#also i’m allowed to have multiple human designs for them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisafication · 6 months

Text

This post is uh, extremely normal I swear

So hello yes I am absolutely On My Bullshit regarding my new favourite game.

That’s right, it’s the cannibal incest game, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. And I’m here to shove five thousand words of pretentious analysis down your throat because, and I do not exaggerate, I think it is one of, if not the best written game I have ever played. And I have played a lot of games, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Final Fantasy XIV and Undertale, to name a few narrative luminaries to come to mind.

That wordcount is not an exaggeration. My brainworms are extremely powerful and now you can share them with me as I walk you through my insane skyscraper of inference-driven analysis.

Or you can click away. I really wouldn’t blame you, it’s quite a lot.

Content Warnings: …Yes?

(To drop the bit for a moment, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley covers extremely disturbing material and challenges you to examine aspects of living in this world that many have taken for granted all their life, it is not a comfortable game, this will cover similar topics and will often echo the game’s unremitting scepticism on basic principles of society and humanity and you should look after yourself first. My Content Warning is framed as a joke, but it’s also quite real in that the game is designed to make you uncomfortable and there’s no shame in that not being for you.)

This was originally posted on and formatted for Sufficient Velocity, and you can probably more easily read and discuss it with me here.

With that said, let’s dig in. I have had to split this into multiple posts because tumblr will only allow so many images. There will be spoilers for all endings.

She’s excited, are you?

It’s All About Ashley

It really is, isn’t it? I mean, for approximately eighty percent of the total game as currently released and the entirety of Episode 1, you’re in control of Ashley, just as she’s in control of her and Andrew’s relationship for 80% of the game, up until the various ending sequences where it begins to slip. The only other characters who really matter at all in and of themselves are Andrew and her mother — and the former is under her thumb, and she eats the latter. It’s all about Ashley. Even her obsession with Andrew is, ultimately, about Ashley.

But who is Ashley? What is Ashley? Why is Ashley, even? Let’s take a look.

Ashley as presented to us in Episode 1 is very straightforward, so let’s list off the traits we’re given — she is malicious, she is fearless, she lacks empathy, she doesn’t have anything resembling a conscience, she demands Andrew belong to her and her alone, she has him at her beck and call.

In Episode 2, we’re ostensibly shown how she has him at her beck and call— she leverages the threat of reporting Nina’s death over him and had him swear to be with her forever. We’re shown that even as a child she was “just, like that” — but as a child, she hadn’t learnt to live with it yet, to laugh at the farce of it all.

Yeah, exactly like that!

And she does this throughout Episode 1 — The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is a remarkably silly game much of the time, finding moments of absurdity and levity against a backdrop blacker than pitch — and most of the time, your internal narration is coming from Ashley and the jokes will not-infrequently come at her own expense.

She will later get negged by her human sacrifice for her poor ritual circle drawing

Her reaction to being told that her soul is as dark and viscous as tar is “You guess you already knew that” — it’s confirmation to her, not new information. Ashley knows who she is. But who taught her this? There’s layers to this, nothing in this game is as simple and straightforward as it appears at first sight, which is why I’ve been obsessing over it for days.

While it’s common in fiction, the truth of the matter is, most ‘bad people’ really do think they’re good people. But Ashley has never once thought of herself as a good person — or perhaps better put as a person worthy of love — as we learn across Episodes 1 & 2, with our flashbacks to Andy and Leyley and the VERY VERY QUIET!!!

I really wish I had space in this essay to talk about this, but I’d like to touch on these being traits usually more easily forgiven in young boys than young girls at some point.

If she removes all other options, only then can she expect him to like her.

This is something that is echoed in the modern day — her seeming self-assurance is easily shaken and she reaches out to the world — usually Andrew — to affirm and validate her, soothing her insecurities, using any tool she deems necessary. Even when her life is on the line when Andrew has her by the throat at the climax of Episode 1, the only ‘compelling reason’ she can give Andrew to not kill her is her ability to soothe his nightmares. When he tells her there are sleeping pills for that…

Most people would have a bit more to argue for their existence.

While she, unlike Andrew, acknowledges having had friends before the quarantine… you know she’s got a point that they didn’t even bother to answer her calls, that was clearly not something the state was interfering with given Andrew’s calls with his mother and his girlfriend, and given her general demeanour it’s not hard to imagine that… they weren’t ever very close. When we see her and Nina talk in the infamous ‘box scene’, it’s clear that Nina doesn’t like her very much, despite Andrew’s assessment of Nina as being one of Ashley’s friends.

We see further support for her general lack of companionship in her dream sequence in the Burial route — Leyley and Leyley Alone. No matter what you do, you can’t place the pink plushy at the family table, the flowers won’t bloom if you give the Julia and Nina plushies her own as a companion instead of Andrew’s — and if you’re bold enough to go for the ‘incest route’, in the ‘Love’ room you see that no one ever looks happy to be with her in the childlike depictions of her history, nor is she happy in turn, save for when she’s with Andrew. In a bit of heavy-handed metaphor, the player then overwrites all of these tense, upset, hard moments with Andrew, having him fill in for everyone else in life — and happy with her.

Once Upon A Lousy Life…

THE END

And that’s why she needs him to affirm her, because no one else ever has and no one else ever will. It’s even included in their comic beats — when the siblings are getting along well, they’ll often play a game where Andrew dramatically overpraises Ashley while she demands more; it’s a comedic bit but I mean — it really does matter to her!

For the record, she opened a door. She gets a little heart in a speech bubble after this exchange.

We have a great example of this dynamic, that of insecurity and affirmation, in Episode 1, after Andrew has killed for her, butchered for her, his girlfriend broke up with her, he’s seemingly thrown his entire life away for her… she’s still insecure over her relationship with him, she’s uncertain of her control and she needs him to reaffirm it for her.

This is her victory, surely?

Andrew affirms her once, with his usual dead-eyed look.

But she's still not so sure.

He actively reaches out to affirm her again with cheer.

Look how happy she is!

While it’s most obvious and clear cut here, it’s hardly the only case. Let’s look back to the aftermath of Andy and Leyley and the VERY VERY QUIET!!! (I’m not using the other name). Leyley is, after similarly extreme acts — he murdered a girl and hid her body for her — convinced Andy doesn’t like her and she needs this leverage to keep him around, to meet her basic needs for survival. Because that’s what this is — she receives no care of affection elsewhere, so she forces it out of the only source she sees available through the means she sees as necessary.

I really hope we see some of their earlier childhood in Episode 3

What exactly made her like this? Was it just neglect, or something more specific…

She needs this to be the case because otherwise she doesn’t believe he’d stay.

This pattern repeats throughout — Ashley’s insecurities are hit on and she reaches out to Andy to affirm that she is not alone, and she will use any and every tool to exploit her ostensible control over him and force him to be what she needs him to be — and as long as she has that, as long as she is everything to him and it’s not possible for him to leave, she’s happy. As long as she thinks he loves her in her very particular, very peculiar view of love, she’s content, come what may. As long as Andy and Leyley are together, they can take on the world.

Let’s talk about that view of love, because there’s always more layers to unpack here I’m only scratching the surface with this essay — Ashley consistently refers to anyone else Andrew may have befriended or spent time with as a whore, a slut, a bitch — highly gendered insults that bring to mind the idea that he’s cheating in some way. But it’s not even about sex — when Andrew mentions that their parents had friends, she accuses them of cheating on each other in the same way!

There’s a lot to unpack about Ashley’s view of femininity and the role the patriarchy plays in their relationship.

Any kind of emotional engagement, any kind of commitment, any kind of life outside of your significant other is, to Ashley, cheating. Because that’s what she needs from Andrew, a seeming complete and total commitment, secure in her place as the only thing in his life, because she cannot understand anyone picking her if they have a choice.

This insecurity she has in her relationship is what drives her to empower the trinket — he can’t leave her as long as she can protect him with prophetic dreams, after all. She needs every kind of leverage she can get because until she succeeds in being everything to him, in devouring him so completely she has him in her thrall mind, body and soul she can’t be sure of herself — hell, her dream sequence in Burial has you placing Andrew’s signature green plushy, ‘the best thing in the world’ in a cage far away from anything else.

Ultimately, it really is all about Ashley — even her seeming obsession with Andrew ultimately comes back to her own insecurities. If she is everything to ‘the best thing in the world’, some of that ‘best’ must surely reflect on her!

But that’s enough about the more normal, straightforward and understandable sibling.

That was not a joke.

Andrew’s Rank 100 Deception

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he did not exist.

Let me explain.

You might have noticed that in the previous section I often use language such as ‘ostensibly’ or ‘seemingly’ to describe Andy and Leyley’s relationship, and there’s a good reason for that. From the beginning of the game through to its end, Andrew is lying to you, the player, without ever falsely representing or misinforming you about events that occurred.

The common, or obvious ‘initial take’ on Andrew as presented in Episode 1 is fairly straightforward. The game primes you to think this way, it frames things and strings reveals just right so as to make it very easy to overlook the incongruities it introduces in Episode 2. He’s a victim. Plain and simple, Ashley is his abuser and he is her victim and would be fine, a normal albeit kinda depressed guy without her.

It really is not a difficult conclusion to draw

You can go all the way through the game, have him try to accept his mother’s olive branch and enter the Decay route as a method for him to finally actualise his desire to get out from Ashley’s thumb and it makes sense, it’s a reasonable way for the story to go, given his character.

You see him this way because the game primes you in Episode 1 to view their relationship like Andrew does — he’s lying. He’s lying to himself, he’s lying to Ashley and he’s so good at it — Deception Rank 100 — he even lies to you. Without misrepresenting a single event or otherwise misleading you directly, the game gets you to buy into his preferred self-perception. Nina? Ashley. Julia? Ashley. The murders they commit in the course of the game? Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, it’s not his fault he’s not to blame he’s just a doormat at the beck and call of his demonic sister.

But he wants to be there. From the very outset, the very first puzzle, that’s made clear. Does anyone else remember this exchange, from right at the beginning of the game?

Ashley wants to investigate the music!

Andrew disapproves…

…Or does he?!

Like. Listen. Okay. You do not frown when saying ‘Nope’ and then smile when saying that you’ll instead tag along if they do it if your heart is at all in the no. That’s not an objection, that’s using Ashley as his excuse. Especially if you immediately throw her the balcony key that she could not possibly have gotten from you by force (more on Andrew’s ability to use force later).

This is the very first time you control both characters together with Andrew following Ashley instead of off on his own, the first adventure, the first puzzle!

But put a pin in that for now, let’s talk about his initial framing in Episode 2 first. Episode 1 has set us up to, generally speaking, believe the superficial framing of the siblings as portrayed in its promotional art:

The question that we then ask, right at the heart of it is… why is he a doormat? We explore this in his dream sequence in Episode 2, which does make it clear that the boy’s not okay but— it’s real easy, given the priming from Episode 1 to make you think that he’s the one with the originally functional moral compass, to think that that him being fucked up is damage done to him by Nina’s death and being bound to Ashley for his entire life. She corrupted him.

But, well, is that the case?

You're primed to ignore this as manipulation (which it is) but the best manipulation has some truth to it.

Precisely two things spur Andrew to action in the entire game, consistently — they are the fear of consequences and Ashley. And the first incident of that fear, the very first time we’re shown his seeming moral compass as a kid — the first time it’s really hammered home that it’s a fear of consequences rather than any true moral qualms is after Nina’s death. And why does he fear consequences here?

……

The ‘natural’ read that many take away from this sequence, particularly those who have only played Decay, is that Ashley browbeat him into doing this against his will, using emotional blackmail to overwhelm his objections, and then used the event itself to bind him to her forever as her personal doormat.

In a strict sense, this is true. But this doesn’t match up with the details, something the game uses shock to encourage you to overlook. That outburst is before any kind of threat has been made, and absolutely nothing either of them say anything about it being morally bad until Ashley weaponises ‘you’re a bad person’ against Andrew — morality didn’t seem to enter his mind or the equation at all until Ashley brought it up. More than that, his greatest fear and driving motivation even prior to that is, as shown above, being taken away from Ashley.

She, of course, recognises this and uses it against him. But she never needed to, it didn’t change anything about Andrew’s attachment to her, it was there to address her own insecurities.

Just like to touch on how a lot of his affirmations are preceded by him confirming her insecurities.

I adore this phrasing

There’s a second prong to this as well, to the question of ‘who really calls the shots here’ because — Andrew can, at any stage, apply an ‘ultimate veto’ of physical violence. The game is very clear to the player that that is on the table — even when they were children, when Andy swears their blood oath, he briefly considers killing her — and take note of how he ultimately got a ‘winning’ condition out of her by not specifying there wouldn’t be others and she is forced to accept that, there. Even outside of their most serious confrontations, Ashley is portrayed as having to convince, manipulate or otherwise coerce Andrew into going along with her schemes — she really can’t make him do anything, she doesn’t have the supremacy in violence and, to a lesser extent, capability that would allow her to.

Andrew, you are like ten years old.

The truth of the matter is, Ashley can only make Andrew do anything because he lets her. I don’t mean in the sense that I’m saying abuse victims let their abusers emotionally abuse them, I mean in the sense that he is clearly considering his options on the table and choosing to discard those that could stop her, or bring an end to any of this. He needs her.

But it’s true that he hates her, too. He has to hate her, because if he doesn’t hate her, if he isn’t forced to have done this, that means… he’s responsible. And nothing, at the start of the story, is as important to Andrew as avoiding the consequences of his own actions, not even Ashley. By the midpoint, he loves her, he hates her, he can’t live without her, he wants to kill her — by the end… well, that depends if you’re on Decay or Burial, but more on that in a bit.

A great scene to study for this dynamic is the climax of Episode 1, when Andrew grabs Ashley by the throat and considers strangling her to death. She’s pushed him too far with hurtful words and assault, and he’s seemingly had enough.

It’s still framed as a question of risk, of consequences happening to him.

Like, this is not the usual behaviour of someone who’s been pushed past their breaking point.

He tells Ashley that he wants to kill her, because she’s just going to throw another fit and that’s a risk to him. She is… not framed as being able to fight back (she does have a gun here, and more on that in a later essay, maybe). He’s so calculated in how he approaches his use of violence here, which isn’t at all what you’d expect of someone about to commit a crime of passion… but it’s very easy to overlook because of the abuser/victim narrative that the player fits his behaviour into the narrative that the game primes them to accept, brushing incongruities under the carpet.

At the start of Episode 2, we get to control Andrew for the first time, and the first obvious holes in his cover start to show. Some of this is optional — you only learn that he’s been faking having nightmares in order to share a bed with Ashley if you choose to go back into the motel room and check the bed, for example — but not all of it.

----(See reblogs for the second half)

#the coffin of andy and leyley #tcoaal #andrew graves #ashley graves #spoilers #multipost

1K notes · View notes

chiscribbs · 11 months

Text

[***NOTE: Leo's design here is no longer accurate, link to the updated version.]

I know there are already a lot of "the brothers are separated at a young age and raised by different people" AUs floating around, so this isn't especially original, but- I've yet to see one with this particular parent-child arrangement, so...

Here’s some rough concept art for what I’m calling the “Grown Apart AU” Which I've also been affectionately referring to as the "Everyone's a Disney Protagonist" AU for quite some time... you'll see why.

Here’s the gist: Basically, Splinter is only able to save Mikey and Leo from the lab explosion - Raph is immediately picked up by Huginn and Muninn and handed back over to Draxum; Donnie is lost mid-escape and later found by Big Mama's goons, who show up for Lou but bring Don back with them instead when Lou is nowhere to be found.

Details of each turtles’ upbringings (as well as how/when they meet April) below the cut:

RAPH

Draxum raised Raph to be everything he originally intended the turtles to be: a ruthless, obedient super soldier whose sole purpose in life is to protect the Yokai by eliminating the human threat. Draxum taught him to hate humankind and trained him up to be virtually undefeatable in battle. However...because Draxum isn't the most attentive parent, most of the caretaking for Raph was actually provided by Huginn and Muninn. And the two little well-meaning gargoyles - mostly unintentionally and outside of their master's knowledge - wound up nurturing a much softer and friendlier side to their supposedly bloodthirsty warrior-in-the-making. As a result, Raph has essentially been living a double-life under Draxum’s ownership; playing the part of a perfect soldier for his father/general, who he's determined not to disappoint, and only feeling free to be himself when he's alone (or with H&M.)

Raph has always known that there were supposed to be other mutants like himself but grew up believing that he's the only one who survived the experiment, making him the only one left in existence (until Draxum’s oozesquitos create more, that is). Even though he had H&M to keep him company, being an only child could still be pretty lonely sometimes, so Raph would often imagine what having brothers - other mutants like himself that he could have grown up alongside - would have been like.

Raph is the only one of the turtles that knows his human DNA comes from Lou Jitsu - just like Draxum, though, he has no idea that Splinter is actually Lou Jitsu.

DONNIE

Donnie had a posh and cushy upbringing in Big Mama's hotel - she raised him as her own son(unaware that he’s actually Lou’s)/apprentice and uses his technological talents to aid her multiple businesses: he supplies new weapons and battlegrounds for the Battle Nexus, as well as automated assistants and security for her hotel, and even pitches in with her more off-the-record dealings that last one being without Donnie’s knowledge. Big Mama's kept him pretty much wrapped around her little finger; praising him for his intelligence and usefulness whenever he does a good job or makes her nice things. When he hasn’t, however, she’s a less-than-affectionate mother. Donnie will do absolutely anything it takes to impress and earn approval from her.

Donnie is largely sheltered and knows very little about the world outside of the hotel - especially the human world, about which most of his knowledge comes from what he finds on the internet. He doesn't even know that he's a mutant, believing himself to be just some uncommon type of yokai, since that's all he knows. He’s not allowed to fraternize freely with the hotel guests and has a somewhat contentious relationship with Big Mama’s assistant, whom he’s always viewed as competition for her affection. The closest thing he's had to a friend is S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N, whom Donnie built to have someone to talk to (besides Big Mama's boring, no-nonsense henchmen).

Don finally met April when he was about 11 yrs old; he secretly sent one of his spy bots out to explore the human city and she intercepted it. The two have been best friends and stayed in-touch with each other online ever since - April being unaware that Donnie isn't human.

Donnie knows of Lou Jitsu purely because he was Big Mama’s favorite champion in the history of the Battle Nexus - he idolizes him, having watched recordings of many of his fights, and dreams of one day fighting in the Battle Nexus himself (if Big Mama would allow that).

Leo & Mikey

Leo and Mikey were still rescued by Lou/Splinter and brought up in the NY sewers. Splinter felt extremely guilty for not managing to save the other two baby turtles and, for the first few years following the incident, spent much of his time searching for them. Once Leo was old enough, Splinter would start leaving him and Mikey in the Lair while he searched. He eventually gave up his search, presuming them both dead or lost for good, and resigned to keeping the remaining two as safe as possible - teaching them how to defend themselves and warning them never to leave the sewers unless he was with them.

Leo and Mikey were inseparable as kids - they would do everything together, refusing to even sleep in separate rooms until they were too big to fit in one bed anymore. Leo took his job as Mikey's big brother very seriously and always tried his best to protect him, even when they were simply playing games with each other. As they got older, though, the two brothers began to drift apart - Leo started to feel a little smothered; craving more freedom to do what he wanted when he wanted, without the older sibling responsibilities hanging over him 24/7. And Mikey started feeling like he couldn't go/do anything without his brother's judgement or approval, resenting the idea that he needed constant protection.

Finally, when he was about 13, Leo secretly snuck out of the lair one night to check out the city by himself and get a little taste of independence. After that one trip, it quickly became a habit and he soon began making regular “secret” trips into the city.

Somewhere along the way, his innocent quests for freedom and fun grew into opportunities to stir up some trouble - Leo eventually met and became involved with a group of yokai teens with whom he would pull pranks and play jokes on the city's human occupants (harmless ones...usually. They just enjoy causing a little mischief.)

Mikey, having to figure out other ways to keep himself occupied since his brother is usually by himself or busy with his new friends, has picked up a multitude of different skills and hobbies, trying absolutely everything he can get his hands on. His main hobby is spray-painting, which he uses to spruce any wall he can find with his own personal touch. By the time he's 13, much of underground New York has been covered by his handiwork. Mikey eventually finds out about Leo’s secret outings and follows him when he leaves one night - the two end up meeting April, who's never seen mutants before (having only talked to Donnie online and not seen his face) and promptly freaks out before realizing they're not dangerous. The three soon become friends, too, and April starts making plans to introduce the boys to Donnie - knowing he could use more friends besides S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. and herself.

The four brothers' fates finally collide with one another when an escapee from Draxum's lab - Mayhem - shows up out of the blue and catapults Mikey and Leo to the Hidden City, where they have an unexpected reunion with their eldest brother.

1K notes · View notes

in1-nutshell · 2 months

Note

Hey it's me again sorry if I'm overwhelming you with my multiple asks what could you do more old Predacon buddy with maybe just hanging out with the kids and stuff along with they're adopted son aka preking (I hope I'm saying his name right) Just some wholesome fluff and possibly make sure ratchet actually recharges and doesn't stay up all night working including the Optimus and the others old Predacon buddy has those sweet old Southern Grandpa vibes or you could do some old Predacon buddy interacting with Megatron during his glory days or something similar to that whatever you choose I'm not really picky also Make sure not to overwork yourself and make sure to hydrate every now and then and eat something at least healthy =]

They are back!

Caution: Grandparent vibes nearby

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon slice of life

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Cybertronain reader

TFP

It had been a rather busy month on base.

After the latest Decepticon mining activity, all the Autobots were on edge and running around like crazy.

Buddy mainly took care of the humans while everyone was busy on base. They swear if they didn’t have such an eye sore of an alt mode, they would pick up the kids instead of having to remind some of them to do it themselves.

Buddy lumbering around the console behind Bulkhead.

“Bulkhead? What are you still doing here?”--Buddy

“What do you mean?”--Bulkhead

“Bulkhead why isn’t Miko here? Is she sick?”--Buddy

“She at school today.”--Bulkhead

“Bulkhead its Saturday. Miko doesn’t have school.”--Buddy

“…”--Bulkhead

Bulkhead transforms quickly and drives out.

Buddy shaking their helm at Ratchet.

“Kids these days.”--Buddy

“You said it.”--Ratchet

“You count too Ratchet.”--Buddy

Ratchet raises an optic at Buddy and vents a bit.

“You may be old by these young bots but don’t forget I’m the eldest here.”--Buddy

“Yet you try to do things a young bot would. It’s not good for your joints.”--Ratchet

Buddy gentle flicks Ratchet in the back of the helm with their tail.

“My frame allows some extra movement.”--Buddy

Buddy stretches their arm.

SQUEAK!

“…”—Buddy and Ratchet

“…Buddy—”--Ratchet

“Not a word Ratchet. Not. A. Word.”--Buddy

Buddy knew that entertaining the kids with stories was only going to go so far. Especially when their guardians could stay with each of the children for long.

It was frankly getting on Buddy’s nerves.

It finally reached their limit when Movie Night came around.

The kids had gotten permission to spend the night at the base.

The original plan was to have a movie night with everyone.

Just some quality time with one another catching up on everything.

But it looked like most of them had forgotten about it.

Buddy didn’t like this. At. All.

And their spark broke a little seeing their disappointed faces.

Buddy looking down at the kids.

“Kids meet me at the exit with the gear.”--Buddy

“The gear?”--Jack

“Yes, you which one I’m talking about. Meet me over by the exit, we’ll have that Movie Night when we are done with it.”--Buddy

Once the kids came with the gear, Buddy knelt and had them climb on using their magnetic seatbelts.

These were almost light the Earth car seats but they were specially designed to be placed on Buddy via magnets.

Nothing was going to peel them away from Buddy until the end of any trip.

As soon as everyone was ready Buddy shot upwards.

Did they scare the kids a bit?

Yes, but it was worth it.

Buddy flying through the night sky.

“You seem pretty fast for an old timer.”--Miko

Buddy huffs a bit.

“This old timer still has a few tricks up their metaphoric sleeve.”--Buddy

“Buddy.”--Jack

“But you shouldn’t fly too fast, you can pull something.”--Raf

“Buddy.”--Jack

“Oh, my sweet Rafael, I’m spry for my age.”--Buddy

“Buddy!”--Jack

“Yes Jack?”--Buddy

Jack points forwards.

“Predaking!”--Jack

Buddy wasn’t too bothered by the sight of Predaking.

But they might have forgotten how the kids didn’t know the other predacon like they had.

Soon the two Predacon’s were flapping their wings circling each other.

The clouds around them slowly formed around them.

Through a series of clicks and roars the two talked.

‘Buddy.’--Predaking

‘Predaking, how are you? It’s been too long.’--Buddy

‘Fine Buddy. How are you faring with the enemy.’--Predaking

Buddy huffing.

‘They are not the enemy of mine, Predaking. I’ve told you before.’--Buddy

Predaking’s turn to huff.

‘There’s a reason you wanted to talk isn’t there?’--Buddy

‘…You know me too well.’--Predaking

‘I would be an awful ‘grandparent’, as the humans say. At least that’s how I remember the saying.’--Buddy

Predaking huffs.

‘I have been considering… leaving the Decepticons.’--Predaking

Buddy raising their optics.

‘You have?’--Buddy

‘Yes.’--Predaking

‘I can put a good word in with the Auto—’--Buddy

‘No. At least… not now…’--Predaking

Buddy nods.

‘You still need time. I understand. Just let me know, okay?’--Buddy

Predaking nods and flies the other way.

Buddy huffs a bit.

“What.”--Jack

“Was.”--Raf

“That!”--Miko

“Oh yeah I forgot you don’t understand the clicks yet.”--Buddy

“Yet?”—Raf

“I will teach you three one day.”—Buddy

“Sick.”—Miko

“What did he want?”--Jack

“He just wanted to talk, nothing more.”--Buddy

They continued their flight before it was time to go back to base.

As Buddy touched down, they could see some of the Autobots come out of the base to see what was going on.

Buddy simply walked inside with the kids still on their back.

Buddy kneeling down so the kids could get down and take the gear off.

“Where were you four?”--Arcee

“Flying around Arcee. It can get stuffy in here.”--Buddy

“You know that someone could have spotted you?”--Arcee

“I am fully aware of that Arcee. I think with one of the largest alt modes here, I’d keep that in mind.”—Buddy

“Then why—"--Arcee

Buddy stands back up to full height.

“I do believe that there was a ‘Movie Night’ that you all needed to attend.”—Buddy

Buddy stretches a bit.

POP!

SQUEAK!

PANG!

“…”—Everyone

“…I’m old, okay. Haven’t you all heard of joints popping?”--Buddy

“Yes, but not like that.”--Bulkhead

Buddy lays down near the projector.

The kids follow with their blankets and pillows.

“Beep boop bop bep? (Do you need to see Ratchet?)”--Bumblebee

“I’m fine. Now let’s watch the movie the children have chosen.”—Buddy

Team Prime give Buddy a side eye, but ultimately gives in.

The Autobots crowd around the projector to watch the movie into the late hours of the night.

Buddy looks around, just happy to have a family together.

#transformers x reader #maccadam #bot buddy #tfp #tfp x reader #tfp x platonic reader #tfp miko #tfp raf #tfp jack #tfp predaking

143 notes · View notes

spiritualviolation · 10 months

Text

HEADCANON FREE SPACE - GRIAN

from the response to this post

hi hello!! this post is a free space for people to come by and share their headcanons about a specific mcyt character, and this post is for grian!

grian is like. one of those chars that are just headcanon central, so i thought it be appropriate to start with him

not-exactly-rules but some guidelines + my own headcanons under the cut!

- GO ABSOLUTELY NUTS!! share as MANY as you like, i literally don’t mind if you’re going to make a ten page essay about your headcanons. just go wild, just as long as it sticks to the character of this post! bc if it i do multiple characters on one post it might get overwhelming and messy

- you can either do it in the tags or you can just reblog and add to this, i don’t mind as long as it’s convenient for you! you can add to other people’s rbs but i do think it would be better if you rb it straight off this post, but that depends on you!!

- if you want to reblog with your design as well so you can explain your hcs, go ahead! i would absolutely love to see how people design the characters individually!!

i will probably make a masterpost for this but for now we’ll start humble, but i’m aiming to release one post per week, but maybe would speed it up if my schedule allows me!

so yea, go wild!

i will probably start with the life series peeps first but i am thinking of maybe doing qsmp peeps as well after!

my grian headcanons cause i wrote a whole thing in my notes app:

- in my hc, the forms of watchers are dream-like and amorphous, basically visual mindfucks in appearance. grian who was fairly new to the watchers still kept his regular human form, but those who have been watchers for a very long time eventually would lose their individual human identity, and is assimilated into the collective that are the watchers. grian, if give or take maybe a century, the same thing would have eventually happened to him.

- his wings, gifted to him when he was ‘taken’, are generally amorphous and shifting, and you can never focus what shape they’re supposed to be (they can give you a headache the longer you try to look at their genuine form), but he can disguise them in any shape he wants (bird wings, dragon wings, etc.) so it doesn’t hurt to look at them.

- grian cut off his association with them just several months after he was taken, joining hermitcraft not long after, estranging themselves from them.

- he can still use his powers (which include astral projection, and etc.), but because of his cut ties they’re significantly weaker than the average watcher. for example, watchers can ‘watch’ over an entire server, but grian can only ‘watch’ one person at a time.

- his reasons for not wanting to be assimilated into the watchers is that he knows what it’s like to have been pushed and forced to take up a role against his will (ahem high school ahem), and it’s hurt him and he won’t want to let it hurt him again. aside from that, he finds that the watchers are extremely boring, considering all they do is observing passively from the sidelines and all that, which is the complete opposite of how grian likes to operate. he finds it extremely restrictive and prevents him from actively participating in things. not wanting to be confined to that, he cut ties with them.

- however he still uses his powers for troublemaking and mischief, and also to help others when they need it. he doesn’t consider himself affiliated with the watchers because he thinks it’s merely some godly title and also because he wouldn’t want anyone to think him differently, so he doesn’t really hide it.

- as he denied his watcher status very early into joining them, he still has the physicality (stamina, energy and such) of a regular human. only his wings are amorphous instead of his entire form since his wings were given to him when he joined them.

- made the life smp as a fun game for his friends, but in my hc, they did a test run before starting 3rd life. it was during that test run when the watchers seized control over the server.

- during 3rd life, he put admin restrictions on himself to remove his wings so he couldn’t fly and it was fair game for the rest.

#hermitcraft #grian #grian fanart #3rd life smp #last life smp #limited life smp #double life smp #trafficblr #pls share around!!

161 notes · View notes

byoldervine · 9 days

Text

How To Write An Original Story

I’ve seen so many people worrying that their story isn’t original enough or that it’s too similar to other stories or things like that, and I’ve shared multiple times how that’s just not possible; everything’s been done before, people like reading the same things, blah blah blah

But it never really hits, does it? So instead of that, what we’re going to do is take our concept, pick out anything we can find that took inspiration from another media and why, then we’ll say how we did it differently or made it our own for this story. I’ll join in with my own WIP (TL;DR at the bottom)

Glyph magic system -> taken from The Owl House because I thought it was a cool way for humans to use magic -> base elements switched and designs and activation requirements changed to work within my general magic system

Looking at my glyph magic system now, you wouldn’t even be able to recognise it as coming from The Owl House; the only similarity is that they’re both glyph magic systems. You don’t have to go quite that far to make your things original, you’re more than allowed to have similarities to other media, but I won’t deny that it’s pretty affirming when you see that you’ve gotten to that point

The Fallow and Fallow Rose -> taken from Minecraft’s Wither and Wither Rose because I used them in my own Minecraft world when building a desert city -> for the most part I only changed the names from Wither to Fallow and then added lore to it, but the Fallow Roses still drain the life force of those who touch them just like Wither Roses do

Granted this one is a bit more obscure, but the point still stands that sometimes you don’t even have to change much at all. Expanding on the lore will always benefit the distance between the inspiration and the new idea, though

Mythical entities entering the human world and needing to be sent back home humanely -> taken from Pokémon: Ultra Adventures and the Ultra Guardians -> Instead of alien Pokémon I used fantasy creatures, but I did keep the idea of them coming and going through portals of generally unexplained origins and having to fight or calm them before another portal could be opened to send them home

Honestly? I’ve known for ages that I took this from somewhere but I couldn’t pinpoint where exactly I took it from. It was fkn POKÉMON this whole time. Anyway, it’s a good example of something that’s largely generic once you remove the parts of the concept that are entirely unique to its original story, i.e. removing the Pokémon from this no longer makes it sound specific to Pokémon. But that doesn’t mean I’m blatantly copying Pokémon, or just means that I’m using a concept/trope that they also happened to use. If we weren’t allowed to use tropes that other stories have also used, they wouldn’t be tropes because they wouldn’t be popular or widespread enough to be considered as such

So yeah, the TL;DR here is that creativity doesn’t mean you have to have entirely original ideas the whole time you’re writing. Creativity can simply be saying “I like that - what different direction can I take with it?”

31 notes · View notes

dcawritings · 4 months

Text

I’m going to make a masterlist for all the AUs I might write for, but in case anyone wants a taste of the kind of enabling chaos that goes on in the Superstar Daycare discord server, here’s the list of AUs I’m positively feral about:

Freddy Fazvibes (Sex Shop AU)

Digimon AU

Borderlands AU

Livestreamer / Vtuber AU

Stardew Valley AU

Color of Your Eyes AU

(Longer description of each below the readmore!)

Freddy Fazvibes (Sex Shop AU)

William accepts and admits that he has some unresolved issues between himself and Henry, and decides to open a sex shop after learning he's a furry and it makes him quite happy. The shop -- technically still under the Fazbear brand (Henry is happy for his friend but thoroughly confused) -- features character mascots and lines of toys based on the parent company alongside an up-and-coming VR system to allow people to experience the company (sexual or otherwise) of their favorite characters!

The reader is just one of many customers after discovering the niche but passionate community the store and its characters have. It's bad enough that it's a sex shop with sex toys; how are they going to handle having their favorite character offer to demonstrate using one of them?

No deaths occur in this AU, it's just some good wholesome fun (as wholesome as a sex shop can get) where we don't need to worry about why the animatronics have genitals.

Digimon AU

The reader was supposed to be a member of their generation’s digidestined, but the others were killed by a mysterious power in the digital world many years before the present day. The reader discovers this information as an adult after being pulled into the digital world by a mysterious masked puppet creature who seems to know all too much about them. Trapped, they learn that their two digimon partners (Sun and Moon) had been waiting for them all that time; waiting for their human partner that never showed up when the digital world needed them most.

The reader finds themselves battling through not only their own tentative connection with the digital world as an adult, but also with their own partner as Moon has all but rejected them due to trust and corruption issues. Can the reader heal Sun and Moon's pain, regain their trust, and manage to save the corrupted souls of the other digidestined before the digital world falls apart at the seams?

And who could this mysterious evil force even be?

Borderlands AU

Sun is a prototype of a new line of caretaker bots designed by Hyperion to serve multiple domestic roles for people rich enough to afford them. The spaceship housing him during his live beta-testing experiences an unknown error and crashes on Pandora, where the reader (an ex-Hyperion employee) rescues him from the wreckage.

Things grow even more confusing when Sun realizes that he has a second personality onboard his processors, one that the reader had inadvertently helped to create when they worked for Hyperion: Moon, a military security protocol, and the true reason that the ship had gone down over Pandora. How will Sun deal with learning that his abandonment was part of the testing -- and what will he, Moon, and the reader do when they learn about the ECLIPSE protocol?

Livestreamer / Vtuber AU

After saving them from the Pizzaplex ruins, the reader helps Sun, Moon and the newly-formed Eclipse settle into day-to-day domestic life with them. Though the reader assures that they don't need to, the three search for ways to help pay bills -- keeping them charged has tripled the electric bill alone. So, unbeknownst to the reader at first, the trio take up being a vtuber, quickly becoming quite popular for their unique avatars (which is literally just them rendered into a live2d model) and wide variety of streamed content.

They all play all sorts of videogames, but Eclipse has become very popular for drawing furry art while Moon's realized that people really like his voice in ASMR content. Before they know it, they're able to help pay the reader's bills and beyond, leaving their amused and surprised caretaker to support both their newfound hobby and try desperately to ignore how the twitch chat is always asking if they're dating.

Stardew Valley AU

After the reader's grandfather passes away, they learn that he had left them an entire farm to care for as they liked. An entire plot of land beside a whole new town of people to meet, including the enigmatic trio of automatons powered by forest magic, and are apparently as old if not older than the town itself.

Sun is sweet as can be and helps tutor Jaz and Vincent alongside Penny, while Eclipse is a very soft-spoken personality who you're certain has been heavily damaged at some point (but he's often too busy tending to the community gardens to care). There is a third automaton, but he's only active after sunset -- some townfolk call him a demon and a menace, while others seem to find his pranks quite endearing. Moon is... an enigmatic figure, and it will take some time to get to know him properly.

Color of Your Eyes AU

The reader is just another employee of Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, far from friends and family that they barely remember after moving away several years ago. They work a normal job in the daycare with a normal apartment and go to a normal doctor about normal symptoms of a chronic illness they've been dealing with since they were little -- or so they're told.

Is it all actually normal? Are they human, or are they... something else? Surely not, else it would mean their entire life is nothing more than a lie, a fabrication.

This is an AU about the reader learning they are actually a humanoid animatronic and that everything in their life -- their background, their parents, their memories -- are just that. A lie. They have been the property and research subject of Fazco's R&D division the entire time.

But at least they have Sun and Moon to help them understand not how to be human, but how to be a person again.

32 notes · View notes

autisticshadowthehedgehog · 10 months

Text

Sonic Prime Extended Universe HCs - No Place

so we know that the Shatterverses aren’t “real,” full universes, just distorted reflections of the Prime that aren’t fully-formed, hence why there’s only like 6 people and two locations. However fucking around is fun fun fun so I’m just gonna do a post for each universe dissecting where the other Sonic Universe characters would be and what they’d be up to. Please for the love of GOD add your own ideas/hcs in the comments I want us all to melt into creativity mush.

No Place

sorry this is kinda short im buzzing with excitement about prime dropping tomorrow

go ask @birdsareblooming about her pirate au

As expected, Blaze and Marine’s lives are mainly unchanged. They’ve got more of a pirate aesthetic though so obviously this is a massive W

Silver’s been on more sunken ships than he can count. He’s pretty sure he’s cursed.

Sally is the Captain of her own ship with the whole SatAM squad as the crew. If there’s no wind Dulcy just ties a harness to herself and flies the ship. And then lands in the water because they won’t let her crash on the deck anymore. Bunnie has a peg leg

Tekno’s ship can fly. dont ask how, she’s very talented.

Mighty and Ray are still very pacifistic but Ray is quite adventurous so they cross paths with quite a lot of dangerous folk in their travels. Mighty is, thankfully, very good at defending himself

The ARK was an actual arc...,.,.,

Mina is a Siren

Cosmo’s species are very landlocked, however most of the world is underwater so their land is definitely fading fast. She’s got Moana Syndrome and wants to see what’s out there!!

Nobody expects Vanilla to be a formidable adversary. They are all very, very wrong. Gemerl may be Cream’s bodyguard but his second job is holding Vanilla back

God how many times do I have to say Sticks is thriving. She really just loves chaos

You know who else is thriving? The Babylon Rogues. Wave and Rouge have a homoerotic rivalry and Jet is sooooo tired of it he sees Dread’s ship coming and starts banging his head against the mast

Hooligans are also fucking THRIVING. Fang’s ship is small but nimble, and can outpace almost any other ship. And, yes, Bean mans the cannons.

If the Zeti aren’t on their hex they have their own ship of insanity. Imagine the chaos. They’re all trapped on the ship together. Zeena has used Zor as sharkbait more than once.

A lot of the SCU humans ended up on one boat. Rachel has tried to throw Captain Tom overboard multiple times. She mutinies twice a day. It’s a tradition now. Jojo was told she wasn’t allowed to have her own sword and so she walked over to the cannons and started firing.

Morain is having the time of her LIFE. she LOVES fighting and killing and maiming and biting. Errol is a little more cautious but he cannot stop her

In LOVE with the idea of the Nocturnus being held in stasis in an undersea shipwreck. If only someone would come wake them up. Hey, Dread, let’s go swimming over here...

Breezie has her own crew and she’s #girlbossing. Bokkun on cannons ofc!

Rough and Tumble are so bad at pirating but god bless them they are trying.

Helen is really really into mermaids and Chris and Frances help her design fancy “tails” for dress-up. Chris’s family is rich so obviously he’s a prime target for pirates and he’s just like. used to it by now? Usually Helen and her mechanized chair come into save him so he’s comfortable just being damselled and hanging out in the brig. He brings his own card games for the prisoners of whoever grabbed him this time. He runs into Princess Elise like every other week and they have a competitive tally of who’s been kidnapped the most.

Tangle also has Moana Syndrome and has been desperate to go pirating since she like. came into being. Jewel is on her boat but she’s uncomfortable with violence so she just hides below deck and does all the paperwork and organization. Lanolin is the Captain because she’s the only one who can organize AND fight at the same time.

Whisper cautiously joins Lanolin’s crew after they help her out of a jam at a pirate bar. It took a while, but she became accustomed to Tangle’s wild ways and would die and kill for her.

Her previous crew was killed in a shipwreck. What killed them?

MIMIC SEA MONSTER MIMIC SEA MONSTER

The Sonic Boom Village are all on a ship together. Zooey is shockingly one of their best fighters and Sails would probably fall in love with her instantly. Perci considers herself the crew’s guardian and is very protective of them and of the ship, which she repairs herself. Dave still can’t cook for shit and Staci somehow still has a cell phone

Starline literally fished up Surge and Kit in a net. Kitsunami is a water spirit and had his water powers naturally in this universe, and he’s bound to Surge b/c life debt or smth.

Eyepatch!Infinite or bust

Clutch runs one of those pirate hideouts, like Port Royal in Pirates of the Caribbean, and he’s got tabs on EVERYONE. He’s got dirt on EVERYONE. Don’t cross him.

Instead of a moon, The End takes the form of a swirling whirlpool.

#sonic prime #sonic prime au #no place #pirate au #mine #no place au

68 notes · View notes

orbital-inclination · 3 months

Note

Oghghhh eating your ides with dream and nm with the robot au and how they had their brotherly relationship

I really like the second option for the same reason someone else brought up but the first one has potential in that what if they were preprogrammed to be enemies

So then it’s a matter of them going against that and instead seeing each other as siblings despite that

I like the way u think. I purpose we take the best of both ideas and squish them together!

Gentle warning: this got dark fast

Dream and Nightmare were commissioned by a rich prick as military grade toys for him to mess around with by a privately owned mega tech company that produces bots for the government. This means that, for most of their early existence, Dream and Nightmare were forced to fight each other until one of them could no longer move, or they were commanded to stop. This went on for a long time.

Eventually one of their human handlers got attached and started teaching them things they weren't supposed to know. (one part imbedded curiosity on their part, one part the human handler being at ‘fault’ for telling them things off handedly. ie "oh my son got into a fight with his brother this afternoon. That’s why I’m late” etc)

Dream and Nightmare were designed to learn and they were designed to learn fast. they took this information, processed it, and gradually began to apply it to themselves. (Military grade bots are allowed a higher degree of autonomy due to the nature of war and split second decision making. So this much isn’t uncommon and sn’t considered a problem due to the govern module. Dream and Nightmare are special bc our rich playboy man wanted to see how far his tech bros could push them. Psychologically.) Their ability to think for themselves only started to become a problem when Nightmare began resisting commands to hurt Dream after a certain threshold.

(Nightmare would obey commands to attack Dream but once his brother was down he would refuse commands to say, rip off his arm for example.)

Around this time Dream also began to resist causing Nightmare unnecessary harm. (He has no choice but to defend himself.) the development team concluded that one bot is spreading defiance to another and they couldn’t have that.

The developers decided Nightmare must be suffering from a glitch instead of, you know, a new found empathy for his brother and the understanding that he is causing someone he cares about significant pain/discomfort and psychological distress and that feels bad and he doesn’t want to do it anymore.

They take Nightmare in to ‘fix’ him. He comes back altered, cold and very much like he was at the beginning, and this scares the hell out of Dream. Dream tries to undo the damage. But he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Multiple attempts eventually conclude in what later becomes known as the Incident.

The Incident ends in multiple deaths, destruction of government property, a massive fire, corrupted memory files, and a critical investigation on behalf of the military. It also ends in their escape from the facility… but at a price.

I could go on but this ask is getting long.

#good morning everyone let’s start the morning with angst!#automon!tale #robot!au #long post #dream sans #nightmare sans #underverse au #utmv au #orbital chatter

44 notes · View notes

habken · 4 months

Note

oh my gosh fellow animation student !! I love learning about other people's art school experience, if you'd be willing to share? I think the diversity of assignments and teaching styles and focuses is cool 🩷 love your art as well !!

Yeah I can share a bit ! I’ve really enjoyed the program so far, I think I’ve learned a lot and I’ve gotten the chance to use programs I wouldn’t have access to usually!

First semester I had 9 classes (I’m counting story lab + lecture as two separate ones) and it was honestly pretty difficult to keep up with the workload, especially because I was still finishing up zine work. I had so many assignments, there were many weeks I’d have something due everyday, sometimes multiple things in the same day, so time management was a big struggle and I ended up having to sacrifice the amount of drawing I did for fun and for socmed </3 I think that was the biggest bummer cause it meant I lost both what helped me relieve stress and something that made me happy :/

While the work was intense and time consuming, I really did enjoy what I was making for each class. My favourite classes were character design, storyboarding, and animation. I felt like they were the ones I did best in and I realized loved my animation teacher her classes were really fun and I laughed a lot lol. I also really enjoyed my life drawing class, I have a lot of respect for my teacher, he marked harshly but I learned so much under him and my life drawing skills have improved a lot since september. He also collects bones and brought them in and it was super cool. He told us all the stories of were he’d picked them up, like asking farmers or finding roadkill and cleaning them.

Overall in each class, I really appreciated the critique I’ve gotten and I feel like I’ve really improved! I actually dropped out of art school before and one of the main reasons was because I felt like I wasn’t really getting anything out of the program. My stuff was nowhere near perfect but I was one of the better students so teachers used my stuff as an example rather than see me as a student that also was there to learn. I hated that so I left, and I’m really happy I don’t feel that way in the program I’m in now!

What I will say though is one of the hardest lessons to learn is that you can’t go 100% on every single thing, it’s just straight up impossible unless you don’t take care of yourself and get no sleep. It sucks because you want to do your best and be amazing at everything, but an assignment that’s half assed is better than handing in nothing at all and also better than permanently hurting yourself because you push through the pain and don’t allow yourself any rest.

One of the things that sucked the most assignment wise was my bone portfolio for life drawing, I had so much planned out and I really wanted to do amazing, but I had to cut a lot out to get it done on time, and so the finished project was lacking a lot. I got a decent mark for it, but personally I know it could’ve been so much better, and I just have to live with the sacrifice I made so I could get all my work done on time lol

I don’t want to share too much more about the assignments I did, but I was really proud of my work in my character design class and also my last storyboard assignment, where we took part of a script and made new boards based on it. I got a lot of compliments from the teacher about my attention to detail with subtle and human actions. I’m happy cause that’s the kind of stuff I love portraying and love seeing in films haha.

One other thing is I was so close to failing layout, the last two assignments I left until the very end and almost didn’t get them in one time before teacher’s grades were due, and without them I would’ve failed the class. As it stands, I got over a 90 average so the two assignments made a big difference lmao.

Sorry this was so long lol

#ask

27 notes · View notes

anonymousewrites · 5 months

Text

Adolescent Antichrist (Book 4) Chapter Fourteen

Father Figure! Lucifer x Teen! Reader

Chapter Fourteen: I Think I'd Like a Dance

Summary: (Y/N) and their friends head off to homecoming.

“Why do humans nearly poke their eyes out for beauty?” asked Em.

“If they don’t squirm, their eyes don’t get poked out,” said (Y/N), holding Em’s face still as they did her eyeliner.

“I’m not squirming, you’re just bad at this,” said Em.

“Take a look and tell me that again,” said (Y/N), letting go of Em.

The demon opened their looked into the mirror. She blinked. She actually looked nice. “Wow. You’re actually good at makeup,” they said.

“It helps when the other person already looks nice.” (Y/N) shrugged. “I don’t have to do much.”

Em turned red at the compliment. “Right. Well, uh, I’m gonna go get changed. Lucifer’s taking us to homecoming, right?”

“Yeah, no, I made sure Dad just hired a car. I don’t need him embarassing me in front of our friends,” said (Y/N).

Em chuckled as she left the room.

(Y/N) smiled at her laugh and turned to their closet. It was finally homecoming night, and they would be damned if they didn’t look fantastic.

“Well, someone’s all dressed up,” said Lucifer, smiling at Em as they came out.

She had on a simple emerald green dress and a simple smoky eye with winged eyeliner. Gold earrings hung from multiple piercings (they had let Noa practice piercing on them since she could heal if it really looked terrible).

“Em definitely has good taste,” said (Y/N), appearing in the doorway of their room.

“You’re just saying that since you helped me pick the dress out,” said Em, rolling her eyes. She paused when she saw (Y/N), though.

They had on a dark red suit jacket with black, slightly sheer fabric sewn overtop half and a dramatic fabric belt. They had on simple black suit pants but paired it with a red painted design on shiny doc martens. (Y/N) still sported their red jasper and feather necklaces, but they had paired it with gold cuff earrings to offset the slightly gold shimmer of their eyeshadow their eyelids.

“Wow, Birdie, you look—”

“Fantastic!” said Lucifer, completely cutting off Em like the excited father his was. “Your taste is perfect.”

“I think I got a lot of it from you,” said (Y/N) teasingly, but they were also pleased. Their biological parents would never allow them to dress so masc, so it was nice to have their parent approve and support them.

“Of course, you did. I have a fantastic sense of style,” said Lucifer proudly.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal the other four in (Y/N) and Em’s friend group.

“Oh my god you guys look so cute!” said Olive excitedly. She had on a vintage white dress with purple flowers and green leaves printed across it. With a cinched waist, she had a classic silhuoette and was ready to dance. Her blonde hair was pinned up in a bun with curled strands framing her face, and she had a light dusting of natural makeup and pink lips.

“So do you,” said (Y/N), smiling at her.

“Of course she does,” said Nao, putting their hands in their pockets. Their hair was still in box braids, but now it had silver beads hanging at the ends to pair with the stripes of their suitpants and vest. They had the jacket through over their shoulder casually, but from the expertly tied tie, it was clear they had put effort in.

(Y/N) smirked when they noticed Noa had silver earrings with purple jewels. Subconsciously matching a certain someone, they thought.

Olive blushed and smiled. “Thanks, Nao!”

“I love the additions to the suit, (Y/N),” said Marcel. He had been true to his word and redyed his hair to purple to work with his suit. Everything was crisp and perfect, and although the suit itself was simple, Marcel had done dramatic eyeshadow and makeup to really play with the drama he loved.

“Very well done,” agreed Leon. He had on golden eyeliner that glimmered in the light and golden accents on his navy suit.

“Thanks, guys,” said (Y/N), smiling. “Are you ready to go? We’ve got reservations for food.”

“Ah-ah-ah!” Lucifer jumped in. “Before you go, it’s time for photos!”

“Seriously, Dad?” said (Y/N), embarassed at how eager Lucifer was.

“Absolutely! You’re finally going out on the town with friends. Everyone out onto the balcony for a photo!” said Lucifer.

(Y/N)’s friends laughed. They liked their dad, and they followed him out. Lucifer carefully arranged them for photos.

“This is so embarassing,” muttered (Y/N).

Em chuckled and reached out for their hand. “Relax, Birdie. Everyone’s having fun.”

(Y/N) rolled their eyes at her enjoyment of their discomfort but found themself smiling nonetheless when the camera took it’s photo.

“You know, this party isn’t as lame as I thought it might be since our school is so boring,” said Nao as they sat down at the table the LGBTQ+ Breakfast Club had commandeered.

“I can’t believe how long Marcel has kept Leon on that dancefloor,” snickered Olive. “Poor guy has no idea what they’re doing.”

“Yeah, but he’s trying to impress Marcel, so they’re not leaving anytime soon,” said (Y/N), smiling.

“That’s adorable since I’m pretty sure Marcel put so much work into his outfit to really show that he cares about fashion like Leon does,” said Em.

“That’s so cute, they’re both oblivious,” said Olive. She brightened. “Noa, we should go and get them to partner dance!”

“Huh?” said Noa as Olive grabbed them and hauled them up.

“We’ll request a song for slower dancing or something and dance beside them to make it feel just like normal or whatever, but really it’ll be forcing them to dance together and actually start to make moves! Come on!” Noa was not given another second to speak as Olive pulled them away.

(Y/N) and Em watched in amusement.

“You know, Olive is surprisingly crafty,” said (Y/N), grinning.

“What do you mean?” asked Em.

“Well, Olive and Noa obviously like each other, right?” said (Y/N).

“Oh, obviously,” agreed Em.

“I think Olive’s plan to get Leon and Marcel to dance it to also get her a chance to dance with Noa,” said (Y/N).

“She’s strategic,” said Em. “That was a very smooth operation.”

“They say all’s fair in love and war, and I think Olive thinks of finding love as a strategic battle,” joked (Y/N).

“What do you think of it as?” asked Em curiously.

(Y/N) paused and considered. “I think love is finding that person you can just exist with. There’s no pressure to be anything around them other than yourself, and you two are happy to be together because it’s you two and you love each other.”

Em smiled. “That’s sweet.”

“I have my moments,” joked (Y/N), trying to brush off the seriousness of the topic.

The music changed to a slower song, “Amado Mio” by Pink Martini, and Em grinned. “Olive’s plan is in motion.”

“Evidently,” said (Y/N).

Em cocked their head. “Want to dance?”

“What?” (Y/N) was a bit taken aback by the stubborness.”

“I mean, I asked you to homecoming. It would be rude of me not to dance with you,” said Em.

“We have danced together. Did you forget Abba already?” said (Y/N).

“That was with friends. I’m saying you and me,” said Em. They smiled. “So, what do you say?”

(Y/N) decided to let their heart guide them. “I think I’d like a dance.”

Em grinned, stood, and offered their hand. (Y/N) took it, and Em led them to the dancefloor. Hesitantly, (Y/N) put their hand on Em’s waist, and Em put hers on their shoulder. They took each others other hand and began to dance. It wasn’t great partner dancing since neither was very practiced, but it was fun (and while Leon had perfect control of himself and Marcel, Noa and Olive were just as bad, so it was fine).

Em spun (Y/N), and they laughed at how out of sync it was with the music. “Damn, I really thought I had it,” said Em.

“Well, you gave it a try,” teased (Y/N), moving closer to Em again as they moved to the rhythm.

They were quiet for a little longer as they danced until Em swallowed and looked at (Y/N).

“You know, I kept getting interrupted, but I wanted to tell you that you look really nice tonight,” said Em.

(Y/N) turned red. “Thanks,” they said. “You look pretty, too.”

“Thanks.”

Em and (Y/N) gripped each other’s hands tighter and smiled shyly. Neither was sure quite how to continue with that line of discussion, but it had felt nice to get this close and get to be soft with one another. In fact, (Y/N) rather enjoyed their usual banter with Em, but being vulnerable and sweet felt nice to. They wouldn’t mind doing it more. (Y/N) blinked, and the shadows around them quivered.

Oh shit. They had a crush.

Luckily for them (though they didn’t know it), Em had the same realization.

Of course, like Olive said, they were all oblivious.

Lucifer laid out the papers on his desk and stared at them. He had them. They were finally in his hands, and now all he had to do was take them to (Y/N). He gripped them tightly and smiled.

�� (Y/N) would officially be his kid. Soon, they’d really be his.

Taglist:

@sammyscreencaps-13

@grippleback-galaxy-galaxy

@scarlettqueen190

@ziro-the-null-god

@sammy-13

@zeros-rot

@ceridwyn3

@technikerin23

@poetoflawed

@slytherinroyalty16

@ilse235

@theurbannoodle

21 notes · View notes

yautjalover · 10 days

Note

saw the 'bother with asks and questions' post and reblogged it so a lil obligated to BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE. I appreciate a fellow yautja appreciator that is for sure. I didn't watch the latest movie, if you did, how would you compare it to any of the other predator (or AVP) films? I'm taking my sweet time, but good press from someone who is focused on whats important (tHE BIG ALIEMS,,,), might move it up my priority list.

I get you! We gotta be the change we want to see! I myself went out and asked some folks things. 😊

As for your question concerning “Prey”, in comparison to the others in the franchise it stands out for multiple reasons.

1. It’s not set in the modern era.

With this film not being in modern times, we get to explore, for the first time on film, what a predator hunt in the past would look like! It’s no longer just seeing their historical hunts in the comics and novels, which has long been something we fans have wanted to see on the big screen. “Prey” also answers questions concerning historical hunts.

How different would their technology look and behave? Would they get tangled with historical events that shaped the future? What would they do in the face of long outdated weapons of that time?

“Prey” answers these pretty well, I think!

We get to see possible earlier iterations of the iconic weapons Yautja are associated with, we get to see how one becomes entangled with big historical events in pre-colonial North America, and also get the treat of one dealing with 17th century weapons.

The weapons of the time provide a few genuinely funny moments that help break the tension a little. I won’t spoil them, but I’m sure they’ll give you a good laugh!

I will say that it’s not riddled with excessive humor like 2018’s “The Predator”. There is a wonderful balance.

2. The lead isn’t some forgettable buff military guy and instead a Comanche Native American woman.

Unlike other current Hollywood female leads, she’s a genuine bad ass. She’s allowed to learn and grow from her mistakes, shaping up to use her intelligence against Feral. Naru knows the land and uses it to her advantage. She grew up surrounded by nature and picks up that something weird is going on, something she can’t explain until things happen.

Sorry, no spoilers here!

While there are moments where there is obvious plot armor, she still a cool and likable character with flaws but manages to also be a surprisingly worthy hunt for Feral. It’s also cool to see Indigenous representation and see a glimpse into that culture! We see parallels between a cryptid (can’t confirm if it was just for the movie or actual mythology for that tribe) and our titular Yautja.

With Naru, we get a coming of age story that mirrors Feral in this hunt being his first time on our planet and him slowly learning more about this hunting ground. They’re both, seemingly, out to prove themselves, setting up for later events in the film that pay off.

3. New Sub-Species of Yautja!

Thanks to Feral we get a glimpse of what a Yautja who originates from a different region, other than the jungle, of the planet looks like, with this case being a desert environment. While I think the facial design is atrocious, I can see what they were going for.

We learned from interviews with the design team that his sub-species consumes bones and has a special palette just for that in his mouth. His locs are slender and more numerous in order to keep cool, plus it looks pretty cool! I’m sure he’d be a shampoo company’s dream model!

You get to see a predator actually hunt things other than humans! I won’t spoil it, but there are some awesome scenes that really showcase the strength and agility that Yautja are known for but we hardly get to see. It’s pretty bad ass!

In “Prey”, we also see a more brutal predator who revels in bloodshed and fucks people up. There’s more violence on display, plus some new cool weaponry that only aids the carnage. While he gives off Young Blood energy occasionally, he’s still a bad ass! When he’s on the screen, he commands your attention!

However, he’s the only Yautja I’ll want the mask to stay on. He’s not a pretty fella and I liken him to a golden roast chicken.

“Prey” was the return to form the franchise needed after the questionable decisions made in 2018’s “The Predator”. Whoever thought that Yautja would be interested in my Autism was a big dumb ass. This film breathes new life into the franchise and gives us something genuinely entertaining while also bringing back some of the terror that the original 1987 “Predator” gave us!

I personally rank this high up on the list of previous films we’ve received over the years. It’s better than “Predators”, “The Predator”, and “AVPR”, sitting right with the OG, Predator 2, and AVP for me.

It’s worth the watch. It’s not a 10/10, more like an 8/10, but it’s still worth the watch! You should run to Hulu and give it a go. You won’t be disappointed!

Sorry for the LONG response, but I wanted to break it down. Thank ADHD and Autism and my rabid horniness for Yautja.

Oh! Last thing!

On a scale of 1 to 10, Feral is a solid four for me. His body is gorgeous. Those thick fingers? HELLO!

It’s the face that lowers the rating, though. My GODS that face design is…wow. 💀

#your asks #predator #yautja #yautjalover #avp #alien vs predator #feral is basically a dumb loveable frat boy #he looks like a roast chicken but I still love him #prey 2022 #prey movie

15 notes · View notes

malue-505 · 9 months

Text

Slenderman Proxy Organization

(Like my first Proxy post, the info below are my headcanons! I am open for suggestions regarding changing the name for the Curators, I’ve cycled through name changes for them for a while. The Units, Branches and Fleets aren’t in any particular order, it’s just how I’ve always ordered them since I made these headcanons. I recommend going to my first Slenderman Proxy post after this one since you’ll have more context of what Branches are and what the SICs do. Anyone is allowed to use this for their AU as long as they credit me! Sorry in advance if there’s any typos I’ve missed or if things are worded weirdly.

Side Note: The Hollowed is only in the Scouts Branch and specifically only in Masky and Hoodie’s Fleets. The N/A spaces are there for SICs I haven’t yet casted/made into OCs.

Divisions

The organization as a whole is categorized the following way in this format in this post (in the future I’m planning on making a more dignified chart so bare with me):

Unit

Branch

Fleet

Units are the largest category, they determine the main theme/field of all the Branches and Fleets under it. Branches are even smaller categories leaving Fleets being the smallest division. The power that an SIC holds is usually restricted to only their own Fleet, however there are some Branches that only hold one Fleet.

Categorizing

Proxies are categorized by which Branch and Fleet they are working in based on either their raw abilities, what Slenderman seems as fit, or if a particular SIC takes an interest in them. SICs are categorized by which Fleet they command. Every Fleet needs an SIC to command it and there can only be 31 SICs and Fleet simultaneously, never less or more.

SICs do not work in multiple Units nor Branches because their high rank dictates that they must devote the vast majority of their time on their designated Branch and Fleet.

Slenderman usually chooses Proxies that handled a specific field in their human life, depending on which field determines which Fleet he sends them to. If a human doesn’t have a specific field, they usually get thrown into the Armed Unit, specifically the Scouts.

Special Roles & Groups

Enforcers: The only singular Proxy role that is not exclusive to a specific Fleet. Enforcers can be any Proxy that is a Sleeper or above in terms of rank and in any Unit, Branch or Fleet. Enforcers can enforce any Proxy (besides those above them) even if they do not confide within their own division of any kind.

Duel Specialists: This is a role assigned to a proxies who work in multiple Fleets, Branches and Units. Having this role indicates that a Proxy has multiple SICs they have to work for. The limit on how many Branches a Proxy may work under is 3. All Proxies, who are not SICs, can be Duel Specialists.

Shadow People: These are the Proxies from The Collective that are also members of the Influenced Species called “Shadow People.” Their behaviors and sessions often correlate and/or parallel those of the Scouts and the Technologists. Despite this, they have a very unique presence in the organization and don’t have an inherent SIC over their heads so to say.

Autonomous Organizations: This is a type of organization that has some degree of autonomy/control from the main organization. This includes organizations that Associates founded or took over and all the cults that the Cultists made/helped found. These organizations have mostly free-range to do what they want/what they need to do as obligations to the organization.

Training Fleets: This is a type of Fleet within the organization, not every Branch has a Training Fleet. What qualifies a Branch for a Training Fleet is usually the amount of Fleets inside a Branch, how populated it can get and how intricate the Branch’s subject is.

Proxy Lineages: The name is very self explanatory, this is when a family has history serving Slenderman’s organization. This can be one of the many factors as to why someone gets chosen as a Proxy. This is a type of lineage that exists not just in Slenderman’s organization but in other Factions that also practice Proxism.

History

The Units were inspired by the first 5 Proxies of Slenderman. Each Branch was a skill that each Proxy had, they were also the first ever SICs. Memorabilia and records of the first 5 Proxies are exclusively kept by the Historian and Curator Proxies.

About 100 years after starting his Proxy organization, Slenderman started to realize that a lot of Proxies in the Scouts Branch were slowly dying off due to not having a base of operations for shelter. He built his mansion in order for the Scout Proxies to have a place to stay while they regroup.

Over the years as human society industrialized and began to modernize more, the Scout Proxies had more places to stay and most began to eventually move out and build their own minor bases. Slenderman decided to not waste the big building and made it his own permanent residence making a few renovations to suit his liking. (More will be added overtime)

Armed Unit

Soldiers: Used for bigger and complex Proxy affairs such as being present on the front lines, providing extensive security, invading foreign territory, and wielding arms that are typically used for war. They are often called to be used as backup or to storm through certain battles.

Ms. General: Security provided by Soldiers

Sir Sergeant: Infantry

(N/A): Rescue Operations

(N/A): Soldier Trainers

Scouts: used for smaller and simpler proxy affairs such as assassinating targets, hunting, scouting areas, spying on enemy forces, housekeeping, and destroying evidence. This branch also includes members of The Collective but they aren’t a part of the Proxism command hierarchy, they only occasionally work alongside the Scouts as their own elite fleet.

Wyntre: Scout Trainers and thinning out weaker Proxies in the Armed Unit

Masky: Guerrilla Warfare and security provided by Scouts

Hoodie: Espionage, assassins, reconnaissance and destroys evidence

(N/A): Animal handlers, hunters, farmers, miners and nature preservers

Scientific Unit

Scientists: Used for scientific experiments that revolve around behavioral science, biology, and scientific phenomenons. This branch also includes, virologists, zoologists, biochemists, experimentalists, etc. They often conduct experiments on whatever Slenderman is curious on learning more about.

(N/A): Biology

Dr. Pericol: Chemistry

(N/A): Physics

(N/A): Psychology

(N/A): Scientist Trainers

Technologists: Used for accessing technology in various ways such as code breaking, lock picking and hacking. This branch includes technicians, hackers, and cryptanalysts. They are especially useful on missions for the Scouts.

(N/A): Software developers and tech support

(N/A): Espionage, hackers, coders, surveillance and strategists

Engineers: Usually used for fixing and creating new inventions and machinery. This branch includes inventors, builders, mechanics and welders. They are the ones that make technology and gadgets used by other branches.

(N/A): Inventors, factories, gadgets and manufacturers

(N/A): Architects, builders and constructions

Mathematicians: Usually used for calculating probabilities and distances. This branch includes actuaries, statisticians and operations research analysts. They’re usually used for calculating distances for the Scouts and Soldiers and probabilities for the Technologists and Scientists.

Mathew: Statisticians, mathematical theorists and strategists

Medical Unit

Primary Care: Handles common/everyday such as first aid, minor illnesses/diseases, broken bones, etc. They are usually the first responders to emergencies if it is under their specialities, which is usually the case.

(N/A): Nurses, physicians and doctors that focus on treating the patient as a whole

Secondary Care: Handle specific cases that usually Primary Care diagnoses. Proxies go here whenever they have an issue that Primary Care doesn’t have even knowledge about.

(N/A): Cardiologists, endocrinologists, oncologists and different types of counseling and therapy

Tertiary Care: Handles complex surgeries, severe specific treatments, and provides care for an extended period of time. They handle emergencies that are even more severe and specific.

(N/A): Specialized surgeons and complex procedures

Quaternary Care: This branch handles the most extreme and rare occurrences/emergencies in the entire Unit. It is also the only Branch in their Unit that conducts medical experiments due to how unusual quaternary care actually is.

(N/A): Experimental procedures and clinical trials for further research

Archived Unit

Historians: Used for keeping records of every Proxy’s existence and personal details, Proxy lineages, Proxy history and every recorded Proxy affair. This branch also includes the libraries and files in several of the other Units’ archives.

(N/A): Proxy organization events

(N/A): Individual Proxy information

Curators: Used for storing physical records like Proxy masks, old Proxy uniforms, and other valuable memorabilia. This branch is also responsable for transporting resources and managing warehouses.

(N/A): Warehouses, transporters and suppliers

(N/A): Exhibit organizers and memorabilia collectors

Morticians: Used for handling the dead bodies of Proxies, if the bodies survived, to put in their personal morgues. This branch may also hold funerals if the Proxy chooses to do so before their death.

Persephone: Undertakers, embalmers and funeral directors

Cultural Unit

Artists: Used for creating Slenderman’s likeness through many artistic and creative crafts such as drawings, paintings, sculptures and literature.

(N/A): Painting, sculpting and drawing

(N/A): Literature, hymns and performing arts

Cultists: Used for spreading Slenderman’s vanity and are the main cause of Slenderman’s popularity. They often found cults that cater to him and spread hymns and rites to further encourage beliefs.

(N/A): Cults for religious ceremonies for spreading belief and vanity

El Salvador: Cults for feeding Slenderman via cult followers’ bodies

Trivia

Every Proxy (major or minor) has a code name usually in the fashion of “The x,” some Proxy titles are their code name.

The Cultural Unit’s color is supposed to be golden yellow but tumblr didn’t have that color.

SICs wear a colored armband corresponding to their respective Unit, they may take off this armband during their own missions.

All Proxies have Slenderman’s symbol, marked by using his own blood, somewhere on their person.

SICs can have specific titles depending on their Branch such as SICs in the Soldier Branch are called “Commanding Officers” and SICs in the Scouts Branch are called “Scoutmasters.”

All Proxies gain some of Slenderman’s abilities over the course of 5 years, this will be explained in my next headcanon post.

Young children that have shown much progress in training for their chosen Branch may be fully Proxified early. As a general rule, when all Proxies reach their teen years, they have completed their training and are therefore fully Proxified.

The requirements that Slenderman looks for tend to vary a lot. It ranges on if the human has lived a horrible life leaving them vulnerable to the human simply being available at the right time. Other requirements can include: knowing a certain field/holding a particular occupation, having some kind of genetic advantage, being some kind of supernatural creature (that is controllable), etc.

Credits

Sir Sergeant, Persephone, Mathew & Dr. Pericol are my OCs

(My headcanon flag for Slenderman’s organization. Each tree represents a Unit, the Branches are the branches on trees and the Fleets are the leafs of the tree branches.)

#creepypasta headcanon #creepypasta au #creepypasta fandom #slenderman #proxy headcanon #slenderverse #proxy #creepypasta

21 notes · View notes

8iunie · 1 year

Text

Måneskin and Alessandro Michele, an exclusive and open interview (21.11.2022)

The Italian band and Gucci's Creative Director talk about the many things they have in common. While writer Chiara Tagliaferri listen…

Every time they meet, the first thing Alessandro Michele asks the members of Måneskin is always the same: “Are you tired?” In this small, caring gesture lies all the tenderness that flows between them, these people who follow each other around the world, one of them designing outfits for the bodies of the others which then blaze on stage, setting everything alight.

They have one thing in common: Creation is for them an act of rebellion. If we wanted to go back to the moment where the fuse first triggered the explosion, we would find ourselves in Rome, a city that produces wonder and glimmers of redemption in the midst of its chaos.

Alessandro: I don't want to make it a question of geography, but of energy and trajectories. [Rome] is a sort of no man’s land where dreams intersect with possibilities, creating a place of freedom. In Rome things happen because theyhad to happen—it’s nothing to do with money or business. It’s a city teeming with activity, a she-wolf with multiple teats that comes bearing strange opportunities [referring to Rome’s creation myth and the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus]. We come from a city that was pagan before it became Christian, and I feel pagan. We [Romans] have a relationship with the flow of life that’s very intimate, pornographic. We are set alight in the moment when everything happens. Here, creativity is born and it proliferates in a deeply human dimension.

Damiano: Rome also helps keep your feet on the ground: it doesn't matter where you have to go, it could take half an hour or a couple of hours—the Raccordo Anulare [Rome’s ring road] doesn't give a shit whether you’re in a Ferrari or a Panda. Compared to Rome, you’ll never count for anything; you’re a spectator living in the city. I see this with Giorgia, my girlfriend, who moved from Milan and doesn't understand. I always tell her: “You have to stop trying to control things and abandon your body to the river of Rome, go with the flow.” For the bartender below my apartment, I’m just the lad from the top floor, nice and polite—Damiano from Måneskin doesn't exist. The only rule that applies here is “I like you, or I dislike you”. This is a city that brings things together and irons out differences—everyone exercises the right to make their own judgment.

Victoria: My relationship with Rome has changed over the years, now it’s the city I love most in the world. I like its rawness. It brings you back to reality and since we’re immersed in ever more crazy experiences, that helps us a lot. Los Angeles, London, and New York are stimulating, but coming home allows me to go out into the world without losing myself. When I was a kid, I didn't like it so much: I grew up in Monteverde, which is a very quiet neighborhood, and I remember that when we started playing in the streets, in secondary school, everyone used to make fun of us—we were the weirdos, the ones who dressed like oddballs. If we’d been more fragile this would have stopped us; instead it triggered a sense of revenge in us, which spurred us on even more.

Thomas: I’m in love with [the neighborhood] Trastevere. During the pandemic I rented an Airbnb there, it was like living in a model town: 10,000 inhabitants who all know each other. People have real contact with you.

Måneskin are waxing lyrical about Rome from Mexico City, where they have just held a rather epic concert. Alessandro Michele and I have got hold of them while we’re in this ancient city that sprinkles the dust of the gods on your shoulders. Victoria, Damiano, Ethan, and Thomas tell us about a boat trip with mariachi bands playing and locals cooking onboard to celebrate the Day of the Dead. As I watch them—bodies still heavy with sleep, curled up in the bright morning sun—I think that Liliana Segre [a 92-year-old Italian politician and Holocaust survivor] is right when she says that she loves their music even though, at times, she has to look up the lyrics because “just by looking at them, I forget to follow the words.” Måneskin has this effect: when you look at them, you’re enchanted. Alessandro Michele once said, “Before communicating with words, communicate the body.” Måneskin’s bodies tell the story of sexual freedom, partly thanks to the harmony of intention that, with Michele, they have forged as a group, stitching together a union of powerful textures that Gucci's creative director explains in this way:

Alessandro: I’m a real pyromaniac and when I get my hands on some fuel I go crazy with happiness. I was following them and I thought, “This has to happen,” because we were already having a dialogue without knowing it. When we finally met it was like when you have sex for the first time with the person you like and you say, “It was obvious that we were going to make love in an extraordinary way.” A project like that can only be realized if there’s real harmony: it's an incredible amount of work because they’re doing so much, but I recognize myself in this hyper-production because I hyper-produce too—so together we create what feels like a super-long rosary prayer in which we “recite” dresses, jackets, bustiers, bodices, and combinations that seem impossible. The kind of clothes that I like are those with bodies in them, and with Måneskin there’s a very precise ritual: the clothes become a bonfire, they are set alight, and turn to dust on stage.

Damiano: We were already on the same path, but our meeting made everything easier right from the start. Every time, Alessandro conjures up magic. He enters deep into music and transforms it into that visual impact that helps us perform with our bodies, too.

Thomas: What I like most about working together is seeing so much professionalism combined with a very strong artistic side, which is by no means something I take for granted. We have a lot of fun, too. There’s a lot of laughter during the fittings.

Alessandro: One thing that my way of working has in common with yours is that you set alight something that has already been and gone (fire is clearly the common element of today’s discussion). You’ve taken a genre that was tucked away in a cellar, labelled as old and obsolete, and you’ve brought it back into thenow, making it exist again. You’re a “has been” that has become contemporary, impossible to decipher. How would you describe your relationship with the past?

Damiano: What’s made the difference for us is that yes, we hooked up with something from the past, but we didn’t respect its canon. We just did stuff we like, expressing ourselves exactly as we were. People who call themselves rock purists don’t compete at Sanremo or Eurovision, but we don’t have any issues with that. Being popular isn’t a stain; it doesn't sully you. No one opens a restaurant thinking, “I don't care about filling up the room.” I want to see a line outside the door!

Victoria: When we write our music, we do what comes instinctively to us. Each of us brings our own feelings and inspirations. For instance, I grew up listening to David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Blondie, and the Sex Pistols. So when we get together in the studio we’re a great mix of different worlds. Sometimes this ends up in a clash and makes the creative process more complicated, but ultimately the result is never a copy of something that already exists. We manage to find a new path—a way that is ours and ours alone.

Thomas: It’s true, we mix up our tastes a lot and since we started out as a band we’ve evolved in the way we play. We've always gone for the rock approach on stage—the electricity we transmit comes naturally to us. Unlike you, Alessandro, I’m pretty nostalgic about the past: I grew up with my father who made me listen to the great rock bands, and so I've been eating up that attitude forever.

Ethan: I’d like to add that in my opinion time doesn't exist, it's a bit of an illusion. Somehow present, past, and future are the same thing—it’s just that we have the perception of moments that pass one after the other, so the past is the present we’ve already lived, and the future is the present that wewill live. It is like when we stand between two mirrors, one in front and one behind: it creates that infinite tunnel in which every movement is reflected in both the front mirror and the back mirror, uniting them. The difference between the past and the future is simply this: the past sees your back, while the future sees your face. You’re in between and you’re a combination of the two—and whatever action you perform happens either because you did something earlier or because of what you will do later.

Alessandro: Building on your mirror metaphor, think about if you turn your back on the future and look at the past, which then reflects what the future could be. I like your idea—the present is an exercise in perception, but maybe we decide the time, and you’ve kind of decided yours. What is your relationship with time?

Victoria: It's a complicated relationship, mine. Basically, you want what you don’t have at any moment. Up until two years ago, when we were on tour I’d miss Rome, my family, and my friends—but when I’d come back, after a week I’d be fried, I’d feel disoriented. For a couple of years now we've been constantly on the road, and it's crazy but also dangerous, because the lack of time risks affecting the artistic side: It can happen that we find ourselves writing a song in five days and it ends up being really foolish—we should take all the time in the world for our music.

Damiano: If I could take a pill to catch up on moments I have missed, I’d take one to be with friends, family, my girlfriend. I’d like to live the kind of conviviality that I haven't allowed myself in the last few years because I've always told myself, “Goals before everything else.” I did it with sport and now I’m doing it with music. Now that I’m older and have a different relationship with my parents and my brother—much more equal—I’d like to enjoy them.

Ethan: I’d climb a mountain, look for a monastery, and find someone who can teach me everything I can’t grasp by myself.

Thomas: The subject of time is one that makes me really suffer. The thing I miss most is having the time to grow as a musician, to bring everything I learn into our group. When a car is going so fast, it’s genuinely difficult to maintain a strong artistic component. That's why, even when I’m exhausted, I take the odd moment to just start playing [my guitar]. I don’t want to fall behind the dreams that I have for myself.

Ethan: The feeling you just described is an obsession of mine, too—I call it “the paradox of the famous artist.” Before they find fame, the artist is a nobody and has all the time in the world to create. When their art becomes famous, so does the artist, but because of their new fame they no longer have time to make the art. It’s an inevitable trap.

Damiano: This is the disease that has afflicted music in recent years. We’ve become used to seeing artists constantly promoting their work. I’m blown away by Harry Styles’s workload, he probably hasn't had a day off in the last four years. Part of me says, “Wow, what willpower,” but I wonder if it's fair to get our audience used to this kind of consumption—you start to forget that we’re human. Overexposure and working too far beyond our physical capabilities is what has destroyed the careers of the best artists of recent generations. When you can no longer live your life because on the one hand you’re overwhelmed by responsibilities and on the other you’re eaten up with fear about disappearing (what happens if I say no to that interview, to the TV appearance, to the tour), you begin to suffocate. I’d like to avoid a second wave of musicians going crazy or dying bloated from medication. There are so many good artists, I’d like to keep them healthy for the next few years!

Alessandro: I was already grown up when I became known to the fashion public. I was almost 42, and I realized that you have to hold onto who you are and where you’re going: You have to love yourself a lot and you have to love what you do just as much. You also have to learn to say no a lot. We’re human beings who like to create worlds: You imagine sounds that don’t exist and put them together, I see things that others don't see. It’s a great gift to be able to share with others what we hear and the stories we want to tell. The things I do must feel right to me: as long as there’s a small part of you in the music you make, that sincerity will pay off. In my spare time, for example, I am practicing idleness. I’m still learning because the need to constantly invent things is ingrained in me. I’m experimenting in a non-philosophical but practical way—what happens if I find the space to say, “Let’s see if I can resist without doing anything”? In my life I’ve developed a Calvinist sense of guilt when it comes to not doing stuff, but idleness is creative. It’s a practice that helps develop the senses.

Compared to Alessandro Michele and the members of Måneskin, I’m a travel newbie: I write books and take planes and trains to accompany them around the world, but there’s no comparison to these guys’ rhythms and lives. And yet, going from place to place, sleeping in hotels is always a bit alienating for me, it makes me feel uncomfortable. So I often cling to smells: When I smell something that reminds me of home, I feel less lonely. And I’ve found that the same goes for Ethan.

Ethan: Smells are very interesting, often we don't realize but they’re portals to another time. For example, the other day I smelled a scent that I’d forgotten, and it physically took me back to a place I hadn't thought about for a long time. I’d lived in a camper van for a year, I didn't have much money at that time and my kitchen had a really specific smell. When I smelled it again, I thought fondly, “I’d forgotten that!”

Damiano: No smells for me, but lots of cat hair. My clothes are always covered in cat hair, every time I open my suitcase I remember the cats, so they’re the ones who are my temporal gateways: they bring me home. By the way, cats are professionals at practicing idleness.

Alessandro: It's true, animals are great masters of idleness. They live this cosmic wholeness that is beautiful. The now is a vast expanse for them while we are restless, worrying about a future ready to punish us for our choices.

Thomas: I’ve given up with pets. When I was 11 years old, I got my beloved piranha. I loved him so much, he was with me for 10 glorious years, but then he died. I didn’t want to replace him with anything else, and every now and then I pay him a visit. I buried him in the courtyard of my [apartment] building, that way I always have him close by.

Alessandro: You’re like Peggy Guggenheim who wanted all her little dogs buried beside her. My partner and I have a ritual: Every time we go to Venice we go to them, we stop in front of the tombstone, and we read the names that by now I know by heart: Cappucino, Hong Kong, Gypsy, Baby. The relationship we have with these creatures is mysterious, almost shamanic. We look to them to address a need in ourselves. We like them because they allow us to rediscover an affectionate, intimate conversation that has been lost. But I have another question. You’ll have been asked it many times but I’d like to understand your relationship with Victoria—from the outside it seems that there’s a real empathy between you.

Damiano: It's like with those huge families, with lots of brothers and sisters. After a while you forget your sister’s a woman!

Thomas: We spend so much time together that that thing is no longer there, that barrier that you usually feel between the sexes.

Damiano: Exactly, there's not the awkwardness of wanting to impress or the fear of looking like you're trying. By now we all know that none of us will ever hit on Vic, and Vic will never hit on us. We’re friends. She wants to get naked? Let her get naked! We all do what we want. After seven years we’re the same.

Victoria: In our family I don't feel any kind of difference. I’m very free, and in general gender cannot and should never be a discriminating factor, but I think I’m lucky: I’ve never been treated differently because I’m female. That’s not always the case: There are many environments where the gender gap creates unacceptable inequality in the way you’re treated, you constantly feel sexualized, inspected, and treated like an object.

Ethan: I’d like to add that being born with a vagina or a penis does not make you a woman or a man. What interests me is the soul of a person, and that’s neither male nor female – it’s simply an energy. I listen to them talk and think of Rupert Brooke's poetry: “I shall desire and I shall find / The best of my desires.” They do not hesitate, getting lost in possibilities, they have a thirst that spurs them on while I’m always sure I’ll lose everything. I go to sleep even as the world sparkles. And then Thomas will tell you about the evening he spent at Madonna’s house…

Thomas: Vic goes out every night. I want to as well, but it's hard to keep up with her. A few days ago I met an Italian guy who lives in New York and he invited me to a party. So I went along while, for once, Vic went back to the hotel. I think it was the first time in two years that she did that. And what happened was that eventually I found myself sitting next to Madonna. I called her and said, “Vic, I'm at Madonna's house!” She was really annoyed.

Victoria: It was terrible! Even when I’m completely spent, I always go out because I'm afraid of missing things, and actually I was right. The one time I chose to sleep, I missed a party at Madonna's house. That's proof that I have to go out more!

Alessandro: Do you have any day-to-day tasks that one of you always does? Is there something that one of you is particularly good at? For example, I’m the medicine guy at home. I know where everything is so my partner asks me if he ever needs anything. He could find and take it himself, but it's an act of caring that I like to perform for him.

Damiano: I can count on Thomas because he’s curious, he likes to get us into situations even ones he wouldn’t go near if he were alone. For example, he took me to some NBA games even though he’s not a basketball fan. Vic is the most organized in terms of schedule. She reminds us of our appointments, but then always arrives 15 minutes late herself! Ethan is the perfect spokesperson: He has platonic gifts and we can talk together for hours and hours.

Thomas and Victoria: Damiano is very pragmatic, no flights of fancy and he gets straight to the point—he’s a rock.

Alessandro: We could go on with this chat forever. I like you guys so much because you have a precious gift: You’re in touch with life. Maybe for you it’s an unconscious reflex, but when I meet you I feel an electric shock. You have a beautiful awareness, and that’s something that it’s crucial to take care of.

📸 HUGO COMTE

#i love this interview 🫶🏻🫶🏻🥹#måneskin #maneskin #vogue italia #house of måneskin #november 2022 #interview #long post #my posts 💫#article

71 notes · View notes

fitzs-space · 1 year

Note

Hello!!! I was wondering if we could get more Moblin stuff? I love the concept so much!

Also, would you be ok with people using Moblins and some of your other headcanons in fics and stuff?

I’ll be honest in saying the base concept of mobs that are more, human? In a sense, that base idea isn’t unique to me, and I’m pretty sure I got the word itself from an old Emerald Duo fic too.

BUT! If you want to use moblins and mandreds I’m how I write them, do know I will kill for you /pos. I always love when people incorporate my ideas into their works, and i want to see all of it so tag me when you do please. I’ll love whatever you create.

All my work gains inspiration from all the other artists and writers of the community, it’s only fair y’all can use me as inspiration too! [This goes for any of my ideas and designs, Just credit or tag me and I'll absolutely love you for it!]

But now on with the idea dump, it’ll be more of the base ideas of how things work. Will these ideas change in the future? Most likely! But it’s to be expected.

Alright so start off with the base vocabulary and ideas,

Moblins- more sentient mobs, includes both passive and hostile mobs. Be they very animal like, or the more “monster” type creatures one would find in the World.

Mandreds- most non mob like creatures, be it more human like, elven, fae, whichever else. Like testificates//villager/pillager types are counted here.

There is bound to be overlap of what is counted as a Moblin vs Mandred, the words are used more as umbrella terms then binary rules. Demonic like players may count themselves in either category if they see fit. It just depends how the player sees themselves sometimes.

Hybrids- self explanatory, a player who has multiple mob like, or Mandred like traits, can really be any mix and isn’t always just “X mob and human!”. Irl hybrids are a lot more compiled, and can rarely reproduce, but I ignore that science because fuck you this is fantasy and there’s a dragon, let me have fun

Shifters- players with the ability to shapeshift. There are some moblin shifters who can only go from their more Mandred like appearance to more of a moblin, as well as shapeshifters who can change to whatever form they can feasibly control.

Player- umbrella term that identifies all entities regardless of traits.

So what makes mobs so different from moblins then? Overall it’s just a higher form of sentience and being further along the line in evolution depending on the mob. Think humans vs monkeys vs fish I guess. It’s mainly that having the higher sentience leads to the world giving these creatures a proper player code so they can, exist, live life and create and love, and importantly, respawn.

And sometimes the definition of what higher sentience counts as, is weird, and it’s better not to question it too hard because it’ll make one’s head hurt. Brings up questions of “why can there be literally entity’s of void and gases that walk around” where the only answer is just “because this void learned there is love, and it was loved back”. The universe is very kind, and it will grant true life to those that know of the love it feels, it is just unfortunate the world is cruel.

That’s why the universe gives the sentinels and robots created by ancient builders as much love as they do. These are entity’s made for the sake of protection, and many of them were made with so much love, they themselves understood it. They were forgotten in time by those who originally built them, but the universe remembered and allowed them to breath. I count sentinels as Iron/snow golems, blazes, creepers, guardians, and though very aggressive, withers and the warden. Just all the Lil dudes who were originally made to protect.

There’s a question of how many animal moblins came to evolve, but that’s just evolution sometimes man, one day you just figure out how to walk on two legs and the body adapts. And in all fairness the ancient builders were way closer to what piglins are, so the more important question is how the hell humans came to be /j.

[//this section I’m kinda talking about death and corpses, quick warning if you need] But the undead moblins are a fun topic, because the idea of what happens to the player after respawn is fun to explore. Many of the undead mobs that wander the wild and attack players, are very much the result of players who died and respawned, but the body didn't disappear. They are just the left behind husks of body’s that move on pure instinct, they just don’t have any code or soul behind them anymore. The knowledge of Why sometimes a body may disappear after respawn and sometimes not, has never been figured out, just another weird code of the universe. Still’s always a little unsettling to be in a cave and see a zombie that looks just like your friend, just all rotted away and two seconds from attacking you. Worse when it’s yourself.

Then what about the undead moblins themselves? that is what happens when the body is supposed to die, but the player refuses to. The body may start to rot away sure, they may become just bone and soul, but the player is still alive and kicking and the universe learns to accept that eventually. It happens most commonly when the player was meant to experience permadeath. Like times when the player succumbs to the infection and the world lets them die a final time, or the player continues on.

[ok we good!]

Am I forgetting some things? Probably, this was written over the course of a few days as I’m chillin on the bus. But a lot of my ideas will be born from canon things, or random hidden knowledge of minecraft lore. Also the fact I was a dnd kid feeds into this stuff a lot too probably. But I like to have fun with ideas and create worlds that I’ll eventually forget about, but now I’ve actually got an audience who’ll remember it.

#fitzs answers #headcanon dump #worldbuilding dump #hehehe mincraf lore #I love talking the abandoned ideas and turning them into actual personal canon #like the enderman that used to have green eyes is now part of how I’ll write em #and how villagers were first implemented as the players but a pig skin!#answering the thoughts

27 notes · View notes

satoshi-mochida · 8 months

Text

PLAYISM and Alphawing announce roguelite action game Metal Bringer for PC

Gematsu Source

Publisher PLAYISM and Samurai Bringer developer Alphawing have announced roguelite action game Metal Bringer for PC. It will launch via Steam in 2024 with English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese language support.

Get the details below.

About

Samurai Bringer, Alphawing’s previous game, is a Japanese roguelite action game released in 2022, where you play as Susanoo and defeat world-famous Japanese samurai as you collect combat techniques to create your own fighting style. It has received over 800 reviews on Steam with a Very Positive rating. Metal Bringer is the second game in the Bringer series, and this time, the setting is completely different—in this game, you fight in a science-fiction world with androids and giant robots in horde-based combat that’s even more satisfying than the last game, and of course, your combat actions will evolve as you fight. The Steam page is now up, so don’t forget to wishlist the game!

The Story

“The sky is blue, infinitely high, and infinitely vast… Whose words were these again…? Ah, I remember… It was about a virtual reality Rudra told me about. A fairy tale. How many years has it been since humanity took refuge underground? No one alive has ever seen a blue sky. And now, I’m trapped in the depths, in a small, lifeless room. Just how long have I been here…?” A young girl named Suria wakes up in a laboratory and finds out that she has been put in cyrosleep for 1000 years without her knowledge. In order to search for the rest of humanity, she builds Labor with her trusty Buds, and sends them off to investigate…

Highly Customizable Player Characters

Build and control android soldiers called “Labor,” or have them pilot giant machines called “Arms.” Each and every Labor and Arms you build is highly customizable. You can change the color and appearance of their features, or swap out parts to change their fighting styles. The sheer variety in character customization will allow you to create and fight with the mech of your dreams.

The More You Play, the Stronger You Get

In Samurai Bringer, you could mix and match combat techniques to create every step of your very own action combos. But in Metal Bringer, you instead collect “disks,” which contain apps that are installed onto your Labor. These apps strengthen your character and power up your actions in an easier and more intuitive way, making it all the more exciting and satisfying to mow down hordes of enemies as your character keeps growing stronger.

New Technologies, Both Visual and Audio

This game uses the same voxel art style as Samurai Bringer, but just like Samurai Bringer, it also implements a real-time pixel art generating system, and will also feature the newest raytracing technology for beautifully lit environments. The music too is made with the newest technology, as it is played in real time and changes according to the situation.

All-Star Creative Team

The key art and Suria’s character design is done by Suzuhito Yasuda, and on the writing team, we have Sami Shinosaki on board!

Suzuhito Yasuda (Twitter) – Illustrator, manga artist, and character designer for multiple popular games and media, such as Durarara!! and the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor series.

Sami Shinosaki – Novelist. Known for the novelizations of the Armored Core and Fire Emblem series.

Word from the Developer

Hello, I’m Takahama, the development director at Alphawing. Metal Bringer is set in a completely different world from Samurai Bringer, where you can use humanoid robots called Labor and giant mechs developed from heavy machinery called Arms to wipe out waves and waves of enemies! We’ve developed new technologies for this game, such as a technique that renders pixels in real time, and another technology that plays music in real time to make it feel as if you were accompanied by live music! Right now, we’re preparing a demo that focuses on the battle aspect of the game. We hope a lot of people will stop by our next event to try out the game!

Play the Demo at PAX West 2023

It’s been four whole years since PLAYISM last participated in PAX West, but this year we’ll be there in Seattle, from September 1 to 4! We’ll be showcasing the very first playable demo of Metal Bringer at the PLAYISM booth, so please stop by the Seattle Convention Center to try it out! Everyone who tries out the Metal Bringer demo at the event will receive a special postcard.

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

English

youtube

#Metal Bringer #Samurai Bringer #Aphawing #Playism #Rouguelite #Roguelike #Gematsu #Youtube

8 notes · View notes