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the-curse-of-neoclones · 6 months

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Moderneopets Artist Mistreatment

Edit as of 11/16/23 10:40 AM NST:

Removed names where I failed to do so before. I'm very sorry to the affected parties, this snowballed so far out of my intended scope.

Edit as of 11/16/23 5:30 PM NST

Please see this post for a small update.

As of 11/16/23 10:10 PM NST, Hazer the site owner has formally and publicly apologized to myself and Velu, the other affected artist. As far as I'm concerned he has officially handled the situation as best as he could, and I hold no further qualms with Moderneopets. I hope to hear of its management continuing in this direction.

The following post is left up for archival purposes only.

*****

Hello, I’m wren. I'm an artist responsible for some of the pet assets on the neoclone, Moderneopets. I'm just going to get into it.

Hazer was extremely lucky to somehow cultivate a dense group of largely professional artists to work together to make assets for his site. When it comes to his own management as a site runner, he’s largely hands-off of the art department, which is a good thing! If he can’t be active in the art panel enough to know what goes on in there, he shouldn’t be running it— we have many strong, capable artists on the team who are passionate about recreating the neopets style, who work together on every pet that has been released ever since critique became a requirement.

It makes sense that, with a project this large, Hazer should have to designate moderators to enforce rules when he is absent. Choosing to bring on moderators was also a good decision. Unfortunately, he chose poorly.

Art panel issues should have separate Art panel moderators to take care of them. People who are not overburdened with generic moderation duties from the many other channels of the server, for example. In the same vein, artists should not be moderators. When an artist has an issue with another artist, who happens to be a moderator (which has happened many times, with many people— If the mods actually open threads for all complaints they receive, they should have evidence of this & if they don’t they are not being truthful), the artist would likely not feel comfortable approaching that same artist-slash-moderator to complain about what happened. It breeds an aura of fear and discomfort any time there is an issue with an artist/mod, and that is why the two moderators on the team should have to choose one or the other if hazer wants to cultivate a healthy atmosphere in his panel.

I’ve created many pets for this website. Neopets has been a passion of mine since the third grade. I’m also one of those professional artists I mentioned— my work is also art, industry or otherwise. I care about breaking neopets down into their core, recognizable shapes. I care about keeping them on-model and in the spirit of the original TNT art team, with improvements made where I and the other panelists think they make sense. I have redlined for other artists to an even greater degree, just as other artists have redlined for me and helped me finalize each pet into something simply good: something that made sense to get put on a little passion project website for other people with a similar passion to enjoy. I found the panel to be a community of likeminded artists with which to discuss our favorite childhood petsite while we made art for a clone, as if we could pretend we were making art for neopets-dot-com. It was nice.

It wasn’t perfect, though. In fact, shortly after I joined in 2021 I took a hiatus because the art panel was fairly dead. I came back a little while later to see we had several new species, as well as an art director, and lots of activity! That was very exciting. Over the next year I would reach out to the panel or, if nobody was sure of how to proceed, I would reach out to the art director to propose ideas for how to make the panel a little more functional; quality of life updates, if you will. I don’t take credit for all of these alone, there were other artists with similar ideas all communicating to the director in private, but some examples:

A designated “collab” zone where artists could seek out other artists to complete pets with.

“The Purge,” in which the team was whittled down to ~25 current, active artists to refresh the team and allow for new artists to join.

“The Approval System,” which I first sat down with in my workshop (public to all artists) to hammer out the details with as many other artists as wanted to give their input— a method for pitching new ideas to eventually break through the “new species/color freeze” that had been plaguing us.

Speaking on the approval system: like most things that required Hazer’s direct input in the art team, it was left without response for a very long time. Artists with ideas for custom species or colors would occasionally murmur about their excitement for the system to get a look-over by hazer, to see if our approval system pitch would be approved. But hazer is busy, as we all know, and the pitch sat for a while. We had new & returning artists on the team to keep everyone busy.

What I would expect from a years-old panel of artists, when new additions arrive, would be some manner of tutorial. New artists would need to know the pipeline (here’s your workshop, you can post WIPs and anything else in there; here’s how you ping for critique, here are the spaces in which to ask for it; make sure you always ping before your work is submitted on-site), and there would likely be some acclimating on both sides. What I did not expect (but should have), was pushback from new artists on things that hadn’t had pushback in a long time. Why can’t [x] color be a posechange? Well, we’ve created many already and none of them were posechanges. Why can’t I use colored lineart? Well, that isn’t in line with the style standards set by this color; see, nobody else is coloring their lineart.

Suddenly there was a divide between veteran artists, the director, and the new blood. The divide felt greater when Hazer came to his new artist’s aid to say, approximately: “Eh, if someone wants to go above and beyond and make better art, they shouldn’t have to adhere to the guidelines.” Then he threw the art director under the bus for not somehow knowing that his intentions were always to keep the panel loose and unstructured. But don’t worry, that isn’t the first bus and won’t be the last.

My personal investment in the panel waned around that time. I think a structured “work” environment with easily accessible rules and deadlines is necessary to any project of this size. If we didn’t want to enforce color standards, nor prioritize certain colors for release, and anyone could just submit whatever Nice Art they wanted, why not open it up so any user could submit pet art? Why have a panel at all? Isn’t Hazer taking any opportunity to dunk on Leopets because he wants his site to be better? How is this different?

But I stuck around. This was a hobby I really enjoyed, after all, and I really believed it could get better. It had a good core, and despite my grievances with individual artists, none of them were bad people.

But I noticed some trends. New artists would receive feedback that they didn’t agree with and retaliate by bringing in their emotions or personal preferences. Any disagreement where multiple veteran artists stepped in to say their piece would escalate to the point of very long messages on both sides, and would need to be left to hazer to give a final input. Often he didn’t come around to it, because he’s busy, as we know. I didn’t step in to every argument; they became cyclical after a while, and I didn’t have the time or energy to spend simply tapping the proverbial sign (or style sheet). I would try to give positive suggestions when I could, for example: I don’t think this color needs another alt for just one single design, but we did talk about eventually making this color that your design would fit into really well.

I’ve done my time having arguments on the internet. I really just want an art environment where the rules are set and people actually enjoy following them, because I do— I see art rules as helpful guidelines at best and obstacles to cleverly navigate at worst, which is still fun. But of course not everyone is going to feel the same way, that’s normal; that’s life.

On 11/9 I was given this message by Hazer:

It reads:

Hello wren,

I am reaching out to you today to inform you that effective immediately you are being dismissed from the Artist and Consultant Panels. This decision has been reached through discussions and based on repeated offences in the form of user harassment and subjecting the panels to a toxic atmosphere, after multiple reports and concerns brought up to us by other users.

While we understand concerns regarding panel management, there is a distinct difference between criticising and condeming the way the panel does things and criticising and condeming users that are on the panel, and we believe this line has been crossed one too many times, further supported by concerns brought to us.

We appreciate the passion and drive of our team—all of them—and we understand you have been very passionate about the panel. Given some of the messages we see, we have also concluded that due to things in the panel not working out as you have wished, it has caused you much stress and upset as well, which we do not want. All in all, we've decided that the atmosphere of the panel and your own enjoyment of the website are hampered by your presence on it. Because of this, we have decided it is best to have you part ways with the staff sections of the website.

Effective immediately after this message, we will be permanently removing you from the panels. While normally we do a temporary removal, in this case we've seen that your compatability with our management and handling of the panel will not improve, and it will just bring stress to both sides.

We understand you have put a lot of passion into the projects you have been working on for release in Moderneopets, and in lieu of that, we offer you the option of having the project(s) still be released even after dismissal. Rewards will still be granted for releases per usual, and credit will still be given. If you decide, due to dismissal, you do not want your unreleased work to be released on Moderneopets, simply state it as such, and we will discard all progress on projects you have been working on to respect those wishes.

This decision is final and will not be revoked.

Best wishes to you,

The Moderneopets Team

[end caption]

My response:

It reads:

No warnings huh?

[end caption]

Hazer didn’t have an answer for me. I was already removed from the panel.

This came as a shock. I’d been there for over two years, I felt I had a good rapport with the other artists, I felt I’d been a helpful and active addition to the team. Like I said, I’ve done my time having arguments on the internet… what toxic behavior? Discussions over style guides? Giving redlines to people with permission? Working with the whole team to bolster several new color releases? I had an entire species that Hazer wanted ready to go since March— I just pushed through the Swamp Gas release, I just created the Mystical alt?

No warnings?

Let me reiterate: I have never been spoken to by any staff about my behavior. Hazer, his then-four moderators— none of them have ever been in my DMs to issue a warning. I have spoken TO the mods about others’ behaviors, and nothing ever came of it. The one time (and I mention this for full transparency only) the art director came to talk to me about something I said, it was stated clearly that it was not a warning, and even so I adjusted my behavior around said issue accordingly. And that was well before the purge.

But, don’t take my word for it. Here it is from hazer himself, speaking over his mods who were busy telling the rest of the panel that they always issue warnings:

It reads:

No in this case I do agree that this has been an abrupt situation and I understand the blind-sided-ness of it. No official warnings were given out regarding the actions that resulted in the removal of artists today and that’s on fault of myself and deebs not working things out properly despite the moderation team bringing issues to a us a few times – also due to our lack of availability recently. [end caption]

So… What happened? Well… here it is from Hazer, in longform:

For those who use screen readers, above are several enormous discord screenshots; I've placed it in a paste bin here: https://pastebin.com/dHLiBRTF

Two other artists immediately stepped down. Hazer admits here in his message that he and the mods had multiple tickets opened about my behavior, that they had known they wanted to remove me. They never gave a warning, never talked to me until the moment of my dismissal, but they had known it was coming for months?

Why did Hazer and his gang of mods let me continue working on art for their panel? Why did they let me work so hard to pull Swamp Gas together for an official release? Why did they let me put together a whole custom Alt and workshop it for so long? I’ve been active this whole time. Why did you let me keep working if you knew you wanted me gone?

I am a professional artist. My work is art. Hazer made the knowing decision to exploit my time and effort for his website. He’s not paying me, he’s not paying any of us. It’s volunteer work. But I did not volunteer to be mistreated like this. To not even be given a chance to defend myself. To him, artists are disposable. To him, if someone has worked on your team for years but speaks up when your friend tries to overturn the system, even civil discussion is cause for disposal. Civil discussion negates years of effort, passion, time and care.

I didn’t have to make art for you, Hazer. And you don’t deserve the team you have. How many artists have voiced their discomfort with your actions? How many artists are taking a break from the panel because of how you handled this? Ah, wait, you wouldn’t know… you’re busy.

Hazer and his mod team are just another corrupt group of individuals unfortunately heading what could have been a fun and promising petsite. Everyone who speaks praise of modneo does it by and large because of the new and unique art. Hazer was extremely lucky to cultivate a dense group of largely professional artists to work together to make assets for his site.

If Hazer wants to show any sign of his potential to be a better person, I believe he needs to formally apologize to his site for the misuse of his power and the mistreatment and exploitation of artists on his team. He needs to apologize to you, the players of his game, the subscribers to his patreon, for allowing this to happen under his watch and under his word. You know you fucked up, hazer. You shouldn’t have sided with your friend without any actual evidence of misconduct. You shouldn’t have spoken about me like I was a toxic, subhuman hindrance to your art team. You shouldn’t have treated me like that. I didn’t deserve it. None of us did. You can apologize to me and the other lost artists publicly.

#moderneopets #virtu.pet #grundos cafe #neopets #neotag #modneo #moderneo

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amustikas · 6 months

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hi!!! <3 I love your art so much <3 your style is soo good, especially your coloring, it's so pleasant to look at <3 also, mind if I ask what kind of software and brushes do you use? The texture of the sketches, lineart etc. look so nice and I was wondering if there's something like that it Photoshop. Have a great day! <3

Hello!! Thank you for your sweet words!! <3

I work on procreate and mostly just use these two basic ah default brushes. I am sure photoshop equivalents exist for both of them out there somewhere!

And since I work a lot with these two I thought I would give ya some extra insight into how exactly I put them to use :)

The 6B Pencil brush has got to be my all time favourite brush and I use it for literally everything!

From rough sketches..

to lineart..

to colouring and details.

This brush is quite pressure sensitive, so you can achieve many different variations of size in one stroke by changing the amount of pressure you apply by hand. Through it all, it maintains it's relatively rectangular shape and brings with it soft grain like texture.

Come to think of it, I think I drew this whole next piece with only the 6B Pencil, start to finish. I think it really goes to show that in the end, it's not really about what brushes or software you use, but about how you make them work for you and how much fun you have while creating. I find that the drawings I have the most fun with end up being my favourites in the long run.

And to me, the 6B is just a damn fun brush to use!

It is perfect for adding silly little shapes and lines all over the place :)

And the other brush I find myself coming back to is Salamanca from the Painting category.

I use it for filling in bigger areas of colour and just colour blocking in general. I like it's subtle canvas texture and the fact that it is not entirely opaque by default, which allows for interesting variations of hues.

But that is not all! I like to size it down to use it to add details and colour to my portraits. I find that it's softness works really well on faces and it's transparency makes it easier to bring in variations of colour.

And would you look at that! More shapes and lines! It's really all I know how to do haha

At the end of the day, I try to just enjoy the process of drawing as much as I can :)

I find that young digital artists often put a lot of emphasis onto finding the correct drawing software and brushes. And while that is important, I find that it is equally as important to throw caution to the wind sometimes and to just try out new things and to not care so much.

I mean hell, people create masterpieces in MS Paint!

My drawing process usually boils down to simply trying to ensure art stays something fun for me, and these two brushes have helped me achieve that over the years.

Hope this has been some help and not all pure gibberish!

#my asks #art tutorial #drawing tips #just a lil something #:3

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galaxygolfergirl · 3 months

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And we’re back folks! With another batch of rough fan art featuring Queen Anna and powerless Elsa this time.

For this design for Anna, I noticed another post that some people didn’t feel that her regal gown from the epilogue in Frozen 2 really fit her style, so I tried to emulate the colors and rosemaling from her coronation dress in the first movie, while also keeping a sense of maturity in this look having grown into this role. She’s not as impulsive or fiesty anymore, now tempered with responsibilities but still conveys her warmth and compassion as a competent ruler. Still, in comparison with her sister, she is not without her insecurities, as running a country doesn’t come without a fair amount of stress, which she hides from Elsa out of fear of not being good enough.

Now as for Elsa losing her powers, I’m sure a lot of people have hypothesized about if she had an adversesary that could wield fire powers. I have made concept art of that before in the past, but I want to try and draw that digitally first before I show you guys. In this instance, I would imagine that Elsa has faced off against this adversary, and lost, and that enemy has weakened her powers to a state where she is unable to manipulate snow and ice and thus it dramatically alters her appearance. Her hair turns brown, like her mother’s, the clothes that she fashioned for herself would lose their icy appearance and revert to normal civilian clothes (or at worst, disappear, making for an awkward scenario), and the loss makes her weak and sick. She would have to learn how to rehabilitate herself for the next round in the story, but this change would almost certainly traumatize her since she’s just learned how to accept herself and her powers.

Lastly, with my idea for Hans to return in this story, I can’t imagine that Anna would be all that enthusiastic about seeing him again. My idea is that he has some insider information about the adversary that they’re facing in the story, whether it be the Southern Isles, or this fire wielding villain that Elsa loses against, they somehow have to rely on him for assistance. His motivations could be entirely selfish, “merely an enemy of my enemy is my friend situation” and he only agrees to help to stick it to this adversary (probably the Southern Isles). Nonetheless, it would make for some interesting dialogue and dynamics to see how they would react to each other.

Now, like I said, this is all hypothetical. This is more fanfiction and fanart than anything else, you don’t have to agree with it, but this is just a fun exercise in thinking what could happen in the next two movies. I hope you enjoy what I’ve done. Kristoff is coming up next!

#helsa #frozen #frozen 2 #prince hans #disney #queen elsa #artists on tumblr #queen anna #princess anna #powerless!elsa #disneys frozen #frozen 3 #frozen 4 #elsa of arendelle #hans westergaard #concept art #fan art

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loosethreadstitchery · 9 months

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Hi I just started embroidering two weeks ago but I’m also interested in cross stitching. Can you explain the difference between the two (if there is any)?

I can try! Bear in mind that I'm self-taught in a "keep stabbing it til it looks right and turn to books/YouTube only if I'm really stuck" way, so people who were actually trained could probably do this better, and I'm open to being corrected.

Cross stitch is a type of embroidery where each stitch forms an X. It's often, but not always, done on Aida cloth, which looks like this:

Each X covers a square of the cloth, so the result is a bit like pixel art:

If you have a line of stitches of the same colour, a lot of people will do a line of half-stitches, then work their way back (called the Danish method):

That's really down to preference. Personally I switch between Danish and English (where you complete each X before moving on to the next one) depending on the geometry of the pattern I'm working on. The main thing is that the top arm of each X should be facing the same way to keep the piece looking tidy.

That's the basic idea, and there are plenty of patterns out there that only use cross stitches. Some patterns will also use back-stitching for outlines or details. Generally you do the cross stitching first, then back-stitch over top.

The majority of what I do is actually blackwork, which is related to cross stitch in that it's a type of counted work (each stitch covers a set number of threads of the fabric). I mostly use Aida cloth, but any evenweave fabric would work. There are a number of different styles of blackwork, but the one I do most often involves back-stitching geometric motifs to fill a section of a larger design. The pattern will show lines on a grid corresponding to the grid of the cloth:

A few things that might help if you're getting into cross stitch:

Aida cloth comes in different sizes. You'll see it labeled as 11-count, 14-count, 18-count, etc. That tells you how many squares/stitches there are per inch, so your stitches on 18-count will be much smaller than on 11-count.

If you buy 6-strand embroidery floss, you'll want to separate it into individual strands. If you're cross stitching, then usually the lower the count of your fabric, the more strands you'll need to make each X form a solid square and avoid having fabric show between your stitches. I use fewer strands with blackwork, because it keeps the lines sharp and makes the motifs stand out better. The pictures above are on 18-count. I used 2 strands for the cross stitch, and 1 strand for the blackwork (note that varying the number of strands can also be a method of shading in blackwork, but I haven't really used that technique before).

Some stitchers will tell you that the back of your work should look as neat as the front. If you want to aim for that, go for it. I'm really only careful about the back of my work if I know it's going to be visible in the finished piece; other than that, my backs are chaos and I'm fine with that.

This was at best a really basic overview of cross stitch. Some patterns use things like half-stitches and three-quarter-stitches to get different effects or smoother shapes. Some patterns will call for higher count cloth (like 28-count or more) and have each stitch cover two threads instead of one (called working "over 2"). There are all sorts of YouTube videos and tutorials that cover these things better than I can, but feel free to ask any questions you have, and I'll do my best.

Above all, have fun with it, and I hope it becomes something you enjoy!

#ask #cross stitch #embroidery #fiber art #fibre arts #crafting

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stanzasbysloan · 3 months

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hi! sloan here. 25, they/he. long time tumblr user, first time writeblr blogger.

i write a lot of poetry and prose, which i'll probably share here, in various states of 'done'. i'm trying to get over the pressure i put upon myself to create perfect, polished work and enjoy the freedom of freeform and train of thought.

i'm also writing a few original works, leaning more toward the absurd. i'm incredibly interested in surrealism and absurdity and find it a great muse, so most of my work follows an atypical standard. i'm still trying to find a line between palatable, consumable work that is true to my style and inspiration!

i'd love to engage with the community and find other writers to mutually encourage and support to continue our art. please engage with me however you'd like, constructive criticism is just as helpful as compliments - just be nice about it, please!

i will do my utmost to correctly tag anything i post that may be triggering or squick inducing, and if i ever mistag or incorrectly tag please don't hesitate to let me know so i can rectify it.

i will post any poetry/prose under the tag #sloanzas and original work under #sloriginals. more will be added as i see fit!

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writerscommunity #just saying hello and introducing myself!#going to go on a following spree now hehe. :)

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hiranospiercing · 2 years

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shounen ai mangas that should be a part of your reading list if you enjoy reading healthy and plot driven romances- part 1.

I've been reading bl for years now, the reason why i indulged myself into reading this particular genre was simply because shoujo as a genre is too repetitive, most tropes are overused and it's honestly really hard to find good stories once you've finished the easily accessible popular franchises.

boys love is divided into two sub genres, yaoi and shounen ai, I personally do not enjoy reading smut, it's a different story if intimacy plays an important point for the character development of the characters in the story, but i'am not a huge fan of the porn being used as the plot device for the entire manga and hence i won't be including yaoi mangas in this list.

1. Sayonara, Heron.

Sayonara, Heron is one of those mangas that remain ambiguous and non-linear for the majority of the time but gradually intensify itselves once the ending is near without losing it's delicacy, i won't be talking about the plot since i want you to experience this 7 chapter long manga the way i did, without knowing anything about it, but it's simply about family and relationships, the art style is so pretty, the rooftop, the cigarettes, the kisses, everything. I do not see enough people talking about it and maybe you should help me change that.

2. We're still in the spring of life.

Academics, Aerospace and Adorability, everything about this manga is so heart warming, the hesitation in the beginning of a friendship which ends with a comfortable yet passionate relationship, the naps, the math equations and the confessions, this manga is simply about two boys growing together by simultaneously relying on each other. Also the rocket metaphors have my heart, read it to find them out.

3. Our dining table.

I've always been a huge fan of child care as a separate genre on it's own, but this manga is one of the only romance mangas where the child care part of it actually plays a huge role for the development of the characters, it honestly isn't forced like some omegaverse stories rather it's comforting and actually heart warming to read, the food being used as a love language, the friendships and the bonding amidst the family and the main character is beautiful, give it a go if you want to experience legit therapy lol.

4. Blue sky complex.

Blue sky complex is one of the few shounen ai mangas which seems authentic and raw because of the awkwardness of the characters, the relationship between the characters is easily connectable in the sense that you get the insight of how their head actually works and makes those decisions, it explores gay relationships in a very interesting way, and honestly is very close to my heart because well it's the GLASSES GUY X GOOF BALL trope yet again.

5. Yuki no shita no qualia.

Now, this manga vaguely reminds me of sayonara, heron but honestly is a lot more strong with what it wants to explore, it's one of those mangas that will accidentally make you cry because of the beauty of it's characters and the development of their relationship.

"i think you make me kinder," is better than any "i love you".

#bl manga #shounen ai manga #hirano to kagiura #sasaki to miyano #given #doukyuusei #seaside stranger #blue sky complex #our dining table #sayonara heron

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txttletale · 9 months

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I just wanted to let you know that I just found your tumblr within the past week and you have immediately become my 2nd favorite tumblr, being only behind Blogatog. Love your ttrpg takes.

Anywho, you said to ask about flags, so what is your biggest/are your biggest red flags when it comes to ttrpg design?

thank you! i'm glad you enjoy my silly little posts. anyways i think my biggest red flag is unintentionality--the feeling that the writer of a TTRPG has done something by 'default', the inability to put myself in their shoes and understand (or even better, be told by the text itself) the reason why a particular decision has been made.

one of the biggest places this rears its head is in terms of tone and voice. let me quote jay dragon's really good the storyteller technique:

Another advantage of getting to know the narrator of your RPG is that it helps mitigate unconscious bias in your design. Dungeons & Dragons has a notably anthropological narrative voice, explaining other cultures and creatures like a scientist in the field. The language of D&D mimics the writing style of mid-century scientists traveling to “exotic” locations and cataloging non-Western experiences as part of a documentation of the Other. It’s easy for newer designers to want to “write a game like D&D” without regard for how even the narrative voice of Dungeons & Dragons carries unintended political baggage. Is a bird’s-eye and judgemental perspective really the energy you want to bring to your whimsical fantasy world? Or is there another perspective within your world that can be more useful, and allow you to find new perspectives on the world you’ve created.

narrative tone is a choice--the attempt to use a 'neutral' tone for rules text and description is also a choice, how formal and how informal you get with it is a choice, and when i read a text that seems to have made that choice thoughtlessly it imo bodes very poorly for the rest of the game.

other examples of this kind of unintentionality are games that have a comabt system despite not being about combat in any way--games with equipment rules despite them not setting out to tell the sort of story where which sword or gun a character has matters--games that measure themselves in exact distances without actually using a battlemap--&c.

while most of this unintentionality takes the form of 'falling back onto what DND does' because DND is the market leader and many people's first TTRPG, so imitating it without purpose is something that both cynical market-share chasers & unexperienced designers without a wide range of expereicne can do--it's absolutely not unique to it. one form of unintentionality i see a lot in indie TTRPG circles is creating far more Moves for your PBtA game than necessary--clearly more out of a sense that 'AW/MotW/Masks has a Move for this' than any specific understanding of what that move will do in your game

in game design--as in any art--there is no such thing as a 'neutral' choice or a non-choice. there are only choices, and how much someone's thought about these choices is important!

#ask #aork14 #nicey ask :)#ttrpg

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flipside-phoebe · 1 month

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Spoiler-free Ghostbusters Back in Town: Issue 1 Review:

Taking place a year and a half after Ghostbusters Afterlife, this mini series bridges the gap between the previous film and Frozen Empire. We follow the Spenglers as they move to the Firehouse and adjust to life in New York.

Highlights include:

Soft, cute art style! Props to Blue Delliquanti, Mildred Louis, and Cris Peter. I really like the simple drawings for the human characters, while the ghosts still look appropriately gnarly. A vast improvement over the IDW style, in my opinion. (No offense to Dan Schoening, I'm sure he's a wonderful fellow, but some of his stylistic choices were... questionable.) -

Very small acknowledgement towards the Ghostbusters reputation in New York, for anyone who's interested in that. -

More interactions between the Spenglers and insight into their lives that the movies have sorely lacked. I understand a movie has only so much runtime, but that's all the more reason why spinoff material like this is important! We get to see the family talking to each other, along with Phoebe and Trevor adapting to their new schools (less than successfully). The brief sibling moment after is cute. -

In addition to the Spenglers, we get a little bit of dialogue between Phoebe and Podcast, and Trevor and Lucky via texts. They miss each other! Besides them, we also see some more with Janine and Winston. We learn a little bit more of how they're helping the Spenglers and some more of Winston's influence around the city. There's also a small glimpse of a certain bookstore owner at the end! -

Little details in the background and nods to other films, new and old. You'll be able to spot them easily if you just look close. -

Funny dialogue, nothing gut-busting but it did put a smile on my face. The characters inform the comedy and it works well. There's a few lines in here that made me wonder how no one thought to include jokes like them in GB material before! -

Great use of foreshadowing throughout the comic to hint at the coming threat. The theme is insects, which is a clever choice considering the Ghostbusters share plenty of similarities with exterminators. There appears to be a villain controlling them and using this to drive the family apart. We already see some arguments between the Spenglers as they struggle to capture the big creature at the end of the comic. A wicked strategy, how will it play out? Overall, I enjoyed this! It's a simple story, but it's only the beginning, and already offers us a lot that the movies couldn't. I highly recommend to any fans of the modern GB era!

#ghostbusters back in town #ghostbusters #dark horse comics #phoebe spengler #trevor spengler #callie spengler #gary grooberson #winston zeddemore #janine melnitz #ray stantz #Mera's rants

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slasherbvnnie · 1 year

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Hi sorry for disturbing I love your writing style and I love your work ☺️ I was wondering if I could make a request for poly ghostface billy Loomis X reader X Stu macher where the reader gets jealous of their boyfriends because their are these girls that flirt with Billy and stu and the reader starts to ignore both of them and they both sneak into the reader house or workplace to confront them if you don't mind me asking you don't have to if you don't want to I hope you have a lovely day/night and sorry for taking your time ☺️

I hope this is written to your liking. I really enjoyed writing it! This little blurb is brought to you by the perfect girl by mareux and my jason dean playlist.

Diamond Tears

Context: After surviving Ghostface, you and your boyfriends moved in together and went off to college. You are currently majoring in education and recently received a new job. Your boyfriends were happy, until their own work life at Mr. Loomis' firm began to interfere with your love life. All characters 18+ Modern Scream Au

Word Count: 1949

Your boyfriends were always angels to you. Ever since you three became highschool sweethearts they had always been doting, gifting you sweets and treats, stuffed animals, jewelry, and any other little items that reminded them of you. It took awhile to get used to, you weren’t used to previous lovers gifting you items as much as they did, but once they reassured you that money wasn’t a problem to worry over, you relaxed an accepted the gifts.

Billy and Stu received love back from you as well, all in different ways. Stu preferred meals, he loved any meal that was cooked by you, he also gladly accepted being cuddled, held, or babied slightly by you. He was a big puppy with having his head rubbed during movie nights, and on days he let it grow a little longer, he enjoyed feeling you play with his hair. Billy was different, he enjoyed when you comforted him even if he would keep his stoic demeaner, it meant the world to him when you would comfort him. He also loved when you would kiss him or hold onto him in public, he felt proud to show you off as his (and Stu’s) and would proudly flaunt you off when you were together.

The boys were a little sad when you had gotten a new job, in your third year of college which meant you now had to help with being a TA, teachers assistant. That meant you were gone for eight hours or more a day, which wasn’t exactly fun for them. Despite both helping as interns at Billy’s fathers firm, and working nearly as long as you did, the lack of face times and phone calls during their lunches or time alone wasn’t fun.

Luckily for you, school had gotten called off for a holiday, which meant you could surprise the boys while they were at work. You had made one of their favorite meals while at home, packing it into Tupperware and happily placing it into a lunch bag for the two. You also got yourself fixed up for them, wanting to look nice, especially since it would be the first time in the office. You at least wanted them to be excited for when they could finally get home and have you all to themselves.

You walked out to the car, putting the bag of food on the passenger seat as you put on some music and began to drive off. It wasn’t long before you had made it to the parking lot of the law firm, turning off the Mareux song that was playing through the speakers and turning the car off, carrying the bag of food in your hands as you walked inside. You spoke with the secretary at the front desk, happy when she allowed you to go up the elevator to their floor, you looked around the office as you walked to the room she told you that you could find the two, feeling a bit out of place. On movies they didn’t seem much more full of life, but currently this lawyer firm felt like the coldest place on earth, front the generic wall art down to the repeating style of offices.

What warmed your heart however was getting to see your two boyfriends in action, even if they were just interns at the moment and still working hard on their classes, you felt ecstatic knowing they were becoming what they wanted to be. The receptionist had told you to look out for one of the conference rooms, that one of the lawyers were meeting with the newest team they were assigned with and had asked for Stu and Billy to observe with them. Your eyes darted around with all the glass windows, noticing just about everyone except for the boys.

However when you spotted the room a few people were leaving, you saw the tuffs of brown hair you knew well, plus the towering giant known as Stu. What you weren’t expecting however were the other girls in the room who were talking to the two. Typically, you weren’t a very jealous significant other, you knew the two were hot, but you also knew they were yours. What was different this time was how they acted with the two of them, one of the girls hands traced Stu’s arm, who just seemed oblivious as he rambled on about something. Billy was just as oblivious as the girl facing him spoke on and on, pushing her elbows together slightly to show off her cleavage. It wasn’t the first time girls had flirted with them, unknowing that they were dating you, but it was the first time the boys hadn’t brushed them off and that made something churn inside of you. A frown stayed on your face as you swung the door open to the room, stomping as you walked as the four turned their heads to you. “Baby!” Stu called out, your gaze set down at the table, too angered to even notice the girl who had been flirting with him grimace at the name. “I made you two lunch,” you grumbled out, the two taken back, knowing your angered state easily with the amount of years you had been together now.

You tossed the bag onto the table, storming back out and rushing off to the elevator. You disappeared quickly, leaving the two males stunned and attempting to follow after, but were just left with your trail of anger having already taken off.

Your phone had buzzed non stop for a good hour. You sat in the parking lot for about 15 of those 60 minutes, the other 45 was spent driving home and crying in the driveway. Every time someone had flirted with the boys, they were always quick to brush off the other person. Whether it was a guy, or a girl or anyone who identified in between or not at all, they shot them down every single fucking time. You remembered how many times you saw saddened, angered, or even down right dejected stares from those people when they saw you waltz up and plant big kisses onto them. But this time it fucking hurt, two beautiful women flirting with your boyfriends and neither of them shot them down.

The incident replayed in your mind for hours, even trying to go over the little details you could remember. You could have sworn you saw a blush on Stu’s cheeks and if you remembered correctly, you saw Billy’s signature shit eating grin on his face. Your thoughts didn’t cease even when there was a soft thump of the front door. The shuffling of feet as they made their way upstairs and to your- great- locked bedroom you three shared.

“Baby, come on,” Billy pleaded, sighing as he leaned against the doorframe. “Please open up the door baby, you haven’t answered all day and we’re worried about you.” Stu said, jiggling the knob as tears rolled down your cheeks.

You knew eventually you would have to talk to the two, but the thoughts that were running through your mind were tearing away at you. What if the other women were more attractive to them, what if they no longer wanted just you, what if they were cheating on you all along without you suspecting a thing? They only grew more concerned when they heard you heaving and trying not to make noise as you cried, which wasn’t exactly working out for you as you let out choked sobs.

The knob jiggled once again before you could hear the metal clanking of keys being jammed into the lock from the other side and the creak that it was followed up with. Your head turned to the two as you sniffled, trying to wipe your face clean of any tears as they approached you.

They sat on either side of you on the bed, Stu making the first move and wrapping his arms around you gently. “What has you so worked up, pretty girl?” He whispered, Billy’s cold hands tucking some hair behind your ear to get it out of your face. “Why are you crying, sweetheart? Please tell us what’s wrong,” he said softly as you cried even harder, feeling your body shake as you tried to keep in your cries. However, your body betrayed you and began to melt when Billy cupped your face and made you look at him.

It wasn’t very often that you saw his stone cold face change, but what made you break was seeing his teary eyes and red nose staring at you like you were the only thing that mattered to him right now. “You guys- you-“ you only got out two words before your body shook again from how hard you were trying to hold back from crying, leaning into Stu’s chest when he pulled you in even closer. “They were flirting with you guys and you- you liked it,” you cried out, sniffling as Billy used his thumbs to wipe away your tears. “The girls…the girls you saw us with?” Stu asked as you nodded, “you know we would never flirt with other people sweetheart, we promised you that it would just be us three,” Billy said as you whined. “But you guys always turn them down! You always, you always tell them you have a girlfriend and-“ a small hiccup left you as you sniffled once again, “you two always turn them down. But you didn’t! You just let them keep flirting with you,” you cried out, frowning as Billy did his best to keep up with all your tears. “Pretty girl, I am so sorry if we came off like we were enjoying it. I promise you we didn’t mean to. You know we only have the hots for you,” Stu said, trying to lighten the mood as you frowned. “But- you didn’t push them off of you…and-and Billy didn’t even realize that girl was trying to shove her boobs in his face and it just. I-it makes me feel like you two enjoyed it,” you said between broken cries, frowning as Stu tightened his hold.

“You know we only love you, sweetheart. You’re our only girl. There will never be another girl in our lives. I promise you that. I am sorry we didn’t realize they were flirting,” Billy said as you frowned, looking away from him as he slowly let go of your face. “Is there something we could do to make you feel better?” Stu asked, kissing your temple.

You shook your head, feeling comforted by his kiss. “Well, how about we order some good takeout, you can choose. Then we can watch any movie you want, and afterwards, we will prove to you you’re our only girl ever,” Billy said as he kissed your cheek. “Even if I have to kiss every single inch of your body, even if we have to tell you every single little thing we love about you from your eyes to every little beauty mark on your body, even if we have to spend the entire night cuddling you until you fall asleep, we’ll make you know you’re our only girl,” he reassured, smiling softly as he saw you try and hide a shy smile.

“We better get started on ordering takeout huh, seems like our pretty girl would love to be showered in kisses and told how much we love her,” Stu said as you looked up to him, giving a small nod. “I’m sorry,” you said softly, receiving a kiss on either cheek from the two. “Don’t apologize,” “you have nothing to be sorry about,” they reassured you as you sniffled.

#poly!ghostface x female reader #poly!ghostface x reader #poly!ghostface #scream 1996 #scream1996 #scream x reader #scream au #scream #billy loomis brainrot #billy x stu x reader #billy loomis x reader #billy loomis #stu macher brainrot #stu macher x reader #stu macher #ghostface x reader #ghostface

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pixelatedraindrops · 4 months

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RAINCODE COMIC COLLAB~☔️

BEHOLD THE FRUITS OF MY LABOR!!

3 full weeks of work and its finally completed!

So @kazinsblog and I did another raincode art collab together but this one was a HUGE project! This one's a full 18 page comic!

Idk if you all remember the comic idea that Kazin was planning to do that involved Yuma overworking himself until he gets sick and then gets tended to by everyone else. But when I saw it, I decided to ask her if she was willing to possibly collaborate on it, remaking it where she sketched it and I colored it.

Kazin's Beta images: 1 2 3 4

So here's the results of all that work. We've been at this since December 17th so this has been an almost full month collaboration. And of course mine's a bit more altered to my own style as well as adding my own touches and making it a little more whumpy/extreme... X'D I also freehand drew shinigami in my version as well.

Both our versions look pretty different! The only thing that are the same are the poses. So feel free to check out Kazin's traditional version as well!

Since its an 18 page comic, I decided to put it under a keep reading so it won't clutter everyone's timelines. Also, I will be narrating the pages because I love narrating sick filler type stories. So brace yourself for a VERY LOOONG post!! Def need time to read this one! (and no purple tinted filters here this time!)

Also note: If the writing is blue, it means the character is thinking, just like in the game! :)

And I apologize on the inconsistency of Yuma's bangs... I thought it was one way before so half of the comic he looks like he has square bangs... oof XD I fix it around page 10

ANYWAY, hope you enjoy this soft buffet, Raincode Community! 🌡️💕

(Page 1)

Our story begins on an ordinary day in Kanai Ward. Rainy gloomy and depressing as ever. Our little victim... wait... XD I mean protagonist Yuma decides to go out to investigate more about Kanai Ward to try to track down it's supposed ultimate secret. Yakou sets him off wishes him well and tells him to be careful. However, as he's out, he finds out a lot of people in the city need help. Because of his good nature and unable to turn down someone in need, he decides to help whoever he can. (the ultimate side-questing lol) Before he knows it, he's soaking wet and he had helped 10 people in total. Time passed and it was almost evening so he returns to the submarine. Yuma was completely unphased by this. (and he didn't dry himself off for 4 hours due to being occupied with tasks)

(Page 2)

Yuma returns to the Agency's submarine to greet his chief holding his meatbun order. (that also got wet) But Yakou notices that the trainee is sopping wet to the core and shivering. He immediately loudly demands that he sit down so he can tend to him. Yuma does as he's told and sits on the checkered sofa. Yakou rushes to the shower room to grab some small towels to help him dry off. But because Yakou is so panicked, he ends up being very rough in drying Yuma, pulling his hair and causing the small boy pain. After he dries him off, he tells Yuma he isn't allowed to leave anymore for the rest of the day and demands him to rest. Yuma tries to retaliate using puppy eyes, but it doesn't work. Yakou is immune.

(Page 3)

The next day Yuma asks Yakou if he can go out to work after he finishes his morning chores around the place looking very eager. Yakou still looks a little concerned by how tired Yuma looks, so he tells him to not go out alone. He assigns him a partner to go with the rest of the week.

On the first day he's paired with Halara. The two of them are asked to investigate the art gallery of Ginma. (maybe after the nail man case) But over time, Yuma starts developing a lingering cough that persists for quite some time. Halara asks Yuma is he's okay, to which Yuma lies saying that it's due to the dust of the room. But of course being sharp, Halara isn't buying it. But they decide to not persist him further.

On the second day, he's paired with Desuhiko. They're asked to go help out at the Aetheria Academy with another case (not murder related this time) However on the way to the school and in Ginma, Yuma starts slowing down, he's shaking and is a little wobbly. Desuhiko notices this and asks if he wants to go to the cafe for a drink. Yuma nods and as they go to the cafe and order some coffee, Yuma takes off his hat and coat and Desuhiko finally realizes how pale he looks. He's even slower at replying to him as he speaks, as if he's in a daze. Desuhiko decides to take Yuma back to the agency after this.

(Page 4)

On Day three, he's paired with Fubuki. But he doesn't even make it to the case as when he goes to the sun and moon hotel to meet with her, Fubuki notices and points out that Yuma's face looks red. The boy clearly had a fever building. Yuma argues with her but Fubuki persists. The two of them try to go to the case but Yuma nearly collapses. So Fubuki returns him to the agency.

On the fourth day where he's supposed to be paired with Vivia he spends a majority of the day passed out. Vivia decides to watch over him using his forte to not disturb him. During the night while he's asleep, his breathing gets more labored and he's completely restless. Vivia looks at him deeply worried for his dear friend's well being.

The next morning Yuma somehow finds the strength to get himself up. Maybe that one day of rest was enough. But Yakou insists that he stays put today. Angrily yelling at him to be still and take today off as well.

Meanwhile, a certain two seem to notice each other...

(Page 5)

Vivia's spirit notices Shinigami and decides to give her a warning. Make sure Yuma listens to Yakou and doesn't leave. Giving her the iciest glare, Shinigami fearfully agrees.

But this effort would be for naught, despite how he feels, Yuma's relentless determination forces himself up, putting on his rain attire and heads up the steps of the sub to the outside when Yakou isn't looking. Shinigami does what she can to stop him, but he doesn't listen...and Shinigami being a ghost, there was nothing she could do to physically hold him back. All she could do was follow, and prepare for the inevitable.

By some miracle he makes it to the church, up the stairs to speak to the nun. Who tells him to play therapy again for the townsfolk. He nods and heads to his first client. But when he returns to kamasaki to speak to him, he can barely make out what he's saying as he lets out a few more coughs.

Once he leaves the client, before long, Yuma could hear something in his body snap.

(Note: I direct most of the story, but Vivia conversing with Shinigami in spirit mode was actually Kazin's idea! So credit to her for that, So silly and fun! ^^)

(Page 6)

Yuma's body had finally reached it's limit. All the fatigue, chills and body aches had hit him all at once at full force like armed weaponry. His head began throbbing, he was shaking violently and uncontrollably, he felt nauseated by the rain's smell, and his body heat and the lingering dizziness was unbearable. He found a safe corner in the alleyway of Kamasaki to collapse. Telling Shinigami she was right and he should have listened to her, while the burning fever and cold rain wrecked his delicate frame even further. His voice was hardly audible, but Shinigami still heard and practically tells him to go back. But Yuma had no strength left...

Then like clockwork as they finish speaking, he could hear his name called. At first it sounded kind and questionable. But that rapidly changed, the voice now angrily yelling out his full name. As he looked up this voice belonged to...Yakou. He looks down at the boy in pure disappointment and anger.

Turns out a certain someone was tailing him. And alerted Yakou what happened just in time.

(Note: I make the red darker the more extreme the temperature and lighter the less extreme. I got to experiment with all sorts of new ways to color fevers hehe~ >w<)

(Page 7)

Yuma shockingly looks up at Yakou. Oh no, he was so BUSTED! Shinigami even says as much. Yakou practically scoops Yuma in his arms carrying him back to the agency. As he was lifted Yuma's world begun spinning. He could barely hear the chief nagging him in a panicked tone. It was all distorted and it was making his head hurt more. Yakou placed a hand to his cheek and was shocked by how hot it felt. All Yuma could do was apologize and hope his world stops spinning and that Yakou eventually stops yelling... (also I put numbers for the order to read the speech bubbles in)

Upon returning to the agency, Yakou dries Yuma off, asks Desuhiko to give him a warm set of clothes to borrow and put him to his own bed. Grabbing a basin of very cold water, washcloths and a digital thermometer. He placed one of the wet cold cloths under his bangs and upon reading the boy's temperature, it was high. Almost high enough to visit the ER. Yakou was even more mad, but speaks in a non yelling tone. Giving Yuma another stern warning to not leave the bed. To which Yuma weakly agrees to.

But Yakou's back to yelling again, feeling paranoid Yuma would be missing by the time he gets back from getting the supplies. So he drills that message right into the boy's already throbbing head once more. Everyone else in the office awkwardly listen in as the sick trainee gets scolded.

(Note: Just an FYI, Yuma's speech bubbles being wavy is a sign his voice is raspy and the text being a bit hard to read means his voice is hardly audible)

(Page 8)

Yakou leaves Yuma alone and walks into the office in his raincoat telling the other detectives that he'll be leaving soon and to watch over Yuma in his absence and NOT let him leave. He is so full of anger and anxiety that he yells at all of them too.

Everyone agrees and as Yakou leaves, they all discuss among themselves Yuma's state the days they were partners with him. He was in bad shape. And he only got worse as the days went by. They all knew.

(Page 9)

Meanwhile back in Yakou's quarters, Yuma was getting lectured yet again. This time by his death god partner, Shinigami. The poor trainee only wanted peace and quiet to make the pain in his head go away, using what little energy he has remaining speaking in his head he tried telling her to stop.

But the aggravated spirit persisted, saying that as his mentor she had the right to scold him just as much as Yakou. She continued her rant, until an abrupt sound from her master shut her up.

The few coughs that came from Yuma eventually erupted into a full blown coughing fit. The coughs sounding more wet, rough and serious. After coughing 10 to 15 times in a row Yuma was exhausted. Shinigami looked down at him panting with concern and pity in her eyes. She decided to stop the lecture for his sake.

After the fit, Yuma was left raggedly breathing. As Shinigami gave him her permission to rest and take it easy, he didn't answer. He couldn't. That fit completely mangled his throat. He was not able to speak vocally or in thought process anymore due to his head being in too much pain. As was the rest of his body, aching and burning. So he didn't answer her. All he could do was hope sleep would eventually take hold of him to make all this awful heat and pain stop even if for a just moment.

(Note: That's the penalty Yuma... x'D Sorry I gotta make him suffer lol. Also this is the only page that’s actually read left to right. I messed that up, sorry!!)

(Page 10)

After some time passed it was time for the Master Detectives to all take part in taking care of Yuma. The whole agency had a day off to do this. So upon his return, Yakou instructs everyone to look after Yuma in 2 hour shifts through the day. Even if it was just to watch him sleep. He couldn't be left alone.

Halara was first. Their task was to help Yuma take the medicine that was bought. There were three types of medicine for him to take. Antibiotics (white pills) for the general illness symptoms, painkillers (red and white pills) for the headache/fever, and finally...cough syrup. (aka his least favorite... XD) Halara made sure to be very gentle with Yuma propping him upward as his whole body was burning and he was very shaky. He even had trouble drinking the water, so Halara had to get a mug instead so they could help him drink it by holding the handle, and using the other hand to support his back. Despite the struggle, Halara worked diligently to complete their task as a caretaker in full. (as for who paid them to do this...idk I'll leave that to your imagination XD)

(The cough syrup idea was inspired by this fic :3)

Desuhiko had the second shift and the whole time he was waiting for his turn, he was writing a song for Yuma. Having the delusion that his angelic voice would lul the sick boy to sleep, he played his guitar and began singing. Yuma's headache did improve enough to speak in his head now, but that wouldn't last, as the loud noises from the guitar made his head pound even further with every strum. Shinigami begs for the noise to cease fire on her poor eardrums, but Yuma doesn't have it in him to stop Desuhiko. The gesture was kind so he decided to try to listen to the whole song, despite the noise. He does eventually tell him to stop though (using hand gestures) when another song comes afterward. So then the two spend their time conversing for a bit, (though desuhiko does more of the talking as yuma just nods or makes small noises/hand gestures due to his throat still hurting too much to talk) Desuhiko even telling him he could keep the sweater and shorts he had lent to him. To which Yuma softly smiles at him as a thank you before he eventually falls asleep again.

Fubuki has the third shift, and her task was to feed Yuma the warm vegetable soup that was bought earlier and that Halara had just finished making, along with Fubuki's help. She volunteers to feed him as she remembers a time she was ill as a child in the clockford mansion and one of her servants tended to her, feeding her soup just the same. Unfortunately, because this was a memory of her early childhood, she repeats similar phrases as the servant did when she was feeding Yuma, who was clearly not a small child. Yuma's fever had dropped enough to where he could find a bit of strength to try and sit up on his own now, and his once mangled throat’s condition had improved for him to speak a little bit. As he listened to Fubuki's rambling he tries to play along with her despite the whole thing being a bit embarrassing for someone his age. At least the soup was nice and warm. It felt good going down his very sore throat.

(Funny Fact: The order that Yuma is both partnered and tended to by each detective, is the same order as the chapters in game he's partnered with them LOL)

(Page 11)

It was evening, and now it was Vivia's turn to take the fourth and final shift. At first he was just going to sit and watch Yuma while he read his book quietly, but Yakou suggested that he read one of his books out loud to Yuma to help him relax better like a bedtime story. Vivia was unsure at first, as he's never read to anyone before. But he decided to give it a try. He asks Yuma what his preference in literature is before he starts, and Yuma tells him he enjoys detective novels the most. So he pulls out the novel that was in his reading list and begins to read it out loud to him. Turns out he was quite a natural at narrating, and his slow voice was very soothing. Yuma felt so relaxed that he felt like he would fall asleep any minute, but he tries to stay awake to listen to the story a bit more. Shinigami however, conks out immediately. (fyi: yes this is the novel Vivia talks about in his final gumshoe gab. I tried to make up stuff based on it.. X'D)

Once the clock strikes 9pm and night falls, the Master Detectives all wish Yuma well and leave to return to the hotel to retire for the night. It was just Yakou and Yuma now. Yakou, who had just come back from another errand, walks over to Yuma who was now fast asleep. He looked a little better so Yakou removed the towel from his forehead and places his hand onto it. It still felt warm but no longer as hot as it did hours ago. Meaning he was out of the danger zone, much to Yakou's relief. He places the towel back in the water basin wringing it out and re-applying it to his forehead. Then he lets out a yawn. He was pretty tired. He decides that instead of sleeping in the office on one of the sofas, he'd stay by Yuma's side. His removes his jacket, goes and turns off the overhead lights, sits down and places his head down on his desk. Then after telling the sleeping trainee goodnight he turns off the small light by his desk.

OKAY FUN FACT: The comic WAS going to end here going on to the final page... Buuut~ We were STARVING for some good ol' Yakou Fathero :3 So... Enjoy these bonus 6 pages of Yakou having a shift of his own to look after Yuma in the middle of the night. And its the longest shift.

This ones for you Yakou Fathero fans! Eat your fill!

(I know we sure did :3)

Also I apologize if the lighting here is inaccurate ;w; I tried my best I'm no pro LOL

(Page 12)

A little past midnight, Yuma was stirring in his sleep. Making all sorts of groaning sounds as if he was in pain. He was likely having a nightmare. This is confirmed by his eyes suddenly opening and him violently flinging himself up screaming, and the cold cloth flying off his forehead.

This sound wakes Yakou up immediately as he puts his glasses back on asking Yuma if he's okay. He flicks the light by his desk on to check on him. Yuma's found shaking with tears in his eyes stating quietly that it was just a dream. Yakou sympathizes with Yuma as fever dreams were usually not fun, but a fever NIGHTMARE was always bad. The chief offers the shaking trainee some water to try to help him settle down.

(FYI: Shinigami is going to be absent from this part of the story because I think her banter and antics would ruin the fluff, so she'll just be lurking above in the shelf like a cat the whole time.)

(Page 13)

Yuma accepts the water practically snatching it from Yakou's hands and quickly gulping it down. Yakou tells him to pace himself not wanting him to choke. Once he exhales from the water drink, Yuma sheepishly apologizes for waking Yakou up with his scream, feeling like a burden. Yakou reassures him it's okay and decides to ask him the question of why he pushed himself this far while he was still awake. Hard enough to make himself sick. Why did he do it?

Yuma was surprised by this but decides to try to tell him. He hands the water glass back and began talking. Under his raspy voice and somewhat heavy breathing, he says that he wanted to be useful as he felt like a burden to everyone since he lost his memory. He also says that he likes helping others and that it feels familiar to him. Determined to try to unlock a core memory of his past he kept doing this, even to the point of pushing his limits.

Then he suddenly stopped speaking...

(Page 14)

...aaand cue the coughing fit. Yuma's throat got scratchy and irritated after his long explanation, causing him to cough about 5/8 times in a row. Not as bad as his previous fit but it was more than enough to startle and worry Yakou.

Yakou quickly hands Yuma the water glass he had just taken from him hoping it would soothe his throat. He tells him that helping others is a good thing but he shouldn't push himself to the point that his health gets affected. Yuma quietly nods and as he sips the water still shaking, Yakou feels bad and decides to apologize to him for being harsh before. Stating that he only lost his temper because he was scared and worried for him. He also places his hand to Yuma's cheek in both comfort and to check his temperature. It felt slightly warmer than a few hours ago.

Yuma quietly apologizes to Yakou for worrying him, still holding the water glass. Yakou forgives him. Then he takes the glass from him and then the towel that fell off Yuma's forehead. He grabs a fresh one and soaks it in the basin wringing it out and places it back on the trainee’s forehead unintentionally a bit roughly. Yuma groans and shivers a little from the cold of it.

Yakou then lies Yuma back down, tucking him back in trying to make him comfortable. But his actions were a bit too comforting. He was not meaning to in any way and he wasn't sure what came over him, but he was treating Yuma like a little kid. Yuma notices and feels a little embarrassed by it, but decides to only say it in his head.

Yakou decides to do one more thing before he lets him go back to sleep.

(Note: Hey far as anyone's concerned Yuma, you are practically his BABY when you are having a sick day, so deal with it hehehe :3c)

(Page 15)

Temperature taking page time :D (my favorite, teehee! I know some cultures and in anime they take the temperature under the arm, but there's just something so endearing and adorable about a sickie with a thermometer in their mouth <3 OKAY MY RAMBLING ASIDE...)

Yakou is now a bit concerned that Yuma's fever spiked again after that little harsh coughing fit so he decides to take his temperature one more time before letting Yuma go to sleep again. Yuma obliges and goes along with it opening his mouth as the device is inserted.

After 15 seconds the device beeps and Yakou takes it out. Yuma shyly pulls the duvet up to his face and hides as he meekly asks if its any better feeling a little nervous. Yakou responds that it is better than it was the first time, where it was a dangerous degree.

However, he still wasn't out of the woods yet. The fever was still there and although it went down, it was still in the red. Yakou states that he's still feverish to which Yuma just apologizes. Poor thing just wants this to be over, he really doesn't want to trouble anyone anymore.

(sorry yuma I can't let you off that easily hehe 😈)

(also yes I put an instruction manual for how the thermometer works, I am so obsessed that I even give the thermometer lore LMAO. Sorry if I'm inaccurate in any of those readings. I used google... ^^;)

(Page 16)

Yakou places the thermometer back on the desk and tells Yuma to go to sleep. Saying the fever will likely break by morning. To which Yuma states that he's in Yakou's bed and that he should return to the checkered sofa so his boss could sleep, attempting to try getting up. But Yakou puts a hand on his shoulder stopping him and denies this and says his desk is fine and that Yuma needed the bed more than him.

He also says that if Yuma had another bad dream that he would be there for him. Yuma smiles at Yakou quietly thanking him as he's tucked back into the duvet. Yakou pats it gently telling the trainee to close his eyes.

It isn't long before Yuma is back to being fast asleep. (and shinigami too)

Yakou monologues to himself for a bit groaning at how much trouble this small detective has been for him since he showed up. But then he switches his tune and places a hand to Yuma's head petting it softly. He says he's happy he's working hard for the sake of his memories but right now he needs to work on getting better. Saying it would help everyone in the agency if he wanted to help people.

He wishes him well continuing to pet his head for a bit longer to soothe him before going back to sleep himself turning the light off again.

(Page 17)

2 hours later, Yuma was stirring and whining in his sleep once again. Yakou groggily wakes up wiping his tired eyes upon hearing the soft noises the small trainee was uttering. And he was crying again. Can only be one thing: Another nightmare.

Instead of turning the light on to wake him up, Yakou moves his chair close to him sitting at his side. Not saying a single word. (cept in his head lol) He reaches his hand for Yuma's as it twitches and he takes hold of it gently.

Yakou eventually leans on the bed as he does so and falls asleep sitting up again. Yuma's groaning and and heavy breathing begin to settle down a little as he felt Yakou's presence close by.

Then he smiles as he closes his hand in his sleep holding Yakou's hand back, leaning a bit close to it. He felt safe again... <3

(Note: This poor thing has way too much trauma... ;w; I headcanon that he's prone to night terrors on occasion, but when he gets a fever, its even WORSE. Fevers do be messing with your head... x3)

(Page 18 Final)

The next morning when Yakou wakes up, he checks on Yuma. He still felt slightly warm but he looked much better. Seemed the worst was over and it would likely last just one more day.

When he's fully awake and at his desk, Desuhiko shows up asking Yakou if Yuma's okay and offered to wake him up. Yakou denies it saying Yuma needed one more day of rest, the fever may have been only slight now, but in the rain it would rise again easily.

Desuhiko agrees and declares that he's going to work hard today. Likely to make up for Yuma's absence. Yakou teases him and the two have a bit of a banter.

Yuma meanwhile is asleep peacefully. Still having a slight red tint to his cheeks, but he's able to sleep a lot easier now. His fever was slowly but surely breaking. (now in the yellow) Shinigami sleeps beside him, making sure she protects him from any nightmares in yakou's absence. (after all only SHE can give her master nightmares)

He wakes up fully recovered the following morning thanking everyone for taking such good care of him, and he makes sure to not push himself anymore. And continues searching for the city's ultimate secret while pacing himself to help others from now on.

THE END ❤️

(I practically made this into a sickfic in its own right... XD)

Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed!! This is just a little artist credit page I made for Kazin and I c: Also art semi-face reveal?? xD Kinda?? Idk lol (we just two gals that like our sick comfort haha x3)

Anyway thank you again Kazin for doing this with me!! It was hard work but it was a blast and the final result came out amazing. Its surely a project I will cherish forever~ 💜🩷✨🌡️

A wholesome story to start 2024 on a good note.

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