#also the lenght seems to fit

[baekuras]

anyhow today i actually at the glorious hour of 8pm got up and connected my washing machine....stuff

well 1 of them bc i need other tools to loosen all thats being held together so i’ll go buy them w/ my week-shopping tomorrow

but hey after literal months i am actually working on having a working washing machine w/ my own hands

so far nothing leaked out of the whole bit i had to connect to my sink so....thats a win v-v

[katyahina]

The 'haired' helmets are strange..

It IS odd how we get to wear the characters' hairstyles, as it is just really unlikely they're scalps! I suppose the explanation is the same as why we are able to completely change upon looking into a mirror at Roundtable's Hold; as long as the Tarnished is guided by Greater Will, they'll have its aid and be transformed into whatever they see fit to keep carrying on! So I think the implication here is that we do, physically, grow the hair of the demigods (or champions) upon trying to tap on their power! I think if GW abandons a Tarnished, or if they abandon it, they lose this 'ability', which our playable character never does, so..

I am not sure whether it is Maliketh's own long mane or also a decoration! I'd like to think the former, in which case, same logic as with hair of Malenia, Godfrey and Radahn applies! Vargram's "hair" definitely is a decoration, and specifically for the purpose of imitating shadowbeasts:

Ensha's armour goes even further and not only gives us a hairdo, but makes us a skeleton:

We even get his power of slight regeneration, similar to Erdtree's normal powers:

All implications considered, I really doubt that this is just how armour looks, especially considering no change in size. We are not 'wearing' the skull, we ARE the skull now fhhsfd And this time the NPC data inside simply exists because Ensha does use NPC code and mechanics. So, we turn into a corpse! Again, should not matter much since as long as we're carried by GW we don't need to eat or sleep or... anything, really. (I'll also die on the hill of the theory that Ensha was one of the deceased Marika's offspring whose Mausoleum crashed and what was left from him crawled out but that's another story fdhfhds)

Here are other instances of hair simply decorating a helm:

Niall is that one guy we fight in Castle Sol, so similarity in this case ALSO checks out! Also cute idea: what if decoration for the helmets of Godrick's Knights IS his own hair? ;-;

That could also be speculated about Redmane Knights, but I feel like it'd be more appropriate for Godrick's. Radahn would be stingy about his amazing lion mane whereas Godrick can not only take body parts but also give them XDDDD yeah yeah terrible whatever

The black hair on Night Cavalry's helmet can be removed, also confirming that in this case it is a decoration. This hair does have interesting flowing animation though! Maybe it IS the hair of Night Cavalry themselves, still having their shadowy energy, but cut and attached again to their own helmets (kind of like Ciaran from DS1 decorated her helmet with her own braid!)

Another case of hair not being actual hair but part of the mask; the way hair is placed, it'd had to grow from like, eyebrows level and face itself or something fdhfdsdfh Maybe this style with braids and grey hair was intended to refer at Godfrey's? Alternatively, what IF their faces are actually furry/animalistic despite otherwise human build, so the hair doubles as fur? We don't see them behind the mask, after all? A food for a thought lol

^ More of 100% 'mask' types of these

The water dancer in blue gave the sword to Malenia's teacher, the blind guy that once sealed the God of Rot himself, and these warriors in blue appear to be following the same philosophy of "ever running water preventing stagnation, so, rot itself" as him! Although this head piece imitates just a follower and not the man himself (as far as we are aware....), perhaps the sentiment is strong enough to give us the hairdo too x) Again, funny enough, it seems to resemble the Lady of the Lake fairy herself!

I suspected the case of 'sharing hair' with Cleanrot Knights too, but upon closer look I can tell it is supposed to be some fabric/rags, rather than hair or hairlike accessory! Probably more efficient to imitate the look with rags rather than something hairlike tbh, considering the lenght of the thing! So I think the design is more meant to represent Malenia's own unhappy fate, with short tuft being the "hair" and the longer tails being the "wings" :

_______________

In conclusion, it is kind of easy to deduce which hair become our actual hair for the time being because of golden grace 'reshaping' us and which hair is just decor! But it is really interesting stuff to think about all the way!

[juustozzi]

@thepinksky18 hello, and thank you sm!! <3 I hope it's okay to reply like this, I got kinda carried away with reference images..! I can try to share some things that help me with my art, hopefully they'll be of some help for you too!

when I do group pics like this, the thing I focus on the most is how everything looks and feels together! details and stuff can wait for later, first is to figure out that the overall picture works, and the characters are in balance with each other!

I'll use the Tenma horse pic you replied to as an example, will be continued under read more!

here's the sketches for the art! the very first sketch is very simple and blocky (I usually use a thick brush) to just settle everything in place and see how it all works out. the second sketch is more detailed and sometimes deviates from the first sketch a lot, if something seems to work better some other way.

depending on the complexity of the finished art, I do just these two sketches or add one more even detailed one, but the last sketch before lineart is the one I tweak the most! usually I draw characters on different layers so it's easy to select them separately and resize, fix proportions or positions, etc. to make the big picture look good to you!

here's the lineart (which could also be the 3rd sketch) compared to the previous layer. now I'm adding more details, but I still keep fixing the overall image - you can see how the lineart doesn't quite match the sketch in places: hikaru is shorter, the position of aoi's feet and tenma's hind legs are different, etc. some people like to do a very detailed sketch and practically trace their lineart over it, and if that's what feels good for you, go for it! I'm the kind to just throw lines over vague sketch and call it a day, especially with more simple drawings like this :,)

there's good tutorials and studies on bodies and proportions online already so I'm not going to even try to speak about those, but I got a few tips! I tend to do them in my mind nowadays, but I tried to draw them out for easier visualization!

I mentioned earlier how for me the main thing is that everything's balanced, right? that also inclues characters and their proportions. I think that in group pics it's more important the characters work out together, not so much if their insividual proportions are perfect. especially if there's notable differences between them - height, bulk, lenght of limbs, and so on! a few pixels here and there don't matter in the overall image, but for example with Shinsuke who is Tiny, it's important for me to really make him smaller than others.

my most used tool is a scale chart! it helps to visualize the proportions for the characters, even when they're piled up like in the example doodle, or otherwise not in a neat row on the horizon line. (again, separate layers help you tweak them individually if needed! there's no need to get them right on the first try, especially when drawing digitally when there's layers.)

if your drawing eye hasn't gotten used to proportions, the chart can also be used to make a neat little ruler to check your sketch! the rulers over the sketch are all same size, just moved around; tsurugi and shinsuke fit in pretty well, and while Tenma's torso is a little long (even when taking into accound he's a little bent from waist, which makes him even taller when straightened out), it's not by much and it wouldn't bother my eye.

and while I myself sometimes tend to be a slave for the references and get gray hair over minor details, or of some part of the anatomy is off and I can't fix it the way I want, the overall feeling and style mean a lot more! I think it's important to put some thought into the proportions especially if you feel like wanting to make progress with your art, but if it's getting too stressful or draining the joy of drawing out of you, then screw it and just have fun! (I say this as someone who has learned not from studying anatomy and stuff, but instead just. has drawn a shitton and had fun while at it. I think getting comfortable with just creating is the bigges step you can take!)

...oops, sorry if this got too long or off the rails! and yeah hopefully you (and anyone else reading all this) got something out of it!

[elficially-done-with-life]

I Need You Close

Pairing: Lindir x Reader

Summary: Reader was a warrior who already fought battles before finally finding peace in Rivendell where she met Lindir. She has a nightmare about a battle and Lindir comforts her.

Warnings: Talk about past trauma (very brief), There is comfort s*x so it's 18+, it is, however, not the most explicit scene.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

When you woke up, you felt Lindir's soft hands on your arms, gently shaking you awake. "Meleth nin, are you awake? I think you had a nightmare."

Your breath was going way faster than usual, and it took a moment for you to realize what Lindir had said.

You had no idea what your dream had been about, but you were almost certain it had been about one of the wars you had fought in. The scar across your face was itching again, as it always did when you dreamed of those times.

Times that were long over, but that still casted a shadow over you in some nights.

Lindir's voice sounded a little unsure, and you knew that he was insecure of how to comfort you since he hadn't been through the same things.

You actually still couldn't believe that he had fallen in love with you. You believed you were too broken for someone like him. For someone as loving and soft as him, who seemed to be way to pure for someone as broken and damaged as you.

His hands found their way to your cheeks, and his thumbs gently stroked away the tears that you hadn't even realized had fallen down your face. "What do you need?" He looked worried.

You wrapped your arms around his middle, seeking security. He was the only person you liked to be around after nightmares. Before you two had moved in together you had sometimes seeked him out at night, just to talk. "I need you," you whispered softly. You just felt the need to feel your husband close.

He nodded gently, his face still looking very worried.

Lindir's touch ignited a wave of pleasure that coursed through your body. His gentle hands moved with tenderness as if he was afraid a wrong move could hurt you, caressing down your sides, sending shivers down your spine.

"Are you sure?" he whispered in his quiet voice, his eyes searching yours for reassurance.

You nodded, trying to express your longing for him in the way you looked at him. "I'm sure, Meleth nin." you replied, your voice laced with need.

He softly placed his lips on yours.

Now, that Lindir had realized how much you needed his touch at the moment his hands wandered further down and softly stroked under your night garments.

His hands glided over your skin and made you tremble with anticipation.

Needing more of him, you pressed your abdomen against his, feeling the heat radiating between you. Your legs instinctively parted, inviting him closer, and he eagerly obliged, his body fitting perfectly between them.

You could feel his hard lenght pressing against you and let out a soft moan.

With each kiss, each touch, Lindir slipped more of your clothes of. His hands stroked over your naked skin. You loved the feeling of his warm fingers on you. They made you forget all of the negative emotions your nightmare had reminded you of.

Time seemed to stand still as your bodies moved together in a rhythm, before Lindir slowly started to also remove his own clothes and pressed his naked body softly to yours. He nuzzled his face into your neck as he pressed the tip of his lenght against your opening. Then he asked softly, "Can I?"

You nodded slowly as he softly slid inside you.

You loved the familiar feeling of having him inside you. It made you feel like the most loved person in all of middle earth.

Lindir started a slow pace, never full pulling out of you, while he held you close and placed soft kisses over every part of your body that he could reach.

You moaned softly as one of his hands held your hips in place and his other found one of your breasts and started gently massaging it.

You slipped your own hands into his hair to bring his head closer to you. You then pressed a light kiss on his lip and let out a breathless, "Thank you."

As you both slowly neared your climax, he whispered back, "Whatever you need to feel better, Meleth nin."

[immediatebreakfast]

The relationship between Dracula the novel, and its telling of ableism around the characters is a rather complex issue that stems from both the narrative itself, and the framing of said ableism when applied to a character.

The book has gone on lenght to describe, and establish the power dynamic, the tension, and the interactions between Seward and Renfield in way that is clearly uncomfortable.

The illusions of Seward clinging to Renfield's status as a patient to defend a treatment that clearly puts the old man in the category of test subject. Renfield's performative words and actions towards Seward (that he knows will work) are painted as unsettling not only thanks to the internal ableism of the novel, but also to put Seward in a spot of morality in his profession at the cost of Renfield's treatment as a human being.

Remember that regarding Renfield's motives for his actions, Seward is at best drawing the wrong conclusions from them, and at worst turning into an unrealiable narrator to fit the version of Renfield that he has in his head. This gets worse when you add Seward's problems with sleeping, and depression.

The difference is that Renfield, despite his plans and his manipulations, at the end of the day is a mentality ill old man who is vulnerable. Even if Seward's unethical treatment si something that Renfield has known from the beginning, and sadly knows the exact consequences of it. He is human, and there is a point where we can't take it anymore.

"Happy thought! We shall to-night play sane wits against mad ones. He escaped before without our help; to-night he shall escape with it."

Narrative wise, it seems that Seward has dropped the pretense of convincing himself about how Renfield is a patient that he must treat, and instead Renfield is a test subject that he needs to observe.

Even if Jack said before how he wouldn't cross the line of feeding into Renfield's dellusions to study him, it was more to convince himself to not do it. That was also a time when Renfield was actively performing, and keeping afloat the power dynamic between to get a few pieces of freedom. So maybe Seward felt more comfortable in keeping that "line" when he perceived Renfield as a more (ugh) illogical madman that at least knew his "place" in their dynamic.

If Renfield now "sees" him as an equal, as a mere person entrusted with his care, then Seward has to admit to himself that his diagnosis, and theory about Renfield is wrong. That he observed, but did not process anything.

But now that Renfield has been "acting out" of the established dynamic, along with Seward's own depression taking a hold on his biases within the system of doctor-patient? If the constant use of restraining jackets, and a padded room says something, it's something that is not pretty.

[kendrixtermina]

These fake pretentious posts about how that one person „would have liked Amys story better if she chose to quit travelling“ make me so mad.

For all that they throw around sanctimonious like „agency“ they really, really don’t get it.

The great thing about Amy’s story, and the reason I love it, is that it’s one big fuck you to this toxic-ass idea that „growing up“ is synonymous with abandoning your passions & becoming boring & conventional.

Which is something that sends ppl to therapy in droves regardless of gender because they quit everything that that brought them joy & focussed only on productiveness or obligation but which women get especially hit with.

At the start, she is under the illusion that her two choices are to keep her adventurous lifestyle that fits her free-spirited nature, OR to marry Rory and settle down in a conventional way, which is exactly why she is reluctant to commit & gets cold feet before the wedding.

But that supposed choice is shown to be illusory:

In the end, she can marry Rory & commit to him AND have an exciting life of adventure. Adulthood doesn’t HAVE to mean giving up your passions.

Are you seriously telling me that everyone should eventually give up a life where they see wild new things every day?

I wouldn’t. Some might decide after a while that they’d like more stability or get fed up with awful sights; – it depends on their personally obviously, but is it strange that some wouldn’t quit?

Certainly IRL many ppl have a formative wild phase in their youth & then call it quits, but there’s many that seek thrills & novelties all their lives.

Amy got a choice: Her choice was to stay indefinitely & try to balance both conventional adulthood & her love of adventure. It’s the one she makes in ‚The Big Bang‘ and one she re-examines but ultimately reaffirms after reexamining it in ‚The Power of Three‘.

Of course things still end, because everything ends (especially in a live action show where the actors have limited contract lenghts) but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a choice – it’s just that, if you chose to stick it out to the bitter end, that logically means that eventually circumstance is gonna hit. (As it did for Rose, Donna and Clara, who also preferred to stay indefinitely)

‚The Angels Take Manhattan‘ was really about giving her a chance to show her devotion to Rory. At the start of series 7 in ‚Asylum of the Daleks‘ we learn that she has become very aware of how much Rory is sacrificing for the relationship & how much he’s compromised for her sake when she hasn’t always been her best self to him, & that she wants to pay him back or make it up to him – but there of course she makes the very common relationship mistake of assuming what the other person wants without actually talking to them, & it ends in the temporary divorce thing, which is not at all what he would want.

But over the course of their entanglement with the Angels, he communicates very clearly that the one thing he doesn’t want is to be stranded somewhere without her, so when that happens, she goes with him so he won’t be alone, repaying his devotion.

It finishes up the whole ‚life cycle motif‘ we had going on with her, from meeting her as a little girl, seeing her grow up & get married, have a kid, try various careers, get to the point where she needs reading glasses etc. to the point that she seems more mature than the Doctor towards the end, so it makes sense to end this with us following her till she dies of old age -

That said, I object to this characterization of her as a mere victim. All things considered she had as good a life as anyone: She lived to her 80s, had a long & happy marriage, adopted a kid, finally found a job that she liked enough to stick with, & became a famous writer. Yeah, it sucks that Rory was separated from Brian, there’s some irreversible bittersweetness there, especially in what happened to River, but all in all this isn’t a sad story at all. By her own words, she & Rory were happy in the end;

It’s just sad for the Doctor cause he can’t see them anymore, & he has this whole difficulty with accepting endings. (all kinda leading up to when he gets lectured about this by Ashildr & when he meets River again he realized how much his avoidance hurt her feelings – though he gets a chance to fix it.)

Amy could accept it (at least when the alternative was leaving Rory stranded), indeed in the farewell letter they come off almost parental, like they’re more worried about him than anything else.

You gotta have some reading comprehension & separate what he believes about himself from what the narrative actually shows us.

Since the Time War he’s had this huge guilt complex, and Davros’ breaking speech in Journey’s End about how he makes everyone worse really hit him hard, especially since he’s forced to mindwipe Donna right after -

But it’s worth noting that it’s very different from what the companions themselves are shown to believe, just the previous episode Rose was talking about how he had a positive influence & most & Donna says she’d rather die than have that impact erased.

He was gonna go at it alone after losing Donna, but that went very badly, & then he’s slightly out of it from the regeneration & hitting it off with Amy & his resolve crumbles.

Quite the opposite from how that poster characterizes it, he tries to extricate himself multiple times & it’s the Ponds who aren’t having it, & say, „Nah dude, you’re our friend, you’re part of the family“ & actually that’s beautiful. Even after she gets married he’s still her friend, & even after she comes to see him more realistically & less through a lens of admiration in the God complex, he’s still her friend.

[balkanradfem]

So, some of you might remember, how I found an abandoned 'banished settlement' where people used to live 20 years ago, and they left plenty of cultivated and edible plants behind, including one huge rose plant. It was spread more than 10 meters in both directions, made thousands of roses, I used to decorate my entire place with them, dry them, they didn't have a scent so I didn't make food from them. However, the city has decided to build some ugly buildings in that place, so they flattened half of the area to the ground, made it into nothing but empty dirt. Needless to say I was devastated when I went foraging and found most of my plants, including the rose, gone.

However, the rose wasn't just a plant you can run over and destroy; in the spring I found new shoots, it's starting up again from the roots, and it's not going to get exterminated so easily. I do believe they're intending to destroy it completely, so I'm going to try and rescue it by taking some cuttings and propagating it.

Here's what it used to be vs what it is now.

:(

I took a few of the most sturdy stems I could find, I had to get plant cutters in order to do it, they will not break easily. Here's me propagating them at home:

All of the leaves and growth is stripped down, because a plant without roots cannot support foliage. For roses, I think stems of 12-15cm in lenght are reccomended for propagation, that way they have enough stem to try and grow roots from, and not too much to support. I stabbed them in a pot of soil, and then covered with this big glass thing, because cuttings will usually only grow in high humidity, they need to be supplied with water from air, because they don't have roots yet. I had to cut them down a bit more to fit them in, but I think that will be okay. I watered them excessively, and sprayed the cover with water too, so it would create super humid conditions.

I left this on the kitchen window, so it doesn't have to deal with a lot of sun or heat, it's best for cuttings to be put in mild conditions so they can focus on development of roots. If they start growing new foliage, that's the sign that the propagation is successful!

Here they are 10 days later:

To me it looks like all of them are already growing new foliage, but, it's suspicious, I don't think they would have managed to grow new roots so soon, in my mind it should take a ~while~. Maybe they're just using the plant power they had stored in the stem, and haven't figured out they've been turned into cuttings yet. The only way to really check would be to pluck them out and check for roots, but I won't do it yet, I'll leave them in here for at least 2 more weeks before trying to transplant them somewhere else. But for now it looks hopeful! I might have roses on my balcony!

Here's the first post I ever made about this rose, if you wanna see more pictures of how it looked.

(edit: I later looked into how long do rose cuttings take, and it said 2 months, but it also said that in late spring, you're supposed to only take young, flexible, and not-woody cuttings, and they'll grow faster. So I have messed up a little, sturdy cuttings are to be taken in the fall and winter and they're the most difficult ones to root. It also said you need 25cm and to bury them 70% in the ground. But it seems that it's still going well so do not follow the rules! I did have one that was young and flexible and that one is showing the strongest signs of growth.)

[chrysanthemumgames]

Love your game. Really fits the "hades: family man, dog lover, certainly better than the other two"

I played tge game again after I accidentally deleted all my saves and is Hades unfamiliar with having male lovers? He seemed idk shyer?quieter? Like compared to canon gender consort he just mostly kept MC at arms lenght?

None of the aspects of how Hades behaves around the PC are variable based on PC's gender. I also haven't yet made any significant edits on any of the scenes that would be relevant, so perhaps you've just made some different choices personality-wise?

He's certainly been with people of many genders, though the term 'lover' might be a bit much for those situations. He wouldn't say he's ever had someone that qualifies as that.

[lightleckrereins]

Six Poland costume thoughts

I got an ask on this right after the first Poland photos were posted but tumblr decided to eat it so here it goes. This is just me ranting about missing oportunities, a real costume breakdown will happen soon.

Many thoughts. Most of them arent great.

First of all. Credit where credit is due. The very base concept is really good actually. But after that to me everything went downhill.

Short version is. Fits are all over the place, design has way too many elements that copy the original costume design for it to feel original, and some elements are just not coherent.

Long version under the cut.

Conceptually the polish design is good. Stylized coats that are impractical as coats but look nice and fancy are not uncommon for pop stars. If you have those as a base element and change the cut, lenght and accesories it is a really smart way to dress a group in a cohesive way while still highlighting their personalities. It is the sort of thing you might see in a collab grammy performance. It is very smart for six. Problem is the execution.

If you saw the original polish designs those were all brown coats with very high couture looking skirts and pants in the queen's colors. Those seemed very impractical and looked more like a runway collection than stage costumes. Also if you saw them described as high fashion detectives, that's on me. I didn't hate them but don't think they were right either. The final costumes are reworked designs from those sketches.

Again the short coats concept is really good and I am kind of angry they didnt lean into that. Because many of the changes feel like they are trying to mirror the Gabriella Slade design. Aragon has big shoulders and an open skirt, boleyn has a big skirt in a shape no one else has and a B choker, Seymour has a less structured costume with a lot of soft, flowy fabric, howard has an open skirt, long sleeves and a choker, parr has a crop top pants and an open in the front element at the waist. Which production am I talking about? The replica production or poland? Sure polish costumes are not direct copies but there are way too many easy surface level comparisons to be made. Polish boots also look like something heavily inspired by the cleves boots. And it is the same with the set, reminds a lot of the original one. Its sad. Because all that tells me is that someone in the polish team didn't have enough confidence in making a new production that stands on its own. So they went with copying as many elements as possible without replicating, and basically saying to the audience "look we are the real thing".

Then you get the colors. While only the school license is available to read and the proffesional one definitely has different rules and conditions the dont copy the original design rule is probably there. But I think colors are excluded from it. They are too iconic to ban them. Would be like banning the use of hand held mics. But productions are likely encouraged to do their own colors and discouraged from only the original colors. The original design is black with the colors as secondary. A similar mix or using the original colors as highlights could work as a nod to the iconic design while still being original. Some things are inherent to shows even if they originated in a specific design. Think the phantom of the opera half mask, or the anastasia ballet blue dress. Those have a clear design origin, but are just way too iconic to not be part of the show. Poland using the original colors is not inherently bad, but when paired with a little too many elements that seem to come from the original design it starts feeling intentionally copied.

Thing is. Looking objectively a lot of things in the original design either come from the libretto or are easy interpretations of it. (Executed to perfection but not that deep). Problem is that there are many more easy interpretations that can be done.

Aragon is gold because of royalty and has a wider silhouette to give her a bigger presence. Fitting the longest reigning queen and the only to come from a royal background. But she could also be purple as that color was in some contexts reserved to royalty (hungary recently did gold and purple and if branding isnt purple then there is no problem with that), or red because that was the color of catholicism which is a big part of her story. She could have a very tailored and stilized silhouette to show she doesnt need anything flashy to show she is the queen, or pants instead of a skirt to show maturity and experience.

Boleyn is green because of the green sleeves line. She is also bold and fun and loud which shows in her costume. But there are a million shades of green. It is common to read her as younger and pastels and neon colors currently have simmilar associations, boleyn could be mint or aqua or neon green; she could also be wearing yellow (to a funeral). Also doesnt need to be a fitted top and big skirt, she could have shorts or a leotard or a tube skirt or a split skirt or loose pants, she could also have a crop top, or layers or a jacket on top. So many ways to interpret her personality. The B necklace comes from paintings of her so it is an obvious iconic detail, but there are many ways to interpret it aside from a choker. Name and initial necklaces come into fashion often so there are plenty of easily recognisable options.

Seymour is white because of the association to purity being the one to give birth to a male heir. Costume is less structured because she is characterized as softer or again pure. But she could also be in purple as she sees herself as the only one he truly loved so the true queen. Or in light blue or green (or any other light colors) to show her as the nice, approachable one. And while the soft fabric works she could have a structured costume without big elements to show her as more demure than the rest.

Cleves is red because of her holbein portrait and because red (plus black and yellow) is heavily featured in german heraldic shields. But she could be any bright, bold color or gold to follow the gold chains line.

Howard is pink as that is considered the most feminine color. And is characterised as young and flirty so she has a revealing, less grand costume. I do agree that pink is a smart choice (and the original costume is very much inspired in a specific era for arianna grande), but there are many shades of pink. Lighter shades are currently favored over bright magenta to show youth so that could work, but also lilac or any pastels. As for the costume, she could have a fitted skirt or shorts, or a less structured top. She is young, she is fun, there are many ways to show that without a corset and open skirt.

Parr gets blue (I think) to show she is mature and levelheaded. Pants are practical and associated with serious responsible people. Blue in any shade not just royal blue works great for the queen characterized as the quiet, observant one; but also grey and silver or darker shades of green. Pants are probably the best choice but a fitted skirt or looser pants can work great too.

Basically most elements in the replica production costumes are easily explained and it shouldn't be shocking to see some appear in other productions. They are not by far the only easy design or color associations that can be made for the queens. And that's what annoys me about the polish design, it has way too many things that quickly remind of the replica design to feel original. It lacks its own voice.

The way costumes fit should be mentioned too. Boleyn and Cleves are great fits and very flattering, just lack some structure. Aragon and Howard have fit problems (around the shoulders for Aragon and the chest for Howard) and also lack structure. Parr feels unfinished. Seymour feels unfinished and is ill fitting on both of them. Its just all over the place.

Fabrics too. There is no cohesion between the queens aside from they all have a lot of texture. Things don't need to be identical but an element in common all accross the board makes different designs look lile a set. And don't get me started on the sequin skirts/trains. The more I look at photos, the more unfinished and unlined sequin fabric I see and the more I want to fight someone. Most of the sequin elements look like an afterthought and make well crafted costumes look cheap tbh.

But before anyone says I am only being negative there are some cool things in the Polish production I truly like. I've said it multiple times already but the short coats customized to everyone concept is really cool and I love it. Hairstyles are simple but great and I love the way they are customized to each actress. Rhinestone headbands as crowns is an amazing idea and a really smart way to tie them all together. The cloaks they wear at one point are a little shocking but it is a bold new take I really appreciate. The black and white corsets with ruffs for HoH are really cool and the way they make the queens look anonymous adds a great layer to the scene (even if the corset style is off by a few centuries).

As for specifics.

Boleyn and Cleves are the highlights for me. Boleyn in a half leather jacket over a dress is a stunning look, the dress fabric has a slight texture that balances out the metallic leather perfectly and the addition of low key bracelets finishes the look in a really nice way. I just dont like the choker, it feels a little too big and out of place with the rest. Both hairstyles are original feel like Boleyn in the show. Honestly it gives me older fashion influencer which is a great parallel to the way Boleyn is written in the show and some element of the real life queen's life too. My only complaint is that there is nothing connecting this design with the rest.

While I don't like the fabrics in this one; Cleves in a sleeveless coat and crazy pants feels bold and fresh and works great for the foreign queen who ended living a life of luxury. But the true highlight of the entire show is the oversized puffer coat she wears (I think) for get down. It is an iconic hip hop look and fits perfectly with the song while solving the issue of not having time for a quick change bwtween HoH and GD.

Aragon and Howard are my middle ground. Conceptually good but not on execution. Aragon in a tailored coat is great, but the color makes them look washed out and the skirt feels dissconnected from the rest. Both hairstyles are great though. It feels like TV characters having perfect hair under any circumstances and passing it off as natural, that energy feels right for Aragon.

The base dress with armsleeves for Howard is fun and youthful but the ruffled shoulderpieces and peplum feel out of place (if something was trendy when I was in middle school its definitely not howard in 2023) and the skirt feels like something added last minute. Also in a show that threw in all the textured fabrics this dress desperately needs more texture.

Seymour and Parr are the ones I dont like. Seymour in a stylized cowl neck is good, but the fabric reads really bad in stage lights and makes them look washed out. The all draped fabric look doesnt mesh with the rest of the costumes either. It feels like someone said "nice coat now add something drapey to make her look soft". And honestly shame on any costume studio that gives the plus size actress the worst fitted costume.

I don't like Parr. The top being a minimalistic coat is really cool and the hairstyle might be my favorite. But everything else looks unfinished, pieces feel flat and dissconnected. The whole costume feels underwhelming compared to the rest. And fabrics don't match with each other and stagelights make them look flat.

I know non-replica costumes in musicals can be underwhelming and dissapointing; but they can also be beautiful and interesting. Saddly the polish costumes fall in the first category which sucks actually. I want to see new original takes, six doesn't need to be a specific time period or style it just needs to give pop star. The possibilities are endless.

[stiaral]

Starbomb and music theory 🦌🎵

CW : Strong Language

After 3 albums of greatness, it seemed like the magic of Starbomb would be a long gone memory, but miraculously in a tweet on the 27th of February 2023 our prayers had been answered ; the kings shall return.

And returned they have, with their new album Starbomb Boom: Rise of Lyrics. At the time I'm writing this post, their music video for Kiss the Elden Ring has recently been released and hopefully we'll still see new content for that 4th album.

If my username on most platforms is Starceptor it's because of Starbomb and Egoraptor (Arin Hanson), who's a member of the band alongside Danny Sexbang (Dan Avidan) and Ninja Brian (Brian Wecht) - listening to their songs on loop for years has significantly helped me become more casual with English (swears included), they introduced me to a whole new side of online and gaming nerd culture while also making me more interested in music-making in general by ensuring a place in my heart as one of my favorite bands of all time. By talking about them, I am somewhat also going back to the roots of my own motivations for making music, so I find it fitting that I refer to them in the context of my personal journey with composing.

I'm usually not a big fan of the kind of humor that Starbomb embraces but, they use it in such an over the top and self-parodic manner in their songs that it loops back to being funny again. As a celebration of their new album I wanted to go back to this awesome band in order to analyze what constitutes their musical identity.

Unfortunately, they already beat me to it :

This is usually the part where I sing the chorus out. But we haven't established what this song is all about. Then I chime in real quick for a just a second as the character delivers a line that reminds us of the joke. And I'll respond with harmonies, isn't that dope ?

This is when the song concept should heighten for effect. If you think we use that formula a lot, you are correct.

Danny said everything there, Starbomb does rely a lot on very similar patterns from one song to another. They are a self-described (in the about section of their website) synthpop/hip-hop band, and these pop influences can definitely be found all throughout this "formula" they "use a lot". Since the late 1970s, synthpop focused mainly on minor key songs, and if we take a look at the first Starbomb album :

I choose you to die / C-Minor

It's dangerous to go alone / A-Minor

Mega-Marital problems / D-Minor

Rap Battle : Ryu vs Ken / F#-Minor

Book of Nook / A#-Minor

Regretroid (my personal favorite) / Bb-Minor

Kirby's adventure in Reamland / G-Minor

The Simple Plot of Final Fantasy VII / A-Minor

8 songs in minor key, but the repetitions do not end here. Without going into much detail, most of the progressions within the first album are very common, almost cliché in pop music and well, there are some other redundant patterns...

To poetically quote this review of the first album ;

"[...] the phrase “What up b*tch?” is used so many times on this album, you begin to wonder whether Jessie Pinkman had a hand in its creation."

Point is, the instrumental at first never was the focus of Starbomb songs, the lyrics and their punchline were. But once you fall for the charm of these dumb jokes that get overextended to the full lenght of a song, you begin to love these same synthetizers you hear almost every time or even appreciate in what ways the instrumental might differ from the usual (shoutout to the chilled out groove of It's dangerous to go alone). The band is very aware of this, in fact, while all of their songs in the 3rd album sound quite unique, the one that ressembles the most the formula of their earlier songs is precisely the parody of their own repetitions : This song sucks. And from the first to their fourth album you see their progression wihen it comes to making the back-up music for their songs thematically coherent (starting at first with songs like Luigi's Ballad that alternate to a different tempo whether Luigi or Mario are singing, to reallly taking full effect with the second album onwards. For example how can't I mention one of their most recent songs Nintendo's Greatest Announcement done entirely in whispered rapping as said "Announcement" supposedly is a secret leak).

Arin is hitting that yoinky spoinkly like a champ.

If it weren't for Starbomb, well first of all I wouldn't have named myself Starceptor and therefore later on Stiaral, but I probably wouldn't have been introduced either to an awesome passion project on the internet that would have influenced me to work on my own stuff using also back-up synths and some chiptune soundfonts I'd end up playing around with on MuseScore.... Oh and fun thing the base for my fursona's hairstyle actually is Starbomb Link's cut.

Best Link design ever /hj - love what they did especially with the eye lashes.

[pack-the-pack]

Hi! I came across omegaverse in about 2018 and since then I've been thinking; how do I know what my dynamic is?

I mean self-identity, since I'm polykin and most of my identities are canine so I find the omegaverse very close to me and I'd even say familiar, very natural. Something I'm missing in my life, but it's not complete and I feel bad about it. I actually feel similar (very) to therianthropy, but I still don't know my identity.

I mean to me in paticular is not that deep, yah know? It's either something you know you ressonate with or you don't.

Max I can give you is like general consensous on what each dynamics more or less is like. However, people get really defensive and don't particularly like when you say "Omegas are X" or "Alphas are Y", which to a degree it's understandable, because as I always say, Omegaverse is kind of a phantom premise. AKA it's amourphous and doesn't have a stablished set of rules one is obliged to follow.

But I also understand that this does end up making a bit more difficult for Miscecanis people and others who may identify with the whole concept to pin down exactly what dynamics they are.

So If you WANT to get a little bit of a general idea of each one, I advise you to talk to people that already identify as one of the three main dynamics, see if they sound like they're in the same wave lenght as you. Regarding behaviour, ideas, mannerisms, tendecies and instictive actions, etc.

And if that seems a bit too challanging, or you're still a bit undure, which I completely undertand it may be the case, I'll offer you the little generical knowledge I can give without causing much of a ruckous:

> Miscecanis pride flag and description.

> Alpha pride flag and description. (This one has the links to the other 3 flags at the bottom of the post).

These are the more recent ones, but I do have some older posts that talk about what it means to be each of the three dyncamics, at least on a generic perspective. They're a bit outdated, but if the shoe fits...

(Posts from March and April of 2018 below)

> What makes an Alpha.

> What makes a Beta.

> What makes an Omega.

[realcatalina]

Catherine Parr’s depictions-part 1: large portraits

Since I’ve been unexpectedly digging in Catherine Howard and Anne of Cleves’s portraits, I’ve decided that I might just as well do same with Catherine Parr.

The uncertainity lies mainly with her miniatures(which will be in part 3). But before we look at them, we must take closer look at portraits of hers, to establish her basic features. How her features truly looked and then look at the disputed portraits.

For this I will be using mainly larger scale portraits of her. They are either full-lenght or half-lenght portraits. By the way,since 5′10′’ was lenght of her coffin, it stands to reason that she was shorter than that.

What portraits won’t show you is that her hair was probably between strawberry blond and light red, as hair taken from her tomb suggest.

One lock(and some portraits) suggest it was darker(and more red) around roots and possibly lighter lower towards ends:

The platinum blond lock is definitely fake.

Queen Katherine Parr, copy done in 1908 by William George Tennick, Kendal Town Hall, UK: 

Link:https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/queen-katherine-parr-143164/view_as/grid/search/keyword:katherine-parr-959651/page/1

There are several versions of Catherine Parr’s portrait as widow. All of them copies. Imo all of them are mislabelled. Supposedly they are after Hans Holbein the Younger. Yet they Catherine Parr as widow to Henry VIII(hence in 1547/8). Holbein died in 1543!!!  So either wrong painter, or wrong dating or both! Imo, both. 

Because even from copies, you can tell that the style of some strongly suggest we are not looking at Holbein’s workshop but rather at work of Ambrosius Bensen.

Benson’s portrait lady Stafford is on left. Catherine Parr’ on right adn it is so grossly misdated it makes me wish to cry! 

Supposedly Parr is c.1547/1548, while Stafford is c.1535(imo it is at earliest late 1530s, not mid). No way these are 10+ years apart! Not a chance! These might not even be 2 years apart. But why do I think that? Fashion!

Width of chest, is something Benson tended to overexagerate.  The style of mourning headwear, also points towards 1530s, rather than than 1550s.

The style of folded undersleeves of Stafford is also style which would fit 1538-1543, imo closer to 1538. The most important detail here is the waist-line. It’s horizontal. It’s max early 1540s.  Benson was absent from home (presumably due to work) in between 1539-1543. Perhaps he was in England!

My conclusion? It cannot be Catherine Parr as widow to Henry VIII, but as widow to baron Latimer. And that gives us the most accurate dating you could ask for! Between 2nd March and 12 July 1543. (Between death of lord Latimer and wedding to Henry VIII.) Rarely we have dating this precise. 

Such dating could bring Holbein back as possible maker, but the style imo is not his workshop.

However the painting could be misidentified and not be Catherine Parr at all! Yes, it has features very alike Parr, but that could be the reason why this could then be misidentified as Parr. However this is french-styling of necklace, and suggest that sitter is french. I cannot disprove that possibility. Imo, we cannot be certain this is indeed Parr.

Catherine Parr, 17th century copy after Master John(imo after Scrots), National Trust Collection, , Seaton Delaval Hall, UK:

Tbh for copy it is very well done. I have actually thought it was original. NTC calls it the Seaton Delaval portrait(because it is there now), but some webpages refer to it as Hastings portrait or Melton Constable(Hall), probably refering to painting’s past location and owners.

This copy shows vividly red hair(which might have not been on original) and curled up(shortlived fashion). Eyes seem grey or hazel to me, but the discoloured varnish may be playing tricks on us.

Link: https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/1276906

Catherine Parr, the Jersey Portrait(Private Collection?):

I tried to find more information about it, but these two webpages were basically only sources of information-and I cannot confirm accuracy of either:

 https://tudorqueen6.com/2012/12/12/queen-katherine-parr-the-jersey-portrait/

https://ladyjanegreyrevisited.com/2019/04/01/the-stowe-house-portraits/

 Basically it is in private collection, was concluded to be Catherine Parr and it is 16th century work(but that can still mean it is a copy). Unfortunately these are  the best quality pictures in colour that we have:

This one is probably the best:

And to me this one certainly strikes closer to golden strawbery blond than to red, but it can be due to poor quality of picture and due to discoloration of varnish.

Seaton Delaval and Jersey portrait are almost exactly the same, except colour of overgown and cuffs being in blackwork in Jersey portrait. Even the pillar behind them is in exact same spot. It’s possible they were not ment to be two separate portraits, but rather that one is copy of the other. But not necessarly. Sometimes royals had multiple very similiar portraits made.

Catherine Parr by unknown artist, late 16th century, National Portrait Gallery:

Link:

https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw01147/Katherine-Parr?LinkID=mp00803&search=sas&sText=parr&OConly=true&role=sit&rNo=1

In closeup her eyes look grey, possibly hazel(grey-brown) and her hair look red, or reddish brown.

I found some webpages refering to this painting as original done in her lifetime atributed to Scrot. But National portrait Gallery which owns it clearly disagrees. It could be done after original by Scrot, but they don’t even mention that on their webpage. Though tbh I think their webpage could do with some improvements.

National Trust Collection( Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, UK to be exact) has another version of this portrait, 18th century copy. Link:

https://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/515505

It’s too dark to have conclusive say about eye and hair colour.

The differences with previous version are negligeable-mainly the collar is different and the parlet is in blackwork’with different pattern and its edge is firmer, but today I am not trying to do lineup of Catherine Parr’s portraits. (Unless you’d want me to.)

Catherine Parr by Master John(it is an original!), National Portrait Gallery, UK:

Link:https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw01957/Katherine-Parr?LinkID=mp07168&role=art&rNo=1

The webpage includes videos about its restoration-where they refer to incredible Azurite pigment used for the background. They are talking about real ultramarine(just different name for it).  That alone be expensive as hell, especially given this is full-lenght portrait. But there is also gold-leaf, silver-leaf, fluorite, lots of very expensive materials were used to make it. And the materials alone are enough to conclude sitter is royalty and certainly had more than 9 days to be painted.

Link to conservation findings it:   https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portraitConservation/mw01957/Katherine-Parr

If we look at closeup in colour-sitter had very fair skin, the eyes are grey, the hair seems as light golden brown, but strawberry blond or light red hair can create such ilusion:

Nose appears to be flat and oddly shaped. Normally I’d say that is due to pigment instability. However I have dived deep into conservation findings upon the painting and now I am not certain about the cause, but it is an issue.

NPG notes  that ‘the underdrawing is extensive and complex to decipher. The style of the drawing is free and sketchy, only very loosely delineating some of the form and structure of the figure, such as the sleeves. This type of underdrawing, is in direct contrast to the underdrawing found in Mary I (also attributed to Master John) where the key elements of the composition are carefully transferred through a pounced technique.’

Master John didn’t take such care with underdrawing of Parr’s portrait, as he did with Mary’s. Perhaps Mary wanted to sit for it just once or had better idea how she wanted to be portrayed. Parr’s portrait vs underdrawing shows that final design was improved upon. It was changed a lot. They know this due to x-ray and infra-red analysis(bellow):

Most important changes to the face include:

- the eyes moved slightly to the right,  - hairline has be re-positioned and was originally slightly lower - nostril has been re-positioned

These changes are big problem, because this is the only original painting of Parr and we cannot trust these features 100%. 

However fear not! Under infra-red light(in middle bellow), it is obvious the face looked very alike to majority of the paintings:

And it is not that different under normal light as well. 

Bigger closeup so you can see it properly. This is Catherine Parr’s face:

It is. But before  I dive deep into what shape of nose she actually had I want to show you how easy would it be for me to say it might not be her (Mary I on right by same artist): 

Spoiler alert-it’s not Mary, they just looked more alike then you’d think.

The identification of sitter as royal is no doubt correct. The materials and jewelry certainly are conclusive on that. But assuming that jewel worn by Catherine Howard was then part of collection of Queen’s jewels worn solely by Queens, is very wrong! There are portraits of Mary and Elizabeth in jewelry worn by Queens. Hence Mary should have been included as possible sitter and I am susprised it is not mentioned anywhere that at some point they excluded her.

HOWEVER, some painters had tendency to paint anybody in such similiar way, you cannot tell them appart that well. That could have been case with master John. Both women had similiar colouring and perhaps more similiar features than you’d think, but they didn’t have same height. 

Catherine Parr was not 5′10′’-that was lenght of her coffin! She’d be much smaller, but she wasn’t short for sure(she was probably higher average), unlike Mary who was notably short! If you compare not just face-but lenght of torso and overall shape of figure, you’re realise it it is not same woman.

However if you compared just infra-red photo of face of Parr, you could easily come to wrong conclusion. I had initial bout of panic, seeing the very similiar face! Then I did my due diligence.

Catherine Parr’s portrait is photographed bit under an angle(I couldn’t find close up which wouldn’t be), however this is properly scaled down to aproximately same size of torso. Even though if you might scream that no-lady in silver dress obviously has longer torso, and I should have scaled it differently.

What you’re not taking into account is different shape of stays. I could elaborate, but long story short check where girdles disappear to the back(front changed, backside didn’t), andn where armits are. Aproximately at same level. Just women with different height, figure and shape of stays.

So imo, it’s Parr. The identification is correct. However, there might have been much bigger similiarities in facial features of Mary and Parr, and we have to take that into account in the future. It will make identifying some portraits more difficult.

Another difficulty is that we can’t tell the exact shape of nose from neither form of painting. 

I have attempted do a ‘nosejob’ upon the infra red photo, using app similiar to photoshop and retouching tool. But I never quite got it correct, so I am nof going to show you even. I thought she was looking more to front, but then there was never enough space for alla on right side, so the nose was more to side and towards left from our POV, just like Mary’s was. It’s exact  shape remains mystery to me.

Problem is the underdrawing truly is complex:

I give up. I don’t know what her nose was like. Although if you ask me, then the other painting NPG has of Parr, is imo the closest match in all features:

So perhaps that shape of nose is also very similiar to Parr’s real features. However, it might just be the case that this particular feature(nose) the artist screwed up.

Sadly, the marble effigy of Parr(the sculpture on her tomb) is not original and we cannot use it to decide this matter.

I don’t think we will be ever able to get 100% conclusive idea about the true shape of her the nose. Which is disapointing, however I believe that the nose was at least level if not pointed slightly upward. The undersketch of this original painting supports my theory. Even though due to flatness issue the nose under normal light seems to be against that(misleading us).

It’s never prominently low hanging nosetip with Parr in all copies of her portraits either(those that public agree upon). Except in one! 

I have for long suspected one painting to not be Parr, firstly solely due to hair colour. But after I found out her hair could have been strawberry blond, I let it go, telling myself the painter simply did mistake. It happens all the time! Especially in copies which this painting is. 

So I dismissed it. I can’t do that anymore. I cannot unsee it now. As always, be polite in the comments or reblogging, even if you disagree with me. And yeah, I can see the text labelling it as Catherine, Queen of Henry VIII. But it might NOT be original! Most labels aren’t! They are later add-ons. Don’t trust them-period! Or it could have been misidentified before the copy was made even!

Painting of the English school after a lost portrait by Hans Eworth from c.1548:

Here is why I can’t let this be. The issue is these particular shape of brows and this shape of nose are nearly exact match for features of Anne of Cleves:

Read my previous posts, to see why I believe Toledo portrait is her.

Just the brows are bit higher that they are supposed to be.

Since Anne’s eyes were hazel(brown-grey)-based upon portraits and her hair golden(strawberry blond) according to period reports(it just darkened in Holbein’s portraits), I have to conclude-it is could Anne of Cleves instead.

Imo it is. The features are truly great match to Anne.

(They are fairly good match to Parr too. As I say, Henry had a type!)

This is for me bitter pillow to swallow. Not only because I used it in my lady Jane Grey vs Catherine Parr’s post but because it brings to question the assumption that that pearl necklace is unique part of jewels of Queens of England. 

Such necklace would not be worn solely by Queen of England. I was wrong to assume otherwise and I admit that now. 

Now how do I fix my mistake? I have to redo the post with lady Jane Grey and gather all portraits with pearl necklaces of this style and compare them against Catherine Parr, Anne of Cleves, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Because on one hand, yeah Anne of Cleves wearing it could suggest  that perhaps such necklace was more popular than we thought and some noblewomen could have it.

On other hand it could suggest that royal women at the time had such necklaces, and perhaps they were unique to members of royalty only.

 After all Anne had royal status(King’s sister). Hence comparing to 4 royals.

That will be part 2 (nope, decided on separate posts) and I am not looking foward to it, because some of Parr’s depictions shows small rounded nostrils, others prolonged ones. For that reason alone it will be difficult. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

[brotherslayer]

Might bbe a stupid question but what do u think would happen if cha siyeon chose the first option. Like would he actually kick her out. Did og Penelope chose it? Did she die after being thrown out on the streets or was she just locked in her room?

this is from that chapetr where cha siyeon first called the Duke "father" and started to talk without options.

And do u think og Penelope would have been easily forgiven if she had called the Duke as father too.

And just how possessive are the eckarts over her anyway. Do u think they are more possessive over cha siyeon

If you ask me no, I doubt that the duke would've kicked Penelope out. It's not in-character for him to do such a thing. He is a neglectful father who is not aware of the abuse going on in his own family. To make him actively participate in the abuse just doesn't fit his characterization. I see him as a dutiful man who would "take care" of Penelope until her death. Formally he fullfills his duties as his guardian (or so he thinks): He gives Penelope food, shelter and clothes. Sending Penelope back to live on the streets would hurt him emotionally (he would lose another daughter, he'd be a bad father because even if Penelope is not his bio child she is still belongs to the Eckart family from the moment she had taken their name) and it would hurt his pride too. Giving in to her suggestion...he would become the laughingstock of high society because the mighty duke couldn't even control his own child. It would also be an unequal punishment. Why do nothing when she attacked a noble girl with a crossbow but then kick her out for throwing a tauntrum in front of a maid? He was already willing to spend a fortune to buy the noble girl's family silence and free her from charges, this should prove that her emotional value for him is too high to ever let her go.

The closest thing I can see to her being kicked out is that the Duke sends her back to the slums for a day to rethink her words and make her appreciate what she was given in the duchy, but Penelope would attract attention in the streets with her expensive attire and eventually a thug would attack her for her jewelry and get her killed. That or she misunderstands his words as in he will abandon her forever and she successfully commits suicide this time, because she doesn't want to go back to that place. Another guess is that Derrick or Reynold might overhear and something happens that results in her death. After all abusers are most dangerous when they think their victim is leaving them.

To be frank I don't think the author has been thinking about the what ifs. The relationship between the Eckart family is already badly developed (Reynold and Derrick's brotherly relationship seems to be non existent, the same with the father son bond between the Duke and his sons). Did the author really bother spending many thoughts on the relationship between a character who is already dead pre canon and someone from the supporting cast who isn't even a love interest? I doubt that.

Og Penelope would have been easily forgiven if she had called him father but she never would have done this, I think. The reason why Cha Siyeon survives is because she is doing the exact opposite of what og Penelope would have done.

They are possessive of both of them but Penelope is in the objects/ barely in the pet category wheras Cha Siyeon is in the pet category and now on her way to be treated as a human with autonomity. I don't think you can say they are possessive about one girl more than the other. They cared less about hurting og Penelope but they still would have gone to extreme lenghts to prevent perceived abandonment and disobedience.

[demadogs]

You know way more abou this than I do so you're the perfect person to ask. Do you think it's still possible for season 5 of stranger things to come out in 2024? Because the general consensus seems to be now that it will be pushed back to 2025, but that would be a 3 year gap, just like the gap between seasons 3 and 4. But the reason the gap between 3 and 4 took so long was because:

1) they had to suspend filming for more than half a year due to covid, and then they had to film more slowly because of covid measures,

2) they filmed in many different locations meaning that there were gaps between filming scenes from each group since the directors and crew travelled back and forth I guess, and also building sets takes time; but season 5 will all be filmed in the same place so it will take less time,

3) season 4 was almost double lenght compared to season 3, meaning that filming obviously took way more months, but again, they said season 5 episodes will be shorter.

I know post production an editing will be just as long as it was after season 4, but I think filming will be considerably shorter, thus season 5 releasing in 2024 still being very possible (I'd love for it to be on summer since I hyperfixate on this show for months each time a new season comes out so I need it to be on holidays otherwise I'll fail all my exams lmao but I guess I'm asking for too much 😔)

i actually dont know much more than you do to be honest! but i do think 2024 is a good bet and if i had to be specific, im guessing fall. they said they want to go back to the feel of season one so i think it would be very fitting if after the time skip its set in fall. that would make it likely come out in fall 24 (thats not guaranteed tho. s4 was set in spring but came out in summer).

like you said, covid is the main reason the wait was so fucking long. they started filming in february 2020 so they had really bad luck. they barely shot anything and had to wait months to get back. im not sure the different locations played that huge of a role in how much time it extended the filming. they could have had different crew for different settings so they could film russia stuff at the same time as hawkins stuff or something like that. honestly not sure though i could be wrong.

you make a good point about this season being extra long too, but covid allowed them to write the entire season before they started filming so they may have been able to film more at a faster pace since everything was already written.

i dont think you should assume that post production will take the same amount that it did for s4 tho. we have to take into account that its the last season and they always up their visual effects game every time so post production work could take a verrrry long time and they may, and probably will, be doing completely new things which will take more time. will said vecna is hurting but he’s still alive so vecna probably will have a whole new look to him. if they wanna give him a destroyed gross mushy kinda vibe similar to the s3 flesh monster, they wouldnt be able to accomplish that entirely through practical effects like they did vecna this season, so that would extend the post production a huge amount. theres also the whole post apocalyptic vibe that theyll probably be going for in s5. s4 ended with the upside down basically swallowing hawkins so those spore things may be in every outside shot. all that red lighting and clouds may be in every episode. the upside down are real sets but they still gotta animate the vines and make them moving and wet and gross and again, that could be every single episode.

so to sum up, i do think 2024 is likely it just may not be until the fall. i would really love if it was released on november 6th.

[faceglitchsworld]

TxT and Fluffy Hair: a wonderful relationship~ Part 2: A Snuggly Bear 🧸

Author's note: this post is very biased. Don't except an objective opinion. If you see other idols beside TxT, I only used them as examples, not as a comparison. The analysis are inspired by Michaela Diana's works on Instagram. I didn't use any fantaken photos, only pics taken from official accounts.

This series is dedicated to @onlyoneofyouu ❤️

Hi everyone, welcome back on this amazing series where I'm trying to push my curly hair/perm hair (aka The Floof) agenda.

This time, we've returned to TxT and their relationship with The Floof. We already saw Kai, now we move to another member who has a, uhm, very interesting bond with this hairstyle.

My dear readers, I present to you...

* drums roll *

BEOMGYU!

Oh Beomgyu, our mood maker and natural born comedian, our kind member... Did you know he and The Floof have one of the best relationships ever? No? Let me explain then.

Before seeing his face shape tho, I need to point out a thing that I noticed while I was searching for pictures of him.

Probably these are not the greatest examples but it seems Beomgyu has voluminous hair. Probably it's his haircut which gives this impression but it looks like Beomgyu has many hairs. Keep this in mind while we discuss the haircut.

And now let's see if Beomgyu has the perfect face shape for The Floof

Now, Beomgyu seems to have a heart shape face, which is one of the best shapes if we talk about The Floof. His jawline seems to be a little sharp, in fact, I notice it has what seems a V shape. But don't worry, having a v-shaped jawline is not a big deal, especially when you have a heart-shaped face.

His eyes are monolid, which is one of the best shapes for The Floof.

And the full cheeks? Well, for me, Beomgyu doesn't have those visible cheeks, except when he eats of course.

But still, he has two good features that work perfectly with The Floof so...congratulations Beomgyu, you can have The Floof! Let's celebrate with him!

And now, let's go to the next part of this post and let's find out which haircut fits him the most.

Remember when I told you about the voluminous hair? Good, because I'm bringing them now. Having voluminous hair gives you the possibility to play with haircuts a lot: you can grow them, cut them, have a layered cut, have The Floof, everything.

And Beomgyu's hairstylers knew this perfectly since they gave us this.

You thought I would have never talked about this? Fools.

Beomgyu with long hair is one of the best things that ever happened to TxT haircut-wise. He became a true icon after this. No one will forget it. And when his hair became floofy...oh boy don't let me think about it. He was a cute little wolf.

Now, even if I love this haircut with my entire, there's a little problem which makes it a little...imperfect. The problem is the limited colour palette.

"Seriously? But it's not a big deal." You might say. And you might be right. But the problem for is that a limited colour palette doesn't fit Beomgyu for me. Versatility is his second name, trying new colours seems something that he would do and long, floofy hair seems to limit him a lot.

For me, the good compromise between The Floof and the hair's lenght might be the mullet he had in the Blue Hour MV.

Maybe making it a little longer might even work better for me but, yeah, this haircut is the best compromise and the best example right now.

And the colours? Well, for me, Beomgyu should try different colours. He doesn't need to stick out on just a simple one, experimenting is in his DNA. Of course, warm colours seem to fit him better, even tho I must admit that I can't see him with a bright grade (scarlet red wouldn't fit him for me). But if there's a colour that I really want him to try is surely purple. I don't know, I have this strange feeling he might be beautiful with purple.

Also, I want to add that another way to play with colours with him would be using more coloured strands. And when he has The Floof, the result seems very, very good.

I really want him with these kinds of strands once again. Imagine him with a floofy mullet AND these strands...Ah, I'm speechless.

And that's it. This is how I see Beomgyu with The Floof. And if you noticed, playing with it is the best choice for him. Always changing, never be the same.

Can we say the same for the other members?

Who knows...👀

[skeleton-in-a-hoodie]

Can share more about Hiding a Curse? I'm getting so invested and I super wanna know how Yoshi feels about himself during his isolation!

At first he's extremely confused and frightened. He felt like he was trapped in something else's body with no way to get his own body back. The only thing that kept him from giving into despair was the belief that his parents would find some way to fix him, that all this was just temporary and soon enough his life would go back to normal. In the meantime he avoided anything reflective and did his best to ignore his tail. Even early on he struggled not to see himself as a monster.

As the days turned weeks, and the weeks turned into months, and the months into years, it got harder and harder to hold onto that hope. Fear was joined by self-loathing and anger - he didn't know why this was happening to him, but he felt it must have somehow been his fault. The idea that he'd done nothing wrong and there was nothing he could have done to avoid it didn't offer much comfort, and he'd grown up with Yuuta, so the idea that every bad thing that happened to him was his fault was well ingrained.

The only thing that made any sort of sense to him was that maybe he hadn't been a good enough son or student and was being punished for it, so he desperately tried to be the best, most obedient child that he could. He never questioned his parents, never argued back, did exactly what they said when they said it, accepted punishments without a fight, and stopped asking to see Saki or his old friends or be let out of his room. All the while he hoped that if he behaved perfectly, the curse would be lifted.

And when that didn't happen, when he woke up the next morning still a rat, he assumed he hadn't been good enough and had to try harder, which just made his self-loathing even worse and whittled away at his self-esteem until there wasn't any left.

It didn't help that the curse was affecting him mentally, so some things made perfect sense to him and fitted into his idea of being a good child, but seemed completely alien to the few people allowed around him. One of the ones that got him into the most trouble was chewing on furniture to grind his teeth down, because good kids brush their teeth, so a good rat yokai cub must look after his dental hygenine too and keep his teeth the right lenght! That resulted in everything being taken out of his room apart from his futon, which did not help the growing feeling that his bedroom was a prison cell.

He also hated his body, and even though he spent all his days in a dark room, he always wore hooded clothes so he could hide his face, and tried his best to keep his hands and feet covered up so no one could see his claws. Whenever he did catch a glimpse of himself, his thought process was just a mantra of "Monster. Hideous. Ugly. This is all your fault. You're lucky they kept you."

Yoshi also developed trich and start biting himself when he got stressed, which didn't help his opinon of his appearance. He then panicked and assumed his parents would be angry if they found out, so hid it. (Atsuko noticed him acting strange and always covering his arms, but assumed he was just stuggling with the curse. Yuuta was releived he didn't have to look at Yoshi any more than he had to.)

By the time Gyogi found out what was going on, Yoshi completely despised himself, had no self-confidence or self-esteem left, and believed that he was a terrible child and awful son because this wasn't happening to Saki so this must be his fault. He'd come to believe that he didn't deserve compassion, or friends, or sunlight.