#<- even though zero process was used lmao

[starflungwaddledee]

hello!! its me!! in your inbox again!! Ive gotta know: what kind of thought went into Starstucks design? do you have any beta designs, early sketches, or has she always been so cute?!

HELLOOoooooo yesssss quality asks from moonie!!!! i am always so excited!!! i'll pop this under a cut because it got long, but the short answer is: sadly i'm boring and predictable 😂

i am SO embarrassed to tell you that very little thought went into her design, at least on any sort of... cerebral level. the reason for this is because she is my sona, though she does now have a story of her own, and i personally have an extremely rigid set of personal iconography! both irl and online

i joked with my gf and some friends who know me beyond kirby that if you knew me outside of here you would spot me a mile off because my aesthetics for sonas or personal representation have been rock-solid consistent for almost a decade!

i'm always pink and cream and ice blue, always have star themes, always have grey-blue/pink eyes, always have freckles (often white constellations) over big pink cockatiel cheeks, and always have huge bows 😂 also often i have flower crowns but she avoided this by being All Head. i did accessorise her festive outfit though!

so really... she couldn't have looked much different to how she does. i did add the stars on the bottom of her feet (hidden stars are a typical design choice for me tho) and the heart shaped face marking after drawing her a few times on the blog! i just thought the heart shaped marking added a little interest at the time, especially above the eyes; maybe because i was used to drawing bandee who's bandana covers that top edge of his face marking!

now that some time has passed, of course parts of her design tie into her lore in fun ways ("oh she has stars on her feet!" "what makes the constellations on her cheeks move!" "wow her bow looks a bit like wi-!!"), but that was entirely unexpected when i designed her. i never intended to develop her as much as she has been because the interest from others was frankly so unexpected; but i'm having a total blast doing it!

i also chose a waddle dee rather than any of the other aliens on offer because i personally tend to just... feel pretty average! not impressive or significant enough to be a knight or a puffball or anything like that! waddle dees resonate with me, they're just easily spooked little critters with zero defensive mechanisms doing their best and i can relate to that

though i suppose that it's now rather clear that starstruck is not an average waddle dee, if one at all.. so i guess time will tell

sorry if this is a bit of a let down 😅 the unfortunate answer is that she's based on Me and how i look/feel/dress/etc irl. my hair is that shade of pink. i have an exceptionally comprehensive collection of flower crowns and comedically oversized bows. i am very small and very round. i do have intensive freckles in constellation patterns. sadly, alas, my eyes are only grey-blue. so there was only ever so many variations she'd be able to draw on from my rigid set of aesthetics haha!

[shima-draws]

Okay so a few things about the ending to the DLC. Spoilers below obviously

-Really REALLY disappointed they didn’t go with the whole toxic possession arc thing with Kieran and the new mythical (Pecharunt?) TO BE FAIR that was more of a fan theory than anything but it was one that made a lot of sense and had a lot of evidence to back it up. I guess I got too attached to the idea and was inevitably let down when the game didn’t go in that direction. Still it would have made more sense to give that extra edge as to why Kieran’s treating everyone so awfully,, and having him finally break free of that control during the final fight VS Terapagos would have been SO sick. Either that or before we even get to Terapagos Carmine calls Kieran out and that’s when he finally fucking explodes and rages and vents about his inferiority complex—and THAT is what summons Pecharunt, those negative feelings that it probably feeds off of or smth idk. Then we’d get a split second of Kieran finally being back in control and begging for help. And then Carmine realizing her brother has been under the influence of this Pokemon the entire time and. Okay I’m getting off track into AU territory now lmao sorry moving on

-Switching back to the Terapagos fight, I really enjoyed it! It wasn’t too long of a fight to be drawn out, but it was just long enough that it didn’t feel anticlimactic (also the MUSIC? STELLAR. Pun intended). ALSO ARGHFHH the five stages of grief Kieran goes through in that fight to finally accepting that he’s been going about this the wrong way and has been an awful friend and the way the LIGHT COMES BACK INTO HIS EYES I ALMOST CRIED. This is 10000x more emotional and powerful if you choose to bring Ogerpon with you and fight with her bc that really just. Hammers in the fact that despite all the bad blood and bitterness, Kieran still chooses to fight alongside you and the Pokemon he coveted so much…AND he even processes things enough to fully let go of all his hatred and anger and allows you to catch Terapagos because he KNOWS you’ll take good care of it and after all this time he still trusts you even though he’d probably hate to admit it. #GOOD WRITING

-Something really scary I realized. Kieran brought a Master Ball with him to catch Terapagos. 1. Where did homie even get that. 2. The fact that he was READY and didn’t even give Terapagos a chance to react, that he was essentially catching it against its will (which probably led to its power going out of control), that he was enforcing his own twisted desires and beliefs onto it and not considering its feelings (sound familiar? Looks at Ogerpon). BOY. 3. We’ve only ever seen ONE other person use Master Balls in SV. The AI Professor. I don’t know if this is significant in any way but if the Pecharunt theory WAS true that would make them so so similar and that’s eerie to me. Two characters controlled by something greater than them that they can’t fight…can you imagine how INSANE the dynamics would be listen to me

-Another thing I was kinda disappointed about was Briar? I guess I was just picking up on the vibes that she was actually a villain and would try to steal Terapagos from the player, but I probably gave Nintendo too much credit on that one lol. I do like that she’s not inherently evil, she’s just too absorbed and obsessed with her research to really pay attention to what’s going on around her. BUT. They should have pushed that WAY further. Either commit and do the full villain arc where she snatches Terapagos from Kieran right after he catches it to use it for her own purposes, or pressure him into Terastallizing it so much that it makes him uncomfortable. I want to see Lusamine levels of unhinged obsession. What she had was just a little bit too excited about Area Zero, not a full blown unhealthy and dangerous thing that puts everyone around her in danger.

-Following up on that. Drayton. I kept expecting him to also go villain arc IDK LOL I guess I want everyone to be gay do crime in this DLC 😂 But I seriously kept thinking he was just using the player to knock Kieran off his throne so he could take it right back from us. But no he actually genuinely cared about Kieran and kept pressuring us to beat the Elite Four so WE could knock some sense into him since Drayton wasn’t strong enough to do it himself. Which is a very sweet sentiment, I think :’) But am I the only one who was like bro calm down right after the fight where he was getting up in Kieran’s face and calling him ex-champion…..either he’s way too honest and doesn’t realize he was being cruel OR he was doing it on purpose to be a silly goober (but everyone else was like DUDE. LOW blow.)

-I still have questions. HELLO. HELLO. The notes in Area Zero mentioned the professor meeting a child with a white(?) book? Is that the Scarlet/Violet book? We still don’t know how the whole time travel paradox happened and why Heath talked about meeting Paradox Pokemon DECADES before the professor even brought them to Area Zero through the time machine? What is with the weird ass crystal tree sitting in the middle of a lake in the depths? Is there any significance to the Crystal Pool in Kitakami being connected to terastallizing and Area Zero? I’M JUST. AGHHH. I’m fairly certain we’re getting more content, maybe an epilogue to the DLCs but I’m going CRAZY I NEED TO KNOW NOWWW

-Also isn’t Area Zero like. Top secret hush hush. Why did Geeta let Briar publish a whole ass book about the HIDDEN SECRET of Area Zero that was miles under a closed off SECRET lab. I thought they were denying Briar access to Area Zero for YEARS, probably because they didn’t want her blabbing to the public. Idk. Maybe my memory is fuzzy on that one. Just feels very contradictory fhhdd

-The small little subtleties of Kieran regaining his regular personality as we went down….I ADORED that. His little smiles and him unable to contain his childish excitement and Carmine smiling at him with a knowing look bc after all this time her brother is FINALLY acting more like himself. And Kieran trying to brush it off like “wh-whatever” like he’s some sort of edgy teenager pretending he doesn’t care. GAHHHH it was so cute I wanted to cry 😭

ALL IN ALL it didn’t QUITE meet my expectations but it was still really good, especially considering this was all DLC content. Nothing will ever EVER top the main story of SV but the entirety of TTM and TID came pretty darn close. Kieran my sweet baby boy my blorbo I’m so glad you got your redemption arc and that you finally came to terms with your perception of strength and how it affects others. Baller DLC Nintendo do it again 👏

[loveisonlyforthebrave8]

Love Sea knew not to give me a full blown NC scene today (even though I was really looking forward to it) because I still haven't processed the one we got in 4 Minutes yet lmao

OH BOY. I GET YOU. I REALLY FUCKING DO.

But Love Sea for me does intimacy in a way I've never seen in any thai bl before. I fucking loved what they gave us in 4 minutes, but I had zero emotional connection to the characters so while it was shocking and exciting, LOVE SEA goes hard in physical and emotional ways I was in no way fucking prepared for, and once again the weekly no one is doing it like them comes out in full fucking force.

HOOO BOY. As a queer woman I can't even begin to describe to you how fucking hot that thigh thing was.

[joeykinnie]

Who is the Tetro Danganronpa Pink Chapter 3 Culprit?

hii guys!! its me (again). i decided to make this post so that i can share my own personal thoughts and opinions as to who I think may possibly be the tetro chapter 3 culprit.

this post will contain spoilers, aswell as me ranking characters from least to most suspicious - basically by using process of elimination, ill try to pin down and guess the blackened! this post is kind of long though, so feel free to skip. if not, lets get started!!

for starters, this is my personal tier list:

theres six categories as you can see here. i'll currently discuss each one by one, aswell as my reasoning for putting the characters in their specific tier.

starting off, we have:

already dead: isono, sasaki, chiba, harada, kamimura, tsuno

there's pretty much nothing to discuss here lol. we all know that they're dead, but i still didn't feel like leaving them out. so we are going to move straight on to the next category.

there's literally no way they couldve possibly done this. zero evidence: hiroaki, ojima, mai, hama, watari

this category is basically me saying that i don't think that these specific characters couldve done the murder. i'm now going to discuss each one of them and give my reasoning as to putting them here:

1. hiroaki - hiroaki is definitely surviving this chapter and i think that's pretty obvious 😭😭 he quite literally couldn't have done the murder. he tried to kill himself, he has an airtight alibi with ojima, he doesn't have a proper motive for this kind of murder. it's true that he didn't have a partner during the investigation and he was exploring alone and he may be an asshole sometimes, but this is hiroaki we're talking about. the same guy who gags at the sight and mention of blood and isn't even that knowledgable of the woodshop to the point that he had to go and ask yanagi about it. so, no, I don't think that he could've murdered kamimura, same thing with tsuno. for me, hiroaki is innocent.

2. ojima - pretty much for the same reasons as hiroaki. ojima has an airtight alibi with him and i quite literally cannot even see him ever commiting murder in the first place. i know that many people used to suspect him during chapter 2, but there's no way he could've done the chapter 3 murder. like, cmon. the note to hasegawa, supposedly written by wada? the saw in wada's room and the key?? taking ojima and wada's relationship to account, i don't think that ojima would try to frame wada in any way. its already clear that ojima cares about him, and he was the first one to find out about the okazaki situation, so why just betray wada like that all of a sudden? again, no motive. i don't think that he was the one who set up the woodshop trap either, so I'm confident that he's innocent.

3. mai - there's quite literally no way mai could've done the murder either. she basically carried almost the entire investigation on her back LMAO. I don't think that there's much to discuss here but I've still seen people who think its her.. why? she was in the medbay the entire time because she was hurt and had to rest, she was the one who explored both the boys and girls dormitories, she was the one who investigated both kamimuras and tsunos dead bodies. doing all of this while being the blackened at the same time is quite difficult, isn't it? it would be hard to carry out. so, yeah, mai is innocent in my eyes.

4. hama - I don't even think i have to discuss this. because it's so obvious that its not him. like, this is HAMA out of all people. i don't think hama would ever do fucked up shit like this - all this time, he was trying his best to help everyone. he was the first one to volunteer to guard the crime scene and he made sure the others didn't look so that they don't get disturbed. hama also prayed for kamimura to get sent to heaven... there's zero evidence of him being the culprit. hama is innocent.

5. watari - watari is innocent too. she was the second to volunteer to guard the crime scene and also brought luminol which helped them find a blood streak. like hama, all this time she tried her best to help. i don't believe that someone like watari could ever commit such gruesome murder😭😭 none of those characters in this category could.

phew, finally finished with the second category. now it's time for the third category. we are currently moving to the more suspicious characters.

you can make an argument but it would still have flaws - hasegawa

before any of you say anything - no, i don't think that hasegawa murdered kamimura. no chance. but i have seen a theory somewhere of hasegawa being the one who murdered tsuno only, which is definitely an interesting possibility. so i decided to note it down.

the theory basically comes from the forged note. aka, the one who wada supposedly wrote to hasegawa.

let's look back at the specific contents of the note:

what do we have here?

first of all, we already known that the note was written to hasegawa. the note says that in the next 2 days, hasegawa needs to kill okazaki. if he doesn't, then something will happen to his friend (friend obviously reffering to kamimura). the note then says to hasegawa not to approach them or try to bargain.

the theory is basically hasegawa seeing the note, take it seriously and then be the one who set up the woodshop trap for a murder. its possible that he did it because he did spend time in the woodshop, so he would know about its contents. what's not really clear is that it's already said that hasegawa did not know about the note. when mai asked him if he knew what she was reffering to, he declined. you can say that he probably lied, but that's kinda flimsy, isn't it?? that's not really a proper argument to make, especially when you don't really have enough evidence to base it off.

hasegawa did say a couple of times that he wouldn't try to commit murder, but there's still so many ways this can go. i'm confident that he did not murder kamimura, but i'm not so sure about tsuno. that's why he's in this category - you can make arguments that he's somehow involved in the murders, but it will still have flaws.

personally though? I think hes probably safe for now. innocent until proven guilty.

moving on to the next category...

suspicious but probably just a red herring: yanagi, wada

I've seen a lot of theories about yanagi and wada being potential culprits. while i don't really believe that they could've done it, they're still important to note since there is some suspicious evidence that points to them, so i want to go over them. i'll first start with yanagi.

1. yanagi - I didn't expect yanagi to be suspected, but here we are. i do understand why, though. there are a few strange things which must be discussed. such as: mai not believing yanagi about him sleeping last night, yanagi waking up with no shirt on even though it's freezing, yanagi not being in [overdue], etc. I can argue on a few of these.

while him waking up with no shirt on even though its freezing sounds weird at first, i'm pretty sure it's just a red herring. yanagi is a figure skater, after all. i think that he may be used to cold temperatures and can sleep well enough comfortably if he has enough blankets on him or something.

although i have seen an interesting theory of yanagi not being with a shirt on because he set up the woodshop trap, so therefore when the body is discovered there will be no point in wearing multiple clothing for warmth, because the motive will stop. It is possible since yanagi does know a few things about the woodshop, but i'm more curious as to how did he manage to pull off a trap like that and why did he ever decide to make one in the first place.

as for him missing in a few of the episodes, i think that's easily arguable too. he was taking care of mai, wasn't he? so i think that this can be ruled out.

however... the only thing i don't get is why doesn't mai trust him when yanagi claims that he was sleeping last night. i think that it's definitely important to note, but who knows? it could all be just a red herring. thats why yanagi is in this tier. now lets talk about wada.

2. wada - judging from mai's account, while there is a lot of evidence pointing to wada, there's a high chance of him being framed. honestly, I agree. the note, like mai said, doesn't sound like wada at all. and the reason for there being a saw in his room, aswell as the random key and such is because, again, to frame him.

i've seen someone say that wada could've just lost his shit and kill like all of a sudden, kind of like how he stabbed okazaki and destroyed his pc. but... I don't think thats proper evidence?? wada did immediatly seem to regret it when he stabbed okazaki, so i don't think that he couldve commited the murders.

but ive also seen another theory of kamimura not actually being there during the morning ([overdue]), and instead of kamimura, it was wada dressed up as him, while impersonating his voice. now i dont know why and how in the possible hell would wada do that, but kamimura and wada do look quite similar. such as in height, skin, eyes... you name it.

again, the evidence is kind of flimsy, but there sure are more things pointing to yanagi and wada than hasegawa, that's why i put them in a separate tier. well, who knows. i think that wada will probably survive this chapter, but yanagi...I don't really know about you, man. good luck! moving on to the next category...

suspicious, but i don't get why - tamba

tamba, my girl... i'm afraid that things don't really look good for her. i know that some people may think that tamba wouldn't do such a thing, but there are a few suspicious things pointing to her which we definitely can't brush off.

let's first talk about kamimura's body discovery. tamba said something back then which caught my eye. when they were discussing about investigation pairs, she immediatly said that she doesn't mind with who she investigates with, but she doesn't want to investigate the woodshop. and, mind you, no one even mentioned the woodshop right before that. she was the first one who brought it up. (check if you don't believe me)

that's honestly one of the things which worries me. because why would she say that?? you can, again, pull up the red herring stuff on this, but what about her dissapearance during the investigation? we havent seen her in any of the episodes, except for the body discoveries and when they were at the elevator for the trial. that's worrying me, too!

we also didn't see her during the morning and also in the other episodes before the third body discovery. i don't believe that's something we can skip over. tamba is, at some rate, suspicious, and thats not good😭😭😭

there's also other arguments you can make here. such as, the gyoza and her with the constant poison theories, orr maybe even about the fact how she often doesnt think before she speaks/acts. tamba also has a violent history (her secret), and with the way she snapped at mai before does show her exhaustion.

although, I don't really have any more evidence of tamba being the culprit. and i SINCERELY hope she isn't, either. all we can do rn is just currently pray before the trial comes and then see what her fate is LOL.

last but not least, we have...

top suspect - okazaki

thaat's right, ladies and gentlemen! okazaki hanano - our most likely culprit! who would've guessed!

honestly, there's a lot of stuff pointing to okazaki. its very likely that they're the culprit, but... since the evidence is a little bit tad too much, i don't really feel like putting it all here LOL.

I mean, the framing wada thing could definitely be done by them. although i am curious as to why okazaki would write to hasegawa to kill them specifically. that doesn't really make sense, does it?

but okazaki still knows about the 3d printer and key, aswell as how analytical hasegawa is. so killing off kamimura and tsuno and all the other evidence combined together would not only be gut wrenching for wada, but also for hasegawa. because if kamimuras dead, especially by dying in such a brutal way, hasegawa would obviously be devastated. he would not be in the right state of mind, so he may possibly not be able to contribute to the trial much, because its a lot for him to handle.

okazaki was also the one who picked the pairs. pairing wada and tsuno together could be on purpose, depending if okazaki is the one who set up the woodshop trap or not.

nevertheless, i'm honestly very interested to see what will happen to them, and where their character will go, especially after they got stabbed. (and also if there's an okazaki crash-out i would definitely scream LMAO/pos)

aand yeah. that's it. sorry for the long post.😭😭 and sorry if things may seem rushed, i kind of wrote this at a wrong time. but i do hope you guys enjoyed this, and if you want lemme know your thoughts on this aswell!

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

hello!! spoilers for 4.7 ahead - as the resident #1 skirk lore theorizer I'm so curious to hear your thoughts about skirk being surtalogi's disciple and the sudden new khaenri'ah connection that childe has now because i've spent so long accepting your skirk as a shining shade theory as a headcanon that the new drop has me SPINNING!!!

i think what's funnier is that this actually tells me nothing right now LMAO because yes there's a surtalogi skirk connection, but this has cleared nothing on skirk herself, and in the end, she's the one that matters the most atm when it comes to childe

plus childe always did have a strange khaenri'ah connection in the form of his weapons. yes, those are primordial civilization weapons, but khaenri'ah has a connection to that, so it's the same level of connection as there is through skirk. once removed, in a way.

maybe there was more to digest in the quest? but i genuinely only played it like half an hour ago at the time of posting this, so like. i might need a bit to process that

so like- ultimately while this was rather interesting khaenri'ah lore, i'm not sure that this told us all that much about skirk outside of the fact she now has a connection to khaenri'ah? and even then, that's assuming she met surtalogi while he was sill associated with khaenri'ah, in the event that he isn't anymore. i'm not sure that we know that he is sill which i guess is interesting in its own right because skirk doesn't have khaenri'ahn eyes.

like forgive the quality but that's not the khaenri'ahn star. so... i guess my question is where she met surtalogi to start? unless non-royalty khaenri'ahns didn't have the star? or she was a foreigner in kh'aenriah. still,

so skirk is still a mystery, and even if we now know surtalogi had high connections to khaenri'ah, we still know precious little about him and the star beasts or whatever they were called. as far as i can tell, this update doesn't have childe crumbs despite the surtalogi namedrop hahah

though i guess this has the rather odd implication that if we assume khaenri'ahns to have had normal human lifespans pre-cataclysm and for surtalogi to have been a normal human, in the interest of masters usually being older than their students, that this would make skirk under 500 years old

which i mean- sure. that's still old. i guess i got caught a bit off-guard given even after we met her in-game i had just sort of assumed she was a bit older. i guess it's true we have no confirmation at all as to her age. older than childe is all we got lol (and even then, is that still debatable? is it childe's character card the one who refers to skirk as 'girl'? does that mean there's a non-zero chance skirk is younger than him and she's just- grown, just like him???? as in, she was a 'girl' when he fell in at 14 but he's now 20something and so she's not a 'girl' anymore by the time we see her??? i swear-)

[horizon-verizon]

What’s Elia’s legacy, lmao ? GRRM belittled her himself by giving her four sentences in 5 books and zero characterization. Barristan is also a bitter incel because he called Elia a “kitchen drab” while comparing her unfavorably to Ashara Dayne ??

A)

(A Dance of Dragons -- "The Kingbreaker")

Barristan is not really "bitter"; he is tired & anxious for Dany to return in the wake of Hidzhar's attempts to undermine her, and that inevitably went to his past with the Targaryens' fall. To reiterate, because he was already thinking about how he didn't want to fail Dany, his thoughts go to his years as a Kingsguard and tasked to protect the now dead Targaryen family.

This is how we end up in his regrets over Rhaegar, which, just like in real life with real people, ors into a semi-related "tangent" about his crush on Ashara Dayne. It's supposed to be very candid flow of his thoughts between the past and the present. And nearly every adult character in this story are haunted by what happened before said war that up-ended everything, whether they were more or less really sound, questionable, or pretty morally bankrupt, there is a gamut. Jaime, Cersei, Catelyn, Ned, Barristan, Jon Con, etc. Esp those who were the closest to those who caused or were triggers for said war. All reflect on how they did not or did perform their duties or how limited they felt they could do when they were performing their duties.

This series is about people, who are products of their world, and this world is pretty sexist (understatment). Ned Stark has thoughts similar to Barristan; Catelyn has words about how thick or wide-hipped a certain girl should be before she marries as she inspects her like some sort of broodmare with a sort of coldness because she herself was anxious about getting her brother, father, uncle, etc. to help her and Robb in the war and wanted things to fall through for them; Jon Snow has frequent resentments against his sister Sansa; she does about him and his bastardry pre-Ned's death (she shouldn't be exactly blamed but it is till an indication how this world runs on classism, sexism, xenophobia, etc. and is built into many character's perspectives). We really need to remember that these PoV chapters are almost stream-of-consciousness, which means we're getting their unfiltered immediate thoughts, reactions and longer thought processes to problem solve. All of which, if you can imagine, are not ever guaranteed or CAN BE morally pristine, esp under stress.

I also ask that you think about even the "nicest" dude around you or that you trust and dare yourself to actually believe they also did not think some sexist or otherwise pretty unfair shit? Or even some woman around you whose actively and verbally non sexist...we, too live in a pretty sexist society, we're not going to have great reflexive thoughts or realize that something we think is sexist until we think about it more.

I'm not saying, again, this is wasn't unfair of Barristan...but what did you expect? Barristan, unlike many other people we could have PoVs of and we know are twisted, demonic people (Craster, Ramsey) or those we do have PoV chapters of and are not really that moral (Cersei, jon Con, Jaime, Tyrion) are not at Barristan's "level" or morality...the man is at least trying to make up for his greater failures and is not trying to oppress Dany in the way Jon Con definitely would. And why? Because unlike Jon Con, Barristan hasn't totally lost himself to his own guilt or developed what another anon describes as extreme "tunnel vision". And thus he is far more useful for Dany, which is a win. Like her bloodriders, who themselves can't have shunted every single prejudice they have developed from childhood once they joined her, but they are still her bosom and most trusted people for very good reason.

Finally, it's unfortunately part of the deal with Westerosi to compare the beauty of women and put it to a hierarchy.

Even outside of Barristan's crush on Ashara, though Elia was recognized as pretty and many of us modern readers would just say she is beautiful to not entertain this idea of a hierarchy of beauty...that very hierarchy of beauty that I'm describing some modern readers are actively trying to delegitimize when they refuse to score a woman's beauty is unchecked in this society/universe! And their diction or vocab is going to reflect the classism, sexism that exists-- "kitchen drab" (female servant of the kitchens who is not as attractive bc she works manually and is thus not going to be able to maintain her appearance like a noble woman can) is used metaphorically for that purpose as much as we might say "look at what the cat dragged in".

Women like Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Ashara Dayne and men like Jaime Lannister, Rhaegar are at a league of their own/the "top". Ellaria Sand is described implicitly as "sexy" by Sansa, but she is still as "beautiful" as Arianne Martell. Thus "the most beautiful" both bc of pleasing features and those features matching the beauty standards Westerosi Andals have. Elia was, to them, low-tiered and "fell behind" Ashara, Cersei, etc. because she didn't immediately present those ideal physical features. Elia was also constantly told to us as not being as remarkable as other women by other people.

So it's really not just Barristan who is doing stuff like this; he's not uniquely sexist and he's not actually dangerous or evil as you are trying to make him to be. We must remember that he was talking about appearance.

B)

"legacy": the long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past, or of a person’s life

In general and not even talking abt Elia herself, "legacies" don't have to be positive; it's certainly what you want and the point of having one is for a society to remember you positively and have a positive meaning. But it's really about leaving an impactful enough impression of your own importance on the rest of society in some way. You can have a legacy (what people remember you for and why/how you matter) while not having done much, like many women in Westerosi history who are remembered for being good passive queens, tragic queens like Helaena, for being so "patient" and charitable, etc.

The ideal "legacy" for women within the world we're talking about is usually not so much about what she did or what sort of person she is unless it deviates from the rigid definition of "good woman". The you got cultural legacies of Rhaenyra's that was itself botched/inherited from the sexist lens many used to assess this war and her actions.

The kind of "legacy", anon, that you are talking about is the impression more made on the reader than the one made in the world and in this society. If Rhaegar had lived, become King, and ascended the throne for Elia to become Queen, perhaps Elia would have made some some of impact the way consorts typically do...perhaps not as she was severely ill after her pregnancies. Also, Queen Rhaella--Aerys' own sister wife and Rhaegar's mother--doesn't really have a "legacy" that isn't dependent on Daenerys or Rhaegar? More women before her have not really had a strong political legacy so much as a dramatic one if they were silent, more or less. And that is kinda the point: women were/are shunted in the pursuit of all these political stuff, whether purposefully or as a consequence of their extant role as subsidary heir-givers for men. Elia got the shortest end of the stick, yes, but that doesn't negate every other bad end for women in this world and it coming from the same place. (And no she nor the Dornish are "PoCs".)

So women's "legacy" is, as I said, very pre-determined and rigid.

The primacy of Elia's (Watsonianly) legacy is how she died, her kids, and being consort to a prince; the other parts, like with Lyanna with Ned, have to be brought up by a brother or some other living and active character because she herself is dead. Both her and Lyanna can only be remembered and characterized through the memories/thoughts and quick words of their brothers, and only through them do we get personality.

Is it unfair she got then end she got, yes, that's the entire point; she is also a secondary character who is serving her purpose as a 2ndary character whose gender is going to inform her narrative role.

I do agree GRRM could have not made her so ill OR leave her ill and still somehow be more active as to "take her out of the action" so to speak, to accrue more influence in court and through that we get to hear/witness what sort of person she was a little so we could have that love vs duty, Rhaegar-Lyanna storyline that is meant to support Dany, Jon, and basically the entire pathos AND logos of this entire series. At the same time, even if she did, we'd still have a dead Elia who got cheated on & likely still have her slighted at a tourney, so...

And as I said in a post about Rhaegar and Lyanna:

not that he used Lyanna for it, but that these two things AS WELL AS HIS KIDS, likely came at odds in terms of "what can I do to make these two things happen without compromising the other"...perhaps, after a life of performing "duty" towards his family, dynasty, the "world", Lyanna is the "love" that NARRATIVELY becomes his "weakness" in a long career of putting "duty" first [embodied by the marriage to Elia]

Is that fair to Rhaegar, Lyanna, or Elia...fuck no, that's pretty much a point. Elia is in a place where her body is used against her in a a marriage arranged for her where she'd have to be faced w/the possibility of a husband who doesn't love her in the way she could have and she "sacrificed" her health entirely to produce heirs for "the prince"/the dynasty/her own Martell family's interests. Rhaegar and Lyanna have a love that causes strife instead of staying "good", an "impossible" one because of how marriage (a political institution made for resources) works against them. And especially women--Lyanna would have been in Elia's place except worse, as Robert once more would have never respected her and even abuse her. Rhaegar's gender doesn't produce as as dire consequences being a man and esp being a good warrior, but he also found a grand purpose within those duties as a prince, grew up with a man with a lot of power and insanity behind him who abused his mother yet still obligated to him as his king...again not "comparable"...but...compelling.

The Rhaegar-Lyanna thing is not really meant to be purely moral and not in the way some people have convinced themselves it is (Elia was a PoC wife Rhaegar hated and chose a white woman to love instead; he abandoned his kids for her; he's to blame for Elia's death bc he didn't make sure she and the kids were at a safe location; Rhaegar kidnapped and r*ped Lyanna).

This relationship was grand and a (Watsonianly) true and born from pure affection and authenticity on both their parts...it was ALSO still was a trigger for the war that ended a dynasty, foreshadowed by at least 3 other broken engagements in Westerosi history (Duncan, Shaera, and Jaehaerys II). Elia was "stuck" in a way that is different but immediately more obvious than how Rhaegar was and much more similar to how Lyanna was. Like how the saying in the books goes, love is the "death" of duty; and "duty" can be a thing of love like how I feel an obligation towards a sibling, but duty can also limit one towards prioritizing an undeserving family member...then is it love? (Elia was not undeserving, but we don't know enough what happened or what their relationship was like AND the point is that this world is...morally questionable.)

That also doesn't mean you have to like it or GRRM's choices. It also doesn't mean that there isn't something to the Rhaegar-Lyanna relationship that is worth noting and liking, either, or to make as if it isn't a reflection and a different take/aspect of a core thing in the book that does illustrate it simultaneously.

[feral-creep]

y’all i just…. AAAAAH

vent about work and creativity and grief incoming

ever since my mom got sick i had to give up my more lucrative “career” day hustle (video editing) and pick up night shifts at a bar. and like. it’s a college dive bar, so the tips are not great.

this particular dive bar is known around the community as the hardest place to work, and the reputation is not for nothin’:

the average server at a normal place has a 4-5 hour shift and covers 3-5 tables. WE, on the other hand, work 10-12 hour shifts with zero mandated breaks and cover 8-10 tables, many of which can seat 8-10 people at a time.

it is exhausting work that has kept me in amazing shape and has kept my sanity during the grieving process… but it’s undeniably hard as fuck.

and i feel like i’m constantly just treading water, not making enough to fully get rid of my credit card debt and move out of this shithole town… i could make so much more money serving in chicago…

yet i’m never working so little as to be able to actually, y’know, write

BUT. but. the job is not why i don’t create as much. the job is not the reason.

the reason is my own dumb brain and my own dumb shame about not being a “responsible” member of society, not being “where i should be” or “where i thought i would be” at 36 years old.

because that concept? it is bullshit. even though my peers who i used to work with in video are all flourishing, it doesn’t matter—they did not have a terminally ill mother living in bumfuck college town of nowheresville, midwaste! so what if they are now getting deals with HBO! that sort of life was maybe never in the cards for dirtbag little ol me!

and also, since like WHEN did i ever care about being a dirtbag loser anyway? being a dirtbag loser is punk rock as fuck????

i am trying to force myself out of thinking that creative pursuits are a “luxury” that must only be pursued once Everything Responsible Has Been Completed—because frankly i don’t even do that shit anyway!!! lmao (what ends up happening is that i spend 5 hours on social media, 0 hours doing laundry, and also 0 hours writing)

so maybe like, fuck twitter, fuck instagram, fuck frittering away my life 5 minutes at a time trying to convince myself i’m totally going to get up and sort thru the mail, and just. do the things i like doing. because THAT is punk as fuck.

basically i’m coming to the conclusion that i have been flailing around trying to escape a situation i am trapped in by being “responsible”—diligent with my money, a good little worker bee, etc etc—and like, very obviously not succeeding, so i might as well live “selfishly” (i.e. creatively)

when i’m dead no one’s gonna be like “feral creep touched our lives by being so on top of her laundry and having a very organized pile of receipts”

no, no they will not!

i still get comments every week or two from readers about how much [save scum] means to them, and fuck if i don’t want to somehow adapt portions of this story and Lethe so she can resonate with even more people outside this fandom…

after, of course, i finish the fic. lmao.

[sodium-chloride-blog]

Forgot to type up the red team face hc's thought process, but I'm back from Quebec now, so...

Sarge was — fittingly — the biggest enigma. His design came to me almost instantly, and he went through basically zero changes. Somehow I realized there wasn't really anything for me to add except for maybe a few extra scars as time went on. The first design felt accurate right off the bat.

Somehow I just knew the first design I drew up for him was also the only design necessary. dude just looks like that.

I had a bit of a harder time figuring out what to do for Grif, but I had a few designs I had in mind and used them all the same way I did for Tucker.

Shorter hair in BGC like everyone else, except I gave him some stubble too because Grif would 100% rarely ever bother to shave.

Obviously added the stitches where Sarge used bits of Simmons to stitch Grif back together.

Hair grown out by the time the Recollection trilogy starts up, casually tied up in a messy bun because Grif definitely wouldn't put in the effort to cut it.

Finally a full on ponytail and much more facial hair by Chorus by the time he's matured and gained some confidence.

I was admittedly a little conflicted on whether to give Grif a bun for Recollection or Chorus, since putting his hair up might have been visually symbolic of his character development as he starts to put in effort for things/people he cares about. I'm still unsure if I made the right call leaving the bun in Recollection Grif's design and letting his hair grow out in Chorus.

Lopez is just Lopez lmao

Simmons felt somewhat easier since I had a clearer idea of what I wanted him to look like from beginning to end.

Same military-appropriate length haircut in BGC as everyone else.

Freckles because they just fit perfectly on him.

Awkward nerd smile, complete with dimples and long face/nose for maximum nerdy charm (or lack thereof).

Slightly grown out hair but not too much by Recollection, plus he has the cybernetic replacements on his face now. I tried to make the pupil on his cyborg eye more rectangular than his natural eye but I don't think it's very noticeable.

Finally grew out his bangs. I was torn between this haircut and the shorter, nerdier one, so I used them both. Plus he finally grows some facial hair by Chorus as he matures into his own person.

I like the idea that Simmons gradually growing his hair out past what the acceptable length is in the UNSC is a good representation of how he's grown as a person and doesn't adhere to the rules as strictly as he did in BGC. Something about becoming less of a suck-up and gaining confidence in his own choices and leadership.

Thought it would be a neat detail that he eventually gets a scar through the eyebrow that matches the one I gave Sarge.

Please please PLEASE tell me someone noticed where Grif and Simmons are each looking.

I struggled with Donut's design the most since he seems to have the most variation in design. I knew I wanted baby-faced blonde for BGC but coming up with a design that felt right afterwards was rough.

I ended up going through a few sketches for Donut before settling on a face with rounded cheeks and nose for a sort of boyish look.

By Recollection he has the face scars thanks to the plasma grenade. I ended up keeping Donut facing left even though it covered the hearing aid since I didn't want to throw off the balance on the page. (sorry)

I also had to give him an ear piercing. I just had to.

Some hair probably got burned off thanks to the explosion, so I imagine Donut probably gave himself an undercut on the undamaged side to make the hairstyle symmetrical. I don't think Donut had access to any hair dye during Recollection, so chances are his roots started to grow out.

By Chorus I wanted him to fully accept his face scars, so he ditched the eyepatch by then. Self love, baby.

His eyebrow on his scarred side has somewhat grown back by then, but not completely. The same goes for Donut's hair, though I imagine it grew out just enough for Donut to settle on a very stylish slicked back undercut, cuz y'know. 🫳💁‍♂️✨🌈

Donut got most of his character development post-Chorus during The Shisno Trilogy which is... Technically retconned now(?) thanks to Reconstruction coming out this Fall, so the last design for Donut probably would have fit season 15-17 more than Chorus when he really grew into his own. However, I think the design still works for Chorus to show how he matured over time.

ngl I kinda just threw something together for Doc. I couldn't really think of a design for him since there's a LOT of variation online. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it'll do for now unless I come up with something better later.

Maybe I'll draw more rvb characters sometime... Maybe the AI?

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday Fandom :) Zero Chenford in this one but good separate SL’s for them both. Really good growth for Tim though which at this point you all know I love. Let’s dive on in.

3x12 Brave heart.

Tim is paired with Nyla today since Nolan is otherwise occupied. They visit the hospital since Harper wants to check in on John and his son. Tim is annoyed cause they’re gonna get roped into something just being there. He takes a phone call while Harper checks in. It's the venue he booked for Angela's bachelorette party. They're calling him to say they're canceling and keeping his deposit. Tim was already grumpy being here and this is not helping.

Harper rejoins him and he asks her opinion on venues and she's got nothing for him haha They're about to leave then Lo and behold they spot guys with concealed carry’s. Tim mutters how it’s been less than 5 minutes since they arrived. Grumpy Tim has arrived and isn't leaving anytime soon. I do love how he walks up to them. Hand on his duty belt as they approach. Me likey. This man makes me a puddle just walking. My god. How does he do this? The man tries to charm them both. Saying how they must be recruiting from modeling schools now.

It's not working in the least. He then adds on between Tim and Nyla he can’t tell which one is prettier. Harper cuts him off and says clearly her HA! Tim looks so offended. His reaction is the best part. He low key knows how handsome he is. Except when women announce it then he’s shy af. He looks like he took it so personally. LOL

No Lucy around to help him lick his wounds. It's ok Tim I think you're the prettier one hehe They quickly find out it’s La Fiera’s body guards. Their cop spidey senses immediately going into overdrive. Tim groans because now they’re gonna be here all day. Harper asks him what he thinks she’s doing here? Tim says 'Nothing good'… We know that’s right.

Lucy and Jackson are also at the hospital. Their rolling stop turned into more. She took off and destroyed city property. She injured herself in the process and cut her arm. They’re now stuck there until she is patched up. Jackson says he’s gonna grab breakfast since he didn’t this morning. Lucy questions him skipping a meal. He replies he didn’t have a choice Tamara is eating them out of house and home.

Lucy apologies for thrusting her upon their living situation. Jackson is trying to be sweet about it says it’s ok… but wondering when she’s going to be leaving? Lucy says it’s so hard to get ahold of the housing program. They have crazy long wait times to check on her application. Jackson mentions using right now to check since they’re stuck anyways. Lucy lights up says that’s a good point. She gets very excited only 3 callers in line. She is so adorable I can not.

Jackson makes his way back to Lucy. She mocks him for his terrible breakfast choice. I mean it's not a great one ha Everything seems like it’s lining up for them. Their suspect is all patched up so they are ready to go. Their suspects runs just as Lucy’s phone call is answered. Poor Lucy that's some bad luck. Lucy hangs up losing her place in line. They chase her all the way to the parking lot where she passes out….They find out she’s a drug mule and that’s why she collapsed. They’re gonna be at at hospital even longer now especially waiting for a Narcotics detective to show up.

Angela is made aware of La Fiera’s presence at the hospital. Walks away from her OB appointment leaving Wesley hanging. She finds out she’s here "Just for her son." Angela doesn’t believe that for a minute. Wesley comes and finds them all angry she missed her appointment. Tries to ask Tim if this was work related? He makes sure to stay out of their spat LOL Tim is beyond adorable as the scene continues. He lost Angela’s venue of choice earlier. So he tries to make it up with a sports bar LMAO

Oh Timothy, Look at that gorgeous smile of his when he tells her his plan. Tim is so damn proud of himself and is shot down quickly after. Angela's face has me cracking up so very much. Tim gets nervous and says he was joking… He would never....The way he backtracks has me rolling. Watching Tim quake in front of strong women always gets me. What makes him such a sucker for Lucy. Also she is not around to negate his terrible idea's atm and it shows haha

Harper rolls up with security footage of La Fiera clearly not at the hospital "Just for her son." They spot Mack Daniels as one of the guards…Tim’s face is everything when he sees this. Clearly hasn’t changed his ways at all working for a Narco boss. SMH.

They roll up and Mack looks high as a kite. He lies about knowing who his client is. All he tells them is it’s not La Fiera. Tim tries to get him to cooperate. Saying he doesn’t need anymore trouble i’m sure. Mack cracks and says he’s work for Tomas Madrigal. All three of them groan. He’s the kingpin of drugs in Southern California. Multiple investigations going on for him. No way Mack doesn't know that.

He then starts the pity party about why he had to take this job. How it’s all Tim’s fault. He comes at Tim SO hard. Tells them he can’t be picky about the money he makes. Up to his eyes in debt. Tim tells him working for the enemy isn’t the answer. Mack goes on that his client is dying cancer. He’s only there to make sure no one interrupts his final moments. Mmmhmm sure…

Angela calls him out about La Fiera coming by. Mack tells her she only came by to pay her respects. Ok sure Mack… and I don’t find Tim attractive. We’re both telling lies today aren’t we? Clearly she is here to make a play for his business before he dies. They get interrupted by Tomas’s son telling Mack to get back to work. He sends more daggers Tim's way before disengaging with them.

I adore Nyla checking in on Tim. Asking if he's alright? His body language is stiff as a board. Poor love having to reface that decision he made back in 3x06. It was the right call but doesn’t make facing Mack’s wrath any easier. Also seeing how much Mack has fallen from grace since he last saw him. Taking jobs like this. Too bad Lucy isn’t there to help him. Since she’s not he shakes it off and pretends he is fine. When we all know he very much is not. But once again his girl is not there so he will clam right up.

I do love this trio working together. Only thing missing is Lucy. I hope in s6 we see Lucy make detective. Then these three BAMF women and Tim with metro can all work together on a case like this. Be amazing it would. Sigh. A girl can dream can’t she? Anyways Nyla says she certified for wire tapping and they have their next move.

We return to Lucy and Jackson waiting out their suspect. She now has to pass the drugs before they are able to leave. Plus they need someone from narcotics to show which they haven’t. Lucy tries her hand again at the phone call. She’s told she's 46th in line….Jackson says he’ll check on narcotics to see if they’re coming anytime soon.

After he’s told no update he pulls out his phone. Looking back at Lucy like he’s doing something wrong. I mean he is....lol. Lucy notices right away he’s looking at something. She comes over and asks what he’s doing? He lies and says Tiktok Lucy is incensed when she see that is NOT what it is. It’s clearly him watching Tamara. She just doesn't know why. This isn't Jackson's best moment I'll say that.

Lucy is instantly in protective mama mode over Tamara. She's so mad at him. As she should be honestly. I would be pissed too Lucy. WTF Jackson. He tries to cover it up by saying he’s testing their system. Then she pulls a line from Tim’s playbook. Calling Jackson a lying liar who lies baha Also she can break Tim Bradford when he's lying you are not going to fair much better my man ha I’m so offended for Tamara tbh and for Lucy. How Jackson assumes she took his Baby Yoda figurine. Just because of her background.

Jackson decides to step it in more with his next set of words. (Stop you fool....) That she shouldn’t trust Tamara cause she lived on the streets. How he wants her to trust Tamara. But she probably had to do a lot to survive on the street. Lucy is so upset he didn’t tell her how he really felt. Also the way he's coming after Tamara. He continues his witch hunt saying baby yoda is missing. Lucy snaps and says he isn’t. That she broke him. Didn’t think he would notice like he did. She was gonna replace it soon. Then does a Mic drop of a line leaving Jackson stunned. Rightfully so IMO. Not your best moment good sir....

The SL with La Fiera’s son is tragic af. It's all her fault (not that she is going to see it that way.... ) She brought him into the line of fire. Using him as cover to make her dealings. He gets caught in the middle and killed because of it. Tomas's son comes after her and Diego is the collateral damage. Wrong time wrong place for that kid. Its pretty damn sad.

Angela was there talking to her when her son is shot to death. So she blames Angela for the death of her son. He was away from her when the shooting began. (Couldn’t have been the deal she made of course…) This sets up the finale and 4x01 and why LA Fiera comes at Angela like she does. Even though Angela saves her life Diego was in the crosshairs and dies.

Angel gets pinned down and calls for backup. Luckily Nyla and Tim are still in the building. This little moment between them is too cute above. I love their rivalry with one another. Tim saying he’ll take two leaving the third for Harper. She has to over compensate and say she’s got the big guy. Tim’s reply ‘Not that big’ LOL It is sexy af to watch him in action not gonna lie. Dispatches his two pretty quickly.

We return to Jackson and Lucy waiting for their suspect to get out of surgery. Lucy is still on the phone waiting for a call. They finally answer her and she finds out Tamara is in. That she’ll get an email by weeks end. Her little dance of excitement is so damn cute. I swear that is just Melissa coming out and I friggin love it. Jackson takes this opportunity to apologize for being a suspicious jerk. Good man.

Super proud of him for doing this. I love that he wanted to make it right. But grateful Lucy had the foresight to stop him. It would break her heart and Tamara wouldn’t feel ok staying there. Be the worst idea ever to tell her he felt that way. Love Lucy looking out for her in that way. ❤️ His heart is in the right place but it would crush Tamara.

This final scene with Mack gets me right in the feels. Tim waits for him to leave the hospital. Wants to try and get through to him one more time. Mack giving him every excuse in the book why he can’t go to rehab. Tim battles back with more logic. The same kind of logic Lucy would throw at him in a situation like this. Like 3x07 where she destroyed his every point. Asking how many times have they seen junkies act like this? Say the same things? How many actually got out of the hole without going to rehab?

This is such a good scene for Tim. We once again get to see his good heart come out. Watching what’s become of Mack is eating away at him. Tim had to try one more time to help him. To save him from himself. He does a damn good job with his speech. Gah it’s so good. Eric crushes it per usual. Pre-tears in his eyes as he passionately pleas with his friend. Killing me softly.

Look how far Tim has come. I can not. This scene is proof of that growth. Also the good heart he had before it was beat up by Isabel and all that trauma he endured. He's confronting Mack even though he knows he's going to bite his head off. Because it's the right thing to do. Even tells him to use his hate for him. Especially if that's going to be his drive to get better. To get clean and go to rehab finally. That he refuses to give up on him.*heart clutch* You can see Tim slowly getting through to Mack with his unwavering support.

it really hits home when Tim tells him to be a better example for his kids. The way Eric delivers that line. Gets me good. To take his lumps and cowboy up. The beautiful mixture he has now of logic and empathy. It gets through to Mack and he pulls him in for a sweet hug. This hug is the best part. This gets me right in the feels. Lucy would be floored by him in this moment. For Tim to even think to reach out like this. To be there for Mack in this way. My damn heart.

Letting that empathy and good heart of his to see the light of day again. It was always there but it got buried in his trauma. I saw a quote the other day made me think of Tim. Also of the impact Lucy has had on him. ‘I think the most beautiful thing in the world, is watching the light come on in someone’s eyes after they’ve been in the dark so long.’

If that isn’t Lucy and Tim and the impact she’s had on him idk what is. She’s re-awakened this part of him he thought was long gone. The light in his eyes is back. I mean for Tim to even think to reach out like this. His growth always blows me away. He couldn’t stand the thought of his friend drowning. Especially after his hand in it. Needed to be apart of helping him heal. So he took a chance and it worked.

Even when they’re apart Lucy’s impact on him shines through. This scene is absolute beautiful proof of that. This man is wonderful and refuses to let his friend suffer. To go through this alone. So he makes sure he knows he has his back. The scene ends on a sweet note though. Tim asking if he knows any venues for bachelorette parties? Mack giving him same answer he already tried LOL So Cute. I can not.

Lucy and Jackson make it home. This is the cutest part of the episode for them. Tamara has made dinner for them both. it’s a very sweet thing for her to do. Tamara tells Jackson she has something for him. Saying she knows Lucy broke his Yoda thing LOL Then panics and makes sure he knows. Lucy confirms before she continues. This scene is too funny. Tamara got him a cute plushy to replace it. He is floored by her kindness. The fact that she felt the need to replace it at all. Even when she didn't break it.

She says it’s to thank him for letting her stay. It’s the first time she’s felt safe in forever. You watch the guilt wash over Jackson. How much he regrets ever thinking badly of her. He wants to tell her but Lucy stops him. I love the way Lucy gently puts her hand on his arm. Like 'No she doesn’t need to know this.' He course corrects and says she can stay as long she needs to. The smile on Tamara’s face says everything. It’s so sweet.

Jackson geeks out and ask if she’s seen The Mandalorian? She says it’s based on a movie right? Jackson tries to keep his geek in check and says he has a lot to teach her haha it’s very cute way to end the episode for this trio.

This ep although apart was super good for them SL wise anyways. What I love about them. They stand up so well as characters separately. I always prefer them together but I’m not miserable with their SL's apart every once in awhile.

Side notes-non chenford in this case this whole ep was this ha

I do continuously love how soft Nyla has become for Nolan. She drags Tim to hospital to check on him cause Henry collapsed.

It’s cool that Bones is Henry’s mom LOL

Thank you as always to those who support these review’s through likes, comments and reblogs. I love them so much I shall see you all in 3x13 crazy 2 eps away from being done with s3.

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament Entry #23

Wally Mobius Manhattan West

[ID: Cropped comic panel of Wally West as the Flash but in a blue suit sitting on the Mobius Chair. He has one hand to his head, and the other conjures an image of a house. /END ID]

What Happened?

Alright. So. The Mobius Chair. In post-Flashpoint continuity, the Mobius Chair wasn't made by Metron, but by Mobius the Anti-Monitor (which I have beef with, but will set aside for the time being). So it was already all powerful. Then Metron took it across the multiverse in his pursuit of knowledge, and the chair gained basically all the information that's ever existed in past, present and future, as well as in realities that didn't end up coming to exist. Then one day when some other shit was going down, Wonder Woman lasso'd Metron out of the chair and Batman took it for a while. Then finally Metron got it back and made a deal with Owlman on the moon to give it to him. So at this points it's changed hands a number of times, and all the while has absorbed a shitton of knowledge in the process. Next thing you know, Metron and Owlman are steaming piles of dust. The End. Or is it?

Cut to everyone's favorite, Heroes in Crisis. We're not going to get into all that because it's not the point here, but it matters because it's why Wally was in jail at the start of Flash Forward and was at a pretty low point in his life. But not to worry, the Mobius Chair told (?) Tempus Fuginaut to do some shenanigans to convince Wally to sit on it (and also save his family and this and that, you know how it is). Though reluctant, Wally does decide to sit on the chair. When this happens, he is imbued with ALL the knowledge the chair has absorbed. So like, that's a lot right? Yeah. But what we weren't shown because it was implied, is that Dr. Manhattan was the one who took the chair on the moon, so not only does Wally get everything the chair already had, but ALSO Dr Manhattans powers. Wally immediately becomes blue and starts sitting like the biggest douche in history because I guess that's just what the chair does to people lmao. And he becomes not only the fastest man alive, but also the most knowledgeable and arguably most powerful. He literally fixes the multiverse.

And then it's like "To be continued in Generation Zero" which didn't even get put out because free comic book day got all hecked up due to Covid. But it did get printed in the Flash Forward trade paperback, and idk the Batman Who Laughs shows up, and tbh that's about where I lose steam on this whole thing.

BUT the point is... even though continuity got kind of rewritten, Wally in his infinite ability to transcend reboots, has been hinted at (or maybe even outright said) that he still retains the Mobius Chair/Dr Manhattan knowledge in current times. So that's pretty darn fascinating.

--

Tournament polls will be posted after all entries are up. As always you can find all posts related to the tournament using #dc-polls-trh

[genericpuff]

I don’t know if this is a silly question or not, but I saw you mention how the creator of “there are no demons” uses a 3D sculpts to make their comic. Do you use a 3D software? I have never even considered it before now, but now I’m wondering if it would help me keep consistency with different characters body types

I actually do, not so much software (I'm not a 3D modeller at all lol) but 3D assets! There are a few sprinkled throughout Rekindled, mostly involving background props and set designs (though in a lot of cases my assistant @banshriek will often just use them as references to paint over rather than use them directly if they feel it looks better, much of the backgrounds in the comic since Ep 23 can be attributed to them <3).

I don't use 3D models for my character art, not so much because I'm against it, just because I've used them in the past and while I found they helped with certain things I often struggle with like perspective and proportions, they've also started to hinder my creativity because of how stiff they can be (and tbh it made the drawing process really boring for me because I was literally spending more time adjusting poses than I was actually drawing!) I'm finding I'm perfectly capable of drawing anatomy on my own now, using 3D models for a while helped me get there but now they're more limiting than they are helpful due to my outgrowing them (kind of like training wheels on a bike, like yeah they're helpful so you can learn how to ride a bike, but you won't get to go as fast or have as much freedom of movement as you would if you learned how to ride a two wheeler). I think they're great for referencing or if I'm REALLY stuck on a pose or how a character exists in a space, but I don't like being constrained by them by using them constantly and that was what it was starting to feel like while I was using them for Time Gate so I've moved away from 3D character models and stuck exclusively to using 3D assets for backgrounds and things that aren't going to affect the overall quality of my work or how I make it.

I think the fact that a lot of people straight up don't notice that I use 3D assets in Rekindled is a testament to that LMAO Although you can tell in some of the earlier episodes when it was just me working on it and I had to balance quality with turnaround time. I've always hated drawing backgrounds and so Banshriek has been a huge help with relieving that stress and adding that extra touch to Rekindled that I just can't feasibly bring on my own :' )

If you're interested in trying out 3D models for yourself, then by all means do it! You won't know what works for you until you try it. Most of my advice stems from experience, I'm not someone who wants to spend all day messing around with 3D dolls, so using them to aid in my drawing just wound up being redundant, time-consuming, and boring. But there are folks out there who love messing around with 3D models, there are even comics out there that are fully 3D with zero drawing, using models that are handmade. Webcomics are a medium, you can do whatever you want :' )

The only advice I have to give from experience is to be aware that like with any tool, they aren't necessarily a "replacement" for the learning process, they should supplement your learning alongside other resources and references. You should still make an effort to learn foundational things like composition, lighting, color theory, dynamic gestures, etc. regardless of whether you're working in 2D, 3D, or a fusion of the two. "There Are No Demons" has a look to it that's uncanny and that's clearly the point so the 3D models help a LOT with that, but there are just as many webtoons that use 3D models poorly and wind up with an uncanny look they weren't intending to have (ex. Let's Play).

[kamenriderliveblog]

Guess what's ready for digital order! It's @ultra-zine!!!

Okay look I know that my very first post said that I wasn't a figure person. That has obviously changed and I have officially fallen into the SH Figuarts rabbit hole. I preordered Blazar plus I want to get Zero and all of Z's forms. Send help, lmao

Full disclosure: I did contribute something to this zine, which is one reason why I haven't done many liveblogs lately. (I'm still a little emotional about seeing something I've written in print.) I wrote Chill Out, It's Snow Problem, though that was before I saw the dub for Z. Watching that notably changed how I write Z's verbal tics.

I had a hard time with this story because my first draft was like 4500 words. I had to cut out a lot and that was a painful experience! Granted, for me editing is always a painful process, but I'm of the opinion that if it doesn't hurt in one way or another, I'm not editing enough. I'll probably toss up the longer version on AO3 eventually though. It actually really, really hurt to cut as much as I did and I want those parts to see the light of day in one way or another.

There were some scenes that I wanted to write but didn't even make it into the first draft. There was originally going to be a scene with Z taking control of Haruki's body with his permission and skating at an ice rink because my headcanon is that Z would be really good at it. Yes, that scene from episode 7 has been living rent-free in my head for way too long. I also thought Z skating in Haruki's body would be a fun scene for the artist (in this case the amazing @chacerider, though I didn't know that at the time) to use for the illustration if they wanted. Beliarok was going to appear too, but I couldn't think of a way to get him in there in a way that I was happy with.

Originally the story started in Haruki's apartment before going to STORAGE, which actually did make it into the first draft. I had to choose between scrapping that whole intro or paring down the emotional beats that came later. The choice was obvious. Oh yeah and I had Haruki nearly get hit by a truck in the first draft. Fun! Still had to cut it, though.

Haruki and Z being able to tell how the other is feeling or emotions bleeding from one to the other isn't exactly something that happens in canon, I know. It's pretty much me taking the idea of Haruki's emotional state having a big effect on Z in episode 12 and then dialing it up to 11. I like the idea of there being side effects (for lack of a better word) to merging, and I wanted to explore how the friendship between Z and Haruki might develop if there was a lot more unintentional emotional openness. I'll also fully admit that I stole some things from Geed. Leito and Zero's conversations when they're out and around regular people was the big one, and while Z does take control of Haruki's body in episode 7 for a second, I was really more thinking of Geed's early episodes and how Zero would take control of Leito's body basically whenever he felt he needed to.

If you made it to the end, thanks! The link to read my story on AO3 is below. If you didn't manage to grab a physical edition of the zine, you can get a digital version of it and the previous volumes here!

[the-resurrection-3d]

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

(From these writing asks)

I know I've mentioned zero drafting before, but it is really is one of the greatest tools for actually getting stuff down on paper. Just in case anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about: zero drafting is the idea of just writing down your story ideas as quickly as possible, embracing shitty, undercooked writing and [INSERT DIALOGUE HERE] and even just talking yourself through whatever it is you're feeling about the story. If you get a zero draft down, you can begin sorting through your ideas sooner than if you had committed to writing a "normal" first draft-- since the majority of first drafts are lowkey-to-highkey dogshit anyway -- and start revising, which is where the real work of writing begins.

I combine this with collage in my head, because I usually write in fragments regardless of the actual genre I'm writing in. If you want to know more about collage, composition scholar Peter Elbow cheekily refers to it as "cheating" here in this paper, and I think this paragraph sums it up well:

Collage and parataxis are important not only because they’re easy and lazy--though that’s important too.  They are important for the sake of thinking.  If we ask our beginning students to spell out all their thinking, they often limit themselves to what’s dull.  If we invite them to use parataxis and collage, however lazy or cheating it may be, they often capture more sophisticated thinking:  greater cognitive complexity.  And it often comes across too, despite our complaints about “the need for development.”  Surely it’s preferable--often anyway--and perhaps especially in the beginning--to have sophisticated and complex thinking that is tacit and sort of there than pedestrian and dull thinking that is well spelled out.

Now, obviously here he's talking about student writing and allowing students to essentially write in "normal voice" fragments rather than "academic voice" full drafts. I have tried this out with students and many did find this advice helpful. The same principle also applies to fiction writing because genres are literally fake and also not real.

Now, if you're someone who gets overwhelmed by the chaos of full collage/zero-drafting, Elbow also has a good way of building an outline from freewrites that he calls "building a skeleton," where you take your pieces of freewriting and force yourself to write out the actual main idea/theme of them in a full sentence, so that you can then reorganize these sentences in an outline. For fiction, I mentally pair this with Holly Lisle's advice on doing one McLargeHuge revision, where part of her process is forcing herself to articulate in complete sentences a) what her intended theme was, b) what her draft is actually saying, and c) what each scene/chapter actually contributes to said theme (and obviously the actual plot).

A good way to think of revision is asking, "Does this [sentence/scene/chapter] do ENOUGH work to justify the space it's taking up?" This is something I had to return to in my revision of my pro-ana paper; I had entire sections that I removed not because of the information in there was bad or even irrelevant, but they weren't doing ENOUGH work for the space they occupied. There were many times during revision I audibly said "girl who gives a fuck" and ripped huge paragraphs out.

As for the outlining... definitely gonna have to try the skeleton process out again tonight for my MFN fic, since it largely exists now in fragments. I've reoutlined this thing like twice already but LMAO third time's the charm, right?

[gaymer-hag-stan]

A Tekken 8 Review That Nobody Asked for From a Longtime Fan Who Has Been Playing for Ages But Is Not a Pro - That Title Is Too Long

Having spent a little over 24 hours playing the game on my PS5, I feel like it's an appropriate amount of time to share my first thoughts on it. I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum so just skip the "Story" section and you should be fine.

General Thoughts

A pretty healthy roster, overall happy with who we got. I do wish Anna and Christie were here, and I also miss Lucky Chloe. With Eddy already announced and Azucena taking over the "cooky dance-y character" I unfortunately don't see Christie or Chloe returning, but Anna better fucking do!

They all look great, even the ugly ones, they look satisfyingly ugly, if that makes any sense. The girls still suffer from the Madame Tussaud's wax figure syndrome that plagued the entirety of Tekken 7's roster, but, maybe I'm gaslighting myself, I do feel like they look a bit less plasticky than some of the initial teasers? Most of the redesigns are great, the hair (Lili's hair has never looked better), water and dirt physics all finally WORK and I love how all the clothing animates with the wind effect, the Fallen Destiny stage is a great one to illustrate all of the above. We can see Yoshimitsu's fingers after three decades! I'd love to know the thought process behind this redesign lmao

I love that they finally, after so many years of other fighting games having it but being inexplicably absent from Tekken, they finally added Player vs CPU matches! FINALLY! Finally I can pick my character and my opponent of choice, pick their costumes and set a stage for them to battle. I'm so happy for this even though it might not make any sense to anyone.

Combo Challenges! We finally have combo challenge in Tekken! Another common fighting game feature inexplicably missing up until now.

Gameplay feels a lot of fun. I wasn't sure about the heat mechanic but it's actually a lot more fun than I initially thought! I tried out all of the cast and am slowly completing both their story episodes and an Arcade run for good measure. I am obviously still maining Nina. They have decided to simplify a lot of her combo throws and I am having fun terrorizing people online with them by breaking their bones! I'm also using Arcade Quest to learn how to play as Lili and Azucena, some basic moves and combos and whatnot. I wanna also do Zafina, Jun, Jin, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu as well eventually. I think these eight will be my main squad for the time being. As a side note, King and Steve feel extremely fun to play, I haven't picked either in ages, but with King I was really close!

The netcode is, surprisingly functional??? We did recently switch to an optic fiber connection type, but I'm still on WiFi and I am having zero problems!

Jukebox is thankfully back again! I literally spent an hour or more before playing the game at all to decide which song goes where lol

Something that scares me regarding upcoming DLC, is that I do not see a season pass being sold anywhere except the Deluxe Edition bundle that costs 40€... I'm sorry but I don't give a fuck about owning 32 identical gold costumes or Tetsujin or whoever the fuck as my Arcade Quest avatar... I only want Eddy and the other three (one of them better be Anna!) thank you very much!

Story

"The Dark Awakens"

Believe it or not I haven't even finished the main story yet as I'm trying to pace myself through all the modes and enjoy them, savouring every moment. At the moment of typing this I am almost halfway through and I must say, even though I am still firmly in the "Drop the cinematic NRS style story modes" camp, and I would much rather have had either arcade mode with proper, canon endings back, or a revival and repurposing of the Tekken Force mode, in an SF6 World Tour mode type of way, out of all of Bandai Namco's attempts at a cinematic story mode, from SCV to Tekken 8, this has been the most satisfying attempt so far. I love that they are fully embracing the overdramatic nature of Tekken along with its campy side and it's present from the very beginning, with Jin throwing his bike at Kazuya's helicopter! "A Fate Decided by Fists" were we actually get to choose which fighters advance through the first round was the biggest highlight so far! I did not expect to fight Azazel again in 2024! I miss his Tekken 6 design though, he no longer glows according to his remaining health or has his limbs crumble away into scarabs according to which parts of him you're hitting. Also, I do understand why they felt the need to overemphasize how "Jin was a good guy all along and he's not like Kazuya" to redeem him and attempt to portray him as a more traditional hero, but I think they went way too far. Literally every single cast member, characters who've never met him before especially, makes a point of how good a person Jin is. Also, I do understand that there were a lot of people complaining that most of the cast were ignored in Tekken 7's story mode and I appreciate that they tried to include more of them this time, but it's so half assed and superficial. Like, Lili, Asuka, Hwoarang, Leo (who finds their missing father, a forgotten plot point from Tekken 6 of screen without a single explanation) Xiaoyu, PANDA offer absolutely nothing to the story so far other than to just be there and tell Jin what a good guy he is. And I say all that as someone who is firmly on Jin's side and despises Kazuya.

Character Episodes

Thank god they have more than one single fight this time! I would have liked it if they found a way to make each of them be canon. Like, I think every single one of the Arcade mode endings of SF6 is canon, if I'm not mistaken, and most of them seem to take place before the events of the main story, as a way to give us a clearer understanding of why each fighter fights. I think Guilty Gear does exactly that too. Nevertheless, I do appreciate that each fighter has fights specifically tailored to them, with specific opponents. It's not clear to me yet if they're completely non-canon or not, as in Nina's she seems to have been hired by Lee to sabotage G Corporation and Kazuya, I pray to God this is true and she's not actually, willingly working for that asshole, like, I'm still in complete denial that they threw her entire character development from Tekken 4 to Tekken 7 to the trash can just to go "NInA WiLl WoRK FoR WhOmEvEr"... She's also suspiciously missing from the actual story like, she simply just appeared in ONE scene so far and then left without doing literally anything. She also seems to only have special interactions with Steve and Lee so far when others get a lot more. Her handling story wise in this installment is insulting, considering she's the most popular female fighter in the series and one of the most popular in the genre...

Offline Modes

Arcade Quest

It's cute... It's certainly a cool way to mask your tutorial and the avatars are kinda cool, but they're nowhere near as good as what Capcom did with SF6 and World Tour. I must say I prefer Tag 2's Tekken Lab over this.

Super Ghost Battle

Ghost battle, after five attempts is finally fun! Tekken 7's was by far the worst attempt as the game would automatically pick opponents for you, matching you with much harder ones if you were winning too much and much lower ones if you were losing too much so that you wouldn't climb the ranks as fast and it would artificially increase playtime. Now that Tekken has actual single player modes other that the story there's no need for that, and they made it work. You simply choose from a list, and the ones that contain unlockable (useless) customisation options for specific characters are actually marked so that you can attempt to get the item you want.

Arcade Battle

I love that they still included a traditional eight battle long Arcade mode, even though they could have just had the character episodes and call it a day. My slight nitpick, again, is that they're still doing this thing that they've been doing since Tekken 5 or 6 where the first few battles are characters in their default costumes and then a horde of Namco's customized monstrosities attack your eyes... This is a huge pet peeve of mine, I understand it in the context of Ghost Battle, and Arcade Quest, but I do not want to see goofy customs in other, "serious" modes. On top of that, the ghosts you get seem to be from the Super Ghost Battle's catalogue of freaks, and are therefore higher difficulty than most, which in turn makes them actively harder than the mode's final boss which I think is kinda hilarious!

Tekken Ball

I will admit, I only played a single match and never touched it again. It is actually challenging, I'll give it that, but I don't see the appeal. I'd much rather have Tekken Bowl again back instead tbh. Also I wish that stage was playable in normal modes too.

Customization

Avatar customization is kinda whatever, but it works well enough for Arcade Quest and I don't really visit the Tekken Fight Lounge.

Character Customization however is where I have an issue. While I've seen lots of cool customs of various characters from other games and IPs, including Shimbori himself dressing up Super Battle ghosts as DOA characters!, I don't really care for the customization options? My only real use for Character Customization in Tekken so far was to recreate past / alternate outfits. Like, in Tekken 6 I would buy the schoolgirl outfit parts for all the teen girlies, in Tekken 7 I recreated Nina's 2P outfit from Tekken 4 using her Blood Vengeance catsuit as a base, stuff like that. In Tekken 8 all I'm getting is a huge catalogue of Zara's apparel... And all the unlockable outfits are either their default look with less clothes on, or weird cosplays of other characters. Why? Tekken Character Customization peaked in Tekken 6, where every single one of the 40 (41 if you count Panda, who I think had some different options from Kuma) characters had his own personal selection of outfits and items, matching their personality and look. I don't want to play as Nina dressed up as Ada Wong or in a business casual for a 9-5 desk job. They made everything way too generic and bland and, on top of that, we don't even have trademark pieces like Nina's purple catsuit, her ponytail, Hwoarang's taekwondo garb, Xiaoyu's Tekken 6 battle costume. The Tekken 5 veterans should have had their Tekken 5/6/TTT2 costumes and hairstyles on top of their Tekken 7 ones.

Overall, I am very very happy with this game! It seemingly does almost everything right and I am glad to see it improving on, literally, every single thing over Tekken 7.

Score: 9 / 10

[maristellarium]

(actually yknow what i also want to dump a few thonkies abt yully too now lmao

though im still debating if i really want to incorporate these thonkies as proper hcs for her - it makes her feel a little too op in a way......... - but im also really leaning to doing it anyway bc this really is the kinda bs she would pull off ydgsyugdsudsgdusy)

so anyway, i think baby yully was rather nuts and kept smashing babylonia's security systems to pieces

like ive already put down that she had a habit of coding programs throughout her childhood, and i definitely did say that these programs were for cracking and copying the civilian databases. bc she was so determined to confirm if there were any Very Specific people in babylonia, so ofc, the logical thing is to get the conveniently-already-existing pool of population data for her to sort through.

but yully being yully, she wouldn't want a bunch of statistics alone. she needs as much data as possible - reports and profiles and notes, doctors' notes and school reports and whatever document there ever was, everything! so that she can cross-check the info to the last detail, analyze to the closest decimal of accuracy.

and she won't stop at just civilian data either. constructs count too. the deceased count too.

so she would collect death records and military profiles too. and considering with constructs at least, how even the military lies to itself internally - she wouldn't quite be satisfied with merely a checkmark of someone being dead. no, she would need the full story, so that she can fully and accurately reconstruct an individual's life—history, personality, beliefs; their full identity and mannerisms and mindset—as part of her own cross-referencing and analyzing procedures.

and this is all, at the very least, in the form of encrypted data - if not behind several layers of cybersecurity under Gestalt's supercomputer watch too.

Yulia wouldn't care though. she wants that info. who cares if she's like, 10 yrs old with negative zero chances of being able to hack into god damn Gestalt with her little civilian baby terminal. she needs that information for her goals. she fucking wants it.

and she has never felt something so viciously unrelenting in her life and the life before.

in a way, it feels like a very simple, logical A to B to C process for her. she feels a want, thinks about doing a thing to satisfy that want, and then simply executes.

obstacles or roadblocks or government personnel coming to her house and asking if they can inspect everyone's terminals for "important grown up reasons" aka bc they traced her hacking attempts there? (though they never actually figure out it's her specifically, partly bc child bias, partly bc the exact terminal she used has already been trashed to pieces or surgically taken apart so it doesn't exist anymore). that's all just par the course. irrelevant bc she already expected as much, so she simply needs to work with such things.

(though of course, it does hinder her in terms of efficiency to keep needing to devote time to misdirecting people's attention from her. so she would also develop methods to avoid being traced, at least not so easily - spoofing signals, false trails, falsifying credentials, coding even shit like rootkits and keyloggers, and then going the extra mile with bs like destroying or dismantling or replacing her hardware constantly, as well as even coming up with alibis for every moment she spends doing her very illegal endeavour

she's still considered a kid at this point so ofc she has all this damn free time to do all this nonsense too)

in any case, here's where im really getting at with this thonk -

Yulia going absolute ham collecting as much top-secret info in the most illegal ways means she has quite likely seen a lot of very restricted things within the government's databases. from the lying propaganda used on Constructs such as the lie of recalls, to the confidential and troubling life histories of particular Constructs such as Bianca or Kamui (or Camu rather).

ofc she probably hasn't seen Everything - but she's seen a Lot more than she, an otherwise very ordinary civilian, should by the time she's even enrolled into military college.

which is stupid nuts and also very OP of her in a broader context and mmmmmmmmmmm i don't Want her to come across as stupidly omniscient in a sense - also it's a little nuts to think that even if she's stupid intelligent and determined, that she'd able to accomplish something as difficult as hacking into hecking Gestalt or whatever government systems with the info she wants.

but at the same time..... ughhh.................... she Is stupid smart alright. and that's without fully using her brain. if she actually put her entirety into some task, she is absolutely supposed to be unholy Scary(TM).

but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah thats toooooo muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lies down)

[blank-house]

Hi!!!!! So, a few weeks ago I first played Keyframes and I immediately fell in love with it. I love how descriptive everything is, the art is stunning, the music is amazing, and the characters feel so realistic. I was also dying of laughter at so many parts 😭😭 Honestly, I could go on forever!!

I'm also already in the process of making an OC for each of the guys (and Cam hehe) cause I have zero self restraint lmao

All in all, I love the game so much even tho it's only a demo at the moment and I can't wait for the full thing to come out!! I'll definitely be there to support the Kickstarter too once it goes live <3

thank you so much for enjoying our game!

and for thinking we're funny because that's what gets us through writing, haha. wish we knew you guys liked the detail before we murked like 20k words from the scripts in the extended demo, though. we'll be blasting out the kickstarter notices as soon as were able to, so thank you for your support!