#me:...aaaand thats what i would say to them

[aceyanaheim]

listening to epic as a bpd baddie man what an experience

[evilminji]

You know? I kinda wonder...

In a Self Insert type scenario, in Star Wars?

They would be MUCH more open to listening to "buddy, a storm's comin'" type warnings. Their Cannon knowledge, even if spotty, would probably echo with the Force and draw its attention to them somewhat. Because they KNOW.

KNOW what is going to happen. Not guess. Not assume. KNOW. Like the Force does. And that? Coupled with their inherent strangeness? Would make them the oddly colored duck of the flock, as it were. Not Super Important... buuuut? Easy to spot.

One of the Force's Blorbos.

Just cause, really. Cause they look funny. The Force doesn't even have a plan for um! But they turned up, ate the Force's food, and look at their wittle faaaace~☆! So it's keeping them. You know... assuming they survive.

Which?

Brings me to my point?

Since they LISTEN? The Force probably chatters like a mofo. Since a Self Insert would be anxious and constantly ASKING for wisdom. For help. A friend. Guidance of any kind. The Force would be draped around them like a particularly pleased with itself shoulder cat. A hovering backseat driver.

Because you DO keep asking, after all.

It's like muscle memory. Building strength. Not... not GREAT, in all actuality? Because Self Insert is avoiding making their OWN choices, probably out of fear? But on the OTHER hand? Both of them KNOW that there is literally a Sith Master like... less then 5 minutes away from where they live. Constantly.

And they are a Youngling.

So???

At What Point?? Does the Force? Engage "Fuck it, we take our baby and run" protocols?

Just? FULL ON "you stop midway through making your dinner, turn off the soup, pick up your kids, leave the house, and NEVER LOOK BACK". Because? Yes. The Jedi KNIGHTS and MASTERS may have vows to try and protect the people of the Republic?

BUT THE YOUNGLINGS DO NOT.

They, in fact, need to be PROTECTED.

And if the Force itself? Says "if you stay here, they WILL die."? You gotta go. Hopefully? You have enough warning to like... pack a ship. But, ya might NOT. Might just be "aaaand, everybody put down your pads! Suprise field trip to Anywhere Else! IMMEDIATELY. Single file, younglings. No running!" Like?

What would you do?

I kinda wanna see it.

Just this somber, vaguely haunted, crechling walking up to import figures like Madam Nu and Yoda going "if I tell you The Force told me we have to take the younglings, ALL OF THEM, and any history we think is worth preserving, and LEAVE... would you listen? Or would you let us die here?" With their tiny lil face and to serious expression.

Like a prophet of Doom.

And WHERE? Exactly? Are they supposed to go? Oh, simple. They are to Trust In The Force. And let it guide them. Out IN THE UNKNOWN REGIONS of wild space! Because THATS fine! Is this a joke?

No.

No the youngling is dead serious. Terrifyingly serious. Has been studying how to pilot a shop like they will have to do so THEMSELF. Asking questions that paint a concerning portrait of a child that fully intends to take their peers on this journey, with or without them.

And the Force? The Force says they MUST. That it is impossibly important they DO.

WELL THEN....

Do they... TELL anybody?

No. Not a single soul. Specifically, not a single soul In The Senate. Ah. Concerning! Guess we're? "Losing" a ship in the war? Oh dear. Such casualties. All those lives. Oh noooooo, and such and so forth. UNRELATED note! It's been FAR too long since this temple was cleaned! Unacceptable. You, random clones definitely not assigned to that ship we definitely just lost! Help us... clean!

Just?

The power of "fuck it, we took our ball and went home/left"? Should be USED more in fics. The Force TOTALLY knows where some sweet, sweet habitable planets are. You'll NEVER fuckin find them if they don't want you too! An entire temple of Jedi asking for the SAME thing? Versus a crusty lil shit?

They asked first. And nicely!

With THIS, balance is maintained. Not through FORCE. But through walking away for a bit. Allowing OTHERS to decide if this is what THEY want for themselves. Order 66 may or may not still happen? But? At most? All you would kill is the current fighting adults. Not the teachers. Not the elders. And CERTAINLY not the young.

They? Are far away. Where the Force is still clear and the light is strong. Growing up. Reflecting on what went wrong. Farming. Building a new temple with the Clones. You know, the ones who didn't have their comms. Never GOT that dreaded order. Get to live free men on a peaceful planet.

Cause historically? You send your kids AWAY from active wars zones. Places that are priority targets for your enemies. And if the Force itself is saying "move the babies"? Welp! Guess you gotta move um, don't ya? It's scary. Uncertain.

But it is an act of faith.

And I just? Wanna see Sith's plans just COMPLETELY fuckin implode? Because they could not plan for Faith. For Trust and Community and Hope. All the things they believe so trite. So worthless. The very things that would lead grown adults, POWERFUL PEOPLE, to actually? LISTEN to a mere youngling. Then follow their lead.

It would be?

Inconceivable to them.

@legitimatesatanspawn @babbling-babull @hypewinter @babbling-babull @hdgnj @starwarsblr @starwars

[annebaby]

National Anthem ♡ (pt. 3 - final)

aaaand here is the final part of my first fic, National Anthem! i hope you all enjoyed & i appreciate all the love always!

warnings: toxic snow, suggestiveness, fem!reader x young!coriolanus snow, use of Y/N, and i think thats all (?) let me know?

enjoy my lovelies :)

As you pull towards the entrance of the gala, you can’t help but awe at the exquisite architecture of the building. With long columns stretching across the width of the building and a large overhang donned with black ribbons, it was truly a sight for sore eyes. Coriolanus parks the car and heads to your side of the vehicle to let you out. He offers his hand to help you, then he kisses it. This was going to be a long night. 

The car was whisked away to valet parking meaning there was no escape now. Who knew what he would do next? 

The entryway to the gala was covered in a burgundy velvet rug that stretched into the lobby of the main dance hall. You took Coriolanus’ arm in yours, smiled and continued to walk towards the hall. You weren’t surprised you received many looks from the public upon your arrival with Coriolanus. You were both well known in the Capitol. People were staring at your dress in awe, admiring its beauty and taking you in. 

You looked around at the onlookers whilst entering the hall, and you smiled sweetly. Of course, there were multiple men whose gaze was stolen by your cleavage, but you expected this. At least Coriolanus hadn’t stared at them, yet. 

Upon entry to the gala, you released Coriolanus’ arm and turned to face him. He looked down at you with a sly smile, slightly smirking. His eyebrows were raised, waiting for you to say something. 

“I’d like to go find Bridgette, is that alright?” You didn’t know why but you felt the need to ask him. He broke his smile and said, “Of course,” as if it were obvious there was no need for you to ask. 

You stared at him for a second longer before feeling your chest relax. You hadn’t even known it was tight. You stood on your tiptoes to give Coriolanus a kiss on the cheek, before running off to find Bridgette. 

Coriolanus was far too excited by your presence with him. Not only had he wanted you for months, but now he had finally felt your lips on his. He could recall the first time he saw you, a large ribbon in your hair in a far too short skirt and a black sweater. He swore to himself that day that he would never act on his feelings. Lucy Gray made him that way. 

However, as the months passed and he saw you more, he knew something had to be done. You were gorgeous, innocent, obedient, and charming. You would make a perfect wife for him. 

It’s not that he wanted to own you though - he really did have feelings for you. The poor man was just awful at acting on them. That was all. 

So as you walked off to find your friend, he watched every man’s eyes fall on your figure and he fumed. He wanted to rip their eyes out for even glancing in your direction, but that wouldn’t be fit for an upcoming leader. 

He wandered off to find your father, keeping a close eye on you as you disappeared into the crowd. 

“Bridgette! Oh thank God I've finally found you.” Bridgette had been tucked in a corner chatting with Arachne Crane, awaiting your arrival. 

“Oh my goodness you’re stunning! I love this dress,” you spoke, feeling the material of her dress in your fingers. Her brown hair was slicked back in an elegant braided bun and her gown was an eggplant purple with black lacing on the sides. You noticed all the men staring at her as well and laughed due to her obliviousness. 

“Y/N! I’m so glad you’re here! Arachne, if you’ll excuse us, you look gorgeous by the way!” You give Arachne a nod before Bridgette takes your hand and pulls you away. 

“Lord, I cannot stand her. All she wants to talk about is her money and blah blah,” Bridgette laughs as she walks with you. You laugh as well, turning your head around to still see Arachne scoffing at something. 

“But please tell me everything Y/N! Everyone’s already talking about your arrival with Snow and I want to hear it all, I'm honestly so confused.” 

Bridgette leads you to a tray of Posca, which you accept thankfully. Grabbing the glass off the tray, you nod at the Avox carrying it and you turn back to her. You sip your drink solemnly, swallowing and gulping loudly. Then, you squeal. Finally, you could tell someone about the wildness of the night. 

“You’re not going to believe me,” you say, holding onto her shoulder. 

You tell her absolutely everything, and she doesn’t interrupt. She stands with her mouth slightly open and holds all her questions until the end. 

“…. he kissed my hand and now I’m here!”

She stood there for a moment, still silent. Her mouth turned into an open smile as she jumped up and down slightly. 

“Was he a good kiss-,” Bridgette stopped mid sentence, staring at someone behind you. 

You felt a hand sneak around your waist, and it wasn’t Coriolanus. It was Festus Creed.

Your ex boyfriend of about a year, he wasn’t much at all. You hated him if anything. He was rude, stubborn and conceded - not to mention horrible in bed. You smelled the Posca on his breath as he stood next to you, hand on your waist. Even his red curls couldn’t hide the blush in his cheeks from drinking too much. 

“Festus, what’re you doing? Get your hands off me.” You scoff and pry his hand from you before looking at him. He drunkenly smiles, completely out of it. 

The breakup between you had been messy. You had caught him making out with Clemmie in the halls just a few months ago. Needless to say, all contact was cut completely, and the feelings between you two were severed and turned into hatred. Festus does not move away from you, and puts his hands back on your waist. He tries to snuggle his face into your neck. 

“Festus. I said get off -“

You’re cut short by the sight of Coriolanus approaching you both. You shoot him a pleading look, and he quickly intervenes. He pried Festus off you aggressively before grabbing his collar and spitting in his face. 

“One more word to her Festus, and I’ll make sure your father knows you just assaulted a woman and drank way too much. Wouldn’t want that, would we?”

Festus stared at Coriolanus silently, before Coriolanus released his grip on Festus and told him to get away. He cowered down and slowly walked away, ultimately leaving the event. Needless to say, you and Bridgette were standing side by side awestruck. 

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that, Y/N. Maybe I need to stick around you more often,” Coriolanus says. He stares at you intently before looking at Bridgette. 

“Hello, Ms. Sinclair. Hoping Ms. Y/N is being good company to you tonight. So sorry I had to intrude.”He smiles sweetly at Bridgette before beginning to walk away. 

“I won’t be far, if anyone else bothers either one of you let me know.”

As soon as he turns his back, you yell after him, “You can just stay with us if you want!” 

You look at Bridgette, silently asking if that was okay with her. She widens her eyes and nods yes frantically, hoping to get more insight on his feelings for you. She was always good at reading people and interpreting their actions. 

Coriolanus slowly turns around with a smile on his face. He bows his head down before holding his hand out to you. 

“In that case, Miss Y/N, may I have this dance?”

You nervously look at Bridgette, not wanting to leave her by herself. She shoves you forward slightly, encouraging you to dance. You take Coriolanus’ hand in your own, slowly moving toward the dance floor.  

A pristine classical song was playing, the sharpness of the violin leaving a small amount of seductiveness in the air. You joined the crowd as smoothly as you could. Coriolanus places his left hand in your waist, his right hand interlocked with yours. He pulls you much closer to him, bodies touching on all planes. The music restarts its pattern, and you both start dancing. As the President’s daughter, you’ve had many dance lessons. You knew how to do just about every dance there ever was in all of Panem. 

Little did you know, so did Coriolanus. He had lots of catching to do after he gained his newfound wealth upon winning the Plinth prize. He enrolled in dance lessons, basic etiquette, and extra scholar tutoring. So, his dancing was above par, making his footsteps go perfectly in sync with yours. 

“So, shall we impress them or keep it tame tonight, my darling?” His whisper in your ear makes cold chills run down your body. You feel his breath on the side of your face and you want to pull him into a nearby room for yourself. 

Without moving for your stable position and disturbing the rhythm, you whisper, “Let’s keep it tame so you can continue to quietly explain to me what it is you want.”

“What do you mean, what I want?” He stopped dancing abruptly, pulling back from you and staring into your eyes with concern and annoyance.

He grabs your arm harshly, pulling you through the crowd and into a nearby room. He shuts the door, locks it, and you step back from him, creating distance. He stands at the door for a second, seemingly out of breath as he places his forehead on the surface of the door. The tenseness in the room was heavy, creating an odd atmosphere. You felt like you needed to walk on eggshells around him. His breathing was labored and his hands were slightly shaking. He was truly terrifying. However, the sexual desire was too thick to deny. An odd mix of both emotions, but hey, you were just a girl after all. 

He slowly turned to face you, craziness in his eyes. He walked toward you slowly, your eyebrows creasing in slight fear and confusion. 

“Don’t you get it? I’ve been trying to show you how I feel for weeks. I see you staring at me in the halls and I know you see me stare back. Even after you saw me brine the driver, you’re still acting utterly oblivious to what I want from you!” He’s yelling now, and he has fully closed the space in between you two, his hands now on either side of your face. 

His eyes search all of your features for some sort of response. They’re scanning your face frantically, looking for anything you can give him. Suddenly, his fingers start tracing the features of your skin delicately. 

“My God. You’re perfect.”

He leaned in and gave your forehead a precious kiss before looking at you to say something once again. 

“I just, I don’t understand. You’ve hardly spoken to me since we’ve known each other. I’m still in the academy, and I don’t have any career plans or anything. What would you want with me?” 

Your voice slightly faltered during your confession, making you seem more innocent and fragile in his eyes. He wanted to destroy you, corrupt you ; you needed to belong to him. 

“I also don’t understand how you’re having a panic tantrum and then kissing me on the forehead - your mood swings are getting too confusing,” you said while giggling. 

You hoped he would take a liking to the joke as well, though you may have stepped over the line. He smiled too, looking down at your hands before grabbing them with his own. He laughs quietly, feeling your fingers in his. 

“How pretty your finger would look with a wedding ring on it. Wonder who the lucky man could be.” 

You looked down at your fingers, imagining an expensive ring as well. You’ve always dreamed of a beautiful ring, a beautiful proposal and an elegant wedding. It was something you never thought you would get to. However, Coriolanus calling your future husband ‘lucky’ was definitely something that gave you hope. 

“I think I’ll have a while before that happens, I am only nineteen after all.”

His hands slowly release yours and rest on your waist. He looks up at you and scans your face quickly before inching closer. He grabs your hands again, placing them on his shoulders to stabilize you. Once your hands are around his neck, he tells you to jump.

“Do what?” You have had sex before, but something about Coriolanus initiating intimacy with you startled you and caught you off guard.

“I said, jump.” 

You do as he says and jump up as his hands cup your bottom and hold you up. As soon as you are at his level, he immediately attaches his lips to yours. The kiss was so sincere and sweet - until it wasn’t. He started pushing his tongue into your mouth and biting your bottom lip whenever he got the chance. Your hands made their way up into his hair, slightly tugging on the ends. He breathed out quietly as he walked the two of you towards the wall. He pinned your back against it, using it to keep you in his arms. 

You had a burst of confidence shortly after that, tugging at the bottom of his blouse, trying to get him to take it off. He dropped you back on the floor gently. Looking at you as if he was waiting, you slowly started to take off his shirt for him. You could tell this was making him go insane by the way he was breathing and looking at you. 

His shirt comes off, leaving his toned abdomen in full sight for you to see. You could not help but stare. He was ridiculously lean and carved in a way you did not think any guys could be. You traced the outline of his abs with your fingertips and kissed the middle of his chest. 

“I didn’t know this is what my schoolboy crush was hiding from me,” you say breathlessly. He laughs in response.

“I have wanted you since the day you stepped in my house for the job, Mr. Snow. You do not understand.”

He watches you as you pull the straps of your dress down the sides of your arms. Something so small and it was driving him insane. He pins your shoulders to the wall as he kisses you roughly. Your hands reach for his neck again before an idea crosses your mind. Your hands travel down to his belt, fiddling and trying to undo it. 

Coriolanus laughs as he breaks the kiss and moves your hand away. 

“Let’s wait until later, darling. You have all the time in the world now.”

You tilt your head, noticeably confused.

“What do you mean?” He stepped back from you and reached down for his coat. He pulls a small box out of the pocket, and your eyes widen. He opens the box to reveal the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen in your life. A simple gold band accompanied by a five carat emerald cut diamond. Your mouth opens, jaw on the ground. 

“I am the lucky man, Y/N. Your Father approved of our marriage the day after I started my internship. I think you’re the perfect bride and the perfect wife and-” he stops before walking towards you and sliding the ring on your finger. 

“...and - now you’re mine forever.”

[eggbert9000-blog]

My Thoughts on Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSX)

I Think my introduction to the Persona series is quite unique compared to other people. Like many I heard about the series from the modern trilogy (3, 4, 5), The first Persona game I had tried was 4 when Golden was released on Steam, but I never completed it at the time.

(I since have completed 4 by the way, I thought it was fantastic!)

However for whatever reason Persona came back onto my radar around early this year right off the heels of me completing Final Fantasy VIII for the first time, gaining a new appreciation for underrated JRPG's. That's when I thought to myself "why does everyone talk about Persona's 3, 4 and 5, But not 1 or 2?" So I did a little digging and found that the Persona 2 Duology had developed a sort of "cult classic" feel to it and that it had one of the best stories in the whole Megaten franchise. (I can't attest to that as I have only delved into the Persona side of the series as of now, but the rest of the series is now on my list of things to complete). I also learnt that the PSP version of Innocent Sin botched the difficulty of the original PSX version, so that's why I decided to play through the PSX version as my first Persona game.

So what did I think?

Overall I thought it was fantastic! However I have some problems with it. So let's start with that.

Demon Negotiation

This was one of the things I was most excited about going into the game, and I think it does a good job at showcasing the characters personality. However the amount of options that the game gives you is overwhelming and makes you feel like you are just guessing when you are not using a guide for contacts, which is what I ended up doing because I got too frustrated with contacting.

(4 options per character, including pairing them up... oh man...)

However I found ways of working around it. If I ever wanted Tarot cards I would end up going to the Abandoned Factory, making a contract with a demon, and then farm Free Tarot from them to use them on whatever personas I wanted. I also ended up using the Prime and Ultimate personas often as they were pretty good while not requiring any fusing.

Overall Slowness

There were many times in the game when I thought that the game felt sluggish. One of them involves the encounter rate. Now listen, I'm a little crazy and I would say I love random encounters in JRPG's and I don't even care about high encounter rates, which this game notoriously has (even though I don't think its that bad), but in the PSX version there is this noticeable pause between getting the encounter and the game putting you into the transition, which threw me off a couple times, but I got used to it. What really bothered me was the lack of a minimap in the PSX version, which as a first time Megaten-er, gave me a sort of hard time. Very often I would have to pull up the map, which took a second or so, but it got annoying quick. What I find particularly confusing in hindsight was that the previous game, Revelations: Persona, had a minimap, so I think its a bit strange that they decided that they didn't need one for the sequel.

(This was also one of those things that was fixed in the PSP version, but I think the PSX version is still worth playing over it, but thats a discussion for another time).

There are also moments in the game that I felt dragged a little bit. Like around the middle of the game after Aoba Park where you go to defuse the bombs around Sumaru in places like Smile Hirasaka and GOLD that I didn't find super interesting. Or places like Xibalba where it just feels like its going on forever. It felt like I was just going through the motions.

Aaaand thats about all the problems I had with it.

"Wait that's all that you had problems with?"

Yup! I think this is one of my favorite RPG's that I have played in recent memory. It's time to talk about what I loved.

The Setting

This is something I think the original Persona trilogy does extremely well, These games have some of my favorite dungeons in any RPG i've ever played, especially the Persona 2 Duology. It reminds me a lot of the MOTHER series in the way that the dungeons are (mostly) grounded in reality with the obvious exceptions. Like one moment you are running around the club and the next you are trying to save kids in an Aerospace Museum. Then you are running up Mt. Katasumuri in the deep forest. Or you are exploring the aforementioned Abandoned Factory with some of the most kickass music ever heard in a video game. Sumaru City as a whole is one of my favorite settings in a videogame.

The Music and Tone

The music in this game is incredible, 'nuff said. Every dungeon I entered I was excited to hear what banger was about to come on and I was treated almost every single time. Sometimes the music is a jamfest like with the Abandoned Factory or Smile Hirasaka. Or sometimes is melancholic and sombre like Mt. Iwato or Aoba Park.

I think the music represents the tone/atmosphere of the game incredibly well. Dark, but with plenty of cool or humorous moments to not make it completely depressing.

Now I don't think that the story of Innocent Sin is the "darkest best story in the whole francise" as many try and sell it to be. But they would be correct in the fact that Innocent Sin definitely has Dark or Sad undertones that make it one of the most emotionally investing stories. Oh I should probably talk about what I thought of the story...

The Story

It's really good, like it was one of the main driving forces as to why I wanted to complete the game. I won't go into spoilers here but all I will say is that I loved the way the game balanced out the serious stuff with a lot of humorous things. The concept of rumors becoming real is such a cool idea and I think they knocked it out of the park, starting with relatively small stuff like "I heard this ramen shop sells weapons", and having it escalate to something being a whole threat to the world, made it really investing.

The characters too, are fantastic. They all feel like family and I couldn't help but care about each and every single one of them. They all have such great chemistry and I loved having them as the party.

One character I really fell in love with was Tatsuya himself, because unlike other silent protagonists like him, he feels like an actual persona and not someone you are just supposed to self-insert yourself into. He has his own personality and past, you learn throughout the story how much he cares about his friends and his determination to protect them all, evident through how he carries his zippo lighter everywhere, which I wont mention the lore significance of. And all of this is not even including his involment in Eternal Punishment where he really gets his time to shine, but this review isn't about Eternal Punishment so lets leave it at that.

Eikichi is a lovable guy and I love his personality (and his weapon is badass too), same with Lisa where I felt her whole romance with Tatsuya was done very well in that it dosen't get in the way of her main personality, I really liked her chemistry with Eikichi.

Maya is a person who I really ended up caring for and I love how she acted as the big sister or leader of the group often, Without going into too much detail, this group really loves Maya and that connection is something I really enjoyed and it made me care about Maya a lot as well.

I also want to use this opportunity to talk about something that I think the Original Persona Trilogy does that's cool in hindsight. They all feel really connected, it's really cool how Yukino from Persona 1 is just a party member again and you get to see how she grew, and just being able to see the P1 cast around Sumaru and how they are doing in life. It makes the world feel lived in, and like every game and the stories in them matter. And that world building is something that I feel like is sadly lacking in the later entries.

Overall this game is worth playing for the characters and story alone.

CUSTOMIZATION!!!!

This will be the last thing I talk about to keep things a little short but I'm just going to say that the customization in this game is some of the most fun things about it.

The fact that everybody can change their personas is MASSIVE and SO MUCH FUN.

I often found myself thinking "OH! If i fuse that guy I could do THAT fusion spell, or I could get THAT spell that would be really good"

And the fact that they can swap personas ON THE FLY gives me a customization rush that I haven't felt since playing with Final Fantasy VI's Espers or Final Fantasy V's Jobs.

I could swap a character from being a healer to damage dealer or debuffer and there was no limit to how I could do it. It was fantastic.

And Im gonna use this oppertunity to talk about the combat because in the PSX version I find that it's really smooth and fun to do once you get the hang of it.

And Fusion Spells are such a cool mechanic, it reminds me a lot of the Dual and Triple Tech's in Chrono Trigger and I was all for it!

And of course, shoutouts to Nova Kaiser being one of the coolest spells in and RPG, its so satisfying to use.

Conclusions

I love this game, and I couldn't think of a better way to be introduced to the series. After I beat Innocent Sin I immediatley went and beat Eternal Punishment, and then Persona 1 right after that.

The Original Trilogy is something that I think deserves to be remembered and praised, as they are magnificent games that I think unfortunatley are not as accessable to a general audience.

But I implore to whoever cared enough to read this to give it a shot.

I do think that the PSX version of Innocent Sin is the best because the PSP's botched difficulty is not the only problem I have with the port. The menus feel awful to go through, and I feel like Atlus knew that too and fixed it with Eternal Punishment PSP and made it more like the PSX menus. But at the end of the day IS PSP has a better translation, more quality of life, new bonus content and remastered music which is also pretty good, so whatever version you prefer is the best version.

So Please give Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and the rest of the Original Trilogy a shot, you might find a gem and a new incredible JRPG that you never knew you would like just like I have.

[lemon-natalia]

Gideon the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 27

‘pure humbuggery’ sound the alarm bells, palamedes is using british-isms, in this book thats a sure sign someone’s gonna die

ooohh it literally only just occurred to me as Harrow was talking about ‘lyctoral power’ that its very likely all of the facility stuff, the key challenges themselves etc. were probaly all set up by previous Lyctors 🤦

i mean given the one clue they were given was about locked doors, Harrow’s whole ‘secret door’ theory actually makes a lot of sense

i won’t lie, i still don’t really understand all of the thanergy stuff, so the beginning of this chapter was a little hard to parse. i don't think its because of bad writing or anything, i'm just not really into magic systems or understanding how they work honestly

i mean the five deadlocks on the door make some sense, but given Jeannemary got killed in a sealed room unfortunately i doubt they’re gonna do the Sixth much good now

ok someone, possibly the same someone involved with the constructs is actively trying to stop them from accessing another door. the question is whether it’s another member of the Houses wanting to prevent competition, or something that only just occurred to me is that some outside/other force is trying to stop all of them. which given the fact that the big amalgamate monster things were made by someone apparently very necromantically powerful … are the lyctors somehow involved in all of the deaths? maybe they don’t want to give up their positions, we only have the emperor’s word for it that they do after all

listen i don't think this is actually the case, its against the singular rule and there's probably some kind of magic stopping it, but it would be funny if someone just like, picked the lock on any of these doors. just speed-run the entire thing without any necromancy

wow Palamedes isn’t wrong the both of them are getting wayyy too comfortable using the whole energy transfer thing 

i’m not so sure coronabeth is the one to really watch out for - she seems more confident/outgoing than ianthe, but ianthe is clearly comfortable keeping things from her 

aaaand things are really kicking off between Harrow and Gideon. there’s unresolved issues for days here, it was only really a matter of time before their tentative alliance started disintegrating honestly

there’s a Lot to unpack here about their fight… on one hand, Harrow is clearly a lot more jealous than she wants to admit and making a real dick move to keep Gideon away from Dulcinea, no matter how far they’ve come Harrow still seems to be in that mindset of being in control of/feeling superior to Gideon as she was back on the Ninth. 

but on the other hand, Gideon is very clearly projecting her own feelings of guilt about Jeannemary and everything else onto Harrow. plus Dulcinea has proven herself to be more clever and shady than she initally appears already, i don’t think Harrow’s wrong to still be wary of her. there’s just, y'know, an infinite number of ways she could have handled it better

‘Jeannemary the Fourth was ten times the cavalier I am’ i’m SOBBING

ohhhh and now they’re back at where they were at the start … Gideon saying she hates Harrow, Harrow saying she doesn’t think about Gideon. except now after everything they’ve been through, and how much they clearly do care, it hurts so much worse. Tamsyn Muir you’re driving me crazy

��Gideon decided there and then her betrayal’ what an absolute banger of a line to end the chapter with

[megaawkwardhuman]

shit you not I've been really sleepy all day and so my tired ass didn't prosses that new image of nandor and guillermo was new until like five seconds ago after I took a nap

anyway not here to talk about this image WIJNJJNEJJNDNDJND NEW SHIT LET'S GOOOO

despite it all being like what 10 seconds of new footage over all THATS STILL ENOUGH FOR ME TO LOOK TOO DEEP INTO THIS LMAO

note: pulling all of these images from this post cuz I'm still a little eppy and while yeah I've seen the video these are from I'm not going to sit through it over and over again for screenshots

first things first not going in order

HELLOOOOOOOOOOO

my main question is does this mean nandor KNOWS what's going with guillermo or is laszlo and guillermo basically doing that thing where you give your sibling an unplugged controller and act like they're helping?

maybe if he doesn't know they're framing it as guillermo testing vampire myths with laszlo?

also LJDFSNSOJNBSQOJBOJBO OMFG THEY'RE BRINGING IN THE WHOLE VAMPIRES LIKE TO COUNT GRAINS THING LMAOOOOOO

this is one of my fav not that commonly used pieces of vampire lore just cuz of how funny it is

like imagine being chased by a hot vampire and then seeing them pausing just to count a small pile of rice on the ground

damn didn't expect them to show guillermo blowing nandor on camera

ok bad joke aside this is a cool shot

I'm assuming this is sometime after the colin X nadja scene?

maybe colin backed down and nadja is pissed? idk

imagine if you show up to a date and she pulls out a talking doll that looks like her (I mean I wouldn't mind but I think most people would)

this just confirms (as if it hasn't been basically confirmed already) that the nadja dating shit is mainly for doll nadja

I have nothing to say about this I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate this screenshot of nandor :)

also RINGS-

aaaand that's all I'm going to talk about since the rest is just too short from me to really read into if there's anything to read into

[sevi007]

Tales of the Abyss, part 16

I made good progress today so you get a third part ^^

Oomph. It's nothing new for Luke to be direct, but at least he was somewhat civil til now towards Guy. That's gone now, too. It looks like with Van influencing him with "do not trust Kimlasca / anyone but me" his attitude is getting worse. Maybe it's also the hero thing. Or both

Aaaaand next kidnapping. Kids stop getting kidnapped, please and thank you

(A friend on discord pointed out that saying "I'm at the part where I have to save Ion" does NOT narrow down where I currently am in the story AT ALL in this game, which - true that. It could be anywhere. I think I just passed the fourth kidnapping or so.)

I must say, Natalia does not make the best first impression here, haughty and short tempered and ready to use blackmail to get her way - BUT I will go ahead and say that it is probably not unlike to Luke's situation and thats where this is coming from. While she might not be on house arrest like he was, you can't tell me she is not on a shoet leash either. Luke was already reminded that he is not to interact with the servants too friendly, because he is the Duke's son. I will say that for a princess thats even worse. And with Luke already having been kidnapped, and the kingdom on the brink of war, I would say security had been really tight, and Natalia did not get to go outside a lot, especially alone.

Add to that that as the princess, she is used to getting her way, and you get - this. Probably. I think a big part of it might be a facade, a strong mask she puts up, but it certainly does not endear her to the party.

I think she is trying, what with her wanting to be treated as Natalia rather than a princess, like she says to Guy. But she is also very used to her commands being followed, which you can tell from the way she behaves.

Also, her demands of Luke have a childish air to them, which for me means she is basing them on past interactions with Luke when they were kids, adding another layer to why she believes her demand will be met without question.

And last but not least, she is going out of her way to help Akzeriuth. That shows she is kind

Aaaand it’s getting to his head. Somebody should teach him what an ambassador really is, and that in this situation it might even be an empty word

I am no professional at all in this, but given Luke's lack of knowledge and seeing how even Fon Master Ion is just overlooked when making decisions, I don't think Ambassador Luke holds much sway over ANYONE really.

The factory was interesting to do. I like the oil combined with Mieu‘s fire puzzles. That is creative, and it is kept simple enough that I do not have to worry about my head smoking, which is nice XD There was not a lot to cover story wise so I won't spend much time typing it out.

So, boss fight outta the way:

Awwww, see, Natalia is learning already

... Now we need Luke to learn, too.

I fear his new high-and-mighty attitude will only come to a stop when the truth about Van (which I still firmly believe is a bad one) comes to light.

@magicmetslogic

@ahsokaisawesome

[actualbird]

thinking about mariluke again… given how marius is afraid of really trusting people and showing his heart bc he’s been used so many times before and his family situation… and given luke is all “you before me” and “wow im literal scum i don’t deserve nice things” how do you think they break down that roadblock to become lovers? do you think one of them would realise this isn’t okay and work on it or would they need a push from someone else?

you 🤝 me

thinking about mariluke

i very much relate to the feeling, anon, HVSKJFVKSDHFS

but oh my gosh i adore this ask because u hit the nail on the head on what like, their core internal conflicts are, respectively. definitely not their only conflicts, but these ones are ones that i see as the driving force behind a lot of their actions. for marius, it's the constant struggle of "can i trust you?", for luke it's his lack of self worth and the resulting neglect of his own safety/needs/desires coming from it.

before i answer the questions tho i wanna say first that those two issues do stem from core Wants that theyve got (and i wanna say this first cuz it will tie into my answers/thoughts HAHA).

like, marius is always cautious and holding his cards and heart close to himself not just because of all the betrayals hes experienced and in general the Life He Lives (though that is a Huge factor), but also because it's connected to his want for honesty, earnestness, and genuineness. though these two are interconnected, it's not a Which Came First, The Chicken Or The Egg situation (or in this case….Which Came First, The Yearning Or The Trust Issues? JHVKSJDFH), they exist simultaneously and feed into each other. he wants, he has trouble receiving what he wants because of his fears but his fears are also put into higher gear because of how Much he wants, and in turn the lack leads to his desire gets magnified and the stakes for his fears getting even higher as well. aaaand all this gets further complicated when u throw in marius’ low view of himself as well (while it’s not as prominent/delved-into in canon as luke’s, it’s Very Much There, see this past analysis i did about marius and emotional distancing which is the most recent analysis i did i think on the topic)

meanwhile with luke, his propensity to put others before himself always is in partly caused by how lowly he sees himself (if hes worth nothing and others are worth more, then he should be the ones taking the blows or enduring the pains), but Both those things are ultimately caused by his desire to Be Good and Do Good for Another. “for Another” is a key phrase here, because luke imo is driven by devotion. it has to be someone else. and if he sees himself as bad, then the good thing to do is to neglect himself, and a better use of his life is to serve Another that he Sees as good. like marius, this is all interconnected too. his want to do good feeds into his self sacrificial tendencies, his low view of himself allows him to do more of what he perceives to be good, etc etc. tho of course, with luke, theres the whole obvious glaring sign that what he Perceives to be good isnt good at all (ex. when he becomes overprotective to the point of taking away choice/agency from the very person hes protecting, protection becomes presumptuous condescension, and this all gets in flux since goodness is subjective based on whos lens ur looking from) but at the end of the day thats a bulk of whats driving a lot of decisions.

now when things get to romantic relationship, both these respective desires seen through the lens of romantic love can be reworded into:

for marius, it’s “do you love me? can i trust that your love is real? are you telling the truth when you say im worthy of love?”

and for luke, it’s “am i good enough for your love? have i earned it? will i allow myself to believe i’ve earned it when you say i have?”

(sidenote: …..oh my god, marius is basically “Real Love” by Carly Rae Jepsen

"The world is going crazy And it feels like I just don't know who to trust sometimes Thunder's coming over me, I need to get a hold of you now We're getting good at lying No one's saying what's keeping us all awake at night Something's coming over me, I need to get a hold of you now […] I go everyday without it All I want is real, real love And I've been feeling weak without it Only want a real, real love"

and luke is “All That” also by Carly Rae Jepsen

"I wanna play this for you all the time I wanna play this for you when you're feeling used and tired I wanna make the best so you want more […] I'll be the magic you won't ever see You can always rely on me To help you do what you want to do I wanna be the best you've ever known […] Show me if you want me If I'm all that I will be that"

i cant believe CRJ ships mariluke)

NOW back to ur question. i personally dont think this is an Either Or situation, i think it’s a Both Simultaneously kinda thing.

cuz first off, change can only happen when the person who has to do the change actively works on it. no amount of support system can do it for the person if the person themselves isnt putting in the work. BUT input from another Helps very much, especially with mariluke imo cuz like……..these two are two sides of the same coin. so many of their insecurities and fears and wants are similar. not Exactly the same, but similar enough that i think they get each other on a really personal level

(sidenote im coming in with another song but i tell everybody who has the misfortune of listening to me that “just like i do” by loveless is THE mariluke song for me because….come on

"Do you feel alone just like I do? Do you hate the sound of your heartbeat too? Do you feel alone just like I do? Do you hate the sound of your heartbeat too? This is all I own, 'til I face the truth Yeah, I feel alone in a crowded room"

i cant believe loveless ships mariluke too waow)

heres how they can help each other:

marius keeps his heart behind tall and strong walls because of how his world works and how his life has gone, yet all he yearns for is sincerity. and luke gives that in full earnestness, and is probably surprised by how much that means to marius.

(remember the CRJ songs i associated with both of them?

marius: "and it feels like i dont know who to trust sometimes"

luke: "i'll be the magic you won't eve see / you can always rely on me")

luke wears his heart on his sleeve, on the arms that are always fighting for whoever or whatever hes devoted to. luke keeps secrets, yes, but thats mostly in regards to how he sees, treats, and values (or rather, doesnt value) himself. but marius, who is trained in the art of putting up a mask or building a fortress to hide, would see through luke’s secrecy and see how badly luke treats himself under the guise of being good for others to be worthy of love.

(luke: "i wanna be the best youve ever known / show me if you want me"

marius: "i need to get a hold of you now")

luke shows what marius wants and marius sees what luke hides; both of these things, one way or another, calling attention to both of their respective internal conflicts.

i dont think they fix each other, or rather thats not how my personal ideal view of how their relationship goes. i think they see each other.

("do you feel alone just like i do?")

and in seeing, they learn more about themselves and realize that part of loving another person is also in bettering one’s self. marius loving luke more than hes afraid of getting hurt. luke loving marius more than how he wants to hate himself.

they both realize that the internal issues theyve got are not okay, and that they need to work on it. but they realize that once understood by the other and once realizing that their love is more important to them than fear or hatred.

....i feel so normal about them (lie)

[azumasoroshi]

minidura chapter 11 react

ok i found chapter 11 translated by amnemonie on tumblr (thank you thank you thank you and if you want me to take this down i will!!) but there's no guarantee ill be able to find the rest lmAOo we'll see

HOT MAN!!! HOT MAN

i mean what no pathetic sopping wet man

cat face izaya i thought id never see you again

man after realizing there's a minidura tag i saw a post that was like "i wish minidura got animated like bsd wan" and like. YEAH. PLEASE

it would be the perfect revival of the durarara fandom pleaseeeeeee do it for meeeeeeee we could revive durarara like we revived trigun

and i need shizuo izaya and shinra cooking together being animated. please

anyway izaya looks like he really doesnt wanna be here in that last panel and i mildly spoiled myself on the comments/reblogs saying this one is really mean to izaya which you know i live for. [cracks knuckles] i hope he gets hit by a truck but like an emotional one because that's the only one he'd really react to

oh god he's more pathetic than i thought he'd be

they're really looking at him like "damn bitch you good" which is fair

bro summoned up all his courage to ask 😭rip bozo

??????????? THEY TOLD YOU HE'D BE WITH THEM

izaya simultaneously has the best social skills known to man and the WORST social skills known to man

ill never stop bringing this up but. now presenting orihara "i love humans because they're so unpredictable" izaya getting fucked by humans' predictability everybody

and here we see izaya walking awkwardly in his natural habitat, trying to eat cake with high schoolers /j

kadota casually calling out izaya on his bullshit bkgjdSGKHDSHds

he just wants to eat cakeeeee someone go with him

not me though i wouldnt be caught dead with that man

i swear walker's face gets longer every time i see him and it tickles me so much

aaaand cue shizuo on stage right

god bless erika for suggesting that he invite shizuo cuz id have done it myself

also "just today". are you implying that you want to see shizuo every other day. izaya.

WAIT

WAIT IS TODAY IZAYA'S BIRTHDAY

OH

oh my god thats actually sad okay

id say to ask namie but namie probably rejected him already without even letting him finish the question bkfdgjhgf

shinra keeping up the stupid anniversaries trend from that other chapter we love a consistent malewife

man shiki he wasnt even here for work 😭 at least he got some food although karasumi does not look that good if im being honest

at least compared to cake

shinraaaa you FORGOTTTT

may 4th is the date of my statistics exam but i swear ill celebrate it for you izaya. ill even mark it down on my calendar

oh 💀 namie is as delusional as i am. love that for her

he's even singing to himself ohhhhh poor baby...(i say this as if i'm not grinning wildly to myself in my room rn)

i swear i feel bad for him but he's so fun to bully

man i remember those fics where shizuo was the only one to remember izaya's birthday bgkjhfdgfd i guess those were founded from somewhere (even if his gifts were things like 'not chasing him today' or sending him black roses)

oh my god 😭 he's so desperate at this point i didnt think he'd actually be happy to see shizu-chan

even grabbing him by the arms bkgdssdkahdskjhgsdsd

this is gonna end badly though if the comments/reblogs i read have anything to say about it

😭yep the izaya bullying is real

SHIZUO NOOOOOOOOOOOO THATS BASICALLY THE WHOLE CAKE

izaya's conscious too 💀 MAN

part of me feels like this is narita's personal revenge against the shizaya fans in his fanbase askdbgskjhsdhgsd shizuo needs to be extra cruel to prove he's not gay

he's so happy to just get birthday textssssss this is so sad

[coldslaws]

What are your favourite Pokemon games besides BW/BW2?

oh man that is a TOUGH call. i love a lot of them for different reasons. im thinking diamond and sun, probably.. ik everyone says platinum is the definitive version of sinnoh but ive never played it myself and diamond was my first pokemon game. meanwhile sun i think just has a great story, characters, and my favorite pokedex overall. i also have to give an honorable mention to pla, because i really loved the gameplay and story and it's what actually changed pkm from "this is a thing i like passively" to "THIS IS A SPECIAL INTEREST" in my brain

aaaand another honorable mention to scvi, because arven's story had me honestly stunned to my core and the main cast is so much fun. but i can't put it as a favorite because of the bland overworld/technical issues, even if it also has a great pokedex imo

if i could have it my way id probably break it down like this (again not including bw here but you can probably imagine how this list would look otherwise anyways):

fave story: sumo

fave dex: sumo

fave characters: dppt and sumo but scvi is also fighting tooth and nail for the spot

fave region: dppt

sorry to swsh i love you piers with all my heart and some of the pkm are great but thats about all it has going for it imo. and don't even get me started on xy

[sutimetravelau]

Every time someone asks me how I got into ROTTMNT or how I started out making comics.... I'm shoving a finger at your blog/pos

Anyways, ahem. Flynn! New question because I'm indecisive: which AU are you the most obsessed about? The Diamond Boys or OG? Aaaand if so the Diamond Boys, how would you say the other Diamonds (ie White, Blue, and Yellow) react to them? Also how does Hero see 420 and how does 420 see Hero?

Love love love what you do

hehehe thank you

OG for sure! Since it's what the blogs mainly about now and what I'm working on currently. However I still love the designs for the Diamond boys... maybe could redesign ET and Twoie tho..., hm,...

As for how the other Diamonds would react to them... hmmmMMM. If they learned that there were other diamonds it would certaintly shake their worldview. I don't think any of them would like that their position of power could be challenged. (I'm thinking post SU) Probably a lot of passive aggressiveness from White. Yellow would be kind of huffy and ignore at first but eventualyl come around to a few of them, probably Golden/Hero. Blue would chill with a couple of them probably after a while. But at first she's very... protective of her subjects etc. Like she's friendly but not trusting. But maybe she'd come around to a few and chill out. As long as they leave her and her subjects alone.

420 and Hero!!! Hmmm... This is a complex one, because their relationship develops over the series. But I'll try my best. I think Forest (420) is a little... disdainful of Hero? And also pitying? hard to explain. But he sees that Hero is always puffing himself up and being like 'ahaaa im so cool i know whats right etc etc' and Forest thinks thats kind of rude. But when Hero is cool!!! Forest likes him! When they can just hang out, they're all good. But when Hero once again let's his ego take over then Forest sort of steers clear for a while. Eventually Forest could recognize why Hero is doing what he's doing and sympathize. Hero sees Forest... as himself, but he's not using his full potential. Like Forest!!! Why are you not giving it your all? Come on! And it's not in like a mean way, more of just him trying to be encouraging but it's coming from the wrong place. But other than that he sees Forest as a funny dude and likes hanging with him occasionally.

Thanks for the ask ! ! !

[fyrets]

June 2024 KS Check In Review

Time flies and we're back here again and OHHH MY GOD ITS CRAZY

We're moving to the stuff I care about uhhhh MOONTAILS! THEY ARE LOOKING GOOD!!! This one is my favorite palette so far. They are so ice creams

NEW BOVINES!!!!!!! SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I previously wasn't really into the kit artwork but something about it now is so sweet I love it a lot.

BUT YOU GUYS ALREADY KNOW WHAT I'M GOING INSANE OVER

YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

FYRETS REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i feel so so so so so so crazy im insane im gonna be sick im gonna die im gonna die im not gonna make it ohhh my god they're so beautiful i need them now right now please please please please please I'll do anything I'll do anything I'll do anything I NEED THEM NOWWW RIGHT NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uhh then we have some backdrops that are pretty neat. Giving me Italy. Sorry its jojo worms.

Incense! I actually kinda don't like how they look like as items but its like caring about what flight rising eggs look like it's not a big deal.

Recolors! Very neat! I'm actually kind of intrigued by the fact the cats modeling the accessories are a very dark black or white. Of course this is the first time fully showcasing a bunch of recolors but I kinda wonder if my ramblings about the regal set last update influenced this decision on presentation. I guess I'll never know!

and finally.......... Reddit. I don't have much to say on this one actually. I'm pretty open to the concept but I get why people would be hesitant. I don't know. I'll have to try it out myself to have a strong opinion on it.

aaaand thats about everything interesting from this update imo. pretty good! i think the new faq dropping was a bit more exciting though.

[mythica0]

Are you taking requests? Is there by any chance you can do lee!Donnie and ler!leo,mikey,raph?

I was thinking maybe they’re playing truth or dare, and when Donnie is finally brave enough to chose dare, they dare him to let them tickle him for ______ amount of time. If not thats ok! I love your work! Hope you have a great day/night! Also take your time and don’t over work or push yourself.

Truth or dare

🎂: ROTTMNT

🧁: Donnie

🍫: Mikey, Leo, Raph

Summary: The boys are playing truth or dare! When Donnie finally picks dare, he’s met with an.. unexpected.. request.

A/N: Thanks for the request! (Like omg you spam liked my stuff and I love your stuff and that made me so happy-) also, this title is so basic but I couldn’t come up with a better one lol.

Truth or dare

The boys were playing truth or dare. This happened often, spontaneous activities that the four of them decided to play together.

“Hmm… Donnie! Truth or dare!” Leo shouted. He had an amazing idea for a dare for Donnie, but he hadn’t gotten to use it yet.

“Truth.” Aaaand, that’s why.

“You always pick truth!”

“Yup. Call me a coward all you want. Now, what’s your question?”

Leo thinks for a moment, before deciding on something simple.

“What’s your favorite piece of tech you’ve ever made?”

“Easy, Shelldon. He is not only technologically advanced, he’s also my son.” Yeah, that’s about what Leo was expecting.

Another few rounds of the game went on before Leo picked Donnie again.(it would be suspicious if he only chose Donnie )

“Dare.” He looked hesitant, but decided it would be okay, he’d only pick dare once, it’ll be fine- he takes a deep breath before he starts going into over-think mode.

Leo’s head screams ‘YES! Finally!’ When he hears it.

“I dare you, to let all three of us tickle you for 5 minutes.” He says, fairly dramatically.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Leo looks at him with a signature smirk, before saying “oh I dare,” before his tone changed to a much less dramatic,

“I mean, c’mon I already did!”

Both Mikey and Raph burst out laughing at the dumb joke and Donnie just groans before mumbling,

“Walked right into that one..”

“Yeah, you kinda did. ANYWAY, it’s time for you to do your dare~ “ He stood up and wiggled his six fingers, teasing brat.

The other two joined him, Raph walked over to Donnie and pinned his arms above his head.

Donnie gulped.

Raph kindly reassured Donnie that it was only for 5 Minutes and they wouldn’t go too far.

“You ready?” Mikey asked.

He wasn’t, but he was never going to be, so he guesses he’s ready enough. He nods.

“Alright then! In three, two, one, go!”

When the word ‘go’ was said, a timer was set, and then Donnie was attacked.

He would’ve tried to hold in his laughter but he knew with three people tickling him at once, it was hopeless.

So, he broke down into bubbly giggles all but instantly.

“Aww your laugh is so cute!” All of Donnie’s brothers cooed.

“Shuhuhut! Nohoho ihihit ihihisnt!” A faint blush dusts Donnie’s face at the words, which he quickly tries to hide.

“Oh, c’mon~ don’t hide your smile! We like seeing you happy!”

Mikey calls, before blowing a raspberry on Donnie’s ribs, causing him to turn his head away and fall into silent laughter for a moment.

“There it is!”

“We got a minute left, guys.” Raph informed.

“Grand finale?” Leo asks with a smirk.

“Gran finale!” The others repeat.

‘Oh shit I’m screwed.” Donnie thinks before all of them start blowing raspberry after raspberry all over his plastron and sides.

He is screaming and laughing so hard he feels as if he’ll bust a lung.

*ring , ring* the timer goes off, and all three stop their attack, rubbing away all the ghost tickles as Donnie giggles sleepily.

“I think we’re done for tonight, folks!”

“Agreed.”

“Alright, I’m gonna go get my giggly twin to bed, see ya!”

What a fun night of truth or dare.

———THE END————————————————

[dabeywabeys]

How do you do your colors? Do you have a tutorial by chance?

aaa i dont have one onhand but i can go through my process? (this ended up being really long oops😭)

most of these arent like color theory rules or anything this is just how i like to do things

usually i choose 2-4 hues for the flats and pick some colors for my pallette off those

i generally like to stay away from desaturated colors but thats just cus super saturated colors r kinda my thing and i like em :]

and in my color picking for the pallette i try to make sure i have a substitute for black and white! you can give the impression of those two colors without actually using pure black or pure white by replacing them with other colors that have darker or lighter values than the rest of your pallette (ill say more on values in a sec)

picture example of everything so far

nowww we talk about values!! a lot of people have a tendency to stay away from brighter more saturated colors cus they dont know how to use them in a pleasing way, and part of the reason for that i think is they arent checking values. values are a term to refer to white, black, grayscale colors, and when i refer to the values of your pallette, i mean how it looks in grayscale

this is how the colors i chose earlier look monochrome. i tried to make sure there was a good variety of dark and light values (could've done a little better than this tbh but you get the idea)

i Always check this when im picking colors cus i am prone to eyestrainy color clashy stuff and fixing values usually helps keep it pleasing

nowww we get into choosing shading and lighting colors. values also help for this!

i usually use a multiply layer for shading and a screen layer for highlights to start off with and choose a color id like for both. this time i did blue for shades and yellow for lights

also i avoid shading the black substitute sometimes cus sometimes it can look weird since i usually also make this my lineart color but thats not a hard rule or anything

but, while these are a nice starting point, im not satisfied with them so i merge all the layers and start adjusting them, making them more saturated and making sure the values look okay

aaaand it turns out like this!

usually this would be where people would stop but iiiii have been messing around with transitional shades as of late so i should probably talk about those too. basically i saw a painter say she avoids blending the base colors with the shading and lighting too much because it makes pieces look muddy to her, and that she prefers to make her own transition shades that keep the saturation up. so i took that to mean blast bright ass colors all over my piece as long as the values line up.

im still kinda figuring out how i like to do this and this is mostly just based off me like fucking around and isnt really apart of color theory rules from what i know but its how my pieces look the way they do

basically for each highlight color ill pick it, and move the hue level a little in the direction away from the base color, and then ill adjust that until the value is between the base color and the highlight, and then i repeat that process with the shading colors.

and it should look a little like this in monochrome with the values between the ones of highlights base colors and shading. cus it transitions between themmm thats why its a transition shade.

and this is how it turns out in color! the general idea is to make them pop while still being close enough to the base colors/shading/lighting that it isnt so jarring that it looks gross. im still fucking around and figuring out how to do this in a way that looks good to me but yeah! :]

that's my whole process basically. i did not realize itd make a whole essay but i hope its helpful in any way? feel free to ask for clarification if any parts are confusing

[obscuremarvelmuses]

Hey guys! Welcome back to the annotated Darkstar reread! Tonight it’s Champions #13-15, in which Laynia is a mean lesbian to Bobby and there’s a lot of BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!

Champions #13: In the narrative box of the first page, all the members of the Champions and something about them—”The incomparable Iceman!” for instance—are listed. Except Darkstar lol. Even though her face is there. Nice. Nah, I get it, no one would have known who the fuck she was, though actually given she was brand new I’d think she’d be pushed more? Anyway–Luke Cage gets very literally sucked in a battle (via portal) to a battle between the Champions vs a sorcerer type dude named Kamo Tharn who is super mad that Hercules stole The Stranger’s staff, which actually does seem to be the case. The sorcerer is sending monsters at them and, bless her, Darkstar does think “Lenin’s ghost!” and I’m so embarrassed I ever said she doesn’t do that like Colossus. She somehow picks up that the portal that brought them there is still there, it’s just REALLY small and shrinking by the second, so she uses her Darkforce to force it open, which, is a pretty neat move. She goes into it, Iceman thinks something got her and follows in order to rescue her. Aaaand now he’s falling through the vacuum of space with no Laynia in sight. Whoops.

He realizes she IS there, she’s just sealed in this globe of darkness, and she doesn’t realize he’s there. This is what’s enabling her to survive in space. That’s…REALLY AWESOME, I had TOTALLY forgotten that Darkstar could FUCKING SURVIVE AND TRAVEL IN SPACE via a Darkstar cocoon! Oh, and Iceman is able to be alive in space long enough to cocoon himself in ice/snow because he was in solid ice form, which slows down his bodily functions, as he explains to us helpfully via thought balloon. Remember thought balloons? I miss those things. They suddenly appear spilling out of a Darkforce portal in front of the Stranger. Laynia is ready to fight, but Iceman is FUCKED because he made that ice-cocoon from the water in his own body so he’s severely dehydrated. Laynia. . .doesn’t really seem to notice.

Ok, this is really mean of her and I feel bad for Bobby, but also out of context, I’m sorry, the images are just super funny to me. Also she genuinely had no idea he was there. Anyway, this is a good refresher because I tend to think of Laynia as The Nice One but to be honest, that’s more the case when she’s on one of the Russian squads because she’s nice BY COMPARISON to her teammates. But, as shown here, she’ll ignore a teammate in distress because she’s got shit to handle. It’s understandable, granted, but it’s not NICE.

Anyway, the Stranger says he’ll hear her out, and she speaks, and we are told approximately NOTHING of what she said. He listens to her though, and opens a portal to the staff that this whole fuss has been over. Turns out it was left sitting in the hospital broom closet after it was used to resurrect Jane Foster. Oh man, don’t you just hate it when that happens? Laynia reaches through the portal, grabs the staff, and the Stranger tells her she must use it. She’s understandably shocked, but he says “There is no other! You have proven able to wield to madman’s staff!” She. . .did? When? Because she can pick it up, I guess? Anyway he guides her on its use, she becomes this solid black being surrounded by solar fire (kinda reminds me of Binary) and saves the day! Then there’s this panel which also cracks me up, as she CONTINUES TO IGNORE BOBBY BUT IS HYPED NATASHA TALKS TO HER OMFG

I wonder if she even realized he was there the entire time because she did not even look at him through the whole ordeal. I’m so sorry Bobby fans I know thats horrible but IM LAUGHING mean lesbian Laynia for life! Oh, and as a bonus, here’s the image from Champions #11 where he offers her an ice-slide-ride and she’s like LOL NOOOOOPE

LIKE. HER POSE. IT’S SO FUNNY. SHE REALLY JUST TRULY YEETED HERSELF FUCKIN BACKWARDS ASS-FIRST INTO THE SKY RATHER THAN HOLD HIS HAND I CANNOT Also this panel from earlier in #11 is also sending me. He’s literally positioned between them as they stare into each other’s eyes, Laynia’s expression dreamy as she thanks Nat

Like come on this is hilarious. Even if you don’t interpret Laynia as gay (which is valid, not being into Bobby does not a lesbian make, and I’m sure loads of straight women would girlcrush on Nat) it’s just so funny to me how they’re arranged. Bobbo, you never had a chance.  Okay, on to Champions #14! OH, IT’S THE BEE ISSUE! I TALKED ABOUT THIS! We first see Laynia in this issue seeing off her trainer, Ivan Petrovitch, the same man who helped train Natasha. He’s going back to Russia. If you’ll remember, his son Yuri was Darkstar’s boyfriend, and she asks if he finds him, will he tell him that “Darkstar still thinks of him?” and Ivan assures her he will, that there must be good in him if a girl like her loved him once. Don’t think that’s how that works but okay. Laynia lesbian headcanons or not she does still think of Yuri, at least at this point. Oh, and Ghost Rider is there too. Ivan gets on the plane, his thought balloons revealing the real reason he’s going back is that he got a call from Nick Fury. But the moment he walks into his cabin, there’s men with guns waiting for him. Meanwhile a crate on the pier explodes. AND IT’S BEEES! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! Giant bees at that! Darkstar, Black Widow, and Ghost Rider see the GIANT BEES attacking a nearby dude who cries out THE BEES! THEYVE FOUND ME! Which I just find hilarious for some reason. Obviously, they fight the bees! Darkstar of course tries to aid her comrade Ghost Rider, who angrily says he doesn’t WANT her help. Darkstar asks why he hates her so, and his thought balloons say that it’s because the Champions accepted her from the start but still fear him. Okay, I was wondering if they were going to come back to him suspecting her defection was fake. Turns out there’s a more emotional base to it than just the logical suspicion. While they’re having this out, a man MADE OF BEES approaches the dude who was initially attacked. He kills the man WITH BEES and tries to take the briefcase he was holding, but, finding it “coated with some manner of repellant” his bee-arms (“my arm-units”) cannot touch it. He departs, and so too do the giant bees that th Champions were fighting. Laynia somehow knows that they’re not fleeing, they’re following something. I really don’t know why it’s always Laynia who gets flashes of convenient comic-book insight. Maybe she’s meant to have really good intuition, not a real psychic power but just enough to make her seem kinda mystical-ish? I dunno. But she’s right. They find the body, and it turns out the guy was an Interpol agent. They conclude he was killed for his briefcase. When the trio arrive back at the base, they’re just in time to see a GIANT SWARM OF BEES coming towards the tower. The story ends here. Champions #15 picks right up with several pages of them fighting the bees in various ways til Swarm himself shows up. One of the giant bees grabs Darkstar, who the narrative box refers to as the “non-Champion” and EXCUSE ME?! How is she not a Champion?! Bullshit! Anyway, as always when Darkstar is in real or imagined danger, Bobby freaks and attempts to rescue her, and, like last time, just ends up got got too and they are both carried away unconscious by GIANT BEES You are not going to see me ease up on the capslock around the bees, fyi. Oh and Swarm got the briefcase. Iceman and Laynia come to in Swarm’s clutches and Bobby chooses NOW of all times to call Laynia “honey” Like Really? Swarm explains his backstory. He’s a Nazi who got turned into bees. He killed the Interpol agent because the dude stole the Queen Bee and encased her in a chunk of amber (cue Jurassic Park theme music in my head!) but she’s still alive. He holds the chunk up, and Laynia deduces he’s been unable to figure out a way to free her without harming her, and, as Bobby notes, he needs the Queen to keep the bees under control that make up his body, and he needs their powers. Laynia actually wants to help, much to Bobby’s shock. Laynia explains she doesn’t want to help Swarm, she wants to help the Queen, claiming “She is…TRAPPED, Bobby! You can’t know what it is to be. . .apart! But I–I can! Mind to mind, she cries out to me–to the Darkforce! And we shall be free!” I find Laynia’s phrasing REALLY interesting here. Not just the bit where she apparently has bee telepathy, but what does she mean by being apart? For the Queen, that would of course mean being apart from her hive, but what relation does Laynia have to that? My first thought was her tie to the Darkforce, the relationship between then, but then I remembered that Laynia is a Soviet character and how Soviet characters were often portrayed in this era. Comparisons to wasps, ants, and bees don’t seem far off. She’s a collectivist who is separated from her collective, like the Queen. And with that proclamation, her Darkforce bursts the amber apart! Darkstar is knocked unconscious by what Swarm explains as “the intrusion of an alien mind-force into her consciousness, in shall we say, an outpouring of gratitude from the swarm for having freed their queen!” Okay so yeah, the bee is telepathic. Ok. I find that less weird than if Darkstar was the one specifically telepathic with bees. Like, a psychic bee is not far-fetched in comics, but totally incongruous powers in one person like Darkforce control and bee-telepathy just breaks my suspension of disbelief, unless the character is introduced like that from the star (ex: Nightcrawler’s mutant physiology + teleporting). Funny how that works. Anyway, the freed queen is now growing bigger and bigger and Swarm is yammering about how through her he’ll control the planet. Laynia awakes, Bobby orders Natasha to get her out of here (ok, I know it’s hopeless but it is kinda sweet how hung up on her welfare he is), while Laynia mutters “Trapped. . no life…hope…nothing!” and I wonder if she’s talking about herself, the situation, or what the Queen was feeling? Also Nat tells Bobby that Laynia is a big girl and not to tell her what to do. While fighting giant bees.Since the Queen controls all the bees, and the bees make up Swarm’s body, Hercules has the brilliant and also visually hilarious idea to THROW THE QUEEN OUT THE WINDOW and as far as he physically can, which, being Hercules, is REALLY DAMNED FAR. All the little bees that make up Swarm’s body follow her, leaving him a skeleton that collapses. Freaky visual. And I guess the bees are just...out there doing their thing now wherever. Okay, that’s all for tonight! I gotta note, Laynia’s desire to free the trapped Queen was something that really stuck out to me when I first read this, and I kept the idea that she’ll compulsively free ANYTHING that’s trapped, even an insect, even the tool of an enemy, out of empathy for that. But rereading it, it seems that’s less what moves her and more the Queen specifically being “apart” and separate from her hive, her people. This reread was really worthwhile. 

[lmaowh-at]

Actually no I'm not done talking about gesher ragad and it's stage because I was there yesterday again and I got seats on the opposite side of where I was sitting last time. And the way to those seats goes through the stage

Me fangirling at this fact alone aside, I was sitting in the first row. The stage is maybe 5 centimeters above the floor, so when Ros and Guil were standing on the sidelines, giving space for the events in Hamlet play out in front of them without interrupting and being part of the story, they were standing on the same floor my feet were touching. They were on the same level as me. They were watching the play the same way I was watching it. *explodes*

In general this production omits a lot of parts that are taken straight out of Hamlet, removes characters like soldiers, replaces scenes from the main play where there's actually dialogue with shortened versions that have less text and more silent, absurd depictions of them, changes the order of lines and jokes and other scenes, some would say bastardizes the original, but I like it. I really really like it. Maybe I'm biased because it was my first exposure to ragad and I've only skimmed through the original play and didn't like the movie too much (I just don't understand how you can move this play to a different medium since it's so reliant on the fact that its a play) but I legit don't care AT ALL lmao I get to choose how I engage with media and nothing's stopping me. Especially since this production IS good

Some more stuff they did thats worth noticing I think: instead of the pile of corpses coming after Guil's last words, everyone dies on stage after the Player says his "death to all!" Speech. The tragedians do perform everyone's deaths like written in Stoppards play, but they mirror the deaths of the main characters that pile up in the middle of the stage as Ros and Guil are watching. Like when the tragedian that plays Claudius dies- so does actual Claudius that walks to the stage- they mirror each other's moves. Horatio isnt there. After that Ros and Guil say their final words and leave the stage, revealing a pile of corpses and two hanged silhouettes behind the curtains on the two exists from the stage. Then the lights go out, all of the characters are gone and the Player, together with Alfred, walk in, put two signs that say "ROS" and "GUIL", sit down to rest for couple of minutes and walk out. The end

Also, while they start with the usual flipping coin shanenigans, after three or four coins Ros and Guil exit the stage, the music becomes louder and all of the characters walk through the narrow road- Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Claudius, Hamlet himself- as if they're re-caping the events of Hamlet- showing us the main heroes- just to go back to Ros and Guil, who are now on the 85th heads.

Aaaand Ros and Guil have a fun little tune they whistle to each other and a little dance they do throughout the play and right before they walk out of the stage for the final time. They also do it when all the actors come in for the applaudisments. My heart :'))

Oh also, their Player fucking lives in my head rent free. Doron Tavory you one hell of a guy

That's all. Fuck . Watching it again knowing what's it all about and noticing how the Player is messing with them (im paraphrasing but "damn it, he knows all the exists!" "Well of course I do, I've been here before", or the insaneeee scene they made at the end of the second act when the tragedians are playing the murder of gonzago to Ros and Guil and then Guil says that it can't end abruptly like that and then he reads out the foreshadowing to the third act on the boat. Or, of course, the ending.) And how the narrative warps around them and appreciating more of Rosencrantz's slapstick moments (the actor is shorter than Guil's by like 20 cm) and generally just. Remembering how I felt back then. God what an insane play