#if only to justify elements of her design

[stil-lindigo]

ashes to ashes.

a short comic about the day Ash was born.

Ash's story

Red and Wolf's story

notes:

--

all my other comics

store

#we love a family with a storied history of loving women and committing mass murder #wolf is a couple years older than she was in her original comic but still just as smitten with red #i dont intend on making it a habit to connect my comics together into a shared universe #but i did make ash with the internal headcanon that she was the kid of red and wolf #if only to justify elements of her design #the gravity defying hair - the control over fire - the commitment to a black/white/red colour scheme #i wont be doing a backstory for snow btw since she's kind of just. a human being who grew up very entitled and spoiled #although maybe during her undead journey she unknowingly comes across her mothers-in-law in the mountains #(they like to live in remote snowy areas) #red would like her #thats all! #thank you for reading #sapphic art #comic art #stillindigo art #hearteaters #stillindigo comics

[mllenugget]

Hello I mcyt fandom-ified la Team du Lundi members and wrote a shit ton of text about it

After exhausting myself on trying to catch up on the current QSMP lore I got a sudden craving for a more familiar and fast paced kind of minecraft content and ended up rewatching all the Team du Lundi's SMP best of's I could find

And while doing so with my brain still hazed in fandom brainrot, I started picking up on minor details or info the players casually dropped, and drew parallels to the French speakers' QSMP counterparts This is going to be a long wordy post I don't even know what I am rambling about and for. Three things you need to be aware of about la Team du Lundi before reading :

Baghera, Antoine and Etoiles are the only QSMP players that are part of la Team du Lundi

As far as I remember the only two elements that suggest that la Team du Lundi's SMP could be canon to QSMP are Antoine being pressured into building another Tower of Shit, and Baghera's infamous fountain being mentioned when she was asked if her character remembers anything from her past before the island

La Team du Lundi's SMP was NOT a roleplaying server, it was just a private survival server for a small circle of friends casually playing together. So whenever I quote someone in this specific post, it is the streamer : there is no character other than the persona the streamer is usually showing on stream, but I just thought it would be fun to interpret certain situations while keeping in mind the QSMP lore. And here goes :

Baghera claims that when she was a kid she strongly believed that she could breathe underwater. The others joke about her having fins

Antoine jokingly tells Baghera he doesn’t need oxygen at all

Antoine claims he will still be alive thousands of years forwards

Antoine’s voice shifts when he wants to appear creepy

Baghera built an aquarium at her place, then helped Antoine build one at his tower, then built a giant swimming pool, then a fountain, then a waterslide- do you see a theme ?

Baghera knows that her skin is actually that of a chick and not a duckling, and calls it so here

Chat said that Baghera has a middle child syndrome, justifying that she bullies Angle Droit because Etoiles bullies her in the first place (Etoiles has also called her « little sister » in a derogatory way)

Etoiles has repeatedly asked people to play Valorant with him at least once

Here's a clip of Etoiles getting languaged in french and owing "a gifted sub in the swear jar"

Unrelated random clip of Etoiles because it creates happy hormones in me brain

Etoiles is regularly refered to as "the warrior"

Etoiles guided the whole group during an expedition to the End and he was literally glowing doing so (enchanted arrows effect) Everyone called him "the guide"

Baghera was the one who gave the final blow to the Enderdragon (and died from magic right after)

Etoiles spent most of his time adventuring in order to bring stuff and gear back to everyone for their builds

Etoiles asked Aypierre for help in order to design a redstone door for his cave which could only open upon solving a puzzle (which was egg & arrow related) (Aypierre was not a member of the server)

Etoiles built a nightclub with the walls and ceiling covered in wardenblocks making it look like a starry sky. He also rehomed Allays holding golden apples inside claiming them to be the souls working for him and that they lived there peacefuly

Etoiles jokingly talks about Antoine acting jealous and violent towards him because Etoiles told him he wanted to go and visit Kameto (who also was not a member of the server)

Baghera (along with Horty) had a rivalry with Joueur du Grenier (host of the server with admin powers) after he decided to build a massive parking lot right next to their house. They countered by covering the whole thing with dirt, followed by JDG building a factory and the two parties went back and forth. Baghera argued that it was stupid because they didnt even have cars to begin with (which is a sentence she reused when talking about Forever's roads) Also she tells JDG that he could've built a seaport instead, which makes JDG contemplate the thought of building an airport (and though he ended up never building it, I am side eyeing the French's plane crash)

At some point JDG wonders about what a roleplaying minecraft server would look like (RPZ 2), to which Baghera replies that she has a hard time picturing the thing "We'd all just build things you see ? I don't think we'd create stories, we would all just be like "I'm a builder, ah you too ? Well awesome, builders, cool"" and I find this to be hilariously ironic (fun fact : Baghera had no idea that QSMP was a roleplaying server when she first joined and often claims she would've taken a different approach with her character had she known right off the gate)

As I was finishing to write this down, these fuckers (/lh) decided to host a closure night for the server as they've never really officially did it, everyone just sort of deserted the server after a while. Baghera, Etoiles and Antoine kept referring to QSMP throughout the night, mostly talking about how weird it felt without mods. Among other meta commentary things

They mentionned Cellbit and Bad multiple times as the group was trying to solve enigmas. Antoine talked about "the cultural sharing" between communities as he taught insults to each others with Mike, Roier and Maximus in their respective languages Multiple more players were namedropped (including eggs) while Antoine was talking about how the server functions

Yes, Baghera and Etoiles kept their QSMP skins. Etoiles with his code corrupted purgatory one, and Baghera with her fading pink disheveled hair (with the addition of her cubito wearing Horty's merch)

Baghera admits that going back to this small familiar vanilla server feels like coming back home to your family during the holidays

Team du Lundi's cameos in QSMP :

Though Pomme has never canonically met JDG (even though most of her parents have talked about him to her at least once), she occasionaly breaks the 4th wall to refer to him. She once compared one of BBH's "vacation" flower shirts with his, and when Foolish and Bad asked her to elaborate (obviously not getting the reference) she proceeded to play JDG's music theme with the flute instead (Also I really feel the need to once more point out how mindblowing it is for your average french speaking viewer to have JDG's intro theme being added to the mod they use in the QSMP because of how anchored it is within french internet pop culture. Like this shit has been existing for 14 fucking years, it's part of the childhood of a lot of us, so to find a clip of British hardcore player Philza peacefuly listening to Mexican egg admin Tallulah play this theme on her flute feels like a multiverse fever dream)

Horty has been on Quesadilla Island through cc!Baghera's account, but neither of them really wanted to justify it RP wise. Baghera just wanted to give her best friend a tour of the island. Horty only got to meet Richarlyson who gave her a tour of Cellbit's castle and made her pick a room (she chose Chaos). She also chatted with Etoiles who tagged along for a bit and (this is obviously justified by it being a one-shot out of roleplay filler episode kind of night) they both already knew each other and were on friendly enough terms to bicker with one another Also she was part of the French speakers Quackity reached out to to invite on the server, but she had to decline because she was very busy at that time (and also not interested) Also also she was Baghera's teammate for that Formula 4 event, and Baghera has discussed it and showed pictures to a couple of islanders, including Richas who was very hyped about it

Another player the viewers were hoping to see on Quackity's server is Mynthos. He exists within the server with the picture of him that hangs in Pomme's art gallery, the cursed animation video that used to play in La France, as well as with Aypierre's health potion factory that bears his name

Angle Droit and Zerator are sometimes namedropped when the French speakers talk with their chat. Angle Droit frequently raids Baghera's and Antoine's streams, and though it has never been confirmed, a lot of viewers theorized that she was the +1 player Baghera and Etoiles wanted to invite on the server had they won the elections.

As for Zera, Etoiles went AFK on QSMP a couple of times in order to test some of Zerator's TrackMania maps (which he later discussed with Pac). I also remember a very trivial conversation Etoiles had with Mouse and Aypierre where he laughed about hurting his back very badly after carrying a fellow streamer during a caritative event, said event was hosted by Zerator (he's also the one judging them with concern from his desk)

I'm done.

Bonus alternative design for Angle Droit because at first I thought she was a fox then it turned out she was a corgi but then she changed it again to a fox and woop

#I wrote down a whole other post just as long as this one to explain my individual thought process behind each designs #Took me weeks to write- had a couple of clips to back up my headcanons #but then I was reading the post again checking for mistakes before realizing #yo just #that is so many words and for what #just let your designs speak for themselves hey trust yourself let there be room for interpretation #if people turn out to be curious well i guess thats what ask box was created for leave it be thats enough #(not) fun fact : I drew those Baghera Etoiles & Antoine designs back in june and the files got corrupted and I lost a week worth of work #if we are mutuals on discord youve mightve heard me whine about this one #mcyt #team du lundi #qsmp #angle droit #hortyunderscore #baghera jones #zerator #etoiles #mynthos #joueur du grenier #antoine daniel #serveur du lundi #my art

[spectra-bear]

To all the fma fans here who have been following me for a while now, I'd like to bring a few chapters to light in consideration to the recent tragic palestinian apartheid

FMA has made sure to speak out about these reoccuring events, and whoever hasn't noticed from reading yet needs a critical thinking class.

Let's start with chapter 90:

Chapter 90 of the series, although censored heavily in the anime (but we'll get to that later), played a HUGE role in establishing what kind of message arakawa was building up to deliver to her audience as a plot B (ishvalan genocide) sided with plot A (the search of the philosopher stones, eventually turned plot A (overthrowing the military), a message meant to awaken her readers to the truth, and one that serves as a warning

Does this not all ring familiarity?

One of the reasons arakawa wrote this story was to bring this side of history into light,

the oppression, the abuse of military power, the imbalanace in arms between two parties at "war", the perfect guise of "protecting the people from radicalized terrorists", and using it to justify the murder of countless lives, committing war crime after war crime, massacring the land and lathering it with the spilled blood of countless innocents and people fighting back for their freedom, for their home. Those that die have their lives tragically cut short, too soon.

A total extermination

And to those that remain alive,

Forcefully immigrated from their own homeland

Or exploited for their bodies, harvested for their organs, abused, tortured and humiliated

Not only that, but the emphasis on making the reason behind starting the war in the first place, being the first bullet shot at a young child by a soldier, and intentionally making it seem "trivial" for the ishvalans to retaliate because of that, and painting them as animalistic

Writing off roy mustang and maes hughes as heroes for doing whats best for their country, glorifying their relationship as war buddies, and believing theyre in the right for putting down the people of the holy land, when they couldve backed down from contributing to this one-sided war,

and when they do step back from the field, theyre labelled as cowards. When they inevitably realize the abnormality and inhumanity of their actions, that theyve been solely used as tools and weapons of destruction, that impact is softened with rewards, of medals and cheers of accomplishment from the population-wide brainwashed by lies spread by the people in power, and if theyre lucky, accomodations for the negative mental effects of being part of a war

(arakawa interview source)

What do I conclude from this?

That the author of your favorite manga does not support genocide and in fact, condemns those who partake in it

If it isnt obvious, She included these stories because they have happened before

She is telling these stories, while not 100% protrayed correctly, to fill the empty gaps in the western perspective that have been contaminated with propaganda and demonization of these indigenous people

The designs of ishvalans and cultural clothing are intentionally influenced by japanese ethnic groups, middle eastern and south asian cultures, and the military intentionally european/western looking as an example for their expansion and dominance in mind

And now we are watching all this happen in reality, again, witnessed live, in much worse conditions, throughout history

Where the heroes arent kids who can sway elements at their command with the flick of a hand, but the people who stand against it in mass, marching in the streets to break the suffocating silence, and spread the voices of those seeking help and demanding their freedom back

Does everyone realize how fucked up that is? That the lines drawn between fantasy and reality blur so much that they become indistinguishable from each other? That is true horror, when the monsters and tyrants in your stories no longer stay on ink and paper, but are on your screens broadcasting their crimes, beyond humanity

You must understand that if these stories are included for you, the reader, they are not written just for the plot, but to bring awareness to you, and avoid history from repeating itself, and work against committing the same irredeemable mistakes as before

(thanks to @borkthemork for the help in outlining this and proofreading)

#i am not using the pal3stine tag so i dont drown out any sources published on that tag #and while this story may need to be reworked in some aspects it has already done alot in bringing this message into light #analysis #fma #fullmetal alchemist #bear screams in cave #cw blood #this serves as a reminder to what the is the message nuanced in this manga #cw violence

[yurimother]

Lesbian Sci-Fi Bounty Hunters Fight For Their Freedom in GL Space Western Apollonia

Sponsored by War Bunny

Apollonia is a no-punches-pulled cowgirls in space adventure! Part Cowboy Bebop and part Black Lagoon, but with a heavy dose of exceptionally jacked queer ladies in cowboy hats, this thrilling webtoon follows the crew of the space trail Apollonia, a group of vicious exiles determined to lay waste to their quarry, collect bounties, and earn their freedom.

The story kicks off when inmate no. 7012, Molly Holliday, is imprisoned on Purgatoire, a perilous frontier planet styled after the wild west, with only one hope, “complete the necessary steps required to reform and join the rest of civilized society...”

Molly soon catches the eye of Tess “Tombstone” Seguín, a steely-eyed gunslinger doing “accidental good” working as a bounty hunter for Reach. Between all the imprisoned criminals running amok, the settlers looking to carve out their own tiny chuck of hellscape and live in peace on Purgatoire don’t have it easy. So, Reach marks those who misbehave and promises that those who join Reach and hunt down enough evildoers will receive the ultimate prize, a one-way ticket to freedom.

After successfully proving her quickdraw skills, demonstrating the sharpness of her cutting tongue, and instilling more than a little lesbian panic, Molly proves herself to Tess, who invites her to join her gang, The Red Horns, aboard their space train, The Apollonia. Together they’ll stop at nothing to earn their freedom as they annihilate scum and battle against the six wicked gangs that carved up the planet’s territory and rule it with an iron fist. And if the Red Horns should accidentally do some good as they ride off into the sunset, so be it. These aren’t heroes by any means, just selfish monsters who happened to end up on the right side of the law after breaking it.

The series boasts dramatic visuals that electrify action as plasma bolts and explosive punches fly in dynamic, stylized sequences. And from incredibly sculpted abs to genetically engineered heart eyes, each of the character designs helps communicate its subject’s personality and power. The world-building is excellent, showcasing a dangerous world inspired by Borderlands and technology that justifiably mixes high-tech sci-fi with the aesthetics of classic Western stories. However, my favorite element is the dialogue, laden with a plethora of old-west slang, witty exchanges, and plenty of flirtatious banter between the two female leads.

You can read Apollonia for free today on Webtoon.

Post sponsored by War Bunny

#yuri #girls love #lgbt #gay #lgbtq #gl #lesbian #queer #Apollonia #sponsored #webtoon #gl webtoon

[lady0lunamoon]

Okay! My honest opinion on "Miraculous World: Paris"?

It was AMAZING!!!!

Lot's of action, some funny moments, very emotional and lots of tension!

One thing I especially love is how the Special wastes absolutely no time with getting straight into the action!

Something I hate about many movies is how they just waste so much time setting up the plot that by the time it finally gets to the good stuff, half the movie is already over!

The writers really have my respect for not doing that here! After the opening, they waste no time and immediately get straight to the actual plot!

Another thing i really love about the special is the way they handled Shadybug and Claw Noir!

I kept saying that Shady and Claw have the potential to become the best Miraculous villains ever, even if they get redeemed, and as far as I'm concerned, i was totally right about that because these two are officially my favorite Miraculous villains!!! 🖤

[WARNING!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!]

For one, I love villains like Shadybug who are driven by a desire to not be hurt anymore!

I felt so bad for her when she cried while reading Marinette's diary! 😢

And I found it so touching how she first acted cold and rude towards Sabine but quickly backtracked on her attitude, when Sabine continued to speak kindly to her!

It showed that Shadybug wished she'd have a loving mother like that and she'd actually be grateful for it!

I am truly touched by how vurnerable she looked throughout that entire scene!

💔💔💔

🖤And I absolutely love how sassy and unhinged Claw Noir is!🖤

The guy freaking cataclysmed himself ON PURPOSE FOR NO APPEARANT REASON!!

At least I can't think of a reason why he did that! And even while cataclysmed, he still managed to put up one heck of a fight throughout the entire special!!

And It's very interesting how his motivation is a lot like Monarch's, but at the same time not!

Claw Noir does want his mother back, but he seems more hurt by the fact that his father doesn't seem as upset as he is!

Although it's not that hard to read the signs that Shadyverse!Gabriel infact is impacted by his wife's death!

If I had to guess, it looks very much like Claw THOUGHT his father easily moved on and continued to focus on his work as a fashion designer and forgot about Emily, while what he was really doing was using the butterfly miraculous to create superheroes and trying to stop the Supreme, most likely to create a safe world for their son!

I also love how both Shady and Claw wear different masks to hide their sadness : Shadybug acts cold and unfeeling while Claw Noir is more outgoing and unhinged! Claw is basically that one character who is a little b*tch but is just too charismatic to hate!

[SPOILERS OVER]

There might've been a few things I had hoped to see in the special that weren't there, but that's okay because a lack of one or two good possible elements is still better than the presence of multiple bad elements — which mind you was NOT present in this special at all!

The show often has some moments that really made me cringe, but I couldn't find a SINGLE bad moment in this special!

[SPOILERS]

So the fact that we didn't get much personal father-son drama between Batterfly and Claw Noir (Which was justified since, contrary to what i assumed, they don't know each others secret identities) or the fact that neither CelesteCat's white suit and hair nore Claw Noir's giant Cataclysm triggered Ladybug's Chat Blanc PTSD (because we don't talk about this enough in Season 5) don't bother me much!

My worries about Ubiquity, despite being featured heavily in promotional material, barely appearing in the actual special (because she only had one appearence in all the trailers) were also put to rest! Even though Alya isn't Ubiqity for long at first, she still gets turned back into her a few times! Giving her enough screentime that I see no reason to get mad over her being promoted so much even though she doesn't actually stick around throughout the entire special!

[SPOILERS END]

Whoever says this show lost it's touch should definetly watch this!

Which is another little meta detail I really love in this special :

'Hope' is a central theme in the special, and it was so good that it also gave me hope that the show can return to it's former glory!

Despite a lot of controversy surrounding the show for quite a while now, this special proves that, just like Shadybug, Claw Noir and Batterfly's world, the show itself can also still be saved!

#miraculous world #miraculous paris #shadybug and claw noir #review #This is my new favorite special now #Maybe even my new favorite episode! #I just loved everything about it! #miraculous ladybug #shadybug #claw noir #miraculous shadybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #Who said the show lost its touch!? #This special is the best thing ever and everyone who says it's bad is dead to me!!!

[k-evans-reads]

In Living Color

Chapter 19

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 3,932

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: SMUT. 18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

March 18th, 2022

Unfamiliar terrain filled Nat’s eyesight as she stared out the window of the car, taking the sights of Atlanta. It had been a long flight out here after yet another grueling work week but this one seemed a lot more bearable than the last few, knowing that the light at the end of this week was seeing in person that shining smile of the man she loved. 

Nat ran a hand through her wild curls before stretching out her legs that were still a little cramped from the long plane ride before she looked over at the man in the driver's seat and smiled, “Thanks so much for picking me up, Josh.” 

“Happy to do it,” he honestly told her, glancing over at her for a moment before he chuckled, “Besides, having you here means I won’t have Chris moping around all weekend so honestly you being here is a service to me.” 

Although Nattie hated to hear of anything dampening Chris’ mood, she was happy to know that he had been as downtrodden about their separation as she had been. Nat had struggled a lot more than she realized but tried to push it all from her head, muttering. “I’m just happy I’m finally getting out of my office and remembering there’s an outside world.” 

“Are you still working like crazy? I know Chris has been kind of worried about how much you’re working,” Josh spoke with a raised eyebrow. 

Hearing it almost made Nat want to roll her eyes, knowing that this wasn’t the first time Chris had voiced his unhappiness about her workload but she just justified it with, “It’s just a busy season. But I’m so glad I was able to get today off so I could come out here. I’ve never actually gotten to see Chris filming.” 

“Don’t get your hopes too high, it’s not that entertaining,” Josh retorted, making Nat burst into laughter as they kept driving along the highway. 

Although she loved the way that Chris’ lifelong best friend teased him, she knew that his words wouldn’t be quite true for her. In their nearly year of dating, she had gotten to see him record his lines for his Lightyear voicework and see the fruition of his hard work in his films, but never had she gotten to observe him while acting. 

When they arrived at the set, she only got to steal a quick kiss from him before the director talked to the crew as Josh and Nat moved over to the side, blending into the background and staying out of the way before they got ready to run the scene. Nat quietly stood as her eyes fixed on Chris, just silently watching him as she watched him shed himself and took on a brand new persona. She had gotten to see him transform during Lightyear as he acted in the booth but this was different. Nat remembered him talking about how challenging voice acting had been, not able to work off of anyone else and for the first time she truly got to see him shine in his working element, seeing the easy way that he carried himself as he worked. 

Being apart had been so hard, the two hardly able to see each other since filming had started on Valentine’s Day. She had gotten to spend the long President’s Day weekend with him in Boston and had been able to see him shortly when he’d come to Los Angeles for a weekend for a bachelor party but it was a far cry from how used to being together they were, falling into the groove of living life together. 

But now they were finally back together, even if it was only for a weekend, but once his arms were wrapped around her Nat felt like everything was right with the world. They just soaked in getting to hold one another for a long moment until finally pulling apart enough to press their lips together as passionately as they could with so many people surrounding them as the cast and crew were all headed in different directions. 

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Chris’ voice was soft as he looked down into her eyes. 

“Me too,” she could feel her smile shining from ear to ear before Chris’ arm snaked around her shoulders as they walked through the busy set. “I’m glad I got here in time to watch you film.” 

“I don’t know if I am because then you’ll see what a shit actor I really am," he laughed while squeezing her a little tighter. 

“I knew that already,” Nat teased him, earning a slap to his chest as he roared with his hysterical laughter and she was reminded just how much she missed that. 

The two chatted non-stop as they went to the costume trailer where Nat waited outside as Chris got out of his costume and makeup and emerged in his illegally tight white tee shirt and sweats. Almost immediately she was tucked back under his arm as they walked together toward a trailer down at the end of the line where Chris held open the door and let Nat walk in before following her inside. 

After the door of the trailer was shut behind them, the pair were finally alone for the first time in much too long. The separation between them had been a lot harder on each of them than they’d even realized but especially for Nat. She wasn’t used to being separated for so long and it was something she thought would be a little easier than it had been. Every time she faced another night alone or weekend without hearing that familiar loud laughter, she felt her heart dropping a little. 

Nat had thrown herself into her work even more, focusing on her artwork and although it helped get her mind off of missing Chris, it had caused her to be more burned out than she had imagined. But now she finally was here with him. She could finally breathe in his scent and feel his hand rubbing up and down her arm as he stepped closer and lowly said, “I missed you so fucking much, Nattie.” 

The look in those blue eyes of his gazing at her from under those long eyelashes had her getting weak at the knees. She couldn’t resist being able to finally wrap her arms around him, feeling the firm muscles of his back underneath his soft white tee shirt as his arms came around her waist and caged her in. In an instant his mouth was on hers, kissing Nat completely senseless as she started feeling dizzy, needing nothing more in this moment than him. 

She loved him so fully, so completely that she couldn’t wait a second longer to pull away, breathless as she whispered, “I love you, Chris.” The moment was so intense, both of them so desperate for one another and their chest heaving as they tried to catch their breath, but that one statement from her seemed to stop everything. Nat was still pressed up against him as he lifted his head, his tender eyes looking down at her as he reminded her, “I love you too, Nat. So much.” 

And as if Nat wasn’t already feeling lightheaded enough, those words sent waves of emotions straight to her heart while Chris’ lips attached to her neck as she melted into him. Their lips kept finding one another’s, kissing over and over again while each of their hands grasped at any bit of each other that they could as they stumbled toward the tiny bedroom in the trailer, clothes being peeled off and discarded as they went. 

Chris couldn’t have moved faster if he tried, and before Nat knew it he had her laying back on the bed and was buried deep inside her. Her left hand came up to grab his cheek as her right hand moved down to cup his firm ass, and Nat found herself emotional at being able to finally see that gorgeous face of his in person instead of across a phone screen. They were finally back together and nothing felt better. 

They just held each other’s eye contact for a long moment before Nat saw Chris’ eyes flutter closed as he leaned down to kiss her deeply and she felt herself clench around him from the deep love she felt, making Chris have to pull away from her lips to groan from the feeling. Nat felt so good, overwhelmed by the feeling of having him buried deep inside her while her hand reached up to run through his brown hair while he littered kisses across her chest. They were so in love and so happy in this moment and their arms came around each other to cling tightly together while Chris’ hips started moving in and out at a slow loving pace. 

“Oh god, Chris. Fuck, you feel so good,” she whimpered as her body curled up into his, her left hand trailing down his back to rest on his firm ass, giving it a good squeeze right as he thrust into her. 

“Love you so fuckin’ much Nat,” Chris grunted, pressing a sweet kiss to her neck before his hips continued to slowly rock in and out. “I missed you. I missed feeling you.” 

Nat felt herself melting underneath him, unable to even respond to him with just how incredible he was stretching her out. Both Chris and Nat were just soaking in this glorious moment, wrapped up in the comfort of having each other in their arms once again. The only sounds in the trailer were their pants, their normal running dialogue and praises were silenced, both just too overwhelmed by the love and emotions they both were feeling. Eventually when Chris heard Nat’s sweet whimpers, he picked up his pace, burying his face in her neck to nuzzle a few kisses, his firm sweaty chest pressed against hers, allowing Nat to feel his quick heartbeat. 

“Chris please, baby I need to feel you,” Nat urged him breathlessly, her hands grasping at those broad shoulders. 

Nat was too wrapped up in keeping her own breathing at bay that she didn’t realize that Chris was barely hanging on already but hearing her words nearly drove him over the edge. She whimpered when he lifted his chest up a bit, leaving space between them before he dropped his hand down between them, changing to slower little thrusts as he let his thumb find her sensitive clit, rubbing quick tight circles while he encouraged her, “C’mon baby, let go. I wanna see that gorgeous face you make. I wanna feel you squeeze me, Nattie.” 

The white hot heat was pulsing through her and Nat couldn’t help it, letting her body release as her smooth walls gripped Chris so tight a long obscene moan poured from his lips. He held onto her hips tightly, keeping himself fully seated inside her as his essence filled her. Nat felt like she was going to pass out when her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up, seeing Chris’ eyes shut tight, his mouth hanging open as he panted and a few dark hairs hanging over his sweaty forehead as he tried to regain his breathing. 

Needing to feel him close, Nat reached up to grab the gold St. Christopher’s medallion around his neck and gave it a gentle tug, silently telling him what she wanted. Feeling weak as he still recovered, he practically collapsed on top of her small frame, careful to keep his weight on the mattress so he didn’t hurt her. Nat wrapped a leg around his firm behind, her arms holding onto him tightly while he nuzzled his face back to the crook of her neck, his beard prickling her skin that his lips soothed with gentle kisses. 

It had been too long, much too long, since they had gotten to have moments like this and neither were ready to let go just yet. As much as they wanted to just stay together in the glow of that moment, they eventually pulled themselves from the bed and took a quick shower, both changing into their comfortable clothes before walking hand in hand to where Chris’ car was parked. 

They happily caught up as they drove home, Chris filling her in on all the little things that had happened the past few days when they hadn’t had much time to talk. As much as Nat loved to listen to his animated stories, she loved being able to see him in person, getting to run her hand along his back once they had gotten to his temporary place during filming, laughing as she kept dropping things while they cooked dinner and hearing that loud laugh. Just getting to physically be together made all the different for Nat, feeling more happy and centered than she had in a long time. 

As they ate dinner, a comfortable silence fell upon them before settling into their routine of cleaning up, Nat washing dishes while Chris dried but even that felt good. Nat was exhausted, the past couple of months at work draining her but none of that seemed to matter now. Not while she was with him, reminding her of all the things in life that really mattered. 

Just as Nat had shut off the running water and handed Chris the last plate to wipe dry, she caught the look in his eye, seeing a softness there before he leaned in for a soft kiss, his hand that wasn’t holding the dishrag rubbing along her arm as he revealed, “I’m so glad you’re here, Nattie.” 

“I think you mentioned that before," she just couldn’t help but tease him, bumping her hip against his before drying off her hands. 

“Well I’m going to mention it again because I mean it,” Chris called over his shoulder as he put the plate away in the cabinet, then turning to toss the rag onto the counter so his hands could be free to grasp at her hips and pull her into him, “I’m just really happy you were able to come this weekend. I’m sorry I only have the weekend off.” 

Nat just shrugged as her arms wrapped around his neck loosely, her fingers toying with the ends of his fluffy brown hair while acknowledging, “I doubt I would have been able to stay any longer than the weekend anyway. I have to be at the daily on Monday morning, so it actually works out well.”  

“Sounds like you’re still really busy at work,” Chris’ eyebrow rose. 

Her arms fell from around his neck before trudging over toward the couch, scratching Dodger on the way by before curling up onto the cushions as she countered, “You’re gone anyway so I might as well work a lot.” 

“You already were working a lot before.” 

“There’s just a lot going on right now,” she tried to remind him as he made his own way to the couch, coming to sit near her, angling his body toward her as his thick arm came to rest across the top of the couch cushions. 

“When won’t there be though, Nattie? It seems like you’re always swamped with work these days.” 

Nat knew that part of what he was saying was true. Lately there weren’t many days that weren’t crazy busy but the other part of her knew that he didn’t understand. Chris never had a conventional job. He didn’t understand the type of job where so many things depend on others, deadlines, and going through the grind of putting in hours everyday, then sending off the latest pieces for approval before making the countless adjustments as requested. It wasn’t that his job wasn’t challenging or didn’t take work, but she knew that his view of time off was extremely different from hers. If he needed a break, he had the ability to take one, but if she needed a break and didn’t work, it would mean getting fired and only having enough savings to last a short time. 

She knew that her job had been a point of contention lately, both of them struggling with the separation they were both facing and the heavy workload causing a lot of extra stress for her but she just didn’t want to start the weekend out this way. Nat got such limited time with him now that she didn’t want to get into something that would cause an argument and ended up reaching over to rest a hand on his thigh, conveying, “Chris, I’m really not trying to be dismissive but I don’t want to talk about work. I just want to focus on us being together.” 

It looked as if the wheels in his brain were churning as he sat there for a moment. It was obvious there was more he wanted to say, more behind what he was feeling but ultimately deciding to drop it and agreed, “You’re right, let’s forget about work.” He took her hand from his sweatpant covered thigh and pressed a kiss in her palm before saying,  “Although the one work thing I am happy about is the Lightyear premiere because then I know I’ll get you for almost an entire week while I’m in LA.” 

“I always get emotional at premieres because of getting to see the culmination of years of animation that we’ve worked on but this one is going to be even more emotional,” Nat already knew that this one film held so many more emotions than normal not only because of so much more work that she’d poured into it, but because of the relationship it’d brought to her life. “I already know I’ll be crying like a baby.” 

“Why? I thought I didn’t even make your top three favorite voice actors?” Chris couldn’t help but tease with that sideways smile on his face. 

“Well I’ve kind of grown partial to you.” 

“You better have,” he chuckled softly as he playfully shoved her shoulder gently before his tone shifted and she saw his eyes sparkling in the dim lights as Chris asked, “Is your family still planning on coming to the premiere?” 

Nat bubbled with laughter, knowing that was a rhetorical question. Her family had been buzzing about this for so long and she rested her own elbow on the back of the couch, her hand coming to prop up her cheek as she informed him, “Oh yeah, they’re so excited. The last one they came to was Inside Out so Ella doesn’t even remember it, and then Lily and Carson weren’t even born. Zach and Alex weren’t even married yet so this will be Zach’s first premiere too.” 

“And the first one where you’ve been the lead character design too, right?” 

“Yeah so you’re going to have to give me red carpet lessons,” Nat smiled, having a hard time in this moment understanding that as he sat there in his worn tee shirt and black sweatpants while he laughed and teased her, that he was the same guy as the man who stood on red carpets posing for the hundreds of photographers calling his name. 

“I’m not the person to ask, I’m on and off that shit as fast as humanly possible,” he tipped his head back with a laugh before turning it lazily to look at her with a hand reaching over to rest on her knee, “But you’re right, this is going to be a special one. My family is already pumped about coming.” 

“I’m so glad I’ll get to see your family again. I loved getting to spend more time with them when I came out to Boston last month,” she mused while her thoughts drifted back to the President’s Day weekend when she had been able to take that Friday off, giving her almost four full days visiting him in Boston and spending time with his family that she hadn’t gotten to see enough of, including finally getting to meet his father and the rest of his family members for a few quick hours. 

Being in Boston for only the second time had allowed her to see that other side of Chris. That completely unguarded and calm self, being completely comfortable and at ease. It wasn’t that he wasn’t ever like that when they were alone, or when he had come to Washington to be with her and her family, but seeing him in his beloved and true home let her see such a beautiful side of him that they both had needed to endure these long stretches apart. 

With a point of his finger and a loud cackle, Chris told her, “Carly still wants to get even on Monopoly so we’ll have to break that out while they’re here.” 

“Are they going to stay with you when they come?” Nat wondered, slipping her hand into his and just enjoying getting to have those soft touches as they talked. 

“Well, I was actually thinking about renting them an AirBnB or getting a few hotel rooms for them all to stay at so I could invite your family to stay at my place,” he shrugged, eyes glancing over to where Dodger had wandered in with a toy in his mouth. 

“Chris, that’s so sweet but you don’t need to do that. I don’t want that to take away from you having time with your family,” Nat was quick to speak up, not wanting him to feel like he needed to prioritize her family over his but when his blue eyes came back to meet hers, she knew it was anything but that. 

He just shook his head before leaning in to steal a quick kiss, settling back into the cushions as her legs came to drape over his lap. Chris’ hand wandered up and down her thigh covered in the black leggings she was wearing as he insisted, “I want to, Nattie. I get plenty of time with my family and still will that week, but I want your family to be able to spread out and have a comfortable place to stay, especially with having the younger kids and baby Jack.” 

“You’re so thoughtful it’s almost sickening,” Nat laughed as he blushed softly from her teasing praise. “You’re seriously going to be the kids’ favorite person because they still talk about your pool to this day.” 

He held up his hands in defense, stating, “Hey as long as I’m winning them over, that’s all that matters.” 

“You’ve won them over a long time ago,” Nat knew how true that was. There wasn’t hardly one FaceTime that she had with those three kids that she loved so much without them asking or saying something about Chris. They’d all fallen in love with him over the Thanksgiving week that he’d spent with them but Nat knew that all of it paled in comparison to how much she loved him. How much she truly, deeply, purely loved him. “Besides, they all know I’m not planning on letting you go anytime soon.” 

“Well I’m happy to hear that because that means we’re on the same page.” 

And Nat knew that they truly were. Neither one had to guess how the other felt, wondering if their love was returned just as deeply or if the other was just as committed. Despite the strain of work and struggling to see eye to eye in certain moments about it, they knew that at the base of everything was nothing but love for each other and nothing felt better than that. 

A/N: We'll be back next week with a new chapter! We wanted to let you guys know (in case you hadn't seen it already!) that we are taking the week of 4/27 off from posting due to our schedules then. We both are very busy then and wouldn't be around to handle the postings!

#in living color #chris evans story #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #original female character #chris evans ff #chris evans #chris evans x female reader #chris evans x oc #chris evans x original female character #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x smut #chris evans smut #chris evans fluff #chris evans imagine #chris evans writing #chris evan fanfiction #real person fanfiction #fanfic #chris evans fiction #chris evans fic #real person fiction #cevans #christopher robert evans #chris evans x original character #original character #original content #ofc #rpf #real life chris evans

[kataraslove]

just saw a very strange collection of headcanons surrounding katara and lightning generation/bending, and her ability to be able to bend lightning. at first, i was curious to see what direction they were headed and why they headcanon a waterbender to be able to generate lightning. then the intention of the post became increasingly obvious; for nothing else besides the ability of katara to match zuko. their reasoning was essentially - and i kid you not - that since katara and zuko are the yin and yang of the show, and lightning bending as a technique involves separating the energies of yin and yang, this is why katara should be able to adopt lightning bending. by katara being able to lightening bend, it would somehow strengthen her bond with zuko and make the final agni kai much more meaningful. according to the user, lightening bending would be a very valuable skill for katara to have. it would solve her dilemma against bloodbending, it would reduce the burden of responsibilities she had to bear because of aang, and it would help serve as a catalyst to her forgiving zuko. since zuko helped heal katara’s trauma in the show’s canon (according to the user), somehow lightning bending (and the synchronous harmony that would tie to zuko) will help to heal it more.

the more i ponder over this headcanon, the more I realize how counterintuitive to katara’s character it is, and the more bizarre it becomes to me. now, there’s definitely a scientific reason that one can use to justify why a waterbender can and should be able to manipulate lightning in the sky. actually, we can even go one step forward and argue why it makes more sense for an airbender to be able to generate lightning and thunder, instead of a waterbender, if we really want to take into account the science. but something tells me that that user probably wouldn’t appreciate a post entirely on how aang should be able to generate lightning (which he can already redirect in the show’s canon … are you now realizing that zuko and aang are the true yin and yang of atla this whole time).

scientific purposes aside, we must bear in mind that this is a fantasy series, which has designated that firebenders as the ones to be able to redirect lightning, a rare technique prominent only in the fire nation royal family by atla canon. i don’t really know the exact purposes as to why bryke gave lightning generation and redirection to firebenders. I don’t particularly associate lightning with the element of fire (unless if operating on the assumption that lightning results in forest fires). but bryke’s reasoning may be as simple as, “we thought it’d be cool and scary for kids if the fire nation had this.”

waterbenders have a whole bunch of amazing techniques and subbending styles that katara has canonically mastered and used, all with the exception of spirit bending (but she might be able to do that too). she does not need to adapt a subbending from a whole other element (a once rare technique that only the fire nation royal family held possession) in order to display her waterbending prowess. she especially does not need to adapt lightning bending just to coordinate with zuko, just because you see them as yin and yang & because lightning bending/generation involves separating and collecting yin and yang energy. this operates on the same handwavy reasoning of zuko and katara being paralleled to tui and la (they aren’t).

moreover, op’s reasoning as to why zuko and katara are yin and yang is based on the belief that zuko helped katara let go of her anger and pain towards her mother’s death by allowing her the opportunity to confront her mother’s murder. to which i say, no he did not help her let her anger go. katara is still extremely angry at yon rha for what he did; this is the sole reason as to why she explains that she cannot ever forgive him. she feels that she is above swooping to his level by taking a life, but she does not forgive him for the pain and suffering that he had caused her entire life. she also does not get over her mother’s death after this event. using aang’s advice of forgiveness, however, she forgives zuko for the pain that he had caused her (for breaking her trust and betraying ba sing se, leading to the worst weeks in her life) and seeks the chance that the two of them could move past this to heal their friendship and begin restoring trust.

going back to katara being able to lightning bend, i fail to see how lightning bending could ever positively benefit katara, and instead only serve to make her trauma worse. it imposes the same - if not worse - moral dilemma that she has with bloodbending. having the power to strike your enemies, but not wanting to see innocent people harmed and suffered.

Hama: The choice is not yours. The power exists. And it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war.

while katara is not a pacifist and would be willing to use violence in necessary purposes as a form of self-defense, katara as a character also does not want to see suffering and brutality; does not want to mercilessly kill people in the name of freedom and resistance. katara’s honest, canon reaction to ever using lightning bending on someone would exactly be like aang’s reaction when he debated killing ozai with it.

another part of op’s argument (which I haven’t read) is how katara having lightning bending enhances the final agni kai and zuko’s sacrifice of jumping in front of lightening to save katara. now, you could concote a scenario in katara ultimately saves zuko by redirecting it away or whatever battle couple fanfiction scenario you want to create. but bear in mind that all of those scenarios will serve to take away from the purpose of the scene; why zuko jumped in front of lightning in the first place and why his injury, why him being at death’s door, offers the perfect conclusion to his character arc.

now, the most concerning matter of the post is that it is yet another headcanon that strips katara of her character traits and water tribe identity in an attempt to become a character that she canonically is not. if the ship is based on the notion of yin and yang, Fire and Water, etc; what purpose does it serve to have katara become a character identical to zuko? what purpose does it serve for katara to start adapting more characteristics associated with the fire nation, from her fire nation outfit to now being able to bend the same subelement as the fire nation royal family. do you see katara as her own character in atla? or do you see her as the fanon version that she ought to have been? because if it’s the latter, you clearly don’t like the canon character of katara when you are applying traits from other characters onto her. i’ve never seen a fanbase claim to love a character so much and then change her into a completely different character all for the purposes of a fictional ship.

headcanons are completely fine to me, but the entire post reads as if someone is berating the writers for wasting potential on katara’s ability to lightning bend. which I simply must disagree with. there’s also the notion that even if katara could lightning bend, why would that automatically enhance her relationship with zuko, and not aang, who is also a lightning bender? keep in mind that aang and katara bent clouds to take the shape of a storm. these two powerhouses could absolutely generate lightening between the two of them if they wanted to - but the most important part is, they do not canonically want to. because it does not apply to their character and is not relevant to their character arcs.

#antizutara #katara

[typellblog]

The contradiction of Illya in Fate/stay night

Duality is at the core of Illya’s presentation in FSN. She displays both kindness and brutality, childishness and maturity, being at the same time Shirou’s younger and older sister.  This can lead some to the conclusion that she has two different personalities, but is that really true?

I would argue that what’s going on here isn’t a swapping between innocence and ruthlessness, but rather a juxtaposition – both present at once. In her first encounter with Shirou, she’s smiling sweetly, ordering Berserker to kill him in a sing-song tone. Many of her funniest moments are when she seems like she’s behaving and then casually says something insane.

Shirou is initially surprised by her conduct when he meets her during the day, but as she herself says, the rules of the Grail War are that it’s to be carried out at night. It’s not as if the sun going up caused her murder gremlin transformation to wear off – she would be perfectly happy to do all those things in the daylight if she had a good enough reason.

As a result, Shirou hypothesizes that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She doesn’t really want to kill people, right? She seems so nice . . . (only Shirou would think this about someone who literally almost had his stomach removed from his body)

But after she kills Shinji and threatens Saber and Rin, Shirou realises that this behaviour isn’t inconsistent at all – Illya simply has no reason to believe killing is wrong in the first place.

Here, Illya is described as not seeing Saber as human because she’s a Servant.

But consider Illya’s understanding of the term ‘Servant’: something that belongs to her, stays by her side, and protects her. It's why she asks Shirou to become her Servant, and why she ends up developing such a close relationship with Berserker.

I think her attitude towards Saber isn't specific to Servants - she likely feels that way about most people.

There's actually a really simple explanation for this: almost all of the people she interacted with while growing up were Einzbern homunculi! The kind of person that you would be most justified in not considering a person. When you think about it that way there's a self-deprecating element to it, because of course she's aware that she's also a tool designed to complete the Third Magic.

Her intentions towards Shirou only make sense if she thinks of him as an object, rather than a person. Look at her room in the Einzbern Castle – it’s filled with dolls, and there’s a pretty strong implication that Shirou, tied up in a chair, is just another one of them to her. Her feelings for Shirou are characterized by her wanting him – and if she can’t have him, nobody can.

This initial mindset also explains some of the confusion surrounding her Bad Ends (I will touch on these in more detail in a later post).

 For example, when Shirou jumps in front of Berserker to save Saber, Illya is shocked and leaves, but in the Bad End where he runs away she happily goes ahead and finishes him off.

I think it’s clear that what she was surprised by was Shirou's willingness to sacrifice himself to protect Saber.

It can be interpreted as a flash of empathy from Illya - realising that Shirou has his own internal life and people he cares about beyond the role she slotted him into as ‘Kiritsugu’s stupid kid’ means she can't enjoy torturing him like she planned to.

Now, there is one respect in which it might be reasonable to argue that Illya adopts a different persona from normal.

For ease of reference, I’ll call it ‘Master mode’ and it happens when she makes a face like the following.

The furrowed brow and direct look are characteristic of Illya when she’s acting as a magus, and it’s striking to see her suddenly switching to this mode in the middle of a conversation.

In this mode, she’s capable of both being more demeaning towards others, but also much more formal, curtseying and introducing herself.

It’s important to note that in both cases, she’s talking about matters related to the Grail War and her position as a mage/Master. Indeed, the invocation of her family name is what gets Rin to react to her self-introduction.

This is intimately connected to her role as Master insofar as she’s a Master because she’s an Einzbern – another way of putting it is that she’s interchangeable with any other Einzbern homunculus besides the fact she’s a Master.

In this way the Einzbern name becomes totalizing and turns Illya into a tool.

Illya finds it easy to flip back and forth between Master mode, though. The moment when she threatens Shirou in the shopping district is only a moment, and she instantly goes back to how she was before once he agrees to go with her.

On the subject of how she was before, I suppose we ought to discuss what provokes this change in the first place.

In their first encounter in daytime, Shirou pushes Illya when trying to get her to stop, which results in her making this face.

This is her ‘default face’, the first one that comes up in the VN files.

Usually these portray a character’s default setting, when they’re not expressing any emotion in particular, but Illya is usually so expressive that this one comes off as quite cold in comparison.

Which is what it’s used for!

It comes up when Shirou asks her to stop being a Master, when Shirou ignores her just before she captures him, and when Shirou is about to decide whether he’ll let her stay with him or not.

And in many of these situations, it’s a moment of pause, where she shuts off her emotions before entering Master mode.

Looking at this, it seems clear to me that Master mode emerges here as a defense mechanism. Illya chooses to adopt a persona that’s colder, harsher, and less vulnerable that her usual mode of behaviour – one that she’s learnt as a response to painful situations in the past.

In other words, Master mode is just a mask that she will temporarily put on in some situations. The ‘real Illya’ -  if such a thing exists - is more aligned with her playful and less serious side.

On the subject of Illya's playful side, the fact that what provokes Illya initially is not anything Shirou said, but rather a physical action, is a motif that comes up a few times.

In general, there’s a physicality to interacting with Illya that isn’t there as much with other characters – for example, this sprite seems specifically designed so that it looks like Illya is close up to you and grabbing your hand, trying to drag you around, even.

Saber will get close but mostly just by zooming into her regular sprite. Illya will just directly invade your personal space. So sometimes, Shirou gets fed up and tries to push her away, as we have seen. He repeats this again much later in the dojo, and Illya briefly shows a frightened face.

Another more fun way in which a similar dynamic plays out is when Saber is chasing Illya and trying to get her off Shirou.

The sprites used tell a pretty clear story of Illya playing around, Saber trying to grab her, Illya being frightened, Saber going ‘oh shit did I just hurt this child’, and then Illya smiles like she’s having a great time.

Saber wonders if Illya was just faking her earlier fright, and as if to confirm her suspicions, Illya sticks her tongue out. And Saber’s back to impotently chasing her around.

Clearly, Illya is experimenting with boundaries. She’s not used to being physically close to other people, so she doesn’t know what the limits are, and she’s not used to other people using force on her either.

If anything, this reminds me of an animal that isn’t used to being around humans yet - Shirou even explicitly compares her to one.

This is around where it hit me that Illya isn’t human, exactly. Multiple times Shirou refers to her as a ‘winter fairy’, and there’s definitely something otherworldly about her.

Take the very first scene she appears to warn Shirou and then immediately disappear again. It feels almost like a dream, especially as the narrative transitions right into the next scene without referring to it ever again.

The fact that she’s the child of a homunculus isn’t what I mean by ‘not human’ – homunculi can clearly have a similar experience and range of emotions to humans. Her general strangeness is far more a product of spending most of her time alone and secluded inside a winter castle.

It’s part of the reason why Shirou gives her food in the first place. Look at what they’re talking about directly beforehand. Illya mentions that she was locked up in her room for a long time, so she wants to sneak outside now she’s in Japan.

It’s ‘she swings her legs and it seems she’s having fun just doing so’ that really gets me, though. Like, just that is enough for you?

From the beginning of the story, Illya is presented as both wealthy and powerful.

However, the symbol of that power, Berserker, caused her physical harm and was forced on her without consent.

Similarly, the symbol of that wealth, the Einzbern Castle, is used as a prison to keep Illya inside.

She seems far more authentically free when she’s living at Shirou’s place without any of those things.

This is the third of about thirty analytical essays on Fate/Stay Night that I will be reposting here (with significant edits) from Reddit.

I'm trying to move in roughly chronological order here, hence a lot of Illya's HF characterization isn't addressed yet, but I really like how she's portrayed in the Fate route as well, so this is a good start I think.

#fate/stay night #fate #type moon #fsn analysis #illyasviel von einzbern #illya

[blubbledia]

I read - Dungeon Meshi - 2014/2023

"To eat is to be alive."

I saw it was completed and thought, "hey I read like half of that a couple years ago and really liked it!" So I promptly didn't read it. Instead I waited until I saw too many spoiler images on my dashboard! Which didn't really hinder me, so I started at the beginning and devoured the whole thing in two sittings. Very apt for the material. Also that I got around halfway through before starting over and making my way all to the bottom. No sister death for me though. The rest of my thoughts below the line.

So many elements of this manga weave together to create the best atmosphere. Like good ingredients making a good meal. OK, I'll stop with the food comparisons.

I think the most stand out piece for me is the story's pacing. I just appreciate a goal that, initially, should be a quick adventure, twisting and turning into something more complicated, while staying relatively short. Every goal, Defeat dragon and revive Falin, defeat Falin, defeat Mad Mage, become dungeon lord, defeat demon, and finally resurrect Falin? Fit. On some occasions, writers would use these extended and adjusted goals to artificially increase length. Here it not only feels natural, but even the inciting incident is justified by the twists. They only encountered the red dragon right at the beginning because the Mad Mage was sending it to look for the king.

Characters are absolutely stunning. From design, to motivation, to their growth. Every one has realistic growth. Laios never becomes a perfect leader. Sure he becomes king, but even in the epilogue he's still a goof. He is absolutely not good with people, honestly I don't think any of the main crew really are. But they are good with the people in their party (mostly). It even touches on how a new member fits in, and the realities of your adventuring buddies kind of just being work friends. Izutsumi is baby and I love her. Falin is adorable and I want to hug her.

The art is so fun and good and excellent at setting tone. The amount of times all things in a box will be shaded with one method, even the same density, but still clearly delineated between fore and background is amazing. Ryoko Kui also did designs of the characters as various races, which works so well for identifying the key features of a design. I wouldn't know what to say about page layouts, it's just not something that registers to my brain. I will spare another sentence to commend character design. How they look just makes my brain happy. I think it's the noses.

I could not in good conscience release my thoughts on this work into the aether without touching on the titular aspect of the work.

Food

The most interesting part to the food, is that the monsters all mimic real creatures. Nightmares are the ones that come to mind; aside from a fantasy element, they are mollusks. It makes it easy to connect to the reader and show food that they would also find appetizing. I'm a vegan but don't know the morality of eating monsters. Like, do the walking mushrooms count? I don't know enough to say. More importantly, food as a thing. To live is to need to eat. Of the base level of needs to survive eating is the one we have the most leeway over. You can choose what to eat and prepare. It can be done as an act of love toward others. There is a time where Laios brings up that at times when the worries and anxieties of what needed to be done were getting to him; that food grounded him, allowed him to calm down.

I should get some friends together for a meal.

#dungeon meshi #first time #manga #september 2023 #delicious in dungeon

[aer-arts]

alright, here goes, this is Aer rambling about Eden from Despair Time for however long this ends up being (preemptive apology if this is long and incomprehensible) some preliminary context, Danganronpa Despair Time is a Danganronpa fan series over on YouTube, it’s really good so far (I find myself liking it more than the canon games) and I’m going to be mentioning spoilers

Anyway, Eden is easily one of my favorite characters in the cast, and part of that is because she’s such a refreshing take on the nice/optimistic character trope. The thing that sets Eden apart however is her views on being nice/optimistic. Most of the time, when a character falls into this category, them being nice is simply innate to their character. Blank acts nice because they are just a nice person. Additionally, I just don’t see a lot of explicitly optimistic characters, and I feel like when they are around it’s seen as weakness and/or being naive in series or by the fans. Eden however is unique in the simple fact that she states ‘Kindness is a choice and that I’m not being weak when I choose to be optimistic.’ (Paraphrasing of course)

and that little detail is so much more interesting to me, and arguably feels more human. It’s easy to be rude or mean to someone, especially if people have been the same to you. Being kind and respectful is a choice you consciously have to make. Throughout the series everyone has just been awful to Eden, pretty much every attempt she’s made to be friendly to others has gone wrong for reasons outside of her control. So it’s telling and impactful to me that she still makes the choice to be kind. She’s not doing it to gain anything, “relationships are not transactional”, instead she’s doing it because that’s how she wants to live. This creates the idea of ‘you aren’t a good person because you were born that way, you’re a good person because you choose to be that way’ which is a message I don’t see often and I feel could be a really interesting theme going forward. Also, it’s worth pointing out that Eden isn’t above blackmail, in context I do feel like it’s justified and Teruko needed that motivation because isolation is terrible for you, but still, kindness is a choice and being kind doesn’t make you immune to using underhanded tactics. Her optimism falls into a similar boat as well. Despair time doesn’t seem to be about hope like mainline, it’s more about trust and distrust. But Eden still someone embodies the idea of hope. From personal experience, it’s really easy to fall into a pessimistic mindset and it just sucks. Looking for the good in things not only helps improve my own mental health, but it makes it easier to just enjoy things. Even bad things can have silver linings or aspects that are well done. Being able to find these elements makes life worth living in my book. As mentioned, Eden has had an especially awful time this series and likely blames herself for the death of at least 2 people. (I’ve seen comments saying that she got over Arei’s death too fast and that makes her sus, my counter argument is that no, she didn’t, she’s just putting off her grief because she needs to focus if she doesn’t want to die, I’ll bet that after this trial she’ll allow herself to feel said grief. The trial system is not designed to let people process their emotions) Additionally, while her secret is arguably one of the most harmless ones, it’s effects on Eden are a bit hard to tell just cause we don’t know much about her life prior to the killing game, it still causes her worry about how she relates to others and opening that window of ‘depending on how people react I may be outcasted by everyone I trusted’. My point in this is that Eden is aware that the world sucks and that things don’t always go well, but she still chooses to be hopeful despite that. Her optimism is a strength, and it’s how she’s choosing to fight the high stress environment of the killing game

In this way, in my opinion at least, the cast, or at least Teruko, needs Eden. Not necessarily in a reliance way but in a counter balance way. I love the cast, but for the most part they all suck and kinda hate each other. Due to all of their flaws the cast feels so human but it also feels like a The Good Place scenario where the cast is specifically tailored to bring out the worse in one another. You cannot power of friendship your way out of this, I mean, you might but this cast can’t, there’s literally been 3 attempted (only 1 succeeded) murders and 1 accidental on. Which, side note, is actually really interesting and unique cause official stuff does play into the friendship route. In this mess where no one trusts each other, Eden provides a counter, she chooses to trust others because not trusting others is a worse idea. If the theme is trust vs distrust, and our protege falls heavily into the distrust category, Eden is needed to show the other side of the conflict. It’s for these reasons that I really don’t want her to be a twist villain

idk what’s gonna happen with Eden in future chapters, but I do think it would be a waste of her character. On one hand, that would undermine the idea of relationships not being transactions, and instead reinforce Teruko’s trust issues and kinda say ‘people are only kind to you because they want something/have something to gain’. On the other, it’s just an overdone trope. I mean, I get why it’s an interesting twist, but also we have David so if Eden is also a terrible person it won’t be as impactful. It’s just overall more unique and different if the nice character is genuinely just a nice character until the end because you don’t see that. Either the nice character dies early or they’re secretly evil, because being nice is a weakness. (I know this isn’t the case, trust me, but you know what I mean)

If Eden sticks around for a while and isn’t evil, I can see her going down 2 different routes. Either what Teruko said will happen and Eden will eventually break under all the pressure and grief. Which defiantly could be interesting and I’d be curious to see how it affects others. The other route is the one I prefer. And it’s that Eden survives until the end (or near end) and proves her mindset right. Let her overcome this awful situation through being kind and trusting others. Have her show that people can change and become better and how helping others is how you survive and thrive. The killing game feeds on distrust and hatred, so let her counter that.

I very much look forward to seeing where this series goes, and I could be completely wrong about all of this. I could probably write a whole paper about this topic and how all the characters feed into it, but I won’t. You’re all very much allowed to disagree with me, this is just my thoughts and interpretations. I just wanted to ramble some

#danganronpa despair time #drdt #Cringe posting on main #Sorry guys

[eaglefairy]

A new world is born.

Began with a little world tour to kill some unique monsters and get more experience (and affinity coins)

After the Bana fight Roommate: Huh, I wonder where Bana went after this. Me, gleeful: Oh? You want to see Bana now? ... Roommate: He's on the wheel now! Me: He's on the wheel now!

I'd recommend looking back at the previous post on my blog for a conversation much too long and winding to include in this post. It's worth it. Trust me

We're finally back at Prison Island and we literally walked past the fight that made her ragequit last week. The deinos don't attack us on sight anymore and the rest of the enemies won't spawn if they aren't fought so we just. walked past.

...and we just got the second bolt element so we are once again not fighting Dickson. This is like the third time we've walked away from the main story in the endgame, it's honestly kind of funny at this point

Upon seeing Demon King Dragonia for the first time: "OH. MY. GOD." "Ok but can you imagine like canonically...like people talk about the giants sometimes but no one talks about the dragons. And then finding out they're real??"

So I thought we were mostly keeping up with the collectopaedia, but we're looking at it again and we're missing items in Colony 6, the Ether Mine, Makna Forest, Valak Mountain, two from Galahad Fortress, and the Fallen Arm. What...what happened?!

My roommate is very disappointed that we don't really get any lore about the dragons and honestly, I agree with her. They're so cool and there's only three of them and we don't know anything about them except that they were likely important to the Giants because of their presence in the decor of Prison Island

Oh shit we're going for it. Past the point of no return!

Oh oops, I didn't make it clear that "point of no return" meant that she couldn't save past that point. Well, at least we have the autosave at Gondorl

Dickson...his death really tore her up. This is the only time she's cried throughout the whole game

:Saturn: Roommate: "Saturn, ok." still sniffling Me: "Saturn." Roommate: "...wait, Saturn?!"

"Jupiter?! So I'm actively in the solar system?!"

We're at the Moon now. "So the whole thing...the whole thing happened on Earth?! What the hell happened to Earth?!"

"Oh good, we don't have to fight Alvis. He'd probably beat me" (we are about to fight Zanza, she doesn't know yet)

I forgot how horribly ugly Zanza's second form is, wow. The roommate is not impressed either

Alvis: "I am Monado." Roommate: "I KNEW IT! I said that last week! Tell them I said that last week, Eagle."

Oh interesting, the experiment cutscene in 1 doesn't actually show Galea touching the button. I always thought it had. I'll have to rewatch the version from 2 then to see if my anger at the retcon is as justified as I thought

Time to beating Zanza: 99 hours

Final roommate stats: Game rating: 10/10, 5/5 stars, absolutely perfect game. Worldbuilding, design, characters, perfect Favorite character: Dickson, obviously Top 4: Dickson and Riki are both number one (whole head and whole heart respectively), Sharla and Reyn are number two, everyone else is below those Favorite area: Valak Mountain (and really any area that glows) Least favorite area: Bionis Interior by FAR Favorite town: Frontier Village Favorite party member to play: Fiora Favorite and least favorite story beat: Mechonis Core (because it's complicated) Favorite uncomplicated story beat: When Xord speaks for the first time and when Fiora is discovered to be alive Most heartbreaking moment: Dickson's death

Thank you all so much for joining us on this journey. I never thought I'd be liveblogging the entire game like this when I started, but it's been so fun to chronicle the entire game for the good people of tumblr. I've made new friends through this! Reaching the end of this game is bittersweet (heavy on the sweet), but it's certainly not the end of the liveblog! It's not even the end of this liveblog, honestly. Join us again tomorrow for more sidequests!

#original tag #roommate chronicles part 1 #xenoblade chronicles 1 #xenoblade chronicles #I'm so happy. I love xenoblade

[teeth-cable]

How the fuck is Pinkie Pie perfect proof on how to design a party character without being overtly detailed

It's just proof that a simple character design can go a long way. You can add as much colors, patterns, and clothing as you like but if the end result is an eyestain mismatch nightmare filled with needless details that confused viewers, you messed up.

Pinkie Pie's bright colors tells us she is a loud person, her hair being big and puffy tell us she is goofy, a free-spirted, and a fun person, and her cutie mark is a bunch of balloons, objects associated with parties and fun. Heck even her specific main colors of pink tell us about her personality. Pink in color language is sweetness, politeness, childhood, and charm.

When designing a character, the priority isn't to shove as much details as you can but to easily convey the character's personality by one simple glance. It's why character designers focus on colors, shapes, and clothing because even though those thing seem minimal on their own if you put them all together, you can create a great character design that speaks volumes about the character. Also the main reason why character design is also tedious because if a color is too saturated and the clothing slightly doesn't fit the character, you can throw the design off and misportray your character.

This design for Pinkie's sister tell us she is a dry dull person. She only has cool and neutral colors to tell us she is less energetic than your average pony, her hair being straight tell us she's more formal and closed off than her sister who has big curls, and her eyes being half open tells us she's a calm person.

While Viv's Beelzebub..

This is not it. I like Bee's design on it's own but for the Queen of Gluttony, no. It's Viv's interpretation of a furry Kesha than Beelzebub.

The bright colors does let us know she is supposed to be an energetic and out-going person but everything else is confusing. The blacks on the limbs, the lava-lamp like stomach, and the blue part of the hair are all unnecessary. There is also some insect features as a nod towards Beelzebub's OG design but they're so tiny, you would miss it.

What Viv should have done to make this design easier to animate and stronger is emphasis only two main feature instead of giving every different idea for this design the same amount of importance, the honey hair, Hellhound-bug hybrid, lava-lamp stomach, stripes, and blacks. Another reason why people don't like the design because it's not Beelzebub when people first saw the EP, they didn't know she was suppose to be Beelzebub and I can't blame them.

What I think Viv should have done is emphasis the Hellhound-bug hybrid and honey hair. Those are the two things only unique to her design. Viv can limited the colors to be yellows, browns, and blacks. Not only will the color scheme help her stand out better and are more cohesive but also it's a hint to her bug side. Second, make the bug features bigger and obvious, Beelzebub's iconic look is being a bug. Viv's interpretation can still differ from the original version but she should add and make the bug motifs/feature bigger to make it obvious that it's Beelzebub. Third, only choose one fur pattern. There are so many fur patterns, none relating to each other to justify keeping them all in and making the animators' job harder. The pattern can be anything but in my opinion I think stripes are the best option because again to make the bug part of her obvious and her being a hellhound-bug hybrid can be a pun on her name, Queen Bee. Fourth, remove the spikey blue hair on her head and just make it the honey hair consistently though. Last, the clothing. The clothing is the better part of this design beside the tuff of fur appearing through her bra and shirt. But it's just Loona's clothes with a few minor changes. The clothes should have bee elements incorporated. Maybe a fur coat with fur around the neck, a skirt shape like a stringer, the honeycomb shaped, stripes, etc.

#If you give me an ask about character design I will make it into an essay #꧁rambles꧂ #helluva boss critical #helluva critical #helluva boss criticism #➥Asks

[cast-iron-bug]

Kinda fell off the face of the earth but I'm BACK!

nothing much but have some exploration sketches of Phyllis and her final design!

If you are interested in some of her character lore and personality, feel free to read under the cut!

Otherwise enjoy these few doodles 👍✨

EDIT!!!

I changed up the lore section to be Phyllis's backstory as my au lore is still under construction 🚧 so feel free to read under the cut to see the updates!

Phyllis has gone through a bit of development since I last shared her lore here and is now a finalized character!

Personality:

Phyllis is very street smart and has the attitude to match...on the outside, finding it easy to taunt others and make sarcastic remarks.

HOWEVER, she is also very introverted.

Since both her parents died by the time she was seven, the tribes being sealed away shortly after, Phyllis was left all alone to fend for herself in the surface world, growing up in complete isolation. In response to that, she developed some...unique habits that come off almost creepy to others (like her bone collections and how her home defenses are literal corpses) and is incapable of socializing properly.

So while she loves to throw out witty comebacks and sarcastic remarks in the moment, she can get pretty socially awkward and even dismissive/mean to those she has prolonged contact with. She just isn't used to being around people for long and is used to hiding away from them.

Despite this, if someone is persistent enough and SOMEHOW earns her trust, Phyllis will turn out to be pretty loyal. This is a difficult task to achieve but if done she is dedicated to protecting you, even becoming overprotective because she's terrified of loosing another person she cares about.

So ye! In summary, Phyllis sarcastic, witty and mayyybe even a little insane, all with a hint of social awkwardness.

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Lore:

Now in terms of lore aspects, Phyllis is a character that i have written straight into the Ninjago timeline, meaning key points of her life actually line up with the show. For example the is born during the first serpentine war and is a young adult(serpentine age slower) by the time the serpentine are released, her true adventures beginning with the start of this au. These adventures are also affected realtime by events happening in the show, such as the fall of Ninjago city in seasons 8 and 9, or the great flood in season 15.

So Phyllis is the daughter of Victor Vervain, a venomari archer, and Amelia Vespertine, a fangpyre Nobel woman.

The two had fled from the war, living on the run as Victor was deemed a traitor and Amelia now being hunted down. Victor left for moral reasons, having frown up near a human village and even befriended some as he grew up. He felt that it was wrong to be fighting against them, especially when the armies would raid innocent villages. The fact that no one would tell him why they were fighting in the first place only made Victor feel worse, and he inevitably left. Amelia left for similar reasons, since even as a higher up she could not justify the war.

Because they were on the run, Phyllis was raised very nomadic and most often within nature. Constant moving became the norm for her, but she didn't mind. Even with the lack of contact with other serpentine, the only consistency Phyllis seemed to need was her parents.

Having said that, you better believe they get separated.

Amelia is killed when Phyllis is 5. She died while defending Phyllis and Victor, giving them time to escape.

Victor actually ends up dying to an elemental master, the master of ice. He and Phyllis are out on a hunting trip, hunting deer.

Victor armed with his iconic bow 🏹 is aiming for a stag when a patrol of elemental masters are patrolling nearby. The master of ice catches sight of the venomari archer with arrow drawn and skewers him on sight with an icicle, killing him almost instantly.

This occurs literally RIGHT before, or even during when, the serpentine are sealed away, so from this point on that Phyllis is truly on her own and won't see another serpentine until she's an adult.

From this point until the serpentine are released from their tombs, Phyllis grows up in isolation. She is still quite nomadic, living in more dense, woodsy areas as often as possible.

She even learns dark magic, having found an old spell book deep in the woods. She teaches herself different forms of magic, takin to necromancy quite quickly.

She is practically a cryptid at this point, with only rare sightings... Especially since as a hybrid with her magically abilities, she wouldn't be identifiable as a commonly known serpentine

Despite this though, there are occasions where she will make deals or take on jobs with others to get by. This practice becomes at lot more common when the Serpentine are released and become a more frequent sight.

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The AU:

The au begins a good while after the serpentine are released, at the earliest after season four, when the Serpentine and humans are on relatively good terms.

You'll be seeing a lot more of them in Ninjago city, even a few in the police force! (I will elaborate of these characters in a future post!)

Because of Phyllis's paranormal connections, I do like the idea of this occurring in Ninjago city during season five, whilst the ninja are busy with Morro

Maybe a team of ragtag heroes hear of a mysterious masked figure who stole a powerful artifact. As they follow clues to track down this unknown villain, the find themselves in over their heads when they face her head on- their elemental powers rendered almost useless and the masked figure escaping.

When our heroes find out there are four of these artifacts in the series, a race to the second begins, both parties discovering more about the mysterious villain's plan along the way, and the true mastermind behind it all.

I won't spoil much last this point, as there are many elements I feel could be better portrayed in comic or written format! So that's all for now and feel free to ask questions about the au or characters, as I have many more to share and plenty of fun facts n details!

#ninjago #ninjago art #ninjago fanart #art #ninjago serpentine #lego ninjago fanart #ninjago serpentine oc #serpentine oc #Phyllis vervain #ninjago oc #ninjago original character #ninjago au

[jsaunderswrites]

Jesse reads the Energon Universe Part I: Void Rivals #1-4

Void Rivals #1

I have neither read nor watched Enemy Mine, but I’m familiar with the trope that’s been repeated in a million other stories.

I caught the parallel of the characters being like 80s toy line factions from just the preview. However I don’t think they sold that idea well in the story, because who’s gonna buy these guys? They’re not the LIGHT GUARDIANS and VOILET INCURSION, they’re Agorrians and Zertonians. They don’t have striking character designs, they look like random Star Wars background filler.

They don’t have unique looks or gimmicks like a toy-based character would. We learn that Agorrians have handroids (AIs in small computers in their right hand with limited physical autonomy) but it just looks like a red glove. Youd think having a toyline of guys with fancy hands could be fun; one with a big crusher claw, one that grapples, one with a blaster. But so far it's only a JARVIS voice. That's all.

The part where they seem to be based on different sci-fi aesthetics to further contrast them is cool, but it leads to them looking like two different generic space soldiers.

The art is well rendered and coloured. The space environment and crashed ships are a great mood. But it also just doesn't grab attention and the whole place looks the same.

The characters don't exactly have memorable personalities. Darak is more personable and optimistic, while Solila is more harsh and cynical, but willing to bend the rules rather than dying for nothing.

The problem is there's just no strong hook. Why should I care about these generic characters? The mystery comes too late and seems too self explanatory (they're dehumanising each other in order to keep conflict going) to be the reason to keep reading.

The SURPRISE Transformers crossover lasts four pages and could easily be removed without changing the story at all. It doesn't matter to the actual characters except to repeat the losing all hope beat they already hit!

Void Rivals #2

The flashback establishes that Darak has a shitty dad who hates him, but otherwise it doesn't really build anything into narrative.

I don't know if they'll explain the vision more than Solila attributing it to her god, Zerta.

On the one hand I respect they seem to have avoided the assumption that there should be a romance between the two opposite gendered characters stuck together. But that would at least be something interesting happening.

The reveal of the skuxxoid is framed as a shocking reveal, but who out there has any idea what that is unless you spend all your time on TFWiki?

Void Rivals #3

The cover is a lie.

They introduce a quintesson prosecutor and have him ally with Darak and Solila only for them to turn on him almost immediately. It's so abrupt and lacking in drama I'm wondering if it's supposed to be a joke?

The ending where Solila betrays Darak is the first twist that actually got me.

Void Rivals #4

Every issue requires a Transformers reference so we just cut away to the skuxxoid meeting Shockwave on Cybertron despite having nothing to do with this story.

The decompression really drags this story out. So many pages for so little actual story, and there's no real atmosphere that would justify the trade off.

We learn the leaders of the factions are actually working together but that doesn't shock me at all. This conspiracy is just so underwhelming.

Final thoughts

Apparently Kirkman has a reputation for keeping secrets from comic sellers to preserve spoilers which hurts those businesses. The idea to keep the Transformers reveal a secret, leading to comic shops not preordering this random book, is dumb.

The setting hasn't been established in any way to make me care about the continued survival of these civilisation.

I'm predicting they break out, and broadcast their faces to both worlds.

The Transformers elements feel so artificial and I don't know why they feel like they could be pulled out separately. Do they want to be able to include them in the upcoming Transformers trades?

I haven't been buying the books despite being an obsessive completionist, and I will be grabbing the Transformers books, but in this case I'll probably get the trade collection.

#Energon Universe #Skybound #Image Comics #Void Rivals #Transformers

[theexiledviera]

Dawntrail Benchmark: Thoughts and Screenshots

The moment we've been waiting for, and in some cases dreading. Dawntrail's official benchmark released, showcasing XIV's graphics update and the opportunity for us to see our beloved WoLs' appearances going forward. The results led to the expected mixed reactions with players either elated or aghast with what's changed for their characters.

Even I found myself hesitant to really form an opinion on how Astraea looked in the Character Creator menu. At first I was shocked with her appearance when bringing her into the light. Something clearly looked off, and I worried that the time had come to say goodbye to a muse that did so much for my inspiration and personal healing.

Left - 6.58 / Right - Benchmark

I don't know who at SE thought it was a good idea to have the Character Creator use lighting this abysmal, but dear god! It really clashes with the new textures and bone structures of the redesigned models. It wasn't until I rotated Astraea's face towards the shade when the previews yielded far better results.

It was then that Astraea looked like herself, albeit maybe a little older than she currently appeared ingame, but in a good way. Still, I had to run the trailer to really see how she transitioned to the upcoming graphics update.

Environmentally speaking, the update looks incredible with the more lush foliage and higher textured elements in the open world. Grass and flowers having actual collision on them was an attention to detail I didn't expect with this update, but it's awesome to see.

Seeing Astraea in action brought me peace of mind about the graphics update, not only with her appearance, but with the surprising improvements to her features and motions on display (we actually have real feet and fingers now!!).

I can understand and sympathize with a lot of people who had the knee-jerk reactions they did. When the Benchmark was released, we had no idea how bad the CC menu was going to make our WoLs look.

That's not to say some of the criticism wasn't justified for the more obvious changes. There are some creative decisions that are rather mind-boggling to say the least. Moonkeeper Miqos, you have my condolences for the loss of your fangs.

Whether or not SE will address these concerns as they had from past showcases is yet to be seen, but likely to happen, if not before, then surely after Dawntrail's launch. We can only be patient in the matter.

I've been having fun rebuilding and previewing all my characters in the Benchmark to see if there are any major changes, but so far they all look the same, if not better. My Roe, Skarnwyda really glowed up with this update. Just look at her!

And then, there's the fem Hroths. Overall, I love their design being more beast-like than human, similar to their male counterparts. I am disappointed with the limited customization for them in the Benchmark. We didn't even get normal hair selections for them, which I'm sure will change when DT releases...I hope.

I don't have plans on adding a fem Hroth to Astraea's lore (I'm far too late in the game to make it work), but there's always room for one in Chessylite's story.

In the end, I'm excited for Dawntrail and the graphics update. It will take some getting used to, and surely there are hiccups SE will need to fix as they continue bringing the whole game up to code with it. My biggest concern is the lighting system, at least for the older zones if the CC menu is anything to go by.

It's not perfect, far from it, but it's a step in the right direction for XIV's future.

#viera #viera oc #ffxiv screenshots #ffxiv oc #astraeatheexile #theexiledviera #ffxivblogging #astraea the exile #the exiled viera #dawntrail benchmark #dawntrail #ffxiv au ra #roegadyn #female roegadyn #roegadame #au ra #hrothgar #female hrothgar

[troblsomtwins829]

Finally Finished Reading the Design Bibles

I took a lot of notes, and while I do, unfortunately, have to keep my blog spoiler-free for my friend (who has not played 3 yet, but we're working through it) I did want to share some highlights!

Ring on Jak's chest noted to be an "Eco Ring" that channels and holds eco force, which it odd because the Warrior is the only other person that uses rings in their design.

Gameplay note: Lurkers are specifically told to only deal with anyone who strays too far from the village. meaning the village isn't a target at all. Just realized this whole thing is in comic sans

Samos the sage is noted to be a "Scholar" of Green Eco. Skin has taken on green skin after years of exposure. Elements of his design suggest a harmony and closeness with nature rather than the noted potential corruption the human body would inflict upon it.

Kiera wants to be a sage. She also likes investigating precursor technology. These are two conflicting desires that any normal youth would have, however her noted interest in tech and building is more utilized than any eco knowledge.

Samos clearly has no problems with her pursuing this path.

Piercings and tattoos exist in the time of TPL The Warrior wears Three (3) rings, pauldrons, vambraces, and leg guards. Has a similar wrapping style in his arms and wrists to Jak, and is, more or less, the only other person that seems armed and prepared for any form of combat. His hair is also green. Being defeated by Kull was a huge his to his pride. Encountering Jak and Daxter may likely have inspired him to learn form his failure and continue onward

Willard and Gordy are the only other characters with names. Names may be attributed to those in close relationships, whereas strangers or acquaintances use reserved titles exclusively

The gambler made a bet the Warrior would outlast the lurkers and lost. That's why he's poor now.

Mosquito design justified by the utilization of the snoot as a literal bloodsucking eco-eater. Design bible notates the functions of a robot for planet-creation, however the design is distinctly more battle/war based.

Overworld concept art is vibrant and much more elaborate than the prints can give off. Overhead shots give great detail on the overall look of the world, likely able to be pieced together to make a semi-cohesive map.

Personal note: Love the inclusion of stylizing the trees to keep everything on-theme Precursor temple in concept art leaves less that it was built into the mountain and more that it fell and then settled there

Jak's hair is barely up to the Warrior's shoulder.

Renegade Jak is not much taller than his younger self. Notably bulked out in some areas, but also painfully thin despite it. Could be chocked up to the dramatic style change between TPL and Renegade. May need to superimpose over feet vs head to get full scale of actual growth, if I really want to work that angle (I do not)

gets new goggles! Those are different ones entirely!

"Dark Jak is INVINCIBLE!" lol, okay fam. 'Dark Jak' taking an intense physical toll on the body makes sense, given the transformation is due to the over-abundance of dark eco in his system. Dark Jak may act as a release of excess energy as much as a dissociative defense mechanism.

Young samos definitely smokes weed. Sig apparently wears a size 18 boot. (13 inches from toe to heel) Vin wears a bowtie

Torn's Facial tattoos are asymmetrical. Both in concept and on model. (I will never draw them that way)

Torn still has many connections with the KG besides Ashelin. Left the Baron's forces for explained reasons, and wants to take the baron down for those aforementioned reasons.

Ashelin started in the KG as a recruit and "fought her way up the ranks to become a commander." Loyal to a fault, still in contact with Torn even after his desertion.

Note: The only known KG commanders are Erol and Ashelin, with Torn being a former commander himself. These two are the only ones that have unique armour tailored to their position and style. Erol with the racing suit, and Ashelin with a more "horse girl" style. Neither contain any colour consistency between them, suggesting that customized armour is a perk to being at the literal top of the military hierarchy.

All Krimson Guards have tattoos to show their loyalty to the city. Models are all copy-pasted, but it's reasonable to assume they earn/get more when ascending ranks or branching into specialized units.

Design note: Torn has a tall torso, Vin has droopy ears, and is taller than Jak

Mar's own legend has contradictory accounts of weither he died. Precursor stone was attached to his sword. Interesting design choice.

Jak is roughtly tit-height to a Rapid-Gunner Metalhead

racing vehicles are designed with a slimmer, almost body-width footprint utilizing aerodynamics and rudders over the fish design of Kiera's original model. Additionally, riders sit feet-forward in a slouched, almost laying position that puts strain on their neck to continue looking forward. Neither model displayed in the design bible have more than one rudder for mobility, which is understandable considering the high-speeds they reach. that can't be good on your back, though.

HAVEN IS PLACED THREE HUNDRED YEARS IN THE FUTURE. PERFECT. THIS IS THE FKING CONFIRMATION I NEEDED. world concept art shows land outside of haven's walls, and even more, ruined walls, beyond. small areas that look to either be stations or small inhabited areas denote life outside of the city is not only possible, but likely. The Pumping Station is NOT misty island, nor is it geyser rock. based on foliage alone, may be adjacent to the forbidden jungle.

Sewers were MASSIVE in concept. filled with metal-heads, and winding enough to get lost in easily. Would have made a great quick getaway point if there were multiple access points throughout the city Haven Forest is a sacred place, filled with stone effigy's and an offering stand in front of The Tree. A wall may have been intended to be grafitti'd

Stone carvings depicting Mar's legend would be a wonderful touch, if incorporated.

Mar buried at the crotch of a precursor robot behind a MASSIVE door that perfectly illustrates the force required to have protected the city from Metalheads. Port was intended to be a more bustling area, complete with actual BOATS. and common areas! I would have loved to see these get modeled into the game, they'd be spectacular.

The stadium was clearly the favoured child. Drill platform is one of many, sees regular activity during the day.

If Daxter's two feet tall, and each bar is a foot, Jak is Five Feet tall.

Baron Praxis is even bigger than Sig. But still shorter than the Warrior. Kiera and Jak are roughly the same height Onin's outfit is basically the ugly nike shirt Tess is Taller than Jak. Erol is shorter than Ashelin.

Jak continues to wear wrappings up to his elbows despite not strictly needing to. Other concept has his forearms free. Headcanon explanation: Hates looking at his scars, so he covers them up to avoid it being seen or asked about.

There is not explanation for the Precursors. I fking LOVE it.

Every wastelander is designed with their hair either put up or cut short to prevent it from getting in the way. Every one has a a design with a pauldron of some kind, and while their clothing isn't entirely practical, it looks light and airy enough to provide protection from at least the sun.

return of the precursor robot

the proto-names for all of the cars feature animal names! Which, while cute, clearly did not last to the final phase.

"Wastelanders love their off-road vehicles" Sir, THERE IS NO ROAD

lol, kg segway

Precursor ship is fking HUUUUGE

The planet is noted to be "unfinished"

Huge variety of flora and fauna in the wasteland. Despite being a desert, it boasts its own ecosystem of a variety of cacti and also fully fledged trees. Concept art suggests that people are able to tame and mount large desert lizards to traverse the sands (nomadic tribes, likely)

Just from the concepts alone, i can tell the entirety of the wasteland was meant to be much larger and more elaborate than the one we ended up with. More diverse life, maybe less marauders, potentially mounts outside of Spargus, the oasis is an entire area unto itself and in the game it's just a puddle. There is so much more love and care in the crafting of the ideas and concepts of this game that sadly got left to the wayside from either time or money constraints. Haven is in ruins, New areas previously unknown have been uncovered, and there's an entire world out there that has yet to be explored in full. Were this game made today, and given the time needed to make sure it was well-produced and as elaborate as they wanted, it'd easily give Nintendo's LoZ a run for its money.

#jak and daxter #jnd #lore hunt #lore hunting and work