#i mean it's a great design I'm glad I did it but thank GOD this is not their standard outfit

[cheesesteakphil]

Tyche: A deity of chance, the personification of luck, bearer of both good and ill fortune. A decider of fates.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I don't know if this has already been asked, but what did you think of the Halloween event? Is it too early to ask? How did it compare with the other events?

Aaaaah, thank you for asking!! I was actually in the middle of writing my own "these are my thoughts" post even if no one specifically asked 😂 but I'm glad I can just reply to this ask with what I was cooking up~

***Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!!*** ***Please also note: these are just my OWN thoughts and opinions! In sharing them, I do not mean to disparage those who think differently than me; I only mean to contribute to the discussion.***

I'll be quick and rip off the band-aid now: I liked this event about as much as I did Stage in Playful Land, maybe a little better than Playful Land if I think about it. If you know anything about my thoughts on the previous Halloween event, well... Let's just say it's a mixed bag. Neither of them comes close to toppling the peak that was Glorious Masquerade. (Fandom consensus seems to be quite positive though, with many liking Nightmare more than, if not the same as, GloMasq while Playful Land is still considered the weakest of the bunch.) Playful Land and Lost in the Book with Nightmare Before Christmas both suffer from general pacing issues. The former had an intriguing premise and setting but also many plot holes, a lack of active involvement from the SSR squad, and a resolution that was way too convenient. The latter, Nightmare, was very boring throughout because the majority of the event was centered on party preparations. I enjoyed everyone's bickering and the SSR squad's role in the event, but I wanted more than just that. It's basically like Terror is Trending, but if it had the Nightmare Before Christmas characters also featured. However, Nightmare did have a really interesting ending that played with amnesia and time paradox tropes. It's just that the road to get there wasn't anything special. I'll now get into all of this in detail, but it's quite long. Ready for a read? Then let's go ^^

My Extended Ramblings:

The initial aesthetic is strong. VERY strong, especially to me, a girlie that loves Nightmare Before Christmas and formal wear😭 BY GOD DOES EVERYONE LOOK SHARP AND DRESSED TO KILL IN THOSE NIGHTMARE SUITS... The devs totally popped off with the fits. I also loved how all the characters' coloring shifted once they entered the book; there's notable hatch marks on their shadows and even their skin and hair adopt bleaker saturations. These are SO much better outfits than the GloMaq and Playful Land ones, I'M SORRY BUT THAT'S JUST THE TRUTH. The other events tended to have chunky silhouettes and/or overly embellished elements to their designs that didn't sit quite right with me. NIGHTMARE SUITS HOWEVER ARE PERFECT AS THEY ARE...

... That being said, I think this event's premise was not great. I know everyone's mileage with this will vary greatly, but personally I don't like Lost in the Book events. I don't enjoy having Disney properties so blatantly shoved at my face; I'd prefer it to just be a distant part of the lore and history of the Twst world. The other issue with the event being so closely tied to its Disney film is that the story becomes so predictable. You can't really explore beyond the bonds of what the film has already set up, so you're trapped with whatever status quo Disney has mandated is "okay". (For example, in Nightmare, it has to be set BEFORE the events of the actual film in order to keep things "the same" when the film events actually play out.) Lost in the Books rely on individual nostalgia to some extent to get you invested in what it's trying to sell. This was particularly evident in this event, which featured several characters from the film and made Jack a very big fixture in the story. I for one was not sold on it despite my own fond feelings for Nightmare Before Christmas. I needed it to prove its own merits to me, and I'm not entirely sure if it was successful on that front.

I have made it no secret that I don't like most Twst events in general. Too often does it feel like pointless meandering and sightseeing without anything of real substance happening (though I do enjoy meeting new characters and learning new lore). That's also the case with Nightmare; the scale of the conflict isn't anything spectacular--but that's fine, it can still work as is, even if I don't personally find it interesting. I was still plenty entertained by all the bickering between the boys and between them and the residents of Halloween Town. The highlights for me definitely have to be Jade being a little shit to everyone, Jamil being tormented with bugs, Sebek's big speech in the climax, and Leona just beefing with EVERYONE in sight (particularly Malleus). The comedy and character interactions helped the middle part of the event not feel dull. I do feel like them having to switch groups around halfway through was short of a shoehorned way to prolong the middle of the event though 💦

One thing I noticed like, right away as I was playing this event was how disjointed it felt. And for the life of me, I could not pinpoint why… until I went back and compared the number of chapters per part. This is how the parts break down:

Part 1 - 13 chapters

Part 2 - 22 chapters

Part 3 - 20 chapters

Part 4 - 13 chapters

Part 5 - 16 chapters

For comparison, Glomasq:

Part 1 - 15 chapters

Part 2 - 18 chapters

Part 3 - 17 chapters

Part 4 - 19 chapters

Part 5 - 18 chapters

And Playful Land:

Part 1 - 16 chapters

Part 2 - 21 chapters

Part 3 - 11 chapters

Part 4 - 16 chapters

Part 5 - 18 chapters

Generally, Part 1 is dedicated to setting up the scenario and reason for travel. Parts 2 and 3 are meant for exploring the new location, with a big reveal dropping towards the end of 3 that kicks the conflict into high-gear. Part 4 is for combat, and then Part 5 is the continuation of the combat (with a focus on confronting the Big Bad), climax, and resolution. … Did you notice it? GloMasq (the only event of the three I consider overall excellent) is pretty evenly spaced out. Playful Land meanwhile has a weirdly short 11 chapters in Part 3 but had the extremely long 21 chapters in Part 2 beforehand. The discrepancy is made even worse in Nightmare, with Parts 1 and 4 being woefully short and Parts 2 and 3 being 20+ chapters each. It has the (likely unintended) effect of making the conflict resolution feel really rushed.

Alright, I think I've held off for long enough. Let's talk about the elephant in the room, our new addition to the Halloweenies, Mister Skully J. Graves himself. Right from the get-go, he had a mysterious air about him, especially since he's the first ever character to meet his twisted inspiration. Like I said in my first impressions post, I'm really into his design, but his personality shocked me. I expect some whimsy, but not a guy that flat-out kisses everyone he meets and calls total strangers "lovely dears". At the same time, he has the spirit of "sad wet cat" energy, and his expressions can whiplash between that and being absolutely deranged, which I found kinda charming. I get the feeling that he charmed a LOT of fans, as I saw many gushing about his otome-esque behavior and loving how he always calls attention to Yuu and Yuu's opinions. Unfortunately, Skully has what I lovingly dub "Ashengrotto Syndrome" due to my own experiences with Azul. That is to say, I started off liking both Azul and Skully, but after a certain point (book 3 for Azul, part 2 for Skully) they both took a nosedive right into my dislike zone. This is something I vaguely alluded to in my halfway through the event impressions post. I'm under the impression that this is a surprising opinion, so I'll try to do my best to explain why Skully lost his appeal to me. So the initial deterrent was his defensive and controlling behavior surrounding Halloween. He also gets so nasty and speaks down to others who don't see his perspective, which I don't find cute at all. I've mentioned before that I hate it when characters act elitist/gate-keepy and refuse to accept other opinions or change, and Skully fits that bill to a T. Sure, he might have his reasons, but I still find the result of his reasons distasteful. It's fine if he wants to respect the past or celebrate Halloween the way he's been taught, but it's another thing entirely to force those views on others. I've been on the receiving end of this kind of attitude and it was very unpleasant; I would not wish that upon anyone. (To make a long story short, I had invited a friend from outside my culture for a holiday meal so neither of us would be alone that year. That friend then complained that I was eating "non-traditional" food for the holiday.) Really rubbed me the wrong way when Skully started to tell others about HIS Halloween while being totally against everyone else's suggestions. Some of the others (like Jamil) even made an effort to try and include him anyway after his outbursts, and Skully was still unable to accept this lying down.

The hand-kissing thing was... charming at first, because I thought it was just his way of greeting people. But the more Skully did it, the less charming it seemed to me because of how everyone reacts to it. The others are CLEARLY uncomfortable with it, but he disrespects their boundaries by continuing to do so. To me, that seems very invasive and rude. Skully especially kisses Yuu a lot, and whether or not you like it will be up to individual preference--but personally, as someone who doesn't like strangers touching me intimately, I'm not into it.

During the Halloween planning, I noticed Skully speaking to Yuu directly quite often, which is different than the previous Halloween events. I started to feel a little uneasy about this, and for the longest time I could not tell you why. Then I realized. I don't think I can explain it any better than how I did in a previous post, so I'll copy and paste from there:

Another thing that really bothered me was that Skully keeps asking Yuu for their opinion. It SEEMS polite to consider them, but his intentions are way less selfless than they appear. Skully is often asking Yuu for their thoughts AFTER some other character has disagreed with him. So he is literally only consulting Yuu because he wants someone on HIS side. If you ever pick the dialogue option where you disagree with him, Skully insists there must be a misunderstanding and he will explain it to you no matter how long it takes. Don’t you see??? He doesn’t want to know what Yuu truly thinks; he wants validation in his own way of thinking. That’s NOT actually being considerate. The same shit happens when Skully tries to kiss Grim again. Grim dodges but Skully sneaks behind him and kisses him anyway because I guess that’s what gentlemen do according to him. Bro has demonstrated time and time again he does not value consent nor what others’ thoughts are on anything that differs from his own thoughts.

Skully lets his true colors show around the end of the third part. There, he feeds Jack Skellington a sleeping poison, turns Grim into a pumpkin, then takes Jack, Grim, AND Yuu as his hostages while claiming he'll reign over Halloween. Okay, that sounds great on paper, right? But there's so many practical problems with this.

Firstly, HOW does Skully plan to achieve this??? He's not that powerful since he's a first year; how does he intend to stand up to the NRC students? We even know at this point that he can't use his UM that much. Skully has shown he is impulsive and doesn't think ahead too, because he just assumes that Grim figured him out after walking in on the scene of the crime instead of lying/deceiving him about who poisoned Jack. He could have easily blamed someone else or claimed he walked in and found Jack like this already, but he didn't. It comes off as very near-sighted and not well planned out on Skully's part (which may very well be intentional; I don't think he was written to be a large threat.) I know this event's plot isn't meant to be as serious as prior iterations of Halloween events, but it sure doesn't help build tension for the finale.

We find out later in the event that Skully isn't mistreating his captives; he's keeping them in the bathtub Lock, Shock, and Barrel ride around in, feeding Grim and Yuu snacks, and asking them to please keep quiet. He also rambles on a lot about how he admires Yuu and how he wants to grant them a perfect Halloween, etc. That's... wholesome for a kidnapper, I guess??? But what I don't appreciate is (again) how he keeps shoving his ideas onto me and acting like he knows what's best for everyone. He’s not respecting my autonomy or right to think how I want. Skully is literally made of the most negative traits of Idia and Malleus while having none of the danger level of either one/j 😭 This makes me continue to not take him seriously and think that Skully could easily be beaten up--which does, in fact, end up being the case.

The ones who truly shine in this event are Sebek, Jamil, and Leona. The implementation of the SSR squad in Nightmare is much better than Playful Land. In Playful, it felt like Kalim, Ace, and Ortho hardly did anything unique to save the day; instead, it was a convenient phone call that rescued them from demise. The most I can say is Kalim was open-minded and tried to welcome Fellow and hear him out. Most of the other things could have been fulfilled by any other character, which didn't make the SSRs feel as integral as they were in GloMasq (with Azul's UM being needed, Malleus being the one Rollo has beef with, and Idia understanding the feeling of losing a younger brother and mourning). In Nightmare, each of the SSRs is similarly given a chance to shine with their special skills and UMs.

Beginning with Sebek! He leads a lot of the planning and serves as the one to draw up plans, which earns him praise from everyone, including his seniors. It's excellent set-up for him to later confront Skully about the idea of being recognized and acknowledged by one's idols (which I will discuss later in this post). Sebek is also the first to confront Skully on Spiral Hill after Skully has kidnapped Grim, Yuu, and Jack. In an act of desperation, Skully starts firing off magic and making really deranged expressions; Sebek unleashes his own UM, Living Bolt. This results in a strong flash of light in their location. The impact destroys Skully's shades and causes him to break down--he wore them as part of his ensemble, trying so hard to emulate his Halloween idol, Jack. Skully manages to pumpkin Sebek in the midst of his fit, and Sebek insists that Malleus--his own idol--will surely rescue him. NEXT UP IS L*ONA OTL WHO HAS MADE ME SO ILL THE ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER, HURK 🤢 who heard the shouting. He rescues Sebek (he’s de-pumpkin’d) and Skully isn’t able to touch him because King’s Roar is just too OP 😭 (I’m sort of confused about how tf Leona’s UM works though?????? He seems to be sanding Skully’s MAGIC, which shouldn’t even be tangible???) I’m confused. dbsvsjsnskwk And he tells Skully to get back up do he can keep beating him back down????? BRUTAL. Leona’s been pretty useful up until this point too, taking charge in leading the group, strategizing, sussing Skully out, and thinking long and hard about what his true identity is. Bro’s really working those fat brain cells of his, huh…

I think this is the first of the Halloween events (that introduce new characters) where the new guy’s explicitly said to be in danger of OB. Not sure why that is, it’s just interesting to note???

SkULLy RUNS FOR IT and bumps into Lock, Shock, and Barrel, who proceed to subdue him. Surprise, turns out that Jamil had gotten to them first and Snake Whispered the trio. The kids call Jamil MASTER and -SAMA… My guy, you are so repressed 💀 (I recall it being said in book 4 that using his UM on multiple people can result in rapid blog accumulation so UHHHH I guess I’ll overlook this for now or assume 3 people isn’t an issue????) Earlier in the event, Jamil was like the only person to approach Skully to try and include him in the planning. Must be used to this being a big brother + always dealing with his dorm.

I’m not sure if it’s just me but??? It feels like they overlooked how some of the SSR trio’s UMs worked just to have it fit in the context of the climax they wrote. For Jamil’s, maybe you can excuse the fact that he’s controlling 3 kids by saying it’s easier for him to manipulate young minds. BUT THERE’S NO EXCUSING HOW LEONA CAN SAND MAGIC 😭 At least say he has strong defensive magic that Skully cannot break through????

It’s times like these that make me really question whether or not Yuu is actually important for helping these people learn to get along, because they seemed to have resolved the issue just fine without any kind of intervention from Yuu. Yeah, they bickered and picked on each other too, but they still fixed things on their own (albeit on their own, but it comes together in the end anyway) while Yuu is kidnapped and completely out of the picture.

Vcdnsksksksn The moment that follows is kinda funny and wholesome… Well, for the SSR trio, not for Skully. They all sort of rub it in Skully’s face that he lost and then praise each other but in a back-handed way??? Like they call each other nasty and shit at planning, etc. Leona says Jamil bullied Skully so much that the poor thing started crying, then Jamil accuses Leona of threatening Skully a ton… then they gang up on Sebek (wow, they’re both awful and I love that for them).

Seeing this camaraderie makes Skully throw ANOTHER fit because he’s jealous that Sebek gets all this praise and attention. Meanwhile, Skully is all alone, always alone. Though it’s not explicitly stated, it’s implied Skully is deeply insecure about being by himself, as his classmates at school don’t understand him and rejected him + his interests. He extols a lonely and desolate version of Halloween too, something that reflects his own soul... clinging to the only solace he has in this world, the one constant. A holiday that he cherishes so very much--to the point where his own UM is linked back to it. The big dilemma he goes through this event seems to be a mix of having his own views being questioned as well as having his impression of his Halloween idol challenged. This makes Sebek a good foil character for him, similar to how Kalim was for Fellow and Idia for Rollo in the previous Halloween events. Skully even calls out Sebek explicitly, saying that he has all of the things he has never had. He'll never be disappointed by his idol Malleus (sadhbaslidbas this is ironic, considering the events of book 7), he has senpai who praise him, he has Zero for a friend, etc. Life’s soooo unfair, Skully claims. And like??? I was so shocked to see Sebek acting mature about the whole thing??????? He refutes Skully's claims and tells him straight up that to believe in someone isn't to force your own views onto them so your idol stays how you pictures them in your head. It's a mistake to think of one's idol as perfect--not even Malleus is perfect. Even so, Sebek explains that agreeing with someone and loving/respecting them are very different things... so he will accept Malleus's flaws and love him nevertheless. Even if he disagrees with Malleus, even if they have to part ways, Sebek will accept it. That's really surprising coming from him, seeing as how Sebek acts absolutely SURE of Malleus's absolute goodness in the main story... Now I'm wondering if this event must take place after book 7??? Because that's when Sebek has his own views on Malleus totally shaken. Still, I'm so proud of Sebek for dropping this hard truth on Skully--it's definitely something Skully needed to hear and be reminded of to be pulled back to reality. He also just outright calls Skully put for all his cowardly moves, including going after those who cannot fight back 💀 Very Ace of him to do…

Speaking of Skully, what really put the final nail in his coffin and sent him to the Shadow Realm (my dislike tier lol) was all the tantrums he threw this event. I understand being upset and frustrated. Really, I do. I understand being envious of others, of feeling like you've got no one by your side. But is it REALLY necessary to react like that…? And so frequently… He just shouts “shut up” over and over again… OTL I don't know, it feels like I could sympathize with him more if they properly explained why it is Skully is so into Halloween (besides his hometown being the same) and why he holds the past in such high regard. The most we get is it's just something his hometown is into and when he left for school, none of his peers really accepted that. Is the implication that Skully retreated further into his hyperfixation to cope with his loneliness????? If so, I'm not sure if this was properly conveyed so now Skully is left acting like a big baby and overreacting to everyone trying to get him to calm down. The worst of it is when he claims he’s the one who TRULY loves Halloween and everyone else is fake. That sounds like something straight out of an angry elitist otaku’s vent post. Other characters acted similar to this when on the brink of OB (which Skully was) but never so childishly. This might just be a me thing though, I don't really care for overly emotional characters; they're usually not my cup of tea.

I'm not sure how I feel about everyone forgiving Skully and partying with him at the end for the Halloween celebration. On one hand, yeah, forgiving him makes sense because it's not like he was plotting anything crazily world shattering like Rollo or a participating in a large-scale crime ring like Fellow. Skully didn't really harm anyone (though he did try to shatter someone he pumpkin’d), at least not on a large scale like Rollo and Fellow did. On the other hand, I think it was a little bit too overdone with how sappy it was??? Like why did Jack say he was PROUD of Skully for being so passionate that he went to these extremes for Halloween? Why did Jack give Skully a HEAD PAT after the shenanigans he pulled?? I felt that saying he's forgiven and inviting him to join the festivities anyway would be sufficient. And again, I detest how Skully disregarded everyone’s consent and kissed them (Yuu and the SSR trio) as an apology even when they (SSR trio) already made it clear they didn’t want to be kissed. That just felt super gross to me, not funny or cute 😔

One of the big highlights of this event was, of course, the Twst cover of This is Halloween. Everything about it is just so... *chef's kiss* from the strong vocal performance to the perfect selection of characters to recreate each scene. It's a shame that we can't access the song outside of this event, but I know that I'll be playing it on an endless loop off of Youtube 😂

For all of the issues I had with the story up until this point, I'll be the first to say that the ending was genuinely sweet. Skully actually expresses gratitude towards everyone (a first, lmao) and calls us his friends, the best thing that has ever happened to him, etc. He wants to meet with everyone and celebrate Halloween with them again. BUT. I don't like that he singled out Yuu specifically as someone he really likes. I get the same feelings from him as I do with Malleus... Like, there's a weird over-familiarity and attachment he has with Yuu despite Yuu not doing or saying much to bond with him. His reaction seems unwarranted to me, with a lot of the appeal of his friendship coming from how much the player projects onto him. (And to be clear, I say this ONLY for myself, as Yuu is meant to be a character for self-inserting; in the case where I put myself in Yuu's shoes, I would be uncomfortable with how Skully is acting toward me.)

Now we get to the ending that seems to have emotionally broken the fandom.

I said earlier in this post that I don't like Lost in the Book events, and another reason for that is because there's amnesia involved at the end. I feel like an event isn't worth it if the memories get wiped anyway because then it's like the events never happened at all. However, Nightmare actually played with this trope and did something really cool with it. Even though those who leave the book have their memories erased, they're still left with some residual feelings that can propel people to act. In the Stitch event, this resulted in the boys wanted to vacation to the beach. In Nightmare, Skully--who was transported within the book from his original time HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO--was so touched by the connections he made in the book that he essentially becomes a changed man. He graduates from NRC and travels the world to spread the joy of Halloween, thus being responsible for why it's such a big holiday in modern Twisted Wonderland, the era which our main cast is from.

No one remembers the book's events, but Skully is so thoroughly motivated by his lost memories... He somehow recreates the Nightmare Suit, BUT DROPS THE SHADES (a symbol of him trying to emulate Jack) BECAUSE HE HAS NOW BECOME HIS OWN PERSON. He shares a jubilant version of Halloween because that's the version he cherished celebrating with his idol and first real friends. History doesn't remember him, but his legacy is still going strong. LIKE THE GAO POSE... DID IT ORIGINATE FROM HIM???? ? ? ? ??????? ?? AND NOW I'M THINKING ABOUT ALL THE FUN THE GHOSTS AND STUDENTS HAD IN THE FIRST EVER HALLOWEEN EVENT... BECAUSE OF HIM SPREADING THE HOLIDAY AROUND

The NRC students don't remember him either, but they must somewhere in the deepest recesses of their hearts... CUZ THEY ALL STILL MAKE COMMENTS ABOUT HIM, LIKE LEONA SAYING BRO LOOKS LIKE A PATHETIC LITTLE MEOWMEOW (exaggeration). There's also the implication that Skully's spirit is still around, since the characters remark feeling a strange cooling sensation on the back of their hands. We never SEE him, but we sense that there's something there. In the end, they promise that they'll make the best Halloween ever in honor of his legacy and we get sequel bait.

Twst REALLY had to go and drop that ending on us and then peace out, huh 🤡 It's hard to put my feelings about this ending into words, but I think I would personally describe it as very bittersweet yet romantic. Not lovey-dovey romantic, but like... it portrays a hopeful future even though it's sad too. Like, it's tragic that the NRC students and Skully will never be able to celebrate together again. But isn't it cool that even though they were born in totally different eras, fate still allowed them to meet and completely change the course of history? And even if they forget about their encounter, that meeting still impacts them to this very day. It changed the world and their lives forever. Reaching for that thing you're missins and forgetting, without really know what it is... Something lingering there, without a form... There's something so dream-like about the concept, I have to commend the Twst devs for coming up with it. In that sense, I'm quite satisfied with the conclusion despite the bumps in the road I ran into on the way.

IN CONCLUSION. Yeah, I thought this event was another mixed bag. The pacing was bad and nothing that interesting happened since the story was mainly about preparing for Halloween. I'm not a fan of Skully. However, what I can say is that Nightmare had a good showcase of Sebek, Jamil, and Leona's strong suits and actually allowed them to resolve the crisis. The ending is also much stronger than Playful Land's and poses many interesting questions about Skully and his impact on history.

[e-vay]

My In-Depth Review of Sonic X Shadow Generations (Spoilers!)

I completed Sonic X Shadow Generations so I'm ready to talk about it! Remember, these are just my personal opinions about the game, so don't take this review as me saying that my opinion is "right." I'd hate to accidentally spoil the game for you, so all my thoughts are below the cut:

Did you mean to click "Keep Reading"? I warned you, there's gonna be spoilers here! One last chance to back out...

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Okay here we go!

THE SHADOW PORTION

Let's start with what we've all been hyped about: the Shadow portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations. If you single out the Shadow story of this game, I think it is an absolute masterpiece! Everyone who worked on it gave it their all, and it clearly shows. I'd give it a 9.75/10.

THE GRAPHICS

The visuals of this game are STUNNING. These new models for Maria and Gerald Robotnik are perfection! I am so glad they went with the more 'cartoon' style for the human models, similar to what we saw in Sonic Unleashed. They feel like they belong in this world among these peculiar looking anthropomorphic animals, but they aren't so odd looking that they feel goofy. They found a perfect balance and I couldn't be happier with them. Speaking of character models, to see all the bosses throughout the years in this new high definition was a sight to behold! Though I do feel nostalgia for the lower-poly version of the Biolizard, it was great to see it as the creators originally envisioned. It went from this loveable (and admittedly silly-looking) salamander to a truly intimidating and disturbing looking beast. The animation is superb. The characters move so fluidly and the poses are dynamic and striking! The frame rate makes everything look and feel fast and smooth which is exactly what you'd hope for in a Sonic game. I also appreciated the variety of poses/animations even just for the different stage ranks. I found myself purposely replaying stages to get different ranks just so I could see the different animations Shadow had regarding his "performance" evaluation. That really adds to the replay value! I am a graphic designer for a living, so of course I have to gush about the design, too! The graphic elements that appear before, during, and after each stage are straight up BADASS! I love the 2D animated flame that appears along the stage name and the color scheme and sharp lines are so appropriate to Shadow, and are a very strong contrast to Sonic's graphic elements that are colorful and round in shape. These are small details that most people might not outright notice, but it really enhances the overall aesthetic of the game.

THE STORY

LOOOOORE! Sweet nectar of the gods, we were given so much more lore with this game! Even though the Shadow portion of this game was fairly short, they jam-packed a ton of information and I am forever thankful for it! If you didn't do so while playing, I highly recommend playing again and talking to the NPCs regularly for little nuggets of lore. I was initially worried that this was going to be a rehash of the same 'origin' story we've heard a dozen times already, but that was not the case! Instead of focusing entirely on the tragedy that happened on the ARK, we got to learn what life was like on the ARK while times were still good! Learning that Shadow didn't used to be confident at all, to the point where Maria basically doesn't recognize this confident version of him that we've all known him as. And that Shadow never did his homework??? HA! I loved the confirmation that yes, Maria WAS INDEED the person who gave Shadow his name, and the meaning behind it was EVERYTHING TO ME! (Also works so well for my my AU. IYKYK hehehe) Plus all the Robotnik family history?! MARIA HAD A LITTLE SISTER?!?! She'd be old now, if she's even alive, but will we ever meet her? Will Shadow ever meet her (and would he even want to, or does he feel like that chapter of his life is closed now)? What was she like, and how did Maria's death impact her and her parents??? I hope we'll find out some day! Plus getting to learn a little bit more about Gerald's sons was exciting too. Will more Robotnik family members make appearances down the line? What do they think of Eggman's misdeeds? I'm so curious for more! It was heartbreaking in the best way for Shadow to get to interact with Maria and Gerald again, especially knowing he can't do anything to change what will inevitably happen to them. His sense of desperation paired with the growing affects that Doom's powers were having on him really had me worried about what was going to happen to Shadow's state of mind and overall well-being. It was amazing to see the toll it was taking on his body and his mind. In particular, I'm thinking of the scene where Shadow goes to fight Sonic and you see him having to actually restrain himself and go easy on Sonic. I thought it a great scene to demonstrate how easy it would have been for Shadow to just give in to the rage and take Sonic out without hesitation, but his willpower was able to win in the end. I have heard some people saying they're disappointed that Shadow lost his Doom abilities by the end of the story, but I think it made complete sense for the story. Black Doom is insistent that Shadow isn't 'complete' yet and he has to be more like him in order to be 'perfect.' But that isn't true! Shadow is already the ultimate life form, especially because there's more to him than his Black Doom DNA. By rejecting Doom's influence in the end, that was Shadow's true evolution. He's perfect as he is. Obviously I could gush forever and ever about all the Shadow and Maria scenes, but words aren't going to do it justice. It was just so moving to see how different he is when he's with her. In fact, at the end of this game I believe this is the first instance we ever see a true, genuine, heartwarming smile from Shadow and it DEVASTATED ME! We are used to his smirks, but when he's trying to reassure Maria that everything's going to be okay, we get to see him truly smile and we aren't seeing Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform or Shadow the Destroyer/Weapon, we are seeing Shadow the Brother and it felt like the warm embrace of a security blanket. God bless the writing in this game.

THE ACTING

The acting in this game is incredible from a visual and auditory performance. The animators really pushed the acting of the character models and you can feel Shadow's transformations throughout the game and the toll it's taking on his body. The emotions are cranked up to the max and they didn't pull any punches. In the past, Shadow was often limited in his portrayal of emotions, but that wasn't the case in this game at all. We saw anger, we saw resentment, we saw panic and sadness, and affection. There was so much thought put into the shaking of his hands, the gritting of his teeth, the shrinking and dilating of his pupils, all to show what's going on in his head without even resorting to words. SO MUCH ATTENTION was put into how these characters moved and interacted with each other and it truly tugged at my heart strings. There were too many wonderful moments for me to break down, so I will just single out one for now and applaud the creative direction and the animators for these scenes as a whole. There's this moment right near the end of the story, when Shadow is trying to stop Gerald and Maria from disappearing for good. His gestures are wild and panicked, his pupils and irises are small due to fear, but then Maria simply frames his face and rests her forehead against his. It's subtle, but Shadow's eyes widen and then return to their regular size and everything from his stance to how his shoulders fall show what a calming presence Maria has and how she helped (and will continue to help) him find his inner piece. Those performances are going to stick with me forever! Mike Pollock as Gerald Robotnik was truly *chef's kiss* MP is such a fantastic actor with great range. Though his voice is easily recognizable, the manner in which he speaks as Gerald is so different compared to Eggman, that you couldn't mistake the two characters even just by listening. We have been so used to only hearing from the angry, driven-insane-by-grief Gerald that it was so refreshing to get to see and hear the calm, brilliant, caring genius that created The Ultimate Life Form. P.S. I'm going to be crying over hearing Gerald call Shadow "son" for the rest of my life, thank you very much. I don't care about the future crimes he commits, we got to witness Shadow's father in this game and I'm weeping. Kirk Thornton is not my favorite Shadow. That being said, he really gave it his all and I was pleasantly surprised by what he accomplished. One of the performances that surprised me the most was Mephiles! This is a credit to the writers as well as the voice actor. The sense of wild desperation in his voice as he fights to even 'exist' in this timeline was so visceral and terrifying. Sure the other villains had their "I'm the best, this world belongs to me" lines, but Mephiles' voice lines were on a completely different level to me. What a treat! Lastly, if you can, please replay the game in Japanese! Kōji Yusa's performance is STUNNING. Ooh I'm getting shivers just recalling his voice lines while you're playing through the stages. I don't mean to discredit the English voice actors, but I think this game is even better when listening in Japanese. Give it a try yourself!

THE MUSIC

This is a Sonic game we're talking about, of course the music is going to be fantastic! The score did not disappoint one bit. It was great to hear all the callbacks to songs in the past as well as new tracks that were catchy and enjoyable even after playing the stages several times. "All Hail Shadow" has always been one of my favorites, but the new instrumental version used for majority of this game was so haunting and eerie. It was a delight to my ears as well as my emotions.

THE BOSSES

I loved the chosen bosses for Shadow's story. It was great fun to revisit some of the more iconic baddies throughout Shadow's history, and even though some of the gameplay was the same, the battle would then shift and offer the player something new. However, it's actually the boss fights where I dock the game a few fractions of a point. The boss battles were far too easy to defeat, and I actually found them easier and easier as the game progressed. I beat Mephiles and Devil Doom so quickly that I didn't realize their fights were over already. One could argue this was intentional by design. After all, throughout the story Shadow is evolving more and more into the 'perfect' killing machine. It would make sense that the more Doom Abilities he acquires, the weaker these bosses would seem. Still, as a life-long gamer, I appreciate when I have to actually work to achieve the ending of a game. I would have liked more of a challenge.

OVERALL GAMEPLAY

Whether you're roaming about White Space or you're actually playing through stages, the Shadow portion of this game is an absolute blast. Even having played the Shadow the Hedgehog game (which I'm a fan of, btw), I feel like this game really gave you a better feeling of what it's like to be Shadow. I LOVED that I got to use Chaos Control way more than ever before in previous games. If you had the ability to stop time, wouldn't you take advantage of it every chance you could??? The opportunity to use Chaos (and Doom) Spear as frequently as you wanted and Chaos Control almost constantly really shows how formidable of a character Shadow is and just how different it is to play as him compared to playing as Sonic. I loved the 'free-roam' aspect of White Space compared to the 2D version in Sonic's story. Hunting for rocket parts or figuring out how to unlock collectibles was a lot of fun and let the player really explore these new Doom abilities to the fullest. I'll admit that I struggled with navigating some of the Doom abilities, but even so I still had a ton of fun. I already mentioned replay value, but before you even have to go about replaying the game, there is SO MUCH to this portion of the game! The amount of stages, challenges, collectibles within stages, FINDING the unlockables USING the collectibles you obtained from stages, even the mini challenges available AFTER you've completed the key challenges (I'm talking about the bell that's located above the challenge portal), all of it made for a ton of opportunities for play. I found myself wanting to take on every quest instead of begrudgingly going through it just because I'm a completionist.

My biggest gripe is that the game was too short. Am I greedy for wanting more? Probably, but I can't help it. The developers gave us a ton of content in the Shadow story, but I still would have loved to have a full length game of just this gameplay. I managed to complete the Shadow portion in a few hours, and that was even with me leisurely taking my time to get collectibles and get S ranks for stages before progressing through the story. I miss the days where games took much longer to complete. But hey, I'm a nostalgia-prone 33 year old, so I guess that's to be expected of me haha.

THE SONIC PORTION

Here is where Sonic X Shadow Generations loses more points for me, which is a shame because I think it's a great game overall. Admittedly, I was disappointed when I first learned that the Sonic portion of the game was just a remaster of Generations. I had really hoped we were going to receive something new to help elevate SXS Gens as an entirely new game, instead of just "Sonic Gens + Shadow DLC".

Don't get me wrong, the stages in Sonic Generations are fun to play. However, when you go from playing Shadow's story to Sonic's story, Sonic's side drastically pales in comparison in my opinion.

My other complaint is that for a remaster, they really didn't improve Sonic's portion of the game significantly (at least from what I can recall, as I haven't played the original Sonic Generations since it first came out in 2011). This was a missed opportunity to correct more of the drawbacks of the original game. However, I will admit there are some minor changes that were made that I was thankful for. Let's start with the positive before I point out some of the negatives.

THE STORY

As mentioned earlier, I acknowledge that Sonic Generations is just a remaster so it makes sense that the story didn't change much. That being said, there were some small changes that I did really appreciate and helped improve the story. One of the things that always bothered me about the original Sonic Generations was how indifferent/annoyed Sonic was regarding his friends. I mean, the story is about time being erased! His friends and home are literally getting removed from the fabric of time and Sonic seemed more inconvenienced than concerned. In more recent games, the writing has really focused on the value Sonic finds in his friendships and found family. He always has his signature cool, aloof attitude, but I think the writers in recent years have successfully showed just how much he cares about his group, whether the games were serious (Sonic Frontiers) or silly (The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog). The story wasn't drastically changed for Sonic X Shadow Generations, but some altered dialogue and blink-and-you-miss-it edits helped to cut that jackass attitude from the original and gave him more realistic reactions. Especially by having him respond when he rescues everybody this time! It never seemed right when Tails was first rescued and he's trauma dumping on Sonic about how awful the experience was and Sonic just sits there in silence haha. At least in the new version, Sonic reassures Tails that he's safe now. Also, huge kudos to whoever decided to alter that scene where Sonic is shoving Amy away by the face. I always hated that. Ship or not, you don't treat your friends like that when they're throwing you a bday party!

This is me getting nitpicky, but there were a few things I had really hoped they were going to improve, but remained untouched:

THE GRAPHICS

I was never happy with the visuals of this game outside of the stages (the visuals within the stages are great!). The colors are extremely oversaturated and the characters are way too intense and some are even off model (ex: Amy is so blindingly vivid magenta in this game instead of her signature blush pink. What the heck?!). What's worse, the cutscenes during the birthday party scenes are SO GREEN. The light bounces off the neon green landscape and reflects onto the already oversaturated characters, giving them an unappealing green glow. I get that the Sonic world is not realistic, but it felt like the scenery in these cutscenes made it look like we were watching a bunch of toys interacting on a playset instead of characters living in their world. Sure the visuals during the levels are great, but it's a real disappointment when I'm specifically not looking forward to the cutscenes in a game. I wish they would have tweaked that.

THE ANIMATION/GAMEPLAY

I have zero complaints when it comes to Act 1 (the "Classic" version) of the different stages. These look great, play great, and if you've played classic Sonic games then you can appreciate how identical the map of the level is compared to the originals. The issue for me lies in Act 2, aka Modern Sonic's gameplay. For the most part these levels are good, but there were a couple of small things that always bothered me that I was sincerely hoping they'd fix (and they did not). There are portions of Modern Sonic's gameplay that is SO. SLOW. I'm referring to when you are jumping from one Grind Rail to another, or when you are sliding under an obstacle. These animations are so bizarrely slow and make absolutely no sense when your character is running blindingly fast. I don't understand why they didn't use this opportunity to fix those animations. When you're playing the Shadow side of the story, his animations are constantly fast moving and appropriately paced. Why wouldn't they apply these physics to the Sonic side?

As a whole, the Sonic portion of Sonic X Shadow Generations is still a fun game, but I think it could have used a little more attention to help it feel more balanced compared to the Shadow portion.

-

This game also has some notably fun DLC and the promise of more DLC in the future! I have my Sonic side of the story set to the Sonic Adventure Legacy skin and Sonic Jam Legacy skin and they are so CUTE! They win all the nostalgia points! I'll be honest with you, I have never been a fan of Terios' design hahaha. BUT! I love that they made a Terios skin for this game so players have the chance to play as him if you choose and we get to see how he was intended outside of the initial sketches we've all seen. (Still, y'all can keep your Terios skin. I won't touch it LOL!). And I am OVER THE MOON ECSTATIC for the upcoming Movie Shadow addition to the game! I still can't believe they got Keanu Reeves to voice lines for it! I'm sure it will be a small thing, but I am on the edge of my seat to see what that will be like.

-

Overall, I'm super happy with the game as a whole and I enjoyed every minute I played of it!

If you read all of this, thank you for reading! Again, my opinion isn't fact and if you disagree with what I had to say, that's totally fair. And if you haven't played the game yourself, please go play it and see what you think for yourself!

[burst-of-iridescent]

I'm writing this as a big Katara stan. I just found out that a new film about an adult Gaang is planned to be released, and Katara, like Aang, will be given a leading role there. I am so excited and glad that finally Katara will be given due respect as a character!

But for some reason, after searching on Tumblr, I saw joy about a new film in the entire Atla fandom except for our zutara community. on the contrary, there is a lot of discontent and bitterness. But why is that? Is it because zutara won't be in the movie? Well, yes, zutara is a fanon ship, it will never be anywhere but our fanfics and fanart. But after all, Zutara is not in the original ATLA show, and we still love it! This is no reason not to rejoice at the opportunity to see our favorite characters on the screen again, to see Katara again (God, I'm screaming with delight😍😍😍😍). Yes, there is a chance that the writing will be bad, but there is always such a chance before the release of any film. I'm just so happy to see Katara again, and the whole gaang too, and her new design for this movie seems so great to mе!

i mean this genuinely, anon: i love that you love katara so much, and i am really happy for you that you're looking forward to the new movie. i truly hope you enjoy it.

i don't want to speak for the rest of zutara fandom, but i can't share your feelings because - to put it point-blank - i don't trust the creators with katara's character. ever since they lost their writing team, nothing they've created post-atla has proven to me that they understand katara's character, or how to create a good arc for her. it's telling that the only post-canon comic featuring a decent story for katara (katara and the pirate's silver) came out in 2020, twelve years after the original show ended (and which was also, notably, the first comic that bryan and mike were not involved with).

i'm sure some people are salty that they won't see canon zutara, but personally i'm relieved that i won't have to see bry.ke ruin romantic zutara like they did with their friendship post-atla. i'm sure they'll do their damnedest to fuck up what remains of zuko and katara's platonic relationship in the new movie, which is why canon ended for me with the final agni kai. no magic pointy rock or canon ships in this household, thank you.

i wish i could share your excitement for the movie anon, but i just don't have faith in bryan and mike to do justice to the characters (especially zuko and katara) after everything they've said and created over the last decade. like really, calling zuko a bad boy in the year of our lord 2023? please watch your own show.

besides, nothing they can do for katara in this movie will retcon what they did to her in LOK. i already know she ends up as a sad, lonely housewife without any real power, impact or legacy; that can't be changed, no matter how they try to "fix" it. it looks like the movie has been delayed so my hope is that it just gets cancelled in production. atla has been milked to filth anyway; leave the og characters alone and do something new with the universe, or just let it rest in peace and find another story to tell.

[navsstuff]

Au where everything is the same but they kept this proposal. I wanted to see suspenders man (⁠˘⁠･⁠_⁠･⁠˘⁠)

Well I've been meaning to draw this for years now, finally got round to it! My take on the uniform designs; If they just didn't have to wear all white...

If just they didn't have to wear all white in all occasions but death*

Black symbolising death (at least that's how I'd interpret it), the kids only being able to wear something different as a treat or to foreshadow an internal funeral in Isabella's mind + a hat to shelter from Him (or god, I guess. ) is a stunning decision I'll always praise

Im also glad for the choice of architecture, use of candles and lanterns yet have futuristic technology. Even if it was a bit silly at first watch (you can have big ass screens and headphones but not a light switch? Quite funny)

Season 2 did us way too dirty but at least the boys got boots! I'm such a fan of season 1 boots choice and it's quite disappointing (but understandable) how the boys got a more stereotypical wear

Sheesh. The manga really is better

They look a little...off ^ but I'm glad for the manga and the designs after grace field, they got something other than white that doesn't directly link to death

Cant really expect much if they're on the go though! That's for sure. Keeping their button ups was a great choice, too

Norman tho.... Norman and his suit? It's so so so good. Makes him look older, matured and dependable. Business man through and throughout <⁠(⁠￣⁠︶⁠￣⁠)⁠>

Compared to Barbara, Cislo and Vincent, he really does come across as Boss, leader and someone they really look up to (to a dangerous degree)

Keeping himself prim n proper to feed off their God and superiority complex towards him. Barbara doesn't exactly put much effort in her clothes, that explains her brash personality

He's subconsciously wearing black and white despite them having some clothes with colours. guilt? Lambda squad got tortured physically, chained to the wall (thank you S2 I guess) while he did not..

Norman depriving himself from some joy and keeping his image high. at least that's my takeಡ⁠ ͜⁠ ⁠ʖ⁠ ⁠ಡ

[gffa]

Hey! Love your blog for the sw content but ngl you have me window shipping dickbabs more and more everyday. I’m not reeeeally a comics person unless it has quality online format but I have been known to enjoy cartoons. Do you have any show recs to get me into the batfam? Sorry if this has already been asked (and answered somewhere else). Thanks again for all your great content! Love your blog!

Hi! Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad to be helping to at least tempt you into this pit, and I wish I had better recs for you, but I've been turning this over in my head for the last couple of days and keep coming back to that I don't know that I would recommend most of the animated series or movies/TV series for DC. Even the best bets would be: - Young Justice 2010 cartoon, which is overall decent, but DickBabs doesn't happen until like season 3, I think? (And I think Dick dates Kory for awhile before that?) And they're a very minor part of the show, even the Batfam as a whole is only one aspect of the show, it's really a multi-fam kind of series. As long as you know that it will have some major differences in relationship and character dynamics (like Superboy in the show and Kon from the comics share certain aspects, but they are also vastly different and I'm not sure you'd recognize Kon as the same character), it's a fun show to watch overall! - Batman: The Animated Series 1992 + The New Batman Adventures 1997 was absolutely, incredibly groundbreaking at the time it came out, but that means it's 30 years old now and a lot of it is going to be incredibly dated compared to current stuff. I do still love it and the Dick/Babs episodes are TOP NOTCH (so much delicious yearning oh my god) and the flashback to when Dick was a kid are also great, but there's a LOT of basic cartoon action stuff that's not that exciting anymore and it might feel like a long haul. Cautiously recommended if you don't mind viewing it through an old-fashioned lens, don't mind that Dick tends to be more in his "angry teenage years" than his more settled 20s, and you're okay with zipping through any parts that bore you. - The Batman 2004 is another series that's pretty dated, but in a way I find deeply charming, because it really leaned into the gothic aesthetic and wasn't afraid to try some new things with the character designs. I usually suggest skipping forward to season 4 when Dick shows up (and I greatly enjoy his and Babs' dynamic, they're kids at the time, it's not a romance here, but it's not hard to see that one day they could grow up into the characters they'll be in other versions) but the whole show is just a good Batman cartoon! Honorable mentions: - Justice League: The Animated Series 2001 which I don't think Dick or Babs ever appeared in, but is still probably THE best DC animated series. It's not super complex, but what it did, it did very well, and is still pretty influential to this day. - If you don't mind reading an online comic, the Wayne Family Adventures webtoon is a very easy intro point, has very pretty art, and will get you reasonably familiar with the characters! (I sort of liken it to LEGO adaptations, it's meant to be light-hearted and occasionally genuinely touching, it focuses on extremes of the characters and memeable moments, rather than the more sharp-edged comics, but that makes it all the better for an entry point imo.) Beyond that, I can't really think of anything I would necessarily recommend to help get new fans into the Batfam characters (I wouldn't recommend the Harley Quinn show as a starting place for them, nor the Teen Titans cartoon, and I don't really personally care for any of the animated movies personally, other than maybe Super Sons, which was absolutely adorable and a great intro to Jon and Damian), because DC has a really weird track record on adapting them into non-comics mediums and I just enjoy the comics so much more. Though, if others have recs or would offer a rebuttal against some of the suggestions, feel free, because I would love to have easier ways into the comics

[movietimegirl]

✨🌌Ahsoka ep 6 thoughts🌌✨

This ep was directed by Jennifer Getzinger. She did an amazing job❤️

Super hyperspace is gorgeous 😍

So Ahsoka knows Sabine handed the map over to Baylan and she seems real frustrated I get it. But considering what Sabine has gone through, she shouldn't blame her for wanting to see Ezra again. 🥺

Huyang got stories from the past. He needs to tell me some.

"In a galaxy far far away" He said it!🤯

I can't believe really traveling to another galaxy right now. This is nuts!

Meanwhile, Poor Sabine.

It's a Purgill Graveyard! So this is where Purgill comes to die. You can see their bones just floating.💀

According Morgan, her ancestors rode Purgill 🌌

What an interesting planet and it already had temple.

Live action Nightsisters!? I was NOT expecting this! This show continues to surprise me! 🤯

Sabine reeks of Jedi? I'm curious what they mean by that. Like can they sense she has light-side force sensitivity? Or was it because she was around Ahsoka? Because they don't seem to have a problem with Shin and Baylan, since they use the dark side of the force.🤔

Sabine thrown into in a cell and tries to use the force again only for Starcruiser to arrive! It's THRAWN!

And look those Stormtroopers man. That design is ✨GOLDEN✨ Thats Thrawn for Ya.

Thrawn looks menacing and is softspoken as ever 💙❤️

Looks like Thrawn has been doing homework on Baylan. Read him like a book! 🤣

Sabine and Thrawn are face to face! It's heating up! Ezra is not dead, damn it!🔥

Ngl, I was scared Ezra may have been that stormtrooper with the cool mask.🤡 Forgot his name

Sabine is given a...bat horse thing. It's cute!❤️

"Die Well" Well Damn...

And she off! But of course, there's always a catch. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Sabine took care of those bandits with the Lightsaber 🔥

Sabine, don't be mean to your bat horse! He came back and that all it matters! Let him come with you! ❤️

Ngl, this bat horse reminds of Sven from Frozen🦌

That's no rock! That's a rock turtle guy in a suite! And he's cute!

He has a rebel symbol, Ezra must have gave it too him🔥

Meanwhile, Baylan and Shin gets sent out for Ezra and Sabine. No surprise there. But Morgan suggests to send out troopers with them but Thrawn shuts that crap down quick. Am I sensing a power struggle? 👀

And it look like Thawn doesn't care what happened to them. He just wants to get the hell out🥶

Ahsoka is on her way!

Baylan and Shin having a talk and man, I really love these two characters. 🤧

These turtle guys remind me of those rocks guys from Frozen as well.🤣 But they also remind me of Ewoks from the OG trillage

I wonder if Ezra taught them to build this stuff at their village

"I knew I can count on you." HOLY CRAP! That made my heart guys!

Ezra looks great! He's grown so much! 🤧

The resuion we all been waiting for! *hugs* ❤️

Sabine is just glad she's found while Ezra just has many questions!

Looks like Ezra has been living with these guys for bit.🥲

"I can't wait to go home." Yes Ezra, well be going home hopefully soon ❤️🤧

God, this ep was amazing! I love! I love it! I love it! ❤️ And I Reble fans had an amazing time with this ep. Can't believe we're already down to two ep already? Ah, time flies. Thanks for reading fokes, see y'all next week.

[andlatitude]

Hey! I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but I could never figure out how to say what I wanted to. I've come to the conclusion that I probably never will, fully, so I'm gonna take a stab at it— it's long, please bear with me.

I don't usually follow blogs like yours; most of the art you post is of OCs or fandoms I'm not a part of and I generally find it hard to be invested in original non-concept art (I really enjoy world-building concepts, but individual characters are harder for me). OC art tends to be snippets, bits and pieces; the random points of a developing character which makes them difficult for me to connect with even when I like the concept or design because they are often smatterings on a page that maybe even the artist doesn't fully comprehend yet.

Your art always connects.

Something about your way with expressions and body movement weaves so much intent into your work; every character conveys so much emotion and personality that I'm immediately drawn in. I can't accurately describe with words how much your art moves me, I don't know how. It sounds so silly, but the best I've come up with is that your characters look really People. They look alive in a way that I haven't quite experienced in art since the 101 Dalmatians era of Disney sketch animation, where the linework always made it feel like the characters were moving even when they were standing still; like they could breathe.

I look at your artwork and I feel the characters in my chest. You did a piece not long ago of two of your OCs sharing a microphone and I felt the awe; that feeling of the world melting away except the other person onstage— that feeling like maybe they are singing the song just for you.

Your art captures the casual intimacy of people just being; scenes like painting nails and other normal, quiet moments that only show when someone feels safe, comfortable. Your work makes 'nothing' moments have weight; there is an artist I discovered recently, Francine Van Hove, who specializes in these types of scenes and some of your work reminds me of hers.

Of all your works though, my favorite is the truth-or-dare comic and it's sequel. The smug satisfaction of calling a bluff, the casual scoff of dismissal of the dare, the confusion then realization, the weight of anticipation— the build-up, the inevitable conclusion. Whenever I see you pop on my Dash I go look through your recent work then hunt through your OC tag for those comics. It doesn't matter how many times I see them, I get hit with the same level of emotion every time.

Whenever I see your work it speaks to me; it makes me think that this is what art is supposed to feel like. I felt like you should know.

God help me if you ever draw a character from one of my favorite shows.

Hopefully this gets through okay; I've been on Tumblr since like 2012 and I still don't really trust the Ask system not to toss messages into the void haha. I hope this message finds you well and that you have a great day.

-Milli :)

Hello!! I really hope it’s okay that I post this. I want to keep it. This means a lot to me, I think it’s way more praise than I feel like I deserve as someone who just draws silly self indulgent stuff for fun. However over the years, the most important thing to me with those drawings has always been conveying emotion. For me it all comes from a place of wanting to express myself and how I feel rather than wanting to “be good at art”.

A message like this telling me that everything I’ve been pouring into my stuff all these years has come across to someone I’ve never met is huge, and incredible, and I don’t even know what to say. I’m really passionate about having that “life” in what I draw, it is what drives me to keep creating, and doing so is such a huge part of who I am. Thank you so much for noticing and for telling me this and for caring about it.

I think those little human moments are the most beautiful, I’m glad I could begin to do a few of them justice. Stuff I make speaking to someone else in any way is the biggest compliment I can get.

Thank you again, I hope your day is wonderful!

[garlculean]

@yukikorogashi Asked. HELLO MY FRIEND! ❤️ Before this year ends, I just wanna start by saying-- MAN! I'm just so, so glad that I got to meet your wonderful self??? I will say it's certainly one of my highlights during these last few months, meeting a fella as splendid as yourself!

I already mentioned all of this before to you through our IMs, but you bring so much life to my boy here, and just do him so, so much justice! And I thank you, with my hands holding yours, for giving him the love that he so long since deserved! And of course, I absolutely look forward to him and Itsuki interacting, in developing their hilarious lil' Looney Tunes relationship, overtime! It's gonna be so fun, and another thing to look forward to this coming year!

You are just such talented individual too, Mt Beast, like omgoodness??? Your writing, your art, your graphics-- not to mention the fact that you have been such a pleasant chap to get to know. You really are a marvellous bean, and again I'm so glad I found your blog when I did, and look forward to interacting with you more in the near future!

May next year treat you well, my friend. As you so rightfully deserve! Here's to you! 🍷 AUEHAUWHE!!!!

↳ 2023 is almost over! // 𝐀𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆

      𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐇. Y'know, I do not think there are even words to describe the amount of joy and gratitude I felt when reading this. I am SO VERY glad I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet you too Yuki⸺ I can say with much certainty that the feeling is absolutely mutual!

      I can't even construct my words right but just that I'm literally grinning from ear to ear! WHWUAHAHA Hearing you say that and think that for my interpretation // portrayal of Wario means so much more than you think it does for me. It's honestly an honor to hear that I am doing him justice. So thank you⸺ Thank you VERY much. I too cannot wait for Itsuki and Wario to interact. I still think about the plot in my head and the things we spoke about with their possible bond, depending on how things go in RP, but it kills me EVERY time. I may not KNOW who Itsuki is, but shoot I dont think I need to. All I know and need to know is you make her an outstanding joy of a character! You give her such personality that if she acted any other way I don't know if I'd enjoy it as much as I do when she's in your hands HWUWHAHAA!

      I appreciate you enjoying my writing and my art, I do take a great deal of time in it, especially my writing. Drawing comes more naturally for me so to speak its a lot less brain power as opposed to writing. So to know you favor both and not just one over the other is an honest to god best compliment for me to hear If I'm being honest HAHAAHAH. Also I must give credit where credit is 1000% due, @sangdelune did my graphics, I'd commissioned them to do it. They brought my ideas to life in ways I cannot describe. I do not know the floor from the ceiling when it comes to photoshop or anything remotely in that area, I cannot do that. I'm a writer and an artist--NOT a designer. Best editing I do and can do are my reaction icons. THOSE I DO edit. But that's just the most basic bare minimum knowledge one needs to know to edit the reactions; its nothing supreme or outstanding I'd say. I actually plan on bringing them up in a near future post; once I hit my 100+ follower's count ( which seems to be nearing...) give them a segment because since I was/am so new here in this RPC, I felt me doing it with not much of a following would make them go unnoticed. i.e. no on taking the time to go back to read my first post(s) I made here about them. But for anyone who DOES need anything with graphics GO TO THEM. They were a blessing to work with, I had very VERY specific ways I wanted things done and created to really emphasize how I viewed and seen Wario and I wanted my blog to really exert that. So even if you dont read my writing, you still get the FEEL // aura, per say, that Wario emits when youre on my page and they hit it all on the nail and BLEW my expectations away. Very communicative, quick with getting back to you, good with keeping you in the loop of things, and is just an INCREDIBLE designer and an amazing person to work with. I honestly am grateful and LUCKY to of found them.

      SALUTI MY FRIEND! I cannot wait to see what the year to come brings, but I hope whatever it is, it brings a lot more interactions with you!

[isleofdarkness]

Dude- you can't do this to me. Oh my god, that was AWESOME. I'm literally shaking. What the hell.

I can feel the desperation and anguish in that room so fucking well. Your writing is just so cosmically good. Can't wait for this chapter to be complete.

I don't know what to say other than how the fuck I didn't realize Sunshine was already born, I'm so stupid.

These fuckers break my heart, they love their babies so much. Bonus points for Diego's Spanish line, my mexican ass loved that.

So many people are getting involved, this is going to be wild.

Your character designs are so cool, everyone is so different and it's a breath of fresh air from the "every character has white features and normative bodies" shit media has been doing forever. Justice is strong and she LOOKS strong and I love that.

I also love the fact that Ben refers to Justice as "the tank" and I'm dying to know what she would think of that.

Hatti is great, I just knew I was going to adore her since I saw she was Loki and Circe's daughter. Loved her chaotic energy, too. She's not like that because of who her parents are, that's just the average 13-years-old girl/j

LYDIA IS HEREEEEE JWODNQIDNQKSKQMSKQ KAKDKADNKAJDAKKSAKKS AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I love that she's so tiny that Ben confused her with a ten-year-old.

“ "I got two hours or else Constantine..." she grimaced. "Yeah, you know." ” Are you trying to kill me or what. Because if you are, is working.

I don't know what it is but I love the way Lydia talks, it's quite similar to Maverick's speech but at the same time different(? Her speech is just so outstanding to me and it's weird because it's not really different from the rest. I don't know if you did that on purpose or if it's just my obsession for her doing its thing, lol.

Now I really want to know what your process is when giving your characters a voice and differentiating that voice from the rest (considering the number of characters you handle, too).

This does not reflect the emotional damage this has had on me so I will proceed to AAHHHHHH HELP IM IN PAIN AHHHHHHHHHH HELP ME AHHHHHHH MY BABIES AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

-Dante.

Gods please give me the strength to finish this chapter just so I can see how Dante anon will react.

I mean, she's a newborn and my old posts did have her not even born yet, so that's on me.

Oh boy, you're going to murder me.

All these people and no one has had more than two hours of sleep in the past three days.

Thank you. I love describing Justice because she's taller than literally everyone and usually bigger. The girl looks like she could bench-press a tank and she can and I love that.

Oh, she would go on a whole rant. She doesn't mind it when Isle people do it but King Ben? She would spend fifteen minutes yelling at him about how she wants to dress all feminine and grow out her hair but no, she's locked on the Isle of constant war and all of that stuff would put her in danger so she can't do any of that. She likes being a tank to the Isle people, but it's poking a bruise when it's Ben

I am so glad you love Hati

If Lydia had time she would have gone on The Whole Rant but, unfortunately, they have to get Riah off of the Isle as fast as possible.

Oh, I'm not trying to kill you. I'm trying to kill Ben/lh

The Isle has a lot of different dialects and ways of speaking and Lydia's trying to adopt the same one as Maverick and Mara, but her speech is different because she grew up with a different dialect. Honestly, the language on the Isle could be its own post.

I just keep their personalities in mind. It's hard to explain but maybe I'll do a post about it sometime

Oh man, I can't wait to finish this chapter

[ravenousnightwind]

On Sunday, I had some friends over. We used to do that a lot. Every single year, we'd all get together before covid. Typically, about one or two weeks before yuletide. This year, we finally did it again.

In the past, we had turkey, a grand feast that we all chipped in for. This year, we just Doordashed, and we had a really good time. We are all some flavor of pagan and / or spiritually curious. One of them honors many deities, and she asked me if she could give Thor some mead on my altar. I told her sure that's fine!

When she was done, she said my altar was the only one that she ever felt she could do that with. That anyone else's she never felt this connection about where it felt okay. I told her: "that's because it was designed that way." The gods never wanted me to limit my space to myself. I welcome those I invite with open arms, and they're welcome to leave offerings on my altar at any time for any reason. A few have done so in the past, her included.

It's special in a way.. perhaps even the reason why I no longer wish to pursue a social network with other pagans other than what I already have. Like joining the Troth (I did before and wasn't super amazing). Cuz I've been very lucky to have friends whom I honestly feel, the gods have led to me. We all get along, do things differently, and even think about different things or similar. But it has taken me a good portion of my life to be where I am now. So it's more that I didn't pursue it, rather that it happened naturally on its own, and was even there when I didn't know it!

Be thankful for those moments. Even if it's not what you expect. The winter tidings, Yulenir, the yuletide, the power of winter may surprise you if you are open to it. In some strange modern way, I feel as though..I'm doing what the ancestors did. Living life, involving faith and people who match up with mine, and just celebrating time with those people. It's mundane, but it's special. Special in a way that spiritual woo time just isn't.

I thank Frigg for this sense of family I get with them. It's probably the closest thing I'll ever have to a real social group anyway, but you know.. I'm glad because it means it isn't fake or forced, or because of spirituality. And yeah, that stuff is great, but what's really awesome is we just ended up being that way and coming together. I think in some way, that's what Yule really is on a more realistic level. You gather in winter, waiting for the sun's return, and the light of that love and compassion warms us as she's hidden. Family and friendship is what makes yuletide worth something, in my opinion. It's not just about the gods. It's about those we care for and about, too.

[lonepower]

oh I completely forgot to actually post my one single liveblog post i just saved it as a draft lmao. anyway if anyone wants my realtime Romulus Thoughts (tl;dr it's good) here ya go~

oh hey it starts on my birthday!! already a good sign <3

the audio quality on this cam is only a little bad but i cannot understand anyone for Shit. the 2 identical british dudes especially are basically speaking Peanuts Parentsese. i've been spoiled rotten by the shift to streaming and need my subtitles ))):

i really like this actress, she reminds me of someone - daisy ridley or summer glau maybe? she's so cute uvu

oh i want her and Pretty Hair to kiss so bad. she looks like she's shaping up to be the final girl though so i should probably not get too attached to anyone else, rip

ohhhhhhhhhh here we go

man I REALLY wanna know what their homeworld is like. I mean like the actual original world they came from instead of whatever time travel shit or w/e that prometheus was on, idk i blocked it from my memory. anyway there's so much about their design & behavior that seems like they're meant to be amphibious/semiaquatic to me? they're about the right size to fill the same niche as sharks or crocodiles, too...... did hr giger actually think about this stuff or was he just like "hey you know what would be fucked up"

rip bald girl we hardly knew ye. you were facehugged on all those posters anyway so i'm glad you weren't interesting

awwwww, no, man, don't, don't do that, that's not cool. why do we gotta do this. cmon. fuckin nightmarish

 

I'M A SHAM. A FRAUD. I HAD TO DOUBLE CHECK THE ROOT ON WIKTIONARY AND THE PLAGIARISM MACHINE WAS RIGHT. MY CREDIBILITY IS RUINED

girl go see a gynecologist or something i don't think that's a normal pussy pH

hnnNNnggH i'm ngl though that was. hot. also a very satisfying death for my least favorite character. i hope it hurt as much as it looked like it did 🤭

LAUREL IS CANON????? man she was a fun oc i should play around w her some more. love me some xeno gene therapy gone wrong. better hope the canon version doesn't fuck you up the same way<3

LMAOOOO NOT 2 MINUTES LATER!!!! EXACTLY THE SAME WAY! i'm so delighted my cringe nae nae river-tam-expy science-experiment mary sue is explicitly canon compliant now. this is great. oh my god.

Oh This Will Go Well

•HAROLD.............................

oh this is a Cool setpiece that seems very ill-advised

...yep. nicely foreshadowed, too

• HEL FUCKING LO??????? 👁️👄👁️

XENOMORPH YURI REAL. GOD I WISH THAT WERE ME

okay wait on slowmo rewind #4 that's actually the one from before? i'm no less jealous but slightly more confused. xenomorph yuri is still real thank you god 🙏🙌

ohhhhhhh that's why. yeah that makes more sense lol.

oh to be tenderly rescued by a terrifying alien who's only saving my life so they can use my body for their own nefarious ends. who said that

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THEY WERE IN LOVE YOU DICK!!!!!!

also the bishop echo at the beginning was cute but this one didn't land. you can do better. :\

while we're still on the subject tho: i think we do need an Enemy Mine scenario with a xeno now. the yautja got one with scarlex. it's time. i deserve it

Oh here we go. xenomorph yuri real round 2(????)

HEY WAIT NO WHAT THE F U C K

honestly this is just an accurate representation of what normal human pregnancy sounds like to me. having a little creature burst out of your ribcage killing you instantly is Vastly preferable tbh

i think this thing is less unsettling than the newborn but only barely. like 0.4% less unsettling. what the fuck

average white man behavior

i like my idea better tbh. Pretty Hair deserves to be monsterified and Final Girl deserves a terrifying mutated alien gf. we could have had it aaaaaaaaalllllll

I DO appreciate the obvious resurrection parallel though. my black sheep most beloved getting the legitimacy & recognition it deserves 😔✊

in conclusion WE ARE SO FUCKING BACK. resurrection and avp will probably always be tied for my favorites and tbh I would rank 2 a little higher as well, but this was solidly middle of the pack which is a gargantuan fucking improvement. the main thing is that it was Actually Recognizably An Aliens Movie which, after the prometheus/covenant nightmare, is honestly the highest praise i can give. thank GOD

[pricegouge]

Yes! I loved the movie myself even if the ending was predictable. Afterwards I was trying to explain the ending to my friend but also didn't want to spoil it in case they wanted to watch it themselves. I've noticed the endings for the movies follow or call back on the themselves most of the time. But the imagery was great and I even noticed key components from the video game Alien Isolation used as well! I loved Andy in the movie and his relationship with Rain! I loved that this movie really put a platonic relationship in the starlight! It's usually pretty heterosexual relationships that are focused on in this media and I really like to think this could trend with other major films to not have to have the main female/male sexual tension as the forefront as the most important piece of the story line. I'm greatly looking forward to seeing what you plan to write in the future!! I'll be lurking! <3

Yeah, I hope I don't sound like I didn't like I didn't like it because I genuinely did!

It was very referential to the rest of the franchise, wasn't it? The generator switch design being directly from Isolation sent me lol. I'm so glad they did the retrofuturistic design almost exactly like Isolation cause if I'm remembering correctly, Isolation and Rolumus would be within 10 years of each other so it makes sense that the tech/ships would look similar. (Also, god I love that game. Need to replay it.)

Also okay so like... I'm gonna have to agree to disagree with you on the desire for more platonic relationships in movies (sorry). Like, if there's one franchise that needs sex (thematically!), it's the Alien franchise. But! I'm willing to admit that it's my personal preference. I just miss sex in movies. Like, I hear "sexual tension as the forefront as the most important piece of the story line" and I'm like, where? please, I'm begging, where can I find a blockbuster made within the last 20 years that has actual tangible sexual tension? I know I probably sound like I'm being rude but genuinely, please. I'll even take straight sex cause I know that's all I'm going to get but that's fine just please anything except cgi'd bodies and faces hired more for their jawline than their actual ability to portray emotion. I'm on my fucking knees here.

Anyway. Romulus spoilers under the cut!

Okay so I'm a fucking moron who watched the introduction of the (very early) pregnancy and went 'Ah. Miscarriage incoming.' because I know movies very seldom introduce a pregnant lady without having it pay off in either a birth scene at the worst possible time, or a miscarriage happening before the credits roll. And she was not far enough along to have a successful birth and as we all know, the Alien franchise has never strayed from killing fetuses (often violently). So there I was, all smug, thinking I was so clever, and I'm watching as our leads try desperately to keep the pregnant woman safe as CGI Ian Holme talks about the xenomorph's purity and ability to survive and I was like 'Ah. The parallels. I see them. I'm so very clever.'

So you can imagine my surprise when instead we went with the hail Mary Resurrection plot. Felt like an idiot lmao

Anyway, thank you! I love you! Hope I didn't sound mean at all have a good one 💛

[bxckkdoor]

best friend ⊹₊ ⋆

SYNOPSIS : when suddenly everything feels simple again when you find yourself back in your childhood hometown with your childhood best friend, soobin. PLAYLIST : best friend - rex orange county ; night changes - one direction PAIRING(S) : childhood best friend!soobin x gender neutral reader WARNING(S) : none ( ? )

꒰ note : missed yesterday's dates? check yeonjun's day over on saku's blog and night dates here !! and if you're back for todays dates, thanks for stopping by again and tuning into our summer !! make sure to check out soobin's day date on saku's blog <3 enjoy !! ꒱

𖧷 it feels like just yesterday you were studying for the most dreaded time of the year, exam season. but now, your heart is filled with anticipation as you prepare to fly back to your hometown. you finally have come across a well-deserved break. the one thing on your list of things to do when you get home is to see your best friend, soobin. all you can think about as you touch down in your hometown is the last time you were here, leaving him.

he kept all your secrets and made all your memories. he was your other half, your person. truth be told, you don't know when you developed feelings for him, but you did. you could see it coming, of course, you fell for him. the hardest part of leaving for college was knowing that he wouldn't be next door whenever you needed someone to talk to.

𖧷 now, you stand in front of his door with a container full of leftovers your mom packed nicely for him. you knock, and you can hear him unlocking the door. when it swings open, you both stand there. he turns his head slightly to the side and questions if his vision has mistaken him, but he recognizes you immediately when a nervous smile grows on your face. he engulfs you in a big hug, almost knocking you both over.

"oh my god, y/n!! i can't believe you're here right now—fuck, it's been so long!" he hugs you around the waist and squeezes you tighter. he pulls back to look at you, shock evident on his face. you're sure that you share the same expression. his hair is a bit longer and more well-kept than you remember. he still smells like him but with a hint of cedar and cinnamon. the most noticeable change is his height. he was always a little taller than you, but now he towers over you.

"neither can i—wow, you've grown," you nervously giggle. he fidgets with the sleeves of his flannel a bit before stuttering over his words, "uhm, you know, growth spurt. you look really pretty, by the way."

𖧷 "thank you," you can feel your cheeks become red, and you suddenly forget why you were here. "oh! mom wanted me to give you this. she says that it probably won't be as good as your guys' food, but she hopes you like it." you smile again, and he takes the container, thanking you.

"i'm sure it's great; i'll make sure to thank her! do you maybe want to catch up? my mom found our old bikes in the garage. we could take them for a ride? go see our spot?"

the ride there was full of laughs and near crashes into nearby bushes as you made your way to your designated spot. "ow! i keep hitting my knees on the handlebars," he cries out between laughs. you laugh along with him and swerve slightly, your hands weakening from laughter.

𖧷 you finally arrive at the playground that you recognize so well. you kick down the kickstand on your bikes and walk to the rusty swing set, the creaking much louder than you remember. as you swing, conversation flows easily until it slows to peaceful silence before you break it."

it's great to see you. i really hate that i let us fall out of contact, but i'm glad to see you again. i missed your face, your laugh." he smiles at you, and love is practically seeping from his eyes, not that you notice.

"can i tell you something? i think part of the reason i didn't reach is that i figured you didn't feel the same way, so i didn't set myself up to catch more feelings. i mean, they say distance makes the heart grow fonder, and i think i'm more in love with you now than i was when you left." you stop swinging and look at him, baffled. "in love? with me?"

𖧷 "you couldn't tell? i thought fixing your hair at the airport before you left was a big enough hint!" your jaw drops as you replay the moment butterflies swarmed in your stomach before the harsh reality of you leaving set in. "i just thought i had hair on my face! oh my god, i hope you aren't as terrible of a flirt now.

"oh, should i prove that i'm not?" he raises his brows at you smugly and reaches his hand out to hold yours as you swing in sync. you throw your head back, laughing at his silly attempt at flirting, but you link your hands nonetheless.

"you're such a loser!"

taglist : @hyukassubi @lun4kazumii

[lovings4turn]

sincerest apologiiiiiies for my delay in response too !! i've been sleepy + also i've had this odd-ish !? sinking feeling since this morning but it's a little bit better as of now !!

i so so so appreciate your words of motivation to give me the /pull through/ vibes, which i shall !! no reason to doubt a girl who's barely 5ft, your honour, i **will** pull through !! ALSO I'M SORRY YOU KEEP HAVING TO HEAR ME RAMBLE ABOUT IT !! (and to anyone reading too, i apologise 😔)

ooh, i'm glad to hear that you got in some social time but i also saw you had an early shift today, how did it end up going !? hopefully not too bad ?! also also, did you put something on the burn !? like aloe vera, erm.. hielo - er, ice !! that's the word. i swear i'm not flexing my language skills, my brain truly talks to me in all 6 of those languages and i'm just like "woahh, calm yo arse down, darling."

how have i been ?? erm. great question !! 🤩🤩 i think all has been.. decent ?? nothing extra brilliant and/or noteworthy but also nothing crappy !! just... life lifing. i do just want to go home though, i refuse to deal w/ this weather. HOW HAVE /YOU/ BEEN !? alles goed, liefje !?

annnyway, nice to chat !! love and miss you bunches, liefje !!

OH !! IK HEEFT EEN VRAAG !! what is your favourite thing to make at your shifts !? in terms of fun-ness of making it AND taste wise. this could be two different things !!

whydoitypesm,ohmygosh,itbecomesanessay. 😭 anyways, again !! take care of yourself + stay alive and hydrated and well fed !! yours truly, you know who. NO, NOT VOLDEMORT. DON'T SAY IT. 🤺🤺

a little joke! a man walks into a fruit market and picks up some raspberries, kiwis, melon, and strawberries but upon seeing a mango, he leaves it all behind and leaves the market. why so !? 🤭🤭

i fear all our conversations are going to start with apologies for the delay ,, yet here i am to do exactly that lovely 😭 i'm so so sorry cause i know that feeling is the WORST but i'm so glad y'feeling a little better (and i hope you're feeling much better now!!! or else i will fight the universe!!!)

you will pull through i know it !!! i am actually your number one supporter n have every faith in you love !! and no apologies at ALL are necessary here i assure you <333 rambling gets us all through , sincerely possibly the biggest yapper in the whole world

the early shift was an interesting one !! it's the first time i've started on the opening ,, and the first two and a half hours were actual heaven cause we had barely any customers ,, so i could just dick about a bit and make myself some drinks to wake up , but the mid morning rush killed me because there was only me and my co-worker at the time😭😭

the burn is healing !!! she was ran under so much cold water and covered in some sort of cream , so she's doing well thank GOD (though my hands are now littered in teeny tiny scars from burns and such - the price i pay ig😔) and honestly ?? i wouldn't blame you for flexing the language skills because it impresses me every single time my god

i totally get what you mean and i'm glad nothing awfully bad has happened !!! here's me manifesting that the weather brightens up for you (because i do not know how you deal with it , and that's coming from someone in northern england😭)

it's so , so nice to hear from you again my lovely , and i'm sending you all of the love and joy i can grasp from the universe (which is a lot , trust me) look after yourself n show yourself all of the love and kindness you deserve or else !!!! the whatchamacallits will come out trust !!!!!

AND AAHHH I LOVE THIS QUESTION !!! in terms of general yumminess , i'd have to go for the cinnamon latte because my god it makes the entire shop smell heavenly every single time i have to make one (and i consume at least two every shift) but in terms of fun-ness , i'm a flat white girly all the way !!! getting to make little designs is actually the highlight of my day (i managed to make a bear last shift and the woman it was for was overjoyed)

i've sat here and wracked my brain for so long trying to find this punchline and i'm coming up totally empty - i'm stubborn and refuse to google it , too , so !!! why does he leave the market love !!! i look forward to finding out 🤭🤭🤭

[cregan-starks]

not me being in another tab while historic events unfold on tumblr dot com 💀 first of all, AAAAAAAAHHHHH!! I'm so, so, so glad that you enjoyed the fic, darling!! My heart is so warm and full 🥺🥺🥺

ive never been an aemond girl... but you're writing him so so well and im just 👀 hes so crazyyyyy  

welcome to the club!! who can resist a pathetic meow meow who commits crimes?

THE SUCCESSION REFERENCE KILLED ME, I love that show so much!!

#missinglukehours is so real omg 😭

the takeaway from this fic is that EVERYONE WILL YEARN!!

jesus christ do you want me to pass out ih my god

don't pass out!! you're doing great!!

yes bc what crazy ass blood supremacist kool-aid the valyrians are on.... visenya is so real for this

Visenya a comrade fr lmaooo

the agenda will always be bearded Cregan, and bearded Cregan will always be on the agenda!!

you write him so incredibly well i have to love him

goodness, thank you so much!! 🧎🏻 I was aiming for a mix of book!Aemond and show!Aemond (perfectly balanced lol), so I'm glad you were into it as well!!

^^ us earlier talking abt musk lmao

this SENT me, that's so true. the anti musk brigade never sleeps

ALYN YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!! LOVE

you might be the first reader who doesn't dislike / hate him, so I applaud you 😭

the dynamic is so genuine and i just love the way you cultivated their trust and devotion and strategic respect its... like its so refreshing and so lovely

yaaay, thank you!! her relationship with Cregan is meant to symbolise something new and free, something that very much empowers her AND frightens her at the same time. in the iconic words of Cher, is there life after love?

im sick this is such a good few lines. god i love this so much its so poetic hes a POET... YOURE a poet

no, YOU are a poet! I do believe Cregan has a latent romantic / soft side... and it manifests only when he wants it to :')

once again she GETS it! she's the only one here (in the tent with two people) with a level head istg and shes so done with this mindset

it's the trauma 😩 no, tbh, I see it as Visenya having the privilege of fostering these views. she suffers from eldest daughter syndrome, she's hella stubborn (and low-key power-hungry), but her upbringing and her dynamic with her family were definitely healthier than Aemond's with his own family. her closeness with some of the Green kids (especially Aemond) also allowed her to sympathise with them. NEVERTHELESS, Visenya supports her mother's claim, firmly believes that the Blacks are in the right in this war, and tries to adapt to the most recent wave in the cycle of enmity and violence

another Succession reference, hell yes!!

anyways there was not a single part of this i did not absolutely adore. geopolitics. incredibly written, genuine dialogue. delicious smut.

geopolitics my beloved!! I always recite the dialogue out loud to check if it sounds real 😬 also omg you're so kind to say that, it's literally the first time I wrote and posted smut 🙈

incredibly developed and designed OC as well as other characters - i love visenya <3

I'm SO happy that you love Visenya!! she's my precious little pookie 😔

im in awe of your skill bb! like jaw dropped, i cant believe your brain. i patiently and excitedly await the next part & in the meantime can't wait to gush with u all about this! ur so incredible and this is ART! cannot express enough how great this is.

MY GOD, thank you so, so, so much for taking the time to read and to comment, and thank you so much for all your praise!! it genuinely means the world to me 🥺🥺🥺 I'm beyond ecstatic that you like my writing and the fic!! obviously, I can't wait to gush with you!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Flames of Deceit

Summary: Aemond and Visenya reunite amidst the Dance of the Dragons.

Words: 13,005

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x OC, Cregan Stark x OC

Warnings:canon-typical incest (Aemond and Visenya are cousins, as well as uncle and niece), book and show spoilers, Westerosi geopolitics, mentions of imperialism and slavery, canon-typical violence, war, blood and gore, fire and burning, mass death, mention of amputation, mentions of torture and captivity, mentions and threats of execution and physical harm, mentions of poverty and starvation, parental neglect, food and eating, alcohol and drinking, sexism, victim blaming, slut-shaming, ableist language, explicit language, nudity, smut (vaginal sex in flashbacks), unresolved sexual tension, grief/mourning, trauma, angst, hurt/comfort, survivor guilt, mutual pining, emotional/psychological abuse, verbal abuse, mentions of pregnancy, childbirth, miscarriage, and death in childbirth, mentions of child/infant death, mentions of infidelity. If I missed any warnings, please let me know!Under no circumstances can you copy, plagiarize, steal my work, or post it somewhere else!

Notes: This totally didn’t take me almost 7 months to write. Cregan Stark is the protagonist of Fire & Blood. Rise, Cregan nation. My OC Visenya is Rhaenyra’s and Daemon’s daughter, and Jace’s older twin. Superfecundation, baby. Visenya and Jace are born in 111 AC, not 114 AC. The Battle in the Gullet still occurs in 130 AC, soon after the events of this one-shot. Reblogs and comments are encouraged and immensely appreciated. If this does well, I’ll post a reader version.

Credits: Huge thank you to my betas @maharani-radha-writes 💛 @aereth 💖 and @shewhomustbecalledking 🩶, and to @haystack-boy @lavendertales @buttercup–bee @agirllovespancakes and @oloreaa for their constant patience and support. It means a lot, and I’m immensely grateful. Apart from my OC Visenya, all characters belong to George R.R. Martin. Gif by @aemondtargaryensource (x)

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EARLY 130 AC

HARRENHAL, THE RIVERLANDS

          The sheer immensity of Harrenhal had provoked dizziness in Visenya. She had heard the story innumerable times. For four decades, King Harren Hoare had built greedily and obsessively, sacrificing thousands of slaves, and beggaring the riverlands and the Iron Islands. The indestructible construction had been no match for Balerion, whose fire had consumed the tyrant and his sons inside it, ending their line. Most Westerosi believed that the phantoms of the Hoares wandered the castle halls. The fortress is costly to maintain, and it devours its possessors. Qoherys, Harroway, Towers… All extinct. Whether cursed or not, Harrenhal remained a strategic location – the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms.

          The current castellan – Larys Clubfoot’s great-uncle – Ser Simon Strong had recently surrendered Harrenhal to Daemon Targaryen. The presence of Caraxes might have contributed to his hasty decision. Following the victory at the Burning Mill and the subsequent submission of Stone Hedge – terminating Green strength in the riverlands – Queen Rhaenyra’s allies had commenced their gathering at Harrenhal, in accordance with the Prince Consort’s stratagem.

          Visenya had departed Dragonstone on the same night that Daemon had summoned her, having been granted safe passage by the Velaryon ships patrolling the Gullet. At the outbreak of the war, the Sea Snake’s fleet had closed off Blackwater Bay, choking trade to and from the capital.

          As soon as she had dismounted her dragon in the castle yard, she had sensed the eerie ambience that had haunted Harrenhal’s colossal curtain walls and fissured, melted towers. Formidable and dreadful. Harren’s monument and tomb. Blackwing had responded to Caraxes’ fervent shriek with her own, flapping her wings at him. Happy to be reunited.

          Her father had offered her a warm welcome and a tight embrace, had even insisted that she sit on his war council, wherein she had befriended Alysanne Blackwood, whom she had grown quite fond of.

          At last, Visenya had thought, on the morning that Daemon had sent for her. Though she loved him dearly, her father hadn’t invited her there because he had missed his daughter. Visenya had met with Daemon alone, in the Hall of the Hundred Hearths – she had counted thirty-five – grander than the throne room in King’s Landing, the discolored ceiling looming loftily above them. Her father had donned his chain mail over his crimson tunic.

          Does he sleep in that? Or am I the threat?

          ‘Ser Crispin and the Kinslayer are marching on Harrenhal,’ Daemon had informed her, instead of “good morrow”, pressing a rolled parchment into her palm, ‘They mean to join forces with the Lannisters’, at Stoney Sept.’

          Her heart had jolted at the mere mention of his title. Aemond… At the Usurper’s farce of a coronation that the Hightowers had compelled her to attend – dressed in green – Visenya had kissed him farewell, forsaking any glimmer of hope for a future with him. I have demonstrated where my loyalties lie. I have chosen my family.

          Her lilac eyes had skimmed over the scrawled message on the sheepskin, the wax sigil foreign to her. The White Worm?

          ‘You are strangely poised,’ Visenya had observed, suspicious, studying her father’s amused expression.

          ‘I’ve been waiting for this,’ he had confirmed, smirking wickedly, curling his hand around the hilt of sheathed Dark Sister. Another one of his traps… and he’s pulling me into it. Daemon had gently cradled her cheek, purring, ‘I have a mission for you, sweetling.’

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