#as shown through visual aid

[ateez-himari]

FASHION WEEK; HIGHLIGHTS

"I can be all the things you told me not to be"

MILAN; VERSACE

• The vocalist recognized the journalist that had made tasteless and uncomfortable comments suggesting she was only in ATEEZ because of her appearance in 2021, continuing to throw sly comments into articles since then. When their manager began motioning him over for the common short interviews, she reminded him that he had been blacklisted from events for years - he was also the only one who she did not bow her head to as a greeting.

• When both ambassadors stepped out of the car together, the large crowd that had been gathered for hours flickered with bright flashes almost instantly whilst he extended a hand in order to help stabilize her.

• During the showcase of 'Ephemeral' the vocalist sat down on a white cushion to play the Koto - the national instrument of Japan - in order to accompany the music composed with different Korean instruments, representing her identity perfectly.

• To close off this impressive debut the runway welcomed the artist dressed in flowing light pink fabric adorned with golden details, displaying the very last design of her collection while she thanked the audience. Himari then bowed before the house's artistic director who in response mouthed the word 'Bellissima' and cued for attendees to toss red peonies towards her ambassador, a flower representing prosperity and good fortune in Korean culture.

• San attempted to hide that he was wiping away tears at the sight of their maknae accomplishing one of her dreams right in front of their eyes yet could not conceal his emotions when engulfing her in a tight hug.

• Once the show had concluded, Himari left her bandmates' sides to search the room for someone and hurried over to embrace the house's artistic director, who returned the hug warmly before placing a specially prepared tiara on her ambassador's head. Fans have compared their interaction to an aunt with her favorite niece due to the way Donatella seemed so attentive to her at all times, meanwhile the idol would hold her hand while being introduced to guests and the two were even seen gossiping at some point before the show began.

Afterparty;

• YouTuber Isaac M.I.K taught her how to do the South African dance move 'Tshwala Bam' over which they bonded very quickly before the vocalist in turns taught him the 'Work' challenge which was later released on the ATEEZ TikTok account. He now follows her personal Instagram account.

• In footage posted by guests, she could be seen visibly tipsy while whispering something into Mingi's ear, before pulling away biting her lip with flushed cheeks making shiny doe eyes even more noticeable as she gazed up at him. Whatever was exchanged between them made the rapper tighten his hold on her waist as he left a kiss on her neck. This clip rapidly made the rounds through social media with the unreleased song 'Come Through' by The Weeknd used as the background.

• Throughout the night, Gigi Hadid was seen dancing with her and later on posted several stories containing endless pictures of the two clearly forming some kind of friendship. The poses were different from what is usually seen from female idols but this allowed netizens a look into her more relaxed personality, dimming the cuteness shown during fan interactions to make way for natural charm.

• Madonna asked San for her Instagram handle during the Dolce & Gabbana afterparty the following day, and posted about the Ephemeral Collection with the caption; "What can't this girl do ?"

PARIS; BALMAIN

• The vocalist seemed overwhelmed with the loud sounds created by the crowd as both artists signed autographs, so Hongjoong discreetly reached over before lowering the volume on her hearing aid.

• Upon meeting his ambassador's youngest member for the first time, Olivier Rousteing let out an audible squeal and noted that both seemed to fit the other perfectly in terms of visuals. Some journalists present during the interaction even managed to catch him joking about wanting to steal Versace's Princess for his own fashion house.

• Dove Cameron cheerfully greeted the idol with a warm embrace along with seemingly endless compliments about her beauty when the show was being prepared. An entire camera roll long photoshoot ensued which was then posted on both of their social media accounts with captions conveying affection for the other, and both were seen giggling whilst sitting next to one another.

• Throughout the event the maknae seemed much calmer in the presence of their group's captain and sparked conversations with numerous high profile attendees, although this happened only when he stood at her side. Much like during their debut years, there were several pictures of her holding on to Hongjoong's sleeve while walking around.

• When came time to leave, Mingi stepped out of the car waiting for the bandmates in order to help his girlfriend inside with one hand under her own while the other guided her by the waist. Their manager could be seen standing aside smiling to himself, though trying to hide it, much like their captain.

Extra;

• While the members currently present in the city were taking a stroll, they ran into the vocalist's friend of three years, SEVENTEEN leader S.Coups, who immediately chastised her for having time to travel throughout countries yet none to stop by their studio despite having a keycard to the HYBE building.

• The Paris Saint-Germain Football Club invited their player's younger sister to the game against Rennes and despite having been apart only since Chuseok, the siblings ran up to one another as if it had been years once it was over. Since most players present had never before met her, Hanzo excitedly rambled on about nearly every accomplishment while the embarrassment flushed her cheeks with every passing moment.

[scoobydoodean]

The scene where Dean wakes up from a nightmare a little before his alarm in 6.01 is such a specific thing, and the way Lisa immediately shifts over and checks on him (along with Dean's dialogue later in the episode about persistent nightmares over the whole year) gives us these tiny little insights into their dynamic and how Dean's been managing... and despite Dean putting himself down about it later, it's clear that he's improved a lot over the course of a year.

Ever since coming back from hell in season 4, Dean has dealt with nightmares. We see Dean startle awake from a nightmare about hell in 4.03. In 4.08, it's specifically pointed out to us that Dean has been drinking more heavily to cope with his nightmares specifically.

This is further addressed in 5.11 "Sam, Interrupted", when Dean "tells" Dr. Cartwright (really talking to himself since she's a figment of his imagination) the following:

DR. CARTWRIGHT: How many drinks do you have a week? DEAN: Well, I gotta sleep sometime. So, uh, what's seven days times--somewhere in the mid fifties. 

Dean drinking large amounts of alcohol as a sleeping aid is shown to us again (visually only) in 5.16, when the episode opens on Dean asleep in a motel, with several empty beer bottles littered around his bed.

In 6.01 though, we see Dean's drinking has cut back. Dean's still having nightmares, but he's sleeping through the night, waking just a little before his alarm, and with only a nightcap—not chain-drinking beers (5.16) or drinking hard liquor straight from the bottle to rid his mind of the remnants of a nightmare (5.08). Under his bed, instead of a liquor bottle, there's a gun and a jar of holy water.

[bidaubadeadieu]

Photos of Hugh Hayden's Exhibition Home Work, as seen at the Rose Art Museum (Brandeis University), 2024. Throughout this post, text present in the gallery (written by museum curators, not me) is intended in block quotes.

Through his prodigious studio practice, Hugh Hayden (b. 1983, Dallas, TX) has become one of the leading artists of his generation. His meticulously crafted sculptures, hybrid forms, and poignant installations evoke profound reflections on the human condition within a complex, volatile, and often threatening world. hayden combines a probing analysis of serious and often painful topics with humor, visual puns, and wordplay, provoking a unique blend of visceral and critical responses.

I was captivated by Hayden's work from the moment I stepped into the gallery. Really stunning stuff. Names of all pieces in this post (left to right, top to bottom), as well as excerpts from gallery text, can be found below the Read More. I highly encourage you to check it out in more detail!

American Gothic (2024)

Hayden merges two skeletal figures with agricultural and domestic tools, examining aspects pertaining to labor and the dignity of work. The artist deliberately positions himself as part of a genealogy of American artists, referencing Grant Wood's 1930 painting American Gothic and Gordon Parks's 1942 photograph, American Gothic.

Eden (2022)

Eden presents two ribcages locked together in an intimate embrace. Hanging on a clothes rack, the ribcages are meticulously crafted from cedar wood, a material often used where clothes are stored to repel moths. The fact that the skeletal lovers are closeted suggests that this embrace needs to be kept a secret. The title references the bliss associated with the biblical Garden of Eden.

Hangers (2018)

High Cotton (2015-2020)

High Cotton, emulating and arcade claw machine, is clad in lustrous, Chippendale-inspired Honduran mahogany, carved to the recall the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century furnishings of high society. Sharp-edged cotton balls (replacing the game's expected toys) force a player to "pick cotton," a task directly associated with slavery. The work highlights the raw material used to produce the fine cotton clothing found around the world--and once neatly folded inside the mahogany armoires of slave owners.

Fairy Tale (2023)

Fairy Tale features a pair of interlocking Tiffany rings, with HIV-prevention medication replacing the expected diamonds or gems. The title suggests a "happily-ever-after" gay love story for those who once lived in the shadow of AIDS. The word "fairy" in the title, sometimes used as a slur, is here reclaimed with pride.

The Kiss (2020)

In The Kiss, two football helmets are caught together like stags whose horns are locked in battle. Their interlocking forms and the title of the piece suggest a range of relationships, from homosocial camaraderie to same-sex intimacy. Many of Hayden's sports-related sculptures expose the fact that the very devices supposed to protect may also wound. The Kiss recalls the high number of brain injuries suffered by football players.

Positives (2019-2024)

Hedges (2019)

This installation features a model of an archetypal suburban home. Rather than associating the domestic with security, Hayden transforms the familiar abode into an unsettling place where menacing branches sprout from and overpower the structure's walls, window, and roof. Hedges is experienced within a mirrored chamber that situates the viewer amid an endless row of uncanny houses. Hayden often notes that home ownership is considered one of the key goals of achieving the American dream. Yet this path is hardly assured for many people, given the inequities in society and the financial precarity that so many endure. As shown here and throughout the exhibition, Hayden's visceral sculptures reveal the disquieting contradictions of the American dream.

[theoddest1]

with how the fans and even viv being VERY excited with the “visuals” of poison it’s was very clear that the intended purpose of having those scenes was for porn. Why else would viv be excited for SA scenes and make a cum joke? Not dismissing any SA survivors that felt seen or represented through Angel. I think the bar scene where Angel has a breakdown is good I just hate how they kinda swept everything he said under the rug for a musical, with the episode ending on a happy note and were told not shown that he gets better.

That’s why people kept bringing up moral Orel, silent hill 2 and tuca and Bertie as good SA rep because the abuse is NEVER shown were told or it’s heavily implied it was the aftermath that was shown, nurse bendy is hyper sexual in public but she secretly hates, is lonely and regresses into a little girl playing family with stuffed animals when she’s in her safe space. Angela is depressed/suicidal her only hope is to find her mother so things can get better but she never finds her mom and it’s implied Angela dies, Tuca and struggled with her sexuality and sexual trauma even feels ashamed about having intrusive fantasies of her abuser and thinks that after being SA’d but she is complete control of those situations and it’s her way o healing and even if she wasn’t SA’d she’d still be into those fantasies. It’s too early to say anything about Angel character it might change in season 2 and actually talk more about his trauma especially since the vees are gonna be more prominent (which I call bs because they said the exact same thing about Adam and he didn’t do shit, he only showed up in 3 episodes and he was so underwhelming plus he was the 2nd most powerful being in the show, idk what vox and Val are gonna bring to the table expect be stupid wannabe “mean girls”, plus lute is still around and she is by more powerful and interesing villain) but we have to wait and see, right now I’m indifferent to Angel he’s not a bad character but he’s not the best, sir pentious and nifty outshined him and everybody else, they were the best characters, and they were just joke characters

Viv is very, very obvious with what she seeks involving Angel Dust's character arc. She sees it as an opportunity to recreate a similar situation to Raph's animatic, a 3rd person view surrounding Angel's dilemma rather than Vox's. It's paraded around as though it's a tragic "Love Song" but there is no proper or meaningful way to convey the tragedy surrounding it all. It's an elaborate kink video for those who indulge those sorts of subjects. As you've mentioned, some other known media have handled the topic with much care and didn'tshow it, but this time around, this could have been a great time to make useful imagery to show just how awful the entire situation is. But we don't get that. All of it is glamorized in a pop song with neon lights and no subversion of one's expectations. The only time we are shown any blunt and saddening imagery is when Angel is passed around in bindage gear. The colors change and turn red, and we are faced with a strikingly blunt reality of the situation, but we then see Angel dancing in front of his situation, whiplash of the seriousness pertaining to it all. And while the pacing is better in this episode than most, it's still FAST.

So on top of everything we have a rushed pop song that's supposed to engage the audience in a mindset regarding SA to further think and discuss but it only aided in fueling kink culture and no one has had any strong meaningful discussions when it is about that entire sequence but the kinks sure are THRIVING! Imo, the fact that this side of the community got more outta this than those who love to discuss stories reflects on how unserious and sexual Viv saw it to be, and THAT is what makes Viv's shit representation bad. The remix only solidifies what I had assumed this entire song to sound like. It fails to be commentary, only fuel for a kink someone has, and NEARLY EVERYONE in the community is letting it slide cause of that.

[rising-volteccers]

Happy one year anniversary to Pokemon Horizons! I'm not even joking when I say that this series has been keeping my mental health afloat throughout the past year. I'm so happy that I'm able to have the enjoyment of looking forward to a new episode weekly, not to mention all the friends I've met and the motivation to do share my own content to the fandom!

This is a small request but I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you like / love / enjoy Pokemon Horizons!

I love this series because as an adult, it was super refreshing to see a cast of competent adults aiding the young protagonists of this series! Seeing Liko, Roy and Dot grow as Trainers really made me happy because they have people in their lives that looked out for them as they navigate through the pains and joys of growing up. They're able to just simply be kids exploring the world of Pokemon.

They've certainly been ups and downs when it comes to the episodes, and I do have my fair share of gripes with the series but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The visuals during big episodes are gorgeous, the score perfectly matches the scenes shown and this series resparked the wonder I have for the Pokemon franchise. While I'll always be a fan of the games, I haven't really watched the anime in years until Horizons. I feel like a kid again, tuning in weekly to watch the new episode of Pokemon. That kind of excitement and joy is such a bright spot in my life at this moment, and for that I'm grateful for this series.

Also thankful for Horizons by introducing me to the love of my life Mr Friede Rising Volt Tacklers you are so handsome and smart and my undiagnosed ADHD bisexual king I have spent so much money on you

[theweeklydiscourse]

The Darkling, Villain coding and Shadow and Bone’s abuse narrative

The abuse narrative is Shadow and Bone is actually a pretty reassuring one. It imagines a world where the “evil” people are easily identifiable and possess visual indicators of their wickedness. The narrative doesn’t feel the need to recreate any true-to-life instance of covert manipulation because it already conveys that by way of coding Aleksander as villainous.

While Leigh Bardugo has spoken about the way Aleksander’s good looks aid him in his evil pursuits, we are never actually shown significant evidence of that idea in the text. Although Alina is certainly affected by his good looks in terms of her physical attraction to him, we seldom see this in other characters throughout the trilogy. That being said, even when Alina IS very much attracted to him, that attraction is still swayed by her underlying prejudice and suspicions of him due to his role as the Darkling. Aleksander’s beauty is used superficially if we are to understand that it helps him covertly manipulate people, because how does it give him any tangible power?

It certainly doesn’t seem to help him convince the King to care about Grisha and it doesn’t seem to have much influence over the Grisha of the little palace as well (considering that a portion of them defect to Alina’s side after S&B). So my question is, what purpose does his beauty serve in the story? How does it build up the trilogy as an abuse narrative?

My answer to those questions would be that Leigh Bardugo relied too heavily on superficial indicators of villainy to create a more surprising twist and in the process, conveyed a shallow view of a supposedly abusive character. To supplement this, she claimed that it was Aleksander’s beauty that allowed him to manipulate and abuse others but also fails at communicating that through the actions of her characters. At best, the abuse narrative is perfunctory.

Any reader could gather upon first reading Shadow and Bone that Aleksander was a sketchy dude. Hot, but sketchy nonetheless because of how obvious it was that he was a villain. A dark cloak? Black hair? Shadow powers? Next you’ll tell me that his name has the word “dark” in it! But the story constantly tries to convince the readers that they have “cracked the case” and found the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Except this time, the wolf was just a wolf that the writer pretended was more disguised than he actually was. It’s more reassuring that way.

[botched-lineart]

Theorizing about Sonic Movie Lore

Okay. Listen. The Sonic x Shadow Generations DLC featuring movie Shadow was mid but opens up so many questions and possibilities that it's making my head spin. I have created this visual aid to attempt to process the implications my brain is trying to put together.

Please come with me under the cut if you'd like to engage with my thinking, knowing that I may spoil parts of the movies and sxsg for you.

I think we can agree that these are the boundaries that exist between our reality, the version of "our reality" portrayed in the movies, and whatever lineup of games (yes, I'm just talking about the games, not any other TV shows or comics or other official media) that are canon. There are degrees of separation here. Just to make sure my definitions of the boundaries are clear:

Our real world is incapable of being portrayed in full in a movie because the movies offer a 2-ish hour story about fictional characters having fantastical adventures in an AU version of reality where things are familiar but not the same.

The games are incapable of being portrayed in a movie because the format of media is inherently different. Movies are non-interactive, and the way that game franchises work is that sometimes lore gets shifted around and/or retconned, resulting in characters, locations, and even entire storylines and casts of characters being abandoned and not fit for future adaptations because of the creative burden or, y'know, legal issues.

So the people making the movie made some choices. Because the movies cannot portray reality, and because they cannot portray the games, the movies are their own entity. They are not set in the game verse, so the version of characters like Sonic being portrayed are not the ones we know from the games. The locations and people look like the locations and people who we know in real life, but the format of a movie allows for this 'realism' to not really be real, and audiences can digest that without any issue because of the last century of fictional filmmaking.

Yippiee, everything works out! Everything can be sorted nice and neatly into its little box without any friction, and we can all enjoy the content of each box without having to deal with any crossover issues.

Except...

They made Seattle, a real world location fictionally portrayed in the second movie, into a level for the mobile game "Sonic Forces: Speed Battle" (and also Sonic Dash). You can run your chosen character through 3 levels which are based on real corners of Seattle.

This isn't much of anything on its own. Okay, sure, they used one of the locations from the movies into a level of a mobile game that has no cultural impact outside of being a fun little endless runner to kill time with. Who cares?

First of all, as someone who lives in the void between Seattle and Portland, I care about the Sonic characters being in Seattle. Okay?

I care.

Second, the Emerald City levels show off parts of Seattle that aren't shown in the movie.

Do you see this level? This one right here? It's based off of Pike Place Market; a frankly cool marketplace populated by local businesses. This is the big neon sign that's on the top of the market.

And here it is in SF:SB.

Clearly, it's a bit different - it's been changed to reflect the fictionalized version of Seattle that it exists in, which is cute. It also seems to be in a geographically different location to the real Pike Place Market, because you cannot approach the sign like this in real life. You have to come at it from the front or from the right. There's a big wall of buildings between you and running at it from the left like this, and you can kind of see it in the stock photo above. The sign is on the corner of the wall and the front of the marketplace.

So, I've been to Pike Place several times. When you approach it, it looks like a small line of businesses like a farmer's market on the side of the road. But when you get close enough, you realize that there are stairs behind the stalls. Most of the market is actually underground. You'll find fresh produce, seafood, and rotating stands of local artists and craftspeople on top, and a whole 2-story brick and mortar building with more permanently stationed local shops selling all kinds of knickknacks underground.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember this building or even the topside market being shown in the film. I don't remember the big red sign or the beloved pig statue or any of the numerous Starbucks within a mile radius of the market or nothing.

Maybe it seems like I'm making a big deal out of this temporary movie promotional tie-in level to a mobile game that a fraction of the fan base cares about, but recall my chart from above the cut.

There are three boxes, each one neatly separated and effortlessly intuitive to discern between. It seems that in order for something from real life to be adapted into the currently supported Sonic games, it has to go through the movie verse first. But we just watched a location do this.

Sit with that for a second.

Go on, I'll wait.

That's kind of insane, right?

Or at least, it sets an insane precedent. If a location can make the jump from the "Real Life" box into the "Game Verse" box, bypassing the Movies, what other jumps can be made? Are the walls porous, with channels for stuff to travel freely in-between? The movies do offer a canonical explanation - the ring portals.

Here is my former understanding of how the ring portals worked in the movies.

Whenever someone would throw a ring to open a portal, it would lead to another location within the Movie Verse. Locations seen as "other worlds" within the movies (like Green Hill Zone from the first movie or what is presumably Mushroom Hill Zone from the second movie) are not the locations we know from the games, but instead similar appearing locations that exist in this verse's unique box.

But, uhh...

We just witnessed one of the movie ring portals do this.

Not only that, but the devs made a really weird choice here. This ring portal leads to a level that honestly wouldn't be out of place in an endless runner mobile game, it's literally subway surfers but worse THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE MOVIE VERSE. Shadow's design changes, his voice actor switches to Keanu, he examines himself and comments that he looks weird and must have entered "another dimension."

THIS IS NOT MOVIE SHADOW! This is game Shadow, having stepped through the ring portal. He's retained all of his memories, personality, and intentions from Sonic x Shadow Generations. As he navigates this bonus level, he's just focused on getting back to the White Space to finish his actual missions, and he says so out loud multiple times.

This establishes an entirely new rule, right?

When a game character goes through a ring portal, they become a part of the movie universe.

The DLC mission depicts game Shadow, ripped out of a certain time and place and stepping into the Movie Verse.

He chose to go back through the portal and stay tethered to the Game Verse - all of his backstory happened there, all of his allies and enemies are in there, he's got shit going on he has to get back to, and when he goes back, we know that he goes on to do other stuff after Generations. Game Shadow stepped into the Movie Verse, took a brief look around, said "nah I'll pass, but maybe I'll visit again if corporate demands more tie-ins" and went back home.

But listen: what if he had been lifted from the Game Verse before he had the agency to make decisions for himself? Say... right in the middle of when he was being created?

In the movie, he was not created by Gerald. He fell to the earth mysteriously - he doesn't know anything about himself, how he got to earth, who made him or who his parents are... he knows nothing.

The other characters, meanwhile, are fully aware that they came from other worlds. Sonic remembers living in Green Hill Zone. Knuckles is aware of and even interacts with the ghost of Pachamac (I don't care if I spelled it wrong), a character from SA1.

Until now, I was under the impression that these "other worlds" were contained in the Movie Verse umbrella of "worlds." I believe this is what the filmmakers wanted us to assume as well, because there's some lore differences between the Movie World and the Games released thus far. The owls, for example, are not from the game world...

...Except for Longclaw, who was made into a playable character for the mobile games like Seattle was. And the movie owls were, I believe, inspired by some background elements from one of the classic Sonic games - owl statues.

It also must needs be remarked that the movie version of Green Hill Zone is much more visually similar to how it's been depicted in recent games than any real life location. It's visually made with CGI featuring bright cartoony colors, the checkered floor, and distinctly stylized yelow flowers.

The language being used by the movies to describe different "worlds" versus different "universes" or "dimensions" is, I think, intentionally confusing. Because audiences have become familiarized with multiverses very quickly, those three words are generally used interchangeably. A guy from one universe traversing to another could be described as "traveling between worlds." But this could also be said of a guy leaving one planet to visit a planet from the same universe which it is from. And the whole "we're making a movie about a video game character emerging into real life" plot of the first movie goes so far to describe Sonic and the other Mobians as "aliens." This, to me, signals that the characters in the movies believe that the Mobians are from another world in their universe.

But what if they're wrong? What if we're wrong?

What if we got baited into thinking we were watching an isekai with the first movie, realized that it was trying to be something different, tempered our expectations for the rest of the franchise, and are about to be hit with the plot twist that the movies actually were an isekai the entire time and we got double duped?

I dunno about you, but my head is spinning. It would explain some inconsistencies in the movies' lore that my friends and I noticed. It would explain the mid credits teaser from the 3rd movie with the like, 50 Metal Sonics. Throughout the movie, we're given no reason to believe that Jim Carrey Eggman was working on creating a robot to perfectly rival Sonic. He was in a slump until the plot of the movie, binge-watching TV because it would be funny or whatever. And we don't see him doing any base building or robot manufacturing once he's active again, either. And it seems like he dies at the end of the movie, meaning he probably wasn't up to anything nefarious between his self-sacrifice scene and the mid-credits teaser. So who manufactured all of those Metal Sonics if not him? Why are there so many more than one?

Dude. I think all those Metals (and the Amy clobbering them) got pulled in from the Game Verse. And I think it's going to be revealed that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow were, too. Maybe not the part of the Games Verse that we've gotten to play, but a corner of that box of worlds that we'll get to see in the future.

And um. Uh that's just a theory. A ga... fi, uh, ga(fil)me theory.

[talonabraxas]

“The shaman is the figure at the beginning of human history that unites the doctor, the scientist and the artist into a single notion of care-giving and creativity.” — Terence McKenna

Ayahuasca Shaman Talon Abraxas

A Shamanic View of How Ayahuasca & Nature Communicate With Us

In a shaman’s world view, everything is energy, and for them the word spirit and energy have the exact same meaning. Indigenous knowledge often includes a great deal of practical insight about everything material, for instance, how to use plants for medicine, food or craftsmanship. Their ways of understanding the material universe mix with spiritual and highly meaningful beliefs. Naturally, the way plants and animals communicate with us and with each other is also understood through this mind-body mix.

On the level of smell, plants call out to us from a distance by their varied aromas that form the basis for many scents and perfumes that are attractive to humans, often to the point of stimulating a resonance between lovers. Additionally they are used as powerful tools in aromatherapies to induce recall, reinforce powerful emotion, or simply for the calming quality of their fragrances.

When they affect us in these profound ways, it is because we resonate with them.

On a visual level we are often attracted to them by their stunning beauty, and we display them in our homes and businesses to “brighten things up”. It is a long held tradition to bring roses to a romantic partner to show love and as a traditional courting strategy, and we send flowers to commemorate special land mark human occasions like birth, marriage, and death.

These visual and olfactory cues combine to attract pollinators and other synergistic interactions to spread seeds and enhance other survival strategies aided by other species, and this is only what we see in the frequency spectrums that we normally perceive. Who knows what might be happening in the spectrums that other species can perceive that we cannot?

Similarly, in the vegetable kingdom, as shown in the complex interaction of the olfactory and taste receptors, these characteristics combine to help us identify what is healthy to ingest and aid us.

On vision quests and in visionary states, particularly those encountered on strict shamanic plant diets centered around the ayahuasca brew, people imbibe any number and combination of specialized plants to learn from the spirits of the plants by passing through physical, mental, and spiritual ordeals to prove that they are worthy of the gift of knowledge that the plant spirits have to give them.

Each plant and animal has its own spirit, essence, or energy which can be characterized as its own unique personality in the same way that ayahuasca is universally referred to as “The Mother”. It is also the reason why North American Indians don’t refer to animals as the bear or the coyote. They say Bear or Coyote as they consider them all to be manifesting the entire essence of their spirit in a grouped manner, similar to bees, ants, and other cooperative colonies, and each one has its own unique energy signature that is treated with equal respect, such as the well-known personality of Coyote the Trickster.

When you ingest a particular plant or plants, especially in a specific environment while on a strict cleansing diet, their effects are strongly felt and enhanced, even more so the longer the diet is continued. During that time participants are subject to the energy field of that plant or plants, which all interact with each other and our bodies and minds in different ways.

The combination of the diet, environment, the plants and other elements affect our brain wave activities and physiologies in a myriad of mysterious ways. This includes on physical, psychological, and spiritual levels that we can scarcely comprehend, much less study in any traditional, objective scientific way. The best way to study them is through the subjective perceptions they produce in experiences that often transpire on deep non-rational levels of resonance and synchronization. In this way, the plants act as transmitters in the position of orchestra conductors, and the people as receivers, communicating in ways that defy logic and articulation.

An ayahuasca ceremony is characterized as an individual healing experience in a group setting with much anecdotal evidence supporting sporadic telepathic experiences among participants. The healing circle is referred to as a container to safely hold the energy it generates and attracts so that the participants can be protected while in the vulnerable state necessary for healing.

If a group of people all sat around with their own radios, each tuned to the same station listening to the same song, all of the radios would be playing the same music as one, in sync.

If all of the participants in the healing circle tuned in and resonated at the same frequency or frequencies, there is no reason why they would not have similar shared telepathic events. This learned ability to subject themselves to these diverse natural energies to surrender and discover what mysteries they may reveal puts shamans in the humbling position of being subject to their plant teachers as the conductor transmitters, in spite of the physical or psychological discomfort they may have in the process.

In the Amazon, ayahuasca is often referred to as la purga, because it purges the body and rigorously clears it out through every orifice, including vomiting, defecation, profuse sweating, tear ducts, and the lungs as well as energetically at deep psychological and spiritual levels. Often it is used in conjunction with other intensely purgative plants along with the restricted diet referred to as the dieta consisting of boiled rice, oatmeal, or quinoa, baked or boiled unripe bananas, and chicken or fish once a day or less combined with a pitcher a day of a helper plant or plants. There is no salt, no soap, shampoo, toothpaste, scents or additions of any kind, and no sex. In addition to the deep inner purification, other plants are used for daily plant baths to physically and energetically wash away the toxins and energies that are released in the process.

All of these restrictions enhance the cleansing process over the extended time of the dieta, which dates back to prehistory. As time passes people lose their telltale human scents, particularly pheromones, hormones, and other secretions that jaguars and other animals with a highly refined sense of smell can detect, making the hunters virtually invisible to them and their primary sensory modalities. The constant refined ingestions and plant baths result in the subject not only smelling like the jungle, but they become the jungle, giving them a distinct hunting advantage.

These intense practices fine tune the individual’s own senses bringing great clarity and a highly refined perception of their immediate reality, further adding to their hunting advantage. Aside from the intensified state of awareness that comes from this extreme purification which historically prepared them for hunts, battles, or other challenges, their conscious awareness of their field of perception expands at inner and outer levels making them psychologically and mentally clear for the task at hand.

These hard won physical and perceptual enhancements bring deep inner shifts from the resonance that comes from being sympathetic to and in sync with the plant spirits and the energies they manifest. One of the intriguing results of this immersion into what shamans characterize as the spirit world is the encompassing energetic field that it opens up. This field brings an ability to not only commune with the plants and the distinctive energies of their unique spirits and personalities, but also to the distinctive energies and personalities of the animal kingdom.

This phenomenon is reinforced by widespread reports from ayahuasca drinkers of directly experiencing and communing with or being “possessed” by specific animal energies that are common to the ayahuasca experience, regardless of whether they are in the jungle or in a major North American city.

Among the numerous totems claimed by participants, or which they say actually choose them, the most common are condors, jaguars, and snakes which have a deeper meaning going all the way back to prehistoric cultures. Those experiencing these energies or spirits often roar and growl through no volition of their own like jaguars, flap their legs like wings, or feel their bodies swaying seemingly of its own accord to distinctive serpentine movements. Other animals and insects like hummingbirds, butterflies, dragonflies, dolphins, and other aquatic totems can play big parts as well.

This phenomenon with its roars, “wing flapping” and other animal indicators forms the core of shape shifting mythologies where shamans reportedly have the ability to change their form into that of their familiar animal totems.

In this way shamans share the distinct, intimate resonant vibration of these entities in the same energetic way they do with the morphogenetic field of plants, becoming one with them by sharing the same frequency. In the same way they have to surrender to the plant teachers to discover what mysteries may be revealed, shamans must humble themselves to their animal familiars as the conductor transmitters of their experience.

In the lore of the jungle, by sharing in the vibratory field of the animal’s spirit energy, in a state of surrender on that entity’s terms, that animal learns from the human by seeing things through human eyes while the human learns other modes of perception from seeing things through the animal’s eyes.

There is an invisibility that comes from physical purifications that makes hunters virtually invisible to the primary sensory modalities of their prey. In this manner, by mutual agreement and the understanding that comes from sympathetically sharing the same energetic field and perception of specific animals, the shaman hunts the animals in spirit first, then follows through what has happened in the spirit world in the physical world in the actual physical hunt, aided by his cultivated invisibility.

This learned ability of shamans to tune in to and commune with these diverse plant and animal energies that we all share the world with allows them to experience them in a direct, definitive, and subjective manner that helps them understand other perspectives. This cultivates empathy which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, and opens them up in ways that only direct experience can, while aiding them in developing the critical skills necessary for what is defined as soul retrieval.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Thank you for answering my question about Leona and his gloves!

There I meant if guys can cast spells without their pens? Or it’s just dangerous without them?

[Referencing this post!]

I’m pretty certain it’s possible to cast magic without specifically magical pens; it’s just risky to do without some kind of magical item or something embedded with a magestone to act as a magic conduit. Without that, one accumulates blot much more quickly and it can be difficult to gauge how much blot you’ve already collected without a visual (like the color of one’s magestone).

This is topic addressed in the Vargas Camp event, when the students’ magical pens are confiscated. They realize that this will make using magic (to help with camping) very difficult for them. However, they were later able to use raw magestones they mined and that Ruggie pilfered to help them overcome certain obstacles. So… it’s not so much the magical pen that’s important, but the magestone in it. Trey also clearly states that they can use magic “without their pens”, but that they’re at a greater risk for blot without the pens.

If you look across the various cards, there are numerous examples of characters or even whole lines where other magical objects or items with magestones are used to help the boys channel their magic. In the Dorm Uniform series, Vil uses a grimoire, Leona/Azul/Riddle/Kalim/Malleus use staves, Idia’s magestone is inside of a floating skull device. Presumably, this occurs because they have a magestone embedded in these alternative use items (for example, when Idia OBs, the blot is shown pooling in the magestone inside of his skull device).

Magestones can come in many different forms, so it’s not limited to just magical pens. RSA has magestones in brooch form, and Lilia explains to Trey (in Lilia’s School Uniform vignette) that though magical pens are what is chic now, they have gone through many different size iterations through the years and describes the changes like trends. Popular fan speculation is that the NRC staff wear their magestones in alternate forms as well, such as Trein’s cravat and Vargas’s bracelet.

Various events also utilize different items, enchanted or not, to aid the boys in combat. For example, the flower bouquets in Ghost Marriage are already enchanted with the power to dispel ghosts. Many other items the boys use for combat don’t inherently have magical properties (fishing poles, cooking utensils, pies, peashooters, instruments, etc; the Diasomnia boys just do martial arts for their Halloween costumes). There are also cases where people cast their UMs without explicit use of the magical pen (such as Jade on Kalim in episode 4; if Jade had his magical pen out, it would instantly give away he intended to do something). Given what we know from Vargas Camp, I believe the implication is that as long as a character has a magestone ON them, they can safely use magic (ie the magestone helps them use everyday objects to channel their spells, and/or they can cast their UMs without necessarily whipping out the magical pens to wave for the spell). It’s also possible for someone to use magic without a magestone, but there is a greater risk associated with that.

The only notable exception I can think of is that Malleus uses magic on the regular by just waving his hands around rather than by utilizing his magical pen like most of the other students do (see the School Uniforms for an exemplar). This could just be another case of "a character uses magic with a magestone on him", but I think if there are any characters that can easily use magic without a magestone, it's probably him (because of how overpowered the Draconia line seems to be)? Like I said before though, my general impression based on the current lore is that it's the magestone, not the pen, that allows for magic to be safely conducted. Again, safety is an emphasis here; it’s possible for any mage to use magic without a magestone, but blot is a much greater concern.

[mettywiththenotes]

Talking about an au

This is one that has been on my mind since 419 and tbh I thought for sure it could happen

Remember when Tomura shed his skin during the Floating UA battle? Well I wondered if a similar thing would happen again in Mount Fuji

Picture it. In the void, AFO eats Tomura. He's dying as he's told everything about AFO's involvement in his life. AFO takes over his body, hand formed over mouth and all. It looks pretty bad. All the stuff happens with Izuku getting his arms back, the heroes coming to his aid etc. Izuku punches AFO (end of 422, beginning of 423). Here's where it diverges from canon:

Izuku punches AFO and he starts crumbling slowly, from his gut (where the impact was) to the rest of him. Except before it even reaches his chest, his face starts to crack open. Visually we can see this crack isn't the same as the crumbling of his body. It's one we've seen before, across his face in the middle of a battle. A parallel back to this

Except within the crack is Tomura's face. Tomura inside Tomura's body. Tomuraception

What happened? Well, the power of Izuku's will to stop AFO (the punch) allowed the vestiges that got thrown into the body to reawaken and bring Tomura's soul back. At the same time, minutes before, Tomura, slowly dying in the void, began to think. About everything AFO told him, how he was doomed before he was even born. How much that angered him, the rage coursing through his soul. He already had a strong will before, but now he really can't accept what has happened and he can't accept AFO getting away with it. Even if AFO's fate is to die, he'd rather be the one on the other end of it, alive and watching him. Better yet, being the hand that ultimately brings about his end

As a visual representation, it's like Tomura reaches out, desperate to climb out of the abyss he is slowly dying in, and he is met with several hands reaching back, taking his hand and pulling him out and back to the world. The vestiges, who have been reawakened by Izuku

Before, Tomura has not been able to die or stay dead. So why should this not be the same? With the power of rage, spite, his hero and some ghostly relatives, he lives on. He twists his own fate by accepting the hands that reach out and climbing out of the hole AFO threw him in

AFO's Tomura face cracks open. Tomura forces AFO's vessel apart from the head, almost like a butterfly climbing out of its cocoon, almost like he is actively prying his own cage open and escaping for good

AFO had been crumbling and was ripped open, but in a desperate attempt to stay together and stay alive (also fueled by anger at being pushed to the edge like this + Tomura somehow coming back from the dead), he uses his quirks (mostly drills) to keep his body intact for now (this is already shown in 423)

Also, I guess it depends on what you would like to believe, but the way I see it, Tomura could come back either with just his decay OR with the vestiges choosing another vessel for what little power they can give left and so backing Tomura up with the last of OFA. Aka 10th user Tomura. It's not as powerful as it was with Izuku but it still adds a lot, just enough to pack a real punch. Personally I think if we're already throwing away "what is realistic" then I might as well go big or go home and go with 10th user Tomura my beloved

It's from this point that he and Izuku begin to work together to kill the old body. As you can imagine, it's probably not an immediate bonding of friendship or whatever, but it's more or less teamwork formed with the general statement of "we still have things to work out, hero, but I don't care about that right now. I hate him more than anyone else on this damn mountain and I can't stand the thought of letting anyone else kill him but me" etc but then progresses as they fight

[rustedbread]

A huge portion of my problems would be solved if I was a member of the literature club Oh yeah, back when the rot was REAL bad [I'm talking the ultra-fixation rot, not the other kind, I'm well versed on the other kinds, but I wasn't doing that in this instance at least] yeah back when the rot was real bad, I was playing through sidestories..? I think? and I stopped playing midway through Natsuki and Yuri both arguing about whether or not manga should be considered literature to just rant, and I went on for like ten whole minutes describing why Yuri was partially wrong I know my main argument was that you can still appreciate and have good writing if it doesn't require you to visualize the scenes yourself, and that the difference between visual novels and traditional [?] novels is mainly just that the authors vision is more clear, with art being able to show exactly what the storytellers WANT to be shown, which can lead to some subtle details that can't quite be perfectly replicated in traditional novels. I don't think that visual novels are lesser than traditional novels in any way, because they both serve slightly separate purposes, and just because one might be a bit easier to digest doesn't mean it isn't literature because like, then I'd have to explain that [to my knowledge] the idea of literature itself mostly extends to media as a whole if it has good writing and merit to it if it serves its purpose well, truly it doesn't matter if the medium it's contained in has a higher wordcount in it or not, because it's still media, in a way it is literature [?] but the main point is that it still has substance even if you don't have to directly involve yourself with creating the world you wish to observe the main reason written works might be seen as more sophisticated is that it may take more effort to actively immerse and vision the world you're reading about, which personally to me a very forgetful and distracted person, is fairly hard to do and I do see why it'd be more preferable for someone to like novels to be compared with media that uses visual aid in storytelling so fairly I can get why Yuri would think that, but honestly, the main thing I feel she's REALLY arguing about when she was saying manga is lesser than regular novels and that manga can't have substance or usually doesn't have substance which entirely is up to the novel itself, and it's a shallow view to have about stuff, to be honest! just because something might be easier to digest doesn't mean it DOESN'T have substance, and if something is so out of grasp for most people, if it still has good themes, but is much harder to access for ordinary people because of confusing writing, it defeats the purpose of writing it in the first place, yknow? that's a bit out of my main point, so let me try to get onto some sort of actual point here, I guess one moment yeah literature and media as a whole shouldn't be about what is the best type of media there is, no, it shouldn't be about if comics are immature or that they won't ever have substance everything has lows, the medium you get in doesn't matter, what matters is the substance itself, and if it's easier for someone to get into something that requires less mental work, good on them! it shouldn't be about what's the most mature way to read a book, all that really matters is if the story you're going to be enjoying itself is good or not [also I feel like literature can be replaced by media as a whole, because like, all media IS literature, but I also know literature is mostly defined as just novels usually, but that's not really what I'm using it as? be assured I feel the definition of literature should be more broadened, but that's what media is for, I'd say] .... no I didn't intend to write this much

[martialartslover7]

Oh, you're in for a treat.

I have been really irked by this fact that, someone like Sakura got a fair shot at defeating an Akatsuki member, but someone like Hinata did not? Come on, now, the Konoha 12 couldn't have just been twiddling their thumbs, just waiting for Naruto to come back, especially Hinata. If she wants to reform her clan, through motivation from Naruto alone, then she had to train extra hard.

Plus, you will get to see, the Byakugan upgrade that I have been longing to show off in writing. Shoutout to Aleister Brown from Quora, he actually came up with this. Give this guy some love there, for coming up with something so ingenious.

For visual aid, his is how Hinata's eyes look, the moment she taps into that evolution of the Byakugan, by the way.

And for further visual aid, this is how that chakra armor looks that the new Byakugan allows her to gain. Only, it's colored differently.

Plus, this story is connected to "Love Deterrence" (I will upload it here too, don't worry, NaruHina fams, you know, you know), as a Shippuden-follow-up, if you will. It further builds upon what I have shown back there, so stick with me. This arc will have one HELL of a happy ending.

All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto Images belong to Aleister Brown

[crotchety-old-emu]

OLITDP chapter 24 references

as i mentioned in my author's notes of the chapter, there's a few references that i would like to share with those who are interested in them. you don't need to know about them to understand what's going on in the story, obviously, but perhaps it's nice to have some visual aids to go with some of the things that are happening.

if you haven't read the latest chapter yet, and you want to remain spoiler free, it's best to skip this post (or perhaps come back to it later). you can find chapter 24 of our love is these days' piano here!

so here's a short list of things that might be interesting - but definitely not necessary - to know about chapter 24:

penelope's dress at the trowbridge ball is a silvery sea green. the one i had in mind was kind of like this one, from the season three behind the scenes pics. nicola looks stunning in green, especially with the red hair. i found beatrice knight's regency color compendium, a stunning overview of all the fashionable colours of fabric in the regency era, with some fantastic descriptions of how they were made and when they were worn. the willow/sea green colour shown on this page is exactly the hue i was picturing while writing.

lady trowbridge's decorations: i spent days and days researching how lady trowbridge might showcase her wealth and peculiar tastes during this ball, but honestly, i didn't find much info about ballroom decorations and i didn't want to make up things that definitely could not have happened. so i settled on things that i was already fairly certain of were pretty decadent for the era: pineapples and ice cream. after reading up on ice cream in regency times through several sources, i came across the website of ivan day, who is a food historian and has worked on some bbc regency costume dramas. he had a very insightful youtube video on how ice cream was made in those days. in it, he makes one of the ice cream pineapples i mention in the story. ivan day's actual website is under construction, but i found a photo of moulded ice groups, as they were presented in regency times, on another page which was taken from his. it includes ice cream shaped like a swan (which may have been parmesan flavoured, which apparently was a popular ice cream flavour back then).

another food decoration that both eloise and penelope mention is a flummery solomon's temple. i found out about these through watching the bbc documentary pride and prejudice - having a ball, which talks about accurate representation of balls during regency times on television. the part of the doc i'm linking to is the part where ivan day reveals a solomon's temple and explains that this would be a staple on all upper-class tables in those days. the white bits, if i'm not mistaken, are milk-flavoured, the brown is chocolate and/or coffee, the pink is coloured with cochineal.

he also has a page on solomon's temples on his blog, which has a very amusing short clip of how exactly these jellies moved. if you watch it (highly recommend), i'm sure you'll understand why eloise would think it was a good thing to comment on. ivan day himself describes it as:

Because it is made of flummery, which is a kind of opaque milk jelly, the central obelisk wobbles and cavorts in a most entertaining manner, while the four little cones shake, rattle and roll in a very naughty way.

the dance: i must have watched at least fifty different dances that were popular at the time - shoutout to regencydances.org, which not only has a very extensive list of dances, but also a youtube channel and animations showing what the dances would have looked like. i based penelope and anthony's dance on the northdown waltz - which granted, only became a thing from 1820 onwards, so it's technically an anachronism for them to be dancing it. it simply was the only dance that best fit with how i wanted the scene to go. you can find an instruction video on the northdown waltz here. anthony, in this case, would be the red rectangle, penelope the green ellipsis. here's a clip of actual people performing the dance, so you can kind of imagine what it would have looked like. i always knew anthony's confession would happen during a dance, my main inspiration for that was this scene from becoming jane. if you've seen the film, you undoubtedly know exactly which scene i'm talking about without even clicking the link. i remember that when i first saw this part of the film, i stopped breathing for a minute, because it was just such an intense moment, which was exactly what i wanted for anthony's big moment.

there you go, some insight into the tiny things mentioned in the latest chapter that you might perhaps enjoy knowing more about. hope at least some of you found it interesting!

also, i want to mention: i am not a historian, i don't claim that my fic is historically accurate, not in the very least. i try to stick to period-appropriate things, which i do as much research for as i can. but some mistakes will have slipped in there, i am very much aware. so if this is a particular pet peeve for some of the history buffs among you, i apologise.

[ask-afoxesshadow]

you know what an ask blog is, why else are you here.

I wont be starting with character fluff, ill put that at the end, so read it if you want a visual understanding of who your talking to and how they will talking.

Warnings

I am an adult [by definition], and since i have little knowledge on who is on the other side of the screen, this space will be treated as an adult area. Posts are subject to include the following:

Suggestive descriptions and intimate innuendos

Descriptions of violent acts or bloodshed

Blunt and brutal honesty, because patience and kindness is a resource i spend at my discretion

Scariest of all, many posts will contain the horror that is "roleplay"

Excessive sarcasm

"Rules"

Asks that are directly sexual in any form will be ignored, so don't even bother

Generally speaking, if you are blatantly disrespectful to any particular group of people, you will be ignored at best, blocked at worst. 2.5: This does mean this blog is a safe place for any and all of the lgbtq community no don't make me type the whole acronym, i don't know what it is.

There is a negative chance you will be successful in shipping the shadow with someone, please take your attempts somewhere else

"Rules" will be added and changed at mod discretion, if and when i see fit.

Notes

The person who runs this blog, me, has almost no idea how to properly format tumblr posts, neither do i care to learn, so everything will be done on a whim

Additionally I have a total of 0 (zero) art skills, so the only picture that will be shown, unless someone else with free time and an interest in this character and decides to make art [which would be awesome], is the picture used as the blogs icon, the mask seen in which is from here.

All of this is done for fun and to entertain the person behind the screen, do note take anything here too seriously, because i sure am not

I have decided to go by "Tome" as how you talk to the mod directly. Why? Because like a tome, I have an ungodly amount of knowledge regarding what is happening in this group of ask blogs, so it felt fitting

Character/roleplay information

The shadow will speak with basic text, while occasionally having changes to their text to show things such as emphasis, or acts such as whispering/speaking under their breath, and to indirectly refer to another person through the use of color and emboldening.

-The shadows actions are depicted through use of text surrounded by hyphens, shown here-

[Mod talk, from I, Tome, is contained within square brackets]

(Context, narration, and important notices are contained within parenthesis)

{Rarely, the curly brackets will be used if mod to character interactions happen}

Reoccurring characters will eventually be listed within this post, when i feel like being less of a side character, please treat their mods with respect.

The "residence" of the shadow is a royal mess of enchantments, letting them have easy access to any part of the lands of the old faith, alternate reality or not.

Character description

The shadow is a creature who's form is crafted from a pitch black substance that seems to hover around the sublimation point, often times acting more akin to a gas than a solid, seemingly at the will of the shadow itself.

Standing around 6'1", they have no obvious gender, with all features being vague and hard to identify, or exceptionally androgynous, additionally having a pair of pointed canid ears sprouting from the top of their head, and several large fox tails trailing out behind them. [For visual aid, think any media depiction of a nine tailed kitsune.]

Their attire is made mostly of muted colors and dark tones, similarly to their shadowed form. Covering their face, they don a handcrafted mask made to resemble a red fox, despite their other canid features suggesting them to be one. Their upper body is covered by a large and baggy grey shirt with torn hems, a deep blue cloak further covering their form, with a light grey scruff, held in place by a broach depicting a red flower with five petals, white semi circles between the petals of the flower, all encircled by a ring of gold. their arms seem to have a bright red string wrapped around them, looking very out of place among the rest of their muted clothes. The attire for their lower body is rough and simple, consisting of a pair of baggy red pants, with several roughly sewn patches made from fabrics of various materials and colors, and a simple pair of black boots.

Final notes

This character exists for the soul purpose of interacting with ask blogs revolving around the game "cult of the lamb" [but if your here you probably already knew that], so while some of the statements of the character might break the fourth wall in the context of the game, that wall has already been removed by the other blogs, so i care not about its existence

The flower depicted on the brooch is not a Camellia, neither is the character a follower of any of the bishops.

The tag "Pages turn" will be used when an ask is responded too by the mod alone, if you wish to see what I, and I alone, have to say, use that tag.

[cadybear420]

Hi, how were you able to create the full body of Sakura from High School Story?

Ohohoh I'm glad you asked! It's a long and tricky process, but I'll explain it as best I can. With visual aid.

(Including the edit for reference)

Originally I'd just grab a random bare body asset, adjust it to her skintone, assemble the face sprite assets onto it, and then edit new outfits accordingly.

Since the original sprite was posed with a hand on her hip, I went with the "fem junior" bodytype (used for f!Dakota from WEH and f!Drew from RWB). But it didn't feel quite right to how her original sprite looked... so I decided to do it a different way.

First I'd piece together the original sprite. Then I'd go through the files to pick a full-body sprite that suited her– I went with that of Kamilah from Bloodbound instead. I made color adjustments as necessary to match Sakura's skintone.

Then I'd use the liquify filter tool (I use Photoshop/Photopea) to adjust the body to fit onto the pose that the original sprite gave us. Including making the left hand more like the hand on the original sprite.

Then, I'd need to merge the parts from her original sprite that were bare, to the body sprite. The original sprite shows a bare arm and one full hand, so I cropped it out from the original sprite, and (as shown in the above photos) erased the parts from the body asset that were going to be replaced.

I'd use the spot repair tool to make up for small gaps from the cropped arms and shoulders (where the straps of her dress were)

Then using air brush, air eraser, smudge tool, spot repair tool, and liquify tool, I'd merge the two pieces together.

And of course, I needed to adjust the thumb nail on the left hand

And we got our Sakura sprite! Ready to dress up in various outfits! :DDD

As for the outfit... I always make sure to keep the outfit leftovers when I cropped out the bare skin and arm.

So now I just need to add the bottom part. How exactly I add the bottom part depends on the top outfit piece itself, but for this one, I cropped out the lower white part, and added new skirt and leggings, to make the outfit fairly similar to her outfit from the original Prime game.

The skirt is recolored from f!Hayden's harajuku outfit from PM, and the leggings come from the thigh high stockings accessory from QB MC, adjusted accordingly with the godsend that is the liquify tool. Shading was added with the burn tool.

And that's how I made full-body Choices Sakura!

The process can vary, but I use these basic techniques to make full-body sprites of other half-body characters in HSS. The other ones I've shared so far are Myra and Mia, and I also have a couple for other characters such as Julian, Payton, Sydney, and Koh, as well as new outfits for the characters I have completed, that I haven't shared yet/am still working on.

[reallyhardy]

Bestie, please break down those costumes.Plssss.I am soooooo jealous of U🫀❤️♥️

of course!

the 2018 regent's park open air theatre little shop of horrors production is pretty standout visually because (while they didn't change the script by updating it) they did move away from the typical 1960s historical fashion for the characters and instead played with modern outfits and a blend of textures. the whole show had a strong colour scheme of black and white, neon green, pink, and blue. costumes & scenic design was by tom scutt.

we'll start with seymour, as played by the lovely marc antolin. his outfit is all blue, down to his glasses. (why are the curtains blue? you could say for his boyishness, or that he's kind of a melancholy character, or that white guys always wear blue, take your pick haha)

the main bit is a boiler suit made of different patchworked denim in various contrasting stripes and tied around his waist. his short sleeve button up continues the patchwork vibe with the painted brushstroke-esque check pattern. he also wears a shacket at certain points, and while hard to see in the above image it also had a thin pinstriped pattern. seymour is all about pattern mixing. a fun detail to note is that audrey ii's main colour is obviously green: in the centre bottom photo you can see he wore green band-aids on his fingers :')

also: while in these above photocall pictures that were used in promotion here had him in yellow socks, it's important to note that, at least when i saw it, his socks were pink. who's main colour is pink? it's audrey.

actually, her first outfit is also mostly blue. seymour and audrey have the most similar colour scheme so that gives them a strong visual link. so her first outfit is very much giving sexy: she's got a frilly top that we can see her bra through. we have a nod to vintage fashion with her cigarette pants. also while these photos show her wearing fluffy slide slippers, when i saw it she was wearing the little clear plastic kitten heels shown in the design sketch - we can tell this is her 'im trying to look sexually appealing to my boyfriend' look. she's showing it all off.

but notably, her hair is this adorable bubblegum pink shade, so i thought it was extra cute that seymour had socks to match. just a little hint of who he's thinking about.

anyway, during act 2, when audrey & seymour's relationship is blossoming further, audrey debuts a different look entirely:

(concept sketch shown along with a photo of understudy rosalind james.) in dramatic constrast to her 'sexy-for-orin' look, now she's in dungarees and a cute sweater, and she's swapped the heels out for sneakers. also, she's got on a pair of pink glasses, suggesting that contact lenses were part of her sexy look. this look is all about comfort: because she's happy and in love with seymour, who makes her feel more comfortable than orin did, and this outfit looks nicely like the 'partner' look to seymour's outfit.

this is getting long, so the rest is going under a readmore. click through!

so this is her 'sominex' outfit, the look she wears when she encounters audrey ii just before she dies. the clear raincoat is honestly just fun. i think if i recall right the stage directions in the script do call for her to be wearing a yellow rain-slicker, but pink is this audrey's colour, so she's rocking this. the glasses are still on too.

underneath, she's wearing this fun floaty half-blue half-pink nightie with matching 'mismatched' pompom slippers. she is giving everything in this look honestly. the meeting of the pink-and-blue, because she's wearing both her own and seymour's main colours (she'd still love him, even if he'd never found the plant, and all she wanted was to be with seymour 😭)

i'll do orin next:

absolutely obsessed with matt willis as the dentist. as a busted fan in my childhood, i went to see this production specifically for him :') so he's got a much more dishevelled punk look he's very ghoulish with his white foundation and heavy black eyeliner. also love the detail of him having a blacked-out tooth too, really emphasises how he's probably not the best of dentists. his dentist gear including bloody apron is in a very medical neon blue-green, and i love how utterly sci-fi horror the gas mask harness is. LOVE the ripped off sleeves on his white coat. he also had this amazing leather jacket with tooth design on and the ensemble had matching outfits:

get a load of the teeth print leggings on the backup dancer on the middle left, absolutely obsessed. love the 1980s punky vibe for the 'dentist' number. this production makes great use of matt willis' own tattoos: after seymour kills orin, he came back on stage with some dismembered orin bits, and the creative team had gone to the effort of painting matt willis' tattoos onto the fake arms that seymour fed to the plant :')

okay let's move on and look at mr mushnik, played by forbes masson:

small guy, huge voice, absolute standout. they've gone for 'little greasy man' as the vibe here, complete with a drawn-on pencil moustache. his outfit, much like the ensemble, doesn't have a lot of colour, just a fairly normal grey suit with a work jacket. the most notable thing about his look is that while he starts out in a purple bow tie, once the shop starts seeing success, he wears a bow tie in audrey ii's neon green. like seymour's band-aids, audrey ii's colour (and therefore her influence/impact) shows up in the costumes of a lot of the other characters.

let's do audrey ii next then, as played by vicky vox:

so this production makes use of both the usual 'audrey ii is a puppet' situation plus then having the drag queen performer on stage to interact with the other characters as like, the plant personified. absolute LOVED it. let's start with the puppet:

we've got the baby form and slightly bigger form i think here, it's a fun alien looking plant, love the spherical head with human teeth. for the plant to 'grow', a bigger version of this plant head is placed inside of a 'mouth' that can open and close sort of like an aperture:

and upon opening it, drag queen audrey ii steps out. she kind of comes in and out of it, and mostly just interacts with seymour.

this outfit is absolutely fabulous, and i especially love the 'HERE IT IS' pointing down to her booty on the back of the jacket.

then a notable progression for audrey ii's appearance is the changing wigs. we can see that her first wig shown here below is the direct partner of audrey's, (after all, the plant was named after her) and is styled the same way.

when i saw the show, both audreys were wearing different wigs that i thought weren't really as pretty as the ones from the photocall, these wigs are on the left of the above image. i'll call these the round wigs.

the most important thing to note though is that when audrey ii first appears, she has that strong visual link to original audrey. and this is played up in the way that audrey ii interacts with seymour during 'feed me' - audrey ii acts quite flirtatious with seymour and he seems receptive to it and has to visibly shake himself out of it. then in the second act, audrey ii switches wigs to the style in the above middle. during suppertime, there was more of audrey ii trying to be flirtatious with seymour, but at this point he is much more disgusted by it: audrey ii's wig no longer resembles original audrey’s, and by now seymour hates her guts.

the final look for audrey ii via photocall features what seems to be the original wig but with the curls blown out, styled to be more messy and windswept, but by the end of the run during the finale audrey ii just wore the round wig, with the added venus flytrap headpiece and feathered cape.

apologies for the terrible screencaps: the fabric the cape was made of featured green rocky horror-esque lips showing teeth. it was mega. the wig also featured some long pink extensions at the back.

let's go back a bit to some other characters who have been wearing audrey ii's green consistently, and that's the urchins:

they wear these punky, i would say more 1990s streetwear inspired costumes throughout the whole show, and don't change until the end. the two gals on the left wear pieces that tie in strongly to the set, which is a crumbling grayscale newspaper-inspired city/drive-in theatre set proclaiming 'GOD BLESS AMERICA' across the top.

we can see the girl on the far left has a grayscale US flag top, while the middle girl has grey cityscape patterned sweatpants. then all three of them are wearing the bright neon of audrey ii, reminded us and the audience who's story they're telling. out of the 3, my definite fave look is the girl on the right, with the green jacket and shiny 'FEED ME' print leggings. i need those leggings. but yes what we can notice is that 2/3 urchins' outfits align strongly not only with audrey ii's green but with the same grayscale/cityscape patterns that the ensemble wear during skid row & other scenes:

anyway i like that the ensemble's look speaks to like... the set coming alive to tell the story. it's cool. this comes back during act 2 when the ensemble put on gloves that resemble audrey ii's vines and push around shopping trolleys with bits of building set inside:

not so easy to see that they were wearing the gloves, but basically they had long fingers that looked like smaller versions of these vines.

and with all this green let's get to the finale, where everyone has a different look. we've already seen audrey ii, here's the urchins.

lovely and shiny looks, this time they're all wearing the same thing. these are their sort of... idk i guess this is circus vibes tbh? welcome to this absolute circus: the finale definitely DOES have a circus vibe, making clowns of the cast, particularly seymour. here's a look at everyone with audrey ii lording over everything at the top:

the enesmble have VERY fun alien plant costumes on, with a big focus on toothy mouths and floppy tongues (we've seen audrey ii's cape with its green lips so it's all on the same oral fixation) let's take a closer look at seymour's outfit, which is definitely giving clown, considering he was the great fool of the story.

so it's this great big fluffy clown suit over his blue shirt that now his this shiny blood appliqued on, love it, with the green on the limbs ending at the shirt with the plant lips and teeth at his shoulders/waist, implying that his limbs have been eaten by the plant. this is great to see in action!

now let's take a look at the rest which i'm gonna have to show via very low quality screencaps because seymour's was the only photo tom scutt posted. here's audrey, orin & mushnik's 'plant looks', these guys are more like... audrey ii's put them in drag.

audrey's achieved her somewhere that's green fantasy, in a great swirly dress with full skirt and ruffly sleeves, still in her blue and pink colour scheme, in her same sneakers and pink glases. she's also got white lace gloves on. audrey ii said 'okay girl you can have this as a treat'. hers is the least alien-plant because it's like... audrey's fantasy look, and i love that.

orin's in a gold sequin mini-dress, but still his same combat boots. it reminds me of a brad pitt photoshoot from rolling stone 1999. look it up and i think you'll agree and i'd hazard a guess that it was a direct inspiration for this look.

mushnik's got on the long vine-finger gloves that the ensemble has during the meek shall inherit, and then a spectacular sequined set: blazer, bow tie, and the actor forbes masson said it's specifically supposed to be a kilt, because he is scottish and i think chose this as part of his look. he's also got light up gold sneakers, obsessed, and in the close up you get a look at his gold & green cats eye glasses and green lipstick.

okay i think! i've covered all of the main looks, or at least everything that i could find reasonably clear images of. iirc seymour did have a leather jacket for the scene where he's trying to make himself more like orin because he thinks audrey will like that, but i couldn't find any photos.

thanks for reading! i know this was a long post but i absolutely adoooore the visuals of this production and its a damn shame that it doesn't have a recording 😭😭😭