#So I assume they would've cut or changed this like many others if this was disrespectful?

[ttrpg-smash-pass-vs]

The gongorinan is a qlippoth, which in PF2e are the beings who lived in the outer rifts before demons started forming and pushed them to the outskirts. Gongorinan are some of the stronger ones, standing 6 feet (1.8 m) at the top of thier shell. They can force you to drop any tool you're holding, have innate spells to petrify and turn you into an animal, and can make you slow and clumsy by showing you the horrors inside thier maw. Those horrors are all the forms it can turn you into, as even without thier spells they can turn you into animals, plants, or even fungi. That's thier ultimate plan, make everyone return to monke so you can't conceptualize sin, and therefore don't become damned. Cut off the flow of demons at the source to get the afterlife back to how it should be. Sounds like a reasonable plan to me! So if you've always wanted to be an animal, here's your chance!

[itstokkii]

rating the new flower pop up outfits as a fashion major

what the title says

Spain

im ngl spains one is actually my favorite, and I think is the best out of all of these. this is because:

he has an established style/fashion sense throughout these pop-up events

the flared train at the back is a unique twist that's nice to look at

the color theme is consistent throughout, shades of similar dark red, and pink and white as accent colors

my only complaint is that the flowers aren't central to his outfit, but this is a complaint I have with all the outfits. if this is about the countries' national flowers, it should go with the design and not as an afterthought.

FINAL POINT: 9/10

China

I love the flower patterns on the inside of his cape! his design is rather nice

this is where the compliments end because now I have issues:

what is up with this color scheme? the white boots throw everything off, both design wise and color. the peach pink could be a little darker as well, like how spain has visibly different shades of red but they work well together because they look similar to each other.

balance in a design is incredibly important. the pieces need to look unified and not like a bunch of different pieces forced on as a single outfit. the color and pattern on the inside of the cape could be used on the blazer replacing the peach pink, whereas the notch collar and lapel could remain as peach pink. this way, the outfit is unified while the peach pink adds a pop of color as contrast. the cuffs could potentially be a different piece cut of the peach pink fabric and sewed onto the end of the sleeve.

his pants are very high waisted, it looks odd. either keep his pants high waisted and make the blazer longer, or lower the pants a little. short blazers can work in certain situations, but it's not doing anything here.

honestly I just wanna know what was the designing process behind this

FINAL POINT: 6/10

France

I love the light blue, white, and cream color scheme here! this is maybe, next to spain's, the best color scheme. the flower placement works and is still a noticeable detail in his design.

additionally, the colors are applied in a way that keeps the design balanced and unified. the bottom is cream, and the top has a cravat of the same color. the dress shoes is a good contrast that still works due to how light the brown is. the cape is blue, which is reflected in his cravat brooch. a small detail, but it works so well. we also have his belt/girdle that's a baby blue and it also works to unify the design, even though it's slightly lighter than the cape and brooch. the cape and pants are light and easy on the eyes, and help keep the design grounded and not washed out. the gold accents are subtle and are placed at the top and the belt.

design wise, I do wonder if there's something more that could have been done to his bottoms...the top gives the perfectly princely feel, the bottom feels so plain in comparison..

FINAL POINT: 9/10

America

since there's nothing good about his design, let's skip to the bullet points already:

the color scheme is atrocious. purple and green...works if you try hard enough. but the blue?? on his shoes?? what?? I assume it was an attempt at unification with the blue pinstripes...an attempt. I would change the color of his waistcoat to match his shoes, since it's much easier to work with purple and blue than purple and green

the pinstripes were certainly a choice. I would've gotten rid of them completely and replaced it with maybe some white or gold trim at the hem and sleeves.

the flowers are placed in such a lackluster way, when it could have maybe been a design detail of flowers spaced out at the top and then collecting at the bottom of his jacket, with a few flowers spaced out at the top of his pants to balance the outfit.

once again, there is no focus or an established sense/style for him. from what I'm seeing across many pop-up events, the idea or "vibe" is a childish, sleazy(??) vibe. but that's very vague, and they would need to further outline common elements/looks they could refer back to when designing anything for him.

FINAL POINT: 2/10 my goodness

Germany

I like his design a lot, it fits his personality well! the gold trim and buttons is a nice touch that helps balance the top and bottom. the color scheme is an unexpected surprise, since in my mind he's wearing green always..? but I guess in the hws anime, he wears a blue suit.

I do wish the suit was a different shade of blue, like a slightly lighter shade, since the stark blue and yellow feel very in-your-face like Ikea, and since the flowers feel like a blue plum, this really deep, dark shade of blue just feels like a bit too much.

my other only issue with this is honestly the flower placement. I see that they were trying to balance the placement on the left and right, but it covers up important design details like the gold trim on the shoulder and the viennese seam.

FINAL POINT: 7/10

Italy

it honestly feels so similar to the sweets parade pop up, so i really don't know how to feel. especially the train/cape detail that was in both. that doesn't immediately mean this is bad, though

I do like the train here because it's such a reflection of his personality!

it's nice how they try to balance the top and bottom through the same patterns on the waistcoat and train. the pants however...

the pants throw it off. they could have gotten rid of the stripe pattern and it would have been fine.

the jacket being white isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have issues with the lapel and collar having a green stripe. it's very stark and isn't enough to balance the jacket with the pants and blouse. the white and green needs to be swapped, i can't see it working any other way. a white blouse would still work with a yellow waistcoat and orange bow, and the green unifies the top and bottom. the only problem with this is figuring out how well this works with the orange on the inside of the jacket train...

the flower is very tiny despite being in the middle, and would need to be placed in a way that is noticeable. my initial thought was one or two daisies as lapel pins(bigger than the daisy on the bow) connected by a gold chain...perhaps the bow-daisy design detail could be added at the top of his boots?

FINAL POINT: 6/10

Japan

*grits teeth in korean* he's pretty charming here i gotta give him that

the pink-green is ATROCIOUS. different shades of pink and green would have worked. they chose a colder pink with a colder green and it just clashes so hard. this cold pink also clashes with the warm magenta. the pink and green are extremely light, and would benefit from being more prominent and warmer shades.

there is no balance because below that is just white with gold details. the white just eats everything up, especially because the pink and green are extremely light shades. the cuffed hem at the bottom of the pants are fine, but the rest of the pants would work better in pink or green. or fine, keep the pants. but the shoes better be in green or pink.

the inside of the cape is way too light, and alongside the pants and shoes, eats the other colors up. I would make the pattern on the inside a gold trim, and the background a more prominent pink.

again, the flower here is really tiny. cherry blossoms aren't known for their size, but if the whole point of this is highlighting the nations' flowers, the flowers should be a bigger deal that the design works around, not an afterthought. I'd add cherry blossom petals onto the pants, spaced out so it looks like they're falling to the bottom.

FINAL POINT: 5/10 good lord the white

England

THIS DESIGN. i have the BIGGEST BEEF with it its a designers NIGHTMARE

where is the balance? i'm supposed to expect these dark plaid pants to work with the light red roses? why is this plaid? where is plaid anywhere else in this design? if the top is white what is unifying this design?

to fix this problem i'd burn the plaid pants. but if that's not an option, i'd give him a plaid waistcoat. but honestly, burn the plaid pants. NOW.

there has to be a better way to incorporate the roses into this design. i'm thinking a dark red coat with gold rose trim, and removing the lone rose at the bottom of his top. also the roses gotta be the same dark red as his pants.

the frills are also excessive. cmon man.

FINAL POINT: 2/10 something something like father like son

Russia

*grits teeth in uzbek* he really is a dapper lil man...

so first off this color scheme is wonderful. for a guy associated with winter constantly, the sunny yellow and green matches his sort of...enthusiastic attitude?? however there is one(1) issue I have with it. the yellow would look better as a warmer, slightly golden yellow. because right now it looks more like paint yellow than sunny yellow. some of the light green could benefit from being a similar shade as the forest green at the hem of his pants.

the balance is there in the brown and green pants and the brown waistcoat. the green details are well placed throughout the jacket and looks great. the hat is a nice accessory that ties everything together. I don't know if the yellow jacket is overwhelming the brown bottoms, or if it's just me having issues with the shade of yellow... because if the yellow was warmer, it could work with the warm brown pants?

Instead of the gems on the chain of his pants, it could be sunflowers? there's so many opportunities to incorporate the sunflowers, but it was missed...

FINAL POINT: 8/10

Prussia

i'm sorry to say but oh...oh my goodness this is actually terrible i actually don't know where to start

it's blue everywhere. the shoes are the only breath of fresh air. but then you look at the overall design and wonder why these colors were chosen.

these shades of blue don't unify this outfit. the waistcoat is a colder blue compared to the pants. also, the random flower pattern on the shoulders? nobody asked prussia pack up and go home. there's silver stripes on the side of his pants. that could have been the color of the flower chain instead of?? brown??

I love the flower chain though im ngl

there has to be some sort of secondary color that's prominent enough to balance the outfit properly. there is none here so I'm just very lost like i don't know how to save this outfit.

i'm wondering if a dark blue and red would work(thinking about his military fit from world twinkle).

FINAL POINT: 0/10 (why are you even here? you're just a province now)

Common issues

Color schemes

Balancing outfit

Minimal flower placement(I would personally design their outfits to resemble the silhouette of their national flower in some way, and perhaps use ouji fashion as a base for inspiration)

In fashion school you're taught that customer profiles are important when designing for someone, and to think of key elements in each design to keep it consistent to the profile. they need to start doing that

anyway that's it follow my soundcloud etc

[mourningsbane]

Perhaps silly questions, but I'm growing more and more curious of your blog with each new entry/question answered. Love the story slowly unfolding here, cannot wait for the next part and following moons <3

Does Palekit have any further deformations? Or rather that question but in past tense. His tail looks almost fin-like, but I'm not sure if what we are seeing is a) a stylistic "drooping goo" effect, b) a very weird tuft of fur, or c) some malformation of the tail tip, resulting in its split structure.

What's the clan's relationship with Sweetkit, considering so many of its members', em... involvement in the perishing of Honeyspring and her kits. Mostly wondering if Flaildrizzle, Tanglefern and Rootstar feel anything (guilt, sadness, etc.) at all when they see this only kit in clan after a whole litter dies in such horrible circumstances before Sweetkit's arrival? I mean, surely such a tragedy leaves an impact. A followup question-

How much time has passed since Honeyspring's death and Sweetkit's arrival? Do any of LutumClan's cats consider Sweetkit to be like "a second chance" for the clan after losing their only queen and her litter?

A bit of an alternate outcome question! Let's assume Nothing Bad Ever Happened©️ to Honeyspring's kits. What would their warrior names be? What would their basic personalities be? Would any of them pursue high ranks within LutumClan?

Also sending fictional love to Honeyspring, stay goopy queen 💅

There's no such thing as a silly question! Besides, I like answering questions, even if it takes me a while to get to them! <3

My answers are a tad long, so I'll put them under the cut!

1.) Palekit did not have any further deformations! His face was slightly crooked, and his tongue sometimes hung out, but that was about it. He also had severe issues with vomiting; he just couldn't keep anything down and tended to bleed.

2.) Rootstar, Flaildrizzle, and Tanglefern all feel very guilty and upset by what happened to Honeyspring's kits! Still, they, and the rest of LutumClan, saw Sweetkit's arrival as a sign of hope. However, LutumClan as a whole tends to be a tad overprotective of the only kit in the clan.

3.) About 3-ish months have passed since Honeyspring's death! Sweetkit is definitely considered LutumClan's "second chance" of sorts, but a few cats (namely Rootstar and a few others) REALLY wish Sweetkit was in the care of someone who ISN'T Bearface. They're worried that Bearface, being a former outsider who barely respects the clan code as is, will be a bad influence on her.

4.) As for the alternate outcome, let me think! I'll give you my best guesses, but destiny is mutable, so these could've easily changed!

Smallkit would grow into Smallcloud, and would become an apprentice to Tanglefern! She would be on the smaller side, but she'd be a fierce creature for sure! She'd be smart and cautious, but never a push-over.

Flailkit would grow into Flailwhisker, and would likely go on the path of becoming a queen or mediator! She'd likely be about average height and a bit on the chunkier side. I imagine her to be quiet and shy, much like Flaildrizzle, and easy to talk over. Still, she cares greatly about her clanmates, even if she's easily overwhelmed. Smallcloud would've been very protective over her in their youth.

Palekit would grow into Paleclaw, and would most certainly follow the path of a warrior! He'd idolized his aunt, Rootstar, and wanted to become a leader just like her. He's prideful and a little boastful for sure, but not intentionally. He's just very proud of his aunt being the leader, and his mom (Flaildrizzle) being the deputy, and wants to make sure everyone knows it.

Had Honeyspring's kits lived, Sweetkit's role would have also changed, but I can't say it due to spoilers!

[gotham-daydreams]

Weird to say, but I think I'm pretty forgiving of Damien. Yeah, he's rude and ignores the reader, but he probably does the same to everyone else lmao. With Dick who pays careful attention to everyone, it's a betrayal that he would neglect the reader because he should have been an older sibling. Plus Damien is like ten, it's kinda hard for me to hold him accountable when he grew up without knowing better and he's just emulating older members of the family. I'm pretty sure this is how youngest sibling privilege works lol

Yeah, I completely agree! Even then, it can be difficult to know that what you're doing is wrong when you see the people you admire and respect doing the same thing.

Like you said, Damian, in reality, is probably rude to everyone else and ignores them from time to time too. Though for the sake of the "Not [ ]" series, he just so happens to ignore the reader a little more when compared to the rest of the Batfam. Which can still be chalked up to him just following the mannerisms of the family without even thinking much about it.

Regardless, neglect is still neglect and what happened to the reader still isn't right- but I do kind of agree with you that Damian probably holds the least amount of capability. He's young, and you can't really expect him to fully be aware of the effects his actions have on other people, especially when that person:

1. Hasn't expressed how negatively the whole situation has effected them, and they don't exactly appreciate their entire existence getting ignored by so many people. (Which is valid and understandable! Because how can you expect someone who's been ignoring you for so long to not only listen to you, but even acknowledge you enough to notice you have something important to say? How can you expect someone so seemingly set on ignoring you, to care? You can't. So the reader stays quiet, but it is something worth pointing out, I feel.)

2. Again, sees that everyone around them pretty much does the same thing. So it's more of a "if they're doing it, it must be for a reason, so I'll do it too" (since Dick and Bruce are also ignoring you, and Damian actually cares about both of them).

Damian is the least aware that what he did was wrong to begin with because no one told it was, and those around him almost seemed to enable that behavior by continuing to do it themself.

I'd like to believe that maybe his behavior would've changed if he knew how badly it was effecting the reader, but that's also to assume that the others wouldn't. Though who knows?

As for everyone else? They're way past old enough to know that what they're doing is wrong. The neglect as a whole was a "team effort", and even if they won't consider it that, it basically was. All of them neglected you except for Alfred, and they all did it over the course of nearly the reader's entire stay at the Manor. If anyone should've known, it should've been them, and depending on your interpretation of the situation and everything - some are more at fault for neglecting the reader when compared to others.

Especially if they seemingly didn't ignore and tried to spend time with/bond with other members of the family, but the reader just didn't make the cut time and time again.

Like you said — Dick is easily one of the worst offenders simply because he's loving and all this stuff to the Batfam, but just not to the reader —and especially when compared to Damian who was just none the wiser for the most part.

[angelagiarratana]

You're Staring Darling

so um, we can all agree that Angela's arms are incredibly hot so here we all go. sorry for the delay, work has been insane.

tw: slight smut

This is a completely fictional story.

The shoot day had all gone according to plan, with slight mishaps but nothing big. The last shoot of the day was some stupid idea Shayne had, Sniper Chess. You were sitting off camera, watching intently as the cast used the very high-powered ball-shooting NERF gun. You were responsible for calling out when the safety was off and ensuring the cast members kept their goggles on. Essentially Courtney made you a safety watch. You didn't think anything of it until Angela walked onto set wearing a tank top, her arms on display. "Shit," you thought. Angela's arms were an incredibly weak spot for your silly little crush on her.

Since day one of her working at Smosh you had a serious crush on her, but always brushed it away for the sake of being professional. However, anytime you saw her arms or freshly painted black nails, it became increasingly hard to stay professional. You had caught yourself staring at one too many times. Today was no different.

"Safety off." Angela announced as she lined up her shot, you echoed, "Safety off." The way her bicep tensed as she held the gun straight sent a shiver down your spine. Around round 3 Angela slipped her button-up back on, you assumed it was because she was cold. You were still gawking at her hands during the rest of the shoot. It never got in the way of your job, but it was still happening. As Courtney called cut you took off your own goggles and walked onto set to retrieve the gun. Angela handed it to you with a smile and wink. A WINK. Your knees almost buckled under you. "Thank you, I can take your goggles too." You held out your other hand and she placed them in your hand, letting hers linger for a second, "Hey could you help me get something from my car when you wrap up here?" You were taken aback by her question, she usually would've asked Amanda or Shayne but you agreed.

After emptying the gun, collecting the balls, and placing them into prop storage you found your way to Angela's desk, "Ready to be of assistance." She giggled at your faux British accent. "It'll be quick." She led the way to her car, comfortable silence falling between you two. She unlocked the car and opened the trunk, inside was a box full of different costumes, "Angela you literally weight lift, you could carry this." She smiled at you, "Yeah so I lied to get you alone. I have a question." You quirked your brow at her, "Okay?" Her tone dropped an octave, her entire demeanor changing. "Do you know why I put on my shirt during the shoot?" You shook your head, "Because it was cold as hell in the studio today?" She laughed for a second, "No. It's because I could feel someone staring at me and then I saw it was you, staring at my arms." She paused for a moment taking in how you were trying so hard to remain calm, "But then I wondered why you would be looking at my arms like that. Then I realized you do it every time I wear a tank top." You took a step back, your back hitting the car beside hers, "I don't know what you're talking about. I was making sure you were being safe." She stepped closer to you, then took off her button-up, tossing it into her trunk, "Oh really? So if I just," she then pressed her hand beside your head, leaning into you fucking booktok style, "it doesn't have any effect on you?"

HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUCK WAS HAPPENING? You knew Angela could flirt but Jesus CHRIST. You swallowed hard and shook your head, "Uh- nope. It's just an arm." She leaned in closer, her lips inches from yours. She made direct eye contact and then grabbed your hip with her free hand, "I think that's a lie." You couldn't take it anymore, how close she was to you, the way her arm muscles were being perfectly lit by the California sun, the smug ass look in her eye, you grabbed her shirt pulling her lips onto yours. She smiled into the kiss and pulled your hips off the car and into hers, deepening the kiss. You let out a moan when she gripped your hip tighter and bit your lip softly. She pulled away smiling, noticing how your eyes immediately trained on her arm, "You're staring darling." You rolled your eyes and finally, after months, reached out and ran your fingers along her triceps, "Yeah for good fucking reason." Her hand on your hip loosened and her thumbs drew lazy circles on your hip bone, "You know you're not as sneaky as you thought you were Y/n." You grimaced, "I hate the thought of how long you knew." She dropped both her arms, turned away from you, and grabbed her shirt from the trunk, "6 months." Your jaw dropped, "6 fucking months! You waited 6 months to say something?" She laughed, grabbing the box from the trunk, "I had to one, make sure it wasn't all in my head, two you were actually gay, and three single." She closed the trunk and reached one of her hands out, you took it, "I'm glad I wore this shirt today." You giggled, "Me too."

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

TDPtober

Day 2: Love

Let the record state that Rayla had done the impossible many times before. She’d start listing, but that would take hours.

She could probably take on the Katolian soldiers armed with every kind of weapon under the sun surrounding her, especially with Runaan’s help–despite his newly-awakened pacifist side, which she couldn’t really blame him for–but that really wouldn’t look good, not when she’d been arrested before and Runaan was the elf who’d killed their king.

“When I give the signal, we’ll run,” she whispered to Runaan. She could change the plan; get him to the Silvergrove, and by the time she got back, Callum would surely be here, able to order the Crownguard to stand the hell down.

“What’s the signal?”

“Me screaming really loud.”

“Good signal.”

“Thanks.”

Rayla crouched, readying her already-unsheathed blades and stepping in front of Runaan. The soldiers closest, wielding swords, began to rush her, and she leapt into the air. More started to rush a newly-exposed Runaan, and Rayla opened her mouth to give the signal despite the wind being knocked out of her lungs, when a trumpeting horn and galloping hooves cut her off.

“Stand down,” a familiar masculine voice boomed. The troops parted for General Amaya in all her shiny-armored, muscular glory, her face set as she signed furiously while dismounting Aegis. Commander Gren stood to her side, watching and interpreting. “If anyone touches a hair on this elf's head, answering to me will be the least of your worries.”

Bows were hastily un-notched, swords sheathed, and postures at ease.

Rayla stumbled back to shield Runaan, but then held still as Amaya and Gren approached her, trying not to look suspicious regarding Runaan. Y’know, because he'd killed their king and all.

That wouldn't be a great icebreaker.

“Callum’s back in Katolis,” she started, too uncomfortable with the silence. “He went there and I came here. We, um- we agreed.” If you ever hurt my nephew Callum again, I will kill you.

“King Ezran went back, too,” Gren informed her, glancing back to Amaya's racing hands. “They'll likely have met up. We have to assume the best.”

“I thought it was ‘assume the worst’?”

She cracked a smile.

“Optimism is necessary, too, Rayla.”

“Listen,” she started. “I'm doing my best to keep him safe. I'd never-”

General Amaya crouched down to make eye contact, gripping her shoulders in a way that was probably gentle to her, but objectively the exact opposite. Rayla stiffened, bracing for her to make good on her promise. But-

“Are you alright?”

She blinked and would've stumbled back in surprise if not for the death-grip. “What?”

“Are you alright?” Her signing was careful and delicate, at least to Rayla’s untrained eyes, and Gren’s voice equally soft and soothing.

She forced herself to look into those dark brown eyes, holding so much love and patience and concern. The way Ezran and Callum looked at her.

Rayla looked away, suddenly choked up, and wiped at her face with her arm. “Yes. I- I’m okay.”

“Good.”

She looked back, just not at the general. Just at the very interesting grass between her steel-toed boots. “You're really not…” Mad? Furious? Disappointed? Upset?

But the latest queen of New Aurea didn't punch her, didn't sign-yell at her, didn't anything other than shake her head and promise, “There's been way too much fighting and anger lately. You're my niece and I love you, and I'm so glad you're okay.”

That… It wasn't what she'd been expecting. For Callum or Ezran, definitely, but for Rayla…?

But, yeah, it was on-brand. One word she'd use to describe Callum's entire family was loving, and it never seemed to stop extending to her.

She sniffed, reaching a tentative hand out. “May I…?”

The response she got was being lifted off the ground in big muscular arms, warm and hard but soft at the same time, scooped off her feet and held tight.

She sniffed into the crook of a soft padded tunic not covered by gleaming armor, burying her face in that little pocket and fruitlessly trying to glue that dam back together.

Amaya gently settled Rayla back on her feet, but didn't stop hugging her tightly, beginning to sob, too, not at all hindering her iron hold.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, and cried some more.

[sir-adamus]

I will never understand how Shane Newville can be called a hater. Yes, his letter did cause problems but he didn't do it out of malice or spite. It's so weird that so many people demonize him just because he wrote that letter 8 years ago. I even saw someone on Twitter once say Shane was never Monty's friend.

yeah i think it's mostly because of the letter being used as ammunition to attack the show, the crew and the fandom in its aftermath that Shane gets conflated with the virulence of the hatedom that followed, not helped by the title of the letter being a shade emotionally manipulative - 'to those who loved Monty' - and then his attitude throughout the letter where he posits himself as if he was Monty's only friend in the company (which was demonstrably untrue) and pinning Miles and Kerry (though not naming them, he uses their job titles so we knew who Shane was talking about) with the 'not following Monty's vision' label (especially in regards to cutting or changing fights because they didn't make sense or wouldn't have worked thematically; like Raven attacking JNPR for... some reason. or Adam and Yang having a full on fight before she lost her arm, or Pyrrha nearly beating Cinder... somehow, before getting killed because Jaune distracted her. if i recall he claimed Pyrrha was 'nerfed from being a badass fighter', and it just reminds me of the volume 1 director's commentary where they had to rein Shane in on the Black Trailer because he wanted Blake to cut the entire train in half) and acting like he was entitled to assume the director's position despite no indication he had even put his name forward for it

ultimately Shane comes across in the letter like he would've probably been happier working on Dead Fantasy over RWBY; he was in it to make cool fight scenes with Monty for fight scenes sake, not to make a show with a narrative throughline (that he utterly downplayed Miles and Kerry's involvement in writing the damn thing - which every behind the scenes featurette from the beginning had made a point of, especially volume 1's where Monty talked through his process of bringing others on - was again more ammunition people used to attack the crew and foster the 'Monty's true vision' narrative), and the letter was coming from a very skewed perspective as a result of grief and frustration (from internal and external factors; his marriage broke down, he lost his job) and while he doesn't put voice to it, his own actions as described in the letter make him come across as obstructive (very resistant to the changing of the team structure and workflow to a more professional standard) and a pain to work with (because he'd keep working on stuff that they weren't gonna do, like the aforementioned Raven vs JNPR fight, and was wasting time making tools for the new animators more familiar with Maya to use for Poser because he didn't want them to move to a new animation program after 3, if i remember rightly)

like, i don't think he wrote it in an attempt to fuel the hatedom or just to be an ass, and he did highlight some behind the scenes problems, it's just that it did end up doing a lot of damage and his skewed perspective doesn't really account for the issues he was creating or that he wasn't the only one impacted - but again, grief, frustration

it's now been eight years and i think we all should be well past it and just let sleeping dogs lie

[mr-payjay]

big taco analysis ramble i did at like 3 in the morning last night

it's hard to know if Taco cares about Pickle or not because the letters are "instructions" which possibly implies they're cold. reaching for the portal and wanting a second chance could mean she wants to have another chance to win. repeating the same thing she did in s1 with Mic now could mean she just tries to repeatedly manipulate people over and over. it's difficult! because she is so. so. sooooooo closed off. she has lied so many times to so many people including herself to the point she has absolutely no fucking clue who she is other than "bad". she has aspd too so she doesn't feel much remorse. but at the same time she still cares. but!! that goes against her Badness. which she believes in. she "knows" she is bad, she's always believed she's a bad person and that's the only consistent trait she believes in. so she tries to avoid thinking about Pickle.

the closest she's ever gotten to loving herself was around mine your own business. because she started to care about Mic and hadn't realized it yet. but she didn't want Mic to Leave her. "I could stand to be a bit more open." she was actually trying to change her behavior this time, to ensure Mic stayed, even if it was subconscious (likely on purpose, in a way. trying to avoid Thinking about it because she doesn't like caring about people so she ignores those feelings and once again LIES to herself!!!!).

see what's so weird is that. at a first glance. it just seems like Taco is repeating the cycle. she teams up with a partner, she exerts control over them in some way or another, she befriends them to get their trust, and then eventually it fails. but the way she handled Pickle and Mic is. so so different.

with Pickle, her whole thing was advertising herself! she was trying to show themselves as a cute duo by being sweet friends with him, being silly and stupid for the audience, and controlling him very subtly mostly by heavily helping with certain challenges to keep him in the game or manipulating the audience rather than him. the big thing was Fake Friendship. and in the end, Taco left him. as she was planning to all along. it was a very self centered plan where Pickle was a sidekick to her that she used as a way to get further in, then dropped the moment she didn't need him anymore. doesn't mean she doesn't care about him though. but that's for later (if i can figure out how to word it).

now, with Microphone, her situation was completely the opposite in many ways. she COULDNT advertise herself! she put herself out there as much as possible in ii1 but in ii2 her entire existence is in hiding. she is not falsely befriending Mic to please an audience, but rather gaining her trust to use her as a puppet in a show she is no longer able to participate in. the way she controls Mic is much more aggressive than with Pickle. she's quite an angry person, it seems. anyway as you know, she tries to demand Mic do certain things (even if she is uncomfortable with them) and will reprimand her if she refuses to follow her plans. she kind of assumes everyone is stupider than her, including Mic at first. when Microphone manipulates Balloon using a better strategy than Taco had set up, she's impressed! she always expects that she's the smartest person in the room, Tricking everyone around her. this is part of why she sees herself as Bad while also being Superior. smarter and sneakier and cut out for manipulation.

anyway as time goes on she grows to actually trust Mic and see her as almost an equal, to the point she is willing to budge on things she would've never even considered changing before (such as being more open, actually listening to Mic's ideas, etc). she still struggles a lot with overstepping boundaries, such as in hatching the plan where she promises Microphone she won't physically hurt anybody and then immediately breaks that promise as they get on the ship because it's "necessary". it's not something Mic would understand, she thinks. she is just trying to get Mic further into the game. Taco doesn't seem to see Mic's discomfort either because she's very self centered, even if it is FOR Mic. Taco is trying to get Mic some praise and appreciation and a chance to win now. and that's what changes, that's what's odd. before this, she didn't actually care if Mic was getting Praised by the other contestants or not. she was manipulating and controlling her as best as she could, on her own. she didn't really care as long as she could get further in. and i would have a different view on this IF she didn't start talking about how good it must feel for Mic. because you could say it's so that the contestants wouldn't vote out Mic. but Taco didn't actually say anything about that. she was hoping Mic would be happy. she made sure the mission went as well as possible so that Microphone was clapped for and so Taco could, at the same time, feel good about herself for doing everything right and getting everything done Properly. her plan was Better than Mic's. it did everything right. they were both on the right path and now Mic was going to be happy and thank her for being oh-so-smart and would listen to her even more from now on. naturally that did not happen. Taco Wants to win. she wants the prize so, so badly. but in s1, she wanted to win alone. in s2, she wanted to win *with* Microphone.

[checked her for npd at this point and found it to be positive]

Microphone is someone who could actually be Taco's friend, someone who Maybe, would Listen to her Genuinely, and Want her around for once. Microphone wanted her to be more open and so she said she would be. she's far off from being vulnerable with anyone just yet but her heart aches for it. she's so lonely.

and especially because she deceives people so often, Taco ALWAYS feels like people love the mask but not her. when Microphone leaves her, it's like. impostor syndrome. she thinks that she's been deceiving herself all along into thinking she's Not a bad person. when clearly she is. because the only person she shared some of her Real Personality with, now hates her. so she must've been wrong to think she could ever be good, that she could ever be better than this, that someone could ever care about her. she's destined to be bad and she's going to accept that.

[rottonfishie]

The Ivory Girl AU Fic will be posted on Ao3 and Tumblr.

Ivory Girl AU : A Hero Is Born - Chapter 1

‐--------------------------------○●○--------------------------

"The thing you need to understand about the old legends is that the story is never finished. There may be no pages left to turn, but there is always more to the journey."

Rising from the sea, The Dragon King Of The West attacked a defenceless village. No one could stop him. No one could resist him. No one expect.. The Legendary Lady Ivory. The Lady Ivory, with her mythical skeleton key, that no other being could bend to their will, created a powerful seal trapping the Dragon King beneath the sea he once reigned over.

With the battle won, The Lady Ivory vanished, never to be seen again. Legend says that the key lies buried, forgotten, never to be found. Being the one thing keeping our world from total devastation. And, with the Dragon King Of The West gone, civilization was able to advance into the amazing city we live in today. A world of elegant cultures, gentle loving people, a city brimming with delicious sweet treats...

"And, all because of the Lady Ivory!" The woman finished her tale, folding her hands onto her lap, covered by a long dark violet skirt that draped modestly over her legs. Her lavender cardigan was buttoned up over her mint green top. She looked over to her one-person audience, who was grinning widely back at her. The young girl's deep chestnut eyes gleamed with pure excitement.

"Oh!! That was so awesome!" The young girl cheered, hopping off of the table she was sitting on. "Lady Ivory's so cool! She's so intelligent and beautiful–"

"Oh, I would've assumed you knew all of Lady Ivory's stories, Bai he" The woman cut in before the young girl could continue her fawning. The woman's eyebrow arched in question, challenging the young girl's knowledge.

"Of course, I know all of Lady Ivory's stories!" Bai he proclaimed, pulling out a cyan book with a skull and bones drawn on the cover. "I got her whole life documented extensively in this unauthorized autobiography of Lady Ivory."

"Written and illustrated by yours truly." Bai he added, pointing to her name written on the corner of the book. "Like I knew she was born from the bones of a beautiful woman, and how she lives in a lost empire that she stole from a tyrannical ruler with all her ghostie friends!" Bai he explained, swipping quickly through the pages. "And- and- and- Oh!"

"Bai he." The woman said, gaining the young girl's attention as she pointed down at the pile of loose pages on the floor. "The pages are falling out."

"Ah, Dammit!" Bai He exclaimed, plopping the book onto the woman's lap before dropping to her knees to pick up the fallen pages.

The woman chuckled at the muttered curses coming from Bai he as she gathered up the pages. "Im glad to know that someone else still has interest in these stories." The woman commented, skimming through the book. "Even if their a tad bit biased.." She muttered under her breath, looking at one of many loose drawings of the Lady Ivory.

"What was that?" Bai He asked, standing up with a messy pile of pages in her hand.

"Nothing!" The woman quickly replied, clearing her throat. She handed back the book to Bai he, who unceremoniously shoved back in the loose pages. "Now, you know the deal, I give you stories of wisdom and you give me..."

"A free box of mint ice-cream filled Gua Bao." Bai he finished the woman's sentence, already walking behind the display case where freshly made Gua Bao were sat enticingly inside. She grabbed a lavander box with a mint ribbon tied into a bow, a spider broach sitting in the middle.

"So how heavy do you think the WHOLE sea is?" Bai he asked, pushing open the sliding door into the display case. "Like compared to like– OW!" A sharp pain erupts through through her hand, causing her to recoil.

"Ah! What the fuck–" Bai he growls, quickly changing her demeanour when she sees the lavander skinned spider demoness standing behind her with a pair of metal tongs. Her lime green eyes staring down at down at Bai he, who glupped and gave her an innocent smile.

"Free? Nobody gets anything for free!" Queenie asserted, taking the empty box from Bai he and slapping it back down into its rightful place. "This ain't Queenie's Charity, it's Queenie's Bakery!" She snapped, her glare landing on the women, who waved innocently at the raging demoness.

"And I'm sure you're aware, I'm not running no charity service, Xiezi." Queenie stated, walking over to where the women sat off in a small booth by herself. "So, cough up the money, yeah, freeloader!" She spat.

"Ah, but, Queenie, I was paying wisdom." Xiezi explained, wiggling her fingers for dramatic affect. Queenie didn't seem very assumed by her display.

"Yeah? Well, wisdom doesn't pay the rent." Queenie retorted, returning her attention to Bai he who was attempting to sneak out. "And you!" She pointed out Bai he who froze in her tracks.

"You've been slacking off all morning! I've got a dozen orders that need to go out!" Queenie ordered, throwing Bai he her lavander fanal shirt with mint sleeves.

"Well, you see, I was about to take my break, so..." Bai he informed, carefully sidestepping closer to the exit with her work shirt in her arms.

"Break? Break!? There's no time for breaks!" Queenie claimed. "I need workers, soliders in the name of Queenie's Bakery!" She stated.

"How else am I going to expand my business into the enemies territory!?" Queenie asked, glaring out the large window of the bakery.

"Uh, do you mean across the street?" Bai he asked, pointing at the bakery across the street with a bird demon with colourful feathers, making bread in view of her window. She locked eyes with Queenie, gathering tension almost instantly before Queenie looked back to Bai he.

"I stand by my statement!" Queenie declared, placing her hand on her hip. "Now, hurry up, I want not a signal call about ice cream being melted." She warned. As Bai he quickly pulled off her pastel yellow cardigan, replacing it with her flanal shirt.

"Yes, ma'am!" Bai he replied, throwing her cardigan into an empty booth as she ran out the door. Queenie watched as Bai he darted out to her scooter, sighing as she picked up the cardigan that was carelessly sprawled over the seats.

"That girl, I swear." Queenie muttered as she folded the cardigan onto her arm. She looked back at Xiezi, who was busy guiltless stuffing her face with Gua Bao. Xiezi slowly looked over to Queenie, whose eye twitched in anger.

Queenie snatched a pair of metal tongs from behind the counters attached to the display case. "We can talk about this..." Xiezi suggested, hopping up out of the booth as Queenie menacingly approached.

"Yeah, yeah we can talk, FREELOADER!!!" Queenie replied, Hopping over the table of the booth. She chased Xiezi around the bakery. throwing things as she yelled.

"Get back here coward!"

"No, Queenie!"

"I WANT MY MONEY!"

Bai He listened to the chaos that was erupting from the bakery and made a quick decision. "Sorry, Ms. Xiezi, but everyman for themselves.." She muttered, slipping in her cat shaped earphones as she started up her lavander scooter. Driving away into the impressive city that was Megaprolis.

Bai he follows the directions shown on her phone, driving her scooter through the twists and turns deeper into the construction zone of the city. Planks and metal beams stood tall around, leading her way to a mechanical elevator where she parked her scooter in front of. She hopped off of her scooter, grabbing the delivery out of the portable freezer on the back.

Bai he stepped into the elevator, bopping her head up and down to the beat of her music. She smacked her fist into the large red button, which began the descend of the elevator into the underground.

The sound of the elevator stopping echoed through the cavern. Bai he pulled her earphones from her ears, shoving them into the pocket of her bubblegum coloured skirt as she stepped out into the cavern. The muddy floor squashed against her shoes, sticking to the soles of her feet.

"Ugh.." Bai he moaned, lifting her foot off of the sticky mud. "Who wants to eat anything here?" She wondered, walking further into the cavern. Looking around at the unfinished construction, she heard distant chatter and walks towards its. Hiding behind a pile of rubble, she peers over the edge.

She sees two women, one with black hair cut into a clean black chin-length bob. She wore a green floor length, elegant dress that had lighter green flame design on her sleeves. She stood beside a younger looking woman who starkly contrasted her clean appearance.

She had spiky black hair, tied into two ponytails with the rest at chin length. The tips of her hair were dyed, a bright green. She wore a punk look that made her impressive cyber-esc gear stand out. They almost looked human expect, for the older woman moved, revealing her bottom half of snake.

Bai He gasped, shoving the delivery underneath her arm as she crawled up the knocked over supports up onto the pipes. She listened closely to the conversation between the creatures.

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

Enough time has passed that I can share my opinion about Dawntrail now. It's a potentially unpopular point of view at times so uh... beware? Idk, people have very strong feelings about stuff sometimes xD

At the very least, beware of spoilers.

Overall I liked the story. Liked it a lot more that Endwalker despite a few things that bothered me. The first half is the most solid to me, because the second half has too much incoherent stuff going on for my taste.

But first thing first. I'm really happy with how well they made us care for all those new people and this giant country. Once or twice, I wished they wouldn't insist on how diverse it is I must say, because while it's nice as a marketing point, it gets old after a while. I have eyes and ears, after all. I can see that for myself.

Wuk Lamat left me cold when we first met her. I was a bit worried about accompanying her at first because she's a character archetype I don't like that much, but she quickly grew on me through the expansion, and I love her now. I do think, however, that the voice acting didn't always match the energy of the scenes (in English. According to friends who use the French dub, it's not an issue in French). Since it also happened once or twice with Koana, I'm gonna assume it's due to how they were directed, but it took me out of the story on occasions.

I really really wish they'd stop with the world threatening shit though. They did it for Endwalker. Fine. Logic even, it was the end of a 10 years old story. Then they did it again with the patches, when really saving the dragon should have been motivation enough. Then they had to do it once more in the second half of Dawntrail, this time threatening the Source AND the reflections. Frankly, it feels cheap and unimaginative, I'm a bit disappointed and worried about what comes in future expansions if they can't find other reasons for us to fight. For a game that keeps insisting that doing the right thing is what matters, they certainly don't like making it our main reason to fight.

The Mamool Ja story bothers me. They survived for centuries on eating bananas apparently and there's no sign of deficiencies so clearly they're adapted to their environment? And if not, nothing stopped them from cutting down trees to make space for the sun? Idk the fact that they spent centuries down there but need a foreigner to teach them how to live well rubs me wrong.

Solution 9 looks dope, though. Loved meeting Otis and Gulool Ja. For Sphene, I understand why they kept Wuk Lamat as the focus, but it felt like a missed occasion to teach her that wanting the happiness of her people and actually bringing it are two different things. Instead, it felt like listening to a teenager telling you that fixing the world is easy when they have no idea what's even wrong with it. In character, perhaps, but frustrating when you have so much more practical experience.

Not to mention that Sphene's issues with the weight of expectations echoe nicely with the weight of the WoL's mantle, and we didn't even get to pipe in to try to connect with her. Or with Zoraal Ja, for that matter.

The twins were entirely unnecessary. Them joining us felt forced and nothing in the expansion made me change my mind. They have nothing to do here except stealing potential lines from the WoL to say out loud the most obvious thing like it's deep. I love them both, but they should have stayed in Garlemald. It's not like the Garleans give a fuck about how the rest of the world deal with their shit anyway, and they visited enough places already. Tural gave them nothing they weren't already aware of.

Erenville got many hugs from my WoL, idc that the MSQ won't make it canon.

I'm still indifferent to Krile, but the Scions didn't grow on me before ShB so I'm giving her time. Still, I would've liked it better if instead of the twins, we'd had her and G'raha with us instead. You know, the guy with actual ruling experience of people from diverse backgrounds.

Slightly disappointed we didn't get to fight Thancred and Urianger tbh. That would have been fun XD

The whole time shenanigans hurt my brain in the second part. Like, if 30 years passed in just a few days for us then they shouldn't have had time to prepare Tuliyollal's defense. The dragons intervening was cool but there were better ways to make it happen without mysteriously forgetting that time flows differently inside the dome. Unless I missed something to explain why very conveniently it aligns now?

I liked the last zone. Gpose bait lmao I found it sadder that Ultima Thule tbh. Though, uh... we were in a hurry. Now wasn't the time to talk to every dead people we met.

Also I don't think it'll happen since he seems to have joined the guards, but I want Bakool Ja Ja to travel with us and Erenville for a while xD

Overall, I really liked it don't get me wrong. Aside from Thancred and Urianger, I don't think any Scion was truly useful however (not even Krile). This was my main problem with the time stuff, but I suppose they're not ready to let them go just yet.

And the graphical update makes me want to travel through all the areas and take screenshots until my hard drive can't take it anymore x)

[13eyond13]

hi, not too long ago, i read death note one-shot 2020. i really enjoyed it, but i have a question. What would have happened if Minoru never died. Do you think Minoru and Near will have met each other. I hope you have a headcanons about them.

Hi! Thanks for the ask, it was fun to think about the 2020 one-shot again. I hadn't revisited it since it first came out, so I reread it again just now to have it fresh in my mind.

So I don't really think Minoru and Near likely would've met even if Minoru never died, because Minoru asked Ryuk to erase his memories and also made it really hard to trace everything back to him with how he planned the selling of the notebook. He didn't WANT to be tracked down by anybody, nor to remember what he had done, and Near said himself that it would be basically impossible for them to find him now after the transaction had taken place. The only clue L's team really had to go on after the auction finished was that A-Kira was probably one of the many hundreds of thousands of people under 60 years old who had a bank account with Yotsuba.

HOWEVER! I also do like the idea of Minoru and Near meeting each other, especially because Near expressed interest in meeting him due to his obvious intelligence and due to coming up with that kind of a plan with the notebook. And think it might have been fun to see how they got along.

("read more" cut because it's a bit long)

I also liked Minoru as a character quite a bit. He came off pretty chill and patient and peaceful and non-egotistical, but still pretty scheming and clever as a character as well. I also liked how he found a way to try to use it to benefit himself and his own country (I guess - it's up for interpretation, but that much money going to Japan would be "greasing the wheels" of the economy, as they said?). And to me he also seemed to be trying to entertain and placate Ryuk while also getting the notebook away from him and not actually using it himself to kill anybody. After all, Minoru really had no choice in the matter initially when Ryuk selected him for his next notebook owner, so he didn't ask to be put in that position, and he had all the history of what had happened before when Kira had the notebook to draw on. And Near points out that now that the world knows about Kira's power and its whereabouts that it will be a lot harder for it to be used sneakily by anybody, and perhaps that was something that Minoru had been anticipating too (I assume he had thought of many things like this before he chose this plan, seeing as he for some reason spends 2 entire years coming up with it).

Near in this one-shot is a bit of a question mark to me characterization-wise. He doesn't act a ton like Near did in the manga in my eyes, and comes off a bit more cynical and listless and self-centered than I thought he actually was back in the manga. He seems a bit less idealistic and less caring about the others around him to me in this one-shot, too; and I thought that the part where he says that he wants to meet A-Kira because he's smart sounds a lot more like something the original L would say than something Near would say. Much of the stuff that made his personality refreshing and unique to me in comparison to L just wasn't really that present in this one-shot for me. And I'm just not sure if that's because Ohba is intentionally writing him to have been changed by the Kira case and differently characterized now to how he wrote him in the manga, or what? Perhaps he is trying to show Near slowly becoming more like L over the years as he spends more time doing L's job? Or maybe I just interpreted Near's personality in the manga differently to how Ohba was actually conceptualizing him and writing him in the first place.

Anyway, whenever I imagine Near and Minoru meeting and interacting I tend to picture Minoru having a bit of a calming effect on Near for some reason, as Near comes off a bit depressed and cranky and lonely to me in the later one-shots. They're so far apart in age in canon and when Near first learns about A-Kira that I don't ship it, but I can imagine them getting along well as friends if they met (and if someone came up with an AU where they are closer together in age and/or both first met as adults that'd be fine for me shipping-wise as well). Maybe Near would do well to have a friend like Minoru who came off smart and relatable to him in an interesting way, and who also immediately understood that something like having the power of Kira handed to him wasn't automatic good news and didn't want to use it to kill anybody. Minoru could maybe be Near’s chill voice of reason when he gets a little too cynical and stubborn about things and get him out of the house a bit more, introduce him to some of the things the kids are into these days and see what he thinks about them. I feel like Near would maybe do well to not be so caught up in his role as L anymore as well, as it doesn't really seem to be agreeing with him that much later in life. I can picture them doing something fun and low stakes and nerdy together like hanging out at a board game cafe. Or maybe it'd even be nice to see them working together on L stuff, and maybe Near would be a happier person with an actual pal to hang out with.

[lucapizzelles]

Hello I've decided I want to make a longform post about sea monster gills okay 321 go

Under the cut because there's a near embarrassing amount of yapping

To begin, I promise these next two paragraphs are relevant:

Amphibians are known for having both lungs and gills (with a small caveat). However, most (not all! will come back to this in a second) amphibians actually lose their gills in their transition to adulthood (there’s the caveat). Many amphibians instead ‘breathe’ through their skin, cutaneous respiration, by diffusing oxygen in the water into their blood cells. Sick af. Unfortunately, this does not (usually) mean they can live all of their life underwater. A main issue faced by many amphibians is that the water is not saturated with nearly enough oxygen, meaning they need to surface sometimes to take air (far more oxygen dense) in through their lungs. Though they can’t stay there forever, this does mean that they can stay underwater for prolonged periods of time, both by having an insane ability to hold their breath and by using their skin to 'breathe.'

So, the thing with most amphibians lose their gills: Axolotls, for example, are actually what's known as a paedomorphic animal (humans are somewhat paedomorphic as well, fun fact), meaning that their features (or some of them) don't change during their transition from adolescence to adulthood. This is unusual, because most amphibians undergo a metamorphosis in which they lose their gills when they move on from the larval stage. Axolotls, though, do not have a larval stage AND keep their gills. 

So, in the movie, Luca has never been to the surface, he hasn’t even been above the surface level of the water (more on this in a second). Amphibians that undergo a metamorphosis and lose their gills almost always come up for air at some point, as, like mentioned before, the "breathing through their skin" method is just not sustainable. So, if not all sea monsters, Luca, at least, must have gills. You can argue that Luca has not yet undergone a metamorphosis, thus meaning his parents might not have gills while he does, but that’s implying he is in the larval stage right now. Due to how similar he looks to his parents and other adults (and, though I’m hesitant to use concept art, how similar he looked as an even younger child), I’m going to say that sea monsters are very much so paedomorphic and don't have any larval stage.

(Evidence 0, technically: I also will argue that, given how much Daniela is against even going towards the surface, if she (and other adults) had to breach the water level to breathe in air, then this concept wouldn't be so taboo to Luca. Daniela likely would've told him that he will eventually develop lungs and he will need to breathe air, especially as he's, like, 12, and, assuming that sea monster puberty is around the same time as human, he is soon going to undergo that metamorphosis. OR, Luca would've at least seen his parents, his grandma, any other villager, going towards the surface to breathe. Regardless, I'm not subscribing to the theory that they lose their gills, anyway.)

Side note: this also leans them, taxonomically, towards being amphibians and not reptiles

(side note about the side note: this also unfortunately means they probably don’t have claws. I do my best to bend the rules of nature accordingly to fit what their actual anatomy in the film is instead of saying “they don’t have x thing” that they clearly DO have, but, in the film they don’t actually have visible claws (their sea monster fingers are pointy at the ends, but I think that's just how they grow, look at salamander paws). This is incredibly unfortunate, because I really like the idea of them having claws. What is incredibly not unfortunate is that the world is made of pudding and if I want them to have claws then they can and I will reshape taxonomy as we know it to make that happen. And you can too! (Also I’m giggling. Even in the most stereotypically threatening scenario that we see sea monsters, when Alberto reveals himself, the fingertips are still distinctly round. Human nails can do more damage. Lmfao. Little baby.))

This next section is a lot of silly analysis simply for fun because I was on the debate team and everything needs evidence:

Evidence 1 timestamp 5:55- 6:20

The scene where Luca sees a boat and then imagines himself floating up to the surface of the water, where he's about to breach it and see the human- but his own imagination stops him. The water forms an impenetrable barrier around him and he can’t push his way out of it. This is both for the audience to see how Luca feels trapped under the water and also demonstrate that he’s very interested in the surface, despite his “good-kid” nature. Ignoring the character development, I’m going to use this scene to say that he absolutely has gills. If he had no gills, then going above water level wouldn’t be so forbidden. Of course, like whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals, you can absolutely have animals that live entirely underwater and simply hold their breath for a really, really long time before breaching for air, but this isn’t the case. To breathe in the air, he’d need to breach the surface of the water, and if this was a consistent thing in his life so as to, say, not die, then it wouldn’t be an issue for him to imagine it. Thus, he was likely born underwater and also born with gills. 

Evidence 2 timestamp 0:00-0:15 

Pretty much exactly what I said before but no longer daydreaming and it just further enforces what I said. If he had simply breached the surface of the water at some point in the past, let alone go onto the surface itself, then he wouldn’t struggle so much. One could argue he’s nervous to go above the water level because he knows the next step is to go onto the surface, and to that I say: yeah you’re probably right. Consider though: the daydream sequence. Also I would throw the slippery slope logical fallacy at your face, but Luca himself was probably slippery slope-ing in that argument, so I am keeping my mouth shut.

Evidence 3 timestamp 4:00

This is actually a bit niche (and a stretch, but everything in this post is a stretch), but if you watch the “Deleted Scenes” Bonus Feature for Luca (2021), specifically “Starfish Hunting (timestamp 1:25),” you get more insight as to why this scene is important. Just to overview it: Enrico Casarosa clarifies that this alternative introduction scene to the film specifically highlights the quiet moments during Luca (2021): “[...] There was a tone in [this scene] that was important to the movie, and it really inspired many other moments. I find it’s one of those sequences that we always kept talking about that we gotta make sure we carve time for the slower, quiet, little reveries to nature” (Casarosa). The scene that played in the background as he said that quote was the scene I just linked you too for the third evidence. I bring up this whole other thing to prove that every little thing in this scene was thought about, especially (drumroll) the feeling of the air on Luca. In this scene, you soooo clearly see how Luca’s hair shifts as the wind sweeps through it, which they wouldn’t add in that animation detail* and make it so front and center of the scene if it wasn’t important. As it is for the audience, it’s also Luca’s first time feeling the sensation of air like that on his skin. 

*huge note: you can clearly see the wind brushing through Luca’s (and others’) hair a lot throughout the film, an example off the top of my head is the nighttime scene on the lighthouse when Luca asked what the stars were. Worth mentioning. Do with that what you will.

So, they likely have gills. Now what? Well, originally I thought that there’s really only one place for their gills to be: within their pharynx. Like fish, the sea monster would breathe in through their mouth (or nostrils and they make use of a secondary palette), and the water passes over their gills in the pharynx and out through the sides of their necks, covered by an operculum. This felt shaky, honestly, as the main issue is the operculum not being present in their models for the movie. However, pharynx-located gills was all that I knew of internal gills to be, until:

Signal2Noise’s sick ass bichambered lung theory (idek how they thought of this but it’s actually so awesome and is my personal hc now and I want to share it)

So, to finish off, I wanna talk about this fic briefly. (Observations of the Sea Monster, by Signal2Noise on ao3) (if the link doesn’t work)

It’s not really a fic, it's (in their own words) a “mock-scientific paper written in 1999.”I just wanna talk about their respiration section (and I'm going to try and translate much of it into more layman’s terms), but I highly encourage you to read the full thing, especially if you’re interested in their biology and such, because it’s INCREDIBLY interesting. The amount of work clearly put into it is amazing. I’ve already gassed it up on this site before.

I don’t want to repost any of their work here, so (and I believe it’s no longer marked as only members can view it) go to chapter 7 to specifically see their bichambered lung theory. It does have a lot of science-y jargon, but it’s very much worth it. 

Essentially, two lung chambers (one major, one minor). Sea monster breathes in water, oxygenated water goes into the major chamber, over/through the gills, and the now deoxygenated water drains into the minor chamber. The minor chamber opens up into the trachea through a dorsal facing bronchiole to allow the water to be exhaled out. In the same way that the epiglottis prevents food from going in our windpipe when swallowing, a similar structure prevents the water from flowing back into the major chamber during exhalation. 

Very cool!

I don’t have much else to say. I just wanted to ramble about this and actually I had most of this sitting in a google document for a long time. I figured that I really enjoy when people ramble about Luca regardless of what it’s about so maybe someone else shares a similar mindset. Also, I don’t see people talking about their biology in this way very often. I also don’t think the gills thing was heavily disputed in the fandom? Like, I think most of us agree that they breathe underwater somehow, but this was still fun to put together. Also, just to add on to why cutaneous respiration isn't likely for them (not that they can’t do it at all but): too much of their body is covered in scales for it to be efficient in any way. Only being able to breathe using the skin on your chest, belly, and face would kill you, probably. 

Hope you enjoyed the random analysis and all-over-the-place rambles and the mini zoology lesson :]

[tavyliasin]

10 First lines challenge

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to and see if there are any patterns!

Tagged by the ever wonderful @redroomroaving

I'll tag in...ahh this is hard I always forget people's usernames so I'm just searching the @'s here... @sweetmage @thylyre @laserlope @ineadhyn @hydropyro and anyone else who would like to - also if you would like to be tagged in for future writing tag games please let me know directly too and I'll make a proper list for a change! Anyway I'm going to take mine only from published works, not WIPs, and will put them all below the cut. I doubt the lines will be spicy, but the fics almost certainly will be~

Piercing storm-grey eyes regarded you quietly, assessing your distress in mere moments. From: Abdirak - Toothache Comfort (Collection of short "x Reader" pieces)

For a rare change of pace, it seemed like the sun was shining on the streets of Baldur’s Gate. From: ATG 16 - Bonded? Thrice (Astarion/Halsin/Tav threeway chapter of the longfic)

By the time they got back to camp, Gale was struggling not to double over. From: Weaving the Blood Moon (Bloodweave entry in my Red Moons of Faerun menstruation fic series)

Sleep did not come easily to Haarlep. From: The Nightmare, The Dream, and The Spaces Between (A chapter in the Raphael/Haarlep prequel longfic series, The Scent Of Cinnamon)

Several tendays passed by in a blur. From: The Dress, The Duck, and The Cambion's Patience (Another chapter of that longfic)

Lord Enver Gortash hissed a long sigh of frustration from between clenched teeth, leaning back on the edge of his desk the moment the last of the day’s guests left. From: Bloodlust and Bhaalists (The DurgeTash entry into the Red Moons of Faerun series)

Durge. That’s what she called him. From: Two Heads Are Better Than None (A Durge/Tav one shot, written for a prompt request)

Raphael walked down the corridors of the House of Hope, inspecting all the recent renovations. From: The House Of Hooooooooohno (A cursed little one shot which pairs Raphael with the House of Hope itself...?!)

“I don’t know about this,” Gale protested, even as he kept pace with the men either side of him, the three walking with arms linked at the elbow like old comrades. From: Between a Blade and a Sharp Place (A Gale/Astarion/Wyll threeway one shot)

The moon hung precisely half full in the sky as Abdirak smiled - Selune may not have been his goddess but like clockwork her light always heralded this particular devotion to the Maiden. From: Hymns of the Red Moon (The first in the Red Moon series, in which Abdirak spends a night of worship alone)

Analysis

This is a tough one. Ideally I would've like to take the first paragraph as a few of those are exceptionally short, especially compared to my averagely very long sentence.

The Longfic Chapters (ATG, Scent of Cinnamon) are lines that have an air of continuation to them, illustrating the change of time or mood within the character or setting with a short opener. The following lines in all 3 cases are far longer - it's like giving just a quick bite first then reeling in a much longer line. It's also not doing a lot of scene setting or action, as I tend to write chapters as scenarios so they have a building pace to them. Red Moon Series each open on a clear depiction of the focus character and how they're experiencing the moment. Abdirak is seeing the signs and finding the beauty in them as the torment of his body begins, whereas both Gale and Gortash are steeped in their frustration and agony from the beginning, desperate to end the day and just not have to deal with things any more. The other one shots almost all start immediately with a name, opening on our POV character and identifying them quickly, following with either a simple action, thought, or dialogue. The character comfort short assumes you know exactly who owns those eyes and aims to pull you in to the moment without the name, to set the scene swiftly for a much shorter piece. Overall I think it's hard to really narrow down any techniques I use for openers - I vary things depending on the piece, but only very rarely do I open on dialogue or dynamic action. Whilst I love those things as tropes and as a great way to start a story, I tend to prefer to walk through the door rather than taking a running start - which is likely partially why all my works end up running longer than I expected because my natural instinct is a building pace. I enjoy taking the time to build the tension, slowly pull on that elastic until you think it can't possibly stretch any further then- SNAP let it all go as the payoff reaches a sprinting pace, preferably with that time at the end to let things cool back down rather than sprinting into a dead end wall. I'm quite tempted to do this again with last lines but not today, far too tired for that! Again if you want to tag in and do this one, use me as your tag in! Or let me know and I can actively tag you in to this one or the next~

[jotun-philosopher]

Half meta, half ramble

Not entirely sure where this post is going, tbh... Let's find out, eh?

Sooo... I was browsing the Final Fantasy wiki (as one does) and the article for Tantarian (an optional/missable boss in FF9) caught my attention. Y'see, Tantarian is a demon found in a library, hiding in a possessed book -- and is based on the Great Duke of Hell, Dantalion (or Dantalian, the spelling can be inconsistent). How the ever-loving wossname, I hear you cry, does this relate to Good Omens????

Let's take a closer look! (this got longer than I anticipated, hence the cut)

From the Wikipedia article 'List of demons in the Ars Goetia':

"The Seventy-first Spirit is Dantalion. He is a Duke Great and Mighty, appearing in the Form of a Man with many Countenances, all Men's and Women's Faces; and he hath a Book in his right hand. His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences unto any; and to declare the Secret Counsel of any one; for he knoweth the Thoughts of all Men and Women, and can change them at his Will. He can cause Love, and show the Similitude of any person, and show the same by a Vision, let them be in what part of the World they Will."

Bolded details:

"Duke Great and Mighty" -- evocative of the whole "Thin Dark Duke" thing <3

" [...] he hath a Book in his right hand." -- pretty obvious GO connection there!

(best 'Azzy+book(s)' gif I could find quickly...although on a second look, this might well be from the body swap bit in S1 XD Mr Sheen, you ludicrously talented chaos gremlin, you <3 )

(Ok, this one's definitely Crowley XD)

Mah point is dolphins they both match up to the book thing!

"His Office is to teach all Arts and Sciences [...]" -- leaning slightly more towards a Crowley parallel here, with the apple thing partly symbolising intellectual curiosity (essential part of arts and sciences!), but Aziraphale giving away the flaming sword would've helped humanity figure things out in that area as well (even if indirectly)

(I want to boop the snek!!!)

"[...] knoweth the Thoughts of all Men and Women, and can change them at his Will [...]" -- mind-reading! Seems to be sliiiiiightly more of a demon thing from what we've seen (e.g. "Nina: It's like you've seen into my secret soul. Crowley: Yeah, it's a knack.", Shax picking at insecurities in the bookshop battle), but both the Ineffables have directly influenced human minds on screen (e.g. Sitis, the Shopkeepers' Ball)

"[...] can cause Love [...]" -- well, they certainly tried! Operation: Shop Lesbians :D

"[...] show the Similitude of any person [...]" -- mostly seen with the body swap bit so far (where A+C are concerned), but given that for angels and demons, size and shape are merely options, and Beelzebub canonically changed their face, it's not outwith the bounds of possibility that the Ineffable Husbands could disguise themselves as people other than each other (if that makes sense)(and assuming they'd *want* to, of course)

Plus, if you go with the 'Dantalion' spelling, the last four letters form the word 'lion', which is a motif the show ties pretty strongly to Aziraphale via the signet ring on his right hand. Fierce protector angel! <3

Plus plus, from what I've been able to gather, Dantalion is supposed to be one of the more benevolently-inclined Goetic demons -- both the Ineffables are pretty dang benevolent!

The point I'm stumbling towards (stone-cold sober, but with about 3,000,000 on the ND Scoville scale) is that Dantalian/Dantalion has some pretty interesting parallels to both the Ineffable Husbands and so, within the GO verse, could be either another alias of Crowley's or a name Aziraphale might take if he Fell (AU fic writers, start your engines!) :D

As a small bonus, I saw the name 'Shax' mentioned in the list of Marquises of Hell!

The characteristics given for the Goetic Shax don't really match up to TV!Shax that I can tell, apart from the stork symbolism and the "hoarse but subtle voice" (and maaaybe 'is thought to be faithful and obedient, but is a great liar'), but given all the other Goetic parallels, it wouldn't surprise me to see elements of the Goetic description popping up in Shax's S3 arc -- likely in unexpected ways!

Hope you enjoyed reading that ^^ Have fun fic-writing!

[catelyngrant]

The Doctor Who Script collection dropped earlier this week and I've already spent, uh, many hours digging through various scripts (including all of the SJA scripts!), but if you've been here awhile, you know that the first one I went for was School Reunion.

It was really fun reading through what was changed, what beats were scripted vs. which weren't, and the emotional backdrops. One of the things that struck me most was that, for a very bittersweet episode, the script absolutely leaned harder into the bitter side of bittersweet than the episode as aired did. There were elements that I'm very glad didn't stay as well as moments I desperately wish had been kept. Overall, it was a joy to see the original draft of the story that got me into Doctor Who all those years ago.

He's so happy. Transported. Mesmerised. Dazed, reeling from the encounter. Oh, my HEART. This scene was pretty much aired as written, and David played it to the nines, of course, but it's really sweet to see how explicit the script is about how overwhelmed the Doctor is in this moment. So much of the episode focuses on Sarah's emotional reaction (rightly, if not always perfectly) and the hurt/discomfort that colors their relationship once she realizes it's the Doctor, so to have this moment of the Doctor's unadulterated happiness to see her is really lovely.

More highlights (including things that were cut, changed—for better or worse, and just directions that made me happy or that I found interesting) under the cut!

This scene was definitely different. The script didn't include the bit about them both investigating at the school and it has a bit more flippancy. I can't imagine this scene without the iconic slow shot of Sarah backing up and turning to see the Doctor behind her, so I'm really, really glad that they moved away from the idea of them colliding into each other and leaned into the gravitas a bit more.

Oh, what I would've given for them to have kept this!!!

On to the diner scene...oh boy, feelings about this. I've written essays about this scene—how in some ways it feels perfect and appropriate and Sarah's grief/lines like "you were my life" make a lot of sense in the context of the shock and hurt of an old wound reopened so violently, how that shouldn't be taken to mean that she'd wasted her life or that she's been paralyzed by a broken heart for thirty years, how everything is heightened and that's okay even if, on their own, some of these beats paint a grim picture—but whew. This would've been harder to swallow with the last bit, which I remember Lis having mentioned as something she fought back against.

I actually do love that she mentioned UNIT and Harry! But yeah, very glad that Lis talked them out of the last lines. There clearly wasn't an effort to adhere to Big Finish canon but minimizing and deflating her successful career on top of everything else would've been upsetting, and there just wasn't a good reason to paint her entire life as tragic outside of the raw reactions the Doctor's return illicit.

"If I thought about you..." Project it onto my GRAVESTONE!

THIS WAS SCRIPTED I AM SCREAMING, this is one of my FAVORITE little beats of the episode (so much so that I made a gif out of it like 13 years ago!)

The Sarah/Rose dynamic was a little 🙄 in the episode and a little more-so in the script, but I liked this bit:

The explicit apology is nice, but goddamn, I wish they'd kept "He doesn't deserve us."

I'm fascinated by the fact that in the script, she shrugs him off! The script generally has a slightly more bitter tinge than the episode itself did, which is so interesting to me, and that I'm glad was tempered.

The goodbye scene as scripted is set in the ruins of the school. I like that they moved it and created some space and time—everyone's changed clothes, they've had some breathing room, emotions have cooled a bit. It serves the scene better than I think this would have. This bit of the script includes a line that I always assumed had been cut given her line in the episode about "And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world". Other than that, the dialogue and beats are pretty much what we see onscreen.

And then:

I have a very messy tangle of feelings about "Last chance" / "I know" that I'll be sorting out for the next 4-6 business weeks, so...stay tuned. (I also have an essay about ace-spectrum Sarah Jane that builds on the "he was a tough act to follow" line that WILL exist outside of my head at some point!)

Anyway! This was a fun deep dive 💞 I got a Doctor/Sarah-inspired tattoo earlier this month so I'm really in my renaissance era here!otp

[mezzy303]

Ok laddies time for this week's theory time (do I need to make a masterpost of my theories? This is getting a little ridiculous lol)

Spoilers for One Piece chapter 1115 spoilers under the cut

The way I jumped and threwwww my kindle (onto pillows) when Vegapunk confirmed all the Atlantis theories!!!!!!! I made the mistake of reading it right before bed and I was wide awake for like another two hours talking to a friend and just thinking about it 😅

I honestly was ready to scrap my theory from ch 1113 about there being whole continents 800 years ago before a great flood happened, and I'm still reeling on how it all turned out to be true besides the natural phenomenon part (here's my theory from ch 1114). And Oda once again proves how fucking genius he is bc I never expected 200 meters?????? Omg???? That's over 650ft for my fellow US folks. Here's an image going around Twitter from a YouTube video that shows what are own world would look like if sea levels rose 200m

Insanity

These recent chapters have had me really questioning the mechanics of the One Piece world lol. Tbh I think we all just assumed that the world was just Like That and mainly functioned to drive the plot forward. But there are actual reasons behind it?? With this revelation, I started thinking about how the sinking of land could have been intentional on the Allies' part, beyond the destruction of the Great Kingdom and erasing it from history. The way the world is now, with the Red Line going all the way around and the Calm Belts running perpendicular to it, it's incredibly hard to travel between the different Seas. The islands are also fairly isolated from each other, especially on the Grand Line. It makes it hard for information to travel around, and the only way to get world news is through a heavily vetted newspaper. To me, it all seems purposeful to further subjugate the world by physically dividing the people, making them easier to control and rule over.

I also want to reiterate how easy it would've been to erase the Great Kingdom from history and collective memory when the Allies/World Government had the capabilities of mass destruction that could cause sea levels to rise hundreds of meters. Not only does it make the original land inaccessible, the amount of people that died was probably immense. And with the death of a large number of people comes the loss of knowledge. Those that survived likely wouldn't have wanted to pass down information on the Great Kingdom from both the trauma of the event and the fear of retribution by the World Govt (I assume the laws forbidding research on the Void Century was immediate). So potentially after just one generation, knowledge on the Great Kingdom and how the world used to be would've disappeared. Iirc only the Minks and the Kozuki family passed down info on the kingdom's existence, and their lands are largely isolated from the rest of the world. (Speaking of which, they both are in locations where further rising sea levels wouldn't affect them)

Looking into it further, the way the geography of the world also seems like it's trying to prevent (or at least discourage) people from getting into or leaving the Grand Line and also travel between islands. Just trying to get to that sea is dangerous because it requires a person to either sail through Reverse Mountain, where many pirates canonically have died because of the crazy currents and storms and end up crashing into the mountain, or going through the Calm Belt, which is current and wind free and infested with Sea Kings. And once you're in the Grand Line, the waters itself are extremely difficult to navigate. Now what's in the Grand Line that the Allies may have wanted to prevent people from getting to? Laugh Tale.

For a little while now, I've been playing around with the idea on how the magnetic fields on each island may have been created to specifically help a pirate/sailor get to Laugh Tale. We've already seen Kidd using his awakened devil fruit powers to change the polarity of different objects, what if it's possible to change the polarity of an entire island? With those powers, a person could have created the seven paths of the Grand Line. I'm still trying to decide if this was done outside the Allies' control, or if it was an order from the Allies and the person was secretly loyal to the Great Kingdom.

And don't think I missed that little detail Vegapunk said about the Allies using ancient weapons!!!!!!! Literally each chapter has been teasing the reveal of the Elders having Uranus!!!! ｡゜(｀Д´)゜｡ It seems like the Lulusia attack really was just a taste of what their weapon can do. I can't imagine how big an attack (or how many attacks in succession?) it would take to cause 200m sea level change???