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f10werfae · 2 years

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Boutique for the Best☁️

Pairing: Chris Evans x Fashion Designer! Reader

Word count: 1,897

Summary: Chris and Y/n, the perfect example of the term 'made for each other’

Warnings: none, all fluff

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Requests are open!

Likes, Comments and Re-blogs are appreciated♥️

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(Y/n's P.O.V)

I’d argue that being a fashion designer is one of the most complex ways to create art, the ability to transform a whole generation's style with a piece of fabric.

I always knew I’d go to New York to study Fashion Design as soon as I was able to comprehend the idea of future careers.

Straight out of University I was given a job under one of my college mentors, a designer for celebrities, the opportunity of a lifetime.

Moving between celebrities was definitely an experience, meeting new people and making a name for myself to a point where I got my first permanent client.

Chris Evans.

I still remember the day my mentor told me she was going to finally let me go off on my own, someone had contacted her, asking especially for me.

That was him.

(Present day)

“Chris can you stop moving about, i’m trying to measure your chest” I whined trying to hold the measuring tape around him, despite him flexing his muscles every two seconds.

“I can’t help it bub, i’ve gotta show it off to you, afterall it is all yours” He turned slightly, winking at me.

“Just shush and let me finish” I said turning his head back to the front and taking down his measurements for his new suit I was going to create.

Having worked for Chris for about two years now, and dating him for a year, I still never get tired of working with him.

When I first walked into his fitting room, the atmosphere instantly turned hot with the energy. I still remember the way he beckoned me over with one finger and I was immediately in a trance.

It all got too much one night when he asked to measure me this time and wanted to have a go at creating a piece. Long story short it ended up with all our pieces on the floor and both of us in his Boston home. Well our home now.

“What do I get if i stay still then?” He asked coking his head to his side as I bent down to measure his pant length.

“A nice suit, now shush” I said swatting his ass playfully before finally taking down my last measurement.

“You’re mean, all i’ve been wanting today was one kiss bub”

“Yeah well this suit for the award show isn’t going to fix itself, you have three nominations so you need to look even more perfect hun” I said kissing his cheek, then rushing over to my work desk to start bringing over pieces of fabric.

“But what about you? You’re nominated for best costume design, what are you going to wear?”

“Oh baby you don’t need to worry about that” I said cockily smirking at him, his face growing darker at his realisation

“Okay I see how it is, is that right?”

“Mhm, now tell me blue or red?”

“Blue”

“Good choice bubba, now how abou-“

“you’re so warm Y/n” He said abruptly, wrapping his built arms around my waist pulling me right up against him. His head in the crook of my neck as I felt him inhale deeply.

“Are you smelling me?”

“I can’t help it honey, you jus’ smell so good alla time” Fingers dancing over my body, Chris' lips planting themselves on my neck only distracting me more

(Award show - 2 weeks later)

“Okay baby here is your blazer, shirt, trousers and tie alright?”

“Hey bub, isn’t your job as my stylist to help me get changed?”

“No not really”

“WELL, how about as my loving girlfriend who I want to spend time with”

“Fine you big baby come 'ere”

Letting him put on his trousers, I helped him to put on his shirt, that same warm atmosphere filling the air as I tucked his shirt into his trousers all while continuing eye contact. His deep blue eyes boring into mine with intensity.

Next was his tie, throwing it around his neck I pulled it harshly, pulling his face down to mine for a deep kiss with his hands gripping onto my waist.

“well look who’s getting frisky tonight” He said pulling away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Not replying I grabbed his new belt from our bed, putting it through the loops of his pants and buckling them, his hands now rubbing my arms.

“There you go baby, now you’re double the handsome”

“Yeah all thanks to my own personal stylist eh?”

“Okay now shoo while I get changed” I laughed shyly, pushing him out of the bedroom wanting to keep my newest design a surprise.

“What you’re sayin’ I cant watch?” He said confused, his arms leaning on the door frame making him look even more muscular and intimidating.

“No it’s a surprise hun, i’ll be quick i promise”

With one more kiss I got him out and put on the new two piece I designed specifically for myself which I paired with the gold jewellery Chris had gotten me for our six month.

Quickly applying on full glam makeup, which was rare due to my laziness but tonight was important to me, both because of Chris and myself. Putting on my white heels I grabbed my purse and walked out of the room, already hearing Chris downstairs with Dodger.

“Chris i’m ready” I called out down the flight of stairs, hearing the click of his shoes head towards the bottom of the staircase.

“Lemme see you darlin’”

Walking down the steps, I didn’t dare look at his face till I was at the bottom, but I didn’t even making it to then before I felt him lift me up,

“CHRIS PUT ME DOWN”

“Now bub are you sure we have to go to this award thingy, cus I know a few things i’d rather do instead” He smirked, putting me down at the bottom step, his hands going down to settle on my satin covered ass.

“No but seriously, you are absolutely gorgeous and there’s no one else i’d rather be seen with tonight, or ever again for that matter” He whispered dipping his head down for his lips to meet mine in a sensual soft kiss.

(At the Award Show)

“Baby don’t worry you’ll get all three nominations, I know you will. You’re the best” I whispered as we walked off the red carpet and into the huge venue filled with rows of seats.

Chris' nerves had started to play up again, resulting in him clinging on and using any opportunity to touch me.

“I know I know, I can’t help it”

“I know baby, but i’m here okay? You’re not alone, just think about that when we get home it’s just you n' me and whatever you wanna do”

“God if only that was all day everyday” He laughed throwing his head back, our fingers staying intertwined ever since we arrived.

With that the show started, the presenters taking their place on stage and starting to read out the nominations.

“The best male actor 2022 goes to….

CHRIS EVANS!” They shouted, a smile gracing it’s way onto my face as I jumped up clapping, Chris pulling me in for a kiss then walking up the stage to give his speech and accept his award.

“I told you you’d get it, I know my man” I whispered to him as soon as he sat back beside me, his arm settling itself on its spot around my shoulders pulling us even closer together, a light kiss being put on my temple.

“The award for Best Animated Feature goes to….

LIGHTYEAR!” Once again a smirk made its way onto my face, pride filling me as I watched my man collect his rightful award and come back to me.

“The award for Best Story goes to….

THE GRAY MAN!” Getting up for a third time I watched Chris and his cast mates get up on the stage, Chris' eyes meeting mine as he blew me a kiss and winked at me. A hot flush making itself comfy on my cheeks, making me look down and shake my head at his public display of affection, something I would never get tired of.

Now with him back beside me, there was only one category left, best costume design. I know I was up against well known names within the industry, people I know who have been in the business for years, people I studied in University.

Hell I couldn’t even believe I was put into a category with such professionals, me, Y/n L/n.

Chris must have sensed my uneasiness, squeezing me tighter against him, both of us watching while the presenters took out the card.

“The award for Best Costume Design goes to…

Y/N L/N”

I was shocked, sitting in my seat my face felt like it had dropped to the floor, Chris beside me had jumped up shouting.

“THATS MY GIRL” He howled, holding his arm out watching as I ascended up the stairs to collect my award.

Tears filled my eyes watching every known star sit down after the standing ovation which was pretty standard for each award, but for me it was still special.

Starting my speech I noticed one person hadn’t sat down once, it was Chris. He stood silently listening intently, his arms crossed over his chest, nodding at every word I said.

His eyes comforting me while I spoke, my nerves dying away and within minutes I was back by his side, right where I belonged.

“I know my girl” He said running over to me and spinning me around, grabbing onto my hand and pulling me towards the exit.

“Wait Chris it isn’t over yet?”

“I know hunny, but this is more important, trust me” He said turning back, opening his car door for me and getting into the driver’s seat.

“Won’t people ask why we just left abruptly?”

“Baby we just won awards we worked our ass off for, it’ll be fine, if anyone says anything it’ll be me they answer to alright?”

Turning his head to me he reassured, his hand gripped onto my thigh, our trophies sitting in the backseat.

“Where are you taking me anyway?”

“Here” Pulling into a random street in downtown I looked at him confused, watching him walk over to help me out of the car and into the building.

“Chris it’s beautiful but what is it?” I asked walking inside the door to see racks of clothes, it was clearly a clothes boutique, a fine one at that.

“Take a closer look at the clothes baby” Looking at the fabrics and designs closely, my body froze, they were my designs.

“I-I did you- Is this-?”

“Welcome to your boutique baby, you deserve bub” He said walking over to me and turning me towards the whole shop, which was decorated in light neutral tones, mannequins designed in my work.

“You did all this for me?“

“Of course, I love you, you deserve the best because you are the best”

Not even bothering to reply I buried myself into his arms, feeling an overwhelming amount of happiness and gratefulness.

“Does this mean that tonight I can get a-“

“Don’t push it Evans”

“Gotcha babe, don’t ruin the moment I get it” He sighed out

“But yeah most likely” I replied giggling, instantly feeling him stiffen underneath me.

#chris evans #chris evans imagine #chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfiction #romance #chris evans oneshot

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ritabuuk · 15 days

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For Webcomic Day, I want to make several posts sharing some of my favorite webcomics! One webcomic that I've been steadily reading for perhaps the longest time is Thistil Mistil Kistil by Sarah Schanze (@depleti).

Set in the time of the vikings, the story follows Coal, a young warrior who has recently died and who will not be able to enter Valhalla as he deserves until he completes a quest for Odin - he must find the missing pieces of the gods' weapons that the trickster Loki has previously stolen and scattered. As Coal journeys together with Loki to find the current holders of the missing pieces, he meets Hedda, an escaped slave originally from modern-day Ireland; Ibrahim, young prince and scholar from modern-day Spain; and Arne, a boy originally from North America but who grew up as an adoptive son in modern-day Iceland.

As the journey continues, it becomes more and more clear that Loki has meddled in these children's lives for a reason, and that Coal won't be able to complete his quest simply by returning the lost trinkets, and that the machinations toward Ragnarok have started to turn.

One reason that I really enjoy reading Thistil Mistil Kistil is because it stealthily teaches me a lot about Norse mythology and the state of the world at the time of the vikings, which I previously knew essentially zero about. The story itself gently includes any details that I would need to know. I can just be here enjoying a story about how each of the characters must face the troubles of their pasts and then decide for themselves what future they would choose to forge next - and later realizing that I now know a lot more about the different mythological figures, and especially that the world of the vikings was much more interconnected than I would have previously assumed!

And I bet for folks that do already know a lot about those topics, you will enjoy spotting all the extra nods that have likely have flown over my head (at least, I see some folks in the comment seconds squeeing about that sort of stuff!)

The art style was inspired by the movie The Secret of Kells, and also features some really awesome highly symbolic and stylized white-on-black title pages for each chapter.

My favorite characters in the story are Loki and Hedda. I absolutely love Loki's design and how he's so elegant and wise, yet also so goofily expressive, and also clearly an absolute disaster waiting to happen. I trust him very much even though I know I probably shouldn't, lol.

With Hedda, I love to see how she is a devout Christian, yet she doesn't know she's on a boat next to literally Loki and also an undead Einherjar. I also really appreciate watching how she changes and grows through the story, as she needs to decide what her new-found freedom means for her.

So I recommend you check it out! It seems like there will only be a few chapters more, so if you aren't already reading it, it's a great time to read through the story so far, and continue following along for the conclusion!

#webcomicday #webcomic day #webcomics day #webcomics #webcomic #thistil mistil kistil #webcomic review

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fourseasonsfigs · 1 year

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New Year Joint Special Project - Bedema Lake

At long last, I'm posting about the final set in this amazing series! It's been a long time coming.

This is one set in a collaborative series of six among five fig makers that were designed for the Lunar New Year 2022. This project launched on February 22, 2022, and included 4 Wenzhou sets and 2 Junzhe sets:

If you ordered during the early bird period, you would get a piece of a magnet which formed part of a larger piece of art. If you got all 6 magnets, you could complete the whole art piece.

My first post in this series was back on October 6, 2022, with the Armory set. I received this final set in the warehouse right around December 2022, but I had some delays of my own sending it out from the warehouse, and then I've been holding off on posting it until I had enough time, since this is gonna be a long post.

This was the fig set I was most excited about all of them (and I was very excited about them!), because the Episode 6 lake raft scene is 1) epic, and 2) so active it seemed incredible we could get a fig of them in motion.

This was not an easy set for the fig maker to make, either. She was displeased (to say the least, her text messages berating the factory boss for changing the specs without asking her were hilarious) with the factory's initial run of the lake water, as they modified it significantly from the sample. She had it re-run, and then had the factory include the version she rejected since it had already been made. After seeing the two versions, I really appreciated her care and thoughtfulness as to detail, because she was right - her original IS way better.

You can see all the pieces here. There's a lot of them! The fig maker helpfully posted a step by step guide to putting it together. The lighter plastic lake base on top is the one the factory initially made - it's just a light clear water colored plastic. The one on the left side is a much, much heavier, thicker piece of solid resin (? I think it's resin?) that not only looks way better but is much more stable. The figs are there in their sealed foil bags, and the lake raft together with it's bottom logs are in pieces around them. I usually have the warehouse toss the glue (it's restricted) for mailing, but this appears to have accidentally slipped on through.

Here's the logs attached to the bottom. I tried museum putty first...and then museum wax...but neither was strong enough for the weight of the figs. I had to end up cleaning all of it out and just using my glue. Funny I didn't even think to use the glue that was sent - I just pulled out my trusty industrial strength glue. You can see where the thin rectangular slot at the bottom fits into the lake base. I just flipped it over and glued it in.

A better comparison of the lake bases. You can see even more clearly here how much better the top one is in every respect. I'd make a horrible pun that the bottom one should be called Badema Lake, but we're all better than that.

We're gonna forget that pale imitation lake ever existed. Here we are with the real deal! You can see the peg up there on top for Lao Wen, and it's a bit hard to see, but there's an indent down at the base for our temporarily-still-Hobo-Xu.

By the way, I never knew this lake even had a name before this fig set, much less that it was called Bedema Lake. I feel like we're all better prepared for SHL quiz trivia now.

Here's Lao Wen with his balancing foot ready, and A-Xu with a very sturdy wide stance. No one told him when he was practicing martial arts that one day he'd be doing horse stance on a raft, fighting off weapons-grade flirtation.

Lao Wen would be delighted over this picture, since it looks like A-Xu is chasing him! I love the expressions on their faces - A-Xu looks wary, and Lao Wen looks absolutely, delightfully incorrigible.

Here we go with A-Xu getting fitted out for his pose...

...and Lao Wen landing as light as feather on the raft end!

Here's the best angle to see how both of them attach to the base.

Alright, we're going to go for a spin around the lake raft. This was a bit of a hard set to photograph, with the phone focusing on some areas and leaving others blurry, but please don't mind the amateur work. Here we go!

Looks like I'm going to use up all 30 of the allowable pictures per post for this one! Let me get one last angle...

And last but not least, the box cards and box:

Absolutely delightful, isn't it? I like the dog on the raft, and the cat just peeping out of the bushes. Too cute.

Material: PVC (figures) and resin (lake)

Fig Count: 283

Scene Count: 22

Rating: The pinnacle!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

#word of honor #word of honor merch #episode 6 #zhang zhehan #gong jun #zhou zishu #wen kexing #lao wen #a-xu #shan he ling #figthusiast

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foamywishes · 7 months

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demon beast meta knight 👀

Hi yes!!! So sorry for the late response! Demon Beast Meta Knight has been on my frontal brain lobe for a while so seeing this ask made me jump at the opprotunity to draw him. So Allow me to explain!

This is Meta Knight's Demon Beast form, a strange bat/orb like creature. The original design is by @frostedgrapepepper! We just like to call him a Batto though I'll think of a more proper name for him later. Meta Knight's transformation into this creature is due to succumbing to the darkness within his heart and allowing it to completely corrupt him. However because he wasn't committed to losing himself, Meta Knight (or Morien as he is named in my AU) is now subjected to a werewolf like transformation where he is normal during the day but at night he turns back into this creature.

The form itself is very upsetting for him. He's not used to the animalistic nature that it entails, and is far more aggressive without meaning to be. Often times he usually wants to be left alone out of fear of his ugly new face, but his granddaughter Myra refuses to leave him be. She will comfort him as being a half-dragon monster herself naturally she knows the pain he's feeling. Morien won't say it but he really does appreciate her company.

He still however likes to don his mask as it makes him feela little more secure in that aspect though.

Since in this form Meta Knight is unable to use Galaxia (wing hands are quite combersome to use you know!) He has instead gained a form of Monster Flame/Dragon Fire, as his main mode of attack. This blue flame can burn almost anything it touches and even go though walls. There's also attacks with claw swipes and wing beats too. So he isn't left totally defenseless in this form

This art piece of him eating a piece of blood orange is also by @frostedgrapepepper! Meta Knight's diet has changed significantly now. Most normal Batamon love fruit and veggies, but Demon Beast Morien also has gained an insatiable taste for blood. Batamon naturally are vampiric but not at these levels. If Morien doesn't get enough blood then he will actually go feral and do anything he needs to do to get it, its a constant struggle to maintain his sanity in this form. Thankfully fruits also do a good job when blood isn't available. Blood Oranges also work exceptionally well because of their color and the flavor is nice.

Lastly on these quick facts, Meta Knight does sleep upside down like a Bat. Since his transformation take place at night, Morien has found himself more prone to sleep during the day. Though he still can be up, he's gotten more sensitive to bright light and won't go outside much anymore until he's cured completely. How is the question as the Demon Beast Reversal syreum doesn't seem to work on him. Further research probably needs to be done. Hopefully these answered your question! I love him so much as a concept and drawing him today was so much fun! Thank you to Frost for doing some art of him as well <3

#kirby #metakight #hoshi no kaabii #kirby fan character #demon beast meta knight #headcanon talk #kirby rambles #kirby fc #kirby right back at ya #Silly goober #Perfect for halloween tbh

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stillness138 · 4 months

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As a companion post, i also redid my least favourite Gwent card art into a top 20, though i daresay a lot of the technical complaints are universal. I'll try not to be too mean.

Also under the cut.

My (but i am objectively correct) top 20 least favourite Gwent card arts:

They can't all be precious...

There's a certain amount of "why is she naked" or "why is she dead" or "why is she dead and naked" kinda art, but then Karol Bem rolled up and somehow made the card pool so much worse. At least Whoreson Jr. is technically impressive.

20: Ciaran aep Easnillen by Bryan Sola ...however i'm still allowed to not like it when my blorbos suffer on their card arts. Bryan is a great artist and i'm sure he didn't mean malice, unfortunately this is Ciaran's most memorable (read: literally only) scene. This is mostly personal bias.

19: Milva by Bartłomiej Gaweł To be nice! I like the tiled floor, that's a nice level of detail. I like her practical outfit in the spirit of the old minigame art, too. Heck, even the tragic irony of the scene wouldn't be so bad - she clearly shot before getting shot... If only this wasn't Milva's only card art for years and if she wasn't a well-explored book character with plenty of scenes to choose from. It could've been way worse too i guess.

18: Chapter of Wizards by Maciej Łaszkiewicz Listen. Maciej is a cool artist with a very distinct, also quite "classical painting" style. I like a lot of his pieces from the last card sets. But. Whose idea was to solve the question of representing a historically changing organization with a statue of its founders? Furthermore, who thought people are gonna be blown away by the in-game avatar this inevitably spawned? :D It's just funny more than anything. I guess I can appreciate the Lord of the Rings reference.

17: Mammuna, also by Maciej Łaszkiewicz This one is unfortunately not that funny. I'm not sure i can explain it; it's a Monsters card, offputting things are the name of the game. This is one of the artworks that definitely, or probably, fall under completely personal reactions, or at least i never heard loud complaints about it the same way say Coup de Grâce is widely considered one of the best Nilfgaard card arts. Maybe i don't like how the character design seems a bit random, maybe i'm tired of the tired witch=hooked nose trope, maybe it's the color scheme and weirdly unpleasant looking textures. I guess it's just very much not for me.

16: Selfeater by Alicja Użarowska Similar case as previously. I don't even mind a lot of gross art - the infamous Parasite (the parallels now that bg3 is out lol) isn't on this list - and the Monsters faction is there to go crazy with this type of stuff. And yet, i can't stand this little abomination, and neither can most of the Gwent playerbase. It's not even the toe-in-mouth that really makes it bad, at least for me it's the texture and stretching of its skin. It simultaneously looks like it's melting and about to tear apart. Just an overall no thanks.

15: Miner by Christof Grobelski Christof is my new, excuse the zoomer language, pogchamp, because i think he is severely underrated given the crazy impressive lengths he went into with card art like Vivaldi Bank and even Phooca, and Miner isn't really bad. Unfortunately, fear of depths.

14: Doppler by Bartłomiej Gaweł Bartłomiej loves himself some dirt and mud and wet beast wednesday, and i can appreciate that. But this one isn't it. The palette, the scene. This, beside Dudu's card art, is the only way dopplers are represented in the game, and that's a shame. Leave the poor soul alone :(.

13: Brehen by Oleksandr Kozachenko I'm sorry to say, this is the weakest Way of the Witcher art. I appreciate it's the one scene everyone knows Brehen for, but why must he look like the village lowlife parents tell you not to talk to? I mean, not that Brehen could be trusted with kids. He's despicable, but that doesn't need to be communicated by making him look unappealing. On the other hand, wouldn't his personality have more impact if he was comparatively good looking? Or maybe i'm a shallow bitch who'd rather some eye candy... To give some credit to the character design though, the fact the lady is wearing the opposite of revealing clothes is a welcome refreshment. And i quite like the shading on her clothes too.

12: War Chariot by Grafit Studio There are a couple of more fairytale-like, bright and whimsical card arts, and there are arts with smoother, almost glossy textures, neither is really my issue with this. What rubs me the wrong way is the scene itself. It comes off as showing the elves as something grotesque, the butt of a joke, and, sure, this is a Northern Realms card, but it still feels... unserious in the wrong way. Admittedly i am biased.

11: Toad Prince by Marek Madej It's again a matter of personal taste in the Monsters faction, because in essence, everything i don't like about it can really be justified by having the red faction sticker. But he still looks like a formless mass of vaguely green snot to me. And his comparably thin little arms look like he's wearing long sleeves that also got covered in green snot. Which, admittedly, was the case for the whole sewer in Hearts of Stone, so who am i to complain. It's far from the worst, maybe it shouldn't be this high on the list, at least this piece mostly fades into obscurity and Marek is an actually skilled artist. I'm saying this because Bem's time draws near.

10: Vilgefortz by Nemanja Stankovic Full personal bias. Technically very much fine between the different textures, little drama in the lighting and fire particles borrowed from Bryan Sola. Look at the crazed look in Vilgefortz's face, lore accurate. Then look at the gloves of the guy he's melting into paste. And then suffer with me.

9: King Radovid V by Nemanja Stankovic and Radovid: Judgment by Valeriy Vegera Ok, this is a special case. I'm lumping them together because my issue with them is the same; their metatext. CDPR has a very obvious boner for Radko and despite writing him to be a complete cringefail idiot, they keep pretending like he's the coolest mf this side of Yaruga. If they actually allowed him to be the 17yo grooming victim he is with some nuance and without the thinly veiled nationalism projected onto the worst possible candidate with no self-reflection, i'd hate his ass (at leas the Gwent one) a lot less. Also the second art is the stupidest decision in the last card drop. Calanthe died for this. Literally.

8: Saov Ainmhi'dh by Ivan Vilmant Price of Power's infamous outsourcing of card art led to this unfortunate letdown. The artist tried! You can tell. But, in a spark of bitter irony, the spectral deer ended up looking as plastic as the Hobbit movies it references.

7: Temple of Melitele by Karol Bem This should be higher and would be if i didn't have to go through some more "please don't do this, good artist". But trust, this is one of Karol's worst crimes against good card art. From afar it looks alright! Cute piece with maybe even a bit of an old postcard vibe. Then you look closer and it falls apart completely. From the top; some roofs have texture, some don't. Some windows and arches don't line up or have ever so slightly off perspective. In places that are unexplainably sharper or blurrier than others, it's apparent Karol used extra assets. And on the very left, the foliage just sort of blends in until it disappears, because Karol doesn't understand depth. As a cherry on top, check out the little wooden bridge making no sense. The more and closer one looks, the more of a mess it is. Karol, you bloody hack.

6: Savvy Huckster by Siarhei Hlushakou This one, surprisingly enough, is more bearable upon closer inspection, but something about it used to absolutely grate my nerves when i still played or watched the game somewhat regularly. I don't know if it's the odd use of its color palette, the kind of obsolete idea of a card to begin with or the weird rocks on the tray unpleasantly standing out, or all of the above, but i can't stand looking at it for too long. But again. At least the artist actually painted something. Right, Karol?

5: Kerack Cutthroat by Valeriy Vegera Technically alright, if only too dark and washed up. Then again, the scene itself is tired too. The "why is she naked and dying?" And actually, taking the premium into account, why must she be getting stabbed over and over infinitely? Y'all didn't think this one through, did you. I'm sorry Valeriy, i still love your art, but this one really wasn't it on pretty much any front. But, even for this one, like every other legitimate artist on this list, you get the honorary "not a hack" badge.

4: Saint Gregory and Rosa and Edna var Attre by Karol Bem These two don't necessarily have all the same issues, but i guess there isn't enough slots in the universe to describe Karol's astonishingly low levels of competence. St. Gregory suffers from Karol's lack of depth understanding, but moreso it's a good example of that thing he does where he applies atrocious amounts of noise or grain onto everything. Enlarge and look at the area of and around the center left guy in the forefront. I'm also really not a fan of the magic fire glow this thing has. Rosa and Edna deserved so much better. To get the carelessness out of the way, check out Rosa's thumb in the foreground. What. Both their faces are inhumanly smooth, someone said they might be 3D models painted over and i wouldn't be surprised. Even in such a detail as the texture of the wooden sword you can kind of tell Karol relies on outsourced assets and thelike a lot; he doesn't have that much of a personal style (other than the awful grain) so when a unique texture shows up, it's probably safe to assume he pasted it in. To top it all off, the lighting of this piece is atrocious.

3: Yaga by Bogdan Rezunenko and Lesser Witch by Karol Bem Fatphobia. Just don't. That's to Bogdan. You, Karol, quit trying to fit in with the cooler kids, and by that i mean you should've long since quit making Gwent art by the time this unfortunately saw the light of day. I did promise i'll try not to be too mean, but there really isn't much to say about these two. Bogdan is a capable artist who should maybe check his biases or maybe just think about whether the way too estabilished visual shorthands for evil are faulty (they are). Karol Bem wouldn't know believable illusion of perspective and good texturing if they smacked him across the face.

2: Artaud Terranova by Katarzyna Bekus Molegion actually tried to explain this one to me. And, sure, having terrible characters with terrible traits represented by doing terrible things is fine on paper. For once we got a book scene, too (god why are most of the book scenes in Gwent all the painful stuff), that's cool. Making the canon pedo fat, i think less so. It's otherwise technically a good artwork with merits, i like Ciri's hair, the textures in the columns and the color palette. The pose, as much as i hate it, makes anatomical sense (this will become relevant in a short bit). But i can't get over how in the premium Ciri has to wriggle around waiting for Geralt who just won't show up. In the end, did Terranova have to exist in Gwent at all? Since this was in the Thanedd drop, why not a Nilfgaard Isengrim card? That would've been cool. He actually has a few usable book scenes.

"Honorable" mention: Little Bird by Karol Bem Karol's worst tendencies: the card. A pile of assets, none of which are fitted, or in the case of the stuff hanging from the ceiling, even cropped well. Misunderstanding of depth, the hanging herbs are blurry but the guys under them are sharp, the items in the foreground are blurry again but way too much. Strands of the girl's hair straight up cut off in the middle and then resume again. And, of course, a noise effect to try to cover it all up. I swear to god Karol.

1: Vereena by, of course, Karol Bem I hate to hate it. Because it could've been another book-adjacent scene and the color scheme is actually a rare moment of brightness for Karol, because usually, Vereena is put in colder tones. But unfortunately, he bungled this one in a whole new kind of spectacular fashion. The leg. The leg is very obviously, undeniably, comically, anatomically...incorrect. The rest of her isn't very good either, the front hand looks awkward, her neck and shoulders aren't properly built. The foot is too small. Even the hair is made in a way that makes it look like a weirdly solid mass. The drapery doesn't make sense in the waist area. On a vibe or depicted scene level, there are probably pieces i loathe more than this one, but as an artist and a person with legs, the painfully obvious anatomy issue of this one earns it the title of worst Gwent art in my book. Karol Bem is a hack, which is why this happened at all. I'm willing to believe he's not a malicious person either, but he should probably stop seeking work in a field he clearly has to fake his way through. Perhaps he'd make a better graphic designer?

To add something more positive at the end of this list as a whole, Gwent has a card pool of, i believe, a little over a thousand and a couple hundred, and the strong majority of it are incredibly stunning works of art. The overall quality is of its own kind, and it's much easier to choose 20 amazing and impactful pieces than find 20 that are bad enough to be ripped apart online. The existence of premiums is cool, but the static art on its own is some of the best modern fantasy art to be found. That's really heckin cool for an obscure game set in a relatively obscure universe.

#shut up elis #the witcher #gwent: the witcher card game #bem gave me a tummy ache it's nearly 4am and i'm about to peace out #read peace as pass btw #(im fine)

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moe-broey · 7 months

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Since we're closing in on the end of the current book pretty soon, any thoughts about what direction FEH might go next? Or even thoughts on this book overall now that we're nearly completing it?

OHH..... when it comes to FEH's plotlines I am very much just along for the ride LMFAO. I know a lot of it is based in mythology (or at very least is inspired by it!), so I bet you Could piece together Something. Or even if you keep track of the teasers (BUT ALSO. THEY HAVEN'T EVEN DONE ANYTHING YET....... with that one teaser where Lif, Triandra and Plumeria are joining forces, the girls' objective to revive Freyja... I think Loki was there too? It's been a while!) (Actually. Now that I think about it. Where even DID that teaser go. Both Lif's and the fairies TT stories are fairly separate from each other. 🤔)

I do always get a little anxious near the end of a Book LMFAO, to the point where I don't look at it for a while (I think I'm one chapter behind rn). It's like... I generally don't have a lot of faith in the writers bc while they CAN hit really well, sometimes. They miss SO hard. And then there is So Much happening at the climax.... I'm so worried about how everything is gonna be tied up and resolved..... how are they gonna pull it all together? CAN they???? So scared.....

I've def said it before but I do think being a long time Sonic fan has primed me for this sort of thing LMFAO, even broadly across the franchise. Always approaching stories in good faith, always down to have fun even if it's absurd or corny or Odd Decisions Were Made or they had a REALLY GOOD CONCEPT but they dropped the ball somewhere along the way. I DEEEF approach FEH stories this way. And sometimes you are really pleasantly surprised!!!!

I think that's the relationship I ended up having with Book 7!! It can be tough for me when Yoshiku is the artist on board, since I am really not a fan of their work (sorry...). But I absolutely loved the designs of the FEH ocs this Book. Major test of faith was the "Please have a child with me" moment LMFAOOO NEARLY IRRECOVERABLE if I wasn't naturally inclined to Get Silly about it (What Is The Funniest Direction I Can Take With This In My Mind LMFAO).

BUT ALSO.... I JUST? Ended up REALLY loving Seidr as a character. I'm ABSOLUTELY in love with how each self of her's, while some bare a resemblance, none of them look like copies of each other (just sized up or down). Like even beyond my personal pet peeve of that, being trans/having A Lot of different looks in dif periods of my life. I ESPP appreciate the fact that Gullveig looks SO different from Seidr, esp as a trans person actually... cause even if you aren't trans, sometimes a new personal development will occur within you, maybe good, maybe bad, and it changes you. Which may also change how you present yourself! ALSO, the fact that Heidr had a completely different hairstyle, a slightly different body type (actually. Looking at her art I think I just hallucinated that LMFAOO but in my mind's eye I like to imagine Seidr's body shape changes/puts on more weight over time 🫡). Like they look similar enough that, yeah, they're sisters! But to me, Different Enough that the plot twist with Heidr ABSOLUTELY got me. I did NOT fucking see that coming and it absolutely shook me up 😨 (BUT ALSO. MAYBE IT WAS OBVIOUS. I DON'T KNOW ACTUALLY. BECAUSE I CAN BE SUUUCH A GULLIBLE AUDIENCE MEMBER TOO LMFAOOOO)

LIKE. I did NOT make the connection that Lif was Alfonse until like halfway into the fuckinh plot like RIGHT before it was revealed. LIKE. I am SO TRUSTING and SO HEAD EMPTY sometimes for fucking real I thought "Oh...! He Does kind of look like Alfonse... that's really cute, considering he's his ancestor and all! :)" HSKSHKSHSJ........ my man........ 🧍

At very least. I knew from the start that Bruno was Zacharias. At very fucking least I had that going for me 🫡

#ask answered!#sorry this took a bit to get to lmfao!!! i got. a liiitle tired 😅 (BUT STILL having fun!!!)#i love talking about The Interests...... 👁️👁️#thanks for waiting on me!!!#feh spoilers #<- just in case lmfao?#fire emblem #feh #seidr #yeah i'll tag her!!!

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tsaritza-mika · 2 years

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Helloooo can u do a mc who is Muslim w the main six plzzzz

I certainly can ^--^

I will be very upfront tho, I am largely a secular person outside of my literal mish-mash of random beliefs. I also tend to see most characters that way, unless otherwise specified within their respective canon universe, so this will be done as if the Main 6 either have their own beliefs, or none at all. This is not meant to offend anyone in particular who see otherwise. Ok, disclaimer over XDDD

~~~~~***~~~~~

The Main 6 w/ a Muslim MC

Asra

Is thrilled if you invite him to join you in practicing. He’s learned little bits and pieces of a ton of other religions during his travels, even joined in a few celebrations here and there, but this time it’s special. This time it’s with you

Absolutely adapts his cooking for your religious dietary restrictions. As a total foodie, he’ll even go the extra mile to try finding the most delicious versions of anything to fit your needs as well

Need to set aside time for prayer while traveling? Need or desire privacy? Of course you have it. He’ll be just a short walk away, ready to go whenever you are

Has no trouble at all fasting with you during Ramadan. Stocks up on a bunch of stuff for crafts to help pass the time so you aren’t thinking of food when the last few hours start to really sink in

Would love to help you add a few things of significance to the shop if you wanted

If you cover your hair/head, Asra will be all about making special ones for you. Tie-dye, fabric paints, needlepoint designs, even a few colorful beads if you let him.

Nadia

Familiar with the religion and its practices, but please, do tell her more

She’s had to both visit and entertain various officials and special guests who practice, so she’s happy to join in if you wish for her to

Has a great appreciation for Arabic calligraphy, and makes sure to put your favorite Quran passages into true works of art just for you

Though in the past it's been so people don’t recognize her, she’ll gladly join you in covering her hair now and then. Who knows? Maybe she’ll come to like it as a norm

Helping you through those last few hours of fasting for Ramadan is a breeze. Nadia is nothing if not determined, so as if she would allow herself to fail in this

Please tell her more. She wants to know more, and she loves seeing your face when you speak about things that you are passionate about and are important to you

Julian

“Oh, so that’s why you cover your head? Thank goodness, darling, I was worried you might not love your beautiful hair as much as I do...”

Likely knows a bit of conversational Arabic from his travels, but doubtful he could read any of it. But please teach him, he’s an eager baby when it comes to sharing knowledge

Really gets into the stories you tell him from the Quran, and can also go off on tangents about similar ones he’s heard from all over

Totally fine with your dietary restrictions and that you don’t drink. Drinking has mostly been a social thing in the past, and unfortunately he’s used it to help cope with difficulties, so he could really stand to pull it back a little

You will get constant questions about how things work within your faith and if there are any details he needs to know. What’s the right way to interact, if there are any special ways? Has he been unknowingly disrespectful in the past due to his ignorance? What are the rules?

He tries daily to make sure you know he wants to know all of you, faith and everything included. But keep an eye on him, because we know he can sometimes go overboard trying to please <3

Portia

She is determined to learn how to wrap/cover your hair perfectly, and is very into the idea of trying so herself. Never know if it could end up being her new thing if she never tries~!

Totally all over the food part of things. She goes the extra mile to take any dietary needs/preferences, and making them tastier than the originals

Will go out of her way to surprise you with Arabic script embroidery she’s done herself on some of your clothes and/or head coverings. Sometimes she’ll even get daring and add a few beads for some extra sparkle

Not gonna lie, Ramadan is tough the first time around, but she powers through it because no one can stop Portia Devorak when she’s on a mission!

Please teach her some Arabic so she can read with you. She’s an adventurous soul, and wants to learn more about everything

Invite her to perform your daily prayers with you! Of course she’ll respect it if you want privacy, but she’ll be over the moon if you want her there with you

Muriel

Very chill with everything, most chill of all of them, let’s be honest

Fasting with you for Ramadan goes over easily enough. He’s gone without a meal here and there before, so doing it with you as a simple show of support for your beliefs is easy

Literally the easiest to work with dietary and drinking restrictions based on your faith. He doesn’t mind not doing any of that, and he doesn’t even miss any of it

The easiest alongside Nadia when it comes to your daily prayers. Invite him if you wish, he’s not hurt if you’d rather have privacy. The important thing to him is you always come back, and hopefully happier and a little more peaceful in the process

Nobody even considers being disrespectful and removing your head wear when he’s with you. His past aside, Muriel is a huge dude, and that alone is enough of a deterrent

He will ask you about things, but it’s better if you offer the first few times. He doesn’t want to pester you, but he also wants to know more about you and how your faith has shaped you

Lucio

He... ok look, Lucio adores you; loves you to the ends of the Earth and back, but things like religion and religious practices have never been his forte. You’re gonna have to be patient with him, but the effort is definitely there.

Tries so hard to learn what everything means and why it’s significant to you, but he does struggle

The one part he gets without issue is that it’s a ‘dry religion’, so you both can sit down and talk about things. He doesn’t really ‘need’ to drink, so he’ll at least try to abstain to show you support, but he might still end up having a few if it’s for things like fancy dinners or important gatherings

Never really understood things like ‘prayers’, but is more than fine with giving you a special room in the palace so you can have your privacy during

If you cover your hair/head, it’s just another fabulous accessory to gift you from the best artisans and tailors he can find

Enjoys the stories and passages you tell him from the Quran, tries to remember your favorites

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heniareth · 1 year

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OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH my brilliant friend you know what? First the notification that you liked the ask game came up and the jittering began BUT NOW YOU HAVE REBLOGGED!!!! PREPARE. TO BE. ASKED.!!!!! Ok now I'll ask a lot, because I'm curious about a lot, and you just pick whatever you want to answer yeah? Yeah! <3 <3 I'll put this under the cut as it's ended up quite long (you said you were on the road tmrw and I didn't know if you'd be on mobile to answer, so I wrote the prompts here so you didn't have to get out of this to go back to the list-- god help me if it turns out there's an easy way to do it and I don't know it :P) Hope you're having a grand time!!!!

NOW!!!!!! For Astala my beloved, as she is always on my mind, let me put forth requests FOR: 1 (what is their colour palette), 2 (what does their handwriting look like), 10 (what piece of moody poetry or novel quote best encompasses your character), and 22 (what is some advice or guidance they received that had a big impact on their lives or outlook? was it a positive or a negative impact)

For Ilanlas my bitey beloved, who spins in my head like he's been glued to a chair-o-plane seat, I'd like to enquire about 4 (if your OC likes art, talk about what they would like best), 8 (if your OC were to live in an alternate time period, which one would suit them best), 12 (what is their character theme song and why? if it has lyrics, pick which ones best suit them), and 24 (is mental, physical, or emotional wellbeing most important to them)

And for Marelas my brand spanking new beloved, who is shiny and taking shape so gorgeously in my head, may I ask 3 (what architectural or design aesthetic would suit them best), 9 (if your OC were to imagine their idyllic life, realistically or otherwise, what would it be like), 23 (what sort of rules, routines, and rituals do they set for themselves), and 26 (if they were to lose the person closest to them, how would they mourn them and how would they handle their grief)

Plant, lovely friend!!! I am so excited for this!!! I did end up having to drive the other day (this is why the asks are trickling out of my askbox rather than being answered all at once), but here we are!!! And such asks!!! Let's talk about the beloveds! A cut is required because this never is short (please take as long as you like with this because it’s. Really Long.)

I appreciate you putting the whole questions into the ask so much!!! It makes life easier (and asks long, but no long asks ever intimidated us, did they? XD)

Astala

1 (what is their colour palette)

Oh boy. Astala loves her colors. She usually goes for muted colors. You know, kinda something like a fall palette. Here are some examples:

When she’s at court as arlessa or as the Hero of Ferelden, however, she very deliberately wears brighter and more saturated (and thus more expensive) colors, and if there’s jewelry involved she’ll go for gold. She’s definitely flaunting her status here in front of all the shem. At the Landsmeet, she’s well known for her red dress; a callback to her first encounter with the most esteemed nobility of Ferelden (aka. Vaughan). If she’s somewhere in her capacity as Hero of Ferelden she’s restricted to blues and silvers, sadly, but she makes it work (and work very well indeed, as Zevran would add). Below are the same colors as above with higher brightness and saturation to give you an idea of what that might look like:

2 (what does their handwriting look like)

Astala, dearest Astala, started her career of doing paperwork while having a fancy title with nothing to prepare her for hours spent writing (she does know how to write, thank you very much). In the beginning, her handwriting suffers from it. She grips the pen with way to much strength and either ends up with a hole in the paper or a cramp in her hand (or both). But practice makes perfect, and after a bit of practice, her handwriting is even and orderly as can be. She tends to make her lowercase letters pretty tall and overall her writing leans to the right. If she's sending informal letters (like the one to Sten) she likes underlining the important words to accurately convey the meaning and intonation of her sentences. She's also one to use several instances of P.S. to tell the whole of what she wants to tell. Her letters are mostly always nice and structured; she's better at accounting than writing, and tables are amazing, so she makes liberal use of bullet points and the like to speed up and organize the flow of information.

10 (what piece of moody poetry or novel quote best encompasses your character)

We've got a couple different ones here, so I stitched them together!

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." —George Eliot

This quote spoke to me because Astala was supposed to be a troublemaker like her mother and live a quiet, unassuming life like her father, was supposed to get married and start a family and is now a Grey Warden.

"Nobody protects us. So we protect us." —Miriam in Dragon Age: Absolution

This one is pretty obvious. Astala is big on protecting and wholeheartedly believes in her community and the need to stick together.

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." —Charles M. Schulz

This one just made me laugh XD XD Astala loves to enjoy things (regardless of whether they are luxuries or not), but she does yearn for close connections. And when she can't have them, having access to nice things is definitely a way she copes with a potential lack of close relationships

"But of course, your Excellence. A true commander takes responsability for the life and death of the men he sends into battle; it's only right and proper that he should be held accountable for them. At the first stolen chicken you may have my head." —Rankstrail in The Last Orc by Silvana de Mari (a bit of context: Rankstrail is sassing the local governor's military people bc they wanted to torture one of his soldiers over a stolen chicken. And the chicken wasn't even a fat one to begin with!)

This book series is a YA fantasy series that I stopped reading after some installments because the characters I loved the most kept dying or falling into depression with no visible way out, but it handles poverty, government incompetence and injustice beautifully. Incidentally, the government in question has a very futuristic style of architecture, and given the Italian name of the author I wonder if there are some intended parallels to a fascist government. Back to the book, Rankstrail is definitely one of my favorite characters and the whole series was very formative when I read it as a teen. I wanted to include a quote and this one stuck out to me because Astala has to navigate some authorities trying to pull one on her while sneering down on her as well. I think she and Rankstrail would find common ground in that (and in the book series the whole thing is amazing bc Rankstrail dances circles around these people but they always maintain the upper hand in the end because they have the power and the resources and he doesn't!)

22 (what is some advice or guidance they received that had a big impact on their lives or outlook? was it a positive or a negative impact?)

I've talked about how Astala has been impacted by her mother, for good and bad. Her father mostly taught her by word and by example how to look for work and keep it, as well as how to care for her family. I really should talk more about Cyrion, because obviously he had the bigger impact on her here, but I want to talk about Valendrian.

When Cyrion was still recovering emotionally from losing Adaia and physically from having spent a winter sick (half of it working), Valendrian often took the Tabris kids with him when he made his rounds around the Alienage. Other children in sinilar situations had other adult family members (aunts, uncles, grandparents, adult cousins) who could do the same; not the Tabrises, so the hahren had to step in. Working with Valendrian gave them something to do, connected them more with their people and allowed them to feel useful and capable in a situation that was very much beyond their control. He sent them to run errands for families who couldn't, to deliver medicine or food, to watch over kids, to help clean a house or a street or warehouse, or took them with him to visit people who were sick (and not contagious), alone or grieving. He also often took the scenic route to his destinations and tried to send two of them ahead or something to get time with the third one alone. With Astala he talked about her mother, about her father, about the weather, her future, Soris, Shianni, and, when she was fourteen and still helping him out, her crush on Alarith (that moment in the first chapter of her story when she offers Valendrian her help with Vaughan and Valendrian tells her to step back? That's a callback to those days, when she and her cousins used to help him all the time).

Basically, Valendrian tried to lend these three kids what support he could give them. He's Astala's reference for what leading a community looks like, and what a community is, how it works, and so forth. This comes in very handy during the Blight, but especially later, as arlessa. She is some steps further removed from her people than Valendrian was at that point, but the basic procedures stay the same.

Ilanlas

4 (if your OC likes art, talk about what they would like best)

Ilanlas is very much about statues and abstract art. I think he’d love the black and white paintings of Franz Kline. It's the kind of art where he feels like he can step into it; the feelingnis comparable to when he sees a grove of trees or a structure of rocks or a bend of the road in the distance and wants to go and check it out. These paintings form a kind of space for him where he can retreat into. It's very nice and calming.

He'd also love sculptures made out of driftwood, particularly those where the wood has been left to stay in its original shape. In his opinion, taking the raw material as it is and working with its shape instead of bending said shape to one's will is much more imaginative, creative, respectful.

And then, while snooping through the internet, I found this piece, Burning from Within by Christopher David White. It's ceramic, not wood, which is a feat in and of itself, but what Ilanlas would find amazing is the way the copper leaf on the inside really makes it look like it's wood being consumed by embers. He'd see it from the back and get all excited about it jntil he'd realize that the thibg is not a piece of a hollowed-out tree but. Y'know. The naked torso af a woman. That'd bother him a lot; the ubiquity of naked women in art in general would. Why does everything have to be about having the hots for random women? Wtf??? (He's very unimpressed by the countless Andraste statues everywhere as well. At least they're clothed.)

8 (if your OC were to live in an alternate time period, which one would suit them best)

I answered this one here! It’s kinda hard to find a time period that’d suit him. He’s so integrated in Thedas. But, now that I think of it, he would’ve had a blast in the 80s. He’d have his own painted van and everything. He and Tamlen would just take off and make a long, long roadtrip to wherever the road will take them. They'd set up camp in the middle of nowhere, stop in the desert and spend the whole night looking up at the stars, park the van in the curb of a steep mountain road to climb those extremely climbable rocks, watch the sunrise next to a gigantic waterfall that douses them from head to toe in fine spray water. Merrill comes along sometimes and has them stopping at tourist attractions, museums and canyons. Can you imagine Ilanlas with sunglasses and a bandana holding his long hair back? He’d have so much fun XD XD XD XD

That said, big aside: since the Dalish have ties to Native Americans, Roma and jewish people, all of the above might not've been possible. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the situation of these people in the 80s, in the USA and otherwise, but what little I know makes me think that Ilanlas would've been more preoccupied with travel restrictions, bad faith from the authorities and just the general population, poverty and all of its lovely companions. For his sake, I'd like that not to be so. On the other hand, erasing the past of other people is not good. I hope he does get to see at least one sunrise next to that waterfall tho

12 (what is their character theme song and why? if it has lyrics, pick which ones best suit them)

I have. Several songs I relate to this man, but here’s one. Sound the Bugle from the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

If you lose yourself

Your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight

Remember who you are

I don't have a lot of smart things to say here, except that he's really going through it. Where Astala is doing her damnest to eke out a place for herself, no matter how small, where she can live her life as close as possible to what it used to be, Ilanlas has thrown himself wholesale into the Grey Wardens. The only thing he keeps for himself is the right to take vengeance for Tamlen, and since that means killing darkspawn, it's not really something that detracts from his role in the order (while Astala very much does try to put as much distance between herself and the order as she can). Losing Tamlen was like losing a huge chunk of himself for Ilanlas. When he finds Tamlen again, these verses will be significant.

24 (is mental, physical, or emotional wellbeing most important to them)

I think his emotional wellbeing is the most important to him because it's the most fragile. He has a very decent pain tolerance and doesn't mind getting sweaty or having his legs full of mud after trekking through the countryside for hours. He's also good at problem-solving and decision-making generally comes easy to him (even if they're not always the best decisions).

It's the emotions that get him; some things hurt him deeply and he doesn't know what to do with that. In other instances it's just him losing his cool or being brusque and not thinking much of it, only to then turn around and find that the other person is offended and blames him. There are many people that feel things more deeply than him, and he finds it hard to understand that because to him it's no big deal. It's a bit of a vicious circle, tbh. He seriously and unwillingly hurts somebody and then gets hurt back bc the other person reacts negatively for no reason, seemingly. Or even lashes out. Long story short, it's the emotional wellbeing that bugs him the most and that is thus most important to him.

Marelas

3 (what architectural or design aesthetic would suit them best)

I think Marelas would enjoy the Arts and Crafts Movement. It's beautiful (could do with a bit warmer and more vibrant colors though), practical and it puts great emphasis on the craft of the artisan. This man enjoys having beautifully made things around him, and that's one if the tenets of the Arts and Crafts Movement. You bet he had a say in Skyhold's furnishing, much to Vivienne's chagrin. Too Dalish for her taste.

He'd also have a field day in the Library at the National Palace of Mafra, Portugal. Baroque isn't his favorite (it's very Orlesian), but this building in particular is grand, but not gaudy, well illuminated, probably very cool in summer, and has tons of space in case he wants to strew his papers around to arrange them on the floor and look at them from a certain distance to get a look at the big picture of things. He likes mind maps. Also, the building apparently houses bats!! How cool is that?

9 (if your OC were to imagine their idyllic life, realistically or otherwise, what would it be like)

Here are some of the things Marelas would love to have in his life if you’d asked him right before the plot in Trespasser kicks off:

Study lore!! So much lore!! All the history and the magic, medicine, cultures, all of it!!

Peace for clan Lavellan.

A long life for Keeper Deshanna.

Many people around him he can trust and rely on.

Frequently meet the members of the Inquisition, see what work they have been doing, maybe even continue working with them to enrich the lives of the people of Thedas (and enrich is the keyword here. He’s no fighter when he can help it. He’d rather pursue social or cultural goals).

Be able to often visit Dorian, very often (the separation hit him hard, harder than he wants to admit. He thinks it commendable and a good thing that Dorian wants to better his homeland, but at the moment when Dorian told him he was leaving, Marelas did feel a bit abandoned in favor of more exciting pursuits. He and Dorian did have the chance to talk it through, however, and have settled on an arrangement that, so far, is satisfying to both. Still, he misses Dorian).

Not have any world-ending threats hanging above his head.

Foster more community between the city elves and the Dalish clans (I think somebody from his family came from the city, probably an uncle who married into his mother’s side of the family).

23 (what sort of rules, routines, and rituals do they set for themselves)

Back at his clan, his routine looked something like this:

Wake up, have a handful of something, pray alone.

Do some stretching, have some real breakfast, revise what has to be done that day with Keeper Deshanna and the clan’s Second, and start. He sometimes works alone, sometimes they all work together or in pairs. They have a well-honed system.

Part of his routine is taking a round of the premises (wherever he is) and see how everybody is doing. He tends to do that around mealtime, after getting some work in.

If somebody wants to converse with him, he will tend to schedule it in the afternoon, preferrably right after having eaten lunch and taken a bit of quiet time to himself, or when the sun is already lowering towards the horizon. He finds these are hours best spent quietly, and that they lend themselves more to thinking than to doing.

He will also pray alone in the evening, right after dinner if he can manage. He will go over the day, write up things that have to be done next (either the following day or at some point in the future), offer up the good and the bad, and enjoy the quiet as the sun sets and the stars start to shine.

Prayer is very important to him, and throughout the day there would be more opportunities, mostly with Keeper Deshanna and clan Lavellan’s Second. He tries his best to keep this routine after the explosion at the Conclave, although Keeper Deshanna and clan Lavellan’s Second are replaced by Cullen, Josephine and Leliana. He does miss the more relaxed rhythm of the life in his clan, but he makes do well. It is strange to him to be at the head of a group instead of the leader’s right hand. He takes responsability quite seriously and the biggest break in his routine is him doing paperwork until way later than he intended. Sometimes, it’s almost a relief when he can leave Skyhold to go roam around Thedas.

Another big interruption to his routine can be any sort of magical or historical study that catches his interest. He’s an academic at heart. In the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, he was happy as a clam at first, searching for Inquisitor Ameridan, and even in the Descent DLC he would rather have spent time studying the runes on the wall than investigating the earthquakes. The Emerald Graves were a treasure trove (albeit a bitter one). If there’s a piece of work that captures his interest, he will get his duties done, sure. But later you’ll find him writing deep into the night. Sometimes his room looks like a tornado came through and scattered complex diagrams and drawings throughout. This turns a bit unhealthy after he drinks of the Well of Sorrows. He now has direct access to knowledge from Arlathan, and he considers it one of his duties to record EVERYTHING the well tells him. He ends up with incoherent scribbles more often than not, but at other points he wrote down a poem, sketched a view from the temple of Sylaise, found a recipe to help with some kind of cough, found hints of an old technique to enrich iron, and so forth. It’s fascinating, but dangerous. More than once, somebody else had to take the pen out of his hand and send him to bed, or otherwise bring him back to reality.

26 (if they were to lose the person closest to them, how would they mourn them and how would they handle their grief)

Ooooh, this is a heavy one. Let's do it >:)

Okay, first of all, Marelas would nowadays have been diagnosed with some form of anxiety disorder (or maybe even PTSD, since the symptoms manifested after an accident in which he nearly drowned). As part of dealing with persistent worries, intense fears of danger and death, and with a generalized feeling of helplessness and loss of control, Keeper Deshanna encouraged him to seek special connection with Falon'Din. The reasoning was that if he died, Falon'Din would be there; he wouldn't be alone. Take away some of the fear that death inspired, and everything would be much easier to deal with; that was Deshanna's reasoning. After all of that and all the events in Inquisition, Marelas likes to think of himself as someone who is familiar with grief and who knows that a loss such as this one will take time to heal. He will do his best to be patient and lean on other loved ones for support, to give himself time, to cherish the memories while stepping out of himself to create new ones. And he does good! He tries his best! He is able to step away from the moment, take a deep breath and brace himself for the things that are to come and he is able to stay moderately aware of his own wellbeing during the period of intense turmoil that follows the death of a loved one.

The reality, however, is that he's a very sensitive man who feels things deeply and for a very long time. He might be patient, experienced and good at taking his own feelings at face value, but his emotions are stubborn buggers. He'll most likely spend a couple of days numb, think that it's going better than he anticipated, until reality catches up to him and everything comes crashing down. After that, he will cry, a lot, but try to keep some of it to himself. He does occupy a position of responsibility after all, and he has to keep doing his work.

In fact, although he knows that giving himself time to actively grieve is important, he definitely puts his role as First (or the Keeper if it's Keeper Deshanna who died), well... first. If Keeper Deshanna died, he would even officiate the funeral. Embodying the figure of the First/Keeper removes him from his pain by focusing on other people's pain, although that's not the only reason why he blends into his role in the clan. He does genuinely want to help. It is, however, part of the reason why he spends some days functioning well while emotionally numb. He's not entirely conscious that he does this, and there's no easy answer here because he does have a responsability for the well-being of the clan. He does best when he has somebody that will step past the whole "he is responsible for everybody" thing and makes him contemplate how he is doing as a person. Hold a mirror in front of him, so to say. So yeah, that's him if somebody close to him from his clan dies.

If Dorian died... well, that's a whole other thing. He doesn't have any official role to disappear behind here, although he definitely would find something to try and occupy himself with. He'd definitely be at the funeral, and he'd definitely ask if he could help with anything. But he's out of his depth in Tevinter, and he's Dorian's partner from down south. Despite his best efforts, he'll have everybody's attention and he'll be at an utter loss on what to do.

So he'd do his best to hold his tears in and cry when he's alone. He'd try to meet Dorian's friends and family and establish at least a bit of a positive relationship with them. And in the process, he'd probably have at least one moment where he'd crack under the pressure and either run away or cry somewhere totally inappropriate and end up mortified and with all the pain spilling out.

All of this, of course, if Dorian or Keeper Deshanna didn't get assassinated. In that case his new mission would be hunting those bastards down, and that's what he'd stand behind until the emotions one day suddenly catch up to him. And he’d go for it with a lot of zeal. He isn’t an easy one to anger, but when he is angry, it holds for a long time.

After having digested the heap of emotions, he does his best to celebrate the person he's lost. He's quite meticulous about marking death-days, and consciously makes space on those days to remember and honor the deceased. He might put up an altar with things that remind him of them and spend a good chunk of the day reminiscing and talking to them (without receiving an answer of course. He might be a mage, but communion with the dead is rare). And he would honor them by trying to help along whatever efforts they pursued in life, if the chance presents itself. Falon'Din is still a god he holds in high regard, even if after Trespasser the elven gods as a whole are unstable ground to him, and honoring the dead is very important to him.

---

And that’s a wrap on these three! I hope the wait was worth it, and if you’ve read the whole thing, kudos to you! This was a very nice brain exercise XD XD XD It was really cool to get to know Ilanlas’s taste in art, tbh. I had a vague idea, but now I really want to sit down with him and talk about modern art. There’s a lot to go into there (starting with what the devil IS art??) and it’d be so interesting to hear what he likes and doesn’t like. Thank you so so so much for these wonderful questions!!!! I hope you are having an absolutely splendid few days!

#astala tabris #marelas lavellan #ilanlas mahariel #dai #dao #dragon age #ask game #for fun

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kiwipineappleparasol · 11 hours

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TTYD remake Rambling -- Stuff up until the end of Chapter 2 talked about here

The TTYD remake has so much attention to detail put into it it's crazy… Like, there's the big things to improve the general experience for both newcomers and returning players; the Partner Ring and the new pipe system are much more convenient so far. And the battle tutor toad is great for practicing those tricky Stylish Moves with alot more precision than just going off Eddy's well meaning but ultimately still vague advice, considering some of these timing windows are crazy fast. Or the new partner hint system! I never really got stuck in these games, but I know that it's just a much better mechanic than going allllll the way back to have your future path read if it's something you need. Plus, I love any new dialogue for my little friends, even if they're ordering me about haha.

The layout for everything is so slick now too! And I love the fact you can unlock art and music in the menu by collecting Shine Sprites and Star Pieces -- while already useful in-game, it's just extra incentive to get them. Especially star pieces -- I really wanted to collect them in all these different areas and see the art! And it was sooooo worth it. Concept art for not only the remake, but for the original too. Stuff I've never seen before! Makes me wonder if they got it released just for this remake, yaknow? Just really cool to look through.

I love all the little things too. The new animations of course are obvious, I adore those -- they really add to the personality of the characters. But I also love stuff like how everything in the environment reacts to you, how instead of shaking bushes you crush them, being able to whack literally everyone over the head brings Such Joy …

I think Zess T uses unique cooking utensils for each recipe, which I don't believe was in the original? I think that's so cool ! Like this attention to detail is what I'm talking about. This was a completely frivolous change, but they did it anyways -- and that to me, shows the care put into this.

(Unrelated, but the animation of Mario getting trapped in the bubble in the Boggly Tree is sooooo silly… Pretty sure that was in the original but still. I enjoy Flurrie's personality too -- I never really appreciated it as a kid because I wasn't a fan of her design so I never used her. It's still definitely not my favorite haha, but I could appreciate her more now.)

Also the way they changed the dialogue about the Shadows -- I didn't want to just believe wholeheartedly that they would change the translation, but they actually did here! They didn't do a direct translation of the original Japanese version from my understanding -- opting for Beldam's transphobia to be in how she disregards the sister label but gives a very flimsy excuse for it, when it's obviously out of cruelty -- instead of outright misgendering. But Vivian saying that she just likes it when she's called their sister made me so sad… Vivian you deserve better!!! Another great thing about the new changes: you can whack Beldam over the head all you want in the overworld!

I still can't believe we're in a world where a remake with such care put into it exists for a game I thought would never be ported, let alone treated with such love. And even changing the English Translation regarding Vivian's character? I never in a hundred lifetimes would believe that would happen! It's honestly quite surreal for me.

This feels like such a love letter to the fans of this game, like an early birthday present delivered right to my door. It's honestly hard to describe how much fun I'm having with it and everything I enjoy about it -- I just wanna keep playing, haha. Chapter 3 is when I remember getting really invested in this game as a kid, for various reasons -- so we'll see if I come back for another Ramble then.

Bonus: the scene that my mom kept calling “Flurrie knocking over Mario with her boobs” And wouldn’t stop laughing about

#I think the one change I'm confused by is why you don't lose coins when running from battle #also don't take this for me saying that TTYD Doesn't have anything worth criticizing Here or There even with the changes #Girls Please! Mario did not ask for your advances! Even if it's just a cheek smooch #Can't even say “make it Equal” because Koops has a girlfriend. Well Noone should be making Unwanted Advances either way but still #Eh. Actually I think Koops would have his loyalty falter . He does technically leave his girlfriend for Mario after all (joke)#What the fuck am I even talking about #Dumping from the parasol #paper mario the thousand year door

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starlight-time-machine · 2 months

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Week in Review

03/17/2024 – 03/23/2024

Sunday

Week 6 of missing Cipher Academy.

Finally got around to watching the new Drag Race episode, and it was fine. At least it was better than last week… Plane Jane trying so hard to read Dawn was funny, when I also thought that Plane’s dress was pretty basic and barely even fit the brief. The mini challenge was fun – it seems like they’re going to make this a regular thing going forward, and I think that’s a good idea. It really showcased how well Sapphira knew the other girls lol The maxi challenge was also okay…I did have to skip Mhi’ya and Dawn’s presentation because I can’t stand secondhand embarrassment, but the others did relatively well. I know a lot of people were up in arms about how Plane and especially Q should’ve won, but I found their set a little…overly rehearsed and over the top to the point of being alienating. And their jokes were just okay. Sapphira and Nymphia also had pretty okay jokes, but Sapphira’s charisma just draws people in, and I think that’s what gave her the edge. And, if I’m being really honest, it’s extremely funny to see Q so shocked at Sapphira winning, and it looks like there’ll be an entertaining fight about it next week. The Mhi’ya and Morphine lip sync was…interesting…the cape throw was certainly a move… It was a nice cap on the Mhi’ya and Morphine rivalry storyline, I suppose, but as a lip sync it just felt awkward to watch.

Watched Nijigasaki’s 4th Live, Love the Life we Live while I did some reading, and it was pretty cute. This batch of solos were all decent, and I loved seeing Shu Uchida performing – she looks like she’s having a lot of fun and is super in her element. Seeing Akina Homoto perform is also great, and Lanzhu hasn’t had a bad solo so far. The cat ears for Happy Nyan Days were cute, the Santa capes for Twinkle Town were cute, and the Osaka-ben for MIRACLE STAY TUNE was fun. A decent live overall.

Manga Sunday time! Undead Unluck continues to deliver on the lore and the stakes raising – it’s hard to imagine actually losing anyone in this loop after the failure of the last loop, so I’m glad to see Tozuka finding ways to still make each victory feel earned and against insurmountable odds, because otherwise the victory lap would go on for way too long. I’m excited to see what Language can do, and how Nico and Ichico will counteract her. This loop looks like it’ll be a battle of wits between the two Round Tables, and that’ll be a blast to watch play out.

RuriDragon is more of the same…once again the dialogue writing is really verging on cringe and alien for me, and for such a story light/character driven narrative, it’s making me want to drop the series entirely… Okay, one more week, and then I’ll decide.

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OKAY I TAKE IT BACK…OR RATHER, OSHI NO KO SAVED ITS ENERGY PULLING ALL THOSE PUNCHES JUST SO THIS ONE WOULD LAND LIKE A TRUCK… I mean, I do appreciate Aqua and Ruby’s relationship on a level of like, it must be somewhat comforting to Aqua to see a patient he failed in his past life living out her dreams now…but man, I have no idea how they’ll move forward with this storyline or resolve the incest of it all… Are we to expect that Aqua and Ruby are actually…lovers now? And that they’re just going to go through their whole lives hiding this relationship from the world…? I imagine Aqua will put an end to it eventually, but Ruby doesn’t seem like she’ll ever give up, so…? And man, if this movie came out in the real world I feel like there’d be people pushing to stop its release due to the on-screen actual incest kiss LMAO Well…either way, I’m in it for the long haul just to see how the story ends, so. Also side note but the art was really cute this chapter. They were really building up to this, huh.

Magilumiere fine.

Chainsaw Man… The Guillotine Devil’s design is super cool.

Woah… One Piece… seeing the Five Elders in their true monstrous glory is amazing… I especially like Bakotsu, the skeletal horse. But wow, this truly feels like an all-out war at this point.

Godddddd that was the best SpyFam chapter in a long while…I actually laughed out loud at the comedy for once, and the climactic payoff was so moving… It’s enough for me to want to do a livetweet of the chapter: I love Loid practically breaking his arm to marionette Anya around, and her childish need to show off just added to the comedy. The obstacle course was also cute, complete with Anya’s secret talent of “moving weirdly.” And then there’s Loid panicking at the quiz, only for Anya to obviously excel – but I do appreciate that she would’ve gotten the last question even without her mind reading (in this moment, at least), because she’s genuinely gotten to know Damian better. This whole competition thing was pretty silly, but it was a nice way to find an excuse for Damian and Anya to dance because Damian’s pride would’ve never let him do that otherwise. AND THEN SUDDEN HENRY/MARTHA SHIP FODDER????? I guess I should’ve expected it since they’re both named characters who are single and of the same age bracket, but damn I didn’t expect to actually be fed…I love seeing weird side pairings, and Martha’s super cool, so this was a fun surprise. AND THEN THE DAMIANYA DANCE it’s so cute… Loid leaving Anya to handle the situation on her own because he trusts her… Damian and Anya actually having a private conversation without their usual hostility or tsunderism or friends butting in with their own assumptions… Damian letting some cracks in his armour show and Anya noticing this… ANYA DECIDING TO TELL HIM SHE CAN READ MINDS AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS THE MAJOR STATUS QUO SHIFT I WAS DESPERATELY WAITING FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course Damian wouldn’t believe her right away, but I hope to god it doesn’t take another hundred chapters for him to be like “wait…this literally explains everything about why she’s so weird.” It’d be so cool if he and Anya could share this secret, and maybe they could even help each other out if they ever face something like the bus jacking again… Anya’s weakness has always been that she doesn’t have the skillset to effectively use the crucial information she can gather, so if Damian could help her strategize, I think that would make for some really fun developments. But for now, I’m just glad we seem to be moving forward.

Watched through the Karen Bee arc in Nisemonogatari, and it was…okay? I find it hard to follow some of Monogatari’s long winding conversations sometimes… Like, why does Araragi say that Karen’s conviction isn’t enough because she’s fighting for other people when he’s literally doing the same thing…? Why put down her self-sacrificing tendencies when Araragi was literally ready to give up his life to save a random vampire he just met…? And why was this enough to convince her to back down? I like Kaiki as a villain, and I like his jaunty little theme song and his tired sounding voice, but why did he agree to leave town so easily…? Maybe his motivations will be answered later on? Was he lying about leaving? But surely Araragi and Senjougahara would’ve realized that he was just saying he’d stop so that they’d leave him alone? It often feels like Monogatari is operating on a level of specificity and pedanticisim that leaves me feeling lost, because all this high-minded talk of being right or wrong or enacting the “right” kind of justice or enacting justice for the “right” reasons just feels sort of like…at a certain point, I’d rather see some actions being performed rather than long diatribes about how and why certain actions should be performed. I don’t know, I’ll go read some essays I guess, but I feel like I’m just not getting into the groove of Monogatari the way so many people seem to have done. I do like Araragi and Senjougahara’s insane little romance, though, and the way Senjougahara is so unrelenting but he accepts her anyway. Senjougahara and Hanekawa’s relationship is also interesting, and it seems like that branch of the love triangle will be explored further so I’m looking forward to it. And oh my god I’m so glad I watched things in novel order, because I would’ve been so much more confused if I hadn’t watched the Kizumonogatari films before this.

I do wonder, sometimes, if I’ll ever actually truly love Monogatari. I love Cipher Academy a lot, so I wanted to give Monogatari a shot as Nisioisin’s supposed magnum opus, but seeing people heap praise onto Bake and Kizu and not feeling particularly strongly about either of those series gives me pause… I guess it’s just like, none of the philosophical questions that Monogatari has posed so far actually interest me? I don’t really like altruistic to a fault protagonists who would do anything to help anyone no matter what, and that’s literally Araragi’s biggest character flaw. And the show supposedly explores this flaw of his, but so far it hasn’t really given him any lasting consequences. And while I can relate to Hanekawa in certain ways, (and honestly some parts of her emotional turmoil parallel mine a little too well) I still haven’t really gotten emotionally invested in her…perhaps because I tend to just compartmentalize and move on, while her compartmentalizing comes back to haunt her. And now Nise’s theme of real versus fake feels so boring…it seems obvious to me that after a certain point, if one’s tangible features and or actions are indistinguishable between real and fake, then it doesn’t matter if one had the intention of being a fake. In other words, intentions mean little in the face of tangible reality and how one’s actions actually affect others. This seems fairly basic, but it looks like we’re going to take 11 whole episodes to spell it out, so it feels a little frustrating. I don’t know…I really want to like Monogatari, but it’s just not hitting.

Did some reading of the second book in Pseudonymous Bosch’s Secret Series, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, and…I guess if I were to make comparisons to Mysterious Benedict Society again, it would be this: in Benedict it feels like the kids are rising to the challenge of the adults and the real stakes they pose, but in the Secret series it feels like the adults are lowering themselves to the kids’ levels in order to give them a fair shot. It’s satisfying to read Benedict to this day because the kids have to be genuinely resourceful and clever enough to not just solve puzzles but to social engineer their way out of harrowing situations with what resources they have. In the Secret series, the adults may threaten the kids’ lives, but as long as the kids conveniently know rope escape tricks or have some special gadget or can solve a basic riddle, they’ll succeed. It’s just not as compelling to read…but I’m a bit stuck because I actually own the third book in this series (childhood birthday gift) so I feel the need to read through the entire thing to see if I still like it. Granted I’m still in the first half of this book, but already the puzzles don’t feel that well thought out – first off, why give Max-Ernest a literal magic decoder that would either render all puzzles moot or require a “oh it won’t work for This puzzle because of this or that,” rendering it useless?? Just don’t put it in the book… Secondly, you’re telling me that Cass has perfect pitch (so that she could sing the song accurately to Yo-Yoji) AND she takes oboe lessons, but didn’t even think to transcribe the notes to see what they said until the resident new kid mentions being in a band???? God, I had issues with Baccalario’s Century series and Andrew Clements’ Keepers of the School series, but at least they had some puzzles that felt like actual challenges instead of just being solved by happenstance or extremely basic lateral thinking. Also I wish Cass and Max-Ernest had some more personalized motivations as to why they’re doing all these things – just wanting to go on an adventure and become a part of a cool secret society isn’t enough…at least Century had one of their friends in mortal peril and Keepers had their whole school at stake. Also also I always liked how in Benedict, the kids being key agents in the plan to the save the world seemed to pain Mr. Benedict due to the danger it would put them in, but there was good reason as to why only children could’ve done it, and they went into the plan knowing the risks. Here, Pietro all but shoves the Magic Item du Livre at Cass and gives her some vague “only you can do it” platitude before seemingly throwing her into the deep end with the Midnight Sun, who already know where she and her friends and family live and could harm her at any time. (Speaking of which, what was the point of sneaking into her house and retying the floss she had set-up as a detection mechanism if you’re just going to leave her torn up sock puppet on her bed anyway…) I know it’s pathetic to complain so much about a children’s book, but hey other children’s books have done it better, so why can’t this one? Kids (and weird adults like me) deserve good literature too.

Monday

Work

Tuesday

Work

Wednesday

Work

Thursday

I’ve been grinding this work thing nonstop with little sleep and about one meal a day, but I didn’t want to miss DunMesh Thursday…plus, Senshi would be disappointed with the way I’ve been living lol so I decided to splurge and order some chicken tikka masala, and the local Indian place was nice and gave me some free naan to boot. Unfortunately the episode itself was a little underwhelming…? I didn’t like some of the directorial choices like the weird trajectory of that one digital zoom or the lack of impact for Marcille’s dark magic…the blood bubbling up to form Falin’s body was cool, but I was missing some of the darkness and solemnity that the scene had in the manga. Also I’m so sad that Laios’ hug was also pretty nerfed, his expression was so complex and layered in the manga but the anime only gave it about one single second of airtime… The bath scene was also missing some of its subtle ominousness from the manga… I don’t know, the vibes in this episode were just off to me, it felt like Falin’s return sunk in way too easily. But it’s nice seeing more of who Falin actually is and how she fits into this group, and Laios subtly bragging in that older brother kind of way was so cute and demonstrative of their bond.

Read the latest chapter of Asada Nemui’s Living Dead – I don’t have much to say about it but I’m nervous for Nogami getting too close to the truth.

A Second Goodbye to You finally ended…what a disappointing story this turned out to be. Whatever vague time travel rules the mangaka established just get thrown out the window completely as Hinata jumps around and teleports to key moments and locations in order to prevent disaster (which makes all of his earlier struggles with getting to certain places as a teen or as a kid feel so pointless). And on top of all that, he gets to relive his high school days and Sora gets away from his parents somehow (even though Hakuraku no longer being a part of their lives really shouldn’t have affected this much), and everything just magically and conveniently works out for everyone. I think the earlier part of this manga was intriguing because it could often shock the reader with sudden violent twists, but when it came to actually explaining what was happening and people’s motivations, it just completely fell flat. OooOOoOh he’s EVIL because he loves DEATH and DYING and wants to turn it into ART like this is some 12 year old’s conception of a “crazy” bad guy. For annoying me so much, I’ll give it a 2/10.

Friday

Drag Race was okay…I kind of don’t get how these room design challenges relate to the skillset that a drag queen needs other than like, improv comedy I guess? Q being heated continues to be very funny, especially as Sapphira and Plane Jane get a team win. It feels like Nymphia’s chances of winning are slipping further and further away, but I hope I can be proven wrong. But also, to echo the words of literally every single tweet in the Drag Race tag today, they really set Dawn up with that song.

Daraku Kazoku-ron caught my eye for being an interesting take on the “two guys raise a kid together” BL – I normally don’t really like them when they’re overly fluffy and moe-focused, but this one has been enjoyable so far. I like that Meguru isn’t just a cute kid but a little surly, and has her own opinions on the situation and how her mother treated her. The two guys already having a history gives their inevitable relationship a stronger base to stand on, and there are some actual themes of self-improvement and scenes of the two trading their differing philosophies that I appreciate. I also like that they didn’t cheap out on Touma’s shady occupation and he’s actually a yakuza, which should make for some interesting story developments in the future. I’m looking forward to the rest of this one.

Saturday

Work ahhhhhhhhhhhghhhhhhhhhhh

#week in review #2024

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smokeybrandreviews · 2 years

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Raising Hell

I watched that new Hellraiser and planned to write a proper review on it but i found myself at a loss. How does one “review” a Hellraiser film? How does someone objectively ascribe a recommendation to a film that is so very obviously sadistic for the sake of sadism? I once recommended seeing Neon Demon to all of my friends and they came back to me perturbed. The purveying consensus was one of disgust and indignation. I was judged for enjoying the film so much and i did not understand why. Neon Demon, to me, is a beautifully shot, character study, of a woman who betrays everything she is while chasing an ideal, a pursuit that eventually takes her life. I loved Neon Demon as much as Drive. The same kind of thing happened with Under the Skin, Annihilation and The VVitch. Cats look at me odd when i say these types of films are absolutely brilliant or bewilderingly gorgeous, a sentiment i hold for this new Hellraiser film.

I can find beauty in anything. I think there is an inherent allure to everything, including the macabre. It’s not always obvious but, to some, me, a semblance of enchantment can be carved out of the grim. There is a famous photo of a suicide called “Sleeping Beauty”. This picture is captured minutes after Evelyn McHale had thrown herself from the Empire State Building, crashing into a car below, coming to rest as if she just laid down for a nap. It’s an absolutely stunning picture but it is a picture of a dead woman. I can recognize both but one doesn’t diminish the other for me. I am a fan of Clive Barker and the cinematic interpretation of his Hellbound Heart. Doug Bradley brought a classic horror monstrosity to life. I loved the sadomasochistic edge those first few films had and, in all of the debauched pleasure, there was a certain, unnerving, beauty. The world of the Labyrinth was amazing to witness first hand. The leather bondage and flayed flesh outfits were a visual feast, even if they were horrific in presentation. Barker dreamed up horrors and captured them on film. For decades, this interpretation of the Cenobites ruled the day, until this adaption. While i enjoyed the look and feel of those old films, this new one is an objective piece of art.

The new Hellraiser adds color to these designs and i never in life thought that would do so much for the look of this film. Corridors and halls that were once covered in shadow and grime, have been replaced with art deco facades and golden accents. The puzzle Box appears to be the genesis of this film’s overall aesthetic and i love it. The Cenobites, themselves, have gone in a completely different direction, and I'm not just talking about Jamie Clayton’s take on Pinhead or, more accurately, Hell Priest. Gone, mostly, are the leather straps and weeping gashes. No, this time around the garb is made from actual flesh. The “clothes” the Cenobites wear, are tailored from their own skin! Absolutely brilliant! There are, of course, certain accents to these entities and their visages but, overall, they’re just wearing meat suits. In my head, reading the Hellbound Heart, this is how i thought the Cenobites would look. The extreme of pleasure and pain. Pure sensation, tainted by actual viscera and violence. I was absolutely taken aback by what Disney, through a now defunct Fox, allowed onscreen. This was a lot for the Mouse House and i appreciated the effort.

Would i recommend watching this new Hellraiser? Of course. It’s a solid watch with an interesting take on the lore. i Love what hey did with the puzzle box and Clayton’s take on Pinhead was perfect. It’s easily the most novella accurate interpretation of the Hell Priest we have to date. The overall narrative is a bit wonky but so was the first Hellraiser film from the Eighties. If this thing becomes a proper franchise, i can see a lot of these missteps being corrected. Most of the performances were decent but the characters, themselves, are forgettable. They feel like fodder for the Lament Configuration and i think that’s the best way to describe this movie as a whole. Hellraiser is an introduction and explanation to this new take on Barker’s world. It’s not his Helbound Heart but it is a Hellraiser and that should be more than enough for fans to take this thing in. Be warned, though, it is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of disturbing yet eerily sublime imagery in this film and that’s what hooked me.

#Hellraiser #Pinhead #Hell Priest #The Hellbound Heart

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smokeybrand · 2 years

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Raising Hell

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goddess-pan · 3 years

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Tailor!Reader in Dream SMP

Dsmp x reader prompt; Tailor!Reader in Dream SMP. Credit would be appreciated so more people can find this and make their own things based on it.

Can fully be read as platonic. GN!reader with they/them pronounce as a placeholder so anyone can adapt it however they want. Both general and character specific parts included.

Characters who have a lot written for/about; Eret, Ranboo, Foolish, Tommy, Technoblade, Philza and Michael. Mentioned; Tubbo, Sam Nook, Purpled and Foolish Jr.

This ended up being super long so I’m putting it under the cut in order not to clutter people’s pages. My personal favourite part is Phil’s and Techno’s part. These could be read as headcanons but are still available as a prompt(s) to use for anyone.

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

The reader joining after the doomsday as a time frame in my mind.

The reader helping people patch up their current clothes since most of it got pretty banged up during the doomsday, and it's not like they can just go get a new outfit since quite a few people had just lost all their belongings and only had the clothes on their back. So at first prioritizing helping patch up the current clothing people were wearing and then moving on to making some simple fast to make and easy on the resources clothes for people. Just like basic shirts and shorts/pants, nothing fancy. Then when everyone has at least a couple of different clothes to change to and from starting their own business to sell people more if they wanted. However waving payment if they brought them the materials and what they wanted wasn't overly complicated.

People at first thinking they are just some chump who knows basic sewing or something. A very kind chump, but still a chump. So imagine their surprise when one day they are just walking by the reader's now established tailors and they see these absolutely stunning designs displayed at the windows.

Just like their reactions seeing these beautiful designs they can't help but stare at. I'd imagine some of them just doing a double take when they walk by, someone pressing their face up to the glass trying to see it closer, the braver ones going inside and talking to the reader about their designs and the more anxious and/or shy ones only going inside when the reader isn't there to look at designs closer.

And the reasons they like/are amazed by the designs vary also ! Some just have monkey brain that goes "Pretty. WANT", some who just love the colour and art of the pieces, some who imagine how epic this design or others would look on them, some who love the fashion aspect of it and of course the very small portion who actually know anything about tailoring/sewing and the amount of work that goes into making something intricate.

Some specific character/group interactions I thought of;

Making warm well insulated clothes for people moving to Snowchester so they don't freeze. +A warm cape for Ranboo for the same reason.

Eret being one of the firsts (if not the first) to get himself a fully tailored and customized outfit. Them also being the first and very possibly only person to get a dress or a skirt since most of the other people on the server prefer to wear pants (excluding maid dresses which people might get as joke). The reader crying in joy for getting to design something different for once. And hey if the reader ends up making a few extra ones that she didn't order, but decided to give her anyway it was all just some extra ones they had lying around, never mind the fact that the dresses/skirts are perfectly tailored for Eret and are her style. Just a coincidence, nothing suspicious there. Eret also models for the reader and once he even convinced them to hold a fashion show to showcase some of their work to the whole server. Of course he was the main model presenting the outfits.

At start of the reader beginning to display their designs at their shop Ranboo sees a really cool looking suit on display and his brain just goes "Want." He probably wouldn't be able to buy anything pre-made and be comfortable in it due to his physique. And him having just moved into the arctic and only starting to get settled in, he doesn't have comfortable enough funds for him to get something as expensive as a custom tailored suit AND have enough for any possible rent that he might be required to pay.

Eventually when he gets richer he starts considering getting one but the anxious side of him always ends up winning and he doesn't. However once he finally gets the courage to go commission the suit for himself he doesn't regret it at all. The reader did their best to not overwhelm him and to make it the best possible experience. Just imagining the absolute joy he would feel for having a properly fitting suit that's made just for him, not too short sleeves nor too wide torso and shoulders, just perfect. If he ends up ordering a couple more suits that's between him and the reader. He actually ends up probably being their most frequent and reliable customer.

And we should all know why that is, but let me clarify just in case; Michael.

The reader basically becoming Michael's personal stylist (/hj) . Not only does Ranboo buy a god awful amount of clothes for Michael, the reader also makes some free ones for him. The free ones are things the reader felt like designing since they absolutely adore Michael and the ones Ranboo pays for are commissioned by him. Michael absolutely has the biggest wardrobe in the whole server. The reader learning how to make plushies so Michael could have some more toys, this learning experience including learning to crochet and knit to see what he like best.

Using their newly acquired plush making skills, the reader starts their quest to make some plushies for others after seeing people stare at the plushies wistfully either while they were working on them or seeing Michael with the plushies. People who got them include the minors, their close friends and basically anyone they thought might benefit from them. Some of the ones they made (that I could think of);

Of course a bee for Tubbo, but also throwing in a little ram one as well

Ranboo gets a grass block plush/pillow

Tommy gets a cobblestone block plush and a cow plush. He also later receives a Sam Nook plush while he's working on the hotel

Purpled getting two different sized ufos, one to hold and the other more of a big pillow

Eret definitely gets a flamingo plush

Foolish gets a totem and a gold block plushies

Phil gets crow plush as well these tiny fake coin and gem plushies (the latter causes problems for him which I'll expand upon later)

Techno gets a pig one as well as polar bear one

Back to the individual/group part

The reader just chilling w/ Foolish as a fellow artists. Them talking about both their arts and catching up every time the reader comes to deliver something to Snowchester when Foolish is building the mansion. Just two pretty peaceful artists talking about their passions. I’d imagine Foolish and the reader could relate to each other and their place in the server due to their similar hobbies/jobs as well as their similar time of joining the server. Foolish's first commission from them being an intricate blanket for Foolish Jr so he could have a more comfortable resting place. He may or may not end up receiving that and several other (though less intricate) blankets as well as a tiny shark plush to give to Foolish Jr. Later on when the reader gets better at either knitting or crocheting they end up making a tiny shark jumper with a hood for Foolish Jr as well. Foolish would definitely cry when he sees his tiny shark baby. Any commissions of clothes for himself tend to always take some time due to sheer amount of work needing to be done due to his size so he always makes sure the reader doesn’t already have a lot on their plate and that they know he’s fine with waiting if they need to take a break from it.

Then there's Tommy, who they sometimes teach more about sewing since he already knows some basics. Him probably being the first person aside from Michael they make a plush for, due to him demanding one once he saw the reader making them. Then proceeding to get three plushies in rapid succession. The first being the cobblestone, the second being the cow and the third one being the Sam Nook one. He ends up losing one of them during the prison fiasco and when the reader asks if he'd like a new one they only get the answer of "Don't want to think about what happened and the same one might make me do that". He then promptly receives new clothing (so he isn't wearing the same ones he was wearing in prison) and some extra blankets (for comfort) from the reader.

After Tommy meeting Michael does he use him to scam the reader to make them matching outfits for free? Yes, yes he does. Does it work? Yes, yes it does. Are they bothered by it? Not really, they look adorable in their matching outfits.

The reader being the source for Sam Nook's construction gear/clothes or at least the original patterns for them.

And then there's the arctic boys (minus Ranboo, who will still get mentioned) who are an interesting bunch clothing wise. The first one to commission the reader out of them would be Phil who got the original warm cape for Ranboo but also at the same time commissioned one for himself that would include slits for his wings. Eventually getting to design clothing for him which is always an exciting challenge with his wings. And when Phil finally manages to convince Techno to get something made for himself as well, Techno almost immediately gets addicted to having high quality clothing when they finish their first piece for him. The fun the reader has designing clothes for these boys is immeasurable with their different styles and needs in the clothing. Aside from clothing Techno also commissions them for a pet bed for Steve.

When the boys got their plushies it was adorable but also a very chaotic. Techno giving his pig one to Steve so he wouldn't miss him when he was away from home, but also bringing the polar bear one with him when he couldn't or wasn't allowed to bring Steve with him but still needed comfort. While on Phil's side of things; he was showing his crows the crow plushie joking about he'll replace them if they aren't careful however he made the mistake of showing them the tiny coin and gem plushies as well. I want you to imagine hundreds of crows descending upon this poor fool of a man in the background while the reader is walking away hoping they like their plushies.

The war that ensued the couple following days amongst the crows starts to cool down but the bickering doesn't, every waking moment Phil can feel eyes on him and one or more of the crows coming to complain about the others having had the shiny plushies for too long. He quickly caves under the pressure and commissions more of the tiny shiny treasure plushies. And by more I mean a lot more.

When he finally has enough of the things he goes around distributing them to the crows. Finally a moment of peace, but he still feels like something is staring at him occasionally. Deciding to ignore it since it's finally quiet he goes to makes himself a cup of tea and while waiting for the water to boil he fishes out the few shiny plushies he had saved for himself. The second he does he feels eyes burning into him and now that it's quiet he hears it, quiet muffled snuffles and snorts of discontent. Then he sees what ‘it’ is, it's Techno behind the window looking at the shinies in his hand with such intensity Phil fears for his life (/hj). Phil just sighs deeply before walking over to the window and opening it. For a second Techno looks like a deer in headlights before returning to intensely staring at the shinies in Phil's hand before Phil just dumps the shiny plushies into Techno's hand and closes the window. Happy piglin noises can be heard outside while Phil debates the pros (getting to have shinies himself) and cons (the embarrassment of having to commission even more of the shiny plushies than he already has) of getting new ones from the reader. And in all this the reader has no idea the amount of chaos they inadvertently caused.

And finally; Techno commissioning robes/cloaks for whole the Syndicate to wear in their meetings, because he’s dramatic like that. But since he’s a thoughtful guy, he wants them all to fit the members well and not be uncomfortable to wear so he gets everyone’s measurements. Once he has them all he goes to the reader with the order for the robes, he has all the measurements written down under just Person 1, Person 2 etc. to keep their anonymity and when asked what the robes are for he just tells the reader it’s a book club. When he gets them all and the reader asks no further questions he thinks he’s gotten away with getting some cool robes for the Syndicate with their secrets safe. Little does he know the reader actually now knows all the members in the Syndicate since they can just reference the gotten measurements with everyone’s measurements written down from previous work done by them. Whether the reader thinks it’s some weird cult they all are a part of or just an actual book club people are too embarrassed to admit they are in, is up to interpretation.

#dsmp x reader #dsmp fanfic #dream smp x reader #mcyt x reader #mcyt fanfiction #Pans Writing Prompts #C: Technoblade #C: Ranboo #C: Philza #C: FoolishG #C: Eret #C: TommyInnit #C: Michael_Beloved

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takemealivelh · 2 years

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send me more pictures - lh

luke and french model. he goes for tour. she stays for work. sexting. mentions of eating disorders.

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FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED

luke packs his things while edie is laying on his bed. stomach against the mattress and a sad expression on her face. i can’t believe you’re leaving for eight months. that’s a lot. 5sos leave on the 2nd of april so they can be in the uk for the fourth. first night of tour. luke comes back december 16th. he’s gonna stay in a australia for a few days to spend time with his family. he asked edie several times to come with him. at least for the australian leg of the tour, love. please, he said. i have to do fashion weeks, luke, she reminded him. and a bunch of photoshoots. edie is a sought-after model. she’s french and came to the states when she was eighteen to try out her luck. she met luke at one of the fashion shows she d back in 2019. she was wearing philipp plein when luke walked for him. they met in the after-party. it was funny because they fucked in her hotel room before even getting to know each other. but that’s life right now. you fuck someone, then you meet them.

i hate to leave you here, why do you have to work so much? he asks.

i could say the same thing about you, she smiles softly.

luke kisses her lips tenderly before going to his closet and taking out his favorite green silk shirt. here, he says and hands it to her. so you can think of me, he smiles. edie grabs it and immediately puts it on over her tank top. it smells like you, she says.

hands on your face, edie. move like a gazelle. those were the instructions of the photographer and creative director of paper magazine. she likes these photoshoots because they’re artsy. she doesn’t have to try too hard to be sexy because art is the goal here. what she really wants to do, besides modelling, is being a creative director. make unexpected decisions to produce new pieces of art in magazines. she does as they tell her to do. it comes easy to her. back in france, her mother used to take her to ballet and modelling classes. but she took all the art and design courses available for people her age. not many as sixteen was too young.

she leaves him at the airport. luke hugs her goodbye as the flashes of the cameras blind them. they’ve always had to deal with paparazzi. especially when they started going out to bars on dates. the pictures weren’t exactly the best. more than once edie felt bad about her body. she’s still recovering from an eating disorder. luke held her tight every night and roamed his hands over her torso and thighs. you’re so gorgeous, so sexy, you’re perfect. he would whisper in her ear the most comforting things. edie liked that he seemed to understand her, he always knew what to say to make her feel better. fuck them, they would both laugh.

when she drives back home, she catches a glimpse of the green silk shirt that’s peeking out of the bag she brought to luke’s place. they don’t live together, but they live close enough to spend almost every day in each other’s company.

luke goes out onstage. amsterdam. one of his favorite places. he and the band do radio shows and a bunch of interviews. some people ask him about his girlfriend, and he always seems to blush. when he gets to paris, he thinks about meeting edie’s mom. he’s talked to her over video calls. but it feels weird. meeting her without edie around. so, instead, he sends her flowers. he gets a thank you call and they talk for a bit. i’m worried about edie, she tells him. what do you mean? he holds his phone between his ear and shoulder as he takes out his wallet to pay for a cup of coffee at the shop near the hotel. i think things are getting bad again. she’s losing weight too fast. i’ll talk to her, he promises.

that night, after the show is over, luke texts edie. she replies immediately. i’m wearing your shirt, she says and sends a winky face emoji. luke is in his hotel room and he laughs on the bed, wearing sweatpants and a white shirt. i bet you look good, he texts back. oh, i do. she sends him a picture of her cleavage, barely covered by green silk. oh, so this is what we’re doing, he teases. maybe, she replies. edie sends another picture, this time of her ass. luke smirks and palms himself over the fabric of his sweatpants. no panties? he asks. just your shirt. it’s so soft. luke’s fingers can’t text back fast enough. do you miss me? of course, i want you in my bed, she says. he decides to reach for his semi-hard length under his briefs. you would love paris, i could fuck you in this balcony. overseeing the eiffel tower. there are a few typos in his text because he’s using his left hand. right hand busy pumping himself until there’s precum leaking from him. you could fuck me in this green shirt from behind. no one will notice. his pace quickens. send me more pictures, he asks. and she does as he says. three pictures are sent at the speed of light. one of her chest with the shirt completely unbuttoned. another of her legs, silk barely covering her pussy. the last one is a boomerang of her face blowing a kiss. good enough? luke’s eyes scan the photos. they arouse him, he wishes he was there right now. he misses her terribly. you make me so hard, babe. let me see. he sends her a picture of his erection and his hand holding it. you’re so big, she texts back.

goodnight, sweetheart. luke sets the burning phone on the nightstand and lays on the bed with his heart racing and feeling tired. he didn’t ask her about how she’s feeling. but he’s exhausted from the show and the visuals he got to see just recently. maybe tomorrow.

edie wakes up at 8 am. she goes to the bathroom to shower and then back to her room to get dressed. she takes out a measuring tape and counts the inches of her waist. she’s lost 2.3 inches since luke left four months ago. is that healthy? she stopped having breakfast and started taking diet pills. is that healthy? she gets a call while she’s putting on her pants. it’s luke. salut! how are you? she sits on the bed. i’m good, love. touring’s been great. she can hear the smile on his voice. i’m so proud of you, luke. they talk briefly about how’s work doing and how tired they both are. i’m so tired i could sleep for a day or too. i’m so tired i want a truck to hit me. they laugh. no, but hey. i need to ask you something. luke’s tone turns serious. yeah, what’s up? she hears a heavy sigh on the other side of the line. are things getting bad again? he asks. what do you mean? i just... i got a call from your mom. she’s worried you’re losing weight way too fast. edie falls quiet. should she tell him about all of this? the crying and the rage ripping through her veins. she just wants to look good. and she wants him to tell her she’s sexy. she wants him to adore her body. i’m fine, luke, she lies. i was sick for a while. i spent days on the bathroom, the model chuckles. alright. he doesn’t really believe her, but he doesn’t want to push her too much either. especially because he’s not there to comfort her.

#luke hemmings #5sos #luke hemmings smut #5sos smut #luke hemmings fic #does this need a second part? i'm thinking about it #let me know pls #sourcesos

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cerastes · 3 years

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What do you make of Specter's operator record? Personally I liked it, but that's with the knowledge we're getting more Specter backstory soon.

Ok, so! Just as you pointed out, I went into it with the knowledge that:

We're getting Under TIDES soon.

Specter gets a second Operator Record later, some time after Under TIDES.

And with that in mind, I'm fine with it, but if I was a CN player and all we got was Specter's first Operator Record without any knowledge of the future, I would be pretty pissed, lmao. In fact, CN players were pretty pissed, the reception to her Operator Record was pretty bad. Specter is a popular character both in terms of gameplay and character (the latter more so in China, she gets a steady influx of cosplayers, fanart and fanfic in Weibo, Lofter, and such). It's believed that Hypergryph announced her second Operator Record because of this backlash.

Now, with the context and preamble on the table, I want to say: Great idea, not so great execution. Overall, I enjoyed it, but again, that's only with knowledge of the future. Despite that, I sincerely praise Hypergryph for actually having the balls to try a narrative approach like this one on a mobile game. The thing is, just because an idea is interesting doesn't mean it's good, and I think a lot of aspiring writers and designers need to hammer that in their head, especially armchair game designers that like to theorize oh so much about how cool it would be to have a game that did this or that. I don't care if it's cool or not, is it enjoyable to experience?

And that's just the thing with Specter's Operator Record: It felt lackluster in many regards. The approach was definitely interesting, bold, I'd even say, but that doesn't really matter too much if the result isn't a success, now, does it? Let's immediately address the Originium Slug in the room: Specter doesn't even appear in it. Now, is that an interesting approach to an Operator Record? Sure! Is it good? I don't really think so, especially with a character that fans really have been clamoring to see more of in actual cutscenes, given the wealth of clues they've put regarding Specter in other places:

Blue Poison' Files -> We learn that Blue Poison knew Specter personally before her descent to madness, addressing her with her real name.

Skadi's Dialogue -> Skadi implies that Specter was on a very important mission, and more or less confirms she knew her before she went crazy.

Several pieces of official art -> Specter is associated with the phrase "All seas are singing your name".

Ceobe's Fungimist -> It's implied the cursed painting depicting the end times is the same confusing painting Specter painted in her Token.

Rosmontis' Files -> It's confirmed that Specter's spinal cord is filed to the brim with originium fluid, and the Medical Team theorizes that, just like Rosmontis, her infection was artificially induced. It also confirms that they have no idea how Specter is able to fight such an insanely high level of infection.

So, see, this has been a character that fans have really been clamoring to see again. The only cutscene Specter's ever been is the secret cutscene of Grani and the Knight's Treasure AKA the very first event in the game. Understandably, after two years of the game existing, people were a bit miffed that once again we just get breadcrumbs and a non-participation 'appearance', to say the least, in what's supposed to be her day in the limelight.

Now, personally, I kind of get how they are handling her, and the Operator Records are a very faithful reflection of this: Specter is meant to be this mysterious force that we don't have clearance to know about, as Kal'tsit herself is the only one authorized to treat her or even enter her containment quarters. And, in this regard, I think the Records succeed:

It all starts innocently with Suzuran drawing Specter in a Secret Santa and then having to start deep diving to find out who the hell even IS Specter, because absolutely no one knows of her. Eventually, Suzuran lucks out by asking Meteorite, who did participate in a mission with Specter once, to which Suzuran immediately reacts: "Hey hold on, don't they send you on pretty dangerous missions all the time?", and Meteorite's answer is, "Yeah, and she's right at home there."

Now, this is really interesting because we, as Doctor, have some level of clearance: We know things about Specter and can even converse with her to a certain degree, because Doctor is a high authority in Rhodes Island, but the average Operator, like Suzuran, Aosta and Chiave, doesn't even know of her existence. She's one of Rhodes Island's well kept secrets, even within Rhodes Island. Even Meteorite, a veteran Sarkaz mercenary and a bombardment expert, only knows about Specter in a need-to-know basis (because they deployed once together). More telling is the fact that Meteorite doesn't think she'd get along with Specter, simply based on the fact that, just on that one operation, the level of violence and carnage brought upon by Specter unnerved even her, a Kazdel Sarkaz veteran. Well, to be precise, it's not the sheer level of destruction that Specter is capable of that unnerved Meteorite, it's the fact that she does it all seemingly without a care in the world, expressionless, soundless, simply following orders to the letter without showing or taking in a single emotion. To paraphrase Meteorite, "someone that can unleash such destruction and violence upon others so easily, and that can then just not mind it in the slightest, has something wrong and concerning going on with them, no doubt".

Next up, we also learn that Folinic has very restricted, also on a need-to-know basis access to Specter. Keep in mind that Folinic is extremely competent and not at all a stranger to danger: She handles Phantom. So this is a huge hint: There's perhaps more to the secrecy regarding Specter than just her being a dangerous, unstable element. Folinic could reasonably handle Specter professionally, but it's not about whether she can or not, it's about information, and this brings us back to Grani and the Knight's Treasure: Kal'tsit makes it clear to Skadi that Specter is, as a whole, inaccessible to everyone but her, that only she has clearance to access Specter's quarters. Keep in mind that Skadi does not operate in the same conditions, despite also being an Abyssal Hunter. In fact, it's well known that Skadi is infamous among other Operators for being unreasonable and obstructive in operations, as well as unapproachable outside of them (unless you are Grani, who managed to successfully befriend Skadi and vouches for her). There's things about Specter that are so sensitive, so important, that Kal'tsit can't risk them getting out, and even using her as an Operator is something reserved for very dangerous operations. Not even Warfarin, senior staff and Operator that's been with Rhodes Island for a very long time, has full access to Specter, but she clearly knows the importance of keeping her under curtains, given she immediately diffused the Folinic-Suzuran situation by coming up with a compromise on the spot.

There's another interesting contrast between Files and the Operator Record: Meteorite describes Specter as "dead silent". Mind you, we knew from before, thanks to Specter's Files, that the shark is completely silent in battle, but we also do know that she incoherently rambles quite a lot. Folinic sheds some light onto this, explaining that Specter intentionally stays silent most of the time so as to not say anything that could be misunderstood when around others. When she's in a more private setting, however, she does let loose with the insane talk. This is confirmation of something that had been hinted at before: Even though she's insane, there's a fervent part of her clinging onto sanity for dear life with bloodied, splintered fingers, and it manifests itself in how she'll never harm an ally, and how Specter is, to a certain degree, aware of how far gone she is, and thus keeps her mouth shut around others that aren't Doctor or Kal'tsit, so as to not spook them out or accidentally threaten them with her insane rambling.

Then, at the very end, after Suzuran managed to get her present to her, Specter does in fact deliver a thank you present back to Suzuran: A music box, consistent with Specter's love for the arts. Of course, the gift might have been chosen by a proxy of hers (Skadi or Blue Poison, both known to also enjoy music), but the message is all the same: Specter clearly appreciated the gift, and was mentioned to see an improvement in her condition after receiving the doll Suzuran gave her.

So, in paper? All of this? I love it. Of course I do, she's my favorite character, and it was such a bold way to present her Record, too, I respect them trying out new things, it managed to capture the essence of "the mysterious, terrifying fighting machine Operator they don't want us to know about that's actually a pretty sweet and decent person, just going through some really hard stuff" that they've been going for with Specter, it's just, I can also understand (and agree with) fans because... It's been two years, bwahaha, let us see her again, you know? It's her Operator Record, we've gotten some VERY good insights into the lives and days of other Operators through those, like with Angelina's or Kroos'! Of course we also wanted something like that, bwahaha.

What I would've loved, and what I think would've made it all better with fans, is if the final scene had Specter actually show up in Suzuran's room like the cryptid she is, with Suzuran noting the security door had just sort of been casually pried open, Specter's perpetual smile on her face as she's holding her thank you gift before Warfarin and Folinic just sort of storm into the room like "DUDE, WE SAID YOU CAN'T--", she thanks Suzuran wordlessly, gently hands her the music box, and then she calmly turns back and walks back to her confinement quarters.

But, yeah, I've gone on for long enough. I appreciate it overall, knowing what's coming, and I appreciate the idea, I just think they could've handled it better, but the whole essence and message of it, I think lands pretty nicely.

#beta elekid #long post #arknights #specter

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