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anxiousheart7 · 7 months

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*spoilers* Astarion’s story - analysis and thoughts

I’ve been thinking quite a lot on Astarion the last couple of weeks, and the journey I’ve been on with him. I’ve seen a lot of content about him.

I’ll start by saying this - I didn’t ascend him. I couldn’t. I did, however, watch the ascension on YouTube but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. And I’m going to explain why.

Here’s the TL:DR version, with my deeper dive below.

As Astarion gets his revenge in Cazador, his flurry of knives felt oddly satisfying to me. It was a release as grim and cathartic. That cry of pain and ending felt necessary for him. I came out of that palace knowing that it was ok and he’d be ok.

The ascension felt gratuitous. Watching him carve exactly what Cazador put him through should have been cathartic too, but it wasn’t. I just felt a shiver of cold. And that was the moment I knew it was the ‘bad’ ending.

Experiencing Astarion’s Journey - delving deeper

I don’t think I’ve ever quite experienced a character story like his before. Here’s someone who is quite clearly designed to draw you in via the usual routes. He’s attractive, he’s got the funny lines. He’s the rogue - a lot of D&D players’ favourite class. He quickly becomes indispensable.

At the start, his flirting was fun. Act 1 I think is supposed to be a light hearted toe in the water, so to speak. Right up until your first major choice with the goblin vs tiefling conflict. Then it becomes real. But until then you can spend copious amounts of time wandering and chatting to your new friends in camp while some of them (namely Lae’zel, Gale, Karlach and Astarion) go straight to ‘i want you’ territory. And you’ll gravitate to those that are ready to get hot and heavy because…video game sex.

There was such a focus on romancing your camp and you lean into that so heavily in act 1. Approval is all-important. And his approval is harder to get, so you try harder with your choices. You want this guy. Like really want him. He’s like ambrosia. And, if you’re not one of the 100k rejections toted in Larion’s infographic, you get him.

As a recovering people pleaser, I’m not going to lie, that was a hard concept to grasp. To make your choices based on who you were trying to impress is exactly the kind of behaviour I’ve been trying to step away from in real life. But hey, this is a game so I’ll be ok.

And then it starts…

Looking back, there’s this line that stood out ‘it felt like you weren’t all there’. Despite his insistence later, Astarion was very likely going to that place of dissociation that he talks about later on. And that’s sad, because as Tav you want this milestone to be special. You want them to fall in love with you. The reward for all your hard-earned approval hiking.

But Astarion masks. He masks well, but you can tell on Insight that it’s all an act. Even when you look closely, the ham fisted complements he throws at you reflects the 10 charisma he’s carrying around. He works as a lothario not because he’s an adept silver-tongued Casanova. It’s because he’s simply beautiful. People see him and want him. His looks mask what’s going on underneath. But then you look into his eyes and it’s right there, plain as day.

There’s so much more underneath. I have watched the scene over and over with the hammy chat up lines as he’s trying to convince you to sleep with him again (I got propositioned first before the tiefling party) and the more I watch, the more I believe that ‘I love you’ wasn’t an act. They wouldn’t have given you three brush off comment choices if it was. He meant that, and I don’t think he even realised he meant it until he found the words coming out of his mouth - as though he was daring himself to say it.

With Astarion, it’s all in the eyes.

And, as someone who has seen those eyes in the mirror on a pretty regular basis, I knew there and then until he started revealing his backstory - the scars, the master and all the rest, I knew this was going to hit very hard and this man was a deep well. He was so lost that he barely had any idea of who he was any more.

By the time you’re well into Act 2, you’re starting to get the gist of him. You learn about his sadness and sense of loss around his identity before he was turned. You learn about the scars. And you learn about Cazador. I got the sense that all of this exposition was almost like a therapy dump from him. Thoughts and feelings he’s wanted to express for decades but hasn’t had a soul to tell - or he’s been compelled not to by his master. Now he can get them out. He can voice how unfair and unjust it feels. The sarcasm, the cynicism, all a way of expressing how much pain he is in. But one thing he’s never lost is the knowledge that he doesn’t deserve this. He hasn’t been beaten down so much to believe that he is unworthy of better treatment. And that sense of self is what I believe has kept him going all this time. He knows it wasn’t his fault. He knows Cazador was a cruel, sadistic monster.

And I hugged him. Of course I hugged him. I defended his autonomy from the moonrise drow and I hugged him after. At this point I’d fallen as hard for him as he had for me. I cared for him. I couldn’t make any of those obviously awful choices with him. When the details of the ritual came up I felt a knot in my stomach. And sure enough every time we talked after that point he talked about taking that power and I thought ‘this will be rough’.

It reminded me of a lot of really bad experiences I’d had in the past. Boyfriends and friends who were clearly bad for me and I was bad for them. And yet, I needed to help this guy. This person who had nobody for so long. Who didn’t know what it felt like to have someone actually care about him.

I looked this as someone who has experienced trauma in their life. How would I feel. How have I felt? To be scared of so many things. To wonder why on earth would I do something nice for someone else when I’ve sat in alleys, starving and in pain while people just walk on by. No gods to answer my pleas for help. I’d be cynical and disapproving too. I’d have a warped sense of humour. I’d want to never feel that again. Of course he saw the one thing that could protect him and feel compelled to grasp it with both hands.

Astarion has conjured up feelings in me I thought were long gone.

Astarion’s finale

The images I’ve included in this post have been doing the rounds on tumblr and this hits so hard it hurts. Astarion’s journey ends in such as way that it’s meant to be hard.

If you’re a gamer that commodifies your characters as a series of stats or objectifies them based on their design, then ascend him. It doesn’t matter to you. And I’ve seen plenty of people on message boards and Facebook saying exactly that - “but he gets these powers and is so badass”. They’ve never seen past the facade. He was a jerk at the start of the game, a creepy flirt and a vampire ready to be staked. And that was it.

Every excessive power in this game has a major consequence that you have to live with. This choice I think is one of the biggest before the climax of the game.

The ascension pretty much erases him. It takes who he was and the healing that he’s done and throws it away, as if it never really mattered.

And to him he’s worth exactly what he thought he was to begin with. His self-worth is warped into superiority and his hunger and fear replaced with a hunger for power and dominance. He’s not free in this form. He just becomes a new kind of imprisoned. He’s placed in stasis forevermore. And this won’t last forever because as absolute power corrupts absolutely, it also falls. Just like Ozymandius, he’ll rise and collapse under his own grandiose. And he’ll take you with him if you let him.

That steamy scene before he turns you is basically exactly what the Larion writer is saying - you’ve not empathised or grown here. Have your sex scene and then enjoy your eternal enslavement with New Cazador. It’s a bad ending for you and Astarion. You get to be exactly what he was, no matter what pretty words he tried to convince you with - he’s still that 10 charisma trying to convince himself as much as you. He’s Act 1 Astarion with some nifty new powers. He will control you like a doll and yours will be the same half life his was. He’ll start with promises of being his right hand, but somewhere down the line you’ll do or say something and he’ll do to you what was done to him. It’s the ultimate narcissistic relationship.

If Astarion walks away, he’s him. Truly him. With purpose and a new path to walk. You can build a new life together with nothing holding you back. The trauma behind him, he can now walk a path of healing for himself and learn who he is. It makes me feel hopeful and joyful that he gets a second chance.

And that’s where I’m at. My ideal ending is for them both to go off together searching for a cure for his vampirism. Whether it’s possible, who knows - on writing this I’m still to finish my first run of the game. But at least there’s that glimmer of hope in that ending.

I think Astarion is beautiful. There’s a reason half the internet is madly in love with him right now. But if you let yourself, he becomes more than a nice body and a pretty face. His complexity opens up like a puzzle box and you feel the satisfaction of a truly beautiful arc come to its climax. He’s a beautifully written and crafted character and I’m so glad to have experienced his story.

I could say so much more…but it’s long enough as it is. Thanks for reading x

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion ancunin #bg3 astarion

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spdrvyn · 18 days

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I loved your post about Miguel x autistic reader and I really want more pleease

overwhelmingly peaceful

summary: you found your place in spider society, but that didn't take away from the fact that it can get intensely noisy. you don't hesitate to turn to where you know for sure you'll be safe.

tags: fluff. suggestive joke/s. autistic reader. reader is gender neutral. hobie's here too i guess. author doesn't know how to write british slang.

notes: i'm really glad that you guys enjoyed the autistic reader drabbles i posted so i'm more than happy to write this request! projecting even more in this one, thank you for letting me self-indulge <3

The mere existence of The Spider Society was always enough to astound you. You thought that people didn't Miguel enough credit for basically building the place from the ground up, not to mention how many times he's had to travel to different universes to recruit all different kinds of Spider-People.

Of course, you were more than honored to be one of those people. There was a very good chance that you just got lucky to be on his team, Miguel caught you in that one moment where your abilities were at their peak and your light was really shining through. Luck or skill, you didn't care. This was the result of it, you were content with that.

Unfortunately, the society has its downsides. Considering the sheer amount of spiders that pass through, the hustle and bustle is too hard to ignore. You can't exactly carry around headphones every time you're there because where would you leave them just in case you'd be tasked to another mission? So you just tried to avoid the noisiest places, even then, it's hard to get any semblance of quiet.

"Oh my god," you mumbled to yourself, as you silently glared at the cafeteria table next to you. Charisma was just a natural trait to any spider, with that came very boisterous laughter from other people too. Surely, they were nice people, but in front of your salad? Really?

"You good, mate?" Hobie intervened, he leaned his head to the side to get a better look at your face, a small grin came onto his features. "Lads beside you 've always been that noisy. Can get them to shut their traps if you want."

An inaudible sigh left your lips as you shook your head, combing the hair out of your face. You gazed down at your untouched food for a moment, you liked hanging out with Hobie. He understood you and he was funny, but you weren't quite sure if you could handle being in an environment like this right now.

"No, no- it's fine." He raised a brow at your lie. "Okay, it's not. But you don't have to do that for me," you picked up your small take-out box of salad and juice, "The canteen is just too much right now for me, sorry."

Hobie shrugged, picking up a fry and expertly throwing into his mouth. "No problem, always got my drummer to bother. You going to hang with your boyfriend now, eh?" His smile turned more cheeky and you stared at him meanly to take away from the fact that your cheeks warmed at his comment.

You huffed and stomped away, "Oi, you didn't deny that!"

Miguel's office (a.k.a man cave) was dark and decrepit. For some odd reason, also liked a smell of any kind. You designated each area of the headquarters with a scent, but his area lacked any of the sort which you enjoyed. Not to mention, silent.

It wasn't like he really allowed any loud noise anyway, he had a strange list of items that were prohibited from entering his corner. Bells, blenders, on occasion, phones but that was from one time Gwen forgot to shut her alarm off and she got a small lecture on being considerate because the acoustics caused every sound that passed through to reverberate and increase in volume.

That means it would only make sense for Miguel to also hear your footsteps from a mile away, his platform already lowered for you to hop on and he's hunched over his desk. Sparks fly (not just from the sight of him, I swear) from the spot that he worked on and if you're not mistaken, there's a band wrapped around his head which meant he was wearing goggles.

You set your lunch tray down on the one empty spot on his desk before approaching slowly, you bend down to rest your hand on his shoulder and to lean your head against his. "What are you working on now, beautiful?"

Miguel put down the small soldering tool and took off his goggles, putting the freshly made panel closer to his eyes. "People submitted suggestions to make the wrist devices less bulkier," he blindly wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you onto his thigh as he pressed a kiss to your cheek. "Why are you here?"

"I'm an assassin, I've come to take your life." You spoke lowly, ominously. When Miguel doesn't turn to face you, you pout. "The noise in the cafeteria is overwhelming," you shift and properly situate yourself on his lap.

"I was just about to head out for lunch," Miguel sighed, before placing the panel in a small container.

"So... back to the cafeteria? People are sure to go speechless from catching a look at you," you joke, but there's a somber fry in your voice that he doesn't ignore. His warm breath tickled your neck as he pressed brief pecks down the column of your throat, the low hum he let out vibrating against your skin. "Are you that hungry, hermoso?"

"What I meant was," he paused, brushing more hair out of your face, properly tucking it behind your ear. "I was going to head up to my place for lunch. Where there's no people?"

You breathe a small 'ohhh' and Miguel chuckled, "That checks out, actually." You nodded. "Obviously there's no people, would've been weird to have anyone there two nights ago when we–"

"Okay, that's enough." Miguel cut you off, nearly smiling from ear to ear. "Get your lunch, mi sol."

"My hero."

#spiderman: across the spiderverse #across the spiderverse #spiderverse #atsv #spiderman #miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara x y/n #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 x reader #spiderman 2099 x you #spiderman 2099 x y/n

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dalishious · 1 year

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The Dragon Age Fandom’s New Favourite Charming Slaver

There is nothing wrong with appreciating and enjoying villainous characters, especially when they are done so well. Everything about Rezaren Ammosine makes a him a remarkable and fascinating villain. He’s very intelligently depicted; all aspects of his character matter to how he presents in the story. His design is that of a handsome young white man. He is animated with a graceful and gentle flow, not just in how he casts spells but literally how he carries himself. His voice has a soft and soothing tone, and he uses that soft tone as part of his powerful charisma and sway he has over the people around him, like Tassia. In fact, Rezaren uses all of these characteristics for his benefit. Because just like in real life, abusers do not always wear “I’m a shithead” signs on their chest. To the outside world, they are charming and gentle people who couldn’t possibly hurt a fly, could they? But make no mistake. Rezaren Ammosine is a villain to his core. And treating him as anything other than a villain is a grossly disrespectful interpretation to fans of colour, given the nature of his villainy.

From his very introduction, we see that Rezaren is used to getting his way, and becomes easily frustrated and angered when his will is denied. When he summons a spirit of memory to interrogate about the circulum’s creation, the spirit warns him that answering too much would be unwise. Rezaren ignores these warnings and orders the spirit to continue, to the brink of turning the spirit into a pride demon. This is called back into further example when Miriam refuses his plans for her. Again, he becomes easily angered and physically lashes out, using his magic to flare up the pain in her wound. Then to solidify the power he has over her, says “You live because I will it.”

Rezaren explains to Tassia, “Her name is Miriam. She's my sister. My mother owned her. She was to be my personal spy, assassin. Whatever was needed. My left hand, as it were. But she raised us as siblings.” Except we see how Miriam and Neb were really raised in flashbacks. We see how they were beaten for Rezaren simply tripping while playing with them. We see how they were forced to do hard labour, and told they were not allowed to own anything. And we see how Rezaren’s mother sacrificed Neb so that Rezaren would not become an abomination during his Harrowing, sending the demon into Neb’s body instead. And that raising has obviously shaped how Rezaren views this so-called siblinghood, because while he may call Neb and Miriam his brother and sister, make no mistake, he still views them belonging to him. Rezaren has no respect for their autonomy. Even in death, he defiles Neb’s body by using blood magic to put a demon inside it and controlling him. And Miriam? He cannot bare to accept that she refuses to submit to slavery again, no matter how pretty a picture he paints of them being like family. But you don’t own a sibling. “Selfish bitch! You and your ungrateful brother. You were mine!” he shouts at the very end, before Miriam fatally stabs him.

So, Rezaren is a villainous slaver. Why is it, then, that people are writing reviews praising his character while calling Miriam and her party the real baddies? Why are people saying he “deserved” a redemption arc? The only assumption I can come to is simply that people are so not used to the white guy being the one to lose in the fantasy genre, that they’re willing to bend over backwards to try and paint the only white person in the show as a victim of the #mean brown woman. Think about it. How many stories are out there where the hero is a white man? White people are conditioned to always be the centre of attention, so when they’re not for a change, they need to seek it out by shining a spotlight on whatever white man they can find. This is of course nothing unique to the Dragon Age fandom, but rather a disease found in fandom spaces as a whole. Hell, look at the Star Wars sequels, and how the bizarre love for and babygirlification of Kylo Ren was so strong it led to ruining the second and third films. This is why it’s such a relief to me that Rezaren dies in the end of Absolution, because otherwise it would truly end up a fear to me that the writers would try the same with him.

When you’re pushing Rezaren into the spotlight, you are pushing Miriam out of it. And Miriam is such a treasure of a character, it’s a crying shame to see her get so much disrespect. I have nothing against people who like Rezaren, but if your like for him goes to the extent of putting down Miriam in order to put him up, then we have a problem.

#dragon age #da absolution #rezaren ammosine #meta #fandom bs

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nijigasakilove · 2 months

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They’re moving in together let’s gooooo! Another great weekend for Shoujosei stans with this, Kusuriya and Yubiren having amazing episodes.

After all the drama with the kidnapping plot the last couple weeks, it’s cool seeing Rishe and Arnold get an entire episode to themselves! The sparring match was great. I just can’t enough of how badass both of them are together. Arnold indulges and supports all of Rishe’s whims including those that are against traditional gender norms, like sword fighting. He held back a little, but still gave her genuine instruction. It’s crazy to think he’s nowhere near as strong as the Arnold she remembers from the past life!

Such a cute moment with him carrying over after she couldn’t stand. For someone who’s been thru life 7 times, Rishe sure as hell gets flustered a lot by Arnold, but can you blame her? Bro’s aura is insane and just oozes charisma.

“Then I shall lull you to sleep” Arnold hides it, but he’s under immense pressure and has a ton of stuff to do on a daily basis. It’s time for him to get spoiled for once. LOVED Rishe helping him go to sleep and wind down after a long day. It probably felt so good for Arnold to be treated like a kid when everyone usually handles him with such distance due to his position.

Rishe has no problem being in bed next to and even falling asleep next to him, but Arnold getting close up in her face is what makes her blush 😂 so much teasing today. Surprised she didn’t pass out from all that blood rushing to her face. She’s so damn cute.

The character designs looked so good today too during all these scenes, felt like they switched it up a little in those dark shadowy scenes and it worked so well! Especially when Rishe felt on Arnold’s scar.

Great episode

#7th time loop #7th time loop: the villainess enjoys a carefree life married to her worst enemy!#loop 7 kaime no akuyaku reijou wa #loop 7 #7 loop #7th loop villainess #animanga hive #animanga #animangahive #anime seasonal #seasonal anime #anime

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discobiscotto · 3 months

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“Signor Marcovaldo is my father, call me Alberto, Alby…or Maestro 😏”

If we’re talking predictability in design, adult Alberto was NOT easy. I had literally nothing to work from. No (living?) family to compare to, no hints at what kindof quirks he may develop. I had nothing!

All I had was that (assumed) deep-seated desire to be accepted, useful/helpful, and not left behind…..that, and yanno, that Charisma In Excess (as a KID no less, dude calm that shxt down or you’re grounded lol)

Alot of pawing around in the dark and just going with what felt right to me.

I took some cues here and there. Some pretty forward and commonly accepted (“You, the big strong one.” etc), others subtle and unassuming but I ran like the wind with it?

Anyway, here we go. What’s the deal with this walking bowl of spaghetti anyhow?

This will be a two parter. His seamonster form requires a separate post.

Alberto as I said is a bit of a wild card. He doesn’t have as much of an obvious blueprint compared to Luca or Giulia.

His physical appearance for his human form was based solely on environmental influence.

Physically I imagined him to be a bit rough around the edges. Kindof gaunt but not so much that he looks sick or weak. He’s pretty much just one big muscle. Not an ounce of fat on him. Nothing but sinew. Very toned and muscular but certainly not huge. He’s just solid and FIT.

He’s a guy from the docks. He’s a fisherman. He’s salty and peppered in scars. Heavy calloused hands. He picked up smoking at a young age. He spends endless hours in the sun, thus he’s still very freckly as an adult. His impulsive ass got a tooth busted out in a fist-fight. Five o clock shadow and untidy sandy facial hair. I imagined his hair growing more “out and up” than down. Tight coils suggest he’d likely have a ‘fro or pomp, so I combined the two, keeping that old Alberto “top heavy” hairdo lol.

Profoundly Italian, so he’s pretty furry everywhere. Being a hard worker for years, excessive sun exposure, substance use, he looks alittle “older” than he actually is. (Pushing 34 ish).

I made him very tall, 6’4” ish. I admit, I love a good “Tall Man x Small Man” dynamic, so that’s definitely a shameless “luberto-centric” choice lol But I also considered a funny “goldfish” concept where just like a goldfish only gets bigger when his bowl is bigger…perhaps nature was trying to make him “compete” and measure up or even end up bigger than Massimo. 😆

If there’s one thing I learned from “Ciao Alberto” it’s that Alberto has a deep desire to be useful and accepted. He tries through the entire film to impress Massimo and in turn hope Massimo accepts him and sees Alberto can be just as good at his knife-wielding barrel heaving badassery as he is.

Alberto ultimately ending up as a fisherman by trade was an easy choice. Not only do I write what I know (being a Mainer in the coast with a deep affinity with fishermen and shipbuilders) but it is the ultimate way to show his love for Massimo. To help carry on the legacy.

Alberto has mastered some unlikely skills as well. Not as unlikely as you’d expect though considering his desire to impress Massimo.

So consider this:

-Alright, Massimo is great at cooking. Alberto sucks EPICALLY at first but over time, his motivation to measure up to his hero and dad-figure makes him an amazing cook? Check.

-Massimo likes to sing. Alberto picks it up and finds he’s an Unreasonably Excellent Singer and prodigious musician who plays by ear? DOUBLE CHECK.

(Note: The lore and reasons behind this and Alberto’s mandolin will be a blogpost on its own eventually)

-Alberto being a competent and prolific/productive fisherman resulting in the family biz growing and delivering outside of Portorosso? Definitely a proud moment for Massimo.

So to me it all checks out, and drives home Alberto’s strong gumption and the next generation being better than the generation before. As a parent, I subscribe to this goal. I want my boys to be the “Big Strong Ones.”

There’s also the bit that Alberto is a bit of a lush and a party animal. Charismatic, has a bit of a Casanova complex. Charm pouring out of his ears. Why? Well, dang, I really don’t know. I guess bringing it back to that “Charisma In Excess” statement at the beginning of this, it just felt right somehow. I had it so that he really wasn’t all that conventionally attractive but had a level of animal magnetism that’s hard to resist.

There’s lore behind that too…but will be reserved for his “Fish Form” post.

I dunno, it’s probably cus he’s Italian. It could be that simple. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#alberto scorfano #luca1970s #pixar luca #lucafanart #albertoscorfano #discobiscotto design notes #ciaolucafic #ciaoluca #ciao luca #ciao alberto #luberto #older!alberto

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yellowocaballero · 5 months

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One of the many things that I've been doing instead of writing are these damn manwha binges and Villain To Kill is literally so funny. The comic premise is straightforward action, think Tokyo Ghoul meets Solo Leveling - local Genetically Superpowered Superhero Cop working for corrupt Hero Organization gets #betrayed and #murdered and is reincarnated into the body of a Genetically Superpowered Villain Teenager so now he has to join up with all the other villain superpower people to get justice.

It's so 5/10. Cassian is extremely OP and the story isn't well-written enough to pull that off well. The worldbuilding is so incredibly nonsensical and weak that it falls apart if you think about it for more than five minutes (tried to write fic for it and failed because I would have had to rework the entire world - which, I could have, but that's a lot of effort for Villain to Kill). The plot is mostly any OP action hero plot where guy gets increasingly powerful by fighting increasingly powerful guys. Cassian himself has almost nothing going on internally, to the point of elegance. And it is somehow the gayest manwha I've ever read.

It's the fucking character designs. And like its narrative but it's the fucking 100/10 character designs. The entire cast's design and characters slam. There's not that much depth but we don't care. You know if we don't like somebody if they look vaguely straight, and you know that we like somebody if they look like they were set to tumble dry in the queerness washing machine. The (great!) women are high femme or hard butch. The corrupt institution assassinated a man Cassian loved and framed & murdered him, at which point he was adopted by a rag-tag bunch of flamboyant homosexuals deemed unacceptable and undesired by society who all teamed up and decided to villainize society in exclusively funny ways and spend most of their time gossiping or hacking the Pentagon. An AFAB character dresses as a man and goes by he/him pronouns half the time for no good reason. Cassian is physiologically incapable of thinking about anything but violence so the heartwarming found family scenario's going over his head, but his Painfully Het Hero Foil Indoctrinated Into Homophobia caught the found family ball and now he's dancing in their gay bars and dressing in drag. There's only a few characters who are explicitly gay but this is gayer than that.

I talked a while back about how important a decent supporting cast is to a good story, and this is yet again good proof. Looking at this, I think I'd go further and say - it's an action manwha, we're reading it for a reason, we don't need character-driven story arcs or really complex characters. I think it's just charisma. A story can go really far on characters with charisma.

TV Shows that are carried on the lead actor (Columbo I love you) - it's because the actor has charisma. You watch it to see the actor hang out being himself. That's way way harder to do in fiction, but I think that "a complex character" isn't necessarily a "charismatic character". I'd rather have a cast of only charismatic characters rather than only complex ones. A story of any genre needs a strong cast of charismatic characters. They can be deep or they can just be chaotic lesbians. Charisma invests the reader in the story and the characters. It's simple but it's really powerful. And it is fucking hilarious how sometimes all you need to do on that front is "Rupaul this shit".

I can't genuinely recommend Villain to Kill and this is not a recommendation. But random stuff always interests me like this, and I really had no idea that I would read 120ch of a manwha bc the designs fuck so hard. Also, like, this is queerest manwha I've ever read. Somehow. Fucking somehow.

#I have never given a shit about a supporting cast manwha character but #Driver I love you every time you're on panel im like ':D DRIVER!'#i'll tag it #villain to kill #for visibility but this rly isn't intended as a criticism #It feels like we're finally getting canon homosexuality but in a lot of media canon gays have the queerness drained out of them #what's gayer? gay sex? or being ostracized by society for being cooler and sexier and more interesting than they are?#even the Hero Cops we like are kinda fruity just in a neoliberal way #my asks #my posts

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flanpucci · 1 month

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I want to dedicate a love post to Enrico Pucci because I just love him so much and my brain will never be the same again

I love that he's complex and flawed and driven by his grief and the depth of his love. I love how unacceptable his destiny is and he will do anything to open everyone's eyes to the absence of power they have in the story's world. It is impossible for him to exist in his world where he was created only to serve the purpose of giving the Joestars something to oppose and grow from, and the remedy he has found to this is to simply take control of the story, end everything and start again with the knowledge he has acquired, and maybe, the hope to free himself from his sins and bring back his loved ones.

I admire his will and determination to strive for greatness, self-growth and to see things to their end more than anything, staying calm and not backing away, seizing every opportunity. He also learns from everyone around him, from their battle tactics, from their relationships. He's a very smart and analytical character even though he's also stubborn and throws fits from time to time, which show his humanity, which is necessary since he's so superior without those flawed moments. I like his loneliness, the way he has a way to talk to and taunt people that's very unique to him, and directed at himself, he doesn't care if you don't understand, he doesn't care if he's celebrating his victories alone, he'll do it anyway. He's fun and quirky to look at, when he interacts with people, he's fun to anger, and it's satisfying to see him getting in dire situations (especially if he gets up from them)

He's evil and flawed and is a ruthless, one-track minded man, he's self-centered and can't accept (understand?) that people have different mindsets than himself. He knows he's right from start to finish, and that makes him such a great character with incredible confidence and charisma. He's the most terrifying character in all of JJBA, arguably the most powerful, his ability is just pure chaos and his eyes are cold as hell. He's got a strong inclination for revenge and likes to carry it in style, even if it means taking some damage in the process. I also like how ambiguous he is with some other characters, taking advantage of the fact they are drawn to him, using his appeal as a means to obtain what he wants. His dynamic with Dio brings a lot of depth to Dio's character, giving him the almost 'humanity' he severely lacks in other parts (especially SDC), it's very enjoyable to watch the way they interact together, which is so different from how we see them act with other people. The whole idea of the bone, fusing, and MIH is aesthetically really interesting and I liked trying to notice moments where the Dio influence might have taken over Pucci's decisions.

The themes surrounding him are very referenced and fascinating, religion, art, biology, physics and space, technology, philosophy, the stand lore... The details and references that come give depth to his character are limitless, did you know there's an actual italian scientist on gravity whose name was Enrico Pucci? That the adulterous priest he reads about in church is a famous painter who regretted taking his oath at 15 and had ties to the real Pucci family in Italy? He's also a very well constructed character in terms of psychology, he's never OOC, he feels very 3D in a 2D world.

Also he's awesome black representation in terms of character design with references to fashion (Versace '97), probably Michael Jackson too, the flag of the city of Florence, the emblem of the Pucci family... His character design is holy with just a touch of sinful, and I'm not even talking about how cool Whitesnake is in general. I really like how Pucci/Whitesnake oppose both Weather/Weather Report but also Jonathan in terms of design. He's the most beautiful character I've ever seen overall, wears a beautiful tight and shiny gown, beautiful both in color and in black and white, first has a fun, pretty but manly design, which turns into a cute star-shaped motif shamelessly stolen from the Joestars, he has tired downturned eyes filled with depression, and the cutest nose in all of JJBA, he's tall and handsome with the big chest and shoulders especially in anime but also cute and feminine and has thin wrists and those cute sleeves... He's giving mom and dad at the same time and I love how curious he is with the green baby and how proud and happy he is with C-Moon and MIH and YES HES MY FAVE ANYWAYS

I didn't even get into how interesting he represents the relationship between faith, philosophy and science, or his relationship to the concept of blood ties, I could go on for hours but I'm late for class

#enrico pucci #pucci #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #stone ocean #analysis

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ladytesla · 4 months

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The Great Faerun Baking Show (Part one of possibly more)

Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put ketchup in a profiterole. Dexterity is crafting a croquembouche out of red craquelin-encrusted ketchup-filled profiteroles. Strength is carrying that croquembouche from your bench to the judge’s table. Constitution is being able to withstand the pressure of having your tomato croquembouche being judged by Prue Leith. Charisma is trying to convince Paul Hollywood that your tomato croquembouche was a completely logical idea.

Twelve new bakers have been chosen to enter the tent. Over the next ten weeks, they will face 30 brand new challenges. Every aspect of their baking will be scrutinized and put up to the scrutiny of Prue and Paul. Each week one will rise to become Star Baker, and whoever crumbles to the pressure will be sent home. But who will go on to win the Great Faerun Baking Show?

I came up with this horrible idea so now I’m inflicting it on all of you. May the gods have mercy on your souls. So here’s how this odd little imagine is going to work. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’m just going to roll a D20 ‘bake check’ for everyone, and write out the results, including what everyone rolled so y’all know I’m not cheating just so my druid boyfriend can win. The person with the lowest total score (out of a possible score of 60) goes home. I’m going to write this in short form, but if this gets a lot of traction I might make this a full-scale fanfiction with shenanigans on like AO3 or something.

Our bakers are 6 men and 6 women. I put all romanceable companions, Jaheira and Minsc, Dammon because he’s wonderful, and because I’m making the rules here, my tav Medora. If you’d rather not deal with someone else’s tav, just pretend it’s Alfira since they’re both female bards. If you're interested in seeing what my sleep-deprived mind came up with one night, read on!

Week One: Cake Week, or "why did you think putting literal blood in a cake was a good idea"

Signature Challenge: Swiss Roll Cake

Astarion: Dark chocolate and blood orange. It cracked a little on the top, but it tasted quite nice.

Dammon: Apple pie. Surprisingly for a blacksmith who works with heavy-duty equipment he’s really good at making small, delicate things. It had a tiny lattice top in royal icing like a real apple pie would. It tasted excellent.

Gale: He wanted something unusual and colorful, so he went with ube. He wanted to use magic to make it float or change color, but was told that was against the rules. It’s okay though, It was still really nice, and beautifully presented.

Halsin: Wild blueberry and honey. He harvested the honey himself, and was proud to say so. Unfortunately he used sugar instead of salt because he got distracted by some ducks walking by outside the tent, and it tasted awful.

Jaheira: Chocolate and peanut butter. It’s flavors her kids like. Unfortunately Paul seems to always have issues with peanut butter and how it glues his mouth shut. He wasn’t as big a fan of the cake as Prue was.

Karlach: S’mores swiss roll with toasted marshmallows on top. She toasted the marshmallows a bit too much, but that’s part of the charm of s’mores. She’s not sorry.

Lae’zel: Matcha and black sesame. Interesting flavor choices, but not as well-executed as the judges would have liked.

Medora: Lemon meringue. The meringue was very poorly executed, the lemon curd squished out of the sides of the cake, and the cake itself cracked horribly.

Minsc: Chai swiss roll. The swiss roll wasn’t as tight as it should have been, but the flavors were lovely.

Minthara: Chocolate and whiskey swiss roll. Accompanied by shots of whiskey, in an attempt to bribe the judges.

Shadowheart: Cookies and cream swiss roll, with a neat half and half black and white design. It wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but she managed to cover up some of the worst sins with strategically-placed oreos.

Wyll: Red velvet. A classic flavor for a classic guy, and executed almost perfectly.

Technical Challenge: Cherry Cake

Bakers will be listed in descending order of success.

Karlach

Lae’zel

Minsc

Jaheira and Shadowheart tied, actually. You decide who gets fourth.

Either Shadowheart or Jaheira, depending on who’s your least favorite lol

Medora

Halsin

Wyll and Gale also tied. Pick your favorite.

Gale or Wyll

Astarion

Dammon

Minthara

Showstopper Challenge: Chocolate Celebration Cake

Astarion: Tiers are lopsided and the texture is claggy, but he did his best to charm the judges and distract them.

Dammon: Not as successful as his signature round, but his piping work was surprisingly delicate.

Gale: Attempted to make a chocolate tribute to Mystra. The sculptural aspect was lacking, but he was one of the few contestants to use ruby chocolate, which was unique.

Halsin: Used even more foraged berries on a white chocolate cake. Very successful.

Jaheira: Dropped her cake before she could finish decorating it. Could not be judged.

Karlach: Put in some cinnamon and chili to make a Mexican hot chocolate cake. Very nice.

Lae’zel: No one knows what dimension that chocolate came from, only that it was amazing. She got a Hollywood Handshake.

Medora: Finally seemed to get with the program and baked a lovely triple-chocolate cake.

Minsc: Despite him not having hair, Boo drove him like it was a scene from Ratatouille and created chocolate perfection. Hollywood Handshakes for both of them.

Minthara: Her cake was very dry and didn’t have enough frosting.

Shadowheart: Insisted her cake be colored black with activated charcoal and got it everywhere.

Wyll: Tried to go for a classic again, and did well, but the judges wondered if he played it too safe.

The Results

Our star baker this week with a total score of 49/60 is: Karlach!

And unfortunately due to her total score of 18/60, Minthara is the first to leave the tent.

And that concludes Cake Week!

Biscuit Week

Bread Week

Pies and Tarts Week

Underdark Week

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sugaredrhubarb · 4 months

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Reading with Ru: 2023 oct/nov/dec fic and book recs

Hello hello! Back again with some final recs from what I was reading towards the end of the year. Gonna start with cod because that's where most of my moots are, and then some from other fandoms and published romance I've been enjoying as well.

Just in case this goes outside my little circle, please check the tags of anything I rec; I'll try to mention if I think something is particularly dark, but don't read anything you won't like!

COD

landscape with honey by @ceilidho - (bear shifter!price x reader) starting with ceil because, at this rate, I can't write a list without including her. my friendship with ceil partially started from bugging her asks about bear price, so this one is always gonna be special, but I genuinely love it, ceil writes blatant dubcon really well (as we all know), but I think it's in fics like this—when the hero is just a little off, and the reader is caught between what seems too good to be true and a gut instinct that something isn't quite right—that her writing really thrives. Anyway, I'm okay with a big, burly man hibernating with me in a cozy cabin in the woods for a winter. (side note: we need to be talking about ghost x feral witch reader more)

Mind the Drop by @sprout-fics - (BDSM au, price x reader) more aftercare in fics!!! This wonderful one-shot is based in a universe where people are biologically designated as dominant or submissive. Reader is a sub who is feeling the effects of some missed aftercare, which Price takes notice of and offers his... assistance. Honestly, this is just some really well-written comfort and aftercare from a fun concept.

My daddy didn't love me, so I guess I've moved on to you by @makoodles - (price x reader) clearly, I was back in my Price era, and this fic hits on the central theme of my attraction to him in the first place: daddy issues :) So, if you may want to read 17k of Reader and Price succumbing to their attraction and mutual daddy kinks, this one is for you.

Light On by @peachesofteal - (ghost x singlemom!reader) I feel like everyone was reading it, but if you haven't checked out this lovely story yet, please do! It's nice to take a break from the darker fic, and this one is so lovely while still acknowledging Simon's trauma and obsession. Peaches is an excellent writer, and this sent me down a rabbit hole of single-parent fics and books! I could read so much of this.

Pornstar!ghost by @ghosts-cyphera - ( x reader) lo is on a little break right now, but this is another wonderful entry on the soft side of cod fic. I really enjoy Ghost's charisma and confidence on display here, and every update had me giggling and kicking my feet. (I found lo through her price wife x 141 post, which is also a must read)

okay, so @ohbo-ohno (hopefully) knows I love her, and she wrote a ton and is constantly throwing out mind-bogglingly yummy drabbles, so here are some of my favs from her kinktober and 1k celebration: price x reader breeding (surprise, surprise), soap x reader somno (drugged noncon), 141 x reader orgy, ghoap ft price deepthroating, 141 x free use reader (the dream), kingpin price x reader, ex husband price x reader, gaz x reader a/b/o, and my personal fav I think about all the time ghoap x brand new vampire reader. Maybe got a little carried away, but I adore Bo's work, and she has a unique ability to make everything hot.

And finally, @charliemwrites. When making this list, I was tempted to just rec everything Charlie has posted in the last few months, so if you aren't reading her stuff already, I'm jealous that you get to experience it for the first time. Obviously, it would be a mistake to not start with her current fics: charmed slasher simon (he's a serial killer, so violence warning) and woof woof johnny, which are both so fun and compelling, I get so excited whenever I see a new update. I almost daily think about this dark(ish) Price decides you're his wife post. Charlie also writes just wonderful fluff and lighter but emotional relationships too, and both childhood friend simon and bodyguard!gaz have a special place in my heart

other fandoms

casualties by little fools writing/tianawritesfic - (darklina) yet another person I could rec every single work by. This is a boyfriend's roommate cheating fic with the perfect amount of mean man.

You kept me like a secret (i kept you like an oath) by burninghoneyatdusk - (darklina) I genuinely think everyone should read this; it's modern setting, so no canon knowledge needed. Alina wakes up after an accident and discovers she's pregnant, but she doesn't remember the last year of her life, doesn't know who the father is, and most importantly, doesn't remember the affair that ended her relationship. I could talk about it for ages, but I'm just gonna share my comment on the last chapter: "every action, line of dialogue, description, and internal thought felt deliberate— not a single word felt wasted. you stripped both aleks and alina bare and it felt impossible to not take them in completely. i don't even know how to talk about the therapy sessions and alina's healing. the exploration of her guilt, her past, her anger, her confusion it all felt so earnest and raw. what a gift to read."

Bury Us Both by morriganmercy - (Lavinia Lucia/Nick Bruin) this is sibling incest! For the love of god, don't read it if it's not your thing. I know nothing about The Royals of Forsyth series (books?), but this was recd by someone, and I saw the tags codependency, slowburn, heavy angst, pining, and religious guilt, and now here we are.

bonus! published romance I enjoyed

links are to goodreads

Return to Monte Carlo by Cate C. Wells - set in 1982, fmc runs away from her stifling life with her rich italian husband and his snobby family before discovering that she's pregnant. fun, smutty, warning for miscommunication galore. i saw some comments about the fmc being immature but she's swept into this crazy life at like ~19 so idk enjoy your smut and stop thinking so much.

Between the Devil and Desire by Lorraine Heath - a widowed duchess must learn to get along with a notorious self made rogue when he is given guardianship of her beloved son. I'm a sucker for historical romances and for single parent stories but the combo is so hard to get right and this one did it for me! while sometimes a little ridiculous, i felt the characters actions had clear motivations. watching the mmc's relationship with the son grow was really nice and it actually made sense given his backstory rather than the sudden "guy who hates kids suddenly cares" trope other books do. (warning for discussions of childhood abuse and sa)

Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata - say what you will about MZ slow burns but no one else can get me to read 600 pages for one sex scene at 95% in. are most of her character's really similar? yeah. but they're never annoying and i love that they're always good people trying their best. i love all the small details and i love me an older man who is secretly down horrendously bad only to gets worse and worse at not showing it.

Icebreaker by Hanna Grace - people have things to say about this book. do the characters get together early on? yeah. do they hook up in the back of an uber filled with their friends? also yeah (i thought it was hot so). is their very little plot in a 400 page book? sure. i'm here for a good time not to be intellectually challenged. i actually enjoyed seeing their time together and really enjoyed that they just fucking communicated even if there were mistakes along the way. plus big nice hockey player who cares about consent? swoon my little canadian heart.

check the reading with ru tag for more!

#reading with ru #oh boy it's so hard to pick favs #if you read any of these lmk!!#ao3 #fic rec #fanfic recs #fanfiction #cod #darklina #book recs #romance books #romance recs #i had an aneurism trying to make sure everything was linked right

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lucienne-thee-librarian · 10 days

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for the “Give me a character” ask game: Gault 🦋

How I feel about this character: AAAAAAA okay. I think she was an absolutely wonderful addition, I love her bravery and how she couldn't bring herself to be a nightmare to an already traumatized child. Her methods were questionable but dammit she's trying. She knows who she is and what she wants from her life and isn't afraid to fight for it. Ann Ogbomo breathed such life and charisma into her, and her character design is gorgeous.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Lucienne, primarily xD but the-everqueen has really made me consider Rose/Gault! There's just so much interesting stuff there. Like, yes she pretended to be someone else but she was doing it for JED and I think if Rose realized what she was doing for him, that would change everything for her. Gault herself shows curiosity and empathy towards humans and Rose frankly needs someone who can be *there* with her and Jed regularly and help carry the burden of raising him.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I will KILL for more ANYTHING to do with her and Rose interacting. Please.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I think she was at least as responsible for shaking Dream out of his former mindset and false sense of security as the Corinthian's rebellion. It just took time to show.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want MORE OF HER next season, I really really hope we get more of her interacting with Lucienne and the others. I also think it could be really heartbreaking if she becomes one of the last people to start doubting Dream in Kindly Ones era because she's like "he can change, he HAS changed since I first knew him, I'm walking proof. He must know what he's doing"...

My OTP: Gaulcienne!! I love the idea of the kind of lovers to enemies back to lovers again, and how if anything broke them up it was probably Dream...and the different relationships to their functions and form, that they each had in the beginning of where we see them. Because Lucienne chose to stay as a librarian. Gault never really had a choice to be a nightmare. It's just so potentially interesting and fraught. Also the soft way Lucienne said "you look...gorgeous, Gault" lives in my head rent free, so

My OT3: I don't really have one!

#gault the sandman #ask game

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maulfucker · 14 days

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The design of Henilenoi is making my brain go HRRRRRRRggggGgg in a good way and I would love to know more about them.

But if you don’t want to answer non star wars asks on your star wars blog that’s fine too

I am absolutely always up to talking about my ocs !!!!!

I originally created Neon as part of a character design class I took in college, they were conceived as the villain of the hero/villain duo we had to make, but she's never really been a villain. The two of them are part of an original world I have where there are different types of magic (which are defined by birth world and/or species), and some types are rarer than others, much like some species are also rarer than others. Neon is a light magic type, which is pretty uncommon, and they are one of the biggest space pirates of all time. They have an entire fleet of pirates under their command, and they're pretty famous. But their big reason for having such a huge crew is not for the fame or the riches - it's because they love to meet rare species and magic types. They want to have the coolest most unique pirate crew ever of all time. That's their whole motivation for becoming a pirate. This of course means they know their crew very well, they talk to everyone often and are usually very enthusiastically positive about things that people tend to be insecure about in themselves, so people really enjoy working for them. They are taking over space through sheer charisma and curiosity.

Their pirate empire eventually grows big enough that they have an entire nomad planet that they use as a base, it's like an entire city of mechanics who work for parts, scientists who help with developing independent tech and fuel production in exchange for funding for personal projects, families, retired pirates, and pretty much anyone who wants to stay there. At some point one of Neon's ships captures a diplomatic ship by mistake (they don't attack ships from certain worlds or interfere with humanitarian aid, but this ship was flying with no flag), except the leader of the diplomatic mission was a bored diplomat who decided to stay with Neon's crew in exchange for them letting the rest of her crew go. This bored diplomat ends up becoming a sort of ambassador in Neon's name and negotiates the recognition of Neon's pirate fleet (and planet) as a sovereign nation.

And that's why they are the eventual first space pirate emperor.

As for fun random facts...

they are ~9'10" not counting the horns

their "skin" is actually an exoskeleton

they have an internal skeleton as well, and their bones are black. their cybernetics match their bones.

they could grow "hair" but they prefer to shave (it looks kinda like hot pink moss growing on top of their head)

they have pet "rats" and they often carry one around (Neon acts as if they're all the same single pet but they very obviously have more than one. It's kind of a bit they're doing)

and a final fun fact they are orange-themed because while coming up with their design I found out that the real neon color is only the orange, the other "neon" colors are other elements (or just an adjective)

#hm i should make an ask tag #thamk you so much for enjoying them!! i rarely ever draw them because their design is so convoluted. but i love them #and sorry i have no image of their rats i kindof forget about them for 90% of the time because they were originally just a flavor text #usually i'd recommend checking out my oc blog or toyhouse but uh. i actually don't have all that much about them in there #they're kinda the type of oc who lives in my head and nowhere else #my ocs #<- that tag should now lead to all oc posts I haven't lost to my bad tagging habits

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asterzabi · 1 month

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I only have one f/o so i'm doing this meme unprompted lol

-What made me like them

when i first got to his episodes i initially liked him because. he purble. i usually really like purple colored characters so his design really appealed to me. I think his romantic side and his hair twirling was so cute too.

-My favorite thing about them

Definitely his romantic side and the fact that he was legit gonna drop everything for icelina??? mans would do anything for Love. I also love his need for approval and recognition outside of station as a Zabi. its very gap moe of him

-Nicknames we have for each other

well we both have pretty short names. but we stick to things like "dear" and "my love" and such although he gets pretty creative with stuff like that... me, not so much lol

-A headcanon of our relationship/friendship

Aster and Garma have a secret relationship due to many reasons: 1) he's her commanding officer, 2) She's kind of a random nobody, not really someone a political scion would be with and 3) there's kind of a war going on and they really Shouldn't be together or get too attached to one another (esp cause the other could just Die). He promises to marry her after the war though, no matter what anyone thinks 🥰

As far as their actual relationship dynamics go, he's very romantic and aster kind of... isn't. she doesn't have experience and while he doesn't have much himself he does possess a natural charisma that hard carries him through his romantic ventures. Aster is very quick to fluster but she's also very comforting to Garma in that she is always giving him sincere affirmations that quench his need for acceptance as a person beyond his family name.

-My favorite image of them

I really love his opening CGs from gihren no yabou. his confident posture and full view of his ponytail really get me

-Anything else!

#garmaster

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pocketgalaxies · 2 years

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i know you're already familiar with the M9 by osmosis, gifs, art, and clips. but now that you are *really* taking them in, what are your first impressions?

ok let it be known that i'm writing this only 27 minutes into episode 2 and also with like maybe 1 hour to actually reflect on what happened in ep 1. i'm also 100% aware that these characters have barely taken shape at this point and will most certainly find more comfortable and well-established character pillars moving forward BUT since you asked

sorry for length,,

fjord: barely said anything in ep 1 so have almost no impression of him yet but excited to see how his apparent preference for standing back and Listening and Thinking will come into play later. also he's showing signs of being a huge himbo and he lets himself get dragged around by two very (differently) aggressive women so love him already

beau: SHE'S PERFECT, LOVE HER, NO NOTES. dkfjskdf ok but tbh she was not as standoff-ish and hostile as i expected from what other ppl have said, it was much more on the aloof side? kinda just like a constantly drunk frat boy (who still respects women) who has strong opinions about very specific things but will Not tell you what those things are or why she has these opinions and will punch you if you ask. anyway she's cool and hot thank you marisha ray

caleb: A Very Serious And Stinky Boy With A Fluffy Cat. do not have enough information to make further judgments at this time. i'm assuming liam will be playing his backstory elements veeery close to the vest so i'll wait until i get more

nott: honestly i have no fucking idea what to make of her sam riegel what the hell. she's clearly got a LOT going on and i don't understand any of it. anxiety? constantly on guard? but also dependent on alcohol?? occasionally feels an uncontrollable compulsion to steal from people? will go to crowded areas knowing that if she is identified as a goblin terrible things will happen? Strange. i don't understand it. YET

jester: i definitely knew the most about jester's personality going into this so no surprises there, she is simply wonderful. like she is so inherently lovable it's absurd. so much fun to watch laura have so much fun! she's so friendly but also like can be so rude but when she is, she's so genuine about it that you can't really do anything except brush it off and forgive her

molly: knew next to nothing about this man except for his design which is. HOT. still know next to nothing about him, will have to hold until more information comes in. also didn't realize he was irish until they discussed it on talks oops

yasha: GOD I LOVE HER DFSKDJFKSJDF SHE'S SO AWKWARD. HER CHARISMA IS 7. SHE IS A VERY TALL, VERY SCARY, VERY STRONG, VERY AWKWARD TEDDY BEAR WITH A VERY BIG SWORD. the way jester was like "we're friends now!!" and she was just like ".........ok." the way beau was like "i can't walk" and she was like "i'll carry you" the way they were like "we're nervous without our weapons" and she was like "i'll sit next to you for the show so that they're near you" that says it all god i love her

#anonymous #ask #answered #critical role #cr2 #cr lb #r: mighty nein

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a-moth-to-the-light · 5 months

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My Current Top 10 Itzy Songs

Context: I've been a fan since I first saw the Icy dance practice in late 2019, but I became a superfan with the release of Wannabe and haven't looked back since--well, except for a slight moment of hesitation with the release of MITM, but the delightful Crazy In Love album brought me back!!

I'm in the process of designing my dream Itzy comeback, like @nayeonline did! [link to their post] I wanted to share this top ten list first, so y'all have an idea of what kinds of songs I love most from these ladies! See, no matter how much I trash-talk Itzy's music (sorry, Not Shy, I was too mean to you for far too long), I really do love SO MANY of their songs--I only criticize some of their tracks as passionately as I do because the highs of their discography are soooo high for me. So let's talk about them!

1. Nobody Like You

Itzy are rock stars in my heart <3 Anything with them + a guitar brings me sooo much joy! Also, the second verse is SO pretty, it's what drew me to the song right from the day the album sampler was released :)

2. Wannabe

I don't think there's any other choice for my favorite Itzy title track--I'd be surprised if anyone has a favorite other than Wannabe. I really have to do an essay about this era one day...

3. Ting Ting Ting (with Oliver Heldens)

This song is totally just trolling all of us! I HATED it for that during the first few months after it came out, but now I don't mind at all--I'm completely in love with it, and all of its weird production choices! I love when songs make me laugh, because I don't find too many of those out there, and the prechorus in this one always gets at least a giggle out of me (JUST LISTEN FOR THE WEIRD GRUNTING SOUND IN THE INSTRUMENTAL WHAT EVEN IS THAT ITS BEEN THREE YEARS AND I CANT STOP LAUGHING ABOUT IT)

4. Icy

Yes, I'm THAT guy who likes Icy more than Dalla Dalla. I know minimalistic choruses are overdone nowadays, but this basic chorus format is so well-suited to such a charismatic group--they carry the energy of the song so well!

5. Be In Love

What did I say about me when Itzy + guitar? This song makes me soooooooo sentimental.

6. That's a No No

There are tracks I like more than this from the Wannabe album, but I'm sure this is my most-listened track from that comeback--most days, its infectious, chaotic energy is exactly what I need to get by :)

7. #Twenty

(This one and above are in the category of songs I would die for btw!!) Look, I just LOVE mean girl music! This is a song that barely manages to hold itself together--luckily, it has the Itzy members to give it some semblance of being a... something? (Whatever it is, I can't help but sing along, so here we are.)

8. Cherry

Minimalistic choruses for the win! Again, their charisma really gets to shine here.

9. Loco

Look, I know Itzy aren't anywhere near the best vocalists out there, but they sound SO strong on this song! I think it's one of their best vocally, and Itzy really is one of the first groups that comes to mind when I think about my favorite vocalists. So I love this one :)

10. Love Is

Yay, a sentimental coming-of-age movie pop ballad thing! I've heard better examples of this vibe (see: Playing Games by Anna of the North), but this still makes me feel Feelings, so I come back to it quite a bit!

Honorable Mentions: It'z Summer, 24 Hours, 365 (it's become a comfort song lately! so i don't hate it anymore hehe), Domino, Cake (it's CATCHY go away), None of My Business

#sorry y'all ik everyone loves cheshire but i can't stand it so it's not on here :(( i really tried to like it i promiseeeeeee #also i heard lia's taking a break--i wish her the best! i'll miss them as five but i'm glad she's getting space to prioritize health!#i hope everyone else will be glad too and not be weird about it !!!#artist top ten #itzy

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quibbs126 · 1 year

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Alright, not my best work as I’m not entirely satisfied with his design, though the more I look at it, the more fine I am with it. I just want to get him out

He’s in a more Chibi style based off of Cookie Run because I’ve forgotten how to draw humans and I had to go with this if I wanted to get a design down

This is an Evoland character I made up Sunday after listening to too much Fearless Hero from Puss in Boots

For context, the idea for him is that he’s like a folklore hero that has songs about him, and one of my characters for a hypothetical Evoland 3, Jovi, was supposed to sing about him (I made this guy up because the idea was Jovi’d sing some version of Fearless Hero but about some other hero, and I decided to finally give them an identity). He was real, but as a folklore hero from the distant future, he’s not really from any set time in the series, whether you’re talking about Evoland 2 or my hypothetical Evoland 3

Since he’s largely based off Puss in Boots, at least in demeanor, I wanted to call him Antonio, because Antonio Banderas, but I’ll be honest, he looks more like an Ashley to me, so that’s his name

So what his whole deal is and what makes him special is that he isn’t demon or human, rather half and half. Like Ceres, but he comes much later in the timeline, where there are more, so he doesn’t steal her thunder. But they’re still pretty discriminated against, as some still see them as a freak of nature. Ashley though, does not care in the slightest, and frankly, he loves being himself. Instead of seeing himself as someone who doesn’t belong anywhere, he sees himself as one of a kind. Dude’s got a major ego

Also unlike Ceres (and another character of mine, Holly), Ashley has a demon mother and human father. With his design I wanted to reflect his hybrid nature, with him having pink skin (I felt it was a good compromise between human skin and purple skin), and having bright blond hair; a hair color not found in demons, but also far too vibrant to be a normal human color. Also giving him the black sclera of demons, but blue eyes like a human. Also in giving him asymmetrical horns (he has another one, you just can’t see it under his hair, it’s pretty small. Also I kind of forgot to draw it)

Again, his personality is mainly based off Puss in Boots, or at least how he’s portrayed in the opening of The Last Wish, being very egotistical and loving danger, going town to town helping the common folk, while getting in trouble with authorities. He’s also considered pretty attractive, even if he’s considered a freak; calls it his “devilish charm”. He’s almost always seen smiling, you know unless he knows he’s in trouble, but even then he tries to play it off and use his charisma to get out of situations. He’s also quite a bit of flirt, though I’ll be honest I’m not sure whether to make him pan or ace. I feel like it should be one of the two, but I don’t know which idea is better

He’s also an incredible fighter, being capable of seemingly impossible feats (some of it is exaggerated in stories, but not all of it). I imagine he carries a sword, but also maybe guns? I’ve even considered changing the guns for fire magic, since it’s not ludicrous he has it. And whenever he comes to town, you can always expect a musical number from him and his guitar. Some of the songs about him are of his own composition, and some of those are altered so they’re less first person and more third person

I wanted to keep him as just a character in song, but also my brain wants to put him in the team and replace him with Rowan, and thus needing to humanize him, so to speak. I’m not sure I’m going to do that as he’s still considered like a living legend, and so he might be a bit jarring, but who knows

If I were to humanize him, the thing I have is that while he loves the limelight and wouldn’t change anything about himself and his life, he does feel lonely, as while people love him for being the daring hero or for his boldness or uniqueness, people don’t really love him for him, if that makes sense. They like the legendary hero, not the person. Yes, his family loves him, but they’re basically the only ones, and he doesn’t live with them, so he basically lives his life ultimately alone, even if he’s surrounded by other people.

He’s a very expressive person. I want to do like an expression page with him, though I’ll probably just use Puss in Boots as my reference

But yeah, I think that’s about it for him. Hope you like him!

#evoland #evoland 2 #evoland oc #my oc #ashley #character design #my art #I don’t really know what to tag

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