#I just loved the inverse dog design

[cadwhatalad]

Other people have probably said this sooner and better, but I’m actually not done thinking about Everything Everywhere All At Once because the googly eyes represent on such a physical level the movie’s theme of radical empathy; not just in serving as the visual inverse of the Nihilism Bagel, but in that their presence literally inverts the concept of nihilism.

Does anyone else remember that Lindsey Ellis video essay from years ago where she talked about how aliens in sci fi movies are designed, and that by and large if the audience is supposed to empathise with them as characters then they’ll have big eyes with visible irises and pupils? And if they’re supposed to be unknowable and dangerous then they may not have visible eyes at all? Think E.T versus the Xenomorph or the heptapods from Arrival. Artists will do that because the eyes are the most direct way humans have of looking at a thing and understanding what it is. The more visible and mammal-like the eyes, the more familiarity we have with it, therefore the greater our empathy for it. Think of the amount of love your average person on the street will have for a random dog versus a random fly or snake or bird. Not to say that we can’t have empathy for the latter, but eyes make it easier.

In the movie, the first thing we see of the googly eyes is stuck on one of the bags of clothes Waymond stored upstairs – just in passing, he says something like “I think they’re happier up there!” while Evelyn’s shouting at him. She rips the eyes off and tells him to stop, keeps rushing around and ignoring Joy (ignoring joy, lmao). But they keep trickling back into the movie at every turn, stuck to washing machines and baseball bats, filling the world with friendly faces. Waymond, in a world that treats people like objects, treats objects like people, and he manifests it by giving them eyes. At one point he’s stuck them on a lampshade or something, shares a glance with it when he notices Evelyn’s noticed him and runs off like they’re conspiring together. When Evelyn finally comes around to his point of view, she sticks them on herself as a rock – this outermost physical form where she and Joy have un-personed themselves to the greatest extent they can manage, just rocks in an empty universe of rocks – and uses them to drag them both back into personhood.

And it works so well as a metaphor because the fundamental antagonistic force in the story is the refusal to empathise – Evelyn’s dismissal of Joy’s life choices and the partner she’s chosen, Alpha Evelyn’s literal use of Joy as an experiment, Gong Gong’s unwillingness to be proud of his daughter, Evelyn’s own refusal to be proud of herself. In the tax audit Deirdre is listing all of Evelyn’s business expense claims with reference to what they would make her as a person – ‘You’re telling me you’re a singer, a chef, a teacher, a novelist, well that can’t be right because you’re just a laundromat owner.’ The system she represents only has space for Evelyn to be one thing, denies her her complexity and humanity, so Deirdre acting as the arm of that system inevitably has to do the same (this is how her universe has to work, because it’s the one where she has a modicum of power and doesn’t have to think about driving her car through her ex’s kitchen).

And so it creates a feedback loop – Deirdre can’t acknowledge Evelyn’s humanity so Evelyn can’t acknowledge Deirdre’s. She can barely manage to love this person when her life literally depends on it. It’s only through Waymond’s approach of convincing Deirdre to confront the fact that he and Evelyn are people, the fact of what it really means for her to be coming after their livelihood like this, that a new feedback loop can be created. Deirdre can now acknowledge Evelyn’s humanity and give her a fucking break. Evelyn can acknowledge Deirdre’s and glimpse universes where they choose each other, spend their lives together.

(The cookies Waymond gives to Deirdre that initially persuade her to allow them a second chance have smiley faces on them).

The movie’s ultimate message is pretty clear – fuck nihilism, maybe nothing matters but also everything matters because I’m here and you’re here and I love you. But it doesn’t stop there. Fuck nihilism, maybe nothing matters but also everything matters because I’m here and this lampshade is here and I love it. I love this washing machine, this baseball bat, this bag of laundry. If I was a rock I would love all the other rocks with everything in my little rock soul. It’s can’t end at loving ourselves and loving each other, we’ve got to love the universe. On like, a molecular level. 

#eeaao spoilers #everything everywhere all at once #meta #i'm beyond certain someone else has already put this into words this movie's been out for two years #but i'm having a thinking thoughts kind of day so

[randomfoggytiger]

Alpha In-Depth (Part II): An Inversion of Roles

Tumblr has finally allowed me to finish up Part II (you can find Part I here)-- but let's not fiddle-faddle so we can get straight into this!

Picking up where Part I left off, Scully arrives on the next crime scene just before an attack happens. While investigating the property, she finds a photo from Karin, once again placing her within Scully's scope for the crime. She's diverted from further analysis by a scream; but she is too late to save the next victim. Alerting Mulder, she takes the initiative to call paramedics (while also wielding her gun.)

They both miss the shapeshifting canid right next to them.

Scully decides her next course of action is to confront Karin Berquist; who is, she's convinced, behind the crimes in an attempt to gain attention and love from Mulder, exploiting his friendship for her own schemes. This go-for-the-throat protectiveness (the dog puns continue) that Scully shields her partner with is not new; but it has hardened, become more blunt in the aftermath of Diana Fowley. While the emotions of that situation have been worked through and processed, Scully is not convinced of Mulder's ability to judge people's character rightly-- not like she used to be. This case restores a good chunk of that faith, but only after Mulder has been proven half-right and manipulated yet again.

"Where's Fox?" asks Karin.

"Continuing his investigation," Scully cryptically answers.

"You're not working together?"

"No," she responds decidedly, "this is my investigation."

"Of?"

"You."

Something I found unintentionally funny is that Scully starts out the conversation as the dominant aggressor (the alpha, heheh dog puns), cornering Karin and nicely scooting a dog out of her designated interrogator's chair.

Scully puts all her cards on the table: she has figured out that Berquist is dying, and that her eccentric habits are effects of her intensifying illness. And while she sympathizes with Karin's situation, she refuses to let a dying woman use her partner as a last-minute consolation prize-- something Scully protected him against even when she herself was dying from an incurable disease.

What is fascinating is that Scully has taken upon herself Mulder's role: confronting and understanding a potential witness with her expertise and sympathizing with said victim-- even if they are in the wrong for their human actions-- but forcing them to face the uncomfortable truth about their actions and consequences.

A refrain from Rain King pops back up again as she continues:

"With Mulder you found somebody you could communicate with. Someone who challenged you."

However, this moment is swallowed up by her following accusations:

"But that wasn't enough, you needed to lure him out here."

Karin doesn't deny it, and places all her cards on the table, having made as close a study of Scully as Scully has made of her: "I lack your feminine wiles."

Scully, caught and embarrassed, licks her lips and looks away.

Rallying, she asks, "You don't believe it, do you?"

Karin is vague, implying that the creature would have to be "more cunning than man" to survive for over a century.

"More cunning than you?" Scully pointedly asks. She furthers her statement by a warning: "I'm watching you." Her threat, though, lacks any bite (dog puns), mildly stated in compassionate warning. To Karin's "You watch but you don't see," she has nothing further to add.

After another another crime has been committed, Mulder begins to question his loyalty to Karin Berquist. He drops in, petting her dogs and delightedly chuckling when they obey his tongue-click to vacate a seat for him. Settling in, he begins to interrogate Karin on her tactics, hinting that he's been misled.

Mulder dodges her honest admission of her feelings ("I've been honest with you, though perhaps not myself. I was looking forward to meeting you-- I wouldn't admit how much") with a head duck, redirecting the conversation back to the case at hand;

and reads between the lines, realizing that Karin knows the murderer is Detweiler (the man who "transported" the mythical beast across seas.)

"So you knew that and didn't say?" he questions, his tone harsher and less forgiving in the face of all those senseless deaths.

Berquist carefully disguises her plan with false transparency, redirecting Mulder to track down and kill the animal by playing into his heroism (stating Scully's tail on Detweiler will be lost before she realizes it.)

He leaps up awkwardly, reaching for the phone to make a call, unsure how to address the more personal issues between them (and still annoyed and a little hurt that he'd been left in the dark-- not realizing how deftly he is being handled now.) Karin still hopes; but it dies again when she realizes he's called Scully, talking to her in low tones as if they're in a private conversation. Berquist at her 'I Want To Believe' poster with grim intention, affirming her decision.

When Mulder stalks into the hospital (nodding his head sideways at his partner), he is met with a bored, slumped over Scully straight out of Bad Blood (or Chimera), petulance and charm all rolled into one: "Tell me why you pulled me away from the suspect and chained me to this chair?"

Scully is actually, literally pouting that she couldn't be on active surveillance and had to sit idly by with no real reason other than Mulder said to.

Mulder is amused but wisely keeps it under wraps, motioning at the chair in invitation ("It's not yet dark-- you should take a load off. We might be here all night.") and incidentally waving her magazine pages around with wind current from his fingers. He rambles about staying longer, "it" being Detweiler, and his other string of reasons while Scully stands aghast that they're staying... until her partner whips out the monster theory ("Mulder.")

Scully is not one for blood curses: "So, what is he gonna do-- walk in here, skitter across the linoleum, and pee in the corners?"

Mulder can't hold back a big smile at that, looking away briefly to smile more fondly before it's back full-force and staying... though that doesn't stop him from taking the time correct her mistaken assumption ("It's about territoriality.")

Then, after properly informing her about alpha behavior, Mulder scoots back in his chair and lounges enticingly.

Scully cuts through this comfy zone by insisting he not listen to his new friend-- "The only person Karin is interested is in you." And, while briefly flattered by the truth in that statement, Mulder sinks into discomfort, never one to enjoy personal problems or unhappy endings.

"You're kidding yourself if you think she hasn't manipulated this entire situation for her own purposes."

He is unconvinced, silently crowing over being right by picking at his tie-- "He'll come here tonight, Scully, you'll see."

Then he motions to the chair again, the picture of ennui, reaching for her magazine when she doesn't comply at first (those Arcadia lack of boundaries coming into play.) Territorial to the last of her things (dog puns, gotta love 'em), Scully swoops in to snatch up her only source of entertainment. Mulder is miffed by her cancellation of his dibs, enviously watching its journey all the way back down to the chair as his partner plops, resigned, next to him.

Mulder is so smug because he is "proving" that he's right about his judgment concerning personal relationships. He knows Diana Fowley is a stain on his record (and Pheobe and Deep Throat, a bit, and informants, and various people on sundry cases); but wants to prove he is 'wiser' than a short time ago and can safely discern his allies from his foes. Moreover, he is proving to Scully that her enhanced concern and distrust of his friend-picking abilities is no longer needed because he's good to go.

As the night crawls on, Mulder finally gets two things: Scully's magazine and a clue. Realizing he'd been duped yet again, he looks at his watch, crestfallen; then stands to softly bop Scully-- who is snoring softly beside him-- to wakefulness with this episode's equivalent of a rolled-up newspaper. (Because this episode is relentless with dog puns and references.)

Mulder grimly confirms, "He's not coming."

Scully takes a second to wake fully, agreeing, "Well, you've got no argument from me"-- an attempt at some levity for his sake.

Mulder passes it over. "He's not coming here tonight. Karin knew that. She lied to me."

Scully wisely lets that one pass without comment, even if Mulder had already power-walked away in his disappointment.

Mulder and Scully arrive too late, appalled at finding the impaled bodies of the mythic monster (Detweiler) in Karin's front lawn.

Mulder looks at Karin's window, afraid she might be injured inside; but Scully's low "Mulder..." turns his focus back. The two of them identify the body, then see Karin's at the same time.

Mulder looks to Scully for confirmation, or any hope; but when Scully cannot do anything for Berquist, he remains impassive, only slightly shaking his head.

An odd ending for an odd woman.

The last scene is back in the basement, Mulder stressfully supporting his head in his hands (with his pencils untouched, a sign of true distress.)

Scully doubles back like their first scene together, asking, with an encouraging smile-- "You going home?"

Mulder inhales sharply, having been caught in the midst of silent mourning. "Ah... pretty soon," he says, self-consciously rubbing his eyes with the backs of his knuckles before almost crumpling again.

Scully isn't fooled, calmly walking in and asking, "You think this is your fault."

Mulder stumbles over his response at first, quiet in his self-abasement: "I think that I... believed her very quickly. I think that was my fault, yeah." His shame over failing, again, at picking friends and trusting people is overwhelming.

Seeing that this will not be an easy fix, Scully prepares herself for an emotional confession, rounding the desk to penetrate his sorrow and bring healing. Mulder knows this, too, and sits back, settling in for a Scully tete-a-tete: using logic to unwind his keyed up and self-punishment.

"Why wouldn't you believe her?"

Mulder uses her logic from earlier: "I barely knew her."

Scully doesn't deny that, but gives flavors it with nuance: "Well, she had a lot of secrets, that's for sure." She pauses to steel herself, looking up and away before recentering on her partner-- "I think Karin Berquist lived by her instincts. She seized people up pretty quickly and I think she figured you out to a T."

He is not flattered by that assessment, only more hideously chastising himself on the inside.

Scully slowly reveals her true meaning: "I think she saw in you a kindred spirit, Mulder." When he turns to her, eyes tearily glazed at her tenderness and understanding of his complicated feelings over this complicated situation, she continues, "She may not have been able to express that to you... maybe what she did was the highest form of compliment."

Mulder dips again, expelling a breath and playing with his nails again. There are too many painful paths to consider there, and all of them lead to Karin's loneliness at the end of her life and how Mulder couldn't-- can't-- fit into "it", yet.

Scully understands all this, of course (she always has); and after a comedic non-answer is given to her chummy "You gonna be okay?", she gives him a Paper Hearts smirk of acknowledgement.

Before she leaves, Scully gives Mulder a piece of Karin-- and herself-- that he can accept and cherish: "Oh-- this came for you."

Mulder's curiosity is ignited as Scully hands over a rolled up paper, briefly pulling him out of the slums of grief. When he sees it's from Berquist Kennels, Mulder steals a glance at his partner; but she's already fled halfway out of the door, jamming her coat on in her haste and not looking back. He knows she knows and is giving him space; but he doesn't know she knows what it is.

As Mulder unfurls his gift, he realizes it's a copy (or rendition) or his destroyed 'I Want To Believe' poster; and quickly-- but carefully-- tacks it up in his cozy underground not-unlike-a-Tooms nest.

As he sits back contemplating his motto, the events that led up to today, and all of the factors in between, Mulder-- though still not quite himself-- is resettled, at home. (It takes him a bit to realize home isn't in the basement anymore; but he'll figure it out.)

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #x-files #xf meta #meta #xfiles #analysis #the x files #Alpha In-Depth #Part II #Alpha #S6 #Mulder #Scully #Karin Berquist #mine

[dementedfilament]

Redacted - Non-Listener OCs

Annnd here are some non-listener characters! Most of which are siblings to the listeners, others just random ones that popped up through a tumultuous series of headcanons. A couple of these don’t have picrews and have actual drawings I made of them that are decent.

Lilia - Baaabe’s little step-sister

- The Sass in child form, Lilia has far too much confidence, and her youth is the only thing keeping her from being the heartbreaker that picks fights at the bar. She loves being with her brother and his boyfriend, and loves to sleep with shifted, fluffy Asher. Even more than that though, she loves teasing her brother by calling him a “Monsterfucker”.

She has a traumatic memory of being attacked by dogs a few years prior, but being near Ash and his therapeutic efforts has helped her work through it. Emmanuel is worried that Lilia’s brashness comes from trying to bottle up her feelings and cope with her chaotic home situation, but he’s not sure what to do about it other than try to be there for her when she needs him.

This kinda came up during the Inversion fic, but she has a tiny crush on Angie.

Aarush Prasad, “Angel” - Sweetheart’s younger brother 

- Chrys’s younger brother. They don’t spend too much time together, but talk often. He works as a stripper under the stage name “Angel”. I don’t have a whole lot on him other than the fact that he exists, since he doesn’t tend to show up much. I also admittedly have a shameless “crossover” OC of mine that he dates for a short time, but that character is from a totally different story.

And yes, I have absolutely thought of how funny it would be if this were David’s “Angel”. I don’t remember how his stage name came about though.

Vivianne “Ava” - Blake’s younger sister

- A powerful dreamwalker on Chrys’s team. Also serves as a flippant, yet slightly sadistic, interrogator. She hasn’t been in contact with Blake for several years, and they weren’t generally too close beforehand anyways. However, as her team delves further into their investigation of CloseKnit, she's beginning to wonder if Blake might be involved. She and her brother are about equal in power.

While I like the “Blake and Elliot are brothers” theory, this character came up through a very strange series of headcanons and I just decided to roll with it, let me live okay-

There is technically a third character that Ava and Chrys are close friends with on their team, but I haven’t really thought on him much yet because I...didn’t really expect myself to commit to making Ava a “character” at all, lmao.

This picrew doesn’t actually come with these colours btw! I took some creative liberties after putting her design together, recoloring some things and made a tiny edit to the hair. My image of Blake actually comes from a specific user on here, so the colours being similar is no coincidence///

Kieran - Chrys and Ava’s partner

This is obviously a future update, but I found a picrew that could do member 3 justice, and I found a name for him! Though I don’t know if there’s ever going to be powers of light/darkness, Kieran’s ability is to manipulate shadows. So he’s a...Shadowwalker? Darkness Elemental? (Since we’re staying away from -mancer terms. Also like the term “Voidwalker”, thanks google.)

Though Kieran isn’t as powerful as his companions, his strength comes from his knowledge of his own abilities. Both parents possessed the same, and have been teaching him how to hone his for as long as he can remember. Thus, he can be a pretty formidable opponent to those who dare cross him.

Despite that, he’s actually a big sweetheart, and is arguably the gentlest of the trio. He’s often the one to remind Chrys and Ava to take care of themselves when they dive into their work too much (or to tell Ava to not be too brutal to the suspects they pull in).

Unlike Chrys and Ava, he doesn’t really have much of a side-plot for himself, and just serves as “the third of the trio”. However, I do kinda want him to meet Lasko for some reason.

Kalila Solaire - 2nd Progeny of William Solaire

- The 2nd princess of the Solaire clan. She and Will met after he approached her in a train station, noticing she was nervous about something and striking up a conversation to calm her down. He decided to turn her after she nearly died in a terrible train accident the same day. After her turning, she’s generally known as the clan cinnamon roll, but seems to have a slightly unhinged side to her.

She works directly under Will, assisting him with many of his daily tasks. I still haven’t decided on her “power”, but I’ve figured that she may have been a Freelancer before turning, hence why she can use different kinds of magic and no I am denying that she’s a mary sue and that I’m bad at writing, lmao.

As of the events of Inversion - Another Story, she has yet to awaken from her coma. I actually have numerous branching storylines with the vamps, but the IAS and Yours in Eternity, My Dearest branch is the one I’m focusing on rn. Maybe one day I’ll write other ones I toy around with. (I have a huge bias for vampires if you haven’t noticed yet aha-)

Ryder

[No image]

- Frederick’s boyfriend. They reunited after Fred’s turning, when Fred learned that Ryder was also living in the world of magic. He was confused as to why Briar hated him so much, but they have since worked out their “differences” and the three of them get along quite well now.

He was actually only supposed to be a five-second mention in A Very Merry Rebirthday, but when I wrote IAS, I kinda wanted to connect the fics together, which meant that Ryder would probably be involved. I only have a vague idea of what he looks like, but I enjoyed writing him. His little portion with Xavier in IAS was both unexpected and one of my favourite parts. There were a lot of scenes I wish I could have expanded on or outright added without sacrificing the pacing of the fic, and more time with Xavier and Ryder is definitely something I wish I could have written more.

Maisie Collins - Sam’s niece

- The last time Sam saw her was when she was a baby, but now she’s an energetic young woman. She’s somewhat of an AU character because I’m a dip and I forgot how long Sam has been turned for, but I’ve already shattered canon with a 10-foot hammer, so I’ve been keeping her around.

I don’t have much to say about her (yet) outside of just being a young girl from the countryside. She was kidnapped and tortured by Quinn to taunt Sam and lure Willow into a trap. I have more plans to expand on this little Quinn-venture that’s happening in the background, and actually ties into another fic I really like that someone else made, but I’m not quite there yet...

: ^ )

This was another picrew I made specifically for this post, as I actually made her in another dressup game originally. I tried my best to capture the absolute chaos that was in the og image, and this is the closest picrew I could find in a very half-assed search that could do her hair properly.

Chelsie Morris, “Chels” by some - Kody’s twin sister

- A K-pop lover that is far too sweet to her brother, whom she emphasizes to that she’s the older twin just to annoy him. She’s dealing with the aftermath of an abusive relationship, but still has her life together more than Kody does. She’s also kind of a party girl and loves to go out and have fun when she has time. I’m not sure if I capture it, but she gives off Sorority Girl vibes despite never going to college.

She offered Kody to stay at her place after the Incident™, and is trying to keep him in therapy. She’s fighting her own demons, but is trying her best to be there for her brother and sway him to follow a better path in life.

The Kody’s Redemption Arc series is still ongoing, I just haven’t gotten around to finishing the next few parts. Even though it’s a bit easier now, it’s still hard for me to write Kody and I just haven’t wanted that in my life for a while, lol.

Alrescha

- A sort of AU character where Avior and Stella get absorbed by the Meridian, and this demon is born from their magic. He has vague, hazy dreams where he can hear Avior and Stella talking, but can’t see them or hear their names. He doesn’t know anything about them, but wants to figure out why he’s having the dreams and if he can save the people who seem to have been in danger. He’s friends with Gavin, who’s been aiding his endeavors to find them.

I took some creative liberties with this picrew too, since I already had a specific idea of him in mind from the fic he came from.

I actually don’t really headcanon this character much, since that means Avior and Stella are gone forever, lol. Recently though, I’ve been wondering if maybe this could follow a distant time in an IAS “Cora dies, Huxley lives” route, which is why Gavin seems to be on his own in The Cord. The actual reason he doesn’t mention Cora is because I wasn’t sure how long it would take for a demon to be born after they get absorbed (assuming that that’s even possible...), but if it’s fairly quickly, then hey! Story continuation! Whoo ✨

Giovanni - The Solaire Clan’s librarian

A calm and patient man, he was mentioned in YiEMD a few times. He was stated to have had his desire to tend to their library collection reignited after Kalila began to visit so frequently.

He’s a fairly old vampire, along with his sister, Amalia, who were turned around the same time by someone outside Will’s social circle. Amalia had met a man she fell in love with but didn’t realize that he lured her and her brother into a trap until it was too late. They were both tortured until another vamp saved and turned them, but ultimately wasn’t a good person either, and betrayed them as well. Giovanni killed their maker and vowed to protect his sister from then on out.

When Will found the two, Amalia could barely fend for herself, and her brother was near-feral. However, he managed to convince them to stay with him for a while, and eventually came to the deal to tend to the clan library. It took some time for Giovanni to adjust to the other people that slowly joined the clan, but he eventually became comfortable around them, and loves curating the library for each new face that shows up in their territory.

Amalia - Giovanni’s younger sister, Bright Eye’s Lover

See backstory above.

Amalia is a sweet and gentle young woman, now capable of combat thanks to Will’s teachings. However, unlike her brother who wishes to stay in one safe place, Amalia’s wanderlust never subsided even after everything that happened to them. Once her brother was comfortable enough with it, she began leaving on long trips around the world, bringing back new books for the library if she finds some.

Soon after returning from her latest trip, it was mentioned in YiEMD that she's in a secret romantic relationship with Briar. As of now, Giovanni has no idea that the two have been sneaking out together, since Amalia doesn’t know how he’ll handle the news. Will pulled Amalia aside and spoke with her about it, and promised to keep the secret until she felt her brother was ready to hear it, but did still inform her that he needs to know eventually.

Hestia - Cult leader of The Children of Echo

A somewhat AU meta character, Hestia has been haunted by the voice of our favourite 4th-wall-breaking menace, Echo. She doesn’t know who he’s addressing, but assumes he must be some sort of god-like entity and worships him believing he helps reign over their world. She also believes that her hearing his voice means she’s a “chosen” one, and she must carry out duties in attempt to appease him.

In the fic The Children of Echo, the reader is another such character that can hear Echo’s voice, and goes to meet Hestia to see what her weird cult is all about. She acts mysterious and confident, but is actually rather lonely and struggles with the conflict of whether Echo’s voice is real or something her brain makes up. Meeting the reader gets her confidence back up majorly, with the confirmation that everything that’s led up to that meeting hasn’t been for naught.

I don’t know if I’ll keep this character around in my personal Redacted Fanverse or not. I thought about maybe making her a background character here and there, and maybe she hands out flyers to spread her “message” or whatever at some point. idk, but she’s adorable and I’m glad she got to debut in her own little fic ✨

Lucas - Darlin’s babysitter

Another AU character, this time from the “vamps can have kids and Willow had Quinn’s” one in particular. Lucas is really sweet and soft-spoken, and while I’m not sure if I portrayed it well, he's also autistic. His older sister, which is a part of Quinn’s gang, thought it’d be safer for him to stay with any other group of people, so she left him with the Shaw Pack one day when they were in town. they don’t talk much given the nature of his sister’s association with Quinn, but she cares a lot about him, and thinks their distance is what’s best for them both.

In Branch, Like a Tree, Willow had contacted him to babysit for her, having known him prior through his sister and knowing he could keep her secret. However, with no one else to turn to, she continued to call him over for help. He doesn’t mind though, and enjoys seeing Willow, which is the last remnant he has of his sister, and taking care of her cute little baby.

Kind of random, but I feel like his personal hobbies include baking, and interests include osteology.

Lyra - Lucas’s Older Sister

I do actually have a picrew for the sis too! Which was kind of an accident...but still. Lucas’s sister is pretty brash and aggressive, but has a soft spot for her brother in particular. She and Willow kind of had a thing going before Willow started dating Quinn. I don’t have a name for her yet because idk if she’ll ever really exist outside of an idea and an accidental picrew, but if she’s ever brought up again, here she be.

[UPDATE] ...She has a name now, lmfao. Didn’t think she’d get more appearances, but here we are.

Dana - A ghost from Vincent’s past

[insert info here]

#redacted asmr #redacted ocs #[ Echoes From the Multiverse ] #Lilia #Aarush Prasad #Ava #Kalila Solaire #Ryder #Maisie Collins #Chelsie Morris #Alrescha #Giovanni #Amalia #Lucas #I spent too long making this post too #I think I mentioned in Rebirthday #that 'Ryder' was just the first name I found on Google #lmao #also #just know that I don't necessarily /always/ break canon because I want to #I'm mostly just a dumbass and I forget things

[hypermascbishounen]

So, I haven't played Curse of Darkness myself, and I've never enjoyed Netflixvania. But, I feel like I've noticed something particular, that I have not seen mentioned by anyone. And am curious what fans of Curse of Darkness specifically would think about my reading of this.

It seems to me that in game, Hector and Isaac both have names that are meaningful to their characters, but also come with connotations of another implied meaning, as each others foils, that feel just as important.

Game Isaac seems to be named in reference to the biblical Isaac, bc he is effectively a sacrificial son. But he is also out to ruin Hector in retaliation, to the point of needless cruelty, because of his grief and madness. Like Achilles, from the Iliad(or he possibly also has Ajax parrelels, another notable opponent to Hector).

And game Hector seems named for the Illiad's Hector, bc like him, he is at his core a sympathetic and honorable man who was nonetheless on the wrong side of a bloody conflict. But he is also cast out by a patriarchal figure, like bliblical Isaac's brother and counterpart, Ishmael. (There's also possibility for Achilles parallels himself, thanks to his vengeance quest over his own lost love. Which also seem to be part of his narrative comparisons to Dracula)

So I suspect that the reason N!Isaac ends up with a sort of unearned version of game Hector's arc and themes, that is hard to tell if it was even intentional, is because:

Unlike in the bible, in the *Quran*, Isaac and Ishmael have their roles switched. Ishmael is the central focus instead of Isaac, and is the sacrifice, before he is cast out into the desert, and becomes a founding figure in islam. This is probably why Dracula literally finds N!Isaac in the sahara desert(and banishes him there again).

So, N!Isaac, as a muslim, is no longer treated as a reference to the biblical Isaac, but is an Ishmael archetype, which *is what Hector is supposed to be.* But N!Hector's role as being his foil is gone, and instead he's at best there to weakly prop up how much better N!Isaac is by comparison. (And I don't believe him being "sacrificed" to Ellis' fetish writing counts either, bc he's framed more as a pet dog than a lamb, and it's not really connected much to his relationship with N!Isaac.)

Meanwhile, because N!Hector is no longer a proper foil, or respected by the narrative, he's also lost all symbolism behind the name Hector. And in turn, N!Isaac has completely lost all of game Isaac's illiad parallels.

Game Isaac as Achilles' less flattering qualities - of arrogance and need for recognition through glory, his grief and self-hatred over not being there to protect the person who meant the most to him, and his uncalled for ruthlessness and disrespect for his opponent, that ultimately leads to his death -

Or possibly Ajax, who was often considered second best to Achilles, who felt entitled to Achilles armor, and when passed over had violent delusions that lead to him killing himself with Hector's sword

- is just completely missing as an axis in N!Isaac. He doesn't even really get any *positive* Achilles or Ajax symbolism iirc, or any illiad Hector symbolism to complete the reversal either. His character is a one note(and clumsy) Ishmael archetype, who can only really be held up as great by the narrative no matter what he's done, or is doing.

Obviously, N!Isaac's freedom/agency arc is also tied up in him being a former slave. But I do think that him being muslim, and the way he's framed akin to Ishmael, is meant to line up with it. Which decision was made first/whether it was at the same time is debatable. But either way, it leads to him being an almost immediate inversion of game isaac's character from the basic themes. And bc game Isaac was already designed mirroring Hector, N!Isaac would inevitably just become a low-level partial rendition of game Hector.

This all bothers me, if my suspicions are correct. It looks like hugely wasted potential, and worse, the kind of writing decision borne of not paying attention to the source materials themes, bc it wasn't respected, and thought to not have them at all. Trading dual literary references meant to reinforce two characters relationship, for a single one-sided one, is just weaker writing. To the point where it seems unthinkable to do consciously, and has to have been from not even realizing there was something there to leave out. I come away feeling like the nfcv writers think they're smarter than the games writers, but with little evidence to show that. And that these characters deserved better.

Is this a fair interpretation or am I reaching too far with CoD's themes? Did I forget anything major about this in regards to nfcv? Has this all been mentioned before, and I'm just re-treading basic analysis? Feel free to lmk, bc I am but some guy with a mythology special interest passing through, who goes slightly insane wnv I see allusions to things I recognize, go unnoticed and neglected by supposedly professional writers, lol.

#also i can't shake the feeling that #This was all just decided by reading the Wikipedia pages on biblical isaac #Seeing that ishmael is more important in islam #And thinking you will be the first ever biggest brain writer to write about ishmael as more important than isaac #When we in fact have a work that did that it is called #THE QURAN #idk it just feels like an inexperienced writer's first draft idea in execution lol #Also I think it says something nfcv acknowledged Hector is Greek via skintone #but then ultimately disregarded his greek myth allusions as unimportant #Anti netflixvania #Obv this isn't a full analysis of possible illiad and/or biblical allusions in CoD lol #I am definitely not qualified to do that and would have to actually play CoD #For one thing I have no idea how Trevor factors into it altho I doubt these allusions are meant to be completely 1:1 #That is nfcv's style instead lol

[lepiosprites]

Crocotta Creation Guide

How to make your own bounty hunter hyena friend!

Names & Symbols

Symbols have two parts to them: Clan and Ranking. Here are the different symbols a Crocotta can have:

Their symbols also tie into their name. A crocotta’s informal name is 9 letters long, while their full name includes their rank and clan. The exception to this rule is the outcast clan, who are only referred to by clan. Examples include Medial Seeker Lorentios, Maven Old Hunter Maritoria, and Outcast Cadnelaro

Rank is based on number of kills (Mutt being 0, Novice 1-4, Medial 5-9, Maven 10-19, Master 20+) Details on the different types of clans will be on the wiki

Fur

All Crocottas have the same fur color and pattern, although some can exhibit traits such as piedaldism, melanism, or albinism. Dyeing fur is seen as odd, and interestingly the black patches on their fur cannot be dyed.

Hair

Crocottas have black hair that can be styled in any way.

Eyes

Crocottas have eyes with light blue sclera and a slit pupil. A strange property about their eyes is if removed, they become gemstones.

Mouth

Crocottas have cleft lips and almost always have their canines sticking out. Their teeth, and in extension their bones can be any chromatic color.

Nose

Their noses are similar to dogs, however they are the same color as their teeth/bones.

Ears

Crocottas have ears that point upward. They can be pierced.

Tail

All Crocottas have a tail with 8 spots (4 on each side). These spots on their tails start off as black, but change to their associated color to show how many kills they have, with the spots closest to their bodies changing first.

Clothing

Clothing style is dependent on clan

Old Hunters tend towards coats Primals typically wear loose, ripped, or less restrictive clothes. They also rarely wear shoes Radiants like formal wear that has a religious look to it Seekers prefer formal wear, and glasses are common Thieves Guild likes concealing their faces, wearing hoods, and dark colors Outcasts can wear just about any style of clothing

Shifting

Crocottas have the ability to shape shift into another species after eating a portion of them. Design-wise they change into how they’d look as that species, with their color coming into play. For example, if a Crocotta who’s color is red ate a troll, regardless of blood color the Crocotta would shift into a burgundy blood troll. If a species has a secondary color, that color is usually their eye color or the inverse of their associated color

They change their names to fit the species they’ve swapped to. For example, as a troll Lorentios’s new name would be Lorent Ioslor and as a psiikhe Lore Erol. If more letters are needed for a name, the Crocotta tends to reuse letters in their name.

For another example:

Crocotta: Gladraile Lumith: Glara Nycteris: Gladral

Base

While usage of this base is not necessary, i wanted to include it in case people wanted one

If you use this base please credit me by either putting my blog name (lepiosprites) in the description/caption of the sprite or @ me if posting on tumblr. Do not use this base for other sprites or take parts from the base for other uses.

Also just tag me in general if you make an oc of any of my species because i would love to see them

#fanspecies #fan species #crocotta #creation guide #homestuck fanspecies

[c-is-for-circinate]

Ok, Hades gameplay reaction time!

(Because I have been terrible this quarantine year about posting thoughts about stories I've been invested in, and I'm really enjoying this game, and I'm playing basically blind and I have theories, and what is tumblr for if not recording those things to look back on later.)

I love this specific kind of fantasy/speculative fiction, that straddles the line between 'allegory clearly designed to explore a real-world issue' and 'the themes of this reflect real-world issues but also everything is times one million for drama and setting's sake'. I love it so much. Because, look, this is a story about a teenager/young adult trying to gather up the skills and resources and help he needs to escape his controlling, possessive, emotionally abusive father's house. That's it. Strip away all of the trappings, and that's what the story is about. By comparison, I think about Star Wars. (I love Star Wars too.) That's also a story about a dysfunctional fucked-up family dynamic. But that family is fucked up because dad went on a magic-corruption-induced killing spree, and his twin children were separated at birth to be raised in seclusion with the intention of someday taking him down, and look, that's cool, but it's definitely not how people actually are. All of the dysfunction in that family is an outgrowth of the fantastical setting, which means it is fantastical dysfunction. It can occasionally mirror or remind us of real-life interactions, but it's a fantasy. Which is great and fun to watch and very comforting and so on, but I don't necessarily want that in every story, and I love Hades because it is not that, at all. When you extend out the basic 'kid trying to escape his toxic home environment', Hades is the story of Zagreus trying to get out with the help of his dad's estranged, complicated, wealthy and powerful family, who are absolutely part of the reason why dad is Like That in the first place, and may not be any more reliable in the long run but who he needs right now. And his stepmom and teacher, who love him enough to help him leave, unconditionally and supportively (ask me how many feelings I have about 'look, Hades can't hurt me for helping you, don't worry about me, I am going to take care of you and that means helping you get out of this house' coming from an adult authority figure, ask me). And his dad's employees, who like him but also have to fear the old man's wrath, and walk that line in different places the best they can. And stepmom's long-estranged parent, because this is a story about families and how they split apart and come back together. And all of that is so real, so grounded in actual, concrete, this-is-how-humans-work family dynamics. But it's also individual. The story works so well because Hades isn't just a silhouette of the controlling asshole father; he is clearly The Way He Is for reasons, complicated ones, good and bad alike. The Way He Is has details, particularities, paperwork, a dog he pretends not to love and rely on. He is specific. Nyx and Achilles are specific, not just generic kind stepmom here to be a trope inversion and cardboard cutout teacher. Nyx has backstory and personality of her own, Achilles has a complex history, opinions, a missing lover, and they BOTH have very particular relationships with Hades that aren't just boilerplate script. Yes, there's abstraction there, you meet these characters in brief visual novel-esque three-line conversations over the course of dozens of escape runs, of course there's abstraction--but there's the very real sense that all of these people have nuance, have good and bad days, that they've made choices to be who they are, even if we don't know what those choices are yet. And, like Star Wars, some of the ways in which this story is so specific rely entirely on the fact of the otherworldly setting! I've seen stories that go the other way, that try to use their setting entirely as window dressing, and they end up feeling so flat I can't even remember them right now because they don't let the environment lend complexity and nuance to their characters at all. The environment these characters live in matters. The absolute control Hades exerts over his surroundings is a divine power. The fact that everyone Zag runs into, for or against him, is either immortal or immortally dead, changes how the react to

one another and to the situation at hand. The shape of his attempted escapes (gauntlet combat with a variety of legendary weapons) might be an allegorical construct of the genre, true, but it doesn't work in any sort of real-world setting where there exists the possibility of authority figures above or aside from Hades and his extended fucked-up family. That's part of why the family is so fucked-up in the first place. But these changes still fit well within the realm of, 'yeah, if you took this extremely real-life dynamic and added these factors to it, I can envision people doing this thing'. I can envision these specific people doing this thing. They add to the specificity of these characters. Letting them be influenced by their unreal surroundings makes them more real. So hell yes for good storytelling!!!!

I'm still relatively early in the game (by which I mean I'm like thirty runs in but only just got past Meg for the third time, because I am not good at this game, although in my defense it's only the seventh video game and second button-mashing game I have ever played in my life so there's that), but I'm starting to develop suspicions about Persephone. Because, look, outside of Persephone's absence from the underworld, this story knows its Greek mythology, uses it, revels in it. And there is some kind of mystery still shrouding Persephone leaving in the first place. She left a goodbye to Cerberus in her letter but not to her own son. Nyx has warned Zagreus multiple times not to let the Olympians know she's his mother. He literally never even knew she existed. That's complicated! Add to that, Persephone left--the exact thing we are trying and failing to do again and again and again. She left with one note, which means either she managed a one-shot speedrun out of the entire realm or she had some other way to leave, because if she'd washed up in the Styx pool to plod back to her room and try again, she wouldn't've needed to leave the note in the first place. And, you know, she's Persephone. Really quite famous for leaving the Underworld! Also quite famous for being forced back. So. I'm wondering if Zagreus, so conspicuously absent from her goodbye, has something to do with it after all. Six pomegranate seeds condemned Persephone to six months, half a year, half her life. I wonder if a child that's half of her her constitutes a fitting trade instead. Which, of course Hades would be even more resentful and dismissive and cruel to the kid he got in place of the wife he loved (who he chased away by being cold in the first place). Of course Persephone would have difficulty saying goodbye to her son in those circumstances. It would make sense. The tricky thing here is how the Olympians fit into it, because I also suspect the rift between Hades and Zeus sprang from Persephone's departure. And yet, if the Olympians never knew Zagreus existed, let alone that he's Persephone's son--how can he count as payment into the deal in their eyes? So in that case, what does Zeus think is the justification for Persephone leaving, after the pomegranate thing? Or are we just not doing the pomegranate thing at all? It would be a shame to lose it entirely, out of a story that really seems to enjoy the myths it's playing with. And there should be something complex here, something more than simply 'mom fucked off and left because dad sucked and now I'm following her because same'. It feels more complex than that. 'Mom and dad had a baby to try and save their marriage, it didn't work, but when mom left she had to leave me behind because otherwise dad would have gotten the cops and her extended family involved' feels more right, while still just as grounded in reality as the story has been so far.

I sort of want to write some meta about how each of the six legendary weapons corresponds to their original divine wielder, but I haven't unlocked all of their codex entries yet (look I am very bad with ranged weapons in this game ok, I am working on it), and I still need to think about the details. Aside from, of course, fuck yes of course Hestia's the one with the railgun. Leave drama and elegance and traditional weaponry to her brothers and sister (Demeter, who knows how to get her hands dirty, gets a pass). Hestia is out here to get shit done. With a grenade launcher.

#hades #hades game #zagreus #hades spoilers #I do not know this fandom are there tags I should be using? #C plays stuff #long post #driveby meta attack

[noddytheornithopod]

Holy shit my thoughts on Mind over Mutant got surprisingly complicated so uh here’s a massive discussion under the cut, lol.

Out of all the main post Naughty Dog games... this might be my favourite after all? It’s far from perfect, but I think I had the most satisfying experience overall.

To start, visually everything looks pretty good. Granted I’m using the PS2 version which has a few visual bugs because it was designed for Wii and X360 graphics more, but generally I like how it holds up? Shame 360 emulators aren’t a thing as of now, and I’m not buying some old console just for one game, lol. Speaking of PS2, there’s no Coco option because apparently her moves were too complex for the system, RIP.

To start... yes, fuck the backtracking. It’s perfectly reasonably why this pisses people off. For me, it’s mainly the transition between Wumpa Island and the Ratcicle Kingdom since you have to go through AND back twice, with little variation. Other paths at least have you only needing to retread once for the story or there’s a new extra path in it that unlocks. At least some of the enemies change up I guess? But honestly, I think what bugs me more is that it’s not exactly consistent in its implementation. Because for a while, yeah you’re going back and forth retreading old ground, but then you get the key for the Junkyard on Wumpa Island and you’re just teleported to the Junkyard gate. Same thing happens when you get the Uka Uka bones. And of course, there’s the teleporters to find said bones, which is kind of striking a middle ground. Basically... it’s kinda inconsistent. Tedious when it is, but when you suddenly start to get used to it, you’re given massive leaps lol.

There’s stuff from Titans that was changed that I don’t really understand why? For example, the block with Crash no longer has a dodge, and dodging is now purely responding to mutant attacks. I like the addition to help even out things between Crash and mutants, but why no dodge normally? There’s no board sliding anymore, nothing calls for it obviously so it may have been pointless but it is kinda funny. Also Crash’s glide is replaced with the spin drill, which of course has its uses, but I miss having that glide too (you could have both, maybe the drill is by holding square or even pressing triangle, IDK).

On the topic of Crash, I kinda feel like Crash’s gameplay is oddly sidelined? I think it’s because of the mutant storing. Even if there’s less combat, much of the platforming now uses the mutants, and because there’s only some sections where you have to be Crash, it means you end up being Crash rather sparingly unless you really want to stick to him. Like, mutant storing is a good idea and works with the kind of game, but compare to Titans where even if it was more combat focused, the fact you had to use Crash in more parts meant you end up playing as him more than this game, and thus it feels like he has more of a presence with his own move set.

The combat felt off at first, but I ended up realising it’s because I became used to the Titans system... to start, it’s less intense and slower paced. You’re rarely gonna be swarmed so you actually have a chance against enemies. There’s also the mutant mojo upgrades, which means your mutant actually grows stronger with each upgrade, making combat different each time.

I like how they use mojo... for the most part. I like that the mutants can now be upgraded, and Crash of course grows stronger. My one reservation is that the upgrades don’t feel that diverse? In Crash’s case it’s probably because he keeps most of his moves from Titans, but still, only strength and spin upgrades isn’t the most exciting. Same with the mutants, getting stronger and the occasional special attack boost is cool, but it’s not the most exciting. I guess I need to view it like a Ratchet and Clank situation, because that’s what this is more like... including the multiplier. Including a multiplier with your combo level to make mojo worth more helps a lot with upgrading.

Because mutant gameplay is now more diverse instead of just a few classes that do their job, it also comes across as more inconsistent? I like that there’s improvements like them being able to jump now and more attack variations eg from when you block or jump and hit attack, but I also find some of it a bit awkward. Like, many of these attack variations are cool, but the tutorials give fuck all clues to them, so it’s hard to figure everything out.

For example... seriously, it took me ages to figure out how to use the TK in combat. TK is a pretty fun mutant, but until you figure out how to shoot and combine attacks with their telekinesis, you’re gonna be stuck to slow heavy attacks and awkwardly throwing enemies around.

I also find the Rhinoroller awkward. Because of the new moveset compared to Titans, it’s on one hand less slow, but on the other, it can get pretty annoying to control.

Ratcicle feels kind of overdeveloped. They can freeze stuff AND surf on shallow water. I mean, it’s great, but it kinda makes the other mutants look less exciting, lol. But yeah, one of the best mutants in this game because they definitely thought of much.

There’s a few mutants that are fun to play as like Spike, Sludge, and Battler, but unless you go outside the main story, they don’t really feel like they have much of a presence. The introduction pacing feels off, basically.

Snipe and Stench are back as ranged mutants. Snipe suddenly gets an upgrade and is pretty fun to play. Stench I’m not so crazy about, like now their special attack isn’t ranged anymore so that kinda messes up the gameplay with them, and while the fire rate is improved from Titans, every now and then they do a reload animation which I assume was meant to add detail, but all it does is slow the gameplay down and make the rhythm of firing off.

Magmadon is around, and while they aren’t underused, I do think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity with this game’s increased platforming focus that it doesn’t have any fire/lava abilities. There’s only one place that’s too hot for other characters and thus making them necessary too. Like, imagine if you could use it to melt through ice or even metal, eg a door that must be melted down to progress. Sludge’s shrinking ability is only used like two or three times (and I think only one is mandatory), so I think there’s missed opportunities there too. The shapeshifting and extendable arms stuff could’ve made for some cool mechanics. Adding more platforming abilities for mutants might overcomplicate the game of course, but... still. Especially with Sludge, give them some more use, even for secrets and such. Speaking of secrets... Spike needing to use the special attack on that one spiky part on the way to Mt Grimly is pretty random, huh?

Scorporilla and Yuktopus serve their role as the massive powerhouses (and Scorporilla even gets a beefed up melee combo), though I must admit it’s odd Yuktopus is now demoted to a regular enemy/sub-boss class (seeing two in the minigames was surreal when I was young lol). And I mean, random changes in design and stuff is something I find odd in general. I mean, the returning mutants mostly have improved designs, but for others I’m not as sure on, eg Rhinoroller looking less rhino-y, and Sludge suddenly being a boar instead of an frog or chameleon or whatever it was in Titans. Guess some is NV mutations but whatever, lol.

On the topic of enemy design, one thing I miss from Titans is the colour and outfit variations. Maybe they had less time to do it and at least the single models they get look good, but still, it’s a shame. We do get the hero mutants, but the PS2 version fucks up their looks for some reason, lol (and for some reason their mojo upgrades separately from the standard of their species, which is weird, especially since it’s not counted in the game’s completion).

Grimlys are cool, probably my favourite mutant in the game. Kinda funny how they don’t have a block and instead a lock on function, but it makes sense given they’re meant to be used faster than other close range mutants. But yeah, time slowing is so cool it’s even back in Crash 4 with one of the new Quantum Masks. Really helps you rake up that combo count to get all that mojo too.

The minions are... interesting. They mostly do their job, but then suddenly you have Doom Monkeys and Znu that have these massive stun attacks that can get annoying if there’s a lot of them. Slap-Es can block but as long as you’re not Crash they’re as quick as any others. The Doom Monkeys are less annoying in speech too, thankfully.

I get a few audio bugs. Most annoying of which is being unable to hear enemy conversations. But sometimes I just got sound effects cut out for no reason. On the inverse... some of the mutants are very noisy and need to shut up. Aku Aku also sometimes adds commentary when unnecessary, making him feel a bit handholdy. Yes, I’m going to the damn roller village, be patient, dude.

Probably the thing to impress me most revisiting the game is actually the continuity and worldbuilding. I mean, to start, you have all the mutants becoming free and forming their own societies, only for the NVs to turn them into evil warriors again. Said societies are pretty interesting as well.

Wumpa Island is mostly the same (sans all the stranded Ratinicians gone wild lol), but then you have the Ratcicle Kingdom. A Kingdom formed mostly out of ice, and also near Cortex’s evil public school. Nothing like this was in Titans, so was there always a cold part of Wumpa Island, or did the concentration of Ratcicles allow them to make enough ice to form a cold climate and society despite this being tropical nearby? All the designers and stuff are cool, and some of the characters are quite peculiar (I love that one masochist Ratcicle lol).

Then there’s the Ice Prison and Evil School. IDK how the Ice Prison was made, but it seems like it’s Cortex’s doing since the Brat Girls run it AND Evil School (while also being students?). As one of those lore junkies that headcanons Wumpa Island is the second island from the original Crash games, this fits oddly well, because in Twinsanity Cortex suddenly has a massive floating Iceberg lab. Maybe Cortex also made the school and prison nearby, and the Ratcicles took their Wumpa Island residence and connected Cortex’s base. Yeah, I’m getting crazy with my speculation, but the game letting you fuel this is fun. Also cool how the Brat Girls leave Nina after she loses in Titans and end up as Cortex’s grunts, ironically.

The Wasteland seems new, and I assume it’s the evolution of the Lumberyard from Titans. We also have rhinoroller elders even if it’s only two years of existing lol.

The Junkyard is apparently born out of the remains of N Gin’s weapons factory (I heard somewhere the Weapons factory was apparently on N Sanity Island but IDK if that was ever confirmed, it makes more sense it was on Wumpa Island TBH but if it was imagine all that junk moved there lol, TBH Cortex Island could work for the weapons factory too, it would make things less cluttered and it’s possible there’s still unpolluted beaches but whatever). It’s a pretty cool setting, and the Doom Monkeys being in the remains of their old location but under new leadership (and somehow with rockets removed from their heads... maybe they were merely aesthetic? lol) is nice continuity. Judging from the concept art it also seems to be around that volcanic area in Titans, which makes sense given that had more machinery.

Mt Grimly is completely new. Surprisingly it’s not an evolution of the Uka tree (though there is one creepy tree place with the hero Grimly on Wumpa Island), and as a result it’s much harder to work into my 2nd island headcanon (I mean, at least that island always had a giant tree lol). Cool location, but unfortunately we don’t really learn much about its normal state compared to the other worlds, unless it’s permanently inhabited by evil dudes, lol. Also I still wonder what the heck the Znu and Grimlys are. Are the Znu supposed to be the same thing as Grimlies? Are the Grimlys NV transoformed Znu??? Who knows.

Even the changing enemies in revisiting locations relates to the story. For example, the sludges in the Junkyard will say how Slap-Es and Stenches have appeared from “the sky”. Besides random occasional appearances from different mutants in various locations, you also have the Znu and Doom Monkeys moving out of their home levels to the previous ones after you make it through said levels the first time. I’m very perplexed by the sudden increase of Battlers when you revisit evil school and the ice prison paths though... either they’re also favourites of Cortex, or the Brat Girls disappointed Cortex after he saw Crash break into school and Nina helped him and he... used NVs on them to make new Battlers. Other stuff like Snipes in the Wasteland because of the Snipe hero are clear enough, but this one is... interesting.

There are some inconsistencies that bug me though. For one, it feels like nobody acknowledges Cortex’s blog video. Aku Aku acts surprised that N Brio is back and working with Cortex, and later wonders how Brio gets dark mojo even though Cortex explicitly says he’s using Uka for that. IDK, I guess Aku Aku doesn’t like watching internet videos and expected Crash and Coco to do everything, lol (I mean, he doesn’t really acknowledge it after watching anyway). Also a bit confused on how evil school works... it’s implied the Brat Girls are the main students, especially when one NPC says it’s all girls, but the intro video includes all genders and shows non-Brat Girls so... something’s up (maybe the NPC misheard or the ad was lying and only had girls because EVIL). Also apparently there’s another evil school somewhere besides Madame Amberly’s (is it also public? how is it public, is there a government funding these evil schools? did Cortex declare some regime?).

The humour and cutscenes are mostly pretty fun and there’s many funny moments. There are a few jokes that are... questionable at best (Uka I know you’re evil, but you don’t need to be ableist), and some of it probably seems outdated, but I actually appreciate most of it. The 2D cutscenes in different styles simulating changing channels like you have an NV is cool and has some pretty fun jokes with them, though it does suck you don’t see some character models well if at all as a result. The whole satire of consumerism and the latest tech fads was a nice addition (between this and the different mutant powers and stuff, it’s almost a classic Ratchet and Clank type game), not to mention wild stuff like evil recycling (and I mean, green movements ARE co-opted soooo) and many edgy but still mostly jokes I doubt would pass today.

Bosses are fine. Cortex was fun, but Coco was too easy (plus she’s freed from NV control a bit too soon, they could’ve saved her for the Ice Prison or even Evil School or something to raise the stakes, I mean if you’re not gonna fully commit to playable Coco then you may as well go the N Tranced route). Crunch wasn’t as hard as I remember, in fact he was kinda underwhelming. If anything the Scorporilla and Yuktopus acting as sorta sub-bosses in-story were better fights than saving the bandicoots (also one of the sludges says Crunch is Crash’s brother... confirmed?). Also small nitpick but why doesn’t Coco have her evil model in the enemy profiles, even as she has her boss lines?

Music is legit one of my favourite soundtracks in the series, Marc Baril doesn’t get enough credit. He manages to have such a range and it all works so well even as it has a distinct and fitting style.

Voodoo doll collecting is more involved which is cool, and there’s also golden wumpa now serving as health upgrades because we don’t have lives anymore. Yeah, Titans and MoM did gold wumpa first, not CTR:NF and Crash 4. At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up even earlier. Minigames are optional too which means less stress for 100% completion, though there’s also the arena minigames (oh hey, more Ratchet and Clank similarities), and they unlock enemy skins... unfortunately unlike Titans which had skins for every enemy, there’s only a few skins here (one for each world’s games), which is disappointing.

Anyway... yeah. Mind over Mutant isn’t as polished as Titans and is a bit messy and inconsistent in some places (most likely because this game has less time than Titans), and some of the backtracking is tedious, but in general I had a pretty good time with it, and was actually pleasantly surprised by some things.

#crash bandicoot #crash: mind over mutant #mind over mutant

[heamarvel]

Holiday Movie Challenge Prompt and Badge lists

Hellooooo shippers of all Marvel ships!

This marks the kickoff to HEA (Happily Ever After) Marvel’s Holiday Movie Challenge! If you don’t know us, we’re a group of crafty mods under the direction of our own personal Pepper Potts ( @betheflame​​ ), so really, this is going to be great fun, and we hope that you’ll join us!

A brief intro to our event:

At no point do you need to sign up for this event. You are not beholden to post anything, even if you say that you will. This is a guiltless, fun event!

Pick a prompt, any prompt!

Interpret the prompt any which way you wish. We have prompt examples available for people to peruse on our blog and on our Discord, if you’re in need of a few examples.

Write (or art, podfic, or moodboard, etc.) any ship you want, even polyamorous relationships of any number or type (even if the prompts contain just two characters!).

Include additions from our badge list if you wish! They function like video game achievements (think World of Warcraft, or Xbox) and you will be rewarded with little achievement badges designed by the wonderful @kocuria​ that you can display anywhere you please.

The collection will open on November 1st and close on December 24th.

Around then we will provide a Google form to submit the badge info and other info for your fic.

BUT REMEMBER! All contributions to this event must have a Happily Ever After as per holiday movie standards (doesn’t mean there can’t be tons of angst and pain in the middle, though).

For any further info, please check out our Holiday Movie Challenge page, our Prompt and Badge page, our Frequently Asked Questions page, or ask us questions on Tumblr, Twitter, or on Discord! (Links on Tumblr.) 

But that’s enough mod-splaining, let’s take a look under the cut at the prompts and badges that we’ve been eagerly waiting to share with you!

*We have included both (1) images to download and save as well as (2) text for those who prefer or need that medium! The images are at the bottom of this post.

Here’s a separate post with just the images.

Prompts

1. Character A is a big city lawyer who swore to never go back to their hometown. Suddenly, their grandfather dies and leaves them the family Christmas Tree farm. They’re determined to go back and shut down the farm. Character B runs the farm and is determined to save it.

2. After losing their job as an au pair in New York, Character A accepts a position as a nanny in the castle of a small European principality no one has ever heard of. Character B is a single parent & ruler of the country.

3. When architect and Christmas amateur Character A finds themselves hosting their family for Christmas, they recruit holiday coordinator Character B to bring holiday joy to their home.

4. A high-powered executive reconsiders their priorities when car trouble leads them to Christmas Valley, a town in love with Christmas.

5. Two new students at nearby university, Character A and Character B, meet the first day of classes and become study partners. A local bookstore becomes a close part of their lives as their relationship grows.

6. Character A - a famous author who writes about how to stay single - is forced to look after their niece and nephew over the holidays. With the help of their Christmas-loving neighbor, Character B, they learn to find love and the Christmas spirit.

7. A young royal (Character A) escapes their entourage to explore New York City over Christmas. They meet Character B who shows the beautiful stranger their side of the city.

8. As Christmas approaches, Character A (the Lizzie Bennet character), a New York event planner, is sent to a quaint, small town to organize their holiday festival. When they arrive, they find Character B (the Darcy character), a high-profile billionaire lacking in holiday spirit, in the process of selling the charming estate they hoped to use as a venue.

9. An anxious bride-to-be (Character A, “bride” is non-gender assigned) throws in with broken-hearted and cynical Character B and a happily married couple for an emergency ride to NYC from New England.

10. Character A has to go to their cousin’s holiday wedding that’s taking place a year to the day they were left at the altar. Unable to face going alone, they con Character B into going “just as friends.”

11. When a restless young married Character A is granted a wish by a Christmas Angel to be single again, they soon discover their new life isn't what they bargained for, and embark on a quest to win Character B back.

12. Character A and Character B have been archrivals ever since a memorable fight over a coveted Christmas recital solo in elementary school. Now adults, they work side-by-side at the same school where they still constantly compete over everything. As the holiday season approaches, the entire school is getting into the spirit with the annual fundraising festival, which will feature an exciting new event - a teacher Christmas Cookie Bake-Off, judged by a tough five-star chef.

13. Character A inherited a toy factory. The town needs the factory to stay open, but they have no interest in being tied to their hometown. Especially when they find out that Character B - who broke their heart in high school - is the town’s mayor.

14. A WWII era nurse (Character A) is transported in time to 2019 and meets Character B who helps them discover the bonds of family and that the true meaning of Christmas is timeless.

15. Stranded at an airport at Christmastime, Character A accepts a ride from Character B, who has just rented the last car in town.

Badges

Length

500

1k

5k

10k

15k

20k+

Ships

We’ll be custom-making the badges for whatever ship you choose to bring to the table! (Just keep in mind our limits: no underage, no non-con, no nazis.) Popular ship or rarepair+, this group of multishipping mods would love to see whatever you choose to write!

General fic elements

Baking/Cooking

Needing a passport

Non-abled character

Neuro-diverse character

Passes the Bechdel Test

Set outside the United States

Addresses a legitimate societal ill/charity/cause

Character learns a craft as a coping mechanism

Someone eats popcorn in a dramatic scene

Mention or include a Hallmark store or movie

Character is tracing their genealogy

Character writes fanfiction

Character learns a new skill

NSFW

A/B/O

Sentinels & Guides

Soulmate-Identifying Marks

Historical AU: Scottish or Irish clans

Historical AU: Ancient Rome or Greece

Historical AU: Regency or Victorian

Historical AU: American West

Inclusion of animal other than a dog, cat, or horse

‘It Takes a Village’ (town or community helps them hook up)

Use of holiday other than Christmas - including non-winter holidays

One sentence or more spoken in a language other than Russian

Discussion on classic literature and/or classic rock ‘n’ roll

Write a pairing you’ve never written before

Holiday Movie and general tropes

Inversion/Subversion of any trope

Main character has a cuddly dog

Presence of a small town festival

'And they were roommates!'

Fake Relationship

Only One Bed

Snowball fight

Ice skating or Ice hockey

Interrupted first kiss

Stories from childhood

Sassy/nosy best friend

Conniving co-worker

Kid as matchmaker

Single parent

Holiday specific

Yule log

Playing Dreidel

Holiday movie pick: Die Hard

Use of the phrase “Santa! I know him!”

Home Alone style shenanigans, serious or not

Trying to balance an egg on the Solstice

A non-Jewish character mixes up Passover and Hanukkah

Writing format/style

Outsider POV

First Person POV

Text Message/Chat Room

3+ perspectives in one story

Dialogue Only

Epistolary

Avengers stereotypes/fanon

Thor is foreign

Bots as children

Tony has insomnia

Tony Is Worthy (of Mjolnir)

Tony as a non-Iron Man mechanic

Ceiling vent Clint Barton

Budapest Explanation

Natasha is a scary spy/likes sneaking

Super-Nanny Phil Coulson

Peter Parker being a klutz

Peter and Shuri team up on Tony

Bruce has anger management problems

Avengers Movie Night

Darcy uses her taser

Bucky speaks Russian

Steve and/or Bucky need to play catch up on modern and pop culture

Shrunkyclunks (Modern Steve/CA & non-Avenger Bucky)

Shrinkyclinks (Modern Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier & non-CA Steve)

Side Character speaking role (any apply): Dr. Doom, Reed Richards, Galactus, Ghost Rider, Frank Castle, any Inhuman, any Runaway, Sif or one of the Warriors Three, Frigga, Amora or Lorelei

Set in a Marvel canon universe (even if not canon-compliant), for example: 1872, Noir

Mod Requests

Supernatural creatures

Gender swapped MC

Someone wears a tiara

Someone wears a kimono

Long-distance relationship

Snuggling to keep warm

1940s AU

Disclaimer: The above plot summaries in the prompt list belong to numerous movies in the Hallmark catalogue. We do not claim to own them, and are not making any money off of this, nor are we being paid by Hallmark to run this event.

Additionally, as of December 14th, 2019, we are no longer associating with Hallmark even in name, due to their poor choice to cave to pressure and remove an advertisement of a gentle, loving same-sex kiss occurring at their own wedding. We cannot and will not abide that.

#heamarvel #hallmarkholidaychallenge #Hallmark Challenge #marvel comics #mcu #marvel 616 #marvel ultimates #deadpool #x-men #mod post #prompt post #badge post #mod: juuls #holiday movie challenge

[abundantchewtoys]

Homestuck Candy p17-23 (holy shit)

So, yeah, this baby coming up.

I wonder if there's going to be callbacks to Dirk's art for Caliborn in any form. ("jake no, what are you doing - to our baby?")

John can't erase this baby in any case, since no retcon powers.

I wonder if we're going to learn its name. I kind of like one of Blaperile's theories, that he would name a boy after his Dad... It would reveal one of those long hidden mysteries in Homestuck.

Otherwise... Liv? :P

Theresa, after Terezi?

---

Page 17

Oh wow.

OH WOW.

Yeah, now we're getting to the juicy bits.

The candy is turning into diabetes around John. Details about the past are getting vague for his friends, the harmony trumping the validity of their experiences. It's all turning out a lot more existential for John in this path than I thought!

"Harry Anderson Egbert", heheh. But yeah, John has a good point. He wants his wife to have some identity, but it's like she's ... malleable, or something. Everything shapes around each other and forms the least offensive shape.

On the one hand, I want to imagine Vriska Lalonde-Maryam and Harry as childhood friends, growing up together.

On the other hand, I wonder what there is in store for this John. He's lost his retcon powers. But he says Terezi is the only thing that still makes sense to him. So maybe, if he rejects this reality, he can escape it again?

It all is going to depend a lot on what Terezi has to offer. (Going by the assumption it really is Terezi, by the way, not an imposter.)

It would really be something if this John, a twenty-four year old now, crosses back into the Meat timeline. He'd be leaving a lot behind, and frankly, be a shitty husband and father by going through with it. But yeah, Meat John is dead, has been for some time.

Jegus, John keeps filling his own dead self's shoes. Alternate John who dated Vriska. (Okay, in fact, in that situation, it was more of an inversion as the other John continued his developing relationship. On the other hand, for Davesprite, alpha John must've felt like the replacement John in the beginning.) Post-Retcon John who was killed by Typheus. Even Poppop Crocker, when he met up with B2 Dad.

The Candy path is definitely shaping up to be quite suspenseful, all expectations be damned!

---

Page 18

Wow.

Jake's so much more mature here. I want to see more of this man.

So yeah, it had occurred to me that part of the reason Gamzee hooked up with Jake and Jane could be because he was somewhat thinking of a) the other Page he was attracted to, and b) the Hope and Life players in his session, who were close to him on the hemospectrum?

But... I hadn't imagined Gamzee being Jane's kismesis. But it works so well. Got to say, it brings back memories of him on her land during the session.

So Jake and Jane had a baby! The first cross-species naming, then. After Tavros.

It's remarkable, isn't it? Dad, GCATavrosprite, Jasprosesprite^2, Nannasprite, Nannasprite*2... They fell on the wayside, we have no idea what happened to them. The sprites could've dissolved, we didn't seem them in the official credits after all, only the extra possibly outside-of-canon snaps, explaining why Jake would name his firstborn after Tavros. But Dad?

As for Jade and Davekat. Wow. Well, I guess, I really want to know now whether this revelation is also canon.

Cause Jade is either intersex or trans now, after fusing with Beq. (Also, it might be a dog penis, but capable of transferring human DNA? *Shudder.*) I can understand this would make her uneasy in exploring sexual options with Dave.

Wow. Yes, it seems that things are, in a very different but equal sense than in the Meat path, very raw and heartwrenching in this timeline as well.

At the start of the page, I started thinking for a minute that Gamzee would also find something off about the timeline. It would have been something for him to join John in pursuit of relevance, truth and all that. But no, it was just to bait Jane, it seems. If anyone, it would be Jake who might go through something similar as John.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Still said to see Jake getting the small end of the relationship stick, once again. Boy has no luck in love.

It was interesting to get Jane's honest take on politics on Earth C. If she and the others had just been honest with each other, they might have been able to struck an accord. Alas, through Dirk's meddling, it was not to be.

Also, it was funny to have Gamzee refer to the 5000-year skip in sweeps. Yeah, that... That doesn't convert well.

---

Page 19

Wow that took a turn!!

I thought it might have been time for them to discuss their relationship. How Jade has turned into the third wheel stopping the Davekat bicycle from taking off.

(Those references to Jane and Jake, I could've gone about.)

But then.

Something hit.

I thought instantly it would've been the other Jade. A moment or two I thought an ecto baby or First Guardian infant, for these three to take care off in lieu of a biological child. But no.

It's really REALLY the Postscriptum Jade!! (Well, I hope it's her, and that the Postscriptum doesn't take place on Future Candy Earth C.)

She "escaped" the black hole, into relevance, the PS said. So... It seems... As if...

Dirk was very much wrong.

Candy Earth C is going to play an important part in what's to come, yet.

Unless this Jade has only come to lift some of the people here away, like the mentioned Blue Fairy.

But in any case... It seems Davebot and Aradia can't be far behind.

This idyllic fantasy, who's already shown cracks, is about to be shattered.

What hit Jade, though, it almost seemed like those shards from the Furthest Ring, though it was called massless, here.

---

Page 20

Wow.

So, this Jade is suffering from a metaphysical poison. Just like John was from Lord English's tooth. Only... This Jade went into the black hole, and last we saw she was okay.

Is it because she's back in the "real" world that it's affecting her now?

For a minute there I thought Jane and Kanaya and Karkat could actually *explain* their grievances to each other. But no, alas. Karkat, validly I must say, just exploded with everything he's pent up.

Gotta say, if the trolls are getting antsy in this timeline, just imagine how it was going to pan out in the Meat timeline! I'm reminded of the troll rebellion that was referenced in the non-canon snaps.

Also, of course. OF COURSE, these Vriska and Tavros would clash on their first meet. Everyone should've seen this coming.

If anything salvages this scene, it must be Jake being able to placate the two toddlers. It's that sort of attention that Joey and Jude deserved to get from their Pa.

It's interesting to note how Rose is no longer sure about their situation. Maybe that's the influence of this corpse and its heavily-dripped-in-canon origin.

Roxy keeps being almost a vanilla version of herself, although the intent to hold a corpse party is horribly in character for her. Still, she feels less *real* than the other characters, who all seem to be kind of recovering from their diabetes-filled state.

John and Roxy, and Dave, Karkat and Jade are in dire need of some therapy, in any case. It was nice to see Karkat telling Gamzee off though. And weird to see Jane and Roxy keep jumping to his side. Like, they have no idea of the history here, and seem to think anyone can redeem themselves if they try hard enough. It kind of shows how they're not really all that streetwise.

Oh, forgot to mention - John has a moustache now. A manly one. Dear god, he's gone full Sassacre :P

---

Page 21

WHAT THE SHIT.

WHAT THE SHIIIIT.

WHAT THE SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT.

Roxy was right. The chances of all of them coming together like that, with all the stuff going on between them, are so infinitesimal.

But then she got into labor, and I thought that was that.

But

But

So, Aradia and Sollux turn up, and when I heard Jade had the shard still in her torso....

It would seem that this Jade isn't Postscriptum Jade... Yet.

Aradia and Sollux found a way out of the Furthest Ring on their own??? And somehow ended up on Earth C without explanation. Just when last page I almost thought as if all missing trolls mentioned in the epilogues' ToC were going to end up appearing as babies to the characters.

Karkat and Jane are in dire need of an actual debate.

Rose's lack of a good consolation was hilariously described.

But of course, the meat (Meat) of this page.

Is that Alt Calliope found a way through the Black Hole into the Candy path, and sent Reload Jade's corpse through it.

And just like in the Candy path, alpha Calliope is scared off. But it bears mentioning that Calliope herself was acting kind of weird, and was weirdly absent for a lot of the pages. It almost seemed to set her up as the narrator of this path, trying to give everyone what she thought they wanted. The fact that she and Roxy "broke character" for a moment was one of the things pointing in this direction.

But now Alt Calliope is here.

The narration is about to force everyone to confront who they really are. For better or worse.

I wouldn't be surprised if this ends with Candy Earth C as the battlefield seen in the Postscriptum. But what does that imply for Meat Earth C, where Alt Calliope ALSO put her influence to work.

She may claim not to influence, but even when she retreated into the narration, the atmosphere wasn't just magically improved over there.

Aradia and Sollux talking with Gamzee was... weird, but funny. I wonder if they are supposed to have aged some sweeps in the meantime. We know Gamzee must be about 8.5 sweeps now, while Karkat and the other trolls are about 11 sweeps.

I guess it's time we learn what Alt Calliope understands under "protecting" a world. I don't think Meat Dirk is coming over there, though I'm unsure what his grand design really is.

---

Page 22

Oh my god.

what is happening.

So Alt Calliope's influence didn't really do anything at that point but upset the group.

And now a 3 year time skip took place. So... wow. They're all 27 now.

And the troll ghosts that were sucked into the black hole are appearing everywhere now. The government is going bananas, but in fact, it must all be repetitions of the same 24 trolls, how weird is that.

I'm sure that in due time, some human ghosts will be appearing too. But this is just getting ridiculous.

Karkat went underground and into the resistance. Jane, as the shadow president, is secretly maneuvering things to invade the troll kingdom. This was supposed to be the Candy path, I thought it was going to be all shits 'n giggles!!!!

I do like that John, finally, after years, is starting to realize Terezi doesn't share anything about her at all. He asked for a picture, which I guess is nice. But, just like in the Meat path, he's torn up about the girl that he didn't stay with.

This has "disaster waiting to happen" written all over it.

Calliope seems to hunker after Roxy, but she still doesn't act on those feelings. It's like a twisted inversion of the Meat path.

It's like, all the sugar we started with has been turned into energy, and the rush has dissipated, and now there's only a tummy ache.

---

Page 23

Wow.

What the shit.

I could only root for John and Tavros' relationship. Seems like the little man is very sharp for his age. Since Harry is into atomic clocks as well, it seems that the tradition of children being into adult subjects like philosophy and psychology and science, continues.

But alas, it was not meant to be.

John finally couldn't take it no more, he had to scream what he'd internalized for so long. But it turned into something really messy, towards Jane and Jade. All valid points, but by losing control he most importantly scared Tavros and Harry Anderson.

The reaction of the other people was so... empty, though. Non-confrontational to a fault.

And I agree with John, Gamzee has apparently set himself up as Jane's subjugglator.

For all that Alt Calliope was saying, she sure seems to have NOT used any influence, though. And things very much have gone to shit here.

It was very cool to get to know Tavros and Harry Anderson as people, though. Tavros is indeed a kind of brother, biologically, to John (and Jade, and a half brother to June and Joey) in appearance. But it's like, personality-wise, he's more like a sad but smart version of Tavros. While his speech is colored in Gamzee's purple, ugh.

And Harry Anderson... A prankster in the making, for sure.

So, what is Terezi going to talk to him about? Is she talking to him from the end of the Meat path, just before she left Earth C? Or is she talking to him just after the other John died. :(

I can say this: I didn't think for a millisecond I would get THIS attached to people from the Candy path.

#homestuck #homestuck candy #reaction #homestuck epilogues #john egbert #alt calliope #jane crocker #tavros crocker #harry anderson egbert #roxy lalonde #dave strider #karkat vantas #jade harley #jake english #vriska lalonde

[onceler-landfill]

Rating Concept Art Once-lers

Turns out there’s a few different iterations of concept art Once-lers. I have decided to rate them. Under the readmore because it’ll probably get long.

- Mod Meownce-ler

What? WHAT? What were they thinking?! All respect to the artist, of course, but this does not look like a possible Once-ler! This is a green gremlin! Something about his design just REALLY, REALLY bothers me. I look at this and feel my brain immediately begin to turn itself inside out as it tries to comprehend what it’s looking at.

Interestingly, stripes seemed to be in the character design as early as this.

1/10 ONLY because the Lorax and the Thneed are there.

He is some sort of uhhhhhh... hairy creature thing? The face really bugs me and I can’t put my finger on why. Why does he appear to be wearing clothes when those clothes are basically just a part of his body? I feel like he would kill me and have no regrets. No, he wouldn’t enjoy it, but he certainly wouldn’t regret it.

2/10 because he would look like an effective villian at least.

He now has a checkered pattern, a smaller hat, and a different face. This man seems menacing, but also vaguely familiar. I feel like I’ve seen something similar to this in a Doctor Seuss book. The clothes still appear to be his actual body and not actual articles of clothing. His face still retains that “I will kill you and not regret it” vibe I got from the last one.

2.5/10 because he’s just slightly better than the last design.

Oh! The blue gray color actually differentiates his body from his clothing! It’s also a pretty blue. I like that pink frilly thing on his coat and the checker pattern adds something interesting to look at to the clothing. His face seems somewhat less scary than the Once-lers that have come before him. He is still hindered by his similarity to the other previous Once-lers though. His head also looks like it’s been crammed into his hat.

5/10, definitely an improvement but still a good ways to go.

We have ourselves a color inversion here it seems. His coat has become a blue while his fur has become a green. The famous gloves make their appearance. I feel like this man would be a kind fellow because of his gentle face. He doesn’t have a very threatening vibe.

7/10 because he seems friendly.

Dude I’m fucking scared right now. This is a scary guy. This is true villain material, ok? I feel like I’m looking at Ms. Tweedy from Chicken Run. This guy would kill me, and not only not regret it, but would also enjoy it. He’s got that fluffy trench coat thingy, he’s got that hair coming out of his hat, he’s tangled in the cut down, harvested guts of a truffula tree, he’s a menace to society. Is that coat made of the fur of a dead animal? Only he knows!

9/10, would be a terrifying villain.

Yeah, that’s a Once-ler. You can tell cuz it says so on his coat. He’s got a long body with super short, stumpy little legs. He is also labelled as if he forgets his name sometimes. I could actually kinda see the 1972 Once-ler looking like this. I also like the simple design. Seems pretty reminiscent of Doctor Seuss. I also like his frilly pink collar.

Solid 7/10.

Woah! This is a pretty big change to the other Once-lers we’ve seen. He resembles a golden retriever if you ask me. I may not like dogs, but not even I can resist the inherent charm that all golden retrievers contain. I like his floppy ears and his shirt. Look at his cute little hat! He’s so happy to show us his design for a Thneed!

10/10, absolutely adorable. Top tier.

Ok ok ok, so hear me out. First, you look at this fellow, and think “that’s a very short Once-ler! That’s a little strange!” But then, if you look at him for a little while longer, you realize that he’s very adorable! He looks very much like a country boy heading out to realize his dream, only to kill the entire environment, which then leads him to ruin his own life by living in isolation for decades. I love the little patch he has on his pants. He looks like a cheerful, optimistic country boy and I love it. The hat is a little strange though.

10/10. I don’t take constructive criticism.

Thus, we have come to the end of our ratings post. Here he is! That’s our boy! He’s got a funky guitar/banjo thing, he’s got the striped pants and that shirt and vest, he’s also got that questionable fedora. What else is there to say? That’s him!

10/10, because of course!

And that’s a wrap folks!

#the onceler #onceler #original post

[lynxgriffin]

Straight Outta Monster Narnia

HEY HEY I WASN’T EXPECTING TO DO THIS EVER AGAIN BUT WE’RE BACK

I’M GONNA PLAY ME SOME DELTA RUNE HERE

THOUGHTS AS I GO! ARE UNDER THE CUT!

Here we GOOOOOOO~!

Survey Program! Nice! Ominous!

I am here yes!

Truly excellent dude

OH MAKING A VESSEL NOW what are we Xehanort

NEATO I can pick Chara or Frisk heads or others…

Let’s do someone new. This kinda longish hair head.

STRIPES FOR DAYS! Longish sleeves, methinks

The legs are almost all the same LMAO

This is so friggin creepy I l OVE IT

Favorite food is PAIN nah it’s soft

BLOOD TYPE D. D for DOGGO

You have been gifted with kindness, not-XionFrisk

Pain AND seizure. Kinda wonder what happens if you say no tho…

But I don’t want to start over so let’s go with yes

OH FRIGGIN BUUUUURNED BY THE GAME, HAHAHA

Hi Toriel, you’re looking nice!

That’s a lot of friggin trophies over there

Also Kris, you need some eyes

RELIGIOUS SKA

So we have overachieving perfect child and sad boring child, okay

Awww Gerson wrote a book! How neat

It’s only you…..FOR NOW!!!!

It just isn’t home without white fur stuck in the drain, is it

CHAIRIEL’S RETURN!!!!

Also there’s some weird graphical flicker going on when I move and I wonder if it’s not because I’m playing full screen here

“Spray For The Boys, Flamin’ Hot Pizza Flavor” Damn Toby I missed your incredible sense of humor

DOES TORIEL USE PET SHAMPOO please say yes

ASRIEL’S AT COLLEGE AND UNDYNE’S A POLICE MONSTER, PERFECT

PROFESSOR ALPHYS IMMA GET AN A+ IN ANIME CLASS

DAMN who do I pick as my partner

Like…I really want Temmie…but also Snowdrake…

Random snake is also very good…

Ahhh I see this is gonna be pre-determined

HAHAHAHA FUCKIN BURNED AGAIN BY THIS HORRIBLE BLUE DUCK

Thank you cool snake I love your origin story

Oh this reindeer girl is very cute

MOTHA. FOKKIN. SUSIE

I instantly love her, goodbye

Oh Alphys you’re so not good at putting anyone in trouble

I JUST REALIZED TEMMIE HAS HER EGG ON THE DESK

Susie are you eating chalk

Oh sheet I like Susie less now

GAH DAMN THIS ESCALATED QUICKLY

Susie, Kris doesn’t even HAVE a face

Haha totally cut off my answer there

Hmm. I sense…a theme here.

Wow this really is putting on the restrictive aspects here

Now that’s a spooky face

Oh it ain’t gonna be that simple, mean girls

Well, this sure seems like an underground! Also…Kris is green now, okay

Hi there creepy waving things!

To reiterate: this is soooo creepy AND I LOVE IT

Puzzles! We got puzzles again! CREEPY PUZZLES

Whelp, we found Susie, just kinda hiding out in a…dead dust bunny thingie

LOL so much for a party member following you around

Well this is a new and interesting take on the bullet hell mechanics

Such interesting and different architecture

THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESSSSS

Yes let’s take a sudden HARD SHIFT into Final Fantasy

THE QUEST OF THE DELTA KNIGHTS that was an MST3K ep you know

About like…Leonardo da Vinci actually. Except he was a whiny bitch

LMAO Susie just “nah destroying the world sounds neat”

JOKESTER SANS GLIDES IN A FLAMING TRICYCLE SURE WHY NOT

VERY DIFFERENT COMBAT SYSTEM

“Dunno how I got an ax but like, that’s cool”

CAN’T WAIT FOR THE REMIXES OF THIS BATTLE MUSIC OKAY

Dunno if there’s a pacifist version of this game but I stick to tradition so I’m gonna try it

RALSEI. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

THE POWER OF FLUFFY BOYS SHINES WITHIN YOU it sure as hell does, game

The heckin heck Ralsei is so cute

Yup yup we gonna try pacifist this first time!

“If you’re reading this…I guess you’re dead.” Fair enough.

Gaster noises when trying to use the cell phone, hmmmm…

It’s an inverse papou fruit!

Susie just up and attacks this cake, all right

Battle is cool but it’s gonna take some getting used to, think I accidentally used both of my items

YOUR SENSE OF DIRECTION WON’T SAVE YOU NOW

“It’s like a dinner made out of three glasses of milk” Ralsei you’re SO CUTE

Now to see if TP stays leveled between battles…

“I thought you were running away.” / “Yeah, I finished.”

Fugdamn I want —pictures of Spiderman— remixes of this music ON MY DESK TODAY

FRIGHTENING FANFARE

Damn that puzzle still is tricky

Gah damn that was hilarious but also terrifying

We have the power of FLUFFY BOYS and MEAN GIRLS we are UNSTOPPABLE

Ohhh so that’s what the heart outline does!

Now that is a coooool cat and I like him already

Awww I don’t have enough money for the spooky sword

Susie just roastin’ everybody left and right

THEY GOT BARRY

These mechanics continue to be interesting and a bit more complex

“Damn, didn’t get to impale myself” I’m sure you’ll get your chance Susie

It’s really interesting how we’re basically group-battling to PREVENT the tank from beating the crap out of everyone

Oh now that light trick is weird

They keep throwing the usual chess and playing card guys at us and somehow I’m Suspicious

Is that a bucket. ARE Y’ALL HOMESTUCKING AT ME AGAIN

LMAO did Susie call us the Fuckboys or something

Oh, the Shit Squad, I guess!

THE POWER OF THE SHIT SQUAD SHINES WITHIN YOU HECK YESSSS

“I, Mr. Society, am far too intelligent to ever bow down to such a tyrant!” Hmmm.

Oh, it’s Sir Lion Plateface again

L E G S

THE BOSS JUST DRINKS A GALLON OF MILK THAT’S FINE

Well Ralsei got kinda junked there but WE DEFEATED SIR LION PLATEFACE

Cakes…are also my enemy…

Yeeeeah kinda saw that one coming

Susie I get the feeling you’re not going to enjoy being a bad guy either

Dang son I have no clue what’s going on anymore WE JUST HAD SOME SALSA IN A TREE STUMP

This jack’s got my number

That sure is a three-eyed three-headed cat thingamajig

Awww I like Clover

“All proceeds go to kicking your ass” CAN I USE THIS LINE IN REAL LIFE PLEASE

Hot damn we just squeaky hammered our broken cake into ULTIMATE CAKE

Why does a sweet little boy have a mustache indeed.

Create a machine to thrash your own ass, nice

It’s my beautiful death laser duck! Tops in GUN’S

Man Susie and Lancer are just having the time of their lives here

Finally, respect for pinecone-eaters!

Awww Susie, are you actually starting to worry about someone who respects your eating of chalk and pinecones

Oh thank goodness, got through that maze thing

Yes, finally, it’s our DUCK TANK LASER

Why does it say Tuna on it

“Your design sucked so we blew it up” This is like that one Berlin tour guide I had

GANGED UP ON THEM WITH KINDNESS, HA

Whelp, back to telling enemies that Susie will kick them in the shins I guess!

YES LANCER JOIN THE SHIT SQUAD

OMFG THAT FAAAAACE WHAT IS THAT FACE

Hey we’ve got a full Final Fantasy team now! Neat

STOOL FORME

I like how Lancer just sliiiiiides around outside the party instead of walking with

Hmmm well that friendship feeling didn’t last long

You done got locked in the dungeon

Yup sure did eat that jail moss two minutes in

HUH, we’re controlling Susie now

In which choices do not matter…

SUSIE’S FOKKIN PISSED

And we can’t control her actions…but why controlling the human soul?

A pair of eyes got arrested?! What IS the world coming to?!!

Oh dear, we found a bunch of kings in baby jail

Why are these filthy cages so happy-looking

Awwww Susie joined the party for realizes!

So, this about final boss point for this business?

Why are you guys just sitting on a pile of loot

And just who is this sassy lost child?

BAAHAHAHAAA

HECK YEAH WE GET TO FLIRT AGAIN

I am now BED INSPECTOR yes

Hello again fancy blue boy

“Can…can we see it” / “No.”

This sure is a jammin party with CLUB MUSIC OH HO HO HO

Awww he put his bicycle to bed

‘Welcome to my shop, you ungrateful worms” HELL YEAH

I do not wisheth to hear your MP3s! I would rather listen to the sweet song of Death!

Prepare for a battle with…WHATEVER THIS IS!!!!

JUST FUGGIN CHUCK RALSEI AT SIR LION PLATEFACE, I LIKE IT

Six dollars, for all of that?! Geez

WHELP this looks like final boss time…

Hiiiii there Lancer

Oh dang is gettin serious now

Oh woooow that’s…someone’s fetish right there

HOKAY that was tricky but! Having the defense abilities certainly helped with pacifism through that…

Despite ending this peacefully, I don’t think this scene is gonna end on a happy note…

W H E L P

DAYUM that face from Susie!!

Awwww poor Ralsei

We only have BAD-byes WUAH WUAH WUAAAH

DAWWW lil’ Asriel-lookin dude with glasses (and YES I see that anagram there)

LMAO Susie’s face

EPIC ROCK MUSIIIIIC

Also I’ve really been enjoying the color effects

Awww look at this epic adventure you two had in the closet

So basically we went to Monster Narnia, neat

Awww Susie likes Monster Narnia

Oh no we worried Toriel! THE WORST

LIBRARBY

YOU STUDY THOSE HOT DEMON COMICS FOR COLLEGE, TEMMIE

Hiiii Toby you busy makin’ something!

ALPHYS NO, YOU BETRAY MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE

OFFICE UNDYNE, DOn’T ARREST ME

I like reindeer girl’s rowdy hospitalized dad

PARTY ANIMAL TORIEL CONFIRMED

I like how there’s just a poster on the wall in this room that reads PAIN

The police tape simply reads NGGAAAAAHHHHH!

Good grief there’s SO MUCH STUFF TO EXPLORE HERE BUT I HAVE TO KEEP GOING

Snowdrakes don’t have arms, oh no!!!

“Does it hurt to be made of blood??” ….Yes. Yes it does.

HIIIIIIIII SANS

Woah woah woah WOAH WOAH SANS

Everyone is here! Even Ice Wolf!

Yes I’ll take a Double Ice Pizza you weirdos

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD IT’S BURGERPANTS

10 OUT OF 10 GAME NOW

HIS FACES!!!! “C H I C K S”

That was brilliant, Burgerpants, thank you for existing

Catty!!! Hey where’s Bratty!

Noooo you gotta be besties with Bratty!

Brother Doug…?

Oh no, Mettaton, come out and talk to us!

ASGORE, HELLO

OMG Asgore hugs

Soul flowers….???

Awwww got some flowers for Toriel

THE GAY GUARDS IN THEIR GAY FLANNEL, YAY

It’s so late but I can’t stop until I’ve talked to LITERALLY EVERYONE

Thaaaat’s politics! …Rarely.

Comes to church for the fruit juice, sounds about right

DOG GRAVE, NO

Let’s go into the woods…what could go wrong…

Why can’t I get into the creepy shed…

Well, I think I got everything, so let’s go home now…

ASRIEL MAINS YOSHI IN SMASH CONFIRMED

Awwww Toriel is not big on Asgore’s bouquet!

OKAY decided to go to sleep here.

…Well that didn’t work out great

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

UUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WHAT??????????

WHAT????????????

WHAT?????????

HAHA I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE FUK HAPPENED IN ALL OF THIS BUT UH. WHEN’S CHAPTER TWO??

THAT SURE WAS A HELL OF A THING

No really Toby please WHAAAAAAATTT

OKAY I HOPE I DIDN’T MISS ANYTHING IMPORTANT BYYYYEEEE

#undertale #delta rune #lynx plays delta rune #lynx plays undertale #undertale spoilers #delta rune spoilers #scheduled this so it posted after the no spoilers rule so hopefully that works out #NO PLEASE WHAT HAPPENED HERE I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS #also I NEED MUSIC REMIXES NOW #also also so uh #EXPECT ART IN THE FUTURE #SORRY I CAN'T HELP MYSELF #including doing the running commentary thing!

[vierafication]

Getting to Know: Faolan Kells

Was tagged by @an-honest-waltz for most of these AGES ago, so just gonna make one big ol’ post!

<STRENGTHS & FLAWS>

Bold those that apply, italicize if occasional or situational.

╳   FLAWS

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power - hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | masochistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous| oversensitive | rebellious | pessimistic | selfless

♔   STRENGTHS

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly | empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty | funny

🖌 SKILLS & HOBBIES

art | acting | astronomy | animals | archery | sports | beach combing | belly dancing | bird watching | blacksmithing | boating | calligraphy | camping | candle making | casino gambling | ceramics | racing | chess | music | cooking | crochet | weaving | exercise | swordplay | fishing | gardening | ghost hunting | ice skating | magic | engineering | building | inventing | leather-working | martial arts | meditation | origami | parkour | people watching | swimming | puppetry | pyrotechnics | quilting | reading | collecting | shopping | socializing | storytelling | writing | traveling | exotic dancing | minor potion brewing | tricks & trinkets | crow keeping | classical dancing

<BODY AESTHETIC>

[ BODY ]

Long legs. Short legs. Average legs. Slender thighs. Thick thighs. Toned thighs. Skinny arms. Soft arms. Toned arms. Muscular arms. Toned stomach. Flat stomach. Flabby Stomach. Soft stomach. Six-pack. Beer belly. Lean frame. Beefy/muscular frame. Voluptuous frame. Petite frame. Lanky frame. Short nails. Long nails. Manicured nails. Dirty nails. Flat ass. Toned ass. Bubble butt. Small waist. Average waist. Thick waist. Narrow hips. Average hips. Wide hips. Big feet. Average feet. Small feet. Soft feet. Slender feet. Calloused hands. Soft hands. Big hands. Average hands. Small hands. Long fingers. Short fingers. Average fingers. Narrow shoulders. Broad shoulders. Average shoulders. Underweight. Average weight. Overweight.

[ HEIGHT ]

Shorter than 140 cm. 141 cm to 150 cm. 151 cm to 160 cm. 161 cm to 170 cm. 171 cm to 180 cm. 181 cm to 190 cm. 191 cm to 2 m. Taller than 2 m.

[ SKIN ]

Pale. Rosy. Olive. Dark. Tanned. Blotchy. Smooth. Moles. Acne. Dry. Greasy. Freckled. Scars. Birthmarks.

[ EYES ]

Small. Large. Average. Grey. Brown. Blue. Turquoise. Violet. Pink. Green. Gold. Hazel. Crimson. Doe-eyed. Almond. Close-set. Wide-set. Deep-set. Squinty. Monolid. Heavy eyelids. Upturned. Downturned. Mismatched.

[ HAIR ]

Thin. Thick. Fine. Normal. Greasy. Dry. Soft. Shiny. Curly. Frizzy. Wild. Unruly. Straight. Smooth. Wavy. Floppy. Cropped. Pixie-cut. Afro. Pompadour. Shoulder length. Back length. Waist length. Past hip-length. Buzz cut. Bald. Weave. Hair extensions. Jaw length. Layered. Mohawk. Pony Tail. Braid. Locks. Box braids. Faux locks. White. Going Grey. Platinum blonde. Golden blonde. Dirty blonde. Blonde. Strawberry Blonde. Ombre. Ash brown. Mouse brown. Chestnut brown. Golden brown. Chocolate brown. Dark brown. Jet black. Orange. Ginger. Red. Auburn. Dyed. Thin eyebrows. Average eyebrows. Thick eyebrows. Plucked eyebrows.

[ TATTOOS / PIERCINGS ]

Full sleeve. Thigh tattoo. Neck tattoo. Chest tattoo. Back tattoo. Shoulder blade tattoo. One tattoo. Face tattoo. Hand tattoo. Henna tattoo. Wrist tattoo. Forearm tattoo. A few here and there. Multiple. No tattoos (for now). Monroe piercing. Nose piercing. Septum. Nipple piercing(s). Genital piercing(s). Industrial piercings. Earlobe piercings. Prince Albert piercing. Eyebrow piercing(s). Tongue piercing(s). Lip piercing(s). Top of the ear. Tragus piercing. Angel bites. Labret. Stretched out ears. Navel piercing. Inverse navel piercing. Cheek piercing(s). Smiley. Nape piercing(s). No piercings.

[ COSMETICS ]

Eyeliner. Light eyeliner. Heavy eyeliner. Cat eyes. Mascara. Fake eyelashes. Matte lipstick. Regular lipstick. Lipgloss. Red lips. Pink lips. Nude lips. Dark lips. Bronzer. Highlighter. Eyeshadow. Neutral eyeshadow. Smoky eyes. Colorful eyeshadow. Blush. Lipliner. Light contouring. Heavy contouring. Powder. Matte foundation. Shiny foundation. Concealer. Wears war paint from time to time. Wears make up regularly. Wears it from time to time. Never wears make-up.

[ SCENT ]

Floral. Herbal. Earthy. Fruity. Perfumes. Aftershave. Cocoa. Moisturizer. Shampoo. Cigarettes. Leather. Fur. Sweat. Food. Incense. Cologne. Whiskey. Wine. Fried food. Blood. Fire. Cold. Fresh. Metal. Rain. Chemicals. Baking!

[ CLOTHES ]

Jeans. Tight pants. Overknee socks. Tights. Leggings. Yoga pants. Pencil skirt. Tight skirt. Loose skirt. Tight/Form-fitting dress. Cardigans. Tunic. Blouse. Button up shirt. Band-T-shirt. Sports-T-shirt. Sweatpants. Tanktop. Cut off t-shirt. Designer. High street. Leather jacket. Thrift. Lingerie. Long skirt. Miniskirt. Maxidress. Sun dress. Tie. Tuxedo. Cocktail dress.High slit dress/skirt. T-shirt. Loose clothing. Tight clothing. Jean shorts. Sweater. Sweater vest. Waistcoat. Khaki pants. Suit. Hoodie. Basketball shorts. Boxers/Boxer-Briefs. Thong. Hotpants. Hipster panties. Bra. Sportsbra. Crop top. Corset. Ballerina skirt. Leotard. Polka dot. Stripes. Glitter. Cotton. Linen. Silk. Lace. Leather. Velvet. Patterns. Florals. Neon colors. Pastels. Light colors. White. Black. Dark colors. Fur/Fauxfur. Revealing clothing. Heavy armor. Medium armor. Light Armor.

[ SHOES ]

Sneakers. Slip-ons. Flats. Slippers. Sandals. High heels. Kitten heels. Ankle boots. Combat boots. Knee-high. Platforms. Bare feet. Loafers. Oxfords. Gladiator shoes. Leather boots.

~

<GETTING TO KNOW>

So I personally don’t like this prompt because it assumes the character answers IC, but how many characters would actually let someone come up and interview them with this barrage of questions, some very personal, out of nowhere, IC? So I think it works better to think of them as... filling it out as a form themselves?

► Name ➔   Which one? ► Are you single ➔ I think so. ► Are you happy ➔   I’d better be. ► Are you angry? ➔   Thankfully, no. ► Are your parents still married ➔  Who?

NINE FACTS ► Birth Place ➔ Somewhere where the trees are tall and green and overshadowing, I think. ► Hair Color ➔ Like the earth. ► Eye Color ➔ Like the leaves. ► Birthday ➔ I do not know. ► Mood ➔ Fluctuating. ► Gender ➔ Leaning towards male. ► Summer or winter ➔ Summer. ► Morning or afternoon ➔ Can I say evening instead?

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE ► Are you in love ➔ With life itself~! Mostly. Usually. Sometimes. ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ It’s the stuff of faerytales. So of course I do! Would love to actually see it in action, though. It’s certainly elusive. ► Who ended your last relationship ➔ No relationships to end- so I have not suffered that terrible heartache so often written about! Ha! ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔  Probably. I hope so. ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ I think the answer is yes, because I do not want them, if I can help it! Don’t like strings. ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Of course! Who or what, though, I cannot recall. ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ I hope so! ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ NO.

SIX CHOICES ► Love or lust ➔ Love! Incredibly useless, but really quite fun to mess with. ► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ Lemonade. ► Cats or Dogs ➔ Dogs are more reliable, cats are more fun. So... cats, then.. ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ Yes. ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ A wild night out leads to so many more interesting possible occurrences. The other option is boring on multiple levels. ► Day or night ➔ Oh, so this is where I can say night. Night, then.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS ► Been caught sneaking out ➔ Out of where? By whom? ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ I am far too graceful for THAT, but it is very humorous to see! ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ No comment. ► Wanted to disappear ➔ Not if I’ve enough distractions to keep me occupied at the moment!

FOUR PREFERENCES ► Smile or eyes ➔ Eyes tell a lot more than a smile ever could. ► Shorter or Taller ➔ Shorter people are easier to poke fun at, in my experience. ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔  Attraction. ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ I don’t want anything THAT close to me, thank you very much.

FAMILY ► Do you and your family get along ➔ We fight sometimes. ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ It is certainly abnormal by your standards! If only you knew. ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ When I was a child, I tried to multiple times, but I just ended up running right back home again. Not voluntarily, of course, for the forest paths never lead you where you want to go, only where you don’t. ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Not kicked out, necessarily, but... locked up? Hidden away? I feel that’s a better term.

FRIENDS ► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ No! That would be silly. ► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ No. ► Who is your best friend ➔ I adore friends, of course, but I would not trust anybody to THAT extent. ► Who knows everything about you ➔ Only the ones back home, and I intend to keep it that way.

Thanks again Killian!!!! Not gonna tag anybody ‘cause y’all have already done these I’m sure. But if you haven’t, consider yourself tagged!

#prompt #about faolan

[dungeonecologist]

WILD ARMS 2 - Golgotha Prison

The name is not subtle, but the reference itself is actually oddly superficial.  At the end of the dungeon, Ashley is separated briefly from the party and Lilka and Brad are captured and tied to crosses, evoking the characters Dismus and Gestas, the thieves crucified during the same execution as the biblical christ.  There is little reference to that actual narrative however, instead seeming to draw from the fact that the name Golgotha is taken to be an epithet to mean literally “A Place of Skulls,” which seems rather appropriate and obvious for an execution field.

Bookending the start and end of this dungeon, we fight the boss monster, Trask.  First in a scripted “loss” and then in a solo match with Ashley’s new dark henshin hero form, the “Grotesque Black Knight,” Knightblazer.

“Trask” is yet another transliteration* issue that comes from the juggling between languages.  It actually comes from the Tarrasque, another monster most readily identified from its appearance in the original Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual, itself originally taken from semi-obscure French myth of Saint Martha of Bethany and the Tarasque of Tarascon.

*(I realize I use this word a lot and it might not be as common use to others.  A “translation” lifts meaning between languages; a “transliteration” is to lift written characters between them.  Example: “Left” in English translates to 左[the direction] or 残[what remains] but transliterates to レフト.  Inversely 左 and 残 both translate back to English as “Left” but transliterate as “hidari” and “zan” respectively; and レフト transliterates back into English as “refuto.”)

Surprisingly, the Wild Arms 2 design (which would also go on to persist as the core design throughout the rest of the Wild Arms series) is based more on the original myth than the D&D representations tend to be: While the end product looks nothing like the depictions of the Tarasque of myth, it retains the spiked turtle shell, the prominent dual horns, poisonous quality, and fins on its head here account for being “half fish.”

Also of note is that the title card identifies it as a “Dragonoid” and it has various metallic and machine-like features.  These details are neat because it positions it as being not-quite a dragon, to work around a fact that will pop up much later: That dragons in Filgaia are extinct.  And also to play into the fact that Dragons in Wild Arms are semi-mechanical lifeforms.

In any case, our scripted loss to Trask the first time around ends with the team knocked out and imprisoned in what appears to be a disused execution ground and associated holding cells.  In our escape we run into monsters fitting the theme, who appear to be natural inhabitants, rather than guards put in place by the Odessa terrorist soldiers who are actually holding us here.

First up is the Wight, a classic undead warrior monster generally taken from D&D, but with a little more behind it than you might expect.  The term Wight in English lore actually traces back quite far as an archaic term with little to no real association with monsters.  The real intersection with name and subject comes from an early English translation of the Nordic Grettis Saga; In it the zombie-like creatures now better known as Draugr were referred to as apturgangr (lit.”againwalker”) but were translated as Barrow-wight. (lit.”[burial-]mound person”)

This may seem an odd choice, but the translation came at the hands of the eminent bookman William Morris.  I say “bookman” because he was not just a prolific author of prose and poetry, but a pioneer of the revival of the British textile and printing industry.  He and his wife, Jane Burden, did extensive arts, craft and design work in book and print design, book binding, and wall paper all stemming from the intricate design of modular and tiled printing blocks and stamps.  Oh and he translated various works of epic poetry and myth into English, including old Roman epics, French knightly romances, and of course Norse sagas. (all of which he wrote and published what was basically fanfiction of, btw)

His seemingly erroneous “translation” of the Barrow-wight came as an attempt to reflect a comparable agedness to the name: Rather than translating from old Norse into modern English, he chose what he thought a suitable old English equivalent; “Barrow” referring to pre-christian Anglo-Saxon burial mounds, and “Wight” meaning “thing” or “creature” but often used disparagingly to refer to a person.  The nuance there is actually quite clever, as the old Wight referred pretty exclusively to those living, even if it didn’t specify by definition, and that uncertainty or contradictory kind of implication uniquely fits a description of the undead.

This term would be picked up by J.R.R. Tolkein for use in Middle-Earth, retaining their lore and function from Norse legend to describe undead warriors.  And from there you can follow the usual chain of influence to D&D, where the shortened term Wight really solidified itself as synonymous with the undead, and eventually down to Game of Thrones, where George R.R. Martin cleverly brings the whole thing back around to old risen bodies of northern warriors, not unlike the Draugr of Norse myth.

Anyway in Wild Arms 2 we get some sorta death yeti ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Next up is the Ghoul, which I think we all know is a pretty generic term in modern parlance, but it’s specific origins date back to pre-Islamic Arabia.  It entered into English via translations of the original French translation of 1001 Arabian Nights, where it appears in one story as a monster lurking about the cemetery devouring corpses.

The Ghoul identity as a corpse eater quickly broadened into flesh eaters, and the association with lurking about graves in turn marked them as undead themselves until eventually the term became loosely applied to any variety of undead, including the thrall of vampires, supplanting the flesh of the dead with blood of the living and achieving a truly far removed meaning.  Even in modern Arabic the term now broadly applies to any number of fantasy monsters. 

And so long as we’re dabbling in pop culture transplants; the Arabaian word Ghul is in fact the same used in the name of the Batman villain, R’as al-Ghul, whose name/title has always been erroneously translated as “Head of The Demon.“

I have no idea why it’s a chicken with a mohawk but i love it

And finally the Bone Drake.  I don’t know that this one actually has any real specific lineage...

“Drake” is generally a synonym for dragon, although there is some case of fantasy semantics where different settings will try to define distinct body types of dragons each with their own name, in which case Drakes are often either dragons which simply don’t exceed a certain size (generally no bigger than a non-magical animal such as a dog or a horse) or a wingless variation of whatever the setting’s prototypical dragon might be.  I don’t know for certain, but I think this distinction in modern fantasy started with Tolkien’s wingless fire breathing dragon, Glaurung, and its offspring who were referred to as fire-drakes.

In any case, the specific term “Bone Drake” Doesn’t seem to appear with any visibility prior to Wild Arms 2, which leads me to believe it was just their name for a generic bone dragon-like creature.  It does make for an interesting companion, aesthetically, to Trask being here, although there don’t seem to be any implications that Trask lives in this dungeon at all.  Other than just being an obvious combination of cool fantasy things, it may also be pulled from Dungeon & Dragons’ Dracolich/Night Dragon; an undead (often skeletal) dragon raised from the dead, often by their own necromantic spells, hence the term “Lich.”  For whatever reason they are oddly reminiscent of shield crested dinosaurs like the Triceratops or Styracosaurus.

The attack Rhodon Breath doesn’t tell me anything either.  I think it’s just meant as “Rose Breath,” translating the “Rhodon” bit pretty literally, and references the smell of roses being present as a funeral, or else the palor of the faded pink color also called “Rose Breath.”  There is some apocryphal reference to a Rhodon but of no significance that I can tell.

Clearly the theme here is death and the undead, and with some small stretch on part of the Wight, we could even say skulls all befitting Golgotha’s “Place of Skulls” epithet.  It’s a really neat way to build this dungeon, albeit a little on the nose.  But I really like the idea that the dungeon appears to be abandoned and now haunted by all these reanimated corpses and bones before the villains arrive to use it for their plans.  Oddly there isn’t much of a martyrdom theme here, although we’ll get plenty of that a little later once we recruit our second magic user, summoner, christ figure, and perfect beautiful boy, Tim Rhymless to the team...

Anyway we get out, we fight Trask for real.  Ashley turns into a saturday morning superhero.  Trask gets solo’d.  And we all just kinda move along without asking too many questions...  Although the game dialogue describes this new form as a “grotesque black knight” the sprite work, 3D model, and even original character art don’t really convey much in the way of “grotesque” but in the context of the tokusatsu, henshin hero elements it’s not too hard to imagine that the design was meant to evoke a similar aesthetic to gruesome suit heroes like Guyver, Kamen Rider Shin, and Devilman.  I do love the gill/tendon-like organic vent structure in the pauldrons that stay.  And although it’s not visible in any of these images, but the D-Arts model has an exposed segment of vertebrae between the shoulders; that along with the teeth(?)/ribs on the open chest panels really helps bring out more of the “grotesque” quality of the design.

#Wild arms 2 #jrpg #psx #ghoul #wight #dungeons and dragons

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball 113

Now that Emperor Pilaf’s crew is out of the way, King Piccolo can finally get down to business, which is conquering the world.  

Piano tries to brief Piccolo on the current geopolitical situation, but Piccolo just zaps his whole Powerpoint presentation.     I really like Piano as a character, and I’m not entirely sure why, other than that he sort of reminds me of some of Jabba the Hutt’s entourage in Return of the Jedi.    Functionally, he’s probably like Bib Fortuna, but he talks like C-3PO, and he sort of feels like a team mascot, like Salacious Crumb. 

Also, the dynamic between Piano and Piccolo is kind of interesting.    Piano speaks much more candidly to Piccolo than anyone else, indicating that he’s a close and trusted advisor.   Presumably, Piccolo created him just like Tambourine and Cymbal, which means that Piano is exactly what Piccolo wanted him to be.    And yet Piano doesn’t seem to quite fit Piccolo’s plans.   He tries to act like he’s counseling a real king, but Piccolo’s military and domestic policies essentially boil down to “Break Stuff”.   

I think this points to King Piccolo’s defining character trait.  He’s a horrible, merciless villain, sure, but I think what sets him apart from the others is that he’s a bitter outsider who wants to punish everyone on the inside.   That’s why he wants to topple the legitimate king and usurp his throne.   The Red Ribbon Army was content to establish their own power base someplace else, but Piccolo wants the recognition.   He wants people to know that he’s part of their society--the top part-- whether they like it or not.   

So with that ambition comes this attitude that he has to make himself look and feel like a real king.    That’s why he surrounds himself with advisors like Piano, that’s why he sits on a throne, and that’s why he wants to move into King Castle.   I don’t think any of these things actually helps him accomplish his goals, but when your goal is basically “Break Stuff”, I guess it doesn’t matter.   King Piccolo doesn’t isn’t really interested in the final outcome of his reign, just so long as he gets to have authority that he can abuse.

As the pair cruise into the city surrounding King Castle.... You know, I’m just gonna go back to calling it “King’s Castle”.   Funimation added the possessive, and I’m starting to see why.   It just sounds better that way.

Anyway, it’s the 20th anniversary of King Furry’s reign, so there’s a big celebration with fireworks and a parade and so on. 

A lot of this episode is designed to set up King Furry as a counterpoint to Piccolo.    He’s everything Piccolo isn’t: modest, peace-loving, a dedicated public servant.

The catch is that King Furry’s record sort of contradicts a lot of the lawlessness we’ve seen in Dragon Ball leading up to his introduction.   Characters like the Ox King, the Red Ribbon Army, and Mercenary Tao seem to be able to do whatever they please.  I’ve always interpreted this to man that KIng Furry may officially rule the entire world, but he has a hard time enforcing his policies in the periphery of his kingdom.  

To be sure, I don’t expect King Furry to be perfect.   It’s likely that the world was a lot worse off before he assumed power, and the peace and prosperity his subjects are celebrating is a relative thing.    I just find it odd that the Red Ribbon Army was a Big Problem just three years ago, and everyone in this episode is acting like that never happened.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Korin, Goku’s planning to seek help from Korin at the top of Korin Tower.   But he’s all beat up, so Bora suggests that he rest for a few days before making the climb.  But Goku can’t wait, so he says Yajirobe will take him up.    Yajirobe refuses, until Goku tells him that there’s Senzu at the top of the tower, and it’s “Wizard Food”.

This leads Yajirobe to imagine a cereal mascot making giant food items appear out of thin air.   See, this right here is what all those Harry Potter movies should have looked like.   How hot would that be?   Dumbledore fights Voldemort, and they just keep trying to crush each other under giant pizzas and hot dogs.

Bora offers to help the boys out by doing a Fastball Special.   Only it’s even cooler than a Fastball Special because he’s gonna throw two people straight up.

I can’t believe Dragon Ball topped Harry Potter AND the X-Men in this one episode.   Well, actually, I can totally believe it.   This show rules.   Yajirobe grabs Goku’s butt, and Bora grabs Yajirobe’s butt, and we’re off to the races.

Of course, the animators sneak in plenty of upskirt shots of Yajirobe.   Wotta buncha perverts.

Once they’re as high as they can get, Yajirobe starts climbin’, crying out ORAORAORA as he goes.   Wow, a JoJo reference too.   This episode has everything.

Back at King’s Castle... uh... City?   Kingscastletown?  Castle City?   I think I’m gonna start calling it that.

Why are all these soldiers wearing pink?   I mean, they look all right, but they have a real ice cream truck vibe to them.     This makes me wonder if ice cream trucks in this town are Hum-vees driven by army guys in pixelated cookie-dough camo.    That’d be pretty badass.

So Piccolo’s ready to start invadin’.   First thing he does is T-Pose for dominance, and then he drops right on down on King’s Castle.

This guy at the gate tells him he can’t go in, and he has a gun, so Piccolo gives up and leaves.   And that’s the end of the story!   Kind of anticlimactic, but it’s a pretty daring way to wrap up a saga like this.   I think the moral here is--

Just kidding, Piccolo stone cold murders all the guards and just wanders through the castle at will.   Also, Piano finds a bag of chips next to some guy’s corpse and just picks it up like a crow.   This show is amazing.

Meanwhile, Master Roshi and Chiaotzu are still dead.

I feel like Tien’s sort of wasting time here.  I guess the last couple of episodes have taken place in roughly real-time, so it’s been maybe about twenty minutes since Piccolo made his wish?   That’s kind of nuts when you think about it.   But it feels like TIen’s been standing around all week.

The rest of Dragon Team finally arrives, and thank goodness Yamcha’s changed out of his blue tank top and short-shorts.   That outfit looked terrible on him.   Launch, of course, is still wearing her cool outfit from the Tien Saga, because you don’t want to mess with perfection.

So, just to be clear, Master Roshi is dead....

And Chiatozu is dead. 

Yamcha tells Tien that they need to team up to beat Piccolo.  Okay, time out, fantasy booking time.   What if they really did team up, and somehow they found out about the fusion dance, and King Piccolo met his match in... Tiencha!?

Like, TIencha would just instantly master the Mafuba, because he has Tien’s firsthand knowledge of the technique, combined with Yamcha’s ability to improvise moves like the Kamehameha and Spirit Ball.    But he’d be like, no.   No, this King Piccolo dude needs to pay.    So he’d wear him down with some Dodohamehas, and then polish him off with the Wolf Fang Volleyball Fist.    Then he’d cross his arms and shout “The Power of Tiencha!”

Then Tiencha would be made the new king.   Yamcha and Tien would rule jointly, but they’d use the fusion dance before making any important decisions. 

But no, we can’t do anything super mega awesome like that.  Instead, Tien wants to go off by himself and master the Mafuba on his own.   Yamcha offers to learn it with him...

But Tien tells him it would be impossible for Yamcha, since he’s never seen the move performed.  Well neither did Mutaito when he invented it, and so far he’s the only one who ever executed it successfully.

So Tien flies off on his own, leaving Launch to get all a-flutter over his stoic heroism.  Look, I get what they’re going for here.   This is Tien’s redemption arc, and Yamcha would just be in the way.   But this is a really dumb play.   Basically, Tien’s setting himself up to make the same mistake Master Roshi made.   Even if Yamcha doesn’t stand a chance of learning the Mafuba, he could still help in other ways, and if nothing else, he could be there when Tien tries it, and then if things don’t work out, he’ll finally have firsthand knowledge of the technique, so he can learn it himself.

Back at the parade, King Furry receives flowers from little girls from different parts of the world.   One of them is Suno from the Red Ribbon Army Saga.   I think this is the first time her hometown is called “Jingle Village”, and I really wish they had used that name back when I needed it.

Unfortunately, Piccolo blows up a bunch of heavy artillery at the castle, and the explosions finally disrupt the celebration, spoiling Suno’s big moment.

In hindsight, it probably would have been better to call off the rest of the celebration, but this guy in white only got word that a lone intruder was a the castle, and he thought tanks would be enough to stop him, so he decided not to interrupt the ceremony.   It was the wrong call, but I can’t blame the guy, since none of them had any idea what they were dealing with.   Now that he does know, he suggests King Furry leave the area immediately.

Furry really doesn’t want to do that, although he’s wise enough to know that his security chief is right.   Piccolo came her to get Furry, so if he can escape the city, there’s at least a chance Piccolo will follow him instead of hurting anyone else.

Meanwhile this huge dude tries to buy them some time.   From the dialogue, I get the impression that he’s the guy on the security detail they call when conventional weapons don’t work.    So at least King Furry’s staff recognizes that there are fighters in the world strong enough to resist tanks and guns.    It sort of makes me wonder why anyone still bothers with tanks and guns, though.   

Piccolo offers the guy a job, but he’s not interested.   It says a lot about King Furry that these guys are willing to lay down their lives for him, even against a foe this powerful.   This whole part of the saga feels like an inversion of Goku’s assault on Red Ribbon Headquarters, only now it’s a villain no-selling a bunch of good guys with guns.   But unlike the Red Ribbon soldiers, these guys are motivated by honor and loyalty, rather than denial and fear.  

To be sure, a couple of other guards see Piccolo kill this dude and they run away, but at this point, I’d say it’s the smart call.   There’s nothing left to defend here but an empty castle, and they’re way out of their league.    All they’d accomplish by staying is to die.

Unfortunately, Piano spots King Furry making his escape.

And it doesn’t take long for Piccolo to catch him.

Elsewhere, a kid asks his mom if there’s anyone who can stop Piccolo.

Suno knows someone.   

Yeah, Goku’s gonna come back and tear Piccolo apart.   You just wait and see.  

He just needs a little time to get his shit together.   Hang in there, world.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #king piccolo saga #goku #king piccolo #yajirobe #suno #king furry #piano #yamcha #tien #bulma #launch #oolong #puar #turtle #upa #bora #master roshi #chiaotzu #tiencha #what if tiencha fought king piccolo in outer space?

[marginalgloss]

sword and citadel

It is sometimes said that the novels that make up Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series work just as well as a bracing story of fantastic adventures as they do as anything else. I am not sure this is entirely true. It could be said of the first couple of instalments, perhaps, because they provide such a wealth of concrete detail that the later novels draw upon for the poetry of reminiscence. But by the time we get to The Sword of the Lictor the author seems to be doing all he can to get away from the expectations of a hero’s journey, and as we reach The Citadel of the Autarch we find ourselves in a different sort of novel altogether. 

It is, at first, quite a literal departure. Severian finds himself once again leaving the place where he was stationed at the end of the last book. He even leaves his wife, Dorcas, who has grown strangely distant to him. Her condition seems analogous to a kind of depression or mania: not only has she realised the real nature of his vocation as a torturer, but her memories of her own death and resurrection have come back to haunt her. (Non-readers of Wolfe will have to bear with me; any concise summary of one of his storylines will necessarily sound impossibly bizarre.) So off he goes into the wilderness. 

Here the imagery becomes potent to the point of abstraction. The events are like dreams of events from the past two books, returning to us in a world that seems strangely emptied. Again we encounter Agia bent on revenge against Severian, but how notable that her reappearance is accompanied by one of Wolfe’s most notable creations: the Alzabo, a monster that seems to absorb the people it consumes in a way that goes beyond flesh and blood. In a very real sense their spirits become a part of this creature — their voices cry out from within it, like that dreadful bear in Alex Garland’s film of Annihilation — but they also live a sort of afterlife in its corporeal form. It is a predatory, bestial version of the way in which Severian ate a piece of Thecla’s body in The Claw of the Conciliator and took on her memories, her inner voice. 

In this and the next book the text becomes increasingly polyphonic. It is now not merely Severian’s place to wonder himself into the minds of others through speculation. He becomes them; or perhaps better to say, they become him. He meets a little boy who is also called Severian. Little Severian comes with him on his journey for a while. The two of them scale a mountain which is in fact carved into the likeness of a vast idol. Until, at one stage, the boy glimpses something like a giant ring of gold on the finger of the statue. He runs to touch it and is instantly vaporised. If any of this is of any metaphorical significance it is near impossible to tell — the book drifts on regardless. 

At the end of The Sword of the Lictor is a set-piece of sorts. We are reunited with Dr Talos and Baldanders the giant from the previous novels; they are holed up in a tower, having convinced the locals of their innate superiority via technology that turns out to be on loan from visiting extraterrestrials. (I know. Stay with me.) The battle here might be the pinnacle of Severian’s adventuring. Yet by the end it only seems enormously wasteful. Motivation has vanished into the thicket of Wolfe’s gently deceptive prose. As we might have already suspected, it’s revealed that Talos and Baldanders had always held the inverse to their assumed roles. The doctor was a creation of the giant — as if the creature was the one who gave birth to Frankenstein. (Because after all, in a very real sense: didn’t he?) 

Severian’s sword is broken and his precious claw is lost. There’s something a little cheap in this realisation — perhaps the real claw was in him all along! Or perhaps there was no claw at all. But the healing, and the people he brought back to life — that was real, wasn’t it? Like many other great authors Wolfe can often be maddening. With him I almost always have the sense that surely he is making all this up as he goes along. Surely nobody would design a plot this outrageous. And yet from time to time we turn a corner in these books and view something like a giant pattern working desperately, almost invisibly, hidden somewhere just out of sight. 

***

The Citadel of the Autarch is generally called the last book in this little quartet, even though the author would return to this universe for many novels yet. It is another departure. Severian is drafted into a sort of irregular army fighting a vast horde of enemies who are slowly descending from the north of his world. They are a people called the Ascians. It is a novel shaped throughout by the experience of war, both in its immediate violence and in its shape as a grand world-changing force. We only get to meet one of them, a prisoner, but it is in him that we are expected to see them all. The Ascians speak in a unique form of language which is entirely composed of tags and epigrams from Ascian texts. It is this sort of thing:

‘How shall the state be most vigorous? It shall be most vigorous when it is without conflict. How shall it be without conflict? When it is without disagreement. How shall disagreement be banished? By banishing the four causes of disagreement: lies, foolish talk, boastful talk, and talk which serves only to incite quarrels. How shall the four causes be banished? By speaking only Correct Thought. Then shall the state be without disagreement. Being without disagreement it shall be without conflict. Being without conflict it shall be vigorous, strong, and secure.’

It’s hard not to feel that it must have been influenced by the author’s own experiences in the Korean war. This has, it seems, been a common interpretation, to the extent that some readers took ‘Ascian’ to effectively refer to ‘asian’. This is over-literal, and was rejected by Wolfe himself; but regardless, there’s something in the depiction that seems to resemble contemporary fears of Leninist groupthink. And yet words like these are not always what they seem. The Ascian prisoner finds a way of stringing together his tags so that they can be read allegorically — in this way, they become an entirely different story to the one he appears to be telling. There are so many stories in these books.

I find it difficult to extract much that is explicitly political from The Book of the New Sun thus far. The same is true of much of Wolfe’s work in general. Perhaps I am being naive. He is not great with women — that might be one starting point. As far as I can trace any inclination, it might be best defined as a dedication to the cult of the individual. Society at large (and especially government) seems an ugly, dangerous thing in these books. Better to put our faith in those who know best. Wolfe was, I know, Catholic, and that spirit is part of these novels. Certainly there is stuff here that could be considered obliquely spiritual. There are lines that could be said to be directly referencing transubstantiation — not least the idea of consuming the body and blood of another to become them. Close biblical readings are possible, and plentiful. But ‘to what extent can we consider Severian a Christ-like figure?’ seems to me an agonising question best left to high school essays. 

The Autarch of the title is the leader of this world. Better to call him the head of state, perhaps, since there seems to be nothing that compares to what we might call a single coherent structure of government. But he is above it all regardless. Near the end of this novel, Severian becomes the Autarch, or rather the Autarch becomes him. He swallows another potion which contains the essence of every Autarch who came before. Now he is no longer an individual in any meaningful sense (if he ever was): he is a legion of voices, thoughts, dreams from different times. He has effectively attained the unfailing, omnipresent memory that he always claimed to have. Yet he finds himself returning all the way back to the Citadel where we began this journey, back in The Shadow of the Torturer. His old dog is there. We return to the room full of clocks and sundials. Because what else is there, really, except for stories, and the love of a sad old dog?

#books #gene wolfe #the book of the new sun #the sword of the lictor #the citadel of the autarch

[fantroll-purgatory]

Haemir Elazra - Doctroll Extraordinaire

Planet: Alternia, minor AU/Alternate History elements

Name: Haemir Elazra Haemir: From Haem, an alternative spelling of Heme, the oxygen-carrying, iron-containing molecule in blood. Links up to his blood caste woes and his lusus.

Elazra: From Azrael, Angel of Death, and Lazarus, the man brought back to life. It fits in with his role as a healer on a planet of death and slaughter, and also to his status as the last living limeblood. An Angel of Death is also a specific kind of serial killer; a nurse that kills their own patients. Fun fact! @chaoticevilfantrolls (SA here to say that you have designed a troll that 400000% appeals to my interests. I screamed when I opened the box and saw him here!)

Age: 7.5 sweeps. He’s a youngster, compared to my other trolls.

Strife Specibus: caneKind. Not much reason behind it beyond the fact that actual IRL plague doctors would use canes to distribute treatment. Plus the Rod of Asclepius could reasonably fit under this strife spec. (If you wanted to go a bit more Black Death with it, you could weaponize some herbal medicine for poisons? Fight with some syringes?)

Fetch Modus: Quarantine. Items are stored and sterilized in little plastic bubbles. It makes cleaning his equipment a breeze! But, he can’t store anything he intends to eat, and living things have a habit of turning up dead from the storage process. 

Blood color: Limeblood! The whole concept of the character revolves around a mysterious figure with strong empathy becoming a doctor to soothe the woes of others, so I figured a lone limeblood would work. He’s based heavily around the headcanon that limebloods were killed off for their empathic abilities, which lead to a rebellion in this particular setting. (We LOVE an Empath Limeblood. I have not reviewed your other trolls, so I don’t wanna poke too much into Limeblood Politics without knowing the AU, but if they’re still in hiding, I’d suggest on blood-color alone a little bit of generational trauma? A little skittishness from Literally Feeling all of the death and pain his people have gone through, and the Knowledge that that kind of feeling comes with.)

Symbol and meaning: The alchemic symbol for Alkali. Alkali are chemically basic substances used to make soap. That’s about as far as that goes for depth, haha.  (Soap Troll! Soap Troll! Soap Troll!) (There’s a whole suite of Alchemic Symbols out there, but if we’re zooming in on a Soap Troll, I think this dovetails into some expansion. Let me explain:) (Soap’s a cleansing agent, both of wounds and of places. Most alkaline substances (think Lye and Quicklime) wash things away with ferocity, and can burn skin. I think you could easily expand Haemir -who already has a darker, death element to him- with a bit of vengeance? A bit of anger? Something sincere and hard to excise from himself. Someone who, at his core, wants to wash away the sins of the past and plant the seeds of tomorrow.)

Trolltag: caduceusCreed [CC] Caduceus: The staff carried by Hermes, associated with the medical profession through it’s adoption as a symbol of American military medics. The Caduceus was mistakenly chosen over the Rod of Asclepius, and thus has become a bit of a point of contention in the medical professions (for those that even give a shit, at least.) Creed: Well. I mean. Kind of a reference to the Hippocratic Oath, just in a way that fits GCAT, out of personal preference.  (Basic, easy to scan, and effective. I think you could use Asclepion instead of Cadecus for a more fitting tag, though using old Traveler Man’s symbol could hint at a desire to travel, to tell, to proclaim.)

Quirk: He’s got a simple quirk going. All lowercase, with t’s turned into crosses and doubled, as well as doubled x’s to represent stitches. He otherwise uses proper punctuation, and he really capitalizes on his corny jokes to ease the stress of his patients (putting the pun in all caps). He represents his mask in his smiley faces. Which is to say, he only ever uses one smiley for all emotions ever. 8>

CC: ++he quick brown foxx jumped over ++he lazy dog. (This scans well and doesn’t seem too out of place.)

Special Abilities:Beyond having an extensive knowledge of medical practice, as well as some more traditional healing, Haemir’s most fundamental ability is that he’s a powerful empath. He’s not able to impact the emotions of others, nor can he weaponize the feelings he picks up upon. No, the danger of his power is from how it encourages him to help and heal.

Haemir is able to pick up on the emotions and feelings of near-by trolls, especially discomfort and misery. Because he’s a bit of a soft boy, and because he personally feels that discomfort himself, he feels compelled to treat that discomfort in any way he can. He’s been a doctor as much as he’s been a stand-in moirail. (I think my conflict with your vision from a review standpoint comes here. Nothing about the ability needs to change, but I think you’ve let it dominate your character’s Path, put a pin in this- we’ll talk about it further into the review.)

Lusus: You know the big snake monster from Hiveswap? The one with like, sixteen arms? Imagine that, but a horse-sized white leech with massive fangs. That’s the Leech-Lord, and Haemir’s main mode of transportation.  (I find this ESPECIALLY amusing because both of my limeblood trolls have serpentine-modified lusii. Limebloods really just have that Slithery Energies.)

Personality: Haemir is… odd, and by most trolls standards an aberration. He’s a limeblood empath on a hostile world with a strong inclination to help people, even when he knows there’s no reward in it for him. This doesn’t mean he’s a fool, by any means, even if other trolls tend to confuse his compassion and conviction for cowardice. 

He believes strongly in everyone’s right to live, and live well, even if another troll would see him dead for his blood color. That’s why he dresses in heavy clothes, wearing a mask at all times to hide any hint of skin or mark that could potentially betray his color. He also tends to be very flighty and anxious when people attempt to get too touchy with him, often prompting adorable squeaks of frustration. He’s perfectly capable of speech, mind, he just chooses not to most of the time.  (We’re getting into it! There’s a nice undercurrent of justice, of human(troll) rights, of life and death and the societies we build to combat them. Being shaped by the society he lives in and yet wanting to change it, ignoring what’s laid before him to forge his own path…)

Interests: Medicine, biology, anatomy and physiology, and surprisingly enough, an appreciation for teen romance novels and movies. He just wishes there were less books about rainbow drinkers and lycanthropes and more about those hot, hot plague doctors.  (Hshshshshshshsh I want him to have gotten into the Plague Doctor getup due to some ill-advised CW Show about Troll Black Death and he was like “that’s it! I’m gonna dress like a featherbeast!”)

(For expansions on this: I definitely think History is a solid interest, given that he dresses up like a historical profession. Reading about the Limeblood Rebellion and the flow of Alternia- he’s probably done a lot of reading on the Condesce as well- learning how to Speak Truth to Power and how a Ruler shapes the lives of people she’ll never meet and- I could be here all day.)

Title: Sylph of Heart (I will be blunt with you: This character is neither of these things. Remember my comment under Special Powers? Here’s where we take that pin out.) (You’ve built an incredibly solid character here, which makes pointing this out very, very easy. I scanned this profile once and knew immediately what I was going to recommend.) (Let’s talk about why this is ill fitting: -First, this character is no Passive character. He already has the team/community focus that a Passive class would teach him, and given that- he’s taken matters into his own hands. This is a really solid Active player. -With Creation classes (and Sylphs ESPECIALLY), you have to think: What is this character destroying? A Sylph is but a Prince reflected. With Heart, your character would be Actively Destroying Mind- breaking people’s brains and toying with their emotions. Your character FEELS their emotions biologically, he doesn’t go out of his way to take hammers to their decision making. Sylphs also LOVE to meddle, which is why healing comes naturally to them. Your character has elements of this, but not in quite the sly, background kind of way.) (Heart, is traditionally linked to Derse (similar to Time) because it’s portfolio of disguise, facade, and truth being mutable all lend themselves very well to the Dersite playstyle. Your character, while hiding his face, doesn’t deal in facades as much as your typical Heart player, nor does his path as a character seem to fortell him learning to be different people or play with their heartstrings.) (My recommendation: Maid of Life or Bard of Doom) (But SA! A doctor that’s a Life player? That’s so cliche! And yes, it would be, on a character without as many hooks as this one.) (Maids learn to rely on themselves- look at Aradia, who dies and comes back in many forms as she takes time into herself. Your character looks like a Doom Player, and yet is a healer, and grower, a shaper.) (The Life-Doom inversion is much more than Life and Death, it is also Energy and Society. Your character is a healer, an active bringer of Life, and in doing so, not only directly counters Death, but Alternian Culture too. Your character isn’t a Prince of Doom, for instance: he’s not actively challenging society, he’s changing it as a side effect of his own actions.  Life-Doom is much broader than individuals.) (The Path for this character is less in changing as a person and more in reinforcing his good nature. Learning to be more open, learning what needs to be done, learning how he can be the force of good in the world that he’s already being, even if it feels small.)

Land:Land of Miasma and Malaise

Dream Planet: Prospit (I like this guy as a Prospit Dreamer. Even if he hides his face, he can’t really hide who he is- that sense of care and justice end empathy shines right on through.)

CD here with the design time at SA’s behest. The design was already pretty much perfect, just a few little tweaks. The design read a little costumey/like a human dressed up as a troll and I wanted to fix that. So as Really, Really Cute as the eyes were, I replaced them w/ more typical shiny plague doctor lenses in a still contrasty eyeball orange. I put some hair over the horns to make them feel more integrated and less tacked on, and I adjusted the outlines of the shoes to make them feel more integrated and less like the human kids’ shoes! 

(This was a great troll to work through, thank you for submitting!)

#limeblood #submission #sa review #Haemir Elazra #haemir #elazra #review