#i love canyon's design so much

[sillybeanies]

today's beanie: canyon the cougar (1998)

[lookingforcactus]

Went to a big quilting convention today and am feeling inspired so here's todays edition of

What the fuck do you mean that's a quilt??

Most people have no idea about how much craft goes into quilting or how much quilting as a craft, art, and even a science has been evolving in recent years. So here's my personal appreciation post

And btw the flat images do NOT even do these quilts justice, especially in terms of the absolutely amazing and detailed texture embroidery that a lot of quilters are using these days. Up close the texture and the sheer detail of many of them is just stunning

These are all from the Road to California quilt show 2023

1st Place: Portrait

Title: Sharing the Moment Maker: Hollis Chatelain Quilter: Hollis Chatelain Design Basis: Maker's Original Design African-American women are a powerful force in motivating their families and communities to vote. I wanted to create a piece about this and highlight the fact that African-American women did not receive the right to vote in all 50 states until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. I met Phyllis at a rally. I was drawn to her and asked if she would be my model. Without hesitation she said yes. She later brought her friend Loretta with her.

1st Place: Naturescape

Title: Augustinii Maker: Andrea Brokenshire Quilter: Andrea Brokenshire Design Basis: Maker's Original Design “Augustinii” is a blue/purple variety of rhododendron my momma planted within her forest garden. I was lucky to be home on when it was in bloom. When I see this quilt, I am reminded of my momma and how she loves to tend her garden and “grub in the dirt.”

1st Place: Pictorial

Title: Leap of Faith Maker: Kestrel Michaud Quilter: Kestrel Michaud Design Basis: Original design In this Steampunk fantasy world, men and women have taken to the skies on ships held aloft by hot air, ingenuity, and luck. Faith’s favorite past-time is bungee-jumping off the side of her airship, with Bubo, her pet clockwork owl. This quilt depicts the photo Faith took on her latest jump to test her brand-new camera and selfie stick.

2nd Place: Naturescape

Title: Homage to Birches Bare Maker: Jessica Noble Quilter: Jessica Noble Design Basis: Fabric recreation of Kesler Woodward's Birches Bare, acrylic on I fell in love with Kesler Woodward’s Birches Bare painting and knew I had to create it in fabric. I cut about 1,700 pattern pieces out of freezer paper and then fused fabric, through the fall of 2019 until the pandemic started. During this time, I homeschooled my two children and the quilt sat in quarantine. I quilted this freehand on my midarm in the winter of 2021. I managed to take the majority of the summer of 2022 on the binding.

2nd Place: Pictorial

Title: Toroweap Overlook Maker: Sandra Mollon Quilter: Sandra Mollon Design Basis: Derived from a photo Toroweap Overlook, in the Grand Canyon National Park, is an incredible view of the Colorado River. When John Slot sent me the photo to consider for an art quilt, I realized the complexity of the amount of the pieces it would require, but knew I had to do it. Raw edge fused, machine quilted, small amounts of media.

3rd Place: Pictorial

Title: Catch it Yuri! Maker: Hiroko Miyama and Masanobu Miyama Quilter: Hiroko Miyama Design Basis: Maker's Original Design Inspired by dogs’ action. Yuri, golden retriever big jumped to catch a ball and Ponta, mix hardly waited his turn. Dogs and girl were fused appliquéd.

Seriously can you believe these are all quilts!!! incredible amazing showstopping spectacular

[rh3maji]

Lil rant abt Caine

Caine is just a lil guy, despite it all. From a design standpoint I thought I was gonna absolutely fucking hate looking at him because those chattering teeth toys make my skin crawl- but the art direction really helps make him look more appealing and whimsical than a disembodied pair of talking dentures sounds on paper.

The thing with Caine is I didn't initially like him that much after the pilot. While his interactions with Bubble were quite funny, that one episode left me feeling like he'd just end up being kinda one note or at the very least one note in a way that'd get on my nerves. Then everything changed when Pomni Wake Up Time to Go On an Adventure! attacked

The comedic timing throughout that announcement video was so fucking funny and thanks to his line deliveries and animation/model [?] upgrades- CAINE LOOKED AND SOUNDED SO ADORABLE!!

Legit it wasn't until this came out that I realized I actually could be on board with Caine as a character and it's been uphill from there. Episode 2 was better than the pilot not only comedically and visually but also in terms of showcasing just how actually unsettling Caine can be as an antagonist. Not because he's vengeful or malicious, but because he's so oblivious to how people work. His mind's always buzzing with terrible ideas and he's so so eager about these adventures, but at the end of the day he really really doesn't get the circus crew. Try as he might to include them, keep them engaged [ZOOBLE WAIT!], or even give them what they want [Exit doors] he doesn't realize how traumatic and distressing their current situation can be. The very nature of being trapped in a digital world is bad enough but it's especially rough here bc not only does its god have limited capabilities, you also are very well acquainted with him, and he can't fully understand your pain nor can he truly save you from it. He won't mourn your abstraction. He will not attend your funeral. He will not understand the distress of your arrival, nor the weight of your departure.

This isn't just sad from the pov of the circus gang, it's also very sad for Caine- not because i think he'll ever feel sad about it himself necessarily, but instead because the situation is sad. New members appear over and over, you craft adventures and games and distractions like [i'm assuming] they'd asked you to, but over and over, one by one, they abstract. They stop laughing at your jokes. They don't like you. They want you to leave them alone. It's confusing and maybe even inconvenient.

Where I'm hoping the series takes Caine is that this dissonance between Caine's intentions and the distress of the circus gang gets worse and worse and worse until something's got to give. I'm hoping that maybe at some point a character will try to sit down and talk with him and for it to either sorta get through to him but completely backfire in some form because he misinterprets what the others want from him OR i'd also be down for him to listen, but not understand any of it and proceed as tho nothing happened. I don't want Caine to come around really, it'd be interesting to see how Goose would go about having him come around to being a better host that empathizes more with humans, but personally I do prefer him to keep on keepin' on being this oblivious and eager antagonist.

My favorite Caine lines/line deliveries so far:

"You, my friend, stumbled into an incredible world of wonders, where anything can happen!…e-except for swearing."

"And here we have THE GROUNDS! Drown yourself in the digital lake, or engage in ridery at the digital carnival!"

"What do you think of XDDCC? You're right, terrible, LET'S TRY THAT AGAIN!"

"Kaufmo abstracted? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"Bubble you can't say that"

"-ZOOBLE WAIT!"

"Why are you all just standing there?! The- The Canyon- C-Candy Canyon Kingdom needs you now!" [according to his VA, this was an actual line flub but hoo boy am i glad they use it bc it's hilarious]

"I know you guys love your NPCs, but if I start losing track of who's a human and who's an NPC, who knows...what. could. happen..."

That last line there specifically surprised me the most because up until he said that I was under the impression Caine was linked to every single NPC. I even thought he could see through their eyes if he so chose thanks to his "hundreds of all seeing eyes" line in the pilot. Him saying this here implies lots of things. Has Caine forgotten before? Is someone in the circus secretly an NPC ooooooooh~

"Who knows what could happen..."

Honestly, when Caine first said this I did immediately theorize Jax as being an NPC but now that it's been *checks calendar* three months since I watched episode 2, I don't think this is the case anymore. Jax being an NPC would be...something. Jax not knowing he's an NPC would be interesting [i like it when ppl's realities get shattered], but honestly I think this line was a way to telegraph to the audience that no Caine isn't actually all knowing. He didn't know Gummigoo was coming through that portal until he saw him with his own two eyes. My theory is that Caine is only able to teleport, create, censor, transform, and destroy the world around him, but isn't able to see all of it at once unless he tries to. I think Caine's default state is one where he only knows what he sees directly in front of him/what he himself has left waiting for someone else. And rather than implying someone in the gang is an NPC, I think that line in episode 2 was mainly implying Caine can be tricked, that it's possible to hide something from him, to surprise him even. Though I'm not opposed to an NPC we haven't met trying to join under the guise of being human, it'd potentially create some fun tension assuming the audience was given enough reason to care about them.

Jax is actually my favorite character in tadc, but i couldn't fill an entire post with things to say abt him. Caine seems to be- at least as of right now- the easiest of all the characters to try and wrap my head around. I'll probably have a lot more to say about Jax as he exists in canon as the episodes come out [EPISODE 6 MY BELOVED]

but uhhhh yeah, that's all the things i had to say abt Caine. Pls go watch/listen to the fansong Digital Land bye!

[somebodys-nightmare]

Why Tifa is the Underdog of FFVII

I’ve been thinking about this ever since I first played Rebirth & got to Cosmo Canyon. Many folks were perplexed at the direction of Cosmo Canyon and found aspects of it surprising or confusing. I would say that it was entirely subversive for a number of reasons, but primarily, I want to focus on Tifa, because it got me thinking about her role in a much larger sense.

When I first played FFVII as a 14 -year-old girl in the late 90s, my first impression of Tifa was that she was an underdog as a character and as a heroine, especially in comparison to Aerith, the other heroine of FFVII. This was primarily due to how she was presented throughout the first disc, but also how she evolved as a character throughout the story, leading up to and through the Lifestream Scene. At the time, underdog stories particularly resonated with me (they were also quite prominent in the 90s) and they are relatable to real people. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with Tifa.

That being said, FF7R has really developed all of the characters in ways that gives their arcs more depth and resonance, and I think this is particularly visible with Tifa. It's especially apparent in Rebirth, especially given what we see in Cosmo Canyon and how it relates to Tifa’s previous character development, while foreshadowingi what is to come for her and her role.

In storytelling, an underdog arc involves a character who starts from a position of disadvantage, either through external circumstances or internal struggles, only to rise and succeed against the odds. The underdog heroine, in particular, undergoes a journey of emotional growth, perseverance, and resilience, transforming her into a capable and powerful figure by the story’s end. This arc creates relatability and builds tension, making the heroine’s eventual triumph all the more rewarding for both the character and the audience. Underdog stories tend to feature heavily in sports and martial arts films (hmmm) but it is a universal archetype in storytelling.

For Tifa, her role as an underdog is critical to understanding her role and ultimate evolution as a heroine, both in the OG and even more so in FF7R, which builds upon this arc more steadily and organically. Through pivotal events in the game as well as her evolving relationship with Cloud, Tifa’s underdog arc is designed to prepare her for her significant heroine arc in Part 3, which will cover disc 2 of the OG.

Let's start with the OG, where Tifa is an often understated character, particularly in the early portions of the story. In Disc 1, she plays a quieter role compared to more outwardly central characters like Cloud and Aerith. While Aerith has her connection to the Planet and Cloud is thrust into the role of the group’s leader, Tifa’s journey seems more personal and internal. Tifa's primary focus is her relationship with Cloud, who is dealing with an identity crisis that leaves him emotionally distant, confused, and susceptible to strange behaviors. Although Tifa harbors deep feelings for Cloud, her confusion over their mismatched past memories leaves her vulnerable, confused, and reticent, compared to other characters who feature more centrally.

However, this positioning as an underdog is precisely what sets Tifa up for her eventual role as a heroine. In the OG, she begins as someone overshadowed by more powerful or prominent figures, but proves to be emotionally essential, particularly in the Lifestream scene. It is Tifa, with her quiet strength and deep connection to Cloud, who helps him recover his true self from the fragmentation caused by Sephiroth’s manipulations.

Though Tifa may not have a magical connection to the Planet or the external conflict, her strength lies in her emotional resilience and her ability to anchor Cloud when he is at his lowest. This transition from being in the background to being pivotal in Cloud’s recovery is a hallmark of the underdog arc. Tifa’s most critical strength is not in her outward power but in her deep emotional ties and unwavering support. It is also a huge signal of the game’s propensity to use red herrings and subversion as a vehicle for storytelling.

FF7R takes Tifa’s underdog arc that was present in the OG and expands it more steadily and organically. In Remake and Rebirth, Tifa’s journey is given more focus and depth, allowing her character to grow gradually, especially in relation to her bond with Cloud and her own emotional challenges, such as her internal conflict over her involvement with AVALANCHE.

In Remake, Tifa and Cloud reacquaint themselves after years apart, and their relationship becomes a central focus with far more development, nuance, tension, and prominence than the OG. Early in the story, Tifa is hesitant, unsure of her place in Cloud’s life and the larger conflict surrounding them. Much like in the OG, she begins in a vulnerable position, confused about the discrepancies of their pasts, and struggling with feelings of guilt and self-doubt.

Remake carefully builds up their relationship, showing moments where they grow closer, develop trust, and begin to support each other emotionally in ways they never did before. This slow burn of intimacy is a critical part of Tifa’s underdog arc—while she may not be the most obvious heroine within the scope of the external conflict, her emotional journey is laying the groundwork for her later importance in the internal conflict.

This is reinforced in Rebirth, where Tifa’s relationship with Cloud is tested by the growing threat of Sephiroth and related external forces. From the very first chapter, beginning with their conflict in Kalm, we see the tension, unresolved issues, and external manipulation (Sephiroth) between them that will carry through the story.

This slow burn of reconciliation and tension defines their relationship, as Tifa grapples with her growing trust in Cloud while dealing with his unpredictable behavior. The climax of this arc comes in Gongaga when, under Sephiroth’s control, Cloud attacks Tifa. This moment marks a critical low point in their relationship, meant to test Tifa’s faith in Cloud and her ability to stand by him despite his actions.

However, the following Lifestream scene acts as a turning point for Tifa’s underdog heroine arc. In this scene, Tifa is essentially given a "tutorial" of sorts, which accomplishes three vital things:

1) Prepares her for her coming role in Part 3 (aka Disc 2) by reinforcing her emotional resilience and resolve;

2) Reveals that Tifa, too, has been gifted with an important connection to the Planet for a specific purpose—becoming Cloud’s heroine, the one person who can help him reclaim his true self; and,

3) Fortifies her faith in Cloud, reaffirming her belief in him despite the trauma of his attack. All of these elements are crucial in building Tifa up for her ultimate role in Part 3, where her emotional strength and deep bond with Cloud will prove indispensable.

Following these climactic events in Gongaga, Tifa’s role as an underdog becomes even more pronounced during the events in Cosmo Canyon, revealing her heroine arc with greater clarity through a clever subversion of expectations. Traditionally, Cosmo Canyon is a section of the game that focuses on external conflicts, especially tied to Aerith’s role as a Cetra and her connection to the Planet.

However, in Rebirth, Tifa is also unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight in a setting that purposefully marginalizes her, with the narrative now drawing attention to her internal struggles. This shift in focus gives weight to her emotional and personal conflicts, contrasting with the larger planetary issues central to the external conflict, although centered in the same setting where those issues are the focal point.

Bugenhagen and the elders, who represent the epitome of knowledge about the Planet and the Lifestream, ridicule Tifa’s personal experiences, dismissing them as heretical and uneducated compared to their teachings. This organized structure of Cosmo Canyon, revered for its wisdom, alienates Tifa, making her feel further out of place. She is sidelined in a place where the spiritual wisdom of the Planet should matter most, yet her direct experiences within the Lifestream are discredited.

This subversion is essential to Tifa's arc: although she is overlooked by those considered authorities, it highlights her position as an underdog whose true power lies in her emotional resilience and connection to Cloud, not in abstract spiritual knowledge. Her ability to persevere beyond what she encounters in this scene is what will make her triumph in Part 3 further rewarding. The fact that the planet itself has facilitated this experience to some degree (in Gongaga) makes this arc even more compelling.

All of these events in Rebirth subtly prepare Tifa for her role as a heroine in Part 3. Despite being undervalued by those who should understand the power of her connection to the Lifestream, Tifa is destined for a crucial purpose. The Planet has clearly chosen her to be the one to save Cloud, "the boy who is destined to save the world."

This culminates with a powerful emotional contrast that sets up her lowest point just before the game ends, perfectly priming her for her ultimate heroine role in Part 3. After the events in Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga, the narrative takes a softer turn during Tifa's date with Cloud at the Gold Saucer. This scene is crucial for both Tifa and the player, as Cloud finally gives a clear indication of his feelings for her by kissing her, offering a moment of happiness and intimacy. For Tifa, this moment of connection and affection from Cloud is deeply validating—after their long, slow burn of building trust and emotional closeness, this kiss solidifies that Cloud returns her feelings. It creates the "calm before the storm," giving them both a brief moment of peace and joy before the dark trials ahead.

*disclaimer* it doesn’t matter if the moment is "optional". All of the dates are "optional" in that sense and all of them are narratively important. It is much more honest to consider the date "expanded" rather than "optional". They expand our understanding of the narrative and characters, not alter it.

Anyway, this moment of emotional relief is soon followed by the unraveling of Cloud’s mental state, marking the descent of Tifa's arc into its lowest point yet. The game transitions from the joy of the Gold Saucer to the Temple of the Ancients, where Cloud’s spiraling intensifies under Sephiroth's manipulation. Tifa is forced to watch as the man she loves loses control, and her devastation grows as she realizes how powerless she is to stop it.

The situation worsens at the Forgotten City, where not only does Cloud continue to deteriorate, but Tifa also witnesses the loss of Aerith, one of her closest friends. The combination of losing Aerith and seeing Cloud fall deeper into Sephiroth's influence leaves Tifa emotionally shattered, hitting rock bottom.

These events at the end of Rebirth set the stage for Tifa’s ultimate rise in Part Three. Her devastation, watching Cloud spiral and suffering the heartbreak of losing Aerith, pits her at the lowest emotional point in her journey. This is essential for unfolding her heroine arc in Part 3 (Disc Two of the original game), where she will be pivotal in the events at the Northern Crater, the escape from Junon, Mideel, and ultimately, the Lifestream scene.

The Lifestream scene is the culmination of Tifa’s entire arc—everything she has experienced in Remake and Rebirth has been preparing her for this moment. Despite the many challenges of the journey thus far - many of them internal - Tifa will be the one to guide Cloud back to his true self, using the deep emotional connection they've forged. It is here that her resilience, emotional strength, and faith in Cloud, despite everything that has happened, will solidify her as the heroine destined to play a critical role in not just Cloud’s recovery but in the party’s fight against Sephiroth.

In this way, Tifa’s underdog arc is not just about personal growth; it is about the power of emotional resilience in a world where traditional heroism is often defined by strength and cosmic or magical power, a core message of the game’s overall subversion. By the time she reaches her role in Part 3, Tifa will have transformed from someone who was dismissed and overshadowed into a heroine whose quiet strength proves to be indispensable.

Her journey, both in OG and FF7R, shows that true heroism often lies not in grand gestures but in emotional endurance and unwavering support for those who matter most - those we love.

[starboltz]

Since a new TADC teaser came out, I really wanted to do an analysis of this post by gooseworx.

To start off with, in the quick flash of new characters we see in the trailer, 3 of them are seen in the teaser image - those being the cowgirl ghost, the candy princess, and the bubble man. The only character we don't see is the frog-looking character.

While not obvious by the reflection, the round part of the ghosts head is likely a hat, as seen in the teaser on the cowgirl ghost. I am fairly sure that both of these ghosts are the same character based on the dress silhouette of the reflection, and the design of the upper body of the ghost in the teaser. (If I am wrong about the ghost's gender and/or pronouns, I will edit this post.) I find it incredibly interesting that this is the most humanistic character yet on TADC.

The next character, the candy princess, has a silhouette that is very easy to match to the reflection. The only major difference is that her gloves and upper part of her skirt are a darker pink, but that could be due to lighting. She is very likely the princess of Candy Canyon Kingdom. If not, she's definitely royalty of some sort because of her crown. I did see a few people think that she was going to be similar to a betty spaghetti toy, but now that we see her in her natural setting, it seems like her arms are more like cake pops. The rest of her body seems to be a neat amalgamation of cake and other candies.

I don't have much to say about the bubble man, other than he appears to be a customer at Spudsy's - where Jax is being forced to work for minimum wage. If you look closely, you can see Jax's reflection in the bubble man's face. His (or it's? again if I'm wrong I'll change it later) reflection counterpart is a much darker blue, which again could be lighting, but it could also mean that other customers at Spudsy's are bubble people. (Also I love how Spudsy's is a ripoff/homage of McDonald's, hopefully it'll make for some good satire of the fast food industry).

While we don't see the frog character from Gooseworx' teaser image, a lot of people theorized that it is some sort of gummy frog or reptile, which makes sense when it comes to one of the other characters announced in the teaser trailer.

The gummy gator appears to be in the Candy Canyon Kingdom, and looks to be some sort of cowboy or guide. He has a white belly similar to the frog, which is why I think they exist in the same storyline/location. Something hard to see in the trailer is that he starts fading to green from yellow around his shoulders. It's hard to tell what he's holding, but it's very possible it is reigns.

Another character from Candy Canyon Kingdom is the chocolate ooze monster, who looks similar in style to the gloink queen. I love the details of candy corn teeth and jawbreaker eyes. It's difficult to tell if this will be the big boss of Candy Canyon Kingdom, or just an obstacle for the TADC crew.

A fourth character from the Candy Canyon Kingdom is revealed in the teaser, and that is the periwinkle drawing mannequin. It seems to be the only character from the CCK that is not made of candy, which leads to some questions. In the teaser it is screaming its head off, so it's likely it is running from the chocolate ooze monster.

Going back to the cowgirl ghost, another cute little ghost appears. It doesn't really have any defining features other than its puppy-like face, but its a ghost, so it works. This is the only other character in the western ghost town story revealed in the teaser. Though the gummy gator looks like a cowboy, I think the ghosts appear in a different location from the Candy Canyon Kingdom.

The last character I haven't talked about is the tape recorder. It doesn't really look like an animate character, but if TADC has taught me anything, inanimate objects can always become animate characters. It's hard to tell what storyline it's from, but based on the lighting, it's from the western ghost town storyline. One of the most unnerving things about it is that it is one of the most realistic looking characters in the entire show.

Overall, 4 characters were revealed for the Candy Canyon Kingdom storyline, 3(ish) characters for the western ghost town storyline, and 1 character for the Spudsy's storyline. I personally don't think all of these storylines and characters will appear in the same episodes, unless the TADC crew is split up like in ep 1. The Candy Canyon Kingdom and the Spudsy's storylines definitely don't, because Jax can be seen in the wagon, along with (at least) Pomni, Gangle, and Kinger, in the large image shot of CCK in the teaser. (I have no clue what kind of gummy animal is pulling the wagon.)

I also wanted to briefly talk about the unfinished location that Caine showed in the teaser. My first thought was that it was a baseball stadium, but after further inspection the field seems a bit off to be a baseball field. Regardless it definitely is set up to be a performance space, whether it be a theatre or arena of sorts. From the design, I don't think it connects to the other locations revealed in the trailer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading my theories on this teaser! If you have any thoughts, please comment or reblog to let me know!

[fleouriarts]

sketchbook duuuuump :3 nothing to do in this town AND my stylus isn't working its a perfect storm for filling this thang up

descriptions and such below

feel like the fursona ones are self explanatory. the rileys are basically all inspired by this person's compilations... if you havent seen the clip that the bottom corner drawing is from please do yourself a favor

this was all development shit for the zakharovs who i posted last week. sergei is igor's former childhood friend who i have not come up with much about yet... all i know is he is also a fashion designer (who makes winter clothes specifically) and he has an illegitimate son named nikolai who is an arctic fox (and who i have not drawn yet)

omg okay so if anyone remembers my last sketchbook dump i introduced this character andre in there (and her name was andres but i changed it to andre bc i like it more for whatever reason). anyway ive been drawing him OBSESSIVELYYYYY and have decided that him and null get together at some point after argyle and jamie make up (i desperately need to make a jamie and co timeline post)... but it lasts like one semester and thats it. andre is too vain and too know-it-all for null's tastes even though shes like super hot and nice otherwise. anyway this is just a bunch of drawings of him. i really like how the one of him in my INSANE hat turned out

santiago and null's joint slay... both of them LOVE to gossip with each other and its instrumental to how jamie and argyle make up (will go into detail when i finally figure out all the actual events of that). also andre and null on a hike bc andre is a biology major. i actually drew that while i was on a hike in red rock canyon heres proof

5. mostly just scribbling trying to get better at drawing santiago including more of him and null and his prime Jamie Comforting Tactic of just letting him chill between his wool and sweater. also two drawings of jamie just 4 fun i draw him and his stupid big eyes whenever im out of ideas

6. idk this is just silly stuff. i draw johnny manhandling jamie a lot and i promise you jamie LOVES being treated like a stuffed animal he thinks its SO FUN to be spun around and wiggled and shit. ferret adjacent. him and johnny have been friends since they were in like elementary school because of this. btw santiago does not usually look like that (only having wool on his head) he just has to shear his wool in the summer because having full wool in the flurrida heat is AWFUL

7. comic i drew at the laundromat LOL. takes place either shortly before OR shortly after andre and null get together. johnny mostly hates andre for being with null (shes jealous) (she wants null all to herself even though shes super noncommittal) (johnny get your shit together) BUT ALSO andre being kinda pretentious makes her want to chokeslam him. andre is talking about bird farming specifically because johnny's family are chicken farmers... ive had a lore post about everyone's families in my drafts for months but i cant finish it til my stylus is fixed TT

8. more nonsense. top left corner is a continuation of johnny being a hater. bottom drawings are just mindless jamie doodles. top right is argyle and jamie during their relationship, i cant decide if jamie had REALLY short hair during it or hair like this that's basically just his current hair without the yellow dye and tiny ponytail. whatever

[calinaannehart]

maybe you're holding on too tight (the magic comes in letting go)

“Holy shit!” The exclamation slips from Buck before he can stop himself. 

He knows that Dawn has money, the constant rotation of designer handbags, mentions of exotic vacation destinations, and the obvious but tasteful plastic surgery she’s had has clued him in, but he hadn’t quite expected this. The house appearing before them as he crawls the jeep up the long driveway is expansive.

Built on top of one of the crests in Laurel Canyon, it’s a modern barn house design with large floor-to-ceiling windows that Buck can already tell offer a 360° view of the city below. Its higher elevation means it’s not overlooked by the two neighboring houses, which is a good thing given that the first thing Buck spots as he pulls to a stop in the carport beside the pool house is a St. Andrew’s cross erected next to the pool.

It's not the only piece of equipment Buck notices as he climbs out of the jeep, there’s also a cage, a pillory, and even a suspension frame. Some are more subtle, blending into the surroundings, and could be easily mistaken for an art installation or sculpture, others are obvious in their intention. The fact that they are so brazenly on display for anyone who might visit is such a Dawn thing to do. The Dominant isn’t shy about her lifestyle.

“Damn, look at that view,” Eddie whistles as he steps out himself and looks over the city spread out before them. The smog level is pretty low today meaning that the skyscrapers of downtown LA can be seen clearly in the distance. “I wonder what exactly she does to be able to afford this.”

Dawn, as much as she likes to talk, hasn’t gone into much detail about the vanilla part of her life, as small as it may be. She and bitch live a full-time total power exchange dynamic, which means Buck had expected to see elements of the lifestyle around her home, but he��d thought she might have just had a dedicated dungeon room or something rather than for it to be spread out over the entirety or her estate. They know that she has her own company and that bitch is employed as her personal assistant, but beyond that it’s still a mystery.

“Whatever it is, she’s raking it in,” Buck looks up at the house as he pulls out his phone. “I wonder how much this place costs.”

“Please tell me you’re not about to look it up on Zillow?”

“Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious—”

Eddie plucks Buck’s phone from his hand and reaches around to slip it into his back pocket, patting the seat of his pants firmly. “At least wait until you get home, hm?” Eddie says, tone firm in a way that tells Buck it’s not a suggestion.

“Yes, Sir,” He grumbles reluctantly. It would be rude, he concedes, to google the value of the home of the person they’re about to have coffee with. “Hey, uh, it’s just casual today, right?” Buck asks, suddenly unsure. Eddie hadn’t given him any instructions to get himself ready for a play session, and it’s not that he hasn’t enjoyed the times they’ve been joined bitch, but he’s not feeling like playing today.

“As casual as things get when Dawn is around,” Eddie jokes, but he cocks his head as he looks at Buck, reading him. “But, no, we’re not playing today. The invite was for coffee only.”

“Cool, not that—”

“You don’t have to defend your choices to anyone, baby. You know I’d never insist on anything we haven’t already negotiated on.” Eddie leans in and kisses him softly, affirmingly.

Of course, Buck does know that. He trusts Eddie implicitly, with his mind, with his body, with his very life. “I love you.”

The smile that Eddie gives him is so fucking soft, it’s the one that always makes Buck feel like he’s falling in love with the man all over again.

“God, you’re sappy,” Eddie groans playfully as he takes Buck’s hand. “But I love you, too.”

Read on ao3

If you like, please reblog and help me reach more dashboards

[phillipfancypants]

I wish I knew people irl who like Stormlight so i shall submit you all to my ramblings instead.

This song is so Kaladin coded and I feel like people more creative than me need to be aware of its existence.

My personal interpretation of the lyrics below the cut:

“There’s a voice that pulls me stumbling through a symphony // and the less of it I need the more I get” (the calling of honor and his need to do the right thing, even when it always ends up with him worse off than he started)

“Till I’m swept up by the shape of all the centuries // like an echo in the chambers of my chest” (his connection to the history of Roshar as a Knight Radiant)

“I think she fears I’ll be a servant to my history” (the “she” in this song reads very much as Syl to me. This is referring to every time Kal goes into a dark place when he thinks of all the people he’s lost)

“Or worse a slave to someone else’s misplaced doubts” (he’s often feeling he has to prove himself as worthy)

“And so I try to hard to kill what’s out to kill me// until I’m blind and hiding in the lion’s mouth” (he’s often blinded by his duty to protect himself and his companions that he ends up in over his head. This reads very much like book 1 to me with the bridge maneuvers)

“And the words she aches to hear pour through my canyon//and they’re singing in the caverns of my limbs” (the words are the ideals, also caverns makes me think of the chasms )

“And though I do my best to try to understand them // they only follow me like vultures in the end” (most of book 3&4 have Kaladin struggling to find and speak the fourth ideal. Also the symbolism of vultures being animals that prey on the dead. Kaldin’s 4th ideal is that there will be those he cannot protect, and the words follow him like vultures, surrounding those he’s lost)

“I once read that I should write something worth reading // or I should do something worth writing about” (these feel like the influence of Lirin and Dalinar on his life, Lirin wanting him to help people through the study of medicine and Dalinar encouraging him to join him in battles)

“As my ears they buzz like bees upon the ceiling//I start to pour a little more than I’m allowed” (all the feelings of what people want him to be and what he himself wants to be are overwhelming)

“I said our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories//she said this harvest might sustain us for a year” (this one is weird but I think it’s saying that the gut feelings of why you make the choices you do are more important that the logical reasons. Kaladin nearly breaks his oaths a couple of times doing what’s right, and Syl is telling him that this way of living isn’t sustainable for either of them)

“And of all the thousand ways the world could tempt me//I’ve never met a better fighter than her fear” (the world seems to be designed to make Kaladin give up, which is Syl’s biggest fear)

“So as I try to breathe the air that she is breathing//and we dance a lightless dance upon my floor” (idk I haven’t found a way to connect this yet other than that air and dance are often associated with Syl)

“I am yearning to tell her she’s all I’m needing//but I’m drowned out by all the noise outside the door” (the noise outside the door being all the directions Kal is being pulled in between his family, his squires, all of urithuru, his own depression, and everything else that I’m forgetting)

“Carried by the current of the morning//miles below the surface of the dawn” (Kaladin’s depression is like night, and the dawn is the light of being able to move on. Being miles below the surface, he knows a better world is up there, but it seems impossibly far)

“This is not the place that I was born in//that doesn’t mean it’s not the place where I belong” (he was raised a dark-eyed surgeon’s son and now is a soldier and a symbol of hope to his country. I love that the song ends with him coming to terms with his place in the grand scheme of things, and knowing that he is enough and he can protect those he loves)

[fakekojimo]

Would fucking kill for Tadahiro Uesugi to do more design work for anime.

Most animation nerds know him as one of the unsung heroes of Caroline, being one the Art Directors, except me. Cuz my pool of my artistic reference is painfully too limited, I'm working on that I swear! But my first exposure to his stuff was on Carole and Tuesday.

I like how elegant his drawings are without feeling overly refined or sterile, it's the opposite even. Not a single ounce of symmetry to be found anywhere! The lights are represented as splotches that all differ from streetlight to streetlight, more solid structures like bridges are mishapen, and no two windows look the same. I hesitate to use the term "imperfection" because that feels a little backhanded and takes away the intent from Uesugi's paintings. The asymmetry in his work makes everything feel organic-- refined without feeling stuffy.

Bahi JD directed the opening, but it was Watanabe's idea to get Uesugi to do imageboards in the first place. He immediately nailed the vibe Bahi was looking for in the first place, nailed it so damn well that they left his work untouched for the opening! Left it straight as it is.

Dropped out of C&T pretty early on. It felt pretty aimless to me from the start, and trying to watch it while it was airing was nightmare due to Netflix still relying heavily on the binge model for anime at the time. But honestly? I got my fix just by watching the opening a billon times. The whole show is about Carole and Tuesday changing the world through their "organic music" against the rise of AI, looking back the premise aged much better than I remembered, but the show's take on "organic music" was represented by extremely janky, melty rotoscoped performances. Never understood that.

The show was striving on the ambition of these live performances to sweep the audience away but they end up feeling uncanny and lifeless due to the poor clean-up and inbetweening. Shows the difference between Uesugi's deceptively simple "imperfections" which aids towards a more organic vision vs those same imperfections holding things back.

Grievances with the show aside, Uesugi did stick around for the second opening. And despite the change in the director, going from Bahi JD to series director Motonobu Hori, the approach is still largely the same. There is less of a focus on more motion and more on Uesugi's gorgeous imageboards instead. Which is more than fine with me!

I always loved this cut the most. Carole and Tuesday jamming out in that huge ass canyon. The way they're dwarfed by it makes it feel so intimidating but the warm colors makes it feel just as inviting as well! Just makes me wanna get in there and explore.

And the closing shot is another favorite of mine too. The right moon (forgot to say this show takes place on Mars whoops) just being a little splotch makes me smile because it's such a fun choice. Again, refined without feeling stuffy!

After C&T Uesugi's been doing ED sequences at BONES for Motonobu Hori projects, while still not quite reaching those same heights as C&T.

His Supercrooks ED is dope, not as thematically appropriate as the previous project, but still cool! It's a solo KA done by Naomi Kaneda, but a good chunk of the motion looks more on the tweened side as well. Uesugi is credited for "イラストレーション and 構成) (Illustrations and compositions?) so I'm willing to bet the left his imageboards and drawings as is, but decided to go for a more of a motion graphics approach this time around.

A friend described Uesugi's work in general having an "urban glamor" feel to it, definitely the most visible here.

His most recent ED on Metallic Rouge is unfortunately his weakest. The thing is though? His ending is leaps and bounds over the show itself!

Metallic Rouge was one of the dullest shows I've seen this year. It's supposed to be a moody and broody cyberpunk show and it's reflected in it's dull and drab world. The show takes place on Mars, but if you told me it took place in a futuristic New York City instead I'd just smile and nod. There is more weird alien stuff in later eps but when everything already feels so cut and dry I'm hardly gonna be impressed. That's where Uesugi's ED comes in and beats the shit out of what came before.

(Yeah I know my stitches suck. Don't look at 'em too hard.)

He paints a world that feels legitimately more futuristic and alien than anything in the show itself! Playing up the fact that we're on an alien planet, and there should be as much wonder and beauty as there is danger and caution. It's the type of range I wish Metallic Rouge had instead of staying one boring register all throughout. I know we all can't be as great as him, but it should be nice if we could be as 1/8th as cool as him.

There are bound to be more Motonobu Hori shows down the pipeline. While I've yet to fully like a show that he directed... I don't mind getting more of them as long as we get more Uesugi openings or endings.

Or maybe something more one day. Maybe.

[vesteneris]

I love your Annie design soo much and the hc that her stylist dyed her hair red to match the capitol fashion more, I was wondering if you have any more Annie hcs? I would love to hear them ^^

ofc i have more hc, and sketches! >my Annie was a confident career >if it comes to her look she was latina with dark curly hair, and freackles all over her body

>from kinda rich family, her father had few fishing boats and she was going to take over the buisness after him, she was working with 16 yo old boy, who was later in the games with her (he was not a career and she didn’t know he would be in the games before volounteering)

>her bodycount in the games was 2 (bloodbath and the last standing opponent) on her own and next 3 when she was working with her District partner, so 5 in totall, and it was Annie's idea to cause an avalanche of rocks that crushed their camp, my girlie was determined to win

>my arena for 70th games is inspired by the Green Canyon in Turkey, mostly bc there is a dam right there

>when everyone was thinking about her as a confident career she mostly wear bright solid colours

(Everyday working clothes, Reaping outfit, 2 in-between-the-trainings outfits, and dress for the interview with ceasar)

>shes pretty tall (about 178cm)

>after her victory when everyone thought that she win because of her luck not her skills, her stylist starts to dress her in pastel colours that washed her out, to make her look more pale and innocent

>they also dyied her hair red and straighten it, get rid of most of her freackles, starts to just in general making her more white, just everything to make her look more Capitol

>when they finally become a couple with finnick i imagine theyre dynamic kinda like this

Like, c’mon, theyre both teenagers basicly, ofc they’ll be stupid together

>more than 1 year after her games annie could function pretty well (like, for her, not totally at her own, still with nightmares and with screaming crying throwing up, losing in her own thoughts etc) but whenever she would be put in public the capitol would put her on so many calming drugs to make sure she wouldn’t make a scene that she couldn’t even speak and wasn’t mentally present at all

>the whole crown for a Victor from president Snow? Don’t remember a thing. Learn that she was crowned from posters and tv

>thats kinda how her friendship with Johanna started, the new Victor was asked to hang out with previous games winner to make it look like Annie was cool and normal

>theyre trio of besties, Annie, Finnick and Johanna, No one can change my mind

thank you very much for the question anon, I’m just so happy that someone asked me this, I love talking about my version of Annie

[reasonsmandy]

You're my peace

Eddie Roundtree x Fem! Reader

✧.* requested by anon — you said to send ideas for eddie content so i think maybe reader has an illnes or maybe she’s pregnant and she feels bad or idk something happens to her and eddie goes crazy i need like super angst but they’re like so in love

✧.* summary — You hated worrying others, and when you hurt yourself badly trying to make your front yard look better and hide it from Eddie, things don't go so well.

✧.* warnings — Angst, Description of Injuries, Eddie Kind of Angry.

✧.* word count — 2.0k

✧.* 🎸 — Eddie's masterlist

✧.* mandy's notes — This one was very cool to write, I hope you like it <3

The sun was shining down on you as you were planting some things in the backyard house in Laurel Canyon, the garden was almost perfect, you wanted to make the house cozy for all of you so you took your free time to organize things around.

You had moved along with your group of best friends to pursue a design career in LA, Camila encouraged you a lot in making this decision and now that you were finally there you wanted to make it better for everyone. The boys weren't the most organized people in the world, and when you heard that they had asked Karen to join the band and that she was going to move there, you decided to make the house as pleasant as possible.

After planting and organizing what you had planned, you shake your hands to clean up the mess.Taking a step back to see how it all turned out, however as you walked backwards you didn't notice what was behind you stumbling badly to the ground. As you fall, you bump into one of the gardening tools that cut your thigh deeply.

You moan in pain, bringing your hands to the bloodied wound. The pain was intense; you've never felt anything like it. After a few minutes of staying with your hand on the wound, you take your gaze to the tool that had cut you, it looked old and rusty, worried you try to get up and even in pain you go towards the hose to wash the wound.

After washing you noticed that it was really deep, and it didn't seem to stop the bleeding. You look for a first-aid kit and after some effort you find it, taking the plasters to make a kind of amateur bandage, there was no one at home to help you and you soon thought it best not to worry your friends, much less Eddie after all he was going to despair and you didn't want to see him more worried.

You did your best to finish what you wanted to do with the house, at the end of the day when it was time for the band to come back you sat on the couch waiting for them, ignoring the pain you felt.

"Hello there Y/N" Graham says entering the house, behind him a blonde woman you hadn't met before. "This is Karen, Karen this is Y/N our friend from Pittsburgh and Eddie's girlfriend."

The blonde smiles at you, as a way of greeting, you smile back at her moving a little on the sofa trying to contain your pained grimace.

"How was your day Y/N?" Warren asks, sitting down next to you.

"Calm I'd say, nothing much happened." You answer, smiling at the drummer.

"I missed you so much my love." Eddie walks over to you, kissing you.

He stops for a few seconds, watching your face carefully.

"Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, bringing his hand up to your thigh. You bite your lip, suppressing the groan of pain at the contact. "Baby, are you alright?"

"I'm totally fine, don't worry." You smile, getting up. "But now that you say it, I really feel tired... I think I'll lie down for a while."

"Okay, I'll be right there with you." He says smiling, not noticing that you could barely stand up because of the pain, and when you walked you limped.

"Actually I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind." You say quickly, turning to head towards your room. Making your boyfriend confused, thinking maybe he did something to make you look so weird with him.

"Ouch, hermano What did you do?" Warren says, nudging the bassist teasing him.

Eddie rolls his eyes heading towards the kitchen for something to eat, his thoughts still on you. Already in the room you were looking desperately for some painkillers, you couldn't take the pain anymore and when you took off your pants to look at the wound you got scared. Your thigh was completely bruised, everything around the cut was purple and just touching it a huge pain invaded your body.

You get in the shower washing the wound as much as you can but touching it was torture.

As you hadn't found the medicine, the pain was still there, and it prevented you from getting to sleep. You thought of some solution, one you could do on your own without worrying Eddie or anyone else.

"Y/N I came to give you back that shirt you lent me that day." Camila says, opening the door to your room, looking at you with the shirt in her hands. "Oh my goodness, what happened?"

"Nothing!" You say pulling the cover up over your thighs. "Why didn't you knock on the door before entering? I could be naked here!"

"I don't care, let me see what happened!" The brunette says approaching you, you gave up hiding anything and let her see what happened to you. "Y/N this looks really bad, how did you do this?"

"I fell, that's all!" You say. "I'm already better, you'll see."

"I don't believe in you, it's bleeding!" She exclaims, heading towards the bathroom in search of something to help you.

"Don't even try, I've already used everything I had there." Frustrated you say.

"Can you hold a little? I'll go after something in my room and Billy's." She says heading towards the door.

"Cami!" You get her attention. "Please don't tell Eddie, I don't want to make him worried."

"I don't think hiding it from him is a good idea." she says, looking worried. "He cares about you"

"I know, which is why I don't want him to know." You whisper, so no one but her hears it. "He's already so busy with band stuff, I don't want him to fill his head on me. Promise me you won't tell him."

"Okay, I promise... But I think you should tell him." She smiles, Cami had a gift for calming anyone down. "I'll be right back with medicine and some things to clean it up."

Cami came back with things that helped you a lot to get through the night. The next morning the pain was still there but it wasn't as intense, but you felt a fever, your body was clearly indicating that something was not right.

You had woken up earlier, and now you were in the kitchen making something for everyone to eat. Eddie walks over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist before planting a kiss on your cheek.

"Good morning sunshine." He says next to your ear, smiling to have you around. "Fuck baby, you're hot!"

"In front of everyone Eddie?" Warren says biting into a piece of bread he was eating. "Get a room!"

"I don't mean it like that, idiot!" He says, resting the palm of his hand on your forehead. "She has a fever, are you okay princess?"

"I'm fine, it must be your impression…your hands must be cold, that's all" you say, kissing the blonde with the intention of calming him down.

You can see Camila sitting next to Warren, giving you a negative look. Eddie hugs you, then sits at the table where he could eat and still keep his eyes on you. He looks you up and down, his eyes widening when he notices your bloodstained pants.

"Baby, you're bleeding!" He jumps to his feet, approaching you as quickly as possible.

"Don't be indelicate Eddie, she must be in those days." Warren says, like it was obvious.

"In the thigh?" Graham speaks into the room next to Karen.

Warren Rojas: Yeah... Smoking first thing in the morning wasn't one of my best choices.

"Take off your pants." Eddie says, nearly bursting with worry. Warren starts laughing at the situation when he sees you with a shocked expression on your face.

Eddie turns to the drummer with blood in his eyes, asking him to stop for a few seconds at least.

"Don't give me that look" Rojas says, shrugging. "You're the one who had a bad choice of words."

"Let's leave the two alone" Camila says, almost like an order to the chaotic group.

They all get up, moving to the TV room talking about the last song they had recorded.

"Are you going to tell me the truth or not?" Eddie says, crossing his arms looking at you.

You pull your boyfriend to a more private place where you show him your bruise.

"Fucking hell Y/N!" He was very worried before, and seeing your injury made him even more so. "Y/N, what is this?" He kneels down in front of you for a better look.

"It's nothing, I'm getting better…" You say trying to calm him down.

“Baby, this is infected,” he said, “We need to get you to a hospital.”

"No Eddie, I'm alright!" You say and he gets up looking very pissed.

"Walk then! Come on, walk towards me. I bet you can't even take a step" He says, you're embarrassed because you knew the pain would be intense if you did.

"Don't be like that" You say, feeling your cheeks heat up.

"I wouldn't be like that if you didn't fucking lie to me!" He looked more frustrated than angry, you didn't know what to say. "How could you let it get this bad?"

"I thought it would heal easily... And Cami helped me with a bandage last night." You start to say and he interrupts you.

"Cami knew about this?" Eddie takes his hands to his hair, trying to calm down. "This is infected, we need to get you to a hospital.”

"Baby, you have rehearsal today..." You start to say but he doesn't let you finish.

“I don’t wanna hear it,” He said, “We’re taking you to the hospital and that’s that. Stay here.”

He leaves you there, going to the living room after Warren.

"Give me the van's key!" He asks, extending his hand to the drummer, Rojas doesn't question as it was clear that his friend wasn't in the mood to talk.

Warren hands Eddie the keys, and he carries you to the back of the van where you could lie down. The pain in your leg was lighter due to the medicine you had taken but you knew that any rough movement after the medicine wore off would cause more pain.

The doctor warns you that you should have gone as soon as you got hurt, he said you needed some stitches to heal completely and that you're lucky you didn't get infected completely. He washes your wound the right way and after performing the stitches, you were at home, lying on Eddie's bed while he was stroking your hair.

"Are you still mad at me?" You whisper, keeping your eyes closed in fear of the answer.

Eddie settles down on the bed, cupping your face in his hands and then kissing you tenderly.

"I got so worried you can't do this to me ever again." Eddie says after the kiss "And besides, I can’t stay mad at you. I was just scared, that’s all."

"I just didn't want to worry you." You say, making him arch his eyebrows in disbelief. "I know I know, sounds stupid but you seemed so worried about band stuff that I didn't want to disturb your peace when you came home to rest."

"Baby can't you understand?" He says, stroking your cheeks. "You are my peace, and if you're not fine I can't be either!"

"I hate to bother you, you know that!" You say, still stirred by his words. "And I swear, I thought I would be fine."

“Sweets,” He scoffed, “I’m your partner! You’re supposed to bother me with this kind of stuff!”

You were indeed sorry, after having gone through all this you knew that it would for sure be much simpler if you had asked for his help from the beginning.

"Forgive me?" You say, kissing the blonde's neck. "What can I do for you to forgive me?" You whisper in the bassist's ear.

"Fuck, you'll be the death of me!"

....

Hi, I hope you enjoyed it... If you wanted to ask for something my requests are open, and if you want to ask and don't have any ideas check out my prompt list :) xoxo

Want to be tagged when new stories come out? REASONSMANDY'S TAG LIST

[crusherthedoctor]

Top 5 Underappreciated Sonic levels, in your opinion

I was holding off on this one because being the weirdo that I am, there's a lot that come to mind, which is what happens when a fandom seems to only care about three or four locations in the whole series. So since I can do what I want with my lists, I'll instead list one per game. :] Not every game, just whichever ones that I can think of an example for.

Marble: the level design is blocky, but I dig the lava ruins aesthetic

Crystal Egg: really unique final zone, I'd love to see another stab at this concept

Hill Top: seems to get more love nowadays, but used to be widely considered the weakest Sonic 2 zone for being Emerald Hill 2: This Time It's Blue, I like it for being another unique take on a lava zone, very proto-Red Mountain

Quartz Quadrant: favourite zone (sorry, round) in CD, and not just cause it reminds me of @greenyvertekins' OC Verte Sinople, though that helps :>

Gigalopolis: an eye-catching city zone, even in 8-bit

Marble Garden: memorable Eggman fight with Tails, also has my favourite music in the Sonic 3 half next to Launch Base

Sandopolis: Act 2 might be a little slow, but I really like the Act 1 aesthetic, so there >:[

Marina Madness: level design is certified Knuckles Chaotix, but at least it looks pretty

Spring Stadium: I could really say any zone in 3D Blast because it's 3D Blast (Rusty Ruin <3, Volcano Valley <3), but I've really grown fond of the funhouse aesthetic here, shame about all the spears and spikes though :P

Radiant Emerald: glad they brought it back in Super Circuit, Double Dash, DS, Wii, this is a funny joke, pls laugh

Final Egg: picking one for SA1 is difficult because I think all of them are liked well enough, but Final Egg tends to get mentioned less frequently than other final levels in the series, and I won't stand for that

Pyramid Cave: probably the least discussed Sonic stage in SA2... well I like it (ghosts touching you inappropriately aside)

Ice Mountain: one of my favourite ice zones and Act 1 tracks

Techno Base: just as great as Music Plant

Egg Fleet: tends to get overshadowed by Final Fortress, I love how with this airship level in particular, the lack of clouds in the upper half of the skybox make it feel as though you're REALLY high up

Twinkle Snow: another favourite ice zone and music, even if the level design is one of the more... yeah

Digital Circuit: better cyberspace than the one in Frontiers (I would like to say Lost Impact for the atmosphere, but the tedium of the actual gameplay overwrites it for me unfortunately)

Mirage Road: underrated banger

Dark Desert: I know I keep mentioning desert levels lol, but a desert town during an eclipse is very striking

Aquatic Base: level itself is certified '06, but the music is S-tier and it paves the way for the greatest Eggman defeated cutscene in all of fiction

Night Palace: see Crystal Egg

Pirates' Island: interesting final zone, also leads up to TE DAVY JOOONES WITH YE

Aquatic Capital: includes Tempest Waterway as well

Jungle Joyride: despite the framerate's spirited efforts to drag it down

Misty Lake: I don't care too much for most of the levels in Black Knight, but Not Kingdom Valley looks nice

Sylvania Castle: aesthetically at least, it's a cool take on an Aquatic Ruin-type area

Dolphin Resort: cool aquarium/shopping mall combo, just a shame it was trapped in Free Riders

Aquarium Park: this has always been my favourite zone in Colours... between this and Dolphin Resort, clearly I enjoy me some underwater tubes

Titanic Monarch: dark and colorful simultaneously, and I don't struggle with it as much as most fans seem to

Mortar Canyon: its biggest crime is how short it is, cause then I can't hear the music :(

Egg Fortress: it might start off as a standard Not Death Egg, but I love the reverse gimmick in Act 2, and I actually like the final boss' brutality because it's Eggman punishing fans for portraying him as a dad ack ack ack ack ack

[coldgoldlazarus]

Given how much I bent normal Lego building and euclidean space into a pretzel with these masks, would you believe me if I said the main purpose of this was just to fiddle with color palettes and placement? Rambling details below:

But yeah, test designs of a more MoL-esque take on the GWP System Matoran design

I figure a proper do of system Bionicle would at least still have custom mask molds, so that's part of why that's so fucky

(Also, apparently it turns out the ball pieces I used for the shoulders and legs are long discontinued by lego and not actually compatible with mixel joints, RIP)

(Like I figured these were physically unbuildable anyway because I quickly gave up on trying to make the masks align with conventional euclidean space, and the coloration of pieces reinforce that further, but the problem goes deeper than I realized ^^; Ah well, this is more an aesthetic exercise at the end of the day.)

Rule was everyone has a primary color, a secondary color, a translucent/glow color, a metallic color, and an eye color

And those can double up in function, it doesn't have to be a full palette of five, but still that idea

And then like, the layout of said colors differs based on team:

---

For the Metru, the metallic color doubled as the secondary color and the eye and glow colors were also the same, cutting the five down to three, but then of course some Metru Grey at the joints as a pseudo-tertiary. The primary Metru Elemental color as more of a baseline, with the metallic secondary given a fair bit of prominence in reflecting their LomN and turaga designs, and then the glow kept to like, accents with low surface area. (In a more full figure I'd want that as like, basically Tron lines to add just a bit of cyberpunk to the Art Deco/Alien Dieselpunk vibes of Metru Nui.)

Also hadn't gone fully off the rails with the masks yet, so Onewa's Komau and Matau's Mahiki are still pretty simple at least, and the rest aren't too egregious yet. Decided to integrate Nuju's scope as a toa into his noble Matatu design, but it's easily removable if I copy-paste that mask over to others.

---

The Mata are pretty obviously influenced by their G2 incarnations. Particularly the like, three-pairs of shared metallic colors, (Gali and Pohatu with Gunmetal, Onua and Tahu with Pearl Gold, and Kopaka and Lewa with HF's Flat Silver,) and the like, glow color being the secondary while the secondary was relegated to more of an accent role. I just really love the idea of these six being so powerful compared to typical Toa that it shines out through the seams in their armor. For G2's other faults, I think it was a success on the character design front. (Also added their metallic color to the toes for a more armored look.)

(Decided on pink for Pohatu instead of G2's lime on a whim, but I think it works. Pink bands in a canyon wall, the sunset over a desert, and his love for his friends and villagers.)

Still, also brought things back to their original selves as well, with the eye colors, the use of black as a tertiary the same way I used grey for the Metru, the original brighter shades of their main for Gali, Pohatu, and Lewa, and similarly bringing back lime and tan as the latter two's accents.

As for how the accents were handled, I kinda split the team into two groups of three there; Tahu, Gali, and Onua, where the accent is from their G2 sets and thus goes for more of a high-contrast vibe, I relegated to the small parts again, to stand out without standing out too much. Meanwhile, with Pohatu, Lewa, where I brought back their G1 colors that are more of a light-shade complement to their primary rather than a contrast against it, I let occupy bigger pieces on their limbs, swapping position with the primary on their arms, and with their metallic on the legs. I also applied this layout to Kopaka, despite sticking with the Metru Blue from his G2 design, both for an even team split, and because I felt it wouldn't feel as weird with more prominence due to contrasting with the primary by being darker than it instead of brighter.

I kinda went nuts with the masks lmao. I feel like the Pakari in particular is kinda my crowning achivement, but probably not worth having spent so much time on it alone yesterday, and frustrating because I ultimately can't build it IRL from all the clipping. Still kinda like the moleman/gas mask vibes of how the eyes turned out. (Also went back and changed the Hau and Kakama near the end, to align better with the rest.)

---

With the Mahri, I was originally going to do the same three-pairs setup with their metallics, but then wound up opting to make those all fully personalized again like the Metru. Their main trick there instead, is being all chrome colors. Idk if it entirely lands for all of them, (I have mixed feelings on Kongu's pink instead of sharing blue with Matoro per original plan, but I didn't want to double up on only two of them and leave the rest more scattered, and I was already too married to my choices for all them) but I kinda like how it turned out.

Instead, the three-pairs setup applied to their glow colors, which I pulled from their Inika forms; the Zamor spheres and the flashing lights on their weapons. The one case where adherence to this also feels like a mixed bag is Hewkii's red going with the green chrome I gave him, giving a bit of accidental christmas vibes instead of the copper patina look I was trying to invoke, but ah well. In general, focused their glow in the shoulders and legs, both as a reference to Jaller and Matoro's translucent Inika "bone" pieces, and as a midpoint between the Metru's subtler use and the Mata's prominence.

---

Also on that note, in comparison to the prior two teams, I averted using any tertiaries like black or grey, made the metallics the most minimal parts, and really emphasized their flat secondaries as secondaries instead of accents. Same as the Mata, I split them into two different layouts for that, (which wound up falling along the same lines, not intentionally but that's how it worked out) based on whether their elemental color or personal color was the darker/brighter of the two.

(On that note, mostly went back to their Matoran color schemes with the more exotic colors, though for Hahli and Jaller favored their Mahri color schemes instead, and tweaked Kongu's lime to be Apple Green instead. Those, and Hahli's mask, are the cases where I permitted myself to not force an even split among the team, for the sake of everyone looking best individually instead.) For all of them, the brighter color always went to the stripe on the chest, while the darker went to the hands and feet; mainly the arms and masks where they're different.

For the left-hand side, where their personal color was bright and their elemental color was very dark, I opted to downplay the personal a little more on the arms, since it was instead prominent on their masks. Hahli being the exception, because a big block of lime would not have been a good look, and I really wanted its brightness to pop out from the underlayer of her otherwise very dark colors.

Also like what I did with Nuparu, having his orange mask intact overall, but keeping the sort of "internal" area of the sidevents and eyes black for contrast, again a bit of that moleman look to go with his gremlin inventor personality.

Then the other side, where the personal color and the color on the mask was darker, I instead let the brighter elemental one take prominence on their arms and the back of the torso, which also just ties in nice with the original clean mctoran color layout. Not as much to really comment on with them.

Also, I played fast and loose with their eye colors, since those were always homogenized some amount in each of their incarnations but inconsistent across them, and I wanted to maintain everyone having their own separate eye colors like the other two teams. (And the eyes being different from the glow color like the Mata.)

So Jaller now has dark blue and Kongu has azure; Hewkii's supposed to be apple green, (though as with Whenua, I had to use the same color as Onua's dark green, since this was the only green glow shade aside from lime that didn't just look washed out and/or too blue) while Nuparu is lime, since he alone was mostly pretty consistent in that. Hahli got red for her later Barbarian arc, while Matoro got a softer orange, both for contrast with the frosty blues of Nuju and Kopaka, and just cozy vibes to match his kinder personality.

---

So, yeah. Clearly a good use of the past two and a half days lmao.

May also do Takua and the Chronicler's Company, the Disk Metrutoran, and maybe even the Voya Nui resistance team at some point? Though for now, need to focus on other stuff I'd been distracted from by this.

[palomahasenteredthechat]

Coyote

Warnings: 18+, minors DNI, m/f intercourse, drug use.

Here comes trouble.

It was your first thought when you saw him. Something about the way he moved, the confidence in his body language, and that was before you watched him manspread on a leather couch next to the daughter of a studio head. Undeniably sure of himself. Oddly so, for someone who still didn’t have name recognition.

You’d heard he was insanely talented. You’d heard he’d slept with his agent, or was it his publicist? One or the other. You’d heard he was messy. Trouble.

The problem was, trouble was your brand. Oh, not the ones you could spot a mile away. Not the snarling, fucked up, poser bad boy types that were a dime a dozen. You could see through them and they were boring. No, the ones who played nice, who came on soft, shy, almost boyfriend, and then twisted the knife on the way out. Those were your specialty. 

Whatever. Not this evening. Too much on your plate to bother with the flavor of the month. Hot boy summer, but some other victim could claim the mantle tonight. You wander through the maze of hipsters, smiling and nodding at the right people. The music is pulsing and it’s too loud for conversation. One hour blends into another. 

Eventually you weave your way through the vast glass doors into the evening air. He’s smoking on the patio. You see his profile backlit by the pool lights, a hazy blue cloud wafting above his head as the breeze gently blows. The scent of jasmine drifts in from the canyon and it’s summer at last. 

You lean against the railing, watching the basin twinkle below, the carpet of glitter that is L.A. You sense his eyes on you and catch a glimpse of his profile as he steps casually closer. He sets his drink on the ledge, rings on three fingers. 

“Lovely view.”

British, right. God. He’s a walking bullseye for all of your weaknesses. You turn, taking a large hit off your pipe before offering him one. He inhales deeply, sucking the sativa into his lungs expertly, giving a satisfied grunt when he exhales. The smoke curls out from underneath his slightly jagged front teeth. You want to run your tongue along the ridge.

“How do you know Haley?” You ask. Stupid question. There are over 100 people here, chances are none of them know Haley. He shrugs. “Friend of a friend.”

You nod. He hands your pipe back and takes another drag from his vape, tobacco only. He stares out at the view, casual, sipping his drink. Heat radiates from his arm. His designer shirt is unbuttoned too low, borderline tacky revealing the chain around his neck, but it’s weirdly hot. 

Something’s off and you can’t put your finger on it and then you realize he hasn’t taken out his phone. He turns and makes eye contact with you again. 

“Do you live around here?”

Shit. You stop yourself a hair before responding. “That’s a presumptive question.”

“Is it?”

“Isn’t it?” 

The eye contact is intense. Is he playing? Bored? You realize you want this. Does he?

He laughs and turns away, breaking the tension. “I suppose it is. Little bit.”

“Guess you’re out of luck.” 

He smiles again, and then takes a step closer. “I like to make my own luck,” he says in a low voice, close to your ear. “Would love to go somewhere quiet and relax, yeah?”

He squeezes your bicep and you close your eyes. 

—---

You both get high first. Camped out on your couch, another hit (or three) from your bong, a bump to top it off. You’re sprawling on the cushions, almost touching the floor. He’s eyeing you with a sardonic smile, his hands caressing your leg.

“Comfy?” he asks. 

“Very.”

“I like your decor. Very modern.”

“You should see the bedroom.”

He raises an eyebrow before slumping back against the throw pillow. You watch him wrestle with competing urges; continue to get obliterated vs. getting laid. Eventually his hand glides further up your leg. 

“Show me.”

—-

Almost too high to fuck. But somehow you find a way.

He’s broken into a sweat, sliding around on top of you. The pace is languid and he makes long humming noises each time he thrusts. His neck is hypnotizing, the corded muscles underneath his throat straining against his gold chain. You trace your nails up his throat and stick your finger into his mouth, caressing the edge of his teeth, and he pulls back with a half smile on his face.

“That was weird.”

“I’m pretty weird,” you growl. “Faster.”

He picks up the pace, fucking you properly and you brace yourself against the wall, straining your pelvis against his. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the dead air. 

He stops suddenly, his chest heaving, then pulls out and flops onto his back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Need a minute. Get on top,” he gasps.

You ride him, slowing the pace down again. His eyes are soft underneath heavy lids. He looks like he’s about to fall asleep. 

“Do you want me to stop?” you ask sardonically. He shakes his head but you can tell he’s pretty fucked up. His eyes close and you’re afraid he might pass out. You slap him across the face to wake him up, maybe a bit too hard.

It’s like a switch has flipped. His eyes fly open and he grabs your wrist with one hand and your ass cheek with the other.

“What was that,” he gasps and there’s an edge to his voice but you like it.

“Trying to get your attention,” you reply, a grin on your face. He smacks your ass. “You’ve succeeded.”

He fucks up into you, his hands grabbing your butt cheeks and you rake your nails over his scalp. His fingers are leaving white marks in your flesh and he starts to thrust wildly. “Again,” he manages and you slap him from the other side and feel him explode inside of you, his head thrust back, as he rides it out. 

—--

Later, you smoke one last bowl as he looks for his socks. Sitting down on the bed, he takes a hit before calling an Uber. You notice the hair at his temple looks silver in the bathroom light. 

“Are you still with Jules Simmons?”

“No,” he says shortly, scrolling his phone.

“Sorry, just curious. My dad worked with her when she was at a studio.”

He nods but isn’t listening.

—---

You watch him make his way down the steps, checking his watch and smoking as he waits for the car. Cicadas are buzzing in the black and a breeze blows dead bougainvillea leaves along the deck.

Approaching headlights suddenly frame him in LED light, making him an electronic ghost. You turn away and flop down on your couch, sinking into oblivion.

[nanistar]

I love the concept art for your Sol au!

I was wondering, is this set in the Sonoran desert like SBC? Also what are the different clan’s territories like?

HIII yes so it was originally set in the mojave/sonoran desert area that SBC is in now, an imaginary place where the deserts touch so that i could have saguaro and joshua trees in the same place.

the clan's territories were going to be pretty similar to how i have SBC laid out now: shadowclan and thunderclan would share a saguaro "forest", with shadowclan having more undergrowth, and thunderclan more towards a rocky quary with a mix of saguaro and joshua trees. windclan would have their open plains, and riverclan would have a dried riverbed and control a swath of dry washes, areas that flood in the rain. skyclan was far away in a red canyon. admittedly, i didn't put much thought into wind or riverclan at the time since most of the map took place in thunder/shadow.

i don't have much territory concept art other than this, which was quite literally carried over into SBC, though they call it the Great Izote tree now and it's not in such a big dry wash.

instead of the tunnels under windclan/thunderclan, sol (and Holly) were going to be exiled to the mines that towered over the clans. this shows thunder territory, but imagine it with more rocks and elevation.

i never finished it, cuz around here i was like "hold on a sec, i'm on to something here. i'm making my own clans" but heres some unfinished concept art of the sorta half-quarry that TC would have been in.

(sol lying about saving molepaw and cherrypaw, hollyleaf showing herself to say fuck off)

after the beginning of the MAP which introduced sol while on trial in SkyClan and then running away, he finds himself in shadowclan and quickly seduces blackstar. led by hollypaw, tiger, dawn, jay and lion all reveal him publicly to be a faker and a liar and blackstar casts him out. he runs to the tunnels. later he emerges right after molepaw and cherrypaw, claiming that he was the one who guided them out of the tunnels, but hollyleaf follows behind him to once again call him out. he is escorted off TC territory by hollyleaf and lion, and he returns to the tunnels, finds his way to windclan, and encourages them to fight TC. hollyleaf catches wind of his plan when she spots him sulking around one of the mineshafts, and once again stops his plans. theres a battle, she has the opportunity to kill him, but relents, and releases him, but this time he cant escape to the tunnels. he runs into the open desert never to return again. so basically follows canon for the most part, with some stuff trimmed out for time.

my favorite part of the whole au was that hollyleaf was meant to directly mirror Sol and be his foil, even down to her design. i used the same sketch for both of them so they had similar bodies, and both Sol and Hollyleaf were going to have large wide eyes with small dot pupils.

something something sol rejected by everyone, hollyleaf rejected by starclan and destiny. you know how it is

i am not sad about cancelling this AU. i like what it became (:

[beevean]

Sonic Forces

The music slaps. Sure, there are tracks I don't like, but that's not unique to Forces :P but y'all focus so much on Faded Hills that you sleep on Mortar Canyon and that is simply unacceptable.

Infinite is cool in both in an ironic and unironic way. He's a loser and a bully with Liam O'Brien's suave voice and I can't get enough of it. Peak design too, always loved the combination of sharp edgy points and his cute canine features. I do wish they kept his backstory of being Eggman's experiment, but oh well.

The aesthetic of City and Metropolis are really cool and blend together many elements from the Classics, Adventure games and Heroes. I can imagine people living there and they fit like a glove in the Sonic world.

Eggman was at the top of his game. Sure, I would have liked to see more of him ruling the world, but I love how he made backup plans for his backup plans and was always a step ahead of the heroes. He lost because of Infinite's cocksuredness, and eventually he got fed up and killed (?) him, learning from his past mistakes. Chad :P