#analyzing characters via their clothing

[pali-and-proud]

ok, I am relatively new to this little fandom but I binged Cinderella boy and I'm just wondering... did everyone forget about that one part where buddy has this dream and he's in ragged clothes in a fancy manor house? Like, no wonder the man likes looking fancy. if that's Ex Libris and that's how they keep him, of course he likes looking good. maybe it's because he doesn't have the chance to otherwise?

also did everyone just forget that bit existed because I'm scrolling through and I'm seeing nothing on buddy seeing chase in the mirror, shattering the mirror, and jumping through. That was deeply impactful and yet I can't figure out what and i've been hyperfixtaing on that for a while now. Can you give me a rant about that bit because I know there's something up there I just cant figure out what, am I the only one who read that part?

This is so funny to me. I'm so happy you got into CB! And I'm so happy you enjoy it! But LMAO I think the Dreams episode broke tumblr--there were so many speculations and it's the basis for like 80% of our Buddy theories! (People analyzing the episode is what caused me to make a tumblr account in the first place, actually!)

(Which! Since you're new to the fandom, I can understand how it might look like we missed it, but I promise--this fandom soaks up Buddy content like it's water and we're in the Sahara)

So since it's a dream, we have to assume a lot of symbolism--we know the outfit Chase wore in his dream was a representation of himself (likely a nod to his repeated selfless, angellic actions, like trying to save Buddy or trying to save his mom), so we can assume the same for Buddy.

He's likely not actually dressed in rags--although we don't have that confirmed, but based off of Chase's fit--but it's possible that he ISNT dressed in the fancier outfit we saw him wear earlier. It's really likely, actually, although we shouldn't discount the possibility that Punko wanted him dressed so simply to reflect how dim/bare his situation is.

Someone (I cant remember who, but if anyone does know, PLEASE @ them bc this was life-changing) pointed out that if that's the case, then Violet would have been making outfits for Buddy the whole time, which would cement Buddy having a good relationship with his key well before Chase. We can assume Buddy has a good relationship with Violet anyway, since she makes him outfits he likes, but still.

The rags also serve another purpose: it reminds us that Buddy is ALSO a protag. That's what Chase realizes, in his dream, and it's what we have to keep in mind when we read the chapters. Buddy's not a side character, nor an antagonist. This is his story, too, and he's trying to secure his own happy ending, just like Chase.

(The title of the Webtoons is Cinderella Boy--and in that episode, between Chase and Buddy, only Buddy looks like Cinderella. Another nod to his true role as a protag, and another reason why we need to treat his attire with caution.)

What the dream DEFINITELY confirms is that Buddy has a bad relationship with Ex Libris. There's really no plausible alternative--from how frantic he is to escape, and how afraid he is of being caught. Beach Boys set the question of whether or not Buddy's in a bad spot with Ex Libris, but we didn't know how truthful he was.

We still don't, really, since he still hasn't told us, 'cause he's a paranoid asshole that we tragically love. But this episode laid some facts: Buddy is definitely in a bad situation, regardless of the specifics.

Plus, the final scene of him throwing the clock at the mirror, effectively destroying the reflection of Chase--clocks are often a representation of time. He's running out of time. There's a time limit, somewhere, but we don't know anything except that the clock's ticking.

(Someone else pointed out the clocks/time thing before me. I swear, I will hunt these @s and give proper citations.)

His escape via the mirror likely refers to his real motive: Buddy wants to escape, and he's aware his escape is going to involve, to some extent, harming Chase. From here, it's pure speculation: does Buddy need the keys to escape, thus betraying Chase? Does Buddy know something important? Is the mirror, or Buddy's escape, in any way tied to how he finds Chase in the books?

It's VERY likely that the keys are critical to Buddy's escape, due to the lock with 12 keyholes. This would also ensure the plotline of Buddy's strive for the keys remains intact, and would give us another reason for why Buddy was so desperate for Chase's key. HOWEVER, this isn't the only theory, and we know Punko's always two steps ahead.

The episode feels symbolic and important because it IS, but until we know more about Buddy's actual situation, it's hard to really break down what the episode means. I promise, though: the more we learn about Buddy's backstory, the more people (including myself, because i cannot shut up) will refer to that episode to swoon over the foreshadowing Punko brilliantly laid out.

[tangibletechnomancy]

The (Personal) Is (Political)

~7 hours, Dall-E 3 via Bing Image Creator, generated under the Code of Ethics of Are We Art Yet?

Or, Dear Microsoft and OpenAI: Your Filters Can't Stop Me From Saying Things: An interactive exercise in why all art is political and game of Spot The Symbols

A rare piece I consider Fully Finished simply as a jpeg, though I may do something physical with it regardless. "Director commentary" below, but I strongly encourage you to go over this and analyze it yourself before clicking through, then see how much your reading aligns with my intent.

Elements I told the model to add and a brief (...or at least inexhaustive) overview of why:

Anime style and character figures - Frequently associated with commercial "low" art and consumer culture, in East Asia and the English-speaking world alike, albeit in different ways - justly or otherwise. There is frequently an element of racism to the denigration of anime styles in the west; nearly any American artist who has taken formal illustration classes can tell you a story of being told that anime style will only hinder them, that no one will hire them if they see anime, or even being graded more harshly and scrutinized for potential anime-esque elements if they like anime or imply that they may like anime - including just by being Asian and young. On the other hand, it is true that there is a commercial strategy of "slap an anime girl on it and it will sell". The passion fans feel for these characters is genuine - and it is very, very exploitable. In fact, this commercialization puts anime styles in particular in a very contentious position when it comes to AI discussions!

Dark-skinned boy with platinum and pink [and blue] hair - Racism and colorism! They're a thing, no matter how much the worst people in the world want you to think they're long over and "critical race theory" is the work of evil anti-American terrorists! I chose his appearance because I knew that unless I was incredibly lucky, I would have to fight with this model for multiple hours to get satisfactory results on this point in particular - and indeed I did. It was an interesting experience - what didn't surprise me was how much work it took me to get a skin color darker than medium-dark tan; what did surprise me was that the hair color was very difficult to get right. In anime art, for dark skin to be matched with light hair and eyes is common enough to be...pretty problematic. Bing Image Creator/Dall-E, on the other hand, swings completely in the opposite direction and struggles with the concept of giving dark-skinned characters any hair color OTHER than black, demanding pretty specific phrasing to get it right even 70% of the time. (I might cynically call this yet another illustration against the pervasive copy-paste myth...) There is also much to say about the hair texture and facial features - while I was pleased to see that more results than I expected gave me textured hair and/or box braids without me asking for it, those were still very much in the minority, and I never saw any deviation from the typical anime facial structures meant to illustrate Asian and white characters. Not even once!

Pink and blue color palette - Our subject is transgender. Bias self-check time: did you make that association as quickly as you would with a light-skinned character, or even Sylveon?

Long hair, cute clothes, lots of accessories - Styling while transmasc is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't situation, doubly so if you're not white. In many locations, the medical establishment and mainstream attitude demands total conformity to the dominant culture's standard conventional masculinity, or else "revoking your man card" isn't just a joke meant to uphold the idea that men are "better" than women, but a very real threat. In many queer communities, especially online, transmascs are expected to always be cute femboys who love pink (while transfems are frequently degraded and seen as threats for being butch), and being Just Some Guy is viewed as inherently a sign of assimilationism at best and abusiveness at worst. It is an eternal tug-of-war where "cuteness" and ornamentation are both demanded and banned at the same time. Black and brown people are often hypermasculinized and denied the opportunity to even be "cute" in the first place, regardless of gender. Long hair and how gender is read into it is extremely culture-dependent; no matter what it means to you, if anything, the dominant culture wherever you are will read it as it likes.

Trophies and medals - For one, the trans sports Disk Horse has set feminism back by nearly 50 years; I'm barely a Real History-Remembering Adult and yet I clearly remember a time when the feminist claim about gender in sports was predominantly "hey, it's pretty fucked up that sports are segregated by sex rather than weight class or similar measures, especially when women's sports are usually paid much less and given weirdly oversexualized uniforms," but then a few loud living embodiments of turds in the punch bowl realized that might mean treating trans people fairly and now it's super common for self-proclaimed feminists - mostly white ones - to claim that the strongest woman will still never measure up to the weakest man and this is totally a feminist statement because they totally want to PROTECT women (with invasive medical screenings on girls as young as 12 to prove they're Really Women if they perform too well, of course). For two, Black and brown people are stereotyped as being innately more sporty, physically strong, and, again, Masculine(TM) than others, which frequently intersects with item 1...and if you think it only affects trans women, I am sorry my friend but it is so much worse and more extensive than you think.

Hearts - They mean many things. Love. Happiness. Cuteness. Social media engagement?

TikTok - A platform widely known and hated around these parts for its arcane and deeply regressive algorithm; I felt it deserved to be name/layout/logodropped for reasons that, if they're not clear already, should become so in the final paragraph.

Computers, cameras and cell phones - My initial specification was that one of the phones should be on Instagram and another on TikTok, which the model instead chose to interpret as putting a TikTok sticker on the laptop, but sure, okay. They're ubiquitous in the modern day, for better and for worse. For all the debate over whether phones and social media are Good For Us or Bad For Us, the fact of the matter is, they seem to be a net positive-to-neutral, whose impacts depend on the person - but they do still have major drawbacks. The internet is a platform for conspiracy theories and pseudoscience and dangerous hoaxes to spread farther than ever before. Social media culture leaves many people feeling like we're always being watched and every waking moment of our lives must be Perfect - and in some senses, we are always being watched these days. Digital privacy is eroding by the day, already being used to enforce all the most unjust laws on the books, which leads to-

Pigs - I wrote the prompt with the intention that it would just be a sticker on the laptop, but instead it chose to put them everywhere, and given that I wanted to make a somewhat stealthy statement about surveillance, especially of the marginalized...thanks for that, Dall-E! ;)

Alligators - A counter to the pigs; a short-lived antifascist symbol after...this.

Details I did not intend but love anyway:

The blue in the hair - I only prompted for platinum and pink in the hair, but the overall color palette description "bled" over here anyway, completing the trans flag, making it even more blatant, and thus even more effective as a bias self-check.

The Macbook - I only specified a laptop. Hilariously ironic, to me, that a service provided through Bing interpreted "laptop" as "Macbook" nearly every time. In my recent history, 22 out of 24 attempts show, specifically, a Macbook. Microsoft v. OpenAI divorce arc when? ;) But also, let us not forget Apple's role in the ever-worsening sanitization of the internet. A Macbook with a TikTok sticker (or, well, a Tiikok sticker - recognizable enough) - I can think of little more emblematic of one of the main things I was complaining about, and it was a happy accident. Or perhaps an unhappy one, considering what it may imply about Apple's grip on culture and communications.

Which brings me to my process:

Generated over ~7 hours with Dall-E 3 through Bing Image Creator - The most powerful free tool out there for txt2img these days, as well as a nightmare of filters and what may be the most disgustingly, cloyingly impersonal toxic positivity I've ever witnessed from a tool. It wants to be Art(TM), yet it wants to ban Politics(TM); two things which are very much incompatible - and so, I wanted to make A Controversial Statement using only the most unflaggable, innocuous elements imaginable, no matter how long it took.

All art is political. All life is political. All our "defaults" are cultural, and therefore political. Anything whatsoever can be a symbol.

If you want all art to be a substance-free "look at the pretty picture :)" - it doesn't matter how much you filter, buddy, you've got a big storm coming.

[alice-jem]

My headcanons after watching all Fionna and Cake episodes//

• Simon adopts Astrid as his own daughter and they used to make stories together

• Marceline invites Simon at her wedding with PB

• Simon renovating next beside to Astrid's house

• Simon will tell everything about his adventures with Fionna and Cake to Adult Finn, PB and Marceline (and they couldn't believe Simon what he has been trying to say)

• Fionna is having a long distance relationship with Simon or become as Pen Pals via texting with interdimensional phones (and thru telepathy); Simon realized that having a long distance with somebody wasn't so bad in order to stop being so clingy like he's always clinging into Betty before and they gotta rather enjoy themselves living their best lives

• DJ Flame got Female Fern pregnant

• Marshall Lee always buys Ice Cream Lady's ice creams

• Gary plays sudoku, othello, chess, snakes and ladders like any board games with Beatrice Butler at the Buttery Buns Bakery

• Gary and Marshall share beds and clothes together

• Cake and the Flying Squirrel hang out frequently

• Human Monochromicorn likes to pet Cake everytime Fionna and Cake visits at the Candy Store

• Minerva helped Simon checking is health daily then scanning throughout his mind and analyze the magic created along what's inside with a universe of F&C

• Farmworld Finn survives!

• Our Finn and Huntress Wizard plans to have a family

• HIPSTER SIMON!!

• Root Beer Guy and everyone in the bar singing Cheers intro with Simon

• Jay and Little Destiny having cute dates and tries to shoplift together on a shopping mall

• Hunter watches and stalks Fionna when she was nerby at the garden

• Fionna and Cake getting friendship bracelets made by dandelions, mixed-candy flavors and bubblegums

• Scarab enjoys Prismo's newly created fanfic stories

• Golbetty museum in Fionna's world

• MORE SHERMY AND BETH SKITS

• Finn visits Jake's grave with Marcy Simon PB, Lady Rainicorn and Jake's children

Praying to God that Fionna and Cake will gonna have a season 2 or more seasons to come because there's alot of cliffhangers and feel this story isn't clearly done. It's just the end of one character arc within Simon.

[iam-lnt]

Hetamyu is great and here's sort of a......theatrical analysis pov of why

last time i ranted about "hetamyu being great" (👈this post right here) i'm not exactly being clear, and since the production itself has much that I can analyze (already written a 2k article abt the stage 💀) I figure I can do better

So I...analyzed all Hetamyu that I've seen (excluding the live mash-up versions since technically those are more like concerts than theatrical plays) from the following perspectives under cut

(warning: it's long as fuck. I'm not even kidding. I opened the cut myself after finishing it and I felt like I'm going to faint)

I've warned y'all.

Symbolic and innovative staging

Stage is something often overlooked as a regular audience, which, when doing analysis, should not be. Whatever happens in the play happens on the stage, and thus the stage, when being designed, will be closely linked with the play itself. The stage in hetamyu use the classical three-side proscenium stage, which is what one would imagine when saying "a stage".

The stage of hetamyu episodes holds meaning with respect to the historical period/symbolic, thus assisting in story/theme telling. Examples:

The great world: Round middle part of the stage with the spin-able plate in the middle; a callback to the time period (great exploration) and its ideal that the Earth is "round", like the stage. 

In the new world: The big book design in the background can 1) engross the audience in the story as if they’re reading a book themselves, 2) add to the historical sense of the play with the parchment-like material, 3) as the actor themselves move the page it feels like they're telling the story themselves, and also adding onto the fact that if actors flip to the page before, it's like someone's trying to turn back history

The world is wonderful: The high platform behind can be symbolic for its height representing the strength of a nation behind higher than others; it’s also a way to isolate the one on top with those on ground level to highlight a specific character via height

The general staging of hetamyu is progressively more creative. Examples:

The great world: movable stair pieces

In the new world: ngl that book design is pretty good

Fantastic world: use those tall iron rack/frame things to mimic a boat and the hang-down cloth to mimic the Fuji mountain.

That's really something bc often theater production will not choose a realistic display of everything, since all they have is a limited amount of stage (not like, for example, tv series where they have green screen or sth). Choosing a creative yet fitting method to narrate a wider perspective is soooo important and inspiring. Hetamyu, being stories of grand history stories, obviously cannot put a palace, a tank, a wall, or a mountain on stage. So they either 1) leave it blank and up to imagination accompanied by assisting dialogues/actions or 2) use shapes that are alike to the presented view. If done well, you wouldn't even notice that "things are not real", bc despite no realistic object is presented, the whole atmosphere allows your brain to fill the gap--all the reason why hetamyu exceeds expectations in this field.

The use of comedy

It's easy to notice that hetamyu is laughable as hell. Not joking, I cannot finish a play without shaking with laughter somewhere (although it tend to get serious and angst towards the end…will talk about it later), and I'm sure most have similar experiences. This means that comedy is well used in production of hetamyu. I'd like to divide the comedy parts in hetamyu into two components:

--Personality of characters-- This one is easier to understand. The wacky idiots we have in original hetalia manga/anime is basically the source of humor, including but not limited to 

Italy whipping out his white flag

America yelling "I'm number 1"

Which is working well, of course. But one thing that I’m glad is that hetamyu didn’t stop there with the characterization—it expanded on what should be "them being just dumb" and turned them into real and heart-felt characters, such as

Italy preferring peace over war (Grandpa Rome etc etc)

America actually being number 1 in the world and feeling "lonely" (in The world is wonderful. Ah I love that line sm)

Of course we can see that many of the said expansion on characterization is already done in original hetalia, and it’s true, hima already handled their characters well. But my point is that hetamyu did not use comedy solely for comedy, it did not use stupidity/egocentrism/bickering only for the laughter—it's a reflection of unique traits of characters, which in turn makes us love them even more.

--Improvisation-- The script itself purposefully leave out certain parts for the actors themselves to improvise. Now I'm not sure if it's a common thing generally in Japanese theater production of popular anime (I'm guessing it is), but I always love this design. Usually, one play will have multiple points for multiple characters' improvisation skits. 

The actors themselves (from what I've seen in BTS videos) will plan out jokes to tell during these improvisation parts. For one, these skits break the fourth wall well, bc actors would often use irl examples (eg commercials, quotes, songs, films, famous ppl) to mimic and/or cue; for another, it's a weird extension of the character themselves, so it's funny because the characters we know are being weird…either ooc or completely in character. Examples of there improvisation skits include

The great world: America drawing random stuff on a pull-out blackboard and explaining it to everyone when Japan asked. [The improvisation is what would be drawn and how he would explain.]

Fantastic world: How France and England would bicker and exit the stage. [The improvisation is how their arguments would turn to different topics and how France will end their conversation with a one-liner; and also an extended improvisation of the other one-liner Spain commenting on them two]

Expanding just a bit here, these improvisations remind me how Commedia dell'arte (an Italian theater tradition) will have "Lazzi", which is a set sequence of improvisation, in their play production. I think it follows certain steps to create a Lazzi but I…did not do my research on this one, sadly. Also I think it can correspond to "jig" in English. [Sprinkling in random theater knowledge even if this whole post is basically theater knowledge]

Themes, ideals, and conflicts

Typically, a theatrical production will have an "intention" of some sort, which would be what the producers want to tell by staging a play. From the intention derive possible themes and ideals. Conflicts, on the other hand, is used for pushing the plot forward and towards a climax, consequently telling a propelling story (see the classical plot diagram). A arguably successful play will most likely have insightful themes and perceptive ideals along with a well-set conflict to tell the themes and ideals. 

—Themes and ideals via the plot— Hetalia has little plot, or to say a hella lot of plot bc it's the whole freaking history. Thus, hetamyu chooses this approach: tell a story in a certain historical period (or as the show develops, multiple periods). We see hetamyu tell stories of the great exploration, the unification of Italy, the opening of Japan, and so much more. 

What's impressive is…it is hard enough to tell a good historical story, it is harder yet that hetamyu is dealing with nation personifications for god's sake. I commented once before that it's pretty amazing that although there's a decent amount of typical fandom fights in hetalia (just like others), during the course of my being in the fandom, never have I seen once that hetalia meddle with political arguments. It has so much potential for political fights but I’ve seen…none. Like literally how. Hetamyu handled some of the most dangerous topics (like world wars and colonization) and advocated peace over everything. Okay hetalia did that also, but that's another story. Also credits to @thecursedislander for pointing out a possible symbolism of peace = pasta since Italy's supposed "weakness" is actually a brave advocation for peace and cheerfulness, I think that realization broke me somehow.

You'd expect this "history story + peace and love" troupe to, ugh, fade in its usefulness if it's used too many times, and yes the producers of hetamyu noticed that. This is why, when I finished watching Fantastic world, my jaw dropped—hetamyu tackled a problem called "Japan's lack of culture due to recent history, and also it's relationship with his mentor China". Okay that’s impressive as hell bc consider the real world audience and um idk real world politics???? I'm impressed at the production teams' insightfulness in history as well as their dedication to bring a light-hearted and loved show on stage. Like I would often describe to my friend, the themes tackled in hetamyu made me believe that whoever wrote the script must have either a Philosophy or a History degree or sth, because the sort of "realization" brought forth by the telling of themes is just that brilliant and open-minded

—Setting up conflicts— Every hetamyu has a main conflict accompanied by sub-conflicts. Example:

The great world with the main England-America relationship

The world is wonderful with the main North/South Italy relationship, 

Fantastic world with the main Japan inner conflict and his relationship with China, along with sub-conflicts such as Japan-Netherlands or Japan-America. 

This approach is useful because it avoided the show being just a chaotic mess of idiots running around doing stuff. Now it's…a chaotic mess of idiots running around doing stuff and trying to fix their problems/the main conflict. Welp. You get the idea. Essentially conflict pairs help set up a reasonable plot for the 2 hour show to go on while showing all the drama. Also who is in the conflict tells a bit of the theme, like how Japan-China conflict can call back to the theme of culture integration etc. 

Other production elements

Just going over them quickly bc this is already too long…yeah.

Lighting: use of different colors of light to indicate shifting of atmosphere on stage; e.g. iconically the opening scene for The world is wonderful/flashing lights to add to tension on stage/blue to create an atmosphere of freezing cold during Russia's scenes

Music: Not much I can say other than the songs are getting progressively better. Compare those in Singin' in the world and the newest The glorious world and you'll see what I mean. I feel like the composers add more into the instruments, like strings, guitars, keyboards, and stringed their melodies together better. 

Props: Also getting better, and more creative. Like Chibi America's cradle, the HRE hand doll, and all the stuff lying around the stage in The glorious world. 

Actors and casts

This is not my strong point in analysis bc this is technically not included when analyzing a play. But I decided to add this in anyway, because if a play is good enough it can educate not only the audience but also the actors themselves. 

—Specific roles— I like the fact that actors have specific roles when it comes to producing a play; like Russia's actor specialize in telling the oldest corniest coldest jokes ever, Germany's actor being the only voice of reason and thus a good choice for ending improvisation skits, and Italy and America's actors being the absolute kings in chaotic improv. 

—Characterization— I ranted about it once before I think, but the actors of hetamyu giving the characters a new set of characteristics is something I dig so much for. The most obvious one got to be England; his actor Daisuke literally portrayed this supposed gentleman as his original sassy self, which is hella fun. Other actors do similar things, but I'd argue those are harder to spot bc they matched their characters' freak pretty damn well.

—Wholesome, encouragement, and growth— So this whole family of hetamyu cast is wholesome as hell. It's like that with many other shows, in which the cast bond over the experience. With hetamyu it’s better because they have a long time span—the first hetamyu Singin' in the world came in 2015, and the last hetamyu The glorious world just ended touring this year in 2024. 

Also, the break after the first three production (in which they started a live one, thinking that it's the end of hetamyu's production and they're not going to make new shows together…I'm not sure about the reasons tho) and the return afterwards are great opportunities for the cast to bond over.

We can see the growth of multiple cast members, e.g. Ryoki, Italy's actor, was only 16/17 when he first starred in 2015, and bro's now 26 and striving in his career as a singer, and Gaku, Prussia's actor, was a rather new member of the cast (starting from In the new world) and can be quite shy, but other members encouraged him and cheered him on and look at him now! Okay he's still like the bullied kid in the cast but at least he knows he's loved by the fam (/hj). 

One last thing, I like how the main casts won't forget to include the ensemble cast into their improv skits just for fun. Cuz like, without the ensemble the play wouldn't be complete, so even if they're just dancers for background aesthetic and props moving, they're still a crucial part of the play. And I adore the fact that main cast also keeps that in mind. Respect. 

I can go on about the cast dynamic for ages and start a new rant on their acting skills or sth but I'm afraid I've already run too far away from our topic. Point is, show so good the cast is in tears (literally)

Conclusion

I have no good conclusion for all these...(gesture helplessly above)...stuff. So in conclusion hetamyu is awesome and we love hetamyu 4ever.

Also feel free to spill any thoughts & suggestions !! Diverse pov/opinion needed for better analysis and my brain may or may not be deprived of braincells <3 in da hetamyu club we all fam

[almadesarrollo]

MLB SEASON 6 FELINETTE'S BIG TRACK IN JEREMY ZAG'S VIDEO (new Miraculous scenarios via Instagram) ANALYSIS AND FELINETTE CLUES FOR S6 PART 3 marinette's balcony : THE BALLS AND color symbology

PART 2 marinette's balcony : flowers and HYDRANSIAS.

2 BALL: the balls of light have undergone a color change, here you have a scheme AND their color palette and order.

Ok, we can see that the balls are not placed like that because yes, if not, there is a color pattern that repeats, both on one balcony and on the other, before analyzing the color pattern, which says a lot, we have to think about what it represents in Yes the balls on Marinette's balcony.

For me it is clear, they represent her self-love and her ability to shine.

Let's look at the two characteristics, 1 they are round and the circle or mole is the figure that represents Marinette, it is in everything, her aesthetics, her clothes, her design and of course in ladybug since this is a pattern typical of ladybugs. This speaks to us about her, her self-love and her way of being,

2 these give light, which tells us that Marinette is a soul of light, a pure soul, they shine in the night which tells us that even in the DARKEST moments of life Marinette is able to move forward and shine.

NOW LET'S GET TO THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, THE COLOR PATTERN.

1 PATTERN SEASONS 1-5

Well, each color represents a character and from there we get clues, right? That is why as we look at the order we have, white, yellow, hot pink, red, light green and start again. What does each one represent?

- white: kagami and tsuguri are in all their aesthetics, but it is also representative of marinette, which tells us that part of that development and self-love and billiards ability, it will be kagami who starts it and it doesn't take long considering what we have said above.

-yellow: represents Chloe and Queen Bee, yellow is a very characteristic color of hers but also, she combines a lot with white, Chloe resettles Kagami, which would confirm the first color for us, (remember that white was both Marinette and Kagami , one of the 2) that this pattern begins with Kagami, so Marinette's evolution will occur through her actions, realizing that Chloe is nicknamed queen just like Kagami who is nicknamed queen, there you have another confirmation.

-hot pink/fuchsia; Zoe, MARINETTE INVERSE, this color is a very particular color because we find it in a certain aesthetic, a colored wick, aha, you have this wick for Zoe and Marinette from the inverse miraculous so it represents both,

What does this mean? Well, it is confirmation that Marinette is going to become more characterful and evolve.

Zoe represents Marinette, but a more adult, more liberal, more confident Marinette, which is why they both have a similar aesthetic,

Now, if we remember especially MIRACULOUS INVERSE, bad Marinette also had it and also on the same side of her bangs, what do we know about that Marinette? that her life was a shit (to sum it up hahaha) so what happens to that Marinette will surely happen to ours, this is going to make her become cold and isolate herself from everything, but also make her very strong, she It will be "broken" to be "built" again due to several factors, because they are going to damage it from all sides and the causes will be kagami and lila, but above all kagami, but this will force her to mature and become strong Well, only in the darkness is where we can shine, right? and that is where we would have "zoe", a very sweet girl but also very self-confident and brave...

-red: kagami and ladybug, red is clearly the color of ladybug and kagami,

Now which of the two are you referring to, well clearly Ladybug, because Kagami was already represented before and remember, we come from that hot pink, what does this mean? Well, the fact that Marinette becomes stronger in herself will logically influence her form as a heroine, it's like this side is going to reinforce it more, but also she won't have as much of a complex type of "if she doesn't" "I'm nothing" she will understand that Ladybug is part of her and she is part of Ladybug, overcoming her insecurities", but that is if she had a bit of a bad time before, the inverse special gave clues.

-Neon green: chatnoir and adrien,

Yes, we could say that it is black but the truth is that neon green is the color that we see in many of their patterns, together we see it in their transformation, logo, print, etc... so it is a very characteristic color of theirs. , What does it mean? WELL, the relationship with both Chatnoir and Adrien is going to end, because, well, because of Kagami (and Lila's lies and Marinette herself) all that domino effect will also ruin the relationship between these two, and to confirm this , then the pattern is repeated again, leaving white, and again the same order, thus finishing one thing, and for that reason in this new season we have a new pattern of colors and balls.

2 PATTERN SEASONS 6,7....

Well, the order of this pattern is as follows, red, indigo blue, green, yellow and then this series repeats, red, indigo blue etc...ok? Well, knowing the order and what the colors and balls represent, let's do it.

-red: kagami and ladybug, represents both,

and it tells us 2 things:

1st: Kagami will be the one to ruin Marinette's life completely and the fact that she appears here means that S6 YOU WILL HAVE MORE THAN OBVIOUS CLUE THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, to summarize, Kagami is going to betray Marinette by revealing her identity to the world, this movement will be given by lila from the shadows with manipulation.

and this should no longer be a surprise, the Félix chapter already gave clues that SHE IS UNITED WITH CHLOE AND LILA.

esto ser aun batacazo doble para marinette porque uno se puede esperar traicion por parte de chloe y de lila, pero ¿de kagami? la serie va a ser como hermanas, así que imagínate.

[this friendship will be broken]

This is going to destroy Marinette, so she will be left alone and this was both in civilian life and as a heroine (not counting the whole mess with Adrien and the lies and what Lila is going to get into their relationship)

2nd after all this, Marinette will really focus on being Ladybug seriously, and she will take her place, by then, her life will be chaos and of course she will not be able to trust anyone (not even in chatnoir) so she will have to search to a new partner, IT COULD ALSO BE A CLUE THAT WITH THE MESS HE'S GOING TO BE IN, HE MAY EVEN HAVE TO CHANGE MIRACULOUS AND USE THE DRAGON,

THAT MIRACULOUS IS ALSO RED AND THAT'S WHY SHE APPEARS AT THE END OF LS3 WITH THAT MIRACULOUS (S3 IS KAGAMI'S SEASON, IN IT WE TELL US ABOUT EVERYTHING SHE WILL DO AND INVOLVE IN MARINETTE'S LIFE)

-índigo blue: Argos

THIS COLOR REPRESENTS ARGOS, Argos and Félix, will play a crucial role because in S6, as we already see with my previous posts, and with all the chaos, Marinette will have the only person who will take care of her and protect, it will be Felix,

Now, it should be noted that this color is Argos, not Félix, which would indicate that on the one hand, we will see in this S6 MUCH MORE OF ARGOS HIMSELF THAN FELIX, and that the help will be more on a heroic level than on a civilian level, Argos is going to Being Ladybug's right hand, the only one she will be able to trust, will lighten her burden as Ladybug and little will replace Chatnoir, this is because of all the loyalty, affection, care and understanding that he will show, that's why appears here, this confirms what we mentioned in many of our posts, that felinette and argonette will be real, what's more, since this is on Marinette's balcony, it is possible that we even have a scene where Argos visits her on her balcony (how romantic aww).

Now in fact that it appears after the red one, I think it is confirmation of the Argobug ship, both will be a great team AND THAT IS WHY IT APPEARS IN THAT ORDER.

-strong green: carapace,

This color represents carapace, and you will say, what about this one in all this? It is not in itself that he is going to play an important role, it is what both Carapace and Nino represent, both represent Argos and through him they give us a clue (like with Chloe with Kagami)

Here I leave you a more extended link where we analyze everything about wayzz, nino and carapace and their connection with Argos/Félix

HERE A SCHEMATIC SUMMARY

This tells us about HOW he is going to protect Marinette, and the reason why he will become her constant companion, above all she will have protection from him, this will surely be at the end when Marinette's life falls apart, and He will be in charge of protecting several things; his heart, his secret identity (when she loses everything) his freedom, his friendship etc… EVERYTHING.

AND THAT IS WHY THIS COLOR GOES AFTER THE INDIGO BLUE, BECAUSE THEY ARE SPECIFYING A LITTLE WHAT IT IS GOING TO BE, THAT THEY ARE A FUO is the only clue to this.

-yellow: Zoe

According to the INFO that we already revealed above, it could be Chloe, but this does not make sense because as we have said through her, they tell us about Kagami and her intentions and that was already clear at the beginning, from the sequence of colors, in this case it is just zoe,

Zoe appears because through her she tells us about Marinette, as we have said, her identity will be revealed, so she will have to change in every aspect, (she will probably get blonde hair and get highlights) the fact that she is here only confirms to us that the seeds for this and its flowering will be in S6, for some reason "the end of ladybug" was announced, because it will literally be its end and they are preparing the ground, only here they will be Clues SO OBVIOUS THAT THEY WILL NOT BE OVERLOOKED, until it is It is possible that she even changes her miraculous temporarily, this could be a clue that she uses the bee one.

AND THAT IS WHY THAT COLOR GOES AFTER GREEN, BECAUSE IT IMPLIES PROTECTION FROM ARGOS FOR MARINETTE WHICH IS HIDDEN AND WITH ANOTHER IDENTITY.

HERE THE SEQUENCE ENDS, WELL AGAIN IT BEGINS RED, INDIGO BLUE ETC…

THEN LET'S MAKE A SUMMARY: what does the ball change and all that mean for the S6? From now on, Kagami will betray Marinette's friendship, reveal her identity, all of this motivated by Lila, this will destroy her and cause a great catharsis in her that will force her to mature through pain, she will have to change her entire style of life. life, Félix and Argos will be his greatest support and protection, all this will make them come together quite as friends and then as something more.

WE WILL READ YOU IN THE NEXT PART (I WILL TRY TO MAKE IT SHORTER)

Reblog, like and follow me for more content of this type.

See you in the next post.

[harveyguilleniconodelamoda]

Welcome to Harvey Guillén: Icono de la Moda!

A blog for celebrating the unique style of queer, Latino, plus size fashion icon Harvey Guillén.

Please do not send donation or post boosting requests to this blog. Any such requests should go to my main blog, @darkshrimpemotions.

To explore what's already here, click or tap on the tags on this post! For some explanation on the purpose of the blog and how things are tagged, check under the cut!

About This Blog

Over the last few years, Harvey Guillén has emerged as an important voice in the conversation around inclusivity in fashion, repeatedly making best dressed lists at red carpet events with his bold choices and taking every opportunity to advocate for greater diversity and inclusivity in the fashion world.

Since 2022 he has gone from mostly styling himself for his public appearances (and even for some of his roles!) to having a team of artists dedicated to helping him look his best in the spotlight. Through all of those changes, what remains consistent is the way he ignores the gender- and size-based limitations placed on fashion.

With excellent tailoring, bright prints and colors, bold flashes of skin, and the seamless integration of masculine and feminine details in stunning combinations that go beyond simple androgyny and venture into the realm of joyful, defiant genderfuckery, Harvey's personal style is all about obliterating barriers and inspiring others to do the same.

Here you'll find posts analyzing the costumes of Harvey's most iconic characters such as Guillermo de la Cruz, Cousin Blobbin, Andy from Cursed Friends, and others as his filmography continues to grow! You'll also find deep dives on Harvey's red carpet looks, street style, casual wear, and photoshoots, examinations of recurring motifs in Harvey's personal style, and deep dives on his staple pieces, accessories, and more. Wherever possible, links will be included to the actual clothing items and/or affordable options for similar styles.

Is there a costume, outfit, or staple piece from Harvey's style you'd like to know more about? Feel free to send a request via the ask box!

Tagging Method

All posts are tagged with Harvey's name, "fashion," and a basic category for the occasion/purpose of the featured look(s), and the names of any key designers or brands mentioned within the post.

Posts about Harvey's staple pieces we see over and over are tagged "staple pieces." Any general blogging or research updates are tagged "blog update." Posts featuring brands that have size ranges that include plus sizes are tagged "plus size fashion." Posts focusing on accessories are tagged "accessories" and posts featuring interviews or excerpts from interviews with Harvey are tagged "interviews."

The basic categories I use for the various looks featured here are:

Character Costumes - Costumes worn for/as fictional characters in feature films or scripted series, or BTS photos/footage of in-character outfit options that may or may not appear in the final product.

Photoshoots - Outfits worn in photoshoots.

Red Carpet Looks - Outfits worn to red carpet events, including award shows and film premieres.

Work Attire - Outfits other than character costumes worn to rehearsals, stunt rehearsals, table readings, voice recording sessions, etc.

Street Style - Outfits worn out and about in public, but not to a planned media event.

Casual Wear - Outfits worn to family and friends events in private spaces, i.e. outfits Harvey wears at home (please note - I am only ever sharing these photos here if they were shared publicly on social media and are relevant to the subject of this blog).

TV Appearances - Outfits worn in unscripted or live television appearances, i.e. talk show appearances, guest hosting spots, or Drag Race and other competition reality show guest spots.

Media Event Looks - Outfits worn to planned media events that are not necessarily red carpet events or award shows.

[nadekofannumber1]

need to know what you thought of Nadeko Around

Honestly I blasted through the book pretty quick and I’m gonna prolly take a reread and put out more thoughts later. However, what I think of it now is that it’s a good Nadeko finale in a sense. I’d of course love to see more Nadeko but she really got her shit together in this one so a lot of character growth isn’t really something I see in the future. I’d like to see the confidant kinda mean Nadeko thrive!

More info below

I feel like it kind of went through all the major tennants of Nadeko:

Learning to want to live and feel alive

As a member of the “nadeko detested living to the degree she doesn’t want to live” believer club, I’m proud to announce that Nadeko is learning to feel alive and let go of inhibitions. Nadeko goes from feeling guilty for being “so spoiled” because she didn’t know shit about island survival scenarios, to being actively proud and happy when she wins to dropping her guard living ungracefully and actively going feral. Nadeko experiences the joys of it all and it’s wonderful.

The love of creation

Nadeko draws, Nadeko draws a lot it’s the whole thing she creates and she does things that are special. Nadeko becomes a wizard and that’s so awesome. The thesis of this book is the love of creation and how it drives people to truly live.

Society, roles, clothes, and appearance

Nadeko in this story abandons a lot of what society finds pure with her appearance, being gaunt, tanned, covered in wounds with calloused hands, building light muscle, having short hair. A ton of traits that make certain types scream and throw up in hatred for “not being pure”. While Nadeko does wear the uniform it’s a complex thing where it’s comfortable and there’s identity in it but Nadeko feels as if she’d prefer to wear other things even changing for the final confrontation. Honestly it makes me wonder about how they’d adapt it into an anime outside the obvious bc Nadeko acquires a ruggedness I think some would find hard to market unless simplified aesthetically. My final wonder is what outfit Tsukihi put her in as nademono had threads of the concept of Nadeko reconnecting with concepts of femininity and repairing that relationship but putting Nadeko in a cute outfit feels wrong. Personally I’d prefer perhaps something gnc or masculine and maybe trendy but also I’d take something mature aesthetic wise. I just feel that doubling down on the tomboyness (and also other potential read’s of Nadeko’s character with gender) would actually suit Nadeko well as one that forges their own path and doesn’t necessarily need to conform to tradition (being something entirely self made, for the love of creation).

Recognizing and self actualizing one’s own circumstance

Nadeko though this arc looks at her past and decides that it is the past and she was done wrong in said past. This includes Nadeko acknowledging that her parents did see her like the stuffed toys they bought her, Nadeko is self aware and understanding “I was sheltered but shit is fucked” and “I also get what my parents meant but I’m not changing carrier paths.”

Getting meaner on purpose

Nadeko’s arc involves her getting less cute and more mean on purpose. Urako tries to get under her skin but Nadeko is just like “whatever bro, don’t care, gonna save you btw.” Nadeko being allowed to be mean and falling from that grace can be also analyzed via parallels with hanekawa and shinobu but I think that’s a big post topic. TLDR Nadeko becoming more open and rude and honest is a break from society and tradition and Nadeko doesn’t need that. Nadeko needs to be free to go off and live her atypical life even if others don’t get her. Even if Nadeko works in the “real world” she doesn’t become normal and take normal paths set for her and I’m proud of her for that. Nadeko can work with others but doesn’t have to pretend.

Kind of the autism power fantasy jk(unless…..)

That current of homoeroticism that isn’t stated but definitely came to something

Nadeko got her “first kiss” (mouth to mouth with Yotsugi) and she spent so much time on that island thinking about drawing naked women and women’s bodies, and then the urako moment happened, and of course the beloved mention of Tsukihi in a pure positive light. Even with believing these characters are just friends nisio sure does love ramping up undertones as much as he possibly can. That it kinda becomes a cope to look away from their importance to Nadeko.

Even in a straight Nadeko scenario the image invokes a concept of experimenting with one’s self and identity which is integral to the coming of age aspects of Nadeko’s character arc (i also think that what Nadeko did with araragi was trying to experiment safely to test waters and limits, and that can still even apply in the straight Nadeko scenario.)

Nadeko’s family doesn’t want to talk to her much even though she’s successful and is forging her own path. Mangakaphobic, they really did hate her for coming out (as a mangaka) to them, they thought they had a normal daughter who wanted to be a bride and put it on forms of what she wanted to be when she grew up. Pay no mind to the fact Nadeko is masking her true self and picking what she’s supposed to. Nadeko a cute innocent girl but she came out (as a mangaka) and they hated that, Nadeko always had a secret she kept in the closet that she felt her parents disapproved of and yet in that closet was her real self (mangaka), the wanted the image of her to remain pure so even when Nadeko came back home and cut her hair short they hoped Nadeko would choose to go back on the path they wanted for her (not a mangaka), and yet that ended up with her homeless and taking odd jobs, years later Nadeko tries contact but won’t give up on being who she is it’s a them problem that they won’t accept her at this point, Nadeko will never stop being who she is and won’t closet herself in this society (from openly being a mangaka)

Nadeko valuing relationships with others

Nadeko’s aquisition of friends is more emphasized in Nadeko draw by presence but here it’s emphasized by silence how much Nadeko values her relationships with others. Yearning pining and surviving!

Nadeko not really thinking about Koyomi

A fun one! When you see a lot of character’s internality you can kind of see those opinions, and progressively through arcs Nadeko truly realizes those feelings were kind of misplaced and generally doesn’t think about the guy almost at all compared to a lot of other characters in subsequent arcs, Nadeko doesn’t really even bring up the guy herself until she’s about to die from that snake, there is reflection in urako of course but it’s a beautiful metaphor of scale peeling and “shedding one’s skin”

—————-

Even after this there’s a lot of fun implications with urako making the snake charms and kaiki dealing out fake ones that accidentally ended up activating. Real fascinating enriching chewable concept.

I got more I suppose but that’s all for now, expect other Nadeko brainrot posts in the future (and maybe something about shinomono 1 if I find motivation)

Nadeko’s autism truly has evolved into evil autism (congratulatory)

[tfyoulookingatgiuxs]

Part 1 -> here

Here I am back. I'm still sorry about the little mess in the first part, I should have waited for someone to subtitle me in my language so I could understand word for word. But here I am back with part two where we analyze and theorize about the Teaser Trailer of the second season of Helluva Boss!

After this image I don't think there is any need to say anything. Seriously. There will be a flashback to Blitz's past where we would see his mother! What the fuck do we want to know anymore??? I WANT to see this episode NOW. I remember when I saw this scene I jumped out of my chair, but I imagine we all jumped out of our chairs, or bed, or wherever else you were when you saw this stuff. I don't know what to expect but I'm honest. I'm definitely expecting a cute scene between Blitz and his mom since he seems to love her so much. There are those who have theorized that Blitz's mother is ill, but a serious one and that is why in the episode "OOPS" when we saw the flashback of the fire, her mother could not be saved. Meanwhile, his father, instead of collecting the money (as for example in the episode "The Circus" when his father sent him to rob the Goetia family) and helping them to take care of his wife, spends it on other things (which we don't know about, obviously imagining that this theory is true).

However, I am curious to know the character of Barbie and Blitzø's mother.

Okay. Let's breathe so as not to tell this idiot to fuck off. Mammon returns. On the one hand I expected it after the super evil exit (I'm being sarcastic of course. But joking aside I loved when Mammon laughed and ran away. Typical villain in the movies) that he made leaving Ozzie and Fizz to their fate since they have declared that they were in love. Maybe maybe we could even see how things are actually going after their statement. Although. I noticed that the people from Hell didn't completely hate their confession though, I mean did you hear them when Asmodeus said he loved Fizz? It seemed like we Helluva fans were getting excited after they had actually revealed to us in episode six of the second season that the two were together, and we, who had already theorized it in episode seven of the first season (as if it hadn't been obvious but details). However if you notice Mammon's clothing is different from that of episode seven. He tells me a lot about the mafia, and we know that in his ring there is too much of the mafia. Maybe he's doing business with someone? Maybe with Crimson himself for some reason? Or maybe he's simply devising a plan of his own to get revenge on Ozzie and Fizzarolli for humiliating him in front of everyone in his own ring?

However, to make you laugh a little, on the table where Mammon is apparently sitting there is a mini sketboard and a fidget spinner. I don't know, it made me laugh.

LET IT GOOO, LET IT GOOOOOOO🎶

OK stop. I was left speechless at this image, I mean, holy shit! Would we have a clash with our Elsa from Frozen?? In his ice castle?? Come on, anyway, I don't believe that Vivienne wasn't inspired by Elsa to create Andrealphus, I don't believe it. End of the story.

Do we now also want to talk about there will be a song for Octavia??? Holy shit, Vivienne wants to kill us!! I'm looking forward to these five episodes and you tell me that Octavia will have her own space where she will sing?? I can not do it. More than anything the phrase he says pierces my heart: "You never loved mother, you never loved me...you love him" Let's start immediately from the fact that ok, we are still hurt and we don't know what actually triggered this anger or sadness in Via, but I ask myself: Again?? That is, the matter wasn't resolved in episode two of the first season? Stolas said he would never leave his daughter for Blitz, but he never said he didn't love her, as far as I'm concerned Stolas is more of a parent than Stella. Now I don't know the relationship between Stella and Octavia, but seeing her, I don't think in the slightest that he loves her like Stolas loves Octavia. In short, Stella wanted to kill Stolas to take revenge for the bad impression she made him make (only for the bad impression he made, not because he betrayed her with an imp). But then no. It can't be done because then the inheritance would go to Octavia and she would get nothing. Ok that's her brother's plan, but I don't think Stella will hesitate to hurt her daughter to get what she wants. On the other hand, I wasn't the only one to theorize it either. I really hope that the matter about the relationship between Stolas and Octavia is resolved in some way, because Stolas acts as a father to Octavia more than any other father in the world, in short, I would like him as a father. He has understood his mistakes and is trying to fix them. The fact that he is putting his happiness first for now is not (in my opinion) his fault.

Stolas has never thought about his happiness and only after seeing Blitz again is he starting to understand what could be good for Blitz and for himself. I believe that Stolas wants to try to have happiness so that he can share it with his daughter and strengthen their relationship. Obviously tell me what you think, I won't judge your thoughts even if they are different from mine!

Do you remember him? Yes, that's right, our new bad fish that we commented on in part one of this Trailer analysis. I renamed him because when reading the comments on Vivienne's video, someone theorized that he could be the prince of the ring of Envy, while still having the appearance of a fish or something similar. I don't know exactly what made me think about it, but it doesn't cause me any confusion, on the contrary it's just more curiosity. Indeed it could be, given that in these just five episodes we would travel between different circles and also return to earth for the adventures of our favorite imps. So I wasn't surprised if we had to meet all the princes or princesses of the various circles. There is a scene where there even seems to be a mysterious and robust character, very strong and with an evil and severe appearance. This character was immediately said by fans to be Satan, being reminiscent of the circle of wrath. I admit I thought so too, but who knows. Remember that even if the answer is so obvious it doesn't necessarily have to be right. 😉 Oh well, bullshit aside, even if that should be Satan we would all be happy to have met the dick from the circle of wrath.

Well now, I think we can finally conclude with this image where Vivienne tells us in which months the episodes will be released. Which makes it more anxiety-inducing since we only know the months and not the precise dates. As some fans had theorized, the episode "The Full Moon" will be released in May. There are those who even thought it would be released in mid-April, but let's say that this episode is so long overdue that people were inventing the worst things to get it out.

And finally. What do you think? What are your thoughts on this Trailer? I still can't believe we would have an episode in May, June and then have to wait until October 🫣. Help.

-Sorry for my english!!!

[ladylamrian]

Hello there friend, it is I, @promptnonny

I have come bearing a gift for you 💗

Character A: “How was the meeting?”

Character B: “I wanted to stab everyone.”

Character A: “I’m glad you didn’t cause you would’ve gotten blood all over yourself and we have dinner reservations at 7.”

Character B: “I love you for supporting me.”

Character A: “I love you too.”

Please tag me so I can read your amazing writing 😘

Bound by Fate (Mini-Series)

- Chapter 1: Love & War

Female MainCharacter: Alexis Clarissa Fontaine

Pairing: F!MC×NikRyder

Summary: Nik has bad news for Alex.

Word Count: 1.7K words

Rating: Teen (Angst, Romance)

Warnings: Angst, Mention of War and Vampires

-> Masterlist of this Mini-Series <-

-> My full Nightbound Fanfic Masterlist here <-

Taglist: @infactnoimmasitinthemiddle ; @jdstar88 ; @blackcatkita ; @peonierose ; @lilyoffandoms ; @lawrencebarkley ; @tessa-liam ; @mxdanni ; @blackcatkita ; @mariemarieohcontrary ; @secretaryunpaid

Also tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations ; @promptnonny (hope you like this and angst)

Comments via Reblog wholeheartly welcome

Alex was standing in front of a mirror, putting the finishing touches on her make-up before getting ready for her date with Nik. She stopped as she heard someone with keys, so she followed the sound and entered the hallway. There, Nik just entered his apartment.

"Hey, Nik, you're back! How do I look?", she asked and welcomed him with a gentle hug.

Nik, on the other hand was in deep thoughts, looked away and didn't even return the hug which made Alex worry as she realized. It's been a year now since the two of them were living together as a couple. They know each other very well. Something is disturbing him, she's definitely sure. Carefully Alex released him from the hug and took a few steps backwards to analyze him. Clenched jaw, staring at the floor, knitted eyebrows, a balled fist,... Yes, his body language revealed it all.

"Hey, Nik, everything alright?"

"Hmm, yeah.", he answered without meeting her chocolate-brown eyes.

"You sure, Nik?"

"Hmm?", he finally looked at her.

"How was the meeting?"

"I'm glad you didn't cause you would've gotten blood all over yourself and we have dinner reservations at 7."

"Oh that... Believe me, I wanted to stab everyone. I wanted to stab them all!!", he angrily replied.

"I love you for supporting me."

"I love you too, Nik.", she giggled which made Nik smile a little. He took a closer look at her.

"Hey, you look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks, Nik. You should get ready too, you know? I can't have a dinner date without my main course which is you, Nik.", she winked at him.

"Someone's in a good mood here."

Raising her eyebrow, Alex moved closer to him and rested her arms on his chest while Nik pulled her even closer. Both looking deeply at eachother's eyes.

"Well, someone has to keep the good mood up when the other one had a bad day.", she answered in a seducive tone and smiled.

"And I like that, rookie. Hey, how about we cancel our dinner reservations and hang out tonight in the bedroom?"

Alex playfully pushed herself away from Nik and turned disappointedly away from him which made Nik wonder.

"Definitely not, Nik. We're going out tonight. I mean when was the last time we went out together on a date? Hmm?", she argued.

"Okay, okay, sorry. I was just enjoying this little moment here."

"Whatever, now hurry and get ready for our date. I'll give you five minutes to get ready. Don't take long.", she commanded which made him chuckle because she's definitly the one who takes longer to get ready than he.

Like she said, Nik entered the bedroom to change clothes without closing the door, hoping Alex would change her mind and spend the night with him in their bedroom. But it didn't happened. After a few minutes, the man entered the hallway where she was waiting for him. But Nik noticed that she was drown in deep thoughts.

"Hey, what's up? Penny for your thoughts?"

"Nothing, actually. It's just you looked so stressed before you entered the apartment, so I hope the date will let you unwind a little. I don't like when you're stressed. Or should we cancel...?"

"No, I'm fine. It's okay. Don't cancel the date, you already dressed up and were so excited for it. I don't want our night to be ruined because of that stupid meeting I had."

"And aren't you excited for our date as much as I am?"

"Of course I am. Spending some time with my beloved rookie is exactly what I need. I need you. Forever. I need you forever. Only you, Alex. I love you. You're my everything.", he leaned closer and both drifted into a passionate kiss. A few seconds later, they parted to look into eachother's eyes.

"And you should know that I love you too Nik. By the way you look great in this black suit." She smiles shyly. Which made his heart beat stronger. For him Alex is such a beautiful person, from the outside and on the inside.

"Hey, Nik, before we enjoy tonight... Care to share what happened before?", she asked him, but he was silent. No answer came out of his mouth. The sadness in his gray eyes told her everything, so she decided to ask him again. Alex wanted to know what bothered her boyfriend.

"Nik, how was the meeting? Is everything alright? You don't have to tell me, you know? It's just..."

"It's okay, I don't mind sharing with you. But you wouldn't like it. It's just... the vampires from New York. I went to Ivy's, so she could connect me with their clan leaders via video call. I'm worried cuz things don't look good there. Soon, the vampires might have a war and... and... Katherine and I might have to join the war too."

"What?!! Why??!! What do nighthunters have to do with vampires? And New York,... that's where Kristin lives too!!! Why didn't you told me before?!! Nik, tell me everything now!", Alex panicked, took a few steps backwards as tears welled up. Gently, Nik cupped her face and leaned into a soft hug to calm her down.

"Hey, hey, relax, calm down! We don't even know for sure if the vampires will have war, okay. Relax, everything will be fine. It's just a theory. Wanna head out now?", he tried to make her feel better and to skip the topic, but Alex noticed.

Even Nik couldn't hide his true feelings, he felt uncomfortable, stressed and scared of what would happen next. Yes, Nik Ryder and scared, because joining a supernatural war is a huge thing where everyone would be concerned. In an unknown place surrounded by unknown dangers and dangerous creatures, away from home, family and friends. For Nik, away from his true love, his rookie, his Alex.

"Nik, we're not going anywhere tonight until you don't tell me everything.", she lightly pushed him away and glared at him.

"Alex, no need to..."

"Nik!!!"

"Well, I... Okay, fine. As a nighthunter, my job is to protect the human world and supernatural world, bring them both into order and serve justice, so that's why Katherine and I have to be there when the vampires will have war, to protect the humans and the innocent ones. And about the video call I just had, I actually called that damn clan leader to complain about their system cuz the NOLA vampires are drivin' me nuts. It's been a few days now and they're committing crimes and murder in our city. The numbers are increasing every week and someone has to do something. But guess what, the vamps from NY are too busy to care of what happens here, because they have their own problems to deal with.", he disappointedly explained to her.

"Wait...Wait, let me get this straight. Soooooo, when you entered the apartment you had an online meeting via video call at Ivy's place and were talking about stabbing a vampire? Huh, mentioning to stab someone during a video call who's not even here in New Orleans?", she asked. He scratched the back of his head and nodded.

Without getting ready for it, Alex crashed into Nik for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, rested his head lightly on hers and pulled her closer. Her body shaking while silently crying.

"I'm sorry, rook. I'm sorry for ruining our date tonight."

"Nik... Oh, Nik! Why? Can't you decline? We're talking about war, not even any war, a supernatural war. Please, don't... Don't leave me."

"Hey, it's not even decided about if I as a nighthunter have to go. Okay, relax. Maybe I don't have to.", he gave her and himself hope. Everyone knows that he's one of the best nighthunters, so it could be more likely that the best ones will be chosen for this big event, but he doesn't want to think about it or sadden Alex even more.

"Can't... can't you... can't you reject?"

"I have sworn an oath to protect anyone who needs help. The humans will need safety if the vampires try to harm them. Look, the good thing is that most of the vampire clan leaders are on our side and are against war. Everything will be fine. Alex, please, stop crying. It won't change anything if you spill your tears for me."

"Of course, I will spill every tear for you because I love you and I can't live without you. Try to understand, I just can't!!!!", she screamed at the top of her lungs and felt the salty taste of her tears streaming in her mouth as they were endless waterfalls. When she pulled herself away from him, Nik was longing for her.

"No, no, stop... Please stop, I... I don't want this either, but I have no choice. I don't want to think about this right now, please. Please, let us unwind. Only you and me, together. I...", he quickly pulled her closer and his crashed his lips on hers. They kissed each other with pleasure, passion and full of desire. Not wanting anything to come in between. They were afraid to part ways, to lose each other. They were always one. Always.

While kissing both tiptoe around to the other side into the bedroom. Completly lost into the sensation, Nik's hands on her body, his lips now on throat while she lays her hands on his chest which slowly moving lower and lower.

"Are you sure, Alex? Don't let your sadness control you."

"Oh Nik, I love you and all I need is you. Only you. I need you now, Nik."

"Damn, I love you too. You're my queen, my life, my everything and there's no life without you... I can't live without you, I will die.", he confessed and crystalline tears finally filled his eyes too.

"Don't you dare to die, understood? If you die, I will die with you. So promise me, that you won't die, my soldier."

"I promise, I swear on... The hell with that. I swear on us, rook."

"What? On us? Why swear on us?"

"Yeah, I swear on us. Because there isn't anything I believe in more than us and our true love. You and me, forever. Nothing will seperate us, my love."

To be continued...

Comments with reblogs very more appreciated

[fruitypixel]

Character Preview: Derek and The Androids

Android

An android is a humanoid robot or other artificial being. They’re made from flesh like material that makes them look human.

To me, it’s a humanoid robot with highly advanced AI. AI has the ability to evolve, form their own options, and most of all, have emotions. To laugh, to mourn, to love. Most of all, to form relationships, to form personalities, and to form tastes. This is Project C.O.R.E

I’ve built four Androids with the resources I found scattered across the world. Well, not really, it was simple to get the hair and clothing. The outer skins and eye colors wasn’t as hard. Everything else? I don’t want to go into detail.

Their A.I. wasn’t easy either. The Androids A.I. it’s hard for me to explain what it does, and it works. Let’s say it's advanced enough to where it can evolve on its own. Thanks to this, I had to implement a heart in their chest. While the motherboard serves as their thoughts. The CORE holds their emotions, cheesy, but it works.

Luckily, everything else fell into place once I finished their A.I. Each has their own personality generated via binary code. In the event that I’m not here to see them; they have abilities equipped within them. Each has their own unique weapon based off their personality. Some may think its extreme, but honestly, in a crapsack world like this, they’ll need it.

It took me a total of ten years to build these four. The third android, my oldest daughter, took the longest. Meanwhile, the others took three years each. I blame myself for making her abilities complicated, but at least she’s fully functional.

…

It wasn’t easy hiding this project from my superiors. It was even harder with most of my friends. Especially Marco, that man is too smart for his own good. Every time I’d tell him that this is an engine I’m working on: he’d roll those eyes of his and say “Sure whatever.”

Whatever? Screw you, Marchrius!

Tarma wasn’t better. This guy would try and steal my diary every time he saw me with it. He read a few pages, but that’s all, I’d end up tackling him before he turns another page. I can’t remember the last time we fought because of my diary. I think it was after he was promoted?

Shit, I’m getting off topic.

As of writing this, the androids are in their pods being analyzed by the computer. This is to ensure that they have the ability to understand morality. Just the thought of my kids becoming killing machines terrifies me. At the same time, I don’t to wait until I’m old to see them wake up. At least I managed to improvise and shorten the years into months

I honestly can’t wait to see them! There’s so much I to see, so much to teach them, and maybe my older brother and his kids will get the chance to see their cousins!

Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll introduce them to both of my friends.

I just hope nothing bad happens…

DHA.

Save Document?

>Yes >No

Document Saved.

[gin-stan]

I keep thinking moon knight animatic thoughts, so here are some ideas on how I'd animate characters to these songs:

[From here, foward quotes are me explaining how the lyrics relate the character and their stories.]

1. Humans touch by TWRPtube:

It's Layla and Marc singing (and dancing) w/ to each other, but their muppets and a disco ball pops out at some point. Their puppet costumes switch from normal clothes to their avatar suits on beat. The costume change happens via a spin transition either physically (the puppets) or camera. Or a whip to the side.

"we were such a good team/still going strong"

Layla singing to marc how she'd doesn't understand what happened Marc is trying but can't really explain to Layla why he backed away .

"I never did you wrong until the ne× me came along"

[MK and possibly Steven coming into play].

"Now I'm alone on the boulevard of broken streams."

"I'm just a toy to you, my love"

And it continues, Layla feeling a bit betrayed and confused. Maybe due to the suit and other trauma in his life, Marc doesn't feel "human" anymore since his autonomy is practically gone due to his servitude to Konshu and being a superhero/having to protect ppl.

"I need a humans touch, but you don't need me"

He needs Layla but he believes she doesn't need him cause she'll only get hurt bc of him (due to konshus jobs and promise to take Layla instead if he doesn't fall in line).

You could analyze lyric to apply it to their relationship.... I'm not gonna do that. But you get the idea Σ(Ｔ▽Ｔ;)

2. Friends in low places by Worthikids.

It's in a paper mache animation style with bolts (flat pins) on the characters joints.

The first part (guitar riff Part before the lyrics come in) is a title card introduction to marc and bushman. It details Marc's last moments due to bushmans betrayal, "on that hallowed night when I lost my life.." him meeting konshu and becoming MK.

"I was chosen for a second chance at life"

Konshu granted Marc MK power in the pyramid.

Konshu is doing the laughing in the background cause he just got a bog3 deal.

"I am the watcher I watch for all of time"

Shows him looking over the city Konshu will be pulling the strings and moving MK around like a puppet.

"I got friends in low places, just another one in a long line of no ones"

Shows previous mooknights in a line up behind or besides Marc/MK like in ATLA.

We get a visual of marc walking/staggering the background changes between locations and nights and day cycles by spinning the background like a wheel. Marc switches between, MK himself, Steven and Jake all walking through the streets of whatever city theyre currently located in.

You get the idea the ending shot is MK looking over the city and konshu looming behind him as "friends in low places fades out "

3. So we fall by Stupendium. So I know this is the odd own out but hear me out:

The fall guys singing abt being exploited by higher ups are replace by past avatars of all the Egyptian gods. Singing to MK abt how unfair their life as a avatar was and how some came to perish.

They didnt know what they were really getting into. Or the things they had to do. Ect ect. The ones pulling the strings using them for their own entertainment as they risk their lives to fulfill their duties.

Warning Marc on trusting his own boss to much and

This is done in a puppet style also or paper mache.

It's a bit silly but who cares.

There's more to each but it's too much to all type out. My ambitions are too high so I'll never get around to actually doing it. But I wanted to get my thoughts out there at least lol.

[howlingday]

My idea for a potential DEATH BATTLE! #2

2023, August 16-31

Link to first post;

Yang Xiao Long vs. Akihiko Sanada (RWBY vs. Persona)

RWBY's heavy hitter and Persona's bruising boxer duke it out!

(I wanted to use "electric emperor", but Kanji Tatsumi can also be called that)

Fighter 1: Yang Xiao Long, the blazing dragon from RWBY.

Fighter 2: Akihiko Sanada, the specialist boxer of Persona's SEES.

Wiz: We may lose our loved ones to events out of our control, but that only leads us down a path to finding a new family to look after and care for.

Boomstick: And the best way to do it is by saving the world through punching! He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE:

We had Weiss vs. Mitsuru as an actual episode and Yates did a commission for Penny Polendina vs. Aegis, so why not our hard-hitting punching people? P.S., Don't think I hate RWBY. I just love the idea of certain RWBY characters fighting, nay, interacting with other fictional characters that are similar to them, especially if they have some sort of connection through crossovers.

WHY:

Connections:

1. Both fight via boxing and punching.

2. Both lost family members that served as motivation for their actions. Yang lost her stepmom and was abandoned by her birth mother, which led to a rough childhood for Yang, resulting in her thrill-seeking lifestyle (essentially living her childhood later on as she couldn't do it as a kid). Akihiko's sister died when they were both young and his best friend Shinjiro died, but he steeled his resolve which led to his Persona's growth. You can also add in Blake leaving Yang.

3. Both have a specific trait that they don't exhibit much but are now seen as the chore trait of their personalities due to side material. Those are their passions for puns and protein respectively.

4. Funnily enough, both have powerful connections to a younger sister (Ruby and Miki respectively).

Personal reasons: I'll be blunt, I want this to be another Balrog vs. TJ Combo. I think it could work, but the only other way I see this match starting would be an encounter similar to those of Tartarus, the Yellow Trailer, or Yang's interactions with Shay. What I want the most from the fight is for them to compliment each other's physical strength, treating the fight first like a friendly spar and then turning up the heat (like All Might vs. Might Guy). The encounter could happen in the open since both have a history of wandering in search of something (Yang would be on her bike, and she has searched for info on her mom and Akihiko traveled the world, searching to become stronger), which would come into play in the Notable Events. If Akihiko is shown in his P4A model, I'd want him to use his knife, but it'll likely not happen. I also want some lighting and hothead puns, and I think the golden colors of Yang's Blaze and golden colors will complement Caesar's blue and violet lighting as well as Aki's scarlet and black clothes.

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation: This one will either be 3D like Weiss vs. Mitsuru. It could also be a 2D fight like a potential BBCTB fight, but I think they'll go with the former because all RWBY fights (as of me writing this) have been in 3D so they could distinguish themselves from BBCTB. I think the animation from All Might vs. Might Guy or even Blake vs. Mikasa could work with the CQC involved, but the former is the better option.

Possible setup:

OPTION A: They're part of a tournament like the Yang vs. Bakugo DBX (Yang would look like she did in Vol. 1-3 and Aki would look like he did in P3 for some reason) or a boxing match a la Balrog and TJ Combo, or even Heihachi vs Geese. The prize is cash, which Yang wants for her bike and Aki wants for equipment, be it for boxing or the Tartarus quests. Or ramen.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Introducing our fighters! In one corner, you have the blazing sunny dragon from Beacon, the fiery and explosive Yang Xiao Long! On the other, Gekkougan High's boxing captain, the shocking protein junky, Akihiko Sanada!" The announcer mumbles, asking someone near him whether or not this is the chick that broke a kid's leg even after she won a tournament match, but quickly gets back into the job.

Yang: "You better not go easy on me."

Akihiko: "Same to you, blondie."

They walk back to their corners and prepare themselves.

OPTION B: They encounter out in the open, likely in an urban scene like the Kingdom of Vale or Tatsumi Port Island. Yang is riding her bike, searching for something, be it info or thrills. However, a screaming man falls in front of her and she swerves out of the way, only to find more people falling out of the sky. She hopes to find the source of the commotion and see Aki punching out thugs. She speeds in, excited and ready for a fight.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!/FIGHT! :

1. If the fight starts with Option B, then Yang enters like in Vol. 6's fight against Adam, so away goes her bike! Aki notices, and either punches away the vehicle or dodges out of the way. Yang skydives in, reeling in a punch. Aki prepares his own strike, and BOOM!

2. They both relish the combat. Their competitive natures lead them to be ever so slightly boastful, but they'll complement each other's power.

3. Akihiko summons Caesar and lightning is launched. Yang makes puns as a result: "Well, that was shocking."

4. Yang uses Ember Celica and Aki dodges.

5. Combos from BBCTB and P4A/U.

6. Yang takes advantage of both their up-close approaches and uses her bombs. The explosives catch Aki off guard.

7. Eventually, a strand of Yang's hair falls, and she notices. She thusly activates Blaze, and Aki is in awe of the increase in firepower (ba-dum-tss), even if momentarily, but he then embraces the challenge and rises to the occasion. "Bring it on!".

8. The ending is a clash of fists like in the cover of Brandon Yates's Blazing Fury, and it would pay homage to the Yellow Trailer and Akihiko's one-hit KO from the Arena games. If it's option A, then the arena, the spectators, and the announcer are blown away (ba-dum-tss) by the impact, and the winner is left standing, panting, and tired. However, they thank the loser for the fun and challenge. I want the winner to take one of the loser's weapons as a memorandum, but I don't think it'd be in character.

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Yang:

+ Blaze allows for strength increase

+ Has ranged weaponry

≥ Has slight versatility due to her kicks and weapons

≥ Likely has longer experience due to her training under Taiyang

≥ Can likely dodge Caesar's lightning if scaled to Mercury

- Aura takes a long time to recharge

- Cannot activate Blaze without Aura

- Cannot exploit any weakness

Akihiko:

+ Caesar can quickly recharge if broken

+ Stronger and more durable

+ Has greater support due to Caesar's support spells like Power Charge

+ Has faced more dangerous opponents in Straega, the Full Moon Shadows, and the Red Fog clones.

= Can likely keep up with Yang as he has avoided lightning attacks

Ending puns:

"Don't Celica short; Akihiko went out in Blaze of glory."

"Yang was handed a defeat and Akihiko Caesar (see-zar) victory."

I wanted to use "got beaten to the punch" but Roshi vs. Jiraya had that as a punch line. Dio vs. Alucard used the "owned" punch line like Mario vs. Sonic 2018 but then added to it.

MUSIC:

Name: "Beat You To The Punch"

The title makes reference to Yang's love of puns and both their primary methods of fighting.

Art: The art would depict the two arm wrestling, Yang's arm blazing and Aki's having lightning coursing about it. There could be a Strawberry Sunrise with Caesar's sword in it in the background.

Sound: I Burn + Mass Destruction. The beginning is MD but with a rock vibe, and the climax has I Burn, like in Yang vs. Mercury.

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

---------------------------------------------------

Another fascinating idea, but sadly, one I can't really give my opinion on. First, I'm not familiar with Persona (Saw bits of 4 and 5 and that's it). Second, after the last Death Battle, I'm hesitant to pit RWBY against them, since Persona characters seem a bit... OP compared to RWBY.

Still, I will honor your submission with at least this...

VS

HOT-SHOT PUNCH-OUT

On the one hand, I feel Yang may have an edge with her kickboxing, bombs, AND durability compared to Weiss.

However, Persona also has, well, personas, which kinda give an unfair edge over their opponents (like a stand VS a regular person). Then again, I don't know the exact details.

Still, I like the idea you brought up.

[arcplaysgames]

These kids have a very high opinion of canvassing for information, which as far as data collection goes is about on par with opening a random manhole and inspecting the walls for the scrawlings of subterranean prophets. But we do what we must to hit story flags.

People are completely cracking up about the fog. Which, in a world that has now experienced COVID is dryly humorous. Yeah, Junes and CVS are working with Verizon to beam the virus into us via the 5G towers, uh huh.

There's a recurring thing with Chie that's very amusing, that she keeps accidentally saying the quiet part out loud, like the writers are trying to keep a lot of these elements subtextual and inferred but just in case, they also have Chie say things outright.

Also, I hate to swerve into more Thoughts On Yosuke again but it's really interesting how much he respects Naoto. I think.... [stand by, checking my mental footage] Yeah, Yosuke encourages Kanji to flirt with her and tries to wingman for them

(which, if both Naoto and Kanji are queer and Yosuke isn't, the dynamic is so funny to me) (i don't think yosuke is cishet but ask me about that later)

by Yosuke is pretty adamant about not... aiming his Horny Comphet Bullshit in his direction? I think Yosuke called Naoto cute once in passing and otherwise defers to him in moments like this for guidance and intelligence and actionable insight. I'm not going to go so far to say that Yosuke sees Naoto most as their nebulous non-girl gender...... uh

except. Shit. I think I am saying that. Oh my god. Yes, from what I have seen in P4G as of 12/06, Yosuke respects Naoto's gender the most.

At some point i need someone to ask me about Yosuke Hanamura because I could be here all fucking day analyzing this dude. He's not by any means my favorite character in P4G but.... I think he might be the most interesting one. In that way, he's like Yukari, a character that sometimes makes me uncomfortable or annoyed but has the most depth and most shit going on.

ANYWAY. Yosuke respects Naoto more than I do frankly because sometimes Naoto makes me go "DUDE WHAT."

Yosuke, Naoto, and Reverie go outside and I get to pick the killer and this wasn't even a question to me.

BUT THEN, SOMETHING INTRIGUING HAPPENS.

OOH LA LA

NOTE TO SELF: SAVE SLOT 1, DON'T OVERWRITE.

Should I explore that before or after getting a standard ending? I am so tempted to just go and do it immediately, but I dunno if I should save it as a little treat later.

ANYWAY yes obviously it's Adachi. I know it, you know it, but what has killed me is the Why/How of it.

................... holy shit i fucking remember that. oh my god. i feel like Yukiko just shoved a key into my brain and unlocked something, YEAH IT WAS MENTIONED LIKE FUCKING ONCE THAT YAMANO WAS STAYING AT THE AMAGI INN AND THERE WAS POLICE PRESENCE, oh my god.

Saki is easy, she was questioned about the body, that could have easily been Adachi (I think Adachi mentions idly in a cutscene with just him and Dojima that Saki didn't know much, establishing that they probably talked)

I always thought there was nothing behind those eyes. Now we know it's not that. He's just put up mirrors in there. Goddamn fucking bitch in sheep's clothing.

if adachi has ever given even 30% to anything in his life, I'll be stunned. There is some level of swanning gracefully and heedlessly through life to him. He's one of those guys that you can blindfold him and ask him to walk through a minefield and he'll be fine. His SPECIAL stats favor Luck.

Which is the build I also tend to go for but we ain't talkin' about that today!

Anyway, you get the options to ask him about Yamano ("idk i don't remember it's all hazy lmao") and Saki ("uhhh yeah she saw a dead body, so we questioned her") and then the warning letters

Kanji, I need you to do me a favor, big guy. I need you to sprint directly to the Yasoinaba PD, punch whoever you need to get through, and find that fucking letter STAT. Like, seriously, anyone you want, punch 'em.

whoopsie-daisy!

Naoto I hope you have a LIST

/sucks on teeth

Man. I missed that one. I caught the moment when Adachi lied about the Namatame-Saki thing but not that. They're right, they literally weren't attempted murders, they were short-term missing persons cases. goddammit.

Okay Naoto I'll give you that one.

Adachi bolts, and he's gone.

SLAMS FISTS ON TABLE

WHY DO ADACHI, REVERIE, AND NAMATAME HAVE THIS POWER? Does Adachi have a fucking persona? Where did this ability come from! At the start it was like Reverie was a patient zero giving other people their persona, but turns out people just HAVE this power!

Boy but it sure is Interesting that the game implies there's an ending where you, what, you don't turn Adachi in? Where you help him? Reverie and Adachi are inversions of each other in a lot of ways. The magic trick moment really seeds the idea and it's a fucking compelling concept.

'Cause... how to explain. Like, the MC of the game seems...

I just played P3P, right? I can tell you things about FeMC, like concrete stuff. She's bubbly and a little manic and is fast the become chummy with people, she's got a very sharp sense of humor, she doesn't mind looking like an idiot for a joke, and she is Weird. Everyone finds her just a little weird. She's like if the popular girl in your school also collected skulls and did taxidermy. It's nothing bad but everyone knows she's Odd.

In P4G, the MC is a blank to me. There are some fun Chaos Options in the game but otherwise there is a deficit to personality to most of the possible responses, and it seems like Reverie's dominant character trait is "really calm." Which works really well for a person who is supposed to be the "Wild Card" character, who can stand in for anything and anyone.

Adachi, as the Jester, feels like an interesting inversion of that. He's good at everything he does, he's self-professed to be very smart and did really well in school (even if he resented it) but rather than acting like a skeleton key to the people around him, he's... the lock. He's this void of connection. Boundless potential and nothing for it to catch on.

My friend Tree nudged me earlier today about if I figured out who else JYB voices in the game, and I was like "oh yeah, the MC. I dunno if that's relevant?" Because it could have been as simple as resource conservation-- why hire another VA when you can have one of them do some voice lines for a mostly-unvoiced MC? But now, okay, I see it. Why it might be significant.

GAH I'M BABBLING! WHO CARES, TEDDIE'S IN THE NEXT BIT AND THAT'S WAY MORE IMPORTANT. BRB.

[twilekchiss]

Part 1: Thrawn

In this series, I am using Tarot as a tool to analyze Thrawn and other Chiss characters from Thrawn: Ascendancy. For the uninitiated, Tarot is traditionally a deck of 78 cards, consisting of twenty-two Major Arcana and fifty-six Minor Arcana (or pip cards). Famously, Tarot is often used in cartomancy, or the use of cards in fortune-telling. However, Tarot is rooted in card games developed in 15th Century Italy, and is still used that way today; beyond that, it can be used as a tool for self-exploration. The cards are read via the heavy symbolism in the card art, drawing from occult traditions (depending on the deck in question).

I am basing my analysis off of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which is usually the deck you see in movies and TV shows. I have assigned every major character I could think of to a Major Arcana card (two of them have two!); this analysis is not including the Minor Arcana.

Today, we discuss Thrawn as The Hanged Man.

The Hanged Man

Let’s look at the art. (I know, I know. Art analysis. How very Thrawn of me.)

A person is suspended from a cross made of living wood. His clothes are a blue tunic and red tights, a slim brown belt and beige slippers. He hangs by his right ankle, while his other leg is folded, crossed behind his right one. His arms are likewise folded, hands unseen behind his back. Around his head is a golden halo. The card itself is labeled as number twelve.

As you see, I have bolded a few points in the description above. These I believe are the key symbols behind this card. Let’s go through them one by one.

Suspended - The main feature, as it were, of the Hanged Man is that he is hanging. More than that, he hangs upside down, giving him a completely different view than the viewer. He is not struggling, but seemingly at peace with this, indicating his consent.

A Cross - Crosses, obviously, are highly associated with the crucifixion of Jesus in Christianity, but also the practice of Roman crucifixion in general, both criminals, and in Christian mythology, saints.

Living Wood - The cross being made of living wood brings to mind the myth of Odin hanging himself from Yggdrasil, the World Tree that connected the Nine Realms. Not only that, but throughout Tarot living wood indicates growth and change (and life in general).

Blue and Red Clothing - Blue symbolizes wisdom, freedom, intuition, and serenity, as well as sometimes loyalty and reliability. Red is the color of blood, of life, of passion, but also danger, sacrifice, and courage. Note that for the card, red is on top and blue is on bottom, but if the Hanged Man was not hanging upside down, they would be reversed.

Hanging by right ankle / Left leg folded and crossed - The right foot is bound, the thing that he is suspended by. But not the left foot. That is curled, but choice, behind the right. Right and left are often associated with *right* and *wrong* – mostly due to archaic thoughts of right handedness vs left handedness. Consider the positions of the legs – the right being at the forefront, and perfectly straight. The left behind, crooked and angled away, leading a different path than the right leg. When a person stands, legs are parallel, ending at the feet both firmly on the ground. Here, the legs end in different places, the right pointing towards the heavens, the left points away from the heavens.

Hands unseen - Are his hands bound, or does he keep them there of his own free will? We cannot tell. Regardless, they are still and idle, the ability to *do* taken away by circumstance or by choice.

Golden Halo - A crown or disc of light, a halo is used to represent holiness on religious figures, but also kings and heroes. Aside from holiness, it can also mean glory and enlightenment.

Number Twelve - This is the twelfth card in the Fool’s Journey, after Justice but before Death. It is the time between, rather a liminal card, where one surrenders to the end that Justice has brought. 

Thrawn is The Hanged Man

So how does this apply to Thrawn? 

I think it's most evident in Lesser Evil. Of course, one thinks of the ending of Lesser Evil, most especially Chapter Twenty-Eight, and Thrawn’s purposeful sacrifice of exile for his actions at Sunrise (and to some extent, through the whole Ascendancy trilogy and arguably the events of Outbound Flight). The exile was willing; he did not fight it, but saw the tactical implications of it. He surrendered to it (point #8), and through that surrender, he found a new way. Through his exile and subsequent service to the Empire, he found a new perspective (point #1). He found freedom, as he was no longer bound to the No Preemptive Strikes law of the Ascendancy. He was labeled a criminal, but also hailed as a hero by others (point #2). Like Odin on the World Tree, he hung himself to gain further knowledge and wisdom (point #3)

This exile, thus surrendering to the Justice of the Syndicure that lead to the Death of his career in the Ascendancy, was all by his consent (point #9) to Ba'kif's idea of it. 

The epilogue, narrated by Thrawn (the only time his POV turns up during the Ascendancy trilogy, even if it's a rehashing of the Prologue of Thrawn 2017), he has this line: "Among these aspirations is the desire that there will be a straight path to those goals." Just as Thrawn muses on paths, the Hanged Man depicts two via the position of his legs, the legs themselves a symbol of movement (point #5). You could ascribe the Straight leg pointing towards the heavens as doing what the Syndicure ruled, and thus Thrawn turned away from that, going along a crooked path instead, his fate sealed through martyrdom.

There's also the fact that Thrawn used a fake surrender to Jixus to ensnare him into a trap (point #6).

But even as we see The Hanged Man in Senior Captain Thrawn's Last Stand, there are other symbols that apply to Thrawn. His incredible patience (a type of surrender), for example, with those willing to learn and grow (like the Living Wood of the cross, point #3). The way he guides Thalias and Samakro to find the answers on their own, giving them information but passively allowing them to form their own conclusions instead of telling them the answer. There's his desire to learn and collect data to find enlightenment (points #4 and #7). Thrawn is more than happy to go with the flow of things to gain insight into his opponents, instead of stubbornly battering it head on, most especially if he can learn from it.

Next up: Samakro as The Emperor

[donotmindme1]

My idea for a potential DEATH BATTLE! #2

2023, August 16-31

Link to first post;

Yang Xiao Long vs. Akihiko Sanada (RWBY vs. Persona)

RWBY's heavy hitter and Persona's bruising boxer duke it out!

(I wanted to use "electric emperor", but Kanji Tatsumi can also be called that)

Fighter 1: Yang Xiao Long, the blazing dragon from RWBY.

Fighter 2: Akihiko Sanada, the specialist boxer of Persona's SEES.

Wiz: We may lose our loved ones to events out of our control, but that only leads us down a path to finding a new family to look after and care for.

Boomstick: And the best way to do it is by saving the world through punching! He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick.

Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle.

PREFACE:

We had Weiss vs. Mitsuru as an actual episode and Yates did a commission for Penny Polendina vs. Aegis, so why not our hard-hitting punching people? P.S., Don't think I hate RWBY. I just love the idea of certain RWBY characters fighting, nay, interacting with other fictional characters that are similar to them, especially if they have some sort of connection through crossovers.

WHY:

Connections:

1. Both fight via boxing and punching.

2. Both lost family members that served as motivation for their actions. Yang lost her stepmom and was abandoned by her birth mother, which led to a rough childhood for Yang, resulting in her thrill-seeking lifestyle (essentially living her childhood later on as she couldn't do it as a kid). Akihiko's sister died when they were both young and his best friend Shinjiro died, but he steeled his resolve which led to his Persona's growth. You can also add in Blake leaving Yang.

3. Both have a specific trait that they don't exhibit much but are now seen as the chore trait of their personalities due to side material. Those are their passions for puns and protein respectively.

4. Funnily enough, both have powerful connections to a younger sister (Ruby and Miki respectively).

Personal reasons: I'll be blunt, I want this to be another Balrog vs. TJ Combo. I think it could work, but the only other way I see this match starting would be an encounter similar to those of Tartarus, the Yellow Trailer, or Yang's interactions with Shay. What I want the most from the fight is for them to compliment each other's physical strength, treating the fight first like a friendly spar and then turning up the heat (like All Might vs. Might Guy). The encounter could happen in the open since both have a history of wandering in search of something (Yang would be on her bike, and she has searched for info on her mom and Akihiko traveled the world, searching to become stronger), which would come into play in the Notable Events. If Akihiko is shown in his P4A model, I'd want him to use his knife, but it'll likely not happen. I also want some lighting and hothead puns, and I think the golden colors of Yang's Blaze and golden colors will complement Caesar's blue and violet lighting as well as Aki's scarlet and black clothes.

THE FIGHT:

Art and animation: This one will either be 3D like Weiss vs. Mitsuru. It could also be a 2D fight like a potential BBCTB fight, but I think they'll go with the former because all RWBY fights (as of me writing this) have been in 3D so they could distinguish themselves from BBCTB. I think the animation from All Might vs. Might Guy or even Blake vs. Mikasa could work with the CQC involved, but the former is the better option.

Possible setup:

OPTION A: They're part of a tournament like the Yang vs. Bakugo DBX (Yang would look like she did in Vol. 1-3 and Aki would look like he did in P3 for some reason) or a boxing match a la Balrog and TJ Combo, or even Heihachi vs Geese. The prize is cash, which Yang wants for her bike and Aki wants for equipment, be it for boxing or the Tartarus quests. Or ramen.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Introducing our fighters! In one corner, you have the blazing sunny dragon from Beacon, the fiery and explosive Yang Xiao Long! On the other, Gekkougan High's boxing captain, the shocking protein junky, Akihiko Sanada!" The announcer mumbles, asking someone near him whether or not this is the chick that broke a kid's leg even after she won a tournament match, but quickly gets back into the job.

Yang: "You better not go easy on me."

Akihiko: "Same to you, blondie."

They walk back to their corners and prepare themselves.

OPTION B: They encounter out in the open, likely in an urban scene like the Kingdom of Vale or Tatsumi Port Island. Yang is riding her bike, searching for something, be it info or thrills. However, a screaming man falls in front of her and she swerves out of the way, only to find more people falling out of the sky. She hopes to find the source of the commotion and see Aki punching out thugs. She speeds in, excited and ready for a fight.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!/FIGHT! :

1. If the fight starts with Option B, then Yang enters like in Vol. 6's fight against Adam, so away goes her bike! Aki notices, and either punches away the vehicle or dodges out of the way. Yang skydives in, reeling in a punch. Aki prepares his own strike, and BOOM!

2. They both relish the combat. Their competitive natures lead them to be ever so slightly boastful, but they'll complement each other's power.

3. Akihiko summons Caesar and lightning is launched. Yang makes puns as a result: "Well, that was shocking."

4. Yang uses Ember Celica and Aki dodges.

5. Combos from BBCTB and P4A/U.

6. Yang takes advantage of both their up-close approaches and uses her bombs. The explosives catch Aki off guard.

7. Eventually, a strand of Yang's hair falls, and she notices. She thusly activates Blaze, and Aki is in awe of the increase in firepower (ba-dum-tss), even if momentarily, but he then embraces the challenge and rises to the occasion. "Bring it on!".

8. The ending is a clash of fists like in the cover of Brandon Yates's Blazing Fury, and it would pay homage to the Yellow Trailer and Akihiko's one-hit KO from the Arena games. If it's option A, then the arena, the spectators, and the announcer are blown away (ba-dum-tss) by the impact, and the winner is left standing, panting, and tired. However, they thank the loser for the fun and challenge. I want the winner to take one of the loser's weapons as a memorandum, but I don't think it'd be in character.

RESULT:

Strengths and weaknesses:

Yang:

+ Blaze allows for strength increase

+ Has ranged weaponry

≥ Has slight versatility due to her kicks and weapons

≥ Likely has longer experience due to her training under Taiyang

≥ Can likely dodge Caesar's lightning if scaled to Mercury

- Aura takes a long time to recharge

- Cannot activate Blaze without Aura

- Cannot exploit any weakness

Akihiko:

+ Caesar can quickly recharge if broken

+ Stronger and more durable

+ Has greater support due to Caesar's support spells like Power Charge

+ Has faced more dangerous opponents in Straega, the Full Moon Shadows, and the Red Fog clones.

= Can likely keep up with Yang as he has avoided lightning attacks

Ending puns:

"Don't Celica short; Akihiko went out in Blaze of glory."

"Yang was handed a defeat and Akihiko Caesar (see-zar) victory."

I wanted to use "got beaten to the punch" but Roshi vs. Jiraya had that as a punch line. Dio vs. Alucard used the "owned" punch line like Mario vs. Sonic 2018 but then added to it.

MUSIC:

Name: "Beat You To The Punch"

The title makes reference to Yang's love of puns and both their primary methods of fighting.

Art: The art would depict the two arm wrestling, Yang's arm blazing and Aki's having lightning coursing about it. There could be a Strawberry Sunrise with Caesar's sword in it in the background.

Sound: I Burn + Mass Destruction. The beginning is MD but with a rock vibe, and the climax has I Burn, like in Yang vs. Mercury.

THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS!

[xwxsourcesandsignifcance]

Blog #3

"The semiotics of character design."

This time, we learnt about signs systems and semiotics, and how we are surrounded by them pretty much everywhere, ranging from the language we use to the media artifcats we consume. As a character artist, I am interested on how these visual signs are built to communicate a message, via multiple ways such as choice of clothing, hair, color palette and more. All of these concious choices by the designer have a reason for it, and all other possible choices that were excluded to convoy the particular story that the character is supposed to tell.

As such, I will analyze some characters whose designs have always interested me, and analyse why they work in the what they are trying to communicate, specifically via semiotics, paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations. For this purpose, I have chosen 2 characters that I have always liked, Artoria from the Fate franchise, and Bloody Queen from Identity V.

To start off, I will briefly explain what sign and semiotics is, as well as what paradigm and syntagm are.

Signs are defined by Chandler "as something which ‘stands for’ (or represents) something else. It can take any form – a word, an image, a sound, an odour, a flavour, an action, an event, an object, or whatever." (Chandler, Pg.2, 2022) When someone says a sign, what comes to mind normally are things like road signs. However, as Chandler explains, signs cover a whole wide range of different systems, as it is practically everywhere; objects, images, clothes, languages, etc. Basically when something is signifying something. Semiotics is the study of these signs. Signs are so varied and some can carry a lot of meanings with just one sign, that for example, emojis are getting recognized by dictionaries. Danesi states that Oxford named the emoji of "Face with tears of joy" as the word of the year in 2015. Even though emojis are not actual words, they can capture many different meanings and mood with just a picture. (Danesi, 2016)

In order to understand the relationships that can occur when multiple signs are used together, paradigmatic and syntagmatic expressions are created.

Paradigm is a collection of signs that belong in a way to similar categories, but are not the same. For example, all the colors are in the color category, but each color is unique. Said signs can be replaced with another one to create the appropiate message. Therefore, it can be said that paradigmatic relations can be considered as constrative. (Chandler, Pg.2, 2022)

Syntagm is the combination of the signs that have been chosen to form a meaning. An example is a sentence, that is composed of words which would be the sign, to signify a meaning. Syntagmatic relations are known as sequential.(Chandler, Pg.194, 2022)

Moving on to the characters now, Artoria is from the Fate franchise, and she has had many appareances across its universe. I will be using her original desgin from her first appearence, which is Fate Stay Night, a visual novel released in 2004. As a quick rundown of the story, historical figures are summoned to the real world as servants. These servants are classified between different type of weapons and personality traits, which they use as an alias to hide their real identity, with Artoria being a Saber user. These servants have the objective to fight with each other to death to obtain the Holy Grail, which will grant them and the person who summoned them a wish.

Fig.1: Artoria in Fate Grand Order

Starting with the syntagm of this image, on a surface level Artoria is a blonde skinny young looking woman. Her hair is short and tied in braids and bun. She is wearing a big drapey blue with gold adorment skirt and shoulder pads with the same colors. She wears armor elemnents and an armor breast, leaving only her face uncovered. And lastly, she wields Excalibur, the infamous sword. All these signs together are meant to represent Artoria.

On a paradigmatic analysis, this is where her design gets interesting. The most glaring choice is that Artoria who is meant to figure be King Arthur, is presented as a female person in the franchise. The artist probably did this one to make her stand out from all the Arthurs in media. Another reason could be to portray the mysoginism that existed back in medieval era as the public would not accept a queen as the ruler, and thus Artoria had to disguse herself as Arthur. (Thanatophobia4, 2017). The choice of her having some sort of dress rather than a full set of armor, which is what is expected for someoen to wear when going into a battlefied, is probably to show off her royalty side. The choice of blue and gold accentuates said royalty as those colors are usually associated with nobility, order and leadership. Same thing applies by giving her shoulder pads as they impose some sort of authority. Lastly, the choice by the designer to have her tied such way is to again, indicate how she respects order and precision, as her hair is tied in a clean manner.

For Artoria, while the syntagm might seem quite straightfoward, looking at the sings through the paradigm shows that all the deliberate choices were made with a reason, all the signs work together in cohesion to form the character design that the artist wanted to show.

As of my second character, is Bloody Queen from the game Identity V. Identity V is a mobile game released by NetEase in 2018. Identity V is an asymmetrical horror game of 1 Hunter vs 4 Survivors, very similar to Dead by Daylight. The 4 survivors have to escape from the hunter while the hunter has to get as mnay survivors dead as possible. Bloody queen belongs to the hunter faction.

Fig.2: Bloody Queen by NetEase

On a syntagmatic point of view, the signs tell how Bloody queen is a woman with short hair, wearing a pure red puffy dress. She has fully black eyes,stiches on her neck, and has a piece of broken glass as her weapon.

The paradigm of this design starts with her name already. Her hunter name is Bloody Queen, while her real name is Mary. She is in actuallity a mix between Marie Antoinette and the urban legend of Bloody Mary, which in summary, if you said Bloody Mary in a mirror 3 times, a ghost would appear and kill you. These 2 mixes of signs are present in her design. The artist chose to convey that with the stiches on her neck, which shows she was beheaded akin to Marie Antoinette. Her particular short hair was also purposefully chosen to be cut in a choppy and messy way, possibly representing how when she was beheaded, her hair was cut as well. Her puffy elegent dress is also a sign of royalty and nobility. To represent the Bloody Mary side of her character, the piece of mirror shard is the most obvious sign, and thats why she does not have any other type of weapon instead. The pure redness of her dress is also another conscious choice made by the artist to show off Bloody Mary. And lastly, her fully black eyes could represent how she is a vengeful spirit, just like in the legends.

The syntagm of this design tells a cohesive character, however, a paradigmatic analysis is able to show how the particular signs are able to create a story for the character throughout the signs present.

All in all, I thiink syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis are very useful tools for an artist, even more so for a character artist like myself. Syntagm is important to create a good first impression of the character, while paradigm is when the details and reasons of deliberate choices can be seen. I have learnt these 2 new tools in depth, and I will definetly apply it towards my future designs.

References

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Chandler, D (2022), Semiotics: the Basics, Taylor & Francis Group, Oxford. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central.

Danesi, Marcel (2016). The Semiotics of Emoji : The Rise of Visual Language in the Age of the Internet, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc . ProQuest Ebook Central, Available at:http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/herts/detail.action?docID=4659857.(Accessed 16/11/2024)

Thanatophobia4 (2019). Reddit - Dive into anything. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fate/comments/d5st4w/why_is_arthur_female/(Accessed 16/11/2024)