#((most of these fit the DA aesthetic i think)))

[afloweroutofstone]

I am not the first to notice this but there is something interesting to be said about how traditional "golden era" hip-hop culture was generally more judgemental towards male rappers rumored to be gay men than it was towards female rappers rumored to be gay, likely because the machismo of rap somehow found it easier to stomach a masculine woman than a feminine man. I am probably the wrong person to say it, but there is indeed something to be said.

In the 1990s there was this huge cultural panic over the idea that one or more of the famous men in rap might secretly be gay (LL Cool J? Diddy? Tupac? Prodigy?), so much so that many 90s rappers and fans still continue to say that they think there's Secret, Hidden Gays. "It might be the industry's worst kept secret," said Charlamagne in 2008. It's not hard to find someone online who thinks that the recent Diddy revelations are proof of his long-hidden homosexuality.

But most of the homophobia in rap wasn't even homophobia at its core, it was basically just the belief that gay = feminine = weak, and thus that gay men could not be taken seriously in any kind of Big Tough Guy competition. Some of it was explicitly homophobia, but lots of it was just misogyny!

This isn't to say that gay women were treated well in rap at the time (they were not!), but there are cases where women thrived in rap despite rumors of being gay, precisely because female gayness was perceived to be masculine while male gayness was perceived to be feminine. The (ultimately true) rumors that Queen Latifah was gay were omnipresent in the late 90s: she played a butch lesbian in a 1996 movie, Foxy Brown loudly accused her of being gay, etc. But she lost virtually zero respect as a result of those rumors (and she still played the Super Bowl around the same time!). I think a big part of the reason for this is because Queen Latifah always presented herself in a relatively masculine way that didn't offend the machismo sensibilities of the genre at the time.

Of course one part of this was less a true acceptance of gay women than it was the belief that the sexuality of gay women in rap could be marketed in the same way that the sexuality of straight women in rap was. Da Brat, who didn't come out as bisexual until long after the peak of her fame in rap, suggested that some people at her record label actually wanted her to come out: "I was always told you want to be fuckable to men and women to sell records— you don’t want anybody to discriminate." There's long been a debate about the extent to which some women in rap are forcibly sexualized by external forces vs. the extent to which some women in rap have chosen to sexualize themselves for feminist/aesthetic/commercial reasons, and I think the fetishization of lesbians and gay women more generally adds another layer to that debate.

The way that no one seems to care about women like Cardi and Megan being bisexual today likely stems in great part from the fact that they are hot, and that being hot and desirable is a deliberate part of their persona. But on the other hand, Doechii demonstrates that bi women with far less sexualized personas are still received warmly in rap today, which is evidence of the seismic shift in how hip-hop treats LGBTQ people over the last 5-10 years. Yet, even today, the butch sensibilities of Young MA fit in with mainstream rap culture far more than the flamboyant sensibilities of Le1f.

IDK I'm just rambling at this point. But I do think someone with more Gender Studies skills than me could formalize this into an interesting paper

[corvus-frugilegus]

WIP Wedsthursday

Thanks for the tag @larkinna !!!

I'm gonna get weird with this again and share some of my notes from my Ventine Architecting Rabbit Hole. Eventually this will probably be a weirdly deep headcanon meta post???

I have a standing hc that because of the scale of Tevinter different parts of it have different cultures in a way very similar to how The Byzantine Empire was so sprawling and not a cultural monolith (which is iirc a place the da team took some influence from for Minrathous). Thinking about Ventus's proximity to Antiva, i feel like it's maybe got some Levantine influence and that's what I've been rolling with when thinking about Cusine & Architecture and how that all collides with Thedas. So right now I'm rabbit holing really hard on Historical Lebanese Architecture (Beirut specifically has some history that fits My Thoughts On Ventus). This is of course inexorably linked to culture when it comes to social structure and life style! Because Architecture is purposeful. Anyway. Without further preamble, behold, my notes app notes:

Furst Principle: "architecture reveals ways of life and expresses them through symbols of practical, social and cultural value" < it says a lot about the lives people live. In Lebanon, building a house has been an overarching idea of the family-oriented culture. < Your whole neighbourhood is cousins in Ventus i will not be changing my mind on this. Family and community oriented housing structures really supports this. ^ connection to the land is evident in structure of homes too. "The underlying concept of the Lebanese residential architecture is its organic integration with the landscape and its response to the natural aesthetics. In most cases, this interaction happens through a particular architectural element that links the interior and the exterior of a house. With this in mind, there are four types of residential houses distinguished across Lebanon: the closed court house (described above), the gallery house, liwan house, and the central hall house." live stock in proximity! 2-3 story homes, rooms are a later addition. Family usually lives on the upper levels. (early homes have phoenician influence, this feels like it tracks well with tevinter having a sprawling influence too) Phoenicians preferred to live in close and shared neighbourhoods: clusters of their residential units would be connected by a common courtyard (closed courtyard houses). urban settlements were always built in places w/ access to water, mineral resources and allow dev of agriculture. cultural shift towards trade orientation: merchants converted the ground level of their houses from storage into points of sale and workshops. Souks began to develop and attract people, for trade, triggering a dense growth of courtyard compounds that could support trade "Cities in the ancient Middle East appear to have contained commercial districts. Later, in the historic Islamic world, bazaars typically shared in common certain institutions, such as the position of the muḥtasib, and certain architectural forms, such as roofed streets and courtyard buildings known in English as caravanserais. The exact details of their evolution and organization varied from region to region." < wiki on souks Lebanon - sun-drenched humid climate and the mountains covered with greenery in summer and snow, in winter < based on the snowy mountains we see in Treviso I suspect this is a good read on Ventine Climate. How do some of these concepts fit Tevinter? What makes sense in the lore? Culture & Class, Altus influence vs the Soporati after generations of Tevene Colonization. Almost all of Tevinter was something else before it became Tevene - Based on Ventus Geography, the treatment of the north as Mediterranean-ish, the Byzantine influence on Tevinter and Ventus's proximity to Treviso is giving Levant. - What are some Ventine cultural staples that have outlasted Colonization? - How does proximity to Antiva over Minrathous have an Impact? - What about Arlathan? buikdings to look up: the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek, Chamaa Castle south-east of Tyre, and the khans of Tripoli

Directions to push:

- Ventus likely has phonecian style homes, In Sporati homes it would probably be normal for the ground floor to be used for commerce or storage

- Ventine homes likely reflect a connection to the land, it's a hot and humid climate. Coastal. Nearby Mountainous areas may still experience Snowy Winter. Building materials would reflect this and may look different from forever rainy Minrathous

- Grape vines and Olive Trees are probably quite normal! Comics have suggested Ventus is quite Verdant. This requires lots of bright light. Open air markets and common spaces may help w/ increased plant pop.

- Open air or Covered markets are both possible. I suspect Ventus is large enough for both.

- What is the visual language of the Nerominean tribes? How has Tevinter Erased it? Where does it shine through anyway?

- How has frequent conflict with the Antaam impacted the city structure (literally) and culture?

- Where does Ventus align with the rest of Tevinter and where does it chafe?

I have also appended so many photos, really looking at shape and flow and considering how Ventus might have some aesthetic echoes of minrathous while having a unique visual identity.

All of this to say, Ventine architecture will say a lot about Ventine culture, and looking at historical architecture and culture in a similar biome is a really interesting place to start building ideas. Ventus has so much room to play and grounding it in its own identity is a really fun expercise. Also Lebanese Architecture is incredibly cool and a very interesting read. Also also cool to pick up on where the shapes and colours we do see in Minrathous have likely taken inspiration from.

Right now this is just in the learning about architecture and word salading out loose thoughts and questions stage. Eventually, i hope to have a set of notes on a Ventus that reflects a similar but different Tevinter to what we see in Minrathous? Starting with the real world is always a handy way to generate a lot of the questions you need to answer around world building.

Yeeesss this was all triggered by a Rook mood board tag game.

Because I've already yapped at them a tiny but about this, gonna tag: @ofcrowsanddragons @biowaredisasterbisexual

[avo-gal]

OKAY!! So I did this Lisa Frankenstein X varigo drawing ages ago

And I'm thinking abt redrawing it!! But I may switch the rolls. Bc yes aesthetically Hugo would be Lisa and Var would be the creature. BUT! Lore/personality wise wouldn't it make more sense for it to be the other way around?

I can see it both ways tho

Reasons below the cut

Originally: Varian is some old inventor/alchemist from forever ago (and he def would wear those clothes). Hugo is like the cool but creepy goth. And he just kinda goes along with whatever Var does. Maybe Nurus would be taffy??? Idk abt everyone else tho. In the vat7k pitch thing it says that Var kinda admires Hugo bc Hugo is like the person he thinks he wants to be.

Other way: Ulla dies (or in vat7k gets trapped in da library) and Var is heavily traumatized. He's the weird kid at his school (and let's be honest very emo). It makes the most sense for taffy to be Raps bc freckle sibs (which would prob make Cass Michael?) but what if Var and Quirin move to love w Eugene and fam which would make Eugene taffy. Gene also care alot abt appearance but also genuinely rlly love his family. I'm not sure who Taffys little band of friends would be but Lance is def one of them. The necklace throughout the movie would be Varian/Ullas goggles. Hugo/the creature shows up he helps Var/Lisa with his fit vibe all dat (villian Var vibes??). I def feel like Var would be into like older films like Lisa (I think that was a point in the movie?? Or am I schizophrenic??). Also the creature is just like obsessed with Lisa in the movie which ik is how alot of people interpret Hugo towards Varian.

[sky-scribbles]

So at this point it's basically inevitable that I'll write a Daemon AU for the Veilguard companions, and I thought I'd share some of my early thoughts...

(It’s been a while since I wrote my last DA Daemons pieces, but I’ll use the same rules as in those: mages’ daemons are birds, like the witches in HDM, and dwarves generally do not have daemons. So with that in mind):

Emmrich is 100% getting a vulture. Obviously there’s the association with death/disposal of bodies thing, but also... vultures are nature’s doctors. Their stomach acid kills most diseases! If vultures in an area die, you run a serious risk of diseases spreading after animals eat infected bodies. So not only does that fit with Emmrich’s role – tending to the dead in order to safeguard the living and prevent corruption from spreading – it also reflects his nature as a healer and caretaker. Also, vultures are (in my experience) so damn sweet and charming in temperament. They’re curious! They’re perceptive! (I’m not sure what species of vulture to give Emmrich yet – maybe a cinereous vulture bc I love them)

Neve strikes me as someone who’d have a heron or egret daemon: patient, perceptive, the kind to wait and watch before acting, and then striking fast and hard. Sleek, poised, and elegant, but also sharp. Again, I need to decide on a species; perhaps a snowy egret to match her ice aesthetic, or a great blue heron because they are very cool.

I’d love to give Bellara a hummingbird, but much as they match her in energy, I’m not sure they quite work as a personality match for her. Hummingbirds are pretty asocial and territorial, and I think she really needs a bird with tool-using or building behaviours to match her tinkering. I’m leaning toward a bee-eater at present; they’re just as bright and colourful as hummingbirds, they’re clever builders, and they’re social and playful.

Lucanis has big black cat energy, but I wonder if a cat isn’t a good match for someone whose main coping mechanism is Overworking tm.  Might need to progress further with his arc before I can pin him down.

Taash obviously will need something big, blunt and tough as hell. I’m very strongly considering giving them a Komodo dragon, because, well, obviously.

I haven’t the foggiest about Davrin, honestly. Like Taash, he’ll need something tough and independent, but nothing jumps out at me yet. Will continue to think as I play his arc!

Any suggestions very welcome!

[stepswordsen]

【Magi】 Judar and JuAli 🐈‍⬛🖤 ❤️ 💛

JuAli WIP doodles 🖤 ❤️ 💛

Quick doodles before I head back to my assignments

Been a while since I drew Judar and Alibaba together… I missed them!!! I hope to draw them more~

You can see the rest under the cut~

I wasn't sure if I should post my sketches here since they're so messy but I thought I might as well

I'll copy paste my old rambles too since I have more to add this time

2024 vs. 2022

(2024)

Comparison (2022 ~ 2023)

(2024)

Comparison (November 2022)

For the kissy one:

Wasn't sure which one I liked more tbh

1st one fits more...

Though for the 2nd one, I think Judar looks more efforted ADHSHDHSH

Since I excel at drawing meow meow mf charas

3rd one I drew in November 2022. The expressions are still cute in this one so I still like it, but my brush strokes improved a lot since then

For the hanfu Judar one:

Recent versions (+ the old one from 2022)

I've been playing around with the eyes~ I like these ones best. The eyes are bigger in the 1st one, and the others have them a bit smaller. The 1st one has a more innocent look. The 2nd has more slitted eyes and a "seductive" look?

Judar has sharp (tsurime) eyes and rings in his eyes, which are really fun to draw hehe 🤗

I'll redraw the hair soon! I just drew it quickly in like 5 minutes. It's finals season for me. I'm not fully free from this semester so I'm still quite busy, but you'll probably see small doodles from me 🙏

I'm definitely seeing art improvement (improvement in brush strokes and anatomy and proportions)

Ohtaka deliberately draws hatched lines near Judar's eyes to represent his eyeshadow 🤭 ❤️

I drew the hair quickly, so I didn't pay much attention to the shapes of the hair spikes so it's not as soft. But even with the quick doodle, the hair has better weight now. Once I get to refine things properly, I'll actually pay attention to the way his hair spikes are drawn.

I was recently rereading my old dialogue scripts from my JuAli AU and revamping them! I doodled Judar and Alibaba SO much in 2022. It's the Fire/Ice duality and Black Cat x Golden Retriever ship dynamic 🖤💛🐈‍⬛🐕

I wanna draw JuAli again soon and redraw my old doodles. JuAli is my main Magi ship so ofc I wanna draw lots of them~ I haven't gotten the time yet, but I want to draw my ships like AliHaku, SinJa, and KouMor eventually, too 🙏✨

Inspiration

Based on this black and red (Judar colours) hanfu I got~

Judar rambles

I originally drew Judar wearing hanfu in 2022! Still one of my personal fave doodles ❤️ Judar is my fave (no one is surprised, I have the most obvious predictable tastes in the world LMAO). A meow meow mf perfect for my tastes.

Judar fits perfectly into the highly specific Sen-core niche that my top faves all tend to fall under - Meow meow mf. C*nty sen-core bastard cat who's violent, threatens people, and ok with murder. Bloodthirsty. Monochrome aesthetic colour palette.

Manga Judar has red eyeliner (?) and anime Judar has purple eyeshadow? Both are good, but I like Judar with red eyeliner since black and red are his theme colours! 🖤❤️ I like how the colours pop, the contrast against his design, and how it matches his red eyes.

In my HCs, Judar wears a type of hanfu called Ruqun (襦裙). Ru (襦) is the cross-collared top of a hanfu, and the wrap-around skirt is called Qun (裙). The coat jacket is called Da Xiu Shan (大袖衫).

I want him to wear black, white, red, gold, hanfu & hanfu earrings, with red eyeliner and black painted nails 🤗

I still need to pick my headcanon hanfu earrings for Judar... I imagine they'd be gold with red accessories.

I just have to refine the eyes, redraw the hair and hanfu, and then start doing the lineart for it! I love the expression tbh

Additional rambles

I miss my sons, I wanna draw my HC designs of JuAli (with Judar wearing hanfu and Alibaba with tanner skin, wearing Arab traditional clothes), as a fix-it for the obvious colourism going on in Magi's character designs of SWANA and South Asian inspired characters

I bought black and red hanfu back in 2023. I based my Judar hanfu doodles on it 🥺❤️ It's in Judar colours. Black red and white 🖤❤️🤍 I'm so HAPPY to get something that reminds me of my fave 🥰🤭❤️✨ I got it from the Hanfu Story~ They have such a large selection of hanfu and they're all so gorgeous~

Basically Judar themed hanfu~ I love traditional clothes, so it's my dream to collect them! Now I can use it as refs to draw him with the poses and lighting I want teehee. Hanfu & huafu look GORGEOUS to me. I also have Việt Phục like áo dài and áo tấc~

The colours are amazing!! I love black and red combo 😭💖 It's way too easy to fall into the fashion hole and collecting traditional clothes but I definitely want more in the future!

Magi: Ch. 110 - 111, Ch. 196 - 197, Ch. 239, Ch. 288

I love how Ohtaka stylizes and draws the shape of Judar's hair and braids. It's so clever how she simplifies the shapes. It just looks so good. It looks galaxy/tornado shaped… I love how the hatched lines above his eyes in Ohtaka's inking represents his eyeliner... ❤️

Judar's expressions from Ch. 110 - 111 are so unhinged… The Ch. 288 omake Judar is iconic. Fucking crazy ass LMAO 😭😂 Love you tho! 💞🫶

I'll be honest. I've thought about changing my PFP to this Judar again from the Magi omakes, like I thought of doing it as an April Fool's joke before, but I feel like no one would bat an eye cuz of how my faves are like LMFAO

Sen-core faves: Murderous, bloodthirsty, violent (or at the very least, has a disposition for violence), MAY eat people and/or their innards 🙌

JuAli core ship posts

And while you're at it, have the meme edit of them I made (1st image)

Anyways I made the 1st image's meme edit myself <33

Alibaba with tanner skin has such great visual contrast against his earrings~

I also wanna commission arts of JuAli at one point but I'd want to do it with my headcanon designs of them (Judar wearing hanfu and Alibaba with tanner skin wearing Arab traditional clothes)

Art rambles

When I sketch, I draw out the expressions and decide which ones looks best (I either do it once or a few ~ several times) depending on whether I'm satisfied with it. I like the two most recent 2024 versions I showed~ The old ones are still nice... But I prefer the recent versions, because I think it shows how my art style and proportions improved.

These sketches are super messy right now so when I get the time I'll refine them more! It's just to make it consistent with my current style. I'm a little insecure about my sketches, so I prefer to keep most of them on priv for mutuals.

Since I'm not really a fan of the idea of my sketches/WIPs getting posted around when I'm bound to fix/refine/improve on them later when I get the chance to refine them. Though thankfully with my 2022+ lining style, my sketches look more "aesthetically nice" or "post worthy" to me...

Perhaps in the future... I do genuinely like my art style and I'm very happy with my art improvement, but I want to keep growing as an artist first. I want to reach the point where I manage to become more technically skilled and confident about my works (even my sketches)

Though since I posted the rest of the sketches under the cut, feel free to reblog them if you want!

[mercury-and-scry]

for Vindict (or any ocs you wanna talk about)!!

1.) What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

3.) What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

4.) And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

5.) How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

6.) What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

(sorry for sending so many)

good chance ill yap a lot! (ty for so many questions) so ill pop a cut here for people haha

1.) well, the thing that incited me making Vindict as a character was my friend really liking his Rook from dragon age veilguard, and saying he wanted his Rook to have dragon age oc friends, lol.

2.) I suppose you could say her role! I was actually going to make a mourn watcher character initially, and one of my other friends was thinking of making an antivan crow. those characters would pretty stereotypical for us, because I really like green and necromancy, and they like purple/blue and rogues. we agreed on a whim to switch ideas to challenge ourselves, so I ended up making a little blue rogue who is now Vin! I also knew from fairly early on she'd be a bit of a foil to the original Rook.

4.) I haven't struggled a bunch with Vindict, but ive taken a while to figure out the nuances of her personality. she's definitely very outwardly cold, ambitious and antagonistic, but yknow, there are layers.

5.) the name Vindict is 100% based on the word "vindication." why? uh, because one of the first things I knew about her is she would 110% act like this when proven right about something. and the De Riva is just taken from DA canon (I talked about it more here)

6.) bit here and there for the appearance! one of the first things I KNEW I wanted to put in her design where her icy-looking horns because Trash's gem (I think jade?) horn was a canon design I thought was inspired as fuck. her clothing is inspired by the crows fashion as seen in veilguard, but I shifted her palette to more blue to again, fit the icy theme and took away a bit of the canon typical leather armour for a bit more of a fantasy styled suit look. those are both choices I think Vindict would have made for herself in universe, she cares about clothes and is particular about her outfits, lol. the other major tidbit I want to ramble ab is her facepaint, the markings on her cheeks and nose aren't tattoos but actually the qunari vitaar. its sort of something Vindict applies to herself as a bit of a way to subtle "fuck you" to her more antiquated family members - she has a few hangups about being half-qunari, but generally finds it insulting for someone else to imply it's not ideal. the vitaar luckily isn't toxic to her because of her qunari blood, though it can sting a bit when first applied. whether a full-blooded qunari would think it's appropriate for her to be wearing vitaar when she's been raised and socialised by humans? ehhhhh,,,,

[realjem]

now dear jem why r u so angry this year over your wrapped

You see, beloved mutual, the truth of the matter is that they are pulling shit out of their ass for no reason!

Not the whole thing, for me at least, but it's specifically the sections where it tells you a month and a "phase" you had for that month that's just... wrong to me.

gonna put this under a read-more cause it might get long hold up: (it definitely got Long)

okay. yeah. hi. My top 5 songs/artists were all pretty much in order, i can verify this since i have my spotify connected to Lastfm (tracks your listens/"scrobbles" onto its own website for easily checking what you listen to the most etc etc).

(I almost forgot before this, but I must mention that a few servers I'm in have music bots that scrobble tracks listened through vc. Some of the numbers will not count on Spotify due to this, but most of my time listening was via Spotify. It changes the rankings, but not by much.)

The "Top Songs 2024" playlist is where it starts to fall apart a bit. I set up my Lastfm to show me my tracks in top listening order from Jan. 1st to Oct. 31st (about the time it collects Spotify Wrapped data)

Aaaand... my top 10, everything past the 2nd song, is out of order. I give this some leeway due to the aforementioned vc scrobbles.

(i have to splice together the Spotify screenshots since the tracks are way larger)

You see that large bulk of songs from the same album? Why does it just... not count after the 5th one? The other 4 show up separated by 3 tracks each?????

(bonus lastfm 5-21 for extra comparison)

Actually, I'm noticing now too, EVERY track from the same album has that same 3-song buffer (notice the Halloween IV tracks also being buffered above)... but why? My best guess is so that you can listen to it w/o shuffle and not get bombarded with everything from the same album at once, but I personally feel like it removes the whole point of a "Top 100" playlist, no?

Anyways... onto the "Month Phase" things.

Hey Spotify. I didn't listen to Teddy Hyde on your broken app until July? Did you just cram it in there since it kinda fits the arbitrary aesthetic? For what purpose?

What? What? What? What? It takes me 18 other artists with WAY higher numbers to even get to Da Vinci's Notebook, and that's just for April. There are a myriad of other choices it could have gone for here, but I suppose it just really wanted to play Enormous Penis in my wrapped this year. Great

Okay sure whatever man. My Weirdcore Scratch Indietronica moment. Just ignore the top 3 artists, who are all queer people. Cool. Yeah man.

Just. I dunno. It's rubbing me the wrong way. They never even mention any of the queer artists unless they had to for me. Plus, I've been hearing rumors that they've laid off a bunch of people and let AI generate the whole thing, but take that with some salt as I have no evidence besides a screenshot of a tweet that was sent to me.

All in all, I just feel like it was... incredibly lackluster this year. I think I'm out of things to say by now, but it just sucks so bad. Obviously, alongside the fact that Spotify just sucks as a platform and doesn't pay their users any sort of wage unless they're in the top 1000, but that's a discussion someone else could word way way better than I ever could.

[kalcifers-blog]

Definitely gonna draw this at some point but I have to mention that I find it HYSTERICAL that Tallulah is the only person in her weird family that isn't alternative in any way same or form (at the very most she's probably cottage core/fairy core to me)

Philza is definitely emo/goth like a weird combination of the two (mans IRL had an emo phase and tell me c/q!Philza doesn't SCREAM goth)

Missa is emo. That's it he's emo. I also think there's an element of scene kid in there but it's 90/10 of emo to scene if that makes sense

Chayanne is without a doubt punk. He takes after Technoblade, yk the anarchist who literally dismantled governments for fun in his free time. The kids a punk to his bones.

Wilbur is the least alternative out of them all but he still borrows from emo/goth ideologies and I like to think that it's a weird mix of goth emo and dark academia (DA isn't really alternative I know but it's the fact that it's mixed in with other alternative genres that makes it alternative) and it's fine if Wilbur doesn't fully fit in with this narrative because he's not around anyway so-

And then there's Tallulah, who just wants to pick flowers and play flute and is probably sick to death of hearing MCR and the amount of time it takes for them to go anywhere because the rest of her family refuse to leave the house without dressing to their established aesthetics

[diamondcitydarlin]

Just finished DATV last night, thought I'd type up a little 'review' of my thoughts and what I thought were pros/cons etc, for anyone thinking of purchasing and trying it out but might be on the fence or whatever. Or just for fun idk lol. There are probably going to be some very minor spoilers below the cut, though I'm really going to try to avoid mentioning the big ones (at the very least I will avoid mentioning specifics lol, but probably not a spoiler-free review).

PROS

Really loved the combat system in this one a lot, despite the fact that the rogue class (at least so far as I can tell, I was a veil-jumper/archer focused and put my talent points into the related tree so that might have influenced things I have no idea) doesn't have stealth in this one. You don't necessarily need it, but I feel a stealth option would have come in handy during fights when the player needs to do mechanics with blight boils and crystals etc, especially as the monsters seem to hone-in solely on the main player no matter what. SORRY this is still a pro! Despite the lack of stealth, I still really liked the combat system and mechanics a lot, it's very fluid with the dodges and sprints. It was also pretty reminiscent to playing World of Warcraft which I often do, so I felt like it fit my current skill set lol. HOWEVER, as others have said, this combat system isn't really RPG and isn't like how they've done combat in games past, so be aware of that.

Opinions are going to vary on this, but I feel like the companions are all pretty solid and likeable, which for me is a bit of a departure bc in every game there's usually one or two that I avoid/dislike or find boring for whatever reason (not gonna name names lol). This also makes the choices you'll face with them A LOT harder, but for me that's a pro. Rip my heart into shreds please.

Obviously the graphics and aesthetics are gorgeous, top-tier, the design team really put their whole pussy into this lol. Not much else needs to be said on this point other than I also appreciated the lack of glitches and issues (I think between my husband and I playing alongside each other, we encountered maybe only one or two issues in the whole playthrough, kudos to the QA team!). Ig that last one is kind of a lowbar, but in a world where games often get shipped too early and riddled with issues, it's nice to play something newly released that has obviously been play-tested over and over and over and is pretty seamless as a result.

This is more of a personal one and kind of a SPOILER but: I really loved how involved the Inquisitor was in the story. I really expected us to see them maybe once or twice, but my girl reappears REGULARLY across the entire story, which is so fun. It makes sense, of course, as the Inquisitor would've been close with Solas whether they romanced him or not (or even hated him, as my Inquisitor did). Also fun to see her and Dorian sorta hanging out together again bc they were besties in my game. IDK if everyone's going to care about that since most people didn't seem to like Inquisition very much -it's my fave don't kill me-, but she's a really important OC for me so that was cool lol. (None of the other former MCs appear or even get mentioned as far as I'm aware, including Hawke, which...considering what happens was a bit of a mistake imo)

This might be a 'con' for some people, but this game is (imo) more puzzle-heavy than the others, in terms of having a lot of main and side quests where you have to figure out which crystals need to be destroyed or empowered etc, and that's something I actually enjoy even (and especially) in combat, so if you like those kind of mechanics I think you'll really enjoy this game.

CONS

As mentioned above and as others have said, this isn't really a proper RPG as DA games have been in the past. You still have a team of companions (three, including yourself) and you can still control their attacks, but you don't control them directly and as far as I could tell there was no proper tactical map (but it's also possible I missed it...I didn't figure out how runes on my dagger worked until the final boss SO LOL)

While the companions are all really likeable, strong characters (imo) and you do get a good amount of side quests with them and personal stories and the like, I still sort of feel like it was lacking in comparison to the others on this front. IDK, in the other games it felt like there was more time, more dialogue, more cutscenes spent on fleshing out those friendship/team/romance bonds, and especially with the success of BG3, I had been sort of hoping BioWare would take notes and have more random personal cutscenes here and there to discover, more moments of the team just fucking around together etc. It's still there, I just felt like there could have been...more? Like, in DA:I how you can just go chat with companions out of cutscene here and there when you go back to Haven or Skyhold, and those convos are completely optional but reveal a lot about the companion you're talking to. Not a thing in this game, you only talk to the companions when they have scheduled cutscenes and I feel like something was missing without that option to just go kinda casually shoot the shit with them. Those kinda dialogues also gave opportunity to find out what's going on with companions of past games, but as that's not a thing in this one we don't really...know about a lot of them.

The Rook character. Okay, I want to preface that I actually loved my Rook a lot in this first playthrough, but that's because I don't really mind playing a character that is morally good and a team player. If you were hoping for more options in defining your Rook character, maybe doing an evil playthrough though, I have unfortunate news. There really aren't a lot of options for defining the Rook character in different ways and you're sort of locked into a lawfully or chaotic good path with them. I feel that was a missed opportunity to bring more options into the game for replays, like an outcome where you could do an evil Rook and side with the Elven gods or something. I'm honestly not even sure if you can piss off your companions so much they leave or hate you, but maybe? Seems like that would be the REAL challenge as Rook is just kind of locked into being a nice person no matter what.

The crafting system. I honestly don't remember a lot about the crafting systems in Origins and DA2, but I do replay DA:I a lot and can confidently say that I fucking LOVE the armor/weapon crafting system in DA:I. I love that you can recolor armor sets based on the materials you've gathered. I love that the player themselves are like, working at a forge to make them, so it feels like they're doing it personally for their friends lol. I love that you can find schematics in-world for making new armors and weapons. DATV pretty much takes all of that away. Materials you gather in DATV are just for upgrading preexisting armors, which the Crossroads Caretaker does themselves. The only way to get new armors and appearances is to buy them from vendors or loot them from chests etc. I feel like this was a really big misstep on their part because the crafting system of yore was a BIG chunk of the fun for me and half the reason I loved grinding so long. This is probably the worst sin of the game imo, but this is totally personal preference.

Another big one for me- as many of you probably already know, this game doesn't factor in the world states as the others did, it just asks which character the Inquisitor romanced in DA:I. That's it. It doesn't care who ended up being Divine (despite the Divine being mentioned frequently) it doesn't care what choices you made in other games regarding the lore, it doesn't care what other kind of relationships you might have had with companions. Actually, I think losing the world states is probably the biggest sin of this game, way more than the crafting system. It obviously wasn't a deal-breaker for me, but I really feel that A LOT was lost without factoring in the world states and making follow-ups in this story as they've done in the past. I KNOW that would be a lot of work to develop and account for, but as it's been a staple of this series and incorporated into past games it's pretty disappointing to not have it at all this time.

(I technically have more 'cons' but they're too spoilery and just regard lore decisions I didn't totally agree with so I'll leave those out)

On the whole, I really thought it was a super fun game and I will most likely do more playthroughs at some point. However, if you are a DA fan and have played all the games, it will be impossible not to compare and contrast, and I think most DA fans will probably find this game to be the weakest of the four. But, still, it's a gorgeous, fun, and pretty solid action/adventure game, so I think if you like that sort of thing it's worth a try to play!

[candewlsy]

MOOT GAME !!!!!!!!! haha which idol would u ship ur moots with ??

Mooties game lesgaur!!

❛ @wondipity ༉‧₊˚✧

[Jungwon - Enhypen] During our conversation, Bell and I mainly talked about Jungwon. In my opinion, they would make the most perfect and adorable couple. I can vividly imagine them spending their time laughing, being affectionate and enjoying each other's company all day, every day. Their chemistry is so undeniable and their connection is so strong that it seems impossible for anyone or anything to come between them.

❛ @enmayz-deactivated20240331 ༉‧₊˚✧

[ Jake - Enhypen ] I know she deactivated her account but that won't stop me from adding her to my moot game 😿 ( I miss her) Okay! So, Lily and Jake would be the hottest and coolest couple 😍 Jake is hot same goes for Lily. Lily's not fond of men unless it's her man Jake 🤭 ahem, not gonna talk about the cowboy edit we talked ‼️ I want to be THEIR baby please adopt me.

❛ @chlorinecake ༉‧₊˚✧

Chloe is an absolutely endearing young girl, with a smile that can light up anyone's da (FIGHT ME THIS IS REAL) Riki, on the other hand, is a playful and charming guy, who loves to tease and have fun with his friends. It's easy to imagine that Riki would often pull Chloe's leg, but she wouldn't mind it one bit. In fact, she might even go ahead and dress him up in cute outfits, just to see him blush and pout. Despite Riki's apparent dislike for cute things, it's hard to deny that he secretly enjoys them when it comes to Chloe. The way he looks at her, with a mix of tenderness and mischief, makes it clear that he can't resist her charms. And while they may appear as just good friends in public, it's evident that their relationship goes deeper than that. Behind closed doors, they're passionate lovers, who share a bond that's both electric and intimate 😼

❛ @fakeuwus ༉‧₊˚✧

[Jay - Enhypen] Whenever Jay is mentioned, Nichi will appear. Where there is Jay, there is Nichi. I think Nichi and Jay would be the softest and calmest couple, always following each other around. I can see them staring at each other's eyes under the Moon, spending their time under the blanket cuddling like there's no tomorrow. In their own little world, isn't that cute 😭

❛ @heeslut4life ༉‧₊˚✧

[Heeseung - Enhypen] her username. Yeah, it's obvious. Aeri is a princess and of course, she's attractive and pretty (idk whatchu say about her, she's a princess) Heeseung is attractive and hot. The hottest and most attractive couple ever! I see them tease each other and giggle while kissing 👀 heeseung would probably tease the hell out of her and Aeri being cute and shy whenever he teases her. Other than that, they're also mature. THEY LITERALLY MEANT FOR EACH OTHER BRO DON'T SAY OTHERWISE.

❛ @minhosimthings ༉‧₊˚✧

[Beomgyu - Tomorrow x Together] "Mona's free-spirited nature is perfectly complemented by Beomgyu's lively personality, making them a perfect match. I can easily imagine them causing some harmless chaos, like bursting into fits of uncontrollable laughter in a library and getting kicked out, unintentionally scaring a child with their playful antics, or even sneaking away with candy from unsuspecting kids.

❛ @dear-hoon ༉‧₊˚✧

[Sunghoon - Enhypen] I perceive Lucky as someone who enjoys creating mischief and stirring up trouble. It is widely known that Sunghoon has an outgoing personality, despite being an introvert, and he often engages in impulsive and unpredictable behavior, especially when it comes to getting a rise out of Jay. I envision Lucky and Sunghoon teaming up to provoke Jay and Xyn.

❛ @moon7jay ༉‧₊˚✧

[Jay - Enhypen] Xyn radiates an elegant and expensive vibe, making her and Jay the perfect fashion icon couple. They look great together, often matching their outfits and taking photos of each other to post on social media. I can see them becoming one of those aesthetic and wealthy couples. (Literally adopt me mommy-)

❛ @wonlvkay ༉‧₊˚✧

[Jake - Enhypen] Kayla is such a sweet and charming girl, the perfect match for Jakey 🤭 they'll be the greenest flag couple ever

[fgfluidity]

bartender (part 4)

Summary: bartender- English, ‘the one who mixes drinks’

Over time and betrayal, people and drinks both change. (sequel to pincerna)

Pairings: Damien/DA, Mark/Celine, Wil/Celine (all only mentioned)

Warnings: mentions of death, blood, alcohol (obviously); please drink responsibly

Bartender: 1 | 2 | 3

support me?

@opprose @volbeast @statictay @otterlyinluv @mirrorslament @alaroweq

III.

♫ When you're laying so close to me There's no place I'd rather you be Than with me ♫

It’s hard to find a shadowy part of this venue to hole up in. The mirror ball twirls above the dance floor, and colored lights flash from a multitude of angles; everyone wears something bright, something revealing, sequins and metallics and jewelry all hoping to emulate the sparkle above them.

That’s the style, these days: bright, shining, glitter and sparkle over everything. There’s no such thing as too much.

As if their own time didn’t have that problem, he’ll admit, but Wil… was never really a part of it.

Sure, Wil had his excesses. They all did, in their ways-- Mark had his manor, Celine her intense studies, his own efforts in alcohol and coffee. Wil went for experience, adventures halfway around the world, exotic animals and weaponry. He wasn’t quite for color and flash, at least not in his personal style; he could count the times Wil wore anything other than neutral canvas on one hand.

It’s certainly not the case, now, though Damien can’t deny it’s very much an experience.

He’s on the stage, dressed in some of the flashiest clothes in the place. His hair is starting to shade pink, following right on the tail of his mustache, pink as bubblegum and curling proudly on his upper lip. While several women stand behind him, acting as accessory to his frankly improbable dance moves, the only person next to him is a bald man Damien can’t look at too long.

The disco ball can only do so much against his glitchy darkness. Stark red and blue wouldn’t fit with the aesthetic, anyway.

“Why so glum, chum?”

Damien doesn’t jump. Flinch, perhaps, and a nearby tray of drink jostles due to a stray bolt of nothing, but he doesn’t jump. “Wil.”

He didn’t look away. He didn’t blink. Wil was simply on the stage, and then he was right there, holding some concoction that rivals his mustache in color.

The drink wobbles dangerously close to the edge as he tries to drink it, to middling success.

“Damie! It’s been a little while. A couple weeks from now, actually-- you even cleaned up your suit!” He looks to him fondly, before he grimaces. “My, but it’s grim, though. Are you sure you don’t want any color to it?”

“You know I’ve never been one for colors.” He doesn’t bother working out the mind-bending timeline. For all that he’s changed, at least Damien experiences time sequentially.

For the most part.

“Well, you should try. I have a whole wardrobe, I could let you borrow something.” He strokes his mustache, as if perusing the wardrobe in real time. “It’d change your attitude around! Again, what’s so wrong? I love having you, I do, but… well, you’re kind of bumming the party out.”

He delivers his last sentence in a stage whisper, and Damien glances around to follow his eyes. He’s astute, at least-- in a small radius around him, the color desaturates and dims, the bright disco music drowned out by a whine of static.

Perhaps he isn’t quite so as unaffected-- or in control-- as he’d thought. He takes a breath, and as he lets it go, the radius shrinks. It doesn’t disappear, unfortunately, but it at least shrinks to his immediate vicinity. “I wouldn’t want to ruin your party, Wil. I apologize.”

Wil sniffs. “I accept your apology, but you’re still not answering my question, and I take that very seriously. You used to be such a party animal, why are you graying my party with your attitude?”

“I didn’t think I was,” Damien replies. His new aura unnerves him as much as anyone, after all-- doing it on purpose feels wrong, when he can manage it.“I just thought I’d check in-- I’m-- I’m not much of a party animal, these days.”

“No, you’re just boring now.” Pouting, Wil throws out his mostly-empty glass; in seconds, he has a full one, pulled from nowhere as far as Damien can tell. “Oh, I have to have my revenge, oh, I have to save my beloved from his grubby little mitts, oh, I’m too busy to consider my friend’s television pitch. Boring.”

He’s been called boring, before. A stuffed shirt, out of touch, a wet blanket-- he’s heard them all and took them in stride. It’s best for a politician to be seen as boring-- so long as they back it up with good policy.

It’s the mention of them that shakes him. “Wil-- they’re gone, Wil, they aren’t-- is he after them? Are they still--?”

Unbidden, his aura reacts; like ink in water, it spreads from his shadowy little corner, sapping every sparkle and hue from the dance floor, from the party goers. The speakers squeal and shriek his static, and the whole place splits in four directions.

Wil eyes him, the only bright spot untouched in the venue, then sighs into a lip trill. “I didn’t know you didn’t know that, yet. Time. Hold on.”

He flips a throwing knife out of nowhere-- his sleeve?-- and without looking, launches it straight into the mirror ball over the dance floor. Glass sprinkles down, and his dancers yelp and scatter to the sides.

“Everybody out! We’re having a conversation, thank you. I’ll see you all at the next one.” With another knife, he jams the breaker next to them, cutting out all the light and interrupting Donna Summer mid-chorus. “Five minutes, next door. Thank you!”

Without skipping a beat, he pops up behind the bar-- behind the curtains-- next to him again, and shoves another ridiculously full cocktail glass into his hand. “Try this! It’s tasty, you’ll like it. Probably. Also it may or may not have been invented yet, but really, that’s not a problem. Research can only go so far and this story’s a year in the making.”

One thing Damien can say for Wil’s rambling these days-- it bewilders him enough to stop his aura from spreading any further. “What?”

“The drink, Damie, keep up.” Wil pulls a notebook from, again, nowhere, and flips through the pages. “Yes… yes, you’re a little early for that info, but frankly I think you need to stop being a sourpuss; the only way you’ll do that is if you actually do what you came for.”

“So-- so they’re out there. He has them?” His head spins with the idea. That could be two birds with one stone; take him out and get them well out of harm’s way. He sets the drink aside and turns on Wil. “Where are they? How do I--”

“Well, I don’t know everything, Damien,” Will huffs, shoving the drink in all its pink glory right back into his hand. “Just whatever is funny and/or cryptic and/or helpful. All that mission stuff is up to you; just get it over with so we can start production. Office rent isn’t cheap, you know.”

It’s not helpful, and it’s barely funny, but his words are certainly cryptic. Damien takes a deep breath through his nose, reeling his aura back in with the exhale-- it’s easier this time. “So you don’t have information. Do you at least have any advice?”

Wil ponders that a moment, or seems to, eyeing him. “Drink,” he says, definitively. “Then, follow your nose.”

At least one of those is easy to follow.

He doesn’t really care for the drink.

--------

Cosmopolitan

--

50ml/2oz citron vodka

20ml/1oz Cointreau

20ml/1oz lime juice

10ml/0.5oz cranberry cocktail

lime wedge for garnish

Add to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lime wedge.

Sweet and sour and bright pink; it’s something just right for the dance floor. Let the music move you, but be careful-- this one’s a lot more dangerous than it appears.

[wallbeatjournal]

JIMIN MENTION. Riverdale characters as BTS members

unfortunately i did workshop this with the army gc and i think i have a proposal. it doesn't totally work because of gender dynamics and the way the universes of corporate-competitive art performance and riverdale aren't really quite aligned, but i think i got somewhere.

RIVERDALE MAINS AS BTS MEMBERS:

jughead = rm / kim namjoon. iconoclast. the lyricist-narrator of the whole deal. the link to the big corporate-bureaucratic metaplot in the sky. a typewriter kind of guy. there are so so so many of him and sometimes they interact. queerbait-complicit and yet sidestepping it.

reggie = jin / kim seokjin. the negotiator. the big-city boyfriend from the hallmark movie. the nation's son-in-law but DID flirt with your grandmother and your dad at the function. fed that mean old man from his bare hand. schemes and scams, less opportunistically than as a vocational calling. second place to karl marx and knows it.

betty = suga / min yoongi. she's resisting her idol image with her gratuitously-edgy secondary persona but she's still your poor little meow meow, your baby. she's alert! she's fractured! her amygdala is working sooo hard. her shadow grows and grows and she's avoiding it she's looking at it she's avoiding it she's looking. don't say tangerine.

veronica = j-hope / jung hoseok. idk it's about perfectionism. it's about how CRYING 👏 DOES 👏 NOT 👏 FIT 👏 WITH 👏 HER 👏 LIFE'S 👏 VIBE. it's about lean-in girlbossism. it's about success not creating psychological safety (but she wants more anyway bc what else is she here to do). she's nice but she's ruthless but she loves you!! and on several tragic levels iykyk: she da bus driver all of a sudden.

kevin = jimin. compulsive joiner. compulsive people-pleaser. compulsive flirt. compulsive. mapplethorpe fanboy. gender outlaw. a smoke-show, now. most likely to charm a late night talk show host. queerbaiter of the cruising-coded-crowd-scene variety. most likely to put it all on the line for a little cabaret ♥

cheryl = v / kim taehyung. questionable art appreciator. questionable painter. questionable self portrait accumulator. high-aesthetic curator of Scenes and Situations. president of gay fanservice (self-appointed). glamorous alien OR reclusive little freak. if the high-aesthetic, melodramatic-literary closet case lament fits.

archie = jungkook. golden boy all-rounder. beefcake-on-display. designated himbo. Wants To Help. will NOT contribute to a conversation so don't even try. gives kind of a sincere wounded baby animal quality at times. queerbait via lore-relevant chime card sponcon (this isn't jarchie but it does make you ask yourself "is charlie puth sort of jugheadcore, if jughead sucked (derogatory) instead of sucking (complimentary)?")

[gigidridrih]

°• 𝐀yla Saky •°

Oookkayy... Do you really want me to talk about her? It's no surprise to anyone that Ayato is one of the most popular boys. I can guarantee that in the female version he would be worse. A Queen never loses her Majesty. Besides, she always has a group of girls, while Ayato already had his gang. The term Bad Girl combined with Ayato's point is already one of the fandom's favorite Bad Boys. In Ayla's case, it wouldn't be so far away, nor so close. While I was doing her Aesthetic, Maddy came to mind. Because just like her, Ayla would also be very stylish. Confident and competitive. I don't know about you, but if she were more visible... I don't think she would go unnoticed. Not to mention that because of the pressure from her Mother she would be a great dancer and her voice would not disappoint. note: to make her I had to appeal to the highest standard of Playlists focused on empowerment... okay and singers that fit well with my point of view.

She would be like the girl you can reject and when you wake up she's there setting fire to your stuff. :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oookkayy... Você realmente quer que eu fale sobre ela?

Não é surpresa pra ninguém que Ayato seja um dos meninos mais populares. Posso garantir que na versão feminina ele conseguiria ser pior.

Uma vez Rainha nunca perde a Majestade. Além de sempre te um grupo de meninas enquanto Ayato já teve sua gangue. O termo Menina Má combinado com o ponto de Ayato já é pra fandom um dos Bad boys favoritos. No caso da Ayla não seria tão Longe também não tão perto. Ao lado enquanto fazia a Estética dela me veio a cabeça a Maddy. Pois assim como ela, Ayla também seria bem estilosa. Confiante e competitivo. Eu não sei vocês, mas se ela estava mais a vista.... Eu não acho que ela passaria despercebida. Sem contar que por conta da pressão da Mãe ela seria uma ótima dançarina e sua voz não decepcionaria.

Ela seria tipo a garota que você pode rejeita e quando você acorda ela ta la tacando fogo nas suas coisas.

:D

nota: pra fazer ela tive que apela pro mais alto padrão de Playlist concentradas em empoderamento... okay e cantoras que caiam bem com meu ponto de vista.

[yourlocalabstraction]

Guys wake up the yourlocalabstraction-ified Heart and Mind designs just dropped

Text translations below!

added annotations that aren’t on the canvas will be italicized

Notes for Mind:

I have a LOT of ideas

Hair has floof but still is angular

Ball jointed

Cane to help w/ inefficient/rusty leg joints. I think it doubles as a cool looking septer too. This isnt fully scrapped, i plan to use this occasionally!! The cane will probably resemble an umbrella and have more sun motifs because yes

A metal petticoat thing would be really neat however idk if i can make it work .__. [spoiler alert, it didnt work]

GENDER ENVY. GENDER. ENVY.

Paint chipped from Juno incident [Juno aimed for his heart. Like that would do anything]

Sun on da back,,,

Mind-coded brush dump [reference the 753356 brush swatches]

This canvas has like 80 layers please send help

Voice modulator is normally covered when he’s around the others. Poor bby

Adding random notes to fill the canvas

Crown goes away towards the end of cacophony, somewhere btw. Light + TWWAY since bro no longer needs to assert dominance. [comes back every reset though ofc]

Can visualize ideas via hologram [inspired by NaraArts in the CJFS]

Him jumpscare

Notes for Heart:

Maybe has a life support thing? (Idk what they’re called). Perhaps bc he’s blind, the lil heart can give him info about his environment. Or it could help him express his emotions (i have no idea what i meant by this. Maybe its like an emotional support creature). Idfk man. Plus its a more unique take ig. Annnnd spoiler alert this whole idea was scrapped. Will it ever come back? We may never know.

Drastic height difference??? (Between him and the life support thing)

Longer, majestic blindfold tails

Thicker hips to contrast Mind’s proportions

No wings, around-back wings, lil but impractical wings, arm wings (i ended up going for arm wings)

W.o. Blindfold: Injury from middle prong (i have realized the correct word is tine. My b) (also when drawing his face in the future I’ll probably draw his injuries more prominent because its more realistic)

Going for more rounded lips

Probably is very self conscious of his face, especially after the trident incident. Poor bby <3

Idea: wing cloak?!? Heart-shaped knot over da heart (this was also scrapped)

Will be continued on another canvas! He needs a fit…

Ngl im struggling a bit. I want something wing-like but im not exactly sure how to portray it .__. All i know is we gotta have rounded shapes + moon symbols ig

I kinda want him to have a more traditional? Classy? Vibe (nvm i went for smth more cozy) to contrast Mind’s industrial aesthetic.

[arrow pointing to my sona] paranoid that seeing 2 billion HMS fan designs has ruined my ability to create a unique interpretation

Side of the leg view: feathery floof

Ourple veins!! (Maybe not this dark tho)

Socks !!

Idea: he stiches (I MISSPELLED THAT FUCK) on patches that represent Whole’s favorite and/or current and/or most prominent memories. Or maybe Mind sews on new ones every Concord once they become besties,,, THE PLATONIC BONDING POTENTIAL AAAA *STIM STIM STIMMMM*

If you read this far, here. (gives you a grilled cheese sandwich)

[themiddleofthehill]

The thing about Dark Academia that speaks to me the most, I think, is that it has taught me how I can love myself again. It has taught me to love the little things in life that I wouldn’t otherwise notice, that I wouldn’t otherwise care about. 

DA has shown me a style that makes me feel good and pretty and confident; that makes me feel (even if it is just for a little moment) like my life is put together because it looks that way. Even if behind the scenes I’ve never been a bigger mess, even if I’m falling apart physically and mentally and emotionally, I don’t hate how I look in the mirror anymore.

I’ve learned to fall in love with the little things in life, like writing letters for myself, or drinking tea out of thrifted cups, or playing chess with my sister over the phone. I’ve learned to fall in love with reading again, and like I never have before. And not just the popular YA literature I liked before (although I do still love and read those too!) but classic literature, modern literature, poetry, drama, anything I can get my hands on, really.

And I know it’s not “the best course of action” to make every part of your life aesthetic. I know focusing too much on how things look, or whether or not they fit into this “theme” I have going on, can be shallow and unrealistic.

But on some days the only thing I can eat is my DA breakfast. (porridge with banana, honey and cinnamon) Some days the only reason I’ll open the blinds of my window is to complete the aesthetic setting I’ve created in front of it. 

[birdo-is-here]

write me do that yes

in which Asmodeus makes a small error

word count: 780~

Asmodeus closed the door gently behind her, going almost agonisingly slow so that the door wouldn’t creak as she shut it. Of course, it still clicked as it latched onto the frame, but she doubted Leviathan would notice that – and there was no preventing that one, anyway.

Leviathan was always an odd one. He was so much larger than Asmodeus was and this room was so cramped, and yet he still seemed to manage this place without a hitch. She had to say it was her one true dream to see how exactly he managed it when his head could barely even fit inside.

The pink demon scanned the room from the door. There were dozens of nautical decor placed meticulously around the place with care; a miniature boat figurine and a ceramic siren on the front desk, a captain’s wheel mounted on the wall next to the window, a fish in a bowl in the corner of the room. The fish wasn’t moving, it may have been dead. To be fair, most things here were dead.

Even the room itself was clearly designed to look like a captain’s quarters. It was rather strange, there were so many pirate motifs and yet Asmodeus had never associated Leviathan with pirates once. Maybe he liked the aesthetic.

There were four lines of shelves on either side of the room, all filled with bottles containing tiny boats filled with water. That was curious. Asmodeus approached the nearest ship in a bottle, picking it off of the shelf. She turned it over in her hands.

The bottle was rather grimy, and the water terribly murky as well. The boat looked quite old and weary, it was a bit of wonder how it was holding together at all. The bottle was completely filled with the water, pretty much turning this sailing ship diorama into more of a shipwreck diorama. Maybe she could…

Asmodeus popped the caulk off the bottle, and tipped the water out onto the ship. The boat was a little too big to fall out, but apparently a human soul wasn’t.

Oh, fuck. Oh. Oh, these bottles were Hells. Whoops. Whoopsies. A daisy popped into her hand. Oopsy. Daisy.

The soul couldn’t exactly be described; it didn’t have an appearance. It was more that Asmodeus could feel the vague outline of it. It appeared to be dissociating a little. Or a lot. Probably understandable, she had no idea how long it had been in there.

She sort of waded in place, momentarily unsure what to do. Maybe this guy would like a change of scenery, she figured, as she reached out and bopped the soul downwards, sending it to her own layer.

Leviathan certainly would have felt all that. Uh oh. Time to find Lucifer.

“LUCIFEERRRRR I GOT A PROBLEMMMM” Asmodeus wailed. She was in the casino layer now; she hadn’t exactly seen the King of Demons yet but, hey, he’s usually here or in one of his mobile casinos. Whatever counts.

“AH?” See? Told you. Lucifer poked his head out from behind a row of slot machines.

“I made an oopsie :(“ Her voice naturally began to turn a much deeper, masculine tone as she spoke; which personally did not suit the general cutsie, infantile vibe she was going for right now, but she’d make do.

“What happen babes?!” The King of Besties fully stepped out from behind the slot machines, approaching the demon with some hustle.

“So. You know how Levi never lets anyone into his rooooom~”

“Yeeeesss~”

“And he said that if he were to catch anyone in his room he’d kill them personalllyyyy~”

“Did you go into his room baby giiiirrrlll~?”

“Mmmaayybeee,,, And I may have also accidentally broken one of his Heeeellllsss,,,,,”

Lucifer quit the bit of matching Asmodeus’ energy, straightening his posture slightly as he brought a hand to his face. He looked skywards, as if thinking. He hummed as well, to sell the charade.

After a moment, he dropped his hand to his hip, shifting his weight as he looked back to her.

“Alright, here’s what you’ll do… You simply. were not there!” He opened his arms in a ‘ta-da!’ gesture.

Asmodeus made an “ooh” noise. “You’re so right! Oh, how could I forget.. I was down here, gambling with you, the entire time..!”

Lucifer clapped his hands together. “Correct, love! Here, I’m even your alibi; We played Poker !” an ace of spades appeared in his hand, “You were never down there, but you’re soo terribly sorry for his loss~”

She nodded earnestly. “Mhm. Mhm. Such a tragic thing, losing one of your Hells.”

“It truly is, darling.”