#it's a niche character so i didn't add him

[gynoidsluvtronix]

hehe tagged by @mothmosaic and @sailermoon to post 9 characters like me. wow i suddenly don't know anyone or who i am

tagging: @pietareference @kidotomy @blueraspberrysorbet @physcomitrium @hxh @durassian @chocolatina @laopo @decolonisers @ceet @vivid-vices @jinxangel @aveil @majoris @soullight-ex @yamat0 @baldursgate2 + any mutuals for real because i'm too lazy to list you all. and there's no obligation to do this etc etc.

[weaverofink]

My interests are directly aligning this is NOT a drill!!!

With the DC crossover announced and the images released, I figured that since most of the sonic cast are technically teens(??) it would be cool to see them as the teen heroes, too!! Here's Sonic as Impulse, Knuckles as Superboy, Amy as Wonder Girl, Tails as Robin, and Shadow as the blue Black Beetle!

Bonus shadow with black doom bc i loved how the doodle turned out :) he's essentially the stand-in for the scarab Khaji Da

I do love shadow as batman, but i figured blue beetle was a good fit, what with the alien stuff and his new doom powers in the upcoming game that give him wings and transformation abilities

[pagodazz]

Emh fans when they're asked to stop sexualizing Evan Jennings and his characters because it makes him and his wife uncomfortable:

hope y'all are so happy with yourself for going against his wishes and being fucking freaks to him. You're all why he's barely online anymore. you cannot behave and you cannot be normal and you all have ruined what could be a very fun fandom.

Everyone in this fandom sees Evan as a piece of meat basically, you all only care about his character because Evan is a good looking guy. I mean!! let's be real here!!! let me quiz you on the lore!!! let me see just how fucking much you know about ALL the characters. let me see how much you ACTUALLY give a shit. Because all any of you do is post about how attractive you find Evan/habit and it's honestly so annoying.

I'm not saying you can't compliment him??? or appreciate his looks?? but drawing him in sexually compromising positions, writing in great detail about what you want him to do to you (PUBLICLY. no one gives a SHIT what you fucking do in private.) Or you're fucking mixing up habit and Evan, and just acting like you know his story when CLEARLY the most of you have watched habit compilations on YouTube and NOTHING else.

You cannot even convince me otherwise because I deal with people coming in my comments all the time asking about BASIC INFORMATION. like IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE PRINCETON TAPES ????? WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK????? YOU NEED THAT FOR THE SERIES. YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND HALF THE THINGS WITHOUT IT???????

This isn't saying you can't write fanfiction or shit like that this is JUST SAYING BE RESPECTFUL?????? these slenderverse actors ARE NOT A LIST CELEBRITIES. they're not like fucking Oscar Isaac or whoever people are obsessed with right now. THEY'RE NOT FAMOUS. THIS IS NICHE. THIS IS NOT POPULAR MEDIA 😭😭😭😭

Emh literally made NO money from their series, they didn't create it to gain anything like that. they created something fun and NOW YOU ALL ARE THE REASON THEY HAVE NO PART IN THIS FANDOM ANYMORE.

you robbed them of being able to love their creation and I hope you're all happy about that honestly because it seems like this fandom is only gonna get worse in this area. and I'm deeply disappointed.

edit: I would like to add one thing, Vincent caffarello had to deal with situations of extreme sexualization as well, and his got to the point to where he had to leave. Vinnie used to be very involved with the fandom, he even used to read fanfic which he had to stop doing because people would be writing characters to SEXUALLY ASSAULT HIM or others and he just couldn't continue to read things like that. He delt with minors sending him explicit photos and messages and that's literally all kinds of FUCKED UP. He did NOT want to be involved with that stuff.

It's like when Evan had someone impersonate him to try to get with minors. THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT OBJECTS FOR YOU TO SEEK OUT PLEASURE WITH. THEY ARE PEOPLE.

they are HUMAN.

if they were women?? would you be doing this as much??? or would you realize how messed up it really is.

[pippin-katz]

One Shots in Red, White & Royal Blue - Part 1: Alex's Room

Modern movies are fucking obsessed with jump cuts. Even scenes where it is completely unnecessary get cut to shreds. There's films I've seen where one, single sentence line got three jump cuts in it.

After watching Red, White, & Royal Blue over ten times now, I’ve noticed so many moments where they could’ve made jump cuts, but didn’t. There were moments where I was expecting it to cut because of how used I am to other movies cutting the shit out of scenes. They did not do that here, and believe me, it makes a difference.

Cuts temporarily remind the viewer that they're watching something scripted, professionally filmed, and edited. It's a subconscious feeling that most people probably don't even notice.

In case you're unfamiliar, a one shot in film is when a sequence happens without any cuts. One of the benefits of using them is the believability they add. Any amount of time could've progressed between cuts, like if they film a scene on two different days. When you see everything happening in real time, it just feels more real.

Red, White, & Royal Blue balanced their editing and camerawork incredibly well, and utilized one shots way more than I see a lot of other films doing nowadays. They use it for a variety of scenes, and it's done very well.

Example No. 1

From this moment, where Henry enters the room:

GIF by taylorz-nicholasg

To Henry pushing Alex onto the couch:

GIF by sheisraging

To when the sequence ends:

GIF by gay-bucky-barnes

is ALL ONE SHOT.

There are no camera cuts during that sequence, and there's a significant amount of movement and activity going on.

They are obviously aggressively making out, and crossing the room at the same time. Tracking this part might be common, but when they get to the couch, and Henry pushes him, I got this gut feeling that a jump cut was about to happen, but it didn't.

Instead, the camera rotates around to that side perspective, and lets Henry come back into frame and onto the couch in real time.

GIF by sheisraging

The camera doesn't change position until Henry moves down, which could've been a cut to Alex's face, but they opted to zoom in on him, keeping the shot connected.

GIF by sheisraging

This is not a small series of events to capture in one shot, and it means that Nicholas and Taylor had to memorize and perform the entire scene's blocking as a whole rather than in parts. If they mess up, they can't just say: "hey try that line again"

A one shot scene like this means that if you mess up at any point during the sequence, you can't use the take. You have to do it again from the beginning. That's the point of a one shot.

I think it's such a testament to Taylor and Nicholas' talent, skill, and dedication that they did such a long shot involving so much intimate, and difficult, choreography.

Breaking it down, they have to kiss for the first part, but it's not just kissing; it's aggressive kissing. Their eyes are closed, and they're grabbing at each other, while crossing the room. Taylor has to walk backwards. They need to have really good spatial awareness in order to move without hitting something or tripping.

Once they hit the couch, Nicholas has to undo the buttons on Taylor's shirt. If you've ever worn a button-down shirt, you know that sometimes you just struggle with those damn buttons; there's a moment in Paris where they joke about them. Nick has to undo them fast, and deliver his lines too. If he's too slow with the buttons, or they get stuck, take ruined.

Nick has to shove Taylor onto the couch. He has to be visibly forceful, but not knock him down so hard he falls off the couch, or land in a way that make it difficult for him to shift into where he's supposed to be. Nick also has to climb around onto the couch fast enough.

Obviously once they're on the couch, the difficulty comes in that they are being intimate, kissing and grabbing each other, and they need to remain in character. Then they have lines, and Nicholas has to get even more intimate by kissing his neck. He undoes another button or two and kisses his chest and down his stomach, all while delivering his lines correctly.

If either of them messes up a line, or breaks character for a second, or loses their balance, or anything, go back to the start, do it all again.

That is so much, and the two of them nailed every part of it. I still admire how they were able to trust each other and become confident in doing all that they do.

This being a one shot created a really incredible scene. It's fluid, and grounded in space and time. It's not the only scene that's drastically improved by the fact that it's a one shot, so I'll probably write more essays breaking down those scenes cause this movie has me in a choke hold.

Update: If you enjoyed this essay & would like to support me, you can give me a tip on my Ko-Fi! ☺️

[midnightmah07]

Hello Mah! ♡

I'm actually so curious from your post on Trey that I just wanted to ask... if you were going to design Trey as a character, how would you make him look? ♡ (or, how would you want him to look?)

Thank you! ♡

OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS QUESTIONNNNNN UHMMM I THINK—

Ok joking aside😭 I ACTUALLY MADE A DESIGN FOR MY VERSION OF TREY... SIMPLY BC THE IDEA OF REDESIGNING HIM WAS SOOOOO FUN

I will ramble a bit on my desicions, my inspirations and the personality traits that I changed/added since I also wanted to do something else with Trey's personality, sorry Sheepie I just think he's a tiiiiiiny bit boring to my taste💔

However!!! Before I go on and on I just want to say, this is NOT me hating on Trey by any means, while he might not be a character I'm excited about, I do understand that there are people (like our lovely Sheep here💙) who really love him and care for him just the way he is, and I'm happy for that!! I just did this because i thought it would be fun :)

Appearance!! (Ryu from Kimi ni Todoke, Kim Namjoon and Kurosawa from Choking on Love)

I wanted to change Trey's hair DESPERATELY because I personally don't like Trey's haircut, I don't think it looks very flattering on him💔 So! I gave him a buzz cut!! While I'm always saying I love how men look with longer hair, I absolutely adore buzz cuts, so I thought an easy fix would be giving him a haircut that I think would be flattering to him, taking inspiration from all of these but specifically Kurosawa, I even gave Trey an earring like Kurosawa lol

I like thinking my Trey is more muscular than canon Trey, maybe even a bit taller? He's just a bit more buff generally speaking, I think that adds a fun touch✨

I also wanted to make his face shape similar to Namjoon, I made it a bit rounder and I also gave him dimples, which I think would be such a cute little detail everytime he smiled (which isn't a lot so... Hehe) :]

His clothes didn't change much, but I took inspiration from how Ryu wears his uniform, so I got rid of Trey's tie, but kept the rest the same! Also, I changed the placement of the clover symbol because I didn't like it before, I kinda still don't but? I think it looks better on the corner of the forehead

Personality!!

Trey's personality is lovely yes but a bit bland to me... So I took a lot of inspiration from Kurosawa, Ryu and even Mori from Ouran and decided to make him more reserved, quiet even. My version of Trey is a guy who looks intimidating on the outside, he doesn't smile all that often and he usually doesn't speak much, but he's actually a really caring guy, and helped Yuu and the others bake that tart with no problem really, as he wanted peace in Heartslabyul to be back again

I like thinking that my version of Trey wouldn't be like that when he was a kid, but he became more quiet after what happened with Mrs. Roseheats. So, my Trey would've felt so guilty for the humiliation his parents and Riddle had gone through, that he started believing it wasn't worth speaking out anymore, so he simply stopped speaking much ever since that day, he became super obedient too, and that's also part of the reason why he let Riddle continue with his awful behavior

My version of Trey would still be great a baking, and it would be a surprise factor for a lot of people, since he doesn't look like the type of guy who'd bake, (in my head Deuce even confused him for a delinquent, which couldn't be farther from what my Trey actually is lol) I think it'd be a fun detail to add... Also, I'm so sorry, but I'm taking away the Trey liking tooth brushing as a hobby... LIKE IM SORRY WDYM. THAT IS NOT A HOBBY DUDE. WHAT😭😭😭 My Trey is still interested in this very niche thing, maybe he even wants to be a dentist instead of continuing on with the bakery, but it's nowhere near the same level... His hobby could simply be baking itself

Anyways!! I think that's it?? I'm sorry this is WAYYYY TOO MUCH SJDJSJSKSKSJS BUT I GOT SUPER EXCITED..... Sorry to have changed your man sm Sheepie😞

[ot3]

Have you ever played the AA: Investigations spin-offs? If so, did you like them? I know they're kind of rough around the edges, but AAI2 is definitely my second favorite game in the entire franchise, so I'm curious to hear your opinion.

yes, i've played them both! i think they're definitely REALLY solid overall and add a ton to the series. aai2 is absolutely a huge step up for the duology but i do think people are a little bit too hard on aai1. i feel it exists in the sort of same niche as dgs1 where it maybe needed and editing pass it didn't get but is redeemed by its sequel's ability to stick the landing.

my biggest problem with aai doesn't have anything to do with any of the rough pacing or any specific case, however. i just don't fully buy yamazaki's edgeworth. there's nothing i see as egregious enough that i just won't accept it like i do with phoenix's characterization in aa6, but i feel like there's a certain degree of flanderization that happened in to his character. i feel like he gets a little bit watered down in his behaviors and actions - particularly in aai1's flashback case, where i think he's acting entirely too reasonable and helpful compared to the kind of person we knew him to be in aa1. i also think overall his dialogue was made a bit too stuffy and formal, whereas in the trilogy a strong part of what appealed to him about me was that he seemed like he should be that kind of guy but was mostly just kind of a pompous jackass, and as soon as he got pissed off most of that refinement completely drops off

it's hard to say how much of the difference in edgeworth's characterization was motivated by writing him as the protagonist rather than the antagonist or deuteragonist, and how much was a difference in approach to localization, and how much was actually yamazki's Vision. but given the state of aa5 and 6 i'm not inclined to give the man much benefit of the doubt.

with that said, though, i do think what aai2 actually did with edgeworth's arc was fantastic. 'why would edgeworth keep being a prosecutor' is a question that deserved an answer and i really appreciate they took the time to give us that answer in a satisfying way. inherited turnabout might be the strongest middle case in the franchise. it is genuinely difficult for me to wrap my mind around how you go from making aai2 to making dual destinies.

but the single most important thing the aai games had to give us was this screenshot

[krakensdottir]

Been thinking about the revelation of Crowley's previous high status as an angel a LOT since watching s2, and one thing I've pondered is how that adds up to Crowley seemingly being lower on the totem pole in Hell. His position there is clearly unconventional and probably a bit nebulous, but it's obvious he's not anything close to a leader in Hell, and he's very much fearful of Hastur and Ligur (to say NOTHING of Satan).

It seems like a contradiction at first, but that's only if we assume that the hierarchy among the angels in Heaven translated after the Fall. And it probably didn't. It would actually be really weird if it did.

The Fall changed everything. It tore apart everything the former angels knew, turned their world upside-down. I would guess the hierarchy was one of many, probably one of the first, things that fell apart. What grants you status in Heaven vs what grants you status in Hell takes a vastly different character. Lucifer/Satan may have held their position, but in general I'd imagine the fallen angels fell out of order entirely and had to sort things all over again.

And Crowley does not have what it takes to pull a high status in Hell. I mean, face it. He's not vicious. He's not cruel. He's not ambitious or power-hungry. He's not going to fight a pack of other demons to try and get a leg-up. He's a thinker, a sly bastard. He's going to find a niche where he fits and stick to that, and be good enough at it (or at least give the impression he is) that no one can displace him. But being a former possible-Archangel wouldn't matter one bit. If anything, it might have made him the target of more than the usual amount of bitterness from his fellow Fallen. Totally not thinking of writing about that

SO, point is, Crowley being a powerful angel and a low-ranking demon isn't a contradiction at all. It actually makes total sense in the context of the Fall and who Crowley is as a person.

[infiniteanalemma]

Nobility in Baldur's Gate

Edited to add: I never expected my silly, niche post to get as much attention as it has! I'm giving you all forehead smooches! 😚💋 I've gone through to clean up some things up as I've found new information. I also added a list of nobility that I've found in game and other sources to the end of the post. Thanks, y'all! I'm glad I'm not the only one to wonder about this stuff. Good stuff in the reblogs, too!

Baldur's Gate has dug itself deep in my brain, so I apologize to my poor mutuals who didn't follow me for BG3 content getting this onslaught of posts. Please bear with me until my hyperfixation wears off. 🙏

Now, I'll admit up front that I'm no expert in DnD lore*, so if I get things wrong, please feel free to correct me or just add in stuff I may have missed. I'm going off of what I've found in-game and my Google Fu skills.

That said, I do know enough about DnD to remember that Baldur's Gate nobility are called patriars, and that there are only a relative handful of actual patriar families. I was thinking about my "canon" Tav, Velassa, and her background in BG3. She's a modified OC that I plunked in-game during Early Access, so I made her a noble. It was just part of her existing character that I didn't think too deeply about. It was only after I starting playing that it occurred to me to wonder what exactly "a noble" is to a native Baldurian.

That got me digging a little more into the current state of the Baldurian nobility as of BG3. I don't know who--if anyone--needs or wants this, but I put this together for myself and decided to share it for anyone else who might be interested. I realize that this is probably pretty niche and it's rambly and long af, so I'll put it under a cut.

So, for starters, here's a list of all the patriar families, including "fallen" houses that are barely hanging on: Belt, Bormul, Caldwell, Dlusker, Durinbold, Eltan, Eomane, Exeltis, Gist, Guthmere, Hhune, Hlath, Hullhollyn, Irlentree, Jannath, Jhasso, Linnacker, Miyar, Nurthammas, Oathoon, Oberon, Portyr, Provoss, Ravenshade, Rillyn, Sashenstar, Shattershield, Silvershield, Tillerturn, Vammas, Vannath, Vanthampur, and Whitburn

From what I've gathered, Exeltis, Provoss and Ravenshade are all more-or-less destitute. Also, the Szarr family (Cazador's family) were patriars, but were believed to be entirely wiped out. No living descendants makes them a dead house, rather literally. 😏 (No, I'm not sorry.)

Now, we learn that Wyll's father is Ulder Ravengard, the Grand Duke. This brings us to the first point: There are four Dukes, known as the Council of Four, and the Grand Duke's job is to be the tie-breaker.

Traditionally, one of the Dukes is also the highest ranked officer of the Flaming Fist--that's Ravengard, who was a Fist promoted up through the ranks. Wyll tells us that his father was born lower class, and quite a few of the patriars seem to scorn him for that. The other Dukes are Belynne Stelmane, Dillard Portyr (more on him later) and Thalamra Vanthampur (more on her later, too). Of the four, two are patriars: Portyr and Vanthampur. We don't know much about Stelmane's past, except that she was a brilliant businesswoman, politician and--as we find out later--member of the Knights of the Shield. Apparently, you can't buy your way into the patriars, but maybe you can buy your way into being a Duke.

Skipping ahead a bit, when the player shows up to Gortash's coronation, there are a group of mostly patriars sitting in the boxes leading up to the front of the room. I'm listing them by seating arrangement, with box 1 and 2 being the left and right closest to Gortash, and 3 and 4 being farthest. (I don't know what, if anything, the seating arrangements imply. The second box has eight people, compared to four for all the rest.)

Lady Ailis Belt, Baron Callem Bormul, Lord Rugger Shattershield**, and Lady Alia Durinbold**

Lady Ruth Linnacker, Lord Sarken Eomane, Lady Freida Oberon, Lord Raylen Jannath, Lord Myer Ravenshade**, Lady Madeline Whitburn, Lady Beatrice Provoss, and Duke Dillard Portyr

Lady Winstra Hullhollyn, Admiral Peil Hullhollyn, Lord Randolph Vammas, and Lady Eshvelt Guthmere

Lord Milon Tillerturn, Lady Silifrey Sashenstar, Lord Petric Amber**, and Lady Haeril Birch**

Here's some pictures of the nobles sitting together. (Sorry for the terrible quality! I slapped it together for my own reference. 🙈)

The characters marked by ** aren't human, which is interesting because the information I found said all the patriar familes are human except the Shattershields. Myer Ravenshade is listed as human if you examine him, but he has a dwarf model. That might be a mistake, but I'm including him anyway. Alia Durinbold, from a presumably human patriar family, is a wood elf. Again, this could be a mistake, but unless Larian winds up changing it, it could mean that interracial marriages that once may have been looked down on are now becoming more acceptable. Petric Amber is also a wood elf, and Haeril Birch is a high elf.

Those last two are interesting because they are the only ones in the boxes who aren't patriars. If not for them, I'd have assumed the coronation was simply a demonstration for the patriars alone. Their inclusion means this is something else.

Digging around, my conclusion is that all the listed people are members of the Parliament of Peers--a 50 person advisory party to the Council of Four. However, what I found says that it's pretty rare for all 50 to attend meetings, and the usual group is between 20-30. There are exactly 20 named individuals listed, plus a group of unnamed "patriars" standing at the front.

Here they are, for what it's worth:

One thing I noticed here is that most of those listed here are Lord/Lady, but there are three other titles: Duke, Baron and Admiral. I've already talked about the Dukes. Looking into the patriars, the Hullhollyn family are notable for having a fleet of ships, so it makes sense that one of them would be an Admiral. That leaves the Baron.

I couldn't find anything about what it means to be a baron in Baldur's Gate. Going on real-world peerages, a baron/ess is generally the lowest "rank" of nobility. Basically, it's someone who was an official landowner (usually of an "important" bit of land) under the feudal system. Well and good, I suppose, but presumably all the Lords and Ladies of the patriars own land within the city. This particular Baron is also a patriar, but given that one doesn't need to be a patriar to become a Duke (normally a higher peer than a baron), that may not mean anything.

(Apparently, the term "Duke" was originally meant somewhat jokingly. That said, it still carries the weight of a title even if not the conventional one.) We don't see any other titles between Duke and Baron, so what does that mean?

This isn't canon, but my assumption is that it means the Baron owns important land outside of the city. This would make sense for Baron Bormul, given that the Bormul family apparently have investments in silver mines and vineyards. Assuming they own the mines/vineyards, that may make those lands "important" enough to the city for their owner to earn a title. Alternately, the Bormul family also has counterparts in Amn, so maybe baron is an Amnian title that got passed along. That's getting a bit far afield for me, though. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, among the group at the coronation, pretty much everyone supports Gortash becoming Archduke, with the exception of Lady Sashenstar (an old woman who really isn't too impressed with this commoner) and Duke Portyr, who expresses some hesitation at the whole thing.

Duke Portyr is interesting here. Except for Ravengard (who is thralled and conducting the ceremony), Portyr is the only Duke present. Now, Stelmane is already dead, so that explains her absence. Vanthampur is also missing, which is interesting. Portyr first, though: he was Grand Duke before Ravengard. He's the one who re-instituted (Edited: and originally created!) the Parliament of Peers to make the day-to-day decisions of running the city, and ceded the title of Grand Duke to Ravengard. He's described as being conflict-averse, so it makes sense that he'd go along with Gortash's coronation, even though he's clearly unhappy about it. Also, the current leader of the Fists is also a Portyr, likely still Liara Portyr, the Duke's niece and Ravengard's second-in-command.

Thalamra Vanthampur is an interesting character, too. She's the head of the Vanthampur family, and part of the Descent into Avernus story. Apparently, she's the one who got Ravengard to go to Elturel before it sank to the Hells, intending to take his place as Grand Duke. From what I read, she also conspired with the Dead Three's cults to murder people in a bid to discredit the Flaming Fist. (The murdery bits were undoubtedly left to Bhaal's cult.) We never do find out anything about Thalamra Vanthampur in this game (I assume that's probably cut content). (Edited: She is mentioned in one of the in-game texts as having been killed, which was one of the possible outcomes of Descent into Avernus. Larian chose that as their canon, just like the fate of Elturel and Zariel.)

The only Vanthampur we do meet is Carnelia Vanthampur, who is in the Guildhall and describes herself as "a peer of the Parliament". She's willing to work with either the Guild or the Zhentarim. Nervously of course. Also interesting is that, on the Bloodstained Parchment hit list, is a Varri Vanthampur, whose gravestone you can find in Candulhallow's Tombstones shop, reading: "Varri Vanthampur. Unwanted in life, welcomed in death."

Interesting, hm?

Also on that hit list is Fridrik Hhune. The Hhunes apparently have links to the Knights of the Shield, from what I looked up--the same group the Emperor led with Stelmane. The only Hhunes we meet in-game are Blaise and Gheris Hhune, two of the werewolves in Cazador's ballroom who are brothers according to the dev notes. With them is another werewolf of a different patriar family, Duver Rillyn. This suggests Cazador has been going after members of patriar families, which sort of fits with what we know about his plans. We really don't find anything else out about them except that they consider Cazador to be their master and Astarion says they're new.

We also can talk to a Flaming Fist who mentions that Hurlbut Hhune is the father of Henrietta Hhune, who used to be secretly engaged to the Fist in question, only for her father to decide to arrange her to marry fellow patriar Derque Rillyn, who the Fist describes as "a major arsehole."

That conversation is interesting for a few reasons. For one, it tells you that arranged marriages within the patriar are a thing. Also, this Fist is a Manip (essentially a Sergeant) who can't ask the other Fists for help because "the Fists don't mess with wealthy patriars, they've got the Watch to back them up." That's aligned with what Devella can also tell you: "There are patriars on the murder target list. I'm oathbound to secure them first, so I'll be heading to the Upper City next." If you say that the Fist should protect everyone: "Not from around here, are you? We're in Baldur's Gate - this is just how things work."

This brings me back to my original issue: what is a Baldurian noble? The patriars are canonically nobles, of course, and they're undoubtedly seen as the "most important" of the nobility. From there, it's not much of a stretch to say that anyone who has earned the title of Duke is now a noble, even if they aren't patriars. I'd go so far as to say anyone on the Parliament of Peers (and their family by association) is a noble^, given that non-patriars Petric Amber and Haeril Birch are considered Lord and Lady. The information I found about that is that there are approximately twelve non-patriar members. If Amber and Birch are two of them, that leaves another unnamed 10.

^Edited: Looking at the dates, I realized that the Parliament of Peers is a very recent change to Baldurian governance. Duke Portyr originally created it after the three other Dukes on the Council of Four were assassinated. It was clearly meant as a temporary measure, but my guess is that the patriars liked having more official say. Not to mention the non-patriars who managed to get a seat. This has all happened within even the youngest of Tav/Urges' lifetimes.

Personally, I'd also assume that branch families of the patriars probably also count as nobility. By branch family, I mean those that marry out of the main line but whose ancestry stems from a patriar family. From what I've seen by naming conventions, Baldur's Gate seems to use patronmyic lineage--ancestry is generally passed to the sons, and wives take their husband's surname. So, if a daughter marries out of the family, she'd no longer be a part of her father's family lineage, but still would be considered nobility. These branch families likely still maintain powerful influence and connections from marrying into wealth, which would make them a good political/financial choice of marriage alliance, despite no longer having the main branch patriar family name. These families are also probably the ones most likely to find a place on the Parliament, too, but likely have to jockey for position if their "representative" dies (or otherwise leaves) and a new opening in the Parliament is created.

If you've read this far, as a treat you can have some crappy close-up portraits of the nobles at Gortash's coronation, grouped together in their respective boxes. 😚

* For what it's worth, I'd count myself as a casual DnD player. I have some knowledge of DnD--I've played BG1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, along with some general cultural osmosis. I've had friends who played the tabletop version, but for one reason or another, I've never played it myself.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

Obligatory Volo romantic/🥰 hc?

well if you INSIST (assuming the romance is with the player character here. also keeping these pretty positive and healthy, even though obviously there are plenty of uhhhh messier hcs to be made for this character specifically. i think tumblr will auto-shorten this post but please let me know if it doesn't and i'll add a cut)

in general, any iteration of volo wishes to demonstrate his devotion and usefulness to his partner through action. while he imagines a lot of grand gestures, it usually ends up being pretty mundane in practice. like getting things off tall shelves and tidying up a living space (he's a total neat freak). the exception is volo in a canon divergence where he actually becomes a god, in which case every gesture would be a grand gesture, and it probably gets out of hand

it's extremely important to him that togepi/togetic/togekiss loves his partner. he is genuinely so concerned about this, and fears what would happen if she didn't, despite togepi/tic/kiss being the literal embodiment of joy and love. this insecurity almost certainly stems from the fact that he still can't believe that togepi/tic/kiss loves him

he has read a lot of books and he loves to hear himself talk. also, he's been method acting for like five straight years and makes a living selling people things. the man has a way with words, take that as you will

he's a strict vegetarian (also doesn't eat eggs) for ethical reasons and knows how to cook extremely well to fit his dietary needs. one might expect him to be an "i'll eat a chicken because a chicken would eat me" kind of guy, but because humans have higher intelligence and the capacity for morality, volo holds them to higher standards than animals. therefore, it wouldn't be wrong for a chicken to eat him, but it would be wrong for him to eat a chicken. anyway this is a romantic headcanon because he really really loves to share his cooking, especially if it's a traditional recipe he found while researching history

he has a naturally pleasant singing voice and near-perfect pitch. the volo i write grew up on the mainland and came to hisui as a young adult, so i like to think that he grew up playing the piano and is very skilled, although out of practice. he occasionally hums or sings in front of his partner and it's very nice to hear

he knows how to sew and offers to help the player character make some modern clothing garments they miss from the future. also makes some clothing for them based on his own ideas, because he thinks they would look nice dressed up to his tastes :)

doesn't half-ass anything, especially not in terms of relationships. if he says it's casual, it's because his partner asked to keep it casual and he wants to respect their boundaries and honor their wishes, which is within itself something he does with intention and care

he is simultaneously very aware of the fact that he's beautiful in situations where it benefits him, and completely blindsided by his partner's unprompted acknowledgements of his beauty

loves going on hours-long walks with his partner and sharing/listening to enthusiastic diatribes about niche interests. bonus if the interest is totally unfamiliar to the other person. basically, ancient sinnoh video essays

he likes having regularly-occuring shared activities to look forward to. like, weekly game nights with his partner or taking their pokemon to battle at the training grounds as a team when they know some highly-skilled opponents are going to be there

likewise, he just really likes battling as a team. like if he and his partner run into the bandits in the wild, it's a genuine pleasure, because it means he gets to wield train his pokemon alongside someone on his level (also he likes being the hero sometimes, especially if he's upstaging arceus's chosen hero)

volo loves pda for several reasons: he's touch-starved, he's possessive, and he's a performer at heart

some fourth wall breakage, as a treat: he'd absolutely read romantic fanfiction about himself and leave multi-paragraph comments making corrections and highlighting lines he particularly appreciated

[dunces-hat]

Stephcass batfam AFTG AU

guys. i haven't thought this through at all so bear with me but. batfam AFTG au!!!

THINK ABOUT IT OK kevin is damian and obvi bruce is wymack— i don't even need to say it you can see the parallels-- which makes the Moriyamas the Al Ghuls. Babs is Dan, Dick is Matt, tim is allison (the rich kids lol), and i can’t decide for renee and seth… maybe Helena for one? she doesn’t really match either of them, but maybe Maps for Renee, Helena for Seth (sorry and rip Helena). if anyone knows more about Helena/Harper/Carrie/Bette/etc and think they fit lmk! Betsy would probably be Dinah since i think she’s had a few arcs as a therapist? And if you ignore the abby x wymack thing then Alfred could be Abby

and who is neil you ask? CASS!! i love cassie it's so perfect, the wesninskis are the Cains obviously, maybe cass ran away after her dad killed someone in front of the al ghuls (and, unknown to Cass, tried to sell her to the Al Ghuls to be The One Who Is All) and became a runaway with shiva OR after Cain forced Cass' own first kill she runs away by herself, like in the comics. Instead of damian (kevin) scouting her, it's babs (Dan) getting her into the Bat Cave Court!!

Then she moves to Bruce’s and meets The Monsters (the demons? vampires? vampire bats?); Damian (kevin), Duke (nicky), Jason (aaron), and (drumroll please......🥁🥁🥁🥁) Steph (andrew)!— BARE WITH ME bare with me okay some inconsistencies in character are gonna happen here

Jason and Steph are, obviously, twins separated as babies- but they're fraternal twins, so they look pretty different and are different sexes. Either Willis or Sheila could be Tilda, but whichever pair of parents they had couldn't afford/didn't want two kids so they gave Stephanie to the foster system, causing her to be in and out of foster homes until she was placed with Crystal (Cass) and Arthur Brown. black mask or arthur/cluemaster could be drake :(

Duke, their cousin, wants them to make up but doesn’t know how to (ignore nicky’s advances on every man that breathes, i love him but that does not apply to Duke here lol he is not making moves on anyone here— they are his family). Steph doesn’t consider either of them family, only damian who she protects is family to her.

Then the upperclassmen move in once school starts! i’m throwing the gendered rooms out of here cause it doesn’t fit so Cass shares a room with Seth, Renee (maybe helena and maps? still undecided), and Tim. The Monsters/Vampires/Demons have their room, and Dick and Babs share. 

yeah 👍 i have no more comprehensive ideas anymore but feel free to add! 

this probably way too niche but whatever. if you’re in one of these fandoms join the other one too!!

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 21, MAG 21 Freefall

Tom Petty plays in the background as a man falls to his death

Is this too niche a joke? Not possible. MAG 21 analysis, spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Moira Kelley, regarding the disappearance of her son Robert. Statement given October 20th, 2002.

Statement Notes: I have some friends with thrill seeking hobbies and I've really just been waiting for this to happen to one of them. RIP Robert Kelley but my bros are NOT built different and the sky will eat them.

The intensity of Robert's fear in this episode was so deep and profound. The way that he fell for so long that he actually wanted to hit the ground. The fact that he didn't open his parachute on time because he was so desperate to reach the ground faster. You were really able to experience and understand his emotions.

"The sky ate him" is usually the line that gets a lot of press in this episode, and for good reason. But the line that's always stuck with me is "Enjoy sky blue." It's only three words, but it says so much. The word "Enjoy" highlights the normalcy of life in the Magnus Archives universe. Rober is doing what he loves, he should be happy, he should enjoy the jump. But he won't. Fairchild won't let him. The horrors won't let him. The narrative won't let him.

But the second half of that sentence--"sky blue"--adds a whole other element. Syntactically speaking, Simon Fairchild presents it as a noun. It could be an activity or experience to Fairchild, like skydiving. It's something he does often, experiencing the thrill and horror of the fall by "sky bluing." It could be fun for him. Maybe if Robert had enjoyed the fall, Fairchild would have recruited him as an entity. It's not capitalized in the transcript, but because it is being spoken by Moira Kelley who lacks context, it's possible it is a proper noun. Could it be a place? An area the Fairchilds blip in out of and send hapless victims to, the same way the Lukases send people to the Lonely? Or is it a name? A living entity that got a taste of Robert on his first dive and decided to finish its meal on the hill?

The wind sfx in this episode is so great. I've been suspending my disbelief with the sound effects in the early episodes because I assumed they were mainly just to build ambiance for the listener, but they do have interesting implications for future episodes. If, in recording early statements, Jon begins experiencing/developing his Eye powers, then these effects (the wind in this ep, the heart beating with Julia Montauk, etc.) could be him "hearing" what the victims felt and experienced. He is looking through their eyes as he reads the statement.

Entity Alignment: Tom Petty continues playing quietly in the background

Really great Vast episode. I've never been particularly scared of heights, so I don't often find the vast episodes "scary," but I do find this one to be particularly unsettling and thrilling. The sky being presented as semi-sentient, with the ability to not only steal but eat a man makes the idea of falling through all the more terrifying.

When Moira Kelley began the statement, she explains that she "doesn't have the words" and doesn't know what to write. But of course, she explains everything in perfect detail anyway. By virtue of being in the Institute, she is compelled to tell her story. The Eye is urging her to relive the horror that she sold her home to escape. She says that "knowing won't bring him back," but the Institute doesn't care. It just wants more knowledge and fear to consume.

Character Notes: In MAG 111, Gerry explains that families are often just tools for avatars to ensure transfers of power and increase their own power. This vaguely seems to be what Fairchild is doing with Harriet, although less so. But I also wonder if the same can be said of the businesses that avatars and entities involve themselves in. According to Jon, Open Skydiving isn't a "real" company with any records, but it clearly has been operating for many years and people utilize its services. Similar circumstances seem to be true for the Magnus Institute, as well as Peter Lukas' real estate and shipping companies. They provide moderate services merely to provide funds and resources to avatars, while also functioning as mediums through which they can create more fear.

(Something something a company treating you like family means they want to use your success to increase their own status something something)

Slightly less relevant, but Robert says the jump was a charity event for Simon's deceased wife. I would love not only to know more about who Fairchild's wife was and how she died, but also what charity he could possibly be leaving any money to. "Defective parachutes for youth" "Old men against OSHA" "Wheelchair kitesurfing fund."

Slightly more relevant, but Martin!! He's back! Oh no!

The most important thing about Jon's reaction to Martin bursting in is when he shouts "What are these things?" Not only has he never seen the worms before, but he has no idea what they are. Even after reading Timothy Hodge's statement, he can't connect the worms he sees to Jane Prentiss. This is totally reasonable for any regular person, as he likely never expected to see the worms in person nor would expect Martin to burst in covered in them, but Jon isn't a regular person. At times, Elias has allowed Jon to make leaps in logic that lead him to the actual truth as a means of hiding his Eye powers. Elias wants Jon to know things he shouldn't, but only on his schedule. Jon needs to explore Prentiss more deeply so he will be marked for the ritual, so he's rationing information.

[tex-now]

Ranking vocals for prsk characters yippee yahoo

DONT LOOK IM .NOT DONE

20. Saki Tenma

Babygirl I'm so sorry.... okay listen. Saki's voice is actually nice to me! I like it, it's sweet and jubilant to me. Makes me happy. But saki simply doesn't have as... good..? Of a voice as the other characters, that coupled with the fact that she's in a unit with ichika (the line stealer/lh) she doesn't get many moments to shine, and she hasn't has any particularly impressive moments to me. I'm sorry bbg I love you 😔

Best vocal performance: Tera Tera

19. Mochizuki Honami

Once again, HONAMI BBG IM SO SORRY 😔 honami's voice is very soft, and while that isn't bad at all, it's personally not my style :( however I also must add that when honami is good, she is AMAZING, and when she's less good, she usually isn't the focus of the song so it doesn't really matter. Honami shows up when it counts

Best Vocal Performance: Flyway and Regulus

18. Tsukasa Tenma

This hurts. Listen. Tsukasa is EXTREMELY inconsistent with his vocal quality. Sometimes, listening to him sing gives me second hand embarrassment. Other times he serves so much cunt it makes me forget his slumps at times. This means that sometimes his vocals suck ASS and other times they're amazing. Which averages out to a much lower score than the others above him 😔 also since he's tsukasa his voice is incredibly defined and like... nasally..? Which sometimes is a detriment. Still love you tsukasa

Best Vocal Performance: NEO

17: Emu Otori

Emu has a lot of the problems that Tsukasa has but what she has over him is consistency and a cuter voice. Her voice is like. Really squeaky and cute which makes any song that's not that kinda awkward but her voice is PEAK when it fits the song she's singing. She has a niche and whe she fills it she's amazing.

Best Vocal Performance: Mr. Showtime

16. Yoisaki Kanade

Kanade's voice sounds like heaven sometimes. Its soft and melancholy and beautiful and very consistent. She doesn't ever have a bad vocal performance. But you know what she DOES have? Songs that don't fit her voice at all! kanade is extremely soft spoken and her voice usually doesn't sound weak like honami can, but she simply cannot belt to save her life. Songs like Bug, Kitty, Infinitely Gray, exemplify that so strongly it's actually crazy. Kanade didn't even get another vocal for bug and I think that was the reason, she simply cannot go higher than her soft voice, which is a HUGE restriction on her otherwise wonderful voice. Her voice is still really nice though

Best Vocal Performance: Into The Night

15. Mafuyu Asahina

Mafuyu has inconsistent vocals. The thing puts her above other inconsistent singers like Tsukasa, is that her highs are HIGH. When mafuyu goes hard, she fucking decimates. When she doesn't it's mid as fuck 😔 her voice can be really soft at times, which as we know, is not my thing, but she almost weaponizes that by making her belts all the more harsher. You don't expect that from Mafuyu! She's generally either "soft spoken" or apathetic when she's singing! Then she's fucking yelling and you're like "wtf I didn't expect this!" Not only is it fun from a vocal standpoint but it's amazing character acting! Her singing represents her psyche and I think that's wonderful. The only reason why she's so low is because of the inconsistency in some songs

Best Vocal Performance: Bug and Villian

14. Minori Hanasato

Minori is an AMAZING singer in terms of sheer versatility and consistency. Her voice is extremely consistent and she benefits from it! It's also an extremely cute and smooth voice that fits the songs she sings very well! She doesn't really have any detriments, but her softer vocals are a bit restrictive but she doesn't struggle nearly as much as Kanade because she doesn't usually have songs that would require a strong voice.

Best Vocal Performance: Love Trial (Solo)

13. Akito Shinonome

Akito's voice slaps. No further comment/silly but seriously his voice is so.... good. Idk how to describe it. Like okay for one his voice is niche definitely. But his "niche" is street music AND HOLY FUCK I LOVE STREET MUSIC. It's like. So powerful and free? Like he goes hard for every song and it's so fucking good. Honestly he should be higher. He's so fucking pgiohufogigooguhogh... akitos voice.....

Best Vocal Performance: Cinema and CRaZY

12. Shizuku Hinomori

Shizuku's voice is fucking GORGEOUS. Like she sounds like an angel sent from the heavens half the time. Its very satisfying to hear her sing omg she's so fucking amazing. Her voice is amazing and airy and mature. God. It sounds like a fairy resting on a leaf in a magical forest. Shizuku is a siren and I am bewitched by her wonderful vocals. I love you shizuku. It's really soft but I can excuse it because it seriously is that good. Makes my ears happy

Best Vocal Performance: Milk Crown on Soncheka

11. Toya Aoyagi

GASP?? TOYA NOT BEING IN LAST??? WAOW.../silly. His voice is like heroine and I am inhaling it sorry. His high notes His belting his fucking RAPPING OH NY GOD TOYA... his soft vocals are also peak (save me blender) and he's just. So good. And also very versatile! He can do quiet and soft, loud and belty, and he can rap like no one else. God. I love Toya's voice sm. Ough

Best Vocal Performance: Utsuro Wo Aogu

10. Ena Shinonome

Ena pls marry me. Her voice is a little... scratchy? Like idk how to describe it. It's a little rough and SO SOSOOO FUCKING GOOD OH MY GOD. she can't belt like hell, has really good vocal chemistry with her fellow group members, and is just a really good singer! She also sounds really cute but not cute like minori or emu cute. like Mizuki cute. A little bratty? Spoiled? Either way it's really ho-

Anyway she has a few flaws. I'm not huuuge a fan of when she sings softly (nomad is an exception) and I feel like she's straining her voice sometimes. Other wise she's really good and I love her no other notes. Ena one chan-

Best Vocal Performance: I ♡ Nandesu (Full Solo)

9. Haruka Kiritani

Listen to the full Near alt. Her voice is so fucking good im surprised honestly. Its a little bit rough just the slightest bit and very crisp. Like an apple! She's a very good vocalist and almost always sounds amazing in any song. She can do mature she can do suave silly cute anything you need! She's very versatile and just like I said amazing voice.

Her voice can be a little strained sometimes (devils manner 😔) but it's actually used to her benefit at times, like with Darling Dance. Her voice is just really good :3 I love her vv much

Best Vocal Performance: Near (Full Solo) and Darling Dance

8. Ichika Hoshino

Shes perfect what can I say. Nice vocals popular lead singer of her band gorgeous ichika never stops winning. Her vocals aren't smooth, but they're like, clear? Like a sunbeam going through a window pane. Bright and cool and crisp and gorgeous ily ichika. Her voice is hard with soft edges it's everything you could want it's great. Her voice is great. Ichika <33

One flaw is. Ahem. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST LET THE OTHERS SING GODDAMN!!! SHE TAKES UP HALF THE LINES OF A DAMN SONG AND BASICALLY DUETS WITH A VOCALOID WHIKE EVERYONE ELSE GETS ONE LINE EACH. okay I'm done vocals rock

Best vocal: Kibou No Tsuki and Yomosugara Kimi Omou

7. Kohane Azusawa

Her voice is smooth as butter and cuts like a knife you may think she's just another minori but God DAMN can kohane sing. She's a fucking BEAST in the vocals department. She can sing low, high, loud, soft, you name it and she can do it. She sounds so hypnotizing I am NOT kidding about her voice being as smooth as butter. Jesus fucking christ kohane she's the GOAT

Best Vocal Performance: Hitsuji ga ippiki

6. Rui Kamishiro

I mean. It's rui. His voice is gorgeous. He has a really wide range and his voice is very smooth and sweet and amazing ousgsjsshs.. he always sounds like he's having fun with his singing and he just sounds very jovial and mischievous. Love his voice sm. Ouhj

Best Vocal Performance: Fixer and Subarashiki Nyansei

5. Airi Momoi

AIRIIII her voice is perfect. It's clear and bright and fiery and also very versatile! She can sing low or high soft or loud and she always sounds awesome! She's also good at the lil chirps in the background. Just good for literally any song. God ily airi

Best Vocal Performance: Marshmary and Momoiro no Kagi (honorable mention: Parasol Cider)

Shiho Hinomori

[stepswordsen]

【Magi】 Judar and JuAli 🐈‍⬛🖤 ❤️ 💛

JuAli WIP doodles 🖤 ❤️ 💛

Quick doodles before I head back to my assignments

Been a while since I drew Judar and Alibaba together… I missed them!!! I hope to draw them more~

You can see the rest under the cut~

I wasn't sure if I should post my sketches here since they're so messy but I thought I might as well

I'll copy paste my old rambles too since I have more to add this time

2024 vs. 2022

(2024)

Comparison (2022 ~ 2023)

(2024)

Comparison (November 2022)

For the kissy one:

Wasn't sure which one I liked more tbh

1st one fits more...

Though for the 2nd one, I think Judar looks more efforted ADHSHDHSH

Since I excel at drawing meow meow mf charas

3rd one I drew in November 2022. The expressions are still cute in this one so I still like it, but my brush strokes improved a lot since then

For the hanfu Judar one:

Recent versions (+ the old one from 2022)

I've been playing around with the eyes~ I like these ones best. The eyes are bigger in the 1st one, and the others have them a bit smaller. The 1st one has a more innocent look. The 2nd has more slitted eyes and a "seductive" look?

Judar has sharp (tsurime) eyes and rings in his eyes, which are really fun to draw hehe 🤗

I'll redraw the hair soon! I just drew it quickly in like 5 minutes. It's finals season for me. I'm not fully free from this semester so I'm still quite busy, but you'll probably see small doodles from me 🙏

I'm definitely seeing art improvement (improvement in brush strokes and anatomy and proportions)

Ohtaka deliberately draws hatched lines near Judar's eyes to represent his eyeshadow 🤭 ❤️

I drew the hair quickly, so I didn't pay much attention to the shapes of the hair spikes so it's not as soft. But even with the quick doodle, the hair has better weight now. Once I get to refine things properly, I'll actually pay attention to the way his hair spikes are drawn.

I was recently rereading my old dialogue scripts from my JuAli AU and revamping them! I doodled Judar and Alibaba SO much in 2022. It's the Fire/Ice duality and Black Cat x Golden Retriever ship dynamic 🖤💛🐈‍⬛🐕

I wanna draw JuAli again soon and redraw my old doodles. JuAli is my main Magi ship so ofc I wanna draw lots of them~ I haven't gotten the time yet, but I want to draw my ships like AliHaku, SinJa, and KouMor eventually, too 🙏✨

Inspiration

Based on this black and red (Judar colours) hanfu I got~

Judar rambles

I originally drew Judar wearing hanfu in 2022! Still one of my personal fave doodles ❤️ Judar is my fave (no one is surprised, I have the most obvious predictable tastes in the world LMAO). A meow meow mf perfect for my tastes.

Judar fits perfectly into the highly specific Sen-core niche that my top faves all tend to fall under - Meow meow mf. C*nty sen-core bastard cat who's violent, threatens people, and ok with murder. Bloodthirsty. Monochrome aesthetic colour palette.

Manga Judar has red eyeliner (?) and anime Judar has purple eyeshadow? Both are good, but I like Judar with red eyeliner since black and red are his theme colours! 🖤❤️ I like how the colours pop, the contrast against his design, and how it matches his red eyes.

In my HCs, Judar wears a type of hanfu called Ruqun (襦裙). Ru (襦) is the cross-collared top of a hanfu, and the wrap-around skirt is called Qun (裙). The coat jacket is called Da Xiu Shan (��袖衫).

I want him to wear black, white, red, gold, hanfu & hanfu earrings, with red eyeliner and black painted nails 🤗

I still need to pick my headcanon hanfu earrings for Judar... I imagine they'd be gold with red accessories.

I just have to refine the eyes, redraw the hair and hanfu, and then start doing the lineart for it! I love the expression tbh

Additional rambles

I miss my sons, I wanna draw my HC designs of JuAli (with Judar wearing hanfu and Alibaba with tanner skin, wearing traditional Arabic clothes), as a fix-it for the obvious colourism going on in Magi's character designs of SWANA and South Asian inspired characters

I bought black and red hanfu back in 2023. I based my Judar hanfu doodles on it 🥺❤️ It's in Judar colours. Black red and white 🖤❤️🤍 I'm so HAPPY to get something that reminds me of my fave 🥰🤭❤️✨ I got it from the Hanfu Story~ They have such a large selection of hanfu and they're all so gorgeous~

Basically Judar themed hanfu~ I love traditional clothes, so it's my dream to collect them! Now I can use it as refs to draw him with the poses and lighting I want teehee. Hanfu & huafu look GORGEOUS to me. I also have Việt Phục like áo dài and áo tấc~

The colours are amazing!! I love black and red combo 😭💖 It's way too easy to fall into the fashion hole and collecting traditional clothes but I definitely want more in the future!

Magi: Ch. 110 - 111, Ch. 196 - 197, Ch. 239, Ch. 288

I love how Ohtaka stylizes and draws the shape of Judar's hair and braids. It's so clever how she simplifies the shapes. It just looks so good. It looks galaxy/tornado shaped… I love how the hatched lines above his eyes in Ohtaka's inking represents his eyeliner... ❤️

Judar's expressions from Ch. 110 - 111 are so unhinged… The Ch. 288 omake Judar is iconic. Fucking crazy ass LMAO 😭😂 Love you tho! 💞🫶

I'll be honest. I've thought about changing my PFP to this Judar again from the Magi omakes, like I thought of doing it as an April Fool's joke before, but I feel like no one would bat an eye cuz of how my faves are like LMFAO

Sen-core faves: Murderous, bloodthirsty, violent (or at the very least, has a disposition for violence), MAY eat people and/or their innards 🙌

JuAli core ship posts

And while you're at it, have the meme edit of them I made (1st image)

Anyways I made the 1st image's meme edit myself <33

Alibaba with tanner skin has such great visual contrast against his earrings~

I also wanna commission arts of JuAli at one point but I'd want to do it with my headcanon designs of them (Judar wearing hanfu and Alibaba with tanner skin wearing traditional Arabic clothes)

Art rambles

When I sketch, I draw out the expressions and decide which ones looks best (I either do it once or a few ~ several times) depending on whether I'm satisfied with it. I like the two most recent 2024 versions I showed~ The old ones are still nice... But I prefer the recent versions, because I think it shows how my art style and proportions improved.

These sketches are super messy right now so when I get the time I'll refine them more! It's just to make it consistent with my current style. I'm a little insecure about my sketches, so I prefer to keep most of them on priv for mutuals.

Since I'm not really a fan of the idea of my sketches/WIPs getting posted around when I'm bound to fix/refine/improve on them later when I get the chance to refine them. Though thankfully with my 2022+ lining style, my sketches look more "aesthetically nice" or "post worthy" to me...

Perhaps in the future... I do genuinely like my art style and I'm very happy with my art improvement, but I want to keep growing as an artist first. I want to reach the point where I manage to become more technically skilled and confident about my works (even my sketches)

Though since I posted the rest of the sketches under the cut, feel free to reblog them if you want!

[randomnameless]

It's crazy how SoV preluded 3H by making one of the protags have a tremendously contradictory mindset of humanity being better off without gods, while also relying on those same gods to fulfill their goals, the hypocrisy of which goes completely unadressed throughout the game; truly masterful foreshadowing

Who directed FE15?

lol

I've recently tried to think about this "gods BaD" shift in more doylist terms - especially since I've finally played a Squenix game recently and...

FE13 was the FE series last ditch effort, it will either work or end up as the F-Zero series, FE13 worked and FE14 followed suit.

Lolcalisation aside, FE14 had a nice plot and I engaging characters - to some people but not me, different tastes and all - but FE14 and FE13 were still FE games, as in part of the old FE series, aka a niche series. Adding dating sim/interpersonal relationship through avatars might have helped a bit, and yet, imo, it was still the "niche" FE series.

Comes FE15 where we basically have a remake, and can't add the interpersonal thing because Alm isn't an avatar (even if the game spends a lot of time praising his oranges) - how to make the game work? Sure, some weirdo fans of the FE series will buy it, and it was never supposed to sell as much as FE13/14, but if it was a 1:1 remake or just with minor adjustments? It might bomb like the Archanea remakes, and good luck coming after that - will they need another "FE13" to reignite the sales or??

And here I thought about it : FE15 was retconned with the "GoDs BaD" spiel, to make this game more in-tune with what I'd call "traditional" JRPGs where the protagonists often defy a corrupt church and "divine" being.

("Traditional" imo being the Squenix way, because while I didn't play all entries of this series, the Tales series never striked me as being particularly as, uh, vindicative against organised religion, maybe save for Symphonia 1 - Abyss' Church really wishes to help the people even if it is corrupted from within by some dude who doesn't want to let the world die and played by the big bad, Xillia has no church, ditto for Zestiria and Phantasia had Mint and... that's it? - compare this to Squenix's Triangle Strategy and Hyzante being comically EvIl and without any redeeming traits/points when all of the other major parties of the conflict have "token good NPCs" as forced as they are in the game, to make it very clear that they might have done questionnable things like invading and slaughtering civilians from a foreign nation who welcomed them at their wedding, but at least they have "MoRaLs" unlike those bozos in their desert...)

And this "let's make FE mainstream by kicking gods" mentality completely runs at odds with the rest of the FE franchise, and while I know RD basically ends like this bcs "uwu Ike defeated a GoD with the help of another who used the lead of that game as a soul jar and granted him exclusive powers to put her sister to sleep" the morale of RD's story - as seen in the perfect ending but in Ike's speech to Yune itself - is that everyone can and should try to live together, asking Gods not the fuck out to let Humanity alone, but to believe in them just like humans believe in gods.

So FE15 ends as this big, uh, mismatched clash of narrative directions - being a remake it cannot stray too far from the source material and Archanea verse : Dragons and Humans can live together (even if it means dragons must sacrifice part of themselves to do so because fuck them I guess) and dragons can help humans just like humans can, uh, not be asses and not target them because their ears are pointy or when they are weakened...

And we had the new Squenix direction where GoDs BaD and HuMaNiTy fuck yeah, which leads to FE15's hypocrisy : please trust and rely on us Gods/dragons and kindly help us when we're in deep shit, and at the same time "HuMaNiTy FuCk YeAh".

Interestingly, the Squenix direction loses in the post game campaign (the one where we discover Thabes) but is reintroduced in the official (tm) timeline, depicting basically how BaD Duma is and how much of a chad Rudy was, before his very tragic (bring the onions!) death.

But yeah, I agree anon, FE15 was crazy foreshadowing and I guess is part of the reason why Tru Piss has this message "Humanity doesn't need Gods" targeted at... Rhea, aka a Nabatean (while Supreme Leader got there thanks to Sothis' powers!!) because the "Humanity Fuck Yeah" narrative is a staple of Squenix JRPGS, and if FE has to become mainstream, I guess to some devs, it has to copy what sells.

That would also explain why FE16 went so off the rails and forgot the tradition FE series message about coexistence, because what the fuck do you mean by "Humanity doesn't need Nabateans", after parroting for the entire game "Nabateans are to blame for the irrational world we live in" and blame "Nabatean blood" for everything wrong in Fodlan, without ever acknowledging the "evilness that lurks in the heart of men" (who aren't called Dimitri) ?

In a series that, albeit hazaphardly at times (FE8's manaketes feel forced in the lore! and the less is said about Nowi/Panne in FE13 the better we are), tried to push the "coexistence between all inhabitants of the land is the key to peace!" card - this Squenix direction feels all kind of wrong, especially when friendship with the divine beings (dragons) have been a staple of the franchise (Y!Tiki's number of alts, imo, is telling : for better or worse, Y!Tiki is, along with Marth, the figure of the franchise. She is a dragon, and she's a kid who wants to make friends. Sure it brings the loli crowd, but all those dragon children in the different games? They are a direct throwback to Y!Tiki!).

In a nutshell, I'd say the first crack was FE10's writing that made things seem like the Hero defeated a goddess and its subsequent wanking.

But I agree with you anon, FE15's change in direction and retcons were absolutely gunning for that Squenix "GoDs BaD" while keeping the "traditional" FE message which resulted in hypocrisy that showed in the writing but I guess no one really paid attention because FE15 has other issues too (I didn't before happening on FE16... even if I remember wondering why the fuck the game kept on hammering how BaD Duma was when we had people being asses right and left on their own).

FE Fodlan completely ignored the "we can coexist" message - save for subtext you can have where the optional lords who win the war and aren't Supreme Leader can have half/quarter-nabatean heirs through Flayn but her heritage is never ever mentionned in the ending cards - by completely shitting/ignoring the local dragons, they're blamed for everything wrong and don't get their voice to the chapter.

Masterful writing lol

I can't wait for the next game, let it be a remake (pls not Jugdral!!) or a new entry (Engage was developped alongside Fodlan, not after!) to see if IS will continue with the Squenix developments or return to their roots, even if they seem milquetoast, of "humans and lizards can hold hands".

---

NGL anon, during 2020/2021 and the daily "Supreme Leader was right though" threads in SF, I kind of realised that what I took for granted, aka "coexistence between humans and dragons!" being the message of FE in general, wasn't, even in what used to be the most serious board/thing.

FE as a series came to the West through FE7 where Dragons and Humans were at war, but ultimately the cast learns that dragons aren't evil incarnate and the best ending reveals that the big bad went mad because his dragon wife was killed and he tried to reunite with their dragon-human children he hid away for their safety.

So it was kind of surprising to see long-time, or at least not "Fodlan introduced" members of SF parroting the "well they can't live together" by buying the most ludicrous headcanon/fanon arguments you'd find in other series like "different lifespans" - this argument is pretty much non existent in the FE series, and I've never seen it opposed to Miccy's rule in Daien when, as a Heron Branded, she will outlive her citizens, or what, are we supposed to believe that Myrrh shouldn't interact with humans and remain in her forest because she will outlive humans, or is too "different" from them thus wouldn't have the same considerations?

FE13/14 brought the fandom wars of "new fans" vs "old fans", but FE Fodlan? Brought "casual JRPG gamer" vs "FE gamer" which usually boils down to "Supreme Leader fans" vs "everyone else".

Sure, we had the religion hate boner because the dragons in Fodlan verse made a "Church" with catholic imagery which is a deadly sin to some - but the "dragon blood is indeed the reason why everything sucks in the world" being parroted? "Dragons cannot have power over humans because of the sheer inbalance"? What, are you implying Nergal was forced by Aenir to mate with her twice or what? Ninian was oppressing Pherae in the endings where she marries Eliwood, and humans were finally liberated when she died?

Kana is, by nature, someone who will oppress humans because they're part dragon and their blood will bring strife to the world?

So unless IS doesn't fully commit to one narrative - because yes, for all of its flak, FE Fodlan still takes time, when it remembers, to portray Nabateans in a relative positive light when it comes to them as characters and in the general background, it's just that, they're never given a voice when it comes to discussing about the plot - we're bound to have this hypocrisy :

Dragons BaD bcs Humanity Fuck Yeah

and

Dragons and Humanity can coexist and make babies for scalies/monsterfuckers out there because acceptance/diversity is a way for peace.

[antianakin]

So to start with, if you don't like this blog and the things I post on it, nobody's putting a gun to your head asking you to look at it. Feel free to block me, blacklist my username, block the anti and critical tags I try to use VERY frequently, etc. Nobody's asking you to look at the things I post and, quite honestly, the fact that you felt the need to leave me this message tells me that between the two of us, you're the one being unhealthy because you felt the need to tell someone innocently staying in their own lane that they're participating in fandom wrong rather than just... moving on and doing fandom in a way you enjoy more. If you want to see something else, go look at a different blog or make your own posts. Nobody's stopping you, least of all me.

But to actually answer the question you didn't ask, I made this blog because I wanted a place to make the kind of posts I wanted to see. Yes, it's a venting blog. That means sometimes I vent about the same thing more than once. Breaking news: people in fandom talk about the same hyperfixation more than once sometimes!

My best friend in the Star Wars fandom happens to be someone who really likes Anakin. So whenever I disliked something about Anakin, she was not the person I could go to in order to discuss it. Well, not always anyway. Not when I got particularly bitter about it. And at the time that I made this blog over a year ago, I didn't have anywhere else to go to vent those feelings, so I made one for myself. I made myself a tiny safe haven where I could simply write those feelings out that I never really saw anybody else making or discussing. This wasn't intended to be a popular blog. I expected it to get about two followers total maybe and a LOT of haters.

Instead, I've actually heard from a number of people that this blog let them feel seen. That the things I've written have felt really relatable to people who just can't connect to all of the Anakin love that tends to exist in the fandom. Because yes, Anakin's been the villain since the 1970s, but you must not have spent a lot of time in this fandom because that is NOT a thing that a lot of his fans tend to remember or even believe anymore. According to a good number of Anakin fans, the Jedi are the real villains and Anakin is just a tragic victim who didn't really do anything wrong. And even a lot of the people who DO recognize that Anakin is the villain of the story often still tend to like Anakin as this tragic character and will primarily post positive things about him. So for those of us who just... don't LIKE Anakin very much, there isn't as much content out there for us. You either accept all of the Anakin love along with the content for the other characters you like or you just... don't consume very much content within the fandom. Or you find a very specific niche to try to stay in that you like better, I guess. But Anakin's the main character of the main saga, he's hard to avoid entirely.

So this blog helps provide one little safe haven for others who just... don't like this character much.

And that's not even the entirety of this blog anyway. If you had scrolled through it much, you might've noticed the fic rec lists that have nothing to do with Anakin at all and are actually a lot more aimed at being Pro Jedi. Because this blog is just as much about loving the Jedi as it is about disliking Anakin. You might've also noticed the extensive AU concepts I've written a few times, one of the most recent of which actually ended up leading to Anakin surviving ROTJ and figuring out how to stop being a Sith and getting mentally healthy. And Anakin's not even the only character who's GOTTEN criticism on this blog, the pinned post on this blog lists a good 10 characters I've had to add to it because there IS going to be criticism for them here, too, from Satine and Bo-Katan Kryze, to Aleksander Kallus, to Crosshair and TBB as a show in general, to Padme Amidala herself. Not to mention some criticism of Ahsoka, as well, sometimes. I'm an all access kind of hater I guess, I like to have a varied diet of characters I complain about.

So yes, it's a blog named antianakin because the url wasn't taken, I thought it was funny, and it works as a WARNING for anybody who sees my posts or decides to come onto my blog. Obviously it doesn't keep EVERYBODY out who shouldn't be looking at them, look at yourself for a good example of that. But I like to think it's helpful. Yes, this is a venting blog where I allow myself to be negative and complain about characters I don't like in a space I have created for me to do that in. This does not mean that I am not EVER positive about Star Wars, it doesn't even mean that I'm never positive about Star Wars ON THIS BLOG. It just means that this is a place that I am allowed to be salty in, it is a place where I put my most bitter thoughts and feelings and throw them into the void that is Tumblr just to get them out of me.

This is MY safe space, MY little fandom haven. Nobody asked you to be here, so if it doesn't feel safe or even just entertaining for you, you're more than welcome to leave and go find somewhere else you like better or create your own little fandom space where you can create the kind of things YOU want to see. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

[after-witch]

hello Theo! sending some luck your way. your writing is one of the best and most eloquent in the niche, I've recently went through your masterlist and devoured it for god knows what time. can't pass the characters interaction activity 👀 (For Smiling Man) "I made some hot chocolate. Do you want a cup?" have great holidays!

Thank you, that's so kind of you to say, I'm glad you like my writing!

notes: yandere, implied previous kidnapping and reader is kinda chill about it at this point because what else are you gonna do about it when an otherworldly entity makes you his companion

--

The smiling man, a not-quite-a-man with a thousand names, has seen many things in his immeasurable years of existence. Things that would turn men mad, that would induce hearts to stop, breath to stutter, mouths to gape, and old eyes to widen like an infant's first sight of snow.

Yet he has never seen someone like you seemingly conjure hot chocolate out of nowhere. Yet there it is, poured into two of the mugs that clutter the small shelf of things you've managed to collect over the past few years.

One is in the shape of a pumpkin--quite delightful--and the other is some tacky thing you picked up at a fisherman's shop at some nowhere town. The handle is in the shape of a bass. It's this cup that you hand to him, sassy thing that you are.

"And where, tell, did you manage to get the ingredients?"

He gestures around the little train car that serves as your home in the late spring and summer, divided into a bedroom, bathroom and an open area where you've got shelves of books, of knick-knacks, notebooks stuffed with your writing.

There's no need for a kitchen when your food can be conjured. So where... and how?

You take a sip of your mystery hot chocolate and smile. There's a bit of brown stuck to your teeth and your tongue darts out to lick it off.

"That town, last winter. The one in Pennsylvania, with all the chocolate tourism. I saved some of the bars I bought while you were off terrorizing the locals. Didn't even need to add sugar."

He smiles and takes the offered cup in its offensively tacky mug. Ah, he remembers now. The terrorizing, as you called it, more so than the chocolate. Although the marshmallow dream bar straight from the factory line had been, well, quite dreamy.

"And how did you melt it?" He takes a sip. Over-sweet and cloying but what can you expect, from a melted candy bar and milk. "And get the milk?"

You hadn't left the car. The doors were locked when the train was in motion--no need for you to put yourself in reckless danger, even if you were prone to still doing it.

You take a gulp from your cup. You were never one to drink cooled hot drinks, really. "I held the cup over one of my candles until the chocolate bar melted, then added the milk I usually get from breakfast until it got warm enough for everything to mix nicely."

He shakes his head, but smiles.

"Resourceful. But you know I'm not averse to granting requests for your meals. Why didn't you ask for some?"

You frown into your cup, where the melted chocolate has begun to thicken, looking more like a dredge of mud than silky hot chocolate.

"It's nice to do something on my own sometimes. Something that isn't magic or misty or whatever you want to call it."

He says nothing, and sets the mug down. The chocolate in his cup has begun to thicken, too.