#finally did something with real colors i love this color combo

[ambivartence]

FIX ON

[inventors-fair]

Substantial: One-Word Runners-Up ~

Our runners-up this week are @arixordragc, @bergdg, and @helloijustreadyourpost!

@arixordragc — Buck

We live in a funny world where this card does exactly what it says on the tin, and it's a common that does something strangely unique in the world of bite spells. I don't have to talk about what this card is doing for limited or whatever, and I don't have to talk about the intended flavor. Everyone agreed that this card was solid enough to be commendable. The reason I'm putting it here first is because a) we do things alphabetically, and b) it's missing that one final aspect that I want to talk about during commentary. If there was a specific reason not to add flavor text here, I'm curious what it was. Regardless of that choice, I'll stand firm that it was detrimental not to add it.

Here's the problem: does that take away from the mechanics of this card? No, not at all. Does it add anything to a designer's repertoire to be able to write flavor text? Personally, I think so. I also think we're in a niche in the custom design sphere where we're jacks of all trades—and at this point I'm getting a little niche philosophical, so I'll try to cut to the chase with what matters. Every part of a card's presentation for these contests needs to be available at a first glance, not because it would be expected of someone in a professional design setting, but because custom design demands that all aspects be accounted for. This is a general waxing and I hope you don't take it as a lambasting of anything; this card rocks and we on the team were surprised it hadn't been done before. I find it fun and clever and slapsticky and perfectly befitting of the setting. I just wish there was that last little push to make these sensations gallop to life.

@bergdg — Liquidate

I remember when these weird hybrid combos were introduced in Strixhaven, and as someone who had been playing (badly) with hybrid since my first designs in high school, I was pleased as punch to see them back in action. With this card, I think there's no reason to ding it for the mid-hybrid split, and if I was super generous I'd say that the split and the art go together quite well! Even if there was more in-line themed art direction, I think that seeing someone's brain dribbling out as they split apart their mind from Ashiok's whispers... Highly impactful. Great Ashiok callback with both the flavor and the effect.

Dissolution, as it relates to liquidation, isn't as common a definition as one might expect, but you're not the only person to have used it for this contest. And the creature/planeswalker is definitely being turned into liquid here. As a rare it's a perfectly reasonable killspell, and while it might not be the absolute eye-popping card to open from a pack, I'd be happy to run it in a control draft shell. Blue's milling and black's destruction meld together quite nicely here—a liquid blending of effects. Could it have been uncommon? That's a big maybe, but I don't mind it as a rare and especially not as a control sideboard card. "I'm gonna Liquidate your dragon." That tracks, heh. I'm a fan.

@helloijustreadyourpost — Draw!

OW, my ORGANS. You shot me right in the organs! Well, anyway. Red being secondary in fighting is underutilized, I feel. And for moments like this, you have that real competitive sense that feels pretty solidly in-color for it. As the flavor goes we did have the card Quick Draw from OTJ, but this one is a far more in-situational card rather than an explanation of whatever "wild magic" is. Frankly, I wished that OTJ had had something comprehensive going into it, and I know I'm not alone there. The flavor text is by far one of my favorites from you so far. It's punchy with a drawl. It's demonstrably about the situation you're creating, distant from a story but at the same time defining the moment. You are the sharpshooter here in control. I really love it.

I also feel that the grokability of the rules text makes sense. To me. It's a little heavy-handed, I gotta admit, or at least it's a lot of text to do something that only that much text can do. I'm sure that I'm overthinking it more than I am analyzing it at this point, and considering the bar for commons these days, I'm sure it would be fine. That sort of replacement effect that relies on a timing effect is still a little wonky, though, or at least it might be in the brains of newer players. That said, there are other ways that these fight-to-bite effects could be seen on other worlds, and I'm really curious about what could be opened up with this. Maybe it could replace with other triggers, or for types, or whether or not a creature is equipped/enchanted... Lots of options for the mechanical side here! But it starts with this card, with two cowpokes and two thunder pistols. Man, I just think it's awesome. I can picture the wounds already.

Small note on general commentary! I thought I'd get ahead of myself this week and do some commentary in advance. Hooray! Around 40% of them are done, but there are still the remaining 14 cards to write up.

This was a surprisingly popular contest, and the more popular contests get the harder it is to finish commentary on time, what with working Saturdays. I'm just letting y'all know in advance about that, since keeping you informed is important.

Be good, folks! @abelzumi

[coffeelovesdramasalatte]

LITA Ep. 5 Rewatch Thoughts Part 1

(edit bc I started writing this post like 6 months ago - hi! I'm gonna finish going through the rest of the phayurain episodes of LITA finally! I've lost all sense of shame so these posts are just gonna be love letters to Eul, hope that's ok) Hi hi hi! I find it absolutely hilarious that the notes on the final part of my episode 4 rewatch post (which contains my best screenshots of That Scene) has like triple the notes of the rest of the parts. I love the thirsty LITA fam <3 I think I kept it mostly clean for the first 3 episodes but LITA brainrot is real and from here on out I'm putting down all my deranged thoughts into words so enjoy

Onwards to episode 5!! Ok so y'all should know by this point that BossNoeul sang the opening right? I added it on spotify and have listened to it on repeat so much over the last week that I could probs (badly, bc my singing voice leaves much to be desired but I can and will belt it at the top of my lungs) karaoke it now. If y'all haven't heard the full version check it out bc they rap a few bars and Noeul has this line "shake your bo- shake your bo- shake your body" that makes me lose it every time

The recap sees us revisiting some rather adorable moments from the previous episode including PhayuRain in the rain and tub. Imagine if they stuck the leg kiss in the recap >.<

We open to sunlight pouring in through the curtained windows on the morning after. I kind of wish the last episode had ended with this scene bc it would have been a soft transition after the intimacy PhayuRain shared rather than the abrupt cut to credits. But I digress.

Phayu's hair looks glorious out and I wish we'd gotten to see it like this more. In fact I think we should've seen Rain push his hands through it and grip it during episode 6's NC scene. Also the definition of that bicep? Sir pls.

I ADORE how sweet Phayu is towards Rain all the time, and this is yet another example. I love it when characters look fondly at their lover (I finally get to use that word for them!!), cover them with a blanket, and then give them a forehead kiss before sliding out of bed. SO FOND

I just think it's really attractive when people do this. Rain was really missing out by snoozing.

The state of Rain's neck and chest sends me into hysterical giggles every time. Phayu you did not have to go that hard with the marking bestie (let's be honest though, looking at the state of Phayu's neck post episode 6 they both have marking kinks) - everyone's gonna know Rain's officially yours soon enough. Also throwback to how like two months ago (or something like that idk the exact timeline) Rain was like hmph I never want anything to do with P' Phayu ever again. I didn't hear any complaining from you last night hmm??? Also I love how confident Rain was in his abilities to seduce Phayu, so true of him

I'm DECEASED

OK WAIT I think I finally get the whole yellow-blue thing. It literally is just that yellow is Rain's representative color and Phayu's is navy blue. So by making Rain put on Phayu's navy blue shirt for the "morning after" they're just reiterating that Rain belongs to Phayu now. Mystery solved :)

Obligatory shot bc he's worked hard for these gains and I think he deserves some appreciation ft. Rain who's making the same face as all of us. I think they spent like 30 whole seconds on Phayu's shoulders and that's so valid of them

Sir, do you have a good reason for striding in here shirtless and sweaty to wake your new bf up? Methinks someone was hoping for round 2

Ok, and we're back to Rain in a yellow t-shirt looking very feverish. He's holding his teal green phone (case) up though which is a combo of yellow and blue, isn't it? I'm sorry my color theory is lacking. His eyebrows look really nice here and I don't know why I noticed. I hope he has a good nap! But oops he misses calls from Phayu...

This episode's title is "the Calm Before the Storm" which implies it's gonna be a mostly tooth-rotting fluff episode and that drama is on the way next week. I'm already smiling so wide my cheeks hurt so the title is apt.

Phayu (dressed in navy blue!) is here to make sure his precious Rain is ok and Mama is already planning the wedding in her head.

The first three or four times I watched this, I was paying too much attention to their faces and probably missed a lot so let's break it down a bit. Phayu comes in, Rain's surprised and sits up, and Phayu sits down next to Rain on the bed but facing away. Phayu is slightly upset that Rain went away without saying anything and he was worried that since Rain was sick that him driving home alone was dangerous. The second Phayu sits down this way, Rain reaches out to grab his arm but Phayu pulls away. Compared to couples in other dramas, PhayuRain depend on touch a lot to communicate so obv the situation is quite serious plus Phayu is not immediately making eye contact with Rain.

The next couple of shots are just back and forth where Phayu asks why Rain left and Rain tells him what happened and apologies for worrying him. He looks v v soft and fluffy here

Gonna take a second to appreciate the background music bc it sounds so serious and doom-y right now but they're literally about to clear it all up so it was unnecessary to go that hard. Sound artist I love you

Throughout this conversation, Phayu starts far away (which for PhayuRain means there's like 1.5 meters of distance between their faces instead of 0.15 meters) but he moves closer and tilts his body more in Rain's direction as Rain gives each justification. He also lets Rain grab his arm. It's very subtle but I like the acting choices here.

Phayu, Rain is sick. Can you pls stop staring at his lips bff give him some rest (spoiler alert I counted like 5 lip-looks in the next 10 seconds, Phayu didn't hear me)

OK this hug. Exquisite. The gap has been bridged, all parties are happy again, and they both absolutely sink into each other.

Boss' little shoulder rub here is so soft and gives us more PhayuRain believability. We can see how worried he was and how relieved he is now that Rain is safely in his arms again.

Rain's cheek-smushed nod agreeing to never disappear from Phayu's side ever again is everything to me.

I don't actually think this was what I was supposed to get out of this but there's something about the symmetry of this hug and them being in the shape of a triangle and how technically their first encounter as a couple involved Phayu's triangle tool etc. etc. etc. Also headpat alert!

More subtle and soft gestures from Phayu. Rain is down bad.

HANDS!!!

We really heard the MWAH here and I want to forehead kiss whoever placed the mics

Everyone needs to observe Rain's expression right after Phayu asks this question bc it's very sus

(I couldn't get it in motion but Rain straightens up a bit and raises his eyebrows. Someone thinks they're about to get spanked like before)

Except this is not that kind of punishment and I can't believe Phayu really brought along a rectal suppository. To his credit though, I believe they're supposed to be more immediately effective than oral medicines because they absorb more directly into the body so he just wants Rain to be healthy faster. Although I wish Phayu would've not proceeded to yank Rain's pants off without permission, it's fiction and I hope if Rain had shown signs of major discomfort he would've listened. I do have to wonder if Mama put on headphones though bc Rain was really loud with his protests. I also think this must've been funny to film bc if you look closely before it cuts to Rain's mom, Rain looks like he's holding back laughter.

Uh-oh, Mama it's better if you walk away now

This sequence was actually so adorable and funny. I love purrito!Rain and Phayu is looking way too smug. Mama Rain walked out of there trying to name all the yellow and blue flowers she could for the wedding centerpieces.

omfg Phayu calling Rain's mom "Mama" is so friggin cute and I love how smoothly he just slid into son-in-law position

Rain's like excuse me I'm sick I should NOT be slandered right now

To part 2 with all the cute shots!!

[alette-stars]

Over 240,000 words, 45+ chapters, written over 4 and a half years. Blood, Water is complete. 

This post is long overdue. I finished the fic over 6 months ago (can you believe it?!) and I’ve been caught up in things offline, to put it lightly. But on the 5th (!) anniversary of the posting of the first chapter, i thought there was no better time than to, finally, put this out.

I really couldn’t have finished this work without all the love and support i received while it was being posted. I know we like to say to write for yourself, not the crowd, but god that support really motivated me and brought so much happiness to my life. And i hope i was able to return some of that to you, through my work. 

Well you’ve all waited long enough. Let’s get started!

The inspiration of fic title is given in the fic summary. Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Although this quote is attributed as the full version of the common adage blood is thicker than water, it actually isn’t! It was coined later, though i don’t know by whom. (i actually didn’t know this when i first wrote the fic, but i stand by the quote—it’s great and very fitting)

I think i came up with the title like minutes before i posted the first chapter. I ended up posting it impulsively, kind of. I knew it was gonna be a big project but i wasn’t thinking about my other ongoing fics at the moment, i was so excited and i just had to start sharing this one

The entirety of the fic was written in a Google Doc titled Vampire 8. 

Seonghwa’s favorite kaomoji (as referenced in Chapter 11) is (❁´◡`❁)

All the prominent vampires in this have ‘unsexy’ ages, and that’s on purpose. I wanted to do something different from the typical centuries-old vampires. So, instead, at roughly 200 years Seonghwa is the oldest, while Mingi would still be a young man if he hadn’t been turned

Don’t ask about the progression of time in this fic. It went on so long (i wrote this over literal years) i genuinely forgot

I like to write other idols into my fics, and this one is no exception. Most prominent would be VIXX (current and ex members) as the coven essentially in charge of the vampire world, but there’s also Monsta X’s Minhyuk, whose conversation with Yeosang was brought up in Chapter 22. 

All our main coven’s makers were named after famous Korean actors and actresses. Ji Sung for Wooyoung and Yeosang, Nam Ji Hyun for Jongho, and of course Kim Tae Hee for Seonghwa. Mingi’s maker is never referred to by name but her name is Nara, after Jang Na Ra. 

Author has a cameo in Chapter 6! Cashier staring shamelessly at Seonghwa in his full vampiric glory :’) 

Seonghwa’s real-life fits were often used as inspiration, but one was straight-up duplicated. This was of course the teal turtleneck + mushroom hair combo from the amusement park date in Chapter 13.

I did do a little color theming for some characters, but nothing too strong. We have red for Hongjoong, turquoise/teal for Seonghwa, purple for San, and gold for Yeosang. 

Another theme i love for all my writing is space. Seonghwa and his planet/star comparison is probably the most obvious. Personally, i have a lot of fondness for the framing of Wooyoung and Yeosang as the sun and moon, and then the addition of San as the Earth. 

There have been some questions about the systemic issues in world of Blood, Water that i’ve kind of avoided answering because i wanted to focus on the immediate, personal story. But basically vampires are an open secret in the world that the government continues to staunchly deny. The vampire population has historically been very, very small. Vampire society, as a whole, didn’t exist until recently. Around 20 years ago, the government decided to crack down and eliminate the vampire ‘issue’ once and for all, leading to the hunting days that cost many vampires their lives—including Yeosang and Wooyoung’s maker, Jisung. When the regime changed, the new government stopped the state-operated vampire hunting. The blood den/club business that had always operated on a small scale—accessible only to the most connected/wealthy vampires—grew and even regular vampires (and humans) could get in. This reduced the ‘mugging’ operations less well-off vampires had to resort to, but bred new problems. Increased vampire-human interactions resulted in more turnings. By the start of the Blood, Water timeline, vampire population has started to outpace the blood available at the blood dens. Vampires of a certain level of society, like Seonghwa, are strongly advised not to turn any more new vampires, because soon the problem might get too big to hide. 

Technically there is no vampire leader, although the authority everyone defers to is Hakyeon and his coven. But, as Hakyeon himself would say, they’re not a government—they’re businessmen. Anything they do—keeping the surrounding areas safe, putting down dangerous vampires, providing blood and feeders for newborns and adults—is to keep their business running smoothly. Vampire society is officially lawless so, yes, if Wooyoung wanted he could kill another vampire. 

In the 4 and a half years from conception to completion of Blood, Water, a lot of things changed. My initial conceptualization of Yeosang was as a cold, dangerous individual, one that you might think would actually hurt San. Early on i decided to go for a tragic angle, so his sensitive, selfless nature came through.

Another change that got made very, very late was Yunho and Mingi’s ending. Don’t shoot me, but i initially plotted a different, sadder ending for them. After Yunho almost dies at the big house by newborn San, Mingi gets too into his head about Yunho’s safety and they break up. They uh don’t get back together. Yunho leaves Seoul for a better opportunity (a job, possibly a dance position—one of those things Mingi could never be a part of). It’d be kind of hinted that they’d get back together, but in the future, after Mingi’s worked through more of his vampirism issues and his anxieties. Obviously this isn’t what ended up happening, but, damn, it almost did. I decided not to do this because things were getting too heavy at the end there haha.

Finally, a not-insignificant part of Blood, Water was the chapter graphics that accompanied every chapter release on Twitter. It wouldn’t have been possible without all the wonderful stock image available for use online. A full list of resources:

Chapter 1 - people partying inside room by Pim Myten

Chapter 2 - Street Night Light on pixabay

Chapter 3 - Silhouette Photography of Trees by Jesse Bowser

Chapter 4 - Orchid Flower Blossom by anncapictures 

Chapter 5 - This was a composite of two images that i think i accidentally deleted from my laptop and i cannot for the life of me find anywhere online. I’ll update this if i ever find them, i am so sorry for my carelessness omfg

Chapter 6 - Jewelry Boxes Red Blue by furud

Chapter 7 - Silver and black laptop computer by Jay Wennington

Chapter 8 - Painting Abstract Background by mondschwinge

Chapter 9 - Bridge Night Architecture by nqcoc9

Chapter 10 - Full Moon Night Sky by Pexels

Chapter 11 - Sunset clouds background from the National Park Service

Chapter 12 - Fully made by yours truly

Chapter 13 - Ferris Wheel Night Shot by CloudyBird

Chapter 14 - Amaryllis Flower White Open by Sponchia

Chapter 15 - half filled wine glass beside half empty clear pint glass by Sérgio Alves Santos

Chapter 16 - Glass Piece Broken by qimono

Chapter 17 - Macarons Dessert Food by TheoCrazzolara

Chapter 18 - white pillows by Anastasia Mezenina

Chapter 19 - Daniel von Appen on unsplash. I believe the original image has been deleted

Chapter 20 - Cfl Spiral Lamp by Public Domain Pictures

Chapter 21 - a red and blue painting of a building by Jr Korpa

Chapter 22 - Red rose in dark room by Ben Decoster

Chapter 23 - Cakes Strawberry Sweetness by Alexas_Fotos

Chapter 24 - Nature Fire Flames by StockSnap

Chapter 25 - Milky way by Ivana Cajina

Chapter 26 - Sunset branches silhouette by lovexxpeace

Chapter 27 - Lightning Thunderstorm Night by anvel

Chapter 28 - Chandelier Glass by Tedd

Chapter 29 - Splatter, Blood, Paint by Clker-free-vector-images

Chapter 30 - Clear glass wine by Luke Besley

Chapter 31 - white cushion on bed near brown wooden nightstand by Annie Spratt

Chapter 32 - Blood Moon on a Dark Sky by Roberto Nickson

Chapter 33 - Red Light Behind a Door by Jamal Yahyayev

Chapter 34 - Flower White Wilt Black by bmartinseattle

Chapter 35 - Brown wooden bed frame with red bed sheet by Janko Ferlič

Chapter 36 - An Open Red Flush Door by Kei Scampa

Chapter 37 - two arcade cabinets by Ben Neale

Chapter 38 - Gambling Chance Luck by Ogutier

Chapter 39 - time lapse photography of cars during nighttime by Roman

Chapter 40 - Vine Plant Sprout by ngyuenbuihoai

Chapter 41 - Gold Pocket Watch by John

Chapter 42 - red and yellow thread in needle by amirali mirhashemian

Chapter 43 - Red hibiscus flower photo by Kai Oberhäuser

Chapter 44 - Node Red Knot by moritz320

Chapter 45 - Lighted Brown Bridge by Burst

Chapter 46 - Brown wooden framed glass window by Tim Rüßmann

Chapter 47 - the same as Chapter 1, people partying inside room by Pim Myten

You can find all the edited images in the Twitter thread. 

Fun fact: all the images follow the red/black/white color scheme, with one very glaring exception: Chapter 22 (and to a lesser extent Chapter 25) 

If you have any further questions (which i didn't cover in this super long post...) you can reach out to me on Twitter or retrospring!

Well, we’ve done it. We’re at the end of this post. Pretty long-winded but i figured if we could power through 240k words of the fic, we can survive a few paragraphs of my rambling. Thank you all again, so, so much, for all the love and support you’ve given my work. I really could never have done it without you. It was an honor and a blessing to go on this journey with you, and i wouldn’t give it up for anything. 

So what’s next? Keen readers might’ve noticed Blood, Water is part of a series, titled Ties of Blood and Silver. I do have plans for a direct sequel. Yes, our vampire boys will be back! With new challenges, new angst, and even new relationships. I’m organizing shit in my real life so it won’t be starting immediately, but you can all look forward to it! Until then, thank you, i love you, and see you all around ♡

[dootmoon]

Some thoughts on Ex Astris

Okay so the TL;DR is: Go play it if you're someone who is mainly motivated by gameplay, it's one of the most enjoyable games i've played in like 10 years (im not kidding). the story is not bad, but it's very poorly told and leaves a lot to be desired. I should also warn that i'll probably spoil a couple of things, mainly on the gameplay side (because yes, I do believe some encounters are better if you dont know the gimmick).

Where do I even start, I only watched like 2 trailers before playting, i had 0 idea of what i was getting into, all i really knew about the game was that it was a full game release by the AK guys and that it was a turn based rpg. I legitimately bought it out of morbid curiosity, I was not expecting to find my favorite jrpg in a literal decade.

I'll go over what I liked the most and then explain the couple of issues I have with the game, it might sound like i loved it (which i did) but it's far from perfect and i think there's room for improvement. I think the combat is the real deal in this title, for those unfamiliar with it: it's a classic turn based jrpg but it has layers. The main 3 mechanics that make it stand out from other games is that each turn you have AP (action points) which limit what you can do each turn, however you can directly manipulate them with a combo system that gives you back AP. The second one is a parry system, during the enemy turn you can directly parry their attacks, you have 2 colors for parrying, both colors have different properties and there's certain attacks that can only be parried with the respective color. And lastly, theres a stagger bar, similar to FFXIII or posture bar in sekiro, although i think it's more akin to stagger in FFXIII. Once you break said bar you can enter hyper time for a few seconds where you have unlimited AP so you can combo them for massive damage. The combo system is very enjoyable, you will be blindly experimenting your combos for optimal damage each time you unlock new moves in the skill trees. Theres a very satisfying feeling to landing a big combo on an enemy that feels like it was entirely something you came up with. This sadly comes with a downside, once you figure out your big damage combos, there's not much of a reason to try anything different. It doesnt mean it stops being enjoyable but this is a wall most of games with combo systems have. Now the parry system, while it's fun, it sadly makes the game too easy. Sure theres enemies that will mix their timings to throw you off and a couple of unparriable attacks. But really, if you get good there's no reason to ever get hit. "But what about the unblockables?" yeah about that... Theres really just 3 enemies in the game that had them, and 2 of them were bosses, which you get a hard counter to the unblockable in the first boss that has it. I wish the game had more ways to work around you to make it more challenging. The only time the game REALLY tries to fuck you up is the final boss (this is a good thing) however it was still too easy. She really just makes the screen black and white and makes you parry based on the icon, then she makes you parry based on the color of the attack. This was sick and i wish there were more moments like this in the game. Now the dungeons were great, they feel like they belong in an older 3d zelda game. Sadly they dont get too crazy on the gimmicks, they were just box puzzles where you have to move them in the correct spots or point lasers to certain switches. Apparently this game has plans for DLCs so if theres something i wish upon to get explored more it would be this in particular. The rest of the game is the towns and the sidequests inside them, they're very usual stuff for a jrpg so you know what to expect, i cant elaborate much on it. Overall I think the game is meant to be replayed, by the end you're only able to fully build 3 characters out of 5 party members, sidequests expire and there's a bunch of stuff to mess around to make a playthrough different from the last one. The game changes a lot when you already know how it works or what really happens in the story.

Now the elephant in the room, the story: Yeah it's kinda just there, it's very poorly told. However it's HG and i can tell there was a lot of thought put into the wold building, it's very well made. It's just a shame that i could barely care about anything happening in it, even though I was kinda invested by the final hours i dont think that excuses the really bad storytelling. However starting my second playthrough is when I noticed it was indeed meant to be replayed. There's a bunch of stuff that feels so incredibly cryptic or really make no sense, once you go over it already having context it all makes sense and you just go like "oooh so that was they were talking about". I'm not excusing bad writing though, this is bad, but at least the story feels better on a second playthrough. Anyways, i'm kinda upset this was a mobile game, maybe if it wasnt, 10 people would've played it instead of just 5. I cant stress enough how this is a phone game that is way better than most of modern jrpgs in the market. it's like the devs went back and asked themselves what was the main appeal of the genre and what they thought made them fun to them and made an entire game around it. This is probably gonna be the biggest surprise of the entire year for me and i'm gonna have brainrot about this game for a while.

[autisticbokutoenthusiast]

playboyy ep 12 stray thoughts

- “damn i hate myself” real

- first soong being cute 🥹🥹

- you know shits about to get emotional when the soundtrack switches to yoiyami

- “you called me a friend when you weren’t pretending to be nant” AND WHAT IF I LOSE MY MIND

- zouey and nont besties agenda

- OH GOD ZOUEY BACKSTORY wait noooooo

- i guess the evidence is staying hidden then like boy are they in their failvestigator era oh nvm they found something (that they already knew but still that’s more than they usually get

- promnont !!!

- hold on they finally showing zoueyteena. they can never just give a quick handy either always gotta be invoking the religious implications of a renaissance painting… good for them (yes i include the popcorn scene in this) also top zouey truthers this one was for you!!!

- what are you hiding under that tarp zouey 🤨🤨 i think it’s of nant

- hold on teena’s necklace lmao. is the t for troy no it’s for *too sleepy to finish the bit*

- NO GET A JOB!! STAY AWAY FROM HER!!!

- finna beat the shit out of jason lee give me 10 seconds i could take him out

- what does he mean by keep an eye on…

- oop that scarf zouey in his horse girl era

- THEY DOING WHAT TO WHO?!?!?

- she is not scared of them at all like two absolute kitty cats of toruturers MEKEKFKKRKRJFJFJF NOT THE DUSTERS I CANT

- the drop of sweat deserves an award for perfect timing and i’m being so serious about this

- AHH PROMNONT i can’t handle them being affectionate like it makes me lose my oh not the fuckass product placemntsjdjjdjdjrjrjjejdjr you know what i got me some promnont crumbs i’ll take it

- so i’m gonna see this scene expanded in fic later right 👀 i’ll give a million kisses to anyone who decides to do it

- they can never argue using simple sentences it’s always “i feel bad that you feel bad that i felt bad” and “im mad that you got mad that i got mad” and “if you have a problem that we have a problem than the problem is you’re invalidating my feelings” “i didn’t think you would think about me thinking” like besties….

- see but zouey was kinda right… why is he being made the bad guy, first and captain kinda pissin me off

- girl YOU got him expelled. captain needs to be fr

- NONT WITH THE BIG PANT CROPPED SHORT COMBO THATS MY MAN

- these college athletes are plain evil

- puen lowkey the only one in this show consistently talking sense. i hope he gets his licks back on these bum bitches cause i’ve had it with them

- the coloring the coloring the coloring the coloring the coloring the projection the projection the projection

- THE. HESS BOARD BEING PROJECTED PLAYBOYY SURREALISM FOR THE WON ONCE AGAIN

- captain talking big game for someone who took sneaky clips. hoping this shows growth on his part cause deep down im still rooting for him

- captain sweaty blow up the whole establishment i support you

- NO CAPTAIN THATS NOT WHAT I TOLD YOU TO DO THATS VERY MUCH MOT WHAT I JUST SAID YOU LITTLE BASTARD

- ooo the outro track finally making sense!! kejrjejdnjdj

- i love the when soong carries first

- oh more food, user @jeffsatyr i’m so sorry

- firstsoong enthusiasts we are so back oh there goes firsts fuckass dad

- captain needs to stop picking fights AND CAPTAINS A YANKEES fan i can’t defend him anymore

- puen fight back!!! he was going easy on captain cause he’s a nice little boy oh shit now aobs gonna kill captain isn’t he…

- captainkeenpuen enthusiasts don’t lose hope!!! we can still win!!

- aobpuen enthusiasts were so back

- THE COLORING THE COLORING THE COLORING

- the characters and 'accurately assessing the media their in' saga continues

- porsche looks like such a baby here. jump listen to porsche pls do not see him again

- cry by johannes bornlof is playing they fr pulling out the nuthphop ballads for the other couples today

- puen is my boy and i will lay down my life for him actually

- NONT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT IM GONNA WALHAT WHAT WYHAHW ok sorry yall him with the gun did sumn to me

- nont once again will not be caught slacking holding someone at gun point be damned AND ITS CAPTAIN WITB THE STEAL POLL?!?!?!?

- nont… i need to know how he picks outfits like did he want the color to match the gun????

- nont chuckling in the corner... i fear he’s lost it

- playboyy once again with the themes of tech and privacy

- captain is lucky puen is lowkey a pacifist

- nont and captain: torturing aob and puen for info about the murder, zoueyteena: painting time !!

- oh my god yall im getting chills like fr speechless i am so…

NUTH MY BABY BOY

- nuth coming through with his amateur directorial visions let’s gooooo

- nont being like “please do a little bit of torture, just for me, please 🥺”

- he playing the funeral violin oh it’s not ending well oh god

- jason lee you will crumble i am so serious about this count your mother fucking days

- nuth scurrying away in the back… also nont where is your marksmanship now

- puen keeps suffering tremendously and he doesn’t deserve a single second of it. free my boy he fr has never done anything wrong

- i think i was right and nuths screenplay is autobiographical

- THEYRE PLAYING AMBIVRLANT THOGUHTS AGAIN NUTHPHOP PIANO BALLAD ENTHUSAISTS WE STAY WELL FED

- nuthphop my beloveds i love them so fucking much you don’t get it no wait why he deleting them oh shit ! phop play shitty games win shitty prizes dawg

- welp

yall this might be one of the strongest eps in a hot minute i loved this one had me at the edge of my seat the whole time

[sunshinelulusplatoon]

("Squirms in excitement and giggles.")

(Sage said I could post it, so here it is!)

The sound of pacing could be heard down the hallway of the Entra house.

Back and forth, back and forth, Lutarna was biting her thumb as she was lost in thought; frustration on her face.

“I could make dinner or I could buy out our favorite restaurant for the night. I have the money,” Lutarna spoke as she continued to pace.

Lulu was sitting on the floor in her room, bouncing Seth on her knee as Collin slept. Seeing her sister pace across her door once more, Lulu rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I’m sure whatever you do sis, he will like. I’m pretty sure he will say yes,” Lulu called out.

“It’s got to be perfect though. Not over the top. Something his style,” Lutarna groaned as she stopped at Lulu’s doorway.

“His style is color, games, and cleaning,” Lulu replied with a snort, “Dude, just slip the ring in an ice cream cone from Gir. I’m sure he’ll like that.”

“AND WHAT IF HE SWALLOWS IT???” Lutarna questioned with panic.

“Shuuuush!” Lulu huffed, not wanting to wake Collin up, “Once again, you are overthinking things. What did your other self say?”

“To not over thinking it and go with the flow. People who truly love each other will be happy with what life throws at them,” Lutarna sighed.

“Collin never gave me a ring nor did I want one. He just asked me,” Lulu remarked, “Do something you two like and then just be straight forward about it.”

Lutarna sighed.

“I...I just want it special..but maybe you’re right. I just don’t know what to settled on,” Lutarna remarked; crossing her arms and looking defeated as she hung her head low.

“HEY!!!”

Both blinking, the twins turned towards the open sliding door that led to the front porch as they spotted Pixie rushing down the hill. Jumping and hopping over the porch railing, Pixie was catching her breath as the girls looked at her.

“Waz up?” Lulu asked.

“Puzzle ‘huffs’ Puzzle ‘huffs’ Arcade is having ‘huffs’ a double ticket night ‘huffs’ tomorrow,” Pixie replied.

Lulu blinked before eyes going wide and looking at Lutarna.

“Hey!!! That’s perfect!” Lulu spoke in excitement.

“How so?” Lutarna questioned.

“Crane games!” Lulu chuckled.

Lutarna was confused.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inviting Gideon over to hang out with them, the crew entered Puzzle Puzzle Arcade as Lulu and Joey were dressed up for the DDR rounds; Collin staying home with Seth. Hannah, Coraline, and Pixie were dressed in more party attire while Lutarna and Gideon were in the usual colors and pastel combo. Butterfly clips and face stickers on, Lutarna wanted to look as casual as can be as to not alert Gideon on what was going on. Arms wrapped around him, she was being her usual clingy self; hand tugging on Gideon’s takoroka windbreaker jacket as she smiled at him.

Earlier today, the twins with Pixie arrive at the arcade to tip the owner to let them play out their plan. Setting up the DDR machine, usually only running on Saturdays, Lulu and Joey were to be distractions for the crowd so nobody could see Pixie sneak into the crane game.

“Alright folks, let’s shred some steps and get this night rolling,” Joey laughed.

“We just got here and you already want to break high scores,” Hannah laughed, “That’s my Joey.”

“Hey, tonight is about fun! What better way than to show off skills,” Lulu chuckled.

“Hey, I need to run to the restroom real quick,” Gideon spoke, “We can start on skii balls after.”

“Sounds good,” Lutarna hummed as she let Gideon go.

Watching him head to the back, Pixie and Lutarna took the opportunity. Slipping a small box out of her purse, she handed it to Pixie.

“DON’T LOOSE THAT!!!” Lutarna huffed.

“Relax!” Pixie replied with a wave of her hand before poking Lutarna in the side, “I got this. By the end of tonight, you will be an engaged octoling.”

“I hope so,” Lutarna sighed.

Slipping it into her pocket, Pixie headed towards the arcade machines as Lutarna waited for Gideon to come back. Finally spotting him, she waved as she pulled some lollipops out of her bag.

“I forgot I had these,” Lutarna hummed as she handed one to him.

“Sweet. Thanks. Let’s hit those skii balls,” Gideon hummed as he took the lollipop from his girl.

Spending the first two hours on the skii balls, the two racked up a good bit of tickets as the two arrived at the counter.

“Oh! Honey Bunny! Look, they got turftable cards!” Lutarna pointed out.

At the bottom of the glass case for prizes was a box with packs in it. Both growing bright smiles on their faces, the two turned in their tickets for them. Buying the ten packs left, the two opened them up at a table.

“OH, HOLO BIG MAN!!” Lutarna remarked excited, “Honey Bunny, you’re missing this one right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to take from your collection,” Gideon replied with a chuckle.

“Nooo, take it,” Lutarna huffed and whined as she waved it in his face, “I know you were trying to make a deck with one. I’ll get mad if you don’t.”

Giving a laugh, Gideon took the card as he slipped it into one of the open packs.

“Fine, but I owe you a milkshake for it,” Gideon chuckled.

“I kiss will do,” Lutarna hummed.

Looking a little nervous, Gideon got up as he came over and taking a second, took hold of Lutarna’s lips. Sweet, simple, Gideon pulled away as Lutarna hummed and giggle.

“Alright you, we spent all our tickets on those. What do you want to hit next?” Gideon asked.

“I did hear there is a new pinball machine. Some medieval style,” Lutarna remarked as she pointed towards the machines.

“Sounds good,” Gideon replied as he held a hand out for her.

Smiling, she took his hand, before grabbing his hold arm, before leading the way; Gideon slighty a nervous mess again as he was dragged towards the machines. With distance from the counter, Lulu came up as she paid the owner the rest of the money for the night. Giving a salute, the owner went to the back to get the DDR machines on.

Seeing the lights go on and Lulu and Joey moving towards them, many of the kids and teenagers there stopped what they were doing to go watch the local masters go at it. Five minutes in and chanting could already be heard.

“Huh, wasn’t expecting them to turn the DDR machines on today,” Gideon remarked as he started to hear the crowd, “Lulu sure knows how to get people to show up.”

“Ha, that’s just sis. Brings in business though. We live off of music and what better way to promote than to show moves on the floor; well Dance Dance Revolution in this case,” Lutarna chuckled.

Switching between the three rounds, the two racked up a good score as Gideon moved onto a space version. Leaning on his shoulder, Lutarna looked towards the crowd as everybody’s interest was on Lulu and Joey. Taking it as opportunity, Lutarna spotted Hannah, Pixie, and Coraline. Texting them with her head phone, she watched as their phones went off and the girls looking at them. Heads looking around, they spotted Lutarna as she motioned her head towards the crane games. Giving smiles and thumbs up, the girls went to work. Waiting on Pixie, they watched as she found the center crane game, having been tweaked a little for intended purposes, as Pixie slide in through the prize door with the box in tentacle. Ducking down into the stuff animals as an octopus, she gave a tentacle wave to signal she was ready.

Seeing the signal, Hannah and Coraline came over as Lutarna went back to watching Gideon’s game; acting casual.

“Hey you two! How’s the pinball going?” Hanna asked as she leaned over the game machine.

“Pretty good. I like this one’s controls better than that new one,” Gideon replied with the lollipop in his mouth; having pulled it out when he started the game.

“Yeah, that’s new machines for yah. Got to wear the parts down for them to feel smoother,” Coraline shrugged, “Oh hey, did you guys hear?”

“Hear what?” Lutarna questioned.

“So, they added a new prize box in the pink crane game the other day. Owner says it’s something real special though nobody has pulled it yet. Heard if you get it, it’s worth a lot of tickets,” Coraline spoke.

“Oh, really? Huh, wonder what it is,” Gideon spoke as he lost his last pinball, “Maybe it’s a bike or something.”

“Maybe. Owner said it was just something worth a lot,” Coraline shrugged.

“Oh, Honey Bunny, you should try,” Lutarna remarked as she pressed her hand against his arm, “Everybody’s eyes are on sis and Joey so nobody should be bothering us to try after us.”

Scratching his head, Gideon gave a pout.

“I don’t know. I’m okay with those game but they do cost actual quarters,” Gideon remarked with concern.

“We can lend you some. We were going to play some ourselves but none of the plushies interest us,” Hannah replied.

“Yeah, that pink shark that was in there last week is already gone, so I got nothing worth it,” Coraline sighed with a hand wave.

“You sure?” Gideon questioned.

“Hey, you should at least win something nice for your girl,” Hannah teased.

Rolling his eyes, Lutarna having given him a fresh hair cut this morning, and giving a huff, Gideon shrugged.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” he finally replied.

Lutarna was ecstatic as she gave him a cheek kiss; Gideon slight blushing as he rubbed his other cheek with his finger.

Leading the way, the couple found the said machine, Pixie ducking back down before being noticed, as Hannah and Coraline handed some quarters over to Gideon. Popping one into the machine, Gideon looked towards Lutarna.

“If I was a special prize, where would I hide?” Gideon asked.

Looking like she was thinking, Lutarna replied, “Probably in the middle but towards the back. Might have to move some plushies out of the way.”

Giving it a thought, Gideon gave a nod in agreement as he started to move the crane around. Following his movements, Pixie helped move the stuff animals slightly to help Gideon move them; letting the crane grab a teddy bear after two rounds to entice Gideon to keep going. The bear dropping out of prize shoot, Gideon handed it to Lutarna as she happily took it; planting another kiss on his cheek.

“Maybe move that blue hedgehog out of the way. It’s covering a big portion of that back,” Coraline suggested.

“Yeah, I can try,” Gideon replied as he put another quarter in; still flustered by Lutarna.

Once again, with Pixie’s help, Gideon was able to move the stuff animal somewhat out of the way.

Looking annoyed as his mouth twitched, Gideon saw only two quarters left.

“Two more tries,” Gideon remarked.

“It’s okay if I only get the bear,” Lutarna hummed, “I’m just having fun being with you.”

“Yeah, same here. I feel..safe and comfortable with you. I can be myself with you,” Gideon replied before blushing, rubbing the back of his hea, “Sorry, that was weird to say.”

Shaking her head, Lutarna smiled bright.

“No, not at all. I’m glad you feel the same,” Lutarna hummed.

Grabbing onto him again, Lutarna use a tentacle to tell Hannah and Coraline to go away as the two turned back to the machine; the two quietly backing away when the couple wasn’t looking.

“Hey Honey Bunny?” Lutarna spoke.

“Hmm?” Gideon questioned, taking his time to think on where he wanted to move next.

“You know I’m happy with you right? Like, really happy. Like would want to spend the rest of my days with you happy,” Lutarna began to speak.

“Yeah, I-uh, kind of caught onto that. You’ve seen me smell the laundry and haven’t walked away yet, so figured you were in the long run,” Gideon joked.

“And you seen me drink bleach and not want to run,” Lutarna joked back, “But I do mean it. I wouldn’t mind spending my days coming home and you know, the house being nice and clean. Maybe you in the kitchen washing dishes or just vacuuming,” Lutarna remarked as she scooted around and wrapped her arms around his waist; placing her head against the back of his neck.

Making his next move, Gideon missed picking a stuff animal up as Pixie had to move out of the way to not be noticed. Silent for a moment, Gideon finally spoke up.

“That would be nice. Helping you cook and us folding clothes together,” Gideon spoke.

Lutarna hummed to that as she planted a kiss on his neck.

“We could talk about our days and vent our problems,” Lutarna hummed.

“Sleep in together on our days off. If that little monster of yours will let us,” Gideon joked.

“Beethoven is not that bad,” Lutarna chuckled, “But that would be nice.”

Holding the last quarter, Gideon remarked, “Eh, one last shot. We can go back to pinball machines after this.”

“Could try a round of laser tag, but let’s test luck on the last one,” Lutarna hummed.

“Sounds good,” Gideon chuckled as he put the last quarter in.

Moving the crane, Pixie waited for the right moment. Coming down, modded some by the owner to go down farther, Pixie held the green box up as the crane grabbed it. Pulling up, Gideon blinked.

“Oh! Honey Bunny, that might be it,” Lutarna remarked; faking shock in her voice.

“It’s small though,” Gideon remarked as he moved the box over and dropped it down the shoot.

Letting go and moving out of the way, Lutarna remarked, “It could just have a color ticket in it to indicate it’s the special prize.”

Grabbing the box, Gideon looked it over for a moment; an eye brow raised as he pulled the lollipop out of his mouth.

Just a green box.

Finally deciding to open it, Gideon blinked as confusion grew on his face.

“Turn around”

“Tarts, it weirdly says-” Gideon began to speak as he turned around.

And then froze in place; going beet red in the face as the lollipop hit the floor.

She was down on one knee; both hands holding the little blue box up. Her hands were shaking a bit, obvious nerves, as her tentacles were starting to curl. She had a smile on her face but fear was slightly in her eyes; as if expecting rejection.

The ring was silver-ish with rainbow shine to it; the middle of the ring being able to rotate to reveal colored diamonds of the rainbow. Something perfect for a human AI who love color.

“I-I-I-I-I-I,” Gideon tried to speak, but words not forming.

“Gideon,” Lutarna finally spoke, “I love you with all my heart. I really do. I want nothing more than to be yours and yours alone. To be called your wife; to be called your love. I want to spend every day with you. As long as we have, I want you and only you!”

Gideon was silent for a moment. Starting to tremble a little, Lutarna was trying to hold tears back, sensing that maybe she had messed up, when unpromptly, Gideon got down and hugged her. Blinking, Lutarna quickly wrapped her arms and tentacles around him; burying her face into his shoulder.

“Wh-why me?” Lutarna finally heard Gideon speak.

Letting go as she set the box down, Lutarna pulled away to look at him; placing a hand on his cheek. Grabbing her hand, Gideon watched as Lutarna placed her forehead to his; nuzzling his nose.

“Why you? Gideon, you make me the luckiest girl alive. I can be myself around you. Every time I see you I smile. All I think about is you. You’re sweet, silly, smart, don’t take anybody’s carp. You know how to make my coffee right, you know my favorite smells, my favorite sweets and which movies I love to watch. What more could I want?” Lutarna spoke.

Getting a chuckle out of him, Lutarna continued.

“I go home and you aren’t there, I just feel empty. At work, I just want to text you the whole day and tell you I love you and I think your the most handsome man there is. I want you by my side,” Lutarna hummed.

Nuzzling her hand, Gideon sighed.

“I-I would like that. I just-um-” Gideon tried to speak.

“We can take a long engagement. Till we are both ready,” Lutarna replied.

“Are you sure? You know how I am,” Gideon asked; sheepish in voice and appearance.

Lutarna just chuckled. Wrapping a tentacle around his head, she pulled him into a kiss. Pulling away after a moment, she smiled at him.

“I am very much sure,” Lutarna hummed.

Grabbing the box up with a tentacle, Lutarna held it back up as he opened it back up.

“Gideon Ward, will you make this night one of the most special for me and marry me?” Lutarna finally asked.

Trying to hold back a tear or two, with a sniffle, Gideon nodded.

“Yes. Yes-please-okay-yes, I want us. I want to marry you,” Gideon finally spoke.

Smiling so hard, Lutarna pulled the ring out of the box. Holding his hand out, Gideon watched as Lutarna slipped the ring on; rotating the middle to show Gideon all the colored diamonds.

Placing a hand on her cheek, Lutarna was surprised at the unprompted pull into a kiss by Gideon; quickly wrapping her arms around him.

“YAY! CONGRATULATIONS!!!” Pixie shouted as she slid out of the shoot.

Surprising the two, Gideon looked at Lutarna.

“So you did plan this,” Gideon remarked; fingers brushing his hair as he still looked sheepish at the proposal.

“Well, I’ve been wanting to propose to you for months but couldn’t figure out how. This all was sis’s idea. Right down to getting the crane game modified,” Lutarna chuckled.

Realizing this, Gideon went beet red again as he looked at and fiddled with the ring.

Starting to clap, Hannah and Coraline came over; having watched from a distance.

“Congratulations you two! I’m so happy for you,” Hannah remarked with glee.

“Ooooh, I’m so happy for you guys!!! Awww, I love seeing happy couples,” Coraline hummed with excitement.

Chuckling, Lutarna held a hand out to Gideon. Taking it, the two got up as Lutarna wrapped her arm around Gideon’s again; leaning her head against his as she smiled.

Fiddling with the ring again as the two walked towards the DDR machines, Gideon asked, “How much did you spend on this?”

“Not telling,” Lutarna chuckled.

As the crowd chanted and bounced to the beat of the machine’s music, the couple were able to squeeze into the front to watch Joey and Lulu go at it. Having a mike in hand, Joey was beat boxing as Lulu was spitting rhymes from some of her new remixes.

“Even after a hatchling, Lulu still has energy,” Gideon commented.

“Motherhood hasn’t slowed her down,” Lutarna chuckled.

Spinning around with one move, Lulu noticed the two as she tilted her goggles down and held her hand out; pointing to the ring finger. Holding his hand up, Gideon showed the ring as Lutarna snuggled into him with a smile. Bouncing even more, Lulu held her hands up before shaking them; obviously happy her plan worked.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, any plans already?” Joey asked.

Lutarna just puffed her cheeks out.

“We’re not rushing,” she huffed.

“Given how long you’ve been trying to propose, I would think you would have had some ideas on what your wedding day would look like,” Pixie joked.

Lutarna just grumbled as Gideon chuckled.

Sitting on a bench in the local park, Gideon once again fiddled with the ring.

“T is going to find this interesting,” Gideon commented.

“He..kind of already knows and has been picking at me for taking so long,” Lutarna sighed.

Gideon looked surprised as he tried not to laugh.

“I’m surprised he never spilled the beans,” Lutarna sighed again.

“I think T knew you wanted it to be special,” Lulu chuckled.

“I know. Glad he kept quite,” Lutarna replied with a smile.

“Yeah, cause I would have never guessed,” Gideon replied with a chuckle, “You sure you want m-”

Lutarna didn’t give him a chance to finish that sentence as she pulled him into a kiss; planting a few more on his cheeks.

The others just chuckled.

“You know what would be funny,” Hannah joked, “If Gideon wore the wedding dress and you a tailor skirt.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t mind,” Gideon remarked as he pulled away from his fiancé in a very happy go lucky state.

Now Lutarna was just looking at him as the others busted out laughing.

[technicianuprisingau]

Drawing the Rest of the Copy Ability Stars... Round 2!!

Me: Okay I think I should draw Round 2 first before I go and reboot the Technician Modes Me, realizing that I was so invested in Round 1, that I draw nearly all of them but 3 (minus the Contact Abilities): Me: ...YOU'RE TELLING ME HAD I DIDN'T STOP I WOULD'VE FINISHED THIS IN ONE ROUND?!

*SIGH* Let's get this over with. Here's Part 1 if you're confused.

Burning - This ability is kinda useless but uh, again, I guess Fire is offense and Burning is speed, so they can co-exist! Had to steal all the icons from Nightmare in Dreamland, Canvas Curse, and 64 just to make this. I hope it's sufficient and it's not just FIRE 2!!!

Ranger - I mean, I certainly didn't expect this ability to appear. But okay, sure! Kirby with a gun supremacy. It looks fun to play in Forgotten Land. I just decided to look at its illustration and have it the icon of the gun shooting a star... I might redo this in the future, it looks... Eh...

Drill - Ah yes, the ability that ruined Technician Uprising's canon standing. Before this ability was revealed, I deadset that Kirby's Technician ability would be Pure, which means he has capabilities unique to him only, in this case copying (and of course Robobot Armor shares that too with him due to partnership clause). Sure, the drill itself (which IS his weapon) was already in 64 but as a power combo which, as you may know, I made that state in 64 as a puberty state, which means that's not legit! So hell yeah, Kirby gets to use a drill. Bring on the Gurren Lagann references, people, he can thrive in it. BUT THEN FORGOTTEN LAND CAME. THEN THE DRILL ABILITY CAME. And so everything is ruined, the drill symbolism is no longer unique to poor Kirby. Thanks, HAL! Now I have to grasp at straws! I tried making the best of it though, all bias aside. It gave me a lesson to be more careful with making Technician Modes in the future though, as if the weapon matches the newest ability, I would be effectively screwed. WAHOO! Anyways stealing the ability hat for this one isn't it obvious.

Technician - My beloved. This design has not changed too much, even in its old days. Nothing much to say here.

Hypernova - Okay hear me out it technically has an icon but... The main reason I wanted to change it is because the Miracle Fruit is so mesmerizing. So I decided, screw canon, canon can eat my ass. In fact, I could've made it colorful too, but I restricted myself to three colors because Contact Abilities aren't supposed to exist! So it makes sense for it to break the rules! Yet I still want some boundaries.

Kabuki - Oh god I do not want to remember what the anime did to this ability. I have ranted about this ability before. So now, it's my responsibility to make it real. But the thing is, before I finalized what it would look like, I needed something to represent their magic, and no I do not want it to be Baton 2.0, so uh. Will-o-wisps! The supernatural Japanese thingies! I love will-o-wisps. So uh... yay.

Well, that means everything is settled... though I will have to do some minor edits to the spreadsheet, because GUESS WHAT?! I checked every file and realized that since I stacked each star one above the other, a small part of the other stars got into the imported picture. Now I have to redo everything AGAIN!!!!!

That being said. Please do enjoy.

[theselfshippingwitch]

Janine x Egon Wedding Questions

(This is for The Real Ghostbusters versions of the characters)

(also i'm gonna tag @ariel-seagull-wings bc they wanted to see my answers to this lol)

Imagine what music they would have? What food? Would it be outside? What kind of theme, if any, would they have?

I imagine Egon would want only classical music while Janine would be like PARTY!!! Lol she would still want the classic organ music as she’s walking down the aisle though, and at the reception they would have a combo, like they would start with classical and then go into more like dance music as the night went on. They would have their wedding in this amazing greenhouse venue in Brooklyn with this incredible ceiling. No theme, the venue is the centerpiece. 

The food would also tie in to the venue as they have a lot of fresh and light fruits and veggies (and mushrooms) for the cocktail hour and an amazing seasonally-appropriate salad before the main course.

Who would they invite?

Okay so Egon was definitely having like, a whole crisis about this bc his family is pressuring him to like, invite all these important figures from the scientific community and “uphold the reputation of the Spengler family within these prestigious circles” and whatever and Egon just wanted a small wedding but the guest list just keeps getting bigger and bigger and its so hard for him to ever say no to any of his family and it was like… 

It was Janine who encouraged him to advocate for himself and stand up for what he wants out of his big day bc she was not having all those stuffy scientific types at her party absolutely not

In the end, it was a celebration with extended family and close friends and louis who always ends up at janine and egon’s wedding no matter the circumstances of the occasion for some reason

jk louis is a close friend and we love and respect him is this house

Also Ray is Egon’s best man and Janine’s sister is the Maid of Honor

What season is it? Day or night? What colors do they wear?

It is a summer day (August 2nd, 1993), bright and sunny but luckily not too hot. The only other color beyond the natural green of the surroundings is the pink of the bridesmaid’s dresses and burgundy of the groomsmen’s ties.

Is it traditional or do they do something wild?

Traditional! It’s the wedding Janine has been dreaming of since she was a little girl (along with her Jewish wedding ceremony, which she had first). 

Did they write their own vows? Who is the person marrying them?

Because this is going to be the secular wedding (even though it has a lot of things based on Christian wedding traditions ik)  they wouldn’t have any religious figure marrying them. They would just get, like, a professional wedding officiant who just fits their vibe yk? And it was important to Janine that they write their wedding vows bc… she just needs to hear it, okay? She cannot just have Egon say “yeah, mmm-hmm” to whatever the officiant says, she needs to hear Egon say how much she means to him and we’re all gonna make him do it

Are they wearing suits? Dresses? Something else entirely?

Okay here’s the fun part FINALLY

Janine’s dress: 

Bridesmaid’s dresses:

Egon’s suit:

This means ray gets to wear his pea soup green suit that he already owns!!! Groomsmen’s suit:

What does their cake look like if they have one?

Does she throw the bouquet for someone to catch or does she pass out one flower to everyone to let everyone know they are worthy of love?

Janine definitely wants to throw her bouquet! Even though two of her bridesmaids are already married (her older sister, and her bff Violet who married Egon’s bff Ray last year)

Do they have a party afterwards? What music?

Yes!!! Yes they do!!! And the music is an eclectic mix of Egon’s classical music (with a live string quartet) and Janine’s playlist of party music with artists like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper (with a live DJ)

She also has a reception dress!:

Is it the wedding of their dreams or does something go awry?

Janine is too rich now for something to go awry

Also! How is the kiss!? Do they smooch softly? Sweetly? Passionately? Does he dip her into a deep smooch? Is it a soft sweet peck?

The kiss we’ve all been waiting for tbh

Very sweet and romantic. She puts a hand on the back of his neck while he holds her waist. He’s been mostly expressionless through the ceremony but he smiles as he kisses her, the softie

What is their honeymoon like? Is it a stay at home one? Do they go somewhere exciting? How long is the trip? Or stay at a hotel? Or maybe a cute little cottage somewhere?

They go to Cairo, Egypt! I feel like it’s the perfect mix of what they would both want out of a honeymoon. It’s an exciting city that’s got an ancient history and culture attached to it (egon is gonna study so many hieroglyphs you don’t even KNOW)

Does she take his last name or him hers? Do they keep or hyphenate their names? Or maybe they both take on a whole new last name together!

But they would have to change the name tags on the uniforms…

How many kids do they have? What are their names?

This is where it gets sketchy cuz fankids are a whole nother thing that I haven’t thought of yet for janegon but I DO know that they have a kid about one year apart from Violet and Ray’s oldest kid and they’re both boys and they’re besties who go on adventures together (the violet/ray kid is the timid one and the janegon kid is the bold one, you get where i’m going with this)

Where do they live?

In a penthouse apartment in Manhattan, where Janine can have space to write editorial articles for the magazine she created and runs, Egon can get to Ghostbusters HQ without too much trouble (even though he’s not part of the field team anymore he works on R&D with Ray out of there almost every day).

[littlelesbinonny]

The Devil’s Den

Chapter 7: In Which Everything Shifts

::Mentions of alcohol/drinking, read at your own discretion::

You can read this also on Ao3 at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46831621/chapters/117962293

You were nearly an entire bottle and a half of wine deep on this fine Friday night. Your music was blaring and you were having a grand old time dancing like an idiot as you tried drowning your sorrows.

It was a little pathetic.

But who could blame you?

You didn't. You knew your vices, you knew your coping skills, lacking as they were. But fuck!

The lady vampire who turned your world upside down vanished. A whole week, gone. No more feeling her near, no more catching her perfume on the breaths of the wind. You'd even gone back to the same spot you met her a second time several times over the course of the week, and nothing.

You still weren't entirely sure you hadn't lost your mind. There weren't any drugs you knew of that could last in your system to cause these long term hallucinations. So how could you chalk this all up to getting roofied somewhere? But, then again...

Nothing added up. You had just about driven yourself crazy trying to unravel this ball of yarn.

Deep down you knew this was all real, which was almost worse.

You could almost catch yourself needing to laugh maniacally about the whole situation; vampires were real???

What else about this life was a fucking lie or truth?

Whatever.

You did another jig across the kitchen floor as Maggie May by Rod Stewart came on.

"Wake up Maggie I think I got somethin' ta say to you! It's late September and I really should be baack at schooool - I know I keep you amuused - But I feel I'm bein' used - Oh Maggie I couldn't have tried, anymooOOoore! You led me away from home, juuust to save you from bein'aaalone - You stole my heart and thaaat's what really hurts... The morning sun when it's in your face reeally shows yooour age - But that don't worry me nooone, in my eyes you're everything..."

Going back to your pancakes you flipped the four and continued to drink your wine. It was about all you had left in your apartment and you knew you were going to need the carbs to soak up the alcohol so you weren't sick tomorrow. Plus, you loved pancakes.

As you were pulling them off the griddle your playlist took a nose dive into jazz and Louis Armstrong's La Vie En Rose began.

"Ah man, bit of a buzz kill," you muttered as you took a bite of the fluffy cake, eventually getting into the groove before too long.

"Actually... no, no this is good," you admitted looking down at your plate and glass of red wine, "great combo we got goin' on here!"

You grabbed another and stuffed it in your mouth, snatched your glass and wandered into the living room, moving elegantly with the tune. As you were humming along there seemed to be an echo, no, a different tone tangled in the air with you and the stereo.

It was then that familiar feeling finally broke its way through your inebriated barrier and settled into your system like a cat into a soft fuzzy blanket.

You froze, but not in panic.

Turning around slowly you found the shadow in the corner was not just your cushy chair.

There was undeniably a figure sitting in it.

A tall figure. And it was humming.

Her timbre was sultry and smoother than glass. Rich. Seductive. All encompassing.

Just like her.

You couldn't believe it.

She was back. In your living room. Slate colored hues boring into you once more.

Being inebriated was actually working in your favor at this point. You had reached the numbness stage of the alcohol, and thank god because had you gotten any farther you would have been a walking emotional garbage can on fire.

You took another sip of your wine as you watched her in the darkness, listened to her melodious voice, and did your best to keep your knees from crumbling away beneath you.

Apparently your playlist had come to an end as silence filled the space between you after the song stopped. You could make out the smirk on her face and something white in her hand.

"You know," she began, the warmth of her tone dripping off each word, "I didn't need an invitation... you had already given me permission when I brought you back that night."

You swallowed. Hard.

So it was true; she had brought you home, dressed you, taken care of you. Why?

"Then why have you been such a stranger?" you countered softly with barely a breath.

She smiled, seemingly completely at home sitting there cross-legged in your chair.

And you?

You. Were. Vibrating.

She rose, and holy mother of god she was so tall. You felt dwarfed. As she inched towards you you felt your bones rattling in your skin, her scent was filling up your lungs and you were pretty sure you whimpered. She was an other worldly phenomena and you just wanted to fall into her, head first.

Alcina lifted her hand and carefully traced a gloved fingertip over your jaw, catching your chin between her thumb and finger, tilting your face to hers as she admired you; intoxication and all.

Here you were. Within her grasp. Alcina's senses stumbled over themselves as your pheromones puffed off of you like pollen; the shaking of your flower buds? Her nearness, her touch, her smell. She knew. And, oh, how you were tantalizing, coaxing her insatiable needs. Had she not fed before she came, Alcina could not have been certain she could have restrained herself.

She locked you within her gaze, stoic face never giving way to her weakness.

Holy hell what was happening. All your mind could do was scream repeatedly to not fall down. She was so close and so beautiful. Clad in all black once again, everything hugged her perfectly, from her gloves to her coat to her pants and boots.

But why the turtleneck? You recall very vividly now the white dress she wore when you first met. The neckline wasn't plunging but it did her alabaster skin so many favors. Why hide such an exquisite work of art?

"Your mind never stops, does it." Alcina cooed.

No, it sure as shit didn't. And it had been working overtime since she came into your life.

"Never a moments peace."

Your reply hit home and Alcina considered you even harder. She knew precisely how you felt. Knew the plight of a mind so busy. Knew the relief that came if a silent moment ever did come. Knew how the seeking for said relief, for that moment of peace, could become just as tiresome.

She knew.

She knew... you.

Releasing your chin, a hum sounded deep in her throat. She was stepping onto a deadly battlefield, yet at this point in time all her fucks had flown.

Feeling slightly like your brain was short circuiting you grabbed the first phrase that popped into your mind; "Please don't run away again," you blurted, fearing she might slip away once more, and this time for good.

Alcina's crimson lips lifted back into an ever so gentle smirk, leaning into you, giving into the temptation that was wholly you, her lips almost touching yours. You didn't budge like she had half expected you to. So, she breathed you in deep. You smelled like wine and her fangs began to ache, "I won't," she reassured, nearly inaudible as she shoved her desires below the surface.

You shuddered violently enough you just about felt your soul exit your body. Shutting your eyes you took a breath, swallowed, and tried to keep your footing.

Drunk as you were, had this been any other situation you likely would have grabbed her and pulled her to you, crashed your lips into hers and fought her to your bedroom, ripped every article from her body and worshipped her until your body gave out. But somehow, for some reason, you were too terrified to do anything to spook her, lose her. You just wanted to keep her. In any way, shape, or form.

"What are you?"

Your question was so hesitant, scented with fear, but not the fear Alcina was used to. This was a fear of losing. Not of self preservation, to live and survive, not a fear of pain, or death. She pulled back but only slightly, jolted by the segue.

Where was your fear of her?

"You're not at all afraid of me, are you," she stated, eyeing you intently.

Brows furrowing ever so slightly, you licked your lips, "Should I be?"

Alcina couldn't help but hum again in contemplation of your quick counter. She really didn't know what to do with you.

"So... are you going to answer my question?" you tried again.

Alcina's eyes glittered as she pursed her lips, "You clearly remember what happened two weeks ago, and you're a very intelligent young woman; what do you think I am?"

You rapid blinked at how she skirted around that, a thousand and one more questions clawing their way to the surface. Was she testing you? Did she just not like saying it out loud?

"Listen, I'm 29 years old and until two weeks ago vampires were just myths, fiction in a story book, so you gotta understand... my entire view of the world was changed overnight... I am very, very confused. So, yeah, hearing you say it might make it a little easier to grasp," you chuckled softly, still grappling with the idea this was even happening.

She tilted her head, knowing how many ways this could all go terribly, terribly wrong, "Yes," she spoke deeper, "I am a vampire."

"Is that why you think I should be afraid of you?"

It was Alcina's turn to pause.

"It's usually common for humans to fear monsters, isn't it?"

"You think you're a monster?"

Alcina narrowed her slate colored hues, trying to decipher where you were going with this, wondering who was testing who at this moment, "Wouldn't you consider a brutal mass murderer of humans a monster?"

You observed her hard. Watching the spear of her defense fly through the air. It missed you, of course. Just a warning shot; an offer to back off or run right through.

You took the bait. Of course you took the bait.

"Humans brutally mass murder humans all the time... I don't see how you're any different," you offered softly but matter-of-factly, "I've met many monsters, they all look the same, but that's not what I see when I look at you."

Letting her off the hook this far in wasn't going to be an option so you needed to think quickly. You could tell she was considering this a game of chess. Sure, you knew she would be the better and more skilled player, but you didn't back down from a challenge, or a good game of strategy.

Or a game of cat and mouse.

"Please, tell me your name?"

What the fuck.

Alcina was starting to realize she had underestimated you in a deeply disconcerting way. She was starting to wonder if she would ever be able to successfully predict what or where you would go next. You were proving to be too satisfyingly tempting.

Standing there unmoved, eyes latched on yours refusing to show her falter, she took a deep silent breath and lowered her chin.

She knew this was the signing and sealing of a death contract the moment it left her lips.

"Alcina."

[in-arlathan]

Get To Know Me

Who dis? It's me! Been a hot minute, hasn't it? This year has been a pile of dung up until now, if I'm being completely honest, hence my absence from Tumblr and most social media. I had an accident in December and have been feeling like dirt ever since. But: I'm back now! Mostly thanks to my beloved @johaerys-writes and the amazing @mogwaei who tagged me for this game. Thanks to you two! ❤ It's been a please reading your posts.

And now: Let's dive in!

Share your wallpaper: I'm a very boring person who has her own artwork as a wallpaper on her phone (talking about this study I did last year). XD It reminds me that (every once in a while) I do create something that I actually enjoy without any self-doubt or regret, and I like that.

Last song you listened to: "Eyes Closed" by Ed Sheeran. I'm a very basic person, lol.

Currently reading: Let me check Goodreads real quick... Yeah, I'm reading far too many books at the same time again. So here's the top 3 of books I'm reading and enjoying the most atm:

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

There's also a bunch of fanfic I need to catch up on but my mind has been all over the place.

Last move: "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves". My P&P podcast party had been invited to a preview 2 weeks ago and we had a fun time watching that movie.

Craving: Time off. I've been working non-stop for the past 8 months or so (with Christmas being the only exception) and I'm feeling super drained right now. Luckily, there are a few short trips coming up in April and July, so there is that!

What are you wearing right now: Basic black jeans and a white knitted sweater. It's spring but it's still flipping cold in my apartment. Ooph!

How tall are you: 168 cm or 5'5 feet (I guess?)

Piercings: Just the two for my earrings. As I said, I'm *very* basic. :')

Tattoos: Currently I got two but I plan on getting more later this year. Gotta save up some money first.

Glasses? Contacts? I got 3 different glasses (transparent, gold and brown frames) and contacts because I like to switch things up.

Last drink: I'm currently having some coffee with oat milk aka The breakfast of Champions. Or so I keep telling myself XD

Last thing you ate: Chicken wrap with lots of cheese. It was amazing.

Favorite color: My taste in color(s) shifts constantly but I'm currently obsessed with green in various tones. I keep getting back to like a warmer green because it makes me feel very cozy. But I also adore a good color combo of orange and violet/lilac or yellow and dark blue. It depends on my mood.

Current obsession: Truth be told, because of the current state of my mental health, I have a hard time being obsessed about anything. It's not like I can't enjoy things (I know that that feels like and I don't want to get back to *those days*) but there's not hyperfixation that lives rent-free in my head. And you know what? It feels terrible! I miss the feeling of being utterly obsessed about something. I crave that level of excitement, honestly!

Unrelated Obsession: Okay, I guess this means non-fandom obsessions. I do have one of those! A short while back, I read a book by the title "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World" which was fascinating. I loved that it was not Euro-centric and instead focussed on the achievements of Genghis and his successors. I've been gobbling media with the same or similiar topics – including finally playing "Ghost of Tsushima" which send me reading up on the Mongol invasion of Japan. It's been an intriguing ride!

Any pets: I'm too allergic to have cats, dogs, and other animals and I hate it. I want a little doggo so badly... 💔

Do you have a crush on anyone: IRL? Not anymore. I used to have a crush for most of last year but since he started ghosting me a few months back, I decided to focus my attention elsewhere. I'm *done* with dating and have been for the past couple of years. As for fictional characters... I have to go with Solas, although (as I mentioned) my excitement has died down somewhat. I still love that boy to death but I'm not as obsessed as I used to be.

Favorite fictional character: How dare you make me chose one?! I have a trillion fave characters and they're all precious to me ;_; No, I will not pick one because I truly can't!

The last place you traveled: I went to Cologne, my hometown, three weeks ago, but I assume that doesn't count as traveling. I think my last real vacation was in 2019 when I travelled to the Leipzig Book Fair. Oh my... 😅 (And I was wondering why I felt so drained all the time, lol. Dang... what a reality check. This hurts!).

That's it! Hope you enjoyed the read :3

Time to forward some tags. As always, please feel free to join in or ignore the tag: @serial-chillr @faerieavalon @thebookworm0001 @ohmypawsandwhiskers @pikapeppa @oxygenforthewicked @fiadhaisteach @noire-pandora @ellie-effie. Sending all of you lots of love. I hope you're doing great!

Until next time, lovelies! <3

[fourseasonsfigs]

Everything I See is You

Like many Junzhe fans, I absolutely love the moment where Zhehan smiled at a hand-held fan with an image of Gong Jun. There are actually two different fig sets that memorialize this moment, and here's the first!

Both Zhehan and Gong Jun promoted Wahaha, a yogurt brand during the SHL promotional period. Zhehan showed up for an in-person event for them on August 4, 2021.

This is a type of hand-held fan sign we're talking about. They can vary but this is the general concept. You can see of course that this one has Zhehan on it.

Here's a clip from the event with the inspiration for this moment (sorry there are no subtitles):

This is a very popular event with fig makers - you'll see plenty more figures with these outfits going forward as well!

Our two little guys arrived safely in their polystyrene boxes. Junjun needed a little extra space for all his supplies!

Here's everything. You can see Junjun has his chair, a lightstick (?!), and not one, but two handheld fans! The one on the right is the original one that came with the fig. There was an option during production where you could order another fan, the one on the left. Dear reader, you know I ordered it!

And here's the back of everything.

You can see here how Junjun's hands are ready to hold all kinds of stuff! This is one of those figs where people could get real creative and have him hold balloons, other signs, etc. My much less creative self tried both these fans in both hands, but they only fit in the hand on his knee (as designed). The hole in his hand that he's holding up is smaller, to hold the teeny tiny base of the lightstick.

I had to really inspect the fans to tell who was who! As always, I did it the easy way - I just looked for the beauty marks. Zhehan's is the one on the left, and Junjun's (the fan that came with the base model) is the one on the right.

Junjun does not sit by himself in his little chair - like many little chairs of this type, it's just too lightweight to hold the full weight of a heavy-headed fig. Junjun would either slide right off or topple backwards, both unacceptable options. I fiddled around a bit with museum putty (too bulky) and museum wax (not strong enough) and finally gritted my teeth and glued his tush to the chair. Once he was firmly attached to his chair though, to my surprise he balanced just fine. I have him sitting on a fig stand here, as you can see, but he's actually not anchored down at all. I just put him there to level out the heights, since I had already fastened Zhehan to a fig stand at this time.

Speaking of which. Zhehan actually stands just fine on his own, but I while I was waiting for the glue to dry on the Junjun / chair combo, I thought, hey, this is a good time to put Zhehan on a stand. Forgetting that I hadn't taken their spin-o-vision shots! I like to take them without the stands, if they'll stand ok, because I think it is nice to see them by themselves. But in this case, my being scatterbrained efficiency got the best of us.

The art on these is a little different than a lot of my figs, but I just love it. I think the faces are super sweet. I mean look at Junjun's face. We've seen that exact look on him, looking down (yet somehow up) at Zhehan! The bright blue eyes echo the colors of their clothing, making this just a cheery, happy set.

I also really love the detail we have here on Zhehan's Wahaha event outfit. The earrings, the stitching on his jean jacket, and of course the asymmetrical color blocking on his pants.

You can see here that Junjun's sitting just fine in the chair now. It fits him great, it just needs something sticky to keep him in it.

I like the little details we can see on Junjun's jeans, and how the stitching on the sides also echos Zhehan's jean jacket.

You can see the asymmetrical color blocking on Zhehan's pants really well here.

We have typical Zhehan Curvy Fig Proportions here, as per most fanmade figs! I love the sweep of his hair here, and how it comes a bit back off his neck. Just so many great details with this set.

Junjun being the fan here with his folding chair and his fan props is just too adorable. You can tell he's here for the long haul, ready to sit and cheer for hours! I really love this concept.

I love Junjun's little relaxed pose here, it's surprisingly involved - it could have just been him simply sitting there with both legs bent, but it looks great like this. Of course, his little t-shirt is also entirely charming!

Here's Junjun holding his fan with Zhehan's face on it! This is a really cute look since we have Junjun himself being the fan in this circumstance, so it makes sense he'd have Zhehan's face on it.

This is a nice angle to see the little details on the bottom of Zhehan's beautiful flower bouquet. I love how it looks very much indeed like the crinkled bottom of a fancy bouquet! This is also a great view to see how clean and neat the details of Zhehan's silver earrings are. It's very easy to get paint overspray on little details like his earrings, but these look great.

I really like how the fig maker did Zhehan's combed back hair with the few wispy bangs that were blowing around in the breeze. They did a great job on it, as you can see in the card art below!

You can see here on the box how the fig maker pictured the event - Zhehan up there on the event stage, and Junjun cheering along in the audience! So cute!

I am absolutely in love with this fig set. And good news! As of today's date, the fig maker actually still has some remainders left over up for sale, so if you want the link, message me and I'll send it to you!

Material: Resin

Fig Count: 370

Scene Count: 25 (I don't think this set quite counts...I need a stage!)

Rating: You are all he can see, too!

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[aikoiya]

Oh my God! I just got back from seeing the Super Mario Bros Movie & holy shit! It was amazing!

I loved it!

9.8 or 9.9 outta 10! Leaning more towards 9.9.

Now, spoilers ahead!

Do not read if you haven't seen the movie yet!

Now, literally, the only things that I'd change was that I would've gone with the Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi series' more varied & unique models for the toads. They could've at least had girl, kid, & elderly toads running around. It's just weird that they're all guys & all the same age with the only variations being color. The most unique toads were Toad & the one that I'm fairly sure should've been Toadsworth. You know, the one with the super deep voice? Him.

The only other thing I would've changed was the Kong Kingdom's vehicle designs. I would've preferred it if they were built more reminiscent of Diddy's inventions (not Cranky's though, Cranky's were perfect), but honestly? I'm willing to let this one slide because I get why they went this route.

It wouldn't make sense for the Kongs to have carts all ramshackle & patchwork without Mario, Peach, & Toad's also looking the same. And the entire point of having the carts in the first place was to be a reference to Mario Kart. So, that wouldn't have worked.

I mean, I also get why they did the colorswapping toads thing, at least, theoretically. It's probably easier to just use the same design & change the colors. Also, I remember something about Nintendo being weird about all the toads looking the same with Sticker Star, so that might've also contributed. Which I thought was disappointing even back then, personally. I really liked how different they all looked. So, I guess that it just feels lazy to me.

Otherwise? Perfect!

Like, omG!

Bowser stole the show!

His expressions! When he was angry, you could see it in his eyes as he got progressively more unhinged! Just so wide & "Imma fuckin' murder you, shortstack!"

And those little hints near the end from him that he might've not had the best life? "I was finally going to be happy!" & "Make you miserable like me!" 😧

INTERESTING!! I hope we get some stuff about that going forward!

Like, what if he grew up in an abusive household & that's why he's so good to his own kids?

Also, I loved how much like a teenager with a, really pretty toxic, crush he acted like!

I hope that, if there's a sequel? The Koopa Kids show up & we get Bowser & their dynamics! Not just Junior, but also the Koopalings from the Super Mario Brothers Super Show & Superstar Saga!

Speaking of Superstar Saga! I hope that the Firebrand & Thunderhand come into play! That is literally the only game I see them in & I loved them so much! I especially loved how Luigi got an element of his own besides just getting fire like Mario.

Also, all those little combo moves that the 2 performed in the Mario & Luigi series! It'd really highlight their teamwork!

Something else, but not like a must for it to be good? I would be very delighted if Daisy showed up in a sequel (with accurate spunky, feisty characterization) & her & Luigi just hit it off like a house on fire! I low-key ship them more than MarioxPeach.

And I loved that, while Luigi has obvious anxiety issues, being afraid wasn't his entire character. That would've very quickly gotten very old!

I also loved the obvious love the Bros had for each other. Like, even though it was fairly obvious the information that Bowser was fishing for in his interrogation & his own prominent fear, Luigi still had the cohones to tell this literal fire-breathing monster that "Only the princesses with good taste" would find his brother attractive. He might've been scared shirtless, but his admiration for his brother is REAL, ya'll!

I also really liked how Mario & Luigi's accents were very obviously Brooklyn, but wasn't in your face. That was a nice touch.

Also, DK? He was great! He was an egotistical ass with daddy issues, but he was a funny & likeable egotistical ass with daddy issues.

I liked the sort of razzy, frenemy-type rivalry poking at each other thing that he & Mario has at the end. Like, they obviously got beef, but there's no real heat to it at the end.

Peach was super cool too. She wasn't a damsel & she did shit! Also, she had a lot of badass moments! Loved the ice dress!

I also liked that they didn't just jump into the whole MarioxPeach thing. Like, they had great chemistry, but the movie wasn't about them. It was about Mario's brotherly relationship with Luigi. It's obvious that Mario & Peach are just friends & I think that's pretty realistic, all things considered.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a little shipping whore too & I'd definitely like to see them together at some point, but this is not the time. It'd feel too rushed. I'm not saying that it won't happen. Just that it shouldn't happen yet.

Also, the Psycho Paratroopa who definitely has issues & merced the shit outta Rainbow Road with a blue shell!

And the dog who very obviously has some anger issues that slipped under the radar of his masters! He was a dog on a mission! He wanted to fuck Lu's day up! Then, at the end where he gives that sorta nod of begrudging respect? Hilarious!

Just AAAAGGGHHH!!!

I will say, the nihilist Luma? Yeah, either he wasn't like that before he was captured or he's bullshitting about wanting to die & is being a little shit. Otherwise, he'd have pulled the trigger himself a long time ago rather than waiting for Bowser to sacrifice him in a fiery display of his passion for Peach. Just saying.

[dangerphd]

ok, for real though:

designing colorwork? lots of thinking about thinking, flipping through Strange Brew/Anthology, B&W pics to compare color contrast, deciding on stranded/Fair Isle vs slipped stitch/mosaic.

in the mood for complex lace? stitch dictionary page flipping, inspo from ravelry database existing patterns, choosing high contrast beads (let me never knit hundreds of beads the same color as the background yarn into a piece for the love of all hard work should have a dang payoff), thinking about the final shape and adjusting for how that affects lace flow...then just stash diving and jumping in.

simple lace mood? combo some options from the Knitting Triangles book or make something up entirely if it's just geometric designs or lacey chevrons or whatever. almost no forethought, although very occasionally graph paper for a quick sketch.

I always have a pair of socks either on-the-go or kitted up for the next time I feel like knitting socks (2.0 & 2.25mm long-assed circ's for magic loop, some string, snips, a tiny crochet hook and sometimes a tape measure in a smol project bag)...sometimes that kit sits for months, but when the mood hits, no planning just grab and go.

garments for other people: takes a bit, actually, in the sense I have to math the idea to their size and adjust my conception of how much yarn it'll take.

garments for me? no planning just vibes. too much experience to worry on this one.

I have knit enough different shit to rarely need to swatch. My best guess based on an average of what happened every other time I used that weight yarn with those sized needles is plenty...but I did need to swatch for maybe my first decade of knitting...although I have always subscribed to the cuff/sleeve/brim is a swatch idea (and had to frog things accordingly).

I have also achieved SABLE (stash acquired beyond life expectancy), so I almost never don't have something on hand that'll meet the project specs.

Knitting Planning

What does your planning process look like? How do you plan out a new project?

[dokidokitsuna]

Spoiler-FULL Reactions to RWBY Arrowfell~

The thrilling sequel to this post. Most of my emotional investment has already faded by now (as is usually the case with RWBY media...) but, since I said I was gonna do this and I already made notes, why not?

Environments and NPCS -Not much to see in this game...the environments look cute in isolation, but as a gameplay element they’re just too simple (and repetitive...) to be immersive. Especially in Mantle and Atlas-- random stacks of ‘techno-blocks’ are not a real setting and they don’t feel like one. :/

-I just wish it could’ve had a stronger atmosphere...the main show already tends to ruin the little atmosphere it does create with baffling character placement and lackluster/absent color grading (seriously, the BG artists deserve better). And unfortunately it seems like the game just...copied that...

-The new NPCs were cute. A little silly, but cute; much more interesting and better for worldbuilding than the background characters in the show.  And of course the NPCs based on existing characters (Penny, Qrow, Pietro) were nice too. Even the Ace-Ops were kinda fun (Vine Zeki gained a personality trait! o_O)

-I liked how the quests tended to interweave together, like you’d complete one quest and get an item required to complete another quest as a reward-- which incentivizes you to talk to more people if you’re having trouble finding something on your own. It’s smart gameplay design like that that made me rate the game a C+; despite its simplicity you can tell it was made by professionals.

Enemies and Boss Fights -Yeah, the clone-enemies in the Atlas/Mantle portions are pretty embarrassing, but I think the selection of Grimm was nice. They all had different strengths and weaknesses and attack patterns for you to learn to deal with; you certainly can’t say they were lazily implemented. Even the clone-enemies at least invited unique strategies...I know for a fact that redheaded “BANG BANG BANG~” girl was specifically designed to be a rage-quit obstacle, and I love that for her. ^^

-The boss fights were pretty good too; nice selection of attack patterns and usage of space (especially for BRIR). Bram Thornmane wasn’t much of a final boss, all things considered, but at least he had something creative going on with the arrow patterns; there’s a little element of challenge there. Nothing super fun for any sort of mature gamer (even a casual one like myself), but I can see that being engaging for, like, a 5th grader. ^^; I guess.

-BTW: a lot of people in the comments of the release trailer remarked that the combat looks EXTREMELY lackluster for a RWBY game, like a ‘step down from Grimm Eclipse’...and although I do think Arrowfell does an okay job of being the type of game that it is, I also kinda have to agree with those people.^^; I’ve found more action-packed platformers browsing for Flash games in 2008...

Even just more expressive FX animation could have helped (a combo mechanic would’ve worked WONDERS); the act of fighting feels more like a means to an end than something the devs really want you to focus on and enjoy. It’s been said many times that RWBY no longer remembers why most of its fans were originally drawn to it-- unique, creative fight scenes that told stories about their characters through high-intensity action-- and that’s on full display here.

And on that note: if you just want to make a cheap RWBY game, a sidescrolling brawler against hordes of Grimm sprites, or even a simple PVP (put that bloated character roster to good use...) would be a much better fit for the franchise than even a REALLY GOOD version of Arrowfell. :T Just sayin’.

Plot and Characters -The moment we’ve all been waiting for~ ^^ *cracks knuckles*

-In brief: the plot sucks and the plot-relevant characters also suck. :/ WayForward at least did a good job building the game despite clearly not caring; as usual RT did not care about the writing AND did not do a good job. I went into it expecting the plot to be EVEN LESS interesting than those of the show, and I was STILL disappointed...

-Small things first: the repeated “I guess we’re doing this now” apathetic sarcasm from Team RWBY during the cutscenes was kind of...irritating, actually. Especially after we had to watch RWB sit around watching the plot go by for half of Volume 8...it’s bad enough when the audience starts to feel like the protagonists have no real investment in the plot (which has been a thing since V5...); it’s a whole new level of bad when the protagonists themselves all but admit it right to our faces. We’re supposed to assume that team RWBY is still here because ‘it’s the right thing to do’; they ‘don’t [want to] let anyone else die’...but more and more of their chances to actually portray that type of righteous character onscreen keep getting replaced by quirky, disinterested snark or pointless one-liners. And I don’t think RT realizes that if that’s all we’re getting...then the result is a story about characters who have no reason to be in it and don’t even want to. :/

-Re: Fifestone-- I’ve already said much more than I planned to say about him (through responding to those asks, if you remember ^^;) but my original note was as follows: in this day and age when workers’ rights are finally making a long-overdue comeback in the public consciousness, and ESPECIALLY considering the way RT treats its own employees, deciding you need an unnecessarily evil union leader in your fictional story is disgusting, vile and morally reprehensible. I used to think RT’s leadership was just ‘childish-bad’...y’know, selfishness and an unwillingness to compromise or improve making life hell for everyone else. But something like this feels more like ‘evil-bad’-- i.e. deciding that the hell you’re putting other people through is necessary, enough to justify and actively maintain through propaganda/manipulation. I’d...really hate to see RT go down that road. :[

-Let’s end on a lighter note by talking about Bram Thornmane: probably the most pathetic antagonist in the entire franchise. ^^;;; When I heard him admit that he seriously did ALL that just because he wanted to join the Ace-Ops (THE ACE OPS??? THE ACE OPS?!?!!!! o_O) I literally sat at my desk at work and laughed out loud, for like 5 minutes. ^^;

Seriously, though, it’s SO bad...I thought things couldn’t get any worse than Adam ‘my girlfriend left me’ Taurus, but here we are. And at least Adam looked cool (and his character assassination was absolutely hilarious; 50% of the reason I love him is because I spent Volumes 4 through 6 laughing at him constantly XD).

Thornmane, on the other hand, is a nothing character. No cool design, no interesting personality traits, no noteworthy connections to any substantial characters. I don’t even know what his semblance is (he mentions it during his boss fight, so I assume it’s in the game somewhere...does anyone know??).

So yeah, “I’m gonna steal unique technology and kill thousands of people to maybe hopefully make Ironwood look bad because he wouldn’t let me in the special club” is just the icing on the nothing-cake. Even a basic “I wanna take over the world” motivation would be better; it would at least make his actions feel justified...as it is, he just chose the most effortful, overly-convoluted way possible to express his anger over getting passed up for a team of huntsmen SO elite and SO special and perfect that they got washed by four newbie huntresses in 5 minutes. T_T Wowza. Now there’s an experience worth spending 30 bucks and 4 hours of your time...

-Easy Thornmane fix: Actually USE Arrowfell. They mentioned that Arrowfell was like an abandoned laboratory full of never-before-seen technology too dangerous to release to the world...USE that. If Thornmane wants to make Ironwood look bad, let him start handing this stuff out like candy to any thug on the street, and get people speculating about why such terrible weapons were even being made, and demanding that the General take responsibility (insert retroactive foreshadowing for his turn to the dark side in V8 here). Let him convince BRIR, the ‘guardians of Arrowfell’ (whatever that means) that this technology needs to be shared with the public to sort of ‘even the playing field’, let the people take back power from the tyrannical Atlas elites (insert morally-gray actually class-conscious Fifestone character here). Let him hoard some of the more frightening weapons for himself, and try to overthrow Ironwood (insert actually necessary Lt. Harper character here) and assume leadership of the Atlas military, to put himself in the position of power he always wanted. 

THIS STUFF IS NOT HARD GUYS; I came up with that in like 10 minutes! >_< And if I spent the amount of time you should spend on something you expect your fans to pay actual money for, I could do a lot better...

[weirdmarioenemies]

Banjo-Kazooie Spotlight

Hello, all! Guest writer Bynine here with an article on my favorite game of all time! Despite the immense popularity of this beloved N64 classic, the enemies of Banjo-Kazooie are not something that often comes up in discussion. Well, I'm here to change that!! Or at least, write well too much about some choice picks from the bestiary. Let's go!

Topper

Topper is the first in a small collection of sentient, googly-eyed vegetables that live in Spiral Mountain, where heroes Banjo and Kazooie also reside. Get used to those googly eyes, by the way, because you'll be seeing them a lot. Anywho, I really like the name Topper. You know, like "carrot top"! Great names are another feature of this series.

Bawl

Speaking of which, here's Bawl. Bawl is a fun name! It's hard to say without a southern drawl - bawwwl. Besides that, I don't have much to say about this hopping onion, but I still appreciate you, Bawl.

Colliwobble

The finale of our vegetable trio, and I'll be honest, I've saved the best for last. Sorry, Topper and Bawl, but it's a flying cauliflower called Colliwobble! How can you not love that? It flaps around gently with its big leaves, sustaining flight in a physically improbable yet adorable manner. How come the real thing can't do that, huh? No amount of bourbon roasted, brown butter baked cauliflower can convince me that we didn't get the short end of the stick here.

Gruntlings

The henchmen of the villainous witch Gruntilda, these oafish ogres patrol the halls of her lair, running after Banjo in a stance I'm sure they think is very intimidating.

Or maybe they want a hug? C'mere, big fella.

The most striking thing about Gruntlings to me is their impeccable fashion sense. They come in a variety of colors, and each one has a rakishly charming cloak to match, emblazoned with a fetching skull emblem. Would you mind stretching your arms out, Mr. Black Gruntling?

Thank you. Did Gruntilda coordinate these outfits? I'd believe it - she has a great ensemble herself, replete with a gorgeous purple striped scarf. And this is the same lady who's decorated her entire lair with images of her own face, after all...

Shrapnel

These ornery armaments are in the tragic category of enemies whose only goal in life is to detonate directly next to you. It's fitting then that they're based on a naval mine, but they also (perhaps unintentionally?) resemble sea urchins! How fun!

Normally they look fairly docile, even cute with their little underbite, but when Banjo draws near they growl and do... this. You okay there, buddy?

They're also the only enemies that appear in every Banjo-Kazooie platformer game! Clearly Rare knew they had a winner on their hands. Look at their pretty colors in Banjo Tooie! Look, but don't touch, please. It won't end well for anybody.

Sir Slush

Anyone who's played Banjo-Kazooie will be familiar with these goons. Living snowmen are usually quite jolly, and Sir Slush is no exception, with his consistent and hearty laughter. However, instead of frolicking in the snow, all Sir Slush does is pelt our heroes with snowballs. Rude!

Similar to the platonic ideal of living snowman himself, Frosty the Snowman, the life force of Sir Slush seems to be concentrated in its hat. It's invulnerable to most forms of damage, but if Kazooie strikes its hat at high velocity, it will be blown into icy chunks. Is this a similar principle to the "aim-for-the-head" zombie-killing technique? Are snowmen not merely zombies, extra ice, hold the flesh? Human bodies are 70% water anyway! 

Slappa

Another classic bestiary staple, the living hand! Slappa are gargantuan mummified arm-hand combos that pop up without warning from the dusty sands of Gobi's Valley, the requisite desert level of Banjo-Kazooie. True to their name, their main method of attack is a slap, where they simply fall over, crushing anything in their path. The most confusing thing about Slappas is that they have the ability to speak - they laugh if they manage to land a hit, and groan in pain when defeated. How are you talking, Slappa? Do you have a mouth hidden under those bandages? Maybe a whole face?

Artist's interpretation

There also exists a single non-violent Slappa called Grabba, who clutches onto a Jiggy and hides underground with it if you get too close. Should you manage to grab it, they mention having had it for a thousand years, but then congratulate you on your technique. Of all the traits to be assigned to a mummified hand, "sportsmanlike" was not one I was expecting, but I'll gladly take it.

Tee-Hee

Another winner of a name! Tee-Hee! That's great! This design is great too, in my humble opinion. You wouldn't expect a ghost to have such a goblinoid appearance, but Tee-Hee delivers both flavors of common RPG monster at once in an elegant package. Naturally Tee-Hees can phase through walls and are invincible to most attacks, staples of any Game Ghost (TM), and their pursuit is marked with constant laughter. Admittedly their laugh is more of a "mua-ha-ha" than a "tee-hee", but I'm willing to forgive it.

There's also a purple version! This one ignores Banjo and Kazooie entirely, preferring to move around in square patterns. Don't worry, though, it still laughs a lot. What's so funny about squares? Only the purple Tee-Hee knows.

Grimlet

Appearing on a ship known as the Rusty Bucket, Grimlet will disguise themselves as ordinary pipes, only showing their eyes and fangs when Banjo and Kazooie draw near. Despite their metallic appearance, they can stretch their bodies way out to take a bite out of bears and birds alike. You know, I like this design, but I feel like it could be improved somehow. Hmm...

Ooh! The beta version of Grimlet has a really interesting twist- eyes in its own mouth! Of course, any monster is improved when it puts its peepers in its gullet, and Grimlet is no exception. Well, let's keep going! 

An even earlier screenshot shows them with white, human eyes... and with a fleshy inner maw... Nope, I don't like this one bit. Abort!

Ahhh... Much better. Now that's a sentient cowl ventilator that I'd let take a chunk out of me. No, I don't have a problem! Quiet, you!

Of course, there are many more denizens of the BK universe worthy of scrutiny - in a universe where even common collectibles will strike up a conversation with you, that's not surprising. In particular, a Banjo-Tooie showcase would be a lot of fun... But I have to stop myself somewhere. Until next time!