#[ but actual short hair. and out of the tall female model users-- i think she may be the only one? ]

[orchideae]

(We've all seen the first one, but the source for the second one from the official artist is here)

Yelan. Yelan, Madame Yelan, what on earth is this outfit. Granted, please don't get me wrong, I loved and was enthralled when I first caught a glimpse of her (also any glimpse of Yelan thrills me) in it, but geez. And yet, they're so consistent with her design;

— The single-sleeved jacket is a brilliant little nod to her mantle but making it something utterly hers within something that is an AU. No mystical beasts or Tsaritsa here! — The straps near her neck are a very different, but quite nice, summer-like rendition to Hoyo's consistent choice for Yelan of a halter/high neck (even the Pizza Hut ad had her in a turtleneck). A lower neckline is something that they actively seem to avoid for her so far. — The amount of see-through fabric is simply a call-back to her default outfit, but rather than spots of it left and right, it's her full-midriff and leg. It fits, it's nothing new. And if anything, funnily enough, I'd seen numerous artworks pop up of Yelan in swimming attire, and all of the designs felt a little off. I don't actually envision her in a bikini like many draw her, but instead, something like what you see here from her neck, to the midriff to the hips. Much more fitting in my opinion, actually, so I like seeing that concept in an outfit in circumstances where you'd expect a lot of summer influence. — And a detail that makes me laugh: the hand that has the white glove in her canonical outfit is also white here, and same with the black one. Also, the bracelet. God, I love consistency even if it seems trivial. But nothing's ever trivial to me guys, you know this.

All in all, thirst trap, sure, but also, good decisions were made.

[thespianinthebackcorner]

i think I've figured out why Hoyoverse seems reluctant to have a playable character with the base Melusine model instead of a human one like Sigewinne. It has to do with the coding of the models themselves.

Disclaimer I don't actually know all that much about coding at all, this is just inferences based on random events I remember.

We know there are distinct differences between playable character models and NPC models- the intricacy of the modelling, for one. However, I think it should be noted that playable characters have wider movesets, in that they can move in more ways. And I think that's the key to the Melusine model discrepancy. There is genuine code that decides how each model can move, and it's separated into NPC and Playable Character/Enemy. And although we've seen NPCs help us fight recently, their animations are often a lot less nuanced and if I'm remembering right, they sometimes do the slide-across-the-floor thing models do when they're moved without animating steps.

Melusines are coded with the base NPC code. They have their own unique animations, but they're still NPC, and in fact have even less mobility than some human NPCs due to their shape. They don't have separate running and walking animations, just skipping, and they're slow swimmers, "walking" through the water using just their feet instead of using momentum to their advantage like humans do. So Melusines are probably the least viable option for a playable character model, unless they practically rework all their animations.

Playable characters and enemies have bases, from which they are modified and altered so that they become unique. They have code that allows them to be more flexible. We know what those bases are- it's the model heights and genders. Tall, Medium and Short Male/Female. Although the Short Male model doesn't seem to have been used. It could be that they simply have one model for "Short" and don't actually gender it- it's just that the only characters they've made so far with that model are female. After all, there's not really much difference between child boys and girls, and even the NPC models for them are pretty much indistinguishable once you ignore the clothes.

Anyhoo, those bases are the ones that are specially coded to have that extra mobility. And you can actually tell that human enemies share those base models: Treasure Hoarders are medium males, the Fatui are tall male, tall female and medium female, and the Eremites are medium male/female and tall females. They're just more modified than playable characters, since they don't have to be used by the players. (Although the Treasure Hoarders and some Eremites might actually use NPC models, now that I think about it.)

What does this have to do with Sigewinne? Well, she's a Melusine, but takes a more human form. Gamewise, that's because playable character model code probably isn't something the devs want to repeat for another set of models, and with the added fact that the players will be using that model, they'd have to add in the same code that decides how the character interacts with the world. (This is things such as tails, ribbons and hair curling around when someone sits down, idle animations that might have an affect on the world like Qiqi and Neuvilette, and skills or bursts changing the sky like many characters do.)

So Sigewinne can't be a playable character and have the Melusine model at the same time, because of coding differences between models. Great, we've solved the problem! But I have one last piece of evidence that'll solidify this.

Back in late 2.3/early 2.4, there were leaks of a new playable character, although there weren't any model visuals at the time. It was a small leak, but the information was this: Short Male, sword user. They might've said something else as well, I think they said it was a Mondstadt character, but it's been a while since I saw the leak as a tweet, and it was quite short. Since there was no information about the character, people were speculating about who it was. The character's name in the files wasn't one we'd heard before at the time- Dorian.

yyyyyyyup. In retrospect... We all know who it was now, of course.

Turns out that mystery playable was actually Subject Two, given a beta name to identify him from his little brother in the files. (Actually, I think it might have been both Two and Three- there's been nothing about Three's model, so I think Subject Two and Whoppy shared a model.) But here's the thing- he was an NPC, but he had a playable character model, made separately to account for the differences between the two of them. They could have easily just applied Albedo's model and textures to a model with NPC coding- less code to run if they did that. But nope. They fully made a playable model for a character who would appear twice in the span of a few weeks and then never be seen again. Why?

Simple. Same reason Sigewinne cannot be a playable character with the Melusine model.

To truly solidify the double effect of Albedo and Subject Two, they needed their models, right down to the code, to be exactly the same. They cannot just use NPC coding- that would intrinsically lead to model differences- and remember, this model was used in two cutscenes, one of which he was the centre of a fight. Even if they do put different work into the cutscenes, it's still made using the character models in the game engine, and NPC coding just wouldn't suffice for the kind of crazy movement they needed him to pull off. We've all seen Xingqiu, only a playable character or an enemy would have the code to be able to backflip. What's the point in taking a regular NPC-coded model and taking all the effort to put in the mobility code for what they need?

So Sigewinne and Subject Two are alike in that they have the models they do for a single purpose- movement. Subject Two's leaks prove that they have different types of models, which led to people mistaking his file for a new character (although I do hope they'll make use of that and add him to the cast someday). Sigewinne is the result of that distinction, having to change model because the one she should have isn't mobile enough.

So there you go. Whole essay. Maybe it's a crackpot theory but if there's one thing I learnt from an old coding class it's that devs don't want to do any more than what makes it work...

[inkognito97]

Looking-glass AU Very interesting thing here! Was Qui-gon a Jedi before? Do they reach Naboo without killing each other? Turns out Padm�� is friendly to both Sith and Jedi XD Anakin will befriend Ashoka right? :D

The atmosphere was tense, Anakin did not even need to be Force sensitive to know that. The four Jedi that they had picked up, mostly kept to himself, just like he and his Master did. Still, the distrust was palpable.

Yet, that ginger haired Jedi Knight seemed completely unfazed by it all. In fact, he was sitting closest to the Sith pair and he looked completely relaxed. Anakin was not fooled however, he knew that the older male would be ready for battle in less than a second should the need arise. He desperately hoped that it would not come to this, the space was rather limited and Anakin had no desire to fight against three fully trained Jedi and a Padawan. Speaking of which, the female Togruta kept shooting him looks, as if there was something bothering her, but every time he turned around, she avoided her glance. It was getting frustrating and very annoying and Anakin would snap were he to ‘catch’ her one more time.

But before that could happen, did the ginger haired Knight, wave the young Togruta towards him. He whispered something to her, which Anakin could not catch and he had the suspicion that his Master could not either. Her reaction was quite startling. She pulled away from the older Force user, as if burned, and with wide round eyes, she shook her head fiercely. 

Obi-Wan just shrugged and said something else to her. The exchange was getting more and more suspicious by the minute, decided Anakin and he threw his Master a quick glance to gauge his reaction. But as usual, was Qui-Gon’s face completely blank.

Eventually, Ahsoka nodded, which earned her a gentle and approving smile of Obi-Wan. Then, she walked towards one of the boxes that were resting nearby and did not stop rummaging through it, until she pulled out a small mechanical object that looked like a partly finished droid. Needless to say, Anakin’s interest was immediately spiked. He shot a quick look towards his Master, who gave a short and amused nod in his direction, before he slowly made his way towards the female Togruta, who gladly made way for him to sit down.

For a while, he simply watched her tinkering with the small object, he was completely unaware of the stares from the adults, but eventually, he began to gave her hints on what to do better. She seemed just a little hesitant at first, but the longer he sat there, the more open she got about his suggestions. It didn’t take long for them to chatter happily, oblivious to everything around them.

Meanwhile Obi-Wan had gotten to his feet and wandered out of the main living space that the small transport had to offer. He was very much aware that he was being followed, even though the tall and long haired man was silent on his feet.

“You knew they would understand each other,” accused the deep baritone voice, but there was no spite in it. It was merely a fact being stated. 

“I did,” confirmed Obi-Wan, who finally reached the cockpit, where he seated himself on the co-pilot chair to stare out at the countless stars that were rushing past them. There was an odd beauty about space and Obi-Wan had always been drawn to it.

“Is this your try to bring the Sith and the Jedi closer together?” Qui-Gon had seated himself on the pilot chair. His arms were crossed over his chest, but his posture was otherwise relaxed. His gaze was fixed on the ginger haired male next to him.

“Who knows,” he replied mysteriously and with a teasing note in his accented voice.

A huff escaped the tall Sith. “How long do we know each other now, Obi-Wan? Do you truly think that I do not know, when you are planning something?”

“I would say… my whole life,” there was a brief pause in which the younger Force user turned to regard his companion. “Or rather, a couple of years of my life. You threw me away for the next best model after all… Master.” It was only for the briefest of moments and had Qui-Gon not looked, he would not have seen it, but his eyes had briefly turned golden.

“I did not throw you away,” barked the older male. “I knew that the life of a Sith, that the life that I could give you, was not for you.”

“And it had nothing to do with you having found the Chosen One?” one of his eyebrows was raised and when the older male did not immediately reply, he knew that he had hit his mark. “I thought so,” he said bitterly and turned back to watch the passing stars again.

A heavy silence settled between them and Qui-Gon had no idea how to break it. Obi-Wan was right. They did not really know each other, not anymore, not since Obi-Wan had joined the Jedi. Back then, Qui-Gon had not been sure if he had truly made the right decision and today, today he still did not knew. It had been very important that Anakin had someone to train him, but at what costs? He had gained a very powerful apprentice, but he had lost a loyal, skilled and highly intelligent one. How else had Obi-Wan managed to become a Jedi.

“Why the Jedi?” he asked eventually.

“Why not?” there was a reason behind his decision and the two of them very much knew that.

“Obi-Wan,” his tone was warning.

“What?” snapped the ginger haired male. “I am not your apprentice anymore, you made that very much clear, after you left me of this Force forsaken hellhole to fend for myself. I am not beneath you anymore… I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Obi-Wan was absolutely right and Qui-Gon knew that. Had the younger male still his apprentice, he would not have showed such open disrespect and he would not have needed to ask twice for an answer. But this man was no longer that insecure teenage boy, who he had taken under his wing. This was an adult, who had already found his place and his way in the galaxy.

The Sith was startled out of his thoughts, when his companion rose to his feet and turned to leave the cockpit. He briefly panicked, he did not want the other to leave just like this and on such bad terms.

“Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon was glad that the ginger haired male actually stopped walking. He did not turn around and he did not step away from the open door, but at least he was listening. “I am sorry,” he simply said.

The Jedi made an acknowledging sound, but did not offer anything more. He stepped outside, leaving the brown haired Sith to his own thoughts and doubts. Sometimes, life was a cruel and unforgiving mistress.