#pink fascinator

[elegancefascinator]

[blaithnne]

This is so funny to me because I can PICTURE host!Vic furiously storming into the studio after having watched season 1, complaining that they look completely ridiculous on camera (bright pink? What are they, an anarchist?) and demanding a new wardrobe. They’re given one (1) new shirt in a different colour and go “perfect, now give me a broach that looks like a sea urchin to show what a cool fun guy I am as well”

[detailedart]

i want to know who broke the sky's heart last night

[lyriumflames]

So we all know about the classic "I'm changing history to save clara" quote, but do people know the absolute batshit earlier draft of that scene? Like-

My god

[k0fii]

Mutual Love and One-Sided Obsession

Love is mutual and that's the fundamental difference of MiziSua and IvanTill. That's what Ivan understood in his final moments - and that's why he said his feelings were shallow.

Prefacing this, not really an analysis but more of a personal connection and overview of the songs of alnst, with a quote from Richard Siken on love.

"If it was unrequited, it wasn't your first love, it was your first desire. You've got all your loves ahead of you. That sounds pretty great to me."

My Clematis; Love and the Significance of a Duet

My Clematis is a song that stands out amidst all other Alien Stage performances. Not only because it's a duet with the intentions of a tie, but also because Mizi and Sua are singing this song to and for each other. Instead of catering to the audience before them, they look to each other. In an act of defiance, they love each other. Sua sings to Mizi, as Mizi sings to Sua and this performance isn't for anyone else but them. It's beautiful, enchanting and Sua's death is made more painful by that love that's so clearly shown to the audience. Even as Sua is taken away from Mizi, nobody can deny the fact that they love each other. That the feeling between them was undeniably love.

Unknown (Till the End...); Idolization

In juxtaposition to My Clematis' heavy focus on the duet between Mizi and Sua, UTTE makes it a point to show how Till takes the spotlight all for himself one-sidedly, not even allowing his opponent to sing. In a way, this represents the extent of Till's idolization - only his feelings, the admiration for this idealized version of Mizi he has in his head are sang and borderline shouted out. The other singer is drowned out in Till's intense voice and declaration of love;

"Ain't nobody but you're the one that I'm feeling it's love"

However, Till fails to realize that the thing he wanted - Mizi's gaze to look back at him too - is rooted in reciprocity. It means allowing the other singer to get their voice out, it means allowing this preconceived notion he has of her in his head to be shattered by the reality of who Mizi truly is. UTTE is a representation of how Till's deluded image of Mizi overpowers the reality he currently lives in, it's a form of escape for someone who has always been shackled by chains.

It's a contradiction present in the song itself;

"I wanna know all about you (ya)"

For all Till sings that he wants to get to know Mizi, he never attempts to get closer to her and always, in his view of her, she's far away like an idol he can't reach. Like a god to a sinner that needs saving. It's the first desire of wanting to be saved, of wanting a saint to reach out their hand to you. And that first desire, as much as Till proclaims it to be love for its intensity, is known as something that's not love, something closer to obsession because of that very same intensity. Because that intensity prevents him from loving who Mizi truly is apart from who she represents in his head - again, it drowns it out.

Black Sorrow; Unrequitedness

Black Sorrow starts off with an admission; Ivan can't reach Till. He'll always follow him, even if he recognizes that all this will end in is tragedy. He constantly speaks of an absence - foreshadowing of Cure perhaps, but also of Till leaving him and turning back, of Till always choosing to not stay by his side, to chase for an unreachable idol. To the viewer, Black Sorrow is a song solely focused on Ivan but we can see in the video that Ivan allows his opponent to sing - a representation of his subservient nature but also perhaps of the fact he sees Till. He allows Till to sing out in deafening roars and sees him for what he is, and admires him for that. In contrast to UTTE's idealistic nature, Black Sorrow is very much rooted in reality. Till is pointedly not awake during this song - once again, he doesn't see Ivan but also he is not woken up to the reality that Ivan forces him to face. If not rooted in love because of the acknowledgement of unrequitedness, then what is Ivan's desire? It's to drown in his chosen black sea of sorrow.

Cure; Obsession and the Significance of a Duet

Ivan and Till both sing to someone who is not listening, they both sing to someone who is not looking at them in contrast to My Clematis.

"Dissolve me in your gaze

...

Please, leave me scars

Please, hurt me so that

Not a single drop of me remains

Let me drown in you"

Till wants to drown in the fantasy he's created for himself - going back to the sinner analogy, he wants everything of him that he views as wrong cleansed by Mizi's saintly presence. For once, Till lacks the same conviction he did before - he's pleading now, and asking as if praying to a dead god. Maybe it's because he thinks Mizi is gone, maybe it's because he thinks he's beyond saving.

"May they linger on your tongue

You can break me apart

...

I'll drown in you"

Ivan remains the same, steadfast in his determination and doubling down on his declarations in Black Sorrow. He doesn't ask - he knows his 'love' is unrequited, but that he will drown in it anyways.

"To this everlasting melody

Face to face we dance

With our story

Lost in forever's embrace"

Despite the lyrics stating that they stand face to face, they don't - one is always looking away. That's why, the story of what they are and what could've came to be is lost in the embrace of a time that's both not there and forever there. What they could've been is not what they are because of that everlasting melody, the obsession the two of them have that is distinctly not love because it's unrequited. Because they will always ask to be consumed in another's gaze instead of simply looking at each other and seeing. Because Till's first desire is to be saved and Ivan's first desire is to drown, the round would have always ended that way.

"Thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions."

Ivan thought he and Sua were similar at one point. He felt jealous when he realized that the fundamental difference between them was that Sua was loved, and he was not. I think that in his final moments, he recognized this jealousy for what it was - the incessant human need to be loved and to be wanted. And what does that love entail? He sees it in Mizi and Sua, it means loving and being loved in return. That's what love is, and with heartbreaking clarity, he understands that it's not what has driven him or Till this far. A one-sided obsession could never be love, because love is always mutual. To love is to be seen, to be known. Ivan was not the former, Till was not the latter.

He steels himself, he will drown in these shallow emotions, just as he always planned (even if the sacrifice was not). He knows this sacrifice seems hypocritical, but it couldn't be with such a simple yet clear difference.

Compared to the deep grief brought about by the deep and intense emotions of love and loss, the pain he will cause Till will only be as shallow as his own emotions. Because it only reached Ivan, only drowned him and it never seemed to reach Till.

[pinkrose05]

Ok so @b1adie's post from earlier got me thinking about element Types and Paths again.... and predictably enough, I am also here to talk about my fave old man Yingxing and how his kit would look like if he were playable.

We can probably agree that Fire type makes the most sense for many, many reasons, but in terms of Path I'd like to humbly propose....

drumroll

...Preservation!

Ok, hear me out: Preservation in this game is frequently associated with building and construction. You've got Qlipoth's walls, the Cornerstone effects, and the very act of creating a shield! Naturally, a master artisan would be right at home constructing stuff; I mean, remember that one scrap lion?

Yeah, Yingxing is very good at building things up from the ground. Just imagine the amount of detail this bitch would put in his shields! Knowing him, they'd be the most elaborate magic walls to ever wall in history.

Another thing is how Preservation pathstriders admire stubbornness and are prone to protective actions. As for the former trait, stubbornness is a part of persistence, and persistence through adversity is a key aspect of Yingxing's character: his home is destroyed, he's always struggling with the sabotage and prejudice of his seniors and peers... and still he keeps pushing on and ahead, all the way to hard-earned success.

As for the latter, Yingxing's attachment to the makeshift family he's found in the Quintet can definitely lend itself to a protective streak- doubly so considering the weapon gifts he'd given to them all. It's like he's always watching their back! It's his way of keeping them safe so he doesn't lose his loved ones again!

(It's the only part of him that will stay with them when he meets his timely demise. It's proof that, even in death, he will forever stand by their side.)

A third thing is that, if you consider the construction aspect again, Preservation is actually the most direct antithesis to the Path of Destruction. The symbolism in there really hammers in (heh) the 180° turn between Yingxing and Ren- and wouldn't it be the perfect sort of ironic for them to mirror each other in the very core of their beliefs?

(I actually think they should have the worst anti-synergy in history if/when Yingxing becomes playable. There's a kit concept somewhere in my files that has 1) several ways of pulling aggro, 2) Max HP buffs that depend on using skill points, and 3) a one-turn block on allies' HP changing whenever any of Yingxing's shields break. It's basically a dedicated sustain kit that just so happens to be a massive Fuck You to Ren in specific, because come on, the idea's just too good to pass up!)

[aworld-inpink]

see, here's the thing:

I don't think Belphie has ever really cared for gender at all.

living as long as he has, and being the sin of sloth, you sorta get why he can't be bothered with it

is he a guy? nah, not really

but is he a lady? not necessarily

if Belphie had the effort to think about his gender, I think it would be more nonbinary than anything

he'll use he/him for convenience and from not wanting to be alienated from the others

but he doesn't mind other pronouns

food for thought: trans guy Beel and enby Belphie :)

[maskerat]

Slowly just getting back to traditional art, for some reason digital doesn't feel right for me at the moment.

Anyway, have Army in Pink from Lob-Corp, one of my favourite abnos, I think he's cute.

[sleep-escapes-me]

thinking about the alternate universe where bells hells doesn't happen so imogen and launda make a more permeant home in jrusar.

imogen eventually gains access to the starpoint conservatory. still finds the study by prof sumal that mentions her mother by name. but how far does she go to discover this bigger-than-exandria thing she's seemingly connected to? the ruidus/solstice shit still obviously effects her but how does not having the truth seeking journey of bells hells morph her perspective of future decisions that may come up

imogen temult, ever kind-hearted by nature, how different will her resistance to predathos be if she only has laudna by her side. laudna who often encourages that she's capable of so much. and that big red moon in the sky becomes the literal proof. something something fate can twist intentions

like...does she still even confess to laudna in any capacity??

intriguing side note, the "party split" could maybe still happen. shunted to different parts of the world, each half of bell hells meet each other as complete strangers

[sevennone]

240612 | bauer combine 🌸

[otaku553]

Marx concept doodles part 2 electric boogaloo

I enjoy the cape but im still not sure how to handle coloring it without overwhelming everything else

Also long hair updo ideas :)

[rennymayflower]

IVE FIGURED IT OUT

I KNOW WHY IRIS AND CUBE ARE CONSTANTLY TEAMING UP

So, as we all know, cube shapes (like, well, Cube) have super strength, and spheres (like Iris) have super speed. Plus Iris has a sword and the ability to teleport, and Cube has claws, sawblades and gears. They are both equally overpowered in their own ways.

Now tell me, dear reader, what happens when you mix overpowered speedy circle that can teleport and has melee attacks, overpowered strong cube with (probably) solid metal ranged + melee attacks, AND the power of two heroes?

AN UNSTOPPABLE, DEADLY FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. THAT IS WHAT YOU GET.

Iris isn't teaming up with Cube because he cares about him more than the others, he's doing it because it is a STRATEGICAL ADVANTAGE IN THE EVENT THAT THEY GET INTO A BATTLE AND HAVE TO FIGHT.

IT'S NO WONDER IRIS SAYS THIS WHEN CUBE QUESTIONS IF THEY'LL BE ENOUGH, HE KNOWS THAT JUST HIM AND CUBE AND THEIR TWO HEROES WILL BE BEYOND ENOUGH IN BATTLE. THESE TWO TOGETHER COULD LITERALLY CAUSE MASS DESTRUCTION IF THEY WANTED TO-

Legit the reason Iris and Cube as a duo work so well is because power-wise they compliment each other PERFECTLY

[aroanthy]

the thing about nanami that makes her so agonising and unpalatable to anthy and touga is. like. she just does her thing and proves, repeatedly, resolutely, that one can Just Not. ‘ohhh in the end all girls are like the rose bride’ meanwhile nanami’s like Actually That’s Dumb and she’s active and she tries to take things she wants but she doesn’t have a bride herself, does she, so to what end is all of this? herself? herself as the bride that she fights for? how does that work? how does that make sense? how can one whole person be whole and independent, when that person is a girl who is 13 and stupid and i hate her (— anthytouga, probably)

[conceptofjoy]

Ever thought about how Hal and Ult Dirk would interact? I feel like Hal would make fun of him

i have :) she wants to leave.

[peridammit]

Ok so spoilers for the invincible atom eve special

love how her whole storyline is about how she's weird and not normal and then they make her the NORMALEST girl possible, like how do they make her THAT autistic as a child and then have her?? grow? out of it??? how do you fumble a neurodivergency allegory that hard??

[sadaveniren]

If you say "we didn't set it up" enough times people will assume you did set it up.