#this originated as a 3am ramble

[rriavian]

So I'm sure this point has been made already but something I really enjoy about the Corinthian (specifically in the show as I haven't read the comics) is that the entirety of season one is just him finding increasingly elaborate ways to avoid interacting with Dream.

And I love it because it's the smartest thing he could have done.

Desire technically does something similar but that's a different point. Typically the 'villain' plots to have at least one moment to gloat over their fallen enemy. Arguably we should have seen this in episode 1, once Dream is trapped, because it's the perfect moment for the Corinthian to saunter down to the basement and be like 'haha I've just told Burgess all of your secrets and I'm going to leave you here in this glass cage I told him to build'.

But the Corinthian doesn't do that.

For an antagonist that enjoys indulging in his vices the Corinthian shows impressive impulse control when he chooses to. He keeps away from what is perhaps the biggest temptation of all.

There is so much I could say about that specifically, but I might come back to it another time. The point is that even though there shouldn't really have been any risk the Corinthian leaves as fast as he can, hoping to never come back, and while I'm sure he felt tempted to taunt his creator he never does. Then when Dream is free the first thing he does is try and get someone else to confront him, and when that doesn't work he follows Ethel to where John is. But the Corinthian only interacts with him enough to make sure he's on his way to the ruby, doesn't go with him, because he's not interested in getting caught up in the battle himself.

And the Corinthian doesn't even want to make it obvious he's helping at all.

Yet he's still prepared. Though the Corinthian only acts when Dream is free he still knew exactly where to find Ethel, who she was, what she'd stolen. That confrontation may have sent him back to the Dreaming (arguably the first time the Corinthian indulges a little of his urge to taunt though he only says he'll fight Dream if he comes after him, not that he's already making a move) but Ethel's amulet doesn't really do much to slow him down.

It's a near miss for sure.

It could have put him directly in Dream's path if timings had been different but the Corinthian doesn't lose his cool. In fact, as soon as he realises Dream isn't in his realm he slyly starts seeing how much information Lucienne might tell him. Her neutral greeting already made it clear she wasn't outright suspicious of him. It's a great scene!

(Again I could ramble about it.)

The Corinthian knows that he doesn't have the power to defeat Dream himself but he's smart enough to consider what else he can do. He knew enough about how to hypothetically keep Dream trapped to the point of advising Burgess on it, had obviously thought about it, and crucially ended up being right. Diving into the second half of the season would make this post way way too long, but the Corinthian is still trying to play things from behind the scenes, figuring out who else he can use to attack Dream.

He spends the whole season trying to stay hidden and at no point did I think it made him seem weak.

Alongside all else he is the Corinthian is shown to be methodical, patient and calculated. Realistic. It's a really nice demonstration of character for them both - for him and Dream - the Corinthian understands how powerful Dream is and never lets himself forget it, which means we as the audience never forget it. The inequality in power is built into the story, he constantly treats Dream as the biggest threat, someone who could wipe him out of play if he revealed himself. It makes for a very satisfying antagonist, one who actually seems to use their brain, because the Corinthian knows exactly what he's up against.

And it shows how terrifying Dream is to his enemies.

Because he's the antagonist of the Corinthian's story. One the Corinthian refuses to give in to, rejecting every opportunity he might have had to manipulate his way back into Dream's good graces, to return to the Dreaming with the rest. While I do think the Corinthian believed he wouldn't be forgiven no matter what, I still love how he stands by his own convictions, and though there are similarities with Gault I find his reasoning more complex and compelling. However we might consider the morality of both characters, however we might weigh the merits of their perspectives, from the Corinthian's point of view Dream is very much the villain. And he isn't an easy one to defeat.

The best chance anyone has against him is to run, to hide, maybe try and delay him with a trap if circumstances permit, but you better hope he has better things to do then give chase.

The Corinthian doesn't try to fight him.

Instead he does everything he can to stay out of Dream's way right up until there are no other options.

[magentagalaxies]

"tour of duty" (the filmed version of their 2002 tour) in general is just kind of a bizarre point for kids in the hall that i haven't really talked to any of them about but is hard not to notice when you look at their entire canon. like it's certainly good - there are some tour-original sketches that i highly enjoy and some live versions of filmed sketches that take a fun creative spin on it, but in general things just feel noticeably strange.

buddy cole specifically tells the fur trappers to "fuck off" (buddy very rarely swears and across all the buddy material i've watched for the documentary he's only said "fuck" 3 times across forty years). danny husk wins an award for being a high school vice principal and at&love isn't acknowledged in the bit. the "is he?" sketch has been revised to pack in as many euphemisms for gay as possible, putting the bit on top of another bit. and of course i have my chicken lady thoughts but i don't want to bias anyone else bc i genuinely want to know what your takes are before i share mine.

and again these aren't all bad choices - i think the danny husk vice principal monologue works really well and may not work as well as a different character despite contradicting the Husk Lore™️. but they're all very distinctive choices

idk there's two reasons i personally give for why tour of duty is so strange (to me at least, maybe other people don't notice). the first is that it comes less than 3 years after their other tour-film, the 1999/2000 tour "same guys new dresses" (also available on youtube!) i fucking love SGND and i'll be up front that it's my preferred kith tour video. but part of what makes SGND so special is that it's not just a recording of the live show, it's a full tour documentary following the guys traveling across the country performing together, occasionally showing full sketches but also delving into the stories behind why the sketches played out the way they did. and, sure, sometimes that means cutting out a sketch that i wish i could've seen in full (rip power of the suburbs) but my life is so much better for having seen the "laser eye surgery gossip" or knowing how much drama that goddamn robot-dog-prop caused.

so to then see tour of duty as a straight-up recording of the live show leaves that element of mystery, that we don't get to know why choices were made because we only see the end result. there was a conscious decision not to shoot tour of duty like SGND - the tour doc didn't do well financially, and they also had more of a reason to document that tour since it was their first time working together since the disastrous fallout of "brain candy," and first big national tour since the show ended. the circumstances were just very different

and that's true both personally and politically bc the second suspected reason for tour of duty's weird tone is you can obviously tell 9/11 just happened. two sketches directly reference it - bruce and mark's businessman characters sell scam patriotic products that are all just a rubber band, and buddy cole visits the middle east and ends up having sex with saddam hussein (tho fun fact this concept was written BEFORE 9/11). but the event casts an obvious shadow, especially since both the buddy cole bit and the danny husk monologue were recycled pieces from scott's cancelled one-man-show which was set to debut in new york city on september 19th 2001.

it's also interesting comparing this to SGND. the late 90s are often remembered through rose-tinted glasses due to a generally good economy in the united states and a lot of the social tensions with disenfranchised groups still bubbling under the surface rather than being talked about openly. SGND doesn't reference contemporary events much, but the closure of AT&Love from the KITH finale is undone since the economy has re-entered "rock-on fashion," and buddy cole comments on the Y2K computer bug being underwhelming. (i also went on a super long tangent on how the original show reflected the socioeconomic climate of the 90s but that's a whole other topic i need to go to bed)

i don't know how the KITH feel about "tour of duty." i can't know how much this strangeness was felt for them backstage, and i think in some regards it can only be picked up on as an outsider, albeit an outsider who has watched so much KITH content to know how their work evolved even when not on television. all in all, i'm glad "tour of duty" exists and even the swings that didn't really land for me are still admirable as creative choices.

it's also cool to analyze as someone who has now been to a KITH live show over 2 decades later and got to see those behind-the-scenes conversations play out. the bellini benefit also featured a lot of strangeness, caused by a limited rehearsal schedule and one of the cast members being unable to attend due to illness, but they absolutely exceeded these limitations to put on a very fun show. we did film the performance and rehearsals and that show is going to be released eventually (i'm not in charge of it but the person who is also works on the buddy cole doc so i'm involved). i don't know if it's going to be presented more like SGND or tour of duty or something completely different, but it'll be cool to be part of KITH live show canon

[luckycloverfield]

oh boy i cant wait to read Diamond and Pearl: Platinum Book 11!!!

That one scene with Dia and Giratina’s Shadow Force:

[theromanticsideofthings]

Butterfly

oh my darling butterfly,

how could you fly away so high?

on tiny little wings, into the blue?

oh my darling butterfly,

how could you fly away so high?

no one ever thought you could uproot.

oh my darling butterfly,

how could you fly away so high?

i never did imagine it'd be true.

oh my darling butterfly,

would've never let you fly so high if

i knew i wouldn't be there too.

[stereo-slime4]

Idea: Pop World Tour AU

Essentially: Poppy finds out about other trolls, tries to befriend them via various pop medleys. This obviously doesn’t work, so she steals everyone’s strings because “if everyone is like us, there won’t be anything stopping us from being friends!” All the while, Branch sits very disapprovingly on the sidelines.

(More details below cut)

Poppy is looking through her dad’s old scrapbooks, eventually finds the Troll History one that talks about the other trolls and why they all separated and decides to go on a friend-making crusade of sorts (with the Snack Pack of course)

She starts singing all sorts of medleys of every top hit she can think of, and gets either thrown out or thrown in jail every time.

Eventually, Branch speaks up and says something along the lines of “Hey, this is starting to seem like a bad idea and I don’t think they like our music very much,” and Poppy says some along the lines of “Well if you think it’s such a bad idea, what do you suggest?”

Branch, of course, suggests going home, and at first Poppy’s all “What?? No! Absolutely not, giving up now is NOT an option!” But eventually starts to lean more towards “Actually, going home and doing some more research might help” and Branch is all “okay, I meant more “go home and give up before we start a war”, but sure, whatever.”

So they go home and start doing research, and Poppy finds out that if you put all the strings in a genre-specific instrument (like the harp that the Pop string is currently in), that they’ll all change genre and goes “Oh my gosh!! This is perfect!!! If all the trolls are the same genre, then there won’t be any reason to stay separate!” And of course Branch tries to take her out of it, and of course Poppy doesn’t listen, and they start the World Tour.

They send out invitations (think almost exact same wording as Barb’s invite) to an actual party where Poppy pitches her plan, and of course, no one agrees and everyone leaves incredibly pissed. Poppy sees this, and instead of doing the reasonable thing and leaving everyone alone, she goes on the offensive to take all the strings by force.

Branch tries to put a stop to this, even going as far as a heart-to-heart about people’s differences making them stronger, just like how different they are, and that some trolls just aren’t meant to be friends, but Poppy shuts it down saying that their differences was the only reason the trolls ever stopped being friends, and of some trolls really weren’t meant to be friends, maybe they weren’t meant to be friends. Then we get our “Perfect For Me”-adjacent scene.

Full battle plan in action, she successfully steals all the strings (mostly via stealth, but with a full assault team on standby just in case). This does not go over well, and everyone goes to Pop Village to get their strings back, just as Poppy had hoped. She then tries to play the Ultimate Power Chord, only to be stopped by Branch. She then lashes out at him, has him locked in the Fun Dungeon, and then turns everyone into Pop Zombies.

Upon looking out into a sea of what she thought would be new friends, only to see a bunch of zombies, Poppy realizes that “holy shit this is actually kinda fucked up..”

Almost immediately after she has this realization, Branch runs out having escaped the Fun Dungeon, breaks all the strings, and has a serious, firm talk with Poppy about how what she’s doing is absolutely not okay, fully prepared (and kinda expecting) to have to swaddle her in his hair to get her to listen, but Poppy just says something along the lines of “you’re right, Branch. It’s okay for trolls to be different. Just like us! I, for one, love our differences.” Branch, completely shook, can only muster the words “and I love you, Queen Poppy” Poppy goes “I love you too, Branch.” And then people start singing and music returns to all of troll-dom again✨

THE END

[drowninginthoughts27]

true love is my gf waiting to watch the final act of arcane till i get back from work tmrw so we can watch it together

[fancy-rock-dove]

Thoughts on why the main relationship in TGCF manages to be full of tropes that are trash-associated but is also deeply compelling:

There are SO MANY nuances of the complicated power dynamics and self-sacrifice in Hualian’s relationship that could’ve been cringily unhealthy at so many points and THEN they just WEREN’T. Not ever. Not once

Every time I revisit this novel, I remain so impressed with MXTX’s capacity for nuance. These two are so gone on each other. Hua Cheng literally worships Xie Lian like a god. They would commit atrocities for each other. There are literally characters in the novel who worry about the sheer, unconditional trust Xie Lian gives to Hua Cheng no matter how many secrets he has. In a lesser writer’s hands, this exact dynamic is unhealthy to the point of atrocity: one becoming an unmoored monster and the other both enabler and victim. The shadow of this dynamic is hinted at in the book 4 flashback but it is specifically not allowed to actually become that. Never do we see even a shade of that relationship slip into the book itself, because that’s not how it really is for these two, not even in the darkest flashback moments.

Many narratives in which this level of devotion is present, it would be accurate to call it blind devotion, which becomes uncomfortable for the sake of the follower and unhealthy for the development of their love interest, but here the devotion is so continuously and unfailingly anchored not in looking the other way (the damaging nature of doing so being one of the core themes of the novel) but is conversely about seeing clearly and understanding fully.

So when Hua Cheng does things like offering to take the plague sword and release the disease on Yong’an himself, it actually has the effect of letting Xie Lian see the effect these choices are having on himself more clearly. It was absolutely necessary that Wu Ming not say “let me do this because you want it done” but instead say “I would do this if you needed me to and you didn’t want to because I independently understand why you want this”, because then, refusing him is a real reflection for Xie Lian on himself. There is self-sacrificing devotion in the relationship, but only for the sake of their actual wellbeing, never just while following a blind desire to do what they say.

Like, Hua Cheng can refuse Xie Lian. That’s a pretty foundational thing that happened. He does refuse him things from the beginning, even in the most basic, relationship-defining things. Xie Lian asked him to forget him after the burning of his temples and he refused, and here we are now. It’s a devotion to each other’s wellbeing, that also manages to be so without either of them assuming they know better than the other what that person needs or wants. The only time Hua Cheng actively sacrifices himself (which Xie Lian definitely wouldn’t want if asked) it’s in pursuit of the goal/outcome that XL wanted/needed to happen.

There manages to be complete devotion to each other, and also deep respect for each other’s choices and judgement, and those things…. often don’t coexist in fiction. Like, Hua Cheng introduced nothing if not agency to Xie Lian’s life. In the grand majority of the side arcs, often the “twist” in the mystery we’re exploring is some variation on “was someone forced to do something? No, they had agency!” And whether what they did with it was bad is also very much up for debate. The backstories and current stories of our protags were often journeys in recognizing that they’re not absolved of personal responsibility for lack of easy options, and show them winning by choosing to wrest back agency instead, even to their own detriment. “Take the third path”, “no paths are bound” etc. are catchphrases of our main character for a reason. Sometimes the best option still ended in tragedy, but it didn’t compromise their integrity. I LOVE “no paths are bound” as a tagline for this book and a catchphrase for Xie Lian, because it ALSO ties the good things about the main relationship into the main themes of the book. Hua Cheng’s goal is not just to be able to protect, which he probably could have done as an ordinary super ghost, but to be powerful enough to put every single possibility on the table for Xie Lian. Hua Cheng needed to be the Most Powerful, because he decided that if Xie Lian wants to do something, Hua Cheng needs to be strong enough to make it happen, needs to make it so that that every option, every path, is always under serious consideration. He literally made it so that any roll of the dice was an equally good outcome (Which is the best rationale for designing an OP character I’ve ever heard in my life). He’s not preventing danger, but instead increasing his agency in the face of it. Essentially “If what you end up choosing is MORE DANGER then I’ll be unhappy about it but I won’t stop you, I will work to make that path walkable too. I’m not here to keep you on a path, I’m here to open and smooth the one you most want to use.”

And, moreover, both people are able to be insanely cool and insanely powerful and be looked up to by the other, because while the power dynamics between them, perceived or real, could’ve been uncomfortable at many points, they WEREN’T. The people involved are on even footing even when they think they’re not. There was never a time when their presence wasn’t good for each other, even before Xie Lian knew to pay attention. Even in Hua Cheng’s very earliest appearances in the book 2 flashbacks, it’s really notable that he had enough effect on Xie Lian and his well-being that he appears multiple times in Xie Lian’s memory of those events, even though he had no idea who he was, or even that all his appearances were the same person.

MXTX really seems to grasp what’s attractive about these protective/super-powerful-boyfriend dynamics in fiction, why they often go badly wrong/make fiction bad rep of healthy relationships, and then SHOWS THEM IN THEIR HEALTHY FUNCTIONAL FORM INSTEAD so we’re free to love what we love about them. At the end of the day, we’re shown the way the best of these things all ideally point to love and concern for the other person as they are, before any considerations of their role in your own life or what they do for you. BUT with the expectation of reciprocal respect and latitude to do what you need to do as well.

I’ve never seen another story do this quite so well with such so-often-abused tropes and dynamics, and it’s one of the reasons that the romance in particular makes this work so near and dear to me.

It kinda reaffirmed my ability to see these things I naturally love seeing in love stories as healthy, reasonable forms of affection and devotion when based in an actual healthy relationship. When much, much fiction that treats similar dynamics badly makes me want to feel bad for enjoying aspects of them.

So seeing THIS relationship be what it is was a validating, freeing, and clarifying experience.It basically explained for me why I like these things, and elucidated why, for me, they fit into my paradigm of ideal romance and devotion, even (especially) when they can be problematic if treated wrong.

In essence, seeing these tropes done well is also an exercise in seeing what was missing in cases where they were damagingly removed from context, and thus understanding their key aspects and the core behind their impact. This book actually literally kinda reframed the way I conceptualize romance by helping me put together how many of the tropes I love in romances actually fit into an ideal relationship.

A spring cleaning of my thoughts if you will.

An ordering of my conceptions.

And I bonded with it deeply for that.

And yet it is also trash, who would’ve thought.

(it is self-aware, culture-savvy, meta-commentary trash for the most part, that clearly leans into it with fond intention, so I really do not mind it. It manages to be genre bending while expressing only love for its own genre and why it is the way it is. No disdain here. Only love for things as they are.)

[tea-cat-arts]

Ranking the “mostly white + 1 main color and maybe gold” designs because I’m trying to collect my thoughts and see which I want to redesign. Also, I’m only going to ranking ones that are currently in game (both because I’m taking how the gameplay interacts with the design into account and because I think lore + execution of lore should be taken into account when judging designs), so no Susannah.

Disclaimer: I’m trying my best to look at these objectively, but this is still art and my subjective biases will probably factor in. I’m not trying to convince anyone to feel the same way as me about these designs. Feel free to argue why you think something should be placed higher or lower. Also, spoilers lie ahead

S tier (excellent, wouldn’t change a thing)-

Strategic placement of black, more battle suit like parts saves all the parts from blending together

Keeps bits of the more mech-like armor seen earlier in game. Helps her look thematically consistent with the rest of Kiana’s designs

Nice range of values. The strong red cape really helps the white dress (?) stand out, while the little splashes of orange help keep it feel unified

Lovely evolution of the Void Drifter design

In actual battle, her mostly white outfit saved her from getting lost in all the glowy fire

I think having most of the colors being reflected off her is a fun application of her moon motif

Lines up well with the lore

Free pass on just wearing a regular dress since in lore, she was never a fighter

White dress with splashes of paint on it plays into the “Griseo is like a blank canvas that takes on other people’s colors” motif nicely

The dark blues and black are eye catching and contrast nicely with her dress and hair

A tier (good design, minor changes could make it a great design)

So the thing about white is though it is used as a wedding color in the west, in a lot of East Asian countries, it’s actually used as a funeral color. Idk if that was hoyo’s intention here, but the double meaning is fun none the less

The purple of the dress and pink of the hair keep the suit looking vibrant and colorful

Same thing with Flamescion where all her skills are very bright and colorful (mostly in origin form? I think that’s what it’s called?), so I think the white keeps her stand out

There is very little variation in tone between the pink and purple. One of them needs to be more saturated

I feel like it could use more variation in fabric texture

B Tier (good design, muddled lore)

Would be ranked higher if I didn’t have to google why this battlesuit exists. Her in game intro was messy

Has the unfortunate timing of being introduced in the middle of a bunch of other lore dumps and buried underneath the more important to the plot ones. I think it’s introduction would be much more powerful if it was just Rita becoming the Herrscher of domination (I am willing to elaborate via asks)

Like, imagine if she got some sort of a string weapon instead of the sword? I think that’d be neat

So basically I was just confused by the space theme till I googled it (and based on my Reddit findings, I wasn’t the only one)

Beginning of the not looking like a battle suit era, but the inclusion of gold bits and a couple under layers keep it from being a full departure from the usual motifs, but it does lack the mech bits

I think there’s more Rita battle suits that lack the mech bits than actually have the, so I’m fine with them being missing here

Good tone variation, clear segmentation

Elegant design for an elegant lady

C tier (saved by the gameplay)-

Her knight for straight up looks like lingerie, but her guardian form looks great

Having her armor switch to black in guardian form was a good call

Unlike Rita, most of Durandal’s battlesuits look like armor, so it’s weird this one doesn’t.

I’m ok with the mostly white color palette since it contrasts nicely with the horse

Speaking of the horse- I have no idea where he came from, but it looks sick so I’m completely fine with it being here

Though for a rewrite, I think a potentially fun explanation would be “unlocking both of her stigmata allowed her to use a divine key at its full potential and said key just so happens to have a horse/armor mode” (cuz if you need weird shit to happen, Vill-V is always a valid excuse)

It’s inconsistency in comparison to Durandal’s other designs + my very mixed feelings about her being the original Kiana and that process of awakening the Kaslana stigmata are mostly why I put her bellow Rita. I don’t really have any huge problems with this design

D tier (even great gameplay can’t save this)-

So for the design where Kiana is “no longer just reflecting others light, and instead becoming the sun itself” (or something like that), the decided to give Kiana the coolest color palette we’ve ever seen her in, take away her signature orange and Himeko’s red, and have her primary colors be Mei’s purple and Brongo’s blue… ok

Yes, I know blue stars exist and that they’re very hot. Honkai is a story set on earth though so it’d make more sense if she was becoming like our sun, not some one billions of light years away

The inclusion of HoV’s magenta accents is kinda nice though

That is a junior prom dress, not battle suit (the Fanny packs are based though). Where’d her mech parts go?

Instead of the skirt and wings by legs, I think it may of looked like a cleaner transition if the put wings it the same shape/area as HoF’s cape

After seeing how brights and glowy her abilities are, I’m ok with this design being mostly white

This designs just a whole lot of “ok, but what does that have to do with Kiana?” Why the junior prom dress? Why the flowers? Why she so urple?

F tier (the only one on this list I actively dislike)-

Since I’ve been pretty vocal about my dislike of Dr.MEI, I just want to start by making this clear: I like Raiden Mei. She’s cool. I don’t just have some anti-Mei bias. She’s at the bottom of this list though because she deserved so much better than this design and story (and I’ve been using her a lot in ER lately, so I’ve had a lot of time staring at her design)

Designs like these are why I have the “wait till it’s introduced in story” rule. I was sorta just “meh” on this design until I saw it in game

I hate this designs introduction. It’s just another case of the writers retconning the PE and glorifying the flame chasers/ forgetting why they existed in the first place

Mihoyo, Elysia’s been dead for 50,000 years! You can stop shooting her now!

Also another instance of Mihoyo forgetting Mei is an independent person and centering her narrative around her relationship to another character. Why’s it gotta be about becoming like Elysia and the other flame chasers instead of acknowledging their mistakes and learning from them so Mei can avoid their pitfalls and forge her own ideal future

Mei is so much fun to watch when she’s thinking for herself and forging her own path, so it’s frustrating to watch the narrative force her to walk down the path Elysia laid.

If I keep talking about this point I’m gonna go into rewrite/fanfic territory, so on to the design from a more technical standpoint:

There is next to no variation in tone (aside from her hair). Everything is just incredibly light. Her abilities in game are also incredibly pale, so she ends up getting lost in all the flashy lights

There’s so much texture throughout the outfit that there doesn’t really end up being a place for the eyes to rest

Though I understand why she’s blue, I think it’s inclusion was incredibly clunky. Including it as gems on the outfit or the underside of the skirt(?) may have helped the distribution look more even

If I went with the underside of the skirt being blue, I’d probably also say make her boots black (or just give her black tights or leggings with white ankle boots)

Orange (or at least Kiana’s shade of orange), blue, and purple are admittedly hard colors to make look good together, but there really needs some orange in there. Maybe sort of a deeper rose gold could’ve worked

I’m thinking like edae98 or fbbc93 (two on the top right)

^These things just need to go. The white skirt(?) over white boots just causes the whole bottom half to bleed together. Having so much weight on the bottom of the outfit also causes her movements to look incredibly clunky. Removing these parts would help to streamline it a bit

I like the idea of Mei sorta becoming Kiana’s dragon, but the wings and tail in the skirt get lost due to all the overlapping textures, and the wing sword doesn’t do anything. Girl has 3 swords but only uses 1. Why

Rather than basing her off a western dragon, I think they should’ve made her an eastern dragon. (Turn her HoT hands into Claws instead of wings, keep the “tail” of the skirt streamlined with a little flair at the bottom, turn her HoT horns into antlers). This way, they could keep the iconic elements of HoT while reframing them into something positive (for those who don’t know: it’s a lot more nuanced and complicated than I can really explain here, but eastern dragons are generally associated with good fortune)

So, ya- that’s all I got for now. If I left anyone off the list, they’re ranked lower than HoO for being that forgettable just let me know and I’ll add them on. Again, this post is mostly just me trying to collect my thoughts

[that0nebird]

Want so badly to share my thoughts on TC and how life is strange fans LOVE to hate every LIS game to come out after the first because they can’t let Arcadia Bay go and they miss out on BEAUTIFUL storytelling because of their stubbornness and refusal to grow with the media they claim to love but I CANT because I will be ripped to shreds and have a pipe bomb in my mailbox by noon.

[nexo-nex]

lowkey thinking rn 2 am thoughts im thinking abt rewriting and redesigning crystal winter... she has so much potential to be such a compelling character but unfortunately she was victim of terrible writing

[the-little-blunderer]

I am a monster

I am a monster.

I decieve

I lie.

Hiding behind a mask,

I am a monster.

I break promises;

And make some more,

To break again.

I am a selfish monster,

just a big mouth, glutton monster.

I feed lies to create hope.

And then i crush them.

I feed on them.

Crushed hopes, such a disgusting taste.

But they feed my soul, my loathsome soul,

And my heavy heart.

I am a monster, hopeless monster,

Hiding behind a mask.

[amaiguri]

Love & Marriage in Yssaia

Nuclear familiesssssss cuz it's 3am and I wanna worldbuild… lezgo!

In Nouveau Thuille, a nuclear family unit is: --The head of the house --Their spouse --The head's siblings --The siblings' spouses --The head's children --The children's spouses This basically amounts to two generations. Once the head's child has children, they're typically considered the new head of the family and will help their parents move somewhere nice to retire. Obviously, not all houses are this big but they'll live near each other, in one apartment complex or farming complex. It is typically understood that the spouse marrying richer will take on the richer family name. Some young people break away to form new houses when they have children, of course.

In Saegenheim, there nuclear family is only: --Parents --Children

Marriage isn't really considered to make someone "switch" families, just to join two families together and everyone keeps their names -- it's the titles that get passed familially to eldest children (when relevant). That being said, the most important family are your shieldsiblings -- and you will all live together under one roof. (Or, in the case of a non-warrior caste, you'll gather with your colleagues or guild members.) When children are old enough, they'll either continue to live in the same Hall OR they'll seek out their own. Or, if they lose their eye or commit crimes, they'll go join the Sage Hall. Despite the communal sharing of resources, they don't really approve of the communal sharing of sexual or romantic partners.

In the South, you're supposed to consider everyone your family. But in reality, people maybe care about their town or city block… and even more typically, they will basically form polycules and the nuclear family is their partners and those partners' children. In Telethens specifically, dating your cousins is basically acceptable because they don't track family that closely BUT the Svanihk think this is either 1) Gross or 2) Snobbish because their Tsars would do it. So, in practice, it doesn't happen a ton. Marriage, however, is still technically illegal so this makes all these relationships pretty fluid and negotiable--people rarely cohabitate with their partners in big cities

Cuz see, in the South, marriages are legally outlawed--you're not supposed to be in such an exclusive relationship and instead value the needs of the whole state and the world above any individual family. However, this philosophy originated in Telethens and is wildly less prevalent throughout the rest of the continent.

Previously, a marriage ceremony would be prefaced by both sides bathing and wearing their nicest, white clothes. Women's hair would be put up in a fancy headdress and veiled, men would not typically do this (though in marriages between two men, hats would be substituted or sometimes, one or both of them would wear veils anyway). Then, they would then go to the nearest shrine to receive counseling in their marriage and blessing from the Illuminator there. Then, the veil/hat would be removed, symbolizing that there is nothing hidden between life partners. As many people as the couple can afford witness this bond. Typically, afterwards, there would be dinner and music, and then the two would sleep together that night.

In the North, the Saegen have a hand-tying ceremony and dance combination thing they do (though tbh, haven't thought about it too carefully). Someone carries someone over a doorframe into the new home. Something. In Nouveau Thuille, marriages are mostly about dictating who gets your stuff when you die and are a chance to flex on your neighbors with a party. Actually, this is also the case for Saegen marriages--they're basically legal affairs with some ceremony attached to them. You're not technically supposed to have kids (and therefore, sex) before marriage because then they won't get your stuff if you die.

Demons absolutely don't have marriage. They just have sex with whoever which is, despite the Telethenians hating them, is also what they do. They DO pick which kid gets stuff, though it has nothing to do with marriage.

Tl;dr--In the North, marriage is to pass on your stuff and has much less to do with love. In the South, marriage is for love AND stuff, but since you're supposed to love everyone and share all your stuff, marriage is technically illegal (but not everyone cares)

---

A Gallery of Families -- Found & by Blood -- in Yssaia

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

usually I read the ESV Bible because when I was a kid and plagued with insomnia and psychosomatic sensations that was the one version I had downloaded to my Kindle (the original kind, with the clicky panels on the side to turn the page) and so I got strangely and perhaps sentimentally attached to the phrasing and the vague idea of it as "my Bible translation".

my mom, on the other hand, prefers the Holman's translation, and has often suggested I switch even though we both agree that either version is just as God-breathed and useful [insert 2 Timothy 3:16 here]. I've remained sentimentally adamant that the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, is my favorite.

HOWEVER.

Matthew 20, verses 29-34, in the ESV read

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

I read this just now, unable to sleep and so scrolling through my favorite Bible translation in the app on my phone, and something struck me. unlike ten year old sleepless little me, I have something I like to call ✨perspective✨. I also have a decade more education and a good portion of that is in, as we all know because I never hecking shut up about it, Biblical Greek.

see, the thing that tripped me up tonight is that I don't particularly care for the word "pity". maybe that's a very Western way to react, the same way we tend to react poorly to the word "meek". but it's the reaction I had and my instinct, in a very silly nerdy way, was to immediately go look up the original Greek of this verse.

so I pulled up another app on my phone that I keep around just for moments such as this and I typed in the passage I wanted to look at and I had my answer:

Having been moved with compassion then — Jesus touched the eyes of them and immediately they received sight and they followed Him.

I'm not a Bible scholar. except, of course, when I'm a nerdy little Greek scholar and am looking for an opportunity to apply that. I don't have a ton to say about this except that it's incredibly interesting to me how this was translated. from compassion to pity, which carry WILDLY different connotations, at least to most of today's audience. pity is the sense of being looked down on. compassion is more of being cared for. and from receiving sight, to recovering it... different connotations there, as well, if I were more clearheaded to dig into that. something about perspective, maybe, about personal action versus knowing you're provided for and simply receiving. it's almost like in translation, the POV shifts — from how the blind men may have perceived it, to how it really is and should be.

and my mom's favorite translation?

Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they could see, and they followed Him.

(Matthew 20:34 HCSB)

far closer to the phrasing and perspective of the original Greek. there's something to be said for comparing and contrasting, I think.

[daisyjules1011]

After the war is over

After you've saved up scraps of yourself from the ruin and dust

Do you have the courage to glue them back together?

[8redphoenix8]

i love a good fanart. i lovvvee drawing fanart. that is so obvious. i also love drawing original art. i love rediscovering the joys of my own characters. i love putting those bitches in situations. I love using the things ive learned while drawing and experimenting in my fanart and applying them to my original works. i love the process of getting better with each drawing. its a feedback loop to me.

[greetings-inferiors]

Really, you only have 300 Randy?

Idk why u expected at least 1000, i know you're not a celebrity but you have a vibe lol

Anyways, the number means nothing anyways, i ran though my followers and half are empty blogs and 1 tried to sell me healthcare lol

Stop, stop, you’re all too much.

Yeah the follower number’s the funniest part of this website, because it means Jack shit, but everyone forgets that for everyone except themself, so they’ll think others have massive follower counts when they don’t, and people who do have massive follower counts will get next to no interaction. If I mentioned I had a three hundred and thirty one follower tumblr blog to, say, my mother, or my friend who’s never touched tumblr in his life, they’d think I’m really well known, or be concerned that too many people see what I post, whereas if I told my friend’s girlfriend who is the most stereotypical tumblrina I’ve met (in the most loving way possible) she’d probably go “yeah I have a thousand followers and the last time someone reblogged a post of mine was two years ago”.