#kind of based on his outfits in the 80s but also not

[notrightgrayson]

I have thought extensively ab dickies fashion sense

Close ups of my favorites under the cut

[fei-rest]

Life Series In Your Style Challenge!

I did the challenge! These are all generic designs for everyone because in my head, they all have slightly different designs for each season.

Design Notes:

Grian: Purple eyes because Watcher and the colours of his wings represent the life series colours

Scar: His scars are meant to be explosion damage caused

Mumbo: Vampire, that’s it

Jimmy: Canary Jimmy!

Joel: I tried to make him look more ogre like (referencing his original skin being just Shrek) so teeth and ears

Scott: He’s an elf to reference his Empires Season 1 character because I like ESMP S1 a lot

Impulse: I like the design choice of giving him horns that quite a few fanartists do

Skizz: Pretty much just his skin design plus halo because I see a lot of people give him angel features?

Tango: Saw another post that pointed out the similarities between his skin and a Minecraft bee so bee antennae, he’s wearing a leather biker vest

Etho: I tried to make him look as dissimilar to Kakashi as possible, the hearts on his headband are the life series hearts

Bdubs: Pretty much just his skin design, not much to say there

Cleo: I tried to give her really big 80s hair

Martyn: Listener marking on his face to reference his CC self’s inclusion of EVO Lore in the Life series (also in my headcanon, Martyn is kind of a Listener himself but he’s not too aware of it) and Ren’s red colour in headband because they ally a lot

Ren: Martyn’s green in his hair tie to connect the two of them together more design wise

Lizzie: Hair buns are triangular to mimic cat ears and feather ears to link her to Jimmy (seablings and kind of canary curse)

BigB: It’s just his base Minecraft skin but in my mind his outfits changes a lot for each season

Gem: Deer motifs to parallel Pearl’s wolf motifs, also because deer are nimble and she is shown to be someone who is difficult to kill (there’s also some irony because she’s often “hunted” I guess by other players)

Pearl: Wolf motifs because she has an army of them (also to parallel Gem)

[sabrondabrainrot]

Bring back LAES!

I'm steadily making progress on catching up on sun and moon show along with foxy and monty etc etc but it's pretty difficult when one of the main key plot lines is gone. I know a few spoilers thanks to fanfiction but I want to see the drama in person.

Here's some outfit ideas for tsams cause I'm a sucker for fashion and redesigns!

Order is, SolarFlare - Lunar - NewMoon - Old Moon - Sunny (Solar's dimension) - Sun

closeups and more brainrot under the cut!

Explaining my redesigns! Lunar - he's not really a redesign and more so an overdesign. I love adding tons of little details to him to really hammer home his star-ness. He's such an interesting little guy, like yes he acts childish but I can see he's really growing (SAD I CANT WATCH MORE CAUSE THE SHOW IS GONE). I saw the ep he killed Eclipse and homeboy revived. The entire time I was like "Waaahh Lunar??? Waaahhh???" but I love the drama ngl.

SolarFlare - Same as Lunar, not really a redesign I just drew him with no dirt. I really love his base design it's so neat it makes me think of like sci-fi concepts from the 80's. Something from fallout really. I think it's kind of funny Eclipse's aesthetics for SolarFlare when you compare him next to say Jack who Solar designed.

OldMoon - I just wanted to give him a sleek mad scientist cool guy suave vibe. I saw the more recent thumbnails of him with a turtle neck and idk that's just peak character design for me. I'm a simple woman put the dumb-dumb in a dark turtleneck. I want him to kind of look like the BadGuy TM (he's not actually) so he gets all edgy and hard edges and stuff.

NewMoon - I wanted to do a similar color scheme but instead he has lighter colors like more white incorporated into his fit. To give him the whole 'reborn' aesthetic. He's all like "old moon wore black well I wear white now I'm nothing like him so hah!" kinda thinking. I gave his cap a fur texture cause of that one ep he turned into a furry. I drew rounder stuff on him cause he's a big ol' softy sweety pie.

Sunny - Sunny is my headcanon of Sun from Solar's dimension. I think it's really interesting his default with no personality was theater performance and not say...doing daycare stuff? I feel like honoring the FNAF books with this design by leaning heavily into the theater performer look. I like to think in Solar's dimension Sun and Moon were originally made for theater. (so far in the show I've noticed Creator says 'they needed a daycare attendant' something like that so it comes off more like they were intended for the daycare from the start VS. Solar's dimension where Sunny's core seems to be more so for the performing arts.) I also wanted to make Sunny look different from Sun for the extra angst potential of "They're similar but not the same" so I leaned more into a blue palette for him.

Sun - I just wanted to give him big puffy everything. I took away the tutu. nothing against the tutu I just hate drawing the damn thing. I like to think Sun in main has white eyes because he's so burnt out from within. *badum tish* (eyes are the window to the soul-) I also covered him in stickers because he totally would just be covered in stickers from the kids. I also decided to give some of his rays cracks because I think he's extremely sentimental and even in a newly upgraded body (after using star power to defeat Eclipse the first time) he'd keep rays from his original body? I also put the cracks ones on the side of his face where Old Moon hit him. Why? Because it just seems like something Sun would do. I love him so.

Ok just some brainrot stuff, look away to avoid spoilers .

RUIN DESTROYED HOW MANY DIMENSIONS?? SOLARS DEAD. LUNAR KILLED ECLIPSE. DARK SUN IS PLOTTING??? MOON BE CRYING??? Also Francine just had a birthday! ONE OF THE BLOODMOON BOYS ARE DEAD AND SAME WITH ONE OF THE STITCHY BOYS??? HELLO?!?

I love the drama.

Also, I love how every single kid vibe checks Sun and he passes every time. Francine? She loves Sun and learns from him. FC? He ONLY feels safe with Sun for a bit. Barry? He hugged Sun after gonad checking him (a right of passage for the bunny kid). Jack? I'm pretty sure he literally is just one room away from Sun at all times (he also calls Sun's cats his master???). I have yet to see Dazzle, but Dazzle 10000% loves Sun (I've seen the edits).

ALSO? When Lunar was first brought into the family the first person he hugged was Sun and then later on when Earth was in danger he ran into SUN's arms for safety/comfort. They're family your honor.

Sobbing and Crying laying on the floor over Solar's death but I think he'll be back.

Also the molten thing with Ruin? I'm excited to see more.

I don't have a youtube account to post about saving LAES but if anyone wants me to draw more LAES just to help the community please let me know. I'm planning to draw my idea of Earth next.

[that-one-dudette]

I was scrolling and I (once again) encountered the take that Tommy doesn’t make an effort/ doesn’t care at the bachelor party.

And yes, we interpret things based on our context, our dating experience and our limits, but landing on him not caring or making the effort is kind of a stretch?

When he arrives Buck looks all happy and says “Hey, glad you could make it” and Tommy says “Of course”. So this is either that he told Tommy with very little anticipation of the party or that he knew about Tommy having other things to do.

Tommy had other things to do indeed, he was on a stand-by, but when he has to leave on duty, Buck seems surprised. So maybe it’s both. And yes, Buck gets upset “What is this? I told you it’s 80’s theme?” and Tommy tells him about the Henley’s in the 80’s and ask about Buck and Eddies costume.

(Now, I have this head cannon that Eddie and Buck have the hobby of going to a second hand clothes shop and they got there the suits for the party and also for the poker night. Those outfits are a very different tone from what they usually wear and also they don’t seem to be the type to pay a lot for an specific outfit, but)

Tommy is pushing his 40’s and doesn’t seem that versatile in his outfits to have a casual 80’s assemble ready to put on (unlike Hen that for sure had that awesome outfit already in her closet, same as Karen, that rocked the vibe with a high ponytail).

Tommy was tired (he was yawning), most probably had very little anticipation and was on stand by. And still went to the party. This is making an effort and caring, even if there is no costume on.

And then he had to leave for work (and while Buck is again upset about he leaving, it becomes clear at the end of the episode that Tommy being committed to work does it for him) and he tells him "I’ll try my damnnest to make it to the wedding”. And he does it. Making a promise and fulfil it shows so much care and effort.

And Buck knows it.

[mostfantasticfreak]

✦ Introduction

I'm always reblogging and lurking around here, so I thought I might as well make an introductory post (since I want to be a bit more active in the community at some point too, lol).

(This is lengthy).

Hello, I'm Nyx!

I go by that nickname, or @mostfantasticfreak, on most platforms. I've known about shifting since 2023 (I think?), and I've been semi-actively attempting to shift since then.

Here are some basic details about me:

⟡ 25 years-old. ⟡ Capricorn. INFP. ⟡ Self-employed artist. ⟡ I’m unhealthily obsessed with my S/O. ⟡ I make myself OP or rich in almost every DR I make, lol. ⟡ Aside from shifting, I like writing, and I like creating Alternate Universes. Specifically ones that I am not planning on shifting to. These are usually mixed in with my DRs and are created solely for the purpose of experimenting with plotlines and lore.

My DRs have changed SO many times since I've discovered shifting, and at this point I am trying to focus more on shifting to realities I am 100% sure I want to shift to. I've got one main DR I am focused on and a few others I am planning on shifting to at some point. I'll list them all below!

✦ My Main DR

⟡ Waiting Room. Recently became my main goal and focus. A pocket dimension controlled by my mentor/guide in which me and my S/O can script and shift to different realities together. (I might make an introductory post for it at some point)

✦ Other DRs

⟡ Better CR. ⟡ Jujutsu Kaisen DR. ⟡ Trigun DR. ⟡ Detroit: Become Human DR. ⟡ 80s Band DR. ⟡ Arcane DR. ⟡ Hogwarts DR. ⟡ My Hero Academia DR. ⟡ Beastars DR. ⟡ The Witcher DR. ⟡ Honorable Mentions. All of these are DRs are ones I want to shift to at some point but haven't scripted yet: Dragon Age, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Pirates of The Caribbean, Dragon-centered DR, Lord of The Rings, Mob Psycho, lots of isekai/reverse-isekai DRs, Sherlock Holmes (based on the movies), Ghost Hunting DR, Streamer DR, some fantasy and creature-centered DRs, and a Travel DR.

Okay, those are most of my DRs? Or concepts of. Honestly, there are probably some I haven't mentioned. (I have a tendency to insert myself into every piece of media I like, sadly). But those should be most. Moving on!

✦ DR-Self and S/O

Now, I think it's also worth introducing my S/O, since he is a big part of any DR that I shift to. Without fail, he is always my significant other in every reality. And he is also an OC (technically)!

(Oh, and I'm gonna introduce my DR-Self too.)

But here are some basic details about my S/O:

⟡ Full Name: Sugu Ookoshi. ⟡ Age: 20+, usually a year older than me; sometimes a few decades though, lol. ⟡ Birthday: 5th of May. ⟡ Zodiac/MBTI: Taurus/INFJ. ⟡ Gender: Male. He/Him.

He's a very sweet, quiet, awkward, and anxious guy. A bit of a social loser and a nerd, but those are probably the things I love most about him (cuz me too man, lol). He's typically older than me. Sometimes by only a year, and sometimes by a few decades. In supernatural DRs, his abilities typically center around healing or medicine. He also really loves mangoes, ramen, and Michael Jackson. I could probably talk about him all day, but I really don't want to make this post longer than it already is. So here are some pictures of him! (Most are my art, some are edited photos).

And here are some basic details about my DR-Self:

⟡ Full Name: Either a modified version of my full name in this reality OR Jane Doe for legal purposes. But I usually just go by Nyx. ⟡ Age: Usually between 20 and 30. ⟡ Birthday: 7th of January. ⟡ Zodiac/MBTI: Capricorn/INFP. ⟡ Gender: Female. She/Her.

My DR-Self rarely changes between DRs, aside from my non-human DRs. I usually wear the same kinds of outfits and prefer the same kinds of food, media, etc. In supernatural DRs, I usually have abilities that let me create anything out of thin air. I also keep most of my personality traits the same, and my face-claim is a modified version of my face in this reality (which I don't have a good reference for at the moment). But here are some pictures (old art)!

✦ Moving On…

If you made it this far, uh...thank you, really. I appreciate it a lot!

I've made this post partially to be able to connect with other shifters who have similar DRs as me and partially to motivate myself to be more active in the community. I've been meaning to for SO long now, but I keep putting it off because I am fairly new compared to some veterans here. I also spent most of my time as a shifter on shifttok (also not engaging), before making a Tumblr account. And I am also just scared, lol.

If you're reading this and have the same DRs as me and are looking for someone to infodump with, I'd love to hear!!! My DMs are open. I am, however, going to have to set one boundary: please only 18+ shifters! As much as I would like to accommodate anyone and everyone, I fear I am simply not comfortable talking to minors.

I'm planning on making separate posts for each of my DRs in the near future, for fun and also because I wanna yap. (We'll see how that works out tho).

That is all, yap session over. Fank yew 🤍

[linnetagain]

Linnet — hero of the people, gift to the bloodweave nation — do you have examples/inspiration photos/mood boards for all the delicious outfits you describe in The Season?? Lowkey I have no ability to visualize them and I neeeeeed to see them because they all sound so good and also what would I do if I wanted to draw them but I can’t picture them what then

Omg the amount this made me giggle and kick my feet hehe

The answer is yes, quite a few, but I don't have many of them saved!! I do still have some of the references from the last chapter though, specifically the jumper and the tunic.

The jumper is one of these:

It's absolutely something that Astarion would own, haha, and the moment I got the idea of Gale in it in my head I was like... Oh I HAVE to.

The tunic is modelled on a few things, firstly Gale's in-game camp outfit, which I am inordinately fond of, but which I modernised a bit based on these sort of things:

I don't think I have any past outfit inspirations still saved, unfortunately, but I do have some future ones I'm VERY excited to use!!

Oh, and the lace capelet that he's like 'mmmm that might end up in Astarion's wardrobe' is this one:

Also if I ever get Gale in a long skirt (I'm figuring out his comfort levels as I go based on a myriad of other factors to try and keep it realistic) I had this very specific kind of style in mind:

Yes, long boots included. I'm a big believer in men being able to dress however they like and being able to feel beautiful doing it!!

I do wish I still had the references I used for the 80's outfits haha, Volo was really getting his revenge with Gale in that argyle sweater and Astarion in his double denim booty shorts!

[ducktoonsfanart]

Birthday party for Donald, Daisy and Della Duck! - Happy Birthday Donald, Daisy and Della Duck - Ducktales 2017 - Duckverse June - Week 1 - My Version - Gift for my friends

I drew on June 7th. After a long time, I decided to draw again related to Ducktales 2017, even though I'm not a fan of that series, but as they say everyone deserves a second chance. Is not it? So I decided to draw related to the great jubilee that is being celebrated these days and of course the favorite modern series by many, so I decided to draw Donald Duck, Della Duck and Daisy Duck with their family in Ducktales 2017 format, of course in my style. Because I'm not a fan of Ducktales 2017 style which is really weird for me.

On June 7, 1940, Donald's classic short "Mr Duck Steps Out" was shown, featuring Daisy Duck for the first time. 9/6/1934 The Classic Short "The Wise Little Hen" was shown and Donald Duck appeared there for the first time. Donald Duck will become one of the main stars of not only Disney, but also cartoon films, comics and video games at all. Certainly there is no need to tell his history. Della Duck is first mentioned in the comic book Donald's Nephews, and then made her first appearance in the 1994 comic strip "The Empire Builder from Calisota" by Don Rosa, from The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. For the first time Della Duck appeared as a mother and adult woman and had a role in the Dutch comic "80 is Prachtig" from 2014, and she appears for the first time in animation in the Ducktales reboot. Also five years ago is the anniversary of the episode "What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!" where officially Della Duck got her role.

Well, since they are honored these days, and especially Donald Duck who is celebrating his 90th anniversary this year, I drew a birthday party where everyone celebrates their birthdays together. Donald, Daisy and Della Duck along with their family and their friends. Because what kind of birthday is it, without your closest ones. Yes, Donald is in the middle since he is definitely the main one, but he suffered a lot in that series so he definitely deserved the best. Finally, that Donald is happy after a long time and can finally rest. Yes, this is how I imagine the end of Ducktales 2017. And with him are his twin sister Della and his favorite love and girlfriend Daisy Duck. Yes, I also drew the characters as I like to imagine them in my Ducktales AU and Quack Pack reboot based on Ducktales 2017 as well as different outfits that would suit them quite well. Since I can't think of anything else, sorry, and I added Donald's nephews also wear caps and most of them wear jeans. Huey and Louie wear backwards hats. Yes, they are teenagers here too. :D And in front of Donald, of course, a birthday cake with cherries.

In addition to Donald, Daisy, and Della Duck, there are Donald's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck, plus Phooey Duck and Kabooie or Kablooie Duck (Donald's fifth nephew, usually wearing brown clothing), Gosalyn Mallard (who is with Huey), Webby Vanderquack and Lena De Spell (Sabrewing, otherwise they are together), May and June Duck, Violet Sabrewing, Scrooge McDuck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera and Gandra Dee, Gladstone Gander, Fethry Duck, Drake Mallard, Launchpad McQuack, Gyro Gearloose (to draw alone how he smiles I didn't think I'd ever do this), Boyd Beaks-Gearloose and Bentina Beakley. And everyone together celebrates the important birthdays of the most important Ducktales characters. Adults and children together. Happy birthday to you Donald, Daisy and Della Duck!

If you are interested in more about these outfits, check out this drawing here: https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/742447670629744640/quack-pack-week-quack-pack-original-vs-quack

Also, check out other Donald, Daisy and Della Duck birthday parties (adults and kids): https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/751985132490113024/donald-duck-della-duck-daisy-duck-gus-goose-and https://ducktoonsfanart.tumblr.com/post/751983235321430016/huey-dewey-and-louie-ducks-plus-phooey

Feel free to like and reblog, if you like this drawing and this version of the Ducktales characters, please also don't use the same versions without mentioning me. Thank you! Happy Birthday Donald, Daisy and Della Duck once again!

I also did this related to Duckverse June, so I'm dedicating this drawing as a gift to @tokuvivor , @secret-tester and @queer-in-a-cornfield . I also dedicate my gift to my friend from Discord, for @puffyducks @puffywuffy8904 who celebrated his birthday a month ago, and I wish him a happy birthday and sorry for the delay! Also, this is a gift for my friend @boingodigitalart, as well as for all of you who are fans of Ducktales 2017.

[knockknockitsnickels]

My Personal Best & Worst Skins for Each Don't Starve Character bc I love to yap

Based purely on personal opinion, though if anyone wants to share their own thoughts pls feel free. I'm going to be basing these mostly off of the in-game sprites, which tend to have more vibrant colors than the portraits. I'm sorry for not including said sprites, but I was unable to find good pictures of them all. Also this won't be including the Culinarian/Challenger skins, since those are pretty simple and same-y.

Wilson: Imo the quality of Wilson's skins vary from pretty good to just kind of mid. Nothing stands out as a skin I really want, but there's nothing awful either. My personal favorites are a toss-up between the Verdant, Victorian, and Mad Scientist, but for now I'm going with Verdant because I like the vibe. Worst is between Survivor and Merrymaker - Survivor probably deserves the spot for being bland, but I decided on Merrymaker just because I hate the berries in his hair. I think the holly leaf motif is a cute idea, but the berry placement feels kind of random.

Willow: Willow's in a similar situation to Wilson where there are no skins I really love or hate. Best is probably forlorn doll - all of the details on her head make her in-game sprite a little busy, but the yellow eyes and red dress are cute. Honorable mention to Snowfallen and Victorian for also being cute though. Worst goes to Woeful because a) I have no idea what concept it's going for (Lizzie Borden???) and b) I hate whatever's going on with her hair.

Wolfgang: I recognize that the reference to Hulk Hogan has perhaps aged poorly but I can't not love the Giant. Look at his sick sunglasses and try to tell me this skin is bad. Worst is Incredible Strongman (mostly because of how his hair is drawn. It looks like he's wearing swiss rolls on his head).

Wendy: Best is the Moonbound - I like the hair color change (though the washed out portrait colors don't really do it justice), and the markings under her eyes which resemble tears (like runny mascara, if that makes sense) are a fun detail. Wendy doesn't really have any skins I hate, but my least favorite is Survivor - it's just a little bland, and I don't care much for the "bone" motif (her flower & the ones around her neck).

WX-78: WX is the first character discussed in this post where I think that almost all of their skins are fantastic. It's difficult to choose a favorite - I think using a nutcracker motif for the Christmas-themed Merrymaker set was an inspired choice, Snowfallen gives them this cool, ice-themed supervillain look (literally, I think it was inspired by the character Mr. Freeze from Batman), and while I get why people don't really like the color scheme, I can't not love the super sentai theme of the Midori Roboto (it also just appeals to me as a fan of cheesy 80s rock). With all of that said - I'm sorry, I adore their Guest of Honor outfit, it's so dumb. I think objectively Experiment is probably their actual best skin but I have to be true to myself. Worst goes to Gladiator - it doesn't look so bad in the portrait, but in-game all of the different colors - red, gray, & multiple shades of yellow - around the face area make this skin really busy. Concept's cool, but the execution's flawed.

Wickerbottom: My girl. She's got a few nice skins - Snowfallen gets points for making her look like an ice queen, & I think I like her Moonbound skin more than most other people (I just think the 3rd eye is a cool idea for her). That said, I think the Bewitched is the best one - it looks lovely, the witch theme is fun, & it's the only one which significantly changes up her silhouette. Worst is Volt Goat (a lot of the early Halloween skins were kinda bland, I'm surprised this is the first one I've mentioned).

Woodie: I was surprised by how many good skins Woodie has, since I remembered them being a bit underwhelming. I like his Roseate, Merrymaker, and Snowfallen skins quite a bit, and the last shred of Canadian patriotism in me really enjoys the Hockey skin, but his stupid hippy Halloween costume is too conceptually funny to not include. Sorry I'm really predictable at this point. Worst goes to Masquerader - it's way too busy, and on his in-game sprite you can barely see his mouth.

Wes: Triumphant is hands-down his best skin but shoutout to Lover for that smug lil pose he does in the portrait. I honestly don't think Wes has any bad skins - even the ones I personally think are ugly make really fun use of the clown scheme - so the crown goes to Mandrake for being boring.

Maxwell: Poor Maxwell, man. He's stuck with some of the worst skins in the game. Klei, please PLEASE stop trying to give this man facial hair it does NOT look good. Anyway his best is Gladiator for looking cool (though the portrait colors are REALLY washed out) and making way better use of the "dark magician" theme then some of his other skins dark wizard. Snowfallen is also pretty cool however it DOES lose points for the facial hair. Anyway everyone hates Dark Wizard and while it DOES look goofy as hell Moonbound is worse. I don't know why ppl don't mention it, Moonbound is way worse. #StopTryingToGiveMaxwellABeard #ShaveThatMan

Wigfrid: Like WX, I think almost all of Wigfrid's skins are really good and im gay. Moonbound wins the prize bc she looks like a magical girl and I love that. If I had to pick a worst one I guess I'd choose Guest of Honor. I still like it, the outfit's just a little plain.

Webber: Webber my beloved. I love the Rebel on concept alone & the Victorian for making him a lil sailor boy, but Snowfallen has my heart. I love the way he's colored to look like a snowman (the legs on his head being the "twigs") and that the fluff on his body resembles a sweater. Survivor is probably the worst, it's almost identical to the original aside from some messy hair and spiderwebs. However even the worst Webber skin still belongs to Webber, and is therefore adorable.

Warly: Warly my also beloved, who's also got a lot of great skins. I really like the Candyman, but Roseate is probably the best one - I like the little rose shape in his hair. Worst is ABSOLUTELY Carrat, but shout out to Head Chef (the chef hat in the portrait isn't actually part of his sprite) and the Triumphant for being disappointing (come on, "evil chef" is such a fun idea. Why didn't you make him Bobby Flay).

Wormwood: I probably should've used the in-game sprites for this post, since the coolest part of his skins (the blooming) isn't shown on the portrait. Case in point, my favorite Wormwood skin, Triumphant, looks really bland in the portrait, but when it blooms it opens up into this really cool & striking red eye. I tried to include a picture but it was really big & this post is long enough as it is so you're gonna have to trust me, it's cool. I again don't think Wormwood has any bad skins - I guess I'll go with Roseate since the leaves on his head look Uncomfortably like hair, but it's still good.

Winona: I am EXTREMELY gay All of Winona's skins are really hot fantastic and no I am NOT biased. I want to gush about all of them (SNOWFALLEN! VICTORIAN! THE FIXER! THE ONLY GOOD SURVIVOR SKIN!) but the best is the Swashbuckler. She's so good I'm going insane. I guess her worst is Moonbound? I like some of the ideas but I think it just looks kind of messy, esp whatever's going on with her hair & shoulders.

Walter: WALTER MY BELOVED! I mentioned earlier that Wigfrid's Moonbound skin makes her look like a magical girl, but Walter's actually IS a magical girl skin - his portrait even has him striking the Sailor Moon pose! I think some of his other skins are probably objectively better, but this one's still my favorite. Honorable mention to Triumphant just bc I like the idea (turning a boyscout into a dennis-the-menace style troublemaker). I'm going to give worst to Bee Costume just bc the eyeballs on his head freak me out (but I do think the idea of him dressing up as a bee for Halloween bc he's allergic is fun). Side note, a lot of Walter's skins have hats in the portrait but not in-game? I dunno what's up with that, I guess it's so they don't interfere with equipment?

Wortox: Unfortunately none of Wortox's skins really stick out to me in a positive or negative way. Favorite is probably a tossup between Survivor & Masquerade - went with the former based purely on vibes. I also kinda like the sea-serpent theme of Swashbuckler & gargoyle theme of Victorian. Worst is going to Draconic for being kinda bland & similar to the original. I guess you could make a similar complaint about Uncorrupted, but it's that way for LORE reasons so I wouldn't want them to change it.

Wurt: I really like aquatic monster designs, so i enjoy a lot of Wurt's skins, but the best is Victorian bc a) it's cute and b) deep lore. S/out to Merrymaker's cute sugar-plum fairy motif tho. I will give the worst to Verdant because I don't really like the colors (purple, green, yellow, cream, & brown are a lil clashy).

Wanda: Finally, Wanda. I really like the star motif in her Masquerader fit, and while Tinkersmith is super cute, it looks a little too similar to her original outfit for me (I'm also not a fan of Triumphant's sunglasses, but I like that her hair looks like a shadow hand).

Anyway the moral of the story is don't give Maxwell a beard. Thanks.

[faschionism]

‘Oh my God, this is what we needed’: the Zambia style granny who went viral

Sarah Johnson

5–6 minutes

Rainbow and gold coloured wedges, an electric blue wig and a black and hot-pink strapless gown are not what you would expect a grandmother in rural Zambia to wear. But Margret Chola, in her mid 80s, has become an internet sensation and accidental fashion icon after she agreed to swap clothes with her New York-based stylist granddaughter, Diana Kaumba.

Photos of Chola dressed in a red Adidas tracksuit, and wearing strappy high heels paired with blue Adidas socks and gloves, chunky sunglasses, gold chains and a crown first went viral when Kaumba posted them on her Instagram account in April last year.

“People were like, ‘Oh my God, who is this? This is what we needed.’”

A few days later, Kaumba set up an Instagram account for her grandmother, or Mbuya in the Bemba language, titled Legendary Glamma. It has more than 140,000 followers including singer Rihanna, the actor Jennifer Hudson, and the actor and film producer Viola Davis. Chola’s image has featured on the cover of magazines, on the BBC and in other media outlets, is printed on T-shirts, and Kaumba has appeared on TV talkshows.

Kaumba, who spends her time between the US and Zambia, hires a small team, which includes her nephew, to help her style and shoot Chola. She posts a new picture of her grandmother in a different outfit every other week as part of her granny series.

In the background of the photos are scenes from the family farm in the village of Mungule, just north of the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

Kaumba, 42, inherited a love of fashion from her father, a diplomat. When he got a job in New York, she was 20 and moved with him. There, she was exposed to glossy fashion magazines, which served as further inspiration.

While people outside Zambia celebrated Chola and were clamouring for more, the reaction in the southern African country was more critical. “The Zambian response was not positive at first,” remembers Kaumba. “People really judged me and they were laughing at me in Zambia. They asked, ‘Why would you do that [to your grandmother]? Why can’t you just leave her alone?’”

Chola’s view of herself has also changed. “She told me it has given her a second chance at life,” says Kaumba (pictured with Chola, left). “She has something to look forward to because, before, she would wake up with different pains and just talk about that. Now, you see this whole different kind of energy.”

This means a lot to Kaumba, who says Chola, who was not available to speak to the Guardian, has had a difficult life. She was raised by her grandparents, went to school until she was 12 and then for economic reasons was forced to marry a man in his 30s.

She gave birth to six children, started drinking heavily and eventually escaped the marriage. When Chola talks about it now, she becomes teary because of the trauma she went through. She had another son, but he died, aged 16. She now lives with Kaumba’s mother and has become the sole focus of Kaumba’s work when she goes back to Zambia.

[nervousbreadartist]

cletho 80s au! +some other goobers

design notes under the cut

feel free to ask about this au!

so cleos looks are obviously based on her limited life/secret life skin. i wanted it to be a bit more casual, more like an outfit she'd be wearing in public than one she's working out in. a lot of neon, a lot of high waisted, very 80s.

ethos outfit isn't as directly 80s inspired. i moreso wanted it to be a plausible outfit for the decade rather than directly inspired by the decade. it also fits ethos character more in the au. hes kind of a delinquent, so the mask and the oversized jacket help hide his identity. doesnt hide the white hair though. he's also overall less eye-catching than cleo, so compared to her, he kinda blends into the background.

the characters on the bottom are each kind of based on a certain 80s subcultures/stereotype. kind of.

bdubs doesnt fit with this design logic. he's kind of a time traveler in this au, so he has a more timeless outfit. he still gets a turtleneck and high tops because those are fun though.

bigb also isn't based on anything specific. he mostly just has staple pieces that were popular in the 80s, like his cardigan and cargo pants. he gets to be comfy. also his hair was so fun to draw.

lizzie has a very preppy style. i wanted her to look like she was either getting back from studying or about to play tennis. i considered actually giving her a tennis racket buttt i decided not to. the pink hair doesnt really fit but it wouldn't be lizzie without it lol.

joel is based on a punk style, inspired by his bad boys outfit, obvs. no real design notes, except i added rips to his jeans (for cool points), gave him platforms (so he could be the same height as lizzie), and gave him a collar (again for cool points). i like how he turned out.

grian is of course based off the archetypical nerd, because i wanted to give him a sweater vests. i actually love sweater vests, but i can never figure out how to style them except with a button up underneath. so thats what he gets. the knee patches on his slacks are purple, as a subtle watcher nod and also because if i dont add color i will die. his bowl cut is very silly.

ill draw other traffic characters later but i only had room for so many

[theveniceangel]

Andie Wilikers.

Meet the lovely lassy, the darling delight, the curious cutie, Andie Wilikers!

Yes, I made an OC for The Werecleaner (I just love the game ok!?) and let's just say she has a special connection to a certain..werewolf.

BIO.

Name: Andie Wilikers.

Age: N/A.

Specie(s): Human.

Gender: Female.

Height: 5'1.

Sexuality: Pansexual.

Nicknames: N/A.

Headcanon voice: N/A.

Likes: Kyle, learning, reading, writing, werewolves, 80's and 90's music, baking, socializing, animals, painting, mystery novels, sugar cookies, and plushies.

Dislikes: Mr.Howl, Daryl's insanity, blood, animal cruelty, scorpions (She's terrified of scorpions), bullies.

Crush, Partner, ETC: Kyle Milton. (Boyfriend)

Oc design based on: No one really.

Parents? Relatives?: Andre and Elmira Wilikers (Mother and Father), Albert Wilikers (Brother).

Friends: She's pretty much friends with all her coworkers, especially Daryl.

Personality: Curious, kind, caring, sweet, cheerful, optimistic, open minded, playful, creative, empathetic, smart, brave, feisty, mischievous, compassionate, protective, talkative, generous.

Birthday: June 16th.

Markings: She has freckles on her face.

Abillities: None.

Favorite drink: Chocolate milk.

Favorite color: Orange.

Favorite type of outfit: She really likes sweaters.

Story info for Oc: Andie is one of the top employees at Howlin' Hugs, she's a very beloved member of the company who tries to shine a bit of light in the work environment, despite the poor treatment from the ceo, Mr.Howl.

She also has a love of learning, and will sometimes go on LONG lectures about stuff that she knows.

About almost two years ago, Daryl the security guard introduced Andie to his best friend, Kyle, the two hit it off pretty well, and the two began dating, and they've now been dating for almost two years.

What Andie doesn't know though is that her prince charming is secretly a werewolf, but with them both being forced to work the night shift, it might not be a secret for long.

Credit to SelenaEde on DeviantArt for the base.

@queenofwerewolves @clg-artisa @valiantsuitcaseskellington @ilovescaredysquirrel2 @citruslullabies

[arse-crack-thistle]

rwrb characters and their eras tour outfits

so i saw this tiktok asking what we think alex and henry are wearing to the eras tour, so here’s what i think the super six would do if they were all going together (in new york, i assume)…

(in my head they all choose an era and base an outfit on that…probably nora and pez’s idea)

alex - he fights for reputation and wins. i’m thinking black, sparkle, and chains. leather jacket with a black rhinestone snake on the back and a black mesh crop top underneath. black distressed jeans cuffed over combat boots. chains around his neck and hanging from his jacket and pants. thin black sunglasses that he later uses to hold back his curls when the house lights go down. oh and he definitely has the sharpest black eyeliner on his lids.

henry - he has a choice: either live in his reputation era with alex or be his complementary opposite. so he chooses lover. i’m thinking ‘80s high school student with lover energy. light-washed jeans with white chuck taylors. tucked in, a loose-fitted pastel button-up with cuffed sleeves. maybe it has splotches of color or faded butterflies on it…idk some kind of print. on top, a hand painted jean jacket with “london boy” in loopy pink typography on the back. a glitter lover heart around his eye (bc nora insists).

nora - speaking of, i’ll keep this simple for her. a fully identical ring leader costume to what taylor had on the red tour. she may be an irl chaos demon but i think she’s anointed herself the unofficial leader of “super six does eras tour 2k23” so this fit is appropriate for her. i mean she almost made them all wear matching t-shirts like they’re a depressed cishet family at disney world but june talked her down.

june - the queen of fashion herself. this is the trickiest for me bc june wants to do folklore and just wear shortalls and the silver star cardigan to be comfy, but she’ll be damned before she doesn’t match the energy of the others. june goes with evermore and all in on “cowboy like me” to piss alex off since he almost went with rodeo wear. cropped cream fringe jacket with an elegant ivy embroidery on the back and trim. underneath, a bustier and shorts of the same fabric with the same embroidery. of course she’s wearing a cowboy hat, cream with the ivy details. and caramel cowboy boots (rounded toe bc she’s a utility girl). everything but the boots are custom made in austin.

pez - “this night is sparkling! don’t you let it go!” yeah so as soon as he saw taylor in all of her enchanted ballgowns, he knew he had to be her nigerian billionaire glitter prince. and that’s exactly what he does. he commissions a nigerian designer to make a suit and headpiece using akwete fabric in the colors of the speak now era’s visuals. all accented in rhinestones of course. he’s also all about the accessories with a watch, bracelets, necklaces, shoes, and glasses from various luxury brands. he does the absolute most, and everyone loves him for it.

bea - angel is in her midnights era, and i am here for it! bc of bullshit princess rules she couldn’t wear a bodysuit like she wanted. but no matter, she’s still going to shimmer. having not seen anyone do it yet, she literally learns to sew and diy’s a mini dress version of taylor’s yellow dress at the end of the bejeweled music video. it was totally, incredibly frustrating but she nails it! complete with lace, bows, and a little more sparkle, the dress hits so hard. she pairs it with sparkly louboutin boots and replicas of the hair clips and choker she bought off etsy. june helps her do taylor’s hairstyle from the video, while she does the makeup, beauty mark included.

so yeah that’s what i got. what do you think?? bc this is such a fun prompt and i could see each character doing like fifty different things lol <3

[gaykarstaagforever]

This 1984 Teen Titans comic was the exciting conclusion to a multi-part story where they were battling something called H.I.V.E. This was a cult of people in purple druid robes who led an international network of mercenaries and assassins, who lived in an underwater dome and were all named numbers. I realize that sounds cool, but it absolutely isn't.

They were started / led by some guy, but then he married a 22-year-old blonde woman who murdered him and declared herself the leader. And the rest of them - this band of amoral assassins - just let this happen, even as she declared "none of you matters but me," and killed them every time they "failed" her.

This is in the past tense, because as soon as Nightwing and Wonder Girl go down there to punch these idiots, the blonde woman electrocuted all of her remaining people, then committed suicide. She also built a giant red missile and shot it at Atlantis, but Aqualad grabbed onto it and turned it off.

The H.I.V.E. master plan was to 1) poison all the world's oceans, 2) ???, 3) PROFIT, so it seemed like maybe that plan was going to thwart itself, really. They only seemed to have robot guns and tentacles exclusively inside their base, and also an army of loyal commandos in purple gimp outfits. But none of these could operate or breathe underwater. And all of their assassins had already failed to kill the Teen Titans. Which, no offense, but probably should haven been their first indication that they really weren't ready for primetime.

I don't know for sure who was on the Titan team at this exact point, but I DO know that Cyborg and Beast Boy (aka Changeling at this point, because ugh) don't even go on this mission. They stay back at wherever-it-is-they-live so Beast Boy can have an emotional break-down over his ex-girlfriend (Terra, some girl with floating-rock powers and a bad costume) turning evil, while Cyborg yells at him. Then a woman with pink hair wanders in.

She tells Beast Boy he's hot, and this makes Gar feel better enough to agree to not turn into a green tiger and murder people. Which was his actual plan before she showed up.

Starfire goes on the mission. This happens to her:

...Aren't they all supposed to be like 16 or 17? What are we doing here, gentlemen?

There is also a guy on the team named Jericho, who has muttonchops, dresses like every "cool" bard in every DnD campaign ever, can't talk, and can do whatever arbitrary psychic thing the plot suddenly demands of him. I had to look him up because so does everyone else.

He is apparently the son of Deathstroke, who became mute when someone after Deathstroke slashed his voicebox. His psychic powers are a result of it doesn't matter. No they don't explain why he looks like THIS in 1984:

Aqualad is also here. With his girlfriend Tula, who is Aquagirl. Who is an Atlantean cave-woman, or something...? She doesn't do much besides yell his name, and her presence in no way stops him from talking about how hot but insane Starfire is. To Nightwing. Who seems fine with this.

Dick and Wonder Girl are both here to punch and yell exposition, and they are immediately out of punches! Dick spends a quarter of the comic in a tube trying to turn off robots, which he fails to do? Or then kind of does? I've read it twice now and I'm not sure even Marv Wolfman knew what he had going on here.

Raven turns into a black void to save the Titans from drowning at the beginning of the comic. After they get out to safety, she says she's used too much power to help anymore and Poochie's on out of there.

I mean, they DO have Wonder Girl, kicking people and talking about her upcoming marriage. Who needs the incredibly powerful witch? It's fine. And easier to draw!

The art is George Perez, so it looks great, even if all these teenagers look like sexy 30-year-old adults, and half of them spend most of the comic not doing anything. The costumes are technically awful but in that 80s way that is just wonderful now. But as a conclusion to some kind of story arc, this is as mid as mid gets. There is exactly one cool splash-page battle, and it means exactly nothing.

This comic might be worth $3.50 now. It was 75 cents when it came out.

...This implies we in 2024 value this slightly more than anyone did in 1984.

I don't think that's true.

[thethirdromana]

In honour of Doctor Who's 60th birthday, here are 60* things that I like about less popular** Doctor Who stories.

(*in multiple posts because I'm falling foul of the character limit)

(**IMDB rating of less than 7/10)

1. Susan is great in The Sensorites. She's at her absolute best in stories like this where she gets to be genuinely a bit alien and a bit weird.

2. "So," said someone at the BBC, "we're going to produce an allegory for different political systems, using insects. Choreographed by a mime artist. On a budget of about £2.50." The Web Planet might not entirely have succeeded, but my god, you have to love that they tried.

3. They introduced Jamie, the best companion, in The Highlanders! How is does this have less than a 7/10 rating, what is wrong with you people. It's Jamie.

4. I applaud the utter bonkersness of The Underwater Menace, and Patrick Troughton really gives it socks.

5. The Wheel in Space is proper 60s sci-fi: Servo-Robots, x-ray lasers, radio beams! I can practically smell Penguin mass-market paperbacks thinking about it. And with the introduction of Zoe, it completes my all-time favourite TARDIS team.

6. The Dominators contains the Quarks, who are adorable. They weren't supposed to be, but it doesn't matter.

7. Zoe is still relatively new to the TARDIS, but she has heaps to do in The Krotons. Nice having a female companion who's written as smart and capable.

8. We have entered the 70s, so with Colony in Space, we get Social Issues. Especially an Evil Mining Corporation, which are always fun.

9. More Social Issues in The Mutants, but this time they're paired with big sci-fi ideas. Ancient tablets! Strange life cycles! Love how much is going on here.

10. The Time Monster is like the Eurovision of Doctor Who. Deeply silly, but what would Doctor Who be without silliness? I'm sorry about Jo's coccyx too.

11. I love that they returned to Peladon in The Monster of Peladon, especially with the 50-year time jump. I'd like to see that kind of follow-up more often.

12. Is it not cool to love K9 any more? Well, I like my Doctor Who with a dose of silliness, and The Invisible Enemy delivered that. Every time traveller needs a robot dog.

13. The design of the Seers in Underworld is excellent, I love a brass dome.

14. Doctor Who doesn't have enough giant squidmonsters looming on the horizons. I'm glad the The Power of Kroll does something to address the deficit.

15. The Creature from the Pit gave us the line "a teaspoon and an open mind", and I appreciate it for that at least.

16. Romana wears one of her best of many splendid outfits in The Horns of Nimon.

17. I liked all the arch dialogue between the Doctor, Enlightenment and Persuasion in Four to Doomsday.

18. Heathrow airport is an underrated setting. I also appreciate how Time-Flight prominently features Concorde, making it far more 80s than they could ever have planned.

19. I don't intend this to be damning with faint praise (even though it probably sounds like it) but my favourite thing about Arc of Infinity is that we get a little jaunt through 80s Amsterdam. I do love a tram.

20. Babyfaced Martin Clunes doing his spoiled princeling thing in Snakedance is enjoyably disconcerting.

21. Terminus is tense and scary and bleak. Another one that I'd expected to be more highly rated.

22. Warriors of the Deep gives us a very solid base under siege. Silurians + Cold War is a winning combination.

23. Landing in a modern village doing a historical re-enactment in The Awakening is a witty touch.

24. I can’t say I enjoyed the idea of the Doctor’s violent moods in The Twin Dilemma, but I have to commend it as a punchy way to introduce the new regeneration.

25. The Mark of the Rani should surely get some love just for introducing the Rani: camp, delightful, iconic.

26. Herbert turning out to be HG Wells in Timelash is a lovely twist and handled well.

27. The Trial of a Time Lord is so grand and ambitious. If the show hadn't been struggling in general at this point, it would be among the all-time greats.

28. With its colour-coded gangs and faux-urban slang, Paradise Towers is gloriously of its time in a way that currently feels quite naff, but that I suspect will be fascinating to revisit in about 30 years.  

29. Delta and the Bannermen is action-packed and has one of the best titles in 80s Who.

30. Possibly the most terrifying moment in all of Doctor Who is Kane's face melting in Dragonfire. This series is nothing if it doesn't send children running for safety behind the sofa.

31. Got to love it when Who gets aggressively anti-Thatcher, and they never did it more than in The Happiness Patrol.

[theskoomacat]

i want to plug Pacific Drive real quick. i had a free day yesterday so i spent it in its entirety glued to the screen. i'm not proud. check out this game!!!!!!

it's kind of like a mix between STALKER and Firewatch (by vibe. in my head). (the Impact of Roadside Picnic on our society!) idk the official genre tags on the game but at its base it is a survival game with looting and crafting.

but. you're doing all that to spoil your beautiful princess (your maybe sentient cat that maybe will kill you eventually). you spend 80% of the time in your car, it's your defense against the elements and the Zone. the gameplay loop is fairly simple - you drive, you listen to scientists bicker over the radio, you loot, you lose half your car, you HAUL ASS, you get home.

the game offers a HUGE variety of stuff to explore, from anomalies to weather conditions to biomes to the weird flora/fauna to lore. there's SO much lore, idk who decided to write a blurb for every type of paint. huge game for people who love to collect stuff. and collecting stuff is sometimes a puzzle on its own because you need different tools (which are often interchangeable, thankfully, with varying efficiency).

and driving is very fun. i have a special condition called "Played Skyrim in formative years", so the mountains are a challenge to me, not a barrier. i enjoy the fact that driving being the focal point reshapes the world significantly (from the gamedev pov), because it is built to accommodate driving instead of just running around. the roads are the main focus of all the anomalies due to that, so frankly running around would be easier than dodging the roadblocks, but also you would fucking die. it's actually funny that i regularly find the roads by the concentration of anomalies instead of like. the road itself.

the game is pretty. the GIANT walls/lab megastructures blow my mind, they're so fucking huge. BUT. one problem i have is that there are too many nights. i have already toggled "Shorter nights" on, and still it feels like 60% of rounds take place at night (maybe i'm doing something wrong idk). yes, it is a challenge, but also i wish i could see the game?

the world itself is pretty fun. i have already mentioned STALKER, which is a very fair comparison since you're in a Zone filled with Anomalies. except this time the Zone is not a strictly "natural" occurence, which mixes this genre with the "fucked up mid-20th cent american science->military complex" genre. it is really interesting to see many different opinions on what the Zone is doing in the lore. and you can draw your own conclusions from interacting with it. it is as likely to harm you as help you, and most of the time it just Fucks with you (LIM shield ilu).

what hasn't i mentioned yet? the characters are fun, an old jaded scientist lady who's entombed herself within her creation, her ex-colleague and his bf/husband who stayed in the Zone to hunt cryptids, all lovely. the music is mostly good, but unfortunately there aren't too many tracks, so some get old really quick (i WISH i got tired of DOCTOR JUICE). but do check the radio from time to time, there are cool transmissions you can catch there.

idr if there was a difficulty selector anywhere, but you can make the game easier at will in the settings - keep inventory, restore the car when back home, etc. i wish i had known about these settings when i "died" at the EXACT moment i moved to another zone, because i both lost half my inventory AND was forced to continue my run due to that lmao. the game is Not easy tbh. the first time i was in the city with a hole in the center i couldn't climb out of there because it was pitch dark and my car was so so broken, it actually made me super frustrated. but when you learn all that stuff and actually plan for it and outfit your car with it mind, it all becomes manageable and enjoyable. it is decidedly not a horror game, but it Is unsettling at times. dense fog+bigfoot weather conditions made me SO paranoid, although i didn't actually see anything lol

so yeah, i totally recommend the game if you enjoy survival games. here are also some tips for people trying the game out for the first time, aka what I wish I had known:

In the beginning doing more runs (=bringing in more anchors) will be more benefitial than turning over every rock in every zone because a lot of good stuff is locked behind upgrades. One exception - quest zones with Perpetual Stability, you can explore and loot there for an hour if you want

Shorten the nights. It's not fun to stumble around blindly, especially not in the beginning while you're still learning

Hold T to teleport your car out of sticky situations and use Y to sort inventories. idk why they don't tell you that

PLAN. Look at the resources in each location has before launching and bring extra instruments/raw materials in accordance

Invest into better batteries and renewable energy, it gets more and more important as you progress. You don't really need to upgrade the gas tank until you've upgraded the engine, unless you spend 50% of the time trying to crawl up a mountain with summer tires (off-road tires are the shit)

Skip the crowbar, the impact hammer and scrapper can do everything it does

Dying is not super scary aside from losing progress, you just lose your inventory and maybe some attachments, but you will get an opportunity to find the wreckage of your car on a different run (orange tombstone? icon) and to loot it

[doubleddenden]

Time for more reviews nobody asked for, this time the gen 1 protagonists and rivals.

A little caveat: I'm only reviewing them as they appear in the games they are playable in, otherwise I'd have to make a few posts just to get through Red and Blue. We're also counting Let's Go for this.

We'll start with the GRBY era for this

Let's start from the beginning. Red himself. According to the game, he's 11, but most would assign whatever age they want to him since he's just pixels on a Gameboy at this point. That would also include gender, since there's no girl character to select in gen 1- unless you're the type that really gets bothered by that kind of thing, it probably didn't affect you and you just imagined yourself as a tomboy or something.

Ken Sugimori's early styling is iconi- a beautiful water color palette masterfully done, with an art style he himself claimed to be Akira Toriyama inspired. We don't have the corporate styling just yet, so it's a really charming, retro look with blocky styling and pretty simplistic clothing. The hat, t-shirt, and jeans are a pretty simplistic attire for any kid about to good off- the vest really adds about 80% to Red's individuality with fans probably recognizing it as being similar to gen 1 Ash- fitting since Ash is based on Red. The shoes are also kinda retro and cool, but that's not quite as important imo. Small thing, I do prefer when Red is depicted with black hair rather than his brown haired counterparts. I can't really fault the design much because it is pretty early on,except maybe I'd have made the shoes black instead of white and added gloves. Still, it's an outfit I'd probably wear as a kid. 9/10

Now I'm not going to give a full review on this, but I figure it's fair to bring up Green's prototype artwork before she would eventually become the playable girl character in frlg. Gen 1 games were held together by bubblegum and a dream, so adding a girl character was probably too hard for them in the 90s- it's a shame, Green isn't dressed for adventure, but she is cute, the white gloves and white belt are a nice touch on the black dress. I think Manga Green really pulls it together with white boots instead of black flats. Still, really cute for the time, although I feel that people probably would have been over critical of her design in this day and age had she been canon. 8/10

Ah Blue, the original asshole we all know and love. Always 5 steps ahead of you, somehow catching a lot of pokemon before able to, and 1 really inconvenient battle in Sylph Co marked him as an opportunistic rival hunting you outside of caves for some reason. A smug narcissistic bastard, perfectly fitting for an 11 year old grandson of THE pokemon authority. Weirdly obsessed with smelling you later.

Design wise, you gotta love the spiky hair. It's such a cool look that screams 90s, and really adds to his "cooler than you" attitude he has, which his cocktail expression further adds to. The clothes are pretty simple, a purple long sleeve, darker pants, and really cool brown boots- and also a necklace. It's not much, but the design is pretty reminiscent of cool kids you'd see on tv shows and such. As opposed to Red's bright and varied colors, Blue has darker colors, which is another nice contrast.

As a rival, he does a pretty good job setting the foundation for what fans should come to expect. Stronger pokemon to yours- as a proper petty rival should- with the exception of his Eevee in Yellow that evolves depending on your first two battles with him, if I remember correctly, with Vaporeon being the cocky evolution he chooses if he's beaten you- aka, he doesn't see you as a threat. Weird how he ditches it in gen 2 forward, but I guess he did ditch his Raticate. Anyway, his teams are touted to be geared to handle any type- at the time, this is certainly true, although certain teams will have certain glaring weaknesses, such as a triple electric weakness if you picked Bulbasaur. His Alakazam for sure was the stuff of nightmares, especially in gen 1 when Psychics were op as hell and had no weakness you could reasonably exploit. It's no wonder he became a champion and then gym leader- fun fact, in Japan he's called Green (for some reason, blue and green get swapped in translation between Japanese and English often), and the Earth Badge is called the Green badge in Japan- isn't that hilarious? He's so full of himself even after losing the champion title that he could've gotten a new badge or renamed it, but he kept it named after himself. Anyway, a solid rival. 9/10

Onto frlg

Frlg Red became the new standard Red going forward after being introduced in the gen 3 edition of the gen 1 games. Sugimori's artstyle has evolved by leaps and bounds at this point, and we now sort of have a more modern artstyle that a lot of people consider the True tm pokemon artstyle. It is a small shame we lost the pretty water colors, but at the same time, I feel like this does look a bit more agreeable.

I think the design is solid, and unlike og Red, frlg Red is a bit more age ambiguous, which makes him an even better blank slate for any player of any age. The outfit is a bit more modernized, now untucking his pants from his shoes, and zipping up his simpler vest over a black tshirt. The hat, too, is also a bit more characterized, being more unique to him. Rather than gloves, he opts for black wristbands, which is nice for helping fill empty space and give some oomph to his look. The yellow backpack kinda clashes imo, but also kind of works- I'd want it, anyway, and even comes with the Vs Seeker pinned to it. Lastly, we have a change to his hair color- brown. I have brown hair, but honestly I'd have preferred they keep it black. All in all, this is a nice outfit and I'd probably wear a variation of it if I could. The main thing I'd change is unzipping the vest and making his hair black again. I do also need to express my appreciation for having full length pants- this is a rarity for guy protagonists as we get to the more modern era gen 7 onwards. The outfit just looks comfortable overall, nice and roomy, breathable, and something that'd fit right in in the world of Pokemon. A 9/10.

We finally have an official gen 1 girl character- 8 years later after gen 1, and also being mostly forgotten outside of Masters. "Leaf," as most people call her, would be the third girl mc added as of gen 3, and she's a nice addition imo. Like FRLG Red, her age is also left up to the player, and her design also somewhat reflects another blank slate to attach to.

The outfit is a pretty and simple one- although I will say, I probably wouldn't adventure through oceans and mountains in a mini skirt if I were a girl. Regardless of that, the red skirt and blue and black top are a cute combo and a flip of Red's colors, which is pretty creative imo. The loose socks are also a neat addition, and the white and red shoes match with her white and red pork pie hat. The black wrist bands- like Red's- help add just a little more to the design. The messenger bag is fine, again not really my favorite color, and personally speaking after using a few myself, probably not the most comfortable to lug around. The pink VS Seeker is an okay touch, but the pink does sort of clash and probably would have been better if it was either premiere ball colors, or red like her skirt. Lastly, her hair is a long and kinda frizzy brown- it's cute, I'll say that, although I think I'd have either covered it with a cap, make the hair shorter, or shortened some of the hair frizz. I wouldn't say the outfit is practical for adventuring- just a smidgen better than her gen 1 prototype- but who cares in a work of fiction as long as you look cute? I know plenty of girls that like the design- grown and young- and it is a satisfactory extension of the player. Although, some might still prefer Red for pants. Still, 9/10 on a personal note.

And now gaming's most famous douchebag returns in an updated look. Peak 2000s asshole fashion with the half popped collared shirt, choker, and smug expression. The colors for his pants and shirt flip and go darker for the top and lighter for the pants- which I like, this is an outfit I've probably worn similar to when I was a kid. The purple wristbands match with the pants and also fill empty space, the shoes are a simple black that also just work very well with the rest of the design, and- although probably not something I'd get caught dead wead wearing in public- I do like the silver and black hip bag. The outfit is trendy for the time, I appreciate the guy having pants with pockets that are also breathable and not skin tight, and it's just right amount of smug asshole. The one thing I dislike is how the art portrays Jim with orange hair rather than brown- in game, it's not so much an issue, but it does repeat over time. It'd be one thing if it was a similar hue to the brown in the og work, but this is NEON orange, not even ginger orange. Well, it at least made it accurate when I named him for my best friend and life long pokemon rival at the time.

Blue FRLG doesn't really change much personality wise other than a few lines of dialog, but his tactics do get smarter when using his revamped team and even smarter with his Johto'd up rematch team. How did he get back to the champion room? Well, when you're as strong as him, who can stop you other than the only guy to beat you before? 8/10, fix the hair and you're gold- wait, sorry, different guy.

Now, onto Let's Go, or essentially the "diet" versions of above

Let's start with the art style. The art style is completely different from any main series game while also having some gen 1 faux water colors. It's a charming art style that I think is fine for a game aimed towards younger kids instead of the traditional audience, but I'd just prefer gens 3-8 style. Art style aside, the mcs and rival for Let's Go are essentially just "diet" versions of the other MCs and rival, and tbh are inferior for the most part.

"Chase" is the replacement for Red, as Red is a standalone trainer now. He's a fine enough design with lots of great colors going for him, and his outfit definitely feels like a spring fit you'd wear. The color choices are mostly moot because you can change them, but the outfit is non changing. It's fine, gen 7 just kinda decided boys don't get full length pants anymore and we're still dealing with that 9 years later. I like the jacket, bag, and hat, and I do appreciate then giving him black hair again. But god, they made him so baby. That looks less "11" and more "7" imo, and makes me think of my nephew. It doesn't do the job previous gen mcs did by giving a blank slate to do or project how you want, instead pretty much forcing the role of baby on you. It's a 7 for me, not the worst, not the best, and again I do like the colors.

Elaine gives me vibes of my 8 year old niece by looks alone, which is spunky, energetic, and ready for whatever. Elaine sort of abandons most of what Green/Leaf had going in previous gens in favor of a more summery attire, while keeping and sort of remixing colors between Leaf and Let's Go Green. It's a cute look I could see kids wear, and I definitely dig the ponytail in the baseball cap more than Leaf's pork pie hat and messy hair. Again, a similar issue of not being able to project yourself onto the character, and appearing much younger than intended, but I think it's a nice design. Probably still prefer Leaf or Green though. 7/10

Ah Trace. The inferior Blue. I think this is the most "who?" rival of all time. I think he's a nice enough kid, but I really do not understand why we needed to replace Blue. Blue is the type of rival- RIVAL being the keyword here- that challenges you to actually do better. He irritates you just enough to give the satisfaction of beating him into the ground and taking his lunch money after he shit talks you. Trace? He's a ~~fRiEnD~~ a friendly friend that just congratulates you over the littlest thing and is more than happy to let you steam roll him. I think the best parts about him is that he took in the Cubone that Marowak left behind, abd that he has a mega Pidgeot on his champion team- otherwise he just feels like a overly sanitized Blue in an effort to appeal to WAY too sensitive audiences.

Design wise, he certainly is an all around downgrade. He does actually look 11, but those clothes are just way too sporty for a kid his age. Also, track pants in socks? Really? Come on man. The hair also just doesn't form as interesting of a silhouette as other rivals. He's just boring imo. 5/10.

Now if I were to have room to dissect later versions of the gen 1 gang- ranging from Gen 4, 7, the Let's Go variants, Masters, and any others I might be forgetting, I'd have to say that Gen 7 Red, Gen 4 Blue, and Let's Go Green are my favorite iterations of the characters. But as those aren't rivals or mcs, I will not count them towards the reviews.

Okay so the final roundup: these guys aren't quite as story heavy as some modern day counterparts, but they still for the most part lay the foundation for future gens- or as far as Trace goes, rides the coattails of his betters. Red and Blue becoming recurring trainers is still neat, and as much as I tire of the Kanto dick riding, I do love getting more chances to go toe to toe with them. Red practically trained me as a kid when I kept fighting him over and over to try and beat him. Blue has mellowed out a bit in his later years, I still love the opportunity to knock him down a few pegs. Maybe we'll see them again in their 30s in the 30th anniversary. I'd love to meet Green as her own entity again though. I didn't like lgpe, but I liked whatever tf was wrong with her there.

But as far as the designs, mcs are a decent 8/10. The two rivals... 7/10. Blue is cool, Trace is not.

Gen 2 next