#colorful vs colorless

[lost-sunset-canine]

After being bedridden for a week with 80% of my time sleeping due to sickness, I finally managed to draw Tobias in his glory !! I never really did him right and had a even somewhat usuable proper reference for him it was incredibly fun to actually draw his wings, although they are so colorful, he holds back a lot with colorful clothing and wears white for the most part, as visible :) he slays uwu it was s satisfying to render and shade after being sick for so long >°< -dairiem

OHG LAWRD I look so cool beansies like that, wings be big 'n all but no worries they be aint no worries to handle loving this like a cowboy licking good chicken >:) -To

[fifty-ten]

everytime i make a (long) full-color comic im like "agh! this would have been better in greyscale/bw!" but then the next time i make a comic it's still full-color

[wheeloffortune-design]

if you were not able to see the aurora, don't get fooled by everyone's pics-- the modern cameras can see more color and light than the naked eye.

what the camera sees vs what we really saw

it was still impressive, and big, but it was also pale, colorless, and blurred. You could feel the movement more than see it.

so like, don't imagine that the whole sky went technicolor while you were sleeping.

[afledglings-guideto-witchcraft]

Updated Post. Imma be real for a sec, some of the new information that was brought to my attention is amazing and, in fact, very helpful, so I'm making an updated post to this one here.

A Beginners Guide to Crystals.

How to spot fakes (typically glass) and dyed crystals, Crystal Shapes, and Crystal Color Associations are the topics in this post.

How to spot glass, resin, and other types of fake crystals. (You can still 100% use them in witchcraft, but if you want genuine crystals, then this guide may help you do just that!)

If you think that your crystals are fake, here are some things you can look and do to tell.

Rubbing your crystal with a finger should reveal tiny pores on the surface of the crystal. If it does not have any pores and is instead completely smooth, then it's possible that it's glass or resin.

While some crystals can have naturally formed air bubbles in them, it is rare and may just be glass that was shaped into the crystal.

You can easily search up "fake crystal name" vs. "real crystal name" and compare the two pictures.

You can also look up "dyed crystals" vs. "undyed crystals" to see what a natural coloring of crystals should look like.

If you're worried that your turquoise is fake, then you can take the tip of a hot pin and press it into the crystal, if it burns then it's real, however if it starts to melt its a fake.

Opalite and Goldstone are glass crystals, man made.

9/10 times if your Crystal looks very brightly colored it could have been dyed.

I'll put in some pictures of glass/resin crystals next to the real crystals to show the difference.

Natural coloring of crystals occurs because of the different metals and other minerals that are absorbed during the creation of the crystal. Quartz is just silica and oxygen, so it's appears colorless, but when iron is absorbed, it creates purple or yellow, depending on how oxidized the iron was in the creation of the crystal.

Natural citrine does form, but it's not going to look burned or splochty.

Splotchy color in crystals usually means that it's been dyed, as you can see in the first two images. Dyed crystals also very obviously look dyed because of how brightly they are colored.

Even in Malachite, the green in the fake malachite is brighter than the genuine malachite. You can also look at the unnatural banding on the fake and compare it to real malachite.

Real opal is not see-through like Opalite is. Real opal is more clouded with spots of color, while opalite will have streaks of color or look like the see-through ones above.

Real turquoise is going to have brown or black webbings and cracks or chips, while dyed howlite is going to be smooth with brown or black inclusions. You can take a swab of acetone and rub it across the crystal to see if any coloring comes off. If the color does come off or the crystal looks lighter in the spot, then it's more than likely dyed howlite. You can also do that hot pin trick mentioned above.

The picture on the left is dyed howlite, while on the right is the natural turquoise. You can see that the natural crystal has deep webbing into the stone, very obvious cracks while the holite doesn't have cracks, only webbing that looks like it but it's going to be smooth along those lines.

Crystal Shapes in witchcraft

Double pointed- absorbs and emits energy.

Cluster- Radiates energy.

One point- concentrates and directs energy.

Raw- Strong open energy.

If the crystal is more round then the energy is going to be calmer

If the crystal has multiple points, then the energy is directed off of each point.

The size of the crystal doesn't dictate the amount of energy it gives off.

Different crystals have different energies that they give off. The ones most commonly used in witchcraft and their properties are listed below.

Clear quartz- Clarity

Amethyst- Grounding

Citrine- Happiness

Rose quartz- love

Black Tourmaline- Protection

Obsidian- also protection

Aventurine- luck

Tigers eye- money

Labradorite- aura healing and protection

There are many other crystals that give off similar energies that can be used. As stated, these are just some of the more commonly seen ones.

Now, different crystals can give off different energies depending on the person using them. Some people may see use amethyst as protection rather than obsidian or black tourmaline. Some may use aventurine for money spells over tigers eye. That's 100% okay.

Crystal Color Associations.

Color associations can depend on how the witch feels about a color. This is the general association plus how I use colors in my path.

Red- Anger/passion

Orange- Courage (or in my case repulsion)

Yellow- Happiness

Green- Luck and money

Blue- Calming or sadness (depending on the mood)

Purple- Spirituality

Brown- grounding

Pink- self love

Grey- solemn, seriousness.

With some crystals, the color is also associated with the things listed above. However, again, not all witches will use the color associations of crystals this way, and that's 100% okay. Each witch has a different path and different associations when it comes to the tools they use in their path.

If you're interested in learning about what energies different crystals give off, often just googling "what is crystal name used for in healing" and you will receive an answer.

Though with any type of research, please look at 3-5 other sources that say the same or similar thing. Though it may take more digging to come to a conclusion.

Thank you for reading the updated post, and let me know if I missed anything or if you'd like to add anything. A big thanks to everyone who has corrected the previous post on this subject and any posts that may have contained misinformation in them.

[rock-swag-tournament]

Mineral Swag Tournament Finals

Okay y'all, this is it. The FINAL for the Mineral Swag Tournament.

Fluorite.

Fluorite is a fantastic mineral. It would not have gotten this far otherwise. It comes in a ton of colors, it naturally forms both octahedra and cubes (and massive deposits), and it show brilliant bright blue color under UV light. Fluorescence (the phenomena) is named that because of fluorite!

It also does this fun thing (that other minerals do as well, but it is common among fluorite) where it changes color as it forms because of changing impurities in the solution from which it grows! Elements like iron, copper, manganese, chromium (and more!) can replace individual ions in fluorite's chemical structure and cause the light to reflect different wavelengths and we therefore see that as a different color. This can also happen if a fluorite ion is missing because the sample has been irradiated (for example) and NOTHING replaces it and so the light still reflects in a different way! That is one of the ways we get purple fluorite and this method of producing color is known as color centers.

Of course, not all fluorite fluoresces. Not all fluorite forms cubes or octahedra. Some fluorite is colorless. Some of it looks like an ugly little piece of translucent rock. Or a vein of purple mineral in a crack between two other rocks. It would be irresponsible for me to insinuate that all fluorite is this majestic.

But there are some properties that you will always find in fluorite. It has four directions of cleavage. It is the defining mineral for a 4 on the Mohs hardness scale. It will always be made of calcium and fluoride in a 1:2 ratio. These things are some of what define fluorite as a distinct mineral!

Opal.

Opal is a beautiful gemstone. Please note that I did not call it a "beautiful mineral" because it is not technically a mineral. It is a solid, inorganic substance with a defined chemical formula, but it lacks the specific crystal structure which minerals MUST have to be considered a mineral.

This crystal structure is the entire reason why fluorite is capable of forming cubes and octahedra. And why garnet forms dodecahedra and beryl forms columns and so on. Opal only comes in those fun little oval shaped stones because it was cut that way! Fluorite forms cubes because it just knows how. Otherwise, opal forms shapeless masses that fracture rather than cleave (fluorite cleaves--four ways). That being said, opal's lack of crystal structure allows it to sometimes be iridescent.

After all, there is a reason opal made it this far. When it shines, it is beautiful. There are several varieties of precious opal (opal that displays its trademark play-of-color/iridescence) and they are all very fun to look at. These precious opals are made of microscopic silica spheres that light reflects off of in weird ways and causes opal to look like it is glittering with a dozen different colors.

However, one would be remiss to forget common opal! Some opal is milky white or a translucent blue, and if you're going to love opal at her fire opal, you better also love her at her common opal.

Here are some raw pieces of opal (common opal on the left). Note how they break irregularly. They have conchoidal fracture, which both quartz and normal glass (all of which are just silica) also have. I personally think conchoidal fracture is pretty neat.

Also, while the opals on the right would still be considered precious opal, they are what the average person is likely to find. Just little bits of iridescence here and there.

And, like fluorite, while not all opals have all of the cool features, they do have some similarities. They will always have conchoidal fracture if they break. And they will always be made of hydrated SiO2.

...That's all I have for these guys, I think! I hope I have been as impartial (and accurate) as possible while presenting these, your FINAL mineral swag contestants. If you have any questions or anything, let me know. The Rock Swag Tournament will start shortly after this concludes! Submit your rocks here! And specific rock formations or named rock varieties here!

[magic-the-girlbossing]

Chandra Nalaar vs. Syr Ginger

Magic: The Girlbossing, Round 1, Match 4

Propaganda under the cut:

Chandra Nalaar

Color identity: Red

Featured art by Viktor Titov

chandra is the definition of "act now, think later." She FUCKS SHIT UP. oppressive dictatorship? burned the fuck down. eldrazi titans? fucking exploded. olivia voldaren's marriage? cinders. only two thoughts live behind those eyes and they're "burn shit" and "kiss my elf gf"

Syr Ginger

Color identity: Colorless (Artifact)

Featured art by Michal Ivan

She can and will kick Garruk's ass

[amarizuu]

A Small Secret to Keep

Note: This is referred to this video from my channel. A short story to explain more about what Yuu and Epel talked about! Yuu's pronouns will be used as They/Them. Tried to keep them all in character. And not proofread!

Take note, this scene happened in book 3 after Azul's overblot.

After a long battle in the Octavinelle Dorm Yuu thought they won't encounter anything that could trouble them but like what Scar mentioned once they entered this academy "This damn world never gives us a break won't they?"

"Epel? What are you doing here?" You asked. Epel Felmier, a student from the Pomefiore dorm had a small conversation after Yuu apologized to him regarding their friends' misunderstanding of his gender.

"Oh, I just have a question to ask. Mind if I enter?" Yuu gave him a nod as they took a step back, letting him in.

"You seem famous, students really love flocking around you, huh?" Hades commented sarcastically, with a low groan, arms crossed over his chest.

"But I do wonder why he is here. But if this is about the situation from earlier, it's finished and done" The Queen of Hearts claimed.

"But the student isn't from my dorm isn't it, it's from Queen Grimhilde's dorm" Ursula pointed out as the other queen took a quick look at his attire, it was the school's uniform but with the color and dorm insignia of Pomefiore.

"So why are you here?" Yuu asks as they walk towards the living. Epel took a quick look around, wondering where Grim went, and found him sleeping on the couch.

"I have a question to ask. And it's really important" Yuu turned to see Epel's hand over his chest, eyes down looking guilty yet curious. Yuu raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on his hip.

"Go ahead. I'm all ears"

"Are you really magicless?" Yuu's body froze and so did the Great Seven. Epel slowly looked up from the ground, staring at their eyes.

Yuu was just confused on the spot, what did Epel mean when he asked that question, are they really magicless? Of course. The Mirror already said that they do not have magic and their soul doesn't belong to any dorms, it's colorless. The reason is that he doesn't belong to this timeline, or is it really because of that reason?

"Woah, woah- this kid knows what's up!?" Hades said as his flames ignited and blazed. While the others were still processing and wondering HOW.

"Okay, we need to take this kid out. We can't have him spreading if he knows our secret, Yuu's safety is more important" Scar warned as he retracted his claws that came out, feeling a sense of danger.

"Wait, we cannot do that. We can't think irrationally now. Dragon child, stay calm and ask the question how does he know about this" Yuu mentally nodded, hearing the calm voice of the Thorn Fairy, Maleficent.

"Well, yeah I am. The mirror proved it on the first day Epel" Yuu acts confused, denying his words but Epel didn't buy it at all.

"Don't ya lie to me, I saw what ya did with my own pair eyes" Epel grinned at them, going on explaining what he saw. Hearing him mention the mirror that looks close to the School's magic mirror but with a slight difference with the flames framing it, made Yuu tense on the spot as if he failed a mission and Hades was ready to burn this student in front of them.

"You--"

"I saw ya talkin' to that mirror," Epel said firmly taking a step forward to prove his point but this made Yuu instinctively summon his sword that was in hiding in the fireplace It just flew to his hand which caught Epel off guard as the blade pointed at him, putting his hands up in defense. They have a sword and he has nothing to fight with, or does he want to do sword vs fist.

"Did you share this information with anyone else" Yuu threatened Epel with the sword in hand, taking a step forward as Epel took a step back, where did this sword come from?! Epel thought as he swallowed his saliva.

Epel shook his head.

"Dragon Child put the sword down."

"Put the sword down?! What if this child is a spy"

"I agree with the retired lion over there."

"Retired what---"

"You two just keep your mouth shut, we do not wish to be spilling blood. If this child is a spy why would he come to us, asking a simple question about Diamond being magicless"

"To hold something against us, one step of being manipulated"

"Hades you aren't making this situation any better"

Yuu can hear all their rambling but in the end, listen to the advice of Jafar and Maleficent. Slowly, they moved their hand down. Epel sighed in relief.

"Look. I'm not here to cause any trouble or anything. I just want answers ya hear me" Epel explained.

"There are only questions I can answer." Yuu threw his sword away, but the sword flew back to where it was hidden.

"Then answer my first question, are you really magicless," Epel asked again.

The room fell silent. The two students stared at each other as water from the ceiling dripped down, making small thuds as they hit the wooden floor.

"We can recruit this kid then" Jafar suggested earning a few glares at the others, they didn't seem to like that idea but the Thorn fairy looked interested in his idea.

"Think about it. It's been three months and we still have no way to go back, I bet that ...crow who calls himself the head mage hasn't done anything" Jafar rolled his eyes as he mentioned Crowley. The others looked away, thinking about his suggestion.

"We can ask for this kid for help, he belongs to this world..or timeline. He has more knowledge of this place than we do"

"I do agree with Jafar. For the past three months, we've been trying to give Yuu the break they need but this school just drags that idea out" Queen Grimhilde commented as she took a step forward.

"And no, we are not gonna burn this school down." She added as Hades was about to say something but stopped once she mentioned burning the school, which was his original idea.

"So, we're just gonna tell this kid that we, the great seven are inside of Yuu?" Scar raised an eyebrow at them, pointing a finger at himself.

"Of course not. We are just gonna drop a few hints, we don't need to tell everything." Jafar facepalmed earning a nod from the Queen of Hearts.

"Very well then, go ahead Dragon Child"

Yuu mentally sighed, hearing all their voices in a short time. Epel was confused, why is it taking so long for them to answer his question, are they planning to threaten him with the sword again to not say anything?

"I'm not exactly magicless but I don't own any magic" Epel flinched, suddenly hearing their voice from that long silent pause. But hearing their words just confuses him more.

"You are not magicless but the magic you own doesn't belong to you?"

"Yes, I am simply a vessel, nothing more" Yuu closed their eyes for a moment feeling a mental slap at the back of their head from Hades.

"You are more than that Hedgehog, you need to let go of that thought" The Queen of Hearts sighed, rubbing her forehead with a frown.

"You heard that matchstick or else I'm hitting the back of your head again"

"Are you trying to burn him?!" Queen Grimhilde scolded which earned herself an eye-roll from Hades.

"Dragon child, please ignore them and listen to the Queen of Hearts. You are more than just a vessel dear, you are a human being."

Yuu smiled, hearing their voices.

"A vessel you say, okay, so you are like some wand then." Yuu laughed for a moment, imagining how Epel thought of him.

"You can say that. But I cannot tell who's holding this wand then" Yuu followed after his statement which made Epel smiled nervously since it seems they already know what they were gonna ask next.

"Ahah, even if I asked for a hint?"

"Well, I can say they are known as big figures around here" Epel thought for a second, trying to guess.

"I'll tell you when it's the right time" Yuu stopped Epel from thinking on who's this figure is.

"Haha, deal!" Epel smiled.

Jafar and Maleficent looked at each other as their eyes glowed...

Got A Secret?

Can you keep it. . . .

[pitter-patt-art]

Ace Attorney AU August (halfway progress update!)

Okay technically it's the 16th (lol, 17th by the time this is done) so a little over halfway actually, but still I thought since I haven't had anything finished to post the past few days this would be a fun alternative!

I've been going a little nuts (affectionate) over @augustwritingchallenge's AU-gust prompts list this year so August has been a wild ride (about 40k words of one, in fact. so far.) but seeing as I will get attached to even the jokiest of AU ideas instantly, I've completed* a whopping 5 whole fics of 16, lol. Considering the shortest of those is over 3k and the longest is over 12k, I think the problem with not finishing these in a timely manner is entirely on my verbose foolish thick skull, haha, but I'm still having a blast with it.

Here is my ao3 series where I'm posting!

And a rundown / progress report / quick teaser of all the AUs including those I've yet to finish, if anyone's interested:

(*by "completed" I should note two of the already posted fics are basically assuredly going to be continued past the challenge, but let's say "completed enough to post and be on theme")

1. Canon Divergence - complete - 4.5k words ("For the Murder of Mr. Wrong" link)

Mia POV, gen. What if Dahlia succeeded in poisoning Phoenix and framed Doug Swallow instead (and then Mia defended him in court)? Basically a 3-1 rewrite. Fun Fact: I only came up with this AU because before I even remembered AU-gust existed at all, I'd come up with like 4 totally separate AUs in which I poison Phoenix in various ways With Real Consequences because it amuses me, lol, but he survives all those other ones and I eventually realized I hadn't even considered straight up killing him off yet so I figured I should try it at least once, haha.

2. Colorless - complete 1st chapter - 3.2k words ("Grey Matters" link)

Phoenix POV (for 1st ch --prob alternating after), wrightworth. "You can't see color until the first time you touch your soulmate"-soulmate AU. 1st chapter is their first meeting as kids (skipping the class trial itself). Fun Fact(s): I really love a color soulmate AU! Big fan of the "only see the color of their eyes" type of one too but uhhh on top of that working better for things that have wild anime eye colors, you could not pay me enough to try to figure out what the HELL is going on with Ace Attorney eye colors at any given time lmfao. (Also--spoilers for what i haven't written yet but hey if you're here you earned it--this IS one of my very many "teehee what if i poison Phoenix just a smidge as a treat for me" fics. NOT my fault the man ATE GLASS. That's on him.)

3. Dark Academia - complete "1st chapter" - 4.4k words ("The Spirit of the Laws of Magic" link)

Mia POV, lanamia. Magical boarding school setting featuring corruption and missing-student conspiracies and a most likely overthought system of magic with hierarchies and prejudices in societal views of academic/formulaic vs folk/innate magic. Fun Fact: I really thought for SURE i was going to skip this day entirely, lol. (foolish.) I don't think i've actually ever personally read anything "dark academia", technically--so if this doesn't read EXACTLY that way, there you go, but i did my best. I also then thought I could live with keeping this vague but I accidentally thought about it too long so... plus at least two people on top of myself at this point have expressed interest in more of this and so I have some semi-concrete Plans™ now.

4. Zombie Apocalypse - conceptualized (but not started)

Concept: probably gen and Phoenix POV, but also because I'm me and they're them, at least a little bit wrightworth even if it isn't necessarily explicit in any meaningful way bc they are Not Normal about each other lol. A little sketchy on how much of an "AU" this counts for, since it could probably be argued to be canon compliant somehow, but basically just: Universe where they make a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies-type Steel Samurai reboot movie thing (featuring, you guessed it, zombies), and Miles comes over and forces Phoenix to watch it with him just to have someone to bitch about it at, and then during that time Maya blows her way into Phoenix's apartment as well with the exact same intentions except her "day job" isn't quite as time-sensitive-strict so she's already finished watching it earlier and knows all the spoilers. Honestly a good chance Phoenix and Pearl (who came with Maya) end up hiding out in the kitchen together to let Maya and Miles rile each other up in front of the TV, but I'm never exactly sure where they'll take me once I wind them up and set them loose on the page, so who knows. I also hadn't necessarily determined the exact time frame yet but for it to make sense as a reboot-type movie/special episode/whatever it probably should be 7yg-or-later so Trucy may or may not be there as well. (That said, in my struggles to complete an actually short one-shot, I probably shouldn't even include Pearl let alone Trucy, lol.) Fun Fact: I also thought I'd skip this day bc I'm not the biggest zombie guy in the world, and to be fair, I managed to do Way Less with it than the dark academia prompt so, yippie?

5. Chess Players - incomplete (currently 3k word WIP)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Miles is a chess grandmaster and back in Japanifornia for the upcoming world cup tournament, but his greatest challenge is actually to FINALLY best Franziska in their annual who-can-get-the-best-Christmas-gift competition. Luckily, he just so happened to hear of an artist who makes bespoke chess sets, so the plan is to get a custom board made for Franziska without her finding out. The plan is not to get trapped in a weird art collective labyrinth with some model-photographer named Cindy who keeps hitting on him but also happens to be protective of the artist he's there to see because "she and her boyfriend kinda-sorta owe him big time", but this is what he gets for coming here without doing any extra research into the artist besides seeing his work and hearing only "his name is White, or, eh, something like that, you know how those artist types are" from Mr. Amano. (AU where we replace law with chess and no I don't think Phoenix could necessarily hack it in the top-world-grandmasters-level of chess tournaments HOWEVER have you considered he DID go to art school so what if he just tries selling custom chess sets until somehow that reconnects him with Miles. Is that somehow a more insane plan than studying law? Maybe. Did Manfred still shoot Gregory but now it was over fucking chess? Maybe. Idk. But I did let Greg live this time at least!) Fun Fact: we can all DEFINITIVELY blame my lovely, terrible, very wonderful friend Ben (shameless friend plug! she's an outstanding writer and has some AA fics of her own too!! @kindlystrawberry on tumblr!!) for making a total joke about "well what about au where they make chess pieces instead" while i lamented not knowing enough about chess to write an actual match and spawning this ENTIRE concept. It is her fault. 100%. She is the guilty party. (I want to finish this one VERY BADLY. Save me.)

EVIDENCE!!!!! Guilty.

6. Reality Show - incomplete (currently 700 word WIP)

Phoenix (& Franziska) POV(s), background wrightworth wedding planning going on as set up but it's also definitely just one of my many excuses to set Phoenix and Franziska up as bitchy worsties who can't admit they enjoy each other's company and will cut you down if you suggest it as such. So far I've only written the quote "set-up" section which is in Phoenix's POV, but that was SUPPOSED to be like 5 paragraphs and cut away and then lead into my actual plan for the main body, which was to be in Franz's instead, so. This is very similar to the zombie one in that it's them watching reality tv instead of being contestants on a show (I don't personally like or watch a lot of reality tv so my creative well was somewhat dry on how to make that work) and then I accidentally thought about Phoenix and Franziska watching something just to judge and tear apart the decisions of every person on it and that was too fun to not consider further, haha. Basically the plan is just they get left alone together and don't know what to do with that and end up wine-drunk and making fun of some reality dating show of some kind and Miles and Trucy come back to them losing it together over something stupid and are like "......uh. what's happening." Fun Facts: I really love the thought experiment of Franziska somehow discovering how often Phoenix's internal dialogue/reads on situations and especially people can be So Bitchy And Judgey despite his affable complexion, and her unfortunately finding his opinions to SOMETIMES be somehow slightly okay. Moderately correct, even--occasionally. I know the section she follows you-as-Phoenix around in T&T is really not long at ALL, but I adore it. There's something about it that so badly makes me want to force them into proximity more (to both their chagrin, I'm sure).

7. Farm/Ranch - complete - 12k words ("Two Little Dickey Byrdes" link)

Gumshoe POV, gumbyrde (tho i still think dickeybyrde is a funnier ship name). 5+1 things--except more like maybe 7-or-8+1 to be honest--so it's more: over 5 times Dick and Maggey sit on a wall together and 1 time they find someone else there instead. AKA: Dick runs his family's small farm (think fantasy farm like in a farming sim or maybe horse girl novel type of thing that has nothing to do with what a real farm is like lol don't worry about it) and Maggey starts working at the next farm over as the latest of her many odd jobs. Fun Fact: oh god this one got so far away from me. it was not supposed to be this long lmao. it's literally the elaborate set-up to a very silly Nursery-Rhyme-I-Didn't-Even-Know-About-Prior-To-This -based punchline!?! still, i was pleasantly surprised by how happy i was with this once it was done... two sittings and about 16 total hours later. haha).

8. Nomad - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Apollo (or possibly Klavier) POV, klapollo. Sort of Jove-Thalassa swap adjacent, but basically: AU where Jove survives the Khura'in fire but loses his memories for [contrived convince sake reasons]. (And also possibly loses some or all of his eyesight just to really go for the parallels?) Therefore: Jove and Apollo stay with Dhurke and Nahyuta and the Defiant Dragons for a time, while Jove recovers, but eventually they leave and head out on their own, just the two of them, and do the traveling musician thing, both because it's dangerous in Khura'in and Dhurke already canonically didn't want Apollo to get caught up in it and potentially get hurt to begin with and because with a functioning actual parent Apollo doesn't need to be taken in by him--and also Jove from what little we know seems like he prefers to be on the move and was already a world traveler anyhow, so even amnesiac maybe he gets a little antsy stuck in one place too long. And so like amnesiac Thalassa, Jove thusly becoming a renowned mysterious musician--and then Apollo, sweet tone deaf Apollo, becoming the sonager of all time (like a momager but...you get it) because he's not that into music but he IS into arguing for better conditions/making deals (contracts!! international legalese!! woohoo!!) with venues and promoters and stuff. And then--oops dang Lamioir still exists and now they have a meet-cute (2 electric bugaloo) (but by then it's later enough Trucy still exists because it will be a cold day in hell when I don't find a way to make her work) and they do music collabs or join up to form a group or whatever and OOPS this means now that Apollo and Jove are with Lamioir when The Gavinners / Klavier specifically meet her and get her to come to do the Guitar's Serenade concert eventually. And Apollo and Klavier ofc thusly also have a meet-cute and then talk and bond etc etc. AND THEN the au STOPS THERE and I DON'T think about how without Apollo Phoenix is totally getting convicted of Zak's murder because there's no way that trial works out as well for him with some other attorney and I also don't think about how reasonable it would then be that maybe Trucy ends up helping Valant with his work setting up the trick for the concert afterward on account of the one father in prison and the other being dead and having left behind a notarized confession clearing Valant's name of suspicion, etc. AND I DEFINITELY do not think about how i could then still so easily get everyone in one place at the concert for Turnabout Serenade and/or any possible funny Sibling (And Thalassa) Reveal that could happen i dont i dont i do not--

9. Accidental Baby Acquisition - conceptualized (not started)

Gen, possibly my weakest / least defined idea on this list, but basically: Phoenix kind of already lives this in canon, lol (insomuch as an 8yo counts as a baby) so I thought, well, how to take it a different direction, then? And I thought, I don't usually go for a Phoenix Fey kind of au because I personally really love the relationships he has with all the Feys as-is in canon and so it's not quite as funny to me as, say, a Miles Fey AU where like Misty and Gregory are married, or any of the ones in that bent, because I'm sorry but that's just SO funny (and sad, but mostly funny) any way you slice it--plus his NAME is RIGHT THERE mia-miles-maya he FITS--anyhow, that completely aside, there are just a lot of reasons I really love the platonic relationships the Feys already have with Phoenix and I don't think it NEEDS to be made specifically familial to still be so very important, y'know? BUT. That said. AU where Phoenix is idk abandoned as a baby or maybe his parents die young or something and it's like a Thing to leave babies at temples or churches or whatever, right? So like--Phoenix adopted by the Feys AU but only because the more i considered it the more i thought it would be WILD for him to literally know Maya her entire life, and it's fascinating to me to consider a Maya who ISN'T basically left all alone to her own devices (and Morgan's) and who has someone absolutely in her corner in the village the entire time even after Mia leaves (who isn't a baby when Mia leaves, love you tho Pearls), AND also and perhaps more importantly, the ships-passing-in-the-night-ness of a scene where, like: Morgan does something sketchy or whatever and Phoenix wants to keep Mia updated but for whatever reason decides to go down to the city and actually tell her in person and so he's waiting outside the courthouse or something (possibly part of or perhaps Most Of the reason he goes in person is because he knows her first courtroom trial is that day and he wants to see her + hear how it went) and when he gets there she's in a heated argument with some asshole in a fancy over-embellished jacket and once that guy leaves Phoenix is like "Sheesh, what's his problem?" You know???? And maybe he really would never even know!!!! Bc he grew up in Kurain!!!! And has no reason to care!!! About some random prosecutor who was mean to Mia!! Aaaah!!! So that, and on top of that, Diego would be there too ofc at that point, and I feel like he would ALSO be quite a funny interaction in this scenario. ("Wow, someone's popular, kitten, you have all sorts of guys waiting on a chance to talk to you, heh?" "Uh.--I'm sorry, WHAT did you just call her")

10. Enemies-to-Allies - incomplete (currently 370 word WIP)

Ema POV, faraskye. Cyberpunk AU where Lana is still under Gant's thumb and Ema, with no other way to stay close to her and getting rejected from any of the sorts of jobs she really wants to do, decides to just join the security force (or cyber police or w/e I decide to call it) and is tasked with hunting down the Yatagarasu, guerilla hacker supreme who is threatening the sanctity of the capitalist overlords. Except Ema's squad gets ambushed and she's captured and tied to a pole, and with her useless fop partner seemingly not coming to rescue her (if he even noticed her absence), she does some quick cost-benefit analysis and decides she didn't really like that job anyway and maybe there's another way she can get her sister back in her life. So she breaks free of her own handcuffs (which she definitely didn't modify into incidental ineffectiveness she's still testing for bugs) and helps fix the "Little Thief" device her captor seems to have broken despite how obviously valuable and impressive the tech is, and they eventually come to something of an agreement. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and all that. Either Ema as the hardware-engineer one and Kay as the software-programming one as the two sides of the tech coin, or else Kay can just be like doing the physical sneaking kind of spy stuff only--or maybe she knows a little about software but not so much she's a pro the way she is with infiltration and such. Possibly toying with the idea Kay herself is just completely an android, but if not, I think she has some cybernetic cyborg things going on regardless. Possibly from or inspired by her father? I also like the idea that Gant did something maybe more drastic with regards to having dirt on Ema to get Lana to do his bidding--like maybe Ema has a whole cybernetic hand because instead of just her handprint on a leather jacket, Gant has some sicko jar with her entire hand in it in his office safe, or something. I don't know why this would be useful to him but it is certainly an image. I also find it funny if Miss Fingerprint Powder Enthusiast doesn't actually have any fingerprints of her own anymore somehow in this AU, lol.

11. Retail Worker - complete - 6.7k words ("The Bake Anything Boulangerie" link)

Apollo POV, gen. Phoenix gets a job at a bakery instead of the Borscht Bowl Club during the 7 year gap, and Apollo happens to stumble across it and ends up meeting the Wrights while he's still in high school. He becomes a regular at the bakery and is already close to them by the time "Shadi Smith's" murder comes around. And also, yes, sibling reveal right away--at least as soon as Phoenix realizes and can reveal it. As a treat. (Other reveals, though, I might put poor Apollo through on a delayed basis. Also as a treat, lmao, just not one for him.) Fun Fact: I'm being redundant bc this is also in my a/n, but, Baker Phoenix lives rent-free in my brain because Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright was in fact the very first Ace Attorney game I ever played, technically, and Maya and Phoenix semi-brainwashed in that bakery was literally one of my first impressions of them. ........followed immediately by starting a let's play of Justice for All (which i watched through the first case, after which I was like oKAY fine maybe i DO need more context here, i should probably figure out what the actual first game is, and went back to start the series properly at the beginning hahaha). What do you MEAN i have a disproportionate fascination with amnesiac Phoenix, even if I have yet to finish and publish one of my myriad AUs that utilize stupid, unrealistic, plot convenient re-temporary amnesia?? Hm???? Idk what you're talking about. Also everyone who complains about 2-1 is wrong lmao it's objectively (okay subjectively is what i'm saying yes BUT objectively) such a funny place to start without knowing broad plot strokes, it's great. I both knew so much and absolutely shit-all nothing about Maya after PLvPW and 2-1, LMAO. god.

12. Animagus Wings (Joker) - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Miles POV, wrightworth. Angel/Demon AU, except I'm playing super fast and loose with the rules on that because all my knowledge of Christian-mythos comes from firstly and unknowingly the Chronicles of Narnia and more recently and cognizantly Lucifer (Netflix) and Good Omens. I know that's probably more or less what we're all doing with this kind of AU but still, I'm not even sure I want to refer to Heaven and Hell here, I'm kinda on the fence about maybe just keeping it all very vague? I also accidentally semi-worldbuilt more than i intended incidentally on account of "But Then How-Why Names If Angelic Creatures?" Format-wise it would semi-follow gomens s1 where it's hopping through some meetings between long stretches but also a kind of pre- and post- Fall type of thing? And potentially à la Lucifer becoming, like, these are My Mortal Humans and i will be Spending Time With Them, screw you celestial duties, I'm making my own Free Will, etc. And i mean i guess Lucifer is also a crime procedural lmao maybe they still solve crimes in the end too. Fun Fact: I didn't want to do the original prompt for several reasons, and sure fuck jkr is one of them but even before I knew about her I still wasn't really the biggest hp person in the first place? So i wouldn't know/don't remember at all the way it works without having to do the specific research and i...don't want to haha. Hence. And I know the prompt seems to be using it loosely / might just be borrowing the word and not actually referencing hp specifically but tbh either way human-animal shifter things just in general I can be somewhat picky about haha. (Okay okay plus full disclosure the ONLY idea I have for this sort of thing actually ties into my day-3-dark-academia-extended-au-verse and i COULD make my life simpler by just connecting the two days but Heh who would I be if I simplified things for myself... *sigh*) All that to say: I saw "wings" on the wild card list and I thought, ooh, well that's still sort of a related concept! Let's tag that one in! So it's still kind of day 12 prompt-adjacent, if you squint.

13. Found Footage - incomplete (planned/outlined)

Video Transcript POV? Is that a thing? Possibly capped by a little Phoenix POV (but i don't want that to get too long), wrightworth. Larry's new girlfriend of the month bakes weed brownies and Larry does not realize this and swings by the Wrights' apartment to beg some kind of help off Phoenix and forgets the whole tray there somehow (because it's Larry) and they leave to deal with Larry's thing and by the time they figure the brownies out, in some twist of fate Miles and Trucy have been hanging out (last minute babysitter/adult supervision? but she's at the very very least 14 or 15 here and most likely older, and Nick clearly isn't the most strict about like uhhh supervision in general lol sooo idk. he's helping her with a project or smth. it doesn't really actually matter; he's THERE, that's the important thing.) The point I'm very clearly getting at is they accidentally get incredibly high (not dangerously so because I'm not going that far haha but also, neither of them has actually been high before, so they are Affected) before Phoenix finds out what was in the brownies and tries to warn Trucy and hurry home to like, dispose of them or at least put a warning label on them or whatever, but he is too late lol. By a lot. Definitely an underage drugs tag on this bad boy because it's definitely sometime 18-or-earlier for Trucy, let alone 21. (idk about other places but as a Californian I can tell you Japanifornia "LA" could theoretically have it legalized at 21 for anyone (like alcohol) and 18 with Dr's permission--which Trucy definitely does not have in this AU lol.) Basically, Phoenix grabs Trucy's phone to get photo evidence so he can let them never live this down (after making sure they're okay lmao), but he ofc doesn't get technology so he doesn't realize he leaves the phone still recording when Trucy asks him for something / needs his help, so the recording just keeps going and captures a lot of tomfoolery and eventually some inebriated-to-Extremely-sober Feelings-Adjacent confessions (or maybe more like allusions). Idk, this was actually a fic I thought of before August and wanted to use as an excuse to try a Weird Format for fun, but then i saw this was a prompt on the list and...well. Fun Fact: Cannabis was legalized in California on November 8, 2016 (the first election I could vote in!!! ......uh, rip. lol. but yeah babey I helped legalize weed at least!! gotta remember the positives), which means it was legal right in time for Miles' case(s) / Turnabout Goodbyes!!! Yay!! I mean, I suppose that's genuinely seriously one way to try to mitigate nightmares and manage insomnia--not that I think Miles Edgeworth would ever deign stoop so low as to use an aid to manage his severe PTSD and trauma symptoms, psshaw, who do you take him for? (Get these people some help lol. They all need so much therapy.)

14. Princes & Princesses - conceptualized (not started)

So I've been reading a lot (a LOT) of isekai and/or revenge reincarnation romance fantasy manhwas lately (like, oh, too many, hahaha. they're quite good and they're VERY popular in webcomics at the moment.) Soooo. Soft pitch: Apollo already gets slapped into so many wild backstories he's constantly trying to dodge in an effort to be just a Normal Guy, he's honestly, like, the PERFECT protagonist for one of these lmao. And tell me Kristoph doesn't make a perfect "Upstanding Duke" kind of persona, and Klavier couldn't be the "wild rake" younger brother no one expects much from, and all I'm saying is it wouldn't be that hard to contrive a reason Apollo tries to get Klavier to agree to a contract marriage the way all these stories go, lol. And also, something something, Apollo from the "real world" is an orphan/has an absent family (also like so many of these manhwa protagonists, lol) but then he gets to actually have one in his second life!! I'm such a sucker for that shit. Slightly harder pitch, and the reason I did not let myself actually start writing anything (...yet): so what if the actual plot of the "original romance novel" Apollo is familiar with from the "real world (Earth)" is actually about the slightly older generation and something something instead of admiring Phoenix as a defense attorney, it's just that he instead was Apollo's favorite "love interest" character (not, like, for himself, just the one he most liked to read about) in every way except what a blithering idiot he became when the author had him fall for the female lead--but BEFORE that, he's a cool information guild leader guy who seems like he's trying to work toward some way to improve conditions for commoners in the kingdom (but abruptly there are no more mentions of this after he gets involved with the lead, which is annoying). Aaaand... I guess what I'm saying is, Dahlia is the original female lead because she REALLY fits the whole White Lotus trope, and I'm thinking Klavier is the original male lead because A) hilarious, B) fits in with the idea there's more going on in the ACTUAL world Apollo ends up in that is written in such a way as to make things seem different in the novel (like, that Dahlia and Klavier are actually as nice as they seem and that the terrible things that happen around them are just the trials and tribulations of being main characters and not anything they're directly involved in). And Apollo, the character in the novel Apollo, is an adopted prince of Khura'in, but he's the sickly younger prince and of course not actually of the royal bloodline (and also a man, considering Khura'in is matrilineal), so Rayfa and Nahyuta are the ones the public and other nobles actually know and care about and deal with. But wait! As it so turns out, The Wright Anything Information Guild (I feel like the actual guild name CAN'T have their freaking name on it front and center lol but you get the idea) happens to know some other things that aren't really expanded on in the original novel, and might be key to preventing Apollo's death so he doesn't follow the path of the original story, and also idk maybe Apollo and Trucy are half-fae or something like that and instead of like Aw Yay Bracelet in this AU it's more of a secret Iron Shackle Tool That Will Hurt I Mean Totally-Definitely-Help Us Later (still, in a way, passed down to him by Thalassa, but more as, like... she's kind of a secret hostage and does not manage to hide pregnancy number one so Apollo's now also a secret hostage, but she manages to escape so they don't know about Trucy, only she didn't tell Apollo basically anything to "keep him as safe as possible" or w/e, and......) Well, anyway. It got away from me before I even really wrote anything, that's all.

15. Secretly Alien - unfinished (currently 2.6k WIP)

Trucy POV, gen. Apollo gets sick of very consistently always losing the card games they play at the Wright Anything Agency (usually and in the specific instance the fic starts, Bullshit/BS) and in a stroke of inspiration somehow ropes everyone into playing Among Us instead. ("What! It's still a game of trying to lie/trick everyone else--like you like!--but I actually stand a freaking chance, so we're playing this or I'm going home.") Yes. This is my Among Us AU. Hi. They play Among Us. I'm justifying this one as prime AU territory however because A) Among Us has to exist in this universe, and even more pressingly, B) I found a way to force Phoenix to have--for at least a period of time if not moving forward in perpetuity--an actual smartphone instead of a Nokia-type brick cellphone. Which even under the wild but somehow plausible considering Ace Attorney circumstances I contrived, is just automatically a complete AU lmao. Fun Fact: I am so mad this one wasn't just totally finished day-of, lol. Why I ever thought I could give myself run of an entire WAA 4-person conversation and NOT get instantly derailed is beyond me. (And I want to get the prosecutors there, too?? Someone take the characters away from me.) Anyway. No, I have not written ANY of the actual Among Us part yet. Sigh. Also I haven't personally played amogus since like, 2021? maybe? And I know (now) that it's been pretty updated since then, but, ehhh, I'm just gonna run off like, lockdown-era amogus rules and vibes, lol. If I can get to the game part.

16 - Hobby Drama - conceptualized

I'm going to go out of order this time to say: Fun Fact: I have ALWAYS wanted to write a Reddit-style fic!!! I absolutely love them and I've read some REALLY, really good ones, so I've always wanted to try my hand at it. So theoretically this is the perfect time to make that a reality and write a r/HobbyDrama subreddit fic, buuut I got stuck before starting because I'm torn on two possible routes to take it (I can easily foresee myself caving and just doing both lol). - Option 1: Steel Samurai fandom discourse, always a fun/funny thing to think about, definitely would enjoy having Maya and Miles post some stuff for that. - Option 2: courtroom law fandom discourse, because come ON, how are those galleries ALWAYS SO FULL. The little wiggling rabba-rabba onlookers have GOT to have investment in this shit. And why WOULDN'T they, honestly. I've seen those trials and I have, in fact, spent a Lot of time thinking about them, not that any posts I've made lately would reflect that in any way or anything. Like I know it's hard to tell, but if I can be invested in the Lawyers Fandom, who's to say the people in the courtrooms aren't????? And I LOVE an outsider POV fic actually, I think they're so fun. So anyway. Reddit fic. You will be mine. Just as soon as I can hone my energy

And, what the hell, since it's so late now by the time I complete this "Heh This'll Be So Quick To Throw Together" post, I'll include today's, too:

17 - Flower Shop - conceptualized (at work earlier today. lol)

AU where Daddy Hawthorne is like, 97% less shitty. And the Hawthornes have a flower shop instead of like a gemstone industry or whatever. And he takes both Dahlia and Iris with him instead of dumping one of his daughters at a fucking secluded mountain temple and seemingly forgetting about her forever. On second thought, maybe what I actually mean is he's like 999% less shitty, lmfao. Anyway, Iris POV, but Dahlia (while not a "nice" person by any stretch) is not pushed to such extremes or nearly as desperate as canon, so Valerie lives, Terry Fawles lives, Doug Swallow lives, and Dahlia gets to live a good life overall--because as much fun as I love using her as a villain, she's really such a product of the absolute worst circumstances and I really do find her interesting so I've been kind of wanting to explore her in a less cartoonishly evil light, haha. (Don't get me wrong, I do love the cartoonishly evil light too, but I like spicing things up sometimes.) Like, she does (more) normal teen rebellion things ("Look at my inappropriately older boyfriend, Dad" "I'm going to talk my way out of speeding tickets and petty shoplifting as a bid for attention" etc.) and she still totally orders Iris around and Iris still totally does whatever she asks very much to her own detriment and has to learn to break away and be her own person. Fun Fact: I have a very passionate love for Iris/Adrian Andrews. Is that. Um. Is that a ship anyone else has ever considered before? Is that just me? I'm not sure but very possibly I'll just make this a rarepair fic as a treat, for me alone, teehee. (Like... it's about the becoming the master of your own destiny it's about breaking out of codependent cycles it's about how I genuinely honestly think they'd be each other's type and have chemistry even though they've obviously never interacted lmao... idk what to tell you.)

AND THATS MY AU-GUST UPDATE POST!!!

If you made it this far, take a sprinkle of my undying affection, and may you be blessed with AU inspiration if you so desire it!! (If you do not desire it, hopefully you are not cursed with it. I do not take refunds if you are. Sorry.)

Wish me luck with completing some more fics soon!!! Unfortunately weekends are actually my least free time because I work the most and the earliest hours so I have less time and am more tired, but also on Wednesday I'm leaving for a family vacation, which will either be the BEST thing to happen in regards to AU-gust or the WORST thing lmfao. If nothing else I have 2 flights, and I actually Love writing on an airplane, so fingers crossed for it being Good. <3

EDIT: Now with part 2 for the rest of the month here!

[imthepunchlord]

Very interesting, thank you for answering! On a similar note, how does Arrdor see himself as a Miraculous-turned-Calamitous fairy? How does he view Weeve and Endurr individually and together as the two true Calamitous fairies as well as the seven remaining still-true Miraculous fairies individually and as a group?

So, forewarning, Arrdor I haven't thought as much about, so much of his dynamic with other fairies, both during his time being Pink and Gray, is currently not so defined.

So Arrdor... I want to say is in that stage of self-hatred he's stuck in, but is also in denial about it, and just mad. He doesn't even quite know what he's unhappy about, but what he does know is that he's alone, and he's compelled to last out.

Miraculous wise, he disliked Weeve and Endurr by default, atm I don't have anything specific on him vs them in his Miraculous days; though post Calamitous, he begrudgingly did try to join them, as the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It didn't go well.

So now he exists constantly watching his back as he has the black and white fairy desiring to take him out, and he has the rainbow fairies desiring to take him out.

He really just got himself into the worst situation he can be in.

Just entirely alone.

For the Miraculous fairies, in his pink days, I currently want to say he was closest with Tikki. Both tied to romantic love, they're the fairies that often find themselves together with romantic couples. And this did involve some of the most tragic romances known in history. They'd mourn together, and Tikki would always lift herself up and move on (but not forget), Arrdor though, it wasn't so easy.

When he grayed out... let's just say him and Tikki have the worst relationship currently.

Lucee, Clovrr, and Pollen I haven't really thought of their dynamic with Arrdor yet, between his days as Pink and Gray, so we'll just put a pin in that. At most, Pollen for sure I know feels betrayed and is upset about it.

Longg I actually have a thought of Arrdor approaching him before he turned Gray, revealing he's felt something... dark, colorless with him, and Longg himself sometimes has toed that line of going dark. Longg feel guilty about not having been able to help his friend. Though, Longg will still get furious when Arrdor does something destructive with humans, and like Tikki, will not hold back when facing Arrdor.

As a gray fairy, Arrdor holds a grudge against Taaraa. When he was pink, even as a comrade, Taaraa kept him at arm's length, treated him with neutral kindness, but not the same sort of fellowship she extended to the other rainbow fairies. And now that he's gray, he wonders if she knew. And if she knew, why didn't she say anything? Why didn't she do anything? It doesn't help that Taaraa treats him like he's not worth her time, which just infuriates him all the more.

With Nooroo, he and Arrdor were always amiable, and maybe it's due to them both having powers about being closely connected with others. When Arrdor went gray, Nooroo was more focused on what was hurting his friend to cause him to gray out instead of his betrayal. He may be the only fairy that holds faith that Arrdor could be colorful again, that he could heal. But at this time, Arrdor is not interested, and Nooroo's probably the fairy that's the most at risk around Arrdor given he's very empathetic and compassionate.

[alhilton]

Is calico a possible Creasia coat color?

Ah, such a simple question, but so complicated to answer! Is it possible? Maybe. Likely to be expressed? No. You probably know how calicos are produced and anyone who doesn't can google that. Short review: you need at least one of the color alleles (in the case of the domestic cat, the black/red) located on the X chromosome. So males are always homozygous, but females can be heterozygous. Then you need the thing where neither color is dominant. Instead, females express both colors. This event alone will produce a tortie, not a calico. To get calico, you need one more thing: the piebald gene, which is present in many animals. It produces random colorless white patches, interspersed with the underlying color(s). Finally, in order to get a classic calico, you need the female zygote to have discarded her extra Xs (turned them into bar bodies) early enough to produce solid patches instead of a more blended coat. NOW you have a classic mi-ke calico. She will almost always be female, but can be male XXY or male chimera (having absorbed his twin!) or possibly an even rarer genetic event. On the flip side, solid red or black cats are male something like 75% of the time. Female solids would be homozygous for the trait, which is rarer. There are other genes that effect cat coat color and pattern, and of course there can always be new mutations, but those are the basics. Question: is color a sex-linked gene in other species of cats? Big cats have many things in common with domestic cats. Is this one of them? I could not find an answer to this. Probably no. But... I did have Caraca say at one point when she and Halvery were trying to reproduce Roup's color, "Solids are more likely to be male." This strongly suggests that some aspect of creasia color is on the X. So even if this is unlikely for big cats in our world, I have sort of committed to it on Lidian. But... Is the piebald gene present in other cats besides domestic cats? Again, no answer. The closest I could find was the white band gene that produces golden tabby tigers. It is not actually piebald, though. It's a completely different gene. If you read the wikipedia article about golden tabby tigers, you will notice a lot of inbreeding. This is how most usual colors in domestic (and semi-domestic) animals get a foothold. People notice a single unique mutation, decide they love it, and do some aggressive inbreeding to produce homozygous individuals. Many domestic animals have very shallow gene pools. Obviously, most of them handle it just fine. Wild animals avoid inbreeding. Nature tends towards outbreeding. Maximizing genetic diversity is a survival strategy, so animals evolve various barriers to inbreeding. There ARE more color variations in big cats that live in jungles/forests vs open plains. Tigers and leopards have more color variations than African lions. It doesn't seem to affect their odds of survival as much. Creasia live in dense forest, so it makes sense that they have some color variation. Rare mutations would pop up, but they would quickly disappear unless the creasia started selecting for them. So if they decided that piebald was fabulously beautiful and everyone wanted to have babies with those cats, they might quickly develop a piebald trait that is regularly expressed. But they tend to like colors that are "good for hunting," and those are browns/grays/black. They are starting to value other traits and expand their tastes, though. Anyway - the potential for something like a calico is probably in there somewhere. To specifically get calico, I think you'd see piebald popping up first.

[markrosewater]

To further expand on the artifact vs lands producing colored vs colorless mana topic:

Of the lands that produce mana, 532(61.6%) produce only colored mana, 200(23.2%) produce only colorless mana, and 131(15.2%) can produce mana of at least one color and colorless mana.

Of the artifacts that produce mana, 326(78.8%) produce only colored mana, 71(17.2%) produce only colorless mana, and 17(4%) can produce mana of at least one color and colorless mana.

Hope this helps!

FYI

[dqzaiie]

analysis of the day i picked up dazai official art

i'd like to preface this with some of these observations are made with prior knowledge of the light novel, as i have read @popopretty’s translation (side a & side b), so please keep that in mind! this may contain spoilers.

picture frames:

beginning with the foreground, the framed pictures have dark splotches on them, resemblant of debris (presumably for the same reason that other objects in the artwork are burning). there is a stark contrast between these memories and the rest of the artwork, with them being far brighter and having a higher level of exposure than most other objects.

pictures seem to be a recurring theme when discussing beast, with the beast light novel including very similar panels. this polaroid of oda as beastzai is enacting the final stage of his plan, for example.

this is important to make note of, as the pictures in the frames are beast-related artworks. (i thought this was a very neat detail to include!)

while i am not entirely sure of this, i found it to be a prominent detail: the inclusion of one circular frame amongst the square ones, with it being the only frame that contains an unobstructed view of beastzai’s face. to me, this is reminiscent of a mirror. given the fact that it is facing the fourth wall, could this be a reference to dazai’s self-awareness?

odasaku:

this idea is expanded upon in oda’s pose, with his hand extending toward the viewer. 

the light is illuminating his outreached palm, which is representative of him changing dazai’s dark perspective of the world, or “bringing him into the light”.

odasaku is the focal point of the artwork, being the narrator for this light novel. this conveys his significance to both the storyline and dazai himself. oda has a solemn look on his face, which isn’t unusual for his character, as he is typically portrayed with a stoic expression, however, he seems rather upset in comparison to his usual depictions.

in beast, it’s as though oda has assumed dazai’s role, so this may be representative of that parallel between the two of them, with oda bearing the responsibility of mentoring sskk in dazai’s absence. considering it is his right hand being extended, which corresponds with the beast side of the artwork, whereas his left hand is concealed by the picture frames, this demonstrates his ongoing role in beast, while he is no longer able to play an active role in canon.

(he is still very important to the story, mind you, but, that is a result of his memory, rather than his continued actions. this differs from beast, because he’s actively changing the narrative through his actions since he’s alive to make those decisions.)

while both dazai and beastzai have darker backgrounds, the space behind oda is white. there is a significant amount of light reflecting on him as well, mostly from the page hovering above his hand. this could be another picture that isn’t visible to the audience, but i believe it to a manuscript. 

the page is singed and torn, much like other aspects of this artwork. dazai in particular is affected by this, with the ends of his coat scorched on either side of the illustration.

canon (side a) vs beast (side b):

there is the obvious color symbolism of the background: beastzai’s side is black, while dazai’s side is grey, illustrating their differences in lifestyle, with dazai working for the armed detective agency on the side of good, and beastzai operating as the port mafia boss. similarly, beastzai is colored with cool tones, whereas dazai is colored with warmer tones. there are prominent cracks in beastzai’s background, while dazai’s has lighter, multicolored scuffs. these multicolored markings extend onto beastzai’s side before fading out into colorless ones. apart from those lighter markings, there are deeper cracks on the left side, extending into beastzai’s face and hair, from which dazai is unaffected. to me, these are reminiscent of a cracked picture frame, coinciding with the ones at the bottom of the illustration.

beastzai’s expression is blank, with most of it being obscured by bandages. his bangs hang down in front of his eye, effectively covering it. there appears to be marks of injury on his face, most of which are covered by the bandages. the bandages on beastzai’s face are attached to dazai’s own bandages, establishing a connection between the two of them. dazai wears a smile on his face, and his bandages are mostly torn, falling away from him. his bangs are mostly swept away from his eye, allowing him to see clearly. with a visible eye and torn bandages, this is indicative of the clearer perspective oda provided dazai with, allowing him to “see the world” through a different lens. (this was one of my favorite aspects of the anime adaptation for dark era—oda tearing the bandages from dazai’s face means so much to me.)

card symbolism:

the cards may be in reference to the gambling scenes between oda and dazai, which take place in side a of the light novel. much like chess, card games are often used in bsd to symbolize a battle of strategy, but also luck. for example, the cover for vol. 22

beginning with dazai, the card closest to his head is the joker, which references his intelligence, unpredictably, and “clownish” nature. there is another card nearby, but its face is obscured to the viewer. the card closest to his chest is the two of hearts, which represents quality time spent with loved ones, as well as spiritual connections, such as a twin flame, soulmate, or someone who is very important to someone’s life. this is indicative of oda and dazai’s relationship, as odasaku played arguably the most important role in dazai’s life—giving him a reason to live. 

there are two other cards visible on the right side, descending together in the background: the jack of clubs, and a card which has an obscured face. the jack of clubs is representative of action, warning against recklessness decisions. it may resonate with someone who is strong-willed and determined, yet impulsive and quick tempered. simply put, to many it means “yes”.  this card is representative of oda’s morals, and his sense of justice. his strong will, his determination—both of which lead to reckless, impulsive decisions made in an effort to maintain his promise to never take another life. this is exemplified by his death scene, in which he broke his promise to himself by killing gide and his subordinates, resulting in his senseless death. he had no regrets, dying satisfied by his actions, as though he believed it needed to happen—revenge for the deaths of the orphaned children he looked after. 

(side note: the parallel of his death scene in osamu dazai and the dark era and his appearance in the untold origins of the detective agency in which he claims “there is no forgiveness in this world…only retaliation—revenge against those who betray you.” is so, so perfect to me. the basis of his promise was ‘killing is unjust and revenge isn’t worth it’, and he broke it by obtaining revenge through the act of killing. i’m crying now.)

the card with its back facing the viewer is resemblant of dazai’s reasoning remaining a mystery to all but himself, hence why the card is visibly next to oda’s, yet unidentifiable, even to those closest with him.

there is another card on the far left of the artwork, but its front isn’t visible to the viewer. it mirrors the pair of cards on the right, the only visible difference being that it is alone. this card likely represents beastzai, under the assumption that the other two represent dazai and oda, as beastzai didn’t have an odasaku to turn to—he was alone.

as for beastzai, the card closest to his head is the three of spades, which represents heartbreak—a relationship which ends on bad terms, and a change of plans which cause emotional pain. in addition to this, it demonstrates commitment. i’d be hard pressed to find a card more fitting to describe the relationship between oda and dazai in beast. beastzai’s commitment to preserving that world, despite having to suffer for the duration of his lifetime, knowing that he would have to devote his life and death to protect it. this truly summarizes how painful the ending is, and how significant of an impact they leave in each other’s lives.

beastzai has two cards closest to his chest: one which has its back facing the viewer, and the other being ten of diamonds. the obscured card likely represents his enigmatic actions, the ten of diamonds represents accomplishment, and what is most meaningful in life. it is a good omen for success after hardship.

there are two cards falling toward oda, both of which are visible to the viewer: on the beast side, there is the ace of spades, and on canon side, there is the four of spades. when researching the symbolism of the cards, i found conflicting meanings for the ace of spades, which provided me with two vastly different interpretations. the first being: the ace of spades represents strength and authority, as well as new beginnings. this  this illustrates oda’s role in beast—a new path, a new novel, a new subordinate, a new journey. conversely, the ace of spades represents misfortune and death, which closely aligns with dazai’s arc in beast. tragic as it is, i believe this meaning to truly represent how saddening the storyline is. with dazai so openly accepting death to ensure the safety of his closest friend.

i believe both interpretations to an extent, as they coexist within the beast novel, hence why i decided to include both.

on a slightly lighter note, the four of spades said to represent struggle, daily life, and interpersonal relationships. after a deeper look into its meaning, i found it to describe a period of introspection, which is precisely what dazai experiences after meeting odasaku, having his expectations subverted time and time again, which causes him to reassess certain aspects of his beliefs. also, the idea of interpersonal relationships is related to this, as dazai and oda’s friendship is the focus of the light novel.

if you stuck around, thank you for reading all of that.

apologies if any of my thoughts were worded or expressed improperly, or if any of the provided information is incorrect. if this is the case, please feel free to correct me! 

this is my favorite light novel, and i simply CANNOT wait until its official release!!! i am weak with anticipation LOL. i would love to hear your thoughts on this official artwork!

[gingacd]

drawing vs colorless which i feel like i like more than the color version highkey

[loreholdlesbian]

Murders at Karlov Manor Booster Challenge

With every* set since zendikar rising, I've done a booster of custom cards meant to be a part of the set. This is based on a challenge from GDS3, so my goals are to not just to make cards that feel like a part of the set but also ones that Innovate which is a rather difficult balance to strike. I try to cover a wide variety of themes, colors, and mechanics. This is the first set using the new play boosters which I thought would make things more different than it did; it's basically just one fewer card and one slot that's flexible in rarity- I decided to make it uncommon, and I grouped it in with the other uncommons because it really doesn't matter which takes the flex slot.

Rare

Worldsoul's Justice 3WW Sorcery Choose one or more- * Destroy all colorless creatures. * Destroy all monocolored creatures. * Destroy all multicolored creatures. “You all profited while Ravnica screamed! You are all guilty!” -Oba

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This is a flexible board wipe that takes advantage of the variety of colors you might have on board in this set between the light multicolor theme and the disguise mechanic to let you sculpt it to your needs.

Uncommons

Increased Surveillance 1U Instant Surveil 1, then surveil 2, then surveil 3. (To surveil, look at that many cards from the top of your library. Put any number into your graveyard and the rest back on top in any order.) Rumors of the Dimirs’ fall only aid their all-seeing eyes.

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We've seen something kinda like this before in Cryptic Annelid, but i think scry vs surveil makes a big difference here. This is a great card for filling up your yard to collect evidence, while sculpting your future draws.

Midnight Investigator 1BB Creature- Vampire Detective When Midnight Investigator enters the battlefield, each player may collect evidence 5. If a player doesn’t, they lose life equal to the total mana value of cards in their graveyard. (To collect evidence 5, exile cards with total mana value 5 or greater from your graveyard.) 3/2

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One thing that's cool about collect evidence that only one card played with is that it's something anyone *can* do. I made this symmetrical rather than just opponents to reward building around the mechanic, but i like the way that the life loss effect essentially has a cap.

Chaos Seal 3B Enchantment Sacrifice Chaos Seal: Exile the top three cards of your library. You may play those cards this turn. Disguise 1R (You may cast this card face down for 3 as a 2/2 creature with ward 2. Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.) The Rakdos excel at finding novel uses for Azorius containment spells.

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In theory this card could be part of a cycle but I wasn't finding a lot of other effects that fit the bill. I needed something that wasn't problematic as an on board trick but also that you don't always want to use immediately after playing, and that benefited from being able to come out "cheaply" with a disguise cost. Impulse draw was a good fit because the amount of mana you have available really matters.

In Hiding G Enchantment Ward costs of permanents you control cost an additional 1 to pay. When In Hiding enters the battlefield, you may cloak a card from your hand. (To cloak a card, put it onto the battlefield face down as a 2/2 creature with ward 2. Turn it face up any time for its mana cost if it’s a creature card.)

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I went back and forth between white and green for this card. White is a little better at this kind of weenie and I feel like the re-ward fits it a little more, but neither is a bad fit for green and green is more of the disguise color so in this particular set it might make sense there. In the end I went green to differentiate this card a little more from the white common that is a noncreature permanent that has a minor effect and makes a 2/2 on ETB.

Commons

Compiled Case Notes 1W Artifact When Compiled Case Notes enters the battlefield, create a 2/2 white and blue Detective creature token. 1, T: Surveil 1. Activate only if a Detective entered the battlefield under your control this turn or was turned face up under your control this turn.

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I like the detective typal stuff and wanted to make a card for it; here's one that works fine in a vacuum as essentially a bear with kicker 1: Surveil 1, but gets a lot more interesting if you have other detectives which is a place I like my common typal rewards.

Detain the Suspect 1U Sorcery Tap target creature then choose two. You may choose the same mode more than once. * Put a stun counter on that creature. (If a creature with a stun counter on it would become untapped, instead remove a stun counter from it.) * Investigate.

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One cool thing you can do with stun counters that you couldn't with old "doesn't untap" effects is make a variable amount of turns. Investigate is clearly the better option synergy wise in this set, but being sorcery means tapping doesn't stop an attacker, and stopping an attacker for a turn or two can be *very* valuable. I think this card's in a good spot of how often you choose each of the three modes (two stun counters, two clues, counter and clue)

Kidnap 4U Instant This spell costs 1 less to cast for each card you drew this turn. Target creature’s owner puts it on top or bottom of their library. In a city as big as Ravnica, it’s all to easy to fall through thr cracks.

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The set already has some of this with the split cards and morphs, but I just wanted to add another spell that's expensive but can be cast cheaply to fill up your yard with expensive stuff for the sake of evidence collection. This was the cost reduction effect I found I liked best for this set.

Golgari Scapegoat 3B Creature- Elf Assassin 3B: Suspect Golgari Scapegoat. (A suspected creature has menace and can’t block.) Whenever Golgari Scapegoat deals combat damage to a player, if it’s suspected, surveil 2. 3/4 After the Invasion, the other Guilds are quick to blame the Swarm.

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This is a kind of design I always love doing with a set mechanic- give it a way to turn itself on so it works fine on its own, but cost it such that you'd much rather find another way to turn that effect on if you can.

Mysterious Bloodstain B Artifact- Clue When Mysterious Bloodstain enters or leaves the battlefield, suspect up to one target creature. (It has menace and can’t block.) 2, Sacrifice Mysterious Bloodstain: Draw a card.

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This is a cycle of clues that all do an effect when they enter or leave the battlefield. This is the one I like best because I think a card like this would do a lot of work in getting the BR suspect deck online; more than any of the others this one feels the most like a card you can only make here.

Covert Operations Head 1R Creature- Goblin Soldier Face-down creatures you control have haste. 2/1 Though once goblins filled only the lowest Boros ranks, after the Invasion devastated Boros numbers those who survived quickly rose.

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Fairly straightforward disguise reward here. I wanted to cost it to be 2 mana, since coming down before turn 3 is hugely important for this particular card, so it basically built itself from the initial idea.

Anzrag's Escape 2G Sorcery Choose one- * Return target card in your graveyard to your hand * Return target card you own in exile that you collected as evidence this turn to your hand.

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Simple enough idea here, it's a regrowth that doesn't compete with the set's graveyard mechanic. I don't think this breaks the spirit of the rule that cards shouldn't be able to get cards back from exile because of how specific it is; it doesn't at all prevent using exile as a safety.

Elephant in the Room 4G Creature- Elephant Detective Disguise 4G. This cost is reduced by 2 if Elephant in the Room is attacking and isn’t blocked. (You may cast this card face down for 3 as a 2/2 creature with ward 2. Turn it face up any time for its disguise cost.) 5/5

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I wanted a card that lets you use disguise to sneak a big creature out early without breaking the rule of five, and I came up with a design I quite like to get around it.

[cloudie-skay]

Rewatching Corpse Bride, didn't realise I only ever remembered it in fragments but here are some thoughts! None of them are particularly hot takes really, I just have words to say

Victor Van Dort is my OG favourite cringefail of a man

Never thought about how Emily could have possibly known that Scraps was Victor's childhood dog but I don't mind brushing past that

Maturing is realising that as much I really wanted to see Emily and Victor together, Emily severely needed to move away from squishing herself down to just being "the Corpse Bride". And more importantly, she needed closure.

And well yeah, she's dead and he's alive but personally that wouldn't deter me.

The reason I really wanted to see Emily and Victor together when I was younger was because Emily got to act delulu and speedrun the marriage process and Victor really just rolled with it to the best of his abilities. And they almost did get married!

And I want that!!! I was obviously projecting as a child!!!

Also the piano scene, still positively sweet

Lord Bakfuck or whatever his name is still sucks don't think my opinion changed about that

Is there fanfic out there where Emily becomes a cool aunt to Victor and Victoria's child/ren

Ok but there was still chemistry between Victor and Emily so I wasn't completely unfounded in wanting to see them together

The bleeding heart romantic in me still wants to see Emily get married to someone tho, I feel like she deserves it on top of getting her revenge on Lord Buttish

Yes, I know she goes off into lepidoptera and the whole point is that she doesn't need to be married to be happy

But as previously mentioned, I heavily projected on her as a child and evidently I still do

Still absolutely love the disparity between the wedding prep of the dead and the reception of the living. With the dead being so colorful and vibrant and the living being colorless and dreary

You know what? fuck the whole Emily/Victor vs Victoria/Victor discourse I'm all for Gertrude and Alfred as the movie's OTP

Victor you say those vows I'm so proud of you baby

The parallel between Victor seeing Emily from behind Victoria and holding her face to keep her from looking behind and Emily doing the exact same when she sees Victoria behind him... Both done during their proclamations of love

Well there's something to be said there but I'm not smart enough to point it out right now

"I love you, Victor but you're not mine" still hurts me to this day

All of the dead are one big found family and I'm here for it

"Always the bridesmaid but never the bride" also hurts but differently

Overall, I still love the movie, despite only remembering it in chunks.

[rock-swag-tournament]

Mineral Swag Semifinals: Labradorite vs. Opal

Labradorite (Ca,Na)(Al,Si)4O8): Feldspar mineral. Triclinic crystal system. Color is brown to gray with iridescence typically being green to blue (with rare yellows and pinks). Two strong directions of cleavage. Vitreous luster. White streak. ~6 on Mohs hardness scale. Labradorite's brand of iridescence is known as labradorescence.

Opal (SiO2·nH2O aka hydrated silica): Mineraloid. No crystal system. Typically colorless with iridescence showing many colors. No cleavage. Pearly or waxy luster. White streak. ~6 on Mohs hardness scale. Comes in many varieties.