#LOVE the creepy sculpted faces vibe that's showing up here

[the-punforgiven]

YOOOO Love that funky kick move in the trailer too, if that's a new fist weapon I'm gonna be so hyped

[eggsaladstain]

Have you ever took notice of the odd mural in the dining saloon. When Eyk goes to announce the change of course to the 1st class passengers, the first shot is of him with his back towards the camera and the crowd looking at him, and over their heads is this grey mural depicting what seem to be two giants (they appear to be giants to me, at least), the Earth symbol, and the vortex of water that Ling Yi witnessed. Have you any thoughts about that? It's too peculiar to not mean anything!

hi anon and thanks for the ask! here's the mural in question, on the kerberos:

and on the prometheus:

broadly speaking, this is such a great example of the level of attention to detail on this show and how everything, from the writing to the costume and set design to the creepy music and sound effects, was so meticulously crafted to breathe life into this world and give us clues for how this story would unfold.

as far as the mural itself, it’s chock full of foreshadowing and references to greek mythology, but before we dive into that, it’s worth mentioning that the mural is a relief sculpture, that is, a piece of art where the figures project outward from a flat background. this sculpted marble look of the mural ties in nicely with the opening credits which shows the characters as statues:

and statues, of course, are a physical, three-dimensional representation of a moment suspended in time, which turns out to be the twist with all the countless repeating simulations. it’s such a small detail that, combined with all these other small, subtle details, really sets the mood and tone for the rest of the show. immaculate vibes, truly.

but back to the mural, here’s a clearer image that emily beecham posted on twitter (with a bit of color correction and added sharpness):

you have the two ships, prometheus and kerberos, flanking the the triangle/earth symbol (with what looks to be parents and a child in the center) in the middle of a swirling vortex, which all foreshadow the ending where the failed simulations/ships are swept up in the vortex into the graveyard.

in each of the corners, you have a significant figure from greek mythology:

starting from the top left, there is zeus with his lightning bolt, who curses prometheus to his punishment in the top right, who is ultimately saved by hercules in the bottom left, who is depicted wrestling cerberus in the last of his 12 labors. in the bottom right is nyx, the goddess of night who is mother to hypnos (sleep), oneiros (dreams), and the moirai (the three fates), to name a few, and she is feared by zeus because she is older and more powerful than him.

and finally, you have the smaller figures scattered throughout of other people being swept into the vortex, referencing both the dead passengers from the mass suicide as well as the river styx, which dead souls must cross in order to reach the underworld. the figures in the river actually reminds me specifically of the scene in disney’s hercules and the visual is incredibly effective and striking in both cases:

i’ve mentioned a lot of doom and gloom so far but rest assured there are some glimmers of hope as well.

prometheus is ultimately freed from his eternal punishment by hercules. after completing his final task of subduing cerberus, hercules is able to atone for his crime of murdering his wife and children. nyx also gave birth to aether (brightness) and hemera (day). and i have nothing nice to say about zeus.

i really love all these references to greek mythology that were woven into the show, and in fact, the story itself plays out as a greek tragedy on multiple levels as well.

if you take the ship story at face value, you have these tragic, flawed characters who are all trying to escape their own traumas who end up dying at sea while trying to help a sister ship.

if you look at it from the simulation level, the tragedy only deepens as you have these characters who are doomed to repeat the same simulation over and over again, failing every time, unable to escape their fates. it’s only at the end that it seems like maura may have broken the cycle, but there are also plenty of clues to suggest that she has only traded one simulation for another.

and of course, if you look at it from a meta level, you have this big-budget, ambitious show that was created by an acclaimed director and screenwriter duo that was well received by critics and viewers alike and was canceled with little explanation less than two months after its release.

i will never get over this so thank you anon for giving me another excuse to talk about this show.

[blookmallow]

reviewing spirit animatronics for 2023

i almost forgot again. but here we are

apparently the website doesnt display animatronics that are sold out so im trying to dig for them... this isnt a complete list im doin my best

anyway lets GOooooooo

Gourdo

im gonna start with my favorite look at this silly little guy. something about this design is just incredibly endearing to me and the stringy guts look pretty good in motion too. hes cute and i like him. his description says he was a guy who kept scaring everybody all the time and one day he scared an old lady who turned out to be a witch so she turned him into a pumpkin. and now hes stuck like this bc he could not behave himself. i love gourdo i want him 10/10

Eternal Rest

its a tombstone. theres a sad crying face and it turns into a skull face and screams at you. thats... thats it. it looks fine but its just really basic, this is doing nothing for me

3/10

Poor George

this guy was at my local store for a while. hes pretty fun, he flips around and his face changes. i like his funky stripes. makeup design looks extremely art the clown which is just making me wish they had him instead

its at least an attempt at a unique design. but according to his description, the story here is he was just a nice regular clown who had a terrible accident but somehow survived. you can see his bloody torso when he turns. this isn't a zombie clown monster, this is a man who desperately needs medical assistance

also no explanation for why he has two faces. he doesn't appear to be intentionally meant to be conjoined twins or something so if hes supposed to just be a regular guy im not sure whats going on there

5/10

they also came out with another killer klowns animatronic this year too, hes BIG but i dont have much to say about that one other than it looks good glad to see the klown rep increasing

i guess ill also mention here that they have a mars attacks alien figure now too, which doesn't really do much, it just moves its head a little but the lighting is cool and the design looks really good and seeing it inspired me to go watch the movie, so. shrugs. i like him

Heckles the Clown

here we have i think the first Sad Clown spirit animatronic? i cant think of any others ive seen. he kind of has creepy uncle energy but isn't really scary. hes just sad. he is a pathetic shell of a man weakly trying to sell his balloons and i just kind of feel bad for him. i did not notice in the store that his balloon actually has a light-up face in it which is cool. apparently according to his description hes actually using poison gas in his balloons which is a neat idea but is extremely unclear from the animatronic itself, i never would've known that if i hadn't read the description, so,

his face sculpt looks pretty good though. hes a pretty well designed figure i just think his whole deal is unclear and just makes me feel bad for him. help this man

6/10

Stilts

i do love a scary clown but all of these are starting to look pretty much the same to me. the colors are visually striking (i like the use of the blue accents especially) and i like the bloody bowling pins but at this point it's just kinda like, yep, that's another tall spooky clown. great for all your tall spooky clown needs but its not really that memorable. 4/10

Death Stalker

THIS thing however, looks sick as FUCK and i really want to see it in person. i dont know what the fuck that is. i love it. it breathes smoke and has way too many teeth. the description offhand mentions it lives behind an abandoned doll factory for no apparent reason. i love this thing 11/10

i think it might be built from the same body structure as their krampus figure that i also really liked

The Black Heart

ok i dont know about anyone else but i just find this one extremely confusing all around

he gives off protective dom skeleton boyfriend vibes. in the store i saw this and figured the woman was his victim and hes showing us his kill to threaten us, but it also looks like he's protecting her, so i didn't really get what was going on. the description says she tried to do some weird ritual ive never heard of where you lay in a grave and your true love will arrive to kiss you and wake you up snow white style at midnight, but instead she ended up with this guy as her "master" but it also refers to him as her "partner"

"the fuck did you just say about my wife"

so i guess they have some kind of bdsm relationship going on. which, y'know, if she's into that, id say good for her, but she doesn't move at all, she appears to be dead or unconscious. she also looks like she's emerging from his waist or something bc like, i guess they made her skirt the same color to hide that she's there until he reveals her, but i didnt even realize she had a lower body at all,

anyway the design is really confusing to look at and i don't really understand what their whole deal is. the faces look really good though. 5/10

Leatherface

leatherface in the HOUSE!!! i dont really have a lot to say here other than i think he looks great and i want you all to see him. 7/10

Darling Dolly

i fucking love this thing look at that. salad fingers doll monstrosity what the fuck is going on here. there was one in our store very briefly but it wasn't working and disappeared pretty quickly which just made it even weirder. this has a fantastic "what the FUCK IS THAT" factor and i just wish it had better functionality bc i was really excited to find out what it does and it turns out it pretty much just screams at you. i feel like a slower, creeping movement with spidery fingers and whispering sounds would have been more effective. its definitely scary though. i want more wild designs like this i love this thing

the backstory is... a little girl dug up a cursed doll in the yard and her mother tried to bury it back but got struck by lightning and became nightmareishly fused together with the evil doll which just. doesn't make sense to me i feel like trying to create an explanation for this figure is actively a detriment to it i like it better just as a Horrible Inexplicable Demon

9/10 could have been executed better but great design

The Cauldroness

pretty much just your standard witch. i like the way she's posed, this figure is more interesting to look at than a lot of the standing ones. the movement in her hands looks pretty good. i like her face. she also looks like salad fingers. maybe im just seeing it bc im trying so so hard to manifest him into existence even though i know they'll never make one sfjkg

anyway this is simple but i think it works well, 5/10

Dagger Mike

look at this ridiculous little gremlin. his name's dagger mike. hes got knives. his torso makes no sense. i love you dagger mike 6/10 hes not good but he makes me laugh and i like him

i do like the vintage clown look here though. i just think his body looks stupid and his existence is very funny to me in a way i cant articulate

Floating Spirit

its a ghost. it goes ooooo. 10/10

[palimpsessed]

Writerly Ephemera

I was tagged by @amywaterwings @mostlymaudlin @tea-brigade @effing-numpties @captain-aralias @bloodiedpixie . This is so cool, so thanks for sharing yours! ❤️

Per Amy: We add little bits of ourselves to our writing, scattering memories and places and phrases and things into our stories. The game is to find five examples of this, of YOU, in your writing and show everyone.

I don’t really feel like I put much of my own experiences into my fic, probably because I don’t feel like I have a lot of experiences to pull from. (That’s not me being self-deprecating; that’s me never going anywhere or doing anything.) So, let’s see what we come up with!

Going to tag here. I feel like I’ve gotten to this late so I’m not sure who has been tagged. Anyway. No pressure, loves. Just saying hi. 🥰 @theflyingpeach @bazzybelle @otherworldsivelivedin @unseelieseelie @wetheformidables @caitybug @nightimedreamersworld @foolofabookwyrm @stillmadaboutpetra

1. I have put the most of myself into A Man of Letters. I have my degree in English Lit and when I was in college, I was at the height of my Jane Austen obsession. So I sort of built my degree around the development of the English novel. My senior thesis was on a book called Evelina by Frances Burney, who was one of Austen’s greatest literary influences. Evelina is an epistolary novel—told entirely in letters. I love the epistolary form, for the same reason I love dialogue and texting fics. It’s such a fun narrative technique and can reveal so much about individual characters. It’s actually a bit like the way Rainbow Rowell uses multi POV in her books. Anyway, my love of the epistle was on full display in this fic, which is ofc told in letters. —Do I share a passage? That’s like...the whole fic 😅 So, idk. Here’s Simon being a disaster as he meditates on letter writing:

Dear Penny,

As I start this letter, I already know I'm not going to post it. I know I won't be able to bring myself to do it, because of what I have to say to you. I do feel bad. It's not that I don't want to tell you. And you know I'm so much better at writing things down than saying them out loud. It's only that I feel like this would all sound better coming from me in person. I just don't think I'll be able to make you understand in a letter. I'm still trying to understand myself. And writing all of this down helps me with that. Even if I'm only pretending to write to you, it makes me feel better, to think of you on the other end. I promise I really will tell you everything as soon as we're together again.

2. Also for A Man of Letters, my fascination with Regency fashions, in particular the dandy, was a major factor. I did an art book about this, comparing how fashion has changed over time, especially in regard to gender. (I also did an art book based on Evelina, since I’m on the subject. I minored in book art. 😁) I always fancied the look of a Regency dandy, so that was my gift to Baz.

Whoever has been working their magic on Salisbury should in fact be the person to whom I offer my eternal devotion. Alas, I am left to flounder under the burden of lusting after a man who is incapable of dressing himself.

The utter and unmitigated shame.

Salisbury wore a forest green wool frock coat that set off the golden highlights in his brown locks. This was accented with a green and aubergine striped silk waistcoat that was trimmed in white piping and felt much too daring a pattern for the man. (I don't care if he was a soldier; it takes a hardier man than him by half to choose a stripe like that.) His charcoal trousers were enticingly snug, but not so much to prove lethal. His cravat and points left much to be desired, though that likely reflected poorly on his ability to keep himself in order, rather than the ability of his valet. (Good God, maybe the man doesn't even have a valet!)

3. When it came to my countdown fic, To the Manor Borne, I had Shep make a reference to Cluedo, because Pitch Manor would be perfect for a real life game. Behind that, is the fact that my family played a lot of Clue and I watched the movie a whole bunch growing up, to the point where my sister and I used to quote it to each other. This was a way to pay homage to that. He also talks about playing the game Murder in the Dark, which was one I played at Halloween as a kid. One of my cousins was dressed as a ghoul with glow in the dark face paint and we were in my grandma’s creepy upstairs. Perfect vibes.

I’ve seen the kitchen and the dining room and the library and the study and the parlor. Walking through this house is like playing Clue. (They call it Cluedo on this side of the pond, because they like to be difficult.) (That was a whole thing. Do not get me started.)

I keep thinking Colonel Mustard’s going to pop up out of nowhere and brain me with a lead pipe.

And:

What kind of games do you play with magickal friends who don't have magic? Twister? Not with the wings and tail. Cards? Baz and Penny would cheat. Or accuse everyone else of cheating if they didn't win. Murder in the dark? With these people, in this house, I knew it would turn literal fast, and also it was like ten in the morning. Hide and seek? Simon and I would hide and everyone else would ditch. Snowball fight? World War III.

4. I’ve referenced Mozart in my fics a couple of times because when I was first getting into classical music, I was listening to a lot of Mozart. My sister had a CD of some of his early symphonies, and my local classical station does “Mozart in the Mornings” which happened to fit in the exact time slot between two morning classes I had my first year in college. I’d go sit in my car with a cup of tea, and just vibe with Mozart as my soundtrack. I’ve name dropped him in both A Man of Letters and To the Manor Borne. Also, Mozart wrote 12 variations on the melody shared by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, which is a lovely tie in. (I also had the gang sing/cast The Holly and the Ivy, which is one of my favorite Christmas carols, and by strange coincidence was playing on the radio at the same time I wrote that scene. 🥰)

"It's a songbook," I tell him, like he can't figure that out for himself. "Did you know that Mozart wrote twelve different versions of the same song?"

He's laughing. "Mozart did not write Twinkle, twinkle, little star, Simon."

"You know what I mean."

"He composed twelve variations for solo piano on the French folk melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman."

"Sure. Anyway, this is for the violin. For you to play."

He's still laughing, and I'm trying to figure out what's so funny, but then he kisses me again, on the lips this time, so I figure maybe I'm still doing okay.

Only one more to go! What will it be? 👀

5. Therapy! Eheheh...😅 Look, it’s no secret the gang needs it. And tbh, so do I. Haven’t actually managed to get myself to go yet, and I think that’s where a lot of my “send them to therapy” happy endings come from. I did it in Use Your Words and To the Manor Borne. I started Chamber by Chamber with SnowBaz already in therapy, and then structured the whole thing around therapy that they give to each other and to themselves. It didn’t really fit in A Man of Letters, but if it had, I absolutely would have done it. I’ve only shared from two fics so far, and since it could kind of spoil the ending to Use Your Words (tho saying this may be spoiler anyway...), here are two snippets from It’s a Kind of Magic, Part I of Chamber by Chamber.

I've been working on articulating my needs. We both have. Ordinarily, I'd be afraid of pushing him away by making demands when he's on the verge of a spiral, but my therapist insists that I can't go on treating Simon with kid gloves. If I never ask him for anything, he'll think he doesn't have anything to give.

And

When I told that to my therapist, she said that I needed to talk it out of me and she'd help me find ways to work through it all. She said I needed to talk it out with Baz, too, so that he'd know how to help me when things got bad again—that was something else she said, that things would get bad again, and that I'd need to be prepared for that. That I couldn't expect things to be easy, and just go away.

6. BONUS! I think the biggest way I include bits of myself is in the AUs I’ve chosen to write. I have three I’m planning that say a lot about me, so I’m going to talk a bit about them here. There is ofc my Scooby Doo AU, inspired in large part by the fact that I watched it all the time growing up and also, my sister continues to be obsessed with it. When we were young, my parents were doing a lot of work on their house and we’d take family trips to the hardware store. My sister and I hated it, so we’d wait in the car with my mom and she would entertain us with “Scooby Doo stories”. Other AUs I’m planning? Troop Beverly Hills—please tell me someone else out there loved this movie the way I did when I was 5. It was very influential to baby me and I remember wishing for nothing more than being able to dress like Shelley Long. So, I’m going to let Baz do it, because I think he deserves it. 🥰 Lastly, tho it will probably be the first I write, is my Cupid and Psyche AU, from when I was heavy into mythology and religion. Since these are all forthcoming projects, I don’t really have a snippet. Instead, here’s Baz comparing Simon to Eros, which is what started my brain on that particular AU.

I am lost. I barely know anything about Salisbury, but I can't help being drawn in. At one time, I could have comforted myself that I was only so smitten with him because he looks like he was sculpted by Praxiteles. That excuse grows weaker with every encounter. He's the furthest thing from a lifeless tribute to beauty in marble as one can be. There is something deep and dark and feral inside of him and I want to claw it out. I want to see it, to let it free. To taste his wildness and his pain.

[procrastinationonvacation]

I hope your exams go well! I have some right now and I have done approximately 45 minutes max of voluntary revision :/

As for the asks, can you please tell more about Daeron? You mentioned (way back in the Daemags post) that you head canon him as a son of Melian and Thingol and I love that idea if you would like to run with it?

- Captain Anon

Hi!! Yessssss! And yeah same for the not really studying thing (does it show in my activity on here?) 

Ok three primary arguments for him being their son: 1. Eldritch vibessssss 2. an interesting character that way (as opposed to the other where it’s mostly just snape-ey and weird) 3. the ULTIMATE middle child.

Eldritch vibes:  The world is made of music and Daeron is the foremost singer/ musician in the world. That tops both Luthien and Maglor (bringing up Luthien because we all know the shit she pulled with the Song).  And I imagine that power is even more magnified in Doriath: Daeron would sing and the forest would stop. Just to listen. The same way Thingol fell asleep for however long from Malians enchantment, you could die listening to Daeron’s music and your corpse would keep on listening. Just- super scary eldritch children, ok? Not to mention the classic teeth a little too long, eyes a little too bright, voice a little more musical with every word is sculpted in the air. Thank you and good night.

-

Story line: Ok so one of the reasons I like the siblings is because all the other siblings seem to get along so well, even if they dont particularly like each other all that much. And also before I continue this, just fair warning it’s practically a whole ass AU.

We start of this au/canon/whatever the hell im saying and the two siblings are really close, and (in part to being weird eldritch childs and in part because they actually get along) spend almost their time together.

This continues as they grow older, certainly they make other friends as they go into their separate roles in the kingdom, but mostly it’s those two together. In the forest singing.

I think Beren shows up, and I mean at first they ran away because um scary? but obvs Luthien gets over that really fast, Daeron not so much. They’ve been raised in an isolationist country, I feel like he’s not to happy with the *new person.*

And hey I get to mirror that Maia obsessiveness I was chatting about for Annatar and Melian when I say Daeron is that way about Luthien. Which. Creepy. but still much less creepy in my opinion than as a random courtier, ya know?

Daeron makes bad decisions pt 1:  he spies on the couple for Thingol because a)weird outsider mortal is sketchy, and Daeron Does Not Like and b) no that’s his sister, who’s supposed to hangout with him, not Beren. So yeah, maybe the idea that beren is Dangerous is just a justification of that but really, thats no one’s buissiness but daeron’s.

Daeron makes bad decisions pt 2: Ok listen telling Thingol Luthien was gonna go to rescue Beren is actually a decision I could get behind. Cause.um. deadly quest designed to get people killed is not for siblings. Still, over all bad idea.

Daeron is helpful: on try 2 it’s like ok fine. Go be with Beren.

Luthien is lost and Daeron goes for a hike pt 1: Ok i briefly mentioned this, but I think at some point he realized he had to return to Doriath, and then just… decided not to face a home that was missing his sister and also held his parents and whatever they were going through.

Luthien is lost and Daeron goes for a hike pt 2: I think when he hears Luthien’s dead it’s really upsetting, and that’s the point at which he actually departs from the areas of the forest he knew.

Anyways, I find the version of the story interesting because if he really *did* intentionally loose himself in the dark forests/places of the world, that’s 300 years and the repeated collapse of his country (which like… more guilt). It reminds me a lot of maglor, just sans all the murdering, which is why I think Daemags is an interesting ship.

-

Middle child:  I dont think I need to explain this one. His other siblings (Luthien and Turin) get whole books on them. They are followed by the narrative to their death and beyond. Daeron runs off to the forest and is never Once mentioned again. Iconic.

-

Also, the unfortunate truth is I don’t have permission to buy the not lotr tolkien books. And since my family’s very paranoid about covid, I can’t check out physical books from the library... so long story short if my canon in any of my posts is a little wack that’s why.

Thanks so much for the ask!!! Have a great day <3

[thedollnerd]

Very excited to get my first LOL OMG doll.   I’ve been eyeballing these dolls ever since they came out, read a lot of reviews, people talked about how great the details on the dolls are and along with decent articulation, it was an irresistable combo.. The strange chibi heads put me off at first, but I’m always a sucker for a fully articulated doll, and these are actually chubby looking! .. or at least plumper than the usual fashion doll.

Groovy Babe is from the latest wave of LOL OMG dolls, called Lights.  They all have some kind of UV-reactive element on their face and/or clothes and each doll is inspired by a different type of 60s fashion.  I don’t know an exact reference to point out other than Twilight Zone, but Groovy Babe is clearly evoking a whole black and white psychedelic/hypnotic vibe.  I feel like there’s a film reference here that I’m not aware of.  She is also supposed to be a beatnik poet.

I kinda love the little hatbox, it fits all her accessories except the comb.  The little white cylinder is a tiny blacklight, with battery included.  The “book” is a single sheet of paper folded in half.  

Hair: super thin rooting on the top of her head, can see scalp through the hair (including black lines presumably there to guide the rooting but clearly totally ignored).  The long hair feels soft, but it’s a little plasticky – is it nylon?  Bangs are one solid mass of gel plastered to her forehead.

Clothing: Cutout in dress is poorly sewn and bunchy.  Jacket is pretty nice but was carelessly stuffed into the garment bag, so now the lining is sticking out in the front and the collar is permanently popped (which also shows a white mesh lining).

Fully dressed, she looks like maybe she made her clothes herself, and isn’t terribly good at it. 

Tights and boots are perfect.  Earrings are adorable!  They spin!  Hypnotic!  But they’re hard to see when she’s wearing them; they kind of face sideways and her hair covers them.  Also, the paint has started coming off already, the first time I put them on the doll.  Sunglasses are odd and not very 60s mod, but pretty damn cool; they’re made of a softish, almost rubbery plastic, so they’re very easy to put on and take off without having to worry about breaking them.  The long narrow glasses look funky and cool with the round eyes of the doll; makes me think of Novi Stars.

  Body:  Love those curves!  These dolls have wonderfully chonky butts and thighs.  Butt dimples!  Still has a thigh gap though, for some damn reason.  Also, extreme hourglass waist and sculpted abs, just in case you might be afraid this doll is a nasty fatty fatfat.  Beautiful curvy legs, but sadly they have very old-fashioned jointing – hips have zero rotation and knees are crappy click joints that are hard to use and barely bend.

  Why these dolls come with chair-like stands is totally beyond my comprehension, since they can barely sit.  Feet are en pointe like a ballerina – not just tiptoed high heel feet, these are almost torturously pointed.  Wonderfully sculpted little toes though.  Smallish pointed breasts with just a hint of nipples.  Painted-on bikini undies match her pale turquoise eyeshadow.  Hands pop off for ease of dressing and are gracefully sculpted, with cute little dimples on the knuckles (which would make more sense on chubby hands, but whatever).  The hands actually go off and on really nicely, no fear that I’m going to break the joint doing it.  Fingernails are pointy and painted white; the paint is actually quite well-done here, they’ve done a pretty good job of keeping it only on the nails without overspray onto the fingers (unlike some other OMG dolls I’ve seen).

Face: Bizarre LOL round-eyed face; almost Bratz-like in the lips and near lack of a nose, but the eyes are absolutely enormous and perfectly round.  The proportions of the features put me off at first, but there’s something about the way they’re done that’s surprisingly appealing.  This doll has a very matte faceup in solid colors; edges are mostly clean and the paint is almost completely within the lines of the sculpt.  Her lips remind me of a certain iconic stomach medicine.  Eyeshadow is a light turquoise color with a darker turquoise line above it, with a cat-eye black liner and spiky lower lashes that mimic the drawn-on lashes people used to do in the 60s.  Somebody did their homework on 60s mod makeup.   Eye color is an indigo blue, complements the makeup nicely; a little boring, but more detail in the eyes might just make them look creepy since they’re so very large. 

My doll has three tiny black spots on her face, and a handful of faint white spots on the black of one eye (the paint seems thinner on this eye for some reason – the swirl is more obvious in regular light).  Head has an unfortunate tendency to tilt slightly back, and not because of the weight of her hair.  She can tilt her head just fine when she’s looking to the side, but facing forward, she can’t look up or down at all.  The vinyl of her head is slightly more orangey than her body?  

Gimmick: It’s a fail, at least with this particular doll, at least with the tiny black light included with her.  The black and white overall color scheme looks cool under black light, but the specifically UV-sensitive stuff is mostly barely there. The UV-sensitive? stripe on the dress is rather visible in regular light, and yet indistinguishable with the black light.  The “hypnotic” twirls in her eyes are barely visible even with the black light right up against them.  I tested all of this in the dark btw.

The makeup is the one thing that actually does change noticeably.  The lips are still pretty much the same color, but they’re super bright neon under the black light.  The eye makeup changes color and has an extra layer of eyeliner that’s mostly invisible under regular light.

It’s a pretty underwhelming effect overall, but if I had a blacklight room I’d display her in it, after finding her some new clothes.  I’d rather they’d just made things better quality and not done the stupid gimmick, but whatever; their goal is to sell toys to children and the LOL brand is kind of rooted in gimmicks.

These dolls are extreme caricatures of a “sexy” human female (if you like big butts – and do not lie).  I do wonder if they were inspired by Betty Boop; they have almost an identical silhouette, with the big round heads, tiny waist, and big hips.  Their proportions are so cartoony and absurd and clearly very thoughtful choices were made that sacrificed functionality for form – the terrible click joints in those smooth, shapely legs, for example.  Though why the hip joints couldn’t rotate is a choice I can’t understand..

She’s a cute little doll, to be sure, but not display-worthy, or even something I’m really excited about photographing (which is the only real surprise involved in opening this box that supposedly contained 15 surprises). 

Real talk about the surprises, actually – the things included in this box that are not pictured on it are: the stand, the garment bag with plastic hanger, the plastic hatbox with patterned tissue paper, the sunglasses, and a folded piece of paper pretending to be a notebook of poems.  So the only real bonus item that you wouldn’t expect to receive by looking at the box is the sunglasses.  At least there’s something. 

Anyway.  I’m left with mixed feelings, honestly kind of disappointed?  Is the doll I got sub-par or is this typical?  Am I just hugely, stupidly picky?  I want to rehair her; she’s crying out for it, really.  Maybe I’ll fall in love with her once her worst flaw is gone.  Maybe I’ll rip her head off and try some other ones.  Maybe she can be my big-booty guinea pig.

This is the best I could get her clothes to look in a photo.. Unless she’s holding it shut like this, the jacket keeps flapping open with that white mesh stuff flopping out.

Still excited for Angles.  I’ve had a thing for Mondrian and his right angles for a long time and it’s really fun to see his art referenced with a fashion doll.

Review: Groovy Babe LOL OMG doll Very excited to get my first LOL OMG doll.   I've been eyeballing these dolls ever since they came out, read a lot of reviews, people talked about how great the details on the dolls are and along with decent articulation, it was an irresistable combo..

[hourglasscinnarose]

Songs to Daydream To

Nightcore → Top Songs of 2018 (Switching Vocals/Mashup) - [Lyrics] 乂 - Good and upbeat. Great when you're daydreaming a cheerful character running or hoping around and cheering people up or maybe just being themselves. You could throw some sort of romance story in it if you wanted. Sometimes I just daydream of some random dance party or animation. There are parts in it that are slow, as well, so you can slow down the energy and create some sort of climax to your story.

「Nightcore」→ Twenty One Pilots l THE MEGAMIX (Switching Vocals) - Heathens, Ride, Polarize and MORE - This one is great if you're starting out with a dark atmosphere that's slow and then speeds up. I use this one for darker fight scenes that can end up bloody, though not always. This is mostly for the beginning, especially by the time it hits Message Man. But riiiight after Message Man, it starts to get to slower, sweeter songs. This is where the fight would be ending and the characters would have to face the consequences for what they've done. This could also be characters celebrating now that the fight is over. A reunion is really good, too.

「Animation」Nightcore Mashup - Despacito ✗ Faded ✗ Shape of You ✗ Treat you Better +LYRICS | MMD - This one I listen to whenever two characters are dueting together in a daydream. For some reason it's always to prove to each other that they are who they say they are. Like, for one daydream, there's these sisters who have been tricked so many times by clones and such that they've developed song mash ups to tell if they're dealing with the real deal or not. This is because in that universe, clones can't actually sing, and when they learn to, they have trouble remembering a series of mashups. Also, if you're not daydreaming, this is a REALLY well made MMD.

Shelter || Sad Machine [Original Mashup] - Porter Robinson ft. Madeon - Ooohh! A reoccurring daydream with this one is that the one who sings Sad Machine can control water and is inside a water tank sculpting with ice. And the one singing Shelter is a girl with teleportation powers who dances with colored water and sand before teleporting them into the tank for the Sad Machine girl. And at some point before the song ends, the ice sculpture comes to life and puts on this show around them. And then they stare at each other through the empty take while little ice birds and jellyfish fly and float here and there. They put their hands on the glass and do this mirror dance before the water returns and they bow.

2018 POP MEDLEY (Every Hit Song from 2018!!) - Sam Tsui & KHS | Sam Tsui - This is a song one of my friends showed me. It's another one of those songs with a happy person dancing around and doing their thing. A great mash up for introducing a character, in my opinion.

△ Nightcore ▽ - Blank Space/Style |MASHUP| [ Switching Vocals ] - A good one for any sort of calm mood. Great for any romantic daydreams. A small daydream idea that pops up when I'm listening casually is these two on a boat ride where the deep blue water reflects the moon and wisteria trees that drap over the edge of the lake. Almost like the lagoon scene from Ariel.

「Nightcore」→ Call Me Maybe/ Payphone (Switching Vocals) || MASHUP! - For this one, I always daydream two performers who are singing on stage for the first time. And, even though they were nervous before they went onstage, everything melts away and they just have fun together. Bonus if the two are strangers at some sort of karioki thing. The stage is always outside, though, in daylight. And maybe they start dancing and pull up some watchers into the stage to sing and dance with them. Maybe they catch the eyes of someone in the crowd who disappears only to show up later for another daydream.

「Nightcore」→ Pretty Hurts/Try/Who You Are (Switching Songs) || MASHUP - Sad scenes are a must in daydreams to me. This is a good one, especially if the character becomes hopeful in the end, or if someone tells them not to lose themselves. Probably a best friend, or for you romantics out there, a love interest.

✽ Nightcore - Alan Walker, Melanie Martinez, Evanescence, t.a.t.u., Skylar Grey「Switching Vocals」 ♥ - Oh! This is one of my favorite daydreams! It mixes bad news with genocidal tendencies. Say someone has been look for their brother, only to tear off the armor of an enemy and see that they just killed him? Or maybe their little sister tells them that the person they were looking for was murdered by someone else in the room. Immediately that character would snap and then the fun would begin! Any sort of daydream with creepy undertones would use this mashup well.

Christmas Medley 🎄 (Holiday Youtube Singers Collab) - I feel like this is a good mash up for any daydream that has general feel good vibes. After yet get pass all the "Fa-la-la-la-la"s, the daydream usually starts to pick up well. Be warned, the tone drops a little bit with "Have Yourself a Marry Little Christmas" but it picks back up. If that messes with your daydreams, then I'd recommend either pacing yourself for it or listening to one of the other, upbeat mashups on the list.

[yamisnuffles]

Keep You Warm

A bit of Taakitz fluff for Candlenights. Not set during Candlenights (actually set between the Eleventh Hour and Suffering Game) but using a location to take advantage of some of that wintery ambiance. 

“Well… shit.”

Not the words one wanted to hear at the start of a date. And that’s what this was. A date. It had taken Kravitz longer than he cared to admit to classify these meet ups as such, but it had become much easier to enjoy himself once he had.

Though Taako had been tight lipped on the details, Kravitz had found he was quite looking forward to it. He should have known by now that disaster and Taako went hand in hand. The elf seemed to have a knack for turning those disasters into a win but Kravitz wasn’t quite sure what could be done with the burned out husk of a building that lay before them.

“I take it this isn’t what you had planned?” he said, gesturing to the remains of what seemed to have once been a lovely lodge.

“Oh, natch,” Taako replied with the world’s least subtle roll of the eyes. “I just figured Death would have a thing for creepy, spooky places full of lingering ghosts.”

Kravitz offered up a duly humbled smile. The comment hadn’t been delivered with any real malice, but he’d earned the barb with his question. He turned to look absently over the ash blackened logs and the glinting remains of was likely a fine stained glass window at one time. Given the direction, it would have caught the mountain sunset and turned it to an even more dazzling display. Rather than further highlight how Taako’s lovely choice in locale had literally gone up in smoke, he made another observation.

“No one died here.”

“Given all the folks that’ve lived and died since, well, since people have been living and dying-”

“Some dying more than others.”

Taako gave an altogether too impudent bow at that and continued with his thought. “What I’m saying is, that’s just statistically improbable, my dude.”

“Fine,” Kravitz acquiesced. “Recently. No one died here recently.”

“You can tell if- Scratch that. Do not want to know. Nope. I don’t need that kind of knowledge messing up my vibes any time we’re hanging.”

“But me being the Grim Reaper doesn’t ‘mess up your vibes’ at all?”

Taako waved him off and gave a dismissive click of his tongue. “You kidding me? You know how hard it’s been for me to stop from bragging to everyone with ears that I’m literally dating Death? But that rush isn’t worth having all those chucklefucks on the moon up in my business. The things I’ve seen Merle do to plants- the things I’ve been subjected to- you cannot possibly fathom. You cannot. I don’t need him offering up any nuggets of his brand of wisdom, thank you very much.”

Kravitz flashed briefly to the thought of Merle’s wooden arm. Coupled with the dwarf’s apparent plant fetish, he couldn’t help but come to some horrifying conclusions. He abruptly shoved his mind onto another topic.

“Clearly this isn’t what we came here for. So what was this place?”

“Before it was a smoldering pile of ash?”

“Before that.”

Taako sighed dramatically. He threw himself back without a care against one of the few beams that was still standing. The beam groaned slightly and threatened to give. Kravitz stepped forward a fraction of an inch, but stopped himself from hovering protectively.

“This, I’ve been told,” Taako continued, oblivious to concerns about anything as mundane as structural integrity, “used to be the fucking raddest fondue spot in Faerun. Great wine and the sort of spread you don’t usually get outside of Neverwinter. Plush seating. Views to die for. A fireplace that was supposed to be huge, atmospheric as shit, and warm enough to make you forget that you were in the frozen fucking ass end of nowhere.”

Taako punctuated that final statement with a visible shiver. He was dressed in what would have doubtless been comfortable lodge wear, with a gold threaded scarf over a voluminous, knit sweater, leggings, and fur trimmed boots. High in the snow capped mountains, without protective walls and a roaring fireplace, it clearly left a bit to be desired. The tips of Taako’s long ears were bitten red by the cold under the wide but effectively useless brim of his hat.

Since Kravitz hadn’t received much to go on about the date, he’d  simply dressed in his usual suit. Most of the land was entering into spring, so it wouldn’t have been an inappropriate choice. Should they end up somewhere colder, his heavy cloak, trimmed as it was with raven feathers, was warm enough. Or so he supposed. The weather didn’t really affect him, one way or another. But there was someone who might benefit from some extra layers.

With one fluid motion, he unclasped his cloak and swept it around Taako’s shoulders. Taako broke into a lopsided smile that betrayed both his appreciation and surprise. It was endearing and a little heartbreaking all at the same time. For as much as the elf talked himself up and stated his fame as a given, Kravitz was starting to notice how little he actually expected any sincere shows of affection.

“Well now you’ll just freeze your beautiful butt off. We can’t have that, even if you can just sculpt yourself another fantastic one,” Taako said.

He threw his arms wide, gripping either edge of the cloak with his hands, and wrapped it around both of them with an embrace. Kravitz smiled and twisted his head so that he could look Taako in the eyes.

“You know I’m going to be cold anyway, don’t you? It is, I believe, something you’ve complained about more than once in the past.”

“I’m trying to be nice. See if I do that again.”

“And yet, you’re still holding on.”

Taako’s embrace had, if anything, tightened as he buried his face into the cool skin of Kravitz’s neck in an attempt to hide what appeared to be a blossoming blush. Kravitz didn’t have much time to be charmed by the unexpected display of vulnerability because Taako’s grip suddenly shifted so that it was squarely on Kravitz’s ass.

“Maybe this was all just an elaborate scheme to get close enough to do that,” Taako said.

He’d pulled back his head again so that they were facing each other. Kravitz couldn’t tell if the remaining rosiness in the elf’s cheeks was from lingering embarrassment or the cold. There was a dare in Taako’s bright eyes, challenging Kravitz to call him on his bluff. Kravitz didn’t say a word. He spent his days facing down the worst necromancers and liches the world had to offer. This was a simple game of chicken and he wanted to see how Taako would crack, and Kravitz was sure Taako would.

His reputation as a gambler would survive another day, because he won that bet. Taako altered his grip again, this time setting one hand onto the small of Kravitz’s back and the other on his neck. He used this change in position to pull the Reaper’s body flush with his own and then captured Kravitz’s mouth with a kiss.

This was far from the first kiss the two of them had shared and Kravitz hoped it wouldn’t be anywhere close to the last, but if it was the final one, it would have been something to remember. He felt… alive. His chest was so close to Taako’s that the elf’s heartbeat became his own. It was a dizzying, heady experience. Kravitz couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt that way. Certainly not since he’d come into the service of the Raven Queen.

They shared warmth and breath until Taako’s chest strained from lack of the latter. Taako pulled back and those sweet, life giving breaths came out in white plumes in the chill mountain air. His expression was unusually open. All his usual pretense and flash were, for the moment, discarded as they stood alone in the snow. There was a long forgotten tug in Kravitz’ chest at the sight that he would have to examine later. For now, as thoroughly enjoyable as this all was, he was still a bit concerned about Taako in the cold.

Kravitz jerked his chin down the valley where, a short way off, was the village that no doubt had supplied the lodge. “Shall we see if we can’t find the former owners of the lodge? Maybe they can still make us some fondue.”

Taako shook his head. A waggle of his eyebrows immediately brought back his standard swagger. “I have a better idea. How about you and me go back to the moon and I’ll cook up something for you that will blow the damned socks off anything these yokels could make.”

“That,” Kravitz responded, “sounds to die for. And I should know.”

Taako elbowed him sharply. “You fucking dork. Follow me before someone shows up and overhears you talking like that and you lose all your street cred.”