Anaya is a beautiful double-coated long haired Caucasian Shepherd and is a rescue dog.
For background info: previous owners were a sack of fun. By fun, I mean the owner’s boyfriend hit Anya with a broom for whatever fucked up reason.
To that end, our dog is a bit bitey. So far, everyone she has come across she has managed to nip. She nipped her next owner, Tina, took an ear of Tina’s dog Gwen (happily able to re-attach) and hospitalised Tina’s mother, who is now missing part of her leg (she can still walk, missed major arteries, she’s fine) due to a fight with another dog Arthur.
I won’t explain how we now have her. However, as you can see at this point we have a dog with a bite history and giving her to anyone else would be irresponsible and lead to her to cross the rainbow bridge. She also doesn’t like strangers because of her breed.
She is honestly the loveliest most cuddly dog and she laps up attention. Anaya loves her belly rubs and it took a me a couple of months but she trusts me to touch her paw, allows me to open her mouth when she eaten something she’s not supposed to, bathe her even tho she hates it, trust me enough to introduce new people to her so she won’t eat them.
For the last 6 months, I have gained Anaya’s trust. She has not even attempted to bite me. From previous accounts of her bite history, she snaps with no warning. She will nudge my hand away or move herself away if she doesn’t like something and I have learned to respect that.
Prior to my fuck up, the worse she’s done is growl due to resource guarding but I taught her that I won’t take away her toys or bones and if I do, it is to replace it with something safer for her to chew.
So my fuck up begins when I was brushing her. A pastime we both happily do together and something I have done since we got her. She’s double coated and Tina’s shaved her previously so I suspect her matting is due to her undercoat not being able to grow properly.
She has always been very protective of her behind so I have tended to not go near it, but over winter, she’s grown a thick coat and now it’s summer and non stop sunshine I know she’s struggling with the heat. After giving her a bath a week ago, I saw a hand sized clump of fur on both her back legs. As she’s not fond of being touched there, I know I would have to get rid of it slowly.
As I’m working on it with various different brushes, I realise the extent of it. Her skin, which is normally white, is pink where the clumps are hanging from. I’ve been getting her use to the sound of a razor prior to this, while she’s not keen, she was relatively chill. I should have watched out for the signs.
She has already moved away twice and sat facing away from me. I was so determined to relieve her from the matting that I thought she trusted me enough to let her roll her over to face me again.
She yelped-barked at me.
She’s in pain and I forced her. I have always respected her space and wishes but I took her trust for granted, I thought she would just let me. She also fell a while ago and now due to my error there’s no way to go near her leg. She can’t see a proper vet. She doesn’t trust anyone else. If she needs to be sedated she might fight it. I have broken her trust and I don’t know how long she’ll will hold a grudge for. She’s happy to see me but then when I go near her, it’s like she remembers the pain. If she’s hurt, she’ll lash out more and next time there might not be a warning.
Tl;dr I forced my dog into a position which has exacerbated a leg pain not noticed before and now she’s suspicious and feels betrayed. I lost my dogs trust.

I was toying around with files a couple of days ago and realised one thing - osu, much like... literally most kinds of software, doesn't have any real issues when symbolic links are used instead of actual files, so I have a question to the community:
Has anyone tried to actively use symlinks instead of full file copies for mixing skins to not have dozens of copies of the same skin elements? Like, I can't be the first one to think of this, but I found nothing on both osugame and osuskins so I kinda have to ask

As the title mentions I'm an advanced-novella RPer looking for GMs or offering myself as a GM for various text-based RPs. I've provided a sample down below and will ask the same of anybody that reaches out. Outside of writing I tend to spend most of my time on games like Knights of the Old Republic 2, New Vegas, and, indeed, the Hobocop Game. I'm an Associate at Amazon with an otherwise unimpressive social life, occasionally leaving the house to play WH40K Tabletop.
Discord is more-or-less required for me to be interested; sample incoming.

The boar is not dead, though to all the other hunters’ senses it is. It lays motionless on its side within the sled, tied down by rope with two arrows sticking discordantly out of its hide like seams of broken bone. Frozen blood pools in the cracked stomach of the sled, collecting rather than leaking now that red ice has sealed the wood. Poison leaching out of the arrowheads keeps the boar docile, and its breathing so light that only Trapper can see. An ovate in too-thin robes shivers as she ties a garland of rosemary around the beast’s neck, murmuring prayers to the ancestors that they might find the kill worthy.
Winter has seized the land in its vise, its unending waves of cold and snow having transformed the Barony of Marlas into a crueler scape, one Trapper doesn’t quite recognize. Tranquility abounds along the driven snow, all through the clearing, hiding the buried world and the woes of man but unable to snuff them out. Trapper knows well what a mirage it is, the oppressive winters of his homeland no less savage than the bloodletting summers. The numbing cold does not soothe his aches, for he knows they’ll be worse come morning, come the thaw. Too soon this clearing will melt, its river gone from white to red, the whole Septima Line thrust back to war.
Baron Orys refuses to yield to midnight season, to accept its peace, and so from his great warhorse’s saddle he brazenly belts out a mixture of drunken lyrics and commands, determined to master this hunt even if he does not partake. An entourage on horseback spreads out in his orbit, ranging from eager young footmen to grizzled junkers, all in varying states of inebriation at his command. Their braying is nearly louder than the hounds’, who hungrily stalk between the sled and the hole they pulled the boar out from. Teased by the hunt but yet unrewarded, they’re too unruly to be kept in check by the kennel master.
On foot slog the unfortunates who actually have to take part in the hunt, Trapper among them. They huddle into their hemp canvas cloaks, glancing up at the moody afternoon sky threatening to crack open with another snowstorm. Dark clouds sweep in low from the south like a riptide, a single vast current swept in from the mountains already menacing the Oldwoods. Its furthest gales reach them as tongues of vengeful cold, flecks of whipped-up snow biting into Trapper’s exposed skin.
By the boar’s nest leans a typical Mallean, one of Trapper’s two erstwhile comrades. Sigorn is tall, pale, broad, with the close-set, wide-boned features of a commoner, and a shock of red hair grown out to protect against the elements. Beneath his cloak he proudly bears his blood-flecked armor, each dent a Darkman put into it a point of dear pride. He’s not the only one, either, the clearing filled with dozens of youths whose first blooding ended in victory amid a blizzard. Baron Orys, deep into his cups after six days of nonstop celebration, saw a break in the storms and gladly called a hunt. When informed he could not go on account of his shattered knee - he simply grinned, and ordered himself tied to his saddle.
Trapper remembers the moment his lord fell from the saddle, burned into his nerves. The screaming of horses, skidding hooves catching on the frozen ground. On the edges of his vision a rider smashes into a branch in the din, others don’t move at all for fear of the blizzard. His spurs dig, his borrowed steed whines, and he races for his lord - only for another to reach him first.
“What a woman.” Sigorn sighs beside Trapper, craning his neck to look at one of their lord’s companions of honor. Susannah Oye, junker unlike the others, a pretty, willowy noblewoman well into motherhood, with the lean, ruthless look of a ranger. Her two poisoned arrows are what struck the boar down, and her pride curls off her body like steam. Sigorn’s face cracks into exaggerated appreciation, and then he turns to their lord’s other honored companion. Another woman, this one as young as they are, haughtily-built and leering with none of Susannah’s refinement. Many of those looks are reserved for Trapper, forced to slog on foot as just another hunter. “Anya too. I think she fancies you, eh?”

​

Before I begin my story I must maintain that my sentence to death was a wrong and vile thing to do. I maintain that I am not a killer. I did not kill the schoolchildren the authorities decided to hang me for.
My sentence to death, I must maintain, is a huge misunderstanding. There must be forces out there against me, who conspired to put me in prison for this very experiment, this accursed expedition.
I am not deranged. I am not insane.
The man in the odd multicolored sweater paid me a visit a week before my scheduled execution date. “You are the former schoolteacher Chet Adami?” he asked, polite, offering me a plastic cup of coffee.
I nodded, taking a sip. “I didn’t kill those kids,” I reiterated, for about the thousandth time. “Are you the uh, priest guy? That comes before-”
He shook his head and waved away the guards. “My name is Canopy Hydrangea,” he introduced, extending a hand. I shook it. “I understand you may not be guilty, despite what the state believes.”
I nodded. “Finally, someone who-”
He cut me off. “I’m not interested in your story. Whether you die or not is of no consequence to the people I represent,” he continued. “But I am here to offer you a deal. There’s a place the people I represent need exploring, and I need volunteers.”
He produced a sheet of paper and a pen. “This agreement,” he clasped it into my hands, “has you join a team of expendable, uh, volunteers such as yourself on this expedition. You get in, get the things we need, and get out- and you’re free for life.”
This was better than dying in prison.
I asked him what place this was that I’d be sent to. He told me I had to sign the form first. “I’ll do it, then,” I cheered, signing the document.
He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. “We’ll even give you a whole new identity,” he offered. And with that, he seized the document away from me and left the building.
Within hours I was blindfolded, sedated, and transported. When I awoke I was strapped to a bed in a helicopter, with four others beside me, all beginning to wake up.
The man who’d offered me the deal was there too, sucking on a lollipop while rearranging documents and photographs.
These images, I assumed, was the place they wanted us to explore. They were mostly all aerial photos, a sea of endless green and the occasional bird. And yet, there was more- images of impossible landscapes, dreamlike beings.
“Ah, you guys are awake!” he clapped once, and walked over.
The next few moments were a flash as he re-injected us with some sort of blue, wriggling substance. It was cold, and I swear it pulsed inside my arm.
Then we had landed, and the group was quickly taken inside a compound. We were freed and sat down in some sort of meeting room. More people were inside.
A blue haired lady joined the man.
“Welcome, volunteers,” he announced, pointing to a projector. “You are all, save for one, prisoners on death row,” he reminded. “This offer today is simple- you enter the forest, travel to an outpost we have recently lost contact with,” he turned on the projector, displayed a bright red cylinder labeled ‘SYSTEM RECORDER-A32’, “and recover this data module.”
The woman spoke next. “Easy, right?” she counted us. “We’ll provide maps,” she gestured to tablets. “But this forest is different.”
They proceeded to explain the reason they need ‘volunteers’ for the assignment then.
We were on an island somewhere in the Java Sea. The island had a massive forest in the center, one that at first glance seemed as normal as ever. This changed when an international mining company sent in a team of geologists to determine if there was anything of note beyond the forest.
This team never returned.
Nor did a second team, armed with weapons. Or an environmentalist group that ventured in to document new species. So then the organization our recruiters had come from entered the forest.
We were on the outskirts of the forest, at a place they were calling Ake Base.
Over the past month, they had begun to map the forest and determine why so many hadn’t returned. The reason was illogical- the forest was bigger than the island itself.
Drones that ventured in should have come out the other side- yet remained inside the forest, encountering bizarre phenomena and creatures undocumented.
Every so often, the forest would slope downwards, revealing a new layer with new and distinct ecosystems.
“Recently though,” Canopy concluded, “we’ve lost contact with several outposts in the third layer to eighth layers.” He changed the slide to one of the lost outposts, standing alone amidst a vibrant, alien forest. “You enter the forest, get to your team’s assigned outpost, get back out with the data and you’ll be set for life.”
“Does anyone choose to rescind their agreement?” the woman asked. “It’s either death, or this, and frankly, your chances here aren’t that better.”
There were some who raised their hands. “Hell no!” a man shouted. “I’m goin’ back to life!” The woman had them taken away. We heard gunfire outdoors. No life row for him.
Whoever they were- they were serious about this.
They started to call out names and assign teams.
My team, was small, four of us. There was a mercenary named Leo who kept talking about the food the organization had brought us. He seemed pleasant, charismatic, and I almost forgot he was a criminal.
There was a scientist called Anya who, as she joked, was ‘serving infinite life sentences’ for crimes against humanity. She was given the codes and a booklet of things to watch out for in what they called the ‘Sea of Green’.
Then there was Gail. She was quieter than the three of us, and had an almost eerie vibe to her. She didn’t tell us what she’d done to get here, but she was there nonetheless.
Thankfully, we were given the closest- and safest outpost. A little place in Layer Three, marked by the map as only a few hours walk away.
We set off the next day.
The forest, in the beginning, seemed to almost invite us in. The birds chirped and danced, unafraid of mankind. We even fed them the nuts we’d been given as breakfast rations, which they seemed to enjoy.
About an hour in, things changed. The light from the sun barely pierced the canopy, and at times, we had to utilize our flashlights to see what was in front of us. Leo took the lead, hacking away at the branch and vine in front of us.
The forest was starting to look like a jungle- and yet, as we traversed it never seemed to choose which one it wanted to be.
“Wait!” Anya hissed, as we crossed a stream that seemed oddly familiar. She read from the booklet, then to the map on tablets we’d been given. “We’ve made a circle.”
Leo shook his head. “That’s impossible,” he insisted. “I don’t remember turning.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, catching up from behind.
Anya shared the booklet. “It’s one first phenomena researchers encounter,” she explained. “This place plays tricks on us- we need to follow the stream.”
“But then,” Gail pointed out, “we’d be going in the wrong direction.”
“Trust the book,” Anya concluded. We followed the stream then, and the path started to grow denser, as if the forest hated us for traveling further. But the path was right, and the forest changed as we journeyed.
An hour later the forest had changed. It had sloped downwards a bit, inviting us to the second layer of the maze. The trees seemed higher, and the light was now gone completely.
This was when we started to hear it. Click-click.
“What was that?” I asked, turning. Click-click.
Anya rushed through the book. “It’s not documented.”
Click-click. And then we saw lights in the distance, lights that as we continued walking, were revealed to us as bulbous fruit on the trees that glowed an eerie electric blue.
Click-click. “You sure it’s not in that book?” Leo questioned, switching his machete out for a gun. Click-click.
The clicks were getting louder, each one sending a jolt of uneasy fear down my spine. We moved closer together now, fearing the unknown that were in these- A bush in front of us rustled. Leo aimed his weapon.
A deer- no, something like a deer popped out, gently squawking. It was… wrong in every sense, but it seemed more occupied in chewing a flower than us.
The small creature had the antlers of a deer, yes, but it also had the face of an old man. Not to mention six fists full of thumbs at the end of its legs. It inspected a glowing fruit with it’s odd thumbs.
“Ew,” Gail commented, disgusted. “What the hell is that?”
Anya didn’t have time to look for answers before a black, insectine limp shot out of one of the bulbous fruits and impaled the deer-thing. It screamed an all too human scream and struggled.
We backed away- and by then, the noise was overwhelming. Click-clickClick-clickClick-clickClickclickClickclickClick-clickClick-click. They erupted from every single one of the bulbous fruits, and things began to pour out of them.
The limbs, see, were attached to a head. The a simple sphere that opened into buzzsaws of teeth that grotesquely clicked as they opened. The face-deer only screamed as the clicking creatures devoured it.
“Run!” Leo reminded, shooting as some started to near us. “Run!”
That shook us out, and we ran, terror in our very veins. They seemed more interested in the fallen deer than us- but we still ran until we could no longer.
Actually, it was until I fell off and entered the third layer.
A weight appeared on my chest and I fought it off, thinking I was about to die- but the soft, furry creature atop me jumped off. It wasn’t one of the clicking monsters.
And then I realized the third layer was bright. The trees themselves were glowing now, not the insect fruits of before. And there were a whole host of new, bizarre creatures.
The thing I’d pushed off was some sort of rabbit, covered in glowing blue stripes. If layer two had been a forest of darkness this was it’s very opposite.
In the skies there were ribbons of glowing creatures- thin kites on an unseen wind. The trees were alive with all sorts of furried friends, darting here and there and eating odd colored berries that didn’t seem real.
Anya pointed and spoke, “Look!” It was the outpost, in ruins.
“But what attacked it?” Gail murmured, as we walked over.
We entered through a hole in the wall. The place was oddly peaceful, calming, now home to bioluminescent little ants that dotted the place. Occasionally, one or two of the face-deer would appear, licking the dots up with twin tongues that emerged from it’s too-human face.
“Cute,” Leo joked, picking one up and stroking it. It screamed back at him, chilling and he dropped it. “Never doing that again.”
The place was… too peaceful. And- “what happened to their bodies?” I posited. “If they were attacked- where’s their blood? Their corpses?”
Anya shrugged. “It is odd- perhaps they got devoured.” She gestured to the many oddities around us. “But you’re right, there should be bones, at least.”
This was when we heard the screaming. And all of a sudden every single creature retreated away, disappearing from view, save for the tiny ants inside with us. The screaming was a cacophony of voices, realer than the ones we’d heard from the face-deer.
“I think we need to go,” Leo whispered, holding out the red ‘data module’ in his hands. “Now.”
The screaming got ever closer, and the trees in front of the outpost, beyond a window, started to shake. “I concur.”
We were backing away when we heard the squelching of something loud and heavy. Turning around, we saw the screaming creature we’d heard. It was massive, fleshy, and filled with tiny gaping holes, some filled with eyes, all rising, breathing as one.
I nearly threw up. But that was for a different reason.
The holes were one thing. But the screaming, severed bodies of dozens of people attached the the eye-full monster was another. They screamed and screamed, their bodies unneatly joined and sown into the creature.
It sniffed the air and walked over to the glass, looking in as we hid. “What is it?” I squealed. “What the hell is that?”
The face of a victim in military clothes appeared at the window, screaming, face slowly popping, skin repairing and being digested all at once. Anya flipped through the pages. “They called it a Fleshweave. It absorbs bodies and eats them that way.”
That would explain the lack of bodies we’d seen.
The window shattered- and the thing began to force itself on it, flesh turning to churned cylinders through the window. The bodies, crushed further, screamed some more.
So we ran as the beasts fell into the room with a plop. And despite it’s heavy, gluttonous form it charged forwards, faster than it looked.
Out the outpost we went. I felt a meaty hand hit me and then I fell. It stalked towards me, but a gunshot from Leo burst it’s pus-ridden hand, covered my in grotesque, viscous liquid.
I picked myself up and ran from the screaming thing, up the steep slope and climbing onto the second layer.
I fell again, but Anya caught me, helping me up.
Leo did the same for Gail- but she slipped and fell back into the third layer. The thing approached her, all of it’s pulsing eyes upon her. “Help me!” she bellowed. “Don’t leave me-”
Leo prepared to jump down- but it was too late. The Fleshweave simply picked her up and it opened it’s skin, forging her into her body- er, her top half,- it severed the rest.
“Go!” I snapped, dragging the mercenary to action. The creature behind us lifted itself onto the dark forest and continued to follow.
Gail, merged with the other unfortunate bodies, screamed. I almost stopped in terror from the sound, but flight-or-fight forced me to continue.
Click-click. We found ourselves back in the center of the abode with the insect fruit. And the insects were clearly attracted to the stench of decay the monster emanated. Limbs emerged, and the face-beetles jumped up and swarmed the creatures.
I don't know if the creature was killed by it. I only remember Gail’s face as the insects started to pick her body- and so many others like her- apart.
The way out seemed harder than going in, but we made it. We survived. We reached the outpost and handed our data module to the man who’d offered us the deal. “Impressive,” he congratulated. “You’re the first team back.”
“I want out now,” I panted. “Back to real life.”
He patted me on the shoulder and gave me a sad smile. “According to the world you’ve already died by suicide in your cell,” he informed. “See, there’s a way the people I work for have operated so cleanly for the past few centuries.” He paused and took a step back. “We can’t afford loose ends, see, and you’ve shown us you have the guts to survive Bandai La- er, the Sea of Green.”
I took a step back, panicking. “What do you mean?”
He sighed. “We can’t give you a new life and risk exposing our operation here,” he explained. “And we still need ah, expendable people to lead us to whatever’s in the center of the island.” He handed me a can of soda. “Welcome to your new life. The Company really values your dedication as a treasured employee.”
​
​
But I don’t want this. I was promised freedom. And they can’t keep me from exposing them- I’ve typed this up and Anya did something to the tablet so I can receive and post things online.
I’m not sure if this’ll work. But if it is: I’m on an island somewhere in the Java Sea. There’s a forest that goes on forever and I’m being held as some sort of explorer by some Company.
Find me. Before I die.

Not really sure where to look for someone to commission as I've never done it before, but I guess I'll start here. I'm looking to commission an osu!catch skin of the TV show Bluey. Any offers or help if this isn't the right place is appreciated, thanks!

This post is part of a series looking at the massive amount of 'rhyming' (and occasionally rhyming) recursivity I believe exists between (a) the homecoming of Petyr Baelish to the Fingers and (b) the homecoming of Theon Greyjoy to Pyke.
While this series/post can be read simply as a study 'for its own sake' of the curious recursion between these storylines, it is my belief that the 'rhyming' explored here between the stories of Petyr and Theon exists (at least in part) to foreshadow that, like Theon, Petyr Littlefinger, is (among other things) a scion of ironborn kings, because Petyr is Hoare-ish: I.e. because Petyr's blood is (in some part) the blood of the ironborn kings of House Hoare of Orkmont and, later, Harrenhal.
You can find an index of every post I've made on the topic of a Hoare-ish Littlefinger (including every post in this sub-series) [HERE].
Even if I'm wrong about Littlefinger's lineage, the 'rhyming' recursivity between the homecomings of Theon and Petyr detailed in this series remains, and certainly merits discussion.
NOTE: In what follows, all uncited quotes are from ASOS Sansa VI, which describes Petyr's homecoming to his "Drearfort" tower of the 'Smallest Finger', or ACOK Theon I, which describes Theon's homecoming to "drear" Pyke.
As in past posts, I sometimes use "→" as shorthand for "'prefigures' and/or 'informs' and/or 'is reworked by' and/or 'finds a recursive rhyme in'.
As in: ACOK Theon I → ASOS Sansa VI.
This post picks up straight-away from where Part 5 left off. You can read Part 5 [HERE].
If you want to begin at the beginning, Part 1 is [HERE].

Wallowing Tubs

Let's jump back to the beginning of Theon's homecoming and consider that Theon's thoughts and actions vis-a-vis the Myraham, its captain, and the captain's daughter can be read as prefiguring the story of Petyr taking over the Vale, such that we can read Theon as Petyr, the captain's daughter and the Myraham as both Lysa and the Vale, and the captain as the Lords Declarant unhappy with Petyr's ascendency.
(As ever, this 'rhyme' makes literary sense if Littlefinger has a connection to the Iron Islands, i.e. if he's Hoare-ish.)
After Theon's takes in the "stirring sight" of Pyke with its Sansa-esque banner overhead and 'his' comet "in the sky behind" it, we read how he got there:

A longship would have made the crossing in half the time as well. The Myraham was a wallowing tub, if truth be told, and he would not care to be aboard her in a storm.

Lysa is likewise a "wallowing tub":

[H]er body sagged and bulged. Her face was pink and painted, her breasts heavy, her limbs thick. She was taller than Littlefinger, and heavier; nor did she show any grace in the clumsy way she climbed down off her horse.

Like the Myraham, she's awful to deal with "in a storm" (i.e. in her anger and/or madness), as Catelyn—

Lysa's rage had been frightening to behold. (AGOT Catelyn VIII)

—and Sansa (near-fatally) discover.
It's plain that "storm" is an appropriate metaphor for Lysa's rage after Petyr gets Lysa to unhand Sansa, just a few paragraphs before he decides he would not care to be aboard her any longer, so to speak, and shoves her out the Moon Door:

"Lysa," Petyr sighed, "after all the storms we've suffered, you should trust me better. I swear, I shall never leave your side again, for as long as we both shall live." (ASOS Sansa VII)

And where "a longship would have made the crossing in half the time" the wallowing tub Myraham takes, the wallowing tub Lysa, too, takes seemingly forever to get where she's going:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived.

Finding Amusement Where They Can

Having spent most of the voyage fucking the captain's daughter, Theon gets one final "amusement" in the form of a blowjob:

Still, Theon could not be too unhappy. He was here, undrowned, and the voyage had offered certain other amusements. He put an arm around the captain's daughter. "Summon me when we make Lordsport," he told her father. "We'll be below, in my cabin."

Like Theon vis-a-vis the captain's daughter, Petyr isn't actually interested in Lysa romantically, but all the same he beds her and finds "amusements" in the process, both in the bedding ceremony—

Lord Petyr… submitted with good grace and a wicked tongue, giving as good as he got. By the time they had gotten him into the tower and out of his clothes, the other women were flushed, with laces unlaced, kirtles crooked, and skirts in disarray.

—and seemingly in his marriage bed:

"Petyr," her aunt moaned. "Oh, Petyr, Petyr, sweet Petyr, oh oh oh. There, Petyr, there. That's where you belong." … "Make me a baby, Petyr," she screamed, "make me another sweet little baby. Oh, Petyr, my precious, my precious, PEEEEEETYR!"

Turning Over The Captain's Cabin

Back to Theon:

The cabin was the captain's, in truth, but it had been turned over to Theon's use when they sailed from Seagard.

This prefigures the Vale — House Arryn's Vale — being 'turned over to Littlefinger's rule when he commenced to sail the wallowing tub Lysa', so to speak, wedding her and becoming Lord Protector (i.e. de facto Lord) of the Vale:

"Petyr will soon set all that to rights, though. I shall make him Lord Protector of the Vale." -Lysa to Sansa in Littlefinger's bedchamber, the morning after their wedding

Willing Bed Companions & Wine

The captain's daughter comes "willingly" to Theon—

The captain's daughter had not been turned over to his use, but she had come to his bed willingly enough all the same.

—as Lysa had come willingly to Petyr back at Riverrun—

"You enticed him, just as your mother did that night in Riverrun…. You think I could forget? That was the night I stole up to his bed to give him comfort. I bled, but it was the sweetest hurt." (ASOS Sansa VII)

—and as Lysa comes to him at the Drearfort:

"I am the Lady of the Eyrie, and I command you to wed me this very moment!"

Theon beds the captain's daughter with the help of wine:

A cup of wine, a few whispers, and there she was.

This prefigures both the way Lysa bedded Petyr the first time—

"[Petyr] drank until he passed out at the table. Uncle Brynden carried him up to bed before my father could find him like that." (ASOS Sansa VII)

—as well as Lysa's 'current' fondness for wine that's likely Petyr's:

Among the loads [Oswell] brought ashore were several casks of wine.
Her aunt's breath smelled of wine. (ASOS Sansa VII)
"That's past and done, Lysa. …" Littlefinger moved closer. Have you been at the wine again?" (ibid.)

Booby Maidens

Where the captain's daughter (whose "plump", large-breasted physique is akin to Lysa's) "had been a maiden the first time [Theon] took her"—

The girl was a shade plump for his taste, with skin as splotchy as oatmeal, but her breasts filled his hands nicely and she had been a maiden the first time he took her. That was surprising at her age, but Theon found it diverting.

—Lysa, too, 'had been a maiden the first time Petyr took her', so to speak, long ago at Riverrun.

Resentful, Paid-For 'Captains'

Just as Hoster Tully was not happy about Petyr bedding his daughter under his own roof, so is the Myraham captain unhappy with Theon availing himself of his daughter, and in his own cabin, no less:

[Theon] led the girl away aft, while her father watched them go in sullen silence.

The captain's resentment prefigures the Vale lords "resent[ing]" Petyr's marriage to Lysa and his appointment as Lord Protector:

Sansa knew that Jon Arryn's bannermen resented Lysa's marriage and begrudged Petyr his authority as Lord Protector of the Vale. (ASOS Sansa VII)

Theon isn't concerned about the captain's feelings, though, because he's been bought and paid for:

He did not think the captain approved, and that was amusing as well, watching the man struggle to swallow his outrage while performing his courtesies to the high lord, the rich purse of gold he'd been promised never far from his thoughts.
The promise of gold had turned the Oldtowner into a shameless lickspittle.

This prefigures Littlefinger's strategy after he disposes of Lysa. Belying the beliefs of e.g. Randyll Tarly—

"Lady Lysa is dead. … Littlefinger holds the Eyrie now . . . though not for long. The lords of the Vale are not the sort to bend their knees to some upjumped jackanapes whose only skill is counting coppers." (AFFC Brienne III)

—Littlefinger maintains his position in the 'captain's cabin' of the Eyrie because, just as Theon buys the Myraham's captain, so does Littlefinger buy many of the Lords Declarant:

"Belmore is corrupt and can be bought. …Bronze Yohn Royce will continue to be hostile, I fear, but so long as he stands alone he is not so much a threat." (AFFC Alayne I)
"The Waynwoods are very old and very proud, but not as rich as one might think, as I discovered when I began buying up their debt. Not that Lady Anya would ever sell a son for gold. A ward, however . . . young Harry's only a cousin, and the dower that I offered her ladyship was even larger than the one that Lyonel Corbray just collected. It had to be, for her to risk Bronze Yohn's wroth. (AFFC Alayne II)

The line foregrounding the notion of Anya Waynwood "sell[ing] a son for gold" reads like it could be a wink at the captain of the Myraham essentially selling his daughter to Theon for gold. Note that the Waynwood sigil is a broken wheel, a la the captain's wheel of an olde tyme sailing vessel. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%27s_wheel) Thus it's an almost perfect metaphorical representation of the captain being 'broken' by Theon's gold into "swallow[ing] his outrage".

'Rhyming' Rejections

Finally, at the end of Theon's voyage, when he is done with the "wallowing tub" Myraham, he disposes of the captain's daughter:

"Milord." Her eyes were red. When he took the pack, she made as if to embrace him, there in front of her own father and his priestly uncle and half the island.
Theon turned deftly aside. "You have my thanks."
"Please," she said, "I do love you well, milord."
"I must go." He hurried after his uncle, who was already well down the pier. Theon caught him with a dozen long strides.

Theon's parting with the daughter of the captain of the wallowing tub Myraham is kaleidoscopically reworked when Petyr disposes of his wallowing tub, Lysa. The recursion includes the crying and hugging motifs, a declaration of love, pithy final words ("I must go" → "Only Cat"), and a parallel post-parting urgency (Theon "hurried" → "run… quick now"). And note how "deftly" Petyr deflects Lysa (to her doom):

Lysa threw herself into Littlefinger's arms, sobbing. As they hugged, Sansa… crawled from the Moon Door on hands and knees and wrapped her arms around the nearest pillar. …She shuddered, and hugged the pillar tighter.
Littlefinger let Lysa sob against his chest for a moment, then put his hands on her arms and kissed her lightly. "My sweet silly jealous wife," he said, chuckling. "I've only loved one woman, I promise you."
Lysa Arryn smiled tremulously. "Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?"
"Only Cat." He gave her a short, sharp shove.
Lysa stumbled backward, her feet slipping on the wet marble. And then she was gone. She never screamed. For the longest time there was no sound but the wind.
…Lord Petyr pulled Sansa to her feet. …"Run let my guards in, then. Quick now, there's no time to lose. This singer's killed my lady wife."

"Deftly" done, indeed.
Petyr giving Lysa "a short, sharp shove" feels like a physical manifestation of Theon figuratively shoving the captain's daughter away and 'out the door'.

Silver Clasps

I'd be remiss not to point out that when Theon leaves the girl, his cloak is pointedly pinned "with a silver clasp":

Theon swept his cloak off its peg and over his shoulders. "Fathers are like that," he admitted as he pinned the folds with a silver clasp.

Who else pins his cloaks like that?

They went well with the silver mockingbird that fastened his cloak. (AGOT Catelyn IV)
The man wore a heavy cloak with a fur collar, fastened with a silver mockingbird…. (AGOT Sansa II)

Petyr.

The Captain's Daughter & Bryen's Toothless Licking Dog

All that said, Petyr's relationship with Lysa isn't the only thing about ASOS Sansa VI (and VII) prefigured by Theon's relationship with Myraham's captain's daughter.
Consider also the old dog we're shown hanging out with Sansa immediately after we read that Lysa takes "eight long days" to arrive, a la the "wallowing" Myraham taking way too long to get to Pyke, and immediately before we read about Lysa's arrival, when she looks every inch a wallowing tub:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived. On five of them it rained, while Sansa sat bored and restless by the fire, beside the old blind dog. He was too sick and toothless to walk guard with Bryen anymore, and mostly all he did was sleep, but when she patted him he whined and licked her hand, and after that they were fast friends.

Where Theon rides out his long voyage at sea with the the oral sex-giving captain's daughter, Sansa rides out most of her long, rainy wait for Lysa with the friendly, toothless, licking dog.
All the dog does is "sleep… beside" — i.e. literally sleep with — Sansa. That reworks the captain's daughter spending the long voyage figuratively 'sleeping with' (i.e. boning) Theon. To this point:

Bryen's old blind dog in her little alcove beneath the steps, and lay down next to him. He woke and licked her face. "You sad old hound," she said, ruffling his fur.

That the dog "whine[s]" and is "sad" recalls the captain's daughter "beg[ging]" Theon to come ashore and later calling to him in a "plaintive" voice while walking "forlornly" adeck when he visits Lordsport. (ACOK Theon II)
The devotion the captain's daughter thereby demonstrates — refusing to give up on Theon, long after he's gone — is reworked by the dog being called Sansa's "fast friend" (i.e. loyal friend), which also works as double entendre referring back to the captain's daughter, as "fast" is a euphemism for a girl who is fast to engage in sexual activity. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fast)
Note that the dog is never named: It's simply "Bryen's old blind dog", just as the captain's daughter is just "the captain's daughter".
Of course, Sansa does get one small break from the monotony of her time with the dog: her sight-seeing 'field trip' with Petyr:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived. On five of them it rained, while Sansa sat bored and restless by the fire, beside the old blind dog. [Dog stuff.] When the rains let up, Petyr walked with her around his holdings, which took less than half a day. [Description of the sight-seeing 'field trip' of Petyr's lands, including all manner of things that 'rhyme' with Theon's description of Pyke, all of which I discuss in detail elsewhere.]

The sight-seeing 'field trip' as a whole reworks the opening paragraphs of ACOK Theon I, in which Theon is likewise taking a break from his usual routine (sex with the captain's daughter) to do a little sight-seeing: Where Theon soaks in the "stirring sight" of castle Pyke on its wave-carved stacks of rock with its banner overhead and the fiery comet high "in the sky" behind it, which he takes to be a (verbatim) "sign", Sansa's sight-seeing tour of Petyr's holdings include a rock carved with the (verbatim) "sign" of the Seven next to a tidal blowhole shooting water high "into the air", as well as "a hermit's cave" where a hermit "groped" Petyr as Theon gropes the captain's daughter just after gazing at castle Pyke and the comet.
It's only when Theon is done gazing at Pyke that the captain's daughter appears on the page and we read about the "certain other amusements" he's enjoyed during his voyage. This gets flipped around with Sansa and her dog: Where Theon found "amusement" in the sex he was constantly having, Sansa is "bored and restless" during her time with the dog; it's only the brief excursion that breaks the monotony of her time (literally) sleeping with the old toothless dog.
The story of how Sansa spent her time waiting for Lysa (with the dog) is thus a 'rhyme' for Theon's time on the Myraham with the captain's daughter. That we read about Sansa's time with the dog (a) immediately after we read that Lysa was, like the Myraham, slow to arrive and (b) immediately before Lysa's arrival, when she seems every inch the wallowing tub herself, further convinces me that Theon's treatment of the captain and captain's daughter do indeed prefigure Petyr's treatment of Lysa and the Lords Declarant, while also by dint of association suggesting that Petyr is trying to groom Sansa as surely as Theon did the captain's daughter.

Sansa & The Captain's Daughter

Regarding Petyr grooming Sansa, when Sansa first comes before Lysa, it seems very much like an echo of what happens when Theon and the captain's daughter go below deck. Consider:

Littlefinger beckoned Sansa forward with a hand. "My lady, allow me to present you Alayne Stone."
Sansa did a deep curtsy, her head bowed. "A bastard?" she heard her aunt say. "Petyr, have you been wicked? Who was her mother?"

Notice the curtsy and bowed head, the bastard motif, and the way Lysa treats Sansa as if she isn't there. This seems a recursion of this:

[Theon] drew the captain's daughter close and kissed her on her ear. "Take off your cloak."
She dropped her eyes, suddenly shy, but did as he bid her. When the heavy garment, sodden with spray, fell from her shoulders to the deck, she gave him a little bow and smiled anxiously.

• "[Theon] drew the captain's daughter close" → "Littlefinger beckoned Sansa forward with a hand"
  
• "she gave him a little bow" + "she dropped her eyes" → "Sansa did a deep curtsy, her head bowed"
  

A few lines later, we read:

The stupid girl did not seem to be listening.

Coupled with Theon telling the captain's daughter she's likely pregnant with "a king's bastard" — i.e. his bastard — that prefigures Lysa's talking about Sansa being "a bastard" as if she's not there, i.e. as if she isn't 'listening':

"A bastard?" she heard her aunt say. "Petyr, have you been wicked? Who was her mother?"

(The 'rhyme' is even tighter if Littlefinger aspires to be king, like Theon. Which I believe he does.)
Shortly after Theon thinks the captain's daughter doesn't "seem to be listening", we read that…

She was timid at first, but learned quickly for such a stupid girl….

As stated in earlier posts in this series, if we remove the sexual context, that's a bald-faced preview of Sansa in her Littlefinger era: initially trepidatious, but quickly warming to Littlefinger and learning to use lies and arbor gold in the service of his schemes, such that he calls the once hopelessly naive girl "clever" — i.e. the same word Theon uses when remarking of the captain's daughter:

She looked rather stupid when she smiled, but he had never required a woman to be clever.

Theon forces the captain's daughter to swallow his 'seed' just before he tells her she's probably pregnant with his "bastard", thus (also) prefiguring Littlefinger's [surreptitiously making Sansa swallow moon tea to ensure she is not pregnant with Tyrion's child], i.e. to cleanse herself of any spawn of Tyrion's "seed".
As I've said before, I have to think this little 'rhyme' between Sansa and the captain's daughter is there to further the suggestion that Littlefinger is per se grooming Sansa.

The Myraham and Mia Hamm

That the Myraham's story has so much to do with its captain's daughter makes sense given that the name Myraham is almost certainly a nod to Mia Hamm, who at the time A Clash of Kings was being written was widely recognized as the best women's soccer player in the world and newly famous in the United States, having been hyped to the moon before she famously played through injury during the United States' victory in the gold medal game of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, to much media ballyhoo. (see e.g. https://vault.si.com/vault/1996/08/12/uswnt-1996-olympics-gold-medal-china-atlanta)
The thing, is, despite being the most popular and celebrated player on the US team, Mia Hamm wasn't the team captain. That was the older Carla Overbeck, a comparatively uncelebrated central defender. So it's fitting that the story of the Myraham is in large part the story not of its captain, but of its captain's daughter.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 7: Sights-Seen While Sight-Seeing

This post is part of a series looking at the massive amount of 'rhyming' (and occasionally rhyming) recursivity I believe exists between (a) the homecoming of Petyr Baelish to the Fingers and (b) the homecoming of Theon Greyjoy to Pyke.
While this series/post can be read simply as a study 'for its own sake' of the curious recursion between these storylines, it is my belief that the 'rhyming' explored here between the stories of Petyr and Theon exists (at least in part) to foreshadow that, like Theon, Petyr Littlefinger, is (among other things) a scion of ironborn kings, because Petyr is Hoare-ish: I.e. because Petyr's blood is (in some part) the blood of the ironborn kings of House Hoare of Orkmont and, later, Harrenhal.
You can find an index of every post I've made on the topic of a Hoare-ish Littlefinger (including every post in this sub-series) [HERE].
Even if I'm wrong about Littlefinger's lineage, the 'rhyming' recursivity between the homecomings of Theon and Petyr detailed in this series remains, and certainly merits discussion.
NOTE: In what follows, all uncited quotes are from ASOS Sansa VI, which describes Petyr's homecoming to his "Drearfort" tower of the 'Smallest Finger', or ACOK Theon I, which describes Theon's homecoming to "drear" Pyke.
As in past posts, I sometimes use "→" as shorthand for "'prefigures' and/or 'informs' and/or 'is reworked by' and/or 'finds a recursive rhyme in'.
As in: ACOK Theon I → ASOS Sansa VI.
This post picks up straight-away from where Part 5 left off. You can read Part 5 [HERE].
If you want to begin at the beginning, Part 1 is [HERE].

Wallowing Tubs

Let's jump back to the beginning of Theon's homecoming and consider that Theon's thoughts and actions vis-a-vis the Myraham, its captain, and the captain's daughter can be read as prefiguring the story of Petyr taking over the Vale, such that we can read Theon as Petyr, the captain's daughter and the Myraham as both Lysa and the Vale, and the captain as the Lords Declarant unhappy with Petyr's ascendency.
(As ever, this 'rhyme' makes literary sense if Littlefinger has a connection to the Iron Islands, i.e. if he's Hoare-ish.)
After Theon's takes in the "stirring sight" of Pyke with its Sansa-esque banner overhead and 'his' comet "in the sky behind" it, we read how he got there:

A longship would have made the crossing in half the time as well. The Myraham was a wallowing tub, if truth be told, and he would not care to be aboard her in a storm.

Lysa is likewise a "wallowing tub":

[H]er body sagged and bulged. Her face was pink and painted, her breasts heavy, her limbs thick. She was taller than Littlefinger, and heavier; nor did she show any grace in the clumsy way she climbed down off her horse.

Like the Myraham, she's awful to deal with "in a storm" (i.e. in her anger and/or madness), as Catelyn—

Lysa's rage had been frightening to behold. (AGOT Catelyn VIII)

—and Sansa (near-fatally) discover.
It's plain that "storm" is an appropriate metaphor for Lysa's rage after Petyr gets Lysa to unhand Sansa, just a few paragraphs before he decides he would not care to be aboard her any longer, so to speak, and shoves her out the Moon Door:

"Lysa," Petyr sighed, "after all the storms we've suffered, you should trust me better. I swear, I shall never leave your side again, for as long as we both shall live." (ASOS Sansa VII)

And where "a longship would have made the crossing in half the time" the wallowing tub Myraham takes, the wallowing tub Lysa, too, takes seemingly forever to get where she's going:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived.

Finding Amusement Where They Can

Having spent most of the voyage fucking the captain's daughter, Theon gets one final "amusement" in the form of a blowjob:

Still, Theon could not be too unhappy. He was here, undrowned, and the voyage had offered certain other amusements. He put an arm around the captain's daughter. "Summon me when we make Lordsport," he told her father. "We'll be below, in my cabin."

Like Theon vis-a-vis the captain's daughter, Petyr isn't actually interested in Lysa romantically, but all the same he beds her and finds "amusements" in the process, both in the bedding ceremony—

Lord Petyr… submitted with good grace and a wicked tongue, giving as good as he got. By the time they had gotten him into the tower and out of his clothes, the other women were flushed, with laces unlaced, kirtles crooked, and skirts in disarray.

—and seemingly in his marriage bed:

"Petyr," her aunt moaned. "Oh, Petyr, Petyr, sweet Petyr, oh oh oh. There, Petyr, there. That's where you belong." … "Make me a baby, Petyr," she screamed, "make me another sweet little baby. Oh, Petyr, my precious, my precious, PEEEEEETYR!"

Turning Over The Captain's Cabin

Back to Theon:

The cabin was the captain's, in truth, but it had been turned over to Theon's use when they sailed from Seagard.

This prefigures the Vale — House Arryn's Vale — being 'turned over to Littlefinger's rule when he commenced to sail the wallowing tub Lysa', so to speak, wedding her and becoming Lord Protector (i.e. de facto Lord) of the Vale:

"Petyr will soon set all that to rights, though. I shall make him Lord Protector of the Vale." -Lysa to Sansa in Littlefinger's bedchamber, the morning after their wedding

Willing Bed Companions & Wine

The captain's daughter comes "willingly" to Theon—

The captain's daughter had not been turned over to his use, but she had come to his bed willingly enough all the same.

—as Lysa had come willingly to Petyr back at Riverrun—

"You enticed him, just as your mother did that night in Riverrun…. You think I could forget? That was the night I stole up to his bed to give him comfort. I bled, but it was the sweetest hurt." (ASOS Sansa VII)

—and as Lysa comes to him at the Drearfort:

"I am the Lady of the Eyrie, and I command you to wed me this very moment!"

Theon beds the captain's daughter with the help of wine:

A cup of wine, a few whispers, and there she was.

This prefigures both the way Lysa bedded Petyr the first time—

"[Petyr] drank until he passed out at the table. Uncle Brynden carried him up to bed before my father could find him like that." (ASOS Sansa VII)

—as well as Lysa's 'current' fondness for wine that's likely Petyr's:

Among the loads [Oswell] brought ashore were several casks of wine.
Her aunt's breath smelled of wine. (ASOS Sansa VII)
"That's past and done, Lysa. …" Littlefinger moved closer. Have you been at the wine again?" (ibid.)

Booby Maidens

Where the captain's daughter (whose "plump", large-breasted physique is akin to Lysa's) "had been a maiden the first time [Theon] took her"—

The girl was a shade plump for his taste, with skin as splotchy as oatmeal, but her breasts filled his hands nicely and she had been a maiden the first time he took her. That was surprising at her age, but Theon found it diverting.

—Lysa, too, 'had been a maiden the first time Petyr took her', so to speak, long ago at Riverrun.

Resentful, Paid-For 'Captains'

Just as Hoster Tully was not happy about Petyr bedding his daughter under his own roof, so is the Myraham captain unhappy with Theon availing himself of his daughter, and in his own cabin, no less:

[Theon] led the girl away aft, while her father watched them go in sullen silence.

The captain's resentment prefigures the Vale lords "resent[ing]" Petyr's marriage to Lysa and his appointment as Lord Protector:

Sansa knew that Jon Arryn's bannermen resented Lysa's marriage and begrudged Petyr his authority as Lord Protector of the Vale. (ASOS Sansa VII)

Theon isn't concerned about the captain's feelings, though, because he's been bought and paid for:

He did not think the captain approved, and that was amusing as well, watching the man struggle to swallow his outrage while performing his courtesies to the high lord, the rich purse of gold he'd been promised never far from his thoughts.
The promise of gold had turned the Oldtowner into a shameless lickspittle.

This prefigures Littlefinger's strategy after he disposes of Lysa. Belying the beliefs of e.g. Randyll Tarly—

"Lady Lysa is dead. … Littlefinger holds the Eyrie now . . . though not for long. The lords of the Vale are not the sort to bend their knees to some upjumped jackanapes whose only skill is counting coppers." (AFFC Brienne III)

—Littlefinger maintains his position in the 'captain's cabin' of the Eyrie because, just as Theon buys the Myraham's captain, so does Littlefinger buy many of the Lords Declarant:

"Belmore is corrupt and can be bought. …Bronze Yohn Royce will continue to be hostile, I fear, but so long as he stands alone he is not so much a threat." (AFFC Alayne I)
"The Waynwoods are very old and very proud, but not as rich as one might think, as I discovered when I began buying up their debt. Not that Lady Anya would ever sell a son for gold. A ward, however . . . young Harry's only a cousin, and the dower that I offered her ladyship was even larger than the one that Lyonel Corbray just collected. It had to be, for her to risk Bronze Yohn's wroth. (AFFC Alayne II)

The line foregrounding the notion of Anya Waynwood "sell[ing] a son for gold" reads like it could be a wink at the captain of the Myraham essentially selling his daughter to Theon for gold. Note that the Waynwood sigil is a broken wheel, a la the captain's wheel of an olde tyme sailing vessel. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%27s_wheel) Thus it's an almost perfect metaphorical representation of the captain being 'broken' by Theon's gold into "swallow[ing] his outrage".

'Rhyming' Rejections

Finally, at the end of Theon's voyage, when he is done with the "wallowing tub" Myraham, he disposes of the captain's daughter:

"Milord." Her eyes were red. When he took the pack, she made as if to embrace him, there in front of her own father and his priestly uncle and half the island.
Theon turned deftly aside. "You have my thanks."
"Please," she said, "I do love you well, milord."
"I must go." He hurried after his uncle, who was already well down the pier. Theon caught him with a dozen long strides.

Theon's parting with the daughter of the captain of the wallowing tub Myraham is kaleidoscopically reworked when Petyr disposes of his wallowing tub, Lysa. The recursion includes the crying and hugging motifs, a declaration of love, pithy final words ("I must go" → "Only Cat"), and a parallel post-parting urgency (Theon "hurried" → "run… quick now"). And note how "deftly" Petyr deflects Lysa (to her doom):

Lysa threw herself into Littlefinger's arms, sobbing. As they hugged, Sansa… crawled from the Moon Door on hands and knees and wrapped her arms around the nearest pillar. …She shuddered, and hugged the pillar tighter.
Littlefinger let Lysa sob against his chest for a moment, then put his hands on her arms and kissed her lightly. "My sweet silly jealous wife," he said, chuckling. "I've only loved one woman, I promise you."
Lysa Arryn smiled tremulously. "Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?"
"Only Cat." He gave her a short, sharp shove.
Lysa stumbled backward, her feet slipping on the wet marble. And then she was gone. She never screamed. For the longest time there was no sound but the wind.
…Lord Petyr pulled Sansa to her feet. …"Run let my guards in, then. Quick now, there's no time to lose. This singer's killed my lady wife."

"Deftly" done, indeed.
Petyr giving Lysa "a short, sharp shove" feels like a physical manifestation of Theon figuratively shoving the captain's daughter away and 'out the door'.

Silver Clasps

I'd be remiss not to point out that when Theon leaves the girl, his cloak is pointedly pinned "with a silver clasp":

Theon swept his cloak off its peg and over his shoulders. "Fathers are like that," he admitted as he pinned the folds with a silver clasp.

Who else pins his cloaks like that?

They went well with the silver mockingbird that fastened his cloak. (AGOT Catelyn IV)
The man wore a heavy cloak with a fur collar, fastened with a silver mockingbird…. (AGOT Sansa II)

Petyr.

The Captain's Daughter & Bryen's Toothless Licking Dog

All that said, Petyr's relationship with Lysa isn't the only thing about ASOS Sansa VI (and VII) prefigured by Theon's relationship with Myraham's captain's daughter.
Consider also the old dog we're shown hanging out with Sansa immediately after we read that Lysa takes "eight long days" to arrive, a la the "wallowing" Myraham taking way too long to get to Pyke, and immediately before we read about Lysa's arrival, when she looks every inch a wallowing tub:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived. On five of them it rained, while Sansa sat bored and restless by the fire, beside the old blind dog. He was too sick and toothless to walk guard with Bryen anymore, and mostly all he did was sleep, but when she patted him he whined and licked her hand, and after that they were fast friends.

Where Theon rides out his long voyage at sea with the the oral sex-giving captain's daughter, Sansa rides out most of her long, rainy wait for Lysa with the friendly, toothless, licking dog.
All the dog does is "sleep… beside" — i.e. literally sleep with — Sansa. That reworks the captain's daughter spending the long voyage figuratively 'sleeping with' (i.e. boning) Theon. To this point:

Bryen's old blind dog in her little alcove beneath the steps, and lay down next to him. He woke and licked her face. "You sad old hound," she said, ruffling his fur.

That the dog "whine[s]" and is "sad" recalls the captain's daughter "beg[ging]" Theon to come ashore and later calling to him in a "plaintive" voice while walking "forlornly" adeck when he visits Lordsport. (ACOK Theon II)
The devotion the captain's daughter thereby demonstrates — refusing to give up on Theon, long after he's gone — is reworked by the dog being called Sansa's "fast friend" (i.e. loyal friend), which also works as double entendre referring back to the captain's daughter, as "fast" is a euphemism for a girl who is fast to engage in sexual activity. (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fast)
Note that the dog is never named: It's simply "Bryen's old blind dog", just as the captain's daughter is just "the captain's daughter".
Of course, Sansa does get one small break from the monotony of her time with the dog: her sight-seeing 'field trip' with Petyr:

It was eight long days until Lysa Arryn arrived. On five of them it rained, while Sansa sat bored and restless by the fire, beside the old blind dog. [Dog stuff.] When the rains let up, Petyr walked with her around his holdings, which took less than half a day. [Description of the sight-seeing 'field trip' of Petyr's lands, including all manner of things that 'rhyme' with Theon's description of Pyke, all of which I discuss in detail elsewhere.]

The sight-seeing 'field trip' as a whole reworks the opening paragraphs of ACOK Theon I, in which Theon is likewise taking a break from his usual routine (sex with the captain's daughter) to do a little sight-seeing: Where Theon soaks in the "stirring sight" of castle Pyke on its wave-carved stacks of rock with its banner overhead and the fiery comet high "in the sky" behind it, which he takes to be a (verbatim) "sign", Sansa's sight-seeing tour of Petyr's holdings include a rock carved with the (verbatim) "sign" of the Seven next to a tidal blowhole shooting water high "into the air", as well as "a hermit's cave" where a hermit "groped" Petyr as Theon gropes the captain's daughter just after gazing at castle Pyke and the comet.
It's only when Theon is done gazing at Pyke that the captain's daughter appears on the page and we read about the "certain other amusements" he's enjoyed during his voyage. This gets flipped around with Sansa and her dog: Where Theon found "amusement" in the sex he was constantly having, Sansa is "bored and restless" during her time with the dog; it's only the brief excursion that breaks the monotony of her time (literally) sleeping with the old toothless dog.
The story of how Sansa spent her time waiting for Lysa (with the dog) is thus a 'rhyme' for Theon's time on the Myraham with the captain's daughter. That we read about Sansa's time with the dog (a) immediately after we read that Lysa was, like the Myraham, slow to arrive and (b) immediately before Lysa's arrival, when she seems every inch the wallowing tub herself, further convinces me that Theon's treatment of the captain and captain's daughter do indeed prefigure Petyr's treatment of Lysa and the Lords Declarant, while also by dint of association suggesting that Petyr is trying to groom Sansa as surely as Theon did the captain's daughter.

Sansa & The Captain's Daughter

Regarding Petyr grooming Sansa, when Sansa first comes before Lysa, it seems very much like an echo of what happens when Theon and the captain's daughter go below deck. Consider:

Littlefinger beckoned Sansa forward with a hand. "My lady, allow me to present you Alayne Stone."
Sansa did a deep curtsy, her head bowed. "A bastard?" she heard her aunt say. "Petyr, have you been wicked? Who was her mother?"

Notice the curtsy and bowed head, the bastard motif, and the way Lysa treats Sansa as if she isn't there. This seems a recursion of this:

[Theon] drew the captain's daughter close and kissed her on her ear. "Take off your cloak."
She dropped her eyes, suddenly shy, but did as he bid her. When the heavy garment, sodden with spray, fell from her shoulders to the deck, she gave him a little bow and smiled anxiously.

• "[Theon] drew the captain's daughter close" → "Littlefinger beckoned Sansa forward with a hand"
  
• "she gave him a little bow" + "she dropped her eyes" → "Sansa did a deep curtsy, her head bowed"
  

A few lines later, we read:

The stupid girl did not seem to be listening.

Coupled with Theon telling the captain's daughter she's likely pregnant with "a king's bastard" — i.e. his bastard — that prefigures Lysa's talking about Sansa being "a bastard" as if she's not there, i.e. as if she isn't 'listening':

"A bastard?" she heard her aunt say. "Petyr, have you been wicked? Who was her mother?"

(The 'rhyme' is even tighter if Littlefinger aspires to be king, like Theon. Which I believe he does.)
Shortly after Theon thinks the captain's daughter doesn't "seem to be listening", we read that…

She was timid at first, but learned quickly for such a stupid girl….

As stated in earlier posts in this series, if we remove the sexual context, that's a bald-faced preview of Sansa in her Littlefinger era: initially trepidatious, but quickly warming to Littlefinger and learning to use lies and arbor gold in the service of his schemes, such that he calls the once hopelessly naive girl "clever" — i.e. the same word Theon uses when remarking of the captain's daughter:

She looked rather stupid when she smiled, but he had never required a woman to be clever.

Theon forces the captain's daughter to swallow his 'seed' just before he tells her she's probably pregnant with his "bastard", thus (also) prefiguring Littlefinger's [surreptitiously making Sansa swallow moon tea to ensure she is not pregnant with Tyrion's child], i.e. to cleanse herself of any spawn of Tyrion's "seed".
As I've said before, I have to think the whole 'rhyme' between Sansa and the captain's daughter is there to further the suggestion that Littlefinger is per se grooming Sansa.

The Myraham and Mia Hamm

That the Myraham's story has so much to do with its captain's daughter makes sense given that the name Myraham is almost certainly a nod to Mia Hamm, who at the time A Clash of Kings was being written was widely recognized as the best women's soccer player in the world and newly famous in the United States, having been hyped to the moon before she famously played through injury during the United States' victory in the gold medal game of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, to much media ballyhoo. (see e.g. https://vault.si.com/vault/1996/08/12/uswnt-1996-olympics-gold-medal-china-atlanta)
The thing, is, despite being the most popular and celebrated player on the US team, Mia Hamm wasn't the team captain. That was the older Carla Overbeck, a comparatively uncelebrated central defender. So it's fitting that the story of the Myraham is in large part the story not of its captain, but of its captain's daughter.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 7: Sights-Seen While Sight-Seeing

I installed osu! Stable via lutris on Linux Mint, and outside of the initial process (getting a lot of return 256 errors) I haven't had any issues. However, after playing a little bit today and exiting, when I try starting it again osu! tells me that the client is up-to-date, and then I get the osu! circle that happens when you first launch the game, but it kicks me out right after. I tried restarting my PC and that hasn't fixed anything. None of my wine prefixes have been changed either and I'm not sure what the problem could be. Does anyone have any pointers
Edit: I also tried using timeshit to go to a previous snapshot because I thought maybe an updateay have broke, and nope it didn't work
Last edit: I didn't get to work so I reinstalled osu! and just moved my files with my scores and skins. It sucks that I lost a lot of my local scores but they don't matter anyway I'm the long run.

I downloaded one for google drive and I was wondering if you could get a virus from an osu skin.

I've been collecting skins since mid-late 2018 and I've downloaded most of the skins posted on this subreddit since late 2018-early 2019 so a good chunk of the skins in my folder can be found on this subreddit if you dig deep into it.. Also a lot of old and unknown skins that you don't see a lot these days.
The folder will probably stay up to date with my actual skin folder as Ill be updating it periodically with most, if not all the skins which i download and open in-game so you might want to check the folder once in a while.
Before you check the folder itself please check my hard-to-find-skins github as it has a lot of... well... hard to find skins, people that like newgen skins like aristia and such probably wont find a skin that they like on the github but if you are an OG you will definitely find something nice in there: https://github.com/baron6060/harder-to-find-osu-skins
​
And with all of that out of the way, here's the link to the skin folder: https://mega.nz/foldeD2JHWJ7B#M530-42_UDwGjfCfyazX2g
​
P.S if you are wondering which skins i often use, i frequently use all the skins between "- !Skin+B+1.3+ (Haga1115)" and "- zzz_unfinished"

Hey everyone! Been a hot minute hasn't it? Was busy with university and a bit of hyper focus on my other fic but fear not, I will be seeing this fic through as I have promised many times before. I am so close to tackling the canon events I'd be a fool to stop when I'm so close to handling things I've REALLY wanted to write. Just three more chapters to go and the hype I'm feeling is real. And as I've said before as well, if there is ever a long break between chapters please bear with me. It's either writer's block, life, university, or hyper focus distracting me but I will not ever drop this fic. I hope you all enjoy and I'll try to get another chapter out relatively soon. Also, I've decided to go through with a name change with the fic as I was never quite 100% happy with the title but it was all I could think of until recently. So going forward it will be called "A Beast's Heart" as I feel it fits the story better and sounds KINDA similar to Beastar xD.
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While the days passed, both Shinoku and Vega set about trying to come up with what they hoped would be a great Linked Souls Day date for Anya and Sheila respectively, a bit of competitiveness seeping in here and there much to the girls’ amusement. What really amused Anya and Sheila though was how Shinoku and Vega claimed they were going to outdo the other in their gifts. Not that either really cared about what they got, to them it was more about the thought behind it. As the holiday neared the two finally managed to come up with where to take the girls, a fairly nice restaurant in town which fortunately wasn’t too much nor fully booked for the holiday, which was a relief for both of them. With everything in place, there was nothing left to do but wait the remaining days till Linked Souls Day.
Cherryton itself seemed to be in a state of romantic fervor with the holiday nearing. Shinoku and his friends couldn’t help noting the other students either preparing to celebrate the holiday with those they were with, finding someone to celebrate it with, or just morosely just giving up trying as the day got nearer along with those that just didn't care at all or were interested. Louis seemed to be among those that just didn’t seem to really care at all for the holiday, seemingly too busy too busy with other things, though that didn’t stop him from accepting letters and flowers. Not that Shinoku really cared all that much about the deer’s personal life.
As for Bill, well Bill was bragging about how he had something big planned for his girlfriend. And while Shinoku was happy for him, the bragging was a bit much in his opinion. Still, it was better than when Bill had spotted him at the Back Alley Market and started trying to make it a thing they’d do together. Not that it was something Shinoku was really against, he’d just rather Bill not have the wrong idea, something a quick explanation thankfully handled. For all his faults, Bill was always surprisingly agreeable, though not without still being...him. But what Shinoku cared about most at the moment was making sure everything went well with his and Anya’s double date with Vega and Sheila. That, and if Tem had decided to try and give Els a love letter for Linked Souls Day.
“So Tem, how goes that letter, going to try and give it to Els on Linked Souls Day or have one of the girls put it in her locker?” Shinoku asked Tem as they hung out after drama club only a few days before the holiday.
“It...really hasn’t gotten that far.” Tem admitted. “I’m still working on it, and I’ve decided to not really try to give it to her on Linked Souls Day, just seems, I don’t know, cliché.”
“Fair, but you can’t really just keep dragging your feet.” Shinoku commented. “You have to make some progress, take it from someone who’s been there.”
“I know, and Legosi has kind of said the same, but I just can’t think of the right words to write.” Tem said before sighing. “I want things to be just right.”
Shinoku nodded. “I understand.” the wolf empathized. “It’s not easy knowing exactly what to say, or when’s the right time or place to say it. But you’re going to have to eventually.”
“I know, I know, but finding the right thing to say...how to write it, it’s not easy.”
“It never is.” Shinoku said before smirking. “I could always offer you the same things my friends did me and say if you don’t say something to her or finish that letter I’ll tell her, or tell her you want to meet her after club to talk.”
“No!” Tem exclaimed in slight panic. “I mean, please don’t. I’ll get there, promise. You just got to trust me.”
Shinoku chuckled. “Alright.”
“So, what have you got planned with Anya?” Tem inquired.
“We’re going to do a double date thing with Sheila and Vega.” Shinoku responded. “Got everything planned and set.”
“That sounds nice.” Tem said with a smile. “I honestly had no idea Sheila wasn’t seeing anyone before you told me about her and Vega, she seems like she’d be rather popular.”
“That’s what me and Vega thought until Anya talked to her.”
“He must feel pretty lucky.”
Shinoku chuckled, “yeah.”
“Well, I wish him the best of luck. Anyway, I gotta get going, see Shinoku.” Tem said as he got up to leave.
“See ya Tem.” Shinoku replied as he got up as well, the two going their separate ways.
Shinoku decided to go for a run before heading back to the male carnivores dorm, keeping up the routine he started to make sure he didn’t lose any ground to Roger. While he was running, Shinoku thought about staying the night with Anya, it had been a few weeks since they had done so but he decided against it. Not that he didn’t want to, in fact quite the opposite. But with Linked Souls Day just around the corner he decided to hold off until then, even if he was really wanting to cuddle up next to her after having gotten used to it during everything that happened a few months back. At least it was a better urge to have than the one for blood and meat that, while having diminished a bit with his now routine trips to the back alley, was still stronger than they had been in years thanks to having to eat part of a goon to continue fighting to save Anya.
As he ran, he noticed Roger doing the same, though he did his best to just ignore the kangaroo. He hadn’t seen him during his other runs, though it made sense that he would be doing the same to keep his strength up. Thankfully, they were on opposite sides and far enough away that Roger might not notice him. Even if he had though, Shinoku doubted Roger would really acknowledge him given their...spirited rivalry. Although given Roger’s recent jabs and remarks he might try to get under his skin just to try and throw him off a bit. If Roger did try to antagonize him though, Shinoku was going to just going to ignore it and not give him any satisfaction.
Thankfully the kangaroo didn’t seem to notice him at all. Good, the last thing Shinoku wanted was to deal with his attitude. It was getting to where he wanted to just punch him in the face more and more now and Shinoku wasn’t sure if it was due to him becoming more accepting of himself and willing to no longer let such things slide, or the whole eating meat a bit more having some influence. Either way, Roger being a jerk didn’t help matters. Shinoku shook his head, focusing on continuing his exercise and letting Roger fade further in the distance till he was out of sight, focusing more on keeping in top shape...and the date with Anya.
When he had finished his run, Shinoku headed back to his dorm room and showered. Afterward, he spent some time keeping his violin skills sharp and hanging with his friends before heading to bed, checking on his praying mantis Natalia as he did so. Linked Souls Day was practically here and he was feeling as anxious, if not a bit more so, as when he was about to have a big match. As he laid in bed, Shinoku wondered if Vega was feeling similarly anxious for their double date with the girls before drifting off to sleep.
It seemed like no time when the holiday finally arrived, the last couple of days before it seemingly passing by in no time to both Shinoku and Vega. The two set about getting ready, making sure they looked a bit nicer than usual for their double date, Shinoku changing into one of the pairs of clothing Anya had bought for him. “Looking sharp.” Jax commented as he looked at them.
“Thanks.” Shinoku replied.
“Sucks you two couldn’t find someone to spend the day with, won’t be lonely with us gone right?” Vega asked as he looked at Jax and Hassan.
“Eh, we’ll be fine.” Jax shrugged. “Besides, someone needs to stay here and help Sebastian if he needs it.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine.” Sebastian said as he looked up from his book. “Me and Nazomi have it planned where she’ll meet me at the bottom of the hill, it’ll just look like I’m going into town for a bit.”
“Alright, but we’ll still help if you need it. Otherwise, I’m just going to read manga and see if I can beat some of Vega’s scores.” Jax commented.
“Doubt you will.” Vega chimed in.
“While it would have been nice, I’m in no real rush.” Hassan said as he laid back against his bunk. “There will be plenty of Linked Souls Days to come and I’m bound to find the right girl in time.”
Shinoku nodded. “Fair enough.”
The two hung out a bit with the others before it got close to time to meet up with Anya and Sheila, both Shinoku and Vega making sure to grab not just the gifts they got for the girls, as well as flowers each had gotten for them. After making sure they had everything, they headed out of the male carnivore dorm and started over to the female carnivore dorm. When they got to the girls dorm both Anya and Sheila were waiting outside for them, the girls having done their best to look nice for Shinoku and Vega. While neither were wearing dresses, they had done enough with their looks and picked out nice enough outfits that it left Shinoku and Vega a bit stunned.
“Wow...” Shinoku said as he felt his cheeks heat up.
“Yeah...wow.” Vega echoed.
Anya giggled slightly. “Thanks, not looking too bad yourself Shin.” she said with a chuff, tail flicking idly.
Sheila blushed ever so slightly as she giggled as well. “Thanks Vega, you’re looking handsome.”
Vega grinned slightly, “Thanks.”
“I see you guys got us some flowers.” Anya smiled.
“Oh, right, yeah.” Shinoku said as he handed her the flowers he got for her, Vega handing the ones he got to Sheila.
“Thanks Shin.” Anya huffed as she kissed his cheek.
“Yeah, thank you Vega, that was very sweet of you.” Sheila echoed, giving him a kiss as well.
“We also got you girls each a gift.” Vega commented.
“Oh?” Sheila and Anya asked.
“Yeah…” Shinoku said as he pulled out his gift for Anya, a love locket, and handed it to her. “Here you go, happy Linked Souls Day.”
Anya smiled, chuffing as she took the locket. Opening the locket she saw a picture of them that Shin’s parents had taken of them at Rexmas and an engraving that read ‘To the tigress I owe a lot to, may this be the first of many gifts from the heart’. “Awwwe, Shiiiiiin,” Anya cooed as she went to kiss him. “Thank you, I’ll cherish this.”
“You’re welcome.” Shinoku smiled.
“And I got you this.” Vega said as he handed Sheila a red jeweled ring with an engraving on the inside.
“To a beauty of a cheetah that’s never to far from my mind.” Sheila read before blushing, a purr emitting from her throat as she gave him a kiss. “Thank you Vega.
Vega grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. “Heh, no problem, wanted to get something that’d compliment how lovely your eyes are.”
“Vega!” Sheila flustered. “You’re going to make me blush more...”
“And that’s a bad thing? If you ask me, you blushing only makes you cuter.” Vega chuckled, much to Sheila’s continued flustering as she punched his arm. “Anyway, you girls ready to go?”
“Yeah, just let us put these flowers up real quick.” Sheila replied.
“Be back in a minute.” Anya added.
Shinoku and Vega nodded, watching the girls head back into the dorm and waiting for them to come back. When they did, the four made there way to the entrance of the school, Anya leaning slightly against Shinoku as she had her arm around his while Vega and Sheila held hands.
“It’s a shame that Hassan and Jax couldn’t find anyone to at least give a card to.” Anya said as they walked.
“Yeah, well, they’re not too bothered by it. Besides, they got plenty of time.” Vega commented.
“True.” Sheila agreed. “What about Sebastian, have him and Nazomi set something up?” she asked. “Rex knows how difficult it is what with their relationship being...not exactly socially accepted.”
“They have something planned, and with Hassan and Jax having nothing to do they’re there to help out if needed.” Shinoku explained.
“That’s good to hear.” Sheila commented. “It’s still a bit strange, but I’m not one to judge given my past before Cherryton. If it can work for them, then I wish them the best.”
“Yeah.” Anya agreed as they neared the train station, soon boarding a train and making sure they stayed close together.
Much like Cherryton, the city was buzzing with couples going out and about on dates as well as various animals getting gifts for those they cared for. Almost everywhere they could look Shinoku, Anya, Vega and Sheila could see couples walking hand in hand or sharing affections with other. There were decorations on stores and restaurants with various hearts and other romantic imagery, as well as advertisements for discounts for couples. Admittedly most the couples, if not all of them were expected to be same species and in fact were, though it that was just the way of things. And while Cheetahs and jaguars were similar enough for most to not be able to tell too much of a difference, Shinoku couldn’t help but wonder if he and Anya would be seen as an actual couple.
Sure they were holding hands and being affectionate, as well as both carnivores, but they were still feline and canine. Still different carnivore species, rival ones at that, it’d be about on the same level as seeing a carnivore and a herbivore together. It was just the way the world was, expected couples were seen favorably and given preferential benefits while odd or completely different couples were at best just assumed to be friends or looked at oddly. A fact that was all the more proven when others cleared the way for Sheila and Vega, the looks they got more admiring and envious compared to the ones he and Anya got. Regardless of that fact though, and how he was seen at the Rexmas party Anya’s dad had, he was going to be damned to hell if he was going to let that stop him from giving Anya the best Linked Souls Day he could.
It didn’t take long for the group to make their way to where Shinoku and Vega settled on making reservations, a nice restaurant that was located near the center of town. It didn’t take long for them to be seated thanks to their reservations, their waiter quickly bringing them some drinks and bringing complimentary appetizers. While it was enough for the group, Shinoku noticed he paid a little extra attention to Vega and Sheila, despite being friendly overall. The group ordered not long after being seated; Anya and Shinoku ordering prime fruit steaks while Vega ordered a filet and Sheila a fruit burger. Despite the romantic and friendly atmosphere, their ears twitched as they waited, hearing as hushed and not so hushed comments their fellow patrons and the staff would make.
“What a cute cheetah couple.” One woman said.
“I think they’re jaguars.” her husband commented. “But yeah, they are cute together.”
“Agreed, they’ll go far. Even if they’re jaguar and cheetah, the difference is negligible.” his wife agreed.
“Right? And it’s so nice of them to let their friends join them.”
“I know, poor things must not have been able to find anyone.”
Shinoku just bared it like he did at the Rexmas party, not wanting to cause any scenes or anything so that their double date could go by without any issues, especially for Vega and Sheila who awkwardly smiled, feeling rather bad themselves for what Shinoku and Anya had to listen to. But again, that was just the way things were. They were rather aware of the fact that same species couples were smiled upon, given extra incentives and money to help them raise families. Those who were different, just had to get by on what those not married did. It was a harsh truth, one that Shinoku started to worry about even though Anya was wealthy and seemed to be the next CEO of the stripes conglomerate, he didn’t want to make things too hard on her.
Before Shinoku could stoop any deeper into his worries though he blinked as he watched Anya down her drink, turning to him with an annoyed look and then pulling him into a firm kiss much to his surprise. After breaking it the tigress shot a glare in the direction of the couple, causing them and any others making similar comments to hush up a bit and go back to their own business. Shinoku couldn’t help but have a somewhat dorky grin, his tail wagging behind him.
“Where’s my kiss?” Vega grinned.
Sheila smiled slightly as as she rolled her yes, lightly jabbing him. “You’ll get one later.” she remarked with a playful smile.
Vega chuckled a bit. “Looking forward to it.”
They didn’t have to wait too long until the waiter came with their food, the three taking their time and enjoying their meal. Despite the slight awkwardness of the comments of the other patrons a few minutes ago, none of them were going to let that affect their Linked Souls Day. Anya’s defiant display didn’t seem to really cause any issues, the other patrons having gone on and deciding to mind their own business aside from one or two that would make as quiet a remark as they could. Shinoku and the others ignored them though, choosing to talk about the upcoming semester and anything they thought about doing for summer.
“complimentary deserts, on the house.” the waiter said as he came back after they finished eating, handing a desert to both Vega and Sheila, leaving before Sheila could say anything.
“Sorry…” Sheila said as she looked at Anya and Shinoku. “This isn’t right…”
“It’s just how things are.” Shinoku shrugged. “You have nothing to apologize for. Just something else I need to make sure is on the way to being fixed if I become beastar.”
“But this was supposed to be a special day for all of us….” she sighed. “As tasty as this looks, I don’t think I have much of an appetite for it…”
“Me either.” Vega agreed.
“I know one thing, I’m not giving these bastards a tip.” Anya muttered.
Vega lit up slightly as an idea hit him. “If neither of us are that hungry for desert, why don’t I give you two mine?” he offered. “I wouldn’t mind sharing a desert with Sheila.” he smiled. “It’d be a rather romantic way to end the meal don’t ya think?”
Sheila smiled. “Sounds like a good idea to me, but I’ll give them mine.” she said as she slid her desert over to Anya.
Anya smiled. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to.”
“I insist, it’s only right.”
Anya smiled a bit as she accepted the desert. “Alright.”
The group started to partake in the deserts brought for Sheila and Vega, Anya and Shinoku taking turns eating the one Sheila gave them as Vega and Sheila ate his, even going so far as to feed the other once or twice. When they had finished, Shinoku and Vega paid their respective bills, none of them leaving a tip. “So, where to now?” Anya asked as they walked out of the restaurant.
“How about a walk through the park?” Shinoku suggested.
Anya smiled a bit as her tail flicked, “Sounds pretty good to me.”
“Same here.” Sheila agreed.
Vega chuckled slightly. “Looks like we’re heading to the park.”
With that, the four of them made their way through the city. Sheila moved a little closer to Vega, not letting the slightly uncomfortable occurrance at the restaurant damper the mood or her growing feelings for Vega any. Her tail swayed idly, gently bumping against his every now and then and ever so slightly wrapping around his for brief moments. He could be a bit..Bill-like, but in a good way. The most appealing thing she continued to like about him though was that unlike some jaguars she knew, he was pretty nice and chill, despite his more mischievous and troublemaker nature. She had to admit, there wasn’t really anything she found she disliked about him so far, and she could not help but smile a little as a soft purr escaped her throat.
It didn’t take too long for them to get to one of the parks in the city. Like them, a number of other couples had decided to take romantic strolls in the park; there were even animals set up offering to take picture of couples, selling heart shaped balloons, and painting portraits among other festive things. As they walked through the park, both Shinoku and Anya, as well as Vega and Sheila, decided to get pictures to commemorate their first Linked Souls Day together. After they got their pictures taken they continued on their walk, taking in some more sights as well after exiting the park before deciding to head back to Cherryton and making their way back to the train station.
Like before, they stayed close to each other as they rode the train back, the train just as full as when they took it to the city. When they got back to the station close to Cherryton, they departed the train, making their way back up the hill to school. As they walked, Shinoku and Vega briefly glanced at each other.
“Hey Anya, I got one more gift for you.” Shinoku said as he looked at Anya.
“Oh?” Anya asked as she looked up at Shinoku. “What is it?”
“A bit of a surprise, something me and Vega worked on together for you and Sheila.” Shinoku replied.
“For the both of us?” Sheila asked as she looked to Vega. “What do you two have planned?”
“Oh, nothing too special, just a little something we thought you girls might enjoy.” Vega replied with an ever so coy smile.
“Is that so?” the cheetah asked.
“Yup.” Vega replied simply. “But we’ll need to stop by our room first. Well, I will. If you don’t mind taking the girls to where we’ll give them the gift that is Shin.”
“Sure.” Shinoku said simply.
“What have you two got planned?” Anya asked.
“You’ll see, I think you and Sheila will like it.” Shinoku replied with a smile.
“Alright...but you got me curious now.” Anya stated.
“Me too.” Sheila echoed.
As they got back to Cherryton the four of them made their way to the boy’s dorm, Shinoku and Vega telling the girls to follow them as they made their way inside. The girls followed them, sticking with Shinoku as Vega broke off to head to his and Shinoku’s room when they got to the eighth floor. They continued to follow Shinoku as instructed, the wolf leading them further up to the roof.
“So, you guys going to propose or something?” Anya joked.
Shinoku blushed slightly. “No.” he said, trying not to sound too embarrassed, much to the girls amusement. “Just take a seat and relax.”
The two nodded, doing so and getting comfortable as they waited on their gift. It wasn’t long before Vega knocked on the door to the roof, Shinoku opening it for him and revealing Vega had brought their instruments. Anya and Sheila blinked, looking at the two in slight surprise. “You’re going to perform for us?” Sheila asked.
“Well, yeah.” Shinoku said as he took his violin from Vega, opening it’s case and taking it out.
“We both had thought of doing a song for you two, and just decided to work together on one sense we were going to be doing the whole double date thing.” Vega explained.
“Awe, that’s sweet.” Sheila said, her tail flicking a bit.
“Yeah, surprised you two got something ready in time.” Anya commented.
“It took a lot of practice, and I do mean a lot. But sense me and Vega have already practiced playing together here and there, it wasn’t too hard.” Shinoku explained.
“So, you girls ready to be serenaded?” Vega asked with a sly smile.
“Yup.” Anya and Sheila replied.
Shinoku and Vega began to play, starting out rather slow and steady, making sure that they stayed and tune and sync with each other before they continued. As they played though they got into more of a natural groove, the song they played surprisingly harmonic and melodious despite the fact their instruments were rather different. It made for a wholly unique tone that was rather enthralling to the two, let alone rather romantic. Anya and Sheila were completely fixated, enjoying the song that Shinoku and Vega were playing. And when they had stopped, the two of them clapped.
“That was beautiful...thank you.” Sheila said with a smile.
“Yeah.” Anya agreed.
Vega smiled. “Thanks, we would of come up with lyrics or something, but we were kinda getting down to the wire with just that.” he admitted.
Sheila chuckled. “That’s alright, this was more than enough.”
Anya nodded. “It was. And besides, if you really want to sing for us, you got a full year to come up with a song. But like Sheila said, just this is more than enough. And again, thanks” she said as she got up and moved to kiss Shinoku.
Sheila got up as well, moving to give Vega a kiss as she purred. “There, was it worth the wait?” she teased.
“Yup.” he grinned.
“Well, thank you for the date, I had a lovely time.” Sheila said with a warm smile. “I got some things to go over for drama club and homework to do...care to walk me back?”
“’’Not at all.” Vega grinned.
“I better get going too. Care to walk me back as well Shin?” Anya asked before grinning. “Of course, if you do, you might not make it back. I have been missing having a fluffy pillow.” she added as her tail flicked.
Shinoku’s tail started to wag, blushing as Vega and Sheila chuckled. “Heh...sure.”
“Sure to the walking me or staying the night with me?” Anya teased.
“Both, been missing it as well.”
Anya smiled as she leaned into him as she grabbed his arm. “And that is why you’re a keeper.”
Vega grinned as he looked at Sheila. “Am I a keeper?”
Sheila giggled slightly as she rolled her eyes, smirking slightly in return. “Hmm, hard to say just yet.” she teased. “Who knows, keep it up and I might say yes.” she winked.
Vega grinned a bit wider. “Heh, peace of cake.”
“We’ll see.” Sheila teased more before kissing his cheek.
The four made their way back down the boys dorm, stopping briefly on the eighth floor for Shinoku and Vega to drop off their instruments before continuing to descend the stairs back to the main floor and eventually out of the building. When they got to the girls dorm Vega and Sheila shared a goodbye kiss as Shinoku and Anya headed inside, using the fact that it was Linked Souls Day as an excuse to by making it look like he was just escorting her back to her dorm room, though they still made sure not too many saw them just in case. As Sheila walked back to her dorm room she smiled, she didn’t think she’d really be in a relationship given not just that she didn’t think she was anything too special, but her role in the drama club and other busy work let alone her past. But as she was discovering, Vega was just someone she really liked being around more and more, let alone the fact he was the most decent and forward guy to show interest. And that, that was enough for her to want to try and see just how long and far a relationship with him might go.

Hey everyone! Been a hot minute hasn't it? Was busy with university and a bit of hyper focus on my other fic but fear not, I will be seeing this fic through as I have promised many times before. I am so close to tackling the canon events I'd be a fool to stop when I'm so close to handling things I've REALLY wanted to write. Just three more chapters to go and the hype I'm feeling is real. And as I've said before as well, if there is ever a long break between chapters please bear with me. It's either writer's block, life, university, or hyper focus distracting me but I will not ever drop this fic. I hope you all enjoy and I'll try to get another chapter out relatively soon. Also, I've decided to go through with a name change with the fic as I was never quite 100% happy with the title but it was all I could think of until recently. So going forward it will be called "A Beast's Heart" as I feel it fits the story better and sounds KINDA similar to Beastar xD.
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While the days passed, both Shinoku and Vega set about trying to come up with what they hoped would be a great Linked Souls Day date for Anya and Sheila respectively, a bit of competitiveness seeping in here and there much to the girls’ amusement. What really amused Anya and Sheila though was how Shinoku and Vega claimed they were going to outdo the other in their gifts. Not that either really cared about what they got, to them it was more about the thought behind it. As the holiday neared the two finally managed to come up with where to take the girls, a fairly nice restaurant in town which fortunately wasn’t too much nor fully booked for the holiday, which was a relief for both of them. With everything in place, there was nothing left to do but wait the remaining days till Linked Souls Day.
Cherryton itself seemed to be in a state of romantic fervor with the holiday nearing. Shinoku and his friends couldn’t help noting the other students either preparing to celebrate the holiday with those they were with, finding someone to celebrate it with, or just morosely just giving up trying as the day got nearer along with those that just didn't care at all or were interested. Louis seemed to be among those that just didn’t seem to really care at all for the holiday, seemingly too busy too busy with other things, though that didn’t stop him from accepting letters and flowers. Not that Shinoku really cared all that much about the deer’s personal life.
As for Bill, well Bill was bragging about how he had something big planned for his girlfriend. And while Shinoku was happy for him, the bragging was a bit much in his opinion. Still, it was better than when Bill had spotted him at the Back Alley Market and started trying to make it a thing they’d do together. Not that it was something Shinoku was really against, he’d just rather Bill not have the wrong idea, something a quick explanation thankfully handled. For all his faults, Bill was always surprisingly agreeable, though not without still being...him. But what Shinoku cared about most at the moment was making sure everything went well with his and Anya’s double date with Vega and Sheila. That, and if Tem had decided to try and give Els a love letter for Linked Souls Day.
“So Tem, how goes that letter, going to try and give it to Els on Linked Souls Day or have one of the girls put it in her locker?” Shinoku asked Tem as they hung out after drama club only a few days before the holiday.
“It...really hasn’t gotten that far.” Tem admitted. “I’m still working on it, and I’ve decided to not really try to give it to her on Linked Souls Day, just seems, I don’t know, cliché.”
“Fair, but you can’t really just keep dragging your feet.” Shinoku commented. “You have to make some progress, take it from someone who’s been there.”
“I know, and Legosi has kind of said the same, but I just can’t think of the right words to write.” Tem said before sighing. “I want things to be just right.”
Shinoku nodded. “I understand.” the wolf empathized. “It’s not easy knowing exactly what to say, or when’s the right time or place to say it. But you’re going to have to eventually.”
“I know, I know, but finding the right thing to say...how to write it, it’s not easy.”
“It never is.” Shinoku said before smirking. “I could always offer you the same things my friends did me and say if you don’t say something to her or finish that letter I’ll tell her, or tell her you want to meet her after club to talk.”
“No!” Tem exclaimed in slight panic. “I mean, please don’t. I’ll get there, promise. You just got to trust me.”
Shinoku chuckled. “Alright.”
“So, what have you got planned with Anya?” Tem inquired.
“We’re going to do a double date thing with Sheila and Vega.” Shinoku responded. “Got everything planned and set.”
“That sounds nice.” Tem said with a smile. “I honestly had no idea Sheila wasn’t seeing anyone before you told me about her and Vega, she seems like she’d be rather popular.”
“That’s what me and Vega thought until Anya talked to her.”
“He must feel pretty lucky.”
Shinoku chuckled, “yeah.”
“Well, I wish him the best of luck. Anyway, I gotta get going, see Shinoku.” Tem said as he got up to leave.
“See ya Tem.” Shinoku replied as he got up as well, the two going their separate ways.
Shinoku decided to go for a run before heading back to the male carnivores dorm, keeping up the routine he started to make sure he didn’t lose any ground to Roger. While he was running, Shinoku thought about staying the night with Anya, it had been a few weeks since they had done so but he decided against it. Not that he didn’t want to, in fact quite the opposite. But with Linked Souls Day just around the corner he decided to hold off until then, even if he was really wanting to cuddle up next to her after having gotten used to it during everything that happened a few months back. At least it was a better urge to have than the one for blood and meat that, while having diminished a bit with his now routine trips to the back alley, was still stronger than they had been in years thanks to having to eat part of a goon to continue fighting to save Anya.
As he ran, he noticed Roger doing the same, though he did his best to just ignore the kangaroo. He hadn’t seen him during his other runs, though it made sense that he would be doing the same to keep his strength up. Thankfully, they were on opposite sides and far enough away that Roger might not notice him. Even if he had though, Shinoku doubted Roger would really acknowledge him given their...spirited rivalry. Although given Roger’s recent jabs and remarks he might try to get under his skin just to try and throw him off a bit. If Roger did try to antagonize him though, Shinoku was going to just going to ignore it and not give him any satisfaction.
Thankfully the kangaroo didn’t seem to notice him at all. Good, the last thing Shinoku wanted was to deal with his attitude. It was getting to where he wanted to just punch him in the face more and more now and Shinoku wasn’t sure if it was due to him becoming more accepting of himself and willing to no longer let such things slide, or the whole eating meat a bit more having some influence. Either way, Roger being a jerk didn’t help matters. Shinoku shook his head, focusing on continuing his exercise and letting Roger fade further in the distance till he was out of sight, focusing more on keeping in top shape...and the date with Anya.
When he had finished his run, Shinoku headed back to his dorm room and showered. Afterward, he spent some time keeping his violin skills sharp and hanging with his friends before heading to bed, checking on his praying mantis Natalia as he did so. Linked Souls Day was practically here and he was feeling as anxious, if not a bit more so, as when he was about to have a big match. As he laid in bed, Shinoku wondered if Vega was feeling similarly anxious for their double date with the girls before drifting off to sleep.
It seemed like no time when the holiday finally arrived, the last couple of days before it seemingly passing by in no time to both Shinoku and Vega. The two set about getting ready, making sure they looked a bit nicer than usual for their double date, Shinoku changing into one of the pairs of clothing Anya had bought for him. “Looking sharp.” Jax commented as he looked at them.
“Thanks.” Shinoku replied.
“Sucks you two couldn’t find someone to spend the day with, won’t be lonely with us gone right?” Vega asked as he looked at Jax and Hassan.
“Eh, we’ll be fine.” Jax shrugged. “Besides, someone needs to stay here and help Sebastian if he needs it.”
“Thanks, but I think I’ll be fine.” Sebastian said as he looked up from his book. “Me and Nazomi have it planned where she’ll meet me at the bottom of the hill, it’ll just look like I’m going into town for a bit.”
“Alright, but we’ll still help if you need it. Otherwise, I’m just going to read manga and see if I can beat some of Vega’s scores.” Jax commented.
“Doubt you will.” Vega chimed in.
“While it would have been nice, I’m in no real rush.” Hassan said as he laid back against his bunk. “There will be plenty of Linked Souls Days to come and I’m bound to find the right girl in time.”
Shinoku nodded. “Fair enough.”
The two hung out a bit with the others before it got close to time to meet up with Anya and Sheila, both Shinoku and Vega making sure to grab not just the gifts they got for the girls, as well as flowers each had gotten for them. After making sure they had everything, they headed out of the male carnivore dorm and started over to the female carnivore dorm. When they got to the girls dorm both Anya and Sheila were waiting outside for them, the girls having done their best to look nice for Shinoku and Vega. While neither were wearing dresses, they had done enough with their looks and picked out nice enough outfits that it left Shinoku and Vega a bit stunned.
“Wow...” Shinoku said as he felt his cheeks heat up.
“Yeah...wow.” Vega echoed.
Anya giggled slightly. “Thanks, not looking too bad yourself Shin.” she said with a chuff, tail flicking idly.
Sheila blushed ever so slightly as she giggled as well. “Thanks Vega, you’re looking handsome.”
Vega grinned slightly, “Thanks.”
“I see you guys got us some flowers.” Anya smiled.
“Oh, right, yeah.” Shinoku said as he handed her the flowers he got for her, Vega handing the ones he got to Sheila.
“Thanks Shin.” Anya huffed as she kissed his cheek.
“Yeah, thank you Vega, that was very sweet of you.” Sheila echoed, giving him a kiss as well.
“We also got you girls each a gift.” Vega commented.
“Oh?” Sheila and Anya asked.
“Yeah…” Shinoku said as he pulled out his gift for Anya, a love locket, and handed it to her. “Here you go, happy Linked Souls Day.”
Anya smiled, chuffing as she took the locket. Opening the locket she saw a picture of them that Shin’s parents had taken of them at Rexmas and an engraving that read ‘To the tigress I owe a lot to, may this be the first of many gifts from the heart’. “Awwwe, Shiiiiiin,” Anya cooed as she went to kiss him. “Thank you, I’ll cherish this.”
“You’re welcome.” Shinoku smiled.
“And I got you this.” Vega said as he handed Sheila a red jeweled ring with an engraving on the inside.
“To a beauty of a cheetah that’s never to far from my mind.” Sheila read before blushing, a purr emitting from her throat as she gave him a kiss. “Thank you Vega.
Vega grinned as he rubbed the back of his head. “Heh, no problem, wanted to get something that’d compliment how lovely your eyes are.”
“Vega!” Sheila flustered. “You’re going to make me blush more...”
“And that’s a bad thing? If you ask me, you blushing only makes you cuter.” Vega chuckled, much to Sheila’s continued flustering as she punched his arm. “Anyway, you girls ready to go?”
“Yeah, just let us put these flowers up real quick.” Sheila replied.
“Be back in a minute.” Anya added.
Shinoku and Vega nodded, watching the girls head back into the dorm and waiting for them to come back. When they did, the four made there way to the entrance of the school, Anya leaning slightly against Shinoku as she had her arm around his while Vega and Sheila held hands.
“It’s a shame that Hassan and Jax couldn’t find anyone to at least give a card to.” Anya said as they walked.
“Yeah, well, they’re not too bothered by it. Besides, they got plenty of time.” Vega commented.
“True.” Sheila agreed. “What about Sebastian, have him and Nazomi set something up?” she asked. “Rex knows how difficult it is what with their relationship being...not exactly socially accepted.”
“They have something planned, and with Hassan and Jax having nothing to do they’re there to help out if needed.” Shinoku explained.
“That’s good to hear.” Sheila commented. “It’s still a bit strange, but I’m not one to judge given my past before Cherryton. If it can work for them, then I wish them the best.”
“Yeah.” Anya agreed as they neared the train station, soon boarding a train and making sure they stayed close together.
Much like Cherryton, the city was buzzing with couples going out and about on dates as well as various animals getting gifts for those they cared for. Almost everywhere they could look Shinoku, Anya, Vega and Sheila could see couples walking hand in hand or sharing affections with other. There were decorations on stores and restaurants with various hearts and other romantic imagery, as well as advertisements for discounts for couples. Admittedly most the couples, if not all of them were expected to be same species and in fact were, though it that was just the way of things. And while Cheetahs and jaguars were similar enough for most to not be able to tell too much of a difference, Shinoku couldn’t help but wonder if he and Anya would be seen as an actual couple.
Sure they were holding hands and being affectionate, as well as both carnivores, but they were still feline and canine. Still different carnivore species, rival ones at that, it’d be about on the same level as seeing a carnivore and a herbivore together. It was just the way the world was, expected couples were seen favorably and given preferential benefits while odd or completely different couples were at best just assumed to be friends or looked at oddly. A fact that was all the more proven when others cleared the way for Sheila and Vega, the looks they got more admiring and envious compared to the ones he and Anya got. Regardless of that fact though, and how he was seen at the Rexmas party Anya’s dad had, he was going to be damned to hell if he was going to let that stop him from giving Anya the best Linked Souls Day he could.
It didn’t take long for the group to make their way to where Shinoku and Vega settled on making reservations, a nice restaurant that was located near the center of town. It didn’t take long for them to be seated thanks to their reservations, their waiter quickly bringing them some drinks and bringing complimentary appetizers. While it was enough for the group, Shinoku noticed he paid a little extra attention to Vega and Sheila, despite being friendly overall. The group ordered not long after being seated; Anya and Shinoku ordering prime fruit steaks while Vega ordered a filet and Sheila a fruit burger. Despite the romantic and friendly atmosphere, their ears twitched as they waited, hearing as hushed and not so hushed comments their fellow patrons and the staff would make.
“What a cute cheetah couple.” One woman said.
“I think they’re jaguars.” her husband commented. “But yeah, they are cute together.”
“Agreed, they’ll go far. Even if they’re jaguar and cheetah, the difference is negligible.” his wife agreed.
“Right? And it’s so nice of them to let their friends join them.”
“I know, poor things must not have been able to find anyone.”
Shinoku just bared it like he did at the Rexmas party, not wanting to cause any scenes or anything so that their double date could go by without any issues, especially for Vega and Sheila who awkwardly smiled, feeling rather bad themselves for what Shinoku and Anya had to listen to. But again, that was just the way things were. They were rather aware of the fact that same species couples were smiled upon, given extra incentives and money to help them raise families. Those who were different, just had to get by on what those not married did. It was a harsh truth, one that Shinoku started to worry about even though Anya was wealthy and seemed to be the next CEO of the stripes conglomerate, he didn’t want to make things too hard on her.
Before Shinoku could stoop any deeper into his worries though he blinked as he watched Anya down her drink, turning to him with an annoyed look and then pulling him into a firm kiss much to his surprise. After breaking it the tigress shot a glare in the direction of the couple, causing them and any others making similar comments to hush up a bit and go back to their own business. Shinoku couldn’t help but have a somewhat dorky grin, his tail wagging behind him.
“Where’s my kiss?” Vega grinned.
Sheila smiled slightly as as she rolled her yes, lightly jabbing him. “You’ll get one later.” she remarked with a playful smile.
Vega chuckled a bit. “Looking forward to it.”
They didn’t have to wait too long until the waiter came with their food, the three taking their time and enjoying their meal. Despite the slight awkwardness of the comments of the other patrons a few minutes ago, none of them were going to let that affect their Linked Souls Day. Anya’s defiant display didn’t seem to really cause any issues, the other patrons having gone on and deciding to mind their own business aside from one or two that would make as quiet a remark as they could. Shinoku and the others ignored them though, choosing to talk about the upcoming semester and anything they thought about doing for summer.
“complimentary deserts, on the house.” the waiter said as he came back after they finished eating, handing a desert to both Vega and Sheila, leaving before Sheila could say anything.
“Sorry…” Sheila said as she looked at Anya and Shinoku. “This isn’t right…”
“It’s just how things are.” Shinoku shrugged. “You have nothing to apologize for. Just something else I need to make sure is on the way to being fixed if I become beastar.”
“But this was supposed to be a special day for all of us….” she sighed. “As tasty as this looks, I don’t think I have much of an appetite for it…”
“Me either.” Vega agreed.
“I know one thing, I’m not giving these bastards a tip.” Anya muttered.
Vega lit up slightly as an idea hit him. “If neither of us are that hungry for desert, why don’t I give you two mine?” he offered. “I wouldn’t mind sharing a desert with Sheila.” he smiled. “It’d be a rather romantic way to end the meal don’t ya think?”
Sheila smiled. “Sounds like a good idea to me, but I’ll give them mine.” she said as she slid her desert over to Anya.
Anya smiled. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to.”
“I insist, it’s only right.”
Anya smiled a bit as she accepted the desert. “Alright.”
The group started to partake in the deserts brought for Sheila and Vega, Anya and Shinoku taking turns eating the one Sheila gave them as Vega and Sheila ate his, even going so far as to feed the other once or twice. When they had finished, Shinoku and Vega paid their respective bills, none of them leaving a tip. “So, where to now?” Anya asked as they walked out of the restaurant.
“How about a walk through the park?” Shinoku suggested.
Anya smiled a bit as her tail flicked, “Sounds pretty good to me.”
“Same here.” Sheila agreed.
Vega chuckled slightly. “Looks like we’re heading to the park.”
With that, the four of them made their way through the city. Sheila moved a little closer to Vega, not letting the slightly uncomfortable occurrance at the restaurant damper the mood or her growing feelings for Vega any. Her tail swayed idly, gently bumping against his every now and then and ever so slightly wrapping around his for brief moments. He could be a bit..Bill-like, but in a good way. The most appealing thing she continued to like about him though was that unlike some jaguars she knew, he was pretty nice and chill, despite his more mischievous and troublemaker nature. She had to admit, there wasn’t really anything she found she disliked about him so far, and she could not help but smile a little as a soft purr escaped her throat.
It didn’t take too long for them to get to one of the parks in the city. Like them, a number of other couples had decided to take romantic strolls in the park; there were even animals set up offering to take picture of couples, selling heart shaped balloons, and painting portraits among other festive things. As they walked through the park, both Shinoku and Anya, as well as Vega and Sheila, decided to get pictures to commemorate their first Linked Souls Day together. After they got their pictures taken they continued on their walk, taking in some more sights as well after exiting the park before deciding to head back to Cherryton and making their way back to the train station.
Like before, they stayed close to each other as they rode the train back, the train just as full as when they took it to the city. When they got back to the station close to Cherryton, they departed the train, making their way back up the hill to school. As they walked, Shinoku and Vega briefly glanced at each other.
“Hey Anya, I got one more gift for you.” Shinoku said as he looked at Anya.
“Oh?” Anya asked as she looked up at Shinoku. “What is it?”
“A bit of a surprise, something me and Vega worked on together for you and Sheila.” Shinoku replied.
“For the both of us?” Sheila asked as she looked to Vega. “What do you two have planned?”
“Oh, nothing too special, just a little something we thought you girls might enjoy.” Vega replied with an ever so coy smile.
“Is that so?” the cheetah asked.
“Yup.” Vega replied simply. “But we’ll need to stop by our room first. Well, I will. If you don’t mind taking the girls to where we’ll give them the gift that is Shin.”
“Sure.” Shinoku said simply.
“What have you two got planned?” Anya asked.
“You’ll see, I think you and Sheila will like it.” Shinoku replied with a smile.
“Alright...but you got me curious now.” Anya stated.
“Me too.” Sheila echoed.
As they got back to Cherryton the four of them made their way to the boy’s dorm, Shinoku and Vega telling the girls to follow them as they made their way inside. The girls followed them, sticking with Shinoku as Vega broke off to head to his and Shinoku’s room when they got to the eighth floor. They continued to follow Shinoku as instructed, the wolf leading them further up to the roof.
“So, you guys going to propose or something?” Anya joked.
Shinoku blushed slightly. “No.” he said, trying not to sound too embarrassed, much to the girls amusement. “Just take a seat and relax.”
The two nodded, doing so and getting comfortable as they waited on their gift. It wasn’t long before Vega knocked on the door to the roof, Shinoku opening it for him and revealing Vega had brought their instruments. Anya and Sheila blinked, looking at the two in slight surprise. “You’re going to perform for us?” Sheila asked.
“Well, yeah.” Shinoku said as he took his violin from Vega, opening it’s case and taking it out.
“We both had thought of doing a song for you two, and just decided to work together on one sense we were going to be doing the whole double date thing.” Vega explained.
“Awe, that’s sweet.” Sheila said, her tail flicking a bit.
“Yeah, surprised you two got something ready in time.” Anya commented.
“It took a lot of practice, and I do mean a lot. But sense me and Vega have already practiced playing together here and there, it wasn’t too hard.” Shinoku explained.
“So, you girls ready to be serenaded?” Vega asked with a sly smile.
“Yup.” Anya and Sheila replied.
Shinoku and Vega began to play, starting out rather slow and steady, making sure that they stayed and tune and sync with each other before they continued. As they played though they got into more of a natural groove, the song they played surprisingly harmonic and melodious despite the fact their instruments were rather different. It made for a wholly unique tone that was rather enthralling to the two, let alone rather romantic. Anya and Sheila were completely fixated, enjoying the song that Shinoku and Vega were playing. And when they had stopped, the two of them clapped.
“That was beautiful...thank you.” Sheila said with a smile.
“Yeah.” Anya agreed.
Vega smiled. “Thanks, we would of come up with lyrics or something, but we were kinda getting down to the wire with just that.” he admitted.
Sheila chuckled. “That’s alright, this was more than enough.”
Anya nodded. “It was. And besides, if you really want to sing for us, you got a full year to come up with a song. But like Sheila said, just this is more than enough. And again, thanks” she said as she got up and moved to kiss Shinoku.
Sheila got up as well, moving to give Vega a kiss as she purred. “There, was it worth the wait?” she teased.
“Yup.” he grinned.
“Well, thank you for the date, I had a lovely time.” Sheila said with a warm smile. “I got some things to go over for drama club and homework to do...care to walk me back?”
“’’Not at all.” Vega grinned.
“I better get going too. Care to walk me back as well Shin?” Anya asked before grinning. “Of course, if you do, you might not make it back. I have been missing having a fluffy pillow.” she added as her tail flicked.
Shinoku’s tail started to wag, blushing as Vega and Sheila chuckled. “Heh...sure.”
“Sure to the walking me or staying the night with me?” Anya teased.
“Both, been missing it as well.”
Anya smiled as she leaned into him as she grabbed his arm. “And that is why you’re a keeper.”
Vega grinned as he looked at Sheila. “Am I a keeper?”
Sheila giggled slightly as she rolled her eyes, smirking slightly in return. “Hmm, hard to say just yet.” she teased. “Who knows, keep it up and I might say yes.” she winked.
Vega grinned a bit wider. “Heh, peace of cake.”
“We’ll see.” Sheila teased more before kissing his cheek.
The four made their way back down the boys dorm, stopping briefly on the eighth floor for Shinoku and Vega to drop off their instruments before continuing to descend the stairs back to the main floor and eventually out of the building. When they got to the girls dorm Vega and Sheila shared a goodbye kiss as Shinoku and Anya headed inside, using the fact that it was Linked Souls Day as an excuse to by making it look like he was just escorting her back to her dorm room, though they still made sure not too many saw them just in case. As Sheila walked back to her dorm room she smiled, she didn’t think she’d really be in a relationship given not just that she didn’t think she was anything too special, but her role in the drama club and other busy work let alone her past. But as she was discovering, Vega was just someone she really liked being around more and more, let alone the fact he was the most decent and forward guy to show interest. And that, that was enough for her to want to try and see just how long and far a relationship with him might go.

Hello there, been quite a while since I made my Persona 5 skin. That skin was made in 2020! It was one of my first popular skin releases I did. It's time to finally follow up with an appropriate sequel to the skin, Persona 5 Royal. It's taken quite some time to make this and it's a huge step up from the first persona skin, I hope you like the theming.
4 versions are available with lite versions of them.
Anyways here you go:
➤ Screenshots
➤ Gameplay
➤ Downloads
➤ Forum Post
➤ More of my skins
Enjoy the skin!

Hey guys.. So I decided to go back to Osu after like 3-4 years. Reinstalled the game, downloaded my skins and songs from the archive. Songs had no issue but the skins has a problem. I can't import it . I already did:
- default app .osk files to osu - compressing them to .osk files and open with osu

i need help with this part, i want it to be white but its not working ive tried everything
if you can help it would be much appreciated !!

super overused theme but idc and thought it looked cool and i didn't even start the skin with this concept in mind :skull:
anyways:
Download
Screenshots
was very inspired by moonshine skin bc it looked cool and stuff so enjoy! :D
also the only thing i took was the 100s, 50s and the miss bc i forgot to replace them with original ones (will do in the future)
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Updated 5/18/23
added button stuff
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Edit: this was meant to be a 1.0 ver of the skin but i can't edit the title lol

I've been looking for main skins for a while now, so I just thought of making them myself. I used osu!pure by castin as a canvas and started working on the gameplay, as well as polishing his already amazing work.
NOTE: There's a lot EXTRA content in each folder (cursors, followpoints, hitcircles...) so take a look.
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• Screenshots: Imgur
• Edits: pastebin

DOWNLOAD:

• [和] HarmonicBlend [和]
• [和] HarmonicBlend HDDT [和]
• [和] HarmonicBlend HDHR [和]

Credits:

• [和] HarmonicBlend [和] : pastebin
• [和] HarmonicBlend HDDT [和] : pastebin
• [和] HarmonicBlend HDHR [和] : pastebin

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Hope you enjoy these skins and plz enjoy game!

i’ve seen a lot of pretty cool custom skins for osu!, but have also been interested in getting my own. does anyone have any recommendations on where to go or who to ask? and also how much they are on average?