#im so sorry for the walls of text

[marinecorvid]

Hey corvid, how open are you to Ranger head cannons? DO you have any yourself?

I am ABSOLUTELY open to headcanons and i have sososo many. here are some of them, typed out haphazardly and not quite fully formed but are the basis by what lens i see GS through

OKAY so this is turned out to be. long. and some a lot the vast majority of these headcanons are way more in depth/personal than other generally applicable hc stuff so yknow look upon my works ye mighty and despair, etc etc. ended up [redacting] some stuff, partly because i'm not ready to share in the state it's currently in in my head, and sometimes because i am still figuring stuff out sorry this is probably way more than what you were looking for but brain cells go out the door when i think about GS.

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coolio FIRST UP. MY KIDS

Summer Serrano: A sensitive, romantic, and compassionate person at heart, but with a sharp chip on her shoulder from a rough early life, Summer enables the "offense is the best defense" strategy personality-wise, causing her to often be perceived as much more aloof/prickly than she usually actually is. Clever, creative, insightful. Observant. Open to new experiences and learning. Quiet. Quietly snarky. Easy to irritate. Has a deeply skewed sense of danger/self preservation due to a depression/trauma combo; operates by a "go hard or go home" mindset (part of an in-universe explanation for why, when faced with Mewtwo not once but TWICE, she didn't back down. The other part was "flight" in fight or flight wasn't an option here, it was do or die).

Fun facts: Is a polyglot - speaks the Orre dialect of Paldé (Poke-Spanish - considering that Orre is based on Arizona and how close that is to Mexico, I'm headcanoning there's a lot of cultural influence), Galaic (Poke-English), is picking up Almian, picked up Oblivian in Oblivia, and can stumble her way through a conversation in Kalaic/Fiori (French/Italian, based on the fact that they're both romantic languages like Spanish, there's enough similarity she can kinda get the gist), and Ben's taught her a few words in Kantese; considers Paldé her native tongue, is much more talkative in it than Galaic, in which she's fairly quiet. Has a hyperthymestic/eidetic memory, IE she can remember most things vividly almost to the point of exactly. Drinks black coffee, sometimes brews it with Red Bull instead of water when she's hyperfixated on something and is regarding sleep as a choice, not a necessity. Calls Ben a variety of nicknames (Benjamin, Benji, Benvolio) when she wants something (his attention, just to bother him); he tolerates this with grace. Has a height of a exactly five foot zero and is deeply disgruntled about it. Isn't a very material person but likes to collect little knickknacks and trinkets from where she and Ben visit/go on missions.

Backstory: Okay full disclosure I've been reworking her mental backstory a lot in my head, so there's gonna be some very vague/blank spots. Born n raised in Pyrite Town, Orre in a not great neighborhood but not the worst. Parents are out of the picture, I think lived with an aunt/distant relative/foster parent? that ended up wrangling a bunch of kids that pretty much meant Summer grew up kinda doing whatever the hell she wanted, the kind of young ne'er-do-well who would make a game out of throwing rocks through the window panes of the old abandoned factories because there's nothing better to do. Ran with most of the other local kids because that's what you did (safety in numbers. You don't want to get caught alone, especially after dark. That's how people disappear).

Except uhh maybe early-mid teens?? The local Colosseum itself is old as shit, hasn't had maintenance in a while, part of it collapses midmatch into the Under, triggering a bunch of landslides and cave-ins due to the unstable land from all the mining that was done in the past. Summer gets caught in one of these, gets stuck for a few days, experiences the worst 72 hours of her life, eventually gets pulled out by an emergency response team (now that I'm writing it out, maybe by some Rangers that offered Orre assistance??? food for thought). Spends a few days shuffled around at an overworked hospital/clinic. Because she managed to get out without any broken bones and only a mild concussion, they push her out the doors to focus on worse patients. Doesn't go home, kinda wanders the city in a daze thinking "what the fuck. what the fuck. fuck this place." wandering takes her to a some kind of high place where she can look over the city and all the emergency crews and smoke and thinks "is this really it? is this gonna be my life? stuck in a dusty city where the streets are collapsing and everything's always broken and constantly looking over my shoulder?" (because even though her neighborhood was once alright, things have been getting worse) and then thinks "fuck that. fuck that so much"

and maybe like… in a few days? wanders back home, grabs a backpack, takes as many snacks and scrounges as many dollars as she can from home, hikes herself out to the nearest tracks, and hops a cargo train out of Orre up the Western Coast. (In my mental map of this corner of the Pokemon world, passes through some unnamed regions and into Paldea.) Scrounges up enough currency to catch a ferry to Almia? and … sometime … she gets involved in the Ranger Union, huzzah. maybe a Ranger that pulled her out of the rubble got her thinking about the Ranger Union? it makes an impression? very haphazard. I'm working on it

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Ben Yuuko: If you'd ask your average Almian citizen to describe your average Ranger, 1 out of 3 would describe an archetype resembling Ben. Earnest, honest, easily trusting, fun-loving, with misplaced confidence to walk out of dangerous situations unscathed, Ben is the "possess social smarts - doesn't always use them" to Summer's "has street smarts - doesn't always use them." Similar to Summer, a deeply compassionate person. Prone to mild teasing. Had a relatively easy adolescence, somewhat naive - struggles DEEPLY during the events of GS, as a lot of rose-tinted lenses are being shattered, as he's now dealing with a traumatic happenings himself that he's only "experienced" second-hand through the people around him (Summer, former foster siblings in worse situations); dealing with how people will have seemingly irrational thoughts + actions that seem perfectly justified in the moment, why even the people you care for lash out at you, that people who seem villainous are still deeply human and rarely pure evil. Deals with some pretty bad anxiety.

Fun facts: Speaks Kantese and Galaic, kinda picks up Oblivian, Summer's taught him a little Paldé. Is a pretty decent cook! Can make some good food with minimal ingredients; it causes him physical pain to watch Summer dip pickle slices in Nutella like chips and hummus. Considers his most valuable possession to be a pair of 90s moon shoes. Takes dance classes for fun when not on duty. Calls Summer a variety of nicknames (Sunshine, Summertime Sadness) for fun; she is grumpy about it. Uses Summer's shoulder as an armrest when he thinks he can get away with it without being elbowed in the ribs.

Backstory: Born and raised in Johto, I'm thinking Olivine City. In contrast to Summer's chaotic home life, Ben was fostered with caring adults and a handful of younger kids, both biological children of his foster parents and other foster children that cycled through. However, though he deeply appreciates what they've done for him, and that he's rationally aware he was raised in a VERY good foster environment, he never really connected to them as parents. (He does keep regularly in touch with a few of the foster kids he helped wrangle though.) (Also sorry Ben. you don't have very detailed info in comparison to summer rn)

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Ben and Summer: Besties, partners, ride or die for each other. Queerplatonic relationship, in the sense that they're both queer and not romantically involved (though there was brief 5-second period of Summer accidentally concussing Ben and him thinking he was in love with her) but by the time GS has finished with canon events they pretty much always consider each other when thinking about what they want to do in life

The first time they met after spending a day together (under undetermined circumstances but shenanigans were probably involved), Summer (grew up in a dangerous place) looked at Ben and thought "this is the most harmless guy on earth. Jesus Christ he's gonna get eaten alive at the first sign of actual trouble" and decided protecting him would be her #1 priority from that point on. Ben (grew up being an armchair therapist to foster kids more troubled than he) looked at Summer and thought "she is so scared and so dysfunctional even in a safe environment :(" and decided he was going to be her best friend from then on.

Of course by living together and working together their perceptions of each other have evolved. Ben deeply admires her competency in the field (despite her unorthodox methods, usually lacking in self preservation) and by the time GS comes around, is looking to her blasé attitude towards danger as something to imitate, which is what leads to Ben kinda mouthing off to Red Eyes the first time they meet, which isn't really authentic Ben behavior; he gets better as the game's canon events continue and he realizes Summer's seemingly natural confidence is a carefully maintained mask that she keeps to prevent anyone from seeing how scared and nervous she actually, and to keep herself from breaking down from all the stress and anxiety she's under. Though Oblivia is a shit time for them in many ways and leaves them with many issues, it also deepens their understanding of each other and are far more open emotionally, and lays the groundwork for future growth.

on a less serious note

Them that's Them

Since you need to be at a certain rank to fly on Staraptor, I'm going to say they're actually pretty good Rangers in their own right before Oblivia

Oblivia is their first overseas missions, and Hastings specifically wanted them to have a mentor in Rand, who's an experienced Ranger and could help iron out some issues that were forming (worried they were getting too codependent w each other. ironically they just ended up with horrible separation anxiety); their modus operandi is that Ben talks more with people, and Summer does more of the heavy lifting

during Oblivia they picked up the habit of sleeping in the same bed; they don't feel safe not being able to reach out and feel the other nearby

Ukulele Pichu is technically Summer's partner Pokemon but they're equally attached to the little guy and vice versa. He likes to hang out in the hoods of their jackets when it's chilly

The first time Summer ever experienced a real winter, Ben stuffed snow down the back of her coat within 5 minutes. Summer retaliated by dumping a bucket of it on him while he slept that night

Ben would say one of the greatest challenges he faces in his life is getting Summer to stay in bed when she's sick

Summer is a chronic clothes stealer; Ben starts buying two of everything when they start sharing a dorm in the Union

In the years following Shadows of Almia and the very public dissolution of Altru/Team Dim Sun, there's been a surge in Ranger applicants and Union leaders are frantically trying to figure out where to house so many people; usually the people who get the best academic scores are stationed at the Union building directly, but lots of runner ups ended up being temporarily housed there while other accommodations are being developed. However, upon realizing that Ben and Summer are both more capable beyond their number scores, they were reassigned to the Union building.

General Ranger headcanon is that to prevent mental and physical burnout, all Rangers are required to take either staggered breaks or one big chunk of a break/vacation time throughout the year

Summer and Ben usually spend theirs in an apartment in dockside Puel Town (not allowed to live in Union building during mandatory break, as it might encourage one to act on duty even when they're supposed to be resting), but post GS incorporate Oblivia into their break time; Rand and Leanne more or less consider them their own kids and are always happy to house them

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OBLIVIA REGION + MYTHOLOGY:

Okay so you know how in canon Booker is Hastings' brother? The only reason Oblivia (who as a reason at one point definitely was under threat from some kind of occupation, so some older folks are pretty wary of outsiders) is so tolerant of Rangers coming in and solving shit is because whatever governance the runs the place collectively sees Rangers as "Oh those are some of Hastings' kids, yeah they're alright" (because Hastings helped found the Ranger Union, etc etc, and he's pretty smart and wants to keep Oblivia left alone as possible so if he trusts these people, so will we). I know in canon they're pretty. Well. Oblivious to all the shit that's going on but not so in the sandbox of my canon, in that the local folk are pretty hostile towards Pinchers and have their own grassroots force also working to keep an eye out and fend them off when Rangers are in a different part of the region.

Oblivia is also a lot bigger than the main islands we see! The reason we don't get to go to other islands is because they're by and large uninhabited: by not being able to support human life, because Pokemon have made their home there, or because they're forbidden on accounts of being cursed ground. Which is also why Purple Eyes needed Leanne to discern Zapdos' location, because it could've also theoretically been on any other treacherous mountain island (and also to translate a lot of other stuff he was having trouble with)

Misc. headcanon: a lot of people assume because Rand is the breadwinner man of the house that he's like the head of household, however 1) both he and Leanne would argue they are equals in this marriage and family, neither of them outrank each other, and 2) Leanne is head of the household. it is not acknowledged and she herself denies it with an fondly exasperated eyeroll but everyone else living there knows she is Mom, Terrible And Mighty and all decisions are run by her first

Misc Headcanon #2: Rand is a very good baker, and because I feel bad he doesn't have a partner Pokemon of his own I say he has a Mightyena named Lucky! he walks with Nema to and from school. Post game, Leanne gets a therapy/emotional support Espeon

Nema's somewhere on the autism spectrum. Sometimes goes nonverbal when she gets overwhelmed, but instead of learning sign language communicates with a pseudo-Morse code, using a combination of already existing codes and some ones they made up; Ben and Summer get pretty good at it and Summer starts using it frequently too

Suicune is the most no-nonsense of the legendary beasts, mostly because the Sky Fortress is hidden on their island and therefore they're the one who's working hardest to keep it hidden. Entei is like an old cat/dog, a little lazy, prefers a calm environment, sometimes casuallly shows up when Rand's grilling food outside, flops on the ground, and doesn't leave until they get thrown a steak or something. Raikou is like the little brother of the bunch, they're very active and like to run, nosy, always smells when Summer has treats with her.

Following the defeat of Sabios and the Sky Fortress in ancient times, Oblivia's Golden Age came to a close. The royal line thought to be ended, as Sabios fled the region in disgrace and Ravio sired no known heirs, and the ancient Oblivians were so desperate to bury the Sky Fortress, that if they couldn't destroy it or the Golden Armor the least they could do was to destroy everything else pertaining to it, burn any paper holding knowledge of it, seal the living batteries for it (titans of the sky) to the highest peaks, strike every wall naming it except for one they erected in dire warning in the hopes that should anyone be fool enough to stumble across it they would be persuaded against unearthing anything else. And so history became legend, legend became myth, and for a thousand years all knowledge of the Sky Fortress, the Golden Armor, and Ancient Oblivia passed out of almost all knowledge, even to modern Oblivians - until some guy calling himself Amun had to come dig it all up, realize his folly too late and try to bury it again, but by that time the Societea had already caught wind of it, and you know what happens next.

Summer didn't fall directly into the ocean from that height like in canon, once Ben realized what happened, he flew down after her and managed to grab her, slowing her down enough so that that fall distance would be survivable. Unfortunately for them, Red Eyes brought his Charizard to the party, Ben got grabbed, and Summer still falls. (She also isn't nearly as conscious as in canon when she hits the water, she's barely manages to get her rebreather on before her vision goes dark, and only sees the underwater Rainbow Dais in a very feverish state.)

The Celebi that transports you to and from the past is running the longcon. Bringing Summer back in time to inspire Ravio to become the ancient hero with Summer's stories of the ancient hero, while Summer is inspired by stories of the ancient hero to act as the next guardian of Oblivia. It has lived on this islands since before any other Pokemon or humans settled there, and the extent of its knowledge and motives are inscrutable to literally everybody. Post-GS Celebi wouldn't take a distressed Summer back in time to stop the sky fortress from rising in the first place because that would mess up the time loop it's got going on. The time loop is also why all the legendary Pokemon trust her so much immediately after meeting her and give her their sigils; they remember her from the old past

Before Ho Oh (and eventually the legendary beasts) was the main religious focus in Oblivia, many many years ago, Arceus was worshiped. However, due to [SEE BELOW], Arceus stepped to the side and allowed a spiritual leader in ancient times to take the mantle of Guardian of the Sky, being reborn as the first Ho Oh in recorded history upon her death. In a similar fashion, the legendary beasts, titans of the sky, and Guardian of the Sea all were once human in their first life, but bear only memories and not the emotions attached as their time as timeless guardians.

Alola was not the first region Ultra Necrozma terrorized in its desperation for light; after being nearly wrent asunder by an priestess blessed with the power to bend light, it fled down the equator, finally coming to Alola. A portion of Necrozma's light body settled upon the span of the Oblivia region, becoming the origin for a power that eventually fueled the creation of the Steelhead Armor, the Golden Armor, and the Sky Fortress.

I also know I've mentioned this before but Lugia absolutely is involved in storming the sky fortress. Ho Oh is too old and weakened to fight off the titans of the sky by herself so Lugia has to get involved and knock the shit out of em before Ho Oh can neutralize it enough that summer and ben can get in there. They're also the one who drags Summer onto the shore of Dolce Island instead of getting waterlogged when she gets knocked into the sea (headcanon made entirely by the fact that during the title screen, you can see lugia's silhouette in the background. and also my belief that lugia is one of the coolest pokemon ever and deserves screentime all the time)

Post-past missions and after the Sky Fortress is sealed away for the first time, Ravio summons Arceus to try to apologize for the sins of his father, who bound it to his will with the Golden Armor. It didn't end well.

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VILLAINS:

Red Eyes AKA Reid O'Sullivan: also born n raised in Pyrite, like Summer. (totally wild coincidence there. that won't affect anything at all) Grew up SUPER admiring the Colosseum battlers, got a Torchic from uhh somewhere? Anyways it's the Blaziken you see in the post-game. He was really looking forward to starting a mentorship kinda thing with a battler who had a habit of taking youngins under his belt, you know to keep them from getting into crime and whatnot. Unfortunately for everyone involved, said battler died when Pyrite's Colosseum collapsed midmatch, Red Eyes barely made it out as mid-teen, and lost some friends of his own in the fall.

Feeling distinctly fucked over, got into some worse circles, got a reputation for being a tough guy who's half-competent with good battle instincts, gets involving in a poaching ring. Eventually gets to be the de-facto leader of that poaching ring as a young adult. Eventually approached with an offer to expand, combine with another poaching ring or two by a backer who'd be willing to invest and whatnot. Red Eyes, generally a proud guy and flattered, goes "SURE" (he will later regret this) and actually takes on the moniker of Red Eyes because if he's gonna do bigger stuff he doesn't want to be throwing his legal name around.

And uh I'll be honest with you - by the time GS rolls around, he's not having a good time with the unified Pinchers. He hates his boss. His boss's bosses, whom he only barely knows about, are getting them involved in some Weird Ass Shit, like looking for wall carvings instead of poaching. He doesn't fucking like it, but because confusion and unsurety is weakness, he does not show any of this. He's actually at the end of his rope when Summer and Ben roll up, and is so stressed out that he falls for like, a basic level taunt from Ben and tries to shoot him out of the sky. Summer, of course, takes the hit, falls into the ocean, they drag Ben back to the sub so he can't cause any trouble for them. He stares at the wall in his room. He might've just killed a Ranger, and that's, uh, a potentially serious murder charge. Shit. Good thing's she's not actually dead! Somehow! and totally not someone he recognizes. at all. And then proceeds to have a somehow worse time as Summer just. keeps. beating him

Blue Eyes AKA Blaire Park: Uhh not sure if born but definitely grew up in Gateon Port, learned about boats n shit, why she's the one in charge on the submarine. I'm not sure exactly what she was doing before the Pinchers, but she was doing something that was going fine! right up until she, flattered in some way, goes "SURE" (she will later regret this) and actually takes on the moniker of Blue Eyes because if she's gonna do bigger stuff she doesn't want to be throwing her legal name around.

But by the time GS rolls around, Blue Eyes, like Red Eyes, wants Fucking Out. She, like Red Eyes, is stressed to hell, and from the time Summer shows up in Amun's mansion to accidentally getting trapped in an underwater cave, shit's a conga line of failure and embarrassment. She was not, perhaps, in the best state of mind when she decided to Plan Z the submarine. (Getting fired by Purple Eyes in the moment was not a fun thing, but she did realize she got away mostly scot-free, so she got what she wanted in a way.)

And that's how those two become friends/coworkers-with-benefits-who-sometimes-antagonize-each-other-for-environmental-enrichment, and also they bond over and complain about their asshole sadist of a boss, but not where he can hear, because he's an asshole sadist and they don't want to piss him off and invite him to be a sadist in their direction.

Fun facts: Red Eyes probably would probably stream playing Dark Souls IRL and despite being p good at it would get stuck on one boss for hours and Blue Eyes would be his maybe roommate maybe something else, who knows, who would intervene before he gets mad enough to break the controller and beat it in maybe. 3 tries just so he can continue in the game. chat goes nuts for Blue Eyes

Post-game when Blue Eyes hangs up the ol control gauntlet and decides to try to live a mostly respectable life, she ends up reading a lot and eventually decides to try and write her own :)

and Red Eyes eventually turns out to be a pretty good exhibition battler (kinda like wrestling matches, predetermined but still showy and intense)

Red Eyes likes spicy food. Unfortunately for him he is not good at making food. He's not allowed to use the submarine stovetop anymore

Blue Eyes is transfemme (look at her uniform colors! baby you are not subtle and i love you for it), and because I'm choosing to believe the Pokeworld is the better timeline in which HRT something you can get like over the counter, she's been living her best life

POST-POSTING EDIT: blue eyes had a tentative truce with red eyes pre-pincher unification with whatever gangs they were running, i don't think hers was a poaching group though - maybe something about resources? - she developed those skills as a leader post-unification; they kinda became more equals when the societea n purple eyes made them an actual group

And also they both have a crush on Summer because Red Eyes is the kind of guy to be "I like the kind of woman that can kick my ass" even if he's a sore loser abt it lmao and also [REDACTED]. but he takes a few levels in kindness postgame so he holds out hope. and Summer's saved Blue Eyes several times so there's some complicated feelings there. But also Summer is very pretty and very nice and considerate when she's not a stressed out Ranger on duty. so.

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Purple Eyes AKA [REDACTED]: This guy. One of my favorites of all time. He's hilarious. Drama queen. Utterly self serving. Charismatic enough to know how to function like a normal person most of the time, he just… doesn't care to unless he's trying to get something he can't get with force. How did he get to this point

Because canon is my sandbox, I say: I don't think Purple Eyes went into this whole venture /wanting/ to do the whole "rule the world through fear" thing. I think that's a combo of 1) truly horrendous mental health 2) spite, based on a couple of different slights against him 3) Oblivia Ruins are cursed, haunted to hell and back, and definitely fucked with his perception of the world + himself + what he wants after spending so long trying to decipher the place, and just… never recovered. not that he had a lot chances we see in canon, since so much happens So Fast and bonus wifi missions are wobbly hand motion on the timeline, but for however long he lives after GS he's just. so fucked over in the head. him metaphorically kicking the dog by usurping Ed was mostly entirely due to absolute spite at being kicked at Mt Layuda. he didn't have a plan for ruling the world he just wanted to get payback against Ed and his least favorite Rangers in existence while he was at it

IDK MAN I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS. CONCEPTS. IT'S ALL IN A ROUGH STATE RN THO. just scrapped a whole 2 paragraphs bc i didn't vibe with it. so i'm not gonna say any more on this particular subject.

sorry my guy you're not the star of this very lengthy answer. ANYWAYS i'm torn between my desire to humanize all villains i deal with (because he's still very much a standard cartoon villain) VS desire to just see that guy go from 0 to 90 right from adolescence. stay tuned

HOWEVER he's definitely Sabios' descendant (from the past missions) and that's why the Golden Armor responded to him over Ed at the Sky Fortress. proof: share musical leitmotif, purple theme, evil second-in-commands, on the sky fortress he says something like "i did some research and learned something about the golden armor" which is never really expanded on so i think the implication was that the golden armor would choose him bc it remembers old blood

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SOCIETEA: I am gonna to limit this to Ed because he's the one I care to humanize the most and this whole thing started with him getting an idea. Altered character motivations and interpretations abound.

he hangs around a lot more with Summer n Ben than in canon, both because he's trying to get a feel for their progress, if they're a genuine threat to the Pinchers' progress, and also because they're not bad kids and he does want them to feel reassured that there are Adult adults in their corner. as untrue as it may be.

he's especially fond of Summer, he's definitely doing some grandfatherly projection. she reminds him of himself at a young age: restless, far more clever than she's allowed to be (for differing reasons), having experienced loss due to war (her parents; he lost an uncle and niece who followed in his footsteps as field medic), they both feel more jaded compared to their peers

you know how there's like fanon that there was a war before the games? like before of LT Surge's dialogue? there were a few wars. scattered across like a century or so, Pokeworld was in real bad shape

Ed's parents were rich Galaic folk, you know like old parliament lords that their families still hold places in the govt. and still have lots of old money? yeah he's from that kind of family. his father was an old military man turned politician. wanted ed to follow in his footsteps, ed wanted to go into medicine, they found an unwilling compromise when war broke out and he became a young field medic

eventually war he was involved in ends. father eventually dies. has the freedom to be a kleptomaniac to his heart's content across the world with his friends; focused on high profile art pieces, artifacts, expensive rare limited editions. tensions between regions erupt again, more war, acts as a philanthropist with money to help vets n whatnot. still socially runs in the old circles of politicians and whomever, isn't involved too much though

i'm getting tired so i'm gonna simplify the shit out of this and maybe come back to this later but basically: he and the rest of the gang have been doing some international-conspiracy shit for a decade or so and basically want to do the "last war to end all wars" kind of thing (because. i mean. regional tensions ARE picking up again at this point. nothing solid so far but things aren't are great as they could be) with no conflicting leaders so no more mass violence. except for these potential acts of mass violence. and the half sentient golden armor of course Does Not help with that thought process and is what leads to the destruction of Dolce Island

still definitely wants immortal life tho. war will fuck up your sense of life and death he's definitely got some problems that've been marinating for the past however-many years

he was never really liked purple eyes but was willing to employ him because he was efficient and finding half decent archaeologists who are willing to work for your evil schemes are rare in circles of villainy. but between him no longer really needing him once zapdos was located, disapproval of him kidnapping leanne and claiming he figured it out on his own, and disdain of him kidnapping leanne and nema (ed's not an evil evil guy and didn't have anything personal against rand & family), Ed was all too happy to kick him to the curb

[clouvu]

Cooking up an older Clervie outfit design so I don't have to keep drawing her looking like her child self but Long

[mintaikk]

Macaque be like, "I don't care about Wukong 😒" and then have his main goal in the past to be able to spend the rest of his life on FFM with him, carve a drawing of them together in stone, Fight Celestial Armies with him, and then currently, have his entire motivation be getting revenge on Wukong for killing him, fucking KILL MK (who he admitted that he thinks is a good kid) bcuz Wukong cares about him, make an entire godmann shadow play about their not breakup, refers to Wukong and him as "The Sun and the Moon", refer to himself as Wukong's shadow, Still actually flirts with him has playful banter with him when they're fighting, is given the option to run after the fight with LBD but comes back (toootally not bcuz Wukong is in trouble), Works with Wukong and the Monkie Kids to LBD, Doesn't even HESISTATE to go into the memory scroll bchz it means it'll help Wukong, Is still so clearly hurt by Wukong being mad at him, Reach his hand out to the memory of Wukong offering him a peach with a sad look on his face, Smile reassuringly at Wukong when Wukong looked at him for comfort, have Peng admit that there's nothing Wukong could do that would break Macaque's hold over him, proceed to crash a beach party he wasn't invited to just so he could sit by and spend time with Wukong, Literally call Wukong CUTE in the exact same scene, Proceeds to live on the same mountain as Wukong AND sleep on the SAME GODDAMN tree he and Wukong sat at when they were still friends, Instinctively run to Wukong yelling "Stop!" when the circlet was being put on him, Still look back at Wukong to see if he's got his back when fighting the Celestial Guards, Lift his head to look at Wukong when Wukong indirectly said that he still trusts him, Sacrifice himself for Wukong, Save Wukong from his past memories (AGAIN), Is overall just always rushing to help Wukong in general this season, and want to have his last moments alive to be holding Wukong's hand.

But yeah, no. He don't care about him that much

[sleepygaymerdisease]

Does anyone else think about how Shinji said this twice...

The first time was somewhat innocent, because he didnt believe in the idea of fate. He refused the idea outright because it was just too bleak. He wanted to think that there was a way for everyone to live, so why believe in something like destiny or predetermination?

And yet... He likely said this out loud to comfort Tezuka, to motivate him, to keep him from giving into despair. Shinji does not believe in fate, but the person he is dragging out of the battle field does, and he wants Tezuka to borrow his own feelings of determination and passion for just a moment, so they can both live to see the next day.

But what Shinji doesnt understand is that Tezuka did this sacrifice precisely because of Shinji's passion. Shinji has nothing to offer to this man because Tezuka has already made the choice to purposely refuse the benefits of Shinji's savior complex. He make his choice the moment that he walked out the door of Atori, and purposely distanced himself so Shinji wouldn't try to die for someone else. Tezuka explains that he changed fate for Shinji to live. Tezuka explains that he took this man's place so that Shinji can fight in this war, so that Shinji can find an end to the violence. Tezuka wants him to continue where he would fail, where he would have blamed himself for the death of another friend and never gotten back up.

Shinji wishes there was another option, that he could have somehow seen this coming and stopped Tezuka and figured out a way to live too... But what can he really do? Tezuka's last words left such an impact on him, and while Shinji originally didn't believe in fate, he could not help but lean into the idea after Tezuka's death. He tends to weigh other people's ideas more than his own in his head, so when Tezuka dies because he followed his principles to the end like this... He just can't deny it as much as before. Denying that fate exists would be spitting on the face of his friend's choice, right?

So the idea sits with him. The idea that fate was already changed... He's not sure if he can believe it, but he can't not believe it, either. There had to have been another way that things have gone, right? That's what he wants to think, but he cannot deny the weight of Tezuka's ultimate choice. He has to learn to accept this, somehow, but it's hard for him, it's hard to remember which thoughts are his own and which thoughts are borrowed from his memories of Tezuka. Shinji slowly becomes burdened by the idea of fate. Believing in Tezuka's last hope is the only way for him to continue, it's the only way for him to cope.

And that's when the narrative throws a fucking curveball. This character, wrattled with grief, finally trying to move on from that horrible moment of senseless violence, is forcibly dragged backwards. Six months. Six entire months happening all over again right before his eyes. Shinji gets an impossible second chance to fix what never should have happened. He knows who is going to die and he has the time to prevent it. He can change it.

But he discovers that he cannot change himself. He watches everything in horror as it happens all over again because he cannot break out of his own skin. He can't change his habits, he can't think different thoughts or change his actions, he can't seem to remember the details of that future that has not happened yet. His future self, and his future grief, is buried deep inside of him. He tries to claw his way out in any way he can, but he is trapped in the prison that is himself. He can only catch the smallest glimpses of clarity through the bars of his cell, and by then it is often too late.

When Shinji finally gets back here, to this moment, he must have repeated these words. He cannot change his thoughts, after all. So he says it and it means the same thing as before; he wants to comfort Tezuka and lend him his own determination and will to live. But there is now an additional meaning to it, isn't there? There is now a layer of despair. A part of Shinji is so, so desperate for things to change. A part of him knows that Tezuka diverted fate for his sake, and isn't that diversion a part of fate now too? Can't we change that too? Do not die when fate tells you to die. Don't do this, don't leave me again.

[3416]

Thoughts on how Samsonov has navigated the last month: "I've been in those moments as well, and it's not fun. I mean, everyone's against you really, and everyone is coming at you on all different angles and thinking you're not good enough. For [Samsonov] to fight through that and come back as he has and played as well as he has for us and won us the last couple games in net... you know, he's done a great job of it. It just shows how mentally strong he is. I've tried to talk to him. We know he's a hell of a goaltender. We know he does amazing things for us when he's in that net, and you know, obviously everyone goes through spells sometimes of where stuff's not going your way. And it affects you, and then you hear all the noise outside, and it affects you more. He's just done a great job this last month blocking it out and really focusing on himself, training himself, and being the best he can be in the last month."

How Mitch handled going through something similar: "Talking to people. Um, you gotta express your emotions. When you hold onto stuff by yourself, you know, it gets in your mind. It puts you in a dark spot so. We're lucky enough to have people around us that care for us and wanna hear how you're feeling. That's why you have loved ones, that's why we have people around this team as well, so. You gotta talk your way out of it. Just know that you're a great person, a great player, and you're here for a reason. You're here to help this team, and it's just about believing that you can do that."

Media Availability 01.24.24

[gplovestwdg]

hiii! loving your modern au!! do you have more info about brody <3, marlon and like the rest of the ericson kidss?

Thank you for your interest and sorry it took so long for me to respond to this ask! ^^

The main Ericson's group from season 4 is split across high schoolers and young kids in my au and they live in separate areas of the school. Characters that go to the Ericson's high school are exactly the same age and in the same grade even if they're a bit younger/older in canon while characters that are younger than high school age are their canon ages.

Everyone is mostly the same though, like I've mentioned before, their roles within this au are slightly different. Marlon and Brody are the President and Vice-President of their grade respectively and as juniors (yes they're in 11th grade) they're given a lot of responsibility considering they'll be graduating next year. Also they're in a not so healthy relationship...

They share most of their classes, and Marlon definitely has anger issues that are exasperated by Brody's anxiety troubles. Here's the two of them with some unnamed students during the gym class they share ^^

It's difficult to divulge all the information regarding every character without turning this into an incomprehensible block of text so I'll be brief with other characters:

Louis and Violet are mostly the same, Louis is Marlon's childhood friend and Violet is pretty closed off and in an also not so healthy relationship with Minnie.

Minnie and Sophie are both on the school's baseball team, Minnie is similar to herself in game personality wise. She can be pretty rude and is very prone to siding with authority figures (teachers in this case) compared to those close to her. Sophie is much brighter and values the independence of students over the authority of teachers. Also Sophie and Mitch have something going on (fueled by my silly crackship in middle school haha.)

Mitch is literally the exact same lol. So are Aasim and Ruby, Aasim is the same as he is in game but he puts up a front around teachers as he's grown attached to his fellow students and doesn't particularly want to go home, since in game he's canonically basically been rehabilitated by the time of the apocalypses start. And yes, he's still pining after Ruby in my au. Omar is also virtually the same as well, he volunteers a lot to help the cafeteria ladies and gentlemen with lunch and dinner.

Tenn and Willy live in a separate section of the school for middle/elementary school aged kids and have their own teenager that they get to see once a week(Minnie/Sophie and Mitch respectively), kinda like the big brother program if you've heard of it. Though Sophie and Mitch specifically are very adept at sneaking around and seeing them near daily.

Here's a little relationship chart with all the kids ^^ Some relationships are a bit one-sided and some are multifaceted as well! For example most of the friends/hate arrows are meant to show annoyance/resentment in the friendship.

Also AJ lives in this section of the school, unbeknownst to Clem for now. It doubles as a living space/common education for kids taken by CPS.

Finally all the teenagers mentioned are in a big friend group and since they're friends with their grades president and vice-president they're able to take advantage of certain aspects of the school like sneaking out late at night without much punishment. They like to hang out around the river near the fishing cabin and in the forest, but Marlon doesn't let them go outside his arbitrary safe zone cause he can't really make up an excuse for them to be out past there and the thought of getting into trouble with the adults terrifies him. Though they do take the train into the closest town and hangout on weekends!

Ahh movie night :')

[trans-jon-rights]

Wake up babe, new design for The Blorbo by your favourite artist just dropped

Mechanism!Jon belongs to @therealandian from his fic Search Through The Stars, and the design has been taken from this post by @dcartcorner !

[ID in alt text]

Close ups :

[brodorokihousuke]

Had to think slightly about Apollo's bracelet for my fic and realized a few things.

So, we know that it's some sort of super epic alloy that contracts (?) in response to body heat, or heat in general. This makes the bracelet constantly flush with his arm, so he can notice himself getting tense, and therefore... perceive stuff.

The problem there is, alright, if it's constantly tight against his arm, can Apollo even take the thing off? Metal can expand and contract, sure, but certainly not quick enough to loosen it on demand. And if the metal was elastic enough to do so, somehow, it would constantly be getting squished and deformed, if not just falling off entirely. Does he have to cool it to get it off, if that would even work?

We know from the one photo of younger him that the bracelet was loose at some point, so was he able to casually (?) take it off for a time before, suddenly, he couldn't? How does he even feel about that?

On top of all of that! So, the bracelet's only function is to make it obvious when he's tense. If he were to lose the bracelet and/or have it taken from him, couldn't he just, I don't know, put anything else that's tight against his wrist on? Another completely different tight bracelet? Some silly bandz? It would work, theoretically, right?

Some footnotes under the cut.

I'm going to ignore the fact that Filch took Apollo's bracelet during The Monstrous Turnabout, as 1. that shouldn't have really been possible with what we know and 2. I refuse to believe Apollo did not notice something that is constantly, very firmly on his wrist vanish.

I'm also assuming that the bracelets have no inherent effect on Apollo's ability, i.e. his ability is, to summarize, just to tense up when he senses someone giving a nervous tell.

[oliviawebsite]

you really do get famous in music by being as mid and bland as you possibly can be. but you have to pretend its novel. and aesthetic and coquette and vibes and crazy but still comfy and warmcore and sexy but also pure and wholesome but its also about mental health too wow and it has to have a part that people can dance to on tiktok you have to make a reference to a current event so people now you are withit everything you do has to be a response and if its not a response it needs to be seeking responses and blog posts and articles and interviews and thinkpieces you have to be nothing your answers are an amalglam of comments ur advisors read on instagram. coffee is so cunt and charcuterie is my life right now. ive been really into watching the sopranos lately.

my newest album is a bold step away from the old, this time its about how sometimes i cry if i burn my dinner and how pickle jars are just too hard to open sometimes. im just like you. youre just like me. we will never be each other and forever strive to become each other.

i worked out a deal that counts the sale of every lime lacroix 12 pack as an album sale to boost chart position. im hosting an instagram live where you can ask me about my favorite starbucks order sponsored by starbucks. my album has an interlude that gives you 20% off your first month of hellofresh. this single is brought to you by betterhelp

[maliciousalice]

@thresholdbb omg tumblr ate your ask but thankyou for asking!!!!

👕Character whose fashion you like.

Phoar! Startrek really isn't a show I associate with being fashionable. It's very camp isn't it? In theory a lot of the wardrobe is really cool and they wanted to gain that retro-future aesthetic. Did it work? I'm not sure. However it does make a statement. The Startrek aesthetic is really recognizable and that's important! I think that's where modern trek kind of looses the plot. It's not as careful about the unique visual design as a whole anymore and as a result it doesn't settle in our minds. Is it bad artistry? No but it's not as stringent. What I mean by that is older trek cared about nuance. For example every haircut was done the same way on men, or suits were tailored in a way to look sleek but practical (they weren't). Gaudy patterns were important to denote things like status. It looks ugly on the outside but when you're watching the show it envelops you and makes you feel welcomed into the universe.

I digress.

To answer this, the most fashionable character, hands down, is Quark! That mfer always looks good, and has the finest drip in the galaxy. Love that.

🥲 ST moment that makes you cry.

There are two moments that make me particularly sad. Kate's acting in the climax of Resistance is incredible. I read somewhere she had a special-wink-wink- relationship with the Director in the early seasons and she was being tested by this episode in some regard. I think it paid off. I treasure any time her captain-hood is removed, and the extreme vulnerability of Janeway is on display-MWAH MWAH poignant. This episode is beautifully intimate, particularly this scene. It's overall gorgeous and unique in how she whispers to him, as if there is nothing more important than to secure his peace of mind as he dies, and it's heart rending when it ends with her just crouching there, emotionally alone. I love how Janeway is forced into the father-daughter dynamic between her and Caylem, one that she would ordinarily resist (heh themes) because I think it inherently weakens her status. The back and forth throughout the episode of them taking care of each other's welfare is so it's terribly sad when it's torn down and we discover the truth behind Caylem's family. If you've dug around her character you know that her Admiral-Father has had impact on her life. She's haunted by him in both a figurative way by being a Captain, and literal sense later on in Coda. Much like Caylem, she looses her father in a violent manner that she has to carry around while she forges ahead. It also reflects well on Kate's relationship with her actual father, she recently revealed that she was never able to get him on her page, but in spite that she adore him with all her might. So a scene like this is really revealing-I believe she was able to draw upon those feelings and that's kinda neat to be so raw as an actor. SIGH.

This one just straight up made me cry fr because Prodigy s1 is a really mature, well done piece of (Startrek) media. Holo Janeway has an irony about it where in the end she is program designed to be a teacher, and she didn't expect to develop a strong bond with the crew. Her final moments are of displaying a huge amount of selflessness and courage to help the kids get out of trouble, similarly to how Janeway would approach dire circumstances. The music swelling and the ship activating is just OOOOF!!! I love how it parallels Dal's initiation of the first Protojump in a Moral Star. By that means It suggests how proud she is to get to do this for them. As a character she is really interesting to think about, in a way I can't entirely articulate. A lot of her moments are quite sad in general, she has to keep an active role so she isn't ignored, and help where help is needed, but at the same time she has constraints, one being that she manipulated by the antagonists. And In contrast to that, the kids do their best to help her feel like she is important and more than a command program to be used insincerely. She grew to love the Protostar crew, that's evident in her body language in this scene. She has a lot of depth overall. Equal to the real Janeway she deeply feels love, guilt and pain, but importantly she is transformed by the her time on the Protostar and while active, learns and grows with Dal, Rok-tak, Zero, Jankom and Gwyn. It's REALLY sweet that they care all care about each other.

I love her and I love JANEWAY!!!!

🥹 Favourite behind the scenes picture.

Ooooh I love all behind the scenes stuff. My brother in Christ It's super difficult to just name one thing and I'm very greedy!! I wish we had more BTS content for Voyager but sadly, it's a matter of grab what you can, however you can. Anyway, I have an inherent interest in seeing the cogs behind the wheel. I chose these samples because I think they're charming.

The continuity polaroid's are so fun and a lost technique, I like to think about assistants having to pull the actors aside and asking them to take those. How daunting! Kate's grin in the one where she is offset is SO cute. So she must have been in a good mood, super Cheeky!

Following that is a screenshot from a video of her having her makeup done. A rare catch. I like this because she often sooks about how much time hair and makeup was spent on her to become Captain Janeway. I get it's a huge time-sink, but love or hate it, the full irony is that her early season appearance is really iconic and in it's own right adds to Captain Janeway's sensibility. Silly goose Kate! Besides that, she looks hot checking herself out, haha.

Moreover, I love on-set editorial photos of actors in costume. While we did have heaps of them in the Starfleet uniform, I wish we had a larger collection with clearer releases, it would have given an opportunity to see in things of interest better detail. Particularly the lower half of unique costumes. For whatever reason special outfits weren't often established or framed for us to see the legs in the show, so a nice big photograph would have solved that. Also I love that these style of pictures capture an impression of an episode without giving it away.

Similarly, fly on the wall on-set photos are cool. They're way more intimate and candid than anything else and it makes me feel as though I am spying on the actors, but they're also a good way to document how things might have been on set.

The Timeless one is interesting too because it's of a deleted scene, we never see Chakotay look at a dead Janeway (how deliciously macabre!), but at some point in time it was in the script and they filmed it.

Hmm this bts picture of Janeway in the Cardigan is adorable! I believe it was worn by Kate for a Charity but look how cute she looks? Makes me wish we saw her mess around with things like that more because 7 Years is a long ass time to be in uniform everyday ( coming from someone who went to school in a Uniform and enjoyed it for the most part). Casual Fridays anyone?

I love this gif. It's from the first shoots of Caretaker and Kate looks so radiant! Her smile is is breathtaking! Whenever I see this gif I get a sense of delight. Poor thing had no idea what she was getting herself into, haha. Really though, check out the original Caretaker photos, they're super-cool. The history behind it is fascinating; I'd love to see more footage from that version of the pilot episode. Unfortunately, it's probably not preserved well, much like lots of Paramount's historical material.

On a similar trend, it's fun to see this set of pictures too. It's for the First Contact film / maybe the Universal studios ride, when she reprised her role as Vice AdmiralJaneway. Kate was genuinely delighted to do this cameo and it shows. As per her operandum she put her whole self into this small segment and that's so darling. It makes me wish we had more of this Janeway at that point in time. I love post Endgame chubby-Janeway. In a fictional sense it denotes that she is comfortable or stressed to be an Admiral (sadly it's the latter in real life) or whatever and I love that for her.

These kind of pictures are fun because it's been said that at times it was the most playful set to be on. There are tales that the cast were not that serious all the time. You get that impression here, and it's probably why the majority of them are still good friends to this day. They're like a family bros!!! Having worked in media I know that wrapping up after working on something for a long time is really rewarding and I bet they had a good time at parties.

Apropos previous, the opposite can be said. While they had fun, the hours were long and the scripts intensive. Kate was around for all of the episodes of Voyager in one way or another, and still managed to bring her A-game each time. She is truly admirable! Seeing her so exhausted is charming. She had a lot of weight to carry for the franchise and did an exemplary job performing her way through 7 years of weird and wonderful material. I wonder how often they fell asleep on set? I know I would. Get some rest queen!

Finally, I've been following Prodigy bts as best I can, and because of my career in animation I get pretty interested in Production art. I love seeing the fast metamorphosis of a visual style. It's really impressive how much attention they applied to the designs, maintaining the older stuff, while adapting a new frontier. One of the lead artists made some pretty neat observations to get Kate's appearance right. It's so cool that they documented that journey, because from my dabbling I know she has a very beautiful, distinct face that isn't easy to capture.

ANYWAY Thankyou for reading my fat thesis fellas. tl;dr i love this stinky Startrek Voyager and by extension the franchise.

[kimeoshi]

the way I'd devour a fic of aven and ratio with your buckshot crossover, that thing has EATEN my brain

if anyone writes one 🙏🙏🙏🙏

YES!! I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING

If nobody does it I will do it myself HOWEVER that doesn't mean I wouldn't like any additions heheh

(in that case I MUST be sent a link to that fic before getting admitted to emergency care)

If anyone has the tiniest urge to write too, I implore them to join me!! Even if it's just one particular dialogue or sentiment that comes to mind, one small idea can surge much more once you end up starting it.

I really love this crossover particularly because the game's undertone themes (not saying what due to potential spoilers) deals with the exact same things Aventurine struggles with, oh, the angst potential.

[treasureplcnet]

you think i can't keep talking about karl and esther you are so wrong btw episode four timestamp 34:40 he hesitates before rubbing her back, comforting her the way a parent or guardian might. the whole tube scene is karl finally deciding he has to do this ("i'm here, and i'm not going anywhere, i promise") he still HESITATES because he knows he's probably not the right man for the job. he's the man that got her stuck in this problem in the first place. but they've only got each other and he has to try. does it hurt that the moment he finally builds this resolve and determination to leave it all behind and to actually fight for something that matters to him and admit that, even though he hasn't known her for long, he cares about this girl like she's family, esther is murdered and it totally consumes him? does it hurt that he's then framed for her death even though he just spent the last 24 hours killing and taking revenge in her name? not only because he knows he's a dead man, but also because he's out of options to do something that matters, and what else can he do with his grief other than inflict it onto others? yeah it hurts a lot actually

[umbrvx]

i like ur art. its great and interesting!! i really like your artstyle and i really like the way u draw hsy, yjh, and kdj. you captured them so well in terms of vibes/character. also i was wondering do u have any advice to improve on drawing anatomy/poses/faces?

wahh thank you so much...!! i feel like im still trying to figure them out in a lot of ways but i do really like ironing out my visual interpretations of them so im really happy to hear if people like what im coming up with

also anon you super activated the part of my brain that cant help but yap about art theory... i spent some time writing as many tips as i could think of. unfortunately i dont think i have the time currently to do a fully illustrated guide, but ill still try to include some visual examples:

[incoming wall of text lol]

ANATOMY:

to preface i think that like 100% of the time you should reference a real life photo for anatomy rather than other artwork or drawn references. the best way to learn the body is by… well, actually looking at the body! but also artwork is informed by a person's own artistic ability/stylization choices/sense of idealism, so while looking at art can help give you an idea on how to break down forms, i think you would be best served observing real life references. i labor on this point because i do think that having over relied on drawn reference material and avoiding photographic references on the basis of not being interested on realism hindered me as a largely self-taught artist as a kid, so i want to encourage live or photographic reference since anatomy is one of the foundations from which everything else is built on. that being the case, all of my doodles i'm doing for this are going to be for the sake of example rather than to strictly say how you should or should not be drawing something

-> when you are doing a study of a photo, just try copying it as best as you can. pay close attention to the natural lines and shapes of the body -- the S-curve shape of the leg, the triangular shape of the forearm, the trapezoid shape of hips/thighs when they sit, and so on. note where the body folds or squishes or pulls; how mass will shift to accommodate a certain position. if a form is hard to visualize, focus on the negative space and carve that out, rather than strictly drawing the positive space.

don't expect to get it perfect the first time. in fact, iterate on it multiple times to build understanding. try doing it to a timer of 15, then 10, then 5 minutes. doing this will force you to have to prioritize the most important shapes. you can help reinforce this by using a thicker brush or a brush with no pen pressure (no joke ms paint works great for this) to force you to be loose and not become preoccupied with details.

-> pinterest is a great resource for finding and compiling photo reference material

-> organic shapes are curved, so embracing/emphasizing that (particularly for the extremities) can help make your drawings look more natural or fluid

POSES: -> it all begins & ends with contrapposto… you've probably heard of the line of action, which is related. if you're offsetting the shoulders & hips, it: makes poses more natural, more dynamic, and helps the pose sort of "draw itself" -- the legs will follow the direction of the hips, and you can use the arms to reinforce the angles

-> context is key. don't ask: what pose should i draw? instead ask: what do i want this character to convey? what does happiness, anger, sadness, and so forth look on this particular character? how do they express that? consider these drawings: these are both ostensibly the same pose, but look at how changing just the shape of the spine recontextualizes it.

for more on pose design i recommend watching Tracer & Pose Design 101 - The Animation of Overwatch by New Frame Plus (i promise this is a genuinely super informative video).

to expand on this, in general, all of the components of a piece (background, composition, pose, etc.) are best considered in conjunction rather than separately. it is difficult to choose a pose and then choose a background because they are missing the context that would make a piece cohesive. when you are planning a drawing, try to begin with your general concept/idea/prompt and then do several thumbnails -- small and quick doodles that should take no longer than 5 minutes each -- developing it: you may find that the pose and bg will naturally fall into place.

-> silhouette: the degree to which you need to push this varies by style but generally speaking the pose needs to be readable; i.e. instantly recognizable. try to keep important elements of the gesture outside of the silhouette. for example, if the character is pointing, keep that arm out of the interior of the body. the same pose can be more or less readable or dynamic depending on where the character is pointed in relation to the viewer

-> exaggeration!! goes along with the previous point. push the pose as much as you can (and what makes sense for your style) to communicate your pose as clearly and as intensely as possible.

FACES: -> i highly recommend the app Handy Art Reference Tool by Belief Engine for all things related to drawing hands/heads/feet. its on both android and ios. it isn't free -- it costs around $3 -- but that is seriously such a small price to pay for the amount of utility you get out of it: the hands models are fully poseable (there's also pose presets), you can rotate the head models however you want, and there is 3-point customizable lighting. it is really helpful for getting those super tricky and hyperspecific head angles that you just can't find a real life reference for. that being said given that there's only a few different head model variants, bear in mind how differences in features can affect what exactly a face will look like in those angles.

-> i still recommend doing studies of real people. as with anything else, learning generalized proportions is important, even if you are going to later on bend or break this depending on style

-> as for my own approach... it kind of depends on the style i'm doing at that particular time. for my paintings (what id consider my main style) i approach a character with a few real-world features in mind and then apply them to the best of my ability. it usually will take a few iterations to land on an interpretation i really like as i try out different things. a lot of the face also gets developed during rendering rather than through my initial sketch too, as i adjust for lighting and correct proportions on the fly

(look how much this image changes between sketch and render lol)

if i were to recommend anything, i think it would be to nail down your most distinct features first -- the ones that will make your character's face recognizable, and could apply regardless of art style. in my case with kim dokja, i knew when i first started drawing him that i wanted to give him a longer face and down-turned eyes. when i decided to do the disco elysium inspired set, in which i was breaking out of my comfort zone by letting go of any idealizations focusing on conveying characterization/making them feel "real", i landed on some more specific traits (defined lower lids/perpetually tired eyes/eyebags(?) the crease there idk how to describe it) which i continue to try to evoke even if im drawing something much more cartoony

(pictured are my first kdj -> disco elysium style -> my post de-style kdj)

as a side note, this very same process changed yjh much more dramatically

(^ that first guy is mad someone else)

those handful of key features will be the thing that you can then take into a simpler style and simplify or exaggerate to whatever degree suits you. you can also play with shape theory (square = sturdy/solid, circle = natural/smooth/welcoming, triangle = energetic/dangerous). shape theory doesn't necessarily need to be so rigid -- you can combine shapes as you please to convey whatever vibe you're going for -- so please think of it as a tool that may help rather than a rigid law you must abide by.

-> expressions: exaggerate them. thats kind of it!! make it big!!! you wanna be able to really feel those emotions. the principles of squash & stretch help here: think of how the muscles move when you, say, open the eyes or mouth really big. as one side of the face stretches open, the other side squashes to accommodate it

even without changing the position of the jaw here, moving the nose and scrunching the eyes will sell the expression

you can also play with squash/stretch to break proportions to sell a feeling more

since expressions are just, well, poses for the face, everything else for poses applies here (and facial expressions & pose should also be considered in tandem). while the term contrapposto itself just refers to the offset of the shoulders & hips, the similar principle of asymmetry also carries here as that will help make the expression a bit more dynamic.

and i think... that's it!! all i can think of at least. i hope it helps anon!!!

[seriousbrat]

imo it's not so hard to accept that SWM takes place after the prank. I mean it is canon so too bad but it makes complete sense to me. there's no evidence the prank was some big life-altering character development moment for any of the characters involved and that they all learnt their various lessons. in fact we see that they don't. in SWM the marauders are clearly still tormenting Sev. In Sev's conversation with Lily post-prank he's still just as obsessed with the marauders and exposing their secrets as ever, if not more. he doesn't consider what lily's saying at all because he's too focused on his hatred towards them.

my hc is that sirius (rather masterfully) used reverse psychology on sev to get him to go down the willow. Sev isn't stupid, he wouldn't have let himself willingly be led into a trap by his worst enemies. I think Sirius probably "let it slip" and then "backtracked" and acted like Snape wouldn't be brave enough to go down there anyway and that he should just forget it. I doubt Sirius directly told him to go down the willow, I think cleverly he told him not to, knowing that Sev would do so anyway (not that this makes a difference ethically bc his intent is still clear, but anyway. this isn't about who is morally better because idgaf honestly lol, I'm just trying to work through their mindsets)

the marauders received no real consequences for the prank, so why would they learn their lesson? Objectively you can't really punish someone for telling someone not to do something if they do it anyway. Not particularly fair, but still. Which brings me to Sev's responsibility in the matter (which yes, does exist imo) we're shown that he was obsessed with finding out what the marauders were up to and particularly obsessed with Remus's secret. Yes, this is understandable given how they treated him, but absolutely not healthy and he still chose to go down there, whether out of pride, greed, curiousity, vindictiveness. He obv was manipulated but there's a reason he was so easily manipulated. As I said previously, his obsession with revenge is what causes him to be blind to lily's feelings.

James rescuing him wasn't some moment of epiphany about how bullying is bad actually. It was just a fundamental part of James's character already. He would never have let him die regardless of how he felt about him.

All of this makes SWM the PEAK moment of hatred between Sev and the Marauders, which explains a lot of their responses. Sirius and James hate Sev more than ever for trying to expose Remus. Sev, justifiably, hates them more than ever for trying to kill him (and he ropes James into this, which is incorrect but understandable in his position)

James "deflating his head" probably wasn't just based on one event in particular. He just grew up and learned what was more important- being a good person, fighting against voldemort. But Sev also had growing up to do of his own during this time. As I talked about in in this post yesterday I think post-swm Sev was beginning to realise that his lack of control over his emotional responses (calling lily a mudblood out of humiliation, for example) was dangerous both to lily and to himself.

Yeah they still hated each other and attacked each other in seventh year. There's too much bad blood there to do anything else. I've talked about the dynamic between Sev and James here and how that might have developed as they grew older. I honestly find it extremely interesting, I could go on about these two for hours rip. My point is that the development of these characters into adults wasn't instant or linear, it was messy and rough. people don't usually change overnight, it happens slowly over time because they have to.

[todayisafridaynight]

whatever //blasts your old man with the butch beam//

[jazzzzzzhands]

Ok FOR REAL Theory Time!!! Gonna be massive spoilers plus mention of bugs/fungus! So I'm calling this the Mold Theory And what is the Mold? It's the black stuff under Home! (Mold under a house is very suiting, right?) The Mold has contaminated Every single thing that the Restoration team has found! The team talks about the envelopes, the antiques, and the artwork found for Welcome Home and how it is alwasys Wet and covered in Grime. The stuff that is "Growing" all over the found items... Staff must wear gloves or they will get covered in it

You can see it all over the gloves, the Walls, and even the Website Itself! It's also been shown on the restored art prior to the update. But one unfortunate person seems to have touched it. and that is.. The Question Answerer! (The head person of the Restoration team is also most likely infected) Now what this Mold does is, It seems to have an effect of the person's mental state. Causing them to see and hear things, as well as having lucid nightmares and an overwhelming urge to draw spirals. From the very moment of contact, it seems to have effect "When I Unwrapped the first letter, I felt it. I heard it. Open Open Open. I want it out, I'm Going to get it Out" Instant Hallucinations and Obsession! Now I'm going to be Comparing this Mold to a Real fungus called Cordyceps, or the Zombie-Ant Fungus. It is a fungus that can control BUGS (familar themes right?) and take over their minds, forcing them to act unnaturally and wander far in order to spread itself! ~Similarily~ this Mold can take control of the Host's mind as well. The "Spores" that it is trying to spread are the drawings of the spirals/eyes. And the more eyes are Drawn, the more Wally can SEE. Wally has made it truly apparent that he can see us through any rendition of his eyes. "I've seen you every time you've looked into my eyes" "I have more eyes than I did before, you know how to draw eyes You draw mine, many times. I know it is thanks to you, Neighbor.. That I can see.. but it is still.. I can't see" He is giving us instructions.. "You have work to do" -Giving us instrustions on how to draw an eye... "Please Open, Let me In" Now I find this last instruction very funny He doesn't say "Let me Out" No... He says "Let me IN" Into What? What are we Opening? Our doors?Our EYES? our Mind? our Heart?? I think that could be exactly it!!! Letting him.... into You!!! (The collective You) Isn't that Funny? A Funny little thought?! The Puppet becoming the Puppeteer! ooh hee hee hoo hoo I think I'm very clever about that! But there are so many themes of Strings/Control/Scripts That I simply couldn't help myself! Now does that mean I think Wally is Evil? Absolutely NOT I LOVE Wally, and hey, what's a bit of mind control between Neighbors? <333 I'll borrow a cup of sugar and you can borrow my sanity! That's what Neighbors are for! <3 Jokes aside, No I Do NOT think Wally is Evil!! No, he might become a Puppeteer over the Real world... (and It might be for good reason, to save his friends and himself) but he is still very much a Puppet himself. Literally and Figuratively, And the Real Mastermind behind the strings is... Home!

Afterall? Isn't that where the Mold is coming from? From Down Below? Below Home?

This image gives me BIG TIME Obediance vibes Reporting/Worship/Subjugation I very much see Wally as the Lure of a very big Angler Fish.. The bait, the perfect little puppet that has captured our hearts and led us by the hand into Welcome Home. Isn't that very much how it has gone in real life? (Oh I KNOW I got the Mold BAD!!! ahahaha) (I can't stop drawing himmm!!! :3c ) But this is where my rambling stops, Until Next Time! I will just say that: The Relationship between Home and Wally (And by extension, YOU) Is a Strange one for sure! And I cant wait to see it further! And Just one more extra note on this whole Fungus thing.. Did you know that the BIGGEST Organism on the entire Earth.. Is a Mushroom? It is because they are connected through their Roots... (Down Below) and Houses kinda are shaped like musrooms... I will Leave it at That! Ahahahaha!