#since the color theory makes a big part of the show

[centrally-unplanned]

Academic History YouTuber Premodernist released video recently on "State Flag" discourse, and flag discourse more wildly, that I thought was pretty good! I agreed with 50% of it. For those who don't know, there is a longstanding movement in the vexillology community to push for more simplified flag designs, and they hate the state flags of the US as their antithesis; a movement that catapulted into the internet mainstream when YouTuber CGPGrey released a video riffing on that debate and grading all the state flag designs.

That video is great by the way (it's hilarious, CGP Grey is just very talented as a performer), and the biggest thing Premodernist is wrong about is that the state flags do suck. But what he gets right is that the so-called "principles" briefly referred to in the video are themselves pretty weak; some are fine but others do not hold up to much scrutiny. The state flags largely suck for the boring reason that they just suck; they are shitty designs and often repeat each other in a domain where "standing out" is the point. Like what the fuck Montana:

This is something a 5th grader whips up in PowerPoint for a class presentation. Helvetica Bold?? "Mandated by law in 1985" yeah I didn't need Wikipedia tell me this decision dates to the 80's.

But that is boring and subjective, right? You can't just say they suck. So you had to make a theory about it - and I won't go into too much detail but it generally boils down to:

Make it simple, "something a child could draw"

Make it "distinct at a distance", since it is a flag you are supposed to see it at a distance

Three colors or fewer

No words on flags

Which I think you can get the philosophy for. These principles, which CGP Grey outlines, actually come from the work of Ted Kaye, who is a big figure in the aforementioned flag reform movement and the focus of most of the video. As part of the original CGP Grey video I just rolled with that, but I did remember him showing Utah's newly designed flag at the end which embodied these principles, and uh:

This is kind of mid? Like it doesn't suck, but it looks like a corporate redesign of a hockey team logo or something. A bit of a red flag (hah) if your front-and-center case is weak.

Anyway this is what Premodernist digs into in the video. The stuff I agreed with the most are the parts where he just ???? at some of these rules. "No finicky bits", a "child must draw it", "distinct at a distance"? None of these actually track for say this one:

A child drawing the US flag does not draw 50 stars and 13 stripes unless they are a budding librarian; you absolutely cannot tell if this flag has 50 stars on it from a distance, and that level of detail is clearly some kind of finicky. Of course your response is "okay sure but still, I can tell what the flag is from a distance, I can't count the 50 stars but I get the gist". But that is true for almost all flags!

It's a fern and a peace pipe and a brown thing and the word "Oklahoma" below it, you absolutely, 100%, will be able to tell what this flag is at a distance. You don't need to count the leaves to get the general shape, and when you think about it, it is actually kind of silly anyone would claim otherwise. There just isn't any need to appreciate the tiny details on a flag to understand whose flag it is. (the only valid critique here is that everything should be bigger - too much dead space)

Not to mention the "see from a distance" thing even being a metric. That isn't how you encounter flags most often today? Maybe in the 19th century on a battlefield that was (and even then you had battle standards), but it isn't now. You see it in textbooks, on your computer screen, as an icon for a football game team, right next to you in a government office. Why privilege distance? You just made that up as a value. 99% of "flag consumption" is not seeing it at a distance.

The "only use ~3 colors thing" is the funniest, you can just argue this with...no? No you don't. You don't. What? No. You can...you can just use more colors? Here is an example from the "manual" Ted Kaye wrote on the subject:

And the 5 bands on the chinese flag are fine! They are not "hard to look at" or whatever. Also, I am screenshotting a tiny corner of a youtube video, this image is like 240p, and I can tell its a dragon - and that isn't even the color point it is trying to make, dude just deviates off into another critique. Meanwhile the Amsterdam flag looks like a traffic warning sign. Chinese flag needs to not have the white stripe connect into the white seal background, that is an error, but otherwise I prefer it.

It is annoying how many of the state flags are a blue banners with a round seal in the middle. That does make them hard to distinguish from each other. But that isn't a problem with seal-on-blue, that is just a collective action problem! Flag-reform-favourite the tricolor can run into this too - here are the flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg:

Like one of your needs to go home and change, that is ridiculous. Though if you had a complex seal in the middle that might avoid this problem! Funny that.

Even the "no words on a flag" argument, which I am more sympathetic to, doesn't hold up too well because too often you find yourself going "unless it is good" which just isn't a rule. The Iranian flag is the stand-out he mentions:

The middle crest is a stylized rendition of the name Allah, and the cursive lining on the tricolor bands are text as well - God Is Great, 22 times, marking the anniversary date of the Islamic Revolution. Stylistically beautiful, also words on a flag. The state flags just didn't try to do anything artistic.

I think the best point Premodernism mentions is a sort of stylistic unity Kaye & Co are pursuing above all else - everything sacrificed for corporate minimalism. Kaye's book will say it respects history and symbols should be meaningful, but then hates any symbols that require complexity. He singles out Turkmenistan as an ugly flag for example:

And as I said I only 50% disagree sometimes, I do think there is a complexity limit, and this flag goes over it, that is too detailed. Though the main reason this flag is bad is the weird choice to not put the banner at the edge, and have the crescent just...float off center? If it was this:

Two seconds in paint, already better, you can play with it. But anyway, you can say the symbols are too complex, but if you also say you care about historical meaning? Turkmenistan is a nation of traditional semi-nomadic tribes, who populated the Silk Road and made textiles as their ultimate expression of art. These carpet guls are traditional symbols used in those carpets that represent the five major tribes that compose the country. You can't just invent new symbols that have equal meaning to these, right? Like you can try if you want, sure, new symbols become meaningful all the time. But a rule that says "all art from before 1950 is tossed in the dumpster because it wouldn't pass muster as a Pepsi logo" is a weird rule to adopt if you say you value historical meaning. Turkmenistan does not have to look like France, and it is weird to want every national symbol to be aesthetically coherent to each other. Let 100 flags bloom! It is certainly "distinct at a distance" lol.

Anyway that is enough summarizing of a YouTube video - as I mentioned, he actually likes the state flags, I don't, I do think you have to balance a lot of this with just "general design principles". Never have your name on a flag in Helvetica Bold, amazing I had to write that one down for you. But a lot of these flag-specific rules derived from Kaye's work I often see bandied about are silly, and I was glad to see someone point that out.

[transformer-analysis]

Transformer Prime Theory: The Optics

It’s interesting how, in TFP, the characters all have a variety of optics sizes and shapes, instead of everyone having plain solid colours like in G1 and most other continuities. And I personally believe there is some more biological reasons why some of these optics look the way they are (some big, some small, some solid colours and others not, and some having rings and others not).

TW: starvation mention.

THEORY #1:

The size of the optics is determined by how well fed and healthy the transformer is.

Firstly, we can see that most Transformers with big optics are Decepticons, who we always know have more Energon mines and supplies than the Autobots.

Secondly. Megatron has a big optic that take over the entire frame, and he is totally someone who would have a feast himself first before feeding his subjects. On the contrary Optimus have one of the smallest optic in the show, probably because, unlike Megatron, he would only eat himself when he knows his subjects are well fed. (Poor Optimus)

Thirdly, Breakdown and Bulkhead also have some of the biggest optics in their teams. Breakdown is one of the few in the show whose optics are complete solid colors, and, although Bulkhead’s optics are not solid colours, or completely take over the frame, they are still much bigger than most other Autobots. This is probably because they are both the muscles of the team so they must have been fed more so that they can be stronger and fight better. (Cliffjumper might have been one, too, because he also got a huge optic, but we never hang around him enough to know for sure)

Fourthly: Bumblebee also got big optics, probably because he is the youngest Autobot, and is probably still growing in a way, so everyone would want to make sure he got enough nutrients to grow up big and healthy.

Fifthly: I think this is the best proof of all. So throughout the show Starscream’s optics are always quite big and round (though it is not always obvious in bright lightings).

(“Partner”, Season 1 Episode 20)

However, in the Orion Episode, while Starscream was sneaking into the Nemisis to steal energons, his optics suddenly fill the whole frame

(“Orion Pax Part One”, Season 2, Episode 2)

This is likely because, since Starscream had gone rogue at this point, and we know that in “Rock Bottom” (Season One Episode 19) Starscream has been hiding energons for himself, perhaps Starscream hasn’t yet learned how to manage supplies sustainably on his own, and quickly drained his resources that he’s hide for himself before. Thus, more energons in the eyes. That’s probably also why he has taken the risk to go back to the Nemisis to steal Energon cause he was out of it already. He was living feast or famine at this point.

Now, there are some bugs in this theory, such as why Knockout have such a small pupil despite not having any reasons to starve. However, knowing Knockout and his obsession with his appearance, I believe he would totally put himself on a diet to look even more fabulous. I don’t think Transformers can really gain weight from Energons, though, at least not in the way we think, but Knockout could also just love the look of a small optic and think it fits his beauty, so he starved himself to achieve that.

One question you might have for the theory, “But it has been going around that Ratchet starve himself to save the supplies for the others, but his optics are big?” Now. Ratchet, I believe, is a different situation, which leaves us to theory #2.

THEORY #2:

The ring around the optic signify how intensely the optic was used.

Firstly, like mentioned above, Ratchet have a special optic: his centeral pupil itself is pretty small, similiar size with Optimus’s, but it got a big ring around it, making it look big. Now I think the ring have nothing to do with how well fed the Transformer is, like the theory above, it is there to supply more Energon to the function of the optic, and making it sharper basically. Knockout also have one, probably for the same reason as Ratchet.

Secondly: Bumblebee also have one. Understandable. He is the scout, he need to look afar a lot.

Thirdly: if you look closely you can see that Optimus got these colorless, metal ring around his optic, too, which no one else have, but it doesn’t have Energon in them. This is probably because he probably used to have them, as Orion Pax, who was an archives working in front of computers all the time. But over the years of not using it in the same way as much as the Prime, Energons left the ring and left the area, leaving the empty ring behind.

Now, there goes my theories and how I think the optics works, kind of. There is still a lot that I am still working on and might make another post off in the future, such as why some of them had a white ring/circle in their optics (I don’t think white rings work the same as blue rings, cause Bulkhead have a white ring but he doesn’t have any reasons to need good vision more than others.) and why their optics are different colors.

I hoped you enjoy this

[graves-simper]

What really happened in Room 302?

Yes, just like everyone else I am finally doing a small essay/analysis on TCOAAL.

This time I wanted to dive in something that wasn't a big part of the game, but has been on my mind since my first play through of the game and that is like the title states; What really happened in Room 302? Lets begin.

I wanted to start off by talking about the Lady in Room 302. Who is she?

We really don't know much. Her eye color isn't shown, she looks somewhat average but in terms of others opinions (ie; the Warden's and even Ashley) She is a very pretty woman. Even at a point Andrew says that she looks good. Take a look at some of the dialog below:

I mean, wasn't she?

After this very tasteful conversation these two love-birds have, Ashley heads up to commence the ritual to sacrifice the 2nd Warden, and of course Our Ashley pulls it off with no problems, and back downstairs she goes with full intentions of painting the wall with Lady 302's brains, but it appears someone beat her to the punch.

AND NOW I PRESENT WHERE I IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO CALL CAP ON MR. DOORMAT EXTRAORDINAIRE AND HIS SILLY LITTLE LIES.

Your honor, this man is absolutely lying. The first thing that made me question everything about his story here is where she is lying dead. On the damn bed. Your honor, let's enhance this real quick.

That nail gun is a damn good several feet away from where Lady 302 lies dead on the bed. In fact it is in exactly the same position as when we left Andrew alone with her, and look at the sheer distance. These apartments clearly aren't huge but let me just be critical for a minute. Her mattress appears to be a single style mattress, so lets take in some measurements.

I can settle on the length being 75" or 6.25ft. So the apartment is about 12 feet wide. Not huge by any means, but to go from sitting down on a bed, even the edge, she would have to make quite the lunge while accounting for some random maniac being right next to you with a meat cleaver. I also do not think she would be the type to risk her life for a daring escape. Look at how absolutely bewildered she is the second Andrew rushes her.

That is NOT the face of someone who is absolutely down to fuck around and find out. She also had a chance to get help while also risking her life, when she is given the radio she could have screamed for help, and while yes she would've died, at this point I would say the risk factor was relatively similar.

Now that I have established my reasoning for why I don't think this lady tried to kill Andrew with a nailgun or even had the chance to, let's go over some of the reasons I think he DID choose to kill her.

No Witnesses.

This is a very boring theory but I have to bring it up no less. I think there is a good chance he just said fuck it, and killed her for the sake of not leaving evidence behind. She saw their faces, heard their names, and they even said they were her neighbor from upstairs. Leaving her behind could've ruined EVERYTHING for them after this point, and based on Ashley's sour reaction to her mere existence, I think he already knew damn well Ashley would want her dead too.

Make my Ashley happy.

This ties back to the point I made in No Witnesses. Ashley took her as a threat, and obviously Andrew noticed. She was not pleased after he called her "Pretty". I think once he was alone, he figured he would off her to show Ashley that he wasn't ogling her or wanting to do anything with her. In fact she meant so little to him, he butchered her right on her bed. To support this, the way Ashley reacts when she returns absolutely floors Andrew, he is calm about what happened but Ashley is still coming up with thoughts that he tried to fuck her, when in his mind, he was probably hoping she would be thrilled that he killed this awful, hell-bound, hussie. But instead she is still somehow mad despite her being now a corpse. He becomes to fed up that even though he did what she would've anyways, it is somehow not good enough for her. (I will dive deeper into this interaction below with another theory that relies heavily on this.)

The Hussie hit on him.

This one ties into Make my Ashley happy. There is a good chance this obviously sexually attractive woman tried seducing Andrew while they were alone. She had no problem doing it with the Warden's to get better treatment, and I have no doubt this was her go-to get out of trouble free card. This charming young man would surely fall for her good looks right? Right? There's two thought processes that would make this reasonable. 1. He was worried how Ashley would react if she walked in with her clearly flirting with him and how that would make her feel. 2. My personal favorite of these two, he is dedicated to Ashley and was offended by her advances and killed her in a show of devotion to her.

Now that we have the more sane theories out of the way, lets get to the GOOD STUFF.

Andrew's Fantasy.

This theory is more of a mental guess as to Andrew's relationship and views of Ashley. He has been clearly fed up with her more than once up to this point, having arguments, dealing with her shit, and all the trauma he just experienced from starving for weeks, isolation, and having to butcher and eat someone, and then murder a man to save her.

What if once Andrew had a moment alone with someone who was essentially his victim, he decided to truly see how he felt about something. I believe Andrew may have not seen Lady 302 as Ashley, but just for the hell of it, imagined that she was Ashley. Despite the different appearances, I'm sure he could overlook it in the state of mind he was in at this point, and decided how it would feel to finally kill "Ashley". The way he kills her just doesn't feel like he said fuck it and wanted the lady dead, she is laid out on the bed, there's no signs of a struggle either. Later in the game during one of the visions, there is the one where Andrew finally kills Ashley. When she accepts that he will kill her, he brings the cleaver to her throat similarly to how the throat of Lady 302 was cut. The similarities just feel so similar that I had to bring this up despite it being possibly far fetched but that's what makes these fun!

and now for my most absolutely far fetched theory yet.

Don't these two look similar?

This theory is much more far fetched but hear me out on this!

I know this may be a result of Nemlei's artstyle but these two have some stark similarities in my opinion. Both blonde, same eye color based on the greyscale of them, similar hair parting, and a similar face shape.

After all the trauma Andrew went through in the weeks locked in their apartment and then killing several people and eating one no doubt sent his brain to a bad place.

I think after all that hell he endured he may have simply had a breaking point and felt like he saw a ghost or just the stark similarities between Lady 302 and Nina just made something snap.

I want to back this up by making a point to the story telling in the game. Before they go and escape their apartment conveniently before the Room 302 incident, there is a dream about how Andrew and Ashley killed Nina. This could be just the flow of the story telling however, I feel like it was a lead up to what really happened in Room 302. It just feels too perfect to include that scene right before he kills someone who I am assuming is what Nina may have grown up to look like, AND then with this scene occurring once Ashley returns almost feels like a nail in the coffin of this theory.

Nina isn't brought up in the apartment, or once they're in the motel. Nina is brought up during a heated exchange in Room 302 right after Andrew might have felt as if he killed Nina once again, yet just like when they killed Nina, Ashley still somehow thinks that Andrew has a thing for a woman he helped kill, and this absolutely drives him off his fucking rocker.

This exchange floored Mr. Doormat so intensely he finally was ready to absolutely throttle the life out of her. Andrew was finally so fed up with being berated for doing things for Ashley's sake he just wanted it to be done and over with forever. Andrew once again found himself in the same place Ashley put him in all those years ago, but this time he knows he isn't as vulnerable as he was and uses it to his advantage, but after their little squabble, they leave together to bless our hearts with Chapter 2.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps this was as plain as the story made it out to be. There is a good chance that Andrew didn't want to leave a witness and said hell with it and butchered the woman in Room 302. But I'd like to believe that with all the hidden details Nemlei has scattered throughout this game that there is truth to one of these theories, hell maybe even a giant jumble of them all together is the true story of Room 302.

But with everything I presented today I hope you all perhaps are too questioning what really happened in Room 302 like I was.

I'd love to hear any theories you guys have regarding this or twists/opinions on the ones I presented here!

Thank you all for reading!

[television-overload]

fate is the handspike

(an X-Files ficlet)

[Read on AO3]

Summary:

Starting on February 23, 1964, Teena Mulder begins to worry about her young son. At first, she thinks maybe he's wishing for a little sister, a wish that will be granted very soon. But he insists the little girl he talks to is called Dana, and she's too little to play, but she likes when he reads his books to her.

(fic below the cut)

i.

At first, Teena thinks it's cute.

"She's just a baby, mommy, she can't play yet," he'd say.

"Oh, is that right?" she'd reply, indulging him in his childish fantasies. Perhaps this was his way of asking for a sister. The other moms in the neighborhood often urged her to give Fox a sibling, citing a child's need for company and social engagement, but Fox had always seemed so happy to play alone. She's not on the best of terms with her husband at the moment, either, which complicates things.

But then there's times when she sees Fox on the floor, legs splayed out before him as he recites his favorite picture books to his imaginary friend, and she wonders if she ought to be worried. Just a little.

Dr. Seuss, Curious George, Clifford the Big Red Dog... The boy has a photographic memory. Though he's too young to properly read, he has a grasp on the basic plots and recounts them in great detail, turning the pages as he goes.

"This one is called 'Where the Wild Things Are,' Dana," he says, because his friend's name—he insists—is Dana. He turns the book in his hand and shows the colorful illustration on the cover to a patch of carpet on the living room floor. "Don't worry, it's not scary," he assures her. Her. It. Whatever it is he's spent his days talking to since late February.

When he tells the story, he uses his own name, instead of 'Max.' That's how she'd always read it to him, and that's the only way he knows.

"And Fox told the monsters to be still!" he narrates with enthusiasm. "He used a magic trick and looked right in their BIG yellow eyes, and they were all scared. They said Fox is the most wild thing of all, and they made him king!"

ii.

There was one night when she'd woken to find Fox standing in the corner of his room, speaking softly to the wall.

"Shh, it's okay, Dana," he soothed in his little voice. "Here, I'll sing you a song. Twinkle twinkle little star...."

She never tells Bill what she's seen. He's always too busy to notice himself. But others know.

"He's quite an imaginative young fellow," Spender notes, taking a draw from his cigarette as Fox rolls around in the grass outside the house in Quonochontaug. Since "Dana" learned to crawl, he's been even more preoccupied than usual. He shows her all his toys, tells her the names of all his action figures. He announces to his mother one day that he's going to teach Dana how to walk. That she can only stand on her own for a little bit right now, but she doesn't cry anymore when she falls down.

Bill, if he ever catches wind of this, must think he's talking about one of the other kids from Teena's ladies' group. But there's no "Dana" in this neighborhood. Not on the Vineyard, either. She's checked.

iii.

The day she finds out she's pregnant, a part of her wonders. Though her knowledge of her husband's work is small, she knows enough to gather that things she might have thought impossible, could in fact be possible. Perhaps her son had been having visions of his baby sister, long before she was even conceived. Maybe it had simply been a sign that he would one day be a big brother. Soon.

She'd long since dispelled thoughts of ghosts and hauntings and exorcisms.

He tells Dana all about the baby in mommy's tummy. He giggles and makes silly faces, pausing in between sentences, which she gathers must mean his friend has developed the ability to speak.

"Mommy, she said my name! That's right! Fox! Fox!"

iv.

When Samantha is born, "Dana" seems to disappear overnight. This, at least, supports her theory that he had simply been preparing himself for a new sibling, and after a few years, she's completely dismissed the issue. Fox shows no other signs of strange or unusual behavior. He is nothing but a doting big brother, who occasionally gets annoyed by his freckle-faced kid sister, as any brother is wont to do. He reads to her, plays games with her, watches the television with her. They're two peas in a pod, and not once does the name "Dana" escape his lips. She is all but forgotten.

Until he's twelve years old. Samantha is gone, and Teena lacks the patience to deal with his questioning.

"Mom? Does the name 'Dana' mean anything to you?" he asks.

"What? Of course not, Fox, why would you ask such a thing?"

He looks down at his feet, shoulders slumping. "No reason. Forget I asked."

v.

When Fox lays awake at night, the bedroom next to his now dull and empty, he thinks he can hear a voice. It isn't Samantha's—though he'd thought so at first.

"By heaven, man," she reads, "we are turned round and round in this world, like yonder windlass, and Fate is the handspike. And all the time, lo! that smiling sky, and this unsounded sea!"

What does this girl know about fate? What does she know of this upside-down world?

"Read the next chapter, Dana!" he hears another girl's voice speak. The words are faint—muffled—like he's underwater. But her voice is clear.

He falls asleep, like most nights, listening to the tales of Ahab and Starbuck, and a great white whale.

-.-.-

Tag List ♡: @today-in-fic @agent-troi @baronessblixen @captainsolocide @cutemothman @deathsbestgirl @edierone @enigmaticxbee @figureofdismay @frogsmulder @hippocampouts @invidiosa @numinousmysteries @randomfoggytiger @skelavender @teenie-xf @thursdayinspace

[lostworldss]

Blades 3 Crack Theory

Hear me out.

In Book 2 during one of Nia’s romance scenes, she mentions praying to Ellara, Nifara, and the Mother of Grey for MC to come back.

Now we saw the Mother of Grey/Ash Empress in Book 2, and we learned all the lore about her, Nifara, and the rest of the old gods. Nifara is likely to be the big enemy for Book 3.

But how much do we know about Ellara?

I am going to preface this by saying that I’m not good at remembering all the lore/history from the lore tablets or whichever, so please correct me if i’m wrong with any of this.

But I don’t remember learning much about Ellara specifically. With Nia’s context here, I thought to believe that Ellara was a deity. Perhaps a New God since the lore tablets spoke of all the Old Gods and she wasn’t included.

After checking Book 2 chapter 8, I verified that Ellara is in fact a New God.

This makes sense, considering that Nia prays to her and she has the Temple near Riverbend named after her that we explored.

Also, in the first chapter of the series, in the very beginning scene showing the battle against the Dreadlord thousands of years ago, we see a character named Ellara speaking with Xaius (Elven king/Other New God). Not much information is given about her in the scene, except for her seemingly being in a romantic relationship with Xaius. According the the choices wiki, she is a battle mage and Xaius second in command.

I’m not sure when exactly Ellara and Xaius became New Gods, was it before or after this battle? I’m not sure if they mentioned it before in Book 1. But either way, we can assume this character is The Ellara.

I’m really hoping Book 3 goes into the lore of the New Gods more, especially after learning about the Old Gods previously. Maybe the New Gods can assist us in fighting Nifara.

But back to the actual theory part. For a brief second, lets pivot to something else.

Who is the only character in the party whose family lineage/parents are unknown? (Kade could technically count maybe, but not him).

Who’s familial background is a complete shot in the dark?

Not MC, they have memories of their parents before the raid on their hometown. They were also given different deeper backgrounds based on their race in Book 2.

It’s Nia. She was adopted by the Church of Light as an infant, and she never knew anything about her actual family.

Now, maybe it’s just a funny coincidence, but does anyone else find it a bit interesting that her last name (Ellarious) sounds very similar to the name Ellara? Hmm.

But perhaps it’s a just simply a coincidence.

We could also assume that Ellara is a mage of light magic, since we know that she was a mage that would presumably be using light magic to counter the shadow magic of the Dreadlord. And we know this was after Nifara already separated the world into Light and Shadow realms, so the elves at this time probably didn’t know about True magic. And if Ellara is a god, she must be really good at it.

Hmm. Is there anyone else we know who’s naturally attuned to magic, maybe light magic specifically?

And just one more thing. What does Ellara look like in that screenshot? What colors is she wearing? She seemed to be dressed in a lot of white and gold, and wearing jewelry. Red hair. Hmm.

If you haven’t guessed my theory that I’m hinting at, here it is:

What if Nia Ellarious is a descendent of/related to Ellara???

And I’ll be honest I remember the name being similar thing being a thought in my mind before but I didn’t put any connection to it in my mind I was just like “oh they both kinda sound similar that’s cool.”

But let me enlighten you on on more thing. The suffix “-ious” in the english language means “having/characterized by/to have characteristics of.”

Nia’s last name literally means “to have the characteristics of Ellara.”

ITS BEEN STARING US IN THE FACE THIS ENTIRE TIME.

Also worth pointing out that when we first met Nia in book 1 chapter 1, where were Scholar Vash and her heading to? The Temple of ELLARA

Like you can’t tell me All of this is a coincidence (it probably is).

[ralibo14]

TPN Brainrots part 1:

Another TPN manga panel redraw, but this time everyone goes down with me (because it's sad).

Also part one of my 'wonderful' tpn theories and head canons. It'll be long😅. There will be manga spoilers so please, read at your own risk😊.

First character I go through is... Ray.

He is one of the most complicated characters I ever saw (all tpn characters are, tbh). I always thought that people who have photographic memory are so lucky. Ray showed me that it's both a blessing and the curse.

Like in the picture above. You can clearly see that the first 2 kid waving at his direction. It's strange to know that there was a time when the Trio were one of the young kids and not the older ones. My first head canon is that Ray tried to save more kids, not just Emma and Norman when he was younger. When the blond haired boy leaves (first panel) he looks like he is about to cry (also the Trio is around 4 or 6) but when the other kids get 'adopted' Ray keeps his head low most of the frames (I'm convinced that when the second kid left he was already working as Isabella's spy.)

Ray coloration explained:

Purple eyes are self explanatory to me. I started draw him with purple eyes as soon as I found out he is Isabella's son. Purple in the hair and freckles? Well... I'm still very, very convinced that Leslie didn't die (at least not when he left the House). I always think about his situation, like what Norman got into with Lambda. The Ratri-clan is big but they need outsiders, to be soldiers, scientists, etc. And since girls from the Houses can only become Sisters and Moms... maybe some boys can become scientists and soldiers. (I can't believe I'm writing this but think about Andrew🤢... he was 100% not Ratri yet he could become an adult). So by this logic I believe Leslie could grow up too and (because I'm a sucker for happiness) he met Isabella again at some point.

Ray turning away:

On the second frame he is not looking at the girl who is leaving, but to the opposite direction. Why? Notice something else? Yes, Norman is missing too. Gilda has her winter jumper on so I figure Norman got sick again. Ray priorities his friends safety over everything else.

Also notice how Emma and Norman slowly get into the middle of the frame while Mom/Isabella get out of it? Pretty strong metaphor. It's the perfect example of 'Blood related family ≠ real family'. And while I'm a RayEmma shipper (obviously aged up version) I would never forget about Norman. He is as important to Ray as Emma. This Trio sticks together no matter what.

(older manga colouring ⬇️)

Now onto the hearth breaking stuff:

Ray's relationship with Isabella:

This deleted scene with Ray and Ayshe lives rent free in my head. Like there are two people with similar family situations and the one who lived int the middle of nowhere with a demon parent thinks positively about their parent, while the other, who grew up in a comfortable home like space with a human parent, thinks the opposite.

"But to me, she was always a monster"– Ray.

Like ufff... This sentence hits real hard. And it's low-key true from Ray perspective. He studied and read all the books in the House, not because he was interested, but because he had to. Norman is a genius, Emma learns real fast, Ray does everything he can to always get max points on his tests. But he also secretly planning his friends excape. Collects scraps of technology to build the device which makes them able to excape, plans his own 💀 carefully, so no one else will get hurt and on a top of that he is 'spying' for Isabella. Sacrifices people he wanted to protect. I can't imagine that inside panic when he didn't get max scores to that one test. I'm sure he was happy because Norman and Emma got their regular scores, but deep down he felt like he failed.

My head canon here is that Ray always gets nightmares if he is alone or in an unsafe place. And 'thanks' to his perfect memory his nightmares build up from actual memories (like we see that in the Seven Wall Arc). Also he doesn't get sick often but when he does... it's like a memory fuelled fever dream, with hallucinations and etc.

Ray's healing journey starts after the Jailbreak Arc. As soon as Mom is not around anymore, he ever so slowly starts to let down his guard and starts to show more and more emotions. His relationship with Yuugo/Mister is like a greatest archivment in his case. The playful, sarcastic 'arguments' and the way he openly said his opinion on things in front of Yuugo and Lucas. Shows how much he changed and opened up.

Isabella on the other hand... her change of heart and feelings were a mistery almost to the very end. To be honest I hated her most of the time, until the Back to Grace Field Arc. (Older manga colouring again⬇️😅)

Two things in this page which are very important.

1: Ray's guard is up again in no time, when he sees Isabella, while her emotionless mask is cracking. This is the first time we get a little inside of how she really feels about Ray.

2: Flashback of the two most important things that connects them. The song and the way they were forced to sacrifice others to stay alive.

The lullaby is very important, because it's calming and feels very intimate (like a normal parent-child relationship should be).

You also can't convince me otherwise that Ray didn't hummed this lullaby at least once in the B06-32 shelter to help the youngest kids fall asleep.

And now... onto the last picture. Their goodbye.

Saddest part ever! Never forgiving for this decision.

Ray and Isabella were never allowed to talk even two short sentences with each other without any consequences. In the House they had to play their assigned roles. Then they didn't see each other for almost 2 years. Finally they had to save half of the team from getting unalived... And they moment they would have time the last twist happens... leaving us with a sad ending.

Epilogue and Human World Arc...does little to compensate. Although I can't get over the fact that Yuugo's, Conny's and Isabella's 'ghosts' helped Ray found Emma in the Human World.

Speaking of finding Emma. My last head canon for Ray is the following;

When they found out that Emma lost all of her memories from the Demon World. Ray couldn't help himself but whisper a "I wish this happened to me". And everyone looks at him with an understanding smile thinking he blames himself for this... But in reality he really just selfishly thought (only for seconds) that he could forget everything happened on the other side.

Okay. That's all. Sorry for the supper long post and I'm forever thankful if you read through my brainrots 🥰😘. Also let me know if I should cover more characters like this. I'll obviously do Emma and Norman but if there any other characters you want to see please let me know🥰🤩💖.

[lover-of-mine]

Long time reader, first time asker. I love your colour theory stuff and I came across this side by side gif set of Madney pregnancy moments and noticed they’re in the same colours. Blue and red. I know you mainly focus on Buddie but was curious if you’d noticed Madney themes?

https://www.tumblr.com/jeeyuns/766594521636192256/big-sis-jee-yun-incoming-9-1-1-3x18

Hi!! My main thing with my metas, except for the blue and yellow (for the most part since henren do have some blue and yellow coding too) is that I use the other couples to prove a pattern and apply it to buddie to say that they are writing buddie purposefully as romantic. I do have a meta on the blue and red combo, I literally saw the madney still and went "oh, Maddie is pregnant" because blue and red is a parenting color combo, they used it all around henren's fostering storyline and madney both discuss the idea of a having a baby in 301 and find out they are pregnant both times in blue and red. (I have a meta on that and how that ends up applying to buddie here)

And something interesting about the blue and red coding of the 806 scene where we find out Maddie is pregnant again, is that even the props are blue and red.

And that's fun because since madney are the couple that they used to establish the blue and green thing, their house tends to be more blue and green when it comes to utensils and stuff, like the green pots, the blue couch, even Jee's room is blue and greenish.

And madney pretty much make the blue and green thing with couples a thing because their first scene is the first blue and green scene (I mean technically it is Chim and Tatiana in 204 but it is blue and teal, the shades there are really pushing it, 206 is very clear especially since they are blue and green from head to toe). And a lot of major developments in their relationship also happen in blue and green, meeting, finding out Jee is a girl, getting back together, and more.

The show also pushes that with the way Boston and There Goes The Groom are very blue and green coded. And this is a fun aspect when you consider how gloomy the colors look in 512 in comparison to 706.

I mostly don't write metas on the other couples because I feel like most people don't want to read them since they are already established? But the patterns are there.

[desultory-novice]

Uh... I have been curious about this, but uh... Not sure if is appropriate to ask...? Eh...

Uhm... What inspire u... Or motivated u to create the lil guy that's doomed by the narrative?? I'm genuinely curious to know (⁠･ั⁠ω⁠･ั⁠)

That's not a problem at all! ^w^

So, I got the initial concept for Noir because I was doing a lot of thinking about Magolor and the various Ancient Artifacts in Kirby and how they corrupt characters. (I still think about that alot...!)

Some people noted it looked a little like the Master Crown was trying to turn Magolor into Dark Matter, what with making him more round than his normal egg shape, and darker, and his mouth opening up into a Dark Matter-looking eye! So then I thought, what if the Dark Matter members we already know of (like Dark Matter Swordsman) weren't born as little one-eyed Dark Matter babies but were themselves regular people who got corrupted and had just been that way long enough to lose most traces of their original form! - Visually, Noir was inspired by a piece of unused art from DL2 that shows what a human version of DMS -might- have looked like. For me, that determined his species and overall look: human, with spiky hair, thick eyebrows, and a perpetual frown / troubled look.

His outfit was inspired by DMS's but I wanted him to be dressed in more normal looking clothes than a fantasy cloak and armor, so I gave him a plainer outfit that resembled his original look: a dark turtleneck, a tan winter coat, and colorful scarf. I wasn't thinking about Shiver Star at the time, I just picked the clothes because I thought they'd look good and be simple enough to draw, but that look cemented him as originating from the cold Shiver Star.

I came up with the collar because I needed him to have something that would possess him in a clingy way, like how the Master Crown sinks its claws into Magolor's head. But the concept sketch didn't give me much to work with, ornamentation wise. Noir would have The Sword, of course, but I didn't think he could carry it with him everywhere without it looking suspicious, so I went with The Armor as the clingy part, having it start off small (a necklace) then grow to make its intentions known (the collar) then finally take him over fully when it was ready (the armored collar + shoulder plates + visor)

(This also fits with Dess's HC that the Master Crown was purposefully trying to rob Magolor of his senses. Especially when you note that DMS's visor has these little bits that would cover his ears - if he had any - blocking out sound. The "loss of senses" theory is why I had Noir's physical corruption start with his hands as the Dark Matter slowly robs him of the feeling of/ability to touch things, and also because although DMS wields a sword, he doesn't appear to have any hands... not anymore . _ .) - Lore-wise, I I was inspired to make him related to Adeleine because there were no other humans in the series outside of her (and Samus Aran XD the cameo characters) and because I thought it would make for a dramatic story if Adeleine had a family member who became Dark Matter. Especially since she's a big part of the Dark Matter Trilogy!

This choice helped with his visuals too, as if they were related, I could give him dark hair and eyes like hers. Being related also made it easy to make him a sympathetic character, as lots of people liked Adeleine, so if she had a brother who treated her right (as opposed to an abusive or uncaring family member) and who loved her as much as the fandom does, he would be easier to empathize with! - For his personality, I'm a big fan of stories about one family member giving up a lot to protect another. I grew up on anime like "Fullmetal Alchemist" (2003) and loved Ed and Al's relationship. So I wanted Noir to be that kind of brother: fierce, protective, sacrificial.

He takes a little bit of his personality from me too though. But I've touched on that in other places so I'm leaving that off for now! ^_-

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️ Ranking Richonne

#26: We Should Go To Washington (S5E09)

This moment - Powerful. Pivotal. Romantic. I’ve said before that I believe Rick and Michonne more fully fell in love with each other by the end of season 4. And to me, how they interact with each other throughout season 5 just further confirmed my theory, especially in this stunning episode 'What Happened And What's Going On.' And part of what's going on is Rick and Michonne falling for each other even more as they make a big game-changing decision rooted in the love and trust they've developed. I love that this is where Rick shows he would truly go the distance for Michonne...

(Sidenote: Now this scene ranking might be my most controversially-placed one because I know this is a very beloved classic Richonne scene that would understandably make a lot of ppl's Top 10s and even Top 5s. It’s a super significant moment between Rick and Michonne and I love it, I promise. Richonne's journey is just that abundant with top-10 worthy moments so I had to make some sacrifices on my list because I adore every second of every moment they’re on screen.😅)

So I already just love the way Rick and Michonne are color-coordinated in their brown outfits. So much of season 5 really established how R&M are a pair and each other's match.

And in this ep, Rick touches her, I believe, for the first time since she told him never to touch her again in s3., showing their growth and the strengthening of those magnets.

Something I appreciate about the Richonne 5B scenes that occur before they arrive at ASZ is that they really did an effective job of confirming the depth of their bond. During this period, we consistently see just how much Rick and Michonne's attraction to each other is more than skin-deep because they've built a genuine love and trust with each other.

They cement their partnership in so many ways during this time of searching for a home, and it's important to see this depicted before they enter ASZ because it lets you know that while there will be situations that could potentially cause a divide between them at Alexandria, it's 5B scenes like this Washington one that tell you Rick and Michonne's bond was too strong, too battle-tested, and too important to them for anything in ASZ to break it.

It’s also very clear throughout this season 5 mid-season premiere how much Michonne’s well-being is on Rick’s radar and really matters to him, and it becomes extra clear in this #26 scene here. 

Michonne is making her case for why this place could maybe still work as a home, only to find that the community clearly was brutally attacked as severed body parts lay scattered around. Michonne is quietly disappointed as she walks and observes, and Rick’s attention immediately shifts to her as he follows behind her. It’s one of the clearest cases of their damn-near literal magnetic connection. 🧲

She doesn’t leave his sight. Even when Glenn says, "it doesn’t matter," Rick stays staring at Michonne. I love that their “you're okay, I'm okay” interconnectedness is so visible. Michonne isn’t okay, and that so clearly doesn’t sit well with Rick, so she’s top of mind for him in this scene.

Glenn starts speaking, and Rick peels himself away from looking at Michonne to hear Glenn share a very bleak perspective on how it wouldn’t matter who killed Dawn. Michonne turns around and pitches that they go to Washington. At the end of this season, a very special scene will have Rick admitting the way Michonne can influence his decisions, and this moment in 5.09 is an example of that. 

Michonne turns to Rick and tells him they're close, and it's 100 miles away - and one thing I love about this point in their relationship is that she and Rick have established enough trust with each other that Michonne can be vulnerable enough to really show some raw emotion here and speak her mind. 

Rick listens as Michonne questions what if there are people there and what if it’s a chance to be safe. “It’s a possibility. It’s a chance” This is the season of Michonne really wanting tf to find a home and I know so much of that would be rooted in the fact that she was one of the few who knows what it’s like to extensively wander out in the woods and go a bit mad. She doesn’t want that for her and her new family.

Michonne gets more emotional but still with such poise as she suggests going to Washington is better than just being out there and just making it since making it looks like all those bodies sprawled on the ground. I love that she’s pouring her heart out to him. And what a great man that Rick is so ready to not take this lightly and to really hear her.

And we get another one of those long lingering looks from Rick as he stares right at her, listening. The arresting effect she always has on him is gold, and I appreciate that he lets her words seep in. Especially when Michonne asks, “Don’t you want one more day with with a chance?” 

Danai again slays the vulnerable delivery of that line and it’s also deep for Michonne to pose this question hoping Rick also wants to live and not just survive. This is important for her to know too because her last man had given up on trying to have one more day with a chance and so it’s great she gets this confirmation that Rick is different and far more aligned with her.

(Also watching s1 back, in the finale, Dr. Jenner asks what they want, and Rick says, “A chance.” which just further indicates how he and Michonne are cut from the same cloth) 

Then I love the romantic way this next part plays out cuz the walkers draw near, Rick says we should go, and Glenn and Michonne think he means we should leave the area. So Michonne turns away thinking her words fell on deaf ears, but then Rick reveals no I heard you and I will go where you lead, when he repeats her words and says, "It’s 100 miles away...We should go to Washington."

Hearing this gets both Glenn and Michonne to stop in their tracks and turn to look at Rick  Cuz this isn’t a choice Rick would make this quickly for just anyone. And Michonne’s look of surprise is so touching. I was just looking at this moment thinking - that’s right girl, he’d do anything for you.😊

I’ve always felt like in this scene Glenn is an adorable third wheel to the Richonne bubble because Rick is completely facing and staring at Michonne solely when he says this. It just makes it clear that he is declaring this because of her. Like of course he wants to secure a home for his whole family, but in this moment what's especially evident is Rick wants to give a home to Michonne.

So Rick makes this big decision for the group fully based on what Michonne thinks is best and once again it really was giving romantic when he looked right at her and said, "We should go to Washington."

And then Michonne's subtle smile...that’s an “I love this man” reaction, y’all. Better yet, she's looking at Rick like...

I appreciate how Rick and Michonne’s love for each other makes them do things differently, because while in the past it was said by Lori that Rick would never just go somewhere on a hunch, here he’s showing that he would go somewhere and bring all of tf with him if Michonne’s instincts say it’s a good move.

I love that here Rick can’t help but be so focused and in tune with her and Michonne can’t help but look at him with so much love. Again she gets confirmation Rick is different from her past and cut from the same cloth as her. The way Rick looks at her and looks away, I really feel like it’s a brief moment of him knowing that he so swiftly agreed to this for and because of her because he loves her. Whipped in the best healthiest way.

It's also great watching scenes like these back and knowing Rick is looking at the woman who he will go onto happily make his wife, and Michonne is looking at the man she will fully embrace as her husband. 🥰

All of Rick and Michonne's s5 scenes suggest that they had fallen for each other and were becoming more and more aware of how special and influential they were in each other's lives. And this moment was a beautiful illustration of what Richonne means to each other and what they’ll do for each other. Scenes like these - weighty, quiet, but full of love, just solidify that this is a beautiful love story for the ages. 😌

[lightbarebunnies]

requesting nazuna with an s/o he met at university who always tried to do things with him despite his busy schedule!!! could be hcs or whatever u want :3

a/n: bnuuy!!!! Partially basing this off of my own experiences in college. Personally? Do not go to school if you're trying to do an art-related career and already know the basics. Spend your time networking instead of going into debt to learn color theory. Sincerely, - an Interactive Media Design major tags: fluff, gn!reader - you/your pronouns, reader is a student in university (age and major not specified)

Nazuna wasn’t expecting to meet ‘someone’ at University… but lo and behold, he catches himself getting excited about going to the class he was blessed to share with you every week.

It all started when you ended up sitting next to him in one of his Gen Eds. A few weeks in, you noticed the mobile game he was playing, and it turned out you played too! Your friendship blossomed from there.

At first, you just chatted during class, discussing your favorite characters from the gacha game you both played.

You didn't seem to know too much about his idol career, or at least didn't make a big deal out of it, which was really refreshing. You started meeting up to get lunch before class, then walking in together.

As great as it was to spend more and more time with you... Nazuna wanted to see you more than just one time a week.

So he'd invite you over to his dorm under the excuse of 'studying', and eventually he got more comfortable just asking you to hang out whenever he was free.

He was the one to insist on getting your schedules for the future semesters figured out so that you’d share at least one class a week. Just so he can work on group projects with someone he knows is reliable- Y'know, since working with random people is a pain! That's all! Nothing more! (he is lying.)

The rest of Ra*bits were Nazuna’s cheerleaders when it came to him figuring out how to confess his feelings to you. He didn’t want to be too showy, or demanding… or just smother you with all of his feelings at once. He knows what it’s like to get out on a pedestal by the person who loves you.

He ended up waiting until after Valentine’s Day - Ra*bits had filmed a cooking show segment on making a few different chocolate flavored pastries, and he used those skills to prepare a little treat basket for you to give to you right before mid-terms.

In a note he included how appreciative he is on you and your constant support. He loves your company, is so grateful to have you as his friend, and wanted to let you know how he really feels. He’d accept your answer with no question.

To his delight, you felt similarly! After a quick talk about keeping your relationship secret from the media, you became a couple!

Of course, Nazuna’s lovely little rabbits all love you - once you were formally introduced. Some… more than others.

Hajime watches you like a hawk, and gave you the “If you make my Nii-chan upset, I’ll end you” look with a chilling smile on his face. You’re pretty sure he could crush you like a bug, but you don’t exactly plan on hurting the boy you love, anyways.

Oh, and Koppe… Nazuna melts watch you play and hold him. It’s two of his favorite things at the same time, and it really warms his heart to see that you get along so well with his precious baby. Koppe has started doing binkies when you come to visit him!

Study dates became a weekly occurrence, it gave the two of you private time to cuddle together while also being productive. Nazuna would apologize for not doing something more romantic, since he’s spread pretty think between his idol work and keeping up with homework.

You start getting snuck in to the green room whenever Ra*bits has a live performance, Nazuna always jumps right into your arms and gives you a kiss on the cheek when they’ve finished up. Seeing you there, knowing you saw him perform, and the fact that you’re such a big part of his life… it just excites him so much to have someone as supportive as you are, he doesn’t know what to do with himself sometimes.

[junkdrawernoggin]

Welcome Home, Frank?

So I know I just posted but I have another thought. So, we know Frank is our lil bug dude. His whole scheme is butterflies and bugs and gardening. We also know he is the straight-man to pretty much all of the other characters. He is the only one who doesn’t seem to be in on the type of humor the show rewards and the other characters understand. He is also the only character we don’t have an origin for which is specifically called out in his intro card. Much like Wally, he seems a little out of place for the show minus his connection with Julie and Eddie. 

That makes it extra interesting that the audio clips are found by collecting bugs. Could it be that Wally is not actually the only character capable of breaking the 4th wall? Is it possible Frank is trying to communicate with the viewer?

My only real doubt for this theory is that through the audio we know that Frank likes Wally, or at least gets along with him well enough. So if he is trying to somehow warn the viewer, who is he warning the viewer about? 

However we do know he does *not* like Barnaby. Doesn’t understand him. And it’s implied that Wally has done *something* to Barnaby. Obviously Clown’s website is not canon, but it can inform us on maybe some original ideas. Well there’s the big photo of Wally puppeteering Barnaby’s decapitated body. There’s a lot of odd little details about Wally controlling/changing Barnaby. SO here’s where I’m gonna go a little crazy with this theory

Maybe Welcome Home is a wreck-it-ralph turbo type story. This isn’t the first time this theory has been brought up, but It’s maybe the first time it’s been suggested that FRANK was the one who was replaced as the main character. We don’t have an origin, maybe because Frank was the first one to live in the neighborhood? He’s the odd one out to all the other characters, down to his color scheme. I think a children’s show about a grumpy guy living in this fun town and learning how to open up and have fun would be awesome. Basically if Sesame Street was about Oscar. 

So we know that somehow Home has some level of control over Wally. So whatever power Home has/was created by on the real world side of things destroys any old content (black paint/goo) because Wally isn’t the main character of those. It inserts Wally into this TV show for whatever purpose. Frank is relegated to just another neighbor. The power works on Frank, convinces him that Wally has always been here, or has always been the heart of the neighborhood. 

BUT, it doesn’t convince him that Barnaby is right. Maybe in the original show Barnaby and FRANK were actually the main dynamic duo as opposites. Wally is new, so there’s nothing for Frank to compare to. But maybe some part of Frank remembers a different Barnaby. One that wasn’t best friends with Wally. And since I guess in this theory the characters have some level of consciousness, Frank turns to the only people who might listen to him, the viewers! He gives them what hints and clues he can that *something* is wrong. He may not even be sure what. 

So yeah that is my real far end crazy theory. There’s probably a bunch of things that disprove it, but it was fun to think about since I do adore Frank as a character. If you take away anything from this, let it be my theory that Frank at least has some ability to break the 4th wall and is the one helping us uncover the secrets. 

[ccrose-art]

Hey !! I just wanted to say your art is CRAZY good and I was wondering if you had any tips on picking color palettes?

Sorry for taking forever to respond, but hi!!! Thank you so much!!! wahh always wild when I am percieved, makes me v happy :)) As for color, your ask got me really excited since it my favorite part of the artistic process!

The long and short of it is that I like to use color theory (complimentary, analogous, triadic colors, etc) to minimize the amount of color in my work while using a variety of saturation and value to create the variation! Complimentary being colors across eachother on the color wheel, analogous are the colors next to eachother, and triadic are colors equidistant from each other,,, triangularly.

I typically don’t like starting out with a rigid number of colors of specific shades when I do my work cause it feels really limiting, and I enjoy adding color when it feels right. However, when I do color pick, I like to get a main big overall color scheme in mind then start placing various shades and saturations within that minimized pallete. The important part for me is not to stray too far from my pallete without some intent.

For example, when creating my character Peter, my goal was to make her a very warm colored character. To do that, I used an analogous color scheme of oranges and yellows with green sparingly. By minimizing the amount of different colors used, it helped the piece feel far more cohesive, but the amount of saturated and desaturated forms of the color created a lot more energy. And even though the colors I used were all next to eachother on the color wheel, the green provided a cooling contrast that I used in the eyes and portion of her costume to connect the two and emphasize. I also tried to use saturation and value to separate her from her outfit. Her skintone, hair petals, and markings are all very bright, while the outfit is desaturated tones. This made the seperation of the two more apparent to the viewer that this is body and this is clothes. I also like throwing in multiple color schemes to create even more visual interest. For example, for the lineart I used a deep saturated blue since blue is the complimentary to orange, her main color. This caused the lineart to stand out against her even more so than black lineart would.

To the upper right I also sketched out a different costume for her while maintaining the motif of orange and green (though some of the colors I’m not necessarily happy with).

Here are examples of some of my other stuff to show the “main colors” of the work. And as a secret, if a color isn’t matching my scheme, I like putting a color from my color scheme over it with a lower opacity and color pick from there ;) helps with melding it into it.

Of course these rules are not set in stone and I break them when I gotta, but this is generally how I like to find my colors. Anyways,, I hope this made some sense!! I really enjoy color :)

[writingamongther0ses]

Great Results Means a Ten-Year-Old is Stabbable

I got inspired by @flashfictionfridayofficial's prompt 'Great Expectations' and my new WIP. What happens when expectations are fulfilled? Someone takes issue, especially when you're a great hero.

They met when the loading time for the next part declared an hour.

"I don't get it," Myeong said, staring at Principal Hoa's desk like it might've revealed the answer to his thoughts. "If Elpis is thirty back in their original time, then why go back when she's ten? Why make a big production of it?"

Hoa nodded with a hum, tapping his keyboard. Xe looked like xe wasn't paying attention, but Edward knew them better than that. Xe was paying attention and thinking at a speed faster than their own.

"Right now, she has no power beyond her mother's protection and her father..." Tsubasa said. Edward felt his shoulders hitch up at the mention of the man. He hadn't popped up yet, but based on what he had seen, the man was in contact with Amarya. It was a matter of how long he would wait. "She's a girl of color and powerless. Nobody in the police force would've cared much if she suddenly ended up dead." The words were harsh but true.

Edward felt his shoulders hitch up further and he was suddenly twitchy with need. He wanted to leave, to go check on Amarya to make sure she was still coloring and breathing. It was ridiculous how much he cared...but he did.

He did, so much.

Hoa finally pulled their hand away from the keyboard and Edward realized that xe had pulled up the camera feed in the sitting room. Amarya was talking to one of the heroes on guard, smiling brightly and without a care in the world.

The last part ran through his mind, and he winced. That light had dulled in her eyes. Instead, there had just been pain as she stared at her hand, bloody and messy and missing three fingers. The school could fix that, but it didn't erase the fact that in one timeline, it had happened.

Hoa met his eyes and xe nodded.

"I think the production was the point," the principal said, lacing their fingers together and studying them all. "Now, I'm not them, but I have a feeling that our villains don't want to be the ones to assassinate her."

There was a pause.

"...so, you think they're cowards," one of the teachers said. Edward almost didn't hear them. His mind was full of enraged screaming, more of a roar.

He was pretty sure it wasn't just his fury.

"Exactly," Hoa said, their hands clenching tighter together. "Now, I am not in their heads. But I have a feeling we're not deep enough in their little show, since there's so much time between fourteen and thirty, but I have a feeling that our dear girl defeated villains. Villains who might be eager to cut off the source of their defeat now."

Pieces slotted together.

"So," Tsubasa said, her voice tight and tense. "You think they stole some very powerful inventions, traveled back in time, and started showing this in hopes that someone, what, arranges to stab a ten-year-old?"

"To be fair," another teacher said. "Ten-year-olds are kinda easily stabbable."

Edward stood with a screech of his chair.

"Um, where are you-"

"I," Edward said with a pleasantness in his voice that probably didn't match with his expression. "Am going to find Amarya's mother and inform her of this theory."

And if Rosita Mohila wanted to track down and stab the villains that wanted to arrange her daughter's death, well that was between him and her and probably Hoa.

[vinililacart]

This is just for practice, study and fun! I hate this arrogant, immature and disrespectful mentality of "i fixed it" "mine is better" etc and i don't want to be associated with them.

Sasha re-imagined! (edit video link) notes in read more

- I made the colors more saturated to match my art style

- I made her skin tone darker since I headcanon her being mixed. She canonically has German/Slavic heritage, and I also headcanon her as Filipino and Japanese descent, like her voice actress

- I changed the hue of the armor to be closer to the color of the gem with each design and character arc that happened.

- I love the line "Of course this is my natural hair color!", it makes me have this headcanon and be almost certain that this is not her natural hair color. She was very busy leading Wartwood Resistance, she didn't have time to dye her hair roots

- After the season finale she still continues to dye her hair blonde because she likes it, but she no longer cares about showing the roots of her natural hair. She also continued exercising, so I made her with a little muscle

- There was a big theory that I liked with possible foreshadowing that Sasha would lose an eye, so in my version instead of Darcy attacking Sasha's back, they would attack her eye. The power of the gems managed to heal the wound quickly, but she did not recover her eye

- In the timeskip, the hue is pink as is the gem, her earrings are green and blue, representing the calamity trio. Her jacket has the bi flag on one side and a patch of her two heron swords on the other. She wears the eye symbol as a pendant and part of the heron circlet as a pin

[moonstruckdraws]

Vera. Vera! VERA!!

yeah yes okay, hello. I must ramble, please & thank you. I love this. Helli those head references worked like a dream because my stars do I love these sketches.

okok, there's not much content & info about Vera, but it's enough to work with & for me to make theories & headcanons for. And while Helli is resting, I am making it my personal mission to make content of my now favorite oc of Helli's.

I've always loved her when I first stumbled upon her when browsing through older post you've made. I don't say gorgeous often because I use it to describe something in the highest regard & man is Vera FRICKEN GORGEOUS! STARS

So Vera is a therapist (dog) & also one of Big Mama's exes. Vera learns that Big Mama was using her to gain information on her clients. We don't know how she found out of her reaction, but I do know she likes ball dancing. Since Big Mama also dances & hosts parties, I'd imagine she & Vera would dress up for the occasion. Maybe Vera was looking for Big Mama during a party & overhears her true intentions. I don't know how Vera would react (like if she's more of the shocked type, crying while running away type, etc) so I went with bitter frustration after crying for maybe 10 minutes.

In this image, it shows her after the fact, deciding to be bitter for the rest of the night. She avoids Big Mama as much as possible, eventually winding down in a more secluded part of the hotel with some wine. Spilling it on the furniture.

I just wanted to draw her in these dresses I have saved in pinterest lol. Maybe a previous dress she wore on a date with Big Mama? idk. Or maybe the first nicer dress she's worn since learning the truth. She doesn't strike me as the type to go out partying her sorrows away, maybe the night bars she goes to sometimes, but no place that required her to dress nicely. (Also Vera is just stunning in all colors. I didn't even mean to use the color of the dresses to imply emotions lmao, but it happened. She's so cute!!)

Drew something to fill up the page, as you do, & thought of her job as a therapist. And like most office spaces, has a receptionist. And yes, her name is Karen & is indeed one. She's so much of a headache that Vera would need to get to work early to avoid passing her at the front desk. She already has to deal with her while leaving, she doesn't need it at the start of the day.

I adore her, I love her, I love her greatly, she's usurped the rest by miles & I mean MILES. Thank you dear Helli for the head references, I can draw her now. I will draw her until my hands break. I am her biggest fan, no contest, & will challenge those who claim the first title I've ever clamed lmao. If there's no content of her, I'll be the one to make it. STARS SHE'S FUCKING GORGEOUS

[atalossofwords]

YOU TASTE THE SILVER - IvanTill WIP (Part 7)

Somehow, these two last POVs turned out bigger than I expected. I think I can keep up the one POV change per day here before I post the full chapter on AO3, but I don't promise anything.

Also, I have plans for how many chapters it'll be! Yay me.

ON AO3 - part one - part two - part three - part four - part five&six

Till was... nervous. For more than one reason.

Firstly, he was getting ready for Mizi's concert. He'd be nervous enough to go to any show, since crowded places made him antsy, but this was a meet and greet. He bought a new jacket exclusively for this, and was trying very hard not to be weird about using perfume and generally dressing up for the occasion.

Secondly, he had Navi's number. He hadn't said anything after that first exchange, too awkward to try and make small talk but he found himself... wanting to.

He refused to let Hyuna send the messages, since she was halfway ready to demand to see Navi's ID. It was awkward but then... Then Navi had said all those things, about how much he liked Till's music, how Till deserved more recognition than what he got...

It made Till's stomach swoop, his cheeks colored red.

It reminded Till of those days when he had only 100 followers, when Navi would send 100$ donations solely to max the character limit as he talked about how much he liked Till's lyrics, how his mixing made him feel, how he couldn't believe Till didn't have a record deal yet.

After that short text conversation, Hyuna had changed her "bored office worker" theory to a "disillusioned producer", and for once Till was inclined to agree.

Still meant he was far from understanding why Navi would send him so much money.

"Till, are you ready?" Hyuna calls out, startling Till out of his thoughts. He gives a last once-over to his outfit, deems it ready, and goes to greet her.

Hyuna is wearing a black tank-top, cargo pants, hiking boots and a leather jacket he's sure once belonged to Dewey when he still ran with a motorcycle gang. She rolls his eyes at his face.

"Ready to go? We need to be in the venue in half an hour if we want to get in at a good time." He nods, checking that the clear bag he's bringing has all his necessary documents.

Tickets? Check. ID? Check. His first Mizi album and custom photocard binder? Check. A handwritten letter for Mizi? Check. Extra pens in case he or other fans need it? Check. A truly unholy number of phone charms he made himself the night before to exchange with fans? Check. He makes grabby hands to Hyuna, waiting until she puts all her stuff in the bag as well before shouldering it.

"You're such a mother hen." She says, grinning. "I heard we might not be allowed in with food, so I sent Isaac to get something from the convenience store we can eat on the way."

"Oh, good idea. He's meeting us there?" He asks, perking up. He really wasn't looking forward to surviving on granola bars for the day.

They end up meeting Isaac in the car, since he and Dewey are driving them and Hyuna wanted to re-touch her makeup. Isaac gets them both sandwiches, as well as a pack of chips to eat in the queue. He also gets two starbucks packaged drinks, black coffee for Hyuna, and caramel frappuccino for Till.

Luckily, the queue isn't too big; the meet-and-greet isn't open for a lot of people, so Till spends his time waiting by chatting with fellow fans, discussing the new album, and even meets one of his own fans, Mizi's Boots, who he remembers as an occasional chatter who mostly comes for his mixing streams.

She's very flustered that he remembers, but eventually they settle into some more normal conversations, Hyuna teasing them both about bringing so many phone charms to trade. He makes sure to put hers on his phone right away, since she takes care to pick one that matches his streaming set-up.

It also reminds him that... he has Navi's number.

He should send a message, right? Just to say he's at the venue. He did a few lives since getting the tickets, and only commented that he'd be going on the last one, so as to not give his fans any time to buy tickets to search him out instead of Mizi.

Navi had said nothing to indicate he was the one who sent the tickets, a simple "I hope hyung has fun!!" was all he sent.

He decides not to overthink it, and takes out his phone to take a selfie of him, with Hyuna in the background talking to a fan of hers. He hunts for Navi's contact.

You [ 4:44 ] On the line to see Mizi. Thanks again for the tickets. [IMG.7347]

He closes his phone, ignoring the flutter in his stomach to focus on the experience at hand. It's almost time to go in.

The queue moves forward,

"Chill, Till. You've watched these events like a thousand times on livestreams, it's going to be fine." Hyuna says, after they're already seated in the auditorium. He's glad his fan was seated far away from them, since he'd feel awful if she watched him losing his cool like this.

"Okay, but what if I trip and fall right in front of her? What then?" Till frets, combing one hand through his hair. Hyuna rolls her eyes, opening her mouth to tease him some more when the lights dim and a manager comes on-stage to announce Mizi.

Till immediately forgets his nerves, leaning forward to watch better. Mizi walks on-stage already waving, a radiant smile on her face. She's dressed more casually than she usually is for shows, with her glasses on. Her long pink hair is left free, bouncing as she moves to say hi to everyone on the first roll.

Till doesn't even see Hyuna settle down, focused on Mizi. She does a little QNA, pointing at people to answer. Most questions are pretty simple, like how's Mizi's doing, what's her favorite song from the newest album, favorite snack, and so on. She even calls on Hyuna, who asks if Mizi likes video games.

(Apparently, she's an Animal Crossing player. Till is so endeared, he loves her, oh god.)

After that fanfare, she sits on the stage, legs dangling closer to the first row, and sings My Clematis with her guitar. She thanks everyone, asks for five minutes to get some water, and the fansign begins.

Till has... a vague idea of the hour or so that happened between then and his turn. He knows Hyuna leans in to talk to him, mindless chatter about their streams and their next collab, about how Luka's workflow is increasing so she's thinking of paying for another chat mod.

In the blink of an eye, he's sliding on a chair in front of Mizi, and out of the hundred times he's imagined this meeting, he'd never have though of this.

She squints at him, tilting her head to the side, and says; "Oh, you're Till, right? The streamer?"

Till's face is so hot he thinks he's going to die.