#nice relatively simple designs!!

[deconstructthesoup]

One thing I absolutely adore about Dead Boy Detectives is the immaculate costume design. Specifically, how it perfectly encapsulates who the characters are, both as a whole and who they are in the moment.

From the very first scene of the show, we know immediately that Edwin is a bookish, somewhat stuffy guy from the Edwardian era who attended a boarding school, and Charles is a punk from the 1980's who's most likely the wildcard between the two of them, just going off of the way that they're dressed. Both of them have distinct color schemes and different styles, but the general shape of their outfits is actually relatively similar---both of them have collared shirts (Edwin's dress shirt, Charles's polo), something over those shirts (Edwin's vest, Charles's suspenders), a jacket of some kind (Edwin's suit jacket, Charles's flannel thing), a longer overcoat (Edwin's traveling coat, Charles's peacoat), something around the neck (Edwin's bowtie, Charles's necklace), slacks, and nice shoes. They're distinct, yet matching, two clearly defined separate characters yet part of a set.

Edwin's prim, proper, buttoned-up personality lends itself to the way he dresses throughout the season---in the first episode, he only dresses down when he's in the office with Charles, aka his safe place and his safe person, and he doesn't really dress down like that again for a good long while after getting stuck in Port Townsend (though, if my memory serves me correctly, he does take off the suit jacket while watching TV with Niko). But in episode six, he's changed up his usual look for a cozier, casual-looking sweater and a little bit of collarbone, and in episode seven... well, he's in his nightclothes, and he's about as open, raw, and vulnerable as you can get. Edwin's color scheme is also predominately blue, which lines up nicely with his logical and practical, yet deeply sad and closed off personality, and the only time he really wears anything other than his normal blue-and-brown outfit (willingly, that is) is when he's in that green sweater in episode six. And, uh... all I can say is that it's quite telling how blue and green---or, well, teal---are the main colors of the gay/mlm flag.

Charles, by contrast, dresses down a lot, and that makes a lot of sense when you consider the fact that unlike Edwin, he feels comfortable pretty much anywhere. On any given episode, he goes from wearing his peacoat to just wearing his flannel to ditching the flannel to not even wearing the freaking polo---though, again, the latter is something that only happens when he's in the office with Edwin. Safe space, safe person. And, well, plenty of people have analyzed Charles's polo shirt going from red to burgundy to black over the course of the series, and there being a little bit of red under the collar of his coat that's only visible when Edwin fixes it, and then it goes back to burgundy, and then it's red again when Edwin's out of Hell... for good reason! It's color symbolism at its finest! Not to mention, the red and black not only perfectly contrasts Edwin's color scheme, but it also lines up with Charles's personality---he's a rebel, he's hotheaded, he's bold and brash and loud... and yes, he's angry, but he's also so, so loving.

When we first meet Crystal after she loses her memories, her outfit choices feel very deliberate. They're stylish and vaguely trendy, they're arty and a little bit witchy---pretty fitting for a psychic who's also a showbiz kid, even if she doesn't know that last part. But all of her clothes appear thrifted, or at the very least vintage, and the patterns and the general vibe all feel natural and comforting. Her makeup's always fairly simple, her hair's either down or up in a couple of cute space buns... overall, this Crystal looks like the kind of person who'd make you tea when you're in a bad mood, who'll listen when you just need to vent, and who may not always know the right thing to say but will understand what you're going through. But when we see her in the flashbacks, her clothing's flashy and prioritizes high-end trends over comfort, she's either got her hair up or has it straightened, and she not only has dramatic makeup, but acrylics. This is a girl who talks shit about you behind your back, who's bitter and cynical and wants everyone to feel the same way, who makes up for the lack of love and stability in her life via material things. It's also worth noting that Crystal's color scheme has a lot of purple, which is a color that connects to wealth and luxury, but also creativity and magic---which, yeah, fits her two conflicting sides pretty damn well.

You cannot talk about Niko Sasaki without talking about her outfits, and the meaning behind each of them has already been talked about at length. However, one thing that really stands out to me is that the reason they're so iconic isn't just because of the monochrome color schemes, but because they're out there. They're weird, they're eclectic, they're a little mismatched in style sometimes, and they're so unapologetically her. Niko wears heart-shaped sunglasses, unironically. Everything about the way she dresses speaks to how, even though she's a recovering shut-in who initially doesn't want to be perceived, she's still very sure of who she is.

Jenny's design, like Charles and Edwin's, is a design that gives you the key information you need the minute she first appears onscreen. The dark makeup, the silver jewelry, the leather apron, and the hairstyle all point to a person who's tough, doesn't take anyone's shit, and has long since given up on caring what other people think---in other words, she's a badass. But the butterfly tattoo hints at a softer side, a side that we see time and time again throughout the series as she shows that she cares about Crystal and Niko, and even the boys... eventually. Also, Jenny's design is perhaps one of the most clearly queer-coded in the series, to the point where her being a confirmed lesbian is pretty much a no-brainer.

Esther's design oozes camp, from top to bottom. The fluffy coat, the bustier, the boots and the cane and the everything, speak to a woman who's kept with the times and yet has seen it all. There's really not a lot I can fully say about her design, other than what Charles has already said: "She looks like a witch... like, kind of a sexy witch, who smokes a lot." (Or maybe I'm just tired and running out of steam at this point, idk, I love Esther's design and I can't really put it into words.) It's also pretty fitting that her color scheme has a lot of yellow in it---after all, she's always striving for more, so what better color for her than the color of gold?

Everything about the Night Nurse's design speaks to a woman who follows rules and discipline above all else, from the pantsuit to the pinned-up hairstyles to the tie to the heels. She's also the most muted out of the main cast in terms of color, dressing mostly in browns, dull greens, and duller browns---and while I don't have a lot to go into detail about there, I feel like that's kind of a symbol of her narrow-minded and bureaucratic worldview.

And the animal characters... Jesus Christ, I fully forget that they're all being played by human actors. Tragic Mick dresses like a man who's always spent his life by the sea, layered denim and all, and it's never a stretch to see this sad, bushy-bearded, baggy-clothed fisherman and imagine him as a walrus lounging on a beach. Monty, at first glance, seems to only wear black, which would be perfectly fitting for a crow, but when he's in better lighting, you see that he dresses in layers of red and blue, calling to how he envies Charles and Edwin and clearly longs for something more---and this might just be me, but I think that even though his outfits seem fairly normal at first glance, they feel kind of like a costume for Monty more than anything else, like he's trying to emulate a teenager that he's seen on TV more than someone in real life.

The Cat King fits this just as well, with all of his outfits aligning perfectly with whatever his cat form is at the time---when he's a fluffy ginger, it's always sequins and fur coats and clothing pieces that are specifically designed to take up space and call attention, and when he's a black shorthair, it's sleek styles and shiny leather and pieces that are designed to cut an intimidating yet more subtle figure. And while I could go into detail about all of those, what really stands out to me is how clearly queer everything is---more than Jenny's alt lesbian attire, more than Esther's campy coat and corset. From the very first scene he's in, he's wearing a skirt, and it looks natural. Nothing about the way the Cat King presents himself is exaggerated, nothing about the way he dresses is played for laughs---he's flamboyant and feminine and flirty, and he looks so fucking hot while he does it. It's gorgeous.

So... yeah, uh, all the awards for the Dead Boy Detectives costume designers!

[soulcaketuesday]

Eight of Pentacles 🌤️

Eight of Pentacles symbolises diligence, self improvement and learning new skills. Miki sits peacefully in an overgrown sunlit garden, having spent all day painting birdhouses. Instead of chasing his nostalgia, he's honouring it by creating something practical and new. Sometimes you need to let go of perfectionism and just enjoy the act of creating - it might not be a masterpiece that perfectly captures the magic of childhood, but putting a lot of effort and sincerity into a project will always be worth your time.

this is one of my pieces for a zine that was unfortunately cancelled. the other piece is here, go look at this kid winning the cycle of violence. drafts and notes below

will you guys make fun of me if i over-explain this to death 🥺👉👈 so um the inspiration for this is the start and end of ep26: starting with kozue trying to save a birds nest as a tree is being cut down, and ending with miki putting up a bird house to replace the tree. the bird house doesn't repair their relationship - they don't speak in the moment except to insult each other - but when we see them next in the finale they're a lot more comfortable with each other! is miki's birdhouse an empty gesture or is it the first shaky step to finding an understanding? idk 😊 i think its neat

i thought itd be nice if he was approaching art and creativity in a more relaxed way, just enjoying learning a new skill. repeating the same song over and over will only get you so far <3 i think this boy needs a new hobby <3

some things:

the designs of the birdhouses are based off the twins' bedroom. they start off a bit more messy and simple but get more detailed towards the bottom. he's getting better thru practice! and the last pentacle is still a work in progress

the fireflies were originally going to be flowers, and i think i spent like 20 minutes googling native japanese wildflowers that would grow in a setting like this and also had the right flower symbolism i needed 🫠 but anyway in one of the early check-ins someone said they liked the fireflies and i thought sure!!!! sounds good lmao :D imo they imply a late summers evening and a long day of outdoor work which probably works better than me struggling with flower symbolism lol

the shoes looks good as hell before i remembered i had to cover them up with grass and the frame. now they just blend in to the piano a bit. sad!

for some reason i did all the line art for this and then painted it anyway. why did i do that.

i'm still kinda fond of the first one with miki studiously leaning over a miniature rose garden while the actual garden grows wild around him... one of the interpretations of eight of pentacles (reversed) is being so focused on details that you overlook the bigger picture, which i think really fits miki as the student councils Bloke Who Does Fuck All. he has the appearance of someone who's very analytical and sensible, but he's so locked in his own tiny perception of the world that he mostly just comes up with whatever conclusions suit him best, regardless of any harm he might be ignoring or outright causing. HOWEVER that's kind of an ungenerous interpretation for a relatively chill card 😌 also i had no ideas for a background and the composition didn't work with the border so rip to that idea

i liked the stopwatches as pentacles so tried to reuse it in the third design but was out of ideas by then. the seconds thumbnail with the birdhouses and the piano kind of came naturally so that's what i went with :) and it more or less stayed the same in the final result. i was thinking of adding some kozue presence, like empty milkshake cups or a birds nest or graffiti on the side of the old piano, but imo that would have made it too cluttered. i literally did forget to add paint pots tho OOPS

[freshstitches]

Bear Claws was designed to celebrate the 10th birthday of the stacked stitch technique and the Fox Paws pattern. This engaging striped colorwork project features a large scale flame stitch motif. The pattern is relatively simple, using only a few rows of shaping in combination with color to create a distinct claw motif.

The wavy colorwork in Bear Claws is created using stacked increases and decreases. There are no loops on the wrong side and the wrap is very stretchy and drapey. The fabric is light and airy, not dense like stranded colorwork and mosaic knitting. If you're new to stacked stitches, check out my playlist on YouTube. You'll have an easier time with these stitches if you've tried increases, decreases and slipped stitches.

This pattern can be recolored in many ways, the coloring page available to anyone who wants to download it. You can use any number of colors you like, as long as they have good contrast. I recommend picking a Main Color that is not too bright or flashy in comparison to the others.

Written instructions are included in the pattern alongside a visual guide called a “stitch map.”  It's not the same as a traditional chart and is meant to be used with the written pattern. The rapidly fluctuating stitch count of the stacked stitches doesn’t fit nicely into a square grid. Instead, the map uses symbols and lines that bend and flow as the rows do, as they would in a crochet chart. The primary use of the stitch map is to show how each row relates to the last and to help you find mistakes and get back on track. 

Finished Size: 14 (23.75)˝ x 82 (82)˝ / [36 (60) x 208 (208) cm] rectangular scarf including fringe.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK; 191 yards (175 meters) per 50 gram skein, 50% Merino Wool, 25% Alpaca, 25% Viscose.

Pink Scarf - 5 colors and 3 repeats wide

Main Color: Peony, 3 balls

Outer Color: Zinnia, 2 balls

Inner Color 1: Pink Bliss, 1 ball

Inner Color 2: French Mustard, 1 ball

Stripe Color: Barbara, 1 ball

Brown Wrap - 7 colors and 5 repeats wide

Main Color: Ginger, 4 balls

Outer Color 1: French Mustard, 2 balls

Inner Color 1: Stone, 2 balls

Stripe Color 1: Zinnia, 1 ball

Outer Color 2: Duck Egg, 1 ball

Inner Color 2: Watery, 1 ball

Stripe Color 2: Canary, 1 ball

Needles: Size 6 (4mm) 32˝circular needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge: 16 sts x 36 rows = 4 x 4” (10 x 10 cm) square in garter stitch.

Other Materials: Tapestry needle, stitch markers, pins, blocking wires, blocking surface.

Get the pattern on my website and on Ravelry.

From now until the end of October, take 20% off all patterns, pins, books and stickers when you use the code "FoxyBday" on Ravelry or on my website.

Video Resources:

Bear Claws Playlist

Weave in tails as you knit

General Stacked Stitch Resource Videos

Yarn for this project was provided by Rowan

[saltyyuuri]

How valorant agents would react to:

"what was in the box I found on your desk?"

Brimstone: "you didn't look inside it did you?!"

You didn't, thankfully. He was planning on gifting you a simple necklace he found, had a small locket on it with engravings and a picture of you both for your 2 year anniversary.

Phoenix: "Oh shit my new shoes came in??"

Of course he had bought another pair of expensive shoes for his collection, the usual.

Sage: "oh my order of tea :) I got some shipped from china, would you like some?"

She let you taste some of the tea she had ordered in, spending the afternoon in her living quarters, relaxing and chatting over the cup of tea

Sova: "Oh just some charged arrowheads for my shock arrows. You didn't touch them, did you?"

By the time he had a reply you had already opened the box and got relatively well electrocuted after touching one of the arrowheads. When he came back he just sighed, shook his head but bandaged your hand.

Viper: "poison."

It was not actually poison but the answer alone was enough to get you to not touch that box.

Cypher: "oh a new chess set, made of wood and entirely hand carved. Would you be interested in playing later?"

Of course you said yes, and the new chess pieces were quite nice. You could understand why he wanted to acquire these.

Reyna: "don't you dare open it."

The lack of detail made you curious and you couldn't help looking inside. When you saw the contents of the box, far from PG-13, you had to sit yourself down for a moment. And of course she walked in a bit after, and seeing your red face she already knew you checked. "Well now you know what's about to happen."

Killjoy: "my alarm bot. It's in time out."

You don't really understand why, curiosity getting the better of you and opening the box. You discovered pretty fast after the alarm bot was practically attacking you.

Breach: "probably a gun, molly or fusion cells."

And you were more stunned about 'molly' being an option in all of that. Turns out it was only fusion cells.

Omen: "yarn. I ordered more."

You took care of unpacking it for him and putting it in his designated basket for yarn. He was quite grateful, being able to just sit down and knit without worrying about the unpacking part.

Jett: "uhhhhhhhhhhhhh idk"

So you take it upon yourself to open the box, revealing a very suspicious looking pack. After opening it you could see it was white powder and it immediately alerted you. After a bit of back and forth texts, turns out she just ordered a bag of MSG, a spice for her food (I don't know if it's actually a spice or not so don't quote me)

Raze: "UH EITHER BOMBS OR SPRAY PAINT."

Out of curiosity you open the box. And curiosity killed the cat as you end up in med bay. From now on her boxes are going to get labeled properly.

Skye: "oh just a few wooden sculptures I stashed away. I was supposed to sort them."

You had fun looking through all the different sculptures she had made, laying them out on the desk. You sorted them by species, hoping that would give her a little bit of a hand.

Yoru: "drugs."

It was not drugs; and you learned that the hard way after Brimstone immediately searched the room after getting told there was potentially drugs. It was actually just a couple sweet snacks ordered in from Japan that he didn't want you getting into-and instead of getting himself in trouble.

Astra: "my drawing supplies!"

You did look through it briefly, finding nothing really interesting other than a copious amount of markers and pencils.

Kay/o: "why are you in my maintenance room."

It is true that killjoy is the only one who's supposed to be in that room to begin with; being the one who usually does the maintenance on kay/o

Chamber: "you will know tonight."

... I don't feel like I have to explain this one. But for those who don't understand: no walking for the next day.

Neon: "OH I FORGOT TO HIDE IT! IT'S FOR YOU THO 💙"

She had put together a little gift basket, like the one seen on tik Tok for Valentine's Day; chocolates, a plushie, a blankets, favorite drink, new tumbler and a handwritten card with an invitation to a restaurant dinner.

Fade: "kitty toys. Can you unpack them for nightmare?"

She had splurge it a little bit for her cat, and there was various toys, treats and a new little hammock for the kitty.

Harbor: "Ah! That must be the helmet I ordered for you so we can go on motorcycle rides together 😄"

He had gotten you a slightly more expensive helmet than what he usually got himself, one that had a bit of a fancy design on it and the mirror visor to look a little more mysterious.

Gekko: "OH IT FINALLY CAME IN??? I GOT WINGMAN A LITTLE SUIT."

Inside the box was a small suit that looked like it was tailored for an infant, which would make sense because trying to explain to a custom clothing maker that it was supposed to be for a radiant critter would probably confuse them. But seeing wingman in a suit was absolutely adorable.

Deadlock: "sound sensors, be careful."

The notification sound on your phone set them off, resulting in you getting stunned almost back to back a couple of times.

Iso: "snacks."

Indeed the box was full of snacks, but one in particular caught your attention. You took it out, and it was one of those bead candies that you usually wear on the necklace or a bracelet, just a different shape. It was packaged in a clear bag with no labeling and you opened it just to check what it was supposed to be. After unpacking it and seeing your face went red. Seems Iso already decided on desert for the night.

Clove: "rocks :D"

It was their entire rock collection, all nicely sorted in the box. You added one of your own in there for them.

Vyse: "Schrödinger's cat"

It was indeed not a cat, just a few various equipments that she needed for experiments she was working on. But for the joke you did leave a Post-It note with a cat drawing on it, purposely drawing it dead.

Tejo: "why are you looking through my stuff? 🤨"

Turns out he had just ordered another pair of shades, adding yet one more pair to his collection. But you did decide to mess around and borrow one of his pairs to wear around.

Waylay: "A glass suncatcher."

The glass suncatcher reflected the same way that her powers did with the light. It was honestly pretty and you hung it for her in the best spot on the window, so when she walked in it would be shimmering already for her.

[levemetal]

My work for the Qijiu Secret Santa!

Giftee had multiple prompts but I ended up on"SJ didn't end up on CQ. Their reunion is different than in canon."

Anyway I am now 47384 layers deep into hell another Qijiu AU so more under the cut if you wish to dive in.

So essentially the AU starts simple enough: Everything is the same as in canon, except SJ never makes it out alive out of the Qiu Manor fire. Too embittered and angry to die, he becomes a ghost and sets out to do what he does best, which is survive and claw his way to a spot where he can be safe and not fear others as much. So he becomes a calamity ghost.

On his adventures to find Yue Qi (or what remains of him), he comes across Ning Yingying, Ming Fan and Luo Binghe at different times. Against all odds they stick with him and he doesn't hate it. It's nice to have company even if he reasons the dead are probably not the best company for kids. But he can't just leave them to the slavers. So they are now adopted and his lil ducklings. He finds they are equally unhinged as he is very quickly. The reason they look similar to him here with the veil and all is cause they wanna look like A-die :3 Bingus’s seal gets accidentally destroyed when SJ senses something odd about the boy when meeting him and whoops. Well there goes the seal. Guess they have to take him along now (not that NYY and MF were gonna let him leave without taking Bingo along). I figure this probably has good consequences on Bongo’s self confidence issues as he would learn early on that being half demon does not mean he’s evil. Afterall his A-die is literally a ghost.

YQY still becomes sect leader, albeit a very, very depressed one. He killed Wu Yanzi at the IAC but SJ wasn't there this time. He wants to die but is stopped at every corner by either his Shizun or fellow sect siblings. A few years later, at one of the disciple selections, he sees a boy with a strong resemblance to SJ and picks him up immediately, hoping him to be either a relative or reincarnation. Either way, that's his son and sole reason for living now. Said son is the transmigrated Shen Yuan who is very much confused about the current state of the plot (wdym SQQ is not there?? Who is that QJPL? Where's Binghe??)

Anyway the ducklings weren't necessary but happened anyway so. Figured I'd mention them. One day Yqy goes on a nighthunt with Shen Yuan which then leads them into Ghost City by accident. And lo and behold who he runs into.

They reunite, probably take a while to sort their shit out and now Yqy's sect siblings just gotta deal with Zhangmen-Shixiong having an emotional support calamity ghost and husband and 3 new kids. (Mqf counts this as a net positive since at least he doesn't have to guard Yqy's sword anymore lest his shixiong pulls it out. Liu Qingge is Conflicted and takes a bit to get the memo. He DOES enjoy sparring with the calamity tho eventually.)

Apologies for recycling my one calamity SJ design but I am perpetually tired and couldn't think of anything different. And I am sorry for once again making a calamity SJ AU. I notice a pattern. Unfortunately I possess no illusions of having any control over my life.

Maybe one day I get around to fic writing I'll write this and the 37288483 AUs I have... but first, bonus sketches:

[tactical-jellyfish]

Tf-141 and cat-like reader

Warnings!: minor injury (not at all serious). I sincerely apologize for starving you guys. Ended up getting sick for a good while like right after the poll and that kind of halted progress on everything temporarily. Inuries!drabble is in progress :)

It's been a few months since you found yourself transferred onto the 141.

Really, you have no issues with it. Your teammates are good enough, willing to let you do your own thing as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's process. Your own tics and habits are of relatively little concern, when your performance is taken into account.

Of course, there is a quiet curiosity, on everyone's part (it's only natural, honestly), though all but one person brush past it.

Price is grateful for your contributions to his team. Ghost is quiet, respectful. Gaz is friendly, though you're not quite close as a pair.

Johnny? He is where you start to encounter something new.

He's a curious man, despite how much he tries to hide that, and he trails after you like a puppydog, watching and trying to pick you apart, even during missions.

After one mission, while you're sat in your own self-designated corner of the heli, a few drips of blood are leaving a small gash in your exposed forearm. A simple injury, not all that painful, it could wait until you got a bit of strength back.

And still, the Scot leans forward in his seat before he stands, quietly approaching your seated figure before speaking.

"Ye want help wie tha', mate?" Johnny inquires, sitting himself close to your side, letting the soft tendrils of body heat sink into your side, and you lean, ever so slightly, away from it. Not because it's bad, it was rather nice actually, but you weren't used to this closeness with him yet.

"I can handle it fine, MacTavish." Your response doesn't make him deflate like it usually does with people. Instead, Johnny, in his infinite wisdom, tries to reach for your arm anyway.

You jerk backward, and John finally notes that you don't appreciate the touching.

"Och, ahm sorry, I-"

"Ask first."

The interruption makes him pause in place, and he takes a second to think that over before realizing that, fuck, you were right. He didn't ask about how much touch you were alright with.

"I'm sorry. Can I patch ye up?"

You relax more in your seat, and nod after a moment or two of consideration.

"...Sure."

His hands are big, but gentle as he grabs the disinfectant, delicately sponging it over the small injury, catching the slight grit of your teeth at the sting but not paying it any mind, because you were opening up, at least a little.

Not quite like Ghost, but you were doing something.

When the adhesive bandage is smoothed over your skin, pressed down over ointment and cleaned skin, soaking up the smallest amount of blood as it leaves your body.

And when, just before he pulls back, your hand loosely wraps around his wrist, he looks back up at you in confusion.

"Thanks." You cut in before he can start.

"Ah thought ye didn't-"

"It's alright. You asked when I told you to."

He snorts. "You really like yer crosstalk, huh?" Bright blue eyes filled with boyish warmth. It makes you warm slightly more, lean just a bit closer like he won't notice.

"I do."

"You know ye're leaning into me, right?"

"Yeah." You say, not embarrassed despite the new boldness Johnny is acquiring with you so close to him.

"Can I get closer?"

"Sure."

His hands retain that gentleness while he leans back, one tenderly resting on your shoulder, rubbing at the recently-exerted muscle through the strap of your tac-vest.

You nudge up into that touch, shut your eyes, and let yourself enjoy it. Johnny just stares while you do, silent and starting to smile as you soak up this new affection.

Right then, Ghost is in the heli's hatch, and he sighs slightly beneath the mask as he lowers himself into a seat.

Your eyes snap open, and you lean forward with a start. Johnny's hand twitches back with the sudden movement.

"Don't stop on my account, sergeants." He jokes. Johnny rolls his eyes.

You take the Scot's hand, put it back on your shoulder, and savor a little more of that subtle pampering before Price comes back.

(To be continued :D)

Other works from me <3 | Next Part

[not-freyja]

New Zelda Game!

Okay cool, cool cool cool cool, I am calm, I am so fucking calm. Looks like Nintendo is staying true to their word that Wild is not getting another game, so now the questions are, what Link is this, where are we in the Timeline, and what information about the game itself can we pick out of these crumbs?

Whose Zelda is it anyway?

So two options:

New boy.

Legend. It’s fucking Legend again sucks to suck bro

Case for new Link and Zelda:

Less messy for the Lore

That’s it, that is the only argument

Case for Leggy boy and Fable:

LA animation style! While it can be fun to bring back older styles of animation for nostalgia/artistic reasons, that seems like a poor choice for *LOZ* games, which are always on the edge of what a game can do. Moving “backwards,” so to speak, in any aspect, would be a disservice to the franchise. However, doing it to maintain consistency for a particular character, and to use the animation style to make sure the audience knows this is the same character from LA is a very simple but effective tactic.

The map! So that shot was so BOTW and so fun, but the view we got wasn’t just recognizable as “Hyrule,” is was, down to the relative heights on the mountain cliffs against each other, the map from ALTTP/ALBW. Nintendo has never repeated a map without it being the same Link. So! Checkmate motherfuckers.

The character designs. That… that was just Legend and Fable, come on. Look at the dress. Every Zelda has a slightly different costume design, and that was hers. Look at Link. Baby boy!

I want this. Let me have it.

Timeline positioning

Okay so if we assume that this is in fact Legend, the next question becomes, “When is it?” Leggy boy currently has 5 games that are canonically his. (Triforce Heroes could be a random other Link, so while we like to say 6 we can’t *prove it.*) So. Let’s break it down.

ALTTP: canonically his first game, can’t be before this one.

Oracles: canonically happen after ALTTP, and he is very much still a child in here.

LA: the game this one is artistically modeled after. Narratively this fits nicely right after Oracles, and in the canon timeline, fits between Oracles and ALBW, so I think a whole new game being crowbarred prior to this one would be… not great for the narrative.

ALBW: This is trickier. No canon time between LA and ALBW is given, it could be a week, it could be years. It is entirely possible that Echoes of Wisdom occurs prior to ALBW, which would make it a direct sequel to LA, which makes the art style make even more sense. It could also be after?

…hang on a fucking minute, lets get the fucking map.

Left, ALTTP. Right, ALBW

Basically the same map! Duh, it’s the same Hyrule. But. BUT. Bottom right, in the lake. Do you see that?!

ALTTP: no log bridge. ALBW: Log bridge. Now, let’s look at the pretty picture from the EOW trailer.

NO FUCKING LOG BRIDGE!

This is before ALBW. Therefore, the game order for The Hero of Legend is

ALTTP, OOS, OOA, LA, EOW, ALBW, TH(maybe)

*cue manic laughter*

Lore Implications

Ganon.

There being a Ganon at all actually has me pointing my finger at the Oracle games and screaming. The TL;DR in those is that there was a plot to resurrect Ganon, each game Twinrova gets closer, but Link stops them. Now, there were also supposed to be three of those games, which means that it is entirely possible that the third unseen Oracle plot—please Nintendo let Link and Farore hang out, I am on my knees barking like a dog—could have resulted in his resurrection. This is the only explanation I have that doesn’t break the Lore or involve Time Shenanigans.

Also, Link does KO the bitch in that opening scene in the trailer. His presence is either just that—a set-up plot point—or him and Link are currently duking it out in the hole. Fun!

Link and Zelda

Now this game is going to put their relationship in the front in the “I have to save them because I love them” way that we usually see from Link’s POV.

Getting it from Zelda’s POV is going to be very interesting. We might be getting a look into her head, into her feelings and thoughts about the whole ordeal of the Legend itself. I hope so. But also, this isn’t just Link and Zelda, this is *Fable and Legend* specifically. The two that were meant to be be siblings but the dialogue that established them as such was cut from the final version of ALTTP. So. This game has the possibility to do three things

Canonize the Prince Legend thing, like they were going to do in the nineties.

Not address the topic at all, leave it nebulous.

Zelink.

None of these are bad choices, but option two is definitely the safest. Both options one and three will cause an uproar from part of the fan base. I can already see the ship wars. Please don’t do this people. Please.

The Holes 🕳️

What are they? Where did they come from? Ganon’s Trident Where do they go? No actually, where do they go? The Dark World (doesn’t make sense in the Lore)? Lorule (that would be a choice)? The Twilight Realm (I am convinced that Lorule and the Twilight Realm are the same place actually and you cannot change my mind)? Some new never seen before parallel dimension? A non-place, like a gap between realities (sexiest option)? I have no idea!

Fun!

That fucking “Fairy”

Tri? Don’t trust it. Will not trust it. Never trust that a companion in a LOZ game is what they first appear to be. Who does Nintendo take me for? A fucking amateur?!

Anyway, I am about 40% convinced that’s Link. I have evidence, but it is circumstantial.

I AM HANDLING THIS NORMALLY.

[happy-beeeps]

In A Different World

Summary: during a mission that is nearly indulgent, you get a moment alone with Lucanis.

WC: 1.3K

Pairing: f!Rook x Lucanis

Warnings: alcohol use, me knowing nothing about DA lore

A/N: FIC FACTORY IS OPEN I CAN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM I PROMISE IM WRITING SOMETHING FOR DIN SOON

“It’s kind of hard to believe that stuff like this still exists in Thedas after all we’ve seen.”

Emmrich nodded as he took in the scene, “This is grander than anything I’ve seen in a moment.”

The venue for this particular evening was an open air hall situated on the banks of the river running through Treviso. It was beautiful in the way all of Antivan architecture was, swirling masonry and flying buttresses. It was also swathed in warm golden light from the dozens of candles suspended from the ceiling and perched upon staircases. The art, the reason for the occasion, was displayed elegantly around the room, and the rich citizens of Antiva and beyond milled about, dancing and drinking while they opened their purses.

And when rich people drank, you did your best work.

Your art dealer contact had slipped you an invitation, and promised vast intel on both the Antaam and Venatori sympathizers. While few Antaam would actually be in attendance, you hoped, those that funded them would be. The plan was simple: you and Emmrich would go in, relatively unknown to the upper class of Treviso, posing as a wealthy couple looking to buy new art for their home. Lucanis would mill about, as expected of a Crow from House Dellamorte. You hadn’t seen him since you split at the Diamond, when Teia had whisked you away to find something more “presentable” to wear.

You had to admit, it felt nice to wear something like this again. The soft silk of Teia’s dress slipped comfortable along your body, and the plunging back and neckline allowed you to actually feel the air of Treviso, warm and sweet, across your skin.

Emmrich moved easily, looping a hand in yours and placing another firmly across your back. His dance posture was respectful and elegant, and admittedly less sensual than the way the other Antivan couples danced. Your mind drifted away to Lucanis, wondering where he was, if this was how he danced–

“Rook? I fear I’ve lost you.” Emmrich’s voice snapped you back to reality, concern and something knowing flickering across his eyes.

“Sorry Emmrich I’m,” your eyes scanned the crowd once more, looking for Lucanis’ form, “distracted.”

“That much is clear,” he laughed as he said it, alleviating any fears of his frustration on your lack of focus, “I have not seen Lucanis either.”

Your face flushed as you ducked your head, embarrassed to have been caught in your fantasy. “Fine, fine you got me,” you moved together in silence for a moment longer. “How are things with Strife?”

“Why, I, I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about!” But the blush on the man’s face said it all.

You had decided to split up, gather more intel as you roamed the room, looking at art and sipping wine. This had to be your favorite mission yet, apart from the fact that there had been minimal information to learn. You already knew about Gattlock, and had already located and destroyed most of the stash. You certainly already knew about Venatori involvement in Minrathous, and didn’t want to think about that particular involvement right now. Instead, you enjoyed the small reprieve and sipped the red wine in your hand, eyes following the crowd of dancers in front of you, oblivious to the world behind you.

That oblivion was where he worked best. Perhaps you were hoping he’d seek you out in the crowd, or perhaps you just got lucky.

“I don’t think I knew you had a tattoo here,” Lucanis’ voice was smooth, his fingers ghosting along the scrolling elvish designs trickling down your spine.

“Not many people do,” you sipped your wine and turned over your shoulder to peek at him from the corner of your eye. He wasn’t dressed much different than you normally see him, his Crow armor may have just been spruced up, but against all the grand splendor of the room, he nearly took your breath away.

“Could a lady be troubled for a dance?”

“You’d have to ask my husband,” you smirked, and he rolled his eyes.

“Your husband is currently out on the terrace writing a detailed sonnet about the river to show to Strife. I don’t think he’ll mind.” Lucanis’ hand reached for yours, and you warmed a bit at the touch. He reached for your glass and set it down on the ledge, guiding you to the center of the ballroom.

He moved around you so differently than Emmrich. Where Emmrich was formal movement and elegant posture, Lucanis’ hands pressed against the small of your back, cradling your body against his and swaying easily to the music, maneuvering you around the room with ease.

“Do all Crows know how to dance like this, or am I just lucky?”

“You’re just lucky,” he teased, before a fond small ghosted across his face. “Caterina and my mother taught us, me and Illario. When I was little I used to stand on my mother’s feet while she moved us around the villa.”

You can’t help but smile at the image of a young Lucanis balancing on the toes of a woman who can’t materialize in your mind. It makes you think of your own mother, lost in your memory alone.

“Haven’t heard anything of urgent use tonight,” you murmur, voice low as the music drifts into a sensual violin tango.

He tuts, before adjusting his form to press you even closer to him, “To be completely honest Rook, I don’t really care tonight.”

“Lucanis,”

“Let me enjoy a night with a beautiful woman in my arms and pretend that all of Thedas isn’t relying on us. For just a moment, let me pretend this is different.”

His words take you by surprise, and the flush across your cheeks grows to spread down your chest. You do your best to hide it, positioning yourself with your head flush against his chest. You stay like this for awhile, in silence, before you speak next. “How would you do it?”

“I’m sorry?”

“How would you woo me. If this was different.”

He pauses, quiet for a moment. “Well for starters, I wouldn’t be in Minrathous,”

“Lucanis,” and you’re sure he can hear your eyes roll

His chuckle shakes your frame. “I’d find you in Treviso. You’d be in the market, looking for intel on the Venatori. I’d buy you a cup of coffee, and we would sit on the river bank and talk for hours. Spite wouldn’t be there, so I wouldn’t have to listen to everything he had to say.”

“Does he have a lot to say?”

“About you?” His eyes widen and he laughs, “he’s… very colorful.” He thinks a moment longer, perhaps filtering through Spite’s response, and continues. “You’d come back, maybe I’d go to you. You’d bring me to Minrathous. Eventually you’d meet Teia and Viago. And Ilario, and Caterina.”

“So… not that different than how things shook out?”

His eyes are locked on yours instantly, as if he hasn’t even thought of it before. He says nothing at first before pressing you closer to him. “No, I suppose not so different.”

“Lucanis?”

“Vida?”

You pause, chewing your lip a bit. Offering a piece of yourself to him as best you can. “In this world, you wouldn’t call me Rook.”

“Really? What would I call you?”

Your name. Foreign on your tongue, dances across the whispered distance between you. You see him register it for a moment, and taste it on his lips. He says it back to you, and it feels warm and sweet on his tongue. Like he was meant to say it.

If you asked him, he’d say he was. Meant to say it, just like this, whispered to you in a dark ballroom with you pressed against his chest. Ignoring the end of the world.

[ranchstoryblog]

Ranch Story's Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma Review

Setting out to be a new take on the series, including new mechanics, setting, theming, and even a new director, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has a lot of questions to answer and, as the first entry for a new console generation, expectations to surpass. After my time with the game, I feel that while there are some rough edges, Guardians of Azuma is a thoroughly enjoyable breath of fresh air for the series.

This review was primarily played on Nintendo Switch, though some comparisons are made to other platforms.

A New World to See

From the outset, Guardians of Azuma sets itself apart from its predecessors in scope and theming. The Japanese-inspired fantasy setting feels fresh, and shortly after the start of the game you'll find that you're not just being confined to a single village and its immediate surroundings again. While not exactly an "open world," there's easily more places to explore than in any previous game in the series, literally and figuratively soaring above its predecessors. By the end of the game, it was easy to feel like Azuma as a setting was an interesting and well-realized setting, with plenty of its own lore and quirks to explore.

Azuma is undeniably a pretty place, with lots of nicely designed environments, set-pieces, and inhabitants in vibrant colors. With the characters being one of the strongest selling points of the game, it's nice that they not only look great, but many of them have their own distinct animations while idling and expressing themselves during cutscenes in a way that the static portraits of previous games in the series never managed to achieve.

Unfortunately, while the strong art style and use of colors helps bridge the gap, it's hard not to find the Nintendo Switch version specifically a little lacking compared to other platforms. There is frequent detail pop-in, with shadows and textures nearly constantly in flux somewhere on-screen while you're running around. This is an issue even during cutscenes at times, where it seems the level of detail can't keep up with the camera's movements; a great disservice to otherwise enjoyable event scenes.

Zoomed-in examples of detail shifting in the background of a cutscene.

Fortunately for those who don't have access to a PC or Nintendo Switch 2, the game still runs well overall. Loading times are relatively speedy, and the framerate doesn't have too many issues keeping up even when there are plenty of enemies, effects, or items on-screen. A very welcome and noticeable improvement when compared to Rune Factory 5.

Life in Azuma

One of the most drastic changes for players that are used to the typical farming sim fare will probably be that traditional farming isn't really a focus at all in Guardians of Azuma. Instead, as Village Chief, you'll largely be benefiting from your villagers managing farmland for you while you place buildings, decorations, and other resources. Designing your town is simple and intuitive, and each distinct addition, whether it's a new business or a cute little Lucky Cat statue, will provide an immediate benefit by increasing your stats and working towards the town's overall growth, unlocking new development zones along the way. It's a very different feeling system, but still a fun and rewarding one as you balance the needs of your villagers, maximizing your stat boosts, and just making something that you like looking at.

Villagers aren't always perfect though. Often, some negative traits get in the way, so you'll still need to go over their homework to keep the fields running if you're too soft-hearted to evict them. If everything's going smoothly, you'll be making more money than it costs to feed everyone while hardly ever lifting a finger. So long as everyone's happy, I'm sure they won't mind when you use the money they generate on crafting a shiny new bow instead of building more housing.

Speaking of a bow, it's one of the tools you'll always have on hand while exploring the more dangerous parts of Azuma, along with whatever you use as your main weapon and the Sacred Treasures you earn while progressing through the story. There's not as much weapon variety as in previous games, but none feel exceptionally stronger than the others, so it's nice to just use whatever feels best at the moment. Sacred Treasures also help provide some variety, allowing the use of other non-standard fighting styles such as punches and elemental magic attacks that can generally cut through any standard enemy so long as you have the RP to use them.

If you need any help, you can also recruit up to six monsters or characters you've bonded with to journey with you. Each one has their own specialty and some bring along skills the player doesn't have access to, like Hina's lasso-like Spell Seal for binding enemies in place. While exploring, characters will also sometimes talk among themselves, with some amusing interactions that might even hint at things you haven't really learned about them yet.

Forging those bonds can also be much more engaging than the standard farmsim fare of just giving everyone their favorite item every day, though that option is still available as well. While speaking with both potential love interests and the supporting cast, you can choose to hang out, which uses time as a resource to do various activities. Just like with giving gifts, each character has different things they like to do, with more options unlocking as you get closer and learn more about them. It's a much more natural way of getting to know someone, and several interactions don't just include cute little animations, but also some short dialog scenes, such as having a discussion over dinner or cuddling up while sharing an umbrella that's maybe a little too small for two people. It’s left me wanting this socialization dynamic for future Rune Factory games and wishing for it in past games - we’ll have to wait and see if it makes a reappearance.

One of the best qualities for how the characters are handled is probably just that almost everyone gets to participate in the overarching story to some degree. This review is aiming to generally be spoiler-free, but suffice to say that it's probably the most memorable and well executed story in the series and hovers around a minimum of 40 hours to complete if you still do a bit of farming and socializing between objectives.

Closing Thoughts

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is a wonderful, unique entry in the series, and very possibly the best so far. While it does do a lot of things differently, the new ways to play are fun and show a lot of promise if they continue to take the series in this direction. Whether this is your first Rune Factory or you're a long-time fan, this is a must-play for fans of the genre.

Additional coverage and a second review that includes more focus on PC and Steamdeck performance will be shared soon.

Review codes provided to Ranch Story staff by Marvelous USA and Marvelous Europe.

[ziseviolet]

Qipao/Cheongsam Taobao Shop Recs

A while ago I received a direct message asking for recs on where to buy qipao/cheongsam, and I figured I’d make a post for others who’d also be interested. 

First of all - I think qipao should be tried on and bought in-person if at all possible, since having the right fit is important - especially if it’s for a formal occasion like a wedding. However, since that’s often not possible, I’ve compiled a list of online shop recs, mainly for more casual occasions.

Since English-language online qipao shops are plentiful and easy to find, I’ll be focusing this list on Taobao shops only. Please note that these are my personal recs, based on my own aesthetic preferences. Thus most of the recs are for shops focused on retro-inspired, minguo-style qipao made using the traditional 平裁/pingcai (flat tailoring) method. Also, I have not actually purchased qipao from any of these shops (all my qipao were bought in person) - this is based mainly on how appealing I find the designs.

1. 嬉姷/Xi You - Elegant qipao modelled closely on historical designs, mainly from the Republican era/minguo. Careful attention paid to historical details. My favorite qipao shop to browse for fun:

2. 海上芳时/Shanghai Fancy - Specializes in chic minguo-style designs of the 1920s-1940s. Recently came out with a neat art deco-inspired collection:

3. 唐之语/Tang Zhi Yu - Retro-style qipao in a variety of bold prints, with a focus on the form-fitting designs of the 1950s-1960s, including those from the film “In the Mood for Love”:

4. 繁莳/Fancy Dream - Dreamy, delicate retro-inspired qipao and modified qipao. Also has a nice selection of winter majia (vests):

5. Top Ulara - A large selection of classic, retro-style qipao with a hint of glamour. Offers lots of long/thick/layered qipao suitable for colder weather:

6. 梦回故里/Menghui Guli - Nostalgic, conservative retro-style qipao for all seasons. Old-fashioned in a good way:

7. 晴山制衣/Qingshan Zhiyi - Retro-style qipao in fresh, vivid colors and an interesting variety of designs and patterns:

8. 限时赏味/Xianshi Shangwei - Streamlined, retro-style qipao in subtle colors and prints that exemplify understated elegance: 

9. 茉茉/Momo - Tons of options for simple, cute, and casual retro-style qipao suitable for daily wear. Designs tend towards monochromes and all-over prints. Another review/rec here:

10. 如及/Yu Gallery - Simple yet elegant retro-style and contemporary qipao. I love the shop’s use of sheer fabrics & layering in its designs:

11. 向南飞FLY - Offers a selection of casually stylish retro-style qipao and modified qipao for daily chic:

12. 川黛/Chuan Dai - Soft, feminine, pastel-infused qipao & modified qipao in retro-inspired and contemporary styles:

13. 四斤自制/Sijin Studio - Creative, avant-garde takes on (modified) qipao & qipao-inspired outfits:

14. 密扇/Mukzin - Colorful, playful, and irreverent modified qipao and qipao-inspired outfits. There’s also an English website here:

If you like the above qipao but still want an English website, there are several Taobao resellers that carry similar designs - for example, Beth and Brian Qipao. The hanfu shop Nuwa Hanfu also offers a carefully curated array of qipao, including plus-size qipao.

Finally, when it comes to in-person shops, I want to highlight Xiangjiang Silk Co., a relatively new boutique in New York City specializing in actual vintage 1950s-1960s qipao. There’s an article here on the boutique and its founder Heather Guo (who was featured in Vogue). Store visits are appointment-only, so you’ll have to reach out to Heather via her social media if you want to drop by.

If anyone has reviews of the above shops and/or more qipao shop recs, please share! ^^

Bonus: I also have online shop recs for hanfu (1, 2), modified hanfu/hanyuansu (1, 2), hanfu accessories, weimao, and hair accessories. 

[adobe-outdesign]

eventide colour review? I feel like it could have been so good but just misses the mark

Eventide is a color I've always liked more than most people seem to. I don't think it's great by any means—see below notes—but I like the aesthetics of it a lot. I feel like it works well as kind of an "updated" starry colour while also being unique due to the sunset theme.

However, with that said, I think it has three major issues:

Straight gradients: If you look at the Koi above, you'll notice the gradients on its fins line up vertically. This means that if it ever moved its fins, they would be mis-matched. This is lazy use of gradients and makes a lot of pets look worse than they should.

No contouring: Another issue is that the gradients don't actually bend with the form of the body—a straight line applied to a sphere should be curved. Because the gradient doesn't do this, it looks very flat.

Too many colors: Look at the below stock image for a second. There's really only three colors: orange, a dusky yellow-orange, and a dark blue. However, with eventide pets there's five—dark blue, cyan, red, orange, and yellow. This makes the pets look busy and makes for a less coherent color palette.

There are, of course, exceptions to all three of the above—but it's rare, especially because eventide is a pretty consistent colour, for better or for worse.

Eventide was released after conversion, so there's no old art or styles to discuss.

Favorite Species:

Usul: You know how I just said eventide pets have too many colors? The eventide Usul is a good example of this, as it only uses three (cyan, dark blue, and red). This makes it a lot more coherent than most eventide pets, especially with the stars being such a prominent part of the design. The straight gradients are also gone, with the arms both being red, the bow being red, the tail and mane being starry, and the ears becoming starry only at the tips. I just wish they all had this much effort put into them.

Hissi: The eventide Hissi isn't too fancy, but once again, the lack of straight-across gradients really helps it. The extra shininess is nice, and the spots are handled well, being either a lighter or darker shade of similar colors in the palette. I also like that the underbelly gradient is sightly offset from the rest of the body.

Kougra: The Kougra's super simple, but I think it works well. The colored linework looks good, the markings are easy to see and read, and the gradient application is relatively unfunny and, again, not straight-across. Also, the lack of clouds here kind of works for me.

Least Favorite Species:

Meerca: No colored lineart combined with one of the flattest gradients out there—not only does it not contour with the body, it doesn't even fit the perspective on the tail! The head also gets completely lost because it seemingly has no shading there. Also also, the gradient is too short, making the transitions between colors all the more jarring.

[starlaindisguise]

💡🖌️ Human Lightbrush designs !! ✩

I love them so much I think about them all day AAAAAAWWGWGWG x_x

This is still pretty early in the design phase, so these outfits are up for change. But, I still think a lot of these ideas are cute and clever, so I’m gonna yap about my design choices for their human forms !!

Lightbulb ☆ I inspired her design off of a lot of kidcore, kandi bracelets, and decora fashion, with her face stickers, hair clips, necklaces and earrings !! I basically just gave her accessories that I would use the heck out of if I had them. I gave her freckles and made her nails the trans colors because why not. Gave her some gray-ish overalls to represent her lower half, and it also features her silly little pattern! She has dyed blond hair and a yellow sweater for her actual bulb. And her eyes have little lightning bolts in them to allude to her cool zappy power !! I plan to give her an alternate outfit that’s a bit less colorful, because I think she would combine this look with like, loungewear. She doesn’t wanna get ready like this every day, if you know what I mean? But she looks awesome haha

Paintbrush ☆ This is my second try at their design! This version is more casual oriented and less fashionable than the previous one, but I feel like that fits them much better as a character. Gave them a headband for the base of their bristles, and I added pink streaks to their already dyed blond hair (based on the Exit Interview where they said they might want to dye their hair pink to ‘reclaim it.’ I love their Exit Interview so much AAGAGAGGAHAHAH) They have a pretty simple outfit, just a T-shirt and some comfy pants. This is one of their alternate outfits, because I do think they would have days where they try hard on their fashion. But I LOVE a lot of Paintbrush designs that have relatively unfashionable outfits compared to everyone around them, I think they’re fun!

I’ll for sure do some more iterations of both of their looks, mostly to nail exactly what I think their fashion sense would be, but I love how these designs look and drawing them is a blast :) !! Thanks for reading all my design notes, it means a lot!!

Hope you have a nice day and drink lots of water 💝

[saintfelina]

Pink Poodle Makeup

Let's face it. Coquette has become boring as hell. Gone are the days of tongue-in-cheek vulgarity and campy, over the top plays of femininity. I say we bring things back to the more fun aspects: garish and fun. And for this i'm taking inspiration from fabulous pink poodles. Think your grandma's kitschy pink house, bold eyes and lips and that gorgeous canine dressed in bows with a eye catching fur design. It's big, bold, glamorous and fun.

Base

A thin line between satiny and plastic. You want to have full coverage, avoid the skin peeking through, instead focus on getting a completely flawless finish. It's ok if you choose to go matte or demi-matte with foundation here as additional shine will be added later. Conceal how you normally would, but avoid harsh contour, or refrain from contour completely. This is also a great time to underpaint if you want a more kitschy look. When powdering, ensure that it's a pink or lavender loose powder. Remember: you're not trying to look natural.

Face

Blush should be bold, keep it to bubblegum pinks or peaches depending on your skin tone and apply on the apples to start then drag the blush upwards towards the cheek bone. Nyx Buttermelt Pressed Powder Blush in My Butta Half & Butta Together. This is also the step to add more shine to the face if you wore a matte foundation. Liquid highlighter is best, especially in pink/pearlescent tones. Apply to nose bridge, nose tip, brow bone, high points of the cheek and cupids bow. Try Benefit High Beam Satin Pink Liquid Highlighter or Fenty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in Wattabrat

Brows

You can do your brows normally, or you can go for a late 50s - early 1960s style brow. These brows are thicker, fluffier but well groomed. Don't think soap brow. Go for a relatively defined arch-- no straight brows. But the arch can be rounded or sharp depending on preference.

Eyes

Eyes are the most fun, as you can go two ways. First lets start with eyeliner, you can either simple follow your natural eyeshape with no wing (recommended if going for the first eyeshadow look) or go for again a classic cat eye. When it comes to shadow, the first option is leaning into candy colors: blue, purple and pink. Liquid eye paints like the Half Magic Chromeaddiction Matte in Sky Juice are perfect as they are vivid and don't budge. Apply all over the lid and then go in with your biggest, most flirtatious lashes.

Another option is the classic 60s cut crease. For this I recommend MAKEUP BY MARIO Master Mattes Eyeshadow Palette: The Neutrals. Start with a neutral base (relative to your skin tone), then with a cool brown shadow apply directly to the crease, wing it out if desired and again add you liner and lashes. For extra camp, apply lashes to the bottom lash as well. Be sure to blend with mascara (such as Too Faced Better Than Sex) or if forgoing lashes, apply thick coats of mascara. An eyeshadow primer is recommended.

Lips

Finally tying the look all together is the lips. My preferred look, is to do a matte cherry red like Fenty Icon Velvet Liquid Lipstick in H.B.I.C paired with the blue eye look and a bubblegum or peachy pink with the cut crease. For the truest bubblegum pink look no further than MAC Candy Yum-Yum. Or to tone it down with a classic 60s pink lip you can wear Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, famously worn by icon Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. A nice middle ground between the two would be Maybelline Super Stay Teddy Tint in Petalcore. To avoid going too matte, top with gloss such as 3D Hydra Lipgloss in 33.

[amerricanartwork]

Scavengers!! Which one is your favorite?

But yeah, here's a collection of some (female) scav sketches from the past few days, partly as as general studies of scavenger anatomy (man, I love that Disney anthro anatomy for these things)! Figured I'd try my hand at drawing scavs since I've actually never drawn them seriously before, and practice making/compiling anatomical studies for fictional characters. Quick thanks to @everyscavever, whose posts I used as direct references on scav designs!

And here are some other notes and headcanons for this down below!

In addition to general anatomy, with these sketches I also tried to focus on exploring designs for female scavengers specifically, since the overall scav design always struck me as pretty masculine with the large chests and top-heavy rhythm, and because I haven't seen many more feminine looking scav characters. However, for verisimilitude's sake, a bit of a design challenge, and because I really like the general scav design, I still wanted to keep the overall anatomy/proportions the same and retain that mangy, feral, yet goofy appearance that I find iconic to scavengers!

Thus, I headcanon for females the limb proportions are the same, the horns are slightly smaller and less ornate on average, and the shoulders, though still wider than the hips, are less so compared to males. Otherwise, my depictions of female scavengers likely won't be that visually distinct from the males, besides the more visible eyelashes (which to me, is a design trait simple enough I think I can get away with it on almost any creature with eyes, especially with my relatively cartoony style).

I find the scavenger design pretty nice in this regard, since it's humanoid enough that I feel I can add a bit more human-like sexual dimorphism without it looking too uncanny or too different from the general species design. In contrast, slugcats are so simple and animal-like in their physiology that I feel the most I can do is just draw visible eyelashes when I want a feminine appearance, lest I risk overcomplicating the design or making something that doesn't look believable given the setting and canon slugcat designs. Of all the RW creatures, however, I actually think iterators would have the most human-like sexual dimorphism since they're very humanoid visually, but I headcanon it's for very different reasons that I'll explain later.

But anyway, that was a lot. I hope you like these scav sketches!

[thydungeongal]

probably too vague question but I burnt out on dnd a while ago and now i want to get back into like the wider world of ttrpgs but there are very many of them and I dont reeaally have a consistent gaming group any more, how do i know where to start?

and to narrow it a little because ive asked this to people before but I cant deal with thise super open ended freeform narrative only games that seems to be all that get recommended to new people based on havin no numbers. I like numbers

If you like a game with a bit of crunch I have a bunch of games to offer! For the record, I also happen to like a well-designed game that's lighter on the rules, but at the end of the day I am a Rolemaster girl at heart and yearn for the crunch.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record I would first recommend checking out the games made by @anim-ttrpgs. Their games are easy to learn but with a lot of bite to them. You will find numbers here. Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is basically complete and it's pretty much a masterful modern investigative RPG that accommodates supernatural elements as well, and while the numbers are simple for the most part there's a lot of mechanical depth to them. They're also currently working on Silk & Dagger: A Sensible Drow RPG (a fantasy comedy of manners) and Death Bed: A Souls-like RPG. If you go through their pinned post you will also find links to their indie RPG book club which is a genuinely nice space and home to many maths-heads like you and I. It's also a really good place to find out about more games.

But yeah, now that I've got that out of the way, here's a brief reality check: while those light on the numbers indie games take up a lot of discursive space, at the end of the day they are actually not representative of non-D&D RPGs as a whole. Most RPGs have at least some amount of crunch and those games you're alluding to don't actually represent most RPGs.

All of which is to say, if you browse most mainstream marketplaces for RPGs like DriveThruRPG you will mostly end up finding very traditional RPGs with a medium to high amount of mechanical depth in their top 10s. So that's one place to look!

Anyway, I'm just going to rattle off a few publishers who are still, like, medium big names and making crunchy games but outside of the D&D/Pathfinder bubble. There's Free League, a Swedish publisher who make very traditional RPGs but not without their own mechanical innovations. Chaosium is an old standby, still churning out content for RuneQuest and Call of Cthulhu (absolute classics of the medium). Steve Jackson Games mostly does Munchkin content these days, but they also have a cool RPG called GURPS which people who like math seem to love. Mongoose Publishing seems to keep collecting old IPs and they are in charge of Traveller, the great granddaddy of sci-fi RPGs, these days. There's also Green Ronin, who came to relevance in the d20 days but have since spun off their own house system out of their officially licensed Dragon Age RPG, called AGE (Adventure Game Engine). White Wolf (now a Paradox Entertainment operation) makes games for goths and while they claim to be storygames for theater kids they're actually pretty heavy on the mechanics, and their estranged former partner Onyx Path is also out there doing their own thing.

But yeah, I know that is already a lot, but what I recommend you do: start by looking at a few publishers making RPGs, see if any of their games' pitches appeal to you, and start from there. Also consider joining the aforementioned indie RPG book club cause it's a nice place where a surprising number of members have turned into girls during the relatively short time the club has been operational.

[noxiatoxia]

heyyy.. I’ve been learning Japanese because I’m very interested, I’ve only been using Duolingo so far and I’m not satisfied with it for a number of reasons

anyway do you have any resources you’d recommend for a beginner level in Japanese? I know the entire hiragana alphabet, including sounds like “pu” and “gi” (I can’t figure out the Japanese keyboard yet lmao)

Hi! I'm very flattered you'd come to me! Please keep in mind I do not have a degree in Japanese nor English or any Language Teaching, so this is just advice from a normal guy.

Firstly, it was a good idea to ditch Duolingo. Duolingo is good for learning the JP alphabet, or - and if you don't care/don't want to become fluent - if you just need to learn a handful of phrases to make your Summer trip to Japan survivable. If you wish to become fluent though, it's a really awful tool. For one big reason:

There are no 1:1s in language.

Put simply...there is no "English translation" to any given Japanese word. This is true of any language, I think - not just ENG <--> JP. Sure, some simple nouns can be reliably translated with accuracy - りんご ringo means "apple", or 犬 いぬ inu means "dog". But even then, context matters. There's idioms, sayings - and when you get to verbs, more complex nouns, adjectives...there simply is no 1:1 anymore.

This is why we get translations like Danganronpa which read (70% of the time) like they looked up the word in a JP to ENG dictionary and figured that must be it.

For example... "zetsubou" , "despair", doesn't actually mean despair, really. The way it's used in Japanese is much more common/versatile than how it is used in English. Really think about it. How often in day to day normal conversation do you hear the word despair?

In Japanese, 絶望 ぜつぼう zetsubou is sort of like...misery, negativity, the absence of any feeling of things will be good or okay. This makes it far more common in Japanese natural dialogue.

So please keep that in mind with every word you learn! Learn the feeling, write down as many example sentences you need to help you with it.

This may feel daunting, and it's okay to rely on basic definitions as a beginner if you need to. Everyone starts somewhere. But it's something to keep in mind.

Elsewise, I think toddler cartoons are actually good. Cartoons made for babies and toddlers are designed to help them learn basic things, such as colors, shapes, being nice...etc. Because of the simplistic nature, small words are used, speech is usually slower, and words are repeated consistently. Even just sitting down every hour once a week to watch a toddler show in Japanese is helpful.

The Japanese dub of Bluey and Peppa Pig are very good. Also available (and my personal favorite) is Paboo and Mojies. If you want some material for kids but not toddlers, NHK for School is good.

Watching the Japanese Dub of a show you know like the back of your hand (preferably a kids' show for easier to understand dialogue) is great too, as you can hear how the sentence gets translated into Japanese. The MLP 5 movie is great in Japanese, and I don't know much about Miraculous Ladybug in English, but I caught it on JP Disney Junior a few times and thought it was fun, and I think if you are able to understand some of the toddler shows with relative ease, these would be good places to move to.

Toddler shows are also careful to generally keep the words spoken normal since kids will likely emulate them. It helps keep you from talking like an anime character.

When it comes to reading, little kid books with Hiragana are good, but manga is actually helpful! Manga uses Kanji, but includes Furigana by the Kanji so you can see how to say it. The Yotsubato Manga in Japanese is a good one to start with. You can look up the words you find in a dictionary.

If you need discipline and can't learn without deadlines and such, a language school may be good. While Japanese textbooks can often be misleading for English learners, it's not necessarily incorrect info, and if you need the school environment, then I'd say the pros outweighs the cons.

Also, don't be afraid to use MTL for help, to look up words, and to google in Japanese.

Also for Hiragana and Katakana, this is a good site. I know you already know Hiragana, but just in case.

Watching Japanese vlogs and YT videos are a good way to hear natural Japanese as well. Finding people who know Japanese to talk to is important for practicing your speaking skills as well.

I hope this helps at all!