#true artistry

[raplinesmoon]

whoever styled BTS at the Grammys in 2020 I hope your pillow is cold on both sides

[tiggerzone]

[imageartifacts]

The mark of a truly good game is if there is ever a dead fish in the game, you can pick it up and toss it around and it makes a wet slapping sound

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

genius at work! zappa and John Cage step aside!

[arley-ology]

Drawtectives dressed as the Scooby-Doo mystery gang for Halloween!!

This is kinda rushed because I forgot I wanted to draw this until like 10pm last night 😅

[shiraishi--kanade]

"It's so embarrassing to admit I only create art for validation" did paleolithic humans not paint for other humans to see. Does a child making their first drawing to show their parents makes it any less valuable. Do gardens arranged for the visitors' eyes make the roses any less beautiful. Do love poems written for one person alone to hear make your heart ache less. You're fine

[that-student-that-has-homework]

Moot Appreciation Post

I wanna appreciate my moots a bit:

Please, please, please take a look at their work and give them some love!

I’m gonna start with @birinboom Em, my dear sweet potato moot. She’s a really kind moot and will hear you out and support you in your endeavors! She also writes really sweet fics and has a penchant for sweetheart and silly/mischievous type characters…dunno much about Hashbrowns (Hoshina Kn8) but he seems silly and mischievous to me. Very warm like a baked sweet potato! Also has a way of describing nature that puts you there. Em you already know my favorite, and it’s coming up again: she has the ability to nail the vibes of one universe but apply it to different characters.

@philistiniphagottini Nagi is so very kind. It’s the firm kind of kind, the one that encourages establishing and maintaining boundaries. Also writes really sweet pieces and for chubby readers to boot! Embodies multiple characters and matches their vibes with her narration too! I have come across some neat prose reading her work, I cannot remember them off the top of my head. Which is concerning given I meant to borrow that… Anywho Nagi is considerate! Be kind to Nagi please! She has definitely taught me a lot by being herself.

@feral-artistry : in my head you’re objectively hot. Like a Thai spicy mango salad, sweet with a kick and it’s fun! I don’t think I thought to apply traditional painting techniques to digital painting until I saw you do it. The way she hears you out and gives out solid advice and interesting pieces of information. Generally an educational experience talking with you and I would recommend it to others here. Also: pretty art. Oh and your sense of humor might just align with mine because you’re effortlessly funny in some posts I’ve seen. Also you kicked one of the things I had only ever hoped to experience off my bucket list when you made art of Ace after reading my headcanons of him. Pure joy.

@captainportgasdace an absolute sweetheart. Seriously: like 80-90% fluff and sweetness. Deeply loving (her dedication to her blorbo and her sweet characterization of him speaks volumes) has absolutely brought me brainworms and joy on the dash. Also a patient listener and just so kind? Like...imagine a whole stranger tells you about something completely unrelated to you and you just wish them well? Tell them they deserve good things? Like...lovely. Just lovely.

(Yes my mutuals are all very kind sweethearts)

@silentgravesdontexist a well-meaning sweetheart through and through. Kinda feral not gonna lie, and the spice adds a nice variety. No, not spice like spicy work, more like a bit of a warm kick-her energy? Very energetic, it’s refreshing! Also I don’t think I’m going to be forgetting Cy and the Cap having one of my all time favorite reblog convos under my fic. The dopamine high was real. Absolute sweetie pie and she's goes out of her way to be kind to you.

@throwmethroughawindow : I remember sharing something with her about my reading preferences and her responses surprised me in a really good way. No judgement, just a lot of respect and consideration. I appreciate that. Also loving, and enthusiastic about it. The fun person screaming in the tags (as I've seen and had the privilege of experiencing)

@true-deru : haven’t been mutuals long, but definitely a lot of fun! There’s a decent amount of alignment in fandoms we’re interested in and is generally a sunny presence on the dash! Haven’t gotten to reading her stuff yet, but when I dooooo. Also a lot of the YuGiOh posts throw me back to my childhood and it just brings me this sense of: yay! other people like YuGiOh too!

Thank you all for listening to my rambles, struggles, and for providing me advice and being patient with me when I don't respond promptly.

[tortured-griffith]

Do true Casca fans just talk about Guts and Griffith all the time?

Girl pick up a pen and make some Casca content, we're starving.

[gorgynei]

im so sorry they said that about you dark souls oh my god

[afro-artistry-chronicles]

Blooming In True Self (2023) by Elie Hatungimana

[fairytalelagoon]

My skin has been cleared. My crops have been watered. My depression has been cured. Tears and chills, man. Tears and chills.

[grief-worn]

@bloodtwin sent: he doesn't usually go out of his way to talk to other kids his age. it would end badly, he thinks. no, he knows. all of his interactions are the same in the end. but this time he can't help himself. curiosity gets the better of him as he hops down from the tree he'd been perched in. he likes to people watch from up there. sometimes watching becomes hunting. an excitable energy in his every step, he approaches the dark-haired girl that had caught his eye- or rather, the dark-haired girl that had drawn what really caught his eye. he points at the wall she'd marked up. "is that a skull & crossbones? it looks cool."

It’s very macabre, she thinks to herself. Grim and hauntingly visceral. The kind of imagery that breeds terror and pales the skin. Good. A proper reflection of her soul, of her inner torment.

Her fingers are red, a brighter shade than what flows in veins. She grips a splintered brush in her right hand, haphazardly dunking it into the pot of tempera at her feet. Stolen, but important for her mission. The artist she had nicked it from would’ve wasted its potential. He would’ve spit out some saccharine rubbish, like a sunset vista, or another ugly portrait of some blighted nobleman. Nothing like true art, nothing that captures the grotesque and monstrous realities of life.

With a broad, confident stroke, she adds the finishing touches. Absolutely perfect. Adrenaline courses through her, and she wipes sweat off her crinkled brow. A vast improvement over dull and lifeless brick. This will make an impression. The drooling masses of Baldur’s Gate will witness this and find enlightenment!

Bending to a crouch, she tucks the brush inside the pot, eager to locate her next canvas. Time is not on her side, and she must be quick. Mother will punish her if she show up late to evening mass again. The girl turns, poised to flee the scene of the crime, but someone is standing in her way.

A person. A boy? A something. A creature unfledged. Young-faced, with puzzling features. A little dirty. A lot unwanted.

“Cool? Are you stupid?” A good start to the conversation. “It is not supposed to be cool. It is supposed to be terrifying.” Her voice rises to a squeak, too offended to mediate her temper. “A picture of death … the remains of a corpse. Not cool, but a dark omen of what is to come.”

It’s a skull and crossbones. A very cartoonishly ugly skull and crossbones.

She shifts, resting the pot against her hip. Inky hair, long and hastily braided, frames her jaw with its tendrils. Her face scrunches into a pucker, deliberately glaring at him, up and down.

“What are you, some sort of mutated dog boy? I’ve never met anyone with a tail, well, no one who wasn’t devil-born.” Her best friend is a boy with a tail, but tieflings are not fuzzy. “Get out of my way. Probably have rabies or diseases …”

[vivi-scera]

underrated dialogue exchange imo

[dlstmxkakwldrlarchive]

I'm glad someone brought it up because again, you can think what CEO j*ng did was unprofessional, but he absolutely did not start any type of hate campaign against taemin. I remember seeing someone on Twitter say it was mostly his Korean fans doing that and they got dragged to high heaven. But it was true? They've been starting it since he left sm and it has been progressively getting worse with them complaining about not getting content or them complaining about not getting gifts to that evil bubble message that I'm sure wasn't the only one he got. It just blows my mind that they'll blame everybody (and by everybody I mean SHINee and everyone associated with them) but the people actually doing it.

it's crazy because, for some reason, they didn't want tm to leave esem even though that agency managed his solo activities the way they did. i dont blame them for being anxious at the start because bpm is a small agency, and yk the whole Ren spotify thing + the ceo being... yeah, but honestly, every complaint they have against bpm could easily apply to esem too lolololololol like mentioning how some of the bpm managers had broken the law and then turning around to say you miss that old fart lee sooman who was yk spending sm groups money on new houses and used to be a wanted criminal lol OKAY!👌🏾 they're kinda obsessed with that agency's (fake) prestige, and they think that esem's brand protected him from criticism, and yk, there's also that general stuff they do to preserve an artist ~image~ so you'll never witness an artist fucking up and they kinda enjoyed it bcs that way they could treat tm as some doll

(luckily it didn't happen!) like remember, they were gonna send trucks demanding focus on group stuff, which blink blink why isn't esem being included in that scolding since yk they're the ones managing the group cbs? (+ tm is literally the last person to accuse of ignoring group schedules/group stuff in general like he didn't spend 3 entire enlistments doing wtv to keep shinee's brand alive lol) also the way the noze thing got bigger recently only because these ppl are using against him bcs 'since he left esem he isn't interested in his fans' etc etc

honestly, there isn't a perfect agency, and bpm sucks just like esem sucks and even griffinent has their problems, so going into some crypto typing war for these agencies isn't worth it BUT! esem was going to kill off tm's legacy just to not make him surpass them in terms of yk

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

On Trickster Path, Tricksterism, and Playing Tricks

I've been making my way through the Trickster path in WOTR after giving Azata a taste. I really like Azata, there's a lot of fun in there and Aivu is, naturally, the best girl. But I've been so curious about the Trickster path and wanted to see how Owlcat would handle such an interesting archetype. This isn't really a critique of the path so much as an exploration of what I've seen thus far (mid-act 5 on my own playthrough, though I've seen letsplays of a few path endings).

Primarily, I'm left with a desperate wish for there to be cohesive writing throughout the game. Not really something fair to want in a modern game, so instead of kvetching about that I'd like to explore how Owlcat presents the definitive difference between playing tricks and Being A Trickster. As well as just my general thoughts about Trickster path stuff. I have a lot of those, so please, enjoy this readmore. It's the only thing protecting you now.

Fellow Tricksters, please feel free to add your own thoughts and musings in replies or tags; I'd love to see how the rest of you explore this playground.

Tricksters are narrative archetypes I love to explore, and are largely categorized as agents of pure chaos... which I think is disingenuous and the sickness at the heart of America core of the fascination I have with the writing for Trickster in WotR.

More than just pranks and randomness, a true Trickster is one whose purpose it is to unveil the truth of something no matter how grim or frightening or yucky it is, expressly to inspire or force change of the status quo. That feels like more or less the thread Paizo was going for in their original writing. Owlcat doesn't have the luxury of relying on Theater of the Mind to flesh out the worldstate scenarios we interact with, so seeing how they've balanced the different types of Tricksterism is fascinating.

In Pathfinder WotR, mechanically speaking, there are many different ways to be a Trickster type. You have a sliding scale of controlled madness to complete mayhem to choose from. The easiest way I can think of to describe this is the Bugs Bunny vs Daffy Duck trickster dynamic*.

On one side you have Bugs: Passive, intellectual, friendly, open, cunning, calm, professionally effective. His antics seem random if you aren't paying attention to context clues. IE, his costume changes generally reflect the personality of his adversary, and allow him the opportunity to counter that adversary with their own strength. Favorite example: Bugs impersonating legendary conductor Leopold Stokoski♬ to humble an Opera singer. In doing so, he unveils the singer's true nature as a slave to the craft rather than a lover of music. His Tricksterism is generally externalized (tricking the other), in self-defense, or benign.

On the other you have Daffy: Aggressive, pseudointellectual, bullying, closed-off, adaptive, manic, dangerously amateur. Daffy's antics seem random if you don't know his tell - all of his costume changes are chosen specifically to make him look more heroic and powerful than his opponent, and his failure to be that ultimately leads either to his humorous downfall while also, somehow, allowing him to avoid total disaster. Favorite Example: The Scarlet Pumpernickel. Daffy once again proves true that faking your way to success will only get you so far. Daffy's Tricksterism is generally internalized (tricking the self), weaponized, and violent.

They're both Tricksters; they both harass and bother Elmer while attempting to also get one over on each other. Bugs' 'give 'em enough rope to hang themselves' ability to gracefully react to any given situation is directly opposed by Daffy's in-your-face too-crazy-not-to-work screwball energy.

In WotR, you have the mechanical flexibility to make a Bugs type (like me, call Zell Bugs Bunnicula) or a Daffy type. Or maybe you're a little more bodacious and overtly mean, like Foghorn Leghorn. Maybe you've decided to squish 'em all together and go FUCK IT, CHAOS REIGNS. Mechanically, you can do whatever!

But then there's the way your choices are reflected in-game. The way you interact with being a Trickster is so... strange. A real 'have your cake and fuck it too' scenario is what I'm sayin here. Let's start with your link to the Trickster Path, Socothbenoth.

Your Trickter patron being Socothbenoth is an interesting choice. I wouldn't call him a Trickster so much as a deceptive and manipulative creep, an archetypal demon who thinks he's more clever than he actually is. Not fully beating the Daffy allegations, but not nearly on the same level as Mister The Duck**. His goal isn't to reveal a Truth, or even to make himself look better, it's to Bully. He cares about things being surprising, revels in chaos and champions meanness, but at the end of the day his tricks are just... mean tricks. His deceptions are shallow and petty.

His manipulative schemes? WACK.

His comedic timing? WHAT comedic timing?WACK.

Yeah, sure. He's tricky.

But at the end of the day, they're just tricks. And what the Knight Commander can do to interact with him and the rest of the council are just tricks. For the player - the real Trickster in the driver's seat - there's no way to cater your tricks to your target unless we're talking about a strictly combat situation. (This is me lamenting the lack of variety in how your mythic path choices are written out, to be clear)

Socothbenoth is just mean and happens to also be cunning and evasive, but hardly seems to have any interest in truth or change... just chaos. He wants everyone to see him as charming and funny and a trickster, but he isn't one.

Barring Shyka - naturally - the rest of the council seem simply to exist as examples of alignment archetypes to bully and lie to. Not a trick in the true sense, all you're doing is manipulating them into fighting each other for reasons you yourself fully don't understand yet***

Which, I think, is fantastic. Shyka - the true Trickster here - chilling in the background and letting Socothbenoth run things until he either succeeds or gets hoisted by his own petard via Knight Commander. It's a marvelous bait and switch to set up Socothbenoth, and you only ever see it come to fruition if you play a certain way. You really have to dig for as many secrets and uncover as much truth as possible to really get one over on him, and the payoff feels good. Especially if you're playing for the Secret Ending. Yet it still comes off as pretty cheap if the conceit is you know to upset the council because you've always known to do so, because Shyka. I feel like there could have been something more to really pull it together, instead of leaning on the 'useless council' gag or Shyka's presence.

If you aren't working towards the Secret Ending and don't have any intention of betraying Socothbenoth... what's the point, other than to entertain him? It's not outright stated that I can tell, but unless you're really going for the gold all you truly end up being is this motherfucker's court jester. I suppose for those on the Evil Trickster path Socothbenoth's whole thing is more appealing, but uhhhh couldn't be me fam. It feels like Owlcat wasn't necessary pushing a preferred narrative on the player, but someone over there definitely gets the difference between Real Trickster Shit and Elevated Class Clown.

That's enough on Socothbenoth, let's talk about Thaberdine! I love him. Personally, I don't conflate drunkenness with Tricksterism the way the game narrative does, though I do feel like it was a missed opportunity to have the commander bleed moonshine rather than, say... gin. He really has the silliness about him and brings a special kind of levity to the path storyline.**** I like to imagine him played by Peter Postlethwaite and his entourage as a bunch of Muppets. Which seems to be what the game writers were going for, because Trickster Drezen truly does feel like a street scene in a Muppet movie.

Continuing on the theme of Truth in Trickery, I like that you have the option to name him King of either the Tavern, Sarkoris, or all of Golarion. King of the Tavern feels like the most true path for him by my estimation, but that reality-bending potential to re-write what's really true in the world is so neat. It's not just for the sake of the joke, but taking Thaberdine's whole-hearted and unflappable improv schtick and making it be true because he makes it feel true is the HEIGHT of comedy. That's the kind of thing that really gets me going about certain Live-Play series, particularly Dimension 20. Rewarding someone for committing to the bit is such a great detail. It also reinforces the later 'Game Master' decision you can make at the war table***** as something that a character who absolutely knows about tabletop gaming would do.

I think I'm about at the point where I can wind this up, for now. In all I think there are many aspects of the Trickster path that really get into the meat of what being a Trickster in the mythical sense really means, while being unfortunately hampered by the limits of game design. It's inspiring, definitely. My own plans for writing out a bespoke adventure for my character picking from both the game and the original adventure path are only going to be enhanced by what Owlcat gave us, IMO.

So... what about you? What do you like about being a Trickster? How far is my head stuck up my own ass? How hot or cold are my takes?

*Specifically the Chuck Jones era Bugs and Daffy. Their characterizations have shifted in some ways since Jones' day, and I feel like Chuck's rules for these two characters are a good foundation to apply what I mean here.

**this honestly feels a little unfair because writing Daffy is HARD and the fact that they really seemed to go for a Daffy/Marvel Loki/Jared Leto's Joker mashup with Socothbenoth is worth celebrating, even if it didn't quite hit the mark.

***It does not escape me that a lot of the Trickster path writing seems slanted towards making fun of people who read spoiler guides to plan out their gameplay experience. Or, y'know, make sure they hit a specific prompt so they don't play another 300 hours and get whammied by The Bad End. And I personally think the handwave that since Shyka is there and you merge in some timelines means you know exactly how to manipulate the council is CHEAP. WHERE'S THE STYLE? WHERE'S THE PANACHE? UGH.

****Owlcat I am literally begging you to let me play a chaotic drunken master moNK ALIGNMENT LOCKING MONKS IS SO GOOFY WHYYYYYYYYYY DOES JACKIE CHAN MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!?!?!?!?

*****I KNOW it's not the war table I just miss Dragon Age

♬Leopold Stokowski was a conductor famous for not using a baton, instead directing the orchestra with full body and hand gestures, which must have been a blast for the animators on that Bugs short. His reinterpretations of classical pieces are still a hotly debated subject to this day! Fans of Disney's Fantasia will also recognize him as the conductor for that production. Personally, I'm a huge fan of his work and highly recommend listening to his interpretations of Stravinsky's Firebird and Rachmaninov's Scheherazade

[lilidawnonthemoon]