#i think its a wonderfully colorful game

[ckret2]

Why do you need to change your story based on The Book of Bill at all? It’s not like there was something wrong with your original vision. Why do you need to change it so it matches Alex’s version? Your story is already a fanfic, right? It can be its own thing. It’s not like it’s any less for being different.

Oh, lucky, somebody just asked me this in replies so I can just expand on the comment I gave them.

I don't match canon because I think I "should" or "need to"; I match canon because being rigorously canon compliant is something I enjoy and take pride in. There's an extra challenge in finding a way to tell the exact story I want to tell while keeping it TECHNICALLY 100% canon compliant and I like succeeding at that challenge.

(Plus, a lot of the stuff in The Book of Bill enhances the story I was already telling, so working it in just makes the story cooler. There's actually a whole lot more enhancing bits than clashing bits! I was fully prepared to leave TBOB out if it had clashed too much, though I wouldn't have liked it.)

I call the way I like writing fics "canon malicious compliance": I am, technically, 100% canon compliant, and nobody can say I'm not—but I'm gonna find a way to bend canon to my whims to make it tell the story I want to tell. If Bill says he helped fake the moon landing, I'm not gonna go "it's canon that Bill faked the moon landing, so I've gotta go with that"; I'm gonna go "it's canon that Bill said he faked the moon landing, so I can mention in my fic that that's a lie he commonly tells people," because it's still TECHNICALLY canon and I like that better.

I treat things as canon that the show's own creator has explicitly said are not canon—the Bill Reddit AMA, Little Gift Shop of Horrors, Time Pirates' Treasure, the fricking coloring book, cheap disney.com flash games—because treating these ridiculous things as canon adds to the fun of the challenge for me even when Alex et al don't treat them as canon themselves.

It's like those cooking challenges where you get five weird wildly-clashing ingredients and you're told to make a dish that uses all five of them. In the privacy of your own kitchen you could go, "well, it's too hard to figure out how to make something edible with grilled chicken and green gatorade, so I'm gonna leave the gatorade out," and I'm sure you'd make something delicious with the remaining four food items; but for me, it takes some of the satisfaction out of the food challenge if I don't figure out how to make the gatorade work.

Fics that tweak or change canon to suit the writer's tastes/vision are wonderfully creative pieces of art and I support any writer's right to do that; but it's not how I personally enjoy writing. I'm gonna make my fic 100% canon compliant because that's how I like writing them.

And in the end, it will still be my original vision. I just plan to whip, bend, and twist Alex's vision until it serves mine. It's no big deal if I've got to tweak mine a bit to help everything fit.

[alexanderwales]

The Witness and The Mountain

Since The Witness is a game that's impossible to really play twice (it's about learning and observation, and the save game is inside your brain), I sometimes watch Let's Plays of it for that vicarious thrill. You get to watch people figure things out! You get to see them make assumptions about how the rules work, and watch them have epiphanies!

Spoilers for The Witness follow.

Unfortunately, a lot of these people simply do not get what the game was going for. That's fine, that's how art is sometimes, and most LPs are streamed by people who are, at the very least, aware of their audience and filling air (or at worst, engaging with chat and only half paying attention).

There is, in particular, The Mountain. Through the whole game you've been completing different areas, lighting up lasers that shine up to the mountain peak, and eventually you make your way up there, and there's a beautiful puzzle that requires changing perspectives, and after that you're on your way down into the bowels of the Mountain, which it turns out contains an enormous modernist facility. There are bits and pieces of design laying around, models and diagrams showing someone going through the work of making all the things you've seen around the island.

It's not just the environment that's different, the puzzles are too. And in particular, there are a few series of puzzles that I've seen many many people think are just the stupidest trolliest shit. These are the panels that are obscured by black bars, the ones with flashing colors, the ones that are at an uncomfortable angle, the ones that twist and turn when you try to do them.

Now, is this trolly shit? Yes, absolutely. But it also has a point.

The Mountain is about constraints, and design, and how we have to work within the limits of a medium, how what was shown to you throughout the whole game was limited. The puzzles of the Mountain are in one way or another about breaking outside of the constraints, showing you the limits of the puzzle grids, all the things that weren't done. They are, in some sense, just pointing out scope and how it works.

This is the only place in the game where there are puzzles that affect each other. It's the only place where you have two lines on the same grid. It violates the rules that the game has set up, rules that you probably didn't ever think about, in the same way that you've come across a lot of rules you didn't think about in this game (and this is one of the main experiences before The Mountain, being challenged on what you think you know).

And is it irritating to have to solve a puzzle that's off-centered? That you can't see that well? That's spinning in place? Yes. But it's that way for a reason.

What's crazy to me is that I've seen so many people say "how did this make it past QA" or "this is the dumb shit you do when you're first making a game", as though it was a mistake, as though Jonathan Blow had just run out of ideas and was trying to pad the game. Or they'll say "why would you do this to me" and then not actually think about why.

The thing about The Witness is that especially in The Mountain, it's challenging game design and not taking it as gospel, and it's doing this in what I think is an interesting way. But sometimes the people playing it are so used to "good" game design and have had so many brushes with "bad" game design that they just don't even stop to question it.

And I know, I know, I'm saying that it's Bad on Purpose ... but it is! The whole area has a claustrophobic feeling to its puzzles, like you can feel yourself straining against them, and it's really wonderfully thematic, especially as the final section of the game. And I wish that I could sit down with the people playing it and have a conversation about it, what the game is trying to express, how gamers should also have reading comprehension.

I can absolutely understand not liking that section of the game. I think it's easy to get the point of what it's doing and say "yeah, yeah, I get it, but do I need to play these jank puzzles, isn't it enough to comprehend the gimmick?" Personally, I don't think it is, but that's because I have an appreciation for the artsy fartsy stuff. And this is aggressively artsy, in a way that I think is extremely rare in games, particularly because it approaches its artistry from the game mechanic/design perspective rather than the aesthetics/narrative/tone side of things.

[sky-kiss]

The House Always Wins

On the sixth day of any third tenday, you were liable to find god and the devil taking tea in Sharess’ taproom. An overstatement, perhaps, but dramatics suited both parties particularly well. In truth, you would find Raphael, a cambion. Seated across from him, the deva. The creature had never provided a name, and he’d never bothered to ask. They were his pretty bird; what else could matter?

“You’re quiet today,” they say, leaning back in their seat. Flame-colored hair spills over their shoulders, nearly to the waist. Raphael quite likes it. He thinks, with no small amount of frequency, how wonderfully their head would match the decor in his House. Over the mantle, perhaps? Or in the Boudoir. He remains undecided. “Are you dying?”

“You wound me,” Raphael replies, moving a piece on the lanceboard. The deva plays an achingly conservative game. It’s the position Raphael prefers to occupy, preferring defensive to outright aggression. But the little shit has tucked their Cyric safely away behind a wall of troops. How very suited to the Heavens. Isolationist, tedious, stagnant. “Is death truly the only cause for silence? I might be contemplative.”

“You contemplate loudly. You do everything loudly, devil. And with a hundred words where ten might serve.” They move a piece back, ceding the center of the board. The solar glares at the board, taking an arch sip from their tea. “Why are we still playing this damned game?” 

“I like it. You always lose.” Raphael folded his hands low on his belly. “And I do love watching you celestials squirm.” 

The pretty bird scoffs, tossing their head. Still, they tip over their king gamely enough, holding their hands up in surrender. 

Raphael sets the board again, knowing full well they won’t play. It’s a practiced dance, centuries old at this point. They are here on business, this celestial emissary and their infernal counterpart, and their business is…

…less than savory. They speak on the only currency that matters: souls—the solar, tied to the heavens and salvation; the cambion to the hells and damnation. Raphael holds up his glass in salute. 

His voice is entirely fond, the respect genuine. They are, simultaneously, the oldest of friends and the most pitched of enemies. He says, “Every day, the city turns its cheek a little further from your light. Another month, another year, and they will be cast entirely in my shadow.” 

The solar waves him off. “The mortals shift like the tide. Today, they wash up on your shores. Tomorrow?” They shrug. “Tomorrow, they might wash up on mine.” 

“How delightfully naive.” 

They chuckle, shrugging. The air around them shimmers and brightens, tinged with citrus and floral notes. Bright, as they have always been. “You need these wins, half-blood. What other bright spots do you have in your miserable Infernal Life?” 

“To me, then, pretty bird. Inferna victoria.” 

“To you, you miserable devil.” 

It is an epithet Raphael wears all too gladly. The Heavens see him for what he is, even if the Hells will not.

[wilted3sunflowers]

This is my Miku pokemon trainer tier list

For this tier list its both my favorites and what i consider a very good miku design

Of course all of them are good miku designs but some shine above the rest

S tier- my absolute favorites Bug miku is so classy, so well thought out, and i think the brown looks amazing with her teal. Shes everything A close tie with bug miku is Ice miku her hair is everything to me im in complete love with this sharp miku. Water Miku is basic but that's all she needs in lovely simplicity, truly feeling like Miku in this world as a water trainer especially with her tan lines from her original outfit it feels like this is her off time from being an idol! Steel Miku had my heart as soon as I saw her with Jirachi. Which was my favorite pokemon when I was a child [it was prior before i even had any pokemon games of my own and only watched the movies] The colors, the motif of star, the hat and the hair its all wonderful to me!

A tier- Amazingly done concepts and totally miku! Rock Miku's dress and veil is lovely, i love they incorporated the veil as mock pigtails. If this was the verison of her without the dress then she would have been in S tier. I love the jester look but thats my own personal preference. She also reminds me of diance with the dress.

Flying Miku is gorgeous, the wispy hair, the translucent areas to mimic clouds and mist. It's an amazing concept and wonderfully executed design! Fairy miku i know is everyones favorite and it's obvious to see why, shes adorable and cute and I too would love to draw her. She has that appeal to her down to a T. Fighting Miku is something i've been waiting for this whole time. Of course no way they could do a pokemon collab with miku and not include farfetch'd! It's a sleek and simple design that takes traits of the original miku's outfit and tweaks them. Though she does kind of remind me of maka from soul eater just a small bit.

B tier- Great concepts! Electric Miku's lightening pigtails are so cute she looks like a little adventure/farmer of currents. She stands on her own as a design and as a tie to miku. Poison type Miku i would have done the same doing mucky/slime twintails though i probably wouldn't have thought to use the new alolan muk which is a very good look and helps add in the colors. It's a great design and while i wouldve put her in A tier some of her design elements hold me off. This is a top tier character design though trust me Dark Miku, i love she came with obstagoon. Though at first i couldnt even tell if miku had pigtails in the artwork. This reminds me just of a nice miku for a cover of an existing song which is not bad it's just how it feels. Normal type miku has good colors, shes paired with an active singing pokemon and while it's simple I think it conveys miku well enough. Though she keeps reminding me of the oversaturated stereotype of early 90s fashion. now on Ghost miku, shes higher than i'd actually put her but for her concept and simplicity of staying to miku but as a glitched out ghost version of her i do have to give props to that even if i find it more on the plain side. I think they succeeded in what was necessary even though this portrays miku AS the ghost instead of just a ghost trainer. ....honestly now that i type my words i feel like i was right and shouldve stuck with her in C tier.

C tier- too basic for my tastes yet still well done Grass miku is cute and all but if you told me she was unrelated to miku, i could believe you. Just that it'd be a fandom joke to call her 'green miku'

Fire miku, reminds me all too much of the anniversary miku song and im sure thats where they got part of the insipration from it but it doesnt really do much for me combined with the fire aspect and how her hair is shaped. I know its to mimic the pokemon shes with its just personal taste on that one. The silhoutte is good.

Ground type miku i had to keep looking up because i forget what shes supposed to be numerous times. Same case with grass miku, i could see someone telling me shes from x thing and unrelated to miku. I'm just not a fan of the design and colors but it's well done. I know when something is just my subjective taste rather than poorly done.

Dragon miku while i'm not the biggest fan of all the cowlicks going down the twintails i know it's purpose is there to mimic the spiked tail of a traditional dragon and i wouldn't want them removed. I think i especially just don't like the tacked on half shawl cape it feels disjointed. Yet i find its a nice concept they did both an almost knight look for her as dragon as always with the concept of knights and dragons battling. Now the knight trainer is battling with the dragon as comrades.

Psychic type miku- i think they started with the least interesting and noteworthy one honestly. It just looks, kind of uninspired but thats rude to say. I know shes here to fufill the concept of miku as a trainer in pokemon and well it just looks like she's her own trainer class that'd have multiple running around looking the same instead of a stand out like a rival or a gym leader in game.

[johnkahner]

Omg, i'm so obsessed with your blog and your fics!!! I made this account just to like and interact with you... Sorry is this weird? ANYWAY, i saw a post about you asking for mk1 ideas to write... What you think about the reader being like one of liu kang chosen is a very talented sorcerer but kinda weird, he wears black all the time, its quiet, gloomy and enjoy ritualistic stuff but the other champions who are close to him find him very likeable, funny and kind and of course hes not evil just awkward.

BUT without anyone noticing he nurtures a massive crush on Tomas and is like really nervous when they interact, Tomas actually enjoy spending time with the reader a lot because of how interestingly weird the reader is... And maybe a mutual crush happening?? I dont know im so sorry for my bad english im so obsessed with this game and Tomas especially!

Also sorry if i'm not doing this right i never had a tumblr before hahaha ok sorry i talk to much

AN: Hi! Sorry this took a while. I'm glad you like the blog! It makes my day to see people interact with it. Your English is fine! I honestly haven't used Tumblr much till I made this account. This was also fun to write. I wrote the reader as male because you used he/him. I hope you enjoy it! Not proof read.

Notes: Male! Sorcerer! Reader

To be honest it was difficult to make friends with the people who were fighting for the protection of Earthrealm. Like the other champions and yourself got along wonderfully. However due to the stigma that sorcerer's had it was sometimes hard for you to get people to trust you. Not to mention your clothing color of choice, black, being most of the time considered an evil color.

Most people thought that you're working alongside the Deadly Alliance as some sort of spy, but that's far from the truth.

One day a Monk from the Wu Shi academy was yelling at you for some reason. You don't know what you supposedly did wrong, but most of the time if something bad happened others would blame you.

During the Monk's shouting the Lin Kuei trio were on their way to discuss something with Lord Liu Kang. Tomas approached closer to the two men to see what was wrong, and to find a solution that could fix things.

He sees you wearing a tired frown. Not a moment later you two connect eyes for a moment. It was different. There was no malice that you could feel coming from him.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"This fool was trying to listen to my conversation with Lord Liu Kang. Yet he insists that he isn’t just like a liar would.”

Looking paranoid not only for the false accusations that the Monk is making towards you, but Tomas is the one coming to your aid. Whenever he was near you, your nerves didn’t know how to act. Tomas smiled at you.

“I believe you are mistaken about my friend. He would never do that. Not to mention it’s not very polite to judge someone based on their appearances.”

The monk would argue with Tomas, but decides it’s better to just leave. Well after sending a glare in your direction.

“T-thank you for y-your help, T-tomas. I g-greatly appreciate it.” You bow a little. You really are grateful that he helped you out. He smiles at you.

“You're welcome, my friend. Would you like to hang out if you’re not busy?”

“O-oh! Sure, that w-would be nice.”

The two of you walk in silence for a moment. Enjoying the scenery around you two. After finding a place to sit down, he would ask you what it’s like to be a sorcerer and about some rituals you would perform sometimes. He wants to know almost everything about you and what interests you. Tomas listens very carefully to how you perk up at his questions, and how you ramble on about the little finer details of your explanations.

What you two don’t know is the mutual feelings that are forming between each other. Maybe one day it would blossom into a beautiful relationship.

[jamsofdeath0]

Im not going to say you cant remake an animation in live action and it work. There is always value in retelling stories and looking through different lenses. But I will say most live adaptations dont respect the orginal medium. They see it as childish. Think themselves above; mature. And in doing so they miss what works in the original stories. This isnt just about Netflix's atla. But it IS about Avatar the last Airbender.

Avatar is quite possibly the closest thing ro a perfect television show out there. Its a compelling, timeless narrative; so perfectly molded for episodic animation. I truly do not see what a shorter live action adaptation could do that the original couldnt. So much would have to change to refit for all that would be lost.

The wonderfully choreographed and animated fight sequences. The magic system so well thought out and drenched in real martial arts and culture it doesnt feel magic. Neither of these things can be captured the same with cgi or practical effects. One could say theres value to be had in the real martial arts being done in real life. But enough to recreate the whole show? I think not. I think one would have to move much further from the original medium. Such as a stage play, or ballet. Something off the small screen. A television show made of real people is vastly different from one made of cartoon, but in the end it follows the same structure. And what of the way you tell the story is to change if the structure doesnt? A large issue with tv readaptations from cartoon to live action is it is both to different AND to similar.

Cartoons are animated for a reason. Anything can be imagined into them. And so their stories take the shape of magic and colors and movements no human could ever achieve.

No artform is invalid. Pinocchio has been told countless times since it was created. Many stories hardly even resemble the orginal serialization. Its been told in every art form you could think of. On tv; in your books! Animated; in real life! Stop motion; video games! But the most striking to me a version ive never been lucky enough to see myself. A atage production where everyone but the titular puppet is a puppet themselves. Pinocchio sits in stark contrast to these huge life sized puppets as a human.

You might be wondering where this little tangent came from. We've been talking about atla. And I bring up Pinocchio because I would have personally never conceived of making such version of that story. A truly unique take on such an old tale. And if someone could make a new moving version of a story thats been told so many times then whats the sin of retelling a newer tale of a new story? Whats the crime of remaking Avatar?

Atla is nearly a perfect story. but that does not mean there is not value in re-exploration. I just wish people would reexplore it in a more interesting way.

[cannotgiveafuck]

I know there are Marineford fix it fics out there, and with Gear 5 ofc they exist.

But I just can't stop thinking about Nika activating early and yes, Ace gets saved, but the consequences. The absolute horror show that would be witnessed.

Luffy managing to push Ace aside, getting hit in the chest by Akainu's fist instead. And dying. He has to die, and he does because he can't survive that. But the situation, the context - he died to save his brother, to free him. He died in the largest act of recent liberation, and how could Nika not come forth for that? Things were just getting fun, Luffy had freed Ace and they were running and fighting and were so close to freedom.

So now it's Ace holding Luffy in his arms, seeing the hole in his chest and his life gone. And there's the long moments of shock and then denial and then rage.

But then there, in the open cavity of his baby brother's chest, gaped and visible for him to see, horrifically and wonderfully, is Luffy's heart, in tact and beating. And not just a slow, small beat. But erratic and loud. Wild beats, not like a war drum, but the drums of a celebration, thumping louder like there's a rhythm no one else hears but Luffy. Luffy who's dead, but whose heart still pounds. Powerful movements that make his body lurch up and down, up and down.

And Ace must think he's finally fucking snapped, because there's unthinkable colors shining in his brother's chest - an open, bleeding, viscera spewing chest - but the rest of him is draining to white, pure white, cloud white, bright white from his soft curls to his feet that are under him. And everyone witnesses this, stockstill and horrified as the dead, not dead now, maybe still dead, boy literally bounces to his feet. Or maybe it's the ground that bounces under him. No, it's both.

Luffy is bouncing back and forth and the ground ripples around him, sends him back onto his feet where he sways this way and that, a puppet with his strings broke, a body unused to being so light, a life pushed to the edge and over death and around again, coming back. But did he? Did he come back to life? Ace wants to think so, but when Luffy grins wide, too wide, with too many teeth, and his laughter grows, a laugh that's just like Luffy except not - Ace isn't sure. But he wants to be.

Except that hole in Luffy's chest is still there. But he's laughing, as though his own death was the funniest joke he's ever told.

And it is Luffy, but also Nika, because Luffy wasn't ready yet, he would be off. He would be wrong. And when Ace calls his name, the pink, no red, no pink, eyes that look at him don't see him at all. Don't recognize him, or maybe he's trying to, but Luffy-Nika just laughs, another funny thing, and Ace doesn't know if this is better or not. His brother not his brother anymore, alive but not, Luffy but not, a twisted mirror, a bright reflection.

And yeah, okay, the brief fight would be also terrifying, I think. Because there's a lot of people, and Nika-Luffy wouldn't recognize who's who, except those who attack him. Except it's a big ol game to him. He does the wackiest, physics defying shit that makes Admirals want him fuckin dead. Pulls the ground up like a wave, the buildings like blankets, bodies twist in his grasp like rope, the sky something to climb, something to bring down. Because loony toons shit like this, even in OP world is fuckin insane.

And now it's Ace's turn to get his brother outta there. To get him to freedom and escape and maybe get some help, because Luffy is alive but maybe not or maybe not for long. And its sickening to see Luffy connect his insides together again, with his bare hands, to blow into his thumb and see those missing organs and tissue and bones and spine pop up into place like they were just deflated, stretch his skin over to stick together for the time being. And when he sags against Ace's arms, white draining from him tired and sleepy and safe with whoever this man is, Ace is fuckin mess of emotions.

And then Law still comes, ofc. Someone has to properly stitch Luffy together, and be going wtf wtf wtf the entire time he's in surgery and all of Luffy's insides are there. And anyway, Luffy won't remember jackshit about any of it, but the absolute mess of it all is still there.

[sincerelyamee]

[How I imagine Gojo teaching 5-year-old Megumi about his Ten Shadows technique aka recipe for disaster]

Most sorcerers with flashy innate techniques typically awake their powers around five or six years old - right around the same magnificent age they discover crayons are wonderfully effective for decorating more than just coloring books (RIP white walls everywhere).

Innate techniques in particular have a mind of their own, essentially “calling” to their user like an overly eager pet begging for treats and attention. One day, baby sorcerers just wake up, and bam - suddenly shadows are tugging at their skin or flames are sparking from their fingers, no warning or parental consent form required.

Little Megumi has been feeling the very first stirrings of his Ten Shadows for weeks now. Random surges of cursed energy that are definitely not just from sneaking extra pudding cups. Mysterious but insistent tugging sensations from the shadows, like ghostly hands trying to initiate a game of tag.

So, it’s time he gets some pointers on it, right? At least, that’s what Gojo decided.

On one peaceful morning, Gojo whisks out a whiteboard and markers from… somewhere. With such theatrical showmanship, one would think he was auditioning for Broadway itself. Yet the children serve as the ultimate tough crowd, responding only with raised eyebrows and curious glances.

Still, Gojo strikes a scholarly pose.

“Alright, my star pupil - Today’s lesson is on your badass upcoming technique!” Gojo announces, gesturing for Megumi to sit front and center.

As Megumi hesitantly takes his place, Nanako leans over to Mimiko. “How come he just happens to have a random whiteboard ready? Where does that even come from?” She whispers. Mimiko just shakes her head, too busy stuffing her mouth with chips.

“To start, your very first summons will be these adorable Divine Dogs!” Gojo proclaims enthusiastically. “Though at first, they’re more like Divine Pups…”

His marker zig-zags wildly as he tries sketching two majestic wolves. Emphasis on tries. The end results look something akin to a pair of mutant chickens wearing tutus. That elicits poorly contained giggles from the girls. Megumi simply stares, somehow experiencing all seven stages of grief simultaneously.

“Those are some weird chickens, nii-chan.” Tsumiki blurts out with all the sophistication of a future art critic.

“They look like they survived a nuclear blast,” Nanako adds.

Why does she even know what a nuclear blast is? Kids these days. Gojo makes a mental note to berate Geto later for letting the devil’s spawns watch too much TV. But since he’s Gojo, he forgets about it immediately. For now, he blinks down at his drawings, then back at the giggling, unimpressed kids.

“Clearly you heathens lack the artistic vision to appreciate my creative genius.” Gojo huffs before erasing his previous attempts in stunned outrage.

But Gojo Satoru isn’t one to give up easily, or ever.

Like a runaway freight train, Gojo charges full steam ahead. His Louvre-worthy artistic visions expand stranger the longer the ridiculous lesson continues. With each stroke of the marker, Gojo’s illustrations venture further into worlds unknown by man or beast. Eldritch creatures populate the poor whiteboard as head scratching and sideways glances spread among the children.

Megumi watches in dismay as the hours tick painfully on, the squeaking hamster powering his brain throwing itself from the rusty wheel. The last of his sanity packs its bags and flees into the abyss rather than witnessing more of Gojo’s artistic assaults against nature. At the rate this is going, he half expects his first summon to be a potato with Gojo’s face haphazardly drawn on it.

A glaring oversight dawns on the boy - for all Gojo’s useless prattling and monstrous drawings, explaining the actual summoning process appears a mere afterthought, if the man is even capable of actual thoughts at all. When asked, he simply waves off the question with a dodgy uh-huh. Just as effective as inquiring an orange tabby on quantum physics.

“It’s not that hard.” Gojo shrugs dismissively. “You’ll figure it out.”

Megumi rubs his temples, contemplating if it’s too late to grab Tsumiki and flee this madhouse, perhaps taking the twins as well. No one deserves such ruthless torture. Gojo may be well on his way to becoming another villain overlord with questionable artistic skills, but this? This right here marks Fushiguro Megumi’s very own villain origin story.

Staring blankly ahead in post-traumatic shock, Megumi knows one truth with the certainty of death itself - never, ever again will he make the fatal error of taking a lesson from Gojo. No, he must figure out this Ten Shadows technique solo going forward. Though now Megumi ponders whether deliberately summoning all those nightmarish abominations is something best avoided altogether.

read the whole thing here on Ao3: A Family of Villains - A wacky villain origin story/Kinda a slice-of-life fic exploring the logistics of 18-year-old sashisu being the greatest villains in the jujutsu world while on the run and raising 4 kids. Mostly fluff and humor of course.

[animehouse-moe]

'Tis Time For Torture, Princess Episode 1: You Need To Be Watching This

Do you like food? Do you like shenanigans and humor? What about great animation and direction? I'm sure most would say "that sounds like Delicious In Dungeon", and you wouldn't be that wrong. However, and this is a potentially really hot take, I think that the first episode of 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess is considerably better than Delicious In Dungeon's, and I'll explain why.

Let's lay some groundwork though. The staff on this series is surprisingly fresh. The lead director, Youko Kanamori, is a first timer in the position. Similarly, Hasegawa Mami is also brand new to being the director of photography for an entire series. There's also staff like Narumi Konno who are somewhat fresh in terms of their experience with color design. Then there's the 4 character designers and 2 cuisine designers, plus the rest of what you'd expect.

There's a lot of new talent on this series, and they're hungry to prove themselves. I really really love seeing new staff members, especially women (because of the nature of the industry), get a shot at big roles like this. And I mean, they're proving why they should be here.

Narumi's color design is very striking and full, always finding the right balance for each scene.

You'll get traditionally colored (yet still satisfying) scenes like this, but then you'll get a wonderfully novel approach to coloring in a dank and dark prison.

I love the coloring on the floor, it reminds of what oil spills end up looking like, and that idea of it being "dirty" and the ground and walls being covered in that layer of grime adds a lot of fun color to the episode.

Narumi just has a lot of range, though their second ever series being The Vampire Dies In No Time certainly helps with that. However, it's a pretty clear difference in color design between the two. Where The Vampire Dies In No Time leans heavily into its fantasy and simplicity, 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess makes a case for a more believable fantasy style- idealized, even. It's far less noisy of a color palette, but it has such intense range. I really really love it.

I also really really love Hasegawa's composition. The vast majority of the time you don't really notice it there, but when the humor or situation calls for it, Hasegawa breaks out some incredible composition work which wonderfully highlight the characters involved.

Also, they choose a slightly different style for the color shifts in their images. You can't really tell in the above so here's some better examples.

Rather than the more typical Magenta-Green shift you tend to see, Hasegawa opted for the less common/likely Blue-Red shift for their chromatic aberration. Of course, you can still pick out some greens and magentas in the more glaring aberrations, but it just shows Hasegawa's attention to detail, which I really love.

I mean, they're pulling out composition work that looks like it came from a high budget Gacha Game trailer.

And the praise doesn't stop there, just look at the food. Makes complete sense why they'd have cuisine designers on board, this food looks irresistibly delicious.

And then there's the incredible character acting.

I think it's arguably the most interesting aspect of the episode, truthfully. Largely because there's a total of 4 character designers (two main and two sub) in charge of the designs, and there was a total of 8 animation directors on the episode (1 chief, 7 regular, 1 food). Of course, 3 of those animation directors comprise half of the character and cuisine designers.

And that's interesting for two reasons. It's likely that the designers are rotating episodes. That is, 3 on episode one and then the other 3 on the next episode. And secondly, 7 animation directors is a surprising amount considering how "inconsistent" the Princess' model is (just look at all the different images in this one post). However, I strongly believe that it's 100% intentional. The designs look too good to be the product of simple off model issues, and their appearances too well timed with the events of the episode.

So we arrive at the conclusion that the animation direction and designers for this show are pulling some seriously cool stuff.

Finally, we can do storyboards. Gosh, it took long enough haha. I'll make it quick, Kanamori really prefers the super close ups to mask facial expressions and leave a lot of interpretation up to the viewer, and that sort of close up work pairs effortlessly with the obsessive focus on food.

But that's hardly the half of it. Kanamori also loves strong perspective in her layouts, and she makes that very evident when playing into the humor or intensity of a moment.

That of course also means that she imparts a fair amount of first person perspective to the episode as well. It's really amazing, Kanamori, much like many of the other high level staff members, is perfectly aware at how fluid Torture Princess is, and she expresses that wonderfully with all the different ideas employed with her boards.

And just one last little piece. The big troll/monster fight at the start? It absolutely lives and breaths Kanamori's experience in storyboarding for Ousama Ranking. You feel their incredible awareness of scale and size and it creates the feeling of a monster of unbelievable size that the Kingdom is forced to fight against.

Anyways, this is all to say that 'Tis Time For Torture, Princess has an all around incredible first episode that promises viewers that the series desperately wants to be one of the best of the season. And I wholeheartedly believe that.

[talonabraxas]

A Color Diagram

(From book, "The Anatomy of the Body of God")

The Geometry of the Tree

The drawing itself is a meditation, as anyone who has experimented with the quasi-spiritual exercise of exploring the results of drawing with a compass and a straight edge. These are the tools of Euclid and Pythagoras, the early Greek mathematicians, and also probably were used much earlier by the unnamed architects who built the pyramids and other structures. The game here is to intuitively contemplate the analogies–remembering that what's at stake is also the frontier of in here and out there, of mind and so-called objective reality.

It begins with a contemplation of the empty page. Yet there is the contemplator, who is also the potential artist. There is the idea of doing something–perhaps not even clear what–just something, of drawing. There is the idea of making a mark, of having a mark-maker, a pencil or its equivalent, a finger on sand. Not in the air–part of this paper-and-pencil idea has to do with a mark that will stay still, that will sit there, an extension of mind, an expression of will, a putting out there so that it sticks what is only glimmeringly becoming in the mind. So a toddler may experience the miracle of a crayon and paper–or before that, what? His own poop and a wall?

What if, as the esoteric students of many millennia suggested, what we do is in the "image of God," not just humans, but actions, and all the world. What exists in the divine milieu, the essential underlying principles, is manifested in what we call reality–even if that manifestation is only partial, only a tiny shadow of the greatness that expresses us. Thus, artists are known to express their frustration that their best efforts are only incomplete gestures, mere efforts at capturing the magnificence, the numinosity, of their mystical experience.

What if, speaking poetically, God wanted to express in a relatively static, dense context, in a form that wouldn't dissolve, like dreams, like water, a creative inspiration. She might begin by making a figurative mark on a figurative piece of paper. The paper is space-time, the mark is–well, we call it the "big bang." But at first it was just a mark, a gesture of God.

By the way, this initial point is the beginning of drawing the tree of life diagram. It is the first sphere, a radiating sphere–like a very dense ink on a very absorbent paper–starting infinitely small, but being Divine, almost infinitely energetic, and spreading over a billion or more years.

Becoming, yet going nowhere. That calls for a second geometric event: the extension of a point as a line. In geometry, this moves from zero dimensions to one dimension. A line–but a line can be of any length, it can be infinitely long. There is no defined space yet. There's a sort of direction, but no form. It's perhaps poetically related to the light in the darkness described in the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible, or that wonderfully ambiguous word, "firmament." The kabbalists really contemplated this creation story, seeking the deepest meanings, including the ingenious idea that we are constantly, every moment, creating and being re-created as part of this divine process. It didn't just happen then. Like here and there, then and now may be equally an expression of our deepest habits of thought.

We don't even begin to have a diagram yet, we're just setting the stage for a process of diagraming, but pausing to contemplate how necessary it is to set this stage, to have a pen, a piece of paper, one who makes the mark, who moves, who stays involved in the creative process, proceeding from one step to the next. Each of these elements may have metaphysical meanings, equivalents.

(What have I been smoking? Naw. You see, when you really think about it, you don't need to alter your state of consciousness; the science-fiction / poetry activity is a stretching agent enough.)

Okay, so you point, line, and at some point, you say–wait, something else is needed. At least let's pick another point so that the line has a limit. A limit? Well, if you want to draw anything, you've got to have a limit. Two points. A beginning and an end. Oooh. Okay, let's stop this line...here. Wow, in all the time we've been talking, you've made the line really, really long. Depending on divine perspective and your belief in the limitations of the speed of light, let's just say that this line is... well, what? Several billions of miles long? Whatever, it won't fit on the paper. So let's have just you make it, not God, and let it be, say, four or five inches. We can work with that. Two parts of a line–pen, straight edge. Now what. Well, pick up the compass. A new tool–really, it could even be just the straight edge, the line itself, only able to move in a new way, in another dimension, off of the line. The line makes an angle, and fools around. A little angle, a bigger angle, a 90 degree angle, hey, why not go all around.... oooh, look what you made, a circle.

Circles are very heavy, very primal, very magical. People have written a lot just about the circle. It's one of the first designs kids make as they learn to draw. And it defines a space. It's very two-dimensional. No longer just a one-dimensional line. It's got two dimensions. A little bending here and there and you could make a triangle, a square, a figure with all kinds of edges and curves. But let's stay with the circle.

For now, we'll stop. The construction of the diagram deserves a separate paper from here, the compounding of circles, edges, angles, triangles, cross-connections. But it's very elegant, and its construction partakes of what the ancient yogis called the making of mainly circular (sometimes square or triangular) diagrams for meditation called "yantras." The point is to contemplate the "deeper"meanings of such configurations, what dimensionality, space, regularity, symmetry, and other fairly basic categories mean, and why, in a world suffused with chaos, we nevertheless also find amazingly widespread evidences of the operations of mathematical expressions in space–i.e., geometry.

[prowerprojects]

Hi! Hope you’re doing wonderfully!✨ My question is what got you into Sonamy? (If you are)

Hi! Thank you ^_^

I am! In fact, I would say it's my top ship for both of them (though with Sonic this spot is shared with Sonknux, I couldn't be asked to choose between them hehe).

The only versions of them that I don't really ship is Fleetway, and Boom (more on that later).

With Fleetway, I feel like it does a very good job at doing a "What if Amy actually got over Sonic and then got into a relationship with someone else (who isn't similar to Sonic so it doesn't look like a bad rebound), and she and Sonic become even closer friends" type of scenario (Which I gotta admit, Fleetway Sonic and Amy have an amazing dynamic and they're ride or die for each other), which is also partially why I'm not interested in seeking it out just for the sake of it. (I do ship Amy with characters other than Sonic or Tekno, but that's not the reason why). I feel like it partially also raises my interest in Sonamy, like. We've already seen what happens when she gets over Sonic, let's see something else now? Right?

Some people might think it doesn't count, because Fleetway Amy is so different from regular Amy, and maybe, if you compare her to Adventure Amy. But I actually find her quite similar to the way Amy is written in IDW, they even have kind of a similar, "edgier" compared to other versions of the character, sense of humor. (Also this is me saying modern!Teknamy would totally work how are there no fics with Tekno in the game-esque universe?? (Heck there's almost no Fleetway based Teknamy fics either for how much everyone is gushing about their relationship) I can't see her working for Eggman here, but maybe she could work for GUN developing weapons for them, while also using their resources for personal projects on the side (maybe befriending Team Dark in the process), but when it gets discovered GUN tries to arrest them but Team Dark helps them get away and hide, eventually they meet Sonic & friends, including Amy. Since GUN got destroyed in Forces, Tekno is free now, maybe if you're doing an idw-based thing they could join the restoration or something. It could work! Modern!Teknamy! Think about it!)

Anyway, back to Sonamy. I don't actually remember how I started shipping them. I used to watch Sonic X a lot when I was little, but I guess the Sonamy didn't make that big of an impact on me back then, I mostly remembered Knuckles and Rouge having a thing there.

Then way later I was actively watching the Sonic Boom tv show as it was coming out, but... I didn't like Sonamy there at all. It's not their relationship on its own, but everyone making jokes about it, "shipping" them together in-universe which made me not like it. It just felt really forced. (And the issues with Amy's portrayal in Boom are a topic for a completely different discussion)

And it's only when I properly got into games that I actually saw what their relationship is actually like!

And I'll be real... it wasn't always... great. There was some turbulence. I even believe the people who think Amy didn't even initially like Sonic, but only was infatuated with his image of a hero and the freedom & adventures that she had associated with him. She projected her fairytale fantasies combined with heteronormative societal expectations onto him and their potential relationship. (Just look at her in Adventure! She misses Sonic because she misses adventures, she thanks him for saving her because he's her hero but he actually barely did anything there! She was the hero!) No wonder Sonic wasn't on board with that! (Even though he still was always friends with Amy) Who would be! But here's the kicker:

It changed

The dynamic changed! They changed! And it's always fun. I can't hate the way Tails is written on Colors–Frontiers because there's dynamic! He's going through a little character arc! (A character arc of hitting rock bottom instead of becoming his best self but an arc nonetheless. It's something interesting. And now we get to see him rise back up)

And it also shows that their dynamic is able to evolve and isn't stuck! Which means there is a possibility that it would evolve further! Isn't that just fun to think about?

Amy became more confident in herself. She realized she didn't need Sonic to go on adventures or to save her. With this, their relationship became more equal. Sonic in general became more personable and closer to his friends.

Amy is now not blinded by just seeing Sonic as "Her Hero" and is able to see him as a person that he actually is and falls in love for real! I already mentioned this before, but I think her attempt at confession in Lost World signifies that. Everyone already knows she loves him, but now, it's different.

On Sonic's end, there aren't as many changes, he's just able to be more open and comfortable around her (even though she's still able to occasionally throw him off with her over the top energy). (I also personally headcanon that Sonic didn't have a lot of experiences with romance which might have lead him to believe that the way Amy acted initially is "the standard" (which he couldn't and didn't want to match, and prevented him from realizing his feelings for a longer time. I personally headcanon him as demiro which is probably why my top ships with his are with his two closest friends)

Ultimately, their dynamic on its own is fun, too. They're a kickass team and they have a similar sense of humor, which is fun and I wish we got to see them banter more. They also have a similar fascination with adventures and love for nature and the world. Sonic doesn't need to slow down for Amy because she loves him as he is, and Amy doesn't need to give up her projects to be by Sonic's side because he's always supportive and encouraging of her!

They just have a very cozy friendship nowadays, especially when you remember everything that happened before we got there! But that's what makes it so good. The history they have, the work they put into their relationship, no soulmate "love from first sight" can match that. (Though of course they're also now canonically soulmates too because of Frontiers but they're also soulmates with Tails and Knuckles so it's not like that)

Hehe, well. I rambled a lot, not sure I actually answered your question 😅 I guess they're just cute!

[♡]

[fleetwood-cheese]

Phantom Thief outfit breakdown: pt 7

This is a continuation of my previous post and series regarding my opinions on the phantom thieves' metaverse costumes, prompted by a poll by @waywardsalt. I will link all of these together as they're finished.

Akechi - Ann - Makoto - Sumire - Futaba - Yusuke

Next Up: Detective Prince Akechi! It's time for the marching band prince outfit. This one is much more break down than changes tbh.

For some reason he doesn't have a piece from the set of official art I've been including, so he gets this (does let us see the back though). I'm starting to see more and more people say they think this one is hideous, but I actually don't agree! From a design and character perspective, this outfit is striking, very coherent, and richly detailed without feeling overly cluttered. I think part of the reason it's so jarring is because its so on the nose for the prince personal and thus comes across as sort of childish and impulsive, like it was chosen on a whim, but I do think that's intentional. The purpose of this outfit is to contrast directly with Joker's, the white counterpoint to his black ensemble, lure the thieves into a false sense of security, and to make the black mask outfit more of a shock, and it accomplishes this in my opinion.

I also like that's its a subtle form of rebellion that's very specific to Akechi's situation; he's a bastard child being used by his powerful father with little recognition, so the idea of being a prince, someone powerful and important because of his birth and his familial connections, IS a form of rebellion for him. The rest of the thieves (besides Futaba and Joker, who're there for the 8/28 trauma dump) don't know this though, so it flies over their heads. It's the pristine, white prince to the black mask's dark knight.

The most obvious inspiration here is the fairy tale prince aesthetic, playing off his media moniker, but it also incorporates a significant amount of formal military regalia. I'm not super familiar with this particular branch of history and fashion, but it seems very European 1700s and 1800s to me, very Napoleonic. The white color seems very Napoleon's Grande Armee to me, but the cut, double row of buttons, and shoulder epulettes scream 1912 American Navy full dress uniform. Ironically, this mix of military gravitas and fairy tale stylization means that the outfit ends up looking startlingly similar to the duelist uniforms of Revolutionary Girl Utena in my eyes, which is probably not the exact vibe they were going for.

The red and gold accents help break up the monotony of the white very well, and the piping on the arms and legs provide a nice lengthening effect. The mask is very interesting, because while it follows the European vibe, its distinctly not military; instead, it pulls on two different types of masks: the zanni and the plague doctor mask. The zanni mask is Italian, named for the character it denoted in commedia dell'arte plays; this character was a servant from the countryside and often a trickster character, which nicely alludes to how Akechi is the rival trickster to Joker in Yaldaoboath's game, as well as the way he's intentionally tricking both Shido and the thieves. The plague doctor mask is, obviously, the mask worn to prevent the spread of the black plague during medical examinations and treatment during its outbreak in the Renaissance, and I presume it relates to Akechi in the way he's been treated as a pest his whole life and is trying to maintain distance with the thieves during Sae's Palace.

There's no real changes I'd make here; I think this outfit does its job wonderfully, with a wealth of attention to detail and well used motifs. Most distaste with the costume is probably personal preference and the shock it gives you the first time you see it. It's definitely not something I'd ever wear but it gets the job done well. I place it 4th out of 10, with a solid score of 7/10.

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

AAAAAAA ur reading house of leaves??? im buying that next week thats so cool! do u have any book recs? or recs in general shows movies etc

I AM!! I'm several chapters in and super enjoying it, although reading it alone in a tiny hotel room in the middle of nowhere was a Distinct Mistake.

As for recs! I'm going to specifically go for stuff that isn't super mainstream, in the hopes that I'll recommend you something you have never heard of before. Here's some stuff for you!

Podcasts

Dreamboy - one-season podcast from Night Vale Presents, definitely one of their less-known ones. Explicit in places, what I would describe as AO3 M-rated sex scenes. A worn-out musician ends up embroiled in inexplicable events in a small town, and also there's a murderous zebra and fossils that want to fuck. It's a musical cinematic podcast masterpiece, I'll always be sad there's only one season.

Apocrypals - nonfiction. Two non-believers read through the Bible and try not to be jerks about it. If you're interested in theology and apocryphal texts but have no idea where to start, this is such a good place. The hosts are delightful, and have a really nice way of taking you through all the various layers of Biblical scholarly nonsense. Considerable backlog of episodes, but worth listening through from the beginning. Weirdly, there's continuity.

Til Death Do Us Blart - five poor fools watch Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 every Thanksgiving from now until the end of eternity, and report back yearly on their mental state. You may think to yourself 'wow, that doesn't sound like a good time'. It isn't, to the hosts. To anyone listening along, it's fucking hilarious. Nine episodes so far, and it's a single episode per year, so plenty of time to catch up.

Web Series

The Monument Mythos - Several seasons. surreal analogue horror alternate history of America told through a series of videos of varying format. Brilliantly absurd, fucked up, and horrifying by turns (sometimes all at once).

No Evil - ongoing animated series, made mostly by a single person. Please don't immediately wave it off because of the colorful anthropormorphic animals. The mythology is amazing, the animation is sublime, and the music is haunting. The pacing is a bit strange at first, and you may be confused at the way the plot moves, but you have to understand that it's all part of its charm. I think about No Evil way too much.

Dances Moving - you may know Brian David Gilbert from his work at Polygon, and his more recent absurdist Youtube ventures. This is from way before that! It's a fun and gradually heartwrenching musical exploration of a local dance group and what it means to move away from home. Seven short episodes.

ENA - this one is a bit more mainstream, so you may know it already. Who knows what's going on in the world of ENA? Definitely not me. Absurdism at its finest. Bizarre architecture, strange characters, if it's a metaphor I don't know what it's about, but the vibes are immaculate. Three actual episodes of varying length, apparently there's a video game set to come out soon-ish?

An Unauthorized Fan Treatise - serialized story. If you're a fan of internet drama a la Msscribe, you're going to adore it. It's a fiction story about a fictional fandom, and one massively messed up person who decides that two of the lead actors in her favorite show are secretly dating and sets out to prove it with a cited multi-chapter essay. And then it gets wild.

Comics

The Property of Hate - a wonderfully dynamic and colorful webcomic about a young girl getting chosen to become a make-believe world's Hero. Puns and wordplay galore. Absolutely delightful characters and worldbuilding. Ongoing.

Eat the Rich - a young woman goes to meet her boyfriend's extremely rich family, and learns their horrifying secret. Warning: cannibalism. 5 issues, complete.

Beanworld - impossible to describe, but I'll try. An absurdist semiabstract musing on the nature of life and cycles and community, set in a world where the rules are weirdly two-dimensional and you as a reader get weirdly invested in the routines and cycles that the inhabitants follow. And all of the main characters are cute lil bean guys. If you read anything on this list, do this one. (Linked is the only online version I could find, and it's not up-to-date. I own all the omnibuses in print. If you liked what you read here, I recommend tracking them down too.)

Short Stories (in no particular order, and certainly not all my favorites - just the ones I had bookmarked and on hand)

Bride, Knife, Flaming Horse - a young Indian woman looks for marriage in the fantastical, and finds several suitors

Fish (in 13 sections) - an obsessive unpacks a bewildering insult. Just, really fun.

Fandom For Robots - a robot discovers anime, and definitely doesn't have big feelings about it

Informed Consent Logs From The Soul-Swap Clinic - two people decide to swap bodies, for somewhat murky reasons.

The Magician's Apprentice - a young girl learns magic from her mentor. This one's about grooming. But not like that. But also a lot like that. But also it's so much more fucked up than that. (This one is a MEGA favorite, it's by Tamsyn Muir. Who you may recognize as the author of the Locked Tomb series - I'd rec that too here, if it wasn't definitely too mainstream for what I'm going for. Read this. And also read the Locked Tomb.)

The Tale of the Foolish King Who Banished Music - it's a snippet of a longer Doctor Who audio drama, but stands so nicely on its own. Unnerving little fairy tale.

The Spider - 1908 horror story about a man trying to figure out why so many men have spontaneously committed suicide in a specific hotel room. It's basically a TMA statement, in more ways than one.

Video Games

What Did Veronica Dream Of? - strange little rpgmaker puzzle game. Obtuse and weird, and I adore it. I wish I could explain why.

Secret Little Haven - point-and-click about being a trans girl on the internet in 1999. Completely nails the tone it's going for. Period-typical homo- and transphobia.

Linelith - a short (1-hour) puzzle game with no plot and no characters, and yet it contains one of the greatest plot-twists of all time. I'm begging you to play it immediately.

Lingo - puzzle game about linguistics, words, non-Euclidean goemetry, and figuring out an endless series of rules in a constantly expanding world. RIDICULOUSLY clever and good, and I've been playing it almost continuously for the last few months. It's got so much content for such a reasonable price, and the community-made maps add even more content (and are also excellent). If English isn't your first language, you may struggle, but otherwise - grab a bunch of friends and stream it. It's better with friends helping you out, I can guarantee it.

For A Change - a 1999 interactive fiction game about raising the sun in a world where words do not mean what you think they mean. If you're familiar with old text-based games, go ahead and play it - otherwise, you may want to read this transcript of a group of people playing it together instead.

Other Things

Carmilla - the classic 1800s lesbian vampire novella. I read it very recently, and it's extremely good. Absolutely delivers on the lesbian vampire premise in full gory detail, although do be aware that it was written in the context of homophobic fear.

Alberio - very fun light musical about two siren brothers reconnecting under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Mosquitoes - stage play about life and families and physics (theoretical and practical both). Very heavy topics, pulls no punches. The Boson's final monologue always wrecks me.

Ghost Quartet - musical/song cycle/experience about love, death, alcohol, and (of course) ghosts. Lots of cyclical stories and time travel weirdness. All of the songs are incredible.

Yankee and the Foreigners - music group that performs delightful upbeat covers of songs in animal onesies. Their Bare Necessities cover is a favorite of mine.

I'm sure there's lots more things I could rec (not a lot of books or movies here, huh? sorry about that. I immediately forgot everything I've ever read and watched) but these were the things that came to mind when I sat down and wrote this list, so hopefully there's something new and good for you in here!

[shdwtouch]

While I absolutely agree with the sentiment and think oc positivity is sorely needed, comparing writing canon muses to fast fashion sounds a bit icky to me. I know you don't mean it in a bad way, but it does kinda sound like you're implying that people writing canon characters are putting less love, effort and creativity into their portrayals. Just because there are multiple people writing the same character doesn't cheapen their value, so I'd personally look for some other metaphor.

firstly, just want to say: I have so much anxiety about this message. like I know you're coming from a good place but its confrontation and alarm bells in my head so let me see if I can articulate. ; ; also, I'm posting this from mobile so I apologize for any weird formatting etc owo;

I'm going to stand by my statement (tho I deleted the tags [edit: I did take a screenshot for context sake]) honestly because I definitely was not implying that canon portrayals have less value, in fact I specifically stated that both canon and original characters have value, just like fast fashion and couture have their own values.

let me explain my thought process.

you walk into, say, Walmart and pick up a pair of Levi's. why ? because you've probably worn them before and like them, or heard of them from others and want to try them out. or because you're simply browsing and like the style and color and they're in the right size so why not ? canon muses have that ease of access, whether it be knowing the fandom or simply having a range of content and reviews to go off of as a "consumer".

original characters don't have that luxury; I don't know about other people, but for me sometimes engaging with original characters - and this is coming from someone who writes predominantly fandomless original characters and agonizes over how accessible their lore is - is, well, bottlenecked by my own energy and willingness to engage with the information and content the creator had provided. it's much easier for me, energy wise, to play a video game and then gravitate to muses from it because I'm already familiar with them, so I already have a foot in the door so to speak.

I fucking love reading original lore tho ! I also FUCKING LOVE canon divergence and headcanons ! but it isn't always easy to engage with or incorporate, and I think that's something that impacts a lot of people in how they view ocs compared to canons. original characters just often take more effort to engage with and understand, and that's not a bad thing ! but in a busy life it's understandable that folks want to go to what is comfortable and what they know, so they pick up a pair of Levi's instead of going to get a tailored pair of pants.

next, I should clarify that the characters are clothes, and we, as writers, are the ones who wear those clothes. which is to say, our own personal style and actions play into the overall appearance and feel of our portrayals. two people can take the same shirt and make completely different outfits with it ! maybe one of them decides to crop it, or bleach it, or cut it up and sew it into something new. and all of these things are valid ! and they all have value. you may be wearing the same shirt as someone else, but you still style it the way you want to. you still look different, still unique, still beautiful. there is nothing bad about liking fast fashion or canon characters. fast fashion is convenient, so are canon characters. some canon characters are poorly written and need to be dressed up or fixed to be worn, while others are quality and wonderfully made ! just like clothes ! and honestly, the same applies to original characters too !

the pants I'm wearing right now ? my favorite pair of pants. I've had them for like... four years. and they're still going strong. fast fashion isn't necessarily cheap, just like couture isn't necessarily haute. but again, it's about how you wear it. and everyone in the BG3 rpc wears their clothes, whether they be canon or original, in their own unique, beautiful way ! we all have our own style, and that style provides value to what we're trying to portray. neither canon nor original characters are better than the other, they BOTH have pros and cons. just like fast fashion and couture. they both have value, and their mode or means doesn't detract or add to the value of the final product.

I apologize if it seemed I was implying canon writers aren't as valuable as original writers, or somehow cheaper due to volume, in my tags. I definitely see where you are coming from and that's a valid perspective. However, that was not my intention and I hope I've managed to clarify my stance and explain myself a bit better. thank you for your message, I hope you're well ! sending lots of good vibes ♡

also, in case anyone was curious, my pants:

they are incredibly soft and flowy, very nice. I sleep in them and wear them out. I know they're winter themed but I think they're subtle enough to be worn outside the season, plus they have polar bears on them and I love polar bears !

also, if it's of any value, I have written my fair share of canon characters. I wrote extensively for assassins creed and marvel, in fact that's where I got my start in the rpc ! if I had to carry the metaphor, my "fast fashion" would be my (canon divergent) cli.nt bar.ton. I may have gotten him from marvel but I have since sliced him up and incorporated the pieces of my portrayal into my original projects ♡

[nondienary]

i saw this post sharing designs of the infinights in GL2 and it inspired me to share my own! enjoy (i guess)

and obligatory spoilery rambling warning because character design makes me so happy

starting off strong with kyborg!

details i enjoy- his blue hairties and gold ear cuff are inspired by the ones he has in the picture on the home page of the stinky dragon wiki. im especially happy with the ear cuff because it turned out way better than i expected.

i also really like the arm (and yes i know he doesnt have the diagem in it anymore but it needed some pizazz! said pizazz made me temporarily hate myself because it used up his 4th face accessory slot but i don't even remember what other face accessory i wanted for him anymore :P)

also his boots. idk why but i like them

his hair!! i went through a bunch of styles and chose this one and i'm glad i did because this is a pretty accurate representation of how i imagine his hair, including the color! his mom was a redhead so ya boi is a strawberry blond (ish)

details i do NOT enjoy- the fact that gl2 doesnt have a hip quiver :( because i had to add the quiver to his back but that took up his second cape slot so he couldnt have his cloak of many fashions. and also even if i could give it to him w the back quiver i would still want a hip quiver because i imagine him with a hip quiver! because you can't do somersaults barrel rolls with a quiver on your back!

anyway

i probably should have made these separate posts but oh well you signed up for rambling and rambling is what you get!

next up: mudd!

loml

details i enjoy: his cloak, i spent ages on it because i was overthinking what to do with his cloak of billowing vs his cloak of the secret garden (?) but i'm very happy with what i settled on

the detail in the undercut drove me crazy because again, characters are limited to 4 cace accessory and i was using one for the runes in the undercut. which i obviously changed but that brought me so much pain and misery /lh

im so happy with how his face, especially his eyes turned out because again, i struggled with them for some time. but now his face is SO perfect. except the lack of sideburns.. maybe something with the side hairs? i keep forgetting that's an option in this game

the little daisy earring. spur of the moment addition, so glad i did it.

details i do NOT enjoy: his outfit :( for all the others i knew what i was going for but with mudd i had no clue other than the cloak. it's based off his puppet outfit because i legitimately couldn't think of what he'd wear. i like the shoes and choice of belt but between this and the sideburns mudd is definitely next in line for a redesign

ok someone who was just redesigned is gum gum!

details i enjoy: his face. that is such a gum gum face. wish i couldve added bigger tusks though. and the lil smudge of dirt on his cheek!!!

silly almost easter egg i added is that each of the colors of the rainbow is in his design at least once because dia's whole thing is rainbows and light and stuff. at first i just had it in the accessories and his whole outfit was blue pretty much but i looked at bart after completing all the accessories and i was like GODDAMMIT he has all the colors. and it's actually incorporated into the outfit AND it looks really good.

the fact that vee and i both designed his hat nearly exactly the same completely independently of each other is so epic.

i originally came up with the shoulder flower while working on mudd but i was like "oh wait gum gum's the flowers guy mudd's the animals guy." and gave it to him instead. and i'm very glad i did it fills in that space in the cloak very well.

speaking of the cloak, i very much enjoy it

things i do NOT enjoy:

honest, nothing comes to mind! maybe it's because he was the most recent to get revamped but its so wonderfully gum gum.

and last, and maybe least in stature but not in much else, bart!

things i enjoy about this design: the little thigh dagger. bart is totally the kind of man to strap a dagger to his thigh instead of just attaching the sheath to the belt like a normal person

i made him VERY visibly part dragonborn because it's honestly hilarious. because gum gum has known bart since he was a baby, he knows bart's just Like that. kyborg hadn't interacted with another person in like 30 years before he met them and mudd had probably never seen a halfling in his life, and even if he had, he wasn't just gonna have his first conversation with the guy be "i don't believe you when you say what race you are." tbh mudd's probably applies to kyborg as well. and bart assumed its just because of the different subraces of halfling. he's a stout halfling, alleve is a lightfoot halfling, no wonder she doesn't look like him!

also the hem of the pants is so fun and piratey and i love it and it's perfect.

i also gave him a crystal resembling his diagem, i haven't decided what's going on with that yet. i didn't give mudd one because no way in hell am i trying to make a ring WITH a diagem in it. how about no :3

things i do NOT enjoy: gl2 doesn't have enough curly hair options, specifically for rear hair. so bart's hair in this is not as accurate in this to my mind's eye as the others. its alright it does look good regardless

and that's all ive got in terms of commentary, please enjoy me talking about my silly little hyperfixation guys. byebye!

[rpgsocialservices]

RPG Review: Mermaid Swamp

Mermaid Swamp is an rpg game made by prolific developer Uri, who also made the strange man series. The original was released in 2013, but I've only played the 2019 remake. From the color palette and atmosphere to the four different endings, this is easily one of my all time favorite rpgmaker games, and I'd like to go over why!

Plot: The game begins when four college kids-the archetypal two girls and two boys-get lost on a roadtrip in a rural mountain area. They find a manor house where the owner, an old man, gives them shelter for the night. The phones, of course, are out, but that is not discovered until things start to go bad. Which they do rather promptly, when the second girl has a nightmare and wakes up deathly ill. It's at this point that the gameplay really begins as we cycle through trying to escape, trying to figure out why this place is making people sick and driving them mad, and trying to do what it takes to keep everyone alive. The gradual unlocking of new map areas corresponds with the gradual unveiling of the family history of the place, and makes each new section feel like a well-earned advancement.

While the reveal for what exactly is up with this strange, semi-abandoned property can be seen coming from more than a mile away, I still think about it years after playing this game for the first time. There's an overbearing grotesqueness to the men's desire for those 'mermaids' and the way they didn't really see them as human. In equal measure, the women's struggles to escape the family and their cries for freedom from beyond the grave are striking and sobering.

The majority of the game and plot are wonderfully reminiscent of every campy teen slasher horror in a way that's derivative without being reductive. It doesn't certainly take itself too seriously, but it still maintains its unsettling atmosphere when it matters. Early on in the game, there are some frankly goofy scares, but this lighthearted 'funhouse' type scare vibe gets dampened and darker as the game progresses. This approach to storytelling works very well with this type of story, because the protagonists are stupid college kids who first pretend they aren't in over their head, then deal with their fear through humor and increasingly snappy attitudes, then finally are utterly serious when they have to face their final task head on (or when someone dies, depending on which route you do).

Characters: The four main characters are Rin, Seitaro, Yuka, and Yuuta. The dynamics between these four is quite fun in my opinion, and again is very reminiscent of the dynamics in teen slasher films. The character interactions between all four as a group and individually do a great job of showing how the dynamics between all the characters probably work in their normal lives, and give insights into each character as an individual. Additionally, the bad endings show what circumstances will push each character to their personal breaking point, and (what I appreciate most) show what their friends' reactions are to that. Each character is realistically flawed in individual ways, and in the case of Rin and Seitaro especially also showcase realistic individual strengths that work well in relation to the flaws already shown. On the whole, the character writing is one of the biggest draws of this game for me.

Game mechanics: The gameplay itself isn't anything unusual or special, but this can be a bonus since it allows you to jump right into playing when you're familiar with rpgmaker gameplay standards already. This is largely puzzle based with a number of chase sequences. The chases themselves are usually straightforward with a goal at the end, such as 'get to the hammer', rather than being one of the more convoluted types. This is a plus or minus depending on personal preference. The puzzle aren't overly difficult, but I do remember one or two that I had to work through. Again, whether this is good or not depends on personal preferences. At the least, the puzzles aren't hard enough to interfere with the flow of the game.

Misc.: I cannot overstate this; there's an Obama jump scare.