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phoenixcatch7 · 6 days

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Okay so I saw this post about dark percy (really him reaching his Limit and fighting full strength with everything he had) and I was imagining the potential fallout of that. Pretty bad, as you can guess.

The thing is a lot of percys strongest moments happen out of view of the olympians, especially in hoo. The hurricane atop the glacier in alaska, the poison scene in tartarus, bending the depression river and the one in the palace of nyx.

Stuff like the St Helens eruption got him washed up on an inescapable island literally removed from reality until calypso gave him the OK, the achillies curse he got tricked into losing by hera. Smaller moments, the minotaur, fighting ares, the stolen pirate ship, walking on water vs hyperion, freshwater sources, him knowing both Latin and Greek, they're more easily brushed off or at least mostly due to cunning, sword skills and sheer luck and grit.

But basically the olympians don't actually know the full extent of percys strength and divine power. They have hints - percy standing on the throne, winning against ares, his many victories - but what they aren't willing to brush aside in the heat of (an important) battle there have been pretty strong consequences for.

Heck, just look at Frank, he's no prodigy with weapons, he's polite and respectful, but his distant relation to two olympians letting him inherit shapeshifting earned him direct divine meddling and his life force tied to a hunk of half toasted firewood. Man is a honey bear with lactose intolerance and he was punished with a mythical death curse for being too strong.

If Percy's true strength came out, he would risk losing everything. His freedom, most certainly. If he wasn't straight up executed he might wind up in a Greek myth style imprisonment, the way of atlas, prometheus, calypso, or something like the myriad of ways Greek heroes met their end. Good scenario he survives a dozen curses and gets on with life with a dozen new disabilities, best case scenario he's stripped of every inch of divine power and dropped back to the mortal world, not even clear sighted. Total separation from the Greeks and Romans. Oh, annabeth would marry him either way, and his friends would hardly abandon him despite the gods wishes, but they'd hardly be able to see him, and no long range contact without the ability to IM him or vice versa.

All of that to say Percy is hiding his true strength from the gods themselves - maybe not consciously, and it's not even power he particularly wants - but if they ever find out?

It's game over.

But why is he so strong? I don't know. What I do know is that the half bloods of the books are so much stronger than the ones of myth. Used to be that divine blood would get you divine favour and a great fate whether you liked it or not. Maybe some cunning and bow skills. A spot of spell casting if you were really lucky. Achillies got his curse after he was born, Perseus had a dozen magic artifacts, orpheus had something going on but hercules is to my knowledge an outlier. Now? Everyone in camp has some special power. Flight, fire, necromancy, hypnotism, dream walking etc. However it's happening, half bloods are slowly but surely getting a lot, lot stronger every century that passes. Meta? I mean I guess. But.

What no one has done before is something that their godly parent couldn't.

Except.

Except Percy.

Except Percy, in tartarus, at his mental, emotional and physical limit, controlling poison with his mind, overpowering the goddess of poison in her home, making misery choke on misery. Feeling something in his chest crack. Doing something poseidon could not, and doing it better than the person who could.

Down there, hidden away from the gods, he evolved. For that brief moment, he did something, was something new.

And that was how the gods overthrew the titans.

And that's why they must never find out.

#In terms of extrapolating meta 'percy Jackson unknowingly being maybe the first of a new generation of increasingly powerful #Half bloods that would be in line with overthrowing the more powerful but complacent olympians as the next in the long line of toppling #Ancient and established lineages of divinity' has to be one of my favourites. Give it a few more centuries and they might actually be in #Danger lol #And the olympians would NOT be happy but would they solve the issue at its roots and stop having kids? Doubtful :)#Even just three of them who barely had anything to do with land or mortals couldn't keep it in their pants for more than half a century #Hestia and chiron remain the mvps as always lol #I got distracted from a story idea with lore dang it #pjo #pjo hoo toa #pjo series #pjo fandom #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #Pjo dod #hoo series #pjo hoo #the heroes of olympus #perseus jackson #pjo meta

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sadberrystuff · 5 months

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with some ppl both making prediction charts and straight up posts about parallels that will show up in the rest of the season, I'd like to toss in my two cents and say that we'll either get a moderately happy timeskip or a really, really tragic ending and I don't think there's an in between

first of all, this is purely speculation and conspiracy, but

secondly, I'm just thinking about how both juno and nureyev think about their futures. Juno really doesn't know what he wants or where he wants to go right now, and the only place he wants to be (albeit, for nostalgic reasons) is Hyperion City. Nureyev's a repressed fuck, so we don't really have an idea what he would want out of his future, but something hit me. Would he ever trust a happy ending? Look at the Slip debacle, he was tricked into imagining DECADES of a happy ending with the man he loved, only for it to be torn down in a second. That's gotta have SOME lasting trauma, some distrust. He's made it very clear that his only long-term plans have been to repay Slip. So where would Jupeter go, what would they do? Go back to Hyperion, get married, live a mildly content domestic life? ls that even possible after everything? All that's coming to mind is the end of the Hunger Games franchise, so fic writers, do what you will.

It's more likely in my mind that this will all turn towards a Greek tragedy sort of path. Something will be lost, someone will die, someone will suffer, someone will be left broken. If I had to guess, Juno will either be forced to let Nureyev go, or more likely, Juno will lose Nureyev, Final Resting Place style. That's just my two cents though as a lover of drama and tragedies, and that could change as the season goes on.

#sadberry gets real #tpp #the penumbra podcast #juno steel #junoverse #peter nureyev #jupeter #tpp s5 #tpp s5 spoilers

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deathbxnny · 1 year

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How about honkai valkyrie! reader who once taught by himeko got sent to hsr world and meet hsr himeko? Especially after her death in hi3

-----♡

A/N: Hello! Thank you for the idea, Anon! Himeko's death was by far the most painful character death I've ever witnessed and I cried so hard, I'll never recover from it tbh. So I decided to make a little one shot out of this. I hope you like it!<3

Content: Spoilers for hi3 lore regarding Himeko's death, angst, mentions of death, Valkyrie reader, platonic student/Mentor relationship, kinda fluff-ish yet bittersweet ending

Most Valkyrie's are usually women, but this can be read with gender neutral pronouns as well!

((Not fully proofread, so sorry for any mistakes.))

-----♡

☆《Bittersweet. (Himeko x Valkyrie!Reader)》☆

-----♡

"Are you sure, that this is what you want? You won't be able to return to this world." Welt hummed, his eyes turning to a window in the Hyperion, watching the rain and thunder rage on outside. You said nothing for a moment, your head hanging low, eyes trained on your interlaced hands and the tear droplets that slid down your gloves every time they left your eyes.

"And there is no guarantee, that she will survive in the next world either... she never seems to." The older man continued, the sound of his cane echoing through the dark room as he approached you. He took a seat infront of you, patiently waiting for you to speak. Yet you felt like you'd break, if you spoke as much as another word about what you wanted to do.

You wanted to leave this world and travel into a different one with Welt, having overheard his plan to do so on accident. He didn't judge you for your choice, he in fact understood you perfectly well. You were one of the first students Himeko ever teached. You looked up to her alot in your most darkest days and despite her faults and harsh teaching style, she always still looked out for you in her own ways. Even after you graduated, you still stayed close to her I the form of a teaching assistant, never too far from your mentor at any time.

But that changed a week ago.

Himeko had sacrificed herself in order to stop the reawakening of the Herrscher of the Void... and in turn, she lost her life. Or well, you were definitely certain that she had. The reports claimed that she was missing in action, but everyone knew that she was gone. She had left you a letter, thanking you for being her student and assistant for so long. And that was it. The only thing you had left of her.

You couldn't help her that day, as she had purposely locked you in your room during the reawakening and by the time you got out, it was already over. Nothing anyone said to you could comfort you either. You felt like an empty vessel, the world passing you by and moving on, whilst you stood there, unable to.

It hurt. It ripped you apart. Killed a part of your soul that you'd never be able to recover.

And that's what led you here now, sitting infront of the only person you knew could help you, having a new goal and purpose in mind. You didn't care how many worlds you had to go through to make it happen, but you were determined to save her in at least one and give her the life she deserved to have. It was your way of thanking her for being your mentor and idol for so long. It's the least you could do. But it wouldn't be an easy feat to achieve... yet you had nothing to lose anymore.

Finally, you looked up at the man with teary, red eyes, your heart pounding in your chest from the determination and passion, as you spoke. "I'll do my best to keep her alive. And if it takes me centuries or even losing my own life to do it, then so be it." You said with surprising strength. Welt looked at you in silence for a moment, before giving you a small smile and nodding.

He helped himself back up onto his feet, stretching a hand out to you carefully. "Very well... let's get going." He simply said. You took a moment to look out of the window, silently bidding this world a goodbye, before taking Welt's hand. He had done this plenty of times before, returning only rarely to your original world to see Himeko here. But now that she was gone, there won't be any need for it anymore.

The world grew dark and you felt yourself being pulled through time and space itself. You closed your eyes in hopes that you will see your mentor soon.

"-The Astral Express will be leaving in 10 minutes. Please make sure to step away from the platforms for your own safety." You gasped softly, when your eyes snapped open again. You blinked rapidly, your ears ringing with the announcement, as you tried remembering what happened. When your vision finally cleared, you noticed that you weren't wearing your battlesuit anymore. You were dressed in foreign clothing and kn further inspection, you seemed to be in a... train station? You looked up at the massive train infront you in awe, shifting to get a better look from the bench you were sitting on.

You remembered then what had brought you here in the first place. Was this your new world? If so, where was Welt? Your eyes focused on the people around you and then on the large glass windows, that showed you an endless galaxy and it's bright stars. It was breathtaking, despite you still not knowing where exactly you were.

But you froze, when you heard a familiar voice speak in your to you. Your mind went still, all thoughts leaving your brain, as you slowly turned your head at her. You nearly didn't catch her words from the shock and pain that filled you. You thought that you could be normal and strong when seeing her again... but it seemed that you were wrong.

"So you must be our new Trailblazer member, hm? Welt has told me alot about you." Her voice was so gentle and elegant, her appearance so different from what you were used to seeing her in. She looked at ease and content. It was your dear mentor, despite her drastic differences. "My name is Himeko and I hereby officially welcome you onto the Astral Express- Oh my, are you alright?" The red haired woman gasped softly, instinctively pulling a Handkerchief out of her pocket and holding it out to you. You shakily reached up to touch your cheek, flinching at the tears you were unknowingly shedding.

"Sorry." Was all you could say, as you took the handkerchief gratefully. Himeko gave you a gentle and encouraging smile. "It's alright, I understand. It must be a little overwhelming, but I can assure you that you'll fit right in." She chuckled, as another announcement of the train leaving soon came in. Himeko held out her hand to you, a kind and reassuring look in her eyes.

"Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the crew, alright? I'll always be there for you, if you need help or guidance." The woman said gently and for a moment, you saw your old mentor standing over you with a stern, yet encouraging expression.

For once in a very long time, you smiled as well. It was bittersweet in a way. You might've lost your old mentor, but you regained her here. And you were going to keep her alive and well this time, no matter what.

You took her hand, letting her pull you to your feet.

"I know you will be, Himeko."

-----♡

A/N: This lowkey hurt to write haha! But I hope it wasn't bad, I get so insecure about my writing sometimes. Anyhow, thank you very much for the request again, Anon!

#honkai star rail fanfic #honkai star rail x reader #honkai star rail #honkai star rail x you #hsr himeko #hsr himeko x reader #hsr x reader #hsr #honkai impact 3rd

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dragonnova · 1 year

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Calvin and Hobbes style fav boys from Borderlands. I call this “Hyperion Only”.

#Borderlands #Handsome Jack #Rhys Strongfork #Timothy Lawrence #Butt Stallion #my art

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sealrock · 1 month

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—Paris Wormwood

I was tagged by @oneiroy @thefreelanceangel & @gatheredfates for this cool oc game, tysm for the tag!

I'll be tagging @aethergazing @icehearts @iron-sparrow @ishgard @dragonsongmakhali @elf-simp @ahollowgrave @shroudkeeper (feel free to skip if you've done this already!)

—BASICS

Name: Paris Wormwood Nicknames: Little Sprout (Hector's nickname), Pari (Cassandra's nickname, rarely used) Age: 24 (post-endwalker) Nameday: 1st Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon (June 1st, 1556) Race: Midlander Hyur/Garlean Gender: Nonbinary (AFAB), uses they/them pronouns Orientation: Lesbian Profession: Warrior of Light (retired)

—PHYSICAL ASPECTS

Hair: Black, thick texture but soft to the touch, shoulder length Eyes: Dark green Skin: Warm copper Tattoos/scars: No tattoos, multiple scars across their body. Most prominent is their nose scar inflicted by Hector when they were a child

—FAMILY

Parents: Andromache Tatlonghari; mother (48, alive) Hector Wormwood; father (47, alive) Siblings: Chryseis Wedelia; maternal half-sister born on the First shard (15, alive) Grandparents: Priam Tatlonghari; maternal grandfather (80, alive) Hecuba (née Cordova) Tatlonghari; maternal grandmother (deceased, 36 at time of death) Ovidius bas Naso; paternal grandfather (deceased, 37 at time of death) Juno mal Agrippa; paternal grandmother (deceased, 66 at time of death) In-laws and Other: Pammon Tatlonghari; maternal great-uncle (deceased, 30 at time of death) Briseis (née Tatlonghari) Villaflor; maternal aunt (deceased, 31 at time of death) Menoetius Villaflor; uncle-in-law (deceased, 44 at time of death) Evander Tatlonghari; maternal first cousin (27, alive) Patroclus Villaflor; maternal first cousin (22, alive) Cassandra (née Tatlonghari) Morleo; maternal aunt (43, alive) Alimar Morleo; uncle-in-law (48, alive) Telestas Morleo; maternal first cousin (17, alive) Cleodice Morleo; maternal first cousin (9, alive) Deiphobus Tatlonghari; maternal uncle (40, alive) Elissa Coldren; former aunt-in-law (38, alive) Hyperion Tatlonghari; maternal first cousin (14, alive) Idomeneus Tatlonghari; maternal uncle (36, alive) Pets: None

—SKILLS

Abilities: Paris uses a spectral scythe in battle that was bestowed to them by their voidsent avatar, a being they named Screwtape. Paris uses the Reaper skillset and fighting style, but isn't called a Reaper in-canon They are also an Echo user; they can predict moves the enemy will make, understand every known language of the world, and can peer into the past of a person's life, but this isn't something they're particularly good at as it's difficult to control Hobbies: Running, wrestling, playing instruments, fishing

—TRAITS

Most Positive Trait: Their steadfast loyalty Most Negative Trait: Their burning vengefulness

—LIKES

Colors: Black, green, white, gray Smells: pine and oak, rainwater, damp earth, cigarette smoke Textures: Woven fabric, knitted objects, wood, leather Drinks: Beer, hard liquor, water, coffee

—OTHER DETAILS

Smokes: Often. Paris started smoking when they turned 13 Drinks: Too often. Paris started drinking at age 15, and is what most people would call a 'functioning alcoholic' Drugs: Rarely. Paris started using drugs because of Evander (psychoactive drugs like cannabis or painkillers), but didn't like the side effects Mount Issuance: Paris doesn't use mounts often, they tend to catch rides via airships, chocobo taxis, or boat Been Arrested: Arrested? Kind of. Got caught doing something shady but let off the hook? Yes. Paris' teenaged years were spent bribing off the law thanks to their aunt Cassandra and keeping the events secret from their grandfather. The only time they were accused of a serious crime was during the bloody banquet right before HW; Priam wouldn't shelter Paris over what happened and instead kicked them out to avoid persecution, and it wasn't until Paris could clear their name that their family could trust them again

#meta.#ffxiv.#this was so fun :>#ty again for the tag friend!#tag game

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yoryke · 6 months

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The biggest missed opportunity about QSMP purgatory is that no fanart in the style of the Borderland games came out of it.

Imagine Green (gay) Ninjas as vault hunters, Bolas as psychos and Soulfire as a corporation(Hyperion/Atlas).

I mean, it's right there.

#qsmp #borderland #qsmp purgatory

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wainwrightjakobshammerlock · 7 months

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What I think disability aids made by Borderlands gun manufacturers would be like. CW for mentions of systemic ableism and weight loss.

Atlas: Sleek and fancy, but also expensive as hell and prone to accidents. Sort of like IRL fancy prostheses or wheelchairs - they seem cool but are actually kinda sucky and very pricey. Don't expect the average Promethean to afford one. Though in this case, it's because they're often loaded with purely experimental tech that was probably shipped too early.

Hyperion: They make a few prosthetic and implant models and that's it. Pretty much all their stuff is aimed at their own employees trying to get "ahead" and not actual disabled people, so give up trying to find one fitting your particular needs. At least they're pretty fucking sturdy (but not against hacking). And no, they haven't thought of adopting those exoskeletons their engineers use for other needs.

Maliwan: Similar to above, but aimed at their general customer base instead. These guys are hipsters who try marrying form and function, and in many cases that means augs of some sort. I wouldn't really call them transhumanist though, that implies respecting bodily autonomy, human rights and not being ableist; these guys would sell arms with tracking chips and neural interfaces that fry your brainstem if you don't pay the subscription fee. And then tell you to lose weight with the new fad diet their marketing department cooked up. The hoverchairs and flavored chewelry are pretty great, tho.

Dahl: They wouldn't. They claim to be reliable but they're actually the biggest cowards in the Six Galaxies. If one of their soldiers loses a leg or something that's grounds for being (dis)honorably discharged. What exoskeletons or other devices they make are purely for war. Plus, the one Dahl employee we see having a prosthesis (Helena Pierce) doesn't seem to have a Dahl brand one. Aside from weird metal rank implants and funky gun-inspired fidget cubes they don't do much in this department.

Torgue: Expect everything to be painted like a Hot Wheels toy and probably explode somehow - either on you or on your enemies. All the mobility aids have jets attached for either smacking ableists with great force or speeding through town. I think Torgue himself wears a hearing aid (from all the explosions) and it looks like a fucking microphone with car parts on it, complete with exhaust.

Jakobs: Steampunk baybeee!!! Of course, the subgenre of said steampunk depends on the quality of the aid. The most basic ones are IRL Victorian era metal arms: flat, spiky, inhuman, but still quite ornate. The ones custom-tooled for execs and their families (looking at you, Alistair Hammerlock) are more "sleek" steampunk, with fine chassis of signature Jakobs brass and filigree engravings. They also make genuine wood canes with organic rubber grips that will outlive you if you take proper care of them... which is definitely shown in their price tags. The Jakobs stim toy line is half weird gear contraptions, half competition with Dahl's fidget cubes.

Vladof: Heavy, clunky, dieselpunk style. But damn if they aren't effective. A standard Vladof boostchair could break through a wall and be completely unharmed. A Vladof AAC device looks like an electron tube supercomputer that you have to haul around in a cart. That's all I really have to say here.

Tediore: I have no idea.

#my post #borderlands #text post #headcanons #disability tag #50

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herrscherofmagic · 6 months

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A look at the past & future of Honkai design: Simplicity vs. Complexity (Part 1)

Link to the YouTube channel of the person whose thumbnail I yoinked off of Google Images for this; it was the best image of the new Hyperion that I could easily find which is why I used it for this.

TL;DR:

Original Honkai Impact 3rd designs tended towards large, simply shapes that gave battlesuits (and other stuff) a strong "mecha" vibe. Many newer designs are trending towards more complex designs that do away with these simple and recognizable shapes, instead using more overlapping textures and ornamentation to create detail. Some designs balance the two, using large and relatively simple shapes that still carry enough detail to stand out as newer while still keeping the original vibes.

Because of this, I think there's gonna be a very clear visual split between Part 1 designs and the APHO+Part 2 designs because of this split between simplicity & complexity, and some Part 1 designs feel off because they stray too far from the original design motifs, making them feel out of place even if they're still good designs on their own.

I've been thinking a lot about the design philosophy of Honkai Impact 3rd for quite a while now. As someone interested in concept art and illustration and who's played video games for more than 3/4ths of their whole lifespan.

And obviously I'm not alone in this, given how often I've seen discussion of Honkai's character design. Whether it was the march of the pastel battlesuits or the techwear of the part 2 cast or the upcoming Garuda Fu Hua battlesuit, many people have had many opinions both positive and negative.

But I've wanted to do a sort of "deep-dive" for a while now, because I think HI3rd is a really interesting case where we can see the co-existence of (sometimes drastically) different designs made years apart from one another. It's normal for the style of a franchise to grow and change with time- my personal example is Halo, with obvious differences between Halo CE, Halo 3, and Halo 4 in mind. But typically that has been done over the release of different games over many years, not so much in consecutive releases within the same game. HI3rd's not alone in this regard, of course :)

I don't want to label anything as "bad" or "good". I can like or dislike something, and that's my personal opinion. Of course I COULD try to label designs as bad or good, but I'd want to back that up with serious analysis and get the opinions of other players, and that's way too much effort for a reddit post. Instead, I want to present some different designs in Honkai and share my thoughts, so others can feel free to agree, disagree, elaborate, etc. More of a matter of casual discussion rather than trying to present some solid theory, I guess you could say?

What I will say is I intend to label designs based on whether (or how) they fit into HI3rd's aesthetic(s), so that's the main point- not so much whether an individual design is good or not.

To start with, I'd like to talk about the simplicity vs. complexity of Honkai designs because I personally feel like this is the biggest problem I have with HI3rd, outside of story issues that is. Not because of designs being "good" or "bad", but because I feel like Mihoyo has been moving towards a new design philosophy that's different from what I loved most about HI3rd when I first started.

I opened with the comparison of Hyperion because I think it's a perfect example of this concept, and if we can understand what the difference is with Hyperion then I think it'd be more apparent with battlesuits as well. I also have another image that highlights some of the biggest differences between the two models:

I had mixed feelings about the reveal of the "new and upgraded" Hyperion during the moon arc. It's a neat design I'll admit, but I felt like it deviated a lot from the original Hyperion, not as a difference in fidelity and detail but rather as a difference in the fundamental design of the ship.

What I like so much about the original Hyperion is, as you might have guessed by now: its simplicity. Hyperion was comprised of much larger, blockier shapes with more clear silhouettes. It's actually the same reason I love the design of Halo's UNSC frigates, funnily enough. I'm a huge sci-fi fan and I absolutely adore spacecraft and vehicle design, so I really appreciated the design of Hyperion cause to me it felt very original.

The new Hyperion retains most of the same characteristics, and it's still recognizable as a version of Hyperion. But it bothers me just how much the design was changed. Many of the simple shapes of the design were broken up into smaller parts or almost totally changed, like the cannon going from a sleek polygonal barrel to a spikey... thing.

To me, it feels like Hyperion was redesigned with the idea of trying to make it more "futuristic" or "tech-y", or perhaps it was even designed with some retro anime motifs in mind like the Space Battleship Yamato. But it seems as though this was done by adding many objects that broke up the original silhouette, as well as inventing lots of new detail instead of adding details to complement what was already there. The shape of the winglets was greatly changed; the vent-like structures were totally changed; the barrel was completely changed; most noticeably, the bridge was drastically changed.

The new Hyperion model is technically "better" in terms of fidelity and the amount of detail it has, no doubt about it. But I think changing the fundamental shapes of Hyperion so much really hurts the charm of the original design, to the point that I was actually quite disappointed to see that Mihoyo used the new Hyperion design in the CG of the Captainverse Hyperion farm event. It seems as though Mihoyo wants to consider this as the new default impression of Hyperion, and not a special one-off thing from the moon arc.

I think this can be seen across other aspects of the game, too. In general Mihoyo has moved away from simple designs and towards complex designs, and I think there's been a lot of hits and a lot of misses with this.

For instance, I'd like to compare the three Herrscher Kiana battlesuits: HoV, HoFS, and HoFi.

There's a clear trend of an increase in complexity across the three battlesuits. HoV's design uses fewer and larger shapes, HoFS adds more and smaller shapes, and then HoFi is almost totally devoid of any large clear shapes.

To me, this is what distinguishes a battlesuit that "feels like Honkai" from one that doesn't.

Everyone starts the game in Chapter 1, and most long-time players have spent more time with older battlesuits than newer ones simply because they were playing the game before these newer battlesuits were even released. I think it's safe to say that even though HoFi is the grand "Kiana in her greatest form" battlesuit, most players will still have seen HoV's design more often because of the years that it's been around, and its prevalence in story content.

Most of those older designs were rooted more heavily in the mecha vibes early Honkai had. For instance, even though HoV is obviously not wearing a mecha battlesuit, the large blocky shapes are still reminiscent of armor, two examples being the large frames on her wings and the large white pad-things(?) on her sides. There's other obvious cases like White Comet being a skin-tight battlesuit which used glowy energy bits for its attacks, but I use the example of HoV because it shows that HI3rd was fully capable of creating battlesuits within the mecha theme without being limited to literal "mecha" designs. HoV's battlesuit is far from mecha in its nature, yet still fits perfectly with that aesthetic.

HoFi has pretty much none of that, though. It's a pretty design for sure, but it's also nearly completely divorced from that original aesthetic. There's few easily-recognizable shapes on her design, with the (very little) clothing she wears being almost entirely detail and ornamentation. It definitely fits the "Princess Kiana" or "Goddess Kiana" theme in isolation, but I don't think it delivers on that theme in the context of Honkai Impact 3rd.

Yet look at HoFS. HoFS definitely has more detail than HoV. Yet there are still lots of large blank areas that define clear forms; for instance, the armor on HoFS' waist. It's reminiscent of that of HoV while still adding more detail. This gives that same effect of a slight mecha vibe. It's still an appealing design and it still feels more modern than HoV, but it also manages to retain much of the same design language.

That being said, I have to admit I ADORE the Honkai wings that HoFi has, though I wish they were a little higher in the air. That's one thing that I think Mihoyo absolutely nailed with HoFi, and I wish more of that aesthetic was kept in the rest of her design.

What's also interesting is that (in my opinion) neither of the other two main Herrscher Trio designs suffer from this. For instance, consider Mei's battlesuits:

I've included Lighting Empress as a reminder that old =/= good. I'd like to make it clear that just because it's an "original" battlesuit doesn't mean it's a good one. I said before that I didn't want to label stuff as good or bad but this is a clear exception and I hope y'all can understand why, lol

We can certainly argue about whether HoO Mei's design really fits the image of Raiden Mei. It's a vast departure from her other battlesuits when it comes to her palette, for better or for worse. I didn't like it at first but it has grown on me, and I think part of that is because of that concept of simplicity vs. complexity.

HoO has way, way more detail than the other two Herrscher Mei battlesuits, no doubt about it. But it also retains many large and recognizable shapes. Nothing on this battlesuit is bulky like HoT or other older battlesuits, but it still gives off the feeling of being armor despite being so thin. Much of the detail is created not by overlapping layers of ornamentation and texture, but rather by using intricate shapes with clear silhouettes and light detail inside that outline.

And HoTr is obviously a mecha design, so I don't think we need to elaborate on that one :)

The point is that it's absolutely possible to make detailed and beautiful battlesuits without getting rid of the original shape language that HI3rd was built on. HoFS is a bit dated now but still much newer than HoV, yet it keeps the vibes. HoO is also far newer, yet it still fits the theme of battlesuit. HoFi, though... not so much.

Finally, I want to talk about the elephant in the room: the Part 2 character designs.

Once again, here's the link to the YouTube video by Matt Is Playing, where I pulled this image from!

Much like HoFi, there's very little trace of the OG Honkai mecha aesthetic in these battlesuits. It's not to say that they are inherently bad because of that* , but it doesn't quite feel like "Honkai Impact 3rd".

*except Dream Seeker, I'm sorry but what the heck is going on there???

But the thing is that this design philosophy isn't even new. In fact, it's years old by now... because we see this in APHO.

For a long time now, APHO has had battlesuits that tip-toe on the very edge of the original Honkai aesthetic. So the designs of Part 2 aren't actually some new and drastic shift in Mihoyo's design philosophy- rather, it's reinforcing a design philosophy that was introduced with APHO.

These new characters all feel out of place if we compare them to the original battlesuits. They don't use the same simple forms, instead using dense and overlapping details. But if we compare them to the APHO cast, they fit right in. We can argue about the merits of the new character designs in other terms, but I think these discussions have to keep in mind this context.

I'd say the APHO designs work well in the setting of APHO because they're following the same aesthetic. As we enter Part 2 and once we see more of the story and setting of Part 2, it's very possible that these new character designs will feel more natural and more like "Honkai Impact 3rd".

But it's a different Honkai Impact 3rd.

This is why I think the idea of "simplicity vs. complexity" is so important to understanding Honkai Impact 3rd's designs. I think Mihoyo might be trying to emphasize two different phases of Honkai through this design philosophy. These are going to be two very different halves to the same game, with the designs of Part 2 possibly becoming as distant from Part 1's designs as Part 1 is from HSR.

You have the OG mecha action vibes from the good ole St. Freya days, and we have the sleek tech-wear of the era of exploring Mars, world-hopping in the Sea of Quanta, and fighting literal aliens.

For better or for worse? Only time will tell.

As a bonus, I'd like to include some extra comparisons, though I won't be adding any more analysis. It's more about having extra examples to keep in mind. Also, I think these ideas can apply to enemies and weapons as well, but that's a larger discussion I'm not yet ready for so that will come in a follow-up later on!

#honkai impact 3rd #hi3rd #honkai 3rd #honkai #honkai discussion #as if that's even a tag people use lol #long post #Kiana Kaslana #Raiden Mei #Bronya Zaychik #i just realized after posting this that I used the wrong image for stygian nymph jgkldaflhflhadfhagh too late to change it now!

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angeltannis · 9 months

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So I listened to the entire Echoes from the Borderlands podcast #1 about BL1 and there wasn’t really too much of substance lore-wise, but the tidbits I appreciated were

-They wrote the entire story of BL1 in “about 40 hours”. Like, 1 work week. It shows tbh

-Angel’s name during development was VOG (pronounced like “vogue”), for “Voice of God”

-Tannis in BL1 was written by an autistic person! (Mikey Neumann) He said he drew on his own experiences as a person on the spectrum and how it would affect one’s reaction to trauma when writing her BL1 characterization.

-Lilith, Roland, Mordecai, and Tannis are all names from the Old Testament, but they didn’t really have any reason for doing that besides making it seem like there were deep meanings behind the names LOL

-They named the game “Borderlands” because they viewed it as an area in-between other areas (being the first RPG/shooter hybrid) . Randy compared it to an area of grassy concrete next to a highway but before the trees

-Randy originally wanted BL1’s gameplay to be a perfect loop, where you defeat the Destroyer and then Marcus pulls up in the bus and it’s the character select screen again. They added the Hyperion satellite and the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap end scene literally just for shits and giggles and had no intention of following up on it. (They didn’t even plan to do DLC for BL1 at all)

-They started working on BL2 before BL1 even released

-Randy originally didn’t want a robot character, he thought it was “trite” and overdone, but once they made Claptrap into an annoying failguy he changed his mind and liked him.

-Before they got Cage the Elephant for the opening cutscene, Mikey wanted to try for some Bob Dylan song lol… and apparently Randy said No chance he’s gonna let us put one of his songs in this stupid ass game (not even kidding, that was his reasoning for picking another artist)

-Crazy Earl hiding behind a door was 100% a cost-cutting measure because they didn’t have the budget (or time) to design another character model

-the illustrated ink bits with Marcus’ storytelling at the beginning came from one of the guys just fucking around in After Effects very shortly before the game went gold

-it seems like the majority of this game was made that way lol. The title cards were Mikey fuckin around in Photoshop, the initial trailer was his very first trailer edit, and half the voices were just him and Randy because they didn’t have the budget for too many fancy VAs

-they like the art style of the series, but they also feel like it holds the series back somewhat. Randy mentions numerous instances of players rejecting the game on the basis of wanting something more realistic. (To which he says Fuck that lol and I agree)

-Related to that, they said they tend to focus more on what they want to create rather than how well they think it will or won’t do in the gaming market.

-They feel like developing the BL series is getting progressively more fun as they expand the world and see how far they can develop the setting, characters, and weapons.

#borderlands #echoes from the borderlands #Patricia Tannis #angel the siren #gearbox #Tannis

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librarycards · 4 months

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got a book rec for what gets called "competence porn"? like oceans 11/miles vorkosigan style twisty plots coming off, you know?

Okay, I double-checked to be sure I had the right understanding and am using the TV Tropes definition of competence porn:

[T]he thrill of watching bright, talented people plan, banter, and work together to solve problems. It's not just "characters being good at a thing," particularly if that thing is fighting—otherwise, the term would apply to virtually all fiction—but specifically about using cleverness and hard work.

With this in mind (and the fact that I'm still a little shaky about how much competence/pro-social collaboration constitutes competence porn)...my recs!

Sarah Gailey, The Echo Wife

Dan Simmons, Hyperion

Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts

Grady Hendrix, Horrorstör

Sara Flannery Murphy, Girl One

NK Jemisin, The City We Became

There is some subversion / play with this trope in some of these entries. Obviously I won't spoil which ones. But I hope these help scratch that itch!!!

#ritavonbees #book rec #ask

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song-writer-melo-wrath · 26 days

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Silly Game Time: Who are some of your favorite mechanical characters, be they robots, androids, cyborgs, or something else? And what do like about them?

OOOOH...

Well, first, gotta mention my man Data.

A lot of people has said that he is autism-coded in the way that he is presented, and in how other people react to him. And I kind of agree tbh. He's also just a sweetheart, and his bonds with the crew (especially Laforge), his cat Spot, and sometimes with people who are briefly onboard are so lovely.

I also feel I should mention Connor,

Because his arc has probably inspired so many OCs at this point. Bryan Dechart did such an excellent job playing him, and his growing bond with Hank is very well-written. I think it's honestly touching how it's often emotional bonds that show humanity.

Another I feel would be a crime not to mention,

Because between the iconic lines and the dynamic he has with John Connor, and the way it shapes his various decisions, how could I not? And yes I'm specifically talking Terminator 2 here. Though I will say he makes an EXCELLENT force of nature and presence of absolute horror in the first movie.

Then, of course, the sapphic community's favourite,

Because "Want You Gone" hurts me on a personal level, and I don't just mean because it's how GLaDOS says farewell. I relate to that song so much (and did a cover of it :D) and, in general, relate with much of her story. Of course, she's a sassy motherfucker who you can't help but love. But for how much Portal 2 is considered the inferior game, it really does make her story into one of self-discovery and complicated morality. I guess it just gets overshadowed by Oh hi. How are you holding up.

Next,

I MEAN. COME ON. This guy used to be, and honestly still is, one of my biggest fictional crushes. His charisma is magnetic, of course. His STORY being wrapped up by the connections he used to have being rekindled, resulting in him choosing to be a star for those who need one most, rather than a star for the most people possible???? Ugh, poetic cinema.

Speaking of stars,

[vibrating] I have so many headcanons when it comes to this one But more to the point, Star Dream is an absolute force of nature. Its boss fight is incredible, an absolute marvel of multiple types of play styles coming together. The themes? Slap.

Star Dream's draw, for me, is that its sentience is so…debatable. I'm on the side of “had sentience the whole time”, and more to the point, “based on how much Haltmann copied homework, it's possible he brought something back from the dead” but I dunno, I don't like arguing my case when it comes to the second. The point is, for many of things that it does, it's uncertain whether that's just part of its program, or if it's a sentient decision. Was Susie sent away because of something accidental, or was it Star Dream's intention? The fact that Haltmann became so focused on its creation after her disappearance, in my eyes, kind of implies the latter…

… It's also interesting that even without Haltmann giving it a voice via him-being-possessed, it only chooses to speak to Meta Knight.

Can you tell I have The Kirby Autism, is it noticeable, is it obvious—

Also I'm gonna put two of my OCs here, because self-indulgence is alive and well.

This is Palharine and Mayday! They're my favourites out of a group of robot/android characters I created about three years ago, and have finally taken the time to draw recently:

From left to right, you got Eodel Remidoros, Palharine, Mayday, and Ziah Hyperion. All very different interpretations of robotic.

Palharine and Mayday stand out to me due to their emotional states. They're kind of opposites, in that regard. Mayday is a very sensitive gal, who has been through a lot of pain, and is trying to become stronger so she can confidently say she has no doubt in who she is. Palharine, as far as they're aware, has no emotions. Which is interesting, since the other three all seem to, to some degree. Among the four, Palharine is also unique in that they're programmed to dream. Both of these things shape them a lot.

But these two have a very sweet bond, where they're both passionate about biology, especially botany. Mayday, in a training exercise, also nearly wipes the floor with Palharine. It's more touching than it sounds.

Also, Palharine's genderfluid and Maydays a trans woman, so those things just inherently spark joy for me, haha!

This has been, real robotic character hours.

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julietvoid · 5 months

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OC'S as obscure references

Tagged by the incomparable @astarionposting, thanks for the tag and the excuse to talk about my current OC, lovely ♡ You can find a link to her post here!

COLOURS: antique pewter, champagne, nacre, seashell pink, stone gray, jade sea glass and pale driftwood (color palette here) NUMBER: 7 MONTH: june GEMSTONES: pearl and kunzite ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: cancer MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURE: shén (clam monster) ANIMAL: cyerce elegans (oooohhh shiny sea slug) SEASON: the start of summer CELESTIAL BODY: hyperion (saturn vii) MAGICAL POWER: disintegrate WEAPONS: twin scimitars, short bow, and her silver tongue (this bitch is a LIAR!! a DECEIVER!!!) TIME OF DAY: dawn, just as day breaks. the air is thick and balmy as the nights coolness dissipates; it’s almost uncomfortable- how your clothes stick to your skin- but it's quiet, serene even, the birds have yet to start chirping. there’s not a soul around, and the new day is yours. WEATHER: summer storms- a sun shower, humidity with heat lightning SKY: when the sun starts to break though the clouds after a heavy rain ELEMENT: water PLACES: open water, mangroves, river mouths, and marshlands PLANTS: white wisteria, sacred datura, river reeds, and sambucus nigra SCENTS: ginger, magnolia, ambergris, serenolide, galbanum, iso e super and sea salt SEASONINGS: white pepper, sage, tarragon, white vinegar, kombu FOODS: naengmyeon (sour cold noodles) DRINKS: iced lemon balm tea CANDY: dark chocolate with candied orange and cranberry SONGS: playlist (not a mobile friendly link!! WIP, if there's any links that lead to nowhere or unfinished javascript pages... shhh) ART STYLE: Impressionism PIECE OF STATIONARY: a half-filled journal long forgotten in a drawer METHOD OF LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL: walking, she's a regular nancy sinatra SOCIAL MEDIA: naenia does not know what myspace is. MAKEUP PRODUCT: plum metallic eyeliner and a glossy lip, if it’s iridescent or shiny she wants it THREE EMOJIS:🌊🌄⚔️ FEAR: having a lack of self-agency or free will, betrayal, hurting her nearest and dearest

peek-a-boo i tag you: @phasebun, @hellcairn, @zyana-wyvern and @dark-and-kawaii (plz don't feel obligated to do this and if you already have link me your post!!! i wanna see!!! also, if I didn't tag you but you still wanna participate- please do!!!)

#tag game by lady gaga or whatever the fuck she say #wretched thing

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zac-yang · 2 months

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Recovering the maternal in art

Thoughts on Hamlet #1

A crazed rant on Hamlet, art in modernity, Susan Sontag, and female power in Christian theology

The feminine urge to be daddy's mommy. — — Natalie Wynn, Contrapoints

This is the first of my series of meditations based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which I have been studying as part of English literature A-level. It is the basis on which I expand into wider general reflections on culture and philosophy, linking to other things I’ve read or watched recently.

This piece begins as art criticism about excessive author presence in modern art, with allusion to Hamlet as an embodiment of such modern artist. But then it kind of diverges into a theological tangent and ultimately an argument about gender and female power in Christian myths.

It doesn’t really neatly belong to any specific literary category. It is essay-like, but is full of poetic logic. Perhaps just read it as a kind of unhinged diary entry or notes app notes that should have stayed in the drafts.

— — Z

Modern authors, perhaps due to their peculiar awareness of themselves as authors, have felt this exceeding sense of self-inflicted obligation, that they have to force their authorships onto the audience, to make them aware that what they’re seeing, is in fact, created by them. And not just by the world.

‘What a piece of work / Is a man!’ Hamlet, II, ii, 301–302

What I mean by this could be seen most obviously in the attempt that modern authors try to push “message” into their works, or simply the conscious attempt to have any message at all. Consciousness is really the crime here. There is a kind of forcedness in modern art, a lack of the grace, the relaxed effortlessness that is so prevalent in classical, canonical art. Modern art is always agitating, in a permanent state of anxiety and uncertainty in whether it has “correctly” communicated its message to its audience.

Notes: Hamlet is seen by many as Shakespeare’s most philosophical play, his most message-heavy work, with deep contemplations on the nature of existence.

The long soliloquies of the eponymous prince has long been described as rigorously academic in style, perhaps most famously, in the ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy. It is the most decontextualised soliloquy uttered by the prince, in which he solely speaks on the conceptual matters of life and death.

Yet this intellectual aspect of the play might perhaps what Shakespeare precisely is trying to satirise here. A tormenting, self-cannibalising, painful intellectual interiority, emerging in the early modern West, with its deep Christian moralism and inhuman rationalism, is here presented as precisely what drives the main character, and those around him, into misfortunes.

‘O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!’

Hamlet, II. ii. 538

The dramatic forcedness of Hamlet's messaging is perhaps most evident in the almost ravage-like scene in Gertrude's chamber (III, vi), in which he almost embodies the incestuous and murderous Nero. 'Let not ever The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom. Let me be cruel, not unnatural.' III. ii. 366-368

Susan Sontag said that art should be flirtation, not rape. Well, many modern art feels like rape to me. They feel like rape in the way that they try to force one singular thing onto its recipient. It refuses a defused, tender sensuality that slowly transmits and triggers desires through a landscape of polyamorous tenderness. Instead, it is strictly patriarchal, scriptural, the word of the Father, of God, Author The Creator. There is a violence to it. But more so there is a naivety to it.

The violence is in the naivety. In its brutal attempt to not appear naive, but rather adultly, scholarly, fatherly, like the son who resolves the Oedipus complex by identifying with the father to escape the fate of castration. The dwarf dressed in the giant’s robes.

‘But two months dead — nay, not so much, not two-

So excellent a king, that was to this

Hyperion to a satyr, so loving to my mother

That he might not beteem the winds of heaven

Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!’

‘My father’s brother, but no more like my father/ Than I to Hercules’

Hamlet comparing his father to his uncle, the current King Cladius, and himself, I. ii. 138–142; 153–154

This is the modern author. The anxious son, boy, fearing castration, if not already castrated, living in the shadow of the father, haunted by him, resenting his mother, the wanton, the whore, the true artistry of the world.

Hamlet (1949). Laurence Olivier

True art is always promiscuous. She is the Saint of All Sins. The Virgin in the Brothel. The Whore in the Church. The Holy Witch. The High Priestess of Filth. She is a woman. She is mother. The Oracle (whose words are obscure because they’re divine, not to Him the God, but the real, hedonistic god of music and joy, through whom she is enlightened in darkness). The Sea. Shall I moor tonight in thee.

Twilight, Contrapoints, Natalie Wynn

He, the God, and Her, Nature, whose fundamental battle is once again reenacted in this.

Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of waters. God moved on top of the sea, God on nature, man on woman, reason on art, this is the fundamental violation, the real original sin, the forbidden fruit of knowledge, brought forth by Himself through his very presence. The fault of the Fall is not in us. It is in Him. For to be holy is to be aware of the profane, as the opposite is equally true. Therefore to be profane, to be sinful, is precisely to be aware of the existence of the hallow. To learn about it. To aspire to it. Without sin, there would be no God. Like there would be no man without woman.

‘Whatever is the subject of a prohibition is basically sacred’.

‘The taboo does not banish the transgression but, on the contrary, depends upon it, just as the transgression depends on the existence of the taboo: “The transgression does not deny the taboo but transcends it and completes it”.’

Georges Bataille, Eroticism: Death and Sensuality

‘That discourse one might call the poetry of transgression is also knowledge. He who transgresses not only breaks a rule. He goes somewhere that the others are not; and he knows something the others don’t know.’

Georges Bataille, Story of the Eye

Notes: St. Augustine of Hippo wrote that original sin is transmitted by concupiscence and enfeebles freedom of the will without destroying it. But isn’t will also what precisely drove one (Eve) to the origional sin? Perhaps the will is much like Kant’s conception of freedom, a thing that creates its own limits.

Without an elusive ideal to aspire to, we will never be aware of our skin-felt wretchedness. The fruit is not only planted by God, it is God, it is God who eats the fruit, it is God who is the fruit being eaten, and it is God who is watching all of this.

I find it interesting. The closeness between the angel and Satan. Almost mirror images. In Michelangelo’s painting of the sin of Adam and Eve from the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

The decision to have the woman be the one to eat the fruit therefore, is interesting, on multiple levels. She is the original sinner, but also the one closest to God. For the fruit is God, but the fruit is also sin, and it is through the death of the man that she (gives birth to) achieves salvation. She is sin, but she is sin in grace, the glorified sin, the sin made divine, the virgin who gives birth, saved from stoning (here she also mirrors the other Mary, the other permitted sinner, Mary Magdalen), who gives birth to the man who is going to die, through which she successfully redeems herself. She is the mother, and she is the sinner, the original in both, and in both she is holy.

Eve is Mary and Mary is Eve.

The tree of death and of life in the Salzburg Missal: Eve gives the representatives of the old covenant the fruit that brings sin and death from the tree of paradise. Mary, on the other hand, gives the faith hosts, the bread of life. — — The New Eve (Latin: Nova Eva) is a devotional title for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Since the second century, numerous Eastern and Western Church fathers have expressed this doctrinal idea as an analogy to the biblical concept of the New Adam.

The man is essentially an accessory to her, a passage through which she penetrates through to achieve her eventual goal. He is only a thing that she decorates herself with. The baby in her bosom. The man on her laps (Pietà). The feminine urge to be daddy’s mommy. The gravedigger, whose death goes unmentioned, outlived everyone. Her blue robe is serene, like the halcyon sea.

Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna and Child, painted in 1480, shows a reflective Mary in deep blue.

17.03.2024

(with notes later added 24.03.24)

Source:

Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation, On Style, The artist as examplary sufferer

Natalie Wynn, Contrapoints, Twilight

Georges Bataille, Eroticism: Death and Sensuality, Story of the Eye

Janet Adelman, Man and Wife Is One Flesh: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body

I have also posted this on Medium.

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