#famous art reimagined

[charlesreeza]

Wow, these are really good! Credit to the original artists in the caption, not just the tags, would have been nice, but still, good work.

I’ve been making gay knights (and ladies) collages on my phone at work

(Part two)

[krispycrowntree]

[thatsthat24]

Sanderstober 2024

SANDERSTOBER IS HERE! Once again, my friends and I are creating art prompts for you all to try your hand at for every day of this month, if you'd like! Try one, try some, try all! If you miss a day but still want to do a prompt from a day you missed, please go ahead! This is all just for fun. If you'd like to share your creations, you can use #Sanderstober2024. I'd love to see! Hope you enjoy them! 🍁

October 1: Always gotta start out this day with the traditional prompt! take a character from media or OC and draw how they look on September 30th vs. how they look on October 1st!

October 2: Create a sheet ghost, but featuring the pattern of a sheet/blanket you own or maybe used to own when you were younger. - This idea came from my friend, Andrea!

October 3: A quick Google search of “keyblade designs” (the weapon from Kingdom Hearts) would show you how the weapon changes based off the property the character goes to! Design a keyblade based around any piece of media, as if the main character from Kingdom Hearts traveled there… - This idea came from my friend, Rene!

October 4: There’s a lot of fast food and cereal mascots out there… I think you know where I’m going with this. Take any of those mascots and turn them into a MONSTER or KILLER.

October 5: This one’s a play off a prompt from last year AND it’s a writing prompt! Take any famous character from a horror film, and create a nursery rhyme about them. You can make it completely innocent, or, like many nursery rhymes, remain dark but disguised in pretty language.

October 6: Take your favorite animal… and dress it as your dream profession. - This idea came from my friend, Talyn!

October 7: Take one of your favorite movies and reimagine if it had been marketed as a different genre (e.g. Hellraiser as a family comedy, Goodfellas as a romance, etc.) - This idea came from my friend, Joan!

October 8: Turning things into Pokemon tends to be a favorite prompt of mine, and this year, the category is… fast food! Take any fast food of your choice, create a Pokemon, and name it!

October 9: Take any foreign animation cartoon and draw them in the style of a western animation! - This idea from my friend, Dominic!

October 10: Definitely a sucker for fall fashion and aesthetic, so take any character or group of characters from one of your favorite pieces of content and give them a fall aesthetic makeover.

October 11: Crows collect shiny things… what things might the nest of a crow contain from one of your favorite fictional universes? - This idea came from my friend, Lev!

October 12: Take any color and ONLY use that color in order to depict a Halloween, horror movie, or fall scene.

October 13: A very expressionistic vibe for this prompt: draw the aura which you hope to be walking in during fall or Halloween. - This idea came from my friend, Valerie!

October 14: There’s LOTS of new words and sayings out there (skibidi, rizz, Ohio, ick, etc.). Google some, you’ll learn a couple new ones. I want you to create a Halloween monster/creature/cryptid based off one of these new words, as if they were the names of the creatures themself (Oh my gosh… it’s the legendary Los Angeles Ick…)

October 15: Sure, people are scared of Halloween monsters… but are there things that would be scary to those monsters? Get creative and depict some things/scenarios that would be terrifying to a typical Halloween creature! - This idea came from my friend, Jackie!

October 16: Those new horror-fied versions of fast food/cereal monsters from October 4 need weapons… take a meal or the cereal from the brand you got your mascot from, and create a weapon inspired by it!

October 17: There has been lots of theorizing in the fields of science on how the human body may evolve in order to either perform modern tasks better or survive… SO, imagine up a human evolution that has adapted to survive some environment (fire, spider bites, rejection), or one that has adapted to perform a certain task (tennis, gaming, folding clothes). - This idea comes from my friend, Joan!

October 18: So, Toy Story 5 has been announced… draw the next toy that’s gonna be introduced as a character in it.

October 19: Returning to an annual favorite of mine… take any character(s) from a piece of media and depict them in the style of a Tim Burton character.

October 20: As a play off of Dominic’s suggestion from an earlier day, take any western animation’s characters and depict them in the style of a foreign animation!

October 21: Taking inspiration from the movie, Hocus Pocus, take any character from a piece of media and depict them riding what *they* would probably bewitch into a broomstick if they had to in a pinch!

October 22: They’re giving your favorite background character a spin-off series. What does the poster for it look like? - This idea is from my friend, Dominic!

October 23: Ok… that monster/killer mascot you made on October 4th? The movie has to have a setting. Maybe an appropriate building? Maybe an entire town… Depict that setting…

October24: Take a character from your favorite movie/tv show and depict them as if they were a character in a fighting game like Smash Bros. or Street Fighter! What does their special/ultimate move look like? - This idea came from my friend, David!

October 25: Take any fun/special memory from your life and create a children’s book cover inspired by it. - This idea came from my friend, Stephanie!

October 26: Take your favorite classic Halloween monster and use them as inspiration for a new species of insect… - This idea came from my friend, Dahlia!

October 27: This feels like a classic for any time of year: take any favorite piece of media and cast the Sanders Sides in it.

October 28: [Any of your favorite pieces of media] … and Zombies

October 29: Think of a very important key object from one of your favorite movies or tv shows that the protagonist(s) finds. Now imagine they never stumbled upon it. What would it look like 100 years later? What else may have happened to it if the protagonist never found it? - This idea came from my friend, Chantz!

October 30: Now… we combine the ideas together to make the ultimate new Halloween villain! Take your creations from October 4th, 8th, 16th, and 23rd, and place them all together to create a scene of them terrorizing the main protagonists!

October 31: And, as a classic end-of-the-month tradition, today’s prompt is about celebrating the reason for the season, Halloween! Imagine if Halloween was like New Year’s Eve for Halloween creatures/characters. What would they look like, dressed all fancy for the occasion and celebrating?

Got the list fully completed! Looking forward to whatever you all create! 

[toweroftickles]

Reimagined Tickling #5

Fairy Tail/The Legend of Korra

A lot of times when I see a tickling scene in a movie or TV show, I imagine how fun it would be to see other characters in those same situations. You know, like "Oh I wanna see X character get tickled like that." So I thought I'd try writing a few drabbles where I'll take a famous tickle scene and reinterpret it with new characters in new settings.

This one was a request from my readers! Let’s see how Avatar Korra fares, living through Lucy Heartfilia’s torment from Virgo.

This story takes place during TLOK Season One.

Late-night puddle droplets splished into the air and drenched Korra’s heavy tundra-camel boots with every thunderous step. The brickwork backstreet was too crowded for her to use her bending arts safely, but she wasn’t going to let her target escape.

“Hey! Get back here!!” she shouted.

Through the window of Narook's Noodlery where she and her Fire Ferrets celebrated, Korra had spied the girl outside...a scrawny little scarecrow, couldn't have been more than 10 or 11, all in seaweed-colored rags of ill fit, with tufts of bright orange plumage shooting out from beneath her aviator goggles. She'd been struggling to remove the hubcaps from Asami’s car. A street rat kid rummaging for auto parts? Probably part of the Badgermole Triad. Well, if Officer Lin was too busy with “important city matters” to deal with them, Korra would do it herself.

The Avatar pushed and shoved her way through the crowd, lagging behind a diminutive thief who had the ability to simply slip underneath the sea of legs. For a moment, her pursuit was blocked by a busy traffic intersection...the girl was already across the street and fleeing fast...but Korra quickly dodged and flipped between the charging vehicles. As one car pulled out into the road, milliseconds before crashing into it, she vaulted legs-first over the engine hood, a blast of air propelling her along to the sidewalk on the other side, and the squeeeaaeeaaaky slide over hot metal nearly rubbed her butt-cheek raw.

"GET OUTTA THE STREET, YA MORON!" The pedestrian driver's horn rattled her eardrums.

Yow!! Ow ow ow ow ow! Korra hissed to herself, clutching her sore behind as she ran. (Well…it was more of a limping hop.) Ugh, that’s gonna smart for a while…

The chase led down a limestone alcove, hidden beneath a dumpster behind the Cabbage Corp building, down a wrought iron ladder that bored flakes of rust into Korra’s palms, and into the cyclical catacombs of the Warrens. Why did these dumb squirts have so much energy? She was nearly out of breath and about to call off the pursuit, when she found herself in the atrium of a massive cave.

The city lights above illuminated the red-brown earth floor. All across the sprawling portal were the bodies of countless wrecked vehicles, no doubt used in the illegal racing circuit. Satomobiles and Cabbage Car chassis of all colors littered the pools of light like croutons in soup, their parts creaking and groaning against each other. And at the far end of the cavern, past the musty graveyard of wheels and springs, there stood the kid, her back to Korra, perfectly still.

Was she oblivious, or planning something? Korra wasn't gonna wait to find out. Uncaring about noise or stealth, she charged.

Now I've got you!

Without a turn, without even a sideways glance, the mysterious child stomped a bare and bandaged foot into the dirt.

The ground beneath Korra's feet instantly dropped away like a trapdoor. “WHOA!!!” Korra yelped and tried to stop herself, but her momentum slid her down the ramp-like opening on her heel and carried her right into the maw of this newly-dug pit. She barely had time to steady herself either - as soon as she wobbled to a stable position, four large rectangles of stone, thick as concrete slabs, rose up vertically around her and rushed at her from all angles. On pure instinct she threw her arms out to the sides to block them, and her wrists were greeted by a crushing weight that nearly shattered them to splinters. She winced and shouted as the walls pushed against her hands, boxing her in and forcing their way closer and closer to her, but somehow, her throbbing arms held firm. Her energy was drained from the chase, but eventually, the blocks ground to a slow stop, and the dust settled.

Korra wheezed. Whew. I was almost a pancake. She felt like she was trapped inside a chimney. Unable to clearly see her surroundings, she glanced up to find the little sticky-fingers on the ledge of the trap hole, staring furiously down at her.

"Stop following me!" the kid yipped.

“You’re an earthbender?!”

"Of course I'm an earthbender! Now leave me alone!"

It was this surprise revelation that made Korra pause…this earthen box itself was no problem. One quick push outward and the walls would crumble. Her knees swiveled inward to form a Gong Kiu stance. She furrowed her brow and felt the rock surge beneath her hands, unaware of the sedimentary serpent that approached her.

It started small at first. Tiny granules of sand and crumbled earth all teemed together like a school of krill at the Badgermole recruit’s feet. Then, smoother, rounder stones joined the fun. Soon they all coalesced into the shape of a tentacle, that grew and grew in length until it was large enough to reach over the edge of the crevice and spiral down to the Avatar’s body. It nosed around as if hunting, dancing to its master’s commands, until finally, it lunged.

A sharp blade of air stabbed Korra's throat. All the blood in her face drained into the back of her neck, and she froze, save for her widened eyes, which darted to look at her abdomen. For a split second of terror, she thought she'd been speared. But no. This was worse.

The stone whip that she saw for the first time caressed her stomach back and forth like a tongue, up and down, side to side, between every taut muscle and even around the rim of her navel. It wiggled and poked and wouldn’t stop.

What the - ?!

“Tickletickletickletickletickle!!” the urchin girl’s shrill voice called out.

No. Wait. You’ve gotta be kidding me.

Korra tried to wrestle the urge down into her stomach, but she couldn’t help herself. She simply burst out laughing.

“Wha…d-d’ah! H…Haha! Haha Ha-Ha Ha!” Only for a fraction of a second, her hands slipped downward. But that was enough. Her strength gave way and those rock slabs, commanded by another stomp of the mysterious kid’s foot, pummeled even harder against her arms. They smooshed Korra tighter and tighter ‘til her elbows buckled.

“Ahhhh-ow ow ow OWWWW!!!” Hot thorns of pain cracked her ulnae.

“Heh-Heh Heh! That’s the best trick I ever learned! Not so easy to concentrate on your bending when you’re laughing like a hyena-monkey, is it, Miss Avatar?”

“Ugh! You little brat! Fight me like a real bender!” Korra barked.

But the young thief was merely bemused by this demand. “Hmmmm…” She stroked her chin and pretended to ponder for a moment, before a cruel snaggle-toothed smile grew across her freckles. “Ok!”

The girl threw out her right arm and twisted her wrist so that her fingers faced the ceiling. While those pointed digits wiggled in the air, her left hand made fast swipes like a conductor's baton, and her feet drew concentric circles on the ground. Korra had never seen bending like this. She would’ve been more curious...if her thoughts weren’t distracted by the craggy tentacle that was now wiggling underneath her left armpit.

“D-don’t!! Haha-Ha! Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!! *gasp* Huh! Quihit it! Nooo, crahap; why don’t I cover thohohose?!” This was humiliating. Why tickling?!

With every tiny stumble of her hands, the rocks pushed in closer. A few more slip-ups and she'd be crushed. Now she was starting to panic.

“Are you ticklish here? Or here? What about there? You’re gonna beg for mercy before long!”

The pebbles in the strand climbed over one another and traced serpentine patterns along Korra’s jaw, dragging their tiny rigid edges against the underside of her chin…down her neck…deep in her collarbone…drilling into the left armpit, and then the right…down her back…scrawling between each individual rib…once it even burrowed itself into the back of her knee, twisting and wriggling against a painfully vulnerable spot of skin. Every time Korra attempted to contort her body away from the rock-and-sand tendril, it leapt with lightning speed to another one of her softest pressure points, each more weak and sensitive than the last.

“Kitchie kitchie coo! Ah-Kitchakitchakitchakitchakitchakitchakitcha!” That nasal baby-talk was really starting to grate.

“PFFHA-HA HA-HA……nnnnn!! ….GkKHaha-Ha! *hic* Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!! D…Dahamn it! Haha! Huh-Huh Ha-Ha Ha!! R-HA-hocks…rocks are supposed to be sharp; they’re not s’posed to tickl-hl-hl-ha!!”

Korra’s arms trembled in their sockets. Only a single cubit’s length separated the two walls that sandwiched her…all her strength was sapped out…gravel was practically sanding down her ears…

“Had enough yet?”

All of a sudden, the tickle whip backed off. Korra bent over double in a struggle to catch her breath. Pools of achy misery swam through her ab muscles. A single bead of sweat drizzled its way down the bridge of her nose as she huffed and puffed.

“Hmmm…this isn’t working,” the pint-sized pilferer pouted with folded arms.

“Uhhh…Wha…what do you mean?” the Avatar moaned and raised her head. Particulates of sand were slithering up the side of the crevice and back to their commander. “Why’d you stop?”

“Hmf. Well I wanted to punish you for chasing after me. But you’re enjoying it.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS IS TORTURE!!” Korra might not have been a direct branch on Aang and Katara’s family tree, but she sure could channel her Water Tribe forebear’s explosive frog-mouthed temper. Tenzin was rubbing off on her.

Before she could protest further, the stone walls around her dissolved back into the ground as quickly as they’d sprung up. With nothing to push her palms against, Korra was suddenly thrown off-balance and, with her arms windmilling wildly, she toppled backwards like a chopped-down tree.

CRASH!!

It was a good several seconds before she managed to push herself up off the soil again. A heavy pulse thump-thump-thumped all the way from her hips to her throat. Her arms felt like jook pudding.

“Ugh…yep. Still smarts. Landed right on it,” she groused, to no one in particular. Korra didn’t have to climb out of the quarry to realize that her quarry was long gone.*

Great. Just great. She galavanted off halfway across the city, ditched her friends, bruised her ass, got lost in the Underground, nearly broke her arms, and got tickled mercilessly, just to fail at catching a poor kid who didn’t actually steal anything from them. Brilliant, Korra. She groaned and pinched her eyebrows, her mouth in a stubborn frown.

Slowly standing and dusting herself off, Korra limped up and out of the hole. In the midst of wondering how to explain this one to the team, one more terrible realization struck her.

"Aw, crap...

…I didn't pay my check."

*Why yes, I AM very proud of that sentence, thank you. (gets hit with a shoe)

********

[fruity-pontmercy]

Les Mis adaptations and apolitical appropriation

I think it's no secret on this blog that I love the original Les Mis 1980 concept album in French, and that I also love comparing different versions of the stage musical. I've noticed that Les Mis seems to get progressively more vaguely apolitical as time goes on, not only in the way it's viewed in our culture, but in the actual text as well.

It's natural for specifics to be lost in adaptation. It's easier to get people to care about 'the people vs. the king' in a relatively short musical rather than actually facing the audience with the absolute mess that were 19th century french politics (monarchist orleanists vs monarchist legitimists vs imperialist vs bonapartist democrats vs every flavour of republican imaginable). Still, I feel that as time goes on, as more revivals and adaptations of the stage musical come out, the more watered down its politics become. Like, Les Mis at it's core is just meant to be a fancily written, drawn out political essay, right?

In a way I feel that the 1980 concept album almost tried to modernise it with its symbols of progress. Yes, through Enjolras' infamous disco segment (and other similar allusions to the ideals of social change), but perhaps most interestingly to me, through one short line that threw me off when I first heard it, because it seems so insignificant, but might actually be the most explicitly leftist line of all of Les Mis.

"Son coeur vibrait à gauche et il le proclama" (roughly "His heart beat to the left and he proclaimed it" i.e: he was a leftist) Feuilly says, while speaking of the now dead général Lamarque in Les Amis de L'ABC.

What's that? An actual mention of leftism??? in MY vaguely progressive yet apolitical musical??? More seriously, this mention of leftism, clashing with the rest of the musical due to it's seeming anachronism, is interesting not because it's actually more political than anything else in Les Mis, rather, because it's not scared to explicitly name what it's trying to do.

But we've come a long way from the Concept Album days, it's been 43 years, and Les Misérables is now one of the most famous and beloved musicals in the entire world. It's been revived and reimagined and adapted in a million ways, in different mediums, in different languages and countries, and it's clear that it's changed along with it's audience.

On top of pointing out a cool line in my favourite version of the musical, I wanted to write this post to reflect on the perception of the political message of this work. We as a Les Mis fandom on Tumblr are very political, I don't need to tell you that, however, I feel that because this very left leaning space has sprung out of a work we all love so much, we oftentimes forget to revisit it from a more objective point of view.

Les Misérables has a history of being misrepresented, this has been true since it's publication, since american confederate soldiers became entranced with their censored translation Lee's Miserables. However, with it's musical adaptation, this misinterpretation has been made not only more accessible but also easier. As much as I love musical theatre and I think it is at it's best an incredible art form able to communicate complex themes visulally by the masses for the masses, I think it'd be idealistic to ignore the fact that the people who can afford to go see musicals regularly are, usually, not the common folk. Broadway and the West End are industries which, like most, need money to keep them afloat, and are loved people of all political backgrounds (and unfortunately, often older conservatives) not just communists on tumblr. We've seen the way Les Miz UK's social media team constantly misses the mark regarding different social issues, and the way Cameron Makintosh has used the musical to propagate his transphobia, and most of us can agree that these actions are in complete antithesis with the message of Les Misérables as a novel.

But I must ask, how does Les Mis ,as a West End musical in it's current form, actually drive a leftist message, and how are we as a community helping if every time someone relating to the musical messes up if we just claim they "don't get it"?

I'm thinking in particular of incidents like last october, where Just Stop Oil crashed Les Mis at the West End. Whether you think it's good activism or not is not the question I think, this instance is interesting particularly because it shows that, outside of Les Misérables analysis circles and fandom spaces, it is not recognised as an inherently leftist, political or activist work, and instead of just saying they completely missed the point of the musical, I think it'd be interesting to take a step back and look at what the musical as it stands actually represents in our culture today.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, so I won't try to give one, but I do hope we can reflect on this a bit.

[devilsburger]

How did you get the idea to make the devilburgers au? Like why the burger/fast food business? And how did you come up with the name?

Love your art!!!

I’m glad you’re enjoying the art! Haha the origin of the Devilsburger AU happened because while I was having fun drawing the Plantagenet dramas, I had the funny image of all of them in the Burger King drive-thru. It was funny to me because the mundanity of modern American Fast Food and culture makes for a great contrast between royal French-medieval pomp.

Why “Devilsburgers?”

I came up with “Devilsburger” because I initially made it ‘Burger king AU’ because I wanted to move away from using the trademarked Real Company lol (even though I think it’s funnier that way) and also so I could have more freedom to work with it. I used Devil bc of the famous Angevin Devil Ancestress story, and because it sounds cute and provocative… i need to finish designing the logo I came up with for it. Since its an American AU and us Americans love our stupid logos and BORGER it seemed really fitting and a lot of opportunities to have fun with. (I kind of have been thinking of the Devilsburger maybe being a teensy bit fancier than a Burger King though simply so that they can have Cooler Burgers but you can imagine what you like)

I initially was joking around making a play on how the show “The Devil’s Crown” but instead calling it “The Devil’s Burger” but then that kind of just turned into “Devilsburger” which sounds fun and easy to me.

Thematic/ Structural Thoughts

I love the 12th century Angevin Medieval Drama because on one hand it reflects an extremely alien culture and social approach to beliefs and life, but on the other, there’s a lot of elements that feel very familiar. Stories about heterosexual-patriarchal familial discontent, either comedic or dramatic, are very popular and long-lasting for a reason and I think even in the modern day, from the wealthiest to the poorest, that structure is still something that binds us, affecting the expectations and relationships we have between our siblings, parents and romantic partners. So it becomes very easy to reimagine characters loosely into modern family “roles,” since even though the situations and stakes are very different, a lot of the base emotions I think are eternal and map over pretty well. Jealousy, selfishness, loneliness, longing for affection, doing goofy things for attention….these are all eternal things, even if how they get expressed differs over time.

There are some things that DON’T map onto the AU very well at all from the medieval era, which is interesting to poke around with; the main thing being the modern style of nuclear family with smaller number of kids, women having a LOT more rights and mobility (even in toxic or coercive relationships). There is also the system of suzerain/vassalage and homage that I GUESS can fit vaguely into like corporate boss/employee loyalty relationship style stuff, but in a more individualistic modern culture it doesn’t really have the same ring to it. Modern society is not perfectly egalitarian By any means, but there’s an expectation and ideal of it today that people like to either strive for or Pretend Like They’re Striving For definitely did not exist then. (Hence why for me, my Burger Henry is definitely Trying to Look good in a specific way…)

Conclusion

That being said, this is all mostly for fun and sexytimes more than being like, a Deep Cultural Thesis haha. I think that kind of common story tropes and structures make things very fun to play around with because there’s already lots of expectations for how types of characters will act and behave and relate to each other.

I play pretty fast and loose with a lot of things, and in various ways my ideas have kind of moved away from maybe the original Historical Reinterpretation stuff, but in the end I like having a good sense of what I want characters to “feel” like that I really hope comes across well even in the short bits of comics and pics I’ve posted here…

[strawberryya]

loving you is so easy

Minghao x reader

request: 13, 14, 28 with Minghao ? I think it would be so cute and funny I can’t

13: “my head hurts.” “that’s just your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity.” 14: “Well, my middle finger salutes you.” 28: “Oh god, that was cheesy.”

synopsis: a simple art museum date with your boyfriend along with a very serious arts-and-crafts competition can be exactly what one needs every once in a while.

currently playing: loving you is so easy - HONNE

word count: 2.9k

genre/contains: fluff, mentions of food and headaches, banter and art-talk

rating: sfw, all ages

a/n: helloooo, so I wrote this forever ago and just never posted it TT sorry anon for this slow response!

.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・. .・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・.

It was amazing, you thought, how a person could have something like this existing solely in their head and then make it appear in our reality, visible to not only oneself but many others for many years to come. In front of you, was a field of tiny flowers on a huge canvas. Stuck in time, forever blooming. 

“I like this one,” you said longingly. 

“I think it captures the sadness of spring very well, it’s good,” Minghao agreed, adding his own interpretation of the painting as well. 

You nodded, not wanting to admit that you hadn’t understood the actual concept until he said it and that you had pretty much just liked the pretty colors used in it along with the feeling it gave you. Of course, the sheep did add to it, placed sporadically throughout the landscape filling the inside of the frame. 

Beside you, Minghao was standing, now turned to you and grinning behind his mask. His giggly voice startled you in your wandering train of thought, “It’s because of the sheep isn’t it?” he asked. You looked at him with wide eyes, your mouth slightly agape behind the mask covering your face. 

“How did you know?!” 

“You had a goofy smile, you always have that goofy smile when you see something cute that interests you,” he said, still giggling as he explained. 

“You can’t even see my face Hao!” you exclaimed, wondering how the hell he had been able to read your mind like that. 

“It’s the same expression you have when you look at me most days…” he teased and turned his gaze back to the framed canvas. 

Giving him a small bump to the side you too turned back to the flower field. “So annoying,” you mumbled, “but yes… I like the sheep…” 

This time it was you who got a small bump to the side, and as you stabilized yourself Minghao bent his head just enough to be able to bump his head with yours. There was no way you could hold onto your forced pout any longer after that. In response, you unraveled the arms you had crossed and let them drop to your sides, the one closest to Minghao’s open and welcoming hand reaching over discretely and embracing it, intertwining your fingers with his and feeling him squeeze your hand. 

You knew what he meant by it, and the butterflies in your tummy fluttered up and warmed you up from the inside. 

The next painting was one that Minghao knew more about. Apparently, it was rather famous, and he spoke about what he knew about the artist and how they were one of the people reimagining how to use the mediums popular during that time. When he was done with that one you continued over to a much bigger canvas, portraying some kind of mermaid. She was rather beautiful you thought, and when you said so Minghao agreed wholeheartedly. 

“She is beautiful, but she also seems so unfulfilled, something in her eyes seems to be longing for something,” he said, articulating things you had only felt but not seen clearly until then. 

You nodded thoughtfully, “At first it looks like she’s staring at the audience, but the more you look the more her gaze seems so distant like she sees right through us and past us into something we can’t even fathom,” you continued, and Minghao seemed entranced by your words, listening to you figuring out what the painting meant to you. 

The two of you continued like this for hours, wandering through the giant rooms decorated and embellished to match the frames and art they housed. Some of the paintings made you reflect and speak about what it could mean. Minghao had more knowledge than you ever thought possible about some of them and you listened to everything he had to tell you about what you were looking at. 

Other paintings you both just looked at, and some you found hilarious. The ones with owls were especially funny to you for some reason, so every time you saw one either in the background of the painting or smack dab in the middle, the person who noticed it first exclaimed a hushed kind of “Owl!” and the other then has to respond with a “Hoo,” and of course, the other is required to say “No, it’s just an owl I don’t know it by name,” making you both giggle and move quickly away from the turning heads wondering what was so funny about the picture that it had you two laughing your lungs out. 

The day had been passing like this and you were starting to feel tired from it all, a headache making its way to your head, causing you to lose more and more interest in the beautiful art all around you. 

“My head hurts,” you said, rather emotionlessly, as you stared at an abstract painting mainly in primary colors that looked a lot like a pile of messy blobs to your tired eyes. 

Minghao assumed you were joking and commenting on the painting and decided to take another playful shot at your statement. 

“That’s just your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity, don’t worry too much about it,” he said, bumping your arm to rile you up and make you fire back your usual retaliations. 

However, you just shook your head, “Hao, I’m serious. It’s pretty bad,” you said as you looked at him, your ailments showing in your eyes; at least to his eye, trained to spot any and all things going through your mind through your face. 

“How long has it been this bad?” he said, his tone shifting into very worried and cupping your face in his hands. 

“It’s been creeping up on me but I didn’t think it would become this bad,” you admitted, making Minghaos eyebrows knit together in worry. 

“Come on,” he said, taking your hand in his again, leading you away from the art in the big rooms, “let’s see if water and food will help, and if it doesn’t we just go home.” 

The theory of you being mainly dehydrated and crashing with your blood sugar was proven correct when you began feeling better immediately after you got something in you along with an entire bottle of water and a second one that Minghao told you that he would be carrying around for the rest of the day just so that this wouldn’t end up happening again. 

When you were done and just sitting and chatting about this and that, the headache was pretty much gone altogether, which was a huge relief since you had wanted to try out a thing they had at this particular museum that you two hadn’t gotten to yet. 

“Should we just wander a bit more and see if we can find something interesting in the ancient sections, or would you rather we start heading home? We could always order in and have a movie night,” Minghao proposed, trying to figure out how you saw the rest of the day going. 

“I actually had a thing in mind that I’ve wanted to do this entire time,” you said, shocking Minghao who had no idea you had something up your sleeve that he didn’t know anything about. 

“What is it?” 

“It’s a surprise!” you said with a sly smile. 

.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・. .・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・.

You had figured out exactly where the location was when you got to the museum that morning, waiting for the right time to bring him there and surprise him, but walking around had been too much fun that you had kept waiting for the right moment, and here it was. 

In the room you had just entered stood multiple tables set out, some smaller and some bigger, perfect for groups and couples with any number of people. There were children and their parents, couples of all ages, and a couple of friend groups set up at the tables all around the studio. On the empty tables were just simple placemats laid out, waiting for someone to come around and create their art above them. 

Art, yes, art was what you came here for. However, there wasn’t only art made by professional artists in this particular museum. There was also this art that was being made here every day, a new stream of creativity coming alive within this place of ancient relics thorugh ordinary people. 

When you had seen the info about it on their website you had immediately decided that it was something the both of you had to go try out. 

“What do you think?” you asked excitedly, almost jumping in your spot waiting for his reaction. 

“Are we going to make something?” he asked, still not sure where you had led him. 

You nodded, “They have this workshop a couple of days every week and you can choose what you want to do, you can paint with a bunch of different mediums and you can even paint pottery if you want!” 

“Okay, alright, that sounds fun,” he said, looking around the room and the many shelves showing previous visiting artists’ work along with all the materials and tools available for the people coming there to use. 

You were smiling and almost skipping into the room with Minghao after you, “I wanna paint on pottery!” you told your boyfriend. 

“Oh, you’ve already decided? Hmm, what should I do then?” 

With renewed energy, you saw your chance to get back at him for his comment earlier about you being an idiot, and you knew you had to take your shot. 

“Give up. Because you will never make something prettier than the cup I’m going to make.”

It wasn’t a perfect comeback, nowhere close to perfect, but you still felt smug knowing he hadn’t expected you to return to the regularly scheduled teasing so soon after having miraculously recovered through inhaling some water. However, he was glad, which was evident in the way his face crinkled up showing you once again his cheeks rising and crinkling his eyes and telling on his mood while he slowly put up his hands in fists. 

You knew immediately what he was doing when he began slowly backing away while spinning one of his hands, keeping the other still with the back facing towards you as his middle finger slowly rose to flip you off

“Well, my middle finger salutes you,” he said in a teasing tone you both used way too often. 

He was about to back into a table when he turned around while you were both still laughing over your combined childishness. 

“It’s on!” he exclaimed as he went to gather the tools he was planning on using and you headed off to do the same before you both convened at a table for two. 

You with everything you needed for painting your premade mug ready to color however you pleased, and he, with a tiny canvas and a bunch of different paints and brushes that were placed next to the brushes you had brought. 

“Let’s begin,” you said, receiving a wink back from Minghao making you frown in a ‘don’t use those cheap tricks on me mister’ kind of way. 

The next hour or so was spent by the two of you deeply concentrated on your separate projects, occasionally looking up from whatever you were doing to try and catch a sneak peek of what he was working on. Of course, he caught you every time, snickering about how you were so incredibly mischievous. 

When you felt somewhat satisfied you looked up only to meet Minghaos eyes curiously watching you. The side of his face was being hit so exquisitely beautifully by the warm sunlight shining in through the window beside your table. You were stunned for a moment before you could form a proper question. 

“How long have you been watching me?” 

“Not too long,” he said and smiled brightly. 

You squinted at him suspiciously, “And you’re done already?”

“I am,” he said and nodded, not removing that grin from his face for a single second. It made you wonder what exactly he was planning on doing.

“Who should start? Also, how do we decide on the winner?” you asked, now increasingly curious to see what he has been working on this entire time, but still intent on winning over him in his own sport. 

“You can start if you want.”

“Fine, I’ll start. But only because I’m super nice,” you said with a very sarcastically morally righteous tone lacing your voice. 

“And because you love me,” Minghao added.

“...and because I love you,” you admitted, rolling your eyes while his eyes revealed how his smile became even bigger than before. 

“Anyways, I made this mug. It has pink clouds up here, and then we have green moss down here along with these tiny pink and yellow flowers,” you began and Minghao listened and watched your show and tell with much interest, “and then… sheep.” 

You reached the mug over to Minghao so he could take a closer look at the dozen or so sheep grazing the wide moss fields on the surface of your mug.

“The sheep are the best part, I won’t lie to you,” he said after inspecting them for a while, “however, the pink clouds and the green moss are very visually appealing too, very interesting choice… may I ask why you chose those two in particular?”

You chuckled, he sounded like one of the food critics on master-chef, without the iconic Gordon Ramsey vocabulary and accent that is, and now he was dissecting your mug art. 

“I don’t wanna say…” you said while trying to avoid eye contact with the man currently in possession of your prized art. 

“Why?” 

“Because it’s too cheesy okay!” you admitted, making Minghao smile a wide smile underneath his mask. 

“Please tell me anyways.”

You hesitated but decided to just tell him instead of having him bother you about whatever they could’ve meant in the future. 

“It’s because… you make everything feel like pink skies and green moss okay!”

There was a moment of silence, and then he chuckled, you opened the eyes you had closed as you said the words, cringing at your own sappiness. 

“Oh god, that was cheesy.”

“See! I told you!” 

He laughed again, seemingly loving how embarrassed you were over having made it thinking of how he made you feel every day. 

“I like it though, it’s really cute if I’m being honest.”

You didn’t acknowledge what he had said, just desperate to move on and forget about it as quickly as possible. 

“Okay, your turn!” you hurried to say, bringing the focus over to what he had been making. 

“You ready?” he said. You nodded and he turned around the canvas, showing you some kind of an abstract mess of colors. It was reminiscent of a galaxy, you thought as you studies his work. 

“I like it… but I can’t really tell what it is…” 

Minghao’s face crinkled up with a wide grin at your confession, “It’s a feeling,” he said and chuckled. 

You tipped your head to the side, deciding that maybe a new angle would make you understand the feeling he had portrayed better. It did not. You liked it a lot, you really did, but you could not for the life of you put your finger on what emotion he had made. 

“I’m sorry baby, I just cannot figure out what feeling. You’re gonna have to tell me before I lose my mind.” 

“It’s the feeling I get when I look into your eyes,” he explained, staring right into your eyes and seeing you become all flustered at his words. 

“How dare you! How dare you call mine cheesy when you had this planned all along!!” you exclaimed angrily. 

Minghao couldn’t help but laugh at your aggression toward his loving revelation. You began pouting, crossing your arms, and turning your head away from him while muttering under your breath. “I despise you,” knowing he would see through your charades as soon as you said it. 

“Oh, you know you love me,” he said in a smug voice as he continued finding your actions highly amusing. 

“So what if I do?” you retorted. 

“If you do… we can agree that your beautiful mug won our little competition,” he said, his demeanor telling you he was smirking under his mask, knowing you would admit and take the win. 

“I just have to admit that I love you?”

“Yup.”

“...I love you,” you said, feeling hot as you said it, his gaze so loving and warm and stuck on you the entire time. 

“And we have a winner, your gorgeous sentimental sheep mug has taken the first prize making the boyfriend end up in a lonely second place,” he proclaimed, making a cheering ‘woo’ sound as well. 

You decided it was only fair that you joined in, bowing in your seat and repeating “Thank you, thank you, everyone,” as you held your first-place winning mug in your hand. 

When you were both done with your ceremony you put up your art on the shelves, deciding that you wanted to leave your artwork there along with the many people who had left theirs there before you. You placed them together so they would always stay by each others’ side and left the studio. 

.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・. .・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・..・。.・゜✭・.

Reblogging and commenting is highly appreciated!! Hearing what you thought is what makes writing and being here overall so much fun! Ty and ily 💕

[navigation post!]

[mightydragoon]

An actual insult to Shakespeare

This book was a genuine insult to the character of Lady Macbeth, the Scottish and Shakespeare.

Let's get some good out of the way. The cover art is stellar, wow. I need to know the artist for whoever drew it and I think Reid is genuinely talented in her prose and imagery. It was one of the reasons I actually kept reading and finished the book but oh the Gods that's the height of it. The book is advertised as such;

"A reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her."

It delivers on none of that. It removes the agency and intrigue behind the incredible Lady Macbeth who in the original play goes through immense character development, guilt and reckonings in what it means to murder and follow through with power. Lady Macbeth is ambitious and pressures Macbeth to do the same.

Roscille is none of these things. I don't understand why Reid thought it be a good idea to make her seventeen, a bastard and French (the worst crime of all) when Macbeth's historic wife exists and creates the strange age gap between them. There is no indication that happened in the original. In fact Reid goes out of her way to make Scotland appear as backwards, savage and nonsensical as possible in it's practises and ruling style.

Roscilee maid, Hawaise, is killed out the gate for no reason other than to show how bad these Scots are and they have no women around. Yep, Reid fridges a maid. To make it worse everytime Roscille tries to indulge in some conspiracy or scheme she is nearly immediately caught or punished for it. I haven't even gotten into her mind-control powers which she barely uses. It's Incredible.

Shakespeare had the dignity to have Lady Macbeth work almost in the shadows, calling for spirits to take away her inhibitions to murder, having her work in tandem with her husband who appears to love and trust her. Then hesitates on murdering as Duncan resembles her father and she can't do it and descends into grief and madness over what she had done. Macbeth's "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" exemplifies the futility and utter brokenness that Macbeth feels after she is gone.

If Roscille is bad, the male characters are worse. Made in one-dimensional caricatures of themselves. The only good and important person is some dude called Lysander who is Duncan's son (ignore the fact that Donalbain and Malcolm exist). Reid creates a world so manufactured of oppression and faux feminism it is gutting to watch.

I love seeing the three witches who were basically forces of nature in the play, do laundry, locked up in some dungeon for all time. Love that!!!! (No.)

One example of this is with Fleance later in the book, Reid fails and refuses to make Roscille actually morally grey and has her be anywhere near the wrong or slightly villainous. Reid has Fleance say weirdly out-of-pocket things to justify his villainy. Rather than have Roscille be perceived as bad in any capacity whatsoever. She's just an uwu survivor who has done nothing wrong ever!

Reid created this new character and it might be fine for an og setting and bog standard fantasy story, even if there are weird absences of women even as servants for "plot" but Reid had to go with Macbeth. She had to go with one of the most infamous villains in history. She had to go with Shakespeare's most infamous female character whose very name is the byword explanation for a domineering wife trying to persuade her husband to do evil acts.

It fails to deliver. Reid discredits women's experience in medieval times and GRRM has his problems but he knows the complex roles women play and do in those societies from indirect and direct means. Reid falls down the trap of aesthetical oppression that is so manufactured and fake, that she fails to make any valid critique of the systems that existed by creating one that is not even pragmatic or feasible. If inadvertently proving men's points. Whoops!

TL:DR: Bad book don't read.

[howetragic]

DARP Advent 2024: Day Six

HALFWAY THERE!

Let's talk about INFLUENCES and ADMIRATION! Mun Portion!:

1. What inspired you to get into DARP? Former RP experiences? Just a love for the games? Oh boy. So I actually have a looooooong history of RP since I was in like middle school??? My best friend in the entire world and I actually met on Neopets!!! on the RP boards. I was in this group called the Annoyers and we would "raid" creepy/weird RP threads and/or just flood the boards. Some of us got banned. I then went on to lead this group in a multi-fandom mix of boards. We had a b2g board and a... gosh I can't remember what it's called. We were also on Gaia Online. I was a moderator with Dragon Ball Z / greek mythology muses (hilarious spread there, I know). Then I got on Tumblr, I started writing Dragon Age fanfic for my Hero of Ferelden. And Shink, Pandy, and Tabbi were foolish enough to allow me to RP with them on my personal blog until I finally took the leap and made myself an RP blog and the rest is kind of like history. 2. Name one (or a couple) of your fellow writers that you think are neat, and why! Can be famous, on Tumblr, in your real life, on AO3, whatever. My baes both on AO3 and here are @theshirallen and @theharellan, and I'm also in love with @fatedvoyage, @turlums, @mercysought. Can't recommend those nerds enough. 3. Has anyone in DARP (past or present!) really helped to define or reimagine a character for you? Or made you rethink perceptions that you held? Oh God yeah. Most notable being Tas with Solas - before I met Tas I didn't really give a shit about Solas and wasn't particularly interested in him or his story. Unfortunately for my brain if Inara doesn't Vibe with a character I don't pay too much attention to them at first, and Solas resided in that gray bubble. Tas made me love him and be fascinated even before that turned out to be a very plot-relevant thing to be. 4. What other fandoms/works/writers have influenced your writing style and the way that you view writing and creative expression? lololol maybe see above but overall my writing was influenced very early on by Douglas Adams and Phillip Pullman. I wanted to be magical, but also amusing. 5. Do you have any friends that have created a Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor/Rook that you've basically adopted? Yes. I still use Pandy's Hawke but also steal @fatedvoyage's Van. I love Thora for Inquisitor but am coming to love Asharen more and more since I've been back here, as well as @keepslore. There's a lot of great Rooks so far I'm sure I'll absorb one. 6. What's a fandom work (writing, art, etc) that you think is super cool and you wish more people would see it? Share it with us! I mentioned this Sebastian and Nathaniel fic from Gaia to @mournflame the other day and I think all of you should read it too.

Muse Portion!:

1. Who or what are some things/powers/people that your muse admires? Unfortunately for Nathaniel, his greatest hero was his father growing up. He admired the man very much. 2. Does your muse have a "hero" that they look up to from canon? In an extension of the above, Nathaniel saw Rendon as a hero for his contributions to the Rebellion. He really believed that his father was courageous and brave. 3. What legends, tales, or stories helped to form your muse's ideas of power and heroism? Many! He heard all the stories of the Heroes of the Rebellion as he grew up, from Maric and Loghain to his own father. Standing against the odds, acting noble even when your title has been stripped from you and taking back what is yours by right. Those are the stories that inspired him. 4. Conversely, what sort of legends, tales, or stories formed their idea of what a villain is? Much the same. Nathaniel does not care for Orlais, though chevaliers are a bit softer in his mind thanks to his time with his mother's cousin. 5. Are there other muses in DARP that your muse admires? Or reviles/fears? (be careful with that second one and be RESPECTFUL.) In DARP I think he would admire @mercysought's Anora. He begins hating every HOF that slaughtered his father but especially Couslands. 6. If your muse is someone who has companions or is one of the groups of companions from canon, how do they and their companions play off of each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Two dudes who'd cross the street to avoid each other? What are their most powerful connections within their "group"? He's got a wide variety in the Awakening crew. He and Sigrun are fairly close. He has a crush on Velanna, but she rebuffs him. Anders frustrates him, Oghren disgusts him. Justice... Justice tends to piss him off.

[charlesreeza]

Again, credit to the original artists in the caption, not just the tags, would have been nice, but I really like what OP has done here.

gay knights and dames collages part two

[idolbound]

DARP Advent 2024: Day Six HALFWAY THERE!

Let's talk about INFLUENCES and ADMIRATION!

Mun Portion!:

1. What inspired you to get into DARP? Former RP experiences? Just a love for the games?

I first got into RP in January 2013 with my Miranda Lawson blog and the Mass Effect rpc. I developed blogs for my Shepard among other characters, but it was shortly thereafter that the hype around DAI started; while I'd try to do DAO on console, I found it hard so I gave the copies to a friend and then bought them on PC later. But I played Inquisition at release in a speed run to kiss Cassandra, and made a blog for her ( @ stabbystabseeker for those who remember). I loved Cass a lot, enough that I didn't care that I had to play as a man to kiss her lol. Anyway, that's how I got into DARP - I also had blogs for my Hawke and Inquis when I eventually got through my canon playthrough of all the games from the beginning!

2. Name one (or a couple) of your fellow writers that you think are neat, and why! Can be famous, on Tumblr, in your real life, on AO3, whatever.

I would not be here half as much if it were not for @milfyclaus / (normally @ sanctamater). Claire has kept going with me to write this ship for almost 2 years now and has single-handedly made me want to keep writing Meredith unlike anyone or anything else; and to that, Claire, your writing always captures such a unique voice interlaced with exposition that I admire!

3. Has anyone in DARP (past or present!) really helped to define or reimagine a character for you? Or made you rethink perceptions that you held?

Honestly, Elisa with @extravagantliar has really fleshed out not just Varric but Kirkwall, and all the careful intricacies of worldbuilding that go with it. I would also say honestly, Erran @thesxmmersword who may not rp Ser Cauthrien anymore, but they really took an NPC in DAO and fleshed her out so well, and added much more depth to another morally questionable woman, and we started shipping these two from a what if meme and let it go from there.

4. What other fandoms/works/writers have influenced your writing style and the way that you view writing and creative expression?

Honestly, I think I still draw on a lot from Mass Effect and some of the themes around moral decisions, and the weight of those choices, as well as fighting in the name of something or someone that we see in DA as well. Truthfully, I have not been able to read a lot for fun because it's basically my job to read while doing my doctorate, but I do love a lot of fiction that can convey serious themes in the body of its work. I have a book that I got at a vendor sale that I'm excited to read, titled "This is How You Lose The Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

5. Do you have any friends that have created a Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor/Rook that you've basically adopted?

I guess 'adopted' in the sense that we, as good friends, have made all our Rooks connected. I've talked about this on my multi but basically, my Rook's maternal uncle Jar has a husband named Alain, and together, they are the adoptive fathers of Chels' qunari Rook, Oskaar. Alain has an adoptive elf sister named Kahari and that's Ker's Rook. We are slowly fleshing out their family shenanigans.

6. What's a fandom work (writing, art, etc) that you think is super cool and you wish more people would see it? Share it with us!

Again, see the above point where I don't often have a lot of time to read for fun - this extends to fanfics as well. But honestly, I have a few ... m-rated fics featuring Meredith that have been a bit of inspiration to me in the past lol. (if you DM me, I will link them but this is a "we listen and we don't judge" situation).

Muse Portion!:

1. Who or what are some things/powers/people that your muse admires?

Meredith herself is always drawn to power; typically, this is in a political / leadership sense, as well as physical strength and abilities. Again, typically she will not care much for men in this role, but when it comes to women? She can admire a good swordswoman, or a woman in a political role with great influence. She will always admire someone who is career-driven, and seeking to better themselves, especially for fellow women.

2. Does your muse have a "hero" that they look up to from canon?

I think Meredith is very much a history nerd just as much as she is a religious zealot, but when it comes to historic figures vs. her personal beliefs, she will always hold Andraste as her most powerful "hero" to look to. She models herself after Andraste, after all, to look like her and to embody her sense of JUSTICE.

3. What legends, tales, or stories helped to form your muse's ideas of power and heroism?

Definitely the Chant of Light. Taken in as a ward of the Chantry as a child, she was educated through their teachings, and grew up entrenched in the Chant of Life. It is what dictates her life, and it guides her; those are the stories she turns to, to guide herself as Knight-Commander and beyond.

4. Conversely, what sort of legends, tales, or stories formed their idea of what a villain is?

To her, her own sister's story of being an untrained mage acts well enough to know that magic is the evil within, and that mages are inherently villains until they take responsibility for themselves and what the Maker has cursed them with.

5. Are there other muses in DARP that your muse admires? Or reviles/fears? (be careful with that second one and be RESPECTFUL.)

@milfyclaus Lady Amelia is her... (homoerotic) business partner (a forge supplying silverite weaponry to the Templar Order) turned wife girlfriend in their time in Kirkwall. @kirkwll Sioned has tested (and continues to test) Meredith's patience on the daily. and with our thread still in infancy, Meredith very much admires the man @tobebrutal 's Cullen is becoming. That's her son and Knight-Captain!

6. If your muse is someone who has companions or is one of the groups of companions from canon, how do they and their companions play off of each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Two dudes who'd cross the street to avoid each other? What are their most powerful connections within their "group"?

Unfortunately, Meredith as an Inquisitor is awful and most people rightfully don't like her. lol.

[darpadvent2024]

DARP Advent 2024: Day Six

HALFWAY THERE!

Let's talk about INFLUENCES and ADMIRATION! Mun Portion!:

1. What inspired you to get into DARP? Former RP experiences? Just a love for the games? 2. Name one (or a couple) of your fellow writers that you think are neat, and why! Can be famous, on Tumblr, in your real life, on AO3, whatever. 3. Has anyone in DARP (past or present!) really helped to define or reimagine a character for you? Or made you rethink perceptions that you held? 4. What other fandoms/works/writers have influenced your writing style and the way that you view writing and creative expression? 5. Do you have any friends that have created a Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor/Rook that you've basically adopted? 6. What's a fandom work (writing, art, etc) that you think is super cool and you wish more people would see it? Share it with us!

Muse Portion!:

1. Who or what are some things/powers/people that your muse admires? 2. Does your muse have a "hero" that they look up to from canon? 3. What legends, tales, or stories helped to form your muse's ideas of power and heroism? 4. Conversely, what sort of legends, tales, or stories formed their idea of what a villain is? 5. Are there other muses in DARP that your muse admires? Or reviles/fears? (be careful with that second one and be RESPECTFUL.) 6. If your muse is someone who has companions or is one of the groups of companions from canon, how do they and their companions play off of each other? Are they friends? Enemies? Two dudes who'd cross the street to avoid each other? What are their most powerful connections within their "group"?

[stillbornedprincess]

things on my mind recently 🤍

art made by former children . Ok ok I know that’s a horrid description but what I mean is art made by those whomst still bled and cried like one . But in particular the works of Sam Butcher, the mind behind the precious moments figurines . I’ve been ruminating upon the Oklahoma City bombing memorial thing he designed : here it is

it’s a reimagining of the famous photograph of a fire-man holding the body of a beloved child in his arms. Butcher felt that all the child casualties of the tragedy made it precious and so he designed teary little tyke holding peaceful girl . When I read about this I found it thoughtful and sweet until the next day till I read about why this design did not go onto the market . The families of the deceased found it horrific, insensitive+disturbing . We can see why, butcher’s vision was and still is taken by most as disordered and insane. (If you are unfamiliar with it and want to know you could research it online and then I suppose this would make more sense .)

this seems to happen a lot to artists of a similar vein, I think of tiny tim and all he had to say was beaten down as novel+comedic or gay+paedophilic. he, like butcher, was a member of the cult of innocence and mort/morality

on the flip side of the coin, we have the album called “bite” composed by artist bruce haack . his ethos would also be looked on as cracked, but it was on the sick creativity of the young. I will focus on one track that was titled child psychologist. this one was picked because i feel that if this was discovered when I was small+alone , it would had brought laughter, albeit cynical. the song tells a story of a thirteen year old boy who takes the role of the psychologist, making jokes of diagnosis and speaking of reading the minds of his patients. the track is hard a hard listen if not for the purpose of catharsis for its rough synth guaranteed to inspire a migraine, but it’s the spirit of the youth. now I’m thinking of a comment i once read on a video about mr rodgers TV show, let me find it.. oh, I can’t find it. the commenter wrote told about their days as a youth, 1960’s , growing up unlabelledly autistic in a normal family going to a normal school, and the painful alienation that came with it. the television episodes were the only thing to sooth this commenters weariness.., the message of love no matter how strange you may be is one that would give a lot of young ones peace .. remember how it was when you were little ? with no clue what was wrong with you ? I imagine to the commenter those broadcasts would be on similar wavelength to those little suds when soap bubbles had been left to dry on your skin a bit long. the softness of their scent and the linger like a hug and on the fingertips like love. simple and clean domestic soothing that can be done by yourself ….

[satoshi-mochida]

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana launches January 7, 2025 in the west - Gematsu

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch on January 7, 2025 in North America and Europe, publishers XSEED Games and Marvelous Europe announced.

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana first launched for Switch on April 27, 2023 in Japan, followed by PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on May 23, 2024.

As previously announced, a limited physical “Refined Edition” will be available for PlayStation 5 and Switch for $59.99. It includes a copy of the game, 14-song soundtrack CD, an acrylic diorama / keychain set, a set of four postcards with art from the game, and a graphic cleaner cloth.

Here is an overview of the game, via the publishers:

About

Originally conceived as a reimagining of the 16-bit console classic Ys III: Wanderers From Ys, this fan-favorite entry returns, newly remastered for as Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana. Nearly 15 years after its previous release, longtime fans can look forward to numerous improvements and upgrades, including an all-new voiceover for legendary protagonist, Adol Christin. With remastered high-definition visuals and music, the epic adventure has never looked or sounded better. Additional features include multiple versions of the sweeping soundtrack, accessibility options, and brand-new character illustrations, making Ys Memoire the definitive edition of the acclaimed masterpiece.

Key Features

Classic RPG Excitement Remastered – Experience the old-school action RPG combat the Ys series is known for, with added difficulty options and quality-of-life enhancements like “Turbo” mode, as you fight your way through a memorable fantasy world.

Refined Visual Variety – Ys Memoire features all-new “Refined” character illustrations throughout the game, but players who want the original experience can switch to the “Classic” versions at a whim.

A Silent Protagonist No Longer – Newly recorded voice acting for Adol Christin, including an opening narration that sets the stage for adventure, gives new depth and gravity to the famous hero.

A Sweeping Soundtrack Reborn – Well-regarded for its outstanding soundtrack, this version features three different iterations of the epic score (Original, PC-8801, and X68000) for players to choose from, all remastered in high-quality audio.

Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Release Date Trailer

[acmoorereadsandwrites]

Books to Try if You Loved Lore Olympus

'If You Loved This, Try This' #3 (read here or my Substack)

If you liked the Greek myth elements and the tackling of themes of survivorship, try:

Medusa by Nataly Gruender, an adult grounded historical fantasy

Medusa was born mortal in an immortal family, but is destined to be the most famous of her three sisters. With an intimate look at her life from childhood to death with the occasional POV chapter from other characters, Medusa is steeped in complex feelings.

If you liked Hades and Persephone in an office setting but wanted something more erotic with a smaller cast of characters, try:

The Maiden and the Unseen by Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune, an erotic adult contemporary fantasy romance

Persephone is a social media manager with a new job, working for Hades, who is financing the lifestyles of the other gods. The two can’t keep their hands off each other and fate has a lot more in store for them than an office romance.

If you really loved the bending of Greek myths and fated love but you want less of the gods and more of a mystery element and some climate fiction aspects or are looking for a Greek myth adaptation from a Greek author, try:

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou, a YA fantasy mystery

Private investigator Io Ora is a descendent of the Three Fates living in the sinking city of Alante. When she’s tasked with tracking down why women’s life threads are being destroyed and turned into monsters, she’s forced to team up with Edei, a member of the criminal underworld who is also Io’s fated other half.

If you were really interested in the family drama and the genealogy aspect, try:

Medea by Eilish Quin, an adult ground historical fantasy

From early childhood to her second marriage, Medea has never truly felt that she belonged. After years of studying magic under her father, she’s a knowledgeable magician with great skills, but is still overlooked in favor of her more beautiful sister. When Jason arrives, she agrees to help him, but things don’t always work out as we plan.

If you preferred the parts of the webtoon that took place in Ancient Greece and want a retelling grounded in the historical setting instead of a reimagining with modern elements, try:

Receiver of Many by Rachel Alexander, an adult historical fantasy romance

Persephone is secluded from the other gods, her entire world centering on her mother and helping keeping the mortals fed. Aidon has spent centuries alone in the Underworld, content to live his life among the residents and away from the mess the other gods are making of the mortal realm. But when Zeus sets in motion an ancient prophecy, Persephone will take her rightful place as the queen of Tartarus and Aidon will embrace parts of himself he has long buried.

If you liked the more modern setting and Persephone searching for a space for herself but you wanted a bit less romance, a bit more Gothic and you love art and art history, try:

In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King, an adult historical romantic Gothic

In Italy in 1948, Julia has the enviable chance to be the muse of Salvador Dali as he works on a piece depicting Persephone. Their host, Ignacio, is withdrawn and rarely seen, but is particularly interested in Julia eating pomegranate seeds in increasingly elaborate meals. Something much older than Julia is at play as she’s pulled into multiple directions by three different men.

If you liked the modern setting, but you want a Sapphic retelling of Psyche and Eros with a fae court feeling, try:

Oath of Fire by K. Arsenault Rivera, an adult contemporary fantasy

Psyche’s career as a therapist is at risk of ending and her main solace is an MMORPG. When she receives a one-time only invitation to a part at one of the Courts, she takes the chance. What she wasn’t expecting was to meet the permanently masked Eros or attract her attention.

If you liked the focus on the goddesses but you want a nonfiction exploring their stories in-depth, try:

Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes, nonfiction

From Athena to Aphrodite to Demeter and Persephone, Natalie Haynes examines their myths, the impact they have had on our world, and ties it to pop culture. Providing her own personal opinions about different goddesses and their situations, she makes an argument for her interpretations but doesn’t demand the reader agree with her.

If you didn’t know a lot about Greek mythology before reading Lore Olympus but are now looking to learn as many stories as possible or want a collection of myths, try:

Mythos by Stephen Fry, an adult collection

The version I recommend is the illustrated version as the art has a very distinct style that utilizes a minimalist color palette. With his trademark humor and footnotes, Stephen Fry gives a very extensive introduction to the world of Greek mythology that feels grown-up

[rpgsandbox]

The Book of Many Things

Discover startling – but delightful – new content in this reimagined version of the Deck of Many Things.

The Deck of Many Things is a famous DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® magic item whose effects are as spectacular as they are unpredictable. Within this box, you’ll find the Book of Many Things, which illuminates the deck’s mysteries and provides everything Dungeon Masters need to use it in their campaigns. This book includes advice, adventure locations, and new monsters for Dungeon Masters, as well as character options, magic items, and organizations for players, all inspired by the deck.

This set also includes lavishly illustrated cards for the Deck of Many Things, including additional cards that triple the deck’s size, allowing you to build the perfect deck for your campaign. An accompanying guidebook shows how to use the cards as a traditional oracle deck or to create D&D® adventures inspired by the cards.

WILD CARDS FOR YOUR COLLECTION!

Introduce even more magical whimsy into your game with this reimagined version of the Deck of Many Things. In addition to the 22 cards in the original Deck of Many Things, discover 44 startling – but delightful – new cards that only add to the randomness. Substitute these wild cards into your deck however you please for the perfect blend of curated chaos.

INSPIRATION FOR PERFECT CHAOS.

Creativity can’t be forced, but the Deck of Many Things provides just enough unpredictability to spark that lighting in a bottle moment. From new adventure hooks and key locations to inventive new ways to determine random encounters, Dungeon Masters have all the ingredients to build perfect chaos into their campaigns. Together with your party, craft dramatic experiences, experience startling twists, and delight in unexpected moments of brilliance.

YOUR DESTINY IS IN THE CARDS!

Do you dare to change your destiny? Transform your fate with 2 new player backgrounds, where drawing from the deck has either rewarded you with a miraculous turn of good fortune or ruined you in a single calamitous stroke. Explore arcane possibilities, channeling your magic through a deck of cards and allowing it to flourish with 1 new feat and 3 mystical spells.

THE STORY BEHIND THE MAGIC.

Dive deeper than ever before into the lore behind the beloved magic item in this expanded version of the Deck of Many Things. How did the Deck of Many Things come to be? What is the significance of one baneful figure depicted in the cards? The answers you seek – and more – will be revealed for the first time ever.

The Book of Many Things, a 192-page hardcover book for players and Dungeon Masters alike, inspired by the Deck of Many Things

The Deck of Many Things, expanded to a total of 66 unique cards

An 80-page hardcover guidebook showcasing each card in the expanded deck

Sturdy custom box to store the guidebook and all 66 cards, with lavishly illustrated art backs and new artwork

D&D Beyond digital copy of The Book of Many Things

Available 14th November 2023, or pre-order on D&D Beyond now.