#but they're talented as heck

[grislyintentions]

Oh??? A honest opinion meme?

Don't mind if I do.

So, you're really cool, you're really chill, and you're really like.... ..idk, I feel so relaxed and this nice sense of peace when I get the chance to chat with you. You're also extremely sweet and I love reading your thoughts and your opinions on things. You're just an all around nice human bean, thanks for being so nice to me and for sparing me a second of your time when you get the chance.

As far as roleplay goes, you too are the bees knees. You be cooking with your takes, and I love the way you portray your characters. It's so well done, I can tell that you put lots of thought into each and every one of them and I'm always excited to read your stuff, your thoughts or threads with me or others. I have not gotten the chance to interact with your OC yet but I am looking righ t at them I am just a slug and move very slow.

Thanks for being so awesome, you are a true gem, you are one of the beaniest of human beans who has ever beaned so keep beaning awraxawraxa. yOU'RE COOL OKAY.

Meme (x) || @inavagrant

[msparrowscribbles]

Holy Heck that's a lot of Cuteguys!!!

I was really inspired by @hotguycomiczine and the amazing showcase of talent and creativity from everyone involved - so I wanted to try drawing a bunch of cuteguy designs (both from the comic and from other folks in the community) because there's such a variety of concepts people have for this little guy and they're all so hecking cool!!!!

If I had the power and compositional skills to incorporate that many guys I would have had every cuteguy in existence!! but sadly I am but a mere mortal and the flesh is weak,,, so i hope this is sufficient amounts of cuteguy.

Designs are by (from left to right and top to bottom):

@cosmic-nopedog , @emryste , @tibby-art , @syneester

@isjasz , @traffrogers

@gingermaple , @alienssstufff, @anneliis18

EDIT: The Scart design in the centre is by @\bad12amcomic. I originally credited to the wrong person, sorry!

[harunayuuka2060]

Riddle: ...

Riddle: I initially thought Ace was overreacting when he said they're incredibly attractive. And that scent… They smell like white winter roses.

MC: *smiling*

Riddle: ...

Riddle: What do you want to discuss, MC-senpai?

MC: I'm not sure. How about you start?

Riddle: ...

Riddle: Trey mentioned that you received complaints from the students of Heartslabyul dorm and wanted to hear my side of the story.

MC: That's right.

Riddle: ...

Riddle: First of all, I want to say that it's not my fault if those students are incompetent. As the dorm leader, I must ensure they follow the rules.

MC: *chuckles*

Riddle: What's funny?

MC: It's nothing. Anyway, do you want to play a game with me?

Riddle: A game?

MC: A board game from Arendelle. You're going to love it.

MC: *has explained the rules to Riddle*

Riddle: ...

Riddle: *looking at the cute, tiny sentient snowmen*

MC: Are you ready, Sir Riddle?

Riddle: What's the goal of this game?

MC: To reach the goal and keep as many pieces alive.

Riddle: ...

Riddle: *ten out of his 50 tiny snowmen have quit and left the board*

Riddle: What-

MC: My, and I assume they were your talented pieces too.

Riddle: I still have forty left!

MC: *smiles*

*after an hour*

Riddle: We're almost there! *has been pushing hard one of the snowmen*

The tiny snowman: *gives up, cries, and leaves the board*

Riddle: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU USELESS THING!

*All of his remaining pieces got mad and left.*

Riddle: ...

MC: ...

MC: It seems I won.

Riddle: ...

MC: *smiles* A captain is only as good as his crew.

Riddle: ...

MC: You are welcome to retain the competitive individuals in your group. Yet, wouldn't it be splendid if none of your resources were squandered?

Riddle: Are you saying that I should be more lenient?

MC: A stance not of leniency, but of practicality.

MC: Although you may find it challenging, following in the footsteps of the Queen of Hearts, I do recall that she still listened to reason.

Riddle: ...

MC: *stood up gracefully*

MC: I enjoyed our game and I look forward to playing another one with you.

Riddle: ...

Riddle: *stood up from his seat too*

Riddle: Let me walk you to the entrance.

MC: You will? *chuckles* We might end up in a sweet shop.

Riddle: Are you craving sweets? I could ask Trey to make some for you.

MC: *chuckles* Please and thank you.

Leona: *seeing Riddle and MC walking together*

Leona: ...

Leona: What the heck are they doing here?

Ruggie: Who? The new student?

Leona: Tch.

Ruggie: ...

Ruggie: You know the new student?

Leona: *walks away*

Ruggie: Hey, Leona! Are they your friend?

[nell0-0]

aaaa i found your acc a bit ago and your hyrule warriors stuff makes me smile so so much!! I love hw and seeing fanart of it brings me so much joy <3

thank you for creating such awesome art work, you have great talent!! I appreciate seeing your stuff, keep it up! <3

Thank you! I meant to answer this before but the first drawing took me longer than expected and I refused to let it beat me alflkds, better late than never tho...?

Much to everyone's bafflement, teaching Mask stuff like writing and maths and such is something Zelda enjoys! They're bonding ^^ (totally won't pull a prank on Warriors at some point /s)

Although Impa and Zelda seem to disagree on what qualifies as therapeutic activities for traumatized kids.

Also, a petpeeve of mine is how women's armors are designed in fantasy settings. Looking at you, Zelda, what the heck was that. I refuse, have an actually sensible armor for, you know, the freaking war. Impa gets a pass because ninja Sheika.

[shitapril]

very often see posts about how the one direction fans grew up to be formula one fans, and the more I think of it, the more it makes sense. putting aside the fact that almost all my f1 friends were 1d fans (were ? are lol), it makes sense that a fandom who's fuel was hyperfixating on boys living out their dreams shifted from one form of it to another.

tha being said, it got me thinking - how do the girlies translate to f1 ? and by girlies i mean what your kpop fan would call a "bias". for example, if i was a niall girl - who's my favourite now ?

so here's a silly little non-sensical analysis and comparison that should not be taken seriously at all :

firstly, the zayn malik girlies are definitely lewis hamilton girlies. both zayn and lewis come from humble backgrounds, were subject to vile, inhumane racial discrimination and hate - all while being arguably the most talented in their respective fields (I mean, you've heard zayn's high note in you & I, and seen lewis' 7 world championships). they're hardworking, pet-loving, very fashionable men who stay out of unnecessary spotlight for the most part, and step out once in a while to remind the world they're drop-dead gorgeous. the zayn girls are safe with lewis.

next comes liam payne - and here on you'll have to hear me out with my comparison of every racer and bandmate. liam and george russell are both aggressively british, unapologetically goofy and true to themselves (and i'm talking about liam in 1d not the one on logan paul's podcast). they're both very talented, highly regarded in their boss' eyes (toto wolff and simon cowell - this post is going to be interesting wow) and still somehow not an immediate fan favourite. this comparison also goes wonderfully well with the whole ziam and britcedes parallels.

thirdly, louis tomlinson. easy peasy. max verstappen. both incredibly blunt, dry humour, pr nightmares, do not give two single hecks. people either love them, or hate them - no in between. both incredibly talented individuals (louis wrote majority of 1d's discography, max has 3 world championships under his belt) and yet are discredited ("louis is only famous cuz of his bandmates and the band itself" and "max just had a good car"). the zayn and louis fued also parallels abu dhabi 2021 quite well aye ? (i'm going insane)

harry styles, no debate. charles leclerc - regarded as the pretty boys (the prettiest, their fans would insist i'm sure) and the most popular, the well-liked. both extremely talented without a doubt, but a little bit overrated, and victimised to glorify and support fan narratives. i know i sound like a hater - forgive me, not my intention. i like them both as individuals - their fans on the other hand (and no, not all, i know) are so blind-sided, so insane and cause so much unpleasantness on the internet. almost ironic, how the most amicable ones have the least liked fans lol. that aside though, if you were a harry girl, chances are you went from one fan-favourite to the other. i also just realised - this supports the larry and lestappen narratives - am i genuinely, honestly onto something here ? (i absolutely am not)

lastly, niall horan. now this one i'm sure will divide you all, but here you go anyway. lando norris. both babied immensely by their fans and bandmates/teammates alike - churchboy persona. the moment they shed the insecurity, suddenly bam everyone hates them (niall's mofo t-shirts, lando's frat boy tendencies, and saying things that the internet will not find funny), promising at a young age, yet somehow grew up to be called overrated. their fans are stubbornly loyal to them, defending them through all their rights, and wrongs. it makes sense to me. one smiley boy to another.

this probably makes no sense - but feel free to add your own comparisons, theories, and notes ! there's 5 of them and 20 on the grid, obviosuly disparity for me to go on and on and on about (for example, I see a little zayn girls to carlos girls pipeline, louis to fernando - oldest boy syndrome and all that) so let me know ! let's yap :)

[heartfullofleeches]

i didnt know who robbie was at first and thought they were a somnophilliac that would have the time of their life fucking bear reader while theyre hibernating ( for plot purposes lets imagine hibernation is actually just a really long deep sleep )

-shark anon

If Bear Hybrid Reader agreed prior Robbie would probably be into it, but if not they're just a creep watching their own sleeping beauty rest through their hibernation.

Doesn't mean they aren't doing weird shit tho-

-

Robbie: Hey, Honey. Would it bother you if I give you a lil smooch on your cheek?

Robbie, moving Reader's jaw - making their voice deeper: "Heck no! You're so cute and talented I'd be a fool not to accept a kiss from you, bumblebee"

Robbie: Oh, you~ [kisses their cheek] You're the sweetest Honey-bear there ever was.

[Bear Hybrid Reader's eyes open for a split second as Robbie cuddles up to their chest. They slowly drift close - the bear having zero energy to process what the hell is going on]

[jennamoran]

If a strategist from Glitch were to try and go about killing a god (maybe they’ve backslided, maybe the god is just really annoying or trying to kill their friends), how would they go about doing it. What would be the best way to use Eide, Flore, Lore, or Wyrd?

-

Jenna, my readers are always asking me, how do you kill a god? But there is no one size fits all answer to killing gods.

You have to look within yourself.

You have to find the unique way of killing gods that expresses you.

-

Glitch is a game where you tell stories, and an important feature of stories about killing gods is that they are not all the same.

Some are long. Some short.

Some put their protagonists through heck. Some let them just glide through.

Stories can have very different ideas about what it takes, and what it means, to kill a god.

Gods, too, can differ.

-

If you're frustrated, looking at Glitch, trying to find the thing you're supposed to do to accomplish task X, you're misunderstanding the intended flow of play:

To kill a god, decide how you want to kill a god.

Then, express it in the form of actions.

Optionally, discover that you're misaligned with the group zeitgeist on how god-killing stories work, and adjust.

Then, the god dies, or doesn't.

If you're having trouble figuring out how you want to kill a god, then you might need to stick it on a back burner. Over time, you'll have a better understanding not just of the game options the traits provide but of how your character uses them, and some things your character might want to try will gain more dramatic weight in the group zeitgeist.

-

Decide you want to kill a god by shoving it out of your way into the street. Declare that as an everyday Ability action.

Decide you want to kill a god in a complicated flower rite. Declare that as a quest or planning miracle.

Chain it down in a place of sorrow with a Greater Invocation. Erase it with a handwave and your Wyrd. Give in to the wicked voice of your god-killing knife, that whispers to you always, and draw the curtain on the scene, and expect that when the next scene starts it will be dead.

Declare that gods aren't real, and let it poof away.

In every last case, perhaps the group goes, "Yeah, that's a satisfying answer!" Perhaps they don't. If they don't, then your action still "works," in that it happens unless in direct conflict with a stronger action, but it likely doesn't kill the god.

-

A secret is that this is not just how Glitch works.

In almost every RPG, the way you make something happen is get the group on board with that thing happening. All rules can do is help that happen.

If the rules of Glitch could make that happen then you wouldn't even have to read them, you wouldn't even have to know you were playing Glitch, you could think you were playing D&D and accidentally play Glitch instead and the rules would sort that out for you.

They can't.

-

When it comes to killing gods, the game of Glitch bestows a certain implicit authority on higher-level miracles, particularly epic miracles; miracles that take time to play out; miracles that imply in their description that they're on the right power level for killing gods.

Strategy and Greater Strategy are good ones when they apply, because you can get the players on board during the planning process, spend a while playing it out gathering narrative momentum, and then have it feel well-grounded when it works.

If you have a Talent for killing gods, then that probably works well, but also tends to reframe the game as one where you're killing a bunch of gods and more story time gets spent on the ones where there's a twist that makes it difficult. Think of the Traveller in Black; as competent as the traveller is, they still spend most of their time "in play" dealing with entities that are difficult even for them.

Greater Invocation is well-built for attacking gods.

Destruction and Greater Destruction can be good, though honestly they kind of push the GM to make a complex conflict out of it, which in turn means it's actually the Wailing Rite that would serve you best.

Flore is all kind of of one piece, but you'd definitely want to start with a Greater Glorification on a god-killing weapon.

-

If you decide in play to do something that the GM and group think you can probably do, but which they also think should feel difficult and earned, then you probably have to spend some time on either a quest or a spotlight-driven exploration of what's going on with that thing before coming up with a plan people think is cool, executing the plan, and then having the plan mostly work but devolve into some kind of chaotic complex conflict at the end to finish up the final details.

If you decide in play to kill a god ... well, probably the GM and group will believe you can, but also think it should feel difficult and earned. That's kind of what the book implies, at least.

-

In the old days---I once wrote this.

In the old days, they didn't know very much about the world. But they made maps anyway. If they had to map something they couldn't, they just drew whatever they felt like and wrote, "Here there be dragons."

We still don't know very much about the world; and there are things to map of it besides its surface.

How do you write a book?

How do you kill a god?

Can broken things be remade? Can destinies change? Is it worth the risk of hope?

Important questions, but one can only shrug, you see:

Here, there be dragons.

-

As for Glitch, I mean, like ... the game only has two rules, and they're not even a dozen words between them; some things had to be left as exercises for the reader, and the dreamer, and their group.

[nerdygaymormon]

Hi David! 🫶 I'm in institute right now, and I'm kind of googling and reading in D&C 20, and I'm coming to realize with a sinking feeling that anyone can pass the sacrament, including women. It says deacons can't administer the sacrament, they're just passing it (if what I know is correct). In some wards, girls are carrying the trays to people in the mother's lounges already. I want to talk about this, and I want people to know and I want to enact change, but rejection is scary and I don't super know what to do.

Hope you're having a good New Year!

You are absolutely correct. ANYONE can pass the sacrament trays. Heck, most of us do so as we move it down the pew to others.

It used to be that the priesthood was given to grown men but there was no guidelines on age. It was a lot of work to settle the West, but the next generation of Mormons had more time and this caused church leaders to worry about male teens who were hanging out and causing trouble. One bishop's solution was to start ordaining these young men to the Aaronic priesthood and giving them responsibilities, including things like shoveling the snow around the church building. This idea caught on and eventually the Church standardized the ages and responsibilities. Prior to this, anyone could pass the sacrament, and it was common for women to bring the bread and prep the Sacrament table (after all, they made the bread and may have created the covering that went on the table and covered the trays).

There's no reason that we restrict the passing of the sacrament to Deacons other than it's now tradition. Same with Teachers being the ones who prep the sacrament table & trays. Zero priesthood authority is needed for this. These and other traditions cause us to miss out on many of the capabilities and talents of half the congregation (for example, there's no reason that women shouldn't be the Sunday School presidency).

[slothcapsule]

a collection of things kaeya foreshadowed

(copy pasted directly from reddit) one of the main appeal points in Kaeya for me is just how much potential his character holds, and how that gets proven with every new main story-centric update. Everything Kaeya says holds a certain double meaning, and we only get to find them out when we know more, so I thought I'd compile all the things (that I know of) that Kaeya has foreshadowed or teased in one way or another because I feel like I never see anybody mention how many things he's said before started making more sense after we knew more things?

starting with his story quest (1.0) predicts a couple of things! the first one being the first three nations' plotlines. Dvalin being the 'wicked abyss dragon' and Osial being the 'hydra', then in Inazuma signora being the 'silver-haired banshee' (for those who don't know Signora's lore centres around her actions being motivated by grief over the loss of her husband I'm pretty sure, so she can vaguely check the banshee title off)

These connections were proven further in Sumeru! During the Aranyaka (3.0) quest, specifically in a section called 'The Children of Vimara Village' the traveller is asked to tell three kids stories. Paimon references Kaeya directly and they follow the template of telling the children stories about our feats by following what Kaeya has said.

I won't include the whole dialogue section because it would be too long. But essentially: they tell Iotham about Dvalin, Kavus about Osial, and Sudabeh about Ei and Yae Miko. I believe that might be because Signora's story and ending aren't exactly suitable for children, given that she got executed by one of the 'distinguished ladies' after losing a match to the death against the traveller.

Later in the Caribert quest we meet Kaeya at the start and find out he's the descendant of the Abyss Order's founder, Clothar. Now, stay with me please, I admit that this might be a stretch on my part but I do believe if you squint your eyes it makes sense, but what if I tell you that was also foreshadowed in his story quest?

In his story quest, he talks about his grandfather and the sword he had. at the end of the quest, Kaeya does give us the harbinger of dawn to make up for him tricking us. now, if we take into account the time loop theory (which has been proven to at least some extent with the Aranara and all) and the fact that since Kaeya is a descendant of Clothar and our sibling is the prince/princess of the abyss order which Clothar founded, you could kind of say they're vaguely related, and since all that happened like centuries ago and Kaeya is in his alleged 20's, heck, the abyss twin is basically their grandparent!

It's also worth mentioning that the sword harbinger of dawn could also be tied to Dainsleif, otherwise known as "The Twilight Sword." the description of the sword could be vaguely tied to him as well as one who "failed in his duty".

Of course, that piece of dialogue isn't the only thing that foreshadowed the reveal of Kaeya being related to the Abyss Order's founder or even him being some sort of vague royalty. (Regent, I know, but still they're regents that stepped up and took charge)(For the sake of having consistent sources of where I got info from, the regent thing was confirmed in the 2.7 Hidden Strife event). However, before we knew he was a regent, the Kaeya prince theory was by no means unpopular, and there's a collection of things that allude to it. He has a voice line about Fischl in which he teases how appropriate it'd be for him to be a descendant of a royal person. he's the only blade-carrying Knight of Favonius whose normal attacks start with 'Favonius Bladework'. Instead, his normal attacks are titled 'Ceremonial Bladework'.

I cannot find photos for these which saddens me, but I can swear that his second passive talent was named 'Heart of the Abyss' before it was changed to 'Glacial Heart', and his first constellation was 'Royal Blood' before it was changed to 'excellent blood' both of which were great contributors for the theory. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone who has the photos could provide them I feel like I'm going crazy, I'm sure I saw photos before but I can only find people talking about it.

and personally, the craziest one in my opinion is his 'More About Kaeya IV' voice line, which actually teased the five sinners of Khaenri'ah that Dainsleif told us about in Bedtime Story (4.7 !!?)

there was some suspicion about the voice line back in 3.5 when we originally met one of the sinners through our sibling's memories, but I thought nothing could be proven by one guy who goes by sinner because well, maybe he called himself that because that's what they're viewed as! and kaya saying that could be coming from a similar place of talking about Khaenri'ahns as sinners because that's the view that led to their downfall or something. but no there's a kind of group actually titled the sinners that mess with things, that Kaeya seems to be fully aware of.

honorable mentions for things that I personally think will also gain relevance at some point:

possibly relating to a Khaenri'ahn tradition about their right eye? he isnt the first one we've seen with something covering his eye.

Owls are closely tied to the Ragnvindr family actually, and I'm pretty sure that the owl of Dragonspine is supposed to like either a fictional made-up thing or something that's never supposed to be seen, i cannot for the life of me remember where i got that from i might be lying but i remember something like that (maybe the dragonspine gliders?)

Not a screenshot because it's just my personal idea, but I will die on this hill: Kaeya's vision backstory states that after Crepus died, Kaeya was overwhelmed with guilt about it, so much so that he actually went to Diluc's doorstep and confessed everything. Diluc was enraged and the two of them fought. Seems straightforward, except it isn't like, at all actually.

There was a side to Kaeya that he kept hidden from the world: In truth, he was an agent of Khaenri'ah, placed in to serve their interests. His father had abandoned him in this strange and unknown land to fulfill this mission, and it was Master Crepus and the city of Mondstadt that had welcomed him with open arms when they found him. If Khaenri'ah and Mondstadt went to war, which side should he support? To whom should he offer his assistance: his birth father, who had ruthlessly abandoned him? Or his adoptive father, who had loved him and raised him? For the longest time, Kaeya had agonized over these impossible questions, caught between the opposing demands of loyalty and duty, faced with an impossible choice between truth and happiness. But now, Crepus' death upset this delicate balance. He felt liberated, but also ashamed of how selfishly he was responding. As an adopted son, he should have saved Crepus, but he had arrived moments too late. As a brother, he should have shared in Diluc's grief, and yet as their father lay dying on the ground, he had hung back behind his brother, that ancient plot running through his mind.

I have two main points that don't make sense to me about this:

He felt guilty about not showing up on time to help Crepus and Diluc, and Crepus dying made him more conflicted than grief-filled because Crepus was one of the main things tying him to Mondstadt. He found himself deliberating 'that ancient plot' literally right there and then, not even as an afterthought. That guilt then made him confess all his secrets to Diluc, literally in the same day. What I think doesn't fully make sense is the fact that Crepus dying doesn't really feel like enough of a reason for him to go spelling all his secrets. I get that he felt guilty about not feeling all full of grief and instead thinking about a personal conflict, but imo that doesn't seem like enough of a reason to spill secrets of the gravity that Kaeya seems to be holding on to, especially on the same day that it happened in the first place. He spent almost no time mulling it over and thinking about whether or not he should tell Diluc or not, it's almost like not telling him right away would've made everything even worse somehow. Which brings me to my second point.

Why was Diluc so upset over what Kaeya had to say? Kaeya said he anticipated his anger, but what could he have possibly said to make Diluc in his state of grief be angry enough to immediately fight with full intent to harm and possibly even kill his brother, the closest person to him other than his father? Kaeya being an agent of Khaenri'ah doesn't seem like enough of a reason for all that I think. Maybe anger and being really upset, especially considering the timing of it all, but drawing their blades against each other? instantly? you could argue the response was that extreme because Diluc wasn't thinking clearly and was mourning, and the fact that Kaeya was lying about his whole identity ever since he stepped foot in the manor might've set him off, and I'd agree honestly. But I still think both of their reactions were incredibly extreme, even with their heightened emotions.

His vision! every faithful Kaeya enthusiast knows that his vision is slightly different from other Mondstadt vision holders, i don't buy that it was just an honest design mistake honestly, it's an easy fix and a weird mistake to make in the first place, and considering who the vision belongs to I think it was very intentional. maybe his vision is fake and his cryo is actually abyss powers or something ooo (also kind of a joke I have no clue)

I made a whole extensive post about Kaeya's design and all the little details in it (check it out you want to soooo bad it's pinned in my profile) but I think one of the things that could be a subtle foreshadowing and tying into the whole paragraph I made is that Kaeya has some vague fatui elements in his outfit! which is a crazy thing imo

This is all I can come up with at the moment. There might be more that I'm forgetting or unaware of, but I think all this is worth keeping in mind. I love Kaeya and he's been my main for three years, ever since I started playing, but I'd be lying if I told you I don't think he's lying to everyone about a whole bunch of things. I think he might be genuinely conflicted about whether he should stay loyal to his origins or the people who have actually raised and taken care of him, but that does not mean he's not privy to a lot more information than he lets on. Kaeya kind of seems like he knows how everything will turn out, everything he says and does is intentional and thought out. I need him dead, or a 5*.

I'd love to hear anything else you think is suspicious or might take on more meaning in the future from Kaeya! also please correct me if im wrong about anything, a lot of these are thoughts that have been circulating in my head for like years atp but i might've forgotten technicalities on some stuff.

[kyeranmari]

The Emperor Incarnated | SVT Destiny Matrix | Jeonghan

hello, this is kyeranmari ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

welcome to the first installment of my seventeen destiny matrix readings!

since this is a special time, i'd like to start by reading into the destiny matrix chart of my ult bias: jeonghan ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧˚

in particular, i'd like to explore his central arcana.

for those who aren't familiar, the central arcana is basically the energy that lives in your core. similar to your sun sign in astrology, this is the energy that sort of...summarizes all the other aspects & energies you can find in your chart. this is who you are in your most comfortable state.

jeonghan's central arcana is symbolized by the number 4. this is the energy of the emperor.

often associated with "authority, leadership, control, and structure", the emperor is regarded as one of the most powerful energies in all of tarot and numerology. having this in any aspect of your destiny matrix chart calls you to take lead, be dutiful, be in control, and/or be organized. in addition, this also signifies that you have a natural talent for resolving problems, guiding people, making salient decisions, and establishing solid foundations.

and we've seen evidences of these in jeonghan's life and his relationship with seventeen.

one that sticks out to me is, in the first episode of game caterers x seventeen, it was revealed that jeonghan had a very vital role in the group. he was the boys' main confidant and counselor.

he claims that he does this because he doesn't do much in the team (which i absolutely 100% disagree with), and so he took the role of listening and guiding them through their woes.

anyone who has been in this position had once or has constantly wondered why people come to them with the trust that they have the right answers for their problems. and more often than not, they fail to recognize that it is because of their natural gift of wisdom that draws people in.

although i don't know how their exchanges go in particular, as someone with the empress at their core, i could infer that the themes and language of the wisdom they seek from jeonghan is more objective and structural (unlike that of the empress' affective and spiritual approach). despite na pd characterizing jeonghan's role as "motherly", i'd like to argue that jeonghan's approach might be more of a "dad's way" of looking at the world. i am in no way claiming that this approach is unemotional. rather, it's probably more focused on "what are you gonna do about it?" than "how are you feeling about it?"

people with the emperor at the center are generally caring people. they make taking care of the things they love their duty and responsibility. you can expect them to be committed to giving love and affection.

and we could see jeonghan embody this trait through his most recent series called haniwajjong, a special spin to i-goya (his svt rec series) consisting of all the vlogs he filmed starting from september of 2023. according to him, he did this so that carats could have something to watch while he's in the period of military service.

i would be lying if i say i don't find this so touching, that it almost brings me to tears. as a jjongjjongiefan, i couldn't help but miss him a heck ton, even though i used to say that i won't be emotional about it. but alas, and behold! my ult bias is dedicated to caring about his fans. he didn't have to do this. no one asked for it. but he did it out of his own volition.

he found a way to resolve the dilemma between his civic duties and his deemed responsibility as an idol. this, to me, is how he embodies the energy of the emperor the most. im trying not to cry.

people like jeonghan who hold the emperor at their center are also blessed with wit, strategy, and competency to the point of victory. you know that they're in their best state when they win or they're in a situation where they can exercise these qualities.

this explains why jeonghan is just unbelievably good at every game and every sport he participates in. remember when they dedicated a whole going seventeen series (one million won) just so seventeen can have a chance to beat him?

jeonghan shines best in gose series that make use of strategy and brain power (one million won, liar liar, catch stock, don't lie, good offer).

not to mention, he's also athletic as fuck. any carat who's watched at least half of the entirety of going seventeen knows how the members are always drawn to him during physical team games. this moment from game caterers x seventeen is one of my favorites.

because it's in this same show that he's opened up about his energy "deficiency" (he's so my bias here because me too), and yet we see him still play so well, proving that his athleticism stems from a natural gift of it.

jeonghan's smarts go beyond his entertainment career, though, as he's currently pursuing his mba in anyang university. prior to this, he graduated with a degree in practical music (major in k-pop) from hanyang university's institute for future talents. which makes sense, though, as education is important to seventeen as a group themselves!

oh, and another thing!

something one must remember about the emperor is that this card/number has the energy of the divine masculine. in pop culture (on tiktok, specifically, ugh), the divine masculine is often associated with a man who's strong, well-built, powerful, and is a provider. think a hunky ceo with slicked back hair, a clean beard, with his head always in the game. he's always quiet and observant, always watching like an omnipotent being. however, i'd like everyone to understand that while this could be a result of having the emperor in your chart if you're a man, this isn't the one true image of it.

i mentioned this because i know people might be curious about this aspect, too. but quite honestly, i don't want to elaborate on this much as someone's sexuality is even more personal than the aspects i mentioned above.

all i can say is that to me, jeonghan deserves to be the face of divine masculinity more than the average man. because apart from looking godly (taking the literal meaning of divine here just for the giggles), jeonghan expresses his masculinity to us in such a comfortable way. i can't help but appreciate the complexity of his character. to me, jeonghan is what masculinity looks like if it had evolutions, and he's the final form.

besides, didn't seungcheol mention somewhere that jeonghan is the manliest out of all of them? like...look at him....im....weak

if you think i have a preference for long, black-haired jeonghan no i don't i swear i-

in conclusion, it's not surprising that a lot of people love and rely on jeonghan. he has such an admirable and inspiring core that naturally draws people to him. he inspires action within other people, whether it by simply breathing or by using his cutieful antics. to me, he's the perfect caricature of what a man should be.

a true reflection of the emperor at the core.

----------

notes: as i've mentioned in this post, i'll be using seventeen's destiny matrix charts as a way to hone my skills as a reader. i'd also like to note the readings i do may contain inaccuracies as there are a lot of factors that prevent me from reading accurately. though i'm familiar with divination, i'm still at the starting point of my journey in practicing it. plus, i don't know seventeen personally, so i'm basing my readings based off of the things they show us. ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

i'll also be taking it slow for now, only sharing bits and pieces of information as it takes a lot of energy to read and find supporting materials. so forgive me if the information you might be looking for isn't in any of my readings today and in the future! joesorryhamnida 人´∀｀)

if you have additional input, corrections, and/or questions, please don't hesitate to share them! i'd love to learn with & from my fellow carats ✧ദ്ദി( ˶^ᗜ^˶ ) so let's yap about this together!

anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for having the patience to read through! i know it's a lot of ramble & reflection, but i appreciate your attention! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

see ya in the next post, caratdeul ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

p.s. i love you and i miss you so much jeonghan ૮(˶ㅠ︿ㅠ)ა please take care always my love (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ)♡

[freesia-writes]

Master List of Clone Wars/Bad Batch Fanartists, PART ONE

Part Two here!

Hi guys. I'm always trying to remember all the AMAZING talent we have here, so I wanted to try to put together a master list of the fanartists in this particular realm. If you have any to add, yourself included, you can either comment or reblog it and I'll add it to the list! Or, if you're not active anymore or wish to be removed, feel free to let me know. 💙 I'll put em in alphabetical order so they're easier to find.

Edited to add: DANG, I can only tag 50 peeps at once. And it keeps giving me an error message even with fewer than 50. What the heck?

@alamogirl80

@amalthiaph

@amorfista

@beandraws

@beetlecrest

@boggsart

@cloned-eyes

@clonemedickix

@cobaltbeam

@constant-brain-fog

@coralsnake

@eyecandyeoz

@frostbitebakery

@gt13tbbart

@gregorsmissingarmor

@hauntingacorpse

@hunterssecretrecipe

@kajira-kreations

@kimbureh-but-its-only-the-art

@leon-anna

@lightspringrain

@literallyjustanerd

@lornaka

@madsayo

@marymunchkiin

@mythical-illustrator

@nika6q

@perfectlywingedcrusade

@pinkiemme

@powdered-kneecaps

@raevulsix

@razzbberry

@snotbuggle

@shyranno

@skeltrr

@sleepingsun501

@sokadraws

@thattoothpick

@theotherartblog

@toastyrobos

@tsarevichh

@ve-ti-ver

@verndusk

@vimse

@wenalena

@zaana

[ciaomarie]

Rewatching season 1 and finished ep.6 today. I'm BLOWN away that from where we are in episode 6 that by the end of episode 8, Carmy wants Sydney to be his CDC and right-hand girl.

So, here's a recap. in Ep. 6 Sydney is zealously trying to convince Carmy to let her add a new dish to the menu and the to-go menu. Despite him repeatedly asking her to discuss it later, Syd keeps going, and he has to go into boss mode, basically telling her that her prior employers described her as talented but impatient and VERY GREEN. He promises to consider her suggestions, but he also wants to enjoy the relative peace they've finally established at The Beef.

Then later she presents him with the dish, this time considerately asking him if it's a good time to try it. He does calling it tremendous, but the sauce is a little tight. It's also not perfect and it's not there yet...Her face is cracked, but she soldiers on. Later he apologizes if he was " being sh***** earlier (he wasn't imo). Sydney answers, "It's all good" and he asks, "Yeah?" and she confirms they're good. Baby boy doesn't go around apologizing to even Natalie unless she confronts him.

Anyways...episode 7 is the to-go debacle, Sydney quitting in the middle of it, and then returning at the end of episode 8. This is when Carmy decides that this impatient and VERY GREEN young woman will be the CDC of his restaurant, The Bear, the dream he wanted to share with Mikey.

Yes, Sydney helped a lot with getting The Beef running more smoothly, but this is his dream since forever and his $$ on the line. Why not keep her as the sous when he has access to an elite culinary network? Someone might be willing to take a risk now that he's opening The Bear. Heck, he could even use ZipRecruiter. Either Chris Storer & Co. are writing a fairy-tale where a successful, award-winning, Michelin-retaining male chef will put all his trust in a significantly less experienced, stubborn female chef he's known for maybe a 3-6 months tops OR this man is at least subconsciously down bad for Sydney.

Like if this stays platonic, this is the most Disney-fied unrealistic platonic partnership I've ever seen. We love these characters for how real and flawed they are, but that decision is hard to swallow unless there's something complicated underneath.

[karasukarei]

Wind Breaker DVD/BR Vol. 6 bonus content – Boufuurin Vs Shishitoren Maruhi ㊙ Talk and Battle - Part 1

This is the translation of the vol. 6 bonus with the DVD/Bluray! I did not buy it for the bonus. I did buy it because Umemiya is featured on the cover. I have my priorities right.

There's 3 (4?) main parts to this - (1) Boufuurin x Shishitoren talk, (2) Hiiragi x Sako talk + (3) battle, (4) Boufuurin x Shishitoren battle. The battles are kinda hard to understand without the video, so I'll leave that aside for now and focus on just the talks.

As these are more like talk shows, there's quite a few areas where multiple people are talking over each other; in such instances, I will be omitting some of the stuff being said if it's repetitions or if they do not add on to the main stuff being spoken.

Important: A lot of what NakaYuu says will seem very cold/ indifferent on paper, and unfortunately this is one of those things that get lost in translation. In context, he's actually playing the deadpan fool like his pal Sugitan.

For the rest of my translations, see this post!

Boufuurin x Shishitoren talk

Sakura (CV: Uchida Yuuma - Yuuma)

Umemiya (CV: Nakamura Yuuichi - NakaYuu)

Choji (CV: Totani Toya Kikunosuke - Toya) (t/n: there's this running gag that has an origin I'm unaware of, apparently some people read his name wrongly and called him Totani instead and I admit that for the longest time I really thought it was read as Totani. The 谷 in 戸谷 can be read as either "ya" or "tani", and both are pretty common readings, hence the confusion)

(if anyone wants to hear me ramble about multiple readings for names please DM me I will be so happy to go on this long shpiel about meeting 3 people with 3 different readings of the same character before)

Togame (CV: Umehara Yuuichirou - Umechan) (t/n: yes I'm here to confuse the heck out of you)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yuuma: Hello everyone! I'm the voice actor of Sakura Haruka for the television anime Wind Breaker, Uchida Yuuma!

NakaYuu: Umemiya Hajime's Nakamura Yuuichi! (t/n: he was drawling a lot here wwww)

Toya: Tomiyama Choji's Toya Kikunosuke! (t/n: he is really so cute I want to protecc) (I also cannot emphasise enough just how talented he is; he sounds NOTHING like Choji irl)

Umechan: Togame Jo's Umehara Yuuichiro, thanks for having me.

Everyone: Thanks for having us! (t/n: it's the usual yoroshiku onegaishimasu greeting and I can never figure out how to properly translate it)

Yuuma: Speaking of, to everyone who bought the anime package (i.e. the DVD or blu-ray), will be receiving this special bonus, ehhh. ~It's Wind Breaker~ (comes with sparkles too) everyone.

NakaYuu: That's right.

(everyone chuckles)

Toya: We've even worn these jackets!

NakaYuu: Why are you doing it? (t/n: LMAO)

*everyone laughs*

Umechan: On the other hand, *points at Yuuma and NakaYuu* you're here like this?

Toya: It feels different there. (t/n: this is not an entirely accurate translation, but i'm pretty tired today and don't feel like explaining now. What he said was 気合違いますよ which has a bit more nuance; I'll explain in an edit next time.)

Yuuma: This is my regular...

Umechan: Gakuran? (t/n: this is the style of school uniforms worn by Boufuurin)

NakaYuu: It's not that. *very seriously*

Toya: Yuuma-san's clothes actually of give off a bit of the feel of gakurans...

Yuuma: It's not a gakuran ^_^

***

Yuuma: With that, the four of us from Wind Breaker, Shishitouren and Boufuurin will have a talk with each other.

Everyone (i think): Yes!

Yuuma: It's been a while since we've recorded our lines, and I think there'll be lots of memories we'll be reminiscing upon, but in Wind Breaker, there's often talk of speaking with our fists; Nakamura-san and I first joined from the PV, it's been a while, hasn't it? (t/n: They're referring to a special video they recorded for an event in Shibuya in 2021)

NakaYuu: It's a while back, isn't it?

Yuuma: Around 2021, yes.

NakaYuu: About two years before the anime, I think.

Umechan: It's from before the anime?

NakaYuu: Yes yes yes, when you get to our level it's like that. (t/n: this is absolutely dripping in sarcasm fyi; NakaYuu can only get away with a joke like this cos he's the oldest here) You start getting involved even before the anime is announced.

Yuuma: As for the two of you (Shishitoren), you guys auditioned?

Umechan: Yes...

Toya: We auditioned and received our roles.

Yuuma: You two make a great combo, how was it like performing together?

Umechan: It's my first time working with Toya-kun.

Toya: Yes it is.

Umechan: It was really refreshing. The other cast members, I've met them quite often at other places, so I sort of know how things will turn out with them. It's only Toya-kun I don't know anything about.

Toya: For me, it's my first time meeting most of the cast members, I remember that during the first recording I was really really nervous.

Umechan: I didn't know how it would turn out, but he was very Tomiyama-ish.

Yuuma: That's the matching being done (t/n: this might be a mistranslation; he literally uses "matching" in katakana, I'm not sure if there's an alternative meaning I'm missing out.)

NakaYuu: There's difficulty in reading him. (i.e. in reading his character)

***

Yuuma: Next is the visual commentary part, where we watch the anime while giving comments on it. First up, is this match!

T/N: I'm going to skip some parts and summarise some parts, as it's going to be pretty much impossible to match the dialogue and scene one on one without video

Sakura vs Togame

When Umechan first recorded for Togame, he spoke so slowly he was surprised, and in the end that take was used for the anime. It got easier to speak slowly as he practiced more, but at first he had to make a conscious effort to go slow.

Togame's script also had a lot of markings at the end of words (e.g. dashes), to indicate that the words should be drawn out / spoken slowly.

While filming the fight scenes, they thought quite a lot about what to ad lib and how to draw breaths in between lines. They were told it wasn't necessary to do it for everything, but on the day of recording they decided that they did want to include the ad libs and breaths for the whole thing.

NakaYuu, at the point when Sakura is kicked by Togame with his geta on: Getting kicked by the geta looks bad. (t/n: NO SHIT SHERLOCK)

Umechan: I would've preferred him to wear sneakers, it can absorb the impact a bit.

Yuuma: The geta is really hard.

NakaYuu: Of course it is.

NakaYuu, at the point when Sakura's head is stomped on by Togame with his Geta: That looks bad.

Yuuma: He's a real beast!

Umechan: Everyone, this is fiction.

Yuuma: Please don't try the same thing at home.

Umechan, at the point when Togame took off his geta: If he hadn't taken off his geta, I think he would have won. (t/n: LMAO)

NakaYuu: This is a power down event.

Umechan: His reach is now one geta shorter.

NakaYuui: His reach and power have both dropped. But his grip is stronger now

Umechan: It would've been fine if he hadn't taken it off.

NakaYuu: It's probably cos it feels strange using a weapon when he wants to fight fair and square.

t/n: WHY ARE THEY FEEDING INTO EACH OTHER'S CHAOS

Everyone in turn, when Sakura and Togame kicked each other in the face: The geta. the geta!

Yuuma: It's a good thing he's not wearing the geta.

NakaYuu: If he was wearing the geta he would've won.

Yuuma: Togame is a really great guy, fighting for Choji's sake. Thanks for the great battle! Next is this battle!

TO BE CONTINUED

[midnightmah07]

Character info:

Finally made a little reference sheet for Piper!

He's a young half fae boy born around the same time as Jeanne, knowing her basically his entire life as Jeanne's family had a home close to his family's. He was always eager to play with her, but he often irritated Jeanne because of his overly childish manner, as well as his selfishness and arrogance. Piper has everything that Jeanne has ever wanted to have (a loving family, a normal childhood, and the approval of Jeanne's father), and this makes her have an extreme hatred towards him, often calling him a 'brat' and insulting him to his face, which never seems to make Piper irritated or discouraged to speak to her. he's also considerably immature even now at the age of 16, often spoiled by his parents and getting away with his lack of responsibility and social cues. He's very talented at sports, being in RSA's Spelldrive team, but is easily bored and doesn't care about learning other topics as "my family is wealthy anyway, why the heck would I need to learn all that?"

More info might be added/changed in the future, tho he is more a plot device than an actual character that I focus on!

Basic info:

Height: 1,60cm

Age: 16 years old

Nicknames: brat (by Jeanne)

Twisted from: Peter Pan

Race: half fae

Dominant hand: right

Club: RSA's Spelldrive team

Favorite food: anything spicy

Best subject: flight

Unique Magic: Think Happy Thoughts - grants him the ability to fly without a broom for as much time as he wants to. Normal faes may disregard this as stupid, but since he's merely a half fae this is a wonderful spell, and he doesn't care if others think less of it anyway, he's happy with it.

Relationship dynamics:

Jeanne Hook: Jeanne is to Piper what Captain Hook is to Peter Pan, a rival. He's always thought Jeanne as someone interesting, going as far as to visit Jeanne everytime her family would stop by Briar Valley to play with her and invent new games; He was always complimented by her father while she was always put down for not being nearly as talented, that plus the fact that he could act as immature as he wanted and have as much fun as he wanted while she was forced to be an adult at the age of 12 made her jealous and angry. Piper is also the reason she lost her left hand.

Isabelle Desrosiers: Piper is infatuated with Isabelle, but his advances are always turned down and are unwanted, Neige often tells him to drop it, especially because Isabelle is already arranged to marry someone else. His crush on her is just because of her beautiful appearance, and because her interests in everything that bores him intrigues him. Isa tolerates him but puts her foot down when needed.

Neige LeBlanche: Neige and him don't get along very well. Neige tries to be nice and kind to him, but he gets a bit annoyed at how be acts around Isa since they're great friends. Piper thinks he's too good for his own good, wanting him to let loose a little.

Chenya: Piper and Chenya get along quite well, as they're both chaotic in nature and feed off of teasing and annoying others. I assume Chenya helps Piper understand his limits as time goes on and helps him with understanding other people better and respecting them.

Dividers.a

[zarvasace]

The last, and probably my current favorites of the bunch: Prince and Mirage, dark Warriors and dark Legend! I keep trying to put the images side-by-side so they don't take up as much room but Tumblr HATES that. Sorry.

My document with all these boys' descriptions on it is over 7k words. Holy heck. Hope you like them. XD Masterpost

More information and art beneath the cut yayyy

Prince

Prince is dark Warriors. 

Cia gave Warriors a lot of unwanted attention, which he spurned. Prince, on the other hand, wouldn't just accept the attention, but would have welcomed it. He wasn't entirely autonomous when he was summoned, but he remembers everything. He knows that he never wants to not be in control of himself ever again.

Instead of championing freedom, however, Prince makes a point of controlling others. If he controls them, they can't control him. Shackle is similar, but they have different methods. While Shackle prefers physical subjugation to be sure they're in his power, Prince uses manipulation. He pretends to be your friend, all the while gaining your trust. His job is made all the easier by his own special talent: Charm. 

Prince’s Charm is a supernatural ability to influence people. Where Madness takes over bodies, Prince sways the mind. His Charm is something he can turn on and off at will, at different intensities. It doesn't work well on any being with too much light, but it does work on criminals or people with guilt and secrets. The other Darks are susceptible to it, though after… an incident… Prince doesn't do it to them. Usually. 

It works like this: Prince identifies his target, which can be an individual or an entire crowd. He turns his Charm on intentionally, and depending on how hard he pushes, his target’s attention is drawn to his face. Because he does not look human, he then has to quickly begin talking, to pour even more Charm on. If he does it right (it does require skill and charisma), the target forgets his appearance is anything out of the ordinary. He needs a minute or two of conversation and rakish smiles to dig his claws deep enough that they don't remember anything unusual once they stop looking right at him. Prince uses his Charm to get information, favors, and generally spread his anti-Link agenda. The riskier or weirder his request is, the more Charm he has to layer on, and some people just straight up won't do some things. The Charm wears off after a while, depending on the target and how long they were exposed to it, which takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks, averaging out at a day or two. 

Prince has to choose his targets wisely, which can be difficult to do because he does not look human and does not have any kind of magical disguise. That last point is a sore spot. He doesn't want a disguise, he just wants people to stop looking at him like he's going to burn their house down, thank you very much. He only has their best interests at heart. Prince is bitter and extremely envious about Warriors winning hearts so easily thanks to his good looks and natural charisma, so Prince does his best to do the same without them. His Charm is better anyway. 

…It's a good thing he hasn't actually been let loose on a population yet. 

(Warriors is a bit of a flirt, but not too badly. Prince makes a game out of trying to make people fall in romantic love with him as fast as he can. (Author’s note: I'm not touching sex. That is not the sort of story I want to tell here.))

Prince doesn't need food, and he doesn't need to breathe, but he does need to use his Charm. Because he magically learns a bit of information about his targets when he's focused on them, his theory is that he leeches from their emotions, or their identities, or something of that sort. He hasn't shared the theory with anyone, but the Dark Chain does know that Prince needs to use his Charm or he starts to get very, very hangry. It's a physical need for him. Of course, pushing too hard or trying to Charm too many people at once gives him migraines. 

Prince considers himself a leader, and it rankles him a bit that Depth is the one in charge. He contents himself with sitting back and letting Depth do all the hard things, though he has Charmed Depth several times into going along with what Prince wants to do. Prince sees Shackle as a sort of protege in the ways of manipulation, and occasionally provides pointers about how to subtly get under people’s skin. Prince and Madness end up working together a lot, since Prince can Charm Madness’s thralls into forgetting they ever lost time, or he can make up memories for them. Sometimes the two of them get migraines at the same time, which spells out lots of “fun” for everyone else. He fights a lot with Mirage and is always trying to catch Agony off-guard to give him a good scrubbing. He's the only reason that Nothing or Dire get baths, too. 

Prince is arrogant and ambitious, yes. He's proud of his appearance and does his best to stay clean and orderly—he doesn't mind the memories of military training that he gets from Warriors, since those routines help him to be efficient. He wears a copy of Warriors’s outfit, but fancier, with a fluffy shirt and a corset on top, and his tunic is purple because (1) it's opposite green on some color wheels and (2) it's the color of royalty. His silvery hair is a little longer than Warriors’s is, and he wears a luxurious red cape.

Sometimes he puts a little too much flair into his moves, but he's proficient with as many weapons as Warriors is, if less practiced. He talks a lot, boasts a lot, and casually jabs where it hurts. He holds a lot of jealousy and hate in his heart, and if he gets a little drunk, he'll go on and on about how much he dislikes Warriors, specifically. 

Prince’s ultimate ambition is to rule his Hyrule as undisputed, beloved emperor. He wants to do that by winning the hearts of every soldier, every servant, every noble. He wants to steal Warriors’s relationships right out from under him without him noticing. Prince knows that he can't rely on his temporary Charm to do that, though, so his plan is to ally with the organizations of traitors throughout Hyrule and add his persuasive charm and Charm to their efforts, eventually rising to become their leader. 

Prince’s best dreams involve him standing over a defeated Warriors on the balcony of the castle, a crown on his head and a queen on his arm (or king. He just thinks stealing Artemis or Impa would make it all the sweeter), with crowds below cheering for him. He has plans to keep the aging Warriors as an honored “guest” in the castle for as long as he lives, doomed to watch his beloved, darkened kingdom flourish under Prince’s ruby eyes. Someday, Prince will change his name to Link, stealing that from Warriors, too. 

Prince Link. Wait, no. King Link. No, even better… Emperor Link. 

Actually, he doesn't like the sound of Emperor. He’ll workshop that title.  

Mirage

Mirage is dark Legend, patterned after the Nightmares that Legend fought on Koholint. He knows Legend will know that immediately. 

Mirage is truly shape-fluid. His form is extremely malleable, though he can't keep up looking perfectly like a human for more than half an hour or so—he starts to melt and revert back to his most comfortable state, which is a close copy of Legend, his matter constantly shifting and dripping and melting. (Most comfortable state, not his true form. Does he have a true form? He doesn't know what it is if he does.) He is best at mimicking nonspecific human forms and small reptiles. He pretended to be a bush once, but wasn't very convincing. 

Mirage’s gooey flesh doesn't have many pain or touch receptors, and he doesn't need any kind of structure beneath the goo to stand up. He's very good at energy dispersion, so punching him means that you're either punching a brick wall or that your fist is getting absorbed. His goo is as warm as flesh and very slightly acidic, so touching him for too long can burn. He doesn't need to breathe, but he does digest organic material or minerals to build on his mass. He's weak against energy-type attacks, like acid or fire or ice, but it doesn't hurt him in the traditional sense and he can always build himself back up. He can drop entirely flat and easily squeezes through small gaps. 

Most traditional dungeon traps do absolutely nothing to Mirage: spike traps don't hurt him, as holes in his form mean nothing; he doesn't really take fall damage, just splatters a bit until he can pull himself together; giant axes that cleave him in two don't actually hurt him, either. There is one small part of Mirage’s matter that is his core. If he gets cut into pieces, the rest of him will shrivel up and evaporate in an hour or two, but his core stays alive and can regrow in a matter of days. If he gets to any cut-off piece before it evaporates, he can reassimilate it. He often messes with his form to take on any physical challenge: looking around corners with an eye on a hand; growing taller to see over a wall; spreading out his feet and legs to float on water; squeezing into cracks in an ice block and expanding in the right spot to make it all shatter. 

Mirage doesn't speak often, preferring to keep quiet. His voice is soft and slithering, with hissing Ss and a pitch that ranges from whispery to shrill. It's the worst voice in the group after Depth’s. He isn't the smartest of the Darks, but he is quite observant and if he does speak up, there's something important to pay attention to. Mirage often just goes with the group decisions, performing whatever role they require, though privately he absolutely resents having to work with anyone else, because Mirage works alone. He doesn't need companions, friends, shopkeepers, or family; he doesn't need vehicles, mounts, money, magic items, or even weapons. When he means alone, he means Very Alone. 

The thing about Legend—despite the masks and attitude he puts on—is that he cares, so so much. He cares about people being happy and safe, he bonds with everyone nice he meets whether he knows it or not, he is self-sacrificing and always working for a better world, even when people don't ask for it. Mirage does not care about much of anything except himself. He would be most content wandering around a mountain, causing a bit of chaos in a nearby town, and using his abilities to traverse impossible paths, especially through caves, just because he can. He doesn't care about the other Darks (that's a bit more of a lie than he thinks it is), he doesn't care about Legend, he doesn't care about covering the world in darkness. He’s just dragged around and knows that they have to finish this stupid mission thing before he can be left in peace. 

Mirage is somewhat fascinated with the way humans work. He's closer to an octopus or other eldritch sea creature himself, and mimics reptilian forms, but the more he learns about humans, the better he can mimic them. He might not care much about many things, but he's curious. He likes to investigate corpses (especially if he can eat them—the Dark Chain’s favorite way of “disappearing” people) and find out new things about their anatomy and chemical compositions, things he knows about and can memorize to reproduce in his own gooey flesh later. As such, he sometimes annoys the other Darks by poking at them or “testing” their senses or limits. 

He gets along best with Lost, who doesn't care much, either, and doesn't get mad at his questions or testing. Mirage responds by taking Lost babysitting duty more than his fair share. (His apathy means he's really patient with Lost and Nothing and Madness.) He makes a good team with Agony, who he sees as very similar to himself, except Agony is clearly more driven. Agony is the quick and sharp counterpart to Mirage’s slow and inevitable destruction. (And it doesn't hurt that Agony is the electricity wielder among them, so if Agony sort of likes Mirage, then all the better.) 

In a normal fight, Mirage is all but indestructible, walking through battle without problems. He doesn't bother attacking until someone hurts him, usually with fire or something similar. Then Mirage will focus to get rid of the threat—and he’s aware that the others expect him to target and take out Legend, so he does that if he has to. He's all but impossible to fight without elemental aid, and while he isn't too quick, he hits HARD and has a lot of tricks up his metaphorical sleeves. 

Still, the fact remains that if you manage to hurt him, you hurt him a lot. Mirage isn't complicated, but he's very flexible and can do things nobody is prepared for. 

(sorry for the low contrast. But hey, my goo-drawing skills are finally relevant! Look at that hat! And the foot!)

[seventeenlovesthree]

@digimon02countdown Day 7 - What do you love about Digimon Adventure 02?

While my attachment to Digimon started and persisted due to my love to the original Adventure, there are still quite a few things about 02 that always kept me around. I have already hinted at it in previous posts; the relationships, similarities and support between the "older" and "new" Chosen Children, the concept of the multiverse, Jogress evolution (also the fact that my OTP are absolute dads to the kids)... But I'd say the most important aspect for me is the bonding between the characters. And nothing signifies this more for me, nothing is as outstanding, significant and vibrant - as the development of the relationship between Daisuke and Ken.

I would argue that, overall, no relationship gets that much focus, that much visible positive development than these two. And yes, upon getting asked, I will never deny that, in my opinion, there is a sense of romantic tension between them too, but in this post, I just want to write about how fascinating, soothing and beautiful their bond is to me in general.

Their initial set-up is, once again, that of rivals. That is a theme Digimon has always been playing with - but I'd say no other series threw that trope for a loop like this before. On one hand, there is the fact that they're both playing football, even ending up facing each other at a point in the series where Ken is still considered to be that perfect, untouchable genius, good at and with everything, while Daisuke is considered a thick-headed knucklehead, goodhearted, but brash and not really talented in many areas - and yet, he still admired Ken at this point. Then of course, there is the fact that they're on opposing ends, enemies in the Digital World, having brutal, cruel fights against one another as Chosen Child vs. Digimon Kaiser - until the spell breaks, with the Crest of Miracles breaking Ken's curse.

And from now on, the boy - who's responsible for his own Digimon partner's death and the suffering of so many others - will have to face the aftermath of what he's done, dealing with guilt and self-esteem issues, feeling unworthy and unlovable.

But then there is Daisuke - the only one who immediately wants to give him the chance to atone for what he's done. He is not forgiving him right away, but wants him to be able to make up for everything - and with kindness and the persistence to not let him sacrifice himself and die, they achieve the unthinkable: Their Digimon combine, their hearts pound in sync. They seem to be connected in ways that make Daisuke get excited - and scare the heck out of Ken. He thought he didn't have anything or anyone else but his reborn Digimon partner and family, and now there's this boy he used to fight, he used to be enemies with... Who simply wants to be his friend, who wants them to be "partners" and work together.

It's confusing, it's scary. While Daisuke is sure that they're meant to be and fight next to each other, it takes time for Ken to feel ready to take the steps towards him, the others, forming bonds, friendships. But Daisuke being Daisuke makes it so much easier for him to let his walls down, slowly but steadily enabling him to show his gentle and soft side, starting to trust and rely on him as much as he does in return.

And Daisuke? Daisuke is displaying a sense of confidence and comfort that we rarely saw before - he tended to be so focused on impressing others, covering up his own insecurities with cockiness. But his bond with Ken makes all his natural kindness and straightforwardness come through easily. He may appear more simple-minded at first glance, but his heart has the right priorities - and he'll do what it takes to save Ken, from himself, from darkness, helping him to be his true self.

Daisuke doesn't doubt their connection for a second - and that's why it's so important that Ken is still able to shake him. That he has an impact on him like no other. He will give Ken all the time he needs to face his demons, to do the things that are uncomfortable to him - and he'll be by his side all the way.

They are partners, they've got each other's backs. And as long as they don't lose sight of themselves and each other, it will always be this way.