#double bow

[starlightbyashley]

Christmas thoughts have started to pop up in my mind. Check out my hand tied tree topper bows on etsy!

https://www.starlightbyashley.com

[carolinhairandmakeup]

Boston Kids Bathroom Large transitional kids' ceramic tile, gray floor and double-sink bathroom photo with recessed-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, an undermount sink, quartz countertops, gray countertops and a built-in vanity

[sans-eats-mulch]

[landofanimes]

She-ra and the Princesses of Power

Posters

[the-shifting-long]

one fascinating thing about the Princesses is how often they echo the mindset that motivates the Shifting Mound.

Shifty/Felina is someone who is convinced that she is what she is, that the totality of her being is something that cannot be changed or denied. There is no compromise, in part because there is nothing to compromise-she simply is, you simply are, and this is how things are.

Communicating with her using words pre and post awakening is difficult-words are difficult for her. They never quite weave into what she wishes to say. She often resorts to flowery metaphors, unable to use imprecise and unnuanced language to say the things she wants to say. When frustrated by the player or by this issue of communication, she often falls back on how there is no constant, there is no center, everything exists in relation to everything it isn't and vice versa, "nothing" is a concept that exists because there's "something", and how can we even begin to talk about the inherently contradictory, multifaceted aspects of our existence when language cannot account for it?

Precisely because she dislikes words, and feels she has to fall back on metaphor for them to have any meaning, she values action more than anything-more specifically, she values conflicts. She values the ins and outs, the victories and defeats, things ending and breaking only to be reborn. This also ties into the Shifting Mound as a force of entropy, change, and death-she is what she is, viewing death and fear and pain and change as necessary parts of the world, and what's needed to improve yourself.

She loves it so much, loves the player so much, finds it so romantic, that she often refers to it as a dance. Conflict as music. Something beautiful and timeless to be adored and made over and over and over again in a billion different styles across a billion different times and places.

This is all basic Shifting Mound analysis, and it's important for establishing a baseline of Who She Is (without getting into what her Heart versions say, and why there's incongruence there-that's a different post! we can definitely go deeper) Because...every single one of her vessels reflects one or more of these aspects of Felina.

The Damsel line is all about TSM's connection and adoration of the player, how she loves the player even at their very worst and comes up with the most loving poems for the most horrifying things. Even when killed, she decides to return the favor with a smile and with your hand in hers. Damsel's deconstruction refers to the end of the world as "unleashing unceasing entropy upon all creation", Happily Ever After wants nothing more than to leave and dance, and even wears TSM's crown and takes similar poses to the dance Felina has with the player in the Leave ending.

Prisoner is once again about the failure of words, being able to communicate without them, or find hidden meanings. So much of Cage involves both Princess and Voices having literal understandings of the situation, and twisting it for their own ends, along with the natural fall into conflict-and that conflict being beautiful. Drowned Grey is beyond words, instead letting her own corpse's appearance and blank stare speak for her. She's also got this idea of destruction as something necessary-she's perfectly fine, even happy, being nothing but a head and losing her body completely. When that doesn't work, the cabin breaks down on its own, and its destruction is unambiguously a good thing.

Razor's a blatantly more meta route where you manifest a knife for your enemy to kill you with. Razor in both forms is about going through an endless stream of trials until you are about to embrace godhood, either being pushed into another very romantic conflict-the ebb and flow-or rising about it to break her against yourself. It's a beautiful parallel to Shifty herself, this unstoppable force that will never change, and where the relationship only changes because you're able to rise against it.

The Nightmare is about how she simply is what she is, and she can't change that. Fear and death and horror are necessary things to keep the world running. Noteably, Nightmare doesn't want to end the world so much as "hold it in her hands and squeeze." Nightmare doesn't see bringing death and destruction and most importantly, fear as an ending, but a new beginning, and an inevitable part of her nature, just like her fully-awakened self.

Spectre is one of the routes that plays a lot with perception-you think she's dead, so she is, and in Princess and the Dragon, she is both dead and alive until the metaphorical box is opened by an outside observer, schrodinger's cat style. Like the Shifting Mound, she personally chooses to see the best in the player until proven otherwise, and even then, is inclined to embrace violence as a natural part of their relationship if pushed down Wraith or the Stenciled version of Princess and the Dragon. Shifty, Damsel, and Spectre want nothing more than to be with you.

And Tower wants nothing more than to be with you, too...as a goddess while you sit by her side as a pet, or at best, a priest. The Tower princesses are arguably the ones that get closest to godhood, to being what the Shifting Mound and therefore all of the Princesses are. They're held back by their inability to treat the player as an equal, and there's definitely an argument to made for Felina's own arrogance and assumption that she can never be wrong, so you must concede to her. Tower and Apotheosis in particular are delighted by the player's acts of resistance, much in the same way the Shifting Mound gets excited when you're able to successfully resist her. In terms of personality, I'd argue this line shares TSM's general attitude and behavior the most.*

*Tower-Fury is different from the rest of her line in a lot of ways, such as actively disliking the player's resistance, but keeps the divine arrogance even when she believes it's been denied to her, and is genuinely upset it has been much in the same way a certain pre-awakened someone doesn't take kindly to the Oblivion paths.

The Adversary line, similarly to Tower and Razor, once more involves that core belief of conflict between the two of you specifically leading to greater and greater heights. If the Tower reflects TSM's overall attitude, Advy is a reflection of what TSM tries to get at with metaphor-Adversary in all of her forms finds no use in words, only purpose in action, but will still literally cry from joy if this action is compared to a song written in blood. Both Eye of the Needle and Advy-Fury share this trait, with Advy-Fury deriding words as things that "aren't music. They aren't dance. They aren't feeling." TSM shuts down arguments that nitpick her language much in the same way the Adversaries are uninterested in language period, while also using the same language Of song and dance and music. And, while ambiguous, you could say the Leave ending, the endless joy of being with TSM as the world dies and is reborn over and over, presents a similar dynamic to the end of Adversary, where the two of you fight each other over and over with such fervent passion death itself no longer sits on your shoulders...

Stranger's so meta and so obviously a mini-Shifty, it almost feels like a waste to talk about how she's Shifty. A billion realities colliding into one, parts of them dead, parts that don't fit...even pre-awakened TSM says she's in the shape of her, but is unable to hold everything she is.

Witch brings our favorite dance metaphor back right alongside stories about love, change, and growth. While the Witch herself is a wretched little thing, in her own words, she contains so much potential to become something beyond that. Witch, Nightmare, and Razor are all some of the more playful sides of TSM. I feel like things get really interesting in Witch's chapter 3s, ESPECIALLY the Wild.

That's one where you and the princess are literally merged together, right where she believes you belong, and are so, so close to getting everything she wants before the nature of the construct and TSM kick in and the walls close. I can't do a playthrough where I intend to leave with TSM without getting the Networked Wild as a vessel-it just feels that important to Felina as a character, to see what her pre-awakened self describes as a literal shadow of herself, a much more vulnerable version, and for her to be right there...while Tower/Apo feels closest in terms of godhood and attitude, and Stranger feels closet in terms of what she physically is and experiences, Wild feels as though she's the most similar to TSM's inner heart and feelings, right down to the buried parts of herself that still want to get violent.

And then there's Beast/Den. You've probably heard this one from Nightmare and Razor before, get ready to here it from the lion's mouth this time: I am what I am, fledgling. There is no reasoning with that. Adversary says she's beyond words while still happy to use them-that's more than fine, TSM loves poetry despite (or perhaps because?) of her frustrations with language. Den literally gets to the point where she's beyond words. This is a princess who doesn't care for the pretenses that she's a normal, human, mortal being anymore, a princess who embraces everything she is and wants, and who will always be happy to show you exactly what she means...through biting you biting you biting you biting you biting you saving you from a collapsing tunnel biting you <3 Once more we see that repeating motif of merging with the princess, being one with her. Once more we see how badly the Shifting Mound wants to be with us, by any means possible, through the lens of her vessels.

Anyways I think it's really neat how these Princesses are all full-fledged and deep, nuanced characters in and of itself while still contributing to the gestalt of another woman who is made of all of them, and helping to inform her characterization as much as their own. It's like Slay the Princess is insanely well-written and good or something.

[yingtan]

THE DOUBLE 墨雨云间 │2024, Ep. 40

[david-tennant-in-chairs]

Oh good, you're both here.

Now we can do this one at a time. Or, because it's my birthday...

[buildingmycottage]

I saw a post here on Tumblr once that went something like "in a world where god, Jesus, and the apostles are all men, that has to do something psychologically to women" and it made me think: The Netflix version of the show "She-Ra Princess of Power" is a show that is HEAVILY women centric. We know maybe three guys in power, King Micah (who, after his return from Beast Island, wasn't *really* in power), the head sorcerer in Mystacor, Hordak/Horde Prime. (please do correct me if I am wrong) The show, albeit about princesses, has the princesses have actual roles. Even the ones that are "weak" or perceived to be weaker than the others (read: Perfuma), are extremely powerful.

The two men whom we consistently meet in the show other than Hordak, Bow and Seahawk, are not the "macho man" in most shows. Seahawk sings an entire shanty as to how lonely he is and how he just wants to be friends with Mermista, and Bow cries and even hugs frequently all the other characters in the show. Both talk about their emotions and work through them in /relatively/ healthy ways (the Dragon's Daughters 1-3 will be sorely missed). My point being, is that the women in the show are shown as strong, beautiful, muscular, fierce, sad, frustrated, loving, traumatized, hurt, laughing, and more. They all have different body shapes/ types of bodies. There are three openly gay couples: Bow's dads, Spinerella and Netossa, and Catra and Adora. Incredible! In a kids show (and adults too lets be real) there are three openly gay couples. No one treats them any different. Bow is one of 13 kids of George and Lance. No one bats an eye. In fact, according to She-Ra Wiki page (https://she-raandtheprincessesofpower.fandom.com/wiki/LGBTQIAP%2B), so many characters are queer. Besides the ones listed above: - Scorpia and Perfuma are romantically involved - Bow is Bisexual - Glimmer is Bisexual - Mermista is Bisexual - Seahawk is Bisexual (dated Falcon) - Falcon is Gay - Lonnie is Poly and Bisexual (dating Rogelio and Kyle) - by extension Rogelio and Kyle are queer - Entrapta is bi - Jewelstar is trans - Peekablue is gender non-conforming - Double Trouble is nonbinary and there is MORE In the show, as there are a ton of non humans, almost any time we meet someone, she/her pronouns are used (see episodes when Best Friend Squad are in the crimson waste). Can't you see how amazing this is? A show where there are no one-dimensional characters, women are constantly having intelligent conversation with one another, women are leaders, women working together, openly queer characters, and a beautiful plot line where there's magic???? When the princesses work together, they turn into the colors of the rainbow and their powers are enhanced. Little girls are getting to see themselves as normal. Women aren't treated as secondary citizens. Hell, almost every Bright Moon guard we see is female. How would the world be different if shows like this were the norm? Where women are able to be magical, and they aren't dressed to show off their bodies? Where women's armor actually protects them? Where they grunt and are sweating after they fight? Where womens' love wins? Why can't this be normal? (Happy Pride!)

[cy-clondo]

Page 5 :)

[starlightbyashley]

[fake-married-my-dead-fiance]

I was scrolling through The Double tag and someone was complaining that Xue Fangfei never learned self-defence even though she was attacked so often and I was like, "No, I loved that they didn't pretend that a tiny stick of a woman could take on men twice her size because as much as I understand this genre isn't terribly complaint with physics (or biology), it would have been ridiculous."

We had two women who knew how to fight, Poison Princess and Arrow Friend (Lui?) so it wasn't like all women were portrayed as 100% helpless. But since a lot of Fangfei's revenge quests were about injustices that happen to women, who are generally weaker than men, her only have "soft" tools felt in keeping with the themes.

(We shall ignore that Fangfei managed to shoot Shen at like, 60 meters in the hand with a bow. That was for catharsis. There is no way that woman could shoot someone IN THE HAND, a super small target, after five minutes of sexy archery lessons.)

But back to my point, Fangfei's weapons are self-control, quin-playing, intelligence, diplomacy, and suicidal-risk taking. When attacked, she either is helped by an alliance she has formed (with Duke Su or her cousin), or by her words. She talks her half-sister into hitting her one attacker with a rock, which was great! It wouldn't have been half so satisfying if she just started pulling out martial arts moves that she'd learned in the like, six months max that this series happens over? Especially since many of the men have clearly been practising martial arts/sword-fighting their entire lives and have um, muscle tone and at least a foot of height on this tiny, tiny woman. There is a reason professional sports have weight classes.

I mean obviously it's not a bad idea to learn self defence, but if you learn it from a genuine expert the advice is, "Break out of their grip and run like hell" which wouldn't have worked in about half of the situations where Fangfei finds herself in danger. She was better served by sticking to what she was good at and delegating the physical fighting to people who knew what they were doing. It doesn't make her pathetic, it just means she knows her strengths.

[rainbowtiedx]

the bottom catra image is probably my fave that ive made shes just soooo

that group shot was evil tho but fun

[vigilskept]

Saw your tags on the last few posts and hard agree! Between the ever present Fen'harel foreshadowing AND Sandal's prophecy AND Mythal's reckoning? It always seemed like the Veil coming down was that proper big bang finish that would rewrite all the rules in a satisfying and interesting way. One of my issues with Veilgaurd is I feel like it took the series' opportunity for a destinct ending away. Personally, I believe good stories end. I don't want 30 DA games in a MCU verse. And now, to have the series end they have to come up with a stopping point that makes more sense than the Veil. Or revisit the Veil. And what would be the point in that when they wasted all the foreshadowing?

yes, exactly!! i felt like i was going insane on my soapbox there, thank you!! it really feels like they ran up against the natural end point for the franchise and just decided to do a little shimmy around it. i just don't see what exactly that achieves except to set up a new, bigger bad which we have no real stake in.

was i curious about the executors prior to veilguard? yes! but i expected them to appear in this game since they clearly had an interest in solas' plans!! not for them to have 3 completely missable interactions followed by the worst idea of a post credit scene i've ever seen. whatever curiosity i had about what they were up to & how the kossith relate to what's across the sea is pretty much gone at this point.

a "shadowy cabal" who's secretly responsible for all of the evil enacted in this world by people in power is not a plot i care to see play out in bioware's hands. it's a stupid, elders of zion ass direction to take things and was not worth trashing over a decade of build up.

there is nowhere they could take that plot thread (already relying on the worst possible trope...) that would give dragon age a more satisfying conclusion than dropping the veil.

it would've resolved or set up a potential resolution for all of the major conflicts that have been established up to now!! (mages under the chantry, tevene class structure/slavery, oppression of elves, the blights, the waking titans, etc. etc. i could go on!)

and with the way veilguard ends... it looks to me like they wanted to somehow get the implied resolutions that would come out of dropping the veil without committing to it. that's why no matter what you do, dorian or mae will become archon and singlehandedly restructure tevinter society. the load bearing piece of "mageocracy can't function if everyone's a mage now" is gone, so we have to have a poorly executed sideplot to resolve this plot thread for us instead...

i'm sure people will feel differently, but i personally would've found it more satisfying if the veil fell and the franchise wrapped up there. for good or ill, it changes everything and we can all have the time of our lives speculating about the Implications thereafter.

if they really wanted to(/needed to promise EA they could) make more games in this setting — they could've gone backwards! there's lots of stories you could tell throughout thedas in the gap between the fifth blight and solas' ritual! there's lots of stories you could tell about the centuries between andraste's rebellion and the fifth blight! there's so much happening in the background here that they've hinted at through codices that if they really wanted more content in this setting, there is so much room to expand on those.

could they set up world shattering events like "tearing down the veil" again? no. but i think that was a very obvious one and done situation, and i don't think anyone came into this franchise expecting their dragon age games to have stakes that apocalyptic until trespasser! i think there absolutely would've absolutely been an audience for a game about the assassination of queen madrigal or the fog warriors' resistance on seheron if they hadn't fumbled this....

[your-red-buddy]

My rushed Halloween themed doodles

II characters + double down hosts cause why not

[snarkyassholeenthusiast]

SPOP Textposts part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

//

//

//

//

//

//

//

//

//

[tromroan]

Some more of Siddal, my DnD bard of whispers... just a regular human man. The saw is duel purpose (literally)