#very abstract concept here but i think it looks cool

[rhystial]

In the middle of the night, suddenly someone knocks hard on the door to the characters’ room. They get tired of opening it (no one sleeps anyway lol) and see there... a human..? A frightened, beaten and tired human. But alive. Not a strange shape, a real person. This human suddenly bursts into the room and closes the door. And when they start questioning the unnamed guests, the characters realize it's their s/o

As it turned out, the reader could not stand it and abstracted, and instead of turning into a monster, after a persistent attack they turned into their human form. As soon as Caine found out about this, for some reason he was very doubtful and is now looking for a reader to quickly destroy them. That’s why they came to theirs room. To hide.

(jax, kinger, pomni and ragata) I would like a romantic one

TADC & Reader who abstracted into a human.

fandom: the amazing digital circus

relationships: gangle, jax, kinger, pomni, ragatha, zooble (romantic)

warnings: uh nothing, i don't think?

notes: what a cool idea!! i decided to add zooble and gangle here, hope you don't mind! but i might edit zooble's part, i don't like how it turned out... also these headcanons imply to already be in an established relationship.

Gangle.

Gangle felt (what would be) her heart quicken in pace when she heard someone knocking at the door late at night, fearing that Jax might have shown up to cause trouble.

She tried to stay still and keep her eyes closed, hoping that the persistent knocking would stop. But when it showed no signs of abating, she finally broke and reluctantly opened the door. To her surprise, it was you on the other side — a stranger, she thought.

With no time for her to voice her concerns, you hurriedly steered her back into her room, accidentally knocking her mask off in the process.

"Gangle, it's me," you said in a low tone, your grip on her shoulders firm. Her hands flew up to her mouth and she emitted a small squeak, clearly overwhelmed by the pressure.

In a barely audible whisper, she asked who you were and what was going on. The sound of her distressed voice causes you to loosen your grip, eyes softening.

"It's me... the real me."

Gangle is overwhelmed by your new appearance, taking in every detail of your new face, her eyes darting up and down as she struggles to comprehend what she's seeing.

You try to tell her that you were abstracted, but she doesn't believe you. I mean, could you blame her? As far as she knew, abstracted individuals were only ever glitchy black blobs with an unusually high number of eyes.

Despite her initial skepticism and lack of comprehension, she comes to the realization that you weren't lying, even though the concept was utterly unbelievable to her.

When she first saw you, her mind immediately went to the thought that you were another character altogether, having long forgotten what humans actually looked like. Seeing what the love of her life really looked like sent her into tears. Well, even more tears.

"Y-You're so stunning," Gangle tearfully whispered, her hands gently cupping your face as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Not knowing quite how to handle the situation, you too became emotional, crying alongside her in a moment of shared vulnerability.

After the moment of emotional outpouring had subsided, you came to the realization that you had neglected to inform her about the fact that Caine was actively searching for you. You came here to hide, consumed with fear about what he might do to you if he found you.

The news that you were hiding from Caine proved to be far too much for Gangle to process at once, leaving her utterly distraught and in hysterics.

Shs was already overwhelmed with the fact that you practically admitted to giving up before you came here — she thought you could've held on for her, because she held on for you. However, she didn't want to make this about herself and kept quiet... not like she would've spoke up about such, anyways.

"W-What can I do to help you?" Gangle asked with a trembling voice, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Please, hide me," you begged her as she wiped her eyes. "Let me hide in your room — a-and don't tell Caine where I am." With the desperation and panic in your words far too much to handle, she reached out to pull you into a comforting hug.

Gangle swore to protect you — even if she was weak, even if she was overwhelmed, even if she was confused... even if it was the last thing she'd do.

Jax.

When he first heard knocking on his door, Jax thought that it was nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, he was confused, but laziness got the best of him, and he couldn't be bothered to get up. Besides, if you were the one knocking, you would have simply unlocked the door — considering that he gave you the key to his room.

The banging on his door refused to cease, and Jax began to be filled with annoyance. Resolving to put an end to the noise, he hastily made his way to the door and unlocked it.

Upon opening the door with quickened pace, he was greeted by a figure trying barge in seemingly against their better judgement. He was quick to react, immediately holding their hands above their head and dangling them like a dog toy.

"What's got you so antsy, eh?" Jax teased with a sly grin on his face. He tilted his head to one side as the figure hung their head low, legs attempting to kick his.

"Let me in, Jax! Please!"

As his name left the person's lips, the rabbit's eyes widened with suspicion. Without hesitation, he began to hold his guard up around the unfamiliar face, wary of their intentions and motivations. He was quick to demand who they were, shaking them around like tape stuck to his hand.

Then, your name left their lips. The unexpected mention of your name causes Jax to instinctively back away, turning to slam the door shut behind him with a loud thud.

"I'll ask ya this again, who are you?" Jax questioned, throwing the figure to the ground. He lowered his head and stared down at the intruder, who let out a small yelp and lifted their arms in surrender.

"How d'ya know our names?" He asked, this time defensive over the fact that they had brought you into this.

"You... don't recognize my voice?"

The realization soon set in, and his expression melted into one of confusion as he began to bombard you with questions about your new appearance.

As Jax continued to fire off the questions, you found yourself able to provide concise and satisfying answers quickly, without much of a struggle. However, every now and then, you were slightly tripped up by your anxiety-induced stutter.

When you began to explain your transformation into a human, Jax nodded along — gaze fixed on you. Despite his initial shock at the revelation, he wasn't overly concerned about your new appearance. Like, wow you're how you looked before you came here and remember your real name? That's cool, but you fucking abstracted to get like this?

He's a bit upset, knowing that you gave up so easily when there were still many ways to combat your decline to insanity and the challenges that came with it.

"Yeah, ya've definitely changed a little bit." He dryly joked, staring at you with a twinge of frustration washing over him.

You didn't laugh, knowing that he was upset. He doesn't outright say it, but you know what he wants to say.

"Why did you give up?"

In an attempt to shift the atmosphere and his anger off of you, you decided to bring up the topic of Caine — who you knew was actively looking for you, and you had no idea what he would do to you.

Upon learning of the ringmaster's pursuit, his expression turned sour. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached his hand behind his back, pulling out a sizable set of keys and presenting them to you.

However, as his hand reached out to offer you the keys, you quickly shook your head, trying to reason with him that you were safer in his room.

"Are ya sure?" He whispered in a low tone, looking you in your eyes. "I have keys everywhere, y'know. I can easily hide ya inna room more obscure, keep ya safe from chompy."

"But I'm safe here."

He wanted to trust your words, but he couldn't.

Not after you said that you'd never give up. You promised you'd never abstract, that you'd never lose grip of this reality.

"...Well, s'pose I trust you, lovedoll."

He kept his mouth shut.

Kinger.

When Kinger first heard the panicked banging at his door, he rushed out of bed to unlock it.

He has this weird instinct to confront his fears before running away from them, such as the time when he sprinted towards a "sentient" bouncy ball Caine had made for an in-house adventure, only to flee from it seconds later. That's basically what he had planned to do with you, too.

Nevertheless, in contrast to many other non-playable characters Caine generates, you proved to be quicker and more adroit — you instantly grasped him before he had a chance to sprint away.

"Kinger, please be quiet," you murmured into the emptiness of his room, voice barely audible. Heaving your weight upon him, you pinned him to the floor of the room.

"W-Who... what...?!" He shrieked, and your palms instantly moved to cover where his mouth would be in hope to stop him from making any further noise.

"Calm down, Jumpy."

When hearing the nickname that only you use on him, he becomes more at ease. As his body relaxes and his gaze focuses on you with narrowed eyes, he can't help but wonder what he's looking at.

Similar to Gangle, he's completely forgotten what a human looks like. However, unlike her, who eventually came to the realization that you were a human, Kinger is completely oblivious to your identity.

At first, his initial assumption was that you had gotten a massive update or something, and that's why your appearance had changed. As you break the news to Kinger that you've abstracted back into a human, his face fills with shock and disbelief.

Sure, he is surprised that you've abstracted back into human, but on top of that, he's more surprised at how strange humans actually look. Like, he used to look like you? That's strange.

"Boy, you look weird." He mutters to himself quietly, his eyes fixed on your skin. He seems utterly fascinated by the way it looks and feels, poking it with his fingers.

"Um, thanks?" You laugh.

You spend several minutes attempting to bring Kinger back to reality. You poke him, you pat him, and you tickle him. None of these seem to get his attention, so you resort to cupping his face with your hands. Finally, he looks at you, before suddenly screaming in terror.

You quickly explain to Kinger the dire situation with Caine, explaining how you came to him in hiding from the ringmaster. As you speak, your voice turns to desperation, your fear evident in your words. He ultimately becomes speechless, unsure of what to say.

You want to have him protect you? He can do that! You wanna hide out with him? Sure, get inside his pillow fortress! You want to run away from Caine because you're scared of the inevitable torture he would probably put you through because of your "human abstraction" and you can only rely on Kinger for some reason? Great idea!

"There's no way he can find you in there. He would have to look high and low, you know!" Kinger says, patting the pillows that surround you. He gestures around your new "bed" with a grin indicated with his eyes, seemingly quite confident in its ability to conceal you from Caine's search.

"Thanks, Kinger..."

"It's my responsibility as king to protect my royal counterpart! Say, you wouldn't happen to have my glorbo in there? Oh, and my digital plate of digital mashed potatoes that I'm trying to digitally rot."

His ramblings fall deaf on your ears.

Pomni.

The knocking at her door irritates her to no end, and she's quick to open it. She doesn't want the constant banging to play on repeat in the back of her mind, it'll probably just drive her to the brink of abstraction.

Rapidly crossing the distance from her bed to the door, she swings it open, annoyed at the incessant knocking. As she stares up at the towering figure before her, the realization set in that it was the same species she was, er, once was.

She panicked, unsure of what was going on. However, she became even more panicked when your voice left the lips of the human before her.

"W-What the %$!# is going on?" She stumbles backwards, confusion and fear etched onto her face.

"Pomni, it's me." The voice of her lover was escaping past their lips, and she had no idea why or how.

"Listen to me, please."

When you explain to her the process of how you've abstracted back into a human, she can't help but feel even more confused than before.

Based on everything she's seen and heard, abstraction was supposed to be a completely different thing, and not something that could just be reversed — hell, not something that could turn you back into a human. She can't quite wrap her head around the concept you're explaining, feeling lost as she gazes upon your new form.

As you speak to Pomni about your transformation, she gazes upon your human form with jealously. She feels a sense of unfairness, unable to process the sudden change you had and her being stuck as whatever she currently was. Her expression twists into one of defeat, lips trembling.

In spite of her growing resentment and frustration, she is quick to pick up on your desperation and sense your fear. As such, she refrains from saying anything further, recognizing that it would only make the situation worse for you. Instead, she simply stares at you, not wanting to escalate anything further.

Her shoulders tense as she processes the revelation that Caine was actively hunting you, and that you had chosen her room to take cover. She had been caught off guard by your sudden appearance as a human, and now the prospect of her lover being caught by him had left her feeling overwhelmed and scared.

Her voice becomes increasingly agitated as she realizes the gravity of the situation. "I-I don't know what I should do." She stammers, her fingers clutching at her face as she stares at you with wide, terrified eyes.

"He's going to check my room, I know he is. He'll find you, h...he'll kill you, I-I don't know!"

She's determined to keep you safe, but she quickly becomes a mess, her thoughts racing around at a hundred miles per hour. This causes her to overanalyze every single aspect of your hiding strategy, from where to how you hide. She's a mess, but she wants to keep you safe from Caine.

As Pomni processes your situation, her emotions shift once again, feeling a growing sense of determination to help you. With your safety as a priority, she internally vows to try her hardest to not only find an exit for herself, but to keep you safe as well.

The thought of you being harmed at Caine's hands is an abhorrent notion, and she is more than willing to do whatever it takes to prevent such a scenario.

Pomni grabs you by the arm, her expression determined as she leads you to the toybox. Despite your protests, she continues to push you inside, shutting the lid as fast as she opened it. She then takes a moment to gather her composure, her breath coming in short bursts as she looks over the toybox.

"N-No, that won't do at all..."

As she realizes that the toybox wasn’t the most secure option, Pomni quickly pulls you out and begins to frantically search for a new hiding spot.

She continues to utter panicked mutters, her eyes darting around the room in search of a suitable place to stash you. Her mind seems to be racing, as she tries to come up with a solution as quickly as she can.

"Pompom, calm down..."

She can't, not when she's scared for your safety.

Ragatha.

When Ragatha heard the continuous knocking at her door, she initially hesitated, reluctant to leave the comfort of her bed at this late hour. However, the persistence of the sound urged her to action, and she quickly sprang out of bed to investigate the source of the disturbance.

Instead of the usual sight of Pomni in her doorway, asking for assistance due to having "frew up", Ragatha was greeted by a surprising and somewhat jarring appearance.

"Please, Ragatha, let me in..." Despite the confusion, she seemed to respond to the desperation in your voice, taking your hand into hers.

The distress on your face would be obvious to anyone, and your grip on her hand seemed to indicate a desperate need for comfort.

"Come in, sweetie..."

As soon as you spoke, Ragatha recognized your voice and quickly realized that you weren't just a random stranger at her doorstep. When she met your glossy eyes, she began to wonder what the hell happened to you and why you were on the brink of tears.

In that moment, you were a complete wreck... your emotions pouring out as she rubbed circles on your back, whispering soothing words and comforting pet names in your ear. You clung to her tightly, your entire body shaking as you tried to calm down, finally feeling safe in her embrace.

When you cried, it seemed as though all of your emotions flooded your body, making it difficult for you to get the words out smoothly. Ragatha held you tighter, her hands working hard to comfort you, her voice gentle and reassuring, even as you rambled on about your recent experience.

The look on her face showed that she was quite surprised that you had abstracted into a human, but you couldn't see it. She wouldn't let you see her expression, not when she felt like sobbing with you. Ragatha remained relatively still, her words few and far between, seeming to be at a loss for them as she tries to make sense of the situation.

However, her small gestures revealed that she was concerned and caring towards you, trying her best to comfort you even though she didn't fully understand what was happening. She provided you with reassurances, promising to do her best to keep you safe from Caine, even though she didn't have a full understanding of why he was targeting you. It's not like you did, either.

"Look, honey..."

Ragatha guides your gaze towards her, a tender expression on her face as she wipes away your tears with her thumbs.

"I will protect you."

Zooble.

Zooble is the quickest of the bunch to respond to the disturbance at the door, detaching their arm from the socket of their body to answer the knocking. The hand that opens the door tries to grab you around the neck, clearly upset at having been woken up in the middle of the night.

The moment you let out a panicked plea, the hand immediately loosens its grip on your neck, allowing you to breathe again. Soon, you hear the sound of someone, obviously Zooble, moving rapidly from within the room and towards the door.

As they see you standing at the entrance with the appearance of a human, they seem to have a moment where they question their sanity.

"What... the %$!# happened to you?" Zooble muttered with wide eyes. They seem to have completely forgotten about the fact that they tried to strangle you a few moments ago.

"Help me..."

They're quick to grab both of your shoulders, pulling you inside with an almost desperate urgency.

As soon as you're pulled inside, Zooble begins bombarding you with questions, hand gripping you tightly. The tone of their voice is intense, as if they are desperate to get some answers from you.

When you explain the whole situation to them, their eyes only seem to grow wider, as if they're having a hard time wrapping their head around the reality of what you're telling them. To them, the idea of abstracting into a human is completely new, and they seem almost unable to believe that it's actually possible.

Once you finish explaining everything, their rage starts to dissipate. Despite their initial anger at you for abstracting, they eventually come to terms with what's happened and begin to see things from your perspective.

You mention Caine, and their demeanor changes almost instantly. They go from having a calm and understanding demeanor to one of tension and concern. Zooble seems to understand the gravity of the situation, and the possibility that Caine could be a real threat to you. They take a moment to process everything you've told them, trying to make sense of the situation and what to do next.

Their tone begins to soften, and they begin to offer you support. While they may not have all the answers, they're willing to help and support you in any way they can.

"Maybe... we pretend that you're a new character." They suggest, their voice low, as if they don't want anyone else to hear their plan. They look into your eyes, clearly trying to see if you're on board with the idea.

"I don't think Caine knows what a human actually looks like."

© rhystial 2023 — my works may not be reproduced in any form and by any means without my consent/permission, translating my works is only okay if i give you the okay.

#the amazing digital circus x reader #tadc x reader #gangle x reader #jax x reader #kinger x reader #pomni x reader #ragatha x reader #zooble x reader #x reader #reader insert

[utilitycaster]

Do you think part of the D20 journalistic bias comes from D20 being edited? It gives the appearance of much more effortless play and lets them control the pacing in a way unedited play like CR simply can't do. They get to (potentially) hide a lot of stuff people would jump on as flaws while CR has no choice but to let it all play out. I greatly prefer CR's approach, despite it biting them in the ass a bit through no fault of their own.

Answering these both together to group cause and my opinions, and I do want to note this is specifically about journalism/press coverage, not their respective fandoms even though there's obviously some overlap.

I think there's a couple things, but I do want to note this was actually prompted by Daggerheart, not Critical Role. The response from several prominent voices in the Actual Play journalism community, whom I will not name here but whom I do not respect intellectually, really was, within hours of the open beta (which as far as I know they didn't have early access to - more on that later) "um it could be better, I don't like xyz and also it's sooooooo important to have criticism" and again, it is important to have criticism, but also you act like D20 has never had a mediocre moment and that Kollok is brilliant, so.

This...got away from me a bit. I'd say I'm sorry but actually I adore writing thousands of words about actual play and it will happen again but I'm putting the detailed answer below a cut. The short answer is I think a lot of Actual Play journalists actually sort of fell into their jobs through being vaguely involved in nerd spaces and aren't actually equipped to talk intelligently about TTRPGs and actual play as a medium that should, at its best, be a perfect fusion of narrative and mechanics. So instead they're distracted by flashy edits and bright lights and cool noises and some abstract concept of "novelty" and write only about that. Also Critical Role is the 700 lb gorilla in the AP space (though not, actually, the TTRPG space) and doesn't give them early access and that's meaaaaaan. Indeed, for all I think a lot of their coverage of D20 and Worlds Beyond Number is obsessively fawning, I also think it's extremely surface level, frequently factually wrong, and fails to get at what's truly excellent about those shows either.

I think, honestly, the biggest one is that I don't actually think a lot of Actual Play journalists watch series in full. I was looking for Polygon coverage of Fantasy High Junior Year and they have one glowing article but it's more about Fantasy High as setting and institution and D20 "changing the game" (also more on this later) to the point of outright contradicting the pull quotes they used from interviewing Brennan Lee Mulligan (also more on this later). So I started looking through their coverage and actually, quite a number of their write-ups are based on only one episode, or half a season. Clearly, they haven't read the full open beta (nor have I, but I think their complaints about the character build process belie a profound misunderstanding of what TTRPGs are, also more on this later). So editing is certainly part of it because it's really easy to see cool special effects and sound design within one episode and shit out a hacky article about it, whereas actually getting to the substance - character relationships, cohesive narrative, storytelling - requires work that I do not think they're doing. And on the one hand I do kind of get it, because yeah, if journalism is your livelihood then you perhaps do not have the time to watch 4 hours of D&D a week for 2-3 years if you're only going to get one article every six months out of it. But I don't think the answer is "focus intently on Microsoft Powerpoint-esque scene transition tricks while ignoring that nothing occurring at the table is actually fun to watch." For more on this, see this post.

The second, which is very relevant to Daggerheart but also is actually a big gap in D20 and WBN coverage in my opinion, and which I put in the tags, is that I actually don't think a lot of journalists have a solid understanding of TTRPGs nor of most genres. And I think Critical Role has a particularly good understanding of both these things, actually, if one skewed towards collaborative storytelling that is not rules-light. I think one really big example is that one person within the space is mad at the Daggerheart questions for the character archetypes because what if your character doesn't fit these. I think this is dumb as shit. I actually think that a common criticism of D&D - that you can't play ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING - is not valid, or rather, it's a valid opinion to hold but if you want to play a character who doesn't fit into the available archetypes perhaps you need to find another game. We all inherently understand that Blades in the Dark characters will be members of a criminal organization in a relatively low-magic setting, correct? That you can't show up to BitD and play a lawful good wizard prince because that's not the story being told? Or like, how in Honey Heist, you are a bear and you are trying to get honey, and you cannot play a human child investigating the old abandoned house at the edge of town, but there's a cool game called Kids on Bikes that will let you do that? Great! Why is this suddenly so hard to understand in the realm of heroic fantasy, that you will fit into specific archetypes? Why do people's brains, if they have them to begin with, vanish suddenly? I know I just did a big old rant that included this within it but genuinely I think a lot of people are deeply ignorant of heroic fantasy, or don't like it, and either is fine, but then they get mad at the heroic fantasy game for having heroic fantasy archetypes when the answer is "maybe this will never make you happy because it's not for you." (Frankly, I think this is also why they love D20, because it doesn't really do straight-up heroic fantasy, and that's fine, but they do keep acting like doing a Game of Thrones pastiche is equivalent to the invention of the wheel.) Like...I remember in the Midst Q&A that Xen said they tend to not like playing typical D&D classes, but their solution was to, you know, create Midst instead of sitting around going "actually, because D&D doesn't support cyberpunk narrative and the character archetypes within very well it is an utter failure." (I could go on forever about how actually TTRPGs are not a showcase for your already extant OCs to prance around but that's a totally separate post).

Mechanics and story are inherently intertwined, is what I'm trying to get at (sorry I'm really tired and have a lot to do but I'm passionate about this answer, it will be rambly, she says like 3 pages in) and I really don't think most actual play journalists get this. At all. And I do think that CR, and Daggerheart, and the people working for it, and especially Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall, Matt Mercer, and Travis Willingham, get this more than almost anyone else in the field. I also think Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar get this, and the thing is, for all the praise showered upon them, much of which I think is deserved and most of what I think is undeserved is not because they are lacking but because the person writing about them is an idiot crediting them for things they (Brennan and Aabria) would never claim to have invented, their mechanical prowess is rarely if ever written about well. Fantasy High Junior Year's downtime mechanics actually fill in a famous gap in D&D, namely, downtime, and provide an excellent marriage of story and mechanics in my opinion, and I haven't really seen any discussion, because that would require watching the part of the TTRPG show where they play the TTRPG, and knowing the vague word on the street about D&D criticism that isn't just "*nods sagely* capitalism is the BBEG."

And finally: related a bit to the edit but Critical Role used to not be able to provide any early access to press, because it was literally a live show, and I suspect they never broke the habit, and I think that is for the best. As discussed a lot of D20 coverage actually feels like they watched the press screener and then never returned to the show. And I do not know the politics about them, but given that several of these publications (notably Polygon, but some others) have been shitting on Critical Role for several years, and just generally given the way CR's leadership vs. how D20's leadership respond to fandom pressure, I suspect Critical Role does not give these journalists a ton of early or increased, if any. Honestly, why should you, if you're getting interviewed in Variety? And I think the journalists are mad, because they think they're special and should get treated as such.

I do want to wrap something up, and I want to thank @captainofthetidesbreath for talking a little about this in game design/ttrpgs and giving me the idea, but in story, you should be challenging your audience, expanding their horizons, and being new and interesting. In the actual playing of TTRPGs, especially a new one, it is vital to be inclusive and easy to understand and patient and provide points of reference. I really feel like many Actual Play journalists and some TTRPG ones as well have this equation flipped and are looking for challenging concepts that most people will never be able to get a group to be willing to play, and bells and whistles in production, but leave story as an afterthought. Critical Role designs games to actually be played and to be used specifically to tell good stories, and puts story before production, and I think that undercuts those journalists' whole deal.

#answered #Anonymous #long post #cr tag #anyway though i am going to go lie down and try to take a nap bc the daylight savings got me but good.

[fjordline]

ok i've been thinking about how to answer The Color Asks for so long now. Once I start talking about colors I never stop, it seems. This is just me attempting to explain my personal thought process and not any universal rules or anything like that.

None of this is going to look very realistic at all. You need to exaggerate a little. That being said, having fundamental knowledge on how shadows and ligh tsources work is very useful. Know the rules before breaking them and all that.

Boiled down to its basics, what I think of is: if a lightsource is cold toned, make the highlight bright blue. if a light source is warm, make the highlight bright orange. Then contrast the light with a complementary shadow color that does not compete for dominance with the light. Or alternatively make the light source more neutral with a complimentary tone for the shaded areas and then add a highly saturated color in the deepest shadows. Having both a highly saturated light source and a shadow color will compete with each other, instead choose one to be the dominant and one to be the um. submissive i suppose.

Just using a random doodle from my sketchbook for the purpose of throwing some color on:

^^^ Here the midtones and the areas in the shade are predominantly of a low saturated cool blueish tone, while the highlight is stark and warm with orange and red light bouncing off. The orange and red hues you often see in skin that is lit by a strong light is called subsurface scattering (sss), one of the most important concepts in art IMO. It livens things up so much.

^^^Opposite from image 1, here the shaded area is a saturated golden color while the light source is a dull blue with hints of more vivid blue throughout. the blue balances the strong yellows and browns. Since the shaded area is bigger than the highlighted area, the subject matter could look quite monochromatic without the blue hints.

^^^Get wild with it. Lets say your highlight is blue toned: instead of just using a blue, introduce purple, teal, turquoise, ultramarine, cyan, etc around where the light is hitting. Add several light sources in different colors, make it not make sense, get crazy.

Though what is important above all else is that the image reads clearly. Unless you're doing abstract art then you'd probably want the audience to understand what they're looking at. That's where values come in, probably the number one cause of confusing pieces of art. If you can turn the painting black and white and still see the subject matter clearly then the values are good.

I find that i love using colors that most people find garish, especially when they're on their own, for small highlights and points of interest. When paired with other more neutral colors, a bright orange or a chartreuse etc can really brighten up a painting. And colors are never what they seem, the human eye will interpret colors differently depending on what color they are next to. Make full use of this.

Hope this long ass post helps anyone who is struggling with color, I know I used to struggle severely myself xoxo

#my art #long post #recovering from playing dark souls 2 for like 20 hours the past few days #i hate bitches who are like 'colorpick from my fursona ref if u want to draw her! do not get her colors wrong!' #maybe that would work if the fursona is always going to be standing in a white void but environments are going to change the colors #i also hate bitches who want to say that there is an objective worst color #there isnt. green gold/chartreuse/raw umber/pyrrol orange etc has done more for society than colorhaters ever will

[balioc]

Is this a concept-formulation that's already kicking around out there somewhere? It might well be. It feels like the sort of thing that someone would already have developed. But it's new to me, at least, so I'll muddle around with it as best as I can.

On one end of the spectrum, you've got the musical hook. A hook is maybe two seconds of music, if that. And when you hear it, if it's good, you get a concentrated spike of -- oh, yeah, that's the shit right there, this exact experience in this exact moment is fucking awesome. And then, as soon as it's come, it's gone. All you can do is wait for it to come back later in the track, or rewind a few seconds, or maybe just replay that tiny little scrap of music in your head.

The pleasure of a good hook is incredibly condensed. It doesn't even really extend into the rest of the song, let alone into the rest of your life. To experience it, you have to be listening to those exact few bars (if only in your mind). It has no penumbra, no shades-of-experience that color other aspects of your existence. On the other hand, well...when you're listening to those exact few bars, you know it, and it's great. If it's a good enough hook, you kinda just want to listen to it over and over again, like you're popping Pringles or something.

All the way on the other end of the spectrum, you've got something like a traditional-style TTRPG campaign.

Even when it's being run masterfully, a game like D&D has a very low proportion of that's the shit right there moments, and a very high proportion of tedious yak-shaving stuff. Every so often you get your critical success in a high-stakes moment, every so often you get your awesome monologue or your big-drama scene or whatever...but for every moment like that, there's a hundred moments or more of the other stuff. The commonplace D&D play experience is famous for its vast amounts of OOC joking-around, which is not how things look when people are deeply engaged with the art on a moment-by-moment basis. And, of course, not every campaign is run masterfully. Sometimes boredom, or eye-rolling, is what you get in almost every moment.

And yet people love their D&D campaigns, like really incredibly a lot, and are deeply affected by them, and not-uncommonly have their whole lives changed by them.

The correct model here, I think, is that the pleasure generated by that kind of TTRPG experience is super diffuse. It's almost all penumbra. The awesomeness doesn't inhere in any one moment, or even any one scene or any one story arc. It inheres in the broad strokes of the campaign, in the ongoing knowledge that YOU ARE YOUR COOL CHARACTER and you go on a million cool adventures, in the mythos and the running jokes that add up invisibly over time into magic. And it pervades the entirety of your existence. You can think about it when you're lying in your bed, you can chat about it with your friends over lunch, and the awesomeness is just as much there as it is when you're actually playing. Maybe more so.

**********

Once you start looking at art through this variable-diffusion-of-appreciation lens, you can see many different points on the spectrum.

It's obvious that a short story is more concentrated than a novel, which is more concentrated than a series; it's obvious that a movie is more concentrated than a TV show. But it's not just the choice of medium that pushes in one direction or the other. It's a million different choices concerning content and style. Lushly descriptive language, in prose fiction, serves to concentrate the reader's appreciation into the moment of reading -- it forces the expenditure of extra attention for the sake of creating a beautiful mental moment, which in the vast majority of cases will be gone and forgotten almost instantly. Abstracted and philosophical language does the exact opposite, pulling the reader out of the narrative for a little bit for the sake of giving him something to roll around in his head. Suspense, and surprising plot developments, are concentration techniques that can have their full effect only during the transition from unspoiled-to-spoiled (and they serve to emphasize and heighten the moments of that transition). Archetypical, iconic plots are diffusion techniques that trade predictability-in-the-now for satisfaction-in-contemplating-the-story-later.

Sitcoms strike me as being vehicles for diffuse appreciation, to a huge extent, even more than other TV shows of comparable length etc. Much of what makes them good is just the presence of the characters and their distinctive shticks in your mindscape, in a way that builds from episode to episode without any particular grounding in specifics. When I think about a sitcom that I like, I find myself concluding that I like the show overall more than I like any single given episode. Which is weird, right? You'd expect some sort of bell-curve thing where the best episodes, or even the best individual moments, rise up above the averaged-out mass of the whole. But no.

**********

Fannishness is, overall, a very diffuse form of appreciation. This is true in the very-obvious sense that you're enjoying the work during a time when you're not actually consuming the work, by dint of consuming/producing fanworks and talking with other fans etc. But it's also true in the somewhat-less-obvious sense that the enjoyment-of-the-thing usually ends up very unrooted in the specifics of the thing, the plot beats and characterization details and so forth. You have a big beloved vibe, with lots of bits and bobs attached, and you can take the bits and bobs you like best and rearrange them however you like best when you're engaging in fandom.

**********

I believe it is overall true that concentrated appreciation is much more legible than diffuse appreciation. More legible to artists and art theorists, more legible to marketers and consumers. When you talk about art being good or bad or successful or unsuccessful, it's very easy to think in terms of "what is it like to consume this moment-by-moment?", and much harder to think in terms of "how does each piece of the work pervade the whole of the work, and also the general thoughtscape of the consumer?" For this reason, concentration techniques are associated with prestige, and high-prestige analysis tends to focus on a work's ability to generate concentrated appreciation.

...I also believe that different people want to be appreciating art, in the ideal case, at different levels of diffusion. There are people for whom a good artistic experience means lots of crack-hit awesome moments, and others for whom a good artistic experience means getting to live in an infinite penumbra, and others who fall at every point in between.

**********

For reasons I may discuss later, I think this concept-suite is extremely valent to the construction of theater LARPs, and the tension between people who expect more-concentrated enjoyment and people who expect more-diffuse enjoyment is responsible for a lot of the Wars Over What's Good within that sphere.

#media analysis #spectrum of appreciation diffusion

[l-a-l-o-u]

do you support ai art?

that's a tough one to answer. sorry in advance for the wall of text.

when i first started seeing ai-generated images, they were very abstract things. we all remember the gandalf and saruman prancing on the beach pictures. they were almost like impressionism, and they had a very ethereal and innocent look about them. a lot of us loved those pictures and saw something that a lot of human minds couldn't create, something new and worth something. i love looking at art that looks like nothing i've seen before, it always makes me feel wonder in a new type of way. ai-generated art was a good thing.

then the ai-generated pictures got much more precise, and suddenly we realized they were being fed hundreds of artists' pieces without permission, recreating something similar and calling it their own. people became horrified, and i was too! we heard about people losing their job as background artists on animated productions to use ai-generated images instead. we saw testimonies of heartbroken artists who had their lovingly created art stolen and taken advantage of. we saw people being accused of making ai-generated art when theirs was completely genuine. ai-generated art became a bad thing.

i've worked in the animation industry. right now, i work at an animation school, specifically for 2D animation. i care a lot about the future of my friends in the industry (and mine, if i go back to it), and about all the students i help throughout the years. i want them to find jobs, and that was already hard for a lot of them before the ai-generated images poked their heads into our world.

i'm not very good at explaining nuanced point of view (this is also my second language) but i'll do my best. i think that ai-generated art is a lot of things at once. it's dangerous to artists' livelihoods, but it can be a useful tool. it's a fascinating technological breakthrough, but it's being used unethically by some people. i think the tools themselves are kind of a neutral thing, it really depends on what we do with it.

every time i see ai-generated art i eye it suspiciously, and i wonder "was this made ethically?" and "is this hurting someone?". but a lot of it also makes me think "wow, cool concept, that inspires me to create". that last thought has to count for something, right? i'm an artist myself, and i spend a lot more time looking at art than making art - it's what fuels me. i like to imagine a future where we can incorporate ai-generation tools into production pipelines in a useful way while keeping human employees involved. i see it as a powerful brainstorming tool. it can be a starting point, something that a human artist can take and bring to the next level. it can be something to put on the moodboard. something to lower the workload, which is a good thing, imo. i've worked in video games, i've made short films, and let me tell you, ai-generated art could've been useful to cut down a bit of pre-production time to focus on some other steps i wanted to put more time into. there just needs to be a structure to how it's used.

like i said before, i work in a school. the language teachers are all very worried about ChatGPT and company enabling cheating; people are constantly talking about it at my workplace. i won't get into text ais (one thing at a time today) but the situation is similar in many ways. we had a conference a few months ago about it, given by a special committee that's been monitoring ai technology for years now and looking for solutions on how to deal with it. they strongly suggest to work alongside AIs, not outlaw it - we need to adapt to it, and control how it's used. teach people how to use it responsibly, create resources and guidelines, stay up to date with this constantly evolving technology and advocate for regulation. and that lines up pretty well with my view of it at the moment.

here's my current point of view: ai-generated art by itself is not unethical, but it can easily be. i think images generated by ai, if shared publicly, NEED a disclaimer to point out that they were ai-generated. they should ONLY be fed images that are either public domain, or have obtained permission from their original author. there should also be a list of images that fed the ai that's available somewhere. cite your sources! we were able to establish that for literature, so we can do it for ai, i think.

oh and for the record, i think it's completely stupid to replace any creative position with an ai. that's just greedy bullshit. ai-generated content is great and all, but it'll never have soul! it can't replace a person with lived experiences, opinions and feelings. that's the entire fucking point of art!!

the situation is constantly evolving. i'm at the point where i'm cautious of it, but trying to let it into my life under certain conditions. i'm cautiously sharing ai pictures on my blog; sometimes i change my mind and delete them. i tell my coworkers to consider ways to incorporate them into schoolwork, but to think it over carefully. i'm not interested in generating images myself at the moment because i want to see what happens next, and i'd rather be further removed from it until i can be more solid in my opinion, but i'm sure i'll try it out eventually.

anyway, to anybody interested in the topic, i recommend two things: be open-minded, but be careful. and listen to a lot of different opinions! this is the kind of thing that's very complicated and nuanced (i still have a lot more to say about it, i didn't even get into the whole philosophy of art, but im already freaking out at how much i wrote on the Discourse Site) so i suggest looking at it from many different angles to form your own opinion. that's what i'm doing! my opinion isn't finished forming yet, we'll see what happens next.

#for the record i'm open to discussion about this topic so anyone can feel free to respond #but im honestly more interested in talking about this with people in person #i suggest interacting w this post more than sending asks! #ask #kaijuborn #lalou yells

[pjisskullourful]

-🦇- ρɛтιтɛ мσят -🩸-

“I’m bleeding.” - “I know baby…All over my sheets.”

DAMIANO/READER •°• vampire filth, blood-soaked pwp

≿━━━━༺🦇༻━━━━≾

you & vampire-rockstar-hybrid -heartbreaker Damiano have a strange arrangement...

⚰️HOT VAMP SHIT playlist🎧

CW: discussions of mental health issues, suicide ideation, knife kink, bodily harm. written by an adult, about adults, for adults

× PART ONE × PART TWO {more parts coming soon!} ° month 1 ° month 6

🎃want more vampire måneskin? ethan {𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔰𝔱/𝔩𝔞𝔰𝔱} thomas {𝔥𝔬𝔱 𝔭𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔩} victoria {𝔩𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔡𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔩}

preview of upcoming PETITE MORT PART 3(VERY NSFW!) wordcount: 2,745

- WEEK 20 -

You were walking around a brand new apartment. Familiar items caught your eye as you tried to commit this floorplan to memory, your wide eyes darting all around so as to not miss any details.

Damiano had been teasing this new home for you for a while. He had assured you that you would be moving somewhere new, but had never promised it by a set date. His critiques of your apartment had increased substantially, comparing it to the far superior new apartment that had only been an abstract concept to you.

Until now. Until you were walking through the renovated apartment a few floors down from his penthouse. You weren’t going to be living with him - it would be foolish to think something like that would happen, he was still definitely not your boyfriend. But he wanted you and the baby you were carrying closer to him. He had made it inescapably clear that your apartment wasn’t good enough for any child of his - saying the same about your waitressing job, forcing you to resign.

Now you would be living rent-free in a neighbourhood you had never hoped to afford. He had organised removalists, getting your things in place amongst what he had bought to fill out the spacious apartment. All that you had to move from one home to another was your body.

You were now physically moving into a new stage of your life. Very little was familiar and you were even more uncertain than you had been four months ago.

You found him in the master bedroom, looking very comfortable and not even slightly out of place as he sat on the bed that was larger than any you had ever owned. He smiled at the sight of you, which always made you think he was up to something. You gave the room a thorough look over, noting the books on pregnancy that rested on your nightstand. There were things that you had owned for years, like a purple and green painting created by a high school friend whom you no longer spoke to. Some photographs had been framed and put on display (capturing happy memories of you with your best friends, Sebastian and Sally), but none of them featured Damiano.

“You’re showing more.” He said, getting your attention.

You stopped looking at the collection of modest necklaces draped over a jewellery tree. Now you looked down at your tummy, which was definitely getting rounder with each passing day - but it didn’t appear to be straining against the fabric of your hoodie, demanding to be noticed. You ran a hand down your front, feeling the home of your mysterious child. “Am I?”

He rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna take that as the compliment I meant it to be, or is this going to be an excuse for you to go into one of your annoying spirals?”

“If you say that it’s a compliment, then it is, sir.” You said, resting your hand at the top of your bump.

“Good. How about you come over here and let me admire you some more?” It wasn’t a request and you acted accordingly. “Give me more to compliment.”

He didn't hesitate in grabbing the bottom of your jumper and immediately pulling it up, away from your body. You lifted your arms above your head, putting up no resistance to his efforts and soon the garment was removed. He tossed it aside and as soon as his hands were available, they went to your tummy. The cool metal of his numerous rings contrasted with the warmth of his fingers, lovingly cupping your stomach.

"It's so pretty. Do you have any idea how much this suits you?" He asked, slowly caressing your skin. You snagged your lower lip between your teeth as you watched him, he was so genuine in this moment that you couldn't help feeling a few butterflies in your stomach. It was the sunshine that could blind you, it could make you forget all of his snarky or downright hurtful comments.

"If I had known how fuckin' gorgeous you would look pregnant, I would have started breeding you that first night you let me have you." He said and the intensity of his gaze, coupled with how he traced his fingertips up-and-down your exposed sides, elicited shivers from you. The excitement surged down your spine and your nipples were soon standing at attention beneath your bra.

“Really?” You asked.

“Absolutely, honey.” He said, letting you feel his fingernails drag lightly against your skin.

“What would you have done?” You asked.

He grabbed your hips and pulled you in close. You licked your lips and rested your hands on his shoulders. Before you could begin to think of your next move, he was making his - twisting his body and forcing you to move from your spot. You didn’t resist the way that his hands guided you, bringing you down to the bed. You laid out flat on your back, feeling your breath coming in quicker as the atmosphere in this unfamiliar room seemed to shift. The way he was looking at you made you want to squirm.

“I would have put you into a lovely mating press and just pounded myself dry on you.” He said.

You furrowed your brow. “What’s a- have we ever done that before?”

He rolled his eyes. “Literally, you have had the most uninspired idiots screwing you.” He placed himself on his knees, down by your legs. “Mating press is achieved by you raising these…” He didn’t ask if you were interested in a live demonstration, he just grabbed your ankles and got to work repositioning you.

“Yep, we want them nice and high.” He said, lifting your legs until your ankles were almost at your shoulders. Even though you still wore pants and underwear, you were feeling very exposed as your blood went coursing into new areas. “Then I would come in here…” He moved into the space beneath your ass. “And my legs overlap yours as I kind of squat…”

He placed himself partially on top of you, your gut tightening as you took notice of how your genitals were now lined up. His hands remained on your ankles, keeping you locked into this position.

“I would hold onto your legs like this. Do you see how that would give me deeper penetration?” He asked, looking down at you as you wondered if he had seen the way you had started to tremble. “And it’s perfect for me to keep driving my cock into you while also pulling you onto it.” He grabbed your hip and jerked you up, making your breath hitch. “Do you get it now, preziosa?”

“Yeah.” You said. “But…”

He was smirking as he let go of your hip, raising this hand to your face and rubbing his thumb over your lower lip. “Just say it.” You began smiling too - he always swore that telepathy was a myth, but there were times when his ability to guess what you were thinking was truly uncanny. “Say it and if you ask nicely enough maybe I’ll do it."

He pushed his thumb into your mouth and you instantly wrapped your lips around it. "Say that you want me to show you every single way that I've fantasised about breeding you."

"Please, that's what I want, sir." You said.

He swooped down, taking his thumb away from you so that he could kiss you. His lips crushed against yours and the pressure on your legs increased, before he was pulling away.

You craved more, but before you could begin to complain, he was taking off his tank top. With his hands gone, you lowered your legs to a more natural position and grabbed for the waistband of your yoga pants, working them down. You swiftly got naked with him.

He let you secure a few more kisses before he was bending you back into position. You were looking into his eyes as you rested your hands on your raised calves, a feeble attempt to brace yourself for what would come next. Your pussy was spread and you felt the pressure building up in your body before he got on top of you.

He perched in front of you, parts of your body overlapping. One hand held your leg while the other went to his dick, guiding it towards your cunt. Working forward, he filled his shaft into you. His legs pushed into yours as he kept coming closer.

He was going all the way in, seemingly wanting to find out how much you could take immediately. And he faced no resistance from you - your very sensitive body was so receptive to him, spawning appreciation for every sensation. His eyes were alight with excitement as he moved to get his hips pressed right up against you.

“Good girl, taking me so deep.” He purred. No longer needing his hand on his dick, he instead put it to your other leg. “You look just as fuckin’ amazing like this as I had imagined. I don’t even care that I can’t breed you a second time, I still wanna unload into you and mark that pussy up as my property, even more than it already is.”

In addition to feeling how his dick twitched between your walls, you could see the cracks in his façade that indicated how he wanted to lose control. His breath was coming in quicker, with less consistency. The way that his eyes had begun to dart all over your body hinted at how his thoughts were racing.

“Will you let me do that?” He asked.

You didn’t have the chance to answer before he was stunning you with a sudden jerking of his hips. It was more than you were ready for, your mouth falling uselessly open.

“Will you?” He asked, rocking back ever so slightly.

His hips snapping sharply into you surprised you all over again, evoking tingles through your body. As your breath halted, you forgot to answer him.

“Will you?” He repeated as he delivered another powerful jolt into your cunt.

You were more than ready to surrender to him, your chest swelling as your desires climbed higher. “Yes.” It was difficult to get your voice above a strained whisper right now. “Yessir.”

This was enough for him to set into a consistent tempo, his hands fiercely gripping your legs as he jackhammered his dick into you. You squeezed your eyes shut as you felt your cunt hugging tighter to him. Spellbound by everything that you were feeling, your body had begun to clench.

You were being stretched and pulled, it was all so overwhelming, in the best way possible. You let the fire build up inside of you.

At the feeling of his pointer finger resting on your stomach, you opened your eyes. He was staring down at it.

"What's in there?" He asked.

You arched your back, beginning to try meeting his bucks. “Your baby, sir.”

“Yeah, because I got you good and pregnant, didn’t I?” He asked.

“So pregnant.”

Everything was coming at you so fast with no opportunity to gain your bearings. Your mind was filled with sparks of excitement, making it impossible for you to string together a coherent thought. All that you knew was to keep your hips in motion, needing to serve his desires.

You chased one intimidating collision after the other, knowing that you could fall apart at any second. You rocked your hips with him as he caressed his fingers across your developing belly.

This position gave him all of the control that he needed and he was soon finding the correct angle. You cried out in response to him snapping into your sweet spot. Your head slumped back and it felt like your legs were starting to go numb.

Your whimpers were coming in louder and more frequently as you faced the greatest threats to your composure. His passion possessed you as your own noises mixed with his breathy moans to fill your ears. Even with your eyes shut, you were hyper-aware of him, his presence imposing on you and never losing its importance.

As your sensitive walls clung to him, you felt the precum spilling into you, his tip driving in so deep with every determined movement. His fingernails were digging into the skin of your thighs as his tempo remained intact, just as dedicated to making you a ruin.

You cried out, your desperation taking you over, assuming dominance as everything else fell away. “Please, please…”

“What’s that, my little pet?” He asked.

“Need- gonna cuh-um, need you to-...” More words got stuck in your throat and your toes were curling. “Plea-please let me.” The rest came out as nonsense whines.

These transformed into ecstatic screams when he gave you the signifying slap on your ass. The walls were crashing down all around you and with a couple more thrusts, you secured the freedom of your orgasm.

He didn’t let you peacefully float away, still spanking you as he powered between your clenching walls. While you were slumping, he rocked forward, more of his weight pressing on your elevated legs. You were so small, trapped beneath his frenzied body and he was only getting closer. He strived to be buried in so deep, letting your cunt milk the orgasm out of him.

He reached his peak with a series of breathless cursing, his load shooting into you. He remained on top of you, still buried so deep. You secured some relief for yourself by lowering your legs, moving them to lie out on either side of him. You began to catch your breath, steadily coming down.

Finally he sat up a little, planting his hands on the mattress and extending his arms. But he didn't move much further away. You opened your eyes, seeing the way that he was hovering over you, observing you.

He drew a gasp out of you when he snapped his hips into you. You spasmed under him, your mouth hanging open.

Then he jerked into you again. You were kept suspended at this height, unable to prepare yourself for what he might do next.

Before you could calm down any, he gave another buck. His eyes were fixed on you, drinking in your responses as time slowly slipped by.

He licked his lips and rutted forward another time. "We need that cum real fuckin' deep, don't we? I don't want any of that to slip out." He jerked into you. "And you don't want to lose a single drop because you love it, don't you, huh?"

You writhed, tense as you remained on this edge. "Yes, I do, I love it, luh-love it."

"Because you're just a cumslut." He said with another controlled buck.

"Mm-hmm, I am, I am." You whimpered.

He gave you one last powerful thrust then started to pull away with a groan. Your mind felt fried as he moved to lay alongside you. You were shivering and your vision was filled with stars. You felt adrift from reality, not knowing how to come down yet.

"See, now you get it." He said, his voice gentle and you knew he would be in a good mood for a while. "Now you know what a mating press is. So when I say that's how I want to breed you, you'll understand what's coming for you, huh?"

You were still getting your breath back. "Yep, I understand now."

His hand stroked your arm. "Aw, look at you, little girl. Learning exhausts you, huh?"

"That's one way to put it." You said. The tingles were radiating through your body as you rolled onto your side, getting more comfortable, you didn't think it would take much for you to fall asleep.

"I suppose this is the best time to tell you that I have no idea where they put the clean linen." He said.

The yet-to-be-met they, Damiano's underlings, a group of vampires who did errands for him and kept all of his secrets. They had set up this new home for you. You didn't know their names, or how much they knew about you. You weren't sure you would like to meet them.

"Oh, uh, I'm sure I'll find the cupboard it's all in." You said, opening your eyes to look at him beside you. "I really like the apartment, thank you. I'm sure the baby is gonna like it too."

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stay tuned, stay spooky --- xxx your halloQween

#vampire maneskin #fic preview #halloween posting #vampire damiano david #damiano david fic #damiano x reader

[talenlee]

Goncharov Card Game Concepting

I am tired and my brain hurts and I am exhausted as I try try try to make graphic work for Bloodwork happen. The website is down and up and down again and that’s maddening as hell, and the dog is weird and the dishwasher’s replaced and aaaaaa so what I decided to was exorcise a brain worm about a Goncharov card game.

At the moment the prototype starts with an ordinary deck of playing cards, face cards removed. Face cards are your character, which get played face down in front of you, and we’ll get into what that means. At the start of the game, you deal everyone a face down character card from the available options, and your character determines what you value, and the kind of scenes you want to have.

Then you shuffle the numbers, every player draws one card, and you start the drafting.

The gameplay loop goes:

You draw two cards.

From two of the three cards in your hand, you shuffle, then pick one to present to another player face down, one face up.

You’re going to get to do this to every single player once each round – so you get to make choices that way.

That player picks one of the cards, face down or face up, and adds them to the set in front of them, in columns to represent each player who’s given them a choice.

You get the other card, in a corresponding column.

Once you have a card in your column, you can look at it!

During this period, you can talk about what you shared and why, and you can even lie about what you were handed.

You’re trying to collect different kind of scenes with different people – Icepick Joe wants to have a violent scene with everyone, Andrei wants to try and share romance and violence with Goncharov and gets no points for scenes with Katya, but can make mileage out of scenes with Sofia.

That’s the basic engine. Next question:

How big is this game?

If there are fifteen cards in the deck, then you get to give every player a round of sending drafts, but they don’t get a round of receiving each. At the minimum play experience, for five players, one round of drafting fully means that each player should have 2x the number of players cards, meaning that the minimum card pool gets bigger quick. In five players, each player gets 8 cards, plus one extra, per round, so that’s 45 cards to start with.

That means a normal deck of cards is just barely big enough to have everyone have a scene with everyone else, but also, everyone gets two scenes with everyone.

There’s also a matter of information leakage. There’s a reason players are goin to want to hoover up cards of a particular type. Also, this could be made Fantasy Realms style, or Tussie Mussie style where every card has a simple mechanic on it that makes other cards better, with your character card represents a single big advantage – Goncharov may get a bonus point for each suit he can collect, Katya may get bonuses for every heart she has, Mario may want diamonds, that kind of thing.

Similarly, cards can be character specific, and therefore, you might have a reason to want to keep something in hand. Like hey, this card says Katya and Sofia get 2 points? Well, maybe that stays in your hand because you’re playing Icepick Joe. But maybe you could offer it to someone else when you see the players you think are Katya and Sofia are in last place, and therefore bum them with a dead draft.

That’s the basic idea.

Now here’s the funniest thing here:

With 45 cards at base, and 7 cards for characters, the game gets to look like a 52 card deck of cards, and a maximum of 5 players. So the mechanical limits for a very simple draft game are right there in a standard deck size.

The problem is:How do I get art for this.

There’s a ton of cool as fuck fanart for Goncharov. There’s definitely an aesthetic for it too! It’s so mangled and weird and ostensibly uncreated, there’s a case to be made for using stock art for it, maybe. Or a particular film aesthetic, maybe, and instead abstracting everything. But there are some symbols that are seen as very important to Goncharov, like the clocks.

One of the things I love about Goncharov as a memeplex is that the artistic representation of these intense scenes deserve to be platformed. I want people to see them and enjoy them and I think it’d be amazing to make a card game that looked like them.

But also: I can’t print cards for free! I can’t make this game and distribute physical copies of it for free (like, literally, I can’t afford it). And the overlap of Goncharov fans and card game fans? Probably not necessarily huge! And you can’t go to a fanartist ‘hey can I pay you for the rights to your fanart’ when it’s not really fanart, it’s original art that just happens to somehow all have a shared corpus of inspiration. What’s more the most iconic piece of Goncharov art is something the artist has more or less said ‘go nuts’ about, but it’s transformative art of a bunch of other posters so I’m not sure how far it gets me from the actual generative art discussion!

At the same time, man, man, it seems so close to attainable. The Goncharov poster style, the entirely arbitary name of the game, the lore and fiction, it’s already meant to be an homage to the greatest mafia movie ever made, rather than anything that anyone could actually account for.

Am I going to get sued by a bootleg shoe company?And if I ignore the inspiration, what’s left? An interesting emotionally complex mafia movie kind of game generator, but it somehow feels so much more artificial to imagine I’m a fan of any of those that I’m not actually that into. Mafia movies aren’t my thing, I don’t think.

But I do love Goncharov.

Weird.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#goncharov #unreality #Games #Making

[thefirstknife]

wanted to share some post Lighfall thoughts in my head with you (im sure most if this has been said or i got key concepts wrong but still)

I personally believe the Witness either is the First Knife or somehow has tricked itself into believing it is. (if the later then that's then it already had the desire to end universe and is using this to justify as an allegory for fascism)

my thoughts are summed up as this:

The Winnower wants to finish this round of the garden game. and wants to keep playing it over and over and over. It didn't seem to care about the Gardener wanting another round until she put herself into the game

The Witness is the Knife or somehow has vague spiritual metaphysical memories of the Knife and took its purpose the the most logical extreme:

It grew sick of round after round of the Game.

It is the Knife it wants to cut and cull all

The Winnower wants to play the game eternally which means restarting the game

The Knife wants to do it purpose and end the Game.

Permanently

To do this it must also end the Players so it can never restart again.

The Witness wants so somehow end the Game, end the Gardener, end the Winnower.

So that

The First Knife

becomes

The Final Shape

That's a really good summary of some of my thoughts as well!!

Obviously, a lot of this is very abstract and we might be looking at the Unveiling too much for hints, but ALSO. I think this would be super cool and would definitely explain a lot of stuff. And I would absolutely adore to see the Unveiling stuff be directly relevant in this way, and not just a metaphorical retelling of how the universe began.

An interesting lore tab from the raid lore book, page 9, that was available to unlock this week (the remaining 2 pages are tied to the red border chest, crisis averted. The chest was just bugged last week. Final raid lore book page next week!). Page 9 was... very peculiar. I'll copy it fully:

No clue who is the author. The first paragraph usually hints at the author, but this time I can't tell. Mention of "dream" and later suffering might suggest Nezarec talking to the Witness... or to something else. Or something else talking about the philosophy in general. This lore tab has Unveiling vibes to me, tbh. Mostly, the part about this data fragment coming from something "warped, barely-real" gives me massive Winnower vibes. It's a metaphor, an allegory, like the Unveiling.

I love the metaphor for the Light and Darkness philosophies, here presented with the story of a man coming upon a crossroads. The man asks the sky where to go, and there's no answer because that is for the man to choose. The Light doesn't direct anyone to anything, it lets you make your own choices. That is the essential part of the philosophy; freedom to choose.

The whole next bit with a wanderer that shows up to tell the man which path to take and even suggests brandishing a knife to exert a threat and force the man to pick is essential to the Darkness philosophy. Darkness wants to funnel you into a specific path and it will do everything in its power to make you go down that road.

But the author also muses about the knife. Is threatening violence a better way to make people obedient or is that actually ceding power? Once you show the knife, you can never sheathe it or else the threat goes away and so does your power. And even if you never sheathe it, someone might still risk fleeing. If you force someone to follow you, you are never allowed to stop threatening them, but the more you threaten, the more chance there is that the person being threatened will take the risk to flee once they're fed up. Which is what happened with several Darkness-aligned characters, most notably Savathun. She was coerced and lied to and threatened, and the longer that went on, the more she contemplated taking the risk to leave. And she succeeded.

The final sentence is also super important because it really explains why a lot of characters fall to Darkness in the first place. Because it makes the choice for them, and many are afraid of the unknown. They are too afraid to take the risk and make a choice for themselves and find it easier and safer to follow what is being told to them. Ergo, Darkness being "salvation."

And if we're on the right track, in this analogy, the wanderer telling the man which road to pick would be the Winnower, the Darkness. And the knife it pulls to make the threat? The Witness. It doesn't need to use the knife, but maybe at some point it considered it and now it's doubting its efficacy. Wouldn't it be easier if the man just listened instead of introducing the knife which complicates the interaction and possible outcomes?

We're in hardcore speculative territory here but it's one of the mos interesting thing to me right now, especially with all the new stuff we learned from Lightfall and the raid.

#destiny 2 #witness #darkness #winnower #the root of nightmares raid #long post #lore vibing #ask #this is a bit rambly but this lore is SO philosophical there's not much else to say other than to ramble #eagerly awaiting the final page next week

[centrally-unplanned]

Like a lot of media, anime has ideology. They tend to come up the most in the themes for shows - I have talked before about the Cult of Fun, characters struggling to do X or losing a relationship with person Y and those experiences are justified, made good, by the line “we had fun, right?”. Nothing wrong with that idea, but anime ideologies tend to play their greatest hits over and over - I can name hundreds of shows with that theme! (Dress-up Darling was last season’s obligatory Cult of Fun show). From The Power of Friendship to Shinzo Abe Says Make Babies a lot of anime can be slotted into a select few groups. Which doesn’t stop them from being great, but over time you really start to value less overplayed ideas.

Which is why I think Call of the Night is my favourite anime airing this season so far - its theme is “being an aimless nocturnal streetwalker fucking rocks” which is a very refreshing take on the vampire romance genre. Ever since the “urban fantasy” David Bowie-style vampire turn of the 80′s emerged, the vampire media ecology gained this “the Call of the Night, a life of back-alley raves and fancy parties and endless indulgence” sheen that, despite its obvious sex appeal, is almost always portrayed as fundamentally bad and also ridiculously excessive. Unending baroque orgy raves sounds fun in the abstract, but for most it would be unobtainable and also exhausting - you aren’t cool enough to pull it off, sorry!

Call of the Night is referencing this concept right in its title, but to make the genre work for its 14 year old loner protagonist it needs to scale back the ambitions: this is an anime about our high school drop main guy Kou Yamori befriending/being seduced by/being fed upon female street-hobo vampire Nazuna Nanakusa. And they spend their time literally fucking around on the streets of Tokyo together, drinking from vending machines, hanging out in parks, and just doing nothing. Every night they go back to Nazuna’s apartment for feeding and it literally looks like this:

Straight up “single men can live like this and be happy” meme level of zero fucks given. 

The Call of the Night in Call of the Night has zero glitz and its entirely positive and fun, because what makes the call appealing isn’t the raves or the orgies, but the night itself, the ideology of the night:

Why do you think people stay up at night?

Because there is a show they want to watch, something they want to do?

[Nah,] It all boils down to one reason:

They aren’t satisfied with how they spent the day

The night means freedom...

Which sounds all dramatic except the inhibition released is high fiving a passing drunk guy who then throws up on your shoe: 

Which is actually totally freeing! You never would high-five a drunk guy at 4:00 PM, 4:00 PM is the time of responsibilities, social pressures, the obligations of existing. But no one expects you achieve goals at 3:00 AM, everyone who could judge you is asleep! I absolutely feel this theme in real life and also don’t think I have seen it captured in anime before, or at least not very often - I didn’t know I wanted a show to reflect this part of me until I saw it.

And it leans into this aesthetically too. In CotN the night itself is gorgeous all the time in different color swatches of purples and yellows; who wouldn’t want to live here even if its all spent sitting on park swings: 

But meanwhile, our main characters are not ideal seductresses. Oh sure, our vampire is a hot anime girl who wears like a leather crop top and mini skirt, its still anime, but like:

Nazuna has those tired eyes, her head is kindof flat, she spends most her time being either confused or a snickering gremlin - you aren’t shocked she is a little desperate for a blood buddy. Here is her “hey can I suck your blood” face before it goes evil:

Hell, indulge me here or skip if its cringe for you, but even her breasts are realism-first - here is her at her most seductive, moments she absolutely has, don’t get me wrong:

But notice how those aren’t the round perky bouncy anime tits of the average 2D hottie? I have had conversations with people with breasts like these about how their shape makes them insecure, which regardless of if they should be is certainly something *anime* normally agrees with. 

The point is Nazuna’s grunge-flecked hotness, just like the beautiful-night-but-at-a-vending-machine aesthetic, is all calibrated to make the ordinary and stupid liberating via the socially-emancipatory potential of the night as an escape from having to worry about being stupid and ordinary. And it works, hands-down.

The actual plot mechanic, since I haven’t mentioned it, is that Kou wants to became a vampire to join the nightlife permanently, and you do that by being bitten by vampire while in love with them, while Nazuna is happy to indulge his attempt if she gets to feed on him in the meantime (which isn’t deadly). The sex metaphor is hilariously on-the-nose:

Which is a sign of the show understanding what level the audience is at when it comes to cultural awareness: it doesn’t need to play coy, you've seen vampire shit before so why not laugh at it? The plot is all normal them-getting-closer stuff, this isn’t a visionary show, instead its just a good version of a typical show. It does however have a grand time playing with the gender roles of this relationship: Kou is absolutely the girl of the two during bite time:

But it isn’t just jokes, like this scene of some now-consensual biteplay after Kou, delightfully, was insecure that Nazuna was just using him for sex blood and he isn’t special and Nazuna assured him no baby, it’s more than that:

I mean its still A: hilarious, and B: hot, and its great how Nazuna carries him around the city because she can fly and always climbs on top of him and initiates everything and all of that. If its your kink this show is absolutely here for you, Kou just needs some thigh highs, cat ears, and an Intro to Haskell and she will be Tumblr-ready in no time.

But the strength of this show is in how tight it is, how all the elements stack up. What are those themes again? The night frees you, not to be a brazen orgy-raving vampire lord, but to not have to deal the day-to-day stresses? Responsibilities, obligations, social expectations, you don’t have to put on a face and live up to all those under the forgiving light of the stars?

Including the onerous, demanding, constricting ones that come with Being a Man, maybe?

#essay #call of the night #Ash Seasonal Anime Impressions #night owl gang rise up

[stayatsam]

I would love to hear your personal intent/ feelings behind that piece if you are open to talk more about it. You're one of my favorite artists and I was SO EXCITED when you had started posting wips/ the finished piece. I just want you to know your work is taken seriously ig. Your work is so cool and makes me look deeper into the techniques I use in my own art

thank you!!! this is so nice

it's kind of hard to explain in words, but i have bipolar disorder and often times i don't have coherent thoughts that can be written out; so a lot of concepts become very abstract. Whatever is peering from the shadows in the door or who's lying dead on the ground is purposefully unclear. there's no "this is a vampire or werewolf or ghost in the door," I don't know what it is and neither does anyone looking at it

basic feelings like fear or paranoia and anger are so amplified to me where it can consume your entire thought process, and even total apathy can consume you (how much of that comes from being autistic im not entirely sure but the two mesh a lot together for me)

the kitchen is a familiar place and one i'm unhealthily obsessed with. i spend a lot of time cooking and making coffee and tea, but i also neurotically have to keep it and the fridge clean. contamination OCD really feeds into my BP paranoia that something's creeping up on the kitchen

but in the end everything here comes back to overwhelming feelings of fear, with internal and external stimuli coming together to force you into a tight little ball.

the character depicted is an OC and is the one responsible for killing the person dead on the floor but that all delves into even more abstract territory, but think hunter/predator vs prey scenario (reflecting eyes like a nighttime creature)

#sam crying #i hope some of this kind of makes sense LOL

[sytokun]

If I may ask, I a bit curious on the timeline of your Rwby rewrite project, you made videos on a Rwby rewrite before but with a different name(s because I can’t remember if it had more than one name) What changed with the name? In fact what change about production after the details video about a Rwby rewrite(hopefully you know what I talking about) It ok if it just speak in general terms than any details, just interest in your process!

This is a good opportunity to talk about my history with RWBY AUs from start to finish, so thanks for this ask.

I first got infected with the AU bug during Volume 3, when shit started going down in Episode 6 and my mind was abuzz thinking about how the story was going to unfold. This led me to create Shattered Tomorrow, which was about the predicted events and aftermath of the Fall of Beacon.

This later moved to RWBY: Visions, which was just a catch-all term that my other AUs would be grouped into at the time (much like how Star Wars: Visions is a collection of AUs, oddly enough). I made a few videos of it, as well as a subreddit which is now dead since I transitioned my community to YouTube instead, where this sort of AU/rewrite content reaches more people.

However, I soon released a video that more or less kickstarted my RWBYTubing days in earnest: RWBY Needs A New Beginning. The large positive reception I got for it led me to create a Discord server to discuss the project, at which point it grew into a community group project, and was renamed into RWBY: Cherish.

However, it was my first time leading a community project, so it encountered numerous fatal hurdles - namely the "too many cooks" problem. Everyone was pitching idea, writing docs and proposing characters to populate the world, but none of it was translating into real, tangible results. It lost steam about a year in and I grew disillusioned, especially after the conclusion of Volume 6. I was very close to dropping the show and leaving the fandom entirely.

I decided to step away and took a month-long break from the project and anything RWBY. It took me a while for me to recentre myself and start looking at my ideas again without premature outside influence. What did I really want from this project? Why do I keep returning to it?

I started sketching again, reclaiming pride in my own ideas again. Then, I discovered Cold Kingdom's album, which sparked my first real concepts for what would become RWBY: Remnants. But at the time, I created these under the placeholder title: We Are The Hunt.

I started gaining confidence in my creative self again, and I regained motivation to start over; more importantly, I got back my love for RWBY, and it was here I realised that I'll never be truly able to leave it behind until I put out my version of it for the world. I put everything I knew about this new AU into a few illustrations, used a song I liked that conveyed the tone I pictured, edited them together, and finally released the first trailer for RWBY: Remnants.

For the first time, I had put out the ideas in my head into something tangible, something real. Something I could watch and share with others. It wasn't just a video of abstract promises, of me talking about how cool it would be in concept. Why spend all that effort describing something with the same effort I could use to make it a reality?

I realised that while others enjoyed my ideas and were passionate enough to help with it, I was the only person who could be responsible for it, and only I knew what I wanted it to be. With all those lessons in mind, I went ahead and launched RWBY: Remnants.

It's been a journey of over 6 years now, and it's still going. People who dismiss my AU work so far as a string of failed projects fail to realise that creation is an ever-changing thing. It changes its nature along with the person making it. Someone who makes something that's the same from start to finish has not learned anything about it or themselves from the process - they're making something stagnant, and a stagnant work reflects its creator.

I can't say that I'll stick with my RWBY AU forever, especially given RWBY's uncertain future, or even that I'll be able to finish all I wanted to accomplish. But as long as I'm still doing it, I've not regretted a single second.

This may be a project based on RWBY, but it's RWBY told through my own eyes. I count myself very lucky that a lot of people want to see me make it a reality, so I hope by telling it, I can inspire other people that they can do the same. You don't have to be a giant company or a team of hundred.

In my case, I just needed a small group I could trust to help me make it happen, and a lot of time. I'm grateful for that.

The one thing I learned the most in this experience is one word: Resolve. It's not a glorious, inspirational thing: I'm not pushing myself over a mountaintop or running a heartstopping marathon: but somehow, in spite of myself, I just draw a little every week.

I tell myself I shouldn't give up - not because of right or wrong - but because I know this is something that I will always return to. Something that will always welcome me back. Something about RWBY and this project constantly draws me back into it, like an unanswered question. It's an unusual drive I don't expect others to have, but whatever it is, something like that may exist for you in another form. I don't know if you wanna call it a life calling or whatever, but it's just... the thing you keep coming back to. It's like your inclination; your nature.

If I'm a pencil, it's in my nature to draw or write, even if I only take myself out of the drawer every month or so to do it. It doesn't change my character or my morals. I just do the thing, and the thing feels right to do.

6 years on, that's what working on this project feels to me at this point. Part of me wants to prove something to myself, and to share something with the world. But I think with enough consideration, I can probably live without those things. But even without them... I'm still going to do the thing. Because it feels right to do the thing. I like doing RWBY things, and I don't see a reason to stop anytime soon.

#rwby #rwby au #remnants #rwby rewrite #rwby cherish #rwby visions #we are the hunt #rwde

[purplekoop]

Alright screw it, full list of Kirby crossover Overwatch skin ideas:

Kirby Echo. Hard to explain how it looks with words but it works in my head.

King Dedede Reinhardt. In my heart this one is the Mythic skin of this bunch with variants for unmasked, the classic Masked Dedede mask, and the Forgo Dedede mask.

Meta Knight Genji. Not much explaining needed I think.

Bandana Waddle Dee Tracer. I didn't have any better ideas for either end of this pairing, but like. again it works in my head.

Whispy Woods Bastion. I swapped my ideas for Orisa and Bastion back and forth, but figured Ganymede dressed as the small Kirby bird of your choice would make more sense. Plus, Orisa already has a nature-themed skin.

Paint Roller Lucio. I think this is a fan favorite obscure miniboss, plus it'd be a fun different look for a Lucio skin.

Nightmare Sigma. With every idea for group skins I keep casting Sigma as the ultimate big bad, but like... c'mon it works too well here. The Hyperspheres are the ball form.

Rick Wrecking Ball. hamter.

Dark Matter Swordsman Soldier 76. mouthful, yikes. I actually had a list of notes I decided to check partway through making this post, and I forgot about this one. I think the idea was the visor? Could be cool I think.

Marx Junkrat. funny little guy who chucks exploding balls. Could do a fun detail with his prosthetics looking like pieces of Nova.

Heavy Lobster Orisa. Favorite obscure Kirby boss that never shows up in a series full of recurring bosses. Definitely a skin nobody besides me consciously wants.

Mr. Frosty/Chef Kawasaki Roadhog. Hard to pick between these two iconic midbosses, but I very much only see either design working as like, an edgy slasher villain parody of the original when on Roadhog.

Adeline Brigitte. Flail is the paintbrush. That's all the justification I need to say.

Ripple Queen Mei. Definitely a more obscure character to prioritize but the idea won't leave my brain, I think it'd look too cute to pass up. Also yes: Snowball is Ribbon.

Dark Meta Knight Reaper. ow the edge.

Daroach Cassidy. Hat. Though would also consider Ashe, if only just for the sake of Storro B.O.B.

Drawcia Moira. I mean Moira throws around blobs and sprays of bright colors around, it works. Plus I think this'd be a fun look for her that's not too out of place stylistically.

Necrodeus Doomfist. Felt bad not having a Mass Attack reference of any kind for some reason (even though I don't have an Epic Yarn character here and that's my favorite spinoff). This was the best pairing of "cool bad guy" matching that I had left, but I mean I think it'd look cool.

Magolor Zenyatta. Silly floating man with his orbs and mysterious past.

Landia Pharah. Another niche one but it looks sick in my head. Was also considering giving her Dyna Blade.

Taranza Lifeweaver. Okay explaining this one: sad pretty boy with trauma and a flower motif. Plus they both use grabby magic to yoink people. Works with how average Rein players feel about Life Grip.

Queen Sectonia Symmetra. I wanted to have Sectonia somewhere and by process of elimination this is the idea I like the best. Not explicitly meant for a SymWeaver thing but hey that works too. the inverse height dynamic between the pairings feels wrong though...

Susie D.va. This is another obvious one, little pink bitches with big mechs, little pew pews, trauma, and room for me to project onto.

Haltmann Torbjorn. Another one from my notes I completely forgot about. But like. Yeah no it still checks out.

Francisca Junker Queen. A guilty pleasure choice aside from the shared blue hair and axes.

Flamberge Illari. Listen the brain blast I had when I realized "burny powers and also her gun looks like a weird sword." Plus they both scream an above average amount.

Zan Partizanne Widowmaker. It'd be a crime if she wasn't one of the most canonically french Kirby characters.

Hyness/Void Termina Ramattra. I don't know the exact logistics of how this works but in the abstract concept in my head this looks awesome.

Gorimondo Winston. monke.

Yeah that's the list! Everybody besides Mercy, Hanzo, Zarya, Ana, Sombra, Ashe, Baptiste, Sojourn, and Kiriko got one. Also no Mauga... or Venture... or Space Ranger... look this list was from a while ago, plus none of these are even out yet so sue me. (actually had a few ideas for Mercy, but none of them felt really satisfying. Favorite idea for her was using Forgotten Land's final boss mostly because of the silhouette being... more similar than you'd think at first.) Also I got at least part of each of the dream friends besides Gooey, but like. Literally what Overwatch character reminds anyone in any way of Gooey. Be honest with me here.

#overwatch #kirby #fan skin ideas #I am NOT tagging everyone individually #that's like 60 characters

[makerscockandballs]

Here's Inquisitor Thelrael Lavellan! (Lots) more info under the cut:

23 but babyfaced. Above average height for an elf and lanky.

Artificer Archer, changed for the worse once he found out how to properly blow shit up with elemental mines. Effective to have in a fight, but needlessly destructive.

Wears lots of eyeliner but still can’t get the wing to look sharp

In a relationship with Dorian, close friends with Josephine, Krem and Iron Bull.

Slutty but without much success (prior to pulling Dorian)

Had a twin sister who died at the age of 10 from a venomous spider bite. They were supposed to get a Falon’Din and Dirthamen Vallaslin respectively, and he honored that connection to her. It’s also the reason he’s still terrified of spiders, but he will take that to his grave.

Was only sent to the Enclave because nobody else in his clan could go due to illness, death etc. Kind of like the last one to be picked in gym class, and now it’s everyone’s problem.

Really grew to like thick-soled boots and eventually, high heels. He just wants to be on eye-level with the humans & be obnoxious noticed while walking by.

Lets being Inquisitor get to his head, but at the same time doesn’t take the whole concept of the Inquisition seriously. It’s complicated.

His politics about choosing a side boil down to “My keeper & this cute tevinter guy I just met are mages and they’re cool. Also, I’m tired of being force-fed chantry stuff as a dalish elf. So screw the templars whatever the fuck they are!” <- guy who knows nothing about any of those factions

Has a penchant for cruelty towards some of his enemies, but it is an offputting gleeful cruelty. You never know beforehand if he will forgive instantly or give a fate worse than death to the person he’s judging. His moral compass is more of a moral Twister spinner wheel.

Smarter than he pretends to be, but very much not the brightest.

Spends lots of Inquisition money to support Dalish clans even outside of clan Lavellan & locate elven artefacts for them. On the other hand, he does not care much for history and lore by itself, preferring to see the elven pantheon as abstract concepts rather than person-like gods. He still enjoys the occasional story where they are personified, but only if it’s a funny one.

The only one who can get Solas to shut up by asking him questions. Due to not paying much attention to his Keeper’s tales, he has some outlandish ideas about history and lore. Some are so bad that Solas can’t bear even thinking about them and shuts down the conversation.

After Trespasser and disbanding the Inquisition, he went to his clan to recover. The craftswoman and keeper collaborated to design a bow for him. It was also a way to express gratitiude that he used his newfound power as Inquisitor to aid them, despite any past conflicts he had with the clan/Keeper. The bow and gesture mean a lot to him.

The prosthetic is enchanted ironbark. It wraps and unwraps like vines, moves along with him to stay tight yet comfortable and puts most of the force on his shoulder instead of the limb. In a way, you could call it a live plant.

After a few hours of wearing it, the enchantment starts to rub off in a way and feel tingly, later downright painful. At worst, it makes the insivible markings of the Anchor show up and hurt again. He needs to take breaks from wearing it, but often neglects that. Luckily Dorian knows one or two pain-reducing spells. All that causes him chronic pain, which he copes with through said spells and... more elemental mines. They’re therapeutic to him.

Outside of fights, he doesn’t wear a prosthetic most of the time. Dorian still has one custom-made for him with the newest tevene technology that even lets fingers move independently. Thelrael cherishes it a lot too, but his arm hurts too much most of the time (due to too many fights) so he rarely uses it.

He should be put in a blender on high

#ask me anything about my little guy and i shall cherish you forever #also maison surana would beat the shit out of him. they would be arch enemies #im still figuring out his outfit so he gets a more simple summery fit for now :) #thelrael lavellan #da:i #dragon age inquisition #da #dragon age #oc #my art

[philtstone]

for the prompt list, how about #16 for the Star Wars characters of your choice? 🪐✨

#16 -- our life was one block wide this is definitely a very abstract interpretation of the prompt and also one of the more incoherent au concepts ive run with but here u go <3 <3

"But I'd say your best bet will be homeschooling," Qui-Gon Jin is saying. "I had to switch myself, back when the kids were school age. It is a commitment, but a worthy one."

His long biker style ponytail is offset by the very lumpy and quite frankly ugly knit sweater he wears, and the thick plastic rims of his glasses. His kitchen door, which he had to duck a little to step through, stands open to let in the pale fall air and also to enhance the acoustics of the relative chaos running through the rest of his house. It seems to be full of people -- not too hard to guess who, given the line up of lopsided family photos lining the wall next to the ancient rain poncho and the three mismatched cars in the driveway -- which is … unexpected. When Din met Bo Katan's old college friend at the most recent political rally she’d dragged (read: blackmailed) him into attending, he had opened up out of desperation; even Bo Katan’s referrals were worth following up on when he had no other options. Except all Ahsoka Tano said, sipping the juice box she’d pilfered from the drinks table while Paz droned on about clan solidarity at the podium, was, You know, I think you’d do really well to talk to my dad. 

And now here he is. Drinking apple tea out of definitely-homemade clay mugs and discussing educational philosophy with a total stranger, who looks like someone spliced Sons of Anarchy with like, an English teacher (Cara has been making him catch up on modern media). At least Greef and Cara were okay to babysit Grogu for the hour; otherwise Din wouldn’t know what to do at all.

Ahsoka’s foster father is still talking, it seems.

“Now, granted, it can be overwhelming. You could always try an alternative Montessori type institution – my eldest Obi-Wan’s working in that these days, though I can’t say I completely hold with their methods. But a boy with his ability and constitution, he might do fine in that sort of environment.”

“He’s just,” Din tries to come up with the words, “I don’t want him to feel like -- out of place.” Omera said nonverbal at six wasn’t unheard of, especially given none of them knew, really, what had happened before Din found him, but –

“Always tricky at that age,” Qui-Gon agrees wisely. He takes a long sip from his cooling cup while a loud thundering of footsteps sounds on the staircase just outside the kitchen door and one of the voices that had been going on in the background becomes more clearly audible, saying,

“Well, I wouldn’t have lost it if you didn’t leave all your old things in my room!”

“You own a literal apartment with your literal wife and children, Anakin!” calls back a second voice, in cheerful, overloud tones. This voice, at least, Din recognizes, “And I can use your old room for storage if I want to, Qui-Gon said so –”

“Please tell Snips to use Obi-Wan’s room for storage next time!” calls the first voice, matching that same easy cheerfulness and somewhat more directly aimed at the kitchen. 

Amidst all this a teenaged girl with too much hair wanders in, picks up and bites into one of the leftover apples on the counter beside the stove, then says, proclaimative,

“Dad lost his screwdriver again.”

Qui-Gon gives Din a complicatedly fond look, like, Kids.

Din sweats. Grogu is a kid, his kid, but increasingly he is realizing that he has no idea what that means – the depth and implications of a child in his care. He probably wouldn’t even be here if not for the sheer dumb luck of his lovely widowed neighbour and Greef and Cara from the bar, and now homeschooling – Din never finished high school! He’s diplomaless! It doesn’t matter what Boba Fett says about corrupt institutions in the quiet moments between running security during happy hour, he can’t leave Grogu without opportunities in this economy –

“Hey,” says the girl, interrupting Din's mental doom spiral. “Wait a second. You’re the guy! From the afterschool program.” 

“The – the afterschool program?” Din manages.

“Yeah, my brother Luke volunteers there. By Temple road? You were there last week to pick your kid up and he wanted to keep playing with the blocks.” She grins, a combination of cleverness and genuine care in her round cheeked face. “The adorable Dumbo ears, right?”

“He –” Din clears his throat. “Yes. My neighbour says he’ll grow into them.”

“I saw him run over to you at pickup time,” says the girl. “It was so sweet. You should’ve seen him, Grandpa, this guy’s a natural.” 

“Leia’s an excellent judge of character,” says Ahsoka’s sudden voice, in time with her braided head poking into the kitchen. “You should listen to her. But later, because she’s late for soccer practice.”

“We’re late for soccer practice,” Leia says, though allows herself to be led out of the room, not before catching a second piece of fruit in her hands, this one tossed gracefully across the room by Qui-Gon himself. “Dad’s our coach. You’re assistant coach. The whole extracurricular is an enterprise in nepotism …”

The front door slams distantly behind them.

“I,” Din says, and then just sits there, for a moment, in total silence. He does remember the other day, at the after school program. He remembers the huge grin on Grogu’s face and the warm sticky feel of his cheek and his little fingers tangled in Din’s scarf, which was slightly singed because Greef had just introduced flaming cocktails to the menu and only total idiots drink flaming cocktails in the mid afternoon. He takes a deep breath and tries again. It never hurt anyone to try, Omera keeps reminding him, on the off days they have these weirdly deep chats when they take the garbage out at the same time. “Maybe – maybe if you had some of your … curriculum materials. To share.”

Qui-Gon looks immensely pleased. “That I do, Mr. Din Djarin. I’ll just go fetch them from upstairs. I’m sure your boy will take to them in no time.”

#just realized I made the critical error of not making it ABUNDANTLY clear that shmi is happy healthy and alive in this verse #for the record she is #i have no idea what this is or if its even remotely in character #im having feelings abt the disaster lineage #but also ... din my beloved #star wars #qui gon jin #anakin skywalker #ahsoka tano #din djarin #din x grogu #the mandalorian #anakin x ahsoka #din x omera #star wars the clone wars #star wars prequels #leia organa #luke skywalker #taylor swift prompt meme #anidala #my writing

[visceravalentines]

DEAR MEG

I think you wrote that you loved the movie Annihilation. If I misremembered, please feel free to ignore this asdfg.

I remember I saw it and I really enjoyed the visuals, and the terrifying mutated plant bear screaming with a human voice (that part was haunting holy crap) but besides those scenes I wasn't super scared???

Maybe my brain is too small to understand the horror of it asdfghjk

But anyway, what I wanted to ask is, what were your favorite parts of the movie, and what scared you? If you don't mind me asking!

Have a nice day!!!

SOL MY LOVE

thank u for sending me this ask it is so lovely let's talk about cool movies!!!

I love Annihilation the movie but I also love Annihilation the book!! they are very different, only the very basic characters and concept make it into the movie. which makes sense because the book is surreal and abstract and can be hard to interpret what is actually going on at certain moments, and that doesn't translate very well to the big screen. the book, to me, is far more unsettling than the movie. I will answer for both! brain explosion below the cut!

it's an absolutely gorgeous film, weird and captivating and creepy. I love the body horror, the found footage from the previous expedition where the man's intestines are moving of their own accord......incredible. that bear???? scares the bejeezus out of me every time I watch it. one of the scariest creatures I can think of in a horror movie, creatures don't usually freak me out. the sound it makes haunts me. and the bear is not in the book! the book has......other guys. I also thought Natalie Portman ate the role of the biologist. she is distant and offputting and has very little interest in anything but the natural world around her, both in the book and in the movie.

in the book we get much more of a look into the biologist's very rich and strange internal life, and I remember reading it for the first time and being shocked how much I related to her. she was one of the first characters, maybe THE first character, I identified with on a meaningful level. when I read the book again recently I was pleased to find that hasn't changed, even though I have changed a lot since my first read. she is by no means an ideal role model or even a reliable narrator, but I just adore her. and her husband nicknames her Ghost Bird, which is everything to me.

the horror in the book is ultimately about something unmaking you and the world around you in a way you cannot understand. it's a very cosmic horror concept distilled down into very manageable pieces--a plant that begins to alter what you are with just a single touch. a creature that looks like something familiar, but feels distinctly wrong, or distinctly human. something wearing a face that does not belong to it. a sound you cannot identify. words you know, words you can read, but you can't understand what they're saying. it's there, it's right there, but you don't quite get it, and suddenly you are no longer you anymore and it's too late. it's about love and nature and knowledge and meaning and the value of all of these things and the horror of all of these things.

here are some of my very favorite lines from the book, the ones that give me the shivers every time I read it for one reason or another!!

"I am walking forever on the path from the border to base camp. It is taking a long time, and I know it will take even longer to get back. There is no one with me. I am all by myself. The trees are not trees the birds are not birds and I am not me but just something that has been walking for a very long time..."

This was really the only thing I discovered in him after his return: a deep and unending solitude, as if he had been granted a gift that he didn't know what to do with. A gift that was poison to him and eventually killed him. But would it have killed me?

I took the photograph out of its frame, shoved it in my pocket. The lighthouse keeper would come with me, although he hardly counted as a good-luck charm. As I left the landing, I had the peculiar thought that I was not the first to pocket the photo, that someone would always come behind to replace it, to circle the lighthouse keeper again.

Can you really imagine what it was like in those first moments, peering down into that dark space, and seeing that? Perhaps you can. Perhaps you're staring at it now.

"We should never have come here. I should never have come here." "That's all?" "I've come to believe it is the one fundamental truth."

There shall be a fire that knows your name, and in the presence of the strangling fruit, its dark flame shall acquire every part of you.

An almost plaintive keening, a lonely sound in that place, called out to me. And kept calling, pleading with me to return, to see it entire, to acknowledge its existence. I did not look back. I kept running.

Almost anyone else might see it differently. But I am not those people. I am just the biologist; I don't require any of this to have a deeper meaning.

#asks #mintgalaxia #i <3 horror analysis #thank u again for this ask sol it was so much fun to gush about one of my favorite pieces of media!! #highly highly recommend this book #the rest of the trilogy is fine imo but annihilation is the first and really stands head and shoulders above the others #i prefer to read it as a standalone

[feral-teeth]

🖌, 🕰, 👀 & 🍂 for the ask game 🫶

🖌️- Do you have/want any tattoos?

I dont have any, but I love the idea of tattoos and i get sick of seeing and feeling things being on my body really easily (like watches or like temp tattoos) so idk if its the best idea for me? I would probably only get something very abstract or something i really love.

Attached are the marble tattoos i would get on my arms and legs! Like i imagine black or gold marble along my shoulder and down, cutting off where there woukd be patchwork tattoos (like a mix of spencer agnews and anthony padillas)

Heres the link to my tattoo inspo board :3 - its among all of the other boards in that folder

I also know that once i get top surgery i want to put like, something cool on the new free real estate on my chest once it heals - like a cool feral dog or like stitches or something cool. To represent how fucking sick and badass being trans and getting top surgery is. And also being a furry i need like teeth or something feral looking on me (i wonder where i got my username from lol) ik someone on insta whos trans and he has these SICK tattoos like paw prints on the palm of his hands and some other rlly cool ones!! His name is Fox i think? Hes a huge inspo for me and my furry journey/trans journey for a while.

Also a tooth. Cuz fuck yeah

The future of having patchwork tattoos on my arms when i get money for it… it keeps me going. I cant wait to look fucking HOT esp w black ink cuz i find it super hot and more aesthetic on me.

I remember there was a self-love influencer and she had two tigers on her belly, and i loved the idea of that and to appreciate my stomach more.

. I also love the idea of having angel wing tattoos cause i used to always imagine having angel wings and wrapping them around me when i was scared or needed comfort. So they would represent that comfort. I also imagined them like, dragging on the ground behind me sometimes, like my wings were too big for my body. I imagined them as like gold and red and w like splashes of bright colours.

🕰️ - What time is it where you are rn?

Well its 6:01pm as i start to write this - lets see how long it takes for me to post it lol - checking in its 6:26pm - now its 6:35pm - 6:40pm abt to post

👀 - what colour are your eyes?

Brown, but golden in the sunlight! I have an old photo that i love when i was in British Colombia in the car and the sun was shining so perfectly and i got a picture of my golden eyes. Its such a beautiful picture i might just find it and post it here after i answer this <3 also reminds me of a photo i took of the mountains out the window that was literally a perfect screenshot of the beautiful moment. It makes me miss my old instagram where i used to only post aesthetic photos i took 😔probs gonna make my personal account do just that now 🫡

🍂-whats your favorite season?

Fall always! I love the season i was born in (i heard thats usually a proven thought) and even tho its moving into dead winter, it feels like new beginnings and a clean, fresh start because school used to start for me around then and its my bday in fall too so its like new school supplies? Presents? Money?? Amazing. This will surely change my life for the better! And all of this ruin and pain will fall behind me cuz i have new clean fresh pens and a new journal and a new schedule i know ill just drop after a month ! (Digital planners saved me sm omg)

But i also love every season and the poetry and meanings and atmospheres they bring. I always get so sad in the winter, but that sadness and pain being surrounded by so much joy and brightness and christmas lights and a hazy glow makes a good contrast for poetry and your own depression so 🤷 spring is new beginnings. The contrast between winter and spring and meaning new life and the dead rotting and turning into something that helps the fertilizer grow is such a strong concept for me. Summer being so hazy in the heat with heat lines coming off of the sidewalk, your ice cream melting onto the hot pavement, making it sizzle. The sadness that summer can bring too. The heat and fun and sun that everyone seems to be having while youre stuck inside or watching them through a haze of your own, you want to break the glass between you and the others but its just too thick, so you just slam on the glass, yelling, hoping that someone, anyone can hear you on the other side.

Back to fall - Now my bday just makes me sad 😔 whats funny is that it usually still feels like summer when its my bday, so its like im still in that hazy summer, preparing for the winter and dead leaves on the ground that are pronised every year.

From this ask game - get to know me! 💖

#ask game #thank you! #i love adding poetry into everything so enjoy #feral-teeth thoughts #writing #writing prompt #get to know me #feral teeth thoughts #about me #wallpaper inside my heart