#i'll probably add this to the main post as a reference actually

[toast-tales]

What’s the cast’s official physical appearance? I want to draw fanart so bad~

EDIT: I've drawn busts of the main cast!

**New Height Reference Chart with human measurements**

First of all, I'm absolutely flattered you want to make fanart <3

Second, if it's not stated outright in the story, most of the cast's appearance is up for personal interpretation! I don't have a reference for every character, but I'll try and do a quick sum-up of how I personally perceive the characters (but again, if you have your own headcanon? That's fine too!)

I’ve linked some Picrews and fanart but they are NOT official physical descriptions, more like...pointing in the direction of what the character might look like. Picrew has its limitations, so they might not have all the right details. I’d LOVE to commission art for all of my characters at some point, tbh. If it’s not described below, you can probably just take creative freedom with the appearances. 

Christopher: long, straight black hair to about his shoulderblades, usually half-up in a bun. Dark eyes, sharp features, aquiline nose. Olive-toned skin. He’s pretty tall (think like 6′3" ish in human terms), but not very muscular. Kind of a beanpole tbh.

Danny: Red hair, usually worn down, straight but a little messy and parted to the side. Blue-green eyes, thicker eyebrows. In human terms she’d be about average height (like 5′6-8″), but if we’re talking relative to giants, her normal height is about 4″ (though under the growth serum, she’s more like 11″). She’s generally barefoot and physically, pretty lanky as well. 

Nathan: Brown, messy hair, curls just a bit and is pretty short. Brown eyes, soft features, freckles, a little bit of facial hair along his chin. Kind of short (5′7ish), a bit of a heavier build, but he’s actually pretty physically fit, considering he does farm work often. 

Sam: They’ve definitely got that slightly curly “more on top” haircut with the sides shaved, dark hair, pale skin. Hazel eyes. Average height, about 5′9″ or so. They’re kind of lanky like Christopher, but they actually work out, and have a good bit of lean muscle, especially in their arms. They have several piercings in each ear - specifically, they wear small black gauges, two helix piercings around the middle/upper edge of their right ear, and a flat piercing in each ear. Their tattoos are up to personal interpretation, they've changed in the fanart a lot which I find fun. But I do like the floral design on their left arm and a snake design around their right arm, along with lots of smaller, random tattoos along their arms and legs. They usually wear a flat-billed cap from their collection. They’re AFAB so they generally bind their chest and dress androgynously (they’re nonbinary but use they/he pronouns). 

Sybil: Very tall, even for a giant (think closer to 6′8″ - like, she's definitely able to look down on even someone like Christopher). Strong features, a bit older than the rest of the cast (in human terms, in her 40s/50s). Dark skin, golden eyes, black hair - usually braided and tied up with gold braid cuffs. She wears loose, white linen clothing most of the time. She is definitely very strong, and has a rather imposing physical presence. Sometimes wears golden, half-rim glasses for reading or looking at human-sized details, but not usually.

Cyrus: Very large, portly man, maybe about 5′11″-6′. He’s got a rough sort of face with a short, scraggly greyish beard, mostly balding. Probably in his 40s/50s, just like Sybil. 

Max: Very pale, almost to an unhealthy degree - messy dirt-brown hair, gray eyes, and rough stubble. Older, in about his late 30s but he looks much older due to...a stressful work environment.

Ryan: Blond hair, in a style kind of similar to Nathan’s - a bit unkempt but otherwise short. Pale, generally has bags under his eyes and somewhat gaunt features - very skinny. Dark greenish eyes. In his early 20s. Wears glasses once he sees an optometrist in the human city.

Maria: Brown skin, long, curly dark brown hair that’s thick and generally tied back (if possible). Similar to Ryan - very skinny/frail and has a sickly pallor to her skin at first. Warm, brown eyes. In her late 20s.

Alice: Pale blue eyes and long, light brown hair, generally worn up in a bun and tied back with a headscarf (if possible). Kind, motherly, but slightly worn features - in her early/mid 30s.

Stan: Tanned skin and dark gray hair with bits of white poking through. Has a thick mustache and well-trimmed beard (when possible). Stern features, has a slightly haggard face with a few scars. In his late 30s, but like Max, looks a bit older. 

John: Blond hair that's going slightly silver with age, long enough to pull back into a short ponytail. Pale skin, kind, green eyes, wears thin-rimmed glasses. About Sybil’s age, maybe closer to his 50s. Generally dresses pretty well, wears a button up shirt, slacks, and loafers most of the time. 

Nora: Blonde hair in a chin-length bob with bangs, wears several piercings in each ear. Generally dresses very nice (similar to John). Very pale skin, light blue eyes. Slightly older than Danny, in her late 20s.

That’s honestly about all I’ve got. If you have any specific questions about any characters, I’ll do my best to answer them! 

[maxthelordagain]

FIVE PEBBLES!!

recently got into Rain World (like 6 months ago) and i've been into it LIKE,, REALLY INTENSELY. unfortunately for me, i've also been enduring an 8 month art block, so i wasn't able to do much fanart for it either, BUT HERE WE ARE!! I'M DOING REFERENCE SHEETS FOR ALL THE CHARACTERS (INCLUDING THE SLUGCATS, STARTING WITH PEBBLES, because he has favorite character privileges.

CLASSIC MAIN OUTFIT, decided to add a bit of cyan to the design, due to it complimenting the pink really well, plus cyan seems to be his color anyway

probably my favorite campaign story-wise. i have learned that i cry really damn easily, i'm practically bawling my eyes out every other campaign, this definitely being one of them. anyway, i read Backwards through the Snow on AO3 quite recently, and the idea of the cyan cloak resonated so deeply with me, i just HAD to add it to my design. i literally ordered a custom Pebbles slugcat plush with a cyan cloak, CAN YOU TELL I REALLY LIKE THIS IDEA? if the writer of this fic is by chance reading this, this may not be direct fanart of this fic, BUT I LOVE YOUR FIC SO MUCH, THANK YOU FOR WRITING IT

okay so i said i cry really easily,, i uhhh,, i really went through it in Saint's campaign, LIKE GUYS. YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, I WAS LITERALLY SITTING ON THE FLOOR CRYING ABOUT SILLY PIXEL GAME. i am so weak for this stuff, i really put myself through it by having to draw this. i finished it earlier today, i've lived today off of a coffee, a soba and 3 hours of sleep and you can probably tell by this post. uhmmm anyway, this post was meant to be me talking about my design, but i definitely did not do that. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY RAMBLINGS ANYWAY, maybe i'll actually go in-depth on this design tomorrow, WE'LL SEE

[furinana]

The undertones behind Walter and Jonathan's relationship that you might not know about

I'll be calling attention to traits present in their dynamic that are unknown to most players in the West due to incomplete localization.

Now... where do we begin? Oh, right. In the part after you're done with Naraku and get to spend the holiday with the other two.

This scene is presented in almost the same way in both languages but Jonathan's reaction seems emphasized on a specific word in the Japanese script.

"T...t-t... that's crude, Walter. I would never... such a thing like that to women..."

In either case, if this ended at Jonathan's response, it would be mostly nothing worth commenting on. Jonathan is the Law representative raised by a family that worked in the Monastery so naturally he's gonna behave in a more chaste way, correct?

But then you have Walter's posture becoming uncomfortable followed by immediately changing subjects as if he's already in the know of what Jonathan was anxious about compared to the player (thus Flynn) being rather out of loop about what was going on.

The thing is... the meaning was actually already available for the players, even prior to SMTIV's release! That is, if you accessed the official website and clicked on the interviews with the Japanese voice actors (which included in-character voice clips). All of the translations presented in this post were done by takujilvr

"I'll only tell you this because it's you, all right? Only because it's you! I'm afraid I can't bring myself to like women very much. Being raised in a household with two elder sisters and one younger made me lose any illusions about them I might've had. You're a man, so I feel much more at ease with you."

Certainly, he doesn't seem to specifically refer to anyone in this clip. It could be Flynn or probably anyone else as long as they're a male.

But there are other voice clips aside this one that point towards a more definitive interpretation.

"Enough of that "Ooh, you'll catch cold!" drivel, Jonathan, you sound like a naggy old wife. I can't abide being constricted, this chest must stay bared!"

"S-Stop pulling my hair, Walter! It won't straighten out, I got it from my mother!"

They don't have voice clips directly acknowledging anyone else, leading to the impression that Walter and Jonathan were being more marketed as a duo over their dynamic with the main character.

But the shocking reveal comes with this one:

"I'll only say this if you promise not to tell anyone! Cats, I just love 'em. When I see one outside, I can't help but crouch down and give it some pets! Wait, no. I mean, listen, I can't stand fish. And they can take it off my hands, can't they? That's why I love cats. Right."

A player that reached the part where the party gets hit by Yaso Magatsuhi's scent in Roppongi will thus connect the dots:

How one interprets the twist of this scene might change entirely with the voice clip in mind. It opens the possibility that, differently from many players' assumptions, Jonathan was acting like a feline not because he's secretly a cat lover. But, most likely, due to WALTER liking them. And he would have no way of knowing that unless Walter told him off-screen.

To summarize...

Jonathan is unable to feel attraction for girls and feels more comfortable with guys which would be inevitably an obstacle for his future considering his conservative background

Walter has phobia of fish despite what his family does for trade and has a soft spot for cats specifically because they eat them for him which would be defined as a 'weakness' to his self-reliant image

1 and 2 are each most's intimate secret and they revealed them for each other

"But how much does this add to the main plot?" Even when pushing aside subtleties from this extra material, attentive Megaten veterans would notice that the Law & Chaos representatives from SMTIV have an explicitly close bond compared to most characters of opposing sides in other titles of the mainline series.

[Jonathan was the most visibly affected by their breakup]

This extra material essentially adds more to the range of interpretation regarding their intimacy while also making them more relatable beyond their surface of Law & Chaos pieces.

On this note, moments where they "crack" their own alignments also happen briefly in-game.

They were two boys of the same age that became instant close friends however became unable to conciliate the differences emphasized by their caste system and reach the understanding of what would be the best for everyone.

All of this leads to the player's realization that Jonathan and Walter ultimately didn't perfectly antagonize each other as humans but were "pushed" towards their extreme roles by ulterior forces that would subsequently be further exposed in the sequel.

[noxiatoxia]

Sorry for the jankiness in this, I had to control both my Vita and PC at the same time, but here is a comparison! On the left, my fantranslation, and on the right, the official translation.

If you're wondering what this is all about, I'm working on a patch (at least of the prologue, I cannot promise the whole game) of SDR2, that aims to provide a more accurate experience than the official English translation.

More accurate how? Danganronpa not only suffers from a lot of mistranslations, but a handful of clunky dialogue and very literal translation choices that sacrifice nuance and an accurate experience for the sake of keeping the literal text. I want this patch to:

Fix all the mistranslations.

Add back in character accents, speech pattern quirks, and more accurately represent how they talk.

Fix the dialogue to sound more natural in English, as if these could be actual words spoken aloud (for the most part).

Give English players a version of the came that focuses more on capturing the spirit, energy, and emotion of the original dialogue than heavily focusing on providing the most literally accurate translation.

More on all these points under the cut.

What about other fantranslations? (orenronen, etc) I have not seen every conceivable English fan translation for SDR2, but a big one is orenronen's on SomethingAwful. It was never finished past chapter 3, but still stands as probably the most popular fan translation. Orenronen's work is extremely impressive given the speed and quality of the translations. That said, it is not without its mistakes, and I think suffers from perhaps taking too many liberties. I'm hoping my patch can strike a good balance between his and the official translation to deliver the most authentic experience possible.

So is this SDR2 "definitive" edition? Not exactly, I'll explain under the cut.

Big changes in this clip:

Added back in Souda's accent along with changing his name back. Tanaka's talent was also changed.

There is a joke that both I and the original English translation had to change as no English player would get it. You can read more about it in this post I made. (along with Jum-P being changed from Golden Hawk to Golden Eagle)

Komaeda speaks of Tanaka's time in the breeding/animal club, but as far as I'm aware, this is not a thing in many Western schools. The main gist of the text is Tanaka is amazing with breeding animals. The fact it was a club is irrelevant to the meaning, other than providing that he is a high schooler (which we already knew), so I cut it out to be more understandable to most English players.

Tanaka adds the part on about his hamsters not going easy on their enemies himself, the hamster doesn't say that. Kept the Hulk reference as it's a pretty apt translation and makes up for the missed reference from earlier. However I'm thinking of maybe changing the line afterwards to "they are not used to holding back" as that would be more accurate.

If you're interested in the details of this patch, please read below! I want this to be made for the fans by the fans, so any input is welcomed. If you have suggestions for how to improve text to flow better in English, or wish to correct/inquire about translation choices of mine, I more than welcome it. No matter how big or small, I want everyone to give their feedback and opinions and suggestions.

If you are interested in helping in the translation, be it from the perspective of a Japanese speaker, a play tester, or want to offer general writing/wording advice and feedback, please DM me. While I don't plan to form a team (I prefer to work alone), projects like this benefit greatly from opinions and feedback. Especially if you are familiar with both the official English and orenronen's version, I would appreciate your help. If a good number of people seem interested in helping, I may form a Discord or Tumblr community to facilitate discussion easier.

Welcome to under the cut. So, let's talk about that earlier point about definitive edition.

The thing is, save mistranslations, NISA (the official translation) and orenronen's versions of SDR2 are equally correct in some manner. NISA took a more literal approach to each sentence, while orenronen took more liberal approaches, instead going off what would sound best/fitting. Neither of these are incorrect. There is no "definitive" translation for any media in any language, but speaking from the perspective of Japanese -> English, there is rarely ever an exact way to be 1:1.

Let's take an example. The word "usagi" means "rabbit"...but it also means "bunny" and "hare". These are all relatively the same thing to the layman, but they impart different nuances. A character who chooses to only say "rabbit" instead of "bunny" may sound more intelligent or old-timey. So, how do you know which one to choose when it could be any 3? That's a very simplified version of the kind of choices you have to make in translation. When it comes to sentences that get longer and have more nuance even in the original Japanese language, you suddenly have a whole new beast to deal with.

You may have heard the common joke of "inexperienced translators" who translate the phrase "しょうがない" as "it can't be helped". Most English dictionaries will tell you this is what the phrase means, and yes, it is used in such a manner, but the fact is, most people do not say "it can't be helped". "I can't help but [...]" is much more common, but the standalone phrase is usually "it is what it is" or "that's just how things are", etc.

The phrase itself literally translates as "there is no method".

So, we have three versions of this phrase. The literal translation, the widely-posited English dictionary translation, and a naturalized version that is not literal to the actual Japanese word, but is an "equivalent" to what people would say in English. Which of these is more correct? Really...none of them. There is no more correct answer, just what sounds better or fits better.

This is all to say, my translation is going to be me doing the very, upmost best I can do to capture the meaning and nuance in all the words said, but also making it sound good and natural in English. This will inevitably include changing very cultural-specific things that English players wouldn't get, e.g. the Mutsugorou Kingdom joke Komaeda makes. As an English translation, I feel it is most important to naturalize it for an English audience. That is the whole point of translating from one language into another.

Above all, I will be honoring the feeling and meaning of the text rather than the literal words like NISA did. In other words, I would personally go with "it is what it is".

Keep in mind I am also one guy. I am not perfect in either language. Even people who speak English or Japanese as their first language make mistakes in them still, and translation only increases that chance. That's why extra eyes on this project helps. I do feel like I am a little out of my league, but at the end of the day, I'm doing this out of passion and fun. The official translation will still exist even if I make my own, so if anything, I'm hoping it provides a different experience that can help people grasp a closer meaning to the Japanese text.

Okay, let's get to the game stuff. Firstly, as you've seen, changes will be made to Character names/talents.

Ultimate Breeder -> Ultimate Animal Breeder. As funny as the implications are, his title was never meant to be confusing or ambiguous in the Japanese version.

Ultimate Musician -> Ultimate Pop Rock Musician. Mioda's title in the Japanese version is actually "Ultimate K-On Club Member", but was changed since most English players don't know what K-On is. It is most comparable to Pop Rock in terms of sound.

Soda Kazuichi -> Souda Kazuichi.

Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko -> Kuzuryuu Fuyuhiko.

Kirigiri Kyoko -> Kirigiri Kyouko.

A vote was held to keep Tanaka Gundham instead of Gundam or Gandamu (but this is subject to change depending on opinions I hear from others. His name is supposed to be a Gundam reference). A vote was also held to keep Hinata Hajime instead of Hazime.

Character Accents: As is with these types of games, the point is to have zany, eccentric characters who talk in zany, eccentric ways. Danganronpa is extremely hit or miss when it comes to carrying over these quirks. For the rest of this post I'll just be talking about SDR2 of course, but basically everything I say applies to the other Dangan games as well.

Some characters have their accents kept, at least in part, while others are just ignored. For example, Souda and Owari's accents were only sometimes kept, or watered down, while Usami's accent was removed entirely.

Speech quirks: This is largely context based. A cutesy girl using ね excessively comes off differently than a typical teenage boy using ね excessively, and will be translated differently...at least, that's how I view it. For the girl, I may make her speech more bubbly, cute, and appealing. For the boy, I would akin it more to going "like" or "um" a lot. Of course, if the boy is going for a cutesy image, or the girl is supposed to be mature, then I would flip this around. Like I said, this part depends 100% on context for each line.

Accurate representation: This one is a lot...but I'll try to boil it down. Japanese has several was to say "I" and "You"; different words and different ways to write those words. In fiction, this is usually a vehicle to tell you about the character's personality.

For example, among boys, it is common they will either use "boku" or "ore". "boku" is generally more polite than "ore".

However, there's multiple ways to write "ore". Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji. The way it is written imparts a different impression. Hinata, for example, uses ore, kanji (俺) to refer to himself. Souda uses ore, katakana (オレ) to refer to himself. While this gives them both the impression of being masculine & impolite, Hinata using kanji gives the added impression of him being more intelligent and calm, while for Souda, katakana gives the impression of him being more abrasive and eccentric.

The meaning of what script is used also changes depending on context.

For example, for "you", both Hanamura and Komaeda use "kimi", which is a soft, friendly way to say "you" among friends. (Although, this is speaking strictly from the standpoint of fiction. You rarely use "you" in real Japanese. Anime characters do it all the time though, so it doesn't really count as "rude" by itself.)

However, Hanamura uses kimi, kanji (君) while Komaeda uses kimi, katakana (キミ). This both gives them the impression of being open and friendly, but for Hanamura, speaking with kanji makes it seem like he's being more proper and refined, and with Komaeda, speaking in katakana makes it seems like he's being more casual and laid back.

And then there are very unique "I" and "You" pronouns. Tanaka uses "ore-sama" (俺様) which sounds like he is saying "the great and amazing me", basically.

Ibuki says her own name, but this got translated poorly. Saying your own name as a first person pronoun, while not common, is more common in Japanese than English. Especially by kids and teen girls, it's seen as a cutesy thing. But it doesn't really come across like that in English. I will likely get rid of Mioda speaking in third person altogether, instead trying to incorporate this manner of speech into other forms, as it comes down to Mioda simply acting cute and eccentric. I think a good alternative is for her to occasionally speak of herself by saying "we" or "us", as that is not uncommon in English.

Similarly, Usami/Monomi talk with a cutesy ending. -desu becomes dechu, -masu becomes machu... "chu" is a very cute sound in Japanese, and it's supposed to drive home Usami's personality. I see this get translated as UwU speak a lot, which isn't incorrect, and in fact is a better translation than doing nothing like NISA did, but she does not speak with a speech impediment. It is only her endings that are modified. Me, personally, I will reword Usami to speak in a more simple, cute manner like a child show's protagonist, like Dora. I will also change some words to be cuter, like everybody -> everybunny, and you -> chu, but she will still speak normally.

And sometimes, pronouns change. Hinata uses omae (お前) to refer to other people, but for Monokuma, he's used omae (オマエ) before, changing the script to reflect his animosity.

This isn't even getting into honorifics or keigo. Honorifics (like -san, -kun, or no honorifics at all) reflect how respectful a character is of other characters. Similarly, "keigo", being often referred to as "polite speech", is commonly denoted by if a sentence ends in "-desu or -masu". Not speaking keigo in the situation these characters are in is a bit of a toss up. I wouldn't say it's automatically rude given they are all of the same age and status, and classmates don't always speak that way to each other either, but I would personally think most would approach this situation being polite when they're strangers.

There are also particles, some of which are more rude/masculine than other equivalent particles, or imperative speech, which is extremely rude (and not really ever used in real life).

On a politeness scale, for example...

Tsumiki uses keigo and uses -san for everyone, boys and girls. In the context of the rest of the cast, this sounds like she's speaking extremely politely and formally.

Komaeda does not use keigo but uses -san for girls and -kun for boys. He also uses "regular" particles. In context, this seems like he is speaking casually. Not rude, but not formal.

Hinata does not use keigo and does not use honorifics. He uses very masculine particles and is prone to using imperative form. In context, this seems like he is speaking extremely rudely.

Of course, NISA's version of SDR2 translates everything the same mostly since they go for a very literal approach, meaning these things that can't be translated into English all get translated the same, which is a shame. A lot is lost about how these characters speak and interact with the world. Specifically, Hinata suffers the most. Not just from stiff dialogue, but from getting his rude speech cut down immensely. The official art book for SDR2 claims that part of the design philosophy for Hinata was wanting to make a protagonist who was very masculine and direct. I want to keep that spirit in this patch, factoring in Hinata's choice in speech to influence how things get worded in English. While a sentence like なんだそれ！？Literally translates as "What is that!?", I would write it differently depending on the character after factoring in accent and everything we just talked about. "What the heck is that!?" for Souda, and "What the hell is that!?" (or even replacing hell with fuck in a tense situation) for Hinata, for example. For Komaeda, "What on earth is that!?" etc...

I think those are all the big points...if you've read this far, thank you :]

[mythosidhesdollhouse]

Shibajuku Girls: The Return?

Soooooooooo I've been debating whether to post about this at all because I doubt anyone will find it very interesting, but doll gossip is thin on the ground these days and I'm not quite ready to go to bed yet, so eff it let's go--

Alright so, those of you who follow these things may remember back during this year's Toy Fair it was announced that for some inexplicable reason the Shibajuku Girls doll line was planning a comeback. For reference: These 13" dolls from the Australian toy company Hunter Products originally turned up on shelves in the US back in the mid-2010's, to a fairly lackluster reception. Between their unusually high price point ($30-$35, a good deal above the average for fashion dolls at the time) and the fact that they are a rather blatant knock-off of Pullips, no one seemed to be that into them. In a way with their hair play gimmick (a lot of charms and hair clips) meant to interest children in Japanese street fashion I suppose one could see them as a precursor of the Decora Girlz, albeit with far lazier and less successful execution. I did end up buying one--Yoko--for the big head collection, and she's...fine, if forgettable. I like having her in the mix for variety, but I could never quite work up the enthusiasm to get another. The demise of ToysRUs around the time of their release probably didn't help matters any, as it was one of the few places that stocked them. These dolls lingered on the shelves of my local Target seemingly forever, before quietly disappearing to absolutely no fanfare.

But to bring it back to Toy Fair 2024--

For reasons that NO ONE I've heard speak on the subject can quite understand, seemingly out of nowhere Hunter Toys showed up at Toy Fair this year with a display of older dolls from the first two waves of Shibajuku, plus a wall of these mock-ups for a projected third series of anime-inspired characters. If you look closely at the 'prototype photos' in the boxes--not actual dolls--they appear to literally just be restyled Pullips. A lot of people (myself included) speculated that they may have put the money into creating a new head sculpt that more closely replicated the doll this line was always made to emulate, and the lack of actual dolls in boxes was a sign that this Shibajuku 2.0 head had yet to go into production in time for the event.

Turns out--no. That's not what they did at all. So--

A few days ago through a series of random browsing encounters I stumbled across listings for two of the five proposed 'Shibajuku Anime' dolls on Walmart's website. They are showing up as out of stock, but if you put them on your wishlist you can add them to your cart from there (though not check out), which is a pretty sure indication that they're expected in stock online and in stores soon.

So...what to say about these. First of all they quite obviously have the same old Shibajuku face. The fashions have considerably less detail than the prototype photos, which in itself I'd be willing to forgive for reasons I'll get to in a minute, but the main thing that overwhelmingly stands out to me here is that Kiki, one of the two characters shown with a darker complexion in the mock-ups, has gone from having tan skin and white hair to pale skin and black hair. Which, yeah no fuck that. No way of knowing if this was the brand's decision or a specific request from Walmart, but whichever way you slice it, it sucks. Lack of diversity was a huge issue with the first iteration of this line, and after the promise of a course correct it looks like we're back to more of the same. I will definitely be bending a critical eye on them to see if the other dark-skinned character, Sakura, receives a similar whitewashing :/

Now, with that rant out of my system, is there anything good to say? Well, the price, for one. These are set to retail for $19.98, which is significantly below what they sold for originally. No doubt the lower quality fashions and lack of accessories have a lot to do with it, but on the whole I'd say it's a plus. Also...as much as as I would have loved to see the ensuing drama if they had had the audacity to churn out a more blatant Pullip clone, for continuity's sake if nothing else I'm glad they stuck with the old face. She's a weird little bird and despite it all she deserves her place in the wider family of Big Head dolls, however derivative that might be (I mean, if anything Pullip needs MORE clones, Blythe has such a start on her in that arena....).

And finally (FINALLY) to wrap things up--will I be buying one? Perhaps surprisingly--yes! I plan to order Akira when she becomes available to ship. I think she's decently cute--you all know my bias for green hair--and I have a purely academic curiosity to compare her to my 'classic' Shibajuku. Plus, despite all my dismissive snark, I would actually like to see this relaunch be successful. I'm always in favor of diversity in the doll market, and this particular type of doll has been sadly under-represented of late. There is plenty room on the shelves for more big head girlies! MGA is daily signing that real estate away at an increasingly rapid pace XD My hope is that they do well enough to warrant the release of the other three dolls from the proposed new line-up, and that maybe--MAYBE--if the Dolly Gods are kind we will see Sakura with her original dark skin tone, as intended.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee ok that's enough sleep-procrastinating for one night, I'm done. If anyone else cares about this at all I'm sincerely curious to hear your thoughts.

[gold-rhine]

(can answer privately if u want)

how did you manage to write enjou stirring shit up. i need to know for Reasons

(Reasons being: i wanna write him doing that as well so i need to know how you figured that specific brand of Manipulation out)

oh, i love talking about Enjou, he's so fun to write.

Okay, Enjou's main rule is that he doesn't *technically* lie. If you've ever written fae with no-lie rules it should be similar. Everything he says should be true, even if he's seemingly joking - like when he tells traveler you never know what can happen in magic rituals, I could turn into a flame-throwing monster haha! He only lies by omission or by using leading questions. He often answers direct questions with his own questions, which lets him evade, or by what he makes look like a joke.

Like in Enka when traveler arrived and asked him who he is, he asked question in return, like Didn't they tell you there's gonna be a priest who will guide you? Traveler went yeah, they did. Enjou was like Great! You can't be expected to learn new language haha! i'm here to help translate.

He didn't say "I'm the priest who Kokomi said will help you," he asked a leading question to make traveler think about the priest with connection traveler trusted, then he didn't directly confirm he IS the priest and instead re-directed to his function "I'll help to translate", which is true!

Enjou's second rule is that he's a little shit and also a corny nerd. Like there's often a boring stereotype of manipulators being cool and sleek and charismatic, but Enjou is not that. He's a jokerified librarian. He consciously acts lame and corny to make the other person underestimate him and roll their eyes. He loves repeating how he's just a weak bookworm. He will go on info-dumping tangents to bury the lead of manipulation.

He also loves playing with his food, burying little inside jokes which only make sense in hindsight, like "I could turn into a flame-throwing monster". He likes doing the weak nerd routine, he enjoys watching the other person feel superior to him, while knowing he's in control of a situation, and he says corny shit on purpose to make it more pronounced. He should sound corny and just a bit unhinged. He says shit like "Exactomundo". I had to physically restrain myself, bc Enjou absolutely would say Exactomundo while watching a man's world crumbling before him, but I didn't want to ruin the tone for the reader.

So, to write Enjou's brand of manipulation you need to first formulate his end-goal, like what is the purpose of this manipulation? I assume you read my fic since you reference me writing enjou stirring shit up, so i'll use it as example of my thought process. One of the examples in my fic, he wants to convince rizzley that Neuvi gave him the title to buy his loyalty. What are the true facts here? Neuvi did fight hard to give rizzley the title, he says it in his own voice lines. What do we need to add? Malicious intent.

Enjou can't say "Your title was a bribe", bc that's a lie. Instead, he starts with "you know what I would do if *I* was the Hydro Sovereign with an ability to take human form? <...>I’d make sure I have people loyal to me in some key positions. Such as Royal Duelist… and the Warden of the Fortress.” It's not a lie, bc if Enjou was a sovereign, he'd probably really do that. On paper, he's talking about himself, but in context of overall conversation it will be obviously extrapolated to Neuvi. This is a form of switching the goal posts from Enjou to Neuvi without outright saying so.

Then, he says true facts:

“He didn’t make me the Warden,” Wriothesley gritted out. 

“No, but he did make you the Duke, didn’t he?” Enjou smirked with a wink. “Our sources say the Court was not thrilled to give the highest noble title to you. And if the Iudex did not throw his own weight behind it, it would have never come to pass. How generous of him.”

It's true, it was actually generous, he doesn't lie. But in context of previous implied accusation, it will be read as sarcastic, as saying it was done with selfish reasons.

And then he reinforces with “Ah, you’re starting to get it, don’t you?”, which is a leading question that again, doesn't say anything false outright.

he should also offer the person hes manipulating to beat him up repeatedly, bc hes a freak.

[makerofmadness]

What's with Balloon Boy and the Daycare Attendant?

The Balloon World arcade machine exists, it's in the DA's room and both characters are involved in it. It's probably one of the most cryptic minigames in the FNAF series as a whole, but while we could ponder what exactly it's supposed to mean (maybe I'll do that for all the security breach minigames eventually), the main question I have is this:

WHY Balloon Boy specifically? Why is the minigame about HIM?

Is there a connection between the two characters? Or was it a completely random decision?

Out of nowhere, thinking about Balloon World, I came to a realization:

The Lights.

Balloon Boy's entire gimmick in FNAF 2 was that if he got into your office, he would disable your flashlight and vent lights (...somehow. I know we all make the jokes about him taking the batteries [and then that FNAF 57: Freddy In Space thing in FNAF World said he just straight-up steals your entire flashlight], but you never see the battery icon disappear or appear empty in FNAF 2 itself when he gets into your office. And the vent lights also stop working, so unless they also operate on batteries, then... does he actually take them from you?).

What's the one rule in the daycare?

Keep the lights on.

His mechanic is the antithesis to what Sun wants and exactly what Moon would want. Balloon Boy doesn't keep the lights on. He prevents you from turning them on at all.

(which also makes me kinda sad there wasn't a Glamrock version of BB. Then again, I don't know how exactly he would've uniquely affected like anything. Regardless I am hoping for the day someone in the fandom makes a glamrock bb who is arch-enemies with sun and gets along well with moon skseijdndndnd-)

It feels kinda obvious and I'm guessing I'm not the only person to think about this, but I have never seen anyone else bring this up. Not on YouTube, not on tumblr, nowhere. Maybe if I go looking for it I'll see, but i'm surprised I haven't bumped into anyone else saying this just naturally. I go into the BB tags a LOT, surely SOMEONE would've said something, right? I don't even see it noted in the trivia on the page for the arcade game on the fnaf wiki.

...but is this supposed to mean anything? Or is it just a cute little reference or callback? it's hard to say, especially with how ambiguous the minigame is.

Though I DID think of ONE thing... (possible minor spoilers for Ruin under the cut):

Saw this pointed out in a youtube video that the BB World screen (with Eclipse, who makes their proper debut in Ruin after effectively being foreshadowed by the minigame in SB's base game) can be seen on the ceiling in the DA's room. Which makes sense, obviously, but also take note of the pirate-themed windows in the hallway leading to it.

...now, which character do most of us tend to associate with Balloon Boy? His "tag-team partner," of sorts?

Foxy. The Pirate.

With this, I found that there's more Foxy-related stuff associated with the daycare area than I had previously realized because I had never made any connections before. I mean, Kids' Cove is directly linked to it for god's sake.

Like. I hope i haven't forgotten to mention anything (I've been writing this post over the course of hours 'Cus I had stuff to do in the middle of it all). My brain's kinda starting to fry. But basically: Was Foxy originally meant to be the Daycare Attendant, in-universe? Was there gonna be a Glamrock Balloon Boy with him, like as his first mate or something??? Were they gonna be connected to Fazbear Theater????? (Uh basically Sun/Moon to my knowledge from confirmation in the books and a lot of more subtle implications in-game mainly involving environmental pieces were originally meant to be in the Fazbear Theater as a stage animatronic but got moved to daycare duty instead and being reprogrammed. Which actually explains a lot about them when you think about it-)

Like. Ok I'm forgetting where I was going with this, I'm sorry, but I guess it's food for thought/adds to the weird connections between DA and BB, I guess. Idk. I can't focus that well right now to keep making new ideas.

felt like sharing my interpretation of the Balloon World minigame itself at least since earlier I did kinda finally get it down concretely:

I kinda developed a theory that Eclipse is Sun/Moon's "safe mode" and that rebooting DA reactivated Eclipse as a result. Like, they're their own AI that was at one point implemented. but then Vanny happened and locked them out thanks to the whole Glitchtrap virus thing (albeit it only seemed to reach Moon, while Sun remains seemingly unaffected. Guessing it's because they're different AIs [finally implied/basically confirmed by their Ruin dialogue). Eclipse has seemingly not been active for some time, or at least never post-pizzaplex closure, given how they're seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that this place is closed with no signs of opening.

So the minigame was foreshadowing Eclipse's existence and implying their "trapped" nature, which also could be seen as paralleling Vanessa's whole "Vanny" situation, especially given how iirc one of the messages related to princess quest can be found near the arcade machine.

[cacodaemonia]

1st of all big fan, devoured RC!AU. It's fantastic

2nd of all, I could get lost in your sw resources tag that thing is awesome

3rd Do you have any references for Waxer and Boil's buckets? (Sorry in advance if you've already posted them, and thank u again for all the boxer content 💖)

Aw thanks! <3 I haven't written in the main RCAU for ages, but I'm still plugging away at the Open Skies sub-AU haha 😂

Ah I'm glad that's been helpful! I mostly tag for my own organizational purposes and I know there are some gems in there—especially from @gffa and @fox-trot! My 'sw refs' tag has a lot of overlap, but also includes a lot of image references for fanart or describing things in fics, so that one might be useful, too?

And yeah! I'm not sure if you want Phase I, Phase II, or their ARF helmets, haha, but I know I've got plenty of refs for all of those, so I'll toss them in here...

Boil:

Waxer (The second image shows the back of his Phase I helmet, which is hard to find shots of, in the background behind Boil being awkward 😂 So he had the little droid silhouette on his helmet back then, too):

And some shots of both of their helmets (Waxer is on the far right in the last image—you can see his tally marks):

Their ARF helmets seem to cause a lot of confusion, as I've even seen merch that doesn't show the little Numa painting on Waxer's helmet, and most people seem to mix up who is who in that Landing at Point Rain episode (probably because the writers seem to have done so, as well, since they gave Boil the more cheerful dialogue while having Waxer complain—but maybe he was just having a bad day! 🥺).

There's also the horizontal band of gold paint Boil has under his visor attachment to match the paint on his regular helmets, as well as a grey stripe along the top of the helmet that's lined up with the red triangle on his visor attachment. Waxer has his 'crest' stripe of gold paint, of course, and it continues under his visor attachment a little bit, too. Then he's got his tally marks and snoot triangle. :D

One thing that I only noticed recently is the very faded ship silhouette (or however you interpret the black design on his other helmets) on the left side of his ARF one. In the second-to-last image above, you can just barely see something on his left side, but the only way I knew it was more than just dirt was because I have a little figure with the shape painted on it. Which is also not very visible:

(Thankfully, I don't think I've actually done any images where you can see the left side of Boil's ARF helmet, so I shouldn't have to add that to any of them, haha. Hopefully I haven't mentioned anything about the lack of symbol in any of my fics, though... XD)

I'm still unclear what is going on with the paint on his and Waxer's spaulders in the ARF episode, because it's obviously faded/been scuffed in places, but sometimes, Waxer seems to have an unpainted right spaulder, and sometimes there's a stripe??? His little figurine is the opposite, though, with a striped right spaulder and an unpainted left one. Meanwhile, Boil's left spaulder looks like it could be all painted gold, like in the figure above, but other times, it seems to be a normal stripe??? Who even knows—I'm guessing that the texture for their models got messed up during the production of the episode, so they're inconsistent. Personally, I'm just sticking with 'matching stripes on both sides,' like the rest of their armor. 😂

Anyway, I hope that helps!

[amerricanartwork]

Current digital art process!

Acting on @shkika 's request because making my redraw for this post actually ended up giving me more confidence in my digital art process! As such, I'm gonna use it as a reference. And if this walkthrough of sorts turns out nice, I might do it again as my process evolves!

I started off with a quick sketch of sorts, trying to focus both on movement and volume, and get the general idea of where each element is located. I edit the image dimensions and placement of things a lot in this phase, as my ideas often tend to change once I actually begin drawing them. In this case, as I got it down, I decided I wanted it to look like some cheesy animal motivational poster, so that influenced where the text was.

From there, I began to clean and sometimes edit the sketch, mainly by thickening the lines to make the shapes more definite, and erasing what wasn't necessary and interfered with other parts. Volume is one of my biggest focuses in my drawings, so I try my best to get the volume of each character at least hinted at with the lines. This is something that will probably remain in my process for a while, as I quite dislike doing separate lineart and like the messy, sketchy feel anyway.

I also wanna mention, in addition to having references and such in other windows, I've recently begun having a second mini window of my current drawing off to the side so I can see what it looks like overall more easily, regardless of how much I zoom in on and flip the main window. It's quite helpful!

For reference, this is what the final sketch looked like:

Then, I went on to add the flat colors. Another tip: I almost always set my sketch layer to "Lumi & Shade" because I think it makes the line colors a lot richer, but since it's based on what colors are underneath, it colors the lines a lot more individually than changing the sketch color as a whole. Here's some comparison to a version without the effect (left):

Then, I add some shading using a (really nice) marker brush. This is honestly one of my favorite parts of the process, just trying to carve out all the volumes, especially since I usually use a pretty blue color for shadows!

Sometimes, I honestly just leave drawings finished at this step, because I adore the sketchy look so much, and because I really don't like the tediousness of more realistic rendering in the painting process; from what I've seen/experienced, it often involves having to basically paint the entire image over again, which I've realized I find REALLY boring (and is also why I clean the sketch instead of making a new lineart layer). As such, one of my hopes is to reach a point where I could almost completely avoid having to clean up the image in a traditional painting method, instead being able to lay down lines and colors so well that they convey nearly all the volume necessary on their own, still have that sketchy appeal, yet also look finished and professional.

Alas, I did do a bit of clean up on this image, but I think it still turned out alright!

Here's the finished drawing! I'll have to practice with this process a bit more to truly solidify it as my digital go-to, but nonetheless, I think this came out adorable! Thanks again shkika for the ask, and thanks to @mintscampi for the sweet prompt! I hope you guys like it!

[fatguarddog]

Welcome 🐾🔞

Follows from @follow-fatguarddog (inactive old main but I gotta keep it to keep this blog)

Hey, I'm Hutch, 29/UK/M, icon by @droolfang

I am not a gainer. I'm a chubby alt male feeder/feedee who enjoys stuffing and being treated like a dog ❤️

This is my space to explore my kinks, mainly weight gain stuff and slightly more aggressive pet play I'm trans, only use he/him pronouns and prefer terms like dick/cock and tits when referring to my body. I've had top surgery but enjoy fantasising about growing tits/moobs I like people of all genders, but do lean t4t ❤️

I love hearing other people's fantasies/ideas so ask is always open! You should probably scroll down a bit and read my Hard Nos first before sending one though (please no more slob-leaning asks) ❤️

DMs are open, but please only message if you're 23+ I offer custom audio commissions, find out more HERE I have a Ko-fi HERE if you ever wanna throw a dog a bone or treat me into something in particular 🦴

My Kinks

I'll be tagging my posts in case you want to search for or block something in particular - original stuff will still be 'hutch posts,' but here you can also find 'hutch photos' for pics of me and 'hutch audios' for little fat fantasy recordings Also to reiterate that whilst this is a weight gain-centric blog, I'm not in a position to actually gain weight nor am I a gainer, I just like fantasising about a world where I could be a lazy fat dog. Please don't send me asks about tips for gaining weight because I'm afraid I can't help you, I have always been roughly this fat and have no experience with consistent gaining

🐾 Fuck yes: feedism, weight gain (magical, slow, rapid, forced, etc.), ass/belly/breast expansion, general belly kink, monsterfucking, bondage, praise kink, intox kink (alcohol and weed), biting, pet play (think of me as a rough but loyal dog or a maybe pig boy)

🐾 Yes Please: breeding, cnc, some degradation, corruption kink, primal urges, hucow/lactation, inflation (favs are pumpkin, honey, berry and milk), plushification, force masc and force femme (not in a detransition way, just like how a cis guy would be into it)

🚫 Hard Nos: detransition kink, slob stuff, death feedism, gore, piss/scat, ddlg type stuff, incest, birth, feet, immobility in weight gain scenarios (I'm ok with it in more fantasy-based tf scenarios though, e.g. pumpkin inflation/transformation)

Taken anon emojis/sign offs: 🪞, 🐮💓, 🫐🐈, 🐶❤️, 🐑🤍, storm anon, 😻, 🎃, 💋, 🐳, 🕹️, ghost anon, 🎃☕, 🎃🦣, 🥛, 🥓🐻, 🐉, 🍩🐶, 🍒🦝, 🐷 🤓, 💜, 🧊🐺, 🎤, 🐺, 💣💥, 🐊, ⚡️, 🐇, 🔵, 🐗, 🎀, seal anon, doughnon, 🍰, 🦌, 🍔🐱, 🥨, dogboy, 🐐, ⚕️, sleepy cowboy, 📼, 🦇, 🦕, ☢️, 🍄, 🐷🐶, 🚙, 🌀, eldritch weight gain anon, ♉️ Emojis/sign offs help me know who I'm talking to if you've sent asks before, so feel free to add them! If you want to interact with me, please don't call me a puppy! Just dog/big dog/fat dog is fine, but puppy doesn't do it for me in referring to myself

BLOCK LIST

Under 18s or no age in your bios, you’re not welcome here

Same if you’re over 45, no disrespect it's just not comfortable for me

Misgendering and thinspo blogs, no thanks

Literally anyone who makes me uncomfortable at my discretion

Feedism jars filled out under the cut if you wanna know more

[vees-genshin-blog]

Daily Genshin 14 (Double Update)

Warning: THERE ARE 5.1 SPOILERS HERE. I HAVE GOTTEN FARTHER IN THE QUEST.

Second part of the double update, Day 14 is here!!

I collected crystal cores and condensed resin and collected dailies and stuff. The main stuff I did was ADVANCING ON THE STORY QUEST!!!! So I actually took note of my reactions while doing it, though I actually couldn't finish it, but I will do my best to finish it tomorrow 😤. Everything in bold after this paragraph is my live reaction so I hope you guys enjoy!! In parentheses, I'll add context or later thoughts.

I feel like I'm the one getting scolded 😭😭. (I felt that scolding in my soul. Especially the part where she saying how it's like things go in one ear and out the other... yeah I've heard that way too many times 😔)

Drunk Citlali 😂😂😂 (Enough said here)

Ororon was gonna be sacrificed as a baby !?!?!?!😭😭😭

Im really glad im not controlling Chasca here because I mess up the hide while followin someone parts way too many times and its always frustrating to start over.

Ororon got involved to protect his granny 😭😭.

ARE WE ACTUALLY GONNA ATTACK THE FATUI?!?!?

We finally meet them 😲😲😲. Are we gonna fight??? Pls no. (Thank God we didn't actually fight Capitano. I don't think my Childe International team is ready for that right now)

ORORON EVOLUTION!!!! Nope never mind, he was possessed. GET OUT OF HIS BODY!! (I was genuinely excited until I realized was what was happening 😔)

Ah yes, nothing like getting possessed to finally have some self-reflection and identity crisis time. FUDGE YOU PERSON!!! Don't you dare!! 😤😤😤😤😤 Yes Ororon!! Struggle to live!!

HE GOT A NAME!!!! He's a... chosen one 🥹🥹🥹 (This was me making a cheeky Harry Potter reference in my head. Also his pose when he held the name and was all glowy was so cool and I'm mad that I didn't get a pic of it)

But seriously, why is his soul fragmented??

Capitano is from Khaenriah!??!?!? He also probably knew Mavuika from 500 years ago!?!?!? I.... have some thoughts about that now 😁

I'm sorry but Ororon looks like he's stuck between his arguing parents 😂😂😂😂😂

Live photo taken:

WE'RE OFFICIALLY ALLIES!! 😭😭😭 (Also dang, Capitano has a rotting body. ANGST POTENTIAL)

And I'm gonna stop here because I need to sleep. Peace out.

So yeah!! I stopped after Capitano and Mavuika had their talk in the Speaker chamber and we'll see how the situation escalates 🥹. I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

PS: Since this is day 14, I will post a Progress Check tomorrow since I did a double update today.

[deaft-punk]

Intro Post :)

Thought I'd finally make an intro post because I can't sleep and I'm bored so here we go

My name is Melody, I'm an agender lesbian but I honestly don't give a shit about how you want to refer to me

I'm deaf and autistic so please bare with me when I have my slow moments :')

My current hyperfixations are Ghostbusters (specifically Phoebe Spengler and Checkmatch) and tenrecs

I'm in too many fandoms to list them all lmao but some of my main ones are: Ghostbusters (obviously), Marauders, Dead By Daylight, Stranger Things, Criminal Minds, Stanley Parable, Sleepy Hollow, Scream, and Spiritfarer

My current favourite artists/bands: Hozier, Adrienne Lenker, Matt Maltese, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, Mitski, Sandi Thom, Billy Joel, Scissor Sisters etc etc

I will die on this hill for these ships: Checkmatch, Jemily, Wenclair, Ronance, Elmax, Wiseflower

Note for donation asks: As much as I wish I could, I unfortunately can't donate as I'm a minor and don't have any money :(

Content info under cut

I'll probably add more specific tags in the future but for now I'll be tagging my future shit posts/reblogs with #melodys yaps🪶 and #melodys reblogs🪶

I'm planning on making fanart and AUs when I get my bedroom back so I actually have space to do many evil things >:] (which is hopefully soon)

I'm more than happy to take requests for fanart and AUs. I'll update this post with request boundaries as soon as I can

I also have another blog for me to yap about my ocs and the silly little stories I've made for them. @deaft-punks-oc-archive is the URL, however, there's nothing on it at the moment so don't get your hopes up

[transmascpetewentz]

Intro + Basic Stuff

It has been 5 days since a transandrophobe has been horrifyingly disrespectful of a gay trans man who died of AIDS on one of my posts or in my inbox.

It has been 3 days since a cis gay man has whined about his genital preference in my notes and/or inbox when I didn't ask.

If you're here because someone accused me of being a TERF, please know that I am not. Read this for more details.

I can't think of a name to use on this blog so just refer to me either by my URL or a silly nickname. My BYF as well as a few blinkies are under the cut.

my pronouns are he/him, but any are fine if you're clearly using them to show that you respect me. they/them is generally okay as long as you aren't using them to dehumanize me.

i prefer gendered terms (boy, girl, enby) over neutral terms, but i will block you if you use "girl" in a misgendering sense. malewife and similar terms are fine. also, this is highly unlikely to come up, but please don't call me "queen."

i'm USAmerican, and when i'm talking about issues, i'm likely talking about USAmerica unless i indicate otherwise.

i'm currently having brainrot about: fall out boy, american idiot, red white and royal blue, fallout new vegas, and velvet goldmine (the 1998 film).

i also post untagged discourse on this blog, specifically talking about transmasc issues, trans liberation, queer liberation, and how to be normal about transmascs if you aren't one.

i'm also looking into converting to judaism, and as such i might post about conversion and judaism in general. filter #judaism if you don't want to see it.

i'm part of a system, so it might not always be the same person answering asks. i probably won't post about it mostly because i want to stay out of syscourse.

all original posts are #wentz.txt, asks are #asks. if i ever have photos of myself on here, they'll be #wentz.jpg.

this blog runs on a queue, so just because i post doesn't mean i've been online recently.

this is my alternate account. i have a main blog that i'm ignoring due to harassment. if you have me blocked on my main and try to follow me here, i'm blocking you for your own sake.

cis women are welcome to follow but don't touch any of my posts making fun of cis gay men or i will bite you.

blog rules:

no, i'm never sharing my age on here.

tag filtering: flashing, eyestrain, loud, violence cw, sexual assault cw, pedophilia cw, self harm cw, suicide cw, not worksafe, long post, anon hate, arguing with bigots, fascism cw.

please do not ask me about whether i am pro or anti ship, whether i support endogenic systems, or my views on intracommunity issues i'm not part of.

i'm autistic and as such might not understand if i'm making you uncomfortable. please either block me or DM me and tell me to stop doing something.

i won't reblog your callout post, reblog bait, guilt tripping, or donation post. an exception might be made for your donation post if we're mutuals.

if i don't block you, then i don't mind you following me. i don't softblock. please don't softblock me either, just block or else i'll refollow.

if i have reblogs enabled on a post, i'm fine with anyone reblogging it. if i have replies enabled, i'm fine with anyone replying.

if you're going to send anon hate, it has to be interesting, original, funny, and/or creative.

also, if you're going to send anon hate, please refrain from calling me slurs, sending me death threats, sexually harassing me, or misgendering me. also, please censor the name sh***a, or don't use the name at all in your ask.

i don't really have a dni, but i will block you if: you fetishize gay men or trans men, you support capitalism and/or cops, you glorify the actions of the ussr, you deny that transandrophobia exists, you think that feminine cis men are more oppressed than feminine trans men.

actually, i have to add a dni now: please dni if you falsely accuse gay men who died of aids of sexual assault. yes, someone like this tried to interact with me.

That should be it for now!

[drretroregretevator]

Intro post!!

Hiya! This'll be a DrRETRO roleplay blog, note that this is my first time making a rp blog of any sorts, and I basically have no idea how to use tumblr

Also please note that I'm still working on how to portray Retro's character! If I make any mistakes, please inform me!

for out of character things I'll use '[ooc]' and then whatever I want to say

If you want to refer to me out of character, call me Ruby or Puppeteer!!

Notes and boundaries:

Please don't mention (IRL) parasites, I really don't do well with those Don't be a weirdo, please, I'm a minor since apparently this one needs clarification: NOTHING SEXUAL IN MY INBOX. I want NO mention of: sex, genitalia, etc. ALSO DON'T JOKE ABOUT RAPE??? Y'all need some serious help. Another thing: Please don't send anything about pregnancy either, it makes me uncomfortable.

No slurs. The fact I had to add this says enough about you all. It's not funny. You're not "edgy" or "cool". Just don't. When it comes to shipping, I'm mainly fine with it, though note I ship RetroHammer, so any other ship-type interactions would be one-sided There's a likelihood that drawings for answers/responses won't be common, but if I have the motivation, there will be a drawing! I have two artstyles right now, a lined one and a lineless one, so the artstyle in art posts might vary! My way of drawing Retro might also slightly vary overtime, as I'm still not completely sure on the fullbody design I have of her rn!

Magic anons are allowed, just make sure they don't last too long or are inappropriate!! (For example: You can make Retro an ordinary cat, but maximum 10 asks)

I post when I feel like it, this can mean long periods of inactivity!

Do NOT take anything I say on this blog as actual medical advice or anything of that sort, I am not a professional, if you have a genuine problem, please have a professional look at it!

Some context on OWP for those confused: OWP is my main OC who I decided to involve into Regretevator, she often hangs around Retro and tends to be chaotic and odd in general, she'll be interacting too sometimes!!

Main blog (Often inactive but I post art sometimes): @slimygreasestain OWP blog (will mainly be used for reblog interactions and such): @theonewhopuppeteers

Some tags I'll probably use:

General: #Regretevator #Regretevator Roblox #Roblox Regretevator #Ask blog Retro in general: #DrRETRO regretevator #Regretevator DrRETRO

ask answers as Retro: #Retro Answers

Random posts from Retro: #Retro posts #Retro rambles OWP in general: #OWP chaos ask answers as OWP: #OWP answers Random posts from OWP: #OWP posts #OWP rambles

Interactions: #Retro interacts

[warm-cat-burrito]

This is legitimately just my spam blog. I have two other sideblogs, one for art/my OCs (@fennmeow) and one for therian/autism/ADHD stuff and general thoughts (@fennthetalkingdog). All I'll probably ever do here is reblog cool stuff I find, but the main reason I'm making this intro is just so I can organize all the tags I'll be using here. It'll change all the time (if I start to reblog something that requires a new tag, I'll add it here), so this will continually change.

For reference, though, I like:

Yu-Gi-Oh, Dungeon Meshi, and other anime/manga

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, Tower of God, and other webtoons/webtoon anime

Persona 5 Royal (both the game and the manga <3)

Wings of Fire

Warrior cats

FNAF

Spiderman

Writing

(Some) K-pop songs, Vocaloid songs (Ghost and Pals <3), and music in general

Alt stuff (especially poc alt stuff)

Autism, ADHD, and therian stuff (will be limited tho since some of it will go on my sideblog)

so I'll definitely be reblogging that stuff. And I occasionally have hyperfixations, so that list is also subject to change, lol. Also I'll be putting real life stuff into either the #real life tag or the #advice tag (depending on what it is). Other stuff will be organized in one of the tags attached here (hopefully).

Also here are the links for the daily clicks for Palestine/Sudan thing because I keep forgetting and maybe you did too:

Okay so it looks like I'm gonna run out of tags soon so I'll put them under a cut (I'll save the actual tags for important and relevant ones):

🐾--------🐾

(Note: If tags have another tag next to them in parentheses, that's their spoiler tag; I try my best to use only one. And related tags can be listed in bullets beneath a parent tag—in this case all posts with the specific tag will also be tagged with the parent tag. If two tags have a "/" between them, that means they're interchangable and all posts with one tag will have the other too.)

General Trigger Warnings:

#tw blood

#tw drugs

* #tw weed

#tw eyestrain

#tw sex mention (literally for anything that mentions sex)

* #spicy (spicy stuff that may imply/describe sex but don't show it)

* nsfw (full-on nsfw stuff - I shouldn't be posting that? But just in case)

#tw syscourse (most will only be reblogged privately tho)

#tw periods

#tw politics

* #international news

* #congo

* #gaza/#palestine/#free palestine

* #haiti

* #sudan

* #tigray

* #usa news

* #us presidential debate

* #us politics

General Art Tags:

#animatic

#character design

#comic

#cool art (for art unrelated to a mentioned fandom)

* #anthro

* #artfight

* #fennmeow/#my art

* #monster

* #oc art

* #scenecore

#human designs

#suggestive

Anime:

#dungeon meshi (#dungeon meshi spoilers)

* #farcille

* #labru

* #secret lab!au (also under #crossover and #scp foundation)

#jujutsu kaisen

#mob psycho 100

* #transfem mob

* #transmasc reigen

#oshi no ko (#oshi no ko spoilers)

#tower of god (in this category since I'll barely reblog ToG webtoon stuff probably)

* #tower of god anime

#welcome to demon school iruma kun/#marimashita! iruma kun

* #iruma kun mafia if story

#yugioh

* #yugioh gx

Webtoons:

#omniscient reader's viewpoint (#omniscient reader spoilers)

Videogames:

#deltarune

#fnaf

* #fnaf movie

#legend of zelda

* #breath of the wild

* #tears of the kingdom

* #wind waker

#off game

#persona 5 royal

#slay the princess

#the stanley parable

#ultrakill

#undertale

Books:

#stormlight archive

#virals

#warrior cats

#wings of fire

Other Media:

#actirangers

#crossover (a tag for crossovers - I've gotta go back and retag stuff tho)

* #secret lab!au (dungeon meshi x scp foundation)

* #twin runes (undertale x deltarune)

#gravity falls

* #after canon AU

* #fiddleford

* #billford

* #bill(ford)^2

* #the book of bill

#lackadaisy

#musicals

* #cats the musical

* #hadestown

#my little pony

* #equestria girls

* #my little pony friendship is magic

#scp foundation

#spiderman (almost each character has their own tag in this category)

* #into the spiderverse (#into the spiderverse spoilers)

* #across the spiderverse (#across the spiderverse spoilers)

* #meows morales/#spidercat

#total drama island

#what we do in the shadows

* #my familiars ghost

Relating to Me:

#alterhuman/#nonhuman

* #otherkin

* #therian

#college things

* #major stuff (stuff about my majors)

* #minor stuff (stuff about my minors)

#for future fenn

* #for irl friends

#languages

#music

* #video game music

* #vocaloid

* #hatsune miku/#miku worldwide

#neurodivergent

* #autism

* #adhd

* #intellectual giftedness

* #overexcitability

* #stimming

#plurality

* #tulpamancy

#pride (for queer stuff in general)

#writing

* #fanfiction

* #mha fanfiction/#Rowan Call and Toby (my own mha fanfiction)

General Tags:

#important

#advice

* #drawing advice

* #job applications

#cats

#friend interactions (things like chain posts with friends)

#mental health

#pretty people

* #drag

#real life

* #comedy

* #disability

* #fundraiser

#resources (only for linked resources)

#stuff for atlas (stuff for my friend Atlas btw)

#tumblr

* #historic tumblr posts

* #poll

* #tumblr folks doing the usual

I apologize profusely for any untagged or badly tagged posts—I reblogged a bunch of stuff before I began my tagging system and some past stuff is still untagged or weirdly tagged.

[luminouslumity]

I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile now, and since it'll still be awhile before the album's fully complete, why not do it while only three are out? And what is it exactly? Essentially, comparisons. I've done quite a few similar posts with the Monkie Kid series already, in which I would talk about certain characters and the mythology behind them, with Journey to the West being my main reference point.

In this case, I'll of course be using the Iliad and the Odyssey for sources, specifically the Emily Wilson translations. I'll also be referring to other sources when necessary. They'll be pretty brief and will only cover up to where we are now, but here's your spoiler warning just in case (yes, even for a tale as ancient as this). Basically, think of this as a way to provide extra context. I intend to do this with each saga that's released.

Now, without further ado, let's begin. And as a disclaimer, I by no means claim to be an expert, I'm just someone who loves mythology and also happens to read a lot.

THE HORSE AND THE INFANT: Lots of names are being dropped here, so let's start with the main man himself, ODYSSEUS (Ὀδυσσεύς)! He is the son of LAËRTES (Λαέρτης) and ANTIKLEIA (Ἀντίκλεια), who is a granddaughter of the god HERMES (Ἑρμης), which I'm sure many would agree would probably explain a lot! In some versions, Odysseus' biological father is said to have been SISYPHOS (Σίσυφος), another mortal trickster, albeit a far more villainous one. Either way, clearly this runs in the family! He also has a sister named KTIMENE (Κτιμένη). And of course, there's his lovely wife PENELOPEIA (Πηνελόπεια), more commonly known as Penelope, and their son TELEMAKHOS (Τηλέμαχος).

Speaking of Penelope, the following story comes to us briefly from Pausanias' Description of Greece. Born in Sparta to King IKARIOS (Ικαριος) and the river nymph PERIBOEA (Περιβοια), it's said Princess Penelope was allowed to marry only after someone had beaten her father in a footrace. Of course, that someone ends up being Odysseus, but here's where the interesting part comes in: when discussing AIDOS (Αιδως), Modesty, Pausanias adds that Ikarius attempted to convince Odysseus to stay, and failing that, pleaded with Penelope. Odysseus, rather than challenge Ikarius or speak over his new bride, let her make the choice. But Penelope said nothing. Instead, she simply placed her veil over her face, her silent answer clear as day.

Next, we come to Telemachos, who was a newborn when his father left. However, it should be noted that Odysseus really didn't want to go. So much so that he feigned madness to try and get out of it, which was only foiled when PALAMEDES (Παλαμήδης) seized baby Telemachos and placed him right in front of where his father was recklessly ploughing the fields; Odysseus stopped immediately after noticing his son, but was then forced to join the war afterwards.

DIOMEDES (Διομηδης): one of the more notable Greeks during the Trojan War and a favorite of the goddess of wisdom alongside Odysseus, Diomedes was an intelligent and valiant soldier, to the point where he had even wounded the god of war himself. He also directly assisted Odysseus in Troy's downfall.

AGAMEMNON (Ἀγαμέμνων) and MENELAOS (Μενέλαος): Okay, these two have their own stories that I could make an entirely different post on, but for simplicity's sake, Agamemnon is the king of Mykenai and commander of the Akhaioí (Greeks); much of the Iliad concerns his feud with AKHILEUS (Ἀχιλλεύς) over the captive BRISEIS (Βρισηίς). Meanwhile, his brother Menelaos is king of Sparta and had been married to the reason this war started in the first place.

TEUCER (Τεῦκρος): one of the greatest archers, Teucer actually had Trojan blood through his mother HESIONE (Ἡσιόνη), who was the sister of King PRIAMOS (Πρίαμος), or Priam. Through his father TELAMON (Τελαμών), his elder half-brother is AIAS (Αἴας), or Ajax, the Greater.

AJAX THE LESSER: By the time of the Trojan War, there are two characters by the name of Ajax, with the Lesser referring to Ajax of Locris. He was known for having been a spearman and the fastest of the Greeks, but like many of his comrades, never made it back home after having earned the wrath of the gods.

NESTOR (Νέστωρ): the eldest of Greek army, he often offered wise, albeit long-winded, advice. At the end of the war, he was among the few who managed to return home safely.

HELEN (Ἑλένη): And now we get to the Reason. Well, sort of. Married to Menelaos and then PARIS (Πάρις), to blame the Trojan War solely on Helen would mean to disregard a lot of other things, such as the idea of KLEOS (κλέος)—glory—three powerful goddesses, a little golden apple, and even an entire plan to depopulate the earth. Sources vary as to whether Helen even left with Paris willingly, and that's not even getting into the versions where she didn't even make it to Troy at all! What is known, however, is that by the time we see her in the Iliad, Helen is nothing short of resentful. For example, during a confrontation with APHRODITE (Αφροδιτη), she says:

“You, goddess? Why do you want to trick me in this way? Will you keep leading me to yet more cities, in Phrygia or in fine Maeonia if any other mortal takes your fancy? Now Menelaus has defeated Paris, and wants to take me home with him again, although I am so hateful. Is that why you come to me now with these tricks of yours? Then go to him yourself and sit beside him! Give up the path of gods and let your feet never turn back again to Mount Olympus! Spend all your time on taking care of Paris, crying for him, until he makes you either his slave girl or his wife! But I will not ever go back. It would bring retribution. And I will never service that man’s bed. All of the Trojan women in the future will blame me if I do, and in my heart I will endure more pain than I can measure.”

Aphrodite threatens her immediately following this, forcing her to go and comfort her new husband, but not before Helen tells him:

“So you came back from the fighting. I wish that you had died out there, defeated by that strong man who used to be my husband. Before, you claimed you were superior to warlike Menelaus in your strength and hands and spear. So go on, challenge him! Call Menelaus back again to fight you! But no. I order you to stop. Do not make war and fight with ruddy Menelaus. It would be idiotic. You would soon lose and lie dead beneath that fighter’s spear.”

According to a fragmented poem called Ilias mikra ( Ἰλιὰς μικρά), or Little Iliad, when Odysseus and Diomedes are sneaking into the city to steal their PALLADION (Παλλάδιον)—a wooden statue fashioned by the goddess of wisdom herself and said to be Troy's protector—Helen recognizes them, but never alerts the people in the walled city.

In terms of family, Helen had at the very least a daughter—HERMIONE (Ἑρμιόνη)—who had been about nine when she left (sources vary on whether she had other children or not), and she was also a first cousin of Penelope on her father's side. Though speaking of TYNDAREUS (Τυνδάρεος), prior to Helen making her choice of husband, one of the suitors present had suggested that should she be taken by anyone else—of which there actually had been a precedent for thanks to a certain Athenian king—they would all take up arms against that person to get her back. This would become known as the Oath of Tyndareus. What a brilliant idea, Odysseus.

NEOPTOLEMOS (Νεοπτόλεμος): son of Akhileus and called PYRRHOS (Πύρρος) at birth, Neoptolemos joined towards the end of the war and helped bring about the fall of Troy. Though young when he was called to arms, many sources often emphasize his brutality during this time, while others—such as Euripides and Sophocles—show him to be kinder, albeit torn in regards to the situation he's in.

And as for his father, Akhileus had actually been killed by Paris of all people, though not without divine help. Paris himself would later be killed by the archer PHILOKTETES (Φιλοκτήτης), and of Priam's remaining sons, Neoptolemos is credited by the Roman Quintus with having killed the following: POLITES (Πολίτης), PAMMON (Πάμμων), and ANTIPHONUS (Ἀντίφονόν).

JUST A MAN: Which brings us to ASTYANAX (Ἀστυάναξ), the infant son of HEKTOR (Ἕκτωρ) and ANDROMACHE (Ἀνδρομάχη). He is indeed killed because the Greeks feared his potential retribution, but the exact details aren't entirely consistent. In one version, he's killed by Neoptolemos, in others by Odysseus, be it directly or indirectly. In Seneca's The Trojan Women, the child even leaps off the walls himself. It's only in much later traditions does he survive.

As for his father, Hektor was said to have been the greatest fighter of the Trojans and had shown great kindness towards Helen for all of the twenty years she'd spent at Troy (yes, according to the very end of the Iliad, Helen specifically had been at Troy for twenty years at that point). The poem ends with his funeral.

FULL SPEED AHEAD: EURULOKHOS (Εὐρύλοχος) is not only Odysseus' second-in-command, but also his brother-in-law. His home is near Ithaka, on the island of Same. Polites (different one, of course) meanwhile is a very minor character in the Odyssey, but is still referred to as Odysseus' devoted friend.

OPEN ARMS: The LOTOPHAGOI (λωτοφάγοι), or lotus-eaters, were a race who—when consuming from a specific plant—would fall into a state of apathy to the point of never wishing to leave. This incident in the Odyssey is actually incredibly brief, with the crew arriving and then leaving immediately after Odysseus forces the men who ate from the lotus back on the ship.

WARRIOR OF THE MIND: Throughout both the Iliad as well as the Odyssey, ATHENA (Ἀθηνᾶ) acts as Odysseus' patron goddess. The boar "only the best could kill" is likely in reference to the famous Kalydonian Boar Hunt, which Odysseus is actually never mentioned as having taken a part in, but his father Laërtes did, depending on the source. The poem does reference a boar hunt, though, one that caused Odysseus to get scratched when he was still young.

POLYPHEMUS: In this song, we officially meet, well, POLYPHEMOS (Πολύφημος), the KYKLOPS (Κυκλωψ). Odysseus and his man arrive at his island immediately after they leave the land of the lotus-eaters, find a cave filled with cheese and sheep, and...

My crew begged, ‘Let us grab some cheese and quickly drive the kids and lambs out of their pens and down to our swift ships, and sail away across the salty water!’

That would have been the better choice. But I refused. I hoped to see him, and find out if he would give us gifts.

Obviously, this doesn't turn out to be the case. What needs to be understood, however, is that Odysseus and his crew were technically guests, so he would've expected Polyphemos to uphold XENIA (ξενία), sacred hospitality, something he even makes clear in the poem. He hadn't anticipated for Polyphemos to have no fear of the gods. The next morning, Odysseus gives him wine gifted to him by a priest of APOLLON (Ἀπόλλων) named MARON (Μάρων); Polyphemos finds it so delicious that he even compares it to nectar, the drink of the gods. Yet still, this wasn't enough to persuade the kyklops to free them.

SURVIVE: In the original poem, Odysseus is mentioned to have had several men eaten by Polyphemos, though the only one actually named is ANTIPHOS (Ἄντιφος).

REMEMBER THEM: It's worse in the poem.

���Hey, you, Cyclops! Idiot! The crew trapped in your cave did not belong to some poor weakling. Well, you had it coming! You had no shame at eating your own guests! So Zeus and other gods have paid you back.’

[...]

My crew begged me to stop, and pleaded with me. ‘Please! Calm down! Why are you being so insistent and taunting this wild man? He hurled that stone and drove our ship right back to land. We thought that we were going to die. If he had heard us, he would have hurled a jagged rock and crushed our heads and wooden ship. He throws so hard!’

But my tough heart was not convinced; I was still furious, and shouted back again, ‘Cyclops! If any mortal asks you how your eye was mutilated and made blind, say that Odysseus, the city-sacker, Laertes’ son, who lives in Ithaca, destroyed your sight.’

Then it's immediately revealed this had been part of a prophecy.

Like MY GOODBYE, I honestly don't think there's much for me to talk about STORM and LUCK RUNS OUT, at least not at the moment, so let's move on to KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, where we meet AIOLOS (Αιολος)! His island in the sky is named, fittingly, Aiolia, and he lives there with his wife and twelve children. Though initially receiving Odysseus and his crew warmly, once the bag of winds was opened and returned them to the island, Odysseus tried to ask for his help again, but Aiolos simply demanded that they leave, figuring the men were disfavored by the gods.

And finally, we have RUTHLESSNESS! After being rejected by the wind god, the crew come across the LAISTRYGONES (Λαιστρυγονες), giants who ate the crew and destroyed the ships until only one vessel remained. According to Hesiod, they sprang from Laistrygon (Λαιστρυγων), whose father was POSEIDON (Ποσειδων).

Poseidon as he appears in many myths is, in one word, ruthless, cursing Odysseus almost as soon as his son Polyphemus prays to him for vengeance. In certain myths, he is also portrayed as a rival to Athena, such as when the two competed for dominion over the then unnamed Athens; Poseidon offered them the first horse and Athena the first olive tree. To quote Emily Wilson:

Whereas Poseidon favors the untamed world of the stormy sea, Athena loves fixed settlements and the olive tree—a crop whose oil was used in archaic Greece for cooking and skin care. Poseidon makes the earth shake; Athena makes even the most rugged, barren landscape available for cultivation.

As far as the Trojan War itself is concerned, according to many sources, Poseidon actually helped build the famous walls of Troy alongside Apollo, but when the king at the time, LAOMEDON (Λαομέδων), refused to pay them, Apollo sent a plague and Poseidon sent KETOS (Κητος), a sea monster which would then be slain by HERAKLES (Ἑρακλης) just before the monster could eat Princess Hesione; Laomedon, having learned nothing from last time, refused to pay Herakles, who would then go on to sack the city in retaliation. Poseidon would later side with the Greeks during the war, but here's the interesting part: while the Trojan War has no set date, one proposed theory is 1275 BC, as that was around when historical Troy (specifically Troy VI) was believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake. Furthermore, what animal was carved out of wood for the final ambush? A horse!