#anyway this is a super cute palette and I might use it again in the future

[egginfroggin]

All aboard!

Drawn using this color palette -- because with a name like "Dream Train Tickets," how could I not draw Kirby with it?

Kirby's costume here is a reference to the Kirby Pupupu Train events held in Japan annually from 2016 to 2020. The entire event was full of incredibly cute marketing and merchandise, and you can read up on it a bit here.

I hope you all have a very good day! ^^

(program: krita; time taken: about 1 hr 50 minutes)

[nelvana]

A couple months ago now I was fortunate enough to buy a used switch lite from my friend, and even luckier to obtain a copy of Pokemon Scarlet at the local pawn shop at a very reduced price (plus a couple other things but that's not the point rn). So, we go right from the earliest generation of pokemon to the newest back to back, with possibly just as many bugs and glitches, to my gen 9 team!

Team stats and general gameplay info under the cut:

"Nila", Meowscarada, ♀, U-Turn - Play Rough - Flower Trick - Night Slash

"Quaord", Clodsire, ♂, Poison Jab - Earthquake - Liquidation - Megahorn

"Guache", Grafaiai, ♂, Slash - Knock Off - Poison Jab - U-Turn

"Stella", Luxray☆, ♀, Volt Switch - Spark - Crunch - Ice Fang

"Étoile", Pyroar☆, ♀, Flamethrower - Hyper Voice - Swift - Crunch

"Pharle", Farigiraf, ♂, Crunch - Shadow Ball - Twin Beam - Tera Blast

General Playthrough Notes:

Okay look I need to level with you all right off the bat, I don't like the vast majority of the pokemon introduced in gen 9. They feel like such first drafts to me. I normally go into these games with a team plan but this time I literally had two slots missing going in, I just could not think of what to put in there. And I already planned on using two poison-types and two normal-types! Normally I avoid doubling up on types as much as possible! After a bit I used the codes to get a bug-tera mew and a cetitan and was just thinking "I guess they'll be mainstays??"... then I immediately ran into a shiny shinx. Then a shiny litleo. They happened to slot right into the team and I've never been fortunate enough to use shinies in a playthrough (except my soulsilver randomized apocalocke but shhhhh we aren't there yet), so I put them on. But if they hadn't shown up and essentially saved my ass I would have been hard pressed to fill up a team of six (look I literally just used a mew I'm not in a hurry to use it again, at least it's been a couple years since I used luxray in a playthrough).

Anyways, despite all that, I had fun! I knew going in it wouldn't be too difficult and would have its lion's share of glitches, so I was just along for the ride. I like the friend group you form in this game! I like vibing with koraidon as an honorary team member! It's just a pleasant time.

Back to shinies for a moment, overworld shinies without any sound effects to indicate them is evil. I spent so much time staring at groups of pokemon trying to tell if one of them was off-palette. Thankfully, I never ran into any shinies other than the ones I caught.

The raids are neat, though since I don't have Nintendo Online and no frequent enough local players it isn't super interesting with just the npcs. Caught a few neat fellas though, including a steel-tera breloom and a fighting-tera azumarill.

Speaking of, when I first started playing those mewtwo raids were going on and I wanted to participate in them so bad. I barely missed my window, though from what I've heard I wouldn't have stood much of a chance anyway, haha.

I wish there was more post-game other than the raids. I've redone the tournament like half a dozen times now; I wish there was a battle frontier or something. To be fair, I haven't caught all those ruin legends yet; though the one I have caught I managed to get in the first ball, lol.

Do I have the dlc yet? No! I can't just throw around that kind of money willy-nilly. Maybe someday though.

Picnics are really cute though I wish I could pet my pokemon instead of just wash them. Also why can't I sit down on the chairs that are set up around the picnic table??? Still don't really get the sandwich hype, I might mess around with it a bit though, I want to give it a fair shot.

"Hey Nel, why haven't you talked about the Elite Four? You usually start these notes with them?" The E4 is very unremarkable, sorry. I won't bore you by being the billionth person to rag on how Geeta is objectively the worst champion. Also when I rematched all the gym leaders I didn't have to terastilize or heal my pokemon. They were a bit more impressive the first time around tbh. The gym puzzles were neat though!! Except for Tulip's. Fuck her.

Oh yeah, terastilizing is a thing. Mega evolution is still better.

I wanna hang out with my friiiieeeennnds more, both my irl friends and Nemona, Penny, and Arven. It would be so fun to do raids with them or something like that.

Cold take but the uniforms suck I wanna customize my outfit like Nemona, Penny, Arven and Team Star do

(Normally this is where I'd show a screenshot of me finishing the game, but I'm one of the few weirdos who can't use captchas and haven't found another way to transfer files from my switch to other devices. Have a picture of my cat instead; his name is Prince.)

[riordanness]

omg hi congrats on 800 again!!!! for ur event i have to go w i can fix him no really i can 😫 ok so the basics r i’m a cabin 4 ravenclaw infj taurus (i always start w these soz LOL) and also the ambivert final boss like genuinely i don’t lean towards introversion or extroversion and if the mbti had an a for ambivert i’d def be an anfj 🙏🏼 im a HUGE perfectionist it’s so bad actually i cannot function if something is imperfect i’ll lose my mind 😭 (i also have ocd so 🙁) when i asked one of my friends what the pros and cons of dating me are she said my perfectionism may cause problems LMAO😣😣😣 i get told im kind a lot so i like to believe thats true 🙏🏼 im super soft spoken which is a struggle cz im always having to repeat myself 🙁 (did a french speaking exam this year where i was recorded n when i say i was YELLING the entire time so that the recording device thing could pick up my voice….) im super super stubborn and persist in things until they go the way i want them to LMAO (this might be my fatal flaw) i refuse to settle for less in all aspects of life it’s either up to my standards or i’m not claiming it 😬 i LOVE LOVE LOVE reading and music those 2 r the most consistent things in my life !!!! for my type in men this may be a shocker but jason grace is an anomaly because irl + in other forms of media i tend to go for the dark haired sassy sarcastic funny guys (idk if you’ve read better than the movies but if you have wes bennett is a very good example of my type) some characters i’ve been compared to (because for some reason i get compared to a LOTTT of characters) are hermione granger, annabeth chase, rory gilmore (pre uni DUH), amy santiago, caroline?? from tvd? (idk her but my friend said i’m very similar to her so!) ummmm idk what else to include… i’m a HUGE germaphobe and get grossed out super easily LOL would rather die than go hiking or camping or anything like that soz demeter kid but not one w nature i just like flowers and gardens 🫣 i’m also super sensitive and have been told i’m emotionally intuitive!!!! i cry often about everything LOL soz if this is too long love u SOOO much 😚 also would like a pjo guy pls !!!

CYNTHIA HII (also idk why i always tag your other acc and not this one i legit always forget this url idk why 😭) anyways tyy soso much you’re actually the best fr

so. i put like way too much thought into this cause i didn’t want to just, like, stick you w jason bc that’s the easy answer yk?? BUT on that note, based on what you’ve said, i actually pair you with him?? like… if y’all were my friends irl i would ship you so bad fr.

you’re both perfectionists, tho probably in different ways yk, you bc of mental stuff and him bc he was raised by camp jupiter and literal wolves. so that would make it good for you both bc there’s nothing worse than being a perfectionist and living with someone who makes chronic messes (i can attest)

you’d both have really intuitive kindness and understanding of each other and others and that would bond you together soso well. also jason wouldn’t be a loud talker. like at all, so he’d be totally fine hearing you perfectly bc he’s used to quiet talking

neutral and very faded colour palettes for you both, light light blues and pinks and white and cream and gold everywhere (if you moved in together🤭)

jason would love to listen to you speak french btw

he does NOT strike me as a very outdoors person (in the hiking and camping and dirt way) he’d much rather sit on a porch with you and read than do any of that stuff (also he’s roman. they’re famous for their baths he would love being clean no germs here)

would totally understand your ocd and be soso nice about it like. this man would be so careful not aggravate you with unnecessarily untidy or uneven things like that.

music and book dates >>>

anyways y’all are cute i ship it so bad

[adobe-outdesign]

I bother you for a review of the Sobble line, my beloveds?

I see a lot of hate for this line, but honestly, Sobble is pretty cute. An anxious little Pokemon that weaponizes its tears is a fun concept (#relatable), and visually, I like a lot of what's going on with it.

The little chameleon-style mitten hands and feet are nice, the fin on top of the head adds a perfect touch of color, and the little tear markings under the eye are a nice way to hint at the theme when its not actively crying, which in turn is paralleled by the blue circle at the tip of its tail. My only visual nitpick is that the eyes could've stood to have some yellow in them to make them pop.

I gotta admit, however, that it does suffer from a kind of generic body shape. All of the gen 8 starters have the same basic form, and so it feels like the nice visuals of Sobble are held back by an underwhelming and generic execution that make it less memorable than it potentially could have been. It's still perfectly good, just not as memorable as it could've been.

Drizzle gets some points for at least being unique in the line, but it was always my least favorite stage due to, once again, feeling generic—except this time, it doesn't have the strong balanced visuals Sobble has to compensate.

I think part of the problem with Drizzle is a lack of clear focus or direction, which stems from the whole line. Sobble's concept is that it's a timid and fearful chameleon that uses its color-changing abilities to hide, but it evolves into... a super spy (probably because spies are stealthy, which once again ties into the invisibility thing, except Inteleon is more of a basilisk lizard than a chameleon anyway). So Drizzle's left just kind of being emo, I guess to tie back into the sadness thing? I feel like if they just subtly hinted at the spy thing and focused on that from the beginning instead of randomly changing themes, the line would've been more cohesive, and Drizzle here would have more direction.

Visually, putting the bland body shape away, it retains some of Sobble's good elements, like the mitten hands and tear markings. However, the color palette changes randomly here to include green and purple, which go away again as soon as it evolves (the green areas could've easily been yellow, for example). The fin is generic looking and lacks the nice structure and colors of its evo/pre-evo as well. It's not the worst thing, but it's fairly bland.

This might be a hot take, but I actually really like parts of Inteleon's design. Even if the line could've focused on it more, the idea of a spy chameleon with basilisk attributes is pretty cool, and I like some of the biological aspects, like it having nictitating membranes and a sharp, knife-like tail.

I also like the head area. The fin looks cool, the face is properly lizard-ish, I like the expression and the yellow eyelids, and the built in "glider" is neat. It's nice to see it finally get a more distinct shape after two stages of generic round heads. Also, the wetsuit markings are clever for a water-type. Also also, it looks pretty good in motion:

However, I do agree with the general opinion that the body shape is a bit off. First, it's ridiculously thin, almost like an anole or long-tailed grass lizard; it feels like a strong breeze could break its arms. This is also emphasized by things like the long, human-like legs and human hands (lizard hands are more spread out, and don't have joints in the same places as human hands). If it just had more lizardish anatomy—think like Kecleon, Salazzle, Heliolisk—I could see myself liking it a lot more.

I also feel like it could've stood to be a little more chameleon-like, as that's the only reason its a spy to begin with. Nothing wrong with the basilisk elements, but why not give it some cool weird chameleon eyes that look like night-vision goggles, or let it keep the mitten hands? Emphasize that and the stealth and the concept would be a bit clearer.

Also, some small visual nitpicks: The stripe down the tail adds nothing and isn't needed. Also not a huge fan of the white diamond on the stomach as it seems out of place (even if it is supposed to be a suit). Mostly, though, it's just the anatomy that throws me.

The g-max is the best out of the starters on the grounds that it's at least not an item that becomes larger, even if the entire body still hasn't grown much. Also, the concept is pretty fun, with it using its long tail as a sniper tower.

However, I also feel like this doesn't make much sense. First, what does a sniper have to do with spies? Just because they both use guns and are stealthy, I guess? But secondly, this thing is 100 feet tall. Isn't the point of snipers to be unnoticeable? Who is gonna get sniped by this thing because they didn't notice the 100-foot tall lizard tower of death? It's fun on paper, but doesn't hold up when you think about it actually in-battle.

Also, it's weird that the tail starts out spiraling and then suddenly straightens out, especially when the fin curls around. Why not just make the entire thing spiral-shaped? I feel like that would be a lot more natural as opposed to the suddenly perfect straightness going on here.

Anyway, overall: Sobble is cute and has a nice design, but suffers a bit from a generic body shape. Drizzle lacks direction, and Inteleon is pretty cool looking but stand to be more chameleon-ish, both conceptually and visually. The g-max is fun but doesn't really make much sense when you stop to think about it.

In fact, the more I think about it the more I think this might be my fav gen 8 starter—though that isn't saying a lot.

[lqfiles]

HELLOOOO 🦏 ANON!!!! jelly here, as of recently i haven’t been super on time w reading updates because of that STUPID ASS SHIT going on with my job, might be on top of it again soon tho bc signs are pointing to me no longer having that job.

BUT the secret is having no hobbies and literally being attached to my phone 24/7 because i hardly leave the house i spend most of my days in my room until someone makes plans with me…😆 (i also may or may not have insomnia so im awake for a verrryyy long time, only time im not on tumblr is if im sleeping or playing fortnite.) i have just general post notifs on for mother lqfiles because i was never really one for taglists in particular, i like reading whatever people post if i go as far as to just turn on notifs. i guessed waaayy back when that she’s somewhere in the uk from posts she’s made in the past ab updating at a certain time i think, im in NEW YAWK so between the ripe hours of 5pm-7pm for me is i think when she posts and im already on my phone at that point… im such a loser guys sorry

also my blog… is @haechoxo … there’s nothing on it really it’s quite boring but i did have to dig for that specific pic of jisung i wanted but it’s well under construction bc i hate the color palette AND i have not been dedicated enough to continue making the smau yet. i think i have enough for two profile posts and maybe a prologue/first chapter… but feel free… (ripping my hair out at the thought of being perceived but it’s okay because maybe it’s my ticket to being as famous as lqfiles my role model)

—🪼

PLS DONT TELL ME YOURE ABOUT TO GET FIRED 😭😭 that place was unserious anyways, you don’t wanna be in a place like that which can’t even notify their employees of stuff!! its THEIR loss 🤦🏽‍♀️

i keep forgetting you’re a fortnite loser (endearing) the way so many oomfs of mine play this too, maybe i need to fr hop on this trend too 😓 the skins are cute so maybe i will. ALSO YES i remember you said you got my notifs on, feeling very #APPRECIATED #LOVED thank you aegi 🥹🥹 kinda felt you on that having no hobbies and lots of time part tho, it’s why i can update the smaus a lot, i fr got nothing better to do w my time AND IM OKAY WITH THAT!!! people love to shame you for being lazy but i’m PROUD. (i say this like i haven’t made a bucket list of stuff i should try to do this summer instead of wasting time hsjdhsk) NAWT A LOSER PLSS trust i’m always on my phone too.. at least one of us got a job rn and it’s not me so speak highly of yourself queen!!

THE JELLY ALIAS IS SO CUTE PLSS tbh i like the colour palette, i feel like it’s different from the rest because i rarely see anyone use that, its usually either white or black 😭 anyway i will follow you (if you let me…) (pls tell me if you want me to perceive you yet)

[jcmorrigan]

What movie or tv show scared you the most?

OH HEEHEEHEEEEEE MY TIME HAS COME

I think this was probably the sign I was meant to be a horror fan, because I'm gonna talk about two movies here and neither one is a standard horror film. Now, I avoided horror films like the plague, but I now realize that's because of my aversion to jumpscares and gore, which have very little to do with actual scary stuff. I feared actual horror imagery as a small child, but basically once I read Coraline it all just turned around because that book gave me nightmares but I actually WANTED those nightmares and kept going back to the book. So what are the movies I just COULD NOT contend with?

First up, I have found that a lot of people have said this one, but really and truly, fuck Chicken Run.

I was...maybe ten when I watched it. Signed up for a goofy claymation adventure. What did I get? First of all, a whole lot of bleak color palette that warned me that this was not going to be a happy story. We are then shown the stakes right away: our entire main cast lives in a dystopian prison and if they do not find a way to escape, they will die. One DOES die. This is where a lot of people say they noped out right away, but actually, the execution of the dinner chicken in the first scene was tame for me compared to what would come next.

The pie machine. It's assembled, it's talked about, and eventually our two leads fall into it in a way that is designed to be fatal. Look, there are a ton of horror tropes in this scene alone. I haven't seen it SINCE THE ONE AIRING and I can still vividly tell you a lot of this. And if I walked into a horror film and asked for this, I'd come out super satisfied, but I was not expecting horror from this. First of all, I remember vividly the shot where you're looking from Ginger's POV falling down the shaft and the divider comes up to shunt her into the "meat" line. It's incredibly claustrophobic and you just get this almost jumpscare reminder that the character through whose eyes you see is regarded as nothing more than meat to be consumed. There is then an array of blades designed for close calls, and dough that essentially glues the lead characters down to a conveyor belt so they have to helplessly watch the death machines that are coming. Sticky stuff that roots you to one spot; that's another thing that just REALLY unnerves me and I love it if I'm reading CreepyPasta but I was not reading CreepyPasta; I was watching a children's film. The leads escape certain death by jamming the gravy system, causing the machine to overload on pressure, and here I feel like I should've been relieved that they escaped but instead I was the most unsettled of all when the pressure meter started climbing. I don't know if this film *gave* me a phobia of industrial accidents or if it just awakened what was already in my OCD little brain, but suffice to say that after this movie, I was hyper-aware of my own fear of things like hissing steam, rising pressure meters, and being in a room where large metal things were clanking. (I'm since over it; I've been exposed to it in enough things.)

Now, I was no quitter. I should have just noped out. But I didn't. I continued to traumatize myself. The next part of the film until the climax I don't remember so well - it wasn't as traumatizing - EXCEPT for the part where Ginger finds and rebuilds Rocky's circus poster. And now, as an adult, I can see how that was kinda supposed to be funny, like, "The goddamn chicken padded his résumé and the way they found this out was a circus poster." But little me was invested in these chickens, I wanted them to be happy, and what I saw was basically their death notice being signed with that scrap of paper with a cannon on it. I FELT that in my bones.

STILL NOT HAVING THE GOOD SENSE TO JUST EJECT THE TAPE ALREADY, I proceeded to the climax, in which what happens to Tweedy might be one of the most fucking awful things I've seen ever? Pinned upside-down in a superheated, confined space with rising liquid from below as the pressure meter starts climbing again. And her husband arrives just in time to see her like this but not in time to actually stop the explosion. Thank God it didn't actually kill her because even though I was already traumatized, that would've absolutely made it worse.

Thing is, ever since this movie scared the absolute shit out of me - and was probably the cause of the weird stomachaches I had for A WEEK after - I've kinda had this thing about reclaiming the scary parts and stomping on them while laughing maniacally. I feel like every time I've done a crossover project, there's been a temptation to write in an arc where the mains go up against THE PIE MACHINE and fucking win. And also there's whump with tons of comfort in my version to mitigate it all. I haven't done any such thing for TBTC...YET. But I know what I must do. I know who must destroy the machine and the Tweedys along with it. Buckle your seatbelts.

My final word before I move on is that as I ascend into adulthood, I think that for the most part, a rewatch of this film wouldn't traumatize me so badly. It'd still be gross and creepy in a way I think shouldn't be sent to children without warning, but I could deal with the imagery, maybe enjoy using it as whump fuel even more, maybe my horror side would really get into the peril this time. But the one thing I've realized is that this premise is fucked EVEN MORE if you're a grown-up, because as a child, you're sympathizing with the chickens. You want them to get free of this death camp environment. But as an adult, you start to realize that all Tweedy wanted to do was be a chicken farmer who sold pie, and her supposedly nonsentient animals ganged up on her in a display of unheard-of intellect among farm stock. This would then lead to her undergoing at least one near-death fate. Think about being a farmer in our world and the animals you keep GANG UP ON YOU LIKE PEOPLE because you're killing them for food. No thank you, no THANK you.

But surely this was a one-of-a-kind phenomenon. Surely, after this...after so many other people agreed with me; "Fuck Chicken Run"...no animation studio would ever pull shit like this again.

I had hoped that was the case until Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

This is one I don't actually see lambasted as often. Maybe because the Chicken Run trauma crew grew thicker skins before this movie. I only sort of did. Maybe because no one ever actually invested in this film, having already predicted how much it would be garbage from the dumb humor in the trailers. Oh, but not me. I was a fool. Also my family picked it for a movie night so my fate was sealed anyway.

The original book is actually pretty frightening on its own. Food falls from the sky in such great numbers that it starts to destroy the world. Okay, that's terrifying. But kind of in the alluring way. I would keep coming back to the one page about the giant pancake on the school because the way it was drawn unsettled me so, with something huge and immovable blocking off the way to a building that usually has hundreds of innocent children inside. The film built on this and made it a thousand times worse.

Let's start with the goddamn Spray-On Shoe. Our main character is a mad scientist (but the good kind, apparently) whose list of bumbling failed experiments dates back to when he was a child and invented a spray you could put on your feet to coat them in shoes. He then gets laughed at because he didn't engineer a way to get the shoes off, and runs home in humiliation. Guys, the teasing/bullying factor is...not the most worrying thing about this story. There's a throwaway line about how Flint wears THE SAME SHOES into adulthood because to that day they simply cannot be removed. This seems like an incredibly urgent medical problem? Having your feet encased in the same rubber for years? The same rubber as when you're a kid? I just found myself thinking "What if my shoes never came off one day" and that terrifies me, okay? It's stupid and it's silly and it scares me. Even more than that, though, is the canonization of a polymer in this universe that can be sprayed on sticky and will literally never break no matter what you do to it, because that goes back to the pie machine dough principle. Being glued to a surface permanently is inherently terrifying and we'll go over this later because this is not the last fuckin time the glue shoes get brought up.

Flint invents a food-spewing machine. It ends up in the sky. He rides his popularity as it rains larger and larger food down upon the town and also the world. Most of this film up until the climax is unsettling but not AWFUL. Where it starts to go to shit is when Flint realizes his machine is too dangerous and shuts it off, only for the town's local greedy politician to switch it back on into an apocalyptic mode. So can we start with "Local town finds out its elected official is willing to sabotage their well-being in order to capitalize on the fame of a disaster-causing object?". Like, the whole film would've been solved so much sooner if there hadn't been a saboteur in the works - not a fun campy villain, mind you, but a saboteur who exists to drive the plot to the scary place. But I guess we need that narrative tension to justify having a film in the first place, so fine, I'll ride it out.

The main crew saddles up to fly out to the machine, which is now encased in a FLESH LABYRINTH of food, and...I'm just gonna rapid-fire the shit that happens at this part:

-The food turns sentient in order to defend itself. The cute animal sidekick brutally dismembers an army of gummy bears that is fully sentient and rips them apart to devour them.

-We enter the flesh labyrinth and it's exactly as much a horror RPG setting as you think it is.

-Now sentient cooked chickens besiege the party. The comic relief character is consumed by one, only to kill it from the inside and decide to WEAR ITS SKIN in what is seen as his defining character arc's conclusion. Wearing the skin of a dead monster allows him to forge his new identity.

-One of our party has to go back because of a tight passage lined with her deadly allergen, causing her to undergo anaphylaxis after an accidental mild nick. In the flesh labyrinth.

-The entire horrific journey is instantly INVALIDATED when it turns out that instead of the kill code for the machine, all Flint has is a file of a cat video. Which he finds out as the town is about to be obliterated off the face of the earth.

-So he solves it by jamming the works with the spray-on shoe and DID I NOT JUST GO OVER HOW HORRIFIC INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIONS ARE IN KIDS' MOVIES? DID I NOT? ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS AGAIN? Anyway it's canonical proof that NOTHING can break the shoe glue and I should be happy for the town and happy that there's no more flesh labyrinth of living meat but instead I'm just terrified because of the door we have opened. We have imparted the existence of an indestructible sticky polymer upon the world.

-It's later seen used in a credits sequence to repair damaged houses. Which, first of all, given its flexible nature, is fuckin stupid. It won't serve as an actual wall. Second, that got me thinking about construction accidents involving the fuckin shoe glue. If that stuff gets dripped on a person's face -

-So then cue me sitting awake in bed later thinking wide-eyed about Cloudy with a Chance of Fucking Meatballs and realizing that this compound that is essentially a chemical weapon in the making is now in the hands of the mayor who deliberately caused an apocalyptic event over the town because he wanted the food rain. And THAT'S not going to lead to pretty circumstances.

I think you'll see that a lot of my fears with these two movies is "THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS!" and I think that just shows how my mind works and why I'm drawn to fanfic so much. I'm all about diving into a universe, exploring its corners, analyzing it to death.

And with the industrial horror stuff, I kinda wanna bring it around to two other films that actually really subverted my expectations and made it fun. 102 Dalmatians was a fave of mine through middle school, but I remember when the climax took us to a big ol' factory and I got plumb nervous. After the usual blades and ovens of horror, the fact that it concludes with Cruella basically wearing a cake and a lengthy montage of the dogs kicking toppings onto her is just one of the most wholesome imageries. She survived the thing and now you get to watch her be decorated Lisa Frank style by her victims who are more interested in humiliation than murder, and I love that.

But maybe more prevalent is that I'm well aware that if certain filmography or plot points had been handled in different ways, The Boxtrolls might've actually frightened the ever-loving fuck out of me what with all the industrial stuff and medical horror, but I just...felt like that film was holding my hand the whole way through going "It's okay." The industrial stuff was framed in a way that was just campy enough and yet also taken seriously. Putting a really charismatic villain - ACTUAL VILLAIN, NOT CHICKEN FARMER OR CORRUPT POLITICIAN SABOTEUR - at the wheel was just such a mitigating factor that it gelled the whole thing together and I ended up LOVING what was done with giant machines and garbage crushers and explosions. And as for the medical body horror, I really appreciate how it was so baked in that Snatcher did that to himself - that everyone, EVERYONE warned him "Do not do this, you will probably die, I'm serious, bad fucking idea" up to the point of Eggs trying to plead him during an anaphylaxis attack, one last time, DO NOT continue down this path, we can find a way to heal you psychologically and get you some self-fulfillment. And Snatcher fully chooses hubris over the many, many opportunities offered him to be able to step down onto a safer path and that removes the fear and pulls it more into a tragedy for the villain. Not at all the same thing as "Sam the reporter is trying to save the world and doing her best until a fixture of the landscape accidentally sends her into anaphylaxis."

(Oh, and by the way, can I just - when I do see CWACOM brought up these days, it's always in the context of "This is the one movie where the guy tells the girl it's okay to look nerdy!". Well, no, not the way I remember it. The way I remember it, Sam basically tells Flint "I used to have really tacky style but have since changed it up of my own volition" and Flint is just like "NOOOOO YOU NEED TO WEAR GLASSES AND A SCRUNCHIE. I WANT A HOT NERD GIRL." This could've been pulled off right with some more introspection into female beauty standards, even in a tongue-in-cheek way, but right now it really looks like Sam just wanted to make herself more glam for a new image and Flint bullied her into regressing her style. Which I've also realized meant he bullied her into dressing more like she did as a teenager and normally I think that kind of shit is just "You're overthinking it" but since it's CWACOM and I spelled it out on paper like that, I'm just now realizing how that can be seen as pretty...icky.)

The one saving grace of CWACOM is that I was older by that time, and so it didn't affect me as hard as Chicken Run. But I still hold it dearly to my heart as one of the MOST DISTURBING movies I know, and by "dearly" I mean "fuck this movie, really and truly." I want to extend my thanks to 102D and Boxtrolls for giving me industrial-horror-based climaxes that were actually really comfortable, and again, probably what drove both of these was the fact that we had a campy diva villain in the lead for the potential scary stuff to surround and radiate off. Not a fuckin...ordinary chicken farmer who is just trying to make bank but is somehow passed as a Nazi allegory for trying to live her life as a farmer? I dunno, maybe if I rewatched that film I'd see she has a thirst for human blood too, and if I could fix fic Chicken Run my first order of business would be to give her a thirst for human blood instead of/in addition to chickens.

Anyway. Fuck both these films, EXCEPT for the fact that traumatizing scenarios can always be recast as whump material, and the next time I wanna do some crossover aftercare from a physically and psychologically damaging mission, I have a pie machine and a flesh labyrinth to exploit. REALLY HEAVY ON THAT AFTERCARE COMFORT THOUGH!

[megucarecord]

Rating Genshin Impact Character Designs (Pt. 1)

Hey y’all! I’ve been thinking of doing this for a really long time and I decided to finally stop being lazy and do it. So this is going to be a review of all the playable characters in Genshin Impact from a design perspective. I don’t really have any prerequisites to make this list worth anything (unless you count one year of a fashion/sewing class in high school lol) but hey idk, seems fun?

Gonna be super long (10 characters) so putting everything under the cut.

Disclaimer: I don’t actually hate any of these designs, nor do I consider my opinions “fixing” them, this is just for fun. 

Character: Lumine

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this design. The hair and basic build are fine, very generic but that’s unsurprising for any character that is working at least partially as a pseudo self-insert. The color scheme is also very bland - and is one of the reasons I originally thought that Aether was automatically Geo traveler and Lumine was Anemo traveler. I think that adding more colors would’ve been a good thing, but also would’ve required a revamp of the dress itself, so maybe not the most practical thing, even if I think the dress is a bit too busy. The biggest changes I would make would be to get rid of the fancy part of her stockings as well as the extra flow/ruffled back of the skirt, which is just a bit too much considering the top layer of the skirt is already quite detailed (in a very nice way) and that could’ve just been extended. I also have to admit that though the scarf is very impractical and showy, but it reminds me of a costume from a series I like so I actually like it a lot, although you could definitely term it unnecessary.

Rating: 7/10

Character: Aether

Okay ngl this character design kinda slaps. Firstly, I love that Aether has long hair, it’s a good contrast to Lumine’s cut (and contrast should be super important with characters that are siblings/parallels of one another) and idk long braids are kinda cool. I love that the outfit has distinctive colors, which give the character personality and keeps him from being washed out. The design is much more streamlined than Lumine’s, and although I’m not a huge fan of midrifts (a theme in this post I’m sorry) there’s not actually much I’d change in this design. Except maybe make the cape a scarf to better match with Lumine. This is definitely the superior design in terms of the siblings in my opinion and I think the lack of intricacy fits the image of “traveler” better. It’s not my favorite and there isn’t anything that really stands out in the design, but it’s really solid and I like it.

Rating: 9/10

Character: Albedo

This design has a lot of potential, but I think in the end it’s just a bit too busy (which will be a theme in this game haha). I like the hair - in general I’m glad Genshin isn’t scared to try a bunch of different lengths and styles on guys because if not everything would become painfully boring. I also like the clothes for the most part. The boots are especially sleek, and I like that despite being a Geo character they gave Albedo a bluer, darker color scheme. I think it fits with his mysterious sort of quietly menacing vibe (this man is Frankensteining something I know it). But it really starts to get a bit too much with the coat. I think he needed a coat, again it fits the character, he’s in the middle of a frozen tundra and he’s also a magic scientist man, he needs some sort of coat. But I think the chain and the strap across the front is a bit too much. If I were the designers I would’ve continued with a sleeker theme, make the sleeves longer, the gloves shorter, if you wanted some ornamentation maybe a pack of vials on his belt. Overall very good design, greater color scheme, too busy. Also can we appreciate his banner art? It’s so good I love it.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Amber

Okay first I’m gonna say her card art is super cute. Love the pose, love the style. All gut. Now let me say that this outfit had potential but then it sorta... fell flat. I like the color scheme for the most part, except the white cause idk white is boring and in the game it looks kinda latexy, but I understand wanting three colors and black might be too close to brown. That being said, I hate stockings. Stockings are just the worst, they’re impractical, hard to put on, uncomfortable, should only be worn with dresses. No knight of Favonius needs stockings. Might I suggest pants or shorts? Or like cool pseudo armor plates like with Lumine. Also though I do like the jacket and the leather stomacher design, I think a bomber jacket might suit the character better, because idk they’re cool and they make me think of Amelia Earheart, although that’s such a culturally distinct thing I can’t blame them for not thinking that way. Again the jacket is still very cool, love the stomacher, and love the cuffs.. The belt is lovely and like I said love the embossed designs, but ultimately this design is too impractical, and too bland to get away with being impratical for me. So... yeah.

Rating: 5/10

Character: Barbara

Barbara! Our fav crazy nun. First I’m gonna thank her for having an attack of pure magic then I’m gonna say I hate the color white apparently because I also didn’t like it here. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be a novice (could be wrong), so I’d flip the colors, have the accents be white and the main color navy. But idk that’s just me. Overall I quite like her design. It’s a pretty good balance between simple and detailed. I don’t even hate the stockings. I’d say the least good part is the top, the bow and the weird collar is just... ehh? but I don’t think getting rid of the collar would help though. I’d say ditch the bow, make the dress connect to the collar, keep the off the shoulders cold sleeves. I really like the ruffled part of the top skirt. Idk it’s the best part of the design. The hat makes her look like a nurse not a nun though. maybe make the hair ties for the ponytails little veils, might fit better. Overall mostly nitpicks, it’s a strong design.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Beidou

Firstly I’d like to apologize to the Beidou I pulled before never using her (forgive me ily); next I’d like to admit I don’t love her design. I haven’t really harped on the lack of armor on these characters - because I’m not sure how I’d integrate armor into all them without making them bland af, no one wants people running around in full plate armor how tf you supposed to climb in that - but I still wouldn’t’ve put her in a leotard and boots only when she’s a canonical fighter, without even the armor accents on most of the other character. I know that traditional qipao would probably be terrible to fight in, so I’m not going to complain about them slitting it - I actually quite like it I think it’s cool and sleek and fits her vibe - but I will complain about them putting her in a leotard underneath. As someone who dances I can assure you no one in their right mind would want to fight in a leotard, which yes I know isn’t the point and I can’t blame them for not thinking that way. Anyways, I think leggings/stockings and tall boots are quite cool so that’s prolly what I’d do, streamlines the whole design too, gives it a sense of connectivity (idk I’m weird and I don’t look at this character often so yeah). I like the top of her design, although I’d prolly replace the fur on the cap with a large collar, sort of pirate-y or Navy-like. Also let me just say I love the hair and eye patch. Fits her reckless sort of character to hate her hair whipping around, and the eyepatch really sells the concept of her having fought for years. The hand guards didn’t need to be flared, but I don’t mind them being there. Especially since handling a Claymore would definitely rip up your hands if you didn’t have protection. Also the boots though impractical are very cool so... yeah.

Rating: 6/10

Character: Bennett

One of my main team and prolly the closest thing I currently have to a DPS I have conflicting opinions on Bennett’s design. I think it’s a pretty good design all things considered. His belt and all his packs would be busy if you didn’t know Bennett’s character, but considering he’s a wanna be adventurer, I think it works pretty well. Although I don’t know why his extra belt straps are so long... or even exist?? Idk kinda weird. His top is... ehh? I don’t really like it, I think partially because I don’t think Bennett would wear a midrift shirt like this (midrifts where there shouldn’t be midrifts or, as I like to call it, being MagiReco-d) and partially cause the color, though understandable in such a busy design, is kinda bland. I think that’s why the collar works instead of being too busy, we needed some color. If I had to changed the design I’d get rid of the midrift and get rid of those weird extra belt things. Also that one random dagger star thing on one side of his blue collar is just so weird and random and like why does it exist? But overall I like the design, and it doesn’t bug me when I’m playing with him. I think it’s a good example of how busyness can accurately portray a character. Well done.

Rating: 8/10

Character: Chongyun

Another character who I own but have never played, though my friend has him on their main team and they look super cool. I’m not gonna lie I love this character’s design. Firstly the color palette is so good, the white feels like it works to offset all the blue hues - which I love that even the darkest parts of his design are blue not black - so it doesn’t feel bland or irritating, especially with the gold giving it a sense of luxury. I also like the choice to have a tunic that extends to the pants, I think having only white pants would be too bland - again white it a meh color for designs - so it really gives it some necessary details and color. I also like the jacket, again it gives the design a sense of detail while being simple enough not to feel like too much. Also I have no idea what the outfit would look like without the jacket and I have a feeling that answer would be Not Good, so... yeah. Some nitpicks; the left arm band thingie golden cuff is kinda too much and seems impractical and irritating. And... that’s it. I know the slippers are impractical, but I think they work, he is an exorcist not an adventurer after all. Overall, probably second favorite design in the game. Great job

Rating: 10/10

Character: Diluc

Give Diluc a high ponytail, I’m begging you. Lol anyways personal preference aside (which is impossible this entire post is personal preference) I like this design. I think the color works and the whole outfit is a good reflection of Diluc’s character, closed off, luxurious while also a bit ragged and uncontrollable. Yeah. I like it. I do think the thing chain accessory is kinda random, and I don’t think there’s anything about the design that knocks me off my feet, but I do really love the design overall. Also the gloves, good gloves. Suggestions? High ponytailed Diluc. Nothing else. Also though he’s not in this post I like that this outfit is very streamlined and simple compared to Kaeya, it’s a good portrayal of their differing views and opinions through fashion. Because unlike with the traveller siblings I think these brothers have a dynamic where contrast is better than parallel.

Rating: 9/10

Character: Diona

Okay so though I’ve never interacted with this character I skimmed the wiki and I love her backstory it’s hilarious. Also since I never interact with her I don’t have many opinions about her design except why does she only have one sock on? Honestly relatable moments. I think the extra ponytail is kinda weird and excessive considering the hat and I’d prolly make the hair orange to match the ears but overall very cute design. What do bartenders look like? Idk. Oh and also there are a bit too many colors roaming around, but I get it. Overall fairly generic but kinda cute. I still think midrifts are bad.

Rating: 7/10

And that’s it! I hope this didn’t come off as “lol these designs are gross and I’m superior and we should fix them” because no. No one should take any of these suggestions seriously. Except maybe the ponytail one lol. Anyways I hope at least one person likes this cause this took forever and I kinda burned out after a while. Next post if I make it will be interesting cause it includes my least favorite design. May you all have lovely playing and if you love a design I don’t honestly more power to you. Bye!!

[mrsmunsons]

if you could pick a movie or TV house (or several) to live in, what stands out to you about its interior design? (- not actually buzzed this time)

this would probably be more effective with visual references, so i might maybe slot those in later. but anyway: how dare? why are you forcing me to come to terms with my poorness?

i feel obligated to say that i recently watched the morning show, and one of my first reactions upon seeing alex levy's place was, "oh, that's a really nice apartment!" because it was this nice blend of modern and cozy; floor to ceiling windows with a neutral to warm color palette and super comfy looking furniture. and now that i've put that shame out there, let's move on to some more.

jen harding's house in dead to me: that goddamn kitchen is a marvel. it's slightly too bare for me because it looks more like a staged house than a lived-in home, but i'd take it. plus, it's close to the beach, and has window seating!

paul's (and beth's) apartment in orphan black: this one is more about the layout. it's perfect for one or two people, and all the finishes are really sleek without looking too cold. styled just right, i think it would make for a cute, if temporary, home.

carrie bradshaw's apartment in satc: i'm aware that this answer makes me a typical example of my sex, but i don't care. that giant wardrobe is a dream, and i wouldn't mind having two access points to a bathroom.

nathan and haley had, what, four houses during one tree hill? i'd live in all of them, including the apartment. whoever was responsible for those sets did a nice job at giving them spaces that were both homey and comfortable, and that's important to me. the open concept layouts across each of them were great, too. they were large homes that still managed to feel realistic. ... probably because we knew nathan had $$$$$$$.

richard castle's hamptons house: this is the pipe dream of houses. much bigger than i would need if it's just me and much bigger than probably ANYONE needs at all. but... i can't even lie. it's one of the most beautfiul homes i've ever seen on tv. the property itself is incredible, but the inside (what we saw of it) is so cozy and inviting and i would love to hole up in there for months (also! the internet tells me that apparently the same house was used as grayson manor on revenge, which i've never seen, but there's a fun fact for you).

julia day's house in gold digger: another too-big home that's too much for one person, and i'd probably need to hire someone to do a cleansing and rid it of its bad spirits, but it's okay. there's so much natural light and, once again, a gorgeous kitchen. would i move continents to live here? maybe. if it came with a certain naked man waiting for me in the pool, then definitely.

honorable mention to carrie and big's apartment in satc 2: i fell so in love with this place that i wanted to recreate it in the sims (spoiler: i didn't). it's stylish, it's comfortable, it's a hybrid of masculine and feminine styles. and once more, that fucking closet. i still have dreams about that closet. the only thing i don't like about it is that the kitchen is way too small.

[senotsuri]

Ultimate Battle Tournament- Why Does The Most Important Tournament Have Elemental Advantages

Personal note- I don’t like the fact that the UBT, the most important tournament, has elemental bias towards haos and against darkus (even if it is specifically to dunk on Marduk and Masquerade.) From any other perspective, it would make sense for the UBT tournament to be an even playing field, to be the normal or extra stage. But nope! It’s the haos arena! Yes, the theme is godly and so is the arena’s appearance, and yes, the arena is opposite to the last arena of the game... but this is the champion-deciding tournament!! So why---

The game gives you a very rough timeframe for when the Haos tournament occurs, even if it’s questionable- all main bakugan have evolved once (Delta, Storm, Angelo/Diablo, Blade, Hammer and Dual). This would put this after the trials of the legendary warriors, and before Drago gets to evolve from the trials (still Delta, and not Ultimate,) but uh... Hydranoid is still Dual Hydranoid... When he should be Alpha Hydranoid after the trials.

This does mean that BBB is very much an AU where Drago and Hydranoid first evolve after battling Apollonir and Exedra respectively, or, the other bakugan evolved before the legendary warriors dealt with them, considering what the brawlers say after the UBT tournament.

Basically BBB isn’t canon compliant here and it annoys me.

Anyway, on with the actual tournament!

Dan said that this tournament involves people from all over the world, but you only get to fight the other battle brawlers, Masquerade and finally Marduk. Either this means that you never got to see anyone else who was actually in the tournament, or the game just wants to make you feel cool (why is Dan surprisingly easy in this whhhh)

The next episode preview ost is used for the pre tournament cutscene

“Everything is riding on this battle, guys!” don’t you mean these battles, and not this battle? You’re not fighting Marduk right away! Minor nitpick, since they are technically at war here.

“Yeah! Whichever one of us makes it to the end of the tournament has to take them down!” Shun’s high pitched (for him) yeah is very cute, but again, he sounds serious to the point of humour. That being said, you can hear him adjusting his gloves while he’s speaking, but you won’t see his gloves move. Despite being on model, Shun looks like his proportions were chibified a lil to be in line with everyone else. This is only visible in cutscenes though.

Julie’s voice is so popular-girl-squeaky that it grates my ears and I wish it was toned down for serious moments, but she’s at least in character?

Everyone yells bakugan brawl when there’s no genuine reason to- you are in a hallway, and there is no battle going on... it’s fine it just looks funny when you notice how serious Marucho and Shun look- those are determined frowns.

Only Runo and Julie mention their evolution, which means that the other brawlers didn’t already know, or at least BBBmc didn’t know, despite being able to see Drago pretty easily.

Marucho does not use Preyas Angelo, which makes this battle a bit easier. I say this because Angelo and Diablo are separate bakugan.

Haos arena is also horrible for anything that isn’t landing straight onto a card- it’s an ice level, but the ice makes you stop rolling as well as make steering harder.

Tigrerra statue roars make the screen go fuzzy. They also throw you up like a hairball if you reach the diamond shaped portals on the sides.

I think it might be the space/nightsky of the haos arena, but Shun’s colour palette looks really good here. His intro animation also looks super good, but I’m blaming the arena for that.

POWER SHOTS ARE BASED ON YOUR SPEED STAT

I’m saying this because Nega power threw a speed 1 bakugan at Storm Skyress, which only did 32 gs of damage.

All of Nega’s bakugan are speed 1 or speed 2, so they’re terrible for power shots.

I’m skipping over a lot of battles, because very little happens in between fights.

That being said, Nega still had his freecam mode active, and so has zoomed out on the haos field and I’m just... wow...

Really thinking that the fields in BBB should’ve been brought back for MS at most... This looks amazing and I want it.

Also, you are surrounded by a sea of purple. it’s nice.

The roar still affects him in freecam.

WHY IS THE ARENA SO BIG WHAT

Cutscene

“Vladitor! You imbecile! The deal is off-- wait, what, wait-- What are you doing?!” Hi Hal-G, maybe don’t bring your Silent Orb with you next time?

Vladitor is unreasonably huge. He’s also fusing with the Silent Orb to try and redo what he set out to do- beat Leonidas.

While Dan is announcing that Vladitor’s evolved, the battle brawlers (minus BBBmc, who’s not in frame) look completely hopeless, and then there’s Julie- Julie’s visibly angry.

“Hahahah! The power!! Who’d like a demonstration?” The demonstration is turning the haos arena into the darkus arena, which is actually the doom dimension with the darkus arena in it

The doom dimension is hard for bakugan to breathe in, and losing their power means dulling in colour.

Can Skyress’ revive themselves in the doom dimension?

The arena is surrounded by, and I quote, “doom dimension hyperspace”... Vlad just say it’s surrounded by the doom dimension.

They haven’t been to the doom dimension before, apparently, given that Drago actually explains what it is to Dan. If they had been before, then he wouldn’t have explained what was going on.

That being said, being in ball form seemingly makes the doom dimension interact with a bakugan differently to being in full form...

Leonidas can survive in where he was born, unsurprisingly. BBBmc yells at Vlad to back off with the rage of an army.

“According to my analysis” goddamn it, Marucho

Anyway, the crux of what Marucho says (with Shun’s input before he speaks, who just mentions that the doom dimension and the pocket they’re in are both in tension) is basically that, the doom dimension is expanding, and if we don’t stop Vlad, it will destroy, and kill everything by result.

BBBmc has a plan- it’s give your strength to my death dragon- and it works!!

Shun looks surprised instead of hopeful when Skyress starts glowing, which is unexpected considering no one else does this? Was he expecting Skyress to be unable to do anything because she’s dyin-- oh... oh no...

Leonidas evolves from this into Omega Leonidas- WHOS DARKUS FORM HAS SOME NEAT LIL GREEN MARKINGS ON HIS FACE

“Let’s see who the real champion is now!” Vladitor I don’t think you understand how human tournaments work.

[nattikay]

Sooooo I’m not sure if anyone would be interested in actually reading something like this, but I was looking through some of my older Miraculous art and seeing how the designs of my future AU characters have subtly evolved over time, so I wanted to make a post about designing these characters and how/why I made the decisions that I did! 

So first off, the birth order! I was originally intending to have the kids born in the order that they’re listed in the Stormy Weather episode:

...unfortunately, instead of actually looking at the episode to be sure, I just went off memory; I remembered Emma being the second but accidentally mixed up Hugo and Louis. By the time I realized this, the characters were already too cemented in my head to switch them back. ^^” Oh well.

In addition to the above, in my ~10 years of experience with next gen fics/art/OCs (I know, I have a problem), I’ve noticed that a pretty large fraction of the time folks opt for their OTP’s firstborn to be a daughter over a son. Nothing wrong with this, of course (heck, I’m a firstborn daughter myself haha), it’s just so disproportionately common that I thought making Hugo the firstborn instead of Emma might make my version stand out a bit more. ^^

Now with the siblings’ order decided, on to the designs! Starting with our oldest, 

Hugo!

Black hair and green eyes seems to be the most popular design for an Adrienette kid, and for good reason! It’s an appealing combo on its own in addition to using traits from both parents for the most notable genetic features in characters: hair and eyes. 

I also wanted to give Hugo some of his own flair though. I think the best next gen characters are recognizable as their parents’ offspring BUT can still stand on their own as unique individuals. One way to help do this is, when available, to draw on extended family rather than only their parents. 

Hugo’s strongest example of this (at least as a kid) is his slicked-back hairstyle, which was somewhat inspired by Gabriel’s. The slicked-back style seemed to fit his nerdy personality, but because he is a child and not nearly as uptight as his grandfather, Hugo’s hair is much messier than Gabriel’s, and he often has pieces falling out in the front. 

Admittedly I’m not super great at conveying the slicked idea from the front view, but you can see it a bit better in profile:

Hugo more than either of his siblings also takes after the Dupain side of the family, which isn’t super noticeable as a kid but becomes much more so as he grows up and develops the broad shoulders and strong upper body of Tom and Rolland. He’s not quite as enormous as Tom but is easily the strongest sibling (Louis, meanwhile, is a lanky little noodle like Adrien and Gabriel).

Going along with that, Hugo’s personality has loosened up a bit over time. While I do still draw him in his tucked-in button-up, I’ve also started drawing him in looser styles a bit more, because after all, he is just a goofy kid! This has included anything from using shorts instead of long pants to sometimes wearing just regular ol’ t-shirts instead of his nice button up (on which I rarely actually draw the plaid pattern I initially designed him with because wow it takes forever).

Funnily enough, this is a bit of the opposite of what happened to Adrien. My first sketches of adult!Adrien from this AU all have his shirt untucked, even whilst teaching, but now I almost always draw it neatly tucked in:

...interesting, interesting.

Anyways, while Hugo is still very much a little nerd who does quite well in school and LOVES learning about space and astronomy, he’s also a little more goofy and active than he was when I first created him. He’s probably the most athletic of his siblings (though really none of them are exactly jocks) and while he’s not particularly interested in organized competitive sports, he loves a good game of catch or tag. :)

While people in real life obvious wear any color they want, with my OCs I tend to pick a general palette and stick to it though all (or at least most) outfits, for consistency and easy recognizability. Hugo’s palette is mostly greens (for Chat Noir of course! ;) ), dark blues, and warm browns.

Now, onwards to 

Emma!

I decided to make my version of Emma blonde for two reasons: one, it appears to be so in the screencap shown at the beginning of the post, and while Marinette’s imaginations do not necessarily have to dictate how you design your versions of the kiddos, I liked having the consistency.

...plus then some years later Frozer rolled around and showed a blonde (imaginary) Emma again, so like 

...validation ;)

(by complete coincidence they’re even accurate to the color schemes I use kashdfgjsddsafjdf)

And the second is just that, again, most (not all, of course, but a lot) of the other Emmas I’ve seen in the fandom have been dark-haired, so again I thought it’d help mine stand out a bit.

So now with hair color established, it’s time for eye color. Most of the blond-haired Adrienette kids you see have blue eyes, for the same reason that a lot of dark-haired ones have green. Which, as said with Hugo, makes sense, since it’s the hair color of one parent and the eye color of the other. So why didn’t I make Emma’s eyes blue, then?

Well, it’s a bit of a silly reason tbh, but the blond-hair-blue-eyes combo reminded me a little too much of Chloe. ^^” Not that it would cause any parentage concerns, of course, since obviously Marinette is the one who gave birth to her, but the visual similarities still made me go like...eh ^^”

So green eyes it was! Which, of course, made her look a heck of a whole lot like her father.

But of course, it’s fine to favor one side of the family, but she’s gotta have SOMETHING from Marinette, right? So what other visual could she inherit to show at least some of her mother’s genes?

✧・ﾟ:* F R E C K L E S ! *:・ﾟ✧

And since Marinette’s freckles are so subtle, I decided to make Emma’s a bit more prominent and easily visible.

Actually her freckles have multiplied quite a bit over the years. She’s always had more than Marinette but it used to be confined to just a few on her cheeks and shoulders. Now drawing her is more like DOTS! DOTS EVERYWHERE! with freckles all over her face, down her neck and arms, and even a few on her legs! It is very much her Thing at this point haha

Freckles everywhere!

As for her hairstyle, the default is a simple headband, but she also sometimes wears it just plain down with no accessories at all (usually when in PJs), or up in pigtails like Marinette’s!

Those are just the main ones though...really she can do pretty much whatever ^^

Emma’s outfit palette took a bit more consideration than her brothers’, since I needed it to match the yellow hair (whereas black, as a neutral, can go with just about anything. So I took a minute looking at her established colors--bright green eyes and golden-blonde hair--trying to think of what theme I could used. 

The grassy green and sunshine yellow ended up reminding me of warm weather, like a spring or summer morning. The easiest color for that would’ve been green, but I was already using greens for Hugo and didn’t want their schemes to look too similar. Ultimately I decided on pinks, because the pink outfit with the yellow hair reminded me of some nice fresh lemonade! Some bright whites and warm creams/off-whites then added to the cheery, springy theme. ^^

Her original outfit design included some small dots on her collar and pant cuffs, not unlike the inside of Marinette’s jacket, but I don’t really include that detail much anymore for the same reason I rarely draw Hugo in his original plaid.

Lastly but not leastly, onwards to 

Louis!

Thus far we’ve had Hugo, who’s a pretty good visual mix of his parents, and Emma, who takes more after her dad. As such, I figured that it’d only be fair if the third and final kid took more after his mom!

So in many ways Louis looks a lot like a mini male Marinette, right down to the subtle freckles. If Hugo has the most Dupain genes and Emma has the most Agreste genes, Louis probably has the most Cheng genes and has the easiest time convincing people that yes, he is actually 1/4 Chinese (absolutely no one believes Emma when she says this lol...she has to show pictures of her family haha).

We can’t completely ignore the Agreste side of the family though, and in Louis’s case is manifests mostly in his hairstyle which is very similar to Adrien’s, as well as his lean and lanky body type as an adult, very similar to Adrien’s and Gabriel’s (unlike Hugo who, again, is stockier like a less-extreme Tom).

His outfit color scheme is light blues and grays with splashes of red. The blues and grays work well for his shyer, more reserved demeanor, while the splashes of red like the t-shirt hidden under his sweater are like his big imagination! (Like his mother and grandfather, Louis is very much into art and design, though his interest tends to be geared more towards characters and stories than fashion).

Not as much to say about him tbh...he’s “evolved” the least from his original concept and is mostly just the cute baby brother ^^”

So yeah, there you have it! That was roughly my thought process for creating/designing my little kiddos ^^ 

Hopefully some of you found this interesting; I enjoy talking about my ideas and stuff so if you ever want to know more or about something else that I do/make, feel free to ask! ^^

[superthiccthighssavelives]

Oceans

anonymous  asked:

could you do one where taron & his wife haven’t been intimate in a while because of their newborn and their getting kind of stressed, so one night he plans a super romantic night with just the 2 of them and it’s sweet and passionate? xx

Ok so, this was now my 2nd fanfic, and usually the kind of topic I am not good at writing, I wanted a challenge, and it took me all day, but I present this to you, anon, I hope this is what you wanted and that you love it! Please let me know. Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to branch out and expand my story palette.

So again, music played a giant part in the overall emotion and tone of this story, I suggest listening to these couple of songs to set the mood:

Oceans - Seafret

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpdXBjwXbMg

Angel - Massive Attack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiK2JlBpzvI

I have a whole playlist, if anyone is interested, anyway, enough babbling! Here we go...Oh, obviously there is sex involved, some sweet nothings and a bit, very small bit of depression and insecurity. Onwards!

I stumbled sleepily down the hall, rubbing the remains of sleep from my eyes. I'm on autopilot now, no thinking or questioning it anymore. If you asked what I've done this month since (baby) was born, I could not tell you. Other than the obvious. I don't know when I've last spoken to my friends, or even my mom. It's been exhausting. Tiredness was now just 75% of my personality. The nightly tasks were routine;  change, feed, burp, rock. Like clockwork. Sometimes I fell asleep in the rocking chair to be woken by Taron in the early morning hours. He'd take over and I'd collapse back in our bed. I don't think we've spent too much time together in months. I can't lie and say it's been easy. If we talk, which is rare, it's about the baby. He's just returned from a movie shoot, and while I'm thankful he's home, it doesn't fix the distance between us at the moment. I don't even feel like a person right now. I'm just...here.

I never imagined my life going this way. Don't get me wrong, I was happy, I had a beautiful new baby, a lovely home and an amazing husband, but something was definitely missing lately. We hadn't been out just the two of us in over a year, I don't even remember when the last time we were intimate. Not that I've thought about it much recently, who has the time? I lived in leggings and tops covered in baby spit-up. I didn't bother to do my hair or makeup, I was permanently and officially a mom. I didn't want to complain, nothing was actually wrong. I was, for the most part, as previously mentioned, happy. When Taron was away, we'd facetime or he'd give a quick call before a shoot that day. But it was a bit few and far between. The last trimester of pregnancy made me tired all of the time. I'd go to work in the morning, and come home crashing to bed at 7pm. I missed him, he's here, and I miss him. I wouldn't blame him if he wasn't attracted to me anymore. Look at me. Permanent eye bags, messy hair and post-baby body. I've lost most of the baby weight with all the running around I do, but getting to the gym was out of the question. I barely have time to shower. My insecurities were becoming more prominent.

It was a rare afternoon where the baby was asleep, the house was quiet and we were both home. I sipped my coffee, staring out the window. I'd say I was lost in thought but my mind was blank. I wanted to stop thinking and enjoy a moment to myself. I was startled by Taron's arms encasing me from behind. He kissed the top of my head stating he was going to run some errands. I wanted to be mad, why does he get to go off and do whatever he wants and I have to sit at home alone, taking care of everything? I knew my emotions have been a little, well a lot, heightened lately. I tried to keep them in check, but my mouth tends to run before I think. "Oh, great, yeah go ahead, I'll just sit here and do everything" I felt my face getting hot, and a million awful words running through my head ready to spit out of my mouth. I don't remember the last time we had a fight, it definitely was not a regular occurrence, if it all. I was stressed out, tired and I wanted to feel human again. I was ready for a battle. He stood there looking a bit stunned. "I won't be gone long, I promise" I could tell he was trying to keep the peace. He had this look in his eyes, I couldn't tell if it was pity or guilt. Either way it wasn't making me feel any better. I was starting to see red. My heart began thumping loud, and hard, so hard I could feel it pulsing in my ears. "Well go on then." "Go...do whatever it is that's so important" I felt my eyes begin to water, but I refused to cry. I knew this was coming. He wanted to get away from me. I've failed. His mouth was open, words trying to escape. "Y/N ...I..." "GO!" I was a bit louder than I intended to be and pulled myself back, I was going to wake up the baby. I got up and headed up the stairs.

I broke down a bit, tears flowed a little more now. I somehow ended up in the bathroom on the floor. What was happening? How did everything change so drastically? What could I do to fix this? I stood up, taking a long look in the mirror, which made me want to cry more. I didn't recognize this person. There was a gentle knock on the door, Taron's voice calling my name. "Are you alright love?" I squeezed my eyes shut tight, trying to stop the salty flow of pain coming down. "Y/N?" I opened the door, slowly. I almost couldn't bear to look at him. "I'm fine" I said rather coldly as I walked past him. I didn't want to keep this argument going but my mouth wouldn't shut the fuck up. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I still couldn't look at him, I knew if I did, I'd melt, and I did not want him to see me looking like this. "I promise, It will be quick, I'll be back before you know and we can have a nice night together later yeah?" "Taron! God, go already, just fucking leave" I knew I was being irrational and probably seemingly insane, but that control to stop didn't exist.

I felt him behind me, rubbing my arm, he placed another kiss on the top of my head. "I'll be quick" He turned and walked out, leaving me a mess.

I let out a heavy sigh and sat on the bed, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my Gerber banana encrusted sweatshirt. God, I felt awful, why am I like this? I gave myself a minute to get it together before I checked on (baby). She was still fast asleep looking like a tiny angel. She was beautiful and carried so many of Taron's features. I pulled her blanket up to cover her and crept out back downstairs.

I dumped my cold coffee into the sink and just stood there. I didn't know what to do with myself. I was startled by a knock at the door. 

Taron's mum was cheerfully grinning, hugging me right away. "Hello dear, I am here for the baby, it's time to share her with the world." I was confused. "What?" "(Baby) needs time with the grandparents, not to worry sweetheart, she will be in good hands, we've been dying to take her for a night" I was still confused, and a bit reluctant. (Baby) was only a few weeks old and I haven't let her out of my sight since we brought her home. She gave me a gentle pat on the arm and a sympathetic smile. "I will collect her things, go have a seat dear" I plopped myself on the sofa, I couldn't tell her no, and as much as I hate to admit it, it would be nice to take a long bubble bath and relax. She appeared again, diaper bag in hand, fully stocked. "I'm going to put her things in the car, I'll be right back for the baby"

It's been an hour since she's left with (baby) and I think I may have fell asleep sitting here. Has it been an hour? Two? I checked the clock, it's been three. I don't know how I fell asleep sitting up, but my neck was aching. 

I slowly made my way upstairs to the bathroom to draw myself a bath. I felt so relaxed I thought I might fall asleep again. I could certainly use this time to catch up on a bit of sleep. It was still early in the day, and I was at a loss of what to do. 

It's been ages since I was alone. My phone caused me to slightly jump as it went off. There was a text from Taron simply stated "Tonight" "What?" I watched for the 3 dots to appear, but nothing did. "What are you talking about?" Still nothing. I resigned myself and dressed in something the baby hadn't been near, which didn't give me a lot of options. The sound of my phone rattled through the room once more "Get ready" "Taron, what the hell are you on about, get ready for what?" I am once again, confused. "Us" This was frustrating. He stopped responding after my numerous "WTF are you talking about?" texts. I had no idea what I was supposed to "get ready" for. Are we going out? Are we staying in? Is he going to drive me out in the middle of nowhere and murder me? Who knows!

After mulling it over for much too long, I styled my hair, once I remembered how to. I threw on some makeup, giving me some color back in my cheeks and dressed myself in a cute floral sundress, I almost felt like 'me' again.

I sat at the table again, looking out to the perfectly blue sky, feeling a small sense of excitement for the first time in quite awhile. "Come outside" I grabbed my denim jacket and wondered what awaited me when I got there. Taron was in the car motioning for me to get in. I climbed in and felt a twinge of nervousness, we hadn't been alone together in so long. "You look lovely" He smiled so heartily, it made my heart flutter. I was struck with butterflies dancing around my belly. He encased my hand in his and brought it to his lips, giving it a sweet kiss. "Where are we going?" He smiled again, not answering. I rolled my eyes, knowing at this point, he wasn't going to tell me anything. It was really cute though. He looked so happy and excited. I couldn't help but smile, and feel a hard lump of guilt inside of me.

Honestly, it didn't matter where we went, as long as we got this time together. He was my favorite person in the entire world and I had almost forgotten that. Time tends to rip you apart in places if you let it. 

We ended up somewhere in the countryside. It was absolutely breathtaking. Taron led me out of the car and held my hand as we walked. He carried a basket in his other. It was quiet for a moment, I was unsure of what to say. I felt terrible for how I was behaving earlier but I didn't want to bring it up and potentially ruin what we were about to have. We made our way up a large lush hill, resting at the peak for a moment before heading down to a secluded beach. Taron laid out a blanket and unpacked a picnic lunch. It was still rather quiet between us

"This is amazing" I felt overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. He had left earlier to put this together and all I did was give him a hard time. I felt a bit emotional again and tried my hardest not to let my tears push through. He took my hand again, gently tugging me toward him where he placed the sweetest kiss on my lips. My head was swimming, the smallest touch of his lips gave me life. I'd forgotten what this felt like. It took me a moment to open my eyes to see his gorgeous face smiling back at me. "I miss you, Taron, I am so..." He cut me off. "Let's have some food then, shall we" I wanted to apologize and tell him how much  he and all of this meant to me, how much I loved and appreciated him, but instead I shoved a triangle shaped sandwich slice into my mouth. The waves were crashing causing gentle chaos around us. There was a slight warm breeze blowing through our hair, it was so perfect. We sat finishing our food, just taking in the beauty around us. Taron stood up, reaching down for my hand. "Let's take a walk"

We strolled down the beach, the sky glowing golden and spectacularly changing to pink and orange and purple as the sun was setting. We remained quiet, just enjoying being by each other's side. "Can we stop please?" I looked at Taron, I needed to say something, it was eating away at me. He quietly nodded, looking at me with a bit of worry on his face. "Thank you, this has been wonderful, I know things have been...off, but I wanted to tell you how sorry..." He put his finger to my lips. "I know" "Let's not worry about that, let's enjoy our time"

I agreed, but still feeling somewhat melancholy. We were frozen, staring out into the vast ocean. I wanted to hold on to him forever. He was my home. I leaned into him, my head falling to his shoulder, our hands still entwined. He squeezed my hand tightly and tugged me back towards our picnic. He quickly packed up and we began our trek back to the car. 

I was hoping this night wasn't over yet, and we'd get more time together. Taron had a new movie shoot coming up and he was leaving in a week. The night was looming, the sky fading into greys and navy blue darkness. Taron drove for a bit, and finally reaching a destination that lead us to a car park downtown. He lead me to an elevator, I had no idea where we were but I trusted it would be wonderful. The doors opened up to a hotel lobby, with marble floors and extravagant furnishings. He checked us in and again, back into an elevator, making our way to a room. The room was small but cozy, the bed took up a good portion of it, which was easily the most comfortable bed I had ever been in, in my life. I sank right in, the mattress curving to encase my body in pillowy contentment. I felt sleep creeping up and quickly sat upright, I was not wasting this night with my eyes closed, at least, not in that way. Taron excused himself for a moment and I took to the window to check out the view, it was a dazzling display of lights making the city look like it was shimmering. 

A moment later he was back at my side, with another gentle kiss on my cheek. "You don't have to do all this, I am just so happy to be with you, alone" He turned me to face him. "Sweetheart, I know it's been difficult these past few months, but I want to have this, I want you to have this" "It's been increasingly harder to be without you and now with (baby) I can't bear to be away so much" His eyes bored into mine, searching, his hands reaching up to rest on either side of my face. "Look how beautiful you are, I can't believe how lucky I am to have you" "Are you kidding? I think you have that backwards, I'm the lucky one...and I'm sorry, I know you haven't  been attracted to me lately, and I don't..." "Stop, Y/N, you are just as beautiful to me as ever, you're incredible, how can you think that?" "I...we haven't...I mean, look at..." I gestured vaguely at myself He shook his head, "You are absolutely mad!" "You. You are gorgeous, everything about you makes me wild, please believe that, I am completely enamored by you." I watched his lips as he spoke, craving them on my own. "Look at me Y/N" "You, are, everything" He took small pauses between words to emphasize their meaning.

My eyes were glued to his, the intensity in his stare giving me goosebumps. "Taron" I don't even know if it came out of my mouth loud enough for him to hear, my voice was cracking. I said it once more, whispering. 

His lips were on mine in an instant, I felt the crave in his kisses. I wanted it just as much. Our mouths moved in a sweet rhythym, never getting enough. Our breaths became heavier, with want and intention. I pulled back, just long enough for him to miss my lips near his, making him lunge toward them again. I made this a game, the tension growing stronger. His mouth hastily found its way to my neck, languidly moving to the most the spot near my ear where he knew it drove me crazy. His tongue peeked out, licking the soft, sensitive skin there. His breath was hot and full of need whispering in my ear, drawing out my name.

I let out a small moan, my head falling back to give him full access. His hands moved up my body reaching my waist, squeezing me tight. I tore off my jacket and wrapped my arms around to caress the back of his neck, my fingers kneading up and through his hair. It's been so long since we've touched like this, it felt new but so familiar. He released his lips from my skin, leaving me desperate for his contact again. 

In an instant my legs were around his waist as he picked me up. I felt the cool wall on my back and Taron's hands holding me up under my dress. His body pressed into me firmly, once again his eyes searching mine. "Y/N" was all he could say before his lips came back to mine. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, the feeling was so much more intense than I had imagined. It was like the first time.

I slid slowly down as he let me go. He reached for the zipper in the back of my dress and watched as it fell to the floor. I felt a bit exposed, as I had not felt confident about my body since the baby, but that feeling was quickly forgotten when he dropped to knees to kiss my stomach. I ran my fingers through his hair once again, pulling him closer. His hands caressed my hips, reaching further back, running his palms over my ass. He looked up at me, his eyes so full of lust and passion, it made me shake. 

"You are absolutely fucking amazing" 

I wanted to freeze this moment, and live in it forever. I had never felt such intense love like this before. I couldn't believe I had it now, with him. 

He watched his hands move over my body with incredible attention, slowly, taking in everything. My head fell back against the wall, never wanting this feeling to end. I felt his lips on my thigh and fingers so so slowly and softly tracing the lace detail of my panties. I shivered when his tongue moved from my thigh to my most sensitive spot, eliciting a quiet, breathy show of pleasure. The feeling was so heightened I thought I might explode. His mouth felt like heaven as it licked, nibbled and sucked until I was ready to fall apart.

He sensed I was close and was quickly up again to place me on the bed. He undressed, his eyes never leaving mine. He crawled slowly toward me, a look in his eyes I can't explain. His eyes trailed my body, his hands following, removing what was left clinging to my body. I heard him whisper "Gorgeous" before his lips met my breasts. His body was pushing me down, his mouth giving me the sweetest bliss. I felt his hand grip my thigh, bringing it up to meet his waist and hook around his back, his fingertips gracefully moved up it, leaving goosebumps. 

I was most definitely ready to bust. I grabbed him to bring his face back to mine and allow me to show my gratitude. I nudged him to roll over so I could reciprocate and show him how good he made me feel. I wanted him to experience it too. I kissed his lips, then moved them to his forehead, gently placing the most softest quiet kisses on his cheeks, his nose, his jaw. I drank him in, this perfection below me. His hands never left me, his breath hitching when my lips met his neck. I couldn't help but let out another moan, enjoying the feel of him against me. 

My tongue was eager, ready to please. I left a trail of wet kisses down his chest and stomach and finally to where I know he wanted it the most. I took all of him in, hoping I was giving him as much gratification as he had given me. I was drunk with want, enjoying every moan and staggered breath that was released from his lips. I moved back up, placing myself close to where we were about to join. His hand reached up, caressing my cheek, with that look in his eyes again. I felt his hand move down between us to feel what he had done to me. I was ready.

We both let out an exclamation of intense pleasure as I felt him slide slowly inside me. My head rolled back, wanting more. He gripped my hips, moving me how he wanted me but not letting me go as fast as I had craved. It was excruciating, I wanted to cry. It felt amazing, and dizzying, I just wanted him. He quickly flipped us and covered me with his firm and heavy warm body. HIs lips made their way back to me, his tongue tasting mine and then moving down again to my neck. I felt his teeth grip the delicate skin as he moved in and out of me. The tempo picked up slightly, the air getting heavier. To hear my name coming from his sweet soft lips in an all-consuming display of revelry made me even more turned on than I've ever been. 

It was even hotter when he whispered "Fuck, baby, you feel so fucking incredible" while bringing his hips farther  down to meet mine. I couldn't control myself any longer, I dug my nails into back while my head flung back, thrusting upwards to feel the increasing momentum. I couldn't stop saying his name, over and over, until my voice turned into quiet whimpers begging him not to stop. Watching him over me, his face dressed in ecstacy, was the most beautiful and amazing thing I would ever see. 

Our pace slowed, neither of us wanting it to end. Our lips met again,  a slow cadence of breaths expelled into one another. The pressure was rising, I could feel the heat creeping, my body tingling like I was being set on fire in the most delectible way. "Y/N, look at me" I could hardly open my eyes, the feeling was so amazingly intense. His eyes gazed down at me, feeling like he was staring into my soul, I trembled. Our bodies were in perfect rhythym, our eyes only fixed on one anothers, the burning grew, and I was ready to come undone. 

It felt like time stood still, all I saw was him, his eyes, his lips saying "I love you", the pressure became too much, I shattered. I let out a gutteral whimper as I reached the apex of this moment. Taron gripped my hips and gave one last fervent thrust. I had never heard such sweet music from his lips as when he let himself go and gave into the moment. He fell to my side, out of breath, smiling. "I've missed you" I couldn't help but smile back, turning to him to caress his face. "I love you, I'm sorry" "Shush, come here" He enveloped me into his arms, planting tiny sticky kisses on my lips. "I feel like I could sleep forever now" my words trailing lazily as I drifted off. Taron settled into my side, giving me one last squeeze before sleep took him over.

[edorazzi]

Well, here we are again! Twitter said yes to a review post for a Miraculous magazine that suddenly showed up in my local area. ‘Tis the season after all, and by that I mean someone bought it for me as a joke birthday gift and I was way too happy about that.

I’ve done previous reviews of the Miraculous Christmas calendar, Easter egg set, superhero fashion dolls and action figures, so let’s dive into the unknown world of merchandising yet again!

(As always, if you enjoy my posts, please consider checking out my Twitter page or supporting me on Patreon for lots of bonus content!)

4 FREE GIFTS! PACKED WITH ACTIVITIES! MEET THE KWAMIS! PRANKS & LOLS! CUT-OUT MEMES! FANGIRL ALERT! NAIL ART! 100% OFFICIAL! I’m overwhelmed! It feels like I’m having a seizure just from the packaging!!! 

I should preface this by saying I haven’t bought a magazine like this in years. Possibly ever. I read things like the Beano, Animals & You and the odd Disney Princess zine when I was a kid but I have no idea what to expect from a free-gift-packed kiddie magazine in 2019. If the outside is anything to go by we’re in for a wild ride.

I’m noticing that it says “Miraculous #20″ on the back. Does this mean I’ve missed 19 previous issues? I’m genuinely a little upset by that. My local area is a complete dry zone for Miraculous so I haven’t had the chance to pick these up.

First step: let’s separate everything out and get a look at these freeeee giftssss. Except they aren’t free, because this magazine was like £3.99. This does seem to be the current trend - it’s kinda rare to see any kids’ zines without the excess packaging crammed with ‘free’ stuff. Is it really too expensive to just produce the magazine? Probably, in this economy.

Chat Noir is revealed on the cover! He was on the back of the plastic jacket, but it’s still nice to see the kids as a front-cover duo. Apparently we’re going to learn to draw Pollen, too, which sounds fun. I’m actually liking the look of the gifts as well, but we’ll get into those in a minute.

This hairbrush............. is adorable. Oh my god. It’s pretty cheap and flimsy but it functions the way it’s supposed to, and the Ladybug design has been taken into account in a better way than “it’s red/black, that counts” (lest we forget the UTTER BULLSHIT of the Christmas calendar, and YES I’m still mad about that). I don’t know how well I expect the outer sticker to last, but if it can take a bit of wear and tear this would be an adorable little travel brush. Nicely done, lads!

These nail stickers? Also adorable. They remind me of the kiddie makeup sets I had when I was little, back in the early 00s when plastic stick-on nails and decals were all the rage. Are they still a thing? That’s nice to know.

There are 13 designs (that I can count) - a Queen Bee mask, Chat Noir pawprint cake, macaron, cupcake, heart-print cookie, Ladybug stud, flower, lightning bolt, love heart, Marinette heart, bee, fox tail and star. The majority are directly related to the show and that makes them feel special. No Carapace though? :(

I’ve put a little Marinette heart on my furthest finger. At the time of typing this up (about a day later) it’s still firmly in place. I haven’t really knocked it around, granted, but it’s not flimsy enough to fall off after five minutes either. It’s also really cute to look at. Guess I’m still a decal-loving 2004 girl at heart......

These stickers though!!! Wow! They’re those holographic and slightly-puffy kind and they feel like pretty good quality, and the designs are so cute! I can’t fault these, they’re absolutely adorable. I immediately want to stick them everywhere.

So I’ve stuck them everywhere. I’m especially proud of the light switch pun. My room looks GREAT.

I saved these “mystery stickers” for last because I’m weak for the thrill of mystery bags, and there wasn’t anything on the packaging to indicate what kind of designs to expect. And OH!!!! OH, IT’S MY BOY!!!! Look at him!!!! 

I made jokes with the Christmas calendar about all the Chat Noir items being stolen ahead of time, but that’s definitely NOT the case with this magazine. I have been SPOILED with the presence of my cat son.

These stickers are similar to the sticker sheet (and the Chillin’ Out design is reprinted), but they’re puffier and non-holographic. I’m deeply allured by the “decorate your phone or tablet” suggestion on the packet, but I’m going to see how the previous stickers withstand the wear-and-tear of my laptop lid before adding any more. If I damage these beautiful Adrien stickers I’ll be devastated.

Those are our free gifts! They’re actually very fun and cute, I’m really happy with them! I guess now it’s time to get into the magazine itself...........

I genuinely almost forgot the magazine was the main part of this package. I figured I was done, but we’ve barely even started! Here’s a splash page of the kwami. Kwami with a capital K? Kwamis? I still feel like it should be singular-lower-case-k-kwami. I’ve never been happy about this “miraculouses” business either.

But is that--

It IS!!!! It’s Nino!!! 

I guess this is the new flavour of Miraculous tie-ins. Now they’ve broadened out to a full team we’re seeing a lot more of Adrien alongside the girls, and Nino is the elusive hero who shows up once in a blue moon. At least this time his name isn’t in the title of the gotdam show.......

Anyway, I can see I’m supposed to draw my “fave Kwami”. Better get to it.

Felix just wants a break. Just one break. But not in this magazine.

Speaking of seeing more of Adrien (and, tragically, less of Nino), this is the kind of splash page I want to see! Both kids are here! The banner themed with Marinette’s signature flowers is a nice touch too; that’s associated with her arts ‘n’ crafts in the show already and it makes sense to apply it to the creative portion of this magazine too.

I LOVE the promotion of Chat Noir nails as something the little girls buying this magazine will definitely want to try. I’d expect them to do Marinette vs Ladybug nails, but instead we get a boyish option! Hell yeah!

I’m a little confused by the Queen Bee masks apparently going on the Chat Noir nails though. I guess they’re friends? Is this secret AdriChlo confirmation? Watch out, Marinette, Kagami’s not the one to be worried about.

SURE WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE SOME TURTLE STICKERS FOR AN ALL-BOYS THEME BUT I GUESS NOT HUH

Next up is a short merch catalogue (why would you put the big bold arrow pointing right to the underoos.....). Would those Chat Noir socks come in my size? Asking for me.

Then there’s......... this page. FANGIRL ALERT. God. It’s like the Ladyblog, if only the Ladyblog ever gave a heck about reporting what Chat Noir’s up to.

THE SPELL WAS BROKEN AND THE FANDOM IMPLODED WITH JOY.

I really have to wonder what age range this is meant for. Do kids know what a “fandom” is? Do little girls consider themselves “fangirls”? I guess most kids have enough internet access to figure it out these days (all the hashtags and LOLs and memes speak volumes), but I can’t imagine being young enough to fit the target range of this magazine while also knowing these terms. I dunno.

(Also, the definition of ‘implosion’ is ‘an instance of something collapsing violently inwards’, so I’m not sure that’s the word they’re looking for. Unless the return to the status quo in Dark Cupid and the continuing stagnation of the love square was enough to make people quit in frustration? Probably.)

I’m filling it in, of course. Because I must.

I gave up on the pre-approved ratings system pretty much right away, but I think this is an accurate rating of my LadyNoir opinions. 

I might be kinda cynical about it here, but I am actually pretty fond of how this magazine sells Ladybug and Chat Noir as a couple. The show’s portraying it as very onesided lately, with Chat pining over Ladybug who has absolutely no interest in him (Glaciator was a TERRIBLE episode and I’m still hurting from it), but reading this zine I’d guess they were already dating. It’s cheesy, but in a nice way.

I have to laugh at “the most amazing thing about this super duo is that they always look out for and protect each other” though. Chat’s usually pretty focused on LB, sure, but there are endless instances of LB using Chat as cannon fodder and just generally abandoning him to get mauled by akuma while she carries out her personal private plan to save the day. Maybe we’re just focusing on the better-written episodes, huh?

Moving ahead. I’ve been dreading this page since reading “Plaggs Pranks & LOLs” on the back of the packaging. I feel hatred in my very bones just looking at it.

I like that there’s ONE instance of the term “ladybird” in the joke column. This is a UK-based magazine and that IS the word we tend to use over here - “ladybug” is an Americanism - but it’s like they’re worried kids could have got to the middle of this magazine about a superhero named Ladybug and then not understand the bug jokes. Maybe whoever was writing this page slipped up?

OH NOOOOO. MARINETTE, NOOOOOOOOOO.

THIS IS WHY FELIX GOT RID OF YOU, PLAGG. THESE ARE ADRIEN’S PROBLEMS NOW.

(mmm whatcha saaaaay)

I mean........... YEAH, I guess, but we absolutely did see Plagg destroy Felix with an entire shelf of heavy books. I guess he’s nicer with Adrien. It’s all fun and games until someone has a nervous breakdown in the library.

I do love the concept of Tikki getting glitter-bombed by Plagg through the mail. She just curiously opens up the little letter which got slipped into Marinette’s purse, and-- WOOSH. One entire wall of Mari’s room is glittery except for a little Tikki-shaped silhouette. 

Next up is a two-page comic which is absolutely adorable! Look at those little chibis! The warm and soft colour palette! This is nicer than most of the official Miraculous comic book art I’ve seen, I hope they keep giving this artist work.

Nino’s here too (and he looks great!), and I like the touch of Marinette and Adrien playing as each other’s superhero characters. Adrien even wins the match, though I guess there’s something to be said about Ladybug beating Chat Noir (again)...... 

It does raise the question yet again of where this tie-in merchandise is coming from! They’ve had action figures, a movie, music video features, now an arcade game... Who’s getting the royalties here? Who’s profiting? Is this how Fu can afford to buy all those rare ingredients for the magic potions?

Over the page we have an activity to Design your Secret Lair! Right away I love the Marinette theme of the page, the soft pink and flowers, and the drawing space looking like a page in a binder with marker tabs and everything.

I have to design my secret lair, of course: 

What do you think? I’m very creative. I’ll need an adult to send in the drawing of my hideout but I think I’ve really got a shot at those unicorn headphones.

Now we’re on to puzzles and character pages. I don’t know what ol’ Gabe is doing trying to meet a 13 year old girl in the dead of night without telling anyone, you’d think if he’s got that much free time on his hands he could be spending it with his son.

I don’t know how those points in Ladybug’s power profile are awarded or what they mean, but you can tell this is a fan magazine. Official sources would have put her at a 10.

Standard House of Villains page! Most of these were good episodes but I’m deeply offended Riposte isn’t on here. Maybe her motives weren’t dramatic and cartoonish enough to be up in the ranks with Glaciator and Gorizilla?

“Cat Noir’s dad is also the evil Hawk Moth”, huh? I mean that’s not WRONG, but is it really something to put in his power profile when Adrien doesn’t even know yet??? Feels like we’re kinda jumping the gun on the poor boy. What if he picks up this magazine?

Apparently he’s one point weaker than Ladybug (seriously???), two points faster, equally as agile, one point less skilled and two points less cool. Despite all those lesses he still comes out at an equal 9, which is a relief! These kids are a team, putting either of them below the other would have been a big no.

I did the colouring page too, naturally. Je suis un artiste.

Now we’ve got a page fresh from the Ladyblog, a Miraculous quiz! Not a lot of excitement, but it’s nice to see Alya getting her own section.

I like that the qualifications of “you could be Ladybug herself!” are knowing what city Marinette lives in and what school she goes to. Well done, Mari! You’re doing your best!!!

TEACHER I AM SO HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I gotta say, I’m not so sure about decorating donuts with fondant. I’ve never tried it so I could be wrong, but it feels like rolled icing instead of frosting(?) would be too heavy for an entire donut. The texture is totally different.

I mean I guess if you’re going to load your kids up on sugar you might as well go all the way. They’re going to look like they’ve eaten something horrible with all that black fondant, but they’ll have fun. Adrien would love these.

WHERE’S NINO. THIS IS JUST UNFAIR. You’ll have four out of five heroes, then a double of Marinette and Tikki? Maybe this just goes to show how little memorable dialogue Carapace has.

Though if “Spots On!” is Marinette’s dialogue and not Ladybug’s, why are the other transformation phrases attributed to Rena Rouge and Queen Bee instead of Alya and Chloé? Surely they could have picked something better for Marinette to justify having her on this list twice instead of Nino.

The next page brings us one of those flowchart quizzes! And ouch, yet again the absence of the other heroes is obvious. I can understand not including Chloé here since she’s technically not a “friendly” character yet, but no Nino? Alya and Marinette are close friends, but Adrien doesn’t really hang out with them without Nino around. Having the three of them together just seems strange.

I do like the little fashion page! They’re all cute and affordable and easy to find on the high street here. I’d love to see how other issues of this magazine are structured; is there a different fashion spot every time? Styles to channel each individual hero would be adorable.

Moving on to a tutorial for a Ladybug notebook! I would have made this, but I didn’t have the time nor a notebook to stick it to.

Between this and the donuts, it seems weird that these designs are based on, like... an actual beetle, eyes and antennae and all. Shouldn’t it be Ladybug’s symbol? These come across more like “fun animals” arts ‘n’ crafts instead of themed after Miraculous specifically. I think if I made this (or decorated the donuts) I’d miss out the head and match the spot pattern to Ladybug’s symbol. 

The hidden message design is adorable though. I can see this being a craft kids are super proud of.

Another activity page! I didn’t have a go at these but they’re pretty standard. It’s cute that the coded message designs are the same as the stickers and nail decals!

Also, apparently Ladybug’s ‘secret’ is “LB mask + heart + CN mask”, which was (somehow) stolen by Volpina. Is that the secret Hawk Moth was talking about earlier in the magazine? Is he blackmailing Ladybug with revealing she has a crush on Chat Noir? How did Volpina ‘steal’ this secret? Is LadyNoir finally reciprocated???? THIS IS A WHOLE EPISODE IN ITSELF, I NEED ANSWERS--

Next page we have an ad for another girly magazine (Quizzes! LOLs! Celebs! Cringes! Puzzles!). I think I’ll pass, no matter how appealing that giant microphone pen is. 

And a “Miraculous Identity” quiz! Tikki’s apparently super fickle with her wielders, three seasons of relentlessly praising Marinette and now she’s telling us we’re the Chosen Ones. You can’t fool me with those big ol’ eyes.

My inner superhero is Marvellous Fox, by the way. Though yet again I’m noticing we don’t have turtle options...................

And on the back cover... the memes. Oh, sweet lord, the memes. They’re hashtag-SoRelatable! And I can cut them out to keep! Oh boy!!!

Is this what kids do when they have limited internet access? Cut fresh memes out of magazines and carry them around? I need to know.

That’s a very sinister Ladybug at the bottom of the page though. What’s-- What’s she going to do to me if I don’t cut out and keep these memes. Ladybug what are you going to do if I d--

Well that brings us to the end of the magazine! And yet again I’m surprised by how much time it takes to just put a bunch of photos together and write about them.

This is a neat little magazine all in all! The ‘free gifts’ are pretty nice, there’s a fair amount of content and the whole thing is pretty cute for young fans of the show. I could see myself buying this again - if it ever shows up on shelves, Miraculous is so scarce around here that I fully expect it to disappear again after this one issue - just for the free junk, but it would be interesting to see how they’d structure different issues too!

I notice we never did get that promised tutorial on how to draw Pollen; the one advertised on the cover. Was the “draw your favourite Kwami” activity supposed to cover that? I’m not sure that really counts.

If you got this far, thanks for joining me on this Miraculous journey! We’ll meet again whenever I get another piece of weird ML merch to cover. Bien joué!

[ladyadalicialove]

Akumanettes ~ Part 1

So I’ve decided as a reward for finishing my exams to indulge in Akumatied Marinettes!! I love seeing people’s takes on what her form would be and so I decided to do a small series on some of those interpretations. 

This first part will be my own versions, one of which I’ve shown before. The next few parts will be a mix of my own and fanart of other akumanettes. 

These posts will show a song that I think fits with the akuma, the actual design with a quote, small explanation of the design/outfit, the story behind akumatisation and powers.

so go ahead read these first two and tell me what you think!!

.: Marionette :.

Song: The Puppet Song - SailorUrLove

The design/outfit is inspired by the puppet from the FNAF series. Personally I love the fact that many puppets have no expression or just a single expression. They are also symbolic of manipulation/control. Because of this I think that its a perfect base for an akumatised Marinette. 

I wanted to have a look that departed from everything that is her. Mainly the lack of colour with the obvious duo-chromatic palette. 

The long white hair is very ghostly, and so is the floating black coat. Along with her single expression, it makes her appear vacant. Which is what I want, because of my head canon that follows the story.

Story:

This is set in their last year of High-school, both of our favourite super heroes have been doing it for 4 years. Marinette has especially become good at stopping akumas reaching victims. She has thwarted Hawkmoth’s akumas from reaching their victims several times, enough that it has caused a severe decrease in his super villains. Since she actively seeks his victims and talks to them about their problems, thus preventing akumas it angers him. 

Hawkmoth has been waiting for the opportunity to akumatise Marinette for some time. He wants this girl to suffer, he wants his revenge against her. And he finally gets his chance when she graduates. 

The akumatised object is the red button on her coat. The button was Adrien’s. he gave it to her during their graduation. Why? Well Kagami told Adrien about how during graduation in Japan, certain buttons of a guys shirt mean things. She told him that the first button represents oneself, the second represents one’s most beloved person, the third one’s best friends and so on. She told him this in hopes that he give his second button to her, the one meant for a love confession.

Adrien however mixes the meanings of the buttons up and decides to give the second button to Marinette thinking it’s him telling her about them being best friends forever. 

He gives her his second button, the one meant for a love confession and he tells her all about how he wants to stay in touch after graduations. Marinette aware of the Japanese button tradition, thinks he confessing to her and she proceeds to confess her feelings. Marinette wants no regrets after graduation!!

Adrien however, realises his mistake and corrects himself, and rejects her.  Marinette of course says it okay and that she obviously got too excited. Adrien naively understands, but before he can get the button back she runs.

She takes her earrings off and instructs Tikki to go to Master Fu, believing she won’t have the will to fight Hawkmoth. Tikki tries to convince her otherwise but a purple butterfly entering the button interrupts them. Hawkmoth uses to opportunity to attempt to akumatise her, convincing her that Adrien manipulated her into her confession. He tells her she can control everyone she wants and never has to be manipulated by those she trust again (the irony lol). Thus Marionette is born.

Throughout the akumatisation, Marinette remains inside herself, aware of what is happening. Watching her akuma form create a web of white strings over Paris. Hawkmoth wants her to suffer from the damage and pain she will inflict onto Paris, since she has caused his mission to be extended and he is a bit salty.

I will leave the story there. 

Powers:

Marionette can control millions of the strings from her web that is strung across  Paris. Like a spider she can feel where her victims are and can snatch them. She cocoons them in her strings and they transform into horrifying little puppets that follow her command aka they just transform others into puppets. The puppet army is coming~

Marionette however remains in a giant ball of strings at the top of the Eiffel tower. Just imagine a giant white yarn ball on the tower. She sits there, limp and lifeless in the ball fighting Hawkmoth in her mind. 

The strings she makes are uncuttable but can be destroyed by Chat Noir’s Cataclysm. But he would have to Cataclysm a lot of her strings to untangle Paris, and I don’t Plagg is up for that. 

.: Ring Mistress :.

Song: Scooby doo! Big top - When the Circus Comes to Town 

So I have actually discussed this akumatised form in another post. But there was still loads of stuff I didn’t finalise til now. 

Her design is meant to be reminiscent of Circus Ring Leaders, with the red coat, top hat and cane. Her eyes are green because they look great in green and it implies her powers aka ability to change. They were purple before but I change it :p

I wanted her to look mature but not too sexy, hence why I changed her from the original concept. I had to scrap the whip it was too much lol. But the more simple design is more appropriate for her and she certainly looks evil now.

Story:

Another day, another lie from Lila. Marinette’s reputation had been crumbling since Lila had stepped into their classroom claiming she had Tinnitus in her left ear. Or was it the right ear? 

The final straw was not Lila cornering her in the bathroom for the third time that week. But Lila had told all her classmates that she had found a diary written by Marinette, it apparently detailed all the things she hated about her classmates.

Lila had ever so graciously read it out to her class, and they were furious. Alya wanted revenge and since Marinette had left to go to the bathroom. Alya grabbed Marinette’s school bag and proceeded to shred its contents with the help of the class. They laughed as they ripped apart her sketchbook and assignments. They cackled when they destroy her stuff.  

Marinette came back to see it unfold before her. Her heart sunk as she stood frozen in the doorway, fat streams of tears had come. Her sniffle caused the class to look at her. Alya thought when Marinette discovered their doings she would have yelled out them, pull a Chloe or something. Not a confused, scared and hurt pig-tailed girl. 

Marinette ran to the bathrooms. Passing Adrien who had finally arrived from a photoshoot. (sunshine boy has no clue)

Bursting through the doors, she crashed into the tiled wall. Marinette choked a sob.

Within a few minutes Tikki had taken the earrings, she couldn’t calm Marinette down.

- intermission~ I have written a good chunk of a fanficition based on this so I won’t give the whole story away I guess -

The akumatised object is a photo of her friends, it’s placed in her hat alongside a random card. Being a hero meant she knew how to prepare against Chat. By having a decoys such as fake earrings and the car, she has possibly increased her akuma longetivity especially if Chat grabs the wrong one to cataclysm. 

sis aint playing games

Powers

Ring Mistress of course has increased speed and agility, and that cane can do some damage. However her main ability is to turn people into circus performers based on that person’s sin. She transforms the whole class excluding Adrien (he gotta be a leather boi) into circus acts. So far this is list I’ve created based on the class:

Nino + Alya - Knife Throwing = How can these two trust each other not to hurt each other when they hurt Marinete? Ring Mistress would love to know.

Lila - Corntortionist = Lying means to twist words, might as well bend along with them, eh Lila? 

Sabrina + Chloe - Lion Tamer = Abusive and an exploitative relationship. I kinda want Chloe to be the Lion? I drew it up and its funny as. Uno reverse card biotch!

Kim - Strong Man = My dude is pretty vain when it comes to his athleticism, so gotta make him a strong man!! I imagine he is the only one having a good time during this akuma attack. 

Alix - Human Comet = A risk-taker or over confident? This cocky daredevil will give you an explosive time at this circus!

Rose + Juleka - Trapeze Act = This absolutely cute duo is terrified of losing each other! Ring Mistress hopes they don’t slip, after all there isn't a net to catch them~

Max - Juggler = So many projects, so little time! How does a human calculator calculate that? Juggle those robots Max! 

Nathaniel, Mylene and Ivan, are the ones I don’t know about. Maybe background clowns?? I need help to decide what is best for them.

Ring Mistress is desperately looking for Adrien to turn him into a clown though. After all only a clown would rather maintain complacency than help a friend in need. 

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

That’s it for this akumanette post! I would love to hear your thoughts on these head canons of mine!! I hope to write stories on them and add some illustrations of the puppets and the class as a circus over the next couple of days. 

Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Next part might be La Justice fanart >o<

[aharris00britney]

ASKS 16

haha remember in July when I said I was gonna answer stuff every month... yeah me neither 🙈🙈 anyways lots of stuff under the cut

Anonymous said: You should get along with other Simblrs and start a new cc group now that PTS is disbanded, your hairs and clothes are always amazing! :D

Firstly thank you! Most of the clothing in AxA is 99% ayoshi with me going in after and cleaning/adding some stuff. So I give him props for the clothes :P As far as a ‘new PTS’ style group idk, there are a lot of amazing creators on simblr but I think the reason PTS was such a special thing is because the bond they all had. I feel that when working on collabs with some of my really close friends (such as the one coming out this month with @dogsill​ and @ayoshi​) because we have known each other for over 2 years now. A group of friends built only for collabing purposes would be more of a hassle than an enjoyment imo. <3

Anonymous said: HELLLOOOO! just curious bc why not but what is your favorite creation that you have made??

It varies every month to be honest lmao. If you asked me to pick a favorite hair from each month? Easy, always the last release of the month. But favorite hair ever? Awwww shucks 🤠 lmao I would say my Madison Hair is one of my favorite hair releases, I am planning to revamp it soon to work with my Mia ombre accessories and tidy the mesh up some. 

Anonymous said: hello, when will this collection be free for public download please? /post/186706149526/patreon-08-19

That came out in August luv, go to my downloads page and click AxA 2019

Anonymous said: Hi! Idk if you do wcif!!!! But if you do, wcif the freckles on the girl with the short hair on the BOP AHOOB collab?? If you know! Thank you much in advance!!!!!

Hey! You’ll need to send Bowl-Of-Plumbobs a message for that WCIF, that was his Sim otherwise I would link you. Sorry hun

@lumalinrose-sims​ said: Not a question, but you are like so cool I can't even--

thank you lmao I appreciate it, your profile pic it pretty cool :P

@ang3lba3 said: sarah is so pretty!!! is there a way to download how she looks in its entirety, or no? (sorry if this is a silly question im pretty new to the sims) 

not silly don’t worry :P the Sarah hair is for download on the post, the sim can be downloaded here but she is a bit outdated as I have changed her somewhat since then. 

Anonymous said: Hihi just stopping by to tell you how much I love your hairs!!

thank you so much! I appreciate the love<3

Anonymous said: hi! i just wanted to say that i love your cc so much i and always look forward to your posts! you make the cutest cc ever and honestly you're probably my favorite cc maker. you also seem like such a chill and genuine person we truly stan.

fgvhbjn thank you lmao I am literally TOO CHILL irl lmao I let people run over me so much but it’s whatever. Thank you again for the super sweet message. Have a great day if you’re reading this :)

Anonymous said: Heeeey we have the same name

Austin club :P great name til you’re trying to sign something and it looks awful (at least for me I can’t do my signature for shit)

Anonymous said: the collab with bop is so boring and dull it’s drier than a cracker it’s a no from me

well not everything is going to be someones cup of tea lmao I’m sure there is someone that enjoys it which counters you’re negative view <3

Anonymous said: Hi I love your cc! I have almost all of it in my game and I love your tropical punch palette so much I was wondering if you would ever consider releasing the palette.

If I ever make an ombre accessory tutorial video I will release a set of actions for the palette. If you wanna use the palette feel free to grab the hex codes from S4S.

Anonymous said: How did you become a ea game changer? Was it through Tumblr or youtube?

About a year ago SimGuruKate was the community manager and had applications for Tumblr Game Changers, I applied and got accepted. Follow SimGuruFrost on Twitter to stay up to date on when new applications are open.

Anonymous said: Are you going to upload the hair you made on your livestream? I literally love your work and am a Patreon subscriber!!!

Hey! The hair will be in my October voting (I think) and if it wins, release will be November. If it doesn’t win I will put it in November voting and so forth til it wins. Also thank you for watching the stream and supporting me on Patreon 

Anonymous said: hello!! i just wanted to see if knew is there’s anyway i can save my cc and save files somehow where i can download them again if my computer breaks so i don’t have to download it all again.?

zip your Sims 4 folder and upload it to Google Drive/SimsFileShare/OneDrive. Then when you install Sims 4 again you just replace the folder made in Electronic Arts in your Documents.

Anonymous said: what face do you make when your in love with a bee?

this is an old anon so I doubt they’re gonna check for this, and I can’t find the joke on Google so.... anybody know it?

Anonymous said: i love these collab sets they are honestly gifts from above

mhmm gifts from above for every collab except those in October... those are from below  👹 😳

Anonymous said: the pack is sooooo cute i love everything omg!!!! The male stuff is so adorable i can’t wait to download   

Anonymous said: you guys are the only ones i go to for packs i would love to see build buy items in the future we don’t get a lot mm stuff like that

Anonymous said:i just want to say thank you for putting in so much time and hard work and dedication to creating cc for us. i hope there's never a moment when you feel unappreciated, and i want you to know we all love you!

@primadonnaliferiseandfall​ said: all hail you and ayoshi for the cc pack its so pretty omg!!!!

Anonymous said: omg the kings have delivered!!

Anonymous said: since we got axa 2019 and 2018 will there be an axa 2020? 👀

Anonymous said: Great job on the pack! Everyone's items look gorgeous! Thank you for making this, you talented human being.

Anonymous said: ilysm! that’s all 💓💫

Anonymous said: just wanted to let you know that your content is absolutely amazing and i love it all :) sending love from the uk👍

Anonymous said: would you and ayoshi consider sharing the psds for some of the stuff in your collab? please?

thank you guys so much! Me and Ayoshi were super super happy with the AxA 2019 release and we are so happy with how many people have liked it. AxA 2020 will be a thing, yes. Also I have been working on PSDs that are super easy to navigate. I will get those up soon hopefully.

@graphicpickles​ said: Hey um, I dont know if you were aware of this but your discord link is broken ^^"

hey! this is super late sorry, discord link should be working now. If not: https://discord.gg/CtQR9tb

Anonymous said: Why would you include a cc hair in a preview for a cas review

because I liked the hair and wanted to use it 😗

@goddesssimmerina​ said: I just stopped by to tell you how much I LOVE your content. *_* I just went through and downloaded soooo much! xD I actually just switched to using MM hair and i'm so glad I did because I'm finding so many of you amazing creators and I thank you all sm! :*

awe thank you!! I appreciate it. Welcome to MM hair world :P

@moonbrightsims said: whats ur origin id?

AHarris00Britney

Anonymous said: how are your photos/screenshots so high quality? seriously, do you use a mod for it or idk editing? or maybe your settings?

Ultra Settings, and I use SRWE for HQ pics. 

Anonymous said: if you don’t answer this ask you’re straight

It has been answered. I am no longer straight. Was a hard two months not answering this 😔😔😔

Anonymous said: Hi, would you mind teaching us how you make the LoDs of your hairs? I opened one of them in S4S and found out your LoDs are great looking. I use decimate tool in blender and they look really bad.

I edge split everything before I decimate in Blender, I also delete the hairline and extrude the mesh inside the head before decimating as well. Really confusing to explain in words sorry. Might make a tutorial.

Anonymous said: omg ur cc finds blog has apink namjoo as icon and header. i'm.. sCREAMING. austin knows royalty

yes ma’am now where is the comeback

- it was at this point I realized I have caught up with my last asks post and have answered 4 things over again from Asks 15. Well... I guess that’s it folks

see yall in asks 17 in 2 months.... maybe the end of October idk

[amphtaminedreams]

Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya Inspired Outfits: Lookbook no.6

Hi to anyone reading,

This post is part a Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman appreaciation post (yes, we getting back into that 2013 stan twitter lingo of always unnecessarily stating full names) and part me trying my hand at her interpretation of probably my all time favourite decade for fashion inspiration, the 70s. 

As much as I’m in love with her portrayal of Rue Bennett on Euphoria and her and Labrinth’s All for Love and could also probably write a whole post about that alone *deep breath*, I’m here to talk about what originally drew me to Zendaya (aside from her Oscar-worthy performance as Rocky Blue on Shake it Up where she had to act like she and Bella Thorne liked each other) : HER STYLE. Her looks a collaborative effort between her and stylist, Law Roach, I have never once seen any photo of Zendaya where she’s anything less than exquisitely put together, thus it should’ve come as no surprise when she teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger to put on one of the coolest shows of Paris Fashion Week in February this year. 

-ZENDAYA’S BEST STREET STYLE/RED CARPET MOMENTS-

Whilst the collaborations with Tommy Hilfiger haven’t necessarily been the most visually groundbreaking or daring, for me personally they really hit the sweet spot between the bohemian aesthetic and a rock and roll edge, especially in the latest collection. For a celebrity collaboration, the line feels unusually authentic and the clear direction and overall cohesiveness showcases Zendaya’s ability to convey a distinctive mood. Also, it’s WEARABLE. So many of the outfits you see go down the runway only appear to cater to that tall, washed out, willowy type, who are gorgeous too, don’t get me wrong, but...well, they’ve had their time, haven’t they? These are the kinds of clothes everyone can feel beautiful in and that’s so, so important.

-ZENDAYA WEARING THE COLLECTION-

The first collection, debuting in February of this year at Paris Fashion Week, went the disco route and was the best thing Tommy Hilfiger has done in a while. Everything from the set to the models to the music was so fucking FUN and you could tell how much love and passion went into planning the show. I had so many favourite looks:

And I honestly think I might have liked the recent collection even more. With a slightly biker chic element to it, the leather look pieces and the jewell tones, I think this one has a grungier feel to it that the previous collection lacked, in terms of catering to my personal preference, that is; yes, catering to me, random girl on the internet they’ve never met before was definitely Zendaya and Tommy’s intention. Why wouldn’t it be?

Again, it’s not something that’s never been done before but the collection is fresh in a different way, almost like the individual makes the clothes what they are and not vice versa. I doubt any fashion show is so laxly organised as to let the models style themselves backstage but that’s the feeling you get when you’re watching the runway. 

Like I said, this collection is definitely slightly darker and grungier than the first but in a way that it gives me Stevie Nicks joins a biker gang but then decides to leave that behind to become the editor of a fashion magazine vibes (that was a TRIP) and what’s not to like about that? I want all of it, from the waistcoats, to the wide brim hats, to the houndstooth, to the snake print, to the shearling. 

There’s just one problem in that at the time of first seeing the collection I was still in the middle of a self-enforced shopping dry spell, and also, more pressingly, broke af. To be fair, Tommy Hilfiger is one of the more affordable designer brands but still not affordable enough that I can afford to spend over £100 on a bodysuit, ya feel? So instead, I looked through what I already had and used the runway looks from the collection to try and put my own spin on things, incorporating the key shapes, colours, patterns and accessories that make the line, imo, so distinctive.

-KEY FEATURES OF THE TOMMY X ZENDAYA LINES-

1. Flares: If you really want your outfit to give off a 70s vibe, flares are probably the easiest way to do it. Even if you’re not feeling particularly adventurous with prints, plain ones are still super flattering, imo!

2. Wide Brim Hats: Not exactly a hard one for me to incorporate as they're probably my favourite way to tie together an outfit anyway, but the ultra wide brim, witchy-looking ones seen in the second collection are perfect for autumn and winter AND cost-efficient because they can double as part of a low-effort slutty witch Halloween costume. We love a multi-purpose accessory.

3. Psychedelic Prints: More of a staple of the first collaboration but bold, trippy prints are so easy to make into a look. It’s definitely easier to incorporate these kind of prints into your wardrobe in the summer (there’s nothing cuter than a wacky two piece with some subtle jewellery), but if you go for a piece with a richer, deeper colour palette you’ve got yourself a fab Christmas party outfit.

4. Turtlenecks: Showing why the turtleneck has so much style potential, Zendaya’s collections were a masterclass in how to layer. I can’t believe there was a time in my life when I thought turtle necks were the ugliest thing ever. I am ashamed. Though I blame this cursed face-swap image of Monica and Chandler from friends for putting me off:

I also found this haunting image in the process of searching for the one above:

Is this what they mean when they talk about the dark web? Truly scarring.

5. Snake Print: Not gonna lie, the animal print thing has kinda been done to death and I wasn’t super excited about seeing it on the runway but when it’s reworked through a more maximalist lens (ie. the matching snake print coat and trousers) it still works for me. I think they key in keeping it fresh is more luxurious, textured animal print paired with clothing you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see it with. Basically, animal print mini dress? Boring. Animal print flares? I’m down. 

6. Faux Leather: I say faux leather even though unfortunately it’s usually real leather that gets used on the runway (because nothing shows luxury like wearing a dead animal’s skin purely for vanity, right?), but regardless, some of my favourite pieces in both collections were the leather-look coats and blazers. The waistcoat-trouser combination in particular (far left on the bottom row) was probably my favourite look of both collections and though I relentlessly scoured my dad’s wardrobe to see if there was something I could work with to imitate the waistcoat, I came away empty handed:( sad times:(

7. Jewell Tones: The deep maroons of the second Zendaya x Tommy collaboration and the cobalt, emerald green and amethyst splashes in the dresses at the end of the first are, again, perfect Christmas party colours. I know, I know, I keep going on about Christmas parties but any excuse to drink, lol.

8. Scarfs: Skinny scarves with a load of gold jewellery are my favourite things at the moment. But we can’t forget the original style icon who did it first:

I love Emma Roberts and Wild Child is a great movie with a load of amazing style inspo, fuck you Rotten Tomatoes.

9. Heeled Boots: Kind of a basic winter staple anyway but it seems the more cowboy-y, the better. We’re talking about those leather look, mid-calf length boots that seem to be everywhere at the moment. Personally, I’m not quite sure if my legs are anywhere long enough to pull them off, but I do think they’re really cute, and very yeehaw. 

10. Bonus features that I forgot to include in my outfits: High Waisted Things! Waistcoats! Pussy-bow shirts! Spots! Velvet! Suits!

-PSA: Don’t ask me about the peace sign. I was trying to do a 70s thing. I failed. Let me flop at my attempts to be cute in peace.-

So, that’s it! Thank you to anybody that read this far! And if you enjoyed this post and you haven’t done already: GO AND WATCH EUPHORIA. It is honestly the best new show I’ve watched in ages and almost makes up for the overwhelming TV-related disappointment of season 8 of Game of Thrones. I mean, not really. I’m still mildly furious. But then again, D&D got cut from their Star Wars deal AND the Stark prequel was cancelled in favour of a Targaryen one so it seems the balance of nature is finally being restored. Clink clink bitch (es).

Lauren x

[dngrdyke]

Kid Valentine Part 3

Dyke woke to the world warming up around her and the sound of buzzing filling the air. Uncurling from underneath some wooden palettes someone had propped against one of the run-down buildings in the settlement, she stretched and cracked her neck. She was still wearing Poison's jacket from the night before. Sweet of him not to have taken it back in the middle of the night because he was cold. But sweetness couldn't make her forgive him completely. In Dyke's books, Poison still owed her one.

The buzzing sound continued, but now Dyke could hear little yelps of pain in between. Oh no.

She took off running towards the source of the noise. When she burst through the door, she found Ghoul bending over Faggot's arm with a tattoo gun in his hand and Kobra watching gleefully.

"And what the fuck is going on here?" she asked, storming into the room.

"I'm gettin' tattooed, Dee!" Faggot said excitedly before wincing. "Ah! Can't you be any gentler?"

Ghoul giggled. "Sorry, kid. One setting for everyone."

Faggot attempted to steel himself against the pain, but he winced every time the needle went into his skin.

Dyke sighed and sat down on a nearby chair. "And why the hell are you doing that?"

"Kobra told me about this symbol of resistance people used to share. Look!"

She stood again and went over to inspect the tattoo. She stifled a laugh.

Way back when Blind was just a humble technology corporation, they had the world eating out of the palm of their hand. It was called the internet, and the people of the world thrived. Any question you had was answered within seconds. People you would only have met if you could travel became friends closer to you than those you knew in person. Dyke preferred to remember the positive aspects, like jokes the whole world was in on.

"Ain't it cool, Dyke?" Kobra grinned. She hit him on the arm.

"You motherfuckers," she said, staring at the tattoo. "This is the worst thing I've ever fucking seen."

Back in the earlier days of the internet, someone had made a video of a little blue creature on a motorbike singing a nonsense song. The name given to this creation was Crazy Frog, and it haunted Dyke even to this day. Now it would haunt her for the rest of her life because there it was, sitting pretty on the outside of Faggot's upper arm. By the looks of things, Ghoul had been working for a while. He was putting the final touches on the words above and below the frog itself. "Crazy Fag," Dyke sighed and dragged the chair over to the table so she could sit on Faggot's other side. She stuck her hand out for him to take and he squeezed it so hard that his nails left marks in her skin.

"You're almost done, kid," she said, watching Ghoul finish the lettering with surgical precision. He wiped away some blood with a towel that'd certainly seen better days, but seemed clean enough.

"It's all over, Faggot. Check it out," Ghoul said, holding up a cracked mirror.

Faggot let go of Dyke's hand and admired the tattoo in awe. "Holy shit, Ghoul! This fucks. Dee, isn't this so fucking cool?"

"The coolest," she said dryly, massaging her hand.

"Hey, Dyke, isn't that Poison's jacket?" Ghoul asked, looking up from where he was disassembling the tattoo gun.

"Yeah," she said, quickly taking it off. "Faggot had mine last night and it was cold so Poison gave me his."

He exchanged a look with Kobra.

"So, Party Poison gave you his jacket, did he?" Kobra said, grinning.

"Because you were cold?" Ghoul added, raising his eyebrows.

"Am I missing something here?"

"No, of course not, Dee. You're not missing the fact that Party Poison- the Party Poison- gave you his jacket because you were cold."

"What's my name?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What's my name, Kobra?"

"Dyke," he said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, that's it. Dyke. That's my name. The name I took for myself when I decided to fight back. Someone else branded me with this name, you know that, Kobra? Ghoul?"

The two said nothing.

"Names give us power. Blind wanna go around assigning people names and numbers, but us? We're free. I don't wanna remember the name I had before the Wars, because she means nothing now. Who she was pretending to be means absolutely nothing. Who I am now is what matters."

"And who are you now, Dyke?" a voice said from behind her. She turned around to see Poison leaning against the doorframe with her denim jacket in his crossed arms and a lopsided smile on his face.

"I'm the goddamn Dyke on a Bike, you bitch."

Poison grinned at her. "That's the spirit, Dee." He threw her the jacket, which she put on and popped the collar. She threw his jacket back to him and he slipped it on as well.

"Anyways, back to my empowering speech," Dyke said, turning back around. "I'm a dyke. Women only."

Jet appeared behind Poison and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now I just know Kobra and Ghoul weren't dumb enough to think Poison was into Dyke here," he said.

"'Course not," Kobra said, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"No way," Ghoul added.

Poison grinned at them and hit his hand against the doorframe. "Right, then. Faggot, get off the table. Ghoul and Kobra, go find some chairs. Dyke, you gotta any food?"

"Three twinkies and a can for dogs. Oh, plus some Fanta."

He scrunched up his nose as he walked in the door. "You and your goddamn orange soda. Haven't you fuckers ever heard of cherry? Grape?"

"They taste bad, Poison," Dyke said as she dragged her chair around to make room for Ghoul and Kobra who came back with some busted lawn chairs. "Do you want some or not?"

"Go get 'em. We're gonna have to go see Chow Mein later, so we might as well pool our resources."

She nodded and left the hut to get the supplies from her bike.

Only there was a kid on her bike. An actual kid- a motorbaby, as the older ones called them- born in the desert, who never knew the city or the Wars. The kids who didn't fully understand why they had to hide when the Dracs came. The ones who didn't get why they had to bring the masks of the fallen to the Desert Witch before the Scarecrow got their bodies. Why their parents kept their boots tight and their guns close. Why they all had to have masks.

"Who're you? You look like Party Poison," the kid said, brandishing a lollipop at her. "But you ain't him."

"Dyke. That's my bike."

"Hey, you're funny! Those sound the same."

"Who even are you, kid?"

"My name's Valentine. My mom calls me double V. On accounta my initials are V and V."

"Yeah, that's real cute. Can you move? They're waiting for me."

Valentine hopped down off the bike and stuck the lollipop back in her mouth.

"Who's 'they'? You mean the Killjoys? That's their car right there. You know 'em?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said, gathering the soda. Shit. Not enough hands. "Hey, Val, you think you could help me?"

"Sure!"

Dyke handed her two cans of the soda and picked up the rest of the food herself. "We're in that one there," she said, pointing at one of the buildings. "You think you can handle this super-special mission for the Killjoys?"

"Fuck yeah I can!" She ran off towards the building and Dyke followed her, shaking her head slightly. Kids.

"Who the fuck is the kid, Dyke?" Poison demanded when she arrived. "And why the fuck won't she leave me alone?"

"That's Val V, Poison. Be fucking nice to her."

Valentine scrunched her nose. "You're not like the stories my mom told me, Party Poison. She told me you were a Drac-fightin' people-saver. But you're just mean."

"Kid, I swear to fuck if you don't fuck off right now-"

Before anyone knew what was happening, Dyke had Poison pinned against the wall.

"Don't you fuckin' talk to the kid like that, Poison. Not in front of me and not fuckin' ever, you understand me?" She let him go roughly and began to walk back to where she'd dropped the food, but decided at the last second to whirl around and hit him in the face.

"Ow! Fuck!"

She shook out her hand. "Now we're even, pretty boy."

Poison scowled at her but said nothing. He deserved it for what he did, and he knew that.

"Thanks, Val V," Dyke said, picking up the cans and the Twinkies. "Maybe I'll catch you around sometime."

"See ya, Dyke on a Bike!" She waved and ran off out the door.

Dyke sat down in one of the lawn chairs and laid the provisions on the table.

"Everyone dig in. Plenty to go around," she smiled and cracked open a can of Fanta.

The whole table stared at her, except for Poison, who was deliberately avoiding looking at her.

"Oh, don't gimme that look, you two-bit whores. She's a kid! You can't talk to kids like that."

Jet shook his head. "I'll never understand you."

"That's the idea, Jet. Now, to business: we got Blind on our asses."

It was decided in that meeting that Dyke and Faggot would join the Killjoys. An agreement, of sorts. Better than the one where Dyke asked Doctor D to ask the Killjoys to bring her cigarettes, who then gave them to Cherri Cola, who gave them to Doctor D who gave them to Dyke herself. Dyke and Faggot would do what they wanted, like usual, but they'd ultimately be a part of the Greater Killjoy Posse. In return, the two would spend more time at Doctor D's with Cherri and the Girl while the Killjoys went on raids.

It would be a long time before any of them saw Valentine again.