartoon. This is to say you're welcome to send asks referring to the show, or you can send asks in character as your kins or a resident of Gravity Falls, and I'll respond basically as if you're from an alternate universe.

OTHER: △ I'm not looking for canonmates, but if you'd like to meet my Sixer, he's @beneath-the-shack. △ Sourcemates and doubles are welcome to interact! △ My canon lines up with the show in most major ways, just with a bit more detail in my memories than what we see in the show. There's also much more going on behind the scenes that recontextualizes events from canon - like the fact that I never truly wanted to hurt Ford. You're free to ask about it! △ This blog ships Billford. My Ford and I are partners IRL.

TAGS:

CHARACTER TAGS: △ SIXER (Stanford Pines) △ SHINER (Stanley Pines) △ PINE TREE (Dipper Pines) △ SHOOTING STAR (Mabel Pines) △ QUESTION MARK (Jesús "Soos" Ramirez) △ CHILLER (Wendy Corduroy) △ STARSIGHT (Gideon Gleeful) △ SPECS (Fiddleford McGucket) △ ??? (Pacifica Northwest) △ HEARTACHE (Robbie Valentino) △ TIMEPIECE (Blendin Blandin) All others tagged by name!

PLACES: △ GRAVITY FALLS △ MINDSCAPE △ MULTIVERSE △ MYSTERY SHACK △ NIGHTMARE REALM △ SECOND DIMENSION

THEMES & SYMBOLS: △ ALL SEEING EYE △ EYES △ TRIANGLES △ DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES △ REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING △ LET'S MAKE A DEAL (deal making) △ ❔ (question marks - tagged like this so it doesn't get mixed in with soos' tag. sometimes I will tag these as both tho if they remind me of him)

STORY: △ UNTIL THE END OF TIME (being queer and in love with fordsy) △ THINGS CHANGE (angsty breakup period billford ]: ) △ THE WHOLE BEING DEAD THING (when u dead) △ WE'LL MEET AGAIN (post-canon! gay rights!!) △ HUMAN ENOUGH (guess who got a humanoid form)

OTHER: △ CIPHER SPEAKS (Original text posts) △ CIPHER'S ART (I draw sometimes but only when it's funny) △ INTERACTIONS (In-character convo) △ BENEATH-THE-SHACK (my Sixer <3) △ MEMORIES (explicit discussion of kin memories) △ CIPHER'S SECRETS (codes and riddles and all kinds of clues!) △ CIPHER'S SOLUTIONS (the answers to said codes, blacklist if you don't want to see them! I won't usually post these myself, I like to leave the solving to you all) △ SIXER'S SECRETS (secrets, but the ones Sixer posts) △ SIXER'S SOLUTIONS (the solutions thereof!

yesyes a thousand times better--

omg wait. pause. halt. an idea just hit me.

genshin hp!au. rex lapis as the headmaster of liyue schools of wizardry. he disappears after being in the position for thousands of years, and everyone is scrambling over trying to look for him or someone to take over his position. meanwhile, a handsome professor gets admitted into the school to assist in the lack of manpower (the previous headmaster used to teach all sorts of subjects himself but now that he's gone the school is literally lacking teachers), and he seems to be very knowledgeable in all things.... plus, he gives off the same vibes as the previous headmaster too.... hmmm..... *finger snap* could it be??? rex lapis' son???? that has to be it, right?! you, a fellow professor, are determined to get the truth behind this! everyone tells you you're crazy but no, you know this man has got to know something about the headmaster's disappearance! zhongli is very thoroughly amused and decides to entertain you. but jokes on him because he didn't count falling for this stubborn but endearing teacher. 

hehehehehe you changed your theme i see. very very pretty!!! loving the soft aesthetics and ayato on the headers + icon!! heizou theme, you will be missed, sorry but ayato's taking over for now!!!

to be fair i'm not as good in photography, it's just bc hubby is so handsome the picture turned out great slkdsldklskd I WILL for sure lolol it sounds like it's gonna be fun (fingers crossed i don't die too much)

right!! sheesh he acts as if he didn't fanboy over the pretty mercenary lady (she is super pretty tho)... lol do what your heart tells you to do, sweetie!!! al haitham would be good too, i'm sure. and even if he's not, he's a total eye candy soooo win-win situation lmao

we'll see, we'll see~ hehe~

i'm happy collei likes me enough to come home so many times but also. sheesh. she's a testament of how stubborn zhongli is ;w; IT IS VERY FANCY indeed!! i'm gonna start leaving zhongli there whenever i log off. i'm sure he needs a change of pace from always sitting on third-round-knockout lol

gosh, imagine sitting in a fine dining establishment with zhongli, in some fancy restaurant high in the sky overlooking the city. live jazz music playing in the background, sipping osmanthus tea while talking and enjoying each other's presence..... sighhhhh

gosh i have been benching kazuha since sumeru bc i added zhongli to the party and i wanted at least 1 dendro character for convenience. i can't swap out xiao bc he's my main dps, and shinobu is essential cause she's healing xiao every time he does his burst....... 'zuha i'm so sorry ;w; random thought: if zhongli has his shield and he does plunge attack shouldn't he basically be immune to the damage also?????

*announcer voice* welcome to sumeru! here we have: the spiderman zipline, very convenient, makes you feel like a spiderman, zipping around the map with ease! weird t-rex monstrosity which might eat you alive! cliffs to climb, slip, and fall to your deaths! how exciting! heart-pounding! book a tour with us now! 1-800-rex-lapis-holdsmyheart! #notascam #realnotclickbait

can you blame me tho angst is so *chefs kiss* when written perfectly!! i still remember that fic, hhhhh so beautiful and heart-wrenching </3 don't you love it when your faves suffer heehee

YES, I HAVE BEEN HALTED AND PAUSED AND AM LISTENING INTENTLY. genshin hp!au, but it's zhongli doing the liyue trial all over again and the reader always has the sherlock holmes sixth sense. (a student from house slytherin, shikanoin heizou is the only one to share your sentiment.)

something about this man is enigmatically off and... familiar. oh, but you've never been the type to rest well until you've uncovered the truth! you'd scrutinize him up and down at any chance you get, either unintentionally or not; when he is in the great hall, when he gives a speech, when he talks with students and other teachers alike — to the point your own colleague, ganyu has to snap you out of it. zhongli, on the other hand, finds your tenacity quite charming. after all, he is the very own truth lying behind the walls of deception you seek to destroy, so will you? will you be the one to break them? the stubborn endearing x calm endeared trope is SOOOO <3 (it's zhongrin in a nutshell /j)

nyehehe, ty! how do you feel as the person who gave me the last push? 🎤 (/j) i saw the header on pinterest and i SWOONED. the white + soft blue palette just immediately comes to mind! aha, now that theme has been made reality thanks to you >:)

nahhh, the model may be the subject of beauty in the picture but the lighting and angle are things decided by the one behind the camera, me thinks! ;D hoping i win the 50/50 with alhaitham because i did not expect to get c1 kazuha when pulling for heizou cons last time <//3

the bgm in the tavern literally makes me wanna have a slow dance??? it's fitting to have zhongli greet you when the bgm plays, hehe <3 THE PORT ORMOS BMG THO. WHY DOES IT SLAP SO HARD. (/lh) but liyue bgm's still and always have a soft spot in my heart, especially 'foxes at play'! speaking of, what is your favorite bgm from liyue, rin jie??? >:) liyue is your nation, after all~

when sumeru dropped, everyone rushed to get collei which is understandable because it's a free character of a new element !! i just utilize the dendrogram, so i keep my team per usual: it's currently ganyu, kazuha, heizou and klee for better exploration! but i switch out ganyu for kokomi when i clear out a withered zone <//3 but collei is in my teapot now since thoma already reached friendship lvl 10 and she's so nice :( <3

THAT RANDOM THOUGHT, HELP. iirc, in his second story quest when we encountered the possessed miners, his shield is naturally lateral and doesn't protect the head so if we ask him to extend his shield into a cylinder, maybe it'd work??? 🤔

the numbers look like an invitation to a marriage to me. (/j) and rin jie, i am still an avid member of ruin machines slander club but i have unsealed the t-rex monstrosity once out of pure curiosity.... 0/10, do not recommend. all that moving around and having to defeat said monstrosity for an exquisite chest 🕳️🚶 ruin hunters are definitely worse tho fjejskksk #ruinhuntersdonotslay

a beautiful kind of pain <//3 you really chose violence that day and that was the first request i received too. so, you can imagine the way my jaw dropped 😭 (/pos) but your request was the first ever angst content on this blog! so, the balance was well-needed and plus, your request was actually one of my favs to write too (it got a special mark on my masterlist) <3 my faves suffering??? *nervously reaches out to ayato and heizou* both of them are people who hide their weaknesses, so to see them break... IS NOT VV GOOD FOR MY HEART 🏃 but for starlight anon, i shall take a headfirst dive! 🤝

Do you have any app or mobile game to suggest? QwQ I wanna try playing something new

OOF there's so many mobile games I'm listing so prepare yourself

BATTLE CATS is the shit. Tough levels at points but there is a semblance of progress to be had. They added a lot of events and extra shit so it might be overwhelming for new people. i have no idea tho I barely started playing it again.

I'm a lover of the solitare genres (klondike and spider) but ugh the ads. I really only like them for the virtual customization of the themes that desktop comps dont provide enough of and having something offline to play on the go. ive been getting better at the four suit spider games, tho- i can feel my brain learning. 😁

Bingo games are fun! I don't have any one in particular I like the best, tho. Been a while since I played them.

Tinker Island 1 has great progression and you have the opportunity to collect the paid currency constantly, building up your gem vault. I like the garden minigame more than the actual gameplay XD.

I like Marvel Puzzle Quest for the match-3 gameplay with the marvel aesthetic. I'd recc. to play this one casually because progression is nonexistent with AND without $.

On the topic of match games, Bejeweled is a classic. 😊 I loved the butterfly rescue one back in the day and poker version was fun too- the tension is just MWAH.

Grand Summoners is for some reason spending a lot of money in ads because I'm seeing it everywhere despite having it on the exact device I'm seeing the ads on??? I'm not saying it's a problem it's just odd, lol. Micromanaging gear and teams will implode your brain but there is some strategy to it, even if you try to auto everything. They have crossover events all the time, on top of progression being kinda slow but still possible, and I'm quite happy with unexpectedly pulling a Hatsune Miku and evolving her. 😊

I would recc. trying out Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links out for a test run to see if the grind is up your alley. Very generous with rarity tickets the last time I played it.

For another simple game, billiards are fun too, and easier to play digitally than in real life, lol. You will be playing against other humans all the time, tho.

Injustice 1 or 2 and Marvel Contest of Champions have their own pros and cons, but both are finger-input fighting/brawl games with IPs so it depends on asthetic and progression i guess? If I had to choose tho, I would say Injustice is more organized in its content than Champions if that makes any sense?

Best Fiends is a cute and neat lil' bubble draw and pop game that has some progression to it, but it's been a while since I played it. Surprising for me that I even like this one since the mascots are cartoony insects.

Color Puzzle is a gradient-building/color-matching puzzle game. I played it during my art class and it made me more aware of how colors react next to each other though it can hurt your eyes.

Visual novel story/chapter games are ones you need to curate yourself to figure out which one you'll want to sit through. Chapters has sexual/explicit stories but a beefy reward system compared to Choices from what I remember, plus community engagement/contests. This likely could have changed now- I haven't checked. Other apps have (slightly) animated characters/establishing shots and some are more customizable in the protagonist and reputation systems (romance or otherwise). They all blended together in my mind like a big soup of colors, but i will tell you that the paid currency choices are never worth it.

(Pixel) Color-by-number games are fun pastimes until they hurt your eyes and drain your device battery.

South Park Phone Destroyer was fun for a bit. Until it wasn't.

Dream Girlfriend is the best Ambition gacha/character simulation game they have, prove me wrong.

side note: have you ever played a mobile game that got deleted? one that was solely a play-to-win that was also fun in general and you were close to maxing out your characters? yeah, it's worse than the pain you feel when you discover your fave fic has been deleted from the internet😢

The original template going around back in the day did not seem to be available anymore so I made my own. I will ramble a bit about him below the cut.

I guess a content warning for discussions of bad mental health and slight nsfw talking points

Preamble

So, first off, since retribution is not officially out yet and I played the version from 2019 back then, my memories of it besides some basics are nearly non-existent, in general I feel like I still lack a lot of information regarding the worldbuilding etc. I always feel insecure writing about stuff that will probably be inaccurate etc. In general I am not really a writer. But thoughts have been keeping me up at night so it might be good to let them out. Also it is New Years eve, I am alone with a panicking dog next to me, what better way to spend my time. Happy New Year!

Second, Elvis has been a preexisting character of mine that I just take with me into every fandom and adapt him to it, there is an endless amount of AU‘s of him and he ends up being pretty different in all of them. Let me call it the Elvis Multiverse now that I think of it. (I cringed a bit at that). The one change I feel like putting here is that he usually is very very tall, this time tho I made him small for funsies. (5‘5/1,65m)

Overall I don‘t know how much stuff here is unique to him or just a general Sidestep thing. I am very confused.

General

Anyways, the themes I mostly explore with him in FHR evolve around identity, figuring out yourself and who you truly are, becoming the ultimate version of yourself and working towards that. Especially with telepathy as a superpower making it really difficult to not lose yourself in everyone around you. The closest thing he comes to being himself at this point in time is when he dances (not that he is consciously aware of that), its his truest and most raw form of self expression, kind of the only one he allows himself, and this is insanely precious to him. An uncorrupted, untouched part not to be shared with anybody (besides the rat king at some point). He never learned how to properly dance, he has no intention to do so, it is not about being good at it or looking cool but about being close to yourself and feeling your body and the music.

Also as a sidenote, sex-wise he would probably enjoy the “experiencing sex telepathically connected with my partner” type the most since sexual activities usually does not do anything for him.

Sidestep

Throughout his life he is keeping himself on a short leash, in this time specifically focusing on the person he wants to be, or more likely the person he wishes he was. Creating a facade and following the role of a kind and likeable dumbass to his perfection (actually putting a big emphasis on individuality). If he did a mistake, in his eyes, breaking out of this persona, it would be met with intense guilt, intrusive thoughts, self destructive behaviour. Originally his smoking was mostly picked up as part of this aesthetic he had created for himself. His past? His origin? non-existent. Who is she? Does not get touched.

Which is why the risk of getting close to people is too big. He certainly copes a lot with humour and sarcasm keeping everyone at arms length, and actual bonding moments are kept to fights with the rangers. But as much as he uses every ounce of self control to monitor everything he is doing he cannot control how he feels. And he cannot control Ortega. Leading to his first crush being a secret and buried beneath everything else.

Besides all of this he was well integrated, looking out for them whilst they were doing the same for him. He truly cared.

Rebirth

Well, he can‘t run forever. But he certainly can isolate himself. His head is shaved now for two reasons. One being of course the callback to his time at the farm, he has become his past again and is now in an active confrontation and reconciliation with it, kind of the opposite of his sidestep days. But besides that it is also a form of ridding himself of any individuality his previous mask had valued so much. (Also practicality, but that is boring, right?)

The short leash is of course still in place but this time less in regards to his environment and more focused on his goal, his core motivator being truth. Everything outside of that gets a very low priority and does not matter ending in him neglecting himself a lot. He smokes more than he eats (please someone make him eat more) and he doesn‘t really get to dance much either with the physical problems that come with bad sleeping and food/hydration habits.

And then Ortega comes, forcing Elvis out of his self-inflicted isolation. Elvis however does not bother keeping the sidestep version of him alive, being a lot more hostile towards him and the rangers to now actively not let them close. His feelings for Ortega are still there tho, despite them being very muted. He avoids casualties as much as he can, whilst still bathing in the power he gains from his armor and development of his telepathic skills with enjoyment. After his outing as puppetmaster he visits Ortega in the hospital, breaking this new developed persona with a peck on Ortega’s forehead. Knowing how fucked up the whole situation is and feeling like shit because of it. Stuff is complicated.

In all of this, the rat king has become an active and unexpected source of comfort and partnership.

Eden (puppet)

Eden is his form of escapism, and actually actively letting that leash lose. Despite knowing fully well that he shouldn’t take certain risks, they might bite him in the ass at some point. Eden’s hobby is boxing. With her he fully indulges into stuff and people may it be people like Ortega, Dr. Mortum or just a bit of normalcy and everyday life. Despite that he takes no one to the museums opening. Not wanting to actively involve them more into it than they already are. Eden is still waiting on that dinner date.

Elvis himself is very gender apathetic hence the He/They and why he is so comfortable inside Eden’s skin. (Besides, at this point, every skin is better than his own.)

Below is a quick sketch of her. She is 5’9/1,75m.

I am pretty sure I forgot a lot of stuff that I wanted to mention but I should really go to sleep now.

Do you have any tips on outfit designs? (I’m the prev anon who gushed about your content the other day lol) I want to get better at it, my outfit designs are usually good but I LOVE how you design yours and I’d love to know your thought process or any tips! (specifically I love the time rift based hat and bow outfits (and the glowy ones too) they are my favorite out of your designs!) (it’s mostly bc I’ve been struggling with hatkid home planet design based stuff in my au comic and lots of it has time rift themes and aesthetics so hearing any advice would really help with it^^(plus I just love your designs that too ofc Haha))

hello there!! firstly, thank you so much! i really appreciate that :'D secondly, sorry it took me so long to get to this! i honestly fell off modding for a little bit, but it was also something i wanted to put a bit of thought into

it's a little difficult to say for blue rift specifically bcuz i made it so long ago, but i’ll try to remember some of this process and what i usually keep in mind when i make costumes now.

so when it comes to costumes that are based on something, i generally consider the dress as the Main center piece, and the cape as what surrounds/falls around it. keeping this in mind, the sky and the platforms in the blue rift stand out as the primary details. the platforms ofc making up the world you walk on, and the sky being the background piece that holds it. after that, it was a matter of fitting other noticeable details in that space- such as the water effect in the sky and the clocktowers being part of the cape. putting a different design/color in the sleeves/inner dress is a detail i like to use regardless, so the ice inside the platforms being her dress kinda just worked out perfectly. as for other areas, i like to use the zipper as another primary (but smaller) detail, such as the time piece. i also think it works well where it is bcuz its suspended above the platforms but in the sky >wo and the ball in the center of her collar... usually just ends up being another Ball LOL

i do remember at the time that i also really wanted to fit the clocktowers into the design more, so i think thats how it ended up being a bigger piece like her hat. (but it also serves as a nice contrast too) the rest was kinda me having no clue what to put there, or messing around until i liked how it looked all together.

as for bow kid, i actually had a bit of a tough time designing her, and i originally wasn’t going to. but i generally try to match her design in the same way i do hk, so a lot of my placement was bcuz they were in the same places. such as the bow being the clocktower, and the water being in her collar. (i think this is also why her dress ended up being the cape and not the jacket) bow kid’s design is also a lot more detailed than hk, which gives you a lot more real estate but can also be a bit tougher :’D.. nowadays, i plan in advance for bow kid when i design costumes tho

as for general designs, i try to keep in mind what i want the most prominent details/colors to be and work the design around that. i also like changing the inner sides as an accent, and it helps to break up all the monotony. (such as saturday night, i wanted more pink than blue so blue became the accent) and the zipper of course i like to use as a small but special detail to make the design stand out more, if i feel like it could use a little something. this is really just for their default costumes tho, and ofc it varies. sometimes in the end, its more abt what looks best instead of following specific rules or anything.

anyway, sorry this is so ramble-y, but i hope it could provide any insight and answer your question! again, i really appreciate it, thank you for asking and  enjoying my work!! <3

I hope I got this right it's kind of a mess

May I request option 3 with Oikawa please 😅

A bit about me : I'm 4'9 a bit on the chubby side with tan skin and shoulder length black hair

Personality type is ISTP. I'm quiet and awkward but once I get to know u I can't stop talking. I can be a bit lazy/introverted sometimes but if I'm with friends I know how to have fun. I seem kinda cold and distant but that coz I don't really know how to show affection, but I do care v much. I'm a ppl pleaser and tend to follow the rules so I can blend with the crowd. (I seriously need an outgoing person in my life 😐) love quiet places, bookstores, theme/water parks, reading, watching anime and frozen yoghurt. I have a vintage/kawaii? aesthetic

For the scenario : fluff with some spice at the end maybe? 👀

How about Oikawa finally having a break after volleyball season to spend with his family. He just wants to sleep in with u but the kids have other ideas so they end up going to the beach. Oiks is just being a child himself and having fun with his kids making sandcastles and swimming while u r chilling with one of the kids coz u both don't like the sun. Maybe oiks crashes a beach volleyball game just to show the random strangers how it's done 😌

Again congrats on the milestone and Thank you 😗 ily

A/N; don’t worry this is just fine! And thank you♥️

warnings; Spicy near the end~ not too much tho!

Please enjoy~

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"It's so nice to have you home after so long" you sigh cuddling into your husband's side

He had finally gotten a break from volleyball and now he could spend time with you and your kids. After marrying Oikawa things were a bit hard when it came to quality time. It was even harder after you had become pregnant. He wanted to always be with you but at the same time, he had to be at his games.

Luckily he and his team had gotten about 3 months off, the same as summer vacation. It was one of those rare days when he got to sleep in with you. No early morning jogs, or workouts, just cuddling with his favorite person.

"Yeah, it seems like the only time we cuddle is late at night when I get home but," he shuffles to face you completely "now I'm here and we can sleep all we want" he lays a hand on your waist

"mm yeah" you hum snuggling in for some more sleep

"Mama! Let's go to the beach!" your son came marching in followed by his younger sister

"Yeah, papa! Beach!"

*Sigh*, so much for rest. S/N climbs onto your side of the bed while D/N makes grabby hands to be lifted up. Oikawa lifts her with ease and onto his stomach. You lift your son to sit between you both, here was the center of both your worlds. Your son was 7 and your daughter was 4. They were both polar opposites, D/N was basically a mini Oikawa and your son took more of your attitude.

"well so much for rest..." he sighed "how does the beach sound princes?" he asked you. Ah yes and, you were stationed with him in Brazil while he was on their team. It was almost like constant summer there. Although by the time the kids would be older he wanted to go back to Japan. For now, where you were was just perfect.

"sigh...maybe some sea breeze would be nice" both your kids start to jump on the bed with cheers and smiles "Alright, alright everyone, get dressed and then some breakfast and we can head out."

They stopped quickly and ran to their rooms to grab what they wanted.

"I love how you handle them" Oikawa complimented you with a kiss on your cheek "Come on, I wanna see you in a two-piece!" he shouts down the hall going to help the kids get ready. Going into your drawer you dig through your clothes until you come across a two-piece

"Hmmm, maybe not this time--oh! I remember this one!" you said pulling out one piece from the bottom. It was your favorite color with a low cut back and winches waist. Sure bikinis we’re the race right now but this really made everyone turn their heads. Especially a certain captain ;)

Slipping into the swimsuit you ready yourself with your sandals, bag, glasses, and other necessities. Mostly things for the kids like sunblock, towels, some beach toys, hats, and so many other things. To think you used to only take sunblock and maybe a book, thing change when your a parent huh?

"where is my darling wife? We're just about--whoa there! Hy if you look that good I might drop the kids off at my sister's place" he smirked coming over to you and wrapping you in his arms "Mmm you're just too beautiful for other men to see" he whined

"Well, too bad Mr, the kids want to go to the beach, and besides we haven't gone in a while. It'll be fun, come on" you said taking his hand in your and leading him back to the kitchen. kids were fed and ready, with huge grins on their faces. Usually like walking to the beach with them since it was only about a 10-minute walk.

locking up the doors and putting on some sunblock before you left you're on your way to enjoying a nice beach day. Walking along you say hello to neighbors and store owners. Y/D/N was sat atop of your husband's shoulders, while your son held your hand skipped along the sidewalk. You love to have moments like this. Happy simple moments together.

"Look, Papa!" your daughter points to the yellow-white sand of the beach with beautiful Crystal waves crashing onto the shore. A satisfying salty smell was in the air that filled your heart with excitement.

"Come on bud" Oikawa squats down to pick up your son. He had a habit of not letting them walk in the hot sand, his way of being an "awesome dad". But he was right, it was very thoughtful of him, he even did it to you before.

After finding a good spot he put down both your kids and helps me to set up. You open up the umbrella spread out some blankets and put down your small bag where you had carried some snacks and other necessities.

"Come here kids, you need your block" they both line up so that you can spray and lotion them down. Being in Brazil the sun was much closer than in Japan. Which meant sunscreen was a must!

"You too Toru, come here." you motion with your finger. he practically skipped over to you and plopped down on his knees ready for you to lotion him up. now listen, this was a way of kind of establishing your place to other girls who were around you. Some of them would give you looks and you would just smile back as you applied sunscreen to your husband.

"You turn lovely~" grabbing the lotion he turns to you and starts to apply. Starting gently at your face, then to your shoulders, your arm, your thighs (his favorite), and your back

"Alright, who wants to get into the water?" He said excited standing up

“Me, me Papa! Me!” Your little girl was excited as ever and of course a daddy’s girl. Picking her up abs jogs over to the water, leaving giggles behind

“What about you sweetheart? You want to join your father and sister?” You ask your son and he shakes his head coming over to your side

“I’ll just stay here mama” your son was a lot like you in a way. While your husband preferred to be in the spotlight, you and he preferred to cheer him on from the sidelines. Either way, you had company now. Climbing onto your lap he lays against you as you both enjoy the salty breeze.

You always loved the smell of the ocean, the calm saltiness in the air, the subtle sounds of the waves. It was coming, a bit strange but you really enjoyed it. An even better view was watching Toru enjoy himself. He held your daughter in the air and brought her down when a gentle wave would come and hit them both.

It’s then you saw your husband‘s eyes light up like Christmas lights. He then screws over to a volleyball game puts his daughter on the sideline and begins playing with them. He didn’t know whether to laugh or scold him, or maybe both. He eventually had a ball set over to him and he spiked it over the net. Then again you knew he couldn’t help himself whenever this would happen. You can only count the number of dates on the beach where the same scenario would happen.

It ended up with him apologizing for getting sand in your eyes. About half an hour later they came back, a bit sleepy from all the energy they had just used up. Sitting under the umbrella you bring out the snacks and juices. Everyone enjoyed their favorite sandwich, and small side snacks, and favorite drink. Looking over at your phone you had seen the time went by and it was already past three in the afternoon.

After one more return to the ocean all together y’all start to pack your things and head home. Your daughter fell to sleep on Toru’s shoulder on the way back home. Just as you enter your home the cloud started to roll in. This was your favorite part about beach trips when they ended and rainy days, it just made everything so much cozier.

After putting your son and daughter into bed for their naps you make your way to the bathroom to wash off all the sand. Getting in for us to turn on the warm water and close your eyes. The warm liquid cascading down your body relaxes in your muscles, meanwhile, the thunder clapped in the background faintly. You hear the shower curtain move slightly making you look over your shoulder.

"Hey," he said softly coming closer and pulling you towards him by your middle. He loves to do this, taking a calm shower with you close to him. Nothing really sexual about it but more intimate, and heartwarming. He felt closer to you, more content. Although sometimes it did lead to something more. But overall he loves to have a little alone time with you.

His hands squeeze your body slightly as his lips find your shoulder and neck.

"What are you getting at?" you giggle biting back a sigh

"Mm nothing, just admiring my wife's body is all," he answers a few seconds later you feel something poke at you

"Well, I would ask what's in your pocket--but obviously I can't"

"Well, is there asleep, and we have all night long~" his tongue Finds Its way gliding from your neck of your earlobe and taking it between his lips. He gives a small nipple and a chuckle escapes his chest.

"Aren't you tired from the beach?" you ask turning around and wrapping your hands around his neck

"I'll have to remind just how much stamina a volleyball player can have," he growls picking you up with easy and pinning you to the cool wall making gasp "and we have about, uuhh 7 hours until midnight"

Oh boy, you were in for a long night~

*****************************************************

I hope this was okay! ♥️

A combo of making use of Yara, Ava and Kieu My could have achieved the same results that introducing Lou and Sascha have done so far. It's a pain to enter wk 3 of this stagnant story with nothing concrete for the viewers who dgaf about love triangle to hold on to. Even the ones who are slightly invested have a superficial preference (Sascha) or feeling of representation (Lou) towards one new character or another, rather than a their potential interesting plot integration into ismail's story

yeah i absolutely agree there rly wasn't a need for new characters they could've gotten so much of the same stuff from old characters too or they could've just.. written a story that involves old characters n deals w the themes that were already introduced during the previous seasons...

n this is kinda where i feel like we again need to reiterate that the characters r fictional n only exists/act the way they act to tell us a story so it's like.. do we have an existing childhood best friend for ismail? no but nowhere does it say there needs to be one bc that was just the writers' decision. the story that they're trying to tell w the childhood best friend tho? ismail being friends w someone who's connected to ava so they can talk abt the bullying plotline, showing how even tho he's trying to change ismail still continues the pattern of neglecting friends in favor of the "cooler" ones & mostly hangs out w them only when he needs help/feels like it. hmmm it's almost like last season ismail already got to know someone who wasn't exactly part of the cool kids group but rather the "lame outsiders".. someone who ismail only approached bc he needed help.. someone who's literally best friends w ava helloooo?????? they had all that set up in s6 but just decided to bring in a whole new character to essentially serve the same role. n this line of thinking can be applied to various plotlines n the characters u mentioned too.

it's frustrating bc i do like both sascha & lou. i think sascha is such a sweetheart n i like seeing him in clips. lou is a rly intriguing character w her mysterious aesthetic & the way she fits in well w the instas but is still uniquely her own person. it's just that.. they weren't necessary. they already had all the pieces to tell this same story.

n i feel like i have to emphasize that point bc of courseee it's not a bad thing to introduce new characters to a tv show like. it would be kind of silly to say Okay we got the new gen here already n we like them so it's illegal to bring in new characters bc we only want to see our faves. that's kind of a childish way to view a tv show n reminds me of all the ppl demanding evak scenes in s4 when they literally weren't relevant. but here it just simply is a fact that the old characters Would be more relevant n would drive the plot faster toward the same goal. getting new characters is fine but they have to actually further the plot that has been set up since s5. now i feel like sascha n lou are more like halting it... bc we don't know them we need to get to know them first and Then we can start seeing how they r involved in ismail's, u know the main character's, story. (+ also the fact that the characters who are filling the roles that previously belonged to/could've been filled by characters of color are now white)

The list of names

*scary music playing* Ok, guys, in the light of American Middle Eastern policy, that has once again brought me to tears, I decided to do something a bit happier (this is me trying to influence my followers to read the news and fight for the right thing and all that jazz). I’ve got a lot of asks recently, mostly from people new to the world of CC, about which creators are the best, so I’ve made this little list of the creators I download and use the most. This is not in any way a complete collection, I might have forgotten someone (and there’s also plenty of creators I haven’t discovered yet). Also, these are all build creators, mainly creating alpha CC. Please feel free to add to this list. Also also, the description I’ve used for the artists are totally my own making, so if you are a creator and feel like I am describing your work in an unfair way, go ahead and punch me in the face.  If I was a new simmer, I would check out these creators:  Retired: MXIMS - Makes modern, real life furniture with the best quality. Has many downloads left on their website.  MINCSIMS - Similar to MXIMS (with some amazing collabs), also with a beautiful talent for doors and windows. Not many objects left in orbit, but google is your friend.  DAER0N - Done everything from noodles to palms, but the recent Daer0n I would describe as gold, dark and modern, with 3D modeling skills out of this world. Retired, and much of the old stuff is gone, but some can be found at bloomingrosy.  DOX - Similar to Daer0n with a slightly stricter, more wooden approach. The most underrated one of the retired giants. Has some downloads left on their website. ANBS - Super clean aesthetic. Modern, real life furniture. Many downloads left on their website. SLYD - Mostly known as a CAS creator, but has the amazing shoes and bags available as decor. All downloads left on the website.  HVIKIS - Wallpapers and wall art. All downloads left on the website. VIIKIITA - Recolors to die for. Not many objects left in orbit, but google is your friend. Active (I think. I hope. I don’t know):  ARSBOTANICA - Previously simshamlet. Does really lovely, vintage aesthetic perfume bottles and amazing flowers. SLOX - A personal favorite. Modern, I’d say. And realistic. But often with objects you didn’t even know you needed, that ends up being the main inspiration for the whole build. Like some folded shirts, or a stack of books. 13PUMPKIN -  A long with Artvitalex this is the best wood creator in the community. The sets are kind of like “small-lovely-family-home”-style, but can be used in big, modern builds with equally outstanding results.  WONDYMOON - My by far most used creator. The most organized one too, I’d say. All sets match eachother, and are easy to find (and are all named by elements, this guy is a rock star). PYSZNYDESIGN - The Kilburn set is to die for.  MEINKATZ - Literally replicas of real life furniture, with their history and all. Honestly the coolest thing ever. Also, a really nice person.  PRALINESIMS - The best floor and wall creator, hands down. I don’t know if this is really the person I should tag tho, so I’ll tag @cross-design​ and hope for the best because I honestly still don’t know who is who. I love them both tho. THE TSR GIANTS: SEVERINKA, KARDOFE, UNG999, SIMMAN123, PILAR, ARTVITALEX, ANGELA, DOT, BUFFSUMM, SHINO and NYNAEVE - Yes, a lot of the creators I mention here are active on TSR and a lot of my TSR giants are active elsewhere, but I still, maybe arbitrary, like to put these under the TSR flag because they represent that wonderful vibe of big sets, certain room types and signature colors. PEACEMAKER - a true legend. Some of the CC is borderline MM, but that is what makes them so perfect. They go with both themes. MIO - This is the first creator I downloaded from and they will always have a special place in my heart. Brilliant conversions, flower sets, seating, everything.  NOVVVAS - A way too humble person that claims she is not the best in the game, when she truly is out of this world. RIGHTHEARTED - who I have been referring to as neiden my whole life because I am an idiot.  TINGELINGLATER - Does a lot of things but blessed all of us with windows and since then I am in love.  ANYE - Pinkbox Anye, to be correct. Lovely person. Lovely sets. Unique eyes. Adore this one.  FOREVERDESIGNS - Will literally transform your bedroom. And kitchen. And life.  BLACKMOJITOS - Build sets and sexy, stunning posters (and a basket every now and then). Also up for commissions, I just noticed. Go throw money at her. She is amazing.  KAI-HANA - Has a totally unique style, where everything is alpha, but still has a beautiful, clayish touch to it. Underrated.  AROUNDTHESIMS - A bit on the MM side, so if you’re looking for that MM/alpha mix, this is for you. Extremely productive. Does everything and more.  CHERRY-SIMS - A part from the CC, this is also the best picture editor I’ve ever seen. I am a huge fan!  CONCEPTDESIGN - Did someone say trees? YUMIA - Soft flowers, old school touch, vintage AGGRESSIVEKITTEN - Literally killed half the community with the recent brutalism set, which without a doubt will be voted best CC of 2020. Also, where else would you go for both beautiful, vintage objects AND a tarot card reading? Weirdly obsessed with seals. Makes amazing lots. I love you.  DSCO - I gave up trying to spell this creators full name after the sixth attempt. I would describe the CC as cute. But not in the condescending (that I could spell) way. More in a bad-ass-I-need-all-of-these-objects-kind-of-way! KKB - My ignorant and uneducated ass wants to call it Korean, and I am sorry if this isn’t the right way to describe anything. Soft, pastel but at the same time very cool, with rattan and wood.  DR GREENIE - Former Green Girl. Mostly MM, but has made some of my most used decor objects.  HELEN - Extremely productive. Does everything.  NIKADEMA - Has made my favorite sink!  PQSIMS - Makes sets. Usually light wood.  LUNATICAVILLAGE (2SIS) - Another underrated favorite. Everyone should go here and show as much love as possible! LAVI3ENROSE - A creator that entered my world quite recently. Art deco. Bronze. Gold. And the best wrapped Christmas presents of 2019.  DDAENG SIMS - Another giant that recently changed their name (used to be dreamteamsims).  FELIXANDRE - The best historical creator (as in making epic shit that would create the most wonderful castle). Sometimes a bit on the MM side with the furniture, and that contrast makes it, in my eyes, even better.  SIMCREDIBLE - Sets. Color matching. Often light and modern. I use their decor stones in every single one of my .  SOLORIYA - MM creator. But even for us alpha bitches there are wonderful stuff (I think this is the case for most MM artists, I just don’t know so many of them).  XELENN - Also does literally everything. One can scroll this blog for hours.  OWL-PLUMBOB - Amazing build objects.  SANOYSIMS - A long with MXIMS, I’d say this is one of the most “realistic” artists.  WINNER9 - To me, this creator is all about the amazing wall art. But of course they make other stunning objects too. Marble tables, anyone? SJAMBOKSIM - My most used concrete walls (and I use concrete A LOT).  AIFIRSA - Totally different style from everyone else. Absolutely love this aesthetic.  VIVIAN STUDIO - This sounds weird, but their onions are the best object in my game. Don’t judge.  HEURRS - A quite new creator who blew my mind with some recent candles and earned my first reblog since 456 BC. Love you.  I am forgetting so, so many. Please, I sometimes can’t even remember my own name, so don’t feel hurt if I missed you. PLEASE comment your favorite creators below! Where would you advice new simmers to start looking for good CC?  Love you guys!!!

Dear Entropy Not (Another Ten) Again

The inexorable march of time waits for no one, and grinds us all to paste 'neath its grubby boots. But, hey! We got another ten levels over here.

i am going to go out on a limb and say this one wasn't playtested. Like, at all. Which, you know, fair, my levels have never gotten the playtesting they really needed; but this one is just a straight up mess. All the jumps are just a little bit off, the platforms can be moved when they really oughtn't, there's almost no clear communication wiv the player. It's a slog from start to finish.

i don't know if this one was part of a contest or something. It's got that AOG up in its name, and that's where people would usually indicate contest entries. This one is... kinda preachy? i mean, i appreciate a nice pro-environment message, but... it just feels kinda weird and half-baked. The level is fine, but wowsers, the music is way, way overloud. i almost feel like i should have turned it down in post, but... i mean, i imagine that's what the creator wanted, and i really don't want to be putting my own edits on other folx's work (barring cutting out loading screens, but that's on the game engine, not creator choice). If you ever wondered, that's why i try to preserve punctuation, spelling, and capitalization in level titles.

A really nice looking level here, and some solid, at times challenging gameplay. A fair amount of mechanical interactions here too, and i always appreciate that. i did feel some kind of ways about the framing device; helping someone loot some other culture's priceless artifacts is... you know... a bit of a lot. Not that i think the creator was thinking anything beyond an Indiana Jones-style hook to give the level diagesis, but... looking at it from over here, and it's not a great look.

i wound up having a really nice time wiv this one. i always appreciate a good Islands themed level, and this one leverages the look well. Gameplay is on the safe side of challenging, where i never really felt like i had to sweat for it, but i couldn't really slack off either. The power-up was simple and fun enough for what it was, which wasn't much, but i'm pretty sure hanging out wiv @hirunda-maxpw has spoiled me rotten in that department.

This is one of those masterclass levels that makes design look way easier than it really is. Seriously, tho', i feel like you could put this into just about any platformer wiv roughly analogous movement physics (so, like, Sonic is probably out), and it would feel at home wiv maybe a few presentation changes to fit the particular game aesthetic. It is so well done, and plays so smoothly, and all in LBP1 no less. The only, maybe, fly in the ointment is LBP physics being what they are, sometimes you might get squished by something falling in an unexpected way, but them's kind of the breaks. If you missed this level, maybe because you started the series later, i highly recommend giving it a shot. It's such a shame that Lockstitch's Vile Anchorage is broken in LBP3, 'cause that one was a real winner too.

We talked about this one on Friday, and nothing's really changed how i feel about it. It's still quite good, and worth a play or two; despite some of the gameplay choices.

Yoooo, Poppywoods, why'd you have to go and put such a nasty gameplay bit right dead center of your cruisy, bright level? Like, i was having such a nice relaxing time, and then i ran into those bouncy platforms, and it was like getting hit in the face wiv a wet fish. Did you do it just for the halibut? Now, i do have to give credit to the creator for putting in a totally superfluous room filled wiv little score bubbles. This is always a worthwhile addition, and deeply appreciated.

Ehhhh.... it's fine. Really. It's fine. It's an homage to the Canyons, and it's got all the Canyons stuff, and it's. Fine.

This is such a charming little level, and i'm not just saying that because Des has been a long-time member of our community (she actually knew me in The Before, if you can believe it. Well, a lot of the LBP-side of my community did, but it's still weird. i... like honestly i can't tell you how lucky i was wiv the batch of folx that'd been in my orbit back then). This is very solidly in that "kinda-sorta natural environment" LBP2 design style i talked about way back when, tho' it does have some little "man-made" flourishes in presentation and material choice that i really dig. Gameplay is pretty solid throughout, and the grappling hook gets a lot of mileage. The grappling up descending platforms in the waterfall section was a really nice touch. All that makes it sting all the more that the promised part 2 never came out.

This got picked up for Team Pick right after i recorded, but before the episode went live, and i'm not going to lie, i was a little salty about that. Shouldn't have been surprised, who ever runs the Level of the Day and Team Picks clearly has their eye on Mackway25, and their levels tend to pick one or the other up. i usually struggle a bit wiv their stuff, 'cause the colour schemes and camera work can make their levels difficult for me to visually parse, but there's enough contrast in choices here that i had a much easier go of it. And i do need to emphasize this one really is a well-done and fun to play level, most of Mackway25's stuff tends to be. i really don't want to take away from their hard work as a creator.

So that's that, and just ten levels away from 100 episodes. Holy shit. i'm... i'm not going to have my level out by then. There's a lot going on in life right now, and to be honest, it's really kicking the shit out of me. There's little joy in my heart at the moment, and it's hard to really spin up the kind of focus in need to build something big. Not that i haven't had ideas, but... half the time i think them out, and, it's like, "risuko, love, it's a bit dark innit? Do you need to, like, maybe talk to someone?"