#no flashy or colourful belts

[nikidykeachu]

Our teacher wants us 2 do a mock interview and gave us a dress code 4 it an I break almost every rule😭😭😭😭

[sxorpiomooon]

What should you dress like based on your rising sign.

hello!! If you guys want to you can also check for your venus sign for a more accurate description and lmk if you guys would want me to make a post with some clothes example!

check out my paid readings as well

Aries-

Athletic wear,edgy bold prints, leather, acubi aesthetic, cargos, lose shorts, formal, bold genderbending style. Y'all just wanna look cool😭

Colours- red, monochromatic.

Taurus -

Feminine clothes, net, maxi dresses, sweatpants, a lot of accessories, satin plain shirts, blazers jumpsuit y'all love smelling and looking rich and classy lmaaao

Colours- sage green, beige

Gemini-

Playful, I literally had a vision of jeans with dress and jersey with skirts, mix and match, two three aesthetics all at once, vibrant colours, Y2K, bratz, quirky accesories, glasses lmao I'm seeing so many tiktok videos in my head rn

Colours- neon, vibrant colours, splash or colours

Cancer-

Soft, coquette, loves pearls and carrying purses or cute wallets, cutely and ethereal at the same time, white colour

Colours- soft feminine colours such as sky blue, lavender etc

Leo-

Wants to stand out, flashy colours, gold jewellery, rings, bold colours, rock grunge might suit you guys

Colours- black, prints.

Virgo-

Formal,old money ralph lauren lmao, skirts, belts, floral skirts, forest fairy core? Cares alot about details and will always want to personalize the look somehow

Colours- green also you guys would look really good with basic jewellery

Libra-

Cute maxi dresses, clothes that have art on them, bunch of charms, alot of colours, ethereal jewellery and clothing, old channel vintage or clueless sort of clothing.

Colours- soft colours like baby blue, baby pink as well as lilac

Scorpio -

Bold cuts and colours and clothes and accessories, less accessories more eye makeup perhaps, bold fashion statements, might, v cut and boots. You guys might also look good while wearing only one colour instead of two three at the same time

Colours- wine red, maroon, velvet clothing

Saggitarius-

Eclectic, upbeat clothes, lose shirts, flamboyant, mix colours and different patterns at once it's like wearing different earrings on both ears.

Colours- yellow, orange

Capricorn -

Formal, elegant, old money, big handbags, old vintage watches I also heard Italy flea market for some reason so lmao

Colours- neutral tones

Aquarius -

Comfy, sweatpants, trousers, oversized, streetwear, patterned clothes might really care about good statement shoes, thrift, flamboyant clothing lmao

Colours- faded jeans and clothing, blue eyeshadow or blue colour in general honestly

Pisces-

Transparent, net, shiny, pastel shiny colours, chunky aesthetic jewellery, pendants, sunglasses, delicate, silver.

Colours- lavender, baby blue etc

Thankyouuu!!

[user2772636]

Douzième Fille

12th girl

××《☆》××

Experimenting is bound to give you attention. Magazines are trending, and not just in the women's department. A one-eyed boy who has recently been caught with something vulgar has respect for women. How surprising.

===

Joseph Descamps x Reader

Warnings: boys being boys (worse than b4), swearing, one-sided anger, reference to a movie (Hot Rod), love triangle again (new character??), fluff (finally?!?!?!)

===

===

Chapter four: Flashy Magazines

===

I flip through page by page the new magazine I bought. It was imported from america, and the second I heard of it, I ran to the nearest booth.

That was yesterday. Today is Monday morning. I woke up a little earlier to scroll through my said magazine and look for inspiration. I thought I'd do something different. A bit more bold.

Hair bumps and bangs. A style well worn by Priscilla Beaulieu, the speculated lover of Elvis Presley. The magazine was filled with her.

I grab my scissors, lifting my head to look into my bathroom mirror. I read the directions on the magazine, parting a small section at the middle of my hair, pulling it in front of my eyes.

I take a deep breath in. A click from the scissors is heard. Not half bad, I say to myself. I shag it a little, smiling to myself.

I continue to read the instructions to Priscilla's hair bump, deciding to make it just a small bump, curling the ends, then adding hair spray to keep it all intact. Once I was done , I added a pair of pearl earrings.

There's a new dress waiting for me in my closet. It was a present from my parents. A knee-length flowy dress with a boat neckline and a thin strap belt, all in the colour of watermelon red.

I put it on, patting down the skirt, and grab my kitten heels. I pray that I don't get caught. This is probably how Michèle felt on the first day of school.

I take one last look in the mirror. I looked older, like a proper lady. I straighten my back and smile strainedly. I breathe out slowly.

I grab my satchel and coat, then head out of my flat. Walking to school, eyes follow me. From my lovely neighbour to the men smoking cigarettes in the street. I don't mind them and continue to make my way to school.

Once I get there, I see Laubrac walking away from Michèle. I walk up to her and put on a smile.

"Michèle. How have you been?" I lean in to hug her.

"Wow, Y/N. You're stunning. You look like you were made to be in movies." Michèle laughs, and I laugh with her.

"Don't go that far." We smile at each other and make it through the gate. Once again, eyes are on me, younger this time.

We look towards the bathroom, seeing Felbec run towards it, then get rejected access through. A tall frame pushes him away, and I knew exactly who it was. I furrow my eyebrows.

A boy then comes running through the gate, shouting out how he has the money. I notice Annick as she suddenly walks away. When he makes it there, the school bell rings. I laugh, watching him move around disappointed.

××《☆》××

"Literary salons are almost always hosted by women. Madame de Sèvignè, Madame de Lafayette." Our teacher says as he leans on his table with his arms.

The lecture fades, and all I hear is the tapping of my heels on the hardwood floor.

"Dupin." Our teacher calls out. I turn around to take a look, but my eyes lock with one. I squint at Descamps, then shift my eyes to Dupin.

"As you won't stop talking, you seem well-versed on the subject. Can you share your thoughts on the salons with us?" Dupin stands, and I smile softly, seeing his embarassed state.

I turn my head back to the front, but a stare stays on me, making the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I ignored it at first, and then it started to get annoying. So I turned, and I saw him, and he was smiling. He's smiling. Every time I look at him, either he looks dead inside (though, in my opinion, no dead person could look that pretty.), or he's smiling. And that's what he's doing. He's smiling.

How I wish I could wipe it off.

××《☆》××

My ears pound as I hear Ms. Giraud's voice. I might go deaf, but I keep my composure. The bell rings, and we're finally dismissed.

I hear rushed shuffling. Ms. Giraud calls out to the boy.

"Are you in a rush, Lamazière?" Ms. Giraud yells. I notice it's the same boy that ran to the bathroom with money in his hand.

He gets punished, and I laugh quietly. I grab my things, rushing up to the girls.

"Hey, I need to go to the bathroom. Continue walking without me." They nod, and we part ways.

After using the toilet, I look at myself in the mirror. I never expected that. How conscious I'd be of my looks, my movements, and my habits.

Maybe it comes with the fact I dressed up. But for what, I start to wonder. I don't know why I dressed up in the first place. I know I said for a change, but is that really all?

A flash of an eye comes to mind. I quickly shake it off. No way. Not him.

I clear my throat, then grab my things. I hastily walk out the bathroom, suddenly needing fresh air. As I make it to the hallway of the stairwell, footsteps slow down, and eyes follow me. I stop in my tracks.

I scanned through them, what face they were wearing while looking at me. I look down on myself. I still looked presentable, so what were they looking at?

I start to walk, my eyes following the faces of the boys. Each step I take down feels slower. One flight finished, and I stop glancing at them. My feet tap on the porcelain floor of the stairs as I keep my head down.

One flight left, a tall frame walks into the school. He turns to the stairs, and I stop. Descamps stares at me. I stare at him. He then looks up and sees plenty of eyes on me. I see his jaw clench.

He claps his hands. I flinch at the echo of it.

"Will you boys keep staring, or will I go shopping for a new eye with all of yours?" This gets them moving. The stairwell is noisy again.

I turn my head back to Descamps, and I glare. Hard. I walk towards him, and then I'm reminded of our height difference. I crane my neck upward.

"I could've handled myself, you know?" I squint my eyes, and all he does is stare. Why is he just staring? Can't we fight already? I feel my cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"Are you just gonna stare or are you gonna sa-"

"You're beautiful." I barely even heard it. But I did. Then I acted like I didn't.

"What?" I stutter out, flushed cheeks redder than before.

"You're miserable. You clearly needed my help." I scoff, the comforting warmth I felt quickly replaced with boiling anger.

"Just leave me alone, Descamps." I walk away, and into the courtyard.

Who does he think he is? Some knight in shining armour? He's more like a thief in the streets. But then no thief could be as annoying, as dreadful, as smiley as him. That stupid smile, and those stupid words, and his stupid face. Stupid, stupid face. Sometimes I just wanna grab it and-

I stop in my tracks. There's a line in front of the boys' bathroom. What would they be lining up for? I see a mop of blonde hair and framed eyes. Applebaum. He hasn't talked to me, hasn't said hi, and I always wonder if I'd done anything wrong.

But he's the past. I guess he just doesn't like me. It's too bad. I had high hopes for him. A whip of air pushes by me, and it's Descamps again. He's jogging towards the bathroom. He's collecting coins from them. Really, what's going on?

I look in front of me. Michèle and Simone are seated on the stairs. I sigh in relief. I sit beside them.

"I can't do this anymore. All the boys, they're dreadful. Why did I come here in the first place?" I groan. The girls watch me, amused.

"Because you moved here from Paris and-" I cut Simone off.

"Rhetorical." I mutter. She purses her lips shut.

Michèle clears her throat. "So, you think you'll get married?" I lift my head up.

"To who?" My eyes are wide open as well as my ears.

"Eugène. Simone's lover boy." I cover my mouth in shock.

"What? I thought you had a thing for-" Simone cuts me off this time.

"No. It's a little too soon for that." She answers Michèle's question. I mouth sorry. She nods.

"Aren't you worried he'll want to take things further?" Michèle asks Simone. I started to click the pieces together. I bite on my lip to hide my smile.

"I don't know." Simone smiles at the thought. "Can I have a bite? Thanks." She says as she grabs Michèle's apple and takes a bite from it.

"I hope I find a husband soon. So I can get out of my parents house." I nod at Michèle's statement.

"That's true. But hopefully, no one from here. I'd rather die." They laugh at my overreaction, but honestly, I might just die than marry anyone here.

Well, except for one, maybe. Who, I ask myself. Right. Who am I even talking about? My eyes drift to a one-eyed boy. No. Don't even think about it.

Descamps as a husband? I laugh to myself.

Sure, I can imagine him going to work, coming home, smoking a cigarette or two as he reads the news.

Lounging in the living room one lazy afternoon, shirt slightly unbuttoned and pants a bit loose. Eating breakfast with his family, cooking with his wife (who, for some reason, looks almost like me. Very weird.), kissing her shoulders as his arms wrap around her waist.

His scent, his soft lips, his large frame. Carrying his kids in his arms as he spins them around the backyard. Teaching his son how to catch, playing dolls with his daughter, taking a break on a bench, one arm on his thigh, and the other on me.

Me? I shake my head. No, not me. His wife. Certainly not me. I grimace at the thought. Why would I even?

I sigh deeply, frustratedly. These damn thoughts are infuriating, just like him.

"Happy New Year, Ms. Palladino." My trance gets cut off.

"You too, Sir." Simone responds. I clear my throat, composing myself.

Michèle calls out for her uncle and gets up. I wonder what she's going to do. I don't pay much mind as I scoot over to Simone.

"It's Jean Pierre, isn't it?" She flinches.

"What do you mean?" I roll my eyes at her response.

"You know what I mean. Eugène? It's definitely Jean Pierre." Her cheeks flush, and she drops her head.

"I'm happy for you, really." I smile as she lifts her head, hope in her eyes. My smile wavers a bit. "But how will you tell Michèle?"

Her eyes lose that hope, and she looks away.

"I don't know. He said we shouldn't because she'll never let us see each other again."

"But one day, you'll have to." I grab her hand and rub it gently. She sighs.

"I wish you luck." I whisper, then hug her. She hugs me back. Once we pull away, Michèle sits with us again.

"He didn't want to lend it to me. What does 'adult' mean." I raise my eyebrows and puff out my cheeks, clearly not wanting to answer her question.

Michèle looks around. "What's up with everyone today?"

"You only noticed now?" I chuckle.

"Come with me." Me and Simone get up, following Michèle. She walks and calls towards Pichon.

"What's going on in the bathroom?" Pichon pauses. Too long of a pause.

"Nothing." I squint at him. Obviously not nothing.

"Somethings been going on in there today."

"Not at all. Nothing's going on." Pichon tries to walk away, but I stop him with a palm to his chest.

"Really? Why did you react that way when you ran into Mr. Bellanger?" I start to talk.

"What do you mean?" This is getting annoying.

"Don't act dumb. We know you aren't." I snap at him. "Now, why was your face all red?"

"No. It's not red." I furrow my eyebrows, now really getting angry. I almost shove him before Michèle holds me back.

"Simone, is his face red?" I ask her.

"It's red. Very red." I look back at Pichon and raise my eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

"It's not. It's just my complexion." I try to lunge at him, but Michèle's hands are tight on me.

"So you're not gonna tell us?" Michèle calls out for him. I whip my arms off of Michèle's hold, and she's quick to let me go.

"Of course he won't." I glare at the back of his head.

The bell rings.

××《☆》××

Descamps' group walks into the class together. They're rushing a bit.

"And Applebaum?" One of them asks.

"He's gonna sprain something." Descamps answers. Sprain what? What are they doing in that bathroom anyway?

"He's gonna go deaf." Oh. A shiver runs down my spine as I gag. Gross.

I hear Michèle ask Simone something, probably about what the boys are talking about. I don't wanna tell her.

Ms. Couret walks in and greets us. We're granted to sit. The door opens.

"Didn't you hear the bell, Mr. Applebaum." I gag again seeing him. I should've known he was like everyone else. To believe I might've given him a chance. I grimace.

The boys whisper and laugh. There's a boiling in my stomach. Ms. Couret moves on to the topic.

"Do you know the Beatles?" This catches my attention. No one answers, until Pichon does.

"The British band?" Ms. Couret nods.

"Yes. Let's see if those names ring a bell." I shuffle on my seat, giving my full attention to the discussion.

I don't notice the boys passing around a magazine 'till it comes flying towards Michèle's table. I peek over, and in front of her lies a flashy magazine.

××《☆》××

"He said if we didn't give him a name, the class would get detention every Thursday." Pichon says as everyone huddles in to listen. I feel a warm frame over and behind me, but I ignore it, thinking it's just another classmate.

"Then we all get detention." Dupin states, as if it wasn't already obvious.

"The whole class." Pichon exclaims.

"Even the girls?" My brows furrow. What did we do to be blamed?

"Everybody." We all stop.

"That's not fair." Simone says, and I nod with her.

"Right. What did we do? It was you guys who were being perverts." I call out.

I get more frustrated when a chest bumps into me. It's the same frame I felt earlier. I turn around, and I'm met with Descamps.

"You. You were the ones selling the magazine and passing it around." I glare at him.

"You're disgusting. I don't want you near me." I turn again and bid a quick goodbye to the girls then head home.

"Pardine!" I hear Descamps call out. I roll my eyes and keep walking. Once we're in a quieter area, he grabs my arm and gently pushes me to a wall.

"Please. I swear I would never." I glare up at him.

"Then why were you passing it around?" I ask him, tilting my head up.

His pants fill my ears. It's worrying. I place a hand on his chest.

"Calm down." I state, the worry etched in my voice.

He relaxed under my touch, I felt it, the way his muscles stopped being tense. I kept my face hard.

"Now, explain." My voice comes out demanding.

"I needed some money. What better way to collect it quickly than when there's hundreds of prepubescent boys in one school?" I roll my eyes. I almost walk away before he cages me in the wall with his arms.

"Please. Just... listen. I needed money, okay? I wanted to save up for... for..." He stutters, and my brows crease more.

"For?" I raise my brows, expecting an answer.

"For... records. Yeah. For my mother." I squint at his answer.

"That still won't excuse the fact you're a pervert."

"No, I swear. I would never. I know you don't believe me, but I swear. I swear on my mothers life I would never. Not in school, not anywhere. I respect a woman way too much to do something like that."

"A woman? Who? Your mother?" My brain turns to different answers.

"Yes." He stuttering again. "Definitely, my mother." He pushes away from me, and I feel cold.

I hum. Then I look back up at him, eyes still squinted.

"I'll let it pass for now." I see his face fill with relief, and I almost laugh.

I walk away, but before I get too far, I hear him mutter.

"You look pretty." I turn around, shocked and confused.

"What did you say?"

"I said you look shitty. Goodbye, Pardine!" He calls out as he walks away in a rush. I scoff, then turn back around to walk home.

××《☆》××

I pet George, lounging on my bed, thinking of going out to run some errands. I get up and head to the kitchen.

Stuck to the fridge, I read my mother's shopping list. I get rid of the magnet and stick the note into my coat pocket. I glance at George, then the door, then George again.

I sigh. I pick him up, head to my door, and lock it. We go down the stairs. I place him in my bicycle basket. I make sure he's tucked in well, then ride to the farmers market.

Once I'm there, I glance at the shopping list again. Some vegetables, fruit, flour, etc. I walk past each stall, buying what's needed. Just then, a boy, somewhere my age, walks towards me.

"Hi." He seems confident. "I'm Callum. What's your name?"

I look at him up and down, and then the hand he reaches out for a hand shake. He's tall, but not too tall. Maybe five feet and ten inches. He has long, wavy brown hair, neatly brushed behind his ears. He has deep doe eyes and a smile on his face. I hesitate.

"Y/N." I slowly lift my hand and shake his. His smile widens.

"So, I have a project that requires a model, and when I saw you, I thought you'd be the perfect candidate. Not to be blunt about it, but you're beautiful." I blush at the sudden compliment.

"All you need to do is let me take a couple of photos, and I'll pay you, about... 300 franc?" I gape at the offer.

"Are you sure? Just for pictures?" They nod.

"Yes. Good transaction, yeah? If I win the project, the pictures will be displayed in the front of a car magazine. Is that alright with you?" I think again, but what's there to think about when there's 300 franc on the table?

"Deal." I shake hands Callum's hand, and he smiles wider.

"Good. Now, I'll take you to my car, and you can do a couple of poses in front of it." He led me to his car, and the second I saw the bright mint blue of it, my jaw hits the floor.

"This pretty one," Callum pats the front of the car. "is a 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Mint blue exterior, white top, and a mix of both for the interior. It has the brake horsepower of 193, and she's my most prized possession. She goes up to 23,069 kilometres. Very lovely, right?" He leans on the car, almost hugging it.

I cover my mouth, hiding my smile. He walks over to me, gently grabbing my wrist and pulling it away from my face.

"Keep that smile on, pretty lady. We need it for the pictures." He tilts his head towards the car. "Go on."

I walk slowly. Once I'm near the passengers door, I pose, and I see the flash of the camera.

"Get inside. Take a feel around." I walk to the other side of the car, opening the door and closing it once I'm in. I feel the leather of the wheel against my palm, and I scoff in awe. The camera flashes again.

"I didn't get to pose!" I laugh, slightly embarassed.

"You didn't need to. You're a natural." He snaps another photo, and I laugh again.

After taking a few photos and reviewing them, Callum finally chose one. It was me smiling at the camera with my hands on the wheels, windows rolled down.

He told me I looked perfect, which was, based on what he said, the first thing that came into his mind when he saw me.

The rest of the day, he accompanied me shopping and even offered me a ride around town in his car. I obviously couldn't say no.

He pulled the hood down, letting the wind flow through my hair as we drove in the roads, making it to the fields, stopping by for some gas, and then getting on the road again.

××《☆》××

Callum parks the car in front of his flat, which was only a few blocks away from mine. We decided to walk to my place instead of draining out the car, not before him telling me that it was absolutely fine for him to drive me directly home. When I said I needed my legs moving, he stopped pushing it and agreed.

He puts the hood back on, locking the door with his keys. He walks to my side.

"Good luck with the project." My hands are in my coat pockets as Callum walks me home. He smiles, then looks at me.

"Meeting you was luck itself. That means if you're in my pictures, I'll bring luck with me." I roll my eyes.

"Cheesy." We come to a stop infront of my flat's door.

"Well, this is it." I purse my lips, looking up at him.

"Yup. I guess we're here." His eyes sort of lose its spark. I worry.

"You okay?" I raise my eyebrows, concerned.

"I wanna see you again." He blurts out. "Is tomorrow okay? The results will come out, and I sort of want you to be there."

"Sure. I'll be there." I rub his arm reassuringly. He slowly lifts his hand to cup mine on his arm. He lifts it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss on it.

"Goodnight, Y/N." He smiles softly, lets go of my hand, and leaves. I stay in my place, unsure of what to do. When his frame disappears from my sight, I shiver. What was that?

I'm greeted by George as I get in my flat. My heart's beating out my chest, and I feel anxious. There's something in me. It doesn't feel so good. Some sort of regret. Why?

A boy. Not Callum. Someone else. Taller frame. Shorter hair. One eye. Fuck no. No way. I can't. I shouldn't. Why am I thinking about him?

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. 'I don't even call him by his first name.' Joseph Descamps. I feel indifferent calling him his first name. I'm not in terms with him like that. We aren't close enough for me to call him that.

Then suddenly, I want to. I want to call him Joseph. 'Why?' I wonder. Joseph, Joseph, Joseph. It feels nice on the tongue. Descamps is suddenly too long of a name. Joseph is fine. The name, I mean. Not him.

Then suddenly, again, it is. He is. 'No, he's not', but I want him to be. How do I get him to be? 'I can't do this. I really shouldn't.' But, oh, how much I want to.

'No.' I quiet my thoughts. 'No. Never. I won't do it.'

But I want to.

Fuck.

××《☆》××

The next morning, most of the boys are called to the principles office. I sigh in boredom, looking out the window.

"It certainly feels emptier today." Simone says, breaking the silence. I want to laugh, but I can't. I wanted to see the way Joseph's green cardigan looked on his wide frame longer.

I shake my head. I totally didn't get enough sleep last night with that thought popping in my head.

Though, that cardigan really suited him. Green really suits him. It makes him sort of glow. It's not like he doesn't already. Come to think of it, his hair glows, too. It was a bit messy. He probably rushed to school today. I wonder how soft it'll be against my fingers when I brush it off to look neater.

I remember how warm he was that day in the alley. He was so much taller, so he had to basically break his back to reach me. I double take that thought.

He had to break his back just to reach me.

I know he didn't actually break his back, but I just knew that sort of hurt. But it was nice, so I guess it was worth it for him. At least, I hope it was.

Okay, wait. Why am I thinking like this? I guess we're on good terms now. I mean, sure, we bicker, but not as much anymore? I don't know. Whatever. I guess we're fine. I want us to be. I'm tired of being mad at him for no reason.

Yeah. We're fine. That's why I'm thinking like this, right? You know, as a friendly, 'I want to take care of you' kind of way. Which is platonic. Totally. Yeah, that's fine.

Maybe I should say hi from time to time? Or no. Maybe just a nod for a greeting? Too bland. A smile will do. He might be creeped out, though.

I groan internally. Why am I overthinking this? Whatever, I'll just smile and wave. That's good. Simple and effective. Don't overthink it. There's nothing to overthink about.

Ms. Couret walks in, and the class collectively stands up. She's wearing a green dress. It looks nice. It reminds me of Joseph.

Woah. Why am I thinking about him? I think I'm just worried. Yeah. I'm worried about him because we're friends. Wait, are we friends? I'll ask later.

We're told to sit down, and we do. Ms. Couret pulls out a copy of the news. This must be about The Beatles, I remember from the last discussion, before it got interrupted. I light up in my seat.

"We won't wait for your classmates. They're getting tortured at the dean's dungeon." The class laughs.

"Today, we'll start with an article on President Kennedy's murder." So it isn't about The Beatles. I furrow my eyebrows.

I raise my hand.

"Yes?" Ms. Couret lifts her head.

"What about the song?" I shrug my shoulders, asking a bit sadly.

"No. There won't be a song. I don't have the record." I purse my lips in silent disappointment. She passes us some papers, and I sit the rest of the day quietly.

××《☆》××

I walk outside of the gate, the crowds of students slowly dissipating. My hair flows in the wind, styled the same way it was yesterday, except done in a half up half down style. My yellow dress lifts up and down as my legs do.

I'm headed to Callum's school, excited for the results. Almost halfway there, I stop. Joseph is in front of a magazine booth, buying. My heart drops, assuming it was another one of those flashy magazines. But then he leans out the booth, holding a magazine with my face on the cover.

My face is on the cover, and Joseph is buying it.

Two very important things.

One, I got on the cover, so Callum won. Two, Joseph is buying a magazine with my face on the cover. My question is, does he know it's me on the cover? Or is he buying it because he generally likes cars.

I take slow steps forward. The closer I am, the more I hear. And there's a voice inside my head repeating Joseph's words.

"That's my girl." He points to my picture in the magazine, showing the booth owner. "She's gorgeous. I mean, look at her." He makes the magazine face him again. There's a wide smile on his face.

He's smiling. I think I'm starting to like it on him.

The second he turns his head and sees me, the smile I just started to admire drops. He looks red under the afternoon sun.

"Pardine." He clears his throat, hiding the magazine. "What are you doing around here?"

"Headed to St. Patricks. You know the all boys school?" I smile softly. His nervousness seems to fade, for only a little.

"What would you be doing there?" He sounds off.

"Meeting a friend." I lift my shoulders, showing off a smile.

He looks like he melts, then stiffens back up. "A friend? Who? What's his name? What's he look like?"

"You ask a lot of questions. Answer mine first, then I'll answer yours." He nods. "What are you doing here?"

He stutters. "I was just looking around. Thought I'd buy a magazine but then saw you." He's acting uninterested. Or atleast trying to.

"Saw me walking towards you, or saw me in that magazine you have in your hands?" His eyes blow open. I hide my laugh.

"What? What do you- oh." He points to the magazine booth that he's still standing next to.

"That's you? Wow, I didn't know you modelled. It's not like I care or anything." He puts his head down, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why'd you buy it, Joseph?" I smirk, tilting my head, trying to meet his eyes. He shys away.

"I was... gonna burn it. Yeah. I was- wait. What did you call me?" He whips his head up. I try to recall, then flush when I do.

"Nothing."

"You totally called me Joseph." Yes, I did.

"No, I didn't." I shake my head.

"You never call me that." No, but like last night, I want to.

"I didn't call you Joseph."

"You just did."

"You're so childish, Joseph."

"You did it again!"

I groan, walking away from him, as red as when he saw me. Why was he red when he saw me? Whatever, I need to get to Callum.

I hear his steps behind me, and I roll my eyes.

"Y/N, come on." I turn around.

"You called me Y/N."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did." He definitely did.

"I didn't." Mhm, sure.

"You did. You never call me that." I mock him. He rolls his eye.

"Whatever."

"Whatever." I walk away from him. He doesn't seem to follow after me anymore, but then after a while, I hear his steps again.

"What's your friends name again? Are you sure I wasn't the friend you were gonna meet?" Oh right, I was gonna ask him about that.

"Are we friends?" I stop and turn to him.

He stops, too. No talking, no walking.

"Do you want us to be?" He asks. I pause.

"Yes."

"Then, yeah." There's that smile I missed.

"Good." I continue to walk.

"You didn't answer my first question."

"His name is Callum. He was the one who photographed me." I feel him grab my arm, and we stop again.

"He photographed you? When did you even meet? How are you sure he isn't some old creep?"

"Yes, he did. Yesterday, when I was in the market. He's our age, I made sure to ask."

"Okay, how exactly did he come up to you in the market?" He squints, tilting his head.

"Just went up to me, said hi, called me beautiful, offered money for the photos, took the photos, we drove around in his car, and then he walked me home." I shrug simply. He's still hesitant.

"You drove around in a stranger's car?"

"Correction, friends car."

"Yeah, a friend you just met."

"Whatever, I'm here now safe and sound anyways."

"But what if he was some creep? You need to be more careful, Y/N."

"I said it's whatever, Joseph." His eyebrows are furrowed, then after a while, he nods.

I continue to walk, and he follows. I don't stop him.

Once we're in front of St. Patricks' gate, I see the familiar Ford Thunderbird and quickly make my way, Joseph hot on my feet.

I see the familiar man leaning against the car with his hands in his pockets, then I see his toothy grin. I run up to him and give him a hug that he returns.

"Callum! Congratulations. I knew you had it in the bag." I say as I lean away from him. He keeps his arms wrapped around me. I feel a burning stare on us.

"Told you, you brought me luck." He takes his glasses off with his hand, then places the arm he used back on my waist. I hear footsteps and Callum's hold loosens.

There's an arm around my shoulder. Then, an all familiar voice.

"You alright, man? Congrats on the magazine. Y/N's told me about you." I look up at Joseph. His jaw's clenched.

"Of course she did. She told you about the ride on this pretty thing?" He pats the car, and I flush.

"Yeah, she did. I'm Joseph." He puts a hand out for Callum to shake. They clasp hands, and their grips are tight.

"Callum, but I guess you already knew that. If you don't mind me asking, who are you to Y/N?"

"Her b-"

"Friend. He's a friend." I cut him off. He looks at me with hurt in his eyes, then masks it with fake joy.

"Yup. I'm her friend." He nods to Callum.

"Oh. It's a bit weird that she hasn't mentioned you. You know, since you're friends and all." Joseph's arm tightens around me.

"Yeah, it's not like her to talk about her friends to someone she just met." There's a sarcastic smirk on his face.

Callum hums. "Well, s'nice to meet you, Joseph. Have a good one, yeah? And you, pretty lady..." Callum's gaze shifts to me, stare softening.

"Have a good night." He lifts my hand to his lips, placing a soft and lingering kiss on it. I take a deep breath in, maintaining composure, overwhelmed by the attention both boys were giving me.

Callum turns around and drives off on his car. Once his car was out of sight, I look back at Joseph, his stare still on the road where Callum rode off to.

"What was that?" I squint, tilting my head up. He instantly looks down at me with tending eyes.

"Nothing. I'll walk you home." His hand comes town to my arm, rubbing it gently. We turn to the way to my place.

The sun has set, and the street lights are on. It's a quiet night, the only things being heard are footsteps and draining water.

Only a block away from my flat, Joseph's arms are still around me. It feels comforting. It's nice to have a new friend. Though, I've known him longer.

"When you get home, I want you to say hi to George for me." I laugh at that. "I'm not kidding."

"Yeah, I'll say hi to George for you." I smile at the ground, then look up at him. He's already looking at me. We slow down a bit, just staring.

Then he leans in, and I mirror him. We lean in closer, closer, and closer. A moped engine turns on. We stop, and pull away.

"Here we are." He stops, and I didn't even notice we were already at my place.

"Oh. Right." He steps away from me, the arm around my shoulders gone. I feel alone again.

"Well, good night, Y/N." He stand there with his hands in his pockets.

"Good night, Joseph." I purse my lips. He nods. I walk up quarter way to the steps, then I stop.

I go back down, see Joseph, I tip toe, then press a kiss on his cheek. I quickly walk up the stairs again, almost tripping.

I make it to the inside of my flat, not bothering to turn the light on, then rush to the window. I peek out of it, and he's still there. He looks bewildered. Then, a smile slowly sits on his face. He stays there for a while, and then he walks away.

I slowly get up from my place, turning on the light, and I just stand there. Then, I squeal.

Holy fucking shit. Oh my gosh. No way, no way, no way, no way. I just kissed his cheek. Holy shit.

That's normal. Totally. Just a friendly kiss. But it felt nice.

I check the time. It's 12 in the morning. New year's kiss. I just had Joseph as my New Year's kiss. Kind of.

I see George, and smile wider.

"Joseph said hi."

I definitely don't hate not hating him anymore.

××《☆》××

End of- Chapter four: Flashy Magazines

Next- Chapter five: You Know Where To Find Me, and I Know Where To Look

××《☆》××

It's finally done 😭😭 watch me take a month for chapter five /j. Anw, this is a handful chapter. So many emotions. This is turning out to be an enemies to frienimies to lovers. What do u guys think abt Callum? Honestly, hes lowkey me cus i love cars. I wish i had his car. More of him soon too. I wanted tk add fluff so that u guys dont get the idea that im not making joseph and reader end game. I promise i am but u guys have to wait. Happy reading hope u guys liked this!!!

[poppitron360]

After responding to @puzzled-pegasus’ ask about my lighthearted Leo hcs, I came up with a WHOLE BUNCH MORE so buckle up (these are mostly Valgrace)

1. Okay so I recently did a rewatch of all six Tinkerbell movies for this project I’m working on and for no other reason not just because they’re awesome and I KNOW FOR A FACT that Leo loves those movies (they’re a beloved classic in Cabin 9). The plot of the first movie is LITERALLY JUST “Hey making things is really cool and you don’t always need flashy nature powers to be useful and you should be proud of your gifts!!’ (The Tinker fairies are literally just Hephaestus kids with a green colour palette).

2. “Tinkerbell” is one of Jason’s nicknames for Leo. Leo pretends to hate it but he secretly loves it.

3. Jason started noticing that whenever Leo steals his hoodies the tags at the back always end up mysteriously being cut off. Leo hates them bc of sensory issues. Now, whenever Jason buys a hoodie, the first thing he does is cut the tag off so that Leo can wear it, too.

4. Leo once collected all the tags that he cut off his clothing and sewed them together to make a plushie and gave it to Jason to say thank you.

5. Gift-making is Leo’s love language. Jason’s love language is showing off those gifts.

6. “How to Train Your Dragon” is also one of Leo’s favourites, and he likes to curl up with Festus in Bunker 9 and watch all three movies plus the spin-off shows.

7. He references Vines CONSTANTLY. So does Piper. They like to watch compilations on YouTube and quote along to them. Jason is SO CONFUSED when they quote them out in public.

He’s just like “Why did you yell “LOOK AT ALL THOSE CHICKENS!!” When we passed by that field of geese earlier?”

And they respond with, in perfect unison- “Wouldn’t you like to know, Weather Boy?”

8. I feel like he’d be the typa guy who’s memorised the entire Bee Movie Script.

9. His favourite musical is “In The Heights” bc he knows all the Spanish and he also relates to Usnavi on a SPIRITUAL LEVEL.

10. One time he was a little too overenthusiastic doing the HOT TO GO dance and accidentally wacked Reyna in the face. They found her in the process of trying to tie him in a bag with a rabid dog to throw him in the lake.

11. *types text out in all caps* *deletes it and types in lower case* *thinks “ah, fuck it” and types it out in all caps again*

12. Carries around Uno Reverse cards in his pockets just in case. It’s actually gotten them out of some tough situations.

Monster: I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!

Leo *reaching into his tool belt*: ha!

Leo: UNO REVERSE!!

Leo: NOW WE’RE GONNA KILL YOU!!!

13. His favourite Taylor Swift song is “I can do it with a broken heart”

14. Kinda a genius at Puzzle games, videogames in general (in TLH he gets exited when he sees Beckendorf’s old bed had a gaming rig, and also canonically played Mario Party with Jason). He used to play those Lego Videogames as a kid. (He still does).

15. Also he’s the only person who can beat Annabeth at Chess. She gets SO MAD:

“It’s literally a war strategy game! How are you better than me?!”

“[Witty Chess Pun here], mi amiga.”

*Annabeth flips the board over*

16. I mean we all know that he plays with Lego, right? I like to think that’s how he designed the Argo II, by building it with Lego first.

17. Jason and Piper only find out that Leo’s real name is “Leonidas” AFTER he died. And now Jason would never get to tease him about it…

(I know Rick confirmed it wasn’t but I like it so I’m sticking with it)

18. He was actually very careful to not teach Hazel all the memes right away, and save a few for the perfect opportunity. After he told her about his plan to sacrifice himself, he goes up to her and says very solemnly “At my funeral, please- I want you to play my favourite song as you burn my shroud. It’s a beautiful song called “Never Gonna Give You Up” by a man called Rick Astley- it’s about strength and loyalty and devotion. I think if- if I don’t make it… it would be a fitting send-off.”

She falls for it SO easily, and Leo got to play a few tricks on his friends from beyond the grave.

19. I know his death was a serious matter, but you can’t tell me that Leo didn’t use it to mess with Frank and Hazel.

“Hey, Frank! Are you gonna finish that cookie?”

“Well, I was planning on-“

And then he gives him an “I’m about to die tomorrow” look and Frank just caves and gives him the cookie. Little does he know that Leo’s already scored two muffins and a chocolate bar from Hazel by pulling the exact same trick.

20. In a world where Jason survived, he also uses it to mess with him.

“Hey Leo, can you take out the trash?”

“Can’t you do it? I died to save you.”

21. When he turned 18, he actually got a “Hot stuff” tattoo just like the fake one he drew in MoA

[deadlysoupy]

Hi! For the Rook ask game: 4, 12,13,15, 23, 29, 47,48

this is long but here we go!!! (a refresher bc geez i needed one too lmao)

Which faction did they join, and why? How long has it been?

it wasn't a choice, per say. it basically went like this: you're just minding your own business, being a Tevinter slave, non-mage ("In a world made for mages", as Tarquin once said), trying to not go insane. you're twelve, by the way. so, when a bunch of Lords of Fortune thieves break into a ship you are held on, and they ask you about a shiny gold statue, you give it to them, but they kind of... kidnap you. as a sort of "thanks for letting us have the artifact". Isabela herself trains you - first with knives, then with daggers - for ten years, and only then are you allowed to go on your own escapades

tldr: it's been a long time, Urchin (the Lords gave him that name since he didn't have one) has been with them for fifteen years now, and he's having a blast

Does Rook have any family? Do they keep in touch?

Urchin used to have close brothers and sisters, even a family, but they separated for each other's safety during a slave uprising, and he hasn't heard from them since

BUT he does have Isabela and the Lords now! i think they have a nice complicated relationship of "i never wanted a son or a daughter, but you reflect me like a mirror and i hate admitting it" with Isabela and "you're the first one who saw me as a person and cared for me so i'm going to make it your problem" with Urchin. they get along great trust me (he does also have some friends but nothing permanent)

Did Rook bring any trinkets/sentimental items to The Lighthouse?

that's a very good question i honestly haven't thought of before. i think he'd be really attached to the Lords attributes, like earrings, rings, just all kinds of jewellery. though... i think he'd also carry a book Isabela used to read to him as a kid. he rereads it a few times a year or so, to refresh his memory and his reading skills (he's not very good at reading), and it brings Isa closer to him. it's cute

What’s the first thing people notice when Rook enters a room?

independent on when and where they meet him, Rook always arrives in style. he loves being a show-off and a diva, to be in the centre of attention, and he dressed up for it, too. usually he wears a tevinter mage robes with a cloak for quick getaways and keeping his face hidden, but they're, first of all, Tevinter clothes (so, flashy blue-red combo), second of all, he's an elf who isn't even a mage. and he wears earrings like crazy. so i think the first impression of him would be "what the fuck"

What does Rook wear in the off hours? Do they like dressing up?

surprisingly, he doesn't actually have that many attires. he just loves very specific ones and wears them all the time. at the Lighthouse, Rook favours his old outfit, gifted on his twenty second birthday (ten year anniversary of being taken in), and he hasn't stopped wearing it since. it's a simple white tunic that he vicariously takes care of and slightly worn off pants, tied together by a belt with a gold chain (yes it's the re-coloured crows outfit what of it, it looks good on him!). it's simple, but he likes it. also earrings, obviously

Any vices?

oh, he's actually horrible at emotionally connecting to people. he's used to doing things alone, he's not used to opening up to anyone outside of very few people (cough cough Isabela's influence cough cough), so whenever their little team needs to confide in Rook, he just sort of... shuts off. i mean, yeah, he's trying to help by highlighting the good in any situation, and he makes a joke every five seconds just because he doesn't understand what people need from him when they're hurt. he sort of just listens, and does his best. on some people it works, on some it doesn't (i explain in the relationship chart post what Rook and Emmrich's relationship is like. yeah)

What’s Rook’s temper like?

explosive, at times (i was trying to do a pun for the saboteur spec but it didn't work. take it anyway)

usually he's a pretty laid-back dude, doesn't get angry a lot, not much can set him off in the first place. when he's in Minrathous, even, the city that he came out of with scars and years of ptsd, he doesn't really let it get to him. when he sees slaves (pretend they're there, okay? just imagine) being treated poorly he looks away and minds his own business than risk jail or something worse

but. in very specific situations he lets his anger take him over - and it has consequences for everyone. i believe it's implied that Laidir Rook killed the noble that betrayed him and Varric himself, and i think he'd be furious during it. like, to the point when he'd need to be stopped just so he could stop stabbing the poor corpse. so here we go - a problem with authority (hence why i can't pick the "reason with" option with the Grey Warden - there's just no way my Rook wouldn't want to beat the shit out of him out of pure rage)

A color, flower, animal, and weather to describe Rook:

colour: gold or sky blue

animal: magpie (like come on that's a low hanging fruit i couldn't NOT make him a magpie. my rookanis playlist is called "crow/magpie" this came to me in a vision)

weather: hot summer morning

[nsilocastillon]

NSILO at the NOUVEAU GRAND OPENING

Castillon attends the Grand Opening, wearing something casual, with a dash of class. She’s done the flashy, screaming colours of red and devils recently. Now, she’s back in black — accented with a belt and the gleam of neutral jewellery. Boots aren’t her style but she’s been in the mood to stomp on a few heads lately and it adds an unusual youthfulness to the attire (so she thinks). Nsilo’s no art critic and her creative talents lie in the grotesque, if anyone ever dares ask. But she appreciates an opportunity to show face somewhere and her humility and support of the local and ever growing talent within the city.

[emblematicemblazer]

World building and theories of Engage

Yunaka

Yunaka takes her name from unakite, a green and pink semi precious stone. Unakite is found in the Unaka range of the Appalachian Mountains. The name 'unaka ' comes from the cherokee term 'Unega' which means 'white'. 

Larimar is the trademark of a rare blue stone only found in the Dominican Republic. The myth of how the stone was discovered is as follows. In 1974 a father and his daughter were walking along the beach at the foot of the Bahoruco Mountain Range. The daughter spotted the stone so her father named the stone after his daughter 'Larissa' and the Spanish word for the sea which is 'mar'. 

I believe Yunaka was chosen as her new name because each stone is a unique combination of green and pink and Yunaka has a one of a kind personality. White could be a reference to her wiping the slate clean. Larimar could have been chosen as her real name to represent the changing tides in her life.

She adorns a contorted body suit with slits revealing her flesh. Revealing and tight clothing are symbols of her class and her former criminal career. In medieval times it was the commoner who wore less modest garments. The tightness would be necessary to aid ease of movement. Her body suit is a dark colour to enable her to camouflage with the dark. The black cape could also assist in camouflaging as well as aiding someone who often sleeps rough. Her cape could be used as a blanket and an umbrella. The gold armour on her legs and feet is quite usual and certainly would not assist camouflaging. I assume that due to her interest in weaponry she has treated herself to some flashy armour. 

Her belt bucket is an art deco style butterfly. The butterfly has several symbolic meanings, I will start with The Gaelic symbolism. Dealan-de is the Gaelic word for butterfly and literally means 'fire of god'. Butterflies were believed to be angels that ferry the souls of the dead to heaven. I think that this meaning fits well with Yunaka's character. Her personal ability is trained to kill so she is like an angel of death. The Japanese meaning also fits well. In Japan butterflies are also associated with death,they are believed to be the spirits of the departed. It is not this meaning I am referring to, butterflies are also associated with transformation and metamorphosis. Yunaka is transforming from Larimar to her current identity. The Buddhist concept of the 'butterfly mind' could be considered relevant as well. The butterfly mind is a restless mind that cannot settle or be still. Before Yunaka meets the Divine Dragon age is unsettled as she hints for her place in the world. She is like the butterfly who cannot remain upon the cushion. 

She decorates herself with stars. This could just be an aesthetic choice but there could be hidden meaning. I will start with Scotland and the flag of Sutherland. There is a star upon the flag that represents the position of the sun in the Scottish sky. In Japan there is a charming story behind origami lucky stars. They are symbols of good luck and love. Everytime a lucky star is made, a falling star is saved. 

A little girl called Hoshi was fascinated by the stars in the sky. One night she started to cry because the stars were falling from the sky. She ran inside to fetch paper and a jar. For every star that fell she made a lucky star and put it in the jar. 

There is also the star festival known as 'Tanabata'. In Chinese myth it is believed that the two stars Altair and Vega are only able to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month. It is tradition to write wishes on strips of colourful paper. 

Yunaka's casual wear is a lot less revealing and definitely warmer. . When she is not working she prefers to cover up. There are still practical features such as the elbow sleeve length. No one wants to cut a frilly sleeve when handling weaponry. She has an element of fun with the bright pink buttons. Her palette of dark purple and black could be to represent the night. 

[endless-bunny]

Pathfinder Iconics Comparison Part 3: The Remaining PF2 Classes

[Part 1: Classes with Different Iconics] [Part 2: The Remaining PF2 Core Classes] [Part 4: Classes Who Got Demoted] [Part 5: Prestige Classes] [Part 6: Who's left?] [Update: Rivani and Linxia] [Update: Lirianne] [Update: War of Immortals]

We've seen the classes whose Iconics changed between editions. We've looked at all the Core classes. Now let's look at the remaining classes in PF2 and how they stack up. Two of these are brand new for the edition (although one is sort of a successor to a class in PF1, I'll talk about that when it comes up).

Investigator

Quinn (he/him, Human [Garundi])

Quinn is the first of the two Hybrid classes from PF1 to be represented* in PF2. The Hybrid classes, originally found in the Advanced Class Guide, have two "parent" classes and take some of the features from both, but putting a little twist on it. It's not just like multiclassing, the Hybrid classes do play differently from either of their parents, or a multiclass character of both. In the case of the Investigator, its parents are the Alchemist and the Rogue. Most of the Alchemist features have been removed from the Investigator in PF2, leaving them a more specialised skill monkey character that hews closer to the Rogue, but with a bit more of a sleuth-y flair. * As full classes in their own right, more on that later.

Quinn's design is pretty much identical between the two editions. He just got an extra splash of colour and swapped his stripped undershirt for a bright red cummerbund.

Interestingly, all PF2 classes in every book feature two illustrations, one close-up action shot for the splash page and a more neutral full-body illustration used alongside the text. Archives of Nethys, the official online database of all first-party PF2 content, uses the full-body illustrations for all classes except those found in the Advanced Player's Guide, for which it uses the splash page action shots.

As far as I can tell, Archives of Nethys the only place that full versions of these splash page illustrations appear in official media.

The Investigator appears in the Advanced Class Guide for PF1, and in the Advanced Player's Guide for PF2.

Swashbuckler

Jirelle (she/her, Half-Elf)

The Swashbuckler is the second of the Hybrid classes to make an appearance. This time, the parent classes are Fighter and Gunslinger. While the PF1 Gunslinger gained "Grit" that they could use to perform "Deeds", the Swashbuckler gained "Panache". They changed how panache works in PF2 but the class is still built around flashy swordplay and taking risks in combat.

I love Jirelle's massive cape and her oversized boots, she has such presence. I prefer her expression in her PF1 art, that cocky, self-assured smirk and the open stance, as if inviting her foes to come and take the first swing.

The splash art brings back that smirk and like the other PF2 art of Jirelle, has a great sense of motion. The big cape, her long hair and the other belts and ribbons are great, because you can imagine her almost dancing about the battlefield.

The Swashbuckler appears in the Advanced Class Guide for PF1, and in the Advanced Player's Guide for PF2.

Witch

Feiya & Daji (she/her, Human [Tian-Min])

The biggest change to Feiya between editions was that her familiar, Daji, got a glow-up. While many classes can gain a familiar, the Witch class has more abilities that interact with it than any other, so they made Daji a kitsune rather than a regular ol' red fox to emphasise its importance.

I love the new design for her staff, it has a wild look to it, almost like a deer's antlers, and the magical energy she's wielding reminds me of brambles and thorns.

The Witch in PF2 essentially has three "things" going for it: the familiar, the patron (a mysterious entity who gives the Witch her powers), and hex magic (bizarre spells that are unlike anything other magic-users can call upon). The designers at Paizo are a bit unhappy with how disparate these three elements are, so the Witch is going to be getting the biggest overhaul of any of the classes in the upcoming Pathfinder: Remastered project.

And here's her splash artwork, you can see more clearly the crown-of-thorns motif for her magic, and Daji leaping dynamically into action (note, familiars are not good in combat in PF2, keep your pets away from the battlefield!)

The Witch appears in the Advanced Player's Guide for PF1, and in the Advanced Player's Guide for PF2.

Magus

Seltyiel (he/him, Half-Elf)

Like Sajan, Seltyiel put a shirt on between editions. But he also, as my friend put it, "overcome his tragic goth phase". In PF1, he appears to be using the spell shocking grasp, which is the definitive Magus spell. In PF2, shocking grasp was nerfed somewhat so while it's still really powerful, it's not always the best option for the Magus.

Seltyiel is a very interesting case. Like Valeros, Kyra, Merisiel and Seoni, Seltyiel made his first appearance as a pregenerated character when Paizo was making adventures for Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. His design predates the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. His first appearance in the PFRPG was in the Core Rulebook, where he was used for the Eldritch Knight prestige class. Thematically, the two classes (Magus and Eldritch Knight) are similar, but mechanically they're pretty distinct.

When Ultimate Magic came out in 2011, Seltyiel got promoted, and he's canonically been a Magus in official media ever since.

We will look at the remaining prestige classes in future but from what I can find, they're not characters in the same way. Seltyiel is sort of an outlier.

The Magus appears in Ultimate Magic for PF1 and Secrets of Magic for PF2. The Eldritch Knight appears in the Core Rulebook for PF1.

Kineticist

Yoon (she/her, Human [Tian-Hwan]) (PF1 vs. PF2)

In the Pathfinder Society, the official organised play of the game, time moves forward as players complete adventures and play through quests. Roughly speaking, years passing in game are one-to-one with years out-of-game, so Yoon was roughly eight years old when Occult Adventures came out in 2015, and is roughly 16 in Rage of Elements.

I really like Yoon's original design, but I also like seeing how much she's grown up. Rather than shapeless fire, she now has such fine control over her powers that she can shape it into birds. There are a lot of elements of her outfit that have been translated over really well, and of course she still has her stuffed owlbear, Gom-Gom!

The Kineticist appears in Occult Adventures for PF1 and in Rage of Elements for PF2.

Thaumaturge

Mios (they/them, Human)

The Thaumaturge is one of my favourite classes and Mios is such a great Iconic for showing off exactly what the class is about. In their backstory, Mios was bitten by a werewolf. They tried every folk remedy they could find... and one of them worked. They're still not entirely sure which one.

The Thaumaturge is a class built around collecting bits and pieces of pocket litter in the hopes that something will be the one specific weakness of any given monster, and usually they're right. They also wield implements, objects imbued with supernatural (though not necessarily magical) properties.

The Thaumaturge is one of two classes in PF2 that don't have a direct analogue in PF1 but in a way, it's a successor to the Occultist. In fact, "Thaumaturge" was a term used in PF1 to refer to Occultists of mythic rank. The two classes both make use of implements, although the Occultist is able to cast psychic spells ,which the Thaumaturge cannot.

Mavaro (he/him, Human) PF1 Iconic Occultist

The Thaumaturge appears in Dark Archive for PF2. The Occultist appears in Occult Adventures for PF1.

Inventor

Droven & Whirp (he/him, Half-Orc)

The Inventor represents the "gears" part of Guns & Gears. Droven has a little friend named Whirp, which is one of three options for an Inventor's inventions. You can make a little friend, a weapon, or a suit of armour. I love that Whirp is carrying Droven's tools, what a helpful little friend. Now that I look at it more closely, it does seem like Whirp is stepping on Droven's foot.

Notice as well that one of Droven's arms is mechanical. To make the game more inclusive, Pathfinder has mobility aids and assistive devices so that players can create differently-abled characters as they like. They were introduced in the setting book Lost Omens: The Grand Bazaar, but they made their debut in a core product in Guns & Gears.

The Inventor is the second of the two PF2 classes that doesn't have a PF1 equivalent, but unlike the Thaumaturge, there isn't even a class that is sort of similar. The Inventor is unique, it stands alone.

The Inventor appears in Guns & Gears for PF2.

And with that, we've covered all of the full classes in PF2. There are still 17 classes from PF1 remaining. We'll take a look at 5 of them next time, and the remaining 12 later.

[omoghouls]

Do you have any diapered copia thoughts to spare 🥺

👉👈 yess!

• When he was cardinal it was soo much easier for him to discreetly pad up. His cassock was flowing and even if someone thought they saw Copia's rear looking bulky they just assume his cassock just needed to be flattened/ironed.

But, once he became the showman/leader? Oooh that was a huge change for him! He wanted to wear flashy outfits, ones that let him dance without tripping but, that left him becoming incredibly aware just how bulky diapers are😎 even the thinnest pullup left a very noticeable imprint in his skin tight pants. ESPECIALLY his white ones, those left nothing to the imagination- which is lowkey why he started only wearing black or darker coloured pants, at least in the bright lights of the stage those colours just made it seem like he was wearing some dancers belt (at least that's what he has gaslit himself into thinking)

• He's not really partial to specific patterns of diapers. Though he does like the more spooky (bats, rats, weird lil skulls) ones ♡

• Chronic bedwetter so that man is double diapered 9/10 nights (that one night unpadded is when he decides he totally can make it one night dry, which always ends up with him shoving his sheets in with other's laundry to hide lol)

• Says he can change himself but lbr, his change jobs are very bad xD One tape is perfect, and then the other is somehow to loose and too tight at the same time and will leak instantly- so, please dont let him change himself unless you want more laundry lol♡

[olitheox]

This is the first time I’ve ever posted head-cannons or anything but I’ve had this idea running around in my head all day so here’s some head-cannons for The brothers of sins/more masc siblings uniforms.

Brothers/Siblings of sin uniform hc

My hcs for the brothers/masc siblings of sin uniforms would very much look like a catholic priest’s, much like how the ladies habits are a bit like a nuns

Black shoes and pants, as well as a priests black shirt and collar (maybe the black shirt would have gold buttons to tie in with honouring the colours of Copia, Or dark purple buttons to honour Terzo?)

The colour of their collar would be the colour of the reigning Papa at the time, so navy for Papa IV. Also with a black or maybe gold grucifix in the middle. (Yknow Papa IV’s more pointed gold grucifix? Yea you get the vibe)

But possibly if a sibling/brother worked closely or was one of the older papas s/o they’d be allowed to wear a collar the same colour as their respective Papa (example: a sibling that’s worked as Primos garden helper since he was in reign may be permitted to wear a red collar, A brother that was Secondo’s personal assistant may wear a green collar and so on)

Their black pants could have a grucifix on the side of one of their pant legs aswell, but tbh I feel like that might be a bit too flashy.

For the most part I feel they’d be expected to wear dressy shoes or boots for rituals/special occasions but be aloud to wear whatever kind of shoes any other time with exceptions, like if a sibling wore doc martens or combat boots(maybe even platforms) that would be totally acceptable but say if a brother pulled up to latin class in crocs Secondo might tsk and chew him out a bit.

I also feel like either suspenders or a belt would go with all that, maybe a particularly devout sibling may wear a black or navy belt with gold buckle with Papa IVs grucifix Engraved into it, but I don’t think it would be mandatory, a simple black belt would be fine too.

Anyway that’s all I got in the thinker, I was actually super nervous to post this but yknow what you only live once so 🤷‍♂️. I also have a terrible fashion sense and don’t know how to dress myself on the regular so if any of these seem like they’d clash or just not look good I’m so sorry😂. I’m totally open to opinions though, and if anyone wanted to adopt these hcs that’s awesome! I’m shit at drawing and have no digital stuff to make art with, or know how to use photoshop or else I would’ve tried to come up with some sort of something. so you’ll just have to use your ✨imagination✨. Maybe I’ll post some other headcannons in the future who knows. Bye bye for now 💙💛

[mozillavulpix]

for no reason, 10 Precure Toys that are the coolest

I'd say Top 10 but I can't rate them really and I'll definitely miss a few, so in no particular order.

Miracle Belltier and Fantastic Belltier (Suite Precure)

I think I like the Fantastic Belltier (white) more than the Miracle, but what I especially love about these is how there are three different attacks you can do depending on whether the two pieces are connected, split apart, or (the coolest one), if you have both of them, you can switch the pieces with each other

like what the hell. it sounds like a pain to have to recreate and maybe it was just a way to force people to buy both of them but also that's just the coolest idea

2. Pinky Catch (Yes! Precure 5)

I just think watches are the coolest transformation devices. It makes sense you carry them around, they're pretty gender-neutral, and can be a fashion accessory to boot. The Pinky Catch is an LCD toy, so it's a bit limited in its flashiness, but it does have a gimmick where you can open and close the 'lid'.

3. Flower Tact (Heartcatch Precure)

From what I can tell, Heartcatch was where they started moving away from LCD toys with limited audio capability (for the transformation devices at least), and I think that was a great decision. And the Kokoro Perfume is great. But what I love about the Flower Tact is the spinning. Physically spinning that rainbow wheel around just *looks* fun to do. The Shiny Tambourine also has that and I think it's great.

4. Love Heart Arrow (Doki Doki Precure)

Magical girl weapons that actually look like real-life weapons are the coolest. It feels pretty gross that the girls have to fight using makeup when the boys get to have swords and guns all the time. And the bow is in Doki Doki Precure's logo, so it's like it's an important part of the series. It doesn't look like the 'arrow' has much weight to it when you pull it back, which is a shame, but I guess this is also for children.

5. Fortune Piano (Happiness Charge Precure)

I do wish this one had a bit more functionality, it doesn't even have a card reader to register the cards you place in them, but I love electronic keyboards and this one has physical keys you press down as opposed to a touch screen mimicking a keyboard.

6. Princess Perfume (Go! Princess Precure)

I really do like both this and the perfume from Heartcatch, but this one has a neat gimmick where the more you press the button, the lower the light goes as if it's 'losing' liquid from the bottle, so it gives it a bit more to it. I just think it's a really solid transformation device. Nice design, nice gimmick, even if it's not the most unique.

7. Mofurun (Mahotsukai Precure)

Apparently this one sold like hotcakes. I'm actually not the biggest fan of it, but I do appreciate the hustle, it's a really smart idea. Instead of just having a random piece of plastic for the transformation device, you get to own an actual teddy bear at the same time. It's like a 2-in-1 package.

8. Twin Love Guitar (Hugtto Precure)

I'm biased for any of the musical instrument weapons tbh and I think I might like the guitar from Suite Precure a bit more but I already have something from Suite here and red and purple are just a cool colour combination.

9. Mermaid Aqua Pact (Tropical Rogue Precure)

This one's cool because it has a few ways to use it. The 'shell' pops out when you insert the ring, and you can put the 'makeup stick' into the pact to use it as a gun. Anything that turns into a gun is neat by my book.

10. Sky Mirage (Hirogaru Sky Precure)

The only one of these I actually own. I had to buy it the moment I saw it because...look at this shit, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen.

It uses a fast-rotating LED light to create patterns, and I don't think I've ever seen a Precure toy that's this complex in its operation. It honestly feels like the kind of thing they'd put in a Kamen Rider belt, not a Precure transformation device. Plus the Sky Tones can spin as well for extra use as fidget spinners.

I really hope it's the start of a trend for Precure toys being a bit more complex, because it does make me upset every time I see Kamen Rider get the coolest gimmicks I've ever seen while Precure is often limited to just "press a button and the clear part turns pink". It's almost...insulting. Like they're implying girls aren't intelligent enough to play with toys that have more involved features. Or maybe it's just because Kamen Rider is an older series with an adult otaku market and that's why a lot of the belts are sold via Premium Bandai instead but...still. They're still kids toys.

[amoeba-shaped-rock]

Playwright's Flowers

Warning: This post contains spoilers for IS2

 Introduction

The Playwright is the fourth boss in IS2, and there’s not much information on him outside of relic and boss descriptions. He only appeared in two CGs, both of which feature him writing on his desk in what seems to be his office. This essay will focus on a specific common denominator that appeared in both CGs: the vase with blue and white flowers.

(from encounter node Revenge Story)

(from fourth ending CG)

You might be tempted to say, “So what? They’re just flowers.”

The thing is that, blue roses, as depicted in the CGs, don’t exist in the natural world. Blue flowers, in general, are rather rare. The blue roses that exist currently are the product of genetic engineering, or dye. Genetically engineered roses have their blue pigment taken from Pansies, which appear more purple than the azure blue shown in the CGs.

(Rosa "Cardinal de Richelieu")

So it couldn’t have been genetically engineered. This implies that Playwright deliberately dyed some of his white roses with blue dye. And if we look closely at his sprite, all the blue accents in his design are accessories that are worn, instead of on his person.

2. Significance of the Colour

Why blue? Why did he choose to surround himself with this colour? For aesthetics? If he were a real person, then we can simply say, “Because it’s his favourite colour,” and leave it at that. But unfortunately, he’s a fictional character, one that is related to Phantom- who is chock full of references to Gothic literature at that, which means by design, his colour palette was a deliberate choice on the developers’ part.

The most obvious explanation is because he is meant to be Phantom’s foil, specifically in his Blood Diamond outfit. We can see it clearly in Rhythm in Literature:

Firstly, the title alludes to the two of them: Rhythm for Lucian, who is well known for his singing voice, and Literature for Playwright, who is known to write the scripts for the troupe’s performances.

Looking at the illustration, the two of them clearly contrast each other, both in design and in position. Starting with the obvious, Luci has red accents and Playwright has blue. Luci wears a hat, a flashy outfit, has short, light coloured hair and short, fluffy tail, meanwhile Playwright only wears glasses and ribbons on his head, a relatively plain/modest outfit, longer, neat dark hair (with few strands of white), and a long tail with short, dense coat of fur. Lucian stands in the spotlight, facing the audience, meanwhile Playwright faces the backstage, away from the spotlight. Both have black central pieces (vests?) but Phantom’s sleeves are white, while Playwright’s are dark gold(?). Phantom’s cape takes up a lot of space, meanwhile Playwright takes up only a minimal amount. Also, the number of belts.

(these two are such ship material I swear)

Looking back at the troupe’s children: We have Lucian, who decided to fight back against the troupe. Shalem, who ran away. Ursus boy, who chose death. Playwright, in my opinion, represents the fourth option: to join the troupe and take part in their tragedy. 

We can also see how he contrasts other ex troupe members from the ‘Parallels’ medal description:

‘Duality of possibilities’ is in reference to endings 1 and 2. Ending 1 features ‘hope’ where Lucian was brought back safely, but not entirely devoid of despair (ending 4). On the other hand, ending 2 features Ursus boy who suffers even in death, but we the players have an option to help him and grant his wish to disappear (encounter node Reprieve), which is an ending of despair, but not entirely devoid of hope. 

The play is composed by both the cast and the playwright, together, so I think the Playwright also parallels Lucian to some extent. Lucian was always full of hope (he was the talented student with potential, looked forward to debut as an actor, etc) meanwhile Playwright was called incompetent (Silver Fork), has a bad ending (Writer's Tongue), he probably represents left hand's despair.

Another possible explanation is because the Crimson Troupe’s signature colour is red, so he surrounds himself with the opposite colour, blue, as a sign of minor rebellion against the troupe. This implies that the Playwright doesn’t agree with the Troupe’s goals, but is cooperating with them for the sake of his own goals. Further proof that supports this interpretation is the play “The Lullaby”:

“A clean, comfortable, and relaxing dreamscape all begins with a lullaby, and when you are awake, everything will be that much better.”

From the CGs we can see that Playwright’s office has a similar window, lamp and ink bottle, and the shape of the glasses is similar to his. So we can safely assume that this play, which also heavily uses the same azure blue in its palette, is in reference to his office. The play symbolises a safe place to retreat to, which might imply that the Playwright uses his office (and by extension, his writing?) for escapism. 

A counterargument against this interpretation is that the troupe master also adorns the same blue on his ring.

But I think it can be explained by two possibilities:

i - that the troupe master knows about Playwright’s rebellion and is using the blue ring as a subtle threat, or

ii - the troupe master uses blue in his colour palette in an ironic way - this is related to my other theory that the troupe leader is a liberi (or at least, “unknown-suspected liberi” like Conviction) where he is the Bluebird of Happiness, but brings tragedy instead of happiness.

Alternatively, he might have chosen blue because it’s the troupe leader’s colour. The troupe’s signature is red, but to show his status, the leader might have chosen to wear blue to signify his special position within the troupe, and as his right-hand man, the Playwright follows suit.

He might also have chosen blue because he’s sick of seeing blood. According to the relics in IS2, he uses his blood as ink, and he is constantly seen writing or scribbling with his quill. The colour blue contrasts his blood’s red, you know, unless he has blue blood… hahah. hah. no I’m not kidding because see: my Gaul royalty Playwright theory right below:

What are the two things we know about Playwright? He probably came from Gaul like Shalem and Phantom, and he has blue in his design. Blue, and French. Azure blue is France’s national colour, and many centuries ago, was used to represent the French monarchy, so Playwright might be a royalty for all we know. Read the rest of my Royalty!Playwright theory in this post.

3. Blue Flowers and the Era of Romanticism

So we covered a lot about the colour blue itself, but we barely touched the main topic: blue flowers. Blue flowers are an important symbol in Romantic movement. But first of all, to really understand the significance of it, we have to look at the meaning of Romanticism and how it started.

To put it simply, Romanticism is a literary, philosophical, artistic movement that focused on the emotion and the self, in contrast to the Age of Enlightenment that preceded it which focused on reason and logic. Interestingly, some historians dated the end of Enlightenment era at the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

Back to Romanticism, this movement emphasised imagination, freedom, creativity, and nostalgia for the past. This focus on emotion over reason brought a lot of the literary tropes we know today, such as denying arranged marriages in pursuit of true love or the edgy solitary hero versus the entire world.

Prominent writers of Romantic movement are Edgar Allan Poe, and Lord Byron. Edgar Allan Poe was referenced multiple times in Phantom’s character and design: his birthday was based on Poe’s, and his Blood Diamond skin was based on one of Poe’s short stories, Masque of Red Death. On the other hand, Lord Byron’s stories gave birth to the character archetype called Byronic Hero: a sensitive, emotionally complex hero who goes against the world with a sad backstory that makes you want to root for him. One notable example of a byronic hero is Erik from Phantom of the Opera. That is to say, the Romantic era has considerable influence on Phantom’s lore.

During such a time, blue flowers were used to symbolise dreams, desires, love, and the pursuit for the unattainable- themes which were core to the movement. It also represented hope and beauty. Especially blue roses, which didn’t exist, were used to represent impossible love. Worth noting that these meanings simultaneously support and contradict the Crimson Troupe’s ideals: arts and beauty, but in the form of tragedy and despair instead of hope.

4. The Interpretations

Between the symbolism used during the Romantic era, and the flower language used in Victorian England, there are many interpretations we can draw - especially the way he mixed white and blue flowers, instead of sticking to only one colour. (plot twist: he just ran out of blue dye- in which case screw you kitty cat for making me think so much about this)

A. Mixture of lies and truths

White roses are often used to symbolise purity and honesty, and therefore blue roses, which are white roses dyed blue, can be seen as “fake”, “artificial” or “fabrication”. These can allude to many things, for example:

His arts

Playwright’s arts is said to be able to change reality to his desire, but such a powerful ability has to come with limitations. Following this interpretation, it’s likely that his arts can’t make something that diverges too far from reality. Like the way the blue rose needs white rose as a base, he probably needs to use reality as a basis for his scripts. This might explain why he needed to rewrite his script when Rhodes Island interfered and came to save Phantom.

His identity

From the relics and encounters, we know that Playwright is very dedicated to his revenge plan. It was emphasised in almost every piece of lore crumb that mentions him post-2nd expansion, and he was willing to sacrifice everything he treasured for his revenge.

I think there’s a good possibility that he is faking his loyalty to the troupe for his own goals, either trying to use the troupe’s strength and manpower for revenge, or biding his time to stab the troupe in the back. 

We can see in Act 1’s description, where he was described as “hero”. I’m certain that this is referring to Playwright because not only is it a necessary relic to get his ending, but also there’s literally no one else we know who has a bottle of blood ink, is trying to get revenge, and wrote himself an ending where he dies in a fire. The two meanings of “hero” are either the protagonist, or the person of noble character; He cannot be the protagonist, because from everything we’ve seen so far, it is Lucian who is constantly being referred to as the “protagonist” or “lead actor”, leaving only the second definition.

From what we know about Playwright currently, he is more of a villain than a hero- he cooperated with the troupe master, making Phantom’s life miserable, massacred people, and they plan to kill countless more. This is why I believe there will be a role reversal, where Playwright’s ends will justify his means, and he will be regarded a “hero”. Maybe not the traditional hero, but rather an antihero or a byronic hero. But then begs the question, what sort of end justifies all these massacres? If you ask me, I would be inclined to say the Crimson Troupe being destroyed for good and the death of the troupe leader, a possible Feranmut, but really, I’m too biassed towards my troupe-hating-playwright theory.

Alternatively, maybe we were lied to, and Playwright is the real “protagonist” of the story, and not Lucian, but I doubt this is the case. Playwright wrote himself an ending, but he also considers himself removed from his scripts, referring to himself as “the creator”.

His death

The developers didn’t spare any subtlety when talking about Playwright’s ending, as it was mentioned multiple times that he will die in a fire. However, this may be intended as a red herring - an attempt to misdirect the players to the wrong conclusion. 

In Act 1’s description, it’s notable that the terms “first act” and “first ending” are used. Initially I thought that it was a one-act structure play, but if there’s only one act, there’s no need to specify those as the “first”. It implies that there are Acts 2, 3 or more, and Playwright’s “ending” won’t be the end of his life. It might have meant the end of his revenge plans.

Still, whatever the Playwright writes becomes reality, and he did write an ending in which he himself died. There might be a way to circumvent this, for example, by faking his death a certain scifi anime/vn whose name I can’t say because it’s a spoiler-style and letting the Crimson Troupe’s “Playwright” die, and this emo cat takes on a new name and identity (like joining Rhodes Islands and getting a new codename? hopium).

4th ending - Silent Chapter

The fourth ending has Playwright monologuing a lot of things, where he says a lot of these vague lines, and it ends with him talking to the troupe leader. Because of how vague the dialogues are, I think some of these have double meanings, which describe the current situation, but also foreshadow the future events.

In this interpretation, the “lies” aren’t false statements, but rather misleading statements that drive readers to the wrong conclusions.

B. Striving for the impossible, and eternal love

This one takes the Romantic era meaning of blue flowers: something desirable but unattainable. Roses in general represent love of all kinds, and white roses specifically are used to signify eternal love. It makes sense when you think about it - Playwright has such a strong drive for revenge, he must have cared about the person(s?) he swore vengeance for a whole lot. But, following this interpretation, his revenge plan is difficult, if not outright impossible to achieve.

Maybe the target of his vengeance already died and therefore revenge is impossible, but if that were the case, he probably would have found something else to do with life- or just died right there and then because the life he spent for revenge has no purpose now. Cat is extreme.

Anyways, this means that the target either holds a powerful position in society, or is so strong that normal people can’t touch them. There are many directions to go with this info- for example, if we want to go with the Gaul Royalty route, he might want to take down the Victorian government (or like what’s left of it after the whole conflict in the main story), or maybe Leithania/Ursus too. If we want to go with the Troupe route, the troupe master is hinted to have space/time powers, which can make him nigh untouchable. And so on.

Either way, it makes a good food for thought for when we get more Playwright lore. (HG pls)

C. Nostalgia for the past, and innocence

This interpretation also follows the Romantic era symbolisms, where the past is glorified and the present is rejected. In Playwright terms, maybe the flowers signify his desire to return to the good old times, before he found out the truth about the troupe’s nature - the loss of innocence, so to say. This sentiment is shared by Phantom, who considered the troupe members his friends and family until the debut night happened and brought everything to ruin.

If we go by what is written in Shalem’s profiles, the troupe had always been intense and competitive, and those who can’t perform up to measure would be eliminated. Some IS2 relics imply that they might be killed and eaten, too. Maybe Phantom didn’t feel the brunt of these because he was the talented genius acknowledged by the troupe leader himself, but Playwright’s case might be different. His first encounter CG was called “endocarceration”, endo as in internal, and carceration as in imprisonment. Similarly, the battle node in this encounter is called, “Bound by Self”. This node is where players encounter playwrights in a dungeon, who want to continue writing but when they do, all they write is nonsense. Maybe Playwright is similar, he is trapped by his need to create the ‘perfect’ story, but he couldn’t. It’s possible that he used to be talentless, until he caught oripathy and got the ability to bend reality (the latter part seems to be implied by Painful Happiness).

So to say that, maybe his time in the troupe before he found out the troupe’s true nature wasn’t all sunshines and rainbows either. Instead, the past he fondly thinks of might be the days from before he joined the troupe, or when whoever he wanted to avenge was still alive.

D. Divinity and loyalty

Because of how rare the blue pigment was back in the day, blue is a colour reserved only for the rich and the noble. Artists only used the colour to paint something considered important, and in the case of Renaissance times, the Virgin Mary. This resulted in the colour blue being associated with holiness and divinity. This, coupled with white roses’ loyalty, might signify the Playwright’s loyalty to the troupe. 

A lot of Playwright’s character (not that there’s much of it so far) revolves around his revenge, so I’m not sure how this would fit into it. A thought I had is that maybe his revenge isn’t for a person, but rather for the arts. That matches with the idea that his death by fire is for the sake of martyrdom.

A well-known French person who died by fire as a martyr was Joan of Arc, but outside of these two similarities, I’m not sure if there’s a connection between them. Plus, the spot for Joan reference was already taken by Saileach- Unless… 

Joan of Arc was said to crossdress as a boy, therefore the Playwright is actually Saileach crossdressing in her off hours. (Cough forgive me)

I don’t know what else to put here in this section, I don’t have many thoughts or ideas about it.

5. Extras:

Other things that are tangentially related but not important enough to be included in the main body:

Gothic literature

Touched a bit in the main body. Gothic literature as a genre had major influences on Phantom’s lore, background and character. Aside from the obvious Phantom of the Opera, there were also references to Masque of Red Death and Black Cat, among many others. I highly recommend to read both short stories by Poe to gain more insight on Phantom as a character.

‘Tear of the Departed’

It was made by an elite operator who hadn’t made any appearances yet, and was hinted to be dead or retired. It has the same shade as Playwright’s blue, and Playwright is often associated with fire. He was also referred to as a ‘hero’, and both honesty and perseverance are traditional heroic qualities. This is a crack theory based on nothing concrete but maybe Playwright is trying to avenge Whitesmith?

Also interesting to think about because the voice in Phantom’s head, the same one that does his brainwashing, led Phantom to RI. So I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that someone in the troupe wanted RI to be involved.

ACT 1 (yes, this relic again)

It’s interesting to note that Act 1’s effects grant hope for some reason. Of course, in gameplay, it grants hope to the players. But I like to think that his arts grant hope to the Playwright himself- a hope to achieve his impossible goal of revenge. The blood red of the ink contrasts nicely with the blue flowers, as if saying that the blue’s unattainable dream is now attainable.

Fleur Bleue

In modern France, the term blue flower (fleur bleue) is used to refer to a sentimental, innocent person who is a dreamer. Maybe the Playwright is actually a sensitive and innocent person inside, before he was corrupted by the troupe. I do think he enjoys tragedy, the same way Phantom and Shalem do - Shalem’s files said: the children of the arts will always yearn for beauty, after all. It’s probably part of the troupe’s brainwashing. But, like Phantom and Shalem, maybe he does have another side to him.

6. Closing Thoughts

Blue flowers seem to have a lot of meaning throughout time and place, and many of them seem to fit Playwright's theme and narrative. I'm sure there are other interpretations to be made, so if anyone has any, do share! I'll be glad to discuss troupe lore.

7. Bonus

Real picture of me:

My friend asked me if those flowers really are roses.

I… don’t know. They seem like roses. If they aren’t, welp, guess I spent all these time for nothing then.

(was gonna insert a saileach with playwright face in here but man I suck at editing)

[iorekbyrinson]

bcs costume analysis notes

(live document to be edited, these are for me, but feel free to read)

Saul Goodman

Colour palette - Rainbow, brown. Who is the character Jimmy is trying to inhabit? Who is he trying to get across to, and be in opposition to?

Distinctive features - Suit, pocket square, garish colours

Wardrobe - Suits, pinky ring (from Marco), loafers

Hogwarts House - Snake (?) Badger

Kim Wexler

Colour palette - Black, grey, blue. Only character to prominently wear pink (innocence, romantic love), before Howard's death and in her promo pic.

Distinctive features - Ponytail, earrings and necklace

Wardrobe - Skirt suits, heels

Hogwarts House - Lion Badger

Mike Ehrmantraut

Colour palette - Black (death, of self, morality), Blue (police force, on side of law), Green (military background), Grey (of self, morality)

Distinctive features - Grey, black

Wardrobe - Jackets, shirts, civilian wear.

Hogwarts House - Lion (?) Bird

Nacho Varga

Colour palette - Red (impulsivity, cartel proximity, passion), black (proximity to death, intimidating, death of self w/regards to parental expectations and deadening effects of violence)

Distinctive features - Red and black colour scheme, snake earring, gold chains, shaved head

Wardrobe - Muscle shirts, leather jacket.

Hogwarts House - Snake Lion

Gus Fring

Colour palette - Yellow, civilian uniform. Black (death, of self, justice for dead partner) Purple (royalty, specialness) Blue (personal law, surface adherence to societal law)

Distinctive features - none yet

Wardrobe - Glasses frames, suits. Armour.

Hogwarts House - Snake Bird par excellence

Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca

Colour palette - Recurring colours (before S6) Purple (royalty, fun), Blue (personal law). Has worn dark red (leaving prison), yellow (sit-down with Gus and Bolsa), and orange (in prison). Has worn khaki green (carrying out recon on Mike). Wore a flesh-pink shirt to meet Gus (it's not really yellow, but it could be a case of mirroring to engender trust)

Distinctive features - Bright blue shoes, 70's adjacent fashion (the era of the drug barons, see Narcos). The 2000s were a spotty time for fashion, but I think there was a deliberate choice here to call to that.

Wardrobe - Shirts with a "buzziness", prints, swirls, etc, flashy belt buckle, narrow look.

Hogwarts House - Badger Snake

Howard Hamlin

Colour palette - Hamlindingo blue, shades of blue, white

Distinctive features - Hamlindingo blue, crisp pinstripe suit, knit tie

Wardrobe - See above

Hogwarts House - Air, Ravenclaw

Chuck McGill

Colour palette - Light, clear blue, stony grey, ozone colours. Veers into black. Often wears subtle stripes.

Distinctive features - Electromagnetic condition, silver tin foil

Wardrobe - Full suits.

Hogwarts House - Badger Bird

Rough colour spectrum notes

Red to orange to yellow is the criminal spectrum, with red being the most violent/leading to violence (Tuco, Nacho, characters that are about to commit violence or threatening violence) and yellow being the most uninvolved (Gus Fring's civilian uniform, the arms dealer, Dr Caldera).

Brown is the midpoint, trying to ride between the two spectrums. Grey is the midpoint between two absolutes - black, death, and white, innocence. That doesn't mean it's a moral good - it's the expression of lawful neutral, with a capacity to step into either. Jimmy wears brown at the beginning where he's trying to toe the line between "colourful" and following the letter of the law. Mike wears grey because he's committed murder and forfeited a part of his soul (black), but he's trying to keep clean for Kaylee and Stacey (white, innocence). The darker his actions and motivations, the darker the grey. And of course, by Breaking Bad, he's a consigliere and a man in black.

Black is death - literal death, past death, death of the self, death of one's conscience. Gus Fring wears black like a judge puts the black hat on when prescribing death - death is revenge, which is a form of justice for Gus. His mission is to take revenge for his dead partner.

White is innocence, removal from the cartel or criminal worlds. Lawyers, especially Howard Hamlin, and honest working man Papa Varga frequently have white accents in their clothing. The exception is Eladio Vuente, king on Olympus, who doesn't need to get his hands dirty at all.

Pink is another form of innocence, but more closely connected with love. Kaylee and Stacey Ehrmantraut wear pink, and Rebecca wears it in her scarf when coming to Chuck's trial.

Blue in all its shades is the legal spectrum. Note: not the morally good spectrum, just the law. Personal law, literal law, adherence to the law, belief in one's law. It often crops up with members of the police and nearly every lawyer we see on screen. Lalo Salamanca's blue shoes show how committed he is to familial law ("la familia es todo") and to the laws of the cartel. He is a main beneficiary and upholder of those laws. He sees himself as fundamentally just and mission-focussed (his behaviour with his underlings at the estate or the people smugglers show this character streak).

Purple is an interesting colour, in that it is worn often by those in (or perceiving themselves to be in) positions of high status. Gus, the dignified man who would found an empire and has a "protected" status, wears purple, as does Lalo, the cartel prince. Its historical associations with royalty and specialness explain this. As a mix of red and blue, one can also view it as a midpoint.

[corruptimles]

Hi! I stumbled across my ask where I asked you about your thoughts on Geats's first episode, and with the show coming to an end, I wanted to see how you felt about it now, if you've kept up with it? I really liked it, it gave me brain worms

I've been enjoying Geats a lot! I'll try to keep this brief review mostly spoiler-less just in case.

It so far has had the most dynamic and fun fight choreography in Reiwa? Though some scenes from Zero-One still live rent-free in my brain (Fuwa my beloved). It's just really refreshing compared to the previous season. I love the use of environment and more hand-to-hand that can actually be seen without flashy effects. Not to say it doesn't have occasional colourful cgi, but the usage is more consistent for when an attack's power/type actually calls for it. Characters take creative actions with their tools! Buffa using his feet/leg to kickstart his chainsaw because it's a big heavy weapon also lives rent-free in my head. Different characters use the same power-up different ways. I have more actual examples to prove I'm not just over-exaggerating but those are big spoilers. I just like the Geats is consistent with having fights with flow and appeal and suiting different characters styles. Important when they can change or lose their power-up weapons so often w how DGP suits work.

The designs are cleaannnn. The emphasis on the undersuit as a base uniform that is functionally customizable? That's very fun. It has a consistent belt/power-up gimmick and is surprisingly versatile despite people only using the same one or two belt type. (Not groundbreaking as other KR shows have done limited tech before as well, due to literally only having 1-3 riders at most, but important to me) I don't think there's a design I really dislike from Geats. There's suit combinations being jarring colour combos but they're temporary anyway. And the ones that looks clunky and alien were, well, those made sense really.

It's done some things that I wasn't expecting from KR, at least from a Reiwa/Heisei 2 style. Heisei 1 had its serious/scary moments since those leaned more into the J-Drama side but those were yearsss ago so seeing it in Geats was an interesting whiplash (SPOILER: referring to some scenes/revelations that surrounded child death and existentialism)

I do have nitpicks but not enough to really ruin the experience for me. To be vague, it's about an arc's relevance/writing, a specific character's writing, and a more inconsequential thing like lack of some specific character designs.

I'm curious on how it'll wrap up since this is the first time Yuya Takahashi wouldn't have to rewrite and rush anything due to unforeseen circumstances like with Ex-Aid and Zero-One

Realized how often I use the word 'consistent' lol. It's just one of my pet peeves if rider/power systems are just, thrown away, and people start getting belts and forms up the wazoo w no decent explanation. [deletes a bunch of typing here] That's another few paragraphs worth of explanation so I'll shorten it to this: it makes it less tv show and more toy commercial, if that makes sense.

anyway Neon is my favourite female rider by far

edit: oh I haven't caught up w the last two eps yet

[canonsinthehead]

gosh i love these posts so much like yes more naruto brainrot please! can i ask whats the most fashionable village?

so here i am a decade later...

KONOHA :

  • Obviously, the most fashionable. The land of the free. Konoha is the most flexible and allows its residents to express themselves. They believe diversity is a strength so that’s why they allow uniforms to be modified and adjusted to the person’s will. Matter of fact uniform are rare even in high schools.

  • Male street fashion (most teen/young adult men dresses with the print design "Supreme Logo" shirt + sweatpants baggy uniform.

  • But no one wants to be a background characters (fashion main character syndrome)

  • it’s common for many to get new full outfits for each graduation, events or occasions. (over consumption)

  • Konoha is known for their craft when it comes to jackets (jeans & leather) and windbreaker. Idk how they make them but they are indestructible.

  • Trends thief. Everything is a trend in Konoha. They love to take things here & there, call it something else and make it another trend (do you see the pattern? It’s the same for the food…) An example : Kiri’s People of the Night/Red Light District women fashion has been recycled as night club wear in Konoha.

  • For some reason, pregnancy fashion is ass. It’s the same 4 dresses, skirts & aprons in a kabillion pastel colours.

KIRI:

  • WIFE BEATER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

  • Personal sense of style is associated with confidence (and the boldness of breaking the law)

  • Using fashion to flunk your wealth is heavy in the country of Water (think of the Yakuza and Congolese Dandies)

  • Depending on the regions, kimono is huge. Belts/obi and hair decorations for it can be insanely expensive and often made of silk and precious stones.

  • “Look at this lascivious whore! Her ankles are showing!” but “Real men are visuals and want to feast their eyes on a women’s beauty body”

  • Fashion always hold a lot of political power (past and present. Those who rebelled against the oppressive regime dressed against the dress code and purposelessly wore flashy/elaborate outfits. Also women wore pants or disguise themselves as men to escape oppression.

  • The country of Water produce most of the world’s silk. It is a national pride because it ties back to the leader of the Yuki Clan, Aizawa-han Yuki (Haku’s ancestor and historical figure). Regardless the forceful dismantlement of his clan, he was and still is considered a fashion icon. The traditional attires of the Yuki clan was adorned with silver jewelry and nature inspired decorations. After the coup that led to his demise, a lot of archives and photography were properly restored so his influence can be felt till this day. We’ll come back to him later as we dive into the geography and history of the country of water.

SUNA:

  • Fashion show capital of the world. The largest fashion runway shows are organized there. It's a huge contrast to the modest monochrome/tan/beige/brown aesthetic of the citizens’ everyday life

  • There is a preference for quality fabric and new found love for niche luxury items. Suna developped a profound foundness for its local designers and artisans.

  • BAGS, HANDBAGS, WALLETS, SUITCASES. The most classy and/or expensive bags are from the country of Wind, since in general its popular gravitates towards simpler designs either for everyday life or specials occasion. The better the quality, the more it signal higher social class.

  • Glass jewellery is also a huge industry because of the unlimited access to sand. It is cheap to produce and pretty.  Its an industry more catered towards outsiders and the country is making BANDS of it. So, the earthy girl you met back in Konoha with a pound worth of “healing crystals” around her neck and ankles claiming their super powers bought most of them from a street vendors in Suna’s main street (its overpriced junk).

  • Big on modest fashion + luxury accessories.

  • Suna makes the best leather shoes especially boots.

[emblematicemblazer]

World building and theories of Engage

Diamant

Diamant means 'diamond' in French. The diamond is one of the most valuable and coveted precious gemstones in the world and are prized for their beauty, their sparkle and their durability. Only a diamond can cut another diamond. A flawless diamond has no inclusions but if you look at Diamant's hair, his hair has an inclusion of neon colouring. This is a symbol that he is not flawless. His name is designed to be the opposite to Alcryst. Alcryst is an anagram of crystal. A crystal is a simulated diamond, a fake diamond. It is not as valuable, as durable or as rare. Crystals can still shine but they will never shine brighter than a diamond (poor Alcryst). People will wear crystal replicas of diamond jewellery to protect the real version from damage or theft. I like this as an analogy of the promise Alcryst made to his father to protect Diamant. 

Diamant wears a few items which are similar to his father's. Just like King Morion he adorns elaborate vambraces of plate armour and leather straps combined with elbow defences. Diamant does not choose to gild his armour with gold; instead he wears bronze tone armour with red markings. Red is the national colour of Brodia. The markings look like they could be a  reference to Celtic designs and symbols such as the triquetra. Similarly he wears sabatons that are made of bronze shades metal and red symmetrical triangular patterning. His sanctions have a duckbill shaped toe cap, four articulated lames, four plates, an ankle plate and hinged heel cap. 

Instead of wearing plate armour across his chest, like his father, Diamant wears a waistcoat, which has the advantage of being light and flexible, known as a 'jack' or a 'brigandean'. It still protects against thrusts and close quarter combat strikes but offers less protection from an arrow. The high neck serves to protect the wearer from strikes to the back or side of the neck and to the throat. If you look at the designs on the jack you will see a tartan design which would represent the clan of the royal family. 

The x belts around Diamant's waist serve to keep his body protection tightly to his silhouette. They have a decorative function as well, the buckles have an engraving and the leather is textured. The two upper cross body belts have a similar function and also hold the cloak.

A red cloak with the symbol of Brodia might seem an impractical item for a warrior to wear. On the contrary, a cloak is a useful item for a warrior to wear. Normally cloaks are made of a very thick, durable material and when wrapped around the firearm can be used as shields to block edged weapons and weapons can be concealed within them. Diamant used his cloak to veil the sword on his hip. They have practical functions as well such as: blankets, rolled into cushions, bandages, protection from the wind and rain (Brodia is based on Scotland so it will have a great amount of both), put over the head to protect from the sun, protect armour from eroding and rusting caused by magic and weather and they can be combined to create a tent. 

When Diamant becomes a successeur his findings turn from silver to gold (like his father's) and he adorns the Brodian crown. His cloak gains a flashy clasp which features a gemstone. The gold rope fastening of his cloak would have been woven from real gold. Gold would be beaten into long strips and wound around a core, such as a silk thread, and then wound into a rope. 

Red is important because it is the colour of the lion rampant on the Royal Banner of Scotland. Red in this banner represents fire, blood, energy and war. The gold in this banner represents wealth and wisdom. The emblem ring protected by Brodia is the 'young lion', in other words Roy.