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tobiasdrake · 20 hours

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What do you think of Gohan and Piccolo?

There is a fandom war over whether Goku or Piccolo is Gohan's "real dad" and the honest truth is that Gohan's upbringing is very much "It takes a village to raise a child". He is the product of Chi-Chi, Goku, Piccolo, and to a lesser extent Krillin's influences.

But. Also. Though Piccolo and Gohan develop a strong emotional bond, it warrants noting that Piccolo's initial contribution to Gohan's upbringing is pretty monstrous, as befits the reincarnation of pure evil.

There's a tendency to be more critical of Goku's choices than Piccolo's because Piccolo was a bad guy and Goku was a good one. Generally speaking, we tend to give characters a pass for behavior that's... within their narrative wheelhouse, if that makes sense.

When good guys are being good and bad guys are being bad, we consider that business as usual. That's just what they're supposed to do. If Vegeta kills a bunch of people, nobody cares because Vegeta is a bad guy. Bad guys kill people. This is not a worthwhile observation on his character.

So there's a tendency in fandom to hyperfixate only on the good parts of bad guys, and on the bad parts of good guys - and to ignore the rest. Those are the only parts that we consider noteworthy, because they're the areas where the character is going against their mold. It's important, I think, not to do this with Piccolo when talking about Gohan, because while we all love seeing Gohan's innocence reach Piccolo and redeem him, the darker aspect of his earlier choices inform his later growth and development.

We need to learn how to consider the villainous part of villains and the heroic side of heroes in equal measure to the villain's redeeming qualities and the hero's flaws.

By the time of the fight with Raditz, Piccolo is less evil than his previous iteration. According to Gohan, that's Goku's assessment of him. Implied to be Goku's assessment of the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, as that's the only time the two have met since Piccolo's reincarnation, prior to Raditz's arrival.

This is a fair assessment. I've talked about it before, but reincarnating as a flesh-and-blood Namekian with a complete range of morality rather than simply being the embodiment of one guy's evilness had an effect on Piccolo.

Piccolo opposes the Saiyans because he wants to rule the world and doesn't want them killing everyone he means to govern. But Daimao's plan for world domination was just to inflict a 40-year extermination on humanity. Piccolo's original incarnation was just evil, incapable of really thinking about his own ideas and why he wants them the way the newer form of Piccolo has.

Daimao would never have teamed up with Goku to save "his subjects" from extermination. He wanted to kill them all too. This capacity for growth and change was already in motion, already forcing him to reconsider what he actually wants from his own ambitions, from the moment he awoke in his new body.

But he was still a bastard. He'd been Evil Incarnate for 300 years; You don't get over that in an afternoon. He still had all of his memories,a ll of his knowledge; There was a lot of wickedness baked into his personality from the get-go.

Since he was no longer Mazoku, he had a brand new range of moral depth to engage with. But he didn't have the luxury of getting to start over as a brand new person. No clean slate for Piccolo. Now that he was capable of change, he still needed a reason and a will to experience it. Circumstances that would force him to re-evaluate his relationship with himself, others, and the world.

The threat of the Saiyans provided that impetus, by giving Piccolo a plan. A nasty plan. A plan based on strict utilitarian assessment of Gohan's involvement in the preceding fight, with no regard to the fact that this is a four-year-old child.

Piccolo, in this moment, sees Gohan as a resource to be used. He has zero empathy for him or for anyone else.

Of course he doesn't. He was the embodiment of selfishness and cruelty for 300 years. He has a capacity for empathy now but has never been put in a position where it might begin to develop. As he says to Gohan in his dying moments:

"You were the only one who ever really talked to me."

Like. Let's not sympathize too much here; this is more on him than anyone else. He tried to reconquer the world and tried multiple times to kill Goku, the only person he has any sort of relationship with. Even the attack he used to kill Raditz was designed for killing Goku.

The reason nobody ever "really talked to [him]" before Gohan is because Piccolo's only interactions with other people were verbal and physical violence. This is what I was getting at earlier. The guy, at this point in time, is a villain existing in uneasy alliance with the heroes. Let's not forget that. In fact, even his relationship with Gohan is verbally and physically violent.

That sweet scene up there where Gohan confronts Piccolo with the fact that he's not such a bad guy? This is how that scene ends.

This is what we tend to give Piccolo a pass on because we expect this behavior from villains, but it needs to be said that Piccolo's approach to Gohan's training is cruel and abusive. The development of their bond has more to do with Gohan's purehearted innocence than with Piccolo's changing outlook.

That's not a slight against Piccolo. It's the setup. This cruelty is what makes it so meaningful when he does change. It's why this moment is so powerful.

The reason this is such a moment that Toei can't stop trying to remake it is because it comes on the heels of all of that cruelty and dismissal. That he would even do this is as much a surprise to Piccolo as it is to everyone else. It violently contradicts and recontextualizes everything he and Gohan have been through for the last year.

Gohan's innocence won out and it changed Piccolo in ways he didn't even realize were happening. When Piccolo says that no one ever really talked to him before, this isn't an indictment against the world for mistreating him. Piccolo is not the Warriors of Hope from Danganronpa. It's validating Gohan for having the courage and empathy to reach him despite it all.

Gohan's training was an idea born of cruel arithmetic. Gohan himself gained some rudimentary martial knowledge but didn't get much else out of it - because Piccolo himself was unsuited to the emotional guidance that Gohan needed. When the Saiyans arrived, he was woefully unprepared for the task that Piccolo expected of him.

What did you expect? It doesn't matter that you taught him how to throw a punch; That boy is five years old. Piccolo pays for this mistake with his life.

But what he does get out of it, what he and Gohan both get out of it, is the development of an emotional bond that will last the rest of their lives - with his dying moment, his sacrifice for Gohan, being what truly kicks off their relationship.

That sacrifice is the reason Gohan goes to Namek.

Gohan, innocent and kind, doesn't resent Piccolo for the things he did. Quite the contrary, he respects Piccolo a lot. By his own admission, he has the same admiration for Piccolo that he does for Goku.

Gohan and Piccolo's bond is now pretty tight, and it remains so through the Namek and Android arcs.

Piccolo grows from his mistake, lets his ambitions for world domination slide away, and he and Gohan now have each other's backs in earnest. The respect and empathy Gohan needed is now there.

It's from that experience (and the wisdom of God now joined into him) that Piccolo's later able to call out Goku for his mistake in the Cell Games.

Piccolo sees the flaw in Goku's plan because he's been Goku. He's stood where Goku's standing, waiting with baited breath for a warrior's hunger to suddenly awaken inside Gohan and for him to fuck this guy up. He had to learn the hard way that that's not who Gohan is, and he brings that development to the table here. He's projected onto Gohan the way Goku now is, and it cost him his life.

Neither Goku nor Piccolo is entirely right here. But neither is entirely wrong either. Goku's plan does ultimately work, but only because of the effort Cell and 16 put into correcting Goku's bad assumptions and finding a trigger that will set Gohan off.

This, I think, is what gets lost in the "Real Dad Goku vs Real Dad Piccolo" debate. It's too binary. Gohan cares a great deal about both of them, they're both prominent influences on him, and they both had a formative effect on his childhood. If you asked him to pick one, he'd probably look at you like you're crazy. The correct answer is:

That panel, that entire panel, is who Gohan's primary male role model is.

Though if you want to know whose kid Gohan really is more than anyone's, it's her:

No matter how distasteful Vegeta might find it, Gohan is his mother's son. He's sensitive, kind, curious, and far more interested in academia than in martial arts; All the qualities Chi-Chi wanted to instill in him. But he nonetheless has a lot of admiration for Goku and Piccolo too, and he carries their influence with him all the same.

(Also, as an aside. Like. Krillin? Kindly fuck off. Gohan may not be as badly hurt as Goku but he was still beaten half to death by both Nappa and Vegeta over the course of this battle. He couldn't even stand up under his own power anymore before he became the Oozaru. Also, he's five and Chi-Chi hasn't seen him, her baby boy, in a year.

It is absolutely valid for her to be way more concerned for Gohan than for Goku.)

But I digress. Point is, Piccolo and Gohan got off to a rocky start and I think that Piccolo's behavior during that time shouldn't be ignored, but also he changed dramatically due to Gohan's influence. Piccolo shaped much of who Gohan was as a fighter in his early years, but Gohan did far more for Piccolo by making him part of a family despite himself.

Now he's in Gohan's wedding photo.

And Chi-Chi isn't for reasons that can only be attributed to Toei's utter disdain for her character.

And he's teaching martial arts to Gohan's kid, with a much gentler hand than the one he once used on Gohan.

There's a real argument to be made that Gohan did more to shape who Piccolo became in the years following their training together than Piccolo did to shape Gohan. Sometimes the master learns as much or even more from the apprentice than the apprentice does from the master.

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #son gohan #piccolo

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meggie-jolly · 19 hours

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A Relationship of Full Moons (Wolfstar)

Word Count: 2969 Tags: Sirius Balck/Remus Lupin, post Sirius in Azkaban, second wizarding war, lie low at Lupin's Summary: After Azkaban Sirius is staying with Remus and tries to get back to some semblance of normal with their friendship and how they handle the full moons together. Sirius' plans for the 20th anniversary of the Marauders becoming Animagi finally make the two of them talk about some things. ~ "Moony, come on. It's been 20 years! Can you believe it? We have to celebrate!" Sirius leaned over the back of the chair Remus was sitting in. He was so close to Remus' face, that the steam from the fresh cup of tea in Remus' hand tickled his nose. Remus sighed and turned his head slightly, bringing his lip dangerously close to Sirius'. "We can. I'll get us some Firewhiskey and Butterbeer and we can reminisce about old times all night. I'm sure we'll find an old Gryffindor scarf somewhere." Notes: This fic was written for a writing challenge from my favourite ever discord server. The prompt was "forest" and my original idea for the fic was very different than what I ended up writing, but the characters just went another way and it didn't feel right to force my original plan in. It's less forest themed than originally intended, but I like what I ended up with.

After Sirius came back from Azkaban and was told "to lie low at Lupin's" it had taken months until Remus had let Padfoot anywhere near the wolf during the full moon.

At first Remus would leave to transform somewhere else without even telling Sirius where he went. Eventually he made use of the cellar beneath the tiny cottage they both lived in, but he still wouldn’t let Padfoot keep him company.

Sirius could hear the wolf howl and scream all night and it drove him crazy.

Eventually, when Remus had gotten his hands on some Wolfsbane potion again, he reluctantly allowed Padfoot to be with him in the cellar.

Being down there, locked in, was too much like being back in his cell in Azkaban for Sirius liking, but being able to help Remus, to be close to him again, to feel like some things could go back to the way they were before, made up for it.

Padfoot and the wolf spend all night curled up together in a way that Sirius and Remus couldn’t do as humans. There was too much left unsaid between them, too many years, too much pain.

A couple of months later, Remus couldn’t get Wolfsbane potion in time and Sirius was afraid he would bar him from the cellar again. He didn’t dare bring it up, but when the full moon came and Remus went down to the cellar, he didn’t stop Sirius from following him. He even held open the door invitingly.

That night was harder and they both ended up with a few scratches to show for it the next morning. Sirius didn't care, it was another step back to their old self, it felt familiar, the patching each other up the next morning, the sleepiness the next day. It also made him miss James and Peter even more than usual, but he could take that if it took away a little of the strain between him and Remus.

They continued like that, spending full moons together in the cellar, sometimes with Wolfsbane, sometimes without. Slowly their relationship began to get back to something almost resembling their friendship from before. Sirius knew it would never be the same, they were irrevocably changed and broken, but maybe together they could mend some cracks.

Continue on AO3

#fanfiction #wolfstar #the marauders #sirius black #remus lupin #remus x sirius #marauders #second wizarding war #post azkaban sirius #my writing #ao3 #lie low at lupin's

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legolasghosty · 1 month

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Prompt 8 for willex? It feels too perfect!

Heyyyy anon... yes I know it's been over 2 months. I am just as sad about that as you are, should this ever find you. I swear I haven't been ignoring you, school is just a pain. But anyways, have a lil something for your patience! (I live in shame okay)

Willie laughed, hand clasped in Alex's as they ran down the pier. Technically they didn't have to worry about that guy coming after them, he was a lifer after all. But it was kind of fun to pretend.

"Slow down," Alex gasped, tugging on his hand. But Willie could see the grin on his face when they turned. "What exactly was the point of that?" the drummer asked when they came to a stop.

Willie giggled and wiggled his eyebrows without speaking, twirling a stolen straw between his fingers. They'd been working on getting Alex up to date on queer culture lately, including a certain phrase they liked to live by.

Alex sighed, dropping his chin to his chest. "Right, sorry," he chuckled.

"Good boy," Willie teased, bumping his shoulder against Alex's. "You'll get it eventually."

Alex rolled his eyes. "How does repeatedly messing with a dude's smoothie count as a crime?" he questioned.

Willie shrugged. "I mean I stole his straw," they suggested. "It's the spirit of the thing, not the letter of the law."

"So you claim," Alex retorted playfully. "I feel like I should get a second opinion on that one."

Willie clapped his free hand to his chest in mock offense. "You don't trust me, hotdog?!"

"I do," Alex responded quietly.

Willie was pretty sure he just died again at the soft openness in his eyes. If their brain was a computer, there would be an entire folder just made up of the moments when Alex looked at him like that. Like he'd follow him to the edge of the world, and then over the cliff and into the abyss. Like it didn't matter how badly Willie screwed up, Alex would be right there as long as they wanted him. Like he loved him.

One of these days, Willie would be brave enough to say the words back out loud. As it was, he hadn't gotten up the nerve yet.

"Well then no second opinion required," he stated after a beat too long, backing away from the heavy feelings in his chest. Feelings had never been their area of expertise.

Alex laughed. Mission accomplished. "Hey, isn't checking your sources just part of being responsible?" he asked, humor filling his features and chasing away all that serious stuff.

"But what if it's coming from a really good first source," Willie shot back, poking him in the chest with the straw.

"I'm pretty sure you're not the primary source for homosexual illegal activity," Alex said. "Pretty sure being gay was a crime before you were born."

"See there was this whole thing with a ghost time machine..." Willie joked.

Alex started to laugh, then stopped. He gave Willie a worried glance. "You're messing with me, right?" he checked.

Willie stared back gravely. Held Alex's stare for a long moment. Then burst out into giggles. "Yeah, I'm totally kidding," they admitted.

"Rude!" Alex exclaimed, a relieved chuckle escaping his mouth with the word. "Geez, Willie!"

"Come on, time travel?" Willie teased. "That's not a thing."

"Well I didn't think ghosts were a thing either," Alex pointed out. "But ummm..." He swung his arm through a pair of stand-up binoculars beside him to make his point.

Willie nodded slowly, still giggling. "Fair point."

Alex shook his head in exasperation, though Willie could tell it wasn't real. "Kids these days," he huffed playfully, stealing the straw from Willie's fingers.

"I still resent the fact that you think that being a month older than me when we died means you're older than me," Willie teased, trying to grab the straw back.

"Not my fault I'm right," Alex responded, stepping back and holding the straw up over his head so Willie couldn't reach it.

"No fair, you're tall," Willie complained lightly, swatting at Alex's shoulder.

"Also not my fault," Alex laughed. "You going to blame me for the weather next?"

Willie moved closer, reaching for the sleeve of Alex's hoodie to pull his arm down. "Depends, are you gonna rain on my parade some more?" they said.

"Only when you're wrong," Alex answered, stepping back in an attempt to avoid Willie's grabbing.

"So never," Willie joked, catching the pink fabric and tugging.

Alex tried to pull away, backing up again, but this time he pulled Willie with him by accident. Willie stumbled, falling into Alex's chest and pushing him backwards until he hit the railing of the pier. Willie blinked, startled to realize that they were now pressed together, Alex's body trapped between the metal guard rail and Willie's weight.

It took a moment for them to dare look up and find Alex's eyes, now only inches away. The drummer was giving them that soft, open look again. Willie was suddenly grateful that not being able to breathe wasn't a massive problem anymore.

"On the topic of queer misdemeanors," Alex murmured, his lashes fluttering as his gaze flicked between Willie's eyes and his lips, "can I kiss you?"

Willie hummed something affirmative, they couldn't remember what after, and leaned in. Alex met them halfway, his hand coming up to cup their cheek as their lips brushed. Willie tilted his head, leaning into his palm as he found a better angle to try again. Alex's other arm curled around his shoulders as Willie's hands found purchase on the drummer's waist. Alex's lips were warm and dry and soft and Willie was pretty sure he was going to be addicted to them.

They parted after a long moment. Willie didn't go far, staying close enough to feel Alex's breath against their cheek. He wanted to say it. He wanted to say it so bad. But somehow, the words still refused to form on his tongue. Even with Alex so close, eyes half closed, soft smile on his face, the words wouldn't come. Willie wanted to run.

"When I said 'be gay, do crime', this isn't exactly what I meant," they said instead.

Alex's eyes opened all the way and he stared at them for a moment, before chuckling and dropping his head onto their shoulder. "I mean, it's gay and illegal, right?" the drummer protested weakly.

"No actually, the decriminalized gay marriage and stuff back in 2015," Willie pointed out, the knot inside his mouth relaxing.

Alex's head shot back up. "Wait seriously?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Willie said, startled. "Supreme Court case and all that. Did you not..."

"I guess it never came up?" Alex offered, shrugging as his eyes dropped to Willie's crop top, glazing over a little as he processed the information. He blinked slowly, then sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll just have to be gay and legal then."

"Well, I did say it was more about the spirit of the thing," Willie reminded him, glancing at his lips again.

Alex breathed out a laugh, meeting their eyes. "Well in that case, I guess we have to."

Willie grinned as their lips met again, melting into Alex. Maybe he couldn't make himself say the words yet. But Alex knew. And that was enough.

#legolas tag #julie and the phantoms #legolas ask #jatp #jatp fanfic #willex #alex mercer #willie jatp #first kiss #themmmmmm #this very much didn't go as I originally planned #geez Willie why you gotta have a feeling crisis?#but like it's cute so I'll allow it #(I say as if I have any control over them)

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kelpiemomma · 8 months

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Ingo held Khan's scaled wrist gently as he examined the claws his friend now sported. Five fingers had been turned into four deadly talons, new to Ingo but already put to gruesome work by the hybrid.

"I'm sorry about your hands..." he said softly. Khan shrugged as he examined his other claws.

"Eh, don't sweat it. It's hardly the worst thing they've done to me." He responded mildly. As though his body being changed against his will to a weapon was the norm. Ingo glanced at his eyes, his fangs, the remnants of his horns- and remembered this wasn't the first time his friend had been altered against his will. His grip on Khan's hand tightened.

"Still," he insisted, "if we'd found you guys sooner..."

If they'd found Khan and Nana sooner, Khan would still have his hands and Nana would still have both eyes. If they'd been just a little faster to realize the hybrids were missing, to remember where they had come from, if they had pushed their pokemon a little harder to fly and fight-

"I'm glad you found us at all, honestly." Khan said it off the cuff, without thinking, but must have felt how Ingo's grip tightened again. He turned his head to look at his friend and Ingo felt mild dread at the look in his eyes. As Khan leaned forward he cringed back just slightly.

"Hey, look on the bright side!" Khan accentuated his words with a point from his claws. He must have seen Ingo's confused upset because he smiled wider.

"The bright side?" Ingo repeated. There was a bright side to this?

Khan shut his eyes as if he was a teacher explaining something incredibly simple.

"Oh, my sweet summer train man, of course there is!"

He stuck out his claws like Elesa and Skylar did when they were showing off freshly done nails. The scales gleamed in the light, dimly iridescent.

"I match your color scheme now!"

Ingo's gaze remained on the claws for a moment. Was this really a good thing? Khan had lost another important part of himself because he and Emmet had been too slow. Was the simple black nature of his scales that important? Could it make up for everything else?

He looked up with tired eyes, meeting Khan's gaze again, and realized that Khan was not as unaffected as he thought. He was giving Ingo the softest smile he'd ever witnessed on the other man's scarred face, his eyes half shut and gentle. Khan had been there when it happened, had suffered the consequences, just as he had the last time he'd been abducted. He would figure out how to deal with his new appendages just as he always had before. It was not quite old hat, but it was also nothing new, and something would have been changed no matter how quickly he and Emmet had arrived.

For the first time in the years he'd known Khan, the hybrid was being sympathetic and offering Ingo a comfort over something he had no control of. Yes, he now had claws and scales, but they were the color that Ingo most frequently found himself in. The color of one of his closest family members. Ingo wondered if Khan had used that as a way to comfort himself after it happened, but didn't dare ask. Instead he tried smiling. Surely it was weak, but the worried look in Khan's eyes lessened.

"Yes, you're quite right." Ingo grasped Khan's claws as if they were still his hands, holding them tightly. He would get used to them, just as Khan had. It would be alright. "Another color would have been quite unfortunate."

#Khan a.#I have no name for this au #TLDR Emmet and Nana met up in the future-present. Nana developed beyond Khan and they managed to track them down in Hisui #And get them home. Akari comes with ofc. Ingo and Akari go back to visit their friends in Hisui regularly. They return after a visit #To find Emmet in distress. While they were gone Khan and Nana were abducted by the organization that originally made them what they are.#Secret labs are not as easy to find as people think and it takes some time for them to track down where Khan and Nana ended up. When they D #They find nana missing an eye. Khan missing his hands. And (to their surprise and horror) Rei. From Hisui.#Who is now a (hisuian) Growlithe hybrid in a similar manner nana and Khan are also hybrids.#Everyone gets saved but not without some losses. Given ow hpeaceful everything has otherwise been... this is upsetting to the train men.#Akari copes by making a pros and cons list of their new abilities and helping Rei adjust to the future #(he can't go back to Hisui because he still exists there... nobody knows why or how he came to be in the organizaion's clutches)#Emmet and Ingo are determined to track down and eradicate the rest of the offshoot branches of the organization but each feel guilty #If they'd been faster. If they'd been smarter. If they'd found a clue a little earlier.#If if if if if. Khan and Nana are no strangers to undesired body modification and are already getting used to them.#(primarily by mocking each other. They're allowed to. They've seen the worst of each other in the first hybridizations and now this.)#For Khan it's very much a 'well. This wasn't planned. Time to adapt.'#At least they didn't give him soft mittens he couldn't inflict damage in #but now he has to be careful lest he unintentionally inflict damage (he cut Akari by accident once already. It gutted him.)#Anyway that guilt manifests into ingo apologizing (more than once)#And Khan trying to convince him it's fine. It sucks but it's fine. It's not ingo or Emmet's fault.#Ingo better appreciate gentle and sympathetic Khan while he's got him cause once the guilt is over Khan is going back to being a bastard #Also I apologize for the beanie but I haven't figured out hair for ANY info #And I was not about to draw his bitch ass hat

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fire-eyed-raven · 8 months

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If every time I've seen Madara being terribly mischaracterised I've got a penny I would probably be reach already T_T

At least warring states/founding of Konoha times Madara

#I'm so sick and tired of the “macho-man” Madara as I call him #oh so agressive and a conqueror the quintessence of masculinity etc #so hungry for power and wanted to be a hokage etc #so confident!#but..... he is not????#It's very obvious in the Manga that he's sad and depressed and insecure in his position #and he's not a forceful tyrant as people love to portray him #he listens to what other people want ( his clan and Izuna) he doesn't try to force them to do anything unless it's inevitable #he hasn't wanted to be a hokage he was surprised and not sure that he would be a right choice for a position #when Hashirama told him he wants him to be a hokage #when he overheard Hashirama and Tobirama speaking he clearly was going to Hashirama to talk #he didn't confront them right on the spot like he could he turned and run #he didn't confront them at all until Hashirama came to him to speak ( too late)#that's not how aggressive confident person beheaves #and even later in the 4rth war ark....#his original plan hadn't included war or big scale violence #he wanted for it to be realised without much collateral damage ( war happened because of obito)#people always basing his dominative/sadistic interpretation off this ark #but the fact is - he doesn't enjoy dominating and beating people who are weaker than him #the mere fact of victory doesn't bring him joy or satisfaction #and people almost always write him like he gets off on it...#he is bored almost the whole ark - he gets emotional and exited when Hashirama appears #because it's Hashirama and because he is a promise of struggle #the promice of fight with an equal or stronger opponent #what Madara canonically gets the kick out of is the process of the fight the struggle the fight against the strongest opponent #he seems downright joyful when his ass gets beaten he's enjoying it and that's canon #the man canonically enjoys being overpowered and getting his ass beaten #and comments on how he's bored and unsatisfied with beating and overpowering others 🤦‍♀️#the fact that he canonically represent the ying part in the yang/ying pair with Hashirama #is another meaningful matte which I won't expand on here

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rubenesque-as-fuck · 1 month

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Sometimes I take a new set and even if I really like it ✨aesthetically✨ I still worry that it's Not Horny Enough and that it'll scare off my paying subscribers if I'm not constantly being as lewd as possible

#creator concerns #took an outside set today that I liked a lot (mostly because I used a bubble machine and it made for some very fun stills)#but there was less cover/privacy than I would have liked so I didn't really strip down as much as I had originally planned #so like kept thinking dang am I going to lose what few subscribers I have if I don't act sluttier?#but ultimately i am doing this as a way to try to stay connected with my own body so maybe it's ok that I just take sets that *I* like too #extremely grateful that I can just do this as a side hustle and not have too much riding on it financially #which is good because I mostly average >$100/month after OF takes their cut #plus the awesome stuff folks send me from my wishlist sometimes 😊#I've gotten more wishlist gifts in the last year than I've gotten regular birthday and xmas gifts combined #so that's a win

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reploidbuddy · 8 months

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Went on my planning app to look at a thing and misclicked on At Hope’s End’s section and now I'm 👀 at a few of these

#There’s one that doesn’t show and I hid it because it would not be a one-shot and it was a mess #I didn't look at all of them but I don’t even know if there’s anything in Elise’s first week hehe #rep writes #Light on the Horizon #Shadow's last week is very tempting rn it's p decently planned ngl #Sonic’s Bethrotal too #Return to Westside was mostly done too but idk it feels a little long and my focus is already super split lately #wait hang on I just remembered I had already STARTED Return to Westside but I stopped bc it felt like a mess #I just realize now I do that with a lot of things #suddenly stopping because it feels like a mess #it's what had originally happened with Worst Case Scenario aka Dadow one-shot #but I picked it back up a month or two later if not more because it turns out it wasn't that much of a mess #writing like 4k words or more and then going like “this is bad” and stopping #and later reading the 4k+ words and realizing you kinda like it now

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protectcosette · 1 year

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the way that i am constantly hurt by people assuming i'm being mean and then judging me on that instead of actually seeing what i'm saying

#a friend is cancelling plans we had tonight bc when she asked for an address i gave the name of the place and then said #'i sent you details last week right? time and ticket stuff?' bc i wanted to make sure they still had that info #and they thought i was saying 'i already told you where to go just look at that' when that was very much not what i meant #and they sent me a whole long text about how they were confused and asking for help and they're just not gonna come anymore #i drew a little map for her and everything :( but she thought i was just being bitchy and I having really big feelings about this #bc this meant a lot to me but also like. why would she just assume that's what i meant if she didn't already see me as a kinda rude person #idk. i'm just really upset about this. feel kinda sick to my stomach about it #certified protectcosette original #personal

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bookwyrminspiration · 2 years

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Haven't read much of the wings au but Keefe and Fitz and Dex should just suck it up and embrass the birds already. This meaning Fitz stands ominously at the highest point of a building or in a corner to observe the whole room with and sometimes he preens himself with his mouth and has his own select area that No One But Me can go into and watches people with stiff and jerky head movements and suddenly has much sharper eyesight and is now an accomplished swimmer and has a habit of breaking branches and has gained a new taste for fish, he could be more hot headed as well and always prepared for a fight

Keefe (You said Angel on the Art of his wings) should have a Major Moral Compass and very ready to help and sends his time serenely watching the sky and is very humbled and to himself but ominous and somehow wise

I don't remember what bird Dex was so I've decided he should be a crow because they're crafty little fuckers that hold a grudge like it's nobodies business and they're intelligent to boot. Dex should embrace his new found communication skills so he can actually describe his ideas in a way other people can understand and remembers faces exceptionally well and spends most of his time alone in his own little hut. He should enjoy his newfound power of hopping around with a little flapping of his wings to aid him in his movements because crows are simply too small to walk meaningful distance so he'd get that behaviour and would join Fitz in the preening and the jerky movements, except Dex is now more prone to flying away. Dex is also now very prone to causing general mischief around the place. He also has his own little space that he defends and screeches over when people enter without permission. More than once you'll see Fitz being run out of Dex's "nest" (The gnome hut) while rapidly scolding him. Dex is often seen being growled at and circled by Fitz because he forgot about the territory as well.

Anyway, they all have to deal with Mr. Crafty grudge man and Mr. Predator refined eagle man

How did I forget about this ask I love wings au asks! You know what you probably sent it later in the day and I went "oh I'll answer that tomorrow" except by the time tomorrow happened I'd forgotten until I scrolled past it now

(saving space with a cut!)

You know what Nonsie you're so right, they should all lean into it more. I was trying to find a balance between the inhuman aspects of their wings and the elves they are where they're not quite the same as they were before but still recognizable as themselves, but this would be way funnier. I know you said you haven't read much but this just means I get to inform you that Maruca gets to be part of this squad as well as her wings are starling wings!

I will be entirely honest though the main reason that Fitz's house in the village has two stories, something no other house has, is specifically so he can have a vantage point like what you're describing. He gets to be higher than everyone because I thought it would be fun. Oh! I just referenced my original notes for the wings au and under Fitz's characteristics I literally was brainstorming "nesting, cocking head, staring" so we are on the same wavelength. I swear I made a note about preening somewhere as well let me see if I can find it. I found it!! I made a note saying that Keefe likes to preen, though that isn't a trait I've brought as much into the au. For the swimming thing, they haven't needed to swim yet but I will keep that in mind, Nonsie

Also thanks for the reminder on keefe's wings thing! I forgotten I'd written that, but angel was more of a filler word because he has wings specific to a creature within the au (often referred to as "the being") because I didn't want to bring angels or their relations into that. Since in the au having a type of wing indicates that that creature exists and I don't want to get into the complexities of angels, but honestly I don't think it's too much of a stretch to still call Keefe a bird. The being is this whole confusion amalgamation of existence, whose to say there isn't bird in there? But the serene/ominous/somehow wise combination you described would fit with his vibe almost perfectly...you are giving me ideas this is very fun

Dex was an owl! I might've specified which kind but I can't remember what it was at the moment given that it's not super important because his wings went haywire while developing and he built himself wings instead. But all of your crow descriptions are apt as well and would work really well for him! "crafty little fucker" is him in a nutshell, and he totally should join Fitz in the Extreme Bird Club. When Keefe complained that all his friends were turning into birds he actually just meant them specifically and denies that he has any association with birds. You know there was a scene recently where Dex was knocking on Sophie's door except it was slightly open and it swung open unexpectedly and he closed it so he could knock and enter the correct way, which could fit with a particular understanding of spaces like you're describing!

Fitz and Dex having territory fights is so beautiful I might have to add something like that very soon. Sophie, Biana, and Linh are off Underground finding out Lady Gisela is dead but back home Dex and Fitz are squabbling for their lives.

Here I was focusing on Maruca and Marella and Linh and dragons and monsters when the bird boys were right there! Maruca is one of the bird boys actually she gets access to both groups.

Anyway my point is I love every single part of this ask and have read it like three times now and can't believe I forgot about it! The wings au my beloved <3

#kotlc wings au #keeper of the lost cities #quil's queries #nonsie #shattered upside down #honestly didn't put too much thought into dex's bird wings because my original plan was 'oh he'll just make his own after his are ruined :)#and then I got to that part where they were going wrong and went oh wait he still needs to have had wings to be ruined #and scrambled to figure it out #but I love crow for him #like yes!! that is he!!#very honored to receive this ask it is !!!#i love all of this

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tkbrokkoli · 7 months

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need to vent in the tags a little :(

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nobodysuspectsthebutterfly · 3 months

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FYI artists and writers: some info regarding tumblr's new "third-party sharing" (aka selling your content to OpenAI and Midjourney)

You may have already seen the post by @staff regarding third-party sharing and how to opt out. You may have also already seen various news articles discussing the matter.

But here's a little further clarity re some questions I had, and you may too. Caveat: Not all of this is on official tumblr pages, so it's possible things may change.

(1) "I heard they already have access to my data and it doesn't really matter if I opt out"

From the 404 article:

A new FAQ section we reviewed is titled “What happens when you opt out?” states “If you opt out from the start, we will block crawlers from accessing your content by adding your site on a disallowed list. If you change your mind later, we also plan to update any partners about people who newly opt-out and ask that their content be removed from past sources and future training.”

So please, go click that opt-out button.

(2) Some future user: "I've been away from tumblr for months, and I just heard about all this. I didn't opt out before, so does it make a difference anymore?"

Another internal document shows that, on February 23, an employee asked in a staff-only thread, “Do we have assurances that if a user opts out of their data being shared with third parties that our existing data partners will be notified of such a change and remove their data?” Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s head of AI replied: “We will notify existing partners on a regular basis about anyone who's opted out since the last time we provided a list. I want this to be an ongoing process where we regularly advocate for past content to be excluded based on current preferences. We will ask that content be deleted and removed from any future training runs. I believe partners will honor this based on our conversations with them to this point. I don't think they gain much overall by retaining it.”

It should make a difference! Go click that button.

(3) "I opted out, but my art posts have been reblogged by so many people, and I don't know if they all opted out. What does that mean for my stuff?"

This answer is actually on the support page for the toggle:

This option will prevent your blog's content, even when reblogged, from being shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models.

And some further clarification by the COO and a product manager:

zingring: A couple people from work have reached out to let me know that yes, it applies to reblogs of "don't scrape" content. If you opt out, your content is opted out, even in reblog form. cyle: yep, for reblogs, we're taking it so far as "if anybody in the reblog trail has opted out, all of the content in that reblog will be opted out", when a reblog could be scraped/shared.

So not only your reblogged posts, but anyone who contributed in a reblog (such as posts where someone has been inspired to draw fanart of the OP) will presumably be protected by your opt-out. (A good reason to opt out even if you yourself are not a creator.)

Furthermore, if you the OP were offline and didn't know about the opt-out, if someone contributed to a reblog and they are opted out, then your original work is also protected. (Which makes it very tempting to contribute "scrapeable content" now whenever I reblog from an abandoned/disused blog...)

(4) "What about deleted blogs? They can't opt out!"

I was told by someone (not official) that he read "deleted blogs are all opted-out by default". However, he didn't recall the source, and I can't find it, so I can't guarantee that info. If I get more details - like if/when tumblr puts up that FAQ as reported in the 404 article - I will add it here as soon as I can.

Edit, tumblr has updated their help page for the option to opt-out of third-party sharing! It now states:

The content which will not be shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models, includes: • Posts and reblogs of posts from blogs who have enabled the "Prevent third-party sharing" option. • Posts and reblogs of posts from deleted blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from password-protected blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from explicit blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from suspended/deactivated blogs. • Private posts. • Drafts. • Messages. • Asks and submissions which have not been publicly posted. • Post+ subscriber-only posts. • Explicit posts.

So no need to worry about your old deleted blogs that still have reblogs floating around. *\o/*

But for your existing blogs, please use the opt out option. And a reminder of how to opt out, under the cut:

The opt-out toggle is in Blog Settings, and please note you need to do it for each one of your blogs / sideblogs.

On dashboard, the toggle is at https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/blogname [replace "blogname" as applicable] down by Visibility:

For mobile, you need the most recent update of the app. (Android version 33.4.1.100, iOs version 33.4.) Then go to your blog tab (the little person icon), and then the gear icon for Settings, then click Visibility.

Again, if you have a sideblog, go back to the blog tab, switch to it, and go to settings again. Repeat as necessary.

If you do not have access to the newest version of the app for whatever reason, you can also log into tumblr in your mobile browser. Same URL as per desktop above, same location.

Note you do not need to change settings in both desktop and the app, just one is fine.

I hope this helps!

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rubysparx · 5 months

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Honestly I don't think I'm qualified to make this post, I just don't know if I can make coherent enough words man. But the thoughts are in there and I will try to articulate them. This is probably going to be mostly images though. anyway yeah KABRU POST.

A couple nights ago (at approximately 2:30am, lasting a little over half an hour) I had a bit of a moment about Kabru. That, too, was mostly images- most of what you see in this more concise post were presented then as well. I think my main points of the "moment" were about Kabru's trauma + self hatred, his autism and/or general otherness, and also a little labru if you'd like..

I think something easy to start with is I wanna point out Kabru's constant back and forth and conflicting opinions of demihumans and how, I believe, thats a reflection of how he goes back and forth on what he believes his purpose of living is- and the general worth of his own life. I've said it before and i've just kinda shown it in images; Kabru is "i think im a monster and it disgusts me" where Laios is "I know im a human and it disgusts me" (i could go more into the latter on another post)

the above are both from the world bible, with the left being from the section on kobolds and the right being from the section on Kuro specifically. Utaya was very near to the desert where most of the kobold population is, this is likely why Kabru is able to speak Kuro's language- he grew up around demihumans. (chapter 48 cover, kobold chapter in the world bible) I won't try to speak for how his mother or the rest of utaya felt about the kobolds but I can say that Kabru was very much othered as a child, as was his mother, purely for the way her son's (kabru) eyes looked.

I feel like its fair enough to say that both kabru and the kobolds were othered, and possibly for similar reasons (villager's seeing them as nonhuman, as monsters) and the fact that Kabru learned their language probably didn't help his case. I think his perception of kobolds (and all demihumans, subsequently himself, as he probably still views himself as nonhuman or not human enough.. deep down) was damaged by the Utaya incident. at 2:30am when I first started this ramble my main comment was that "had the utaya incident not happened kabru would have little reason to feel ashamed for his connection to monsters. and may have ended up similar to laios in that he couldve had otherkin swag" which is just a sort of silly way of saying Kabru could've learned to love the thought that he is possibly nonhuman or at least not hated himself so much for it.

in the original ramble I said, and quote, "he has been STALKING laios. laios is his hyperfixation to learn how he can ever be loved. he keeps going back and forth so harshly on wether or not he wants to kill Laios and he clearly sees his survival from utaya not as an unfortunate trauma [*] but as a necessary, deserved fate. a punishment for his mother's witchy sins, and for his sin of being non-human. to atone for it all, to apologize for being alive, he tries to better the lives of all humanity. He was set on his way to dethrone the governor of the island . do you understand? im going insane" *i also said somethings about the way he processes other people's traumas and not his own. He's able to understand and even help some people, but he struggles to process his own issues and see himself as worthy of love and life.

^some examples of Kabru being understanding of or helping others who have suffered greatly. I think its also worth mentioning that with Rin (called "Lynn" in that translation) he says "I wish there was a way to get her out of this" though he's insisted and pushed for himself to go into a dungeon;

In chapter 94, Mithrun says "The desire I had left wasn't revenge. All I wanted.. was for it to finish devouring me." and I don't feel like it's a stretch to say Kabru was in a similar situation. Mithrun sought out the demon with no plan on how to kill something like that because deep down he wanted it to end his (Mithrun's) own life, to finish the trauma it caused and kill him. I think Kabru went into the dungeon in part with the hopes that it'd kill him. That the same thing that destroyed Utaya and caused him so much trauma would just.. finish him.

I just think Kabru is a beautifully complex character, I have a lotta thoughts on him and I don't see nearly as many analysis posts for him than I do Laios (despite labru being such a popular ship)

there is no tldr for this post idk how to summarize it. do what you will with this collection of images. have fun. go crazy

fun fact the woman in the bottom left corner is his mother, she is labeled here as "witch"

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #kabru #kabru dungeon meshi #kabios #labru #yeah its a long post i dont care. read it #also i only mentioned it briefly but i do think kabru is autistic .#yk that post thats like 'no im not autistic i know all the social cues etc etc etc. hey wait a minute' yeah. that #ok whatever. starts making another laios post

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kadoodles-on-ao3 · 1 year

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So uh... How do you feel about Nikol's existence?

I technically shouldn't know who that is yet but... I do. And. Well. You can probably guess by how you worded this ask hahaha.

Not surprised at all, if you like them as a couple then good for you and hope you're enjoying the DLC, you don't need me on your side because they're canon so that can satisfy you content-wise plus my opinions are silly and don't matter, etc etc, all I've said before applies here.

Honestly, if anything, the only unique thing I have to add here* is how his design really demonstrates how much Shulk and Fiora look like siblings lmao. There's even a (really cool!) fan mod to alter Fiora's hair and skin color to look more like her (actual) brother, so I'm not alone in seeing this haha.

So, Nikol. He sure does exist. Dude looks just like Shulk because his dad and mom both look like Shulk so what else could he look like. That's about all the thoughts I have haha (at least until I actually play more of 3 and see what he's like).

Non-ask-related ramblings under the cut because it's me, of course I rambled haha.

As I really don't like to nor want to rain on anyone's parade, as well as enjoy talking about the ship I like (because of course), I've made an effort to mentally retrack my train of thought (? idk how else to describe it lol) whenever my NOTP comes up by converting it into an opportunity to talk about my OTP instead of complaining. (See also my comment on What If We Kissed In The Weapons Development Lab where I mentioned going back into my fic and adding more details of Shulk being enamored by Melia whenever I came across Shiora while writing it lol.)

So, Shulkelia kids! I'm personally not one for creating OCs, in general or for media I like. Not that I dislike them or even the thought/process of making them! It just doesn't come to me as easily or interest me as much as digging into canon details and playing around with them. But I did come up with a couple rough concepts for what they might look like and how their parents might decide on their names... if they even would want to have kids in the first place, that is, I'm still unsure about that haha. But fanfiction can be whatever you want it to be and that's the fun of it, so maybe sometime I'll try developing those small ideas into something more (especially if it's something people are interested in reading)! If anything I'm most attached to my little blurbs I wrote about how they and their kids would interact with Reyn and Sharla and their kids, lots of cute potential there :)

(*Well, I can add something more, and I originally was going to do it! Not to contradict my whole don't-like-raining-on-anyone's-parade point, but again I want to stress, my intention with this is I just really enjoy analyzing details and understanding why I react to things in the way that I do. But I did mention to a previous ask that I have in-game writing reasons for why I dislike Shiora, it's not just personal experience from my life outside of the fandom or in observing it. In fact on my first playthrough of the game I was all for it and even saved a bunch of fanart of the two together on my phone, I see it when scrolling through my gallery all the time! It really fascinates me how drastically my perspective shifted after just one small moment at the very end of the game, and then on replaying it everything fell apart like a house of cards to me, wild stuff I can't compare the experience to anything else haha. Anyway if anyone's interested in seeing my take on that aspect of their writing, once again, feel free to send me an ask about it!)

#ask #xenoblade chronicles spoilers #xenoblade spoilers #xenoblade 3 spoilers #xenoblade chronicles 3 spoilers #xc3 spoilers #thank you for the ask! hope my answer was satisfying despite being what you probably were expecting to hear haha #honestly i am a little conflicted on whether i want to keep playing 3... outside of how big of a time commitment it would be #it also really touches on something that is a major part of how i enjoy the media i do:#i'm very much a fan of stuff that is quite open to interpretation where they give you just enough fascinating details to act #as puzzle pieces that you're free to put together yourself or not or add your own pieces in that you made yourself if you want #see my undying love of the mother series haha #but xenoblade 1 very much taps into a lot of that for me #in fact that's basically what the prologue i'm writing right now is: me putting a magnifying glass on interesting #details and implications from the game about characters you don't see for half of it and putting together #my idea for what they could have been doing that we didn't get shown by the game #and one of the many (many many many) things i adore about 1 is its quite-open-ended conclusion #so to have a sequel that is basically directly telling you how the world and characters ended up years on #(especially when it was likely not planned from the start of writing 1's story as well #no hate or disrespect at all but you can just tell when it's something extending a story that wasn't originally meant to keep going)#it's hard for me to not lose some enthusiasm/interest in it #which is sad! i want to play it! i want to experience it how the devs and writers intended!#i want to join in and be hyped and happy and loving everything like everyone else seems to be!#i like the new characters more than i thought i would! the gameplay is great so far and there's a lot of good qol stuff there!#the music is phenomenal and i hear they reincorporate leitmotifs from 1 and 2 in key areas related to the themes and locations that #said leitmotifs are for and that sounds *incredible* to me as a musician and lover of orchestra/scoring!#but also i just can't help but feel like in the back of my head ''leave the story alone it was so good you don't need to add more''#and ''please god let shulk and melia rest they look so tired'' lol #also it doesn't help that i have a pet (lmao accidental pun) peeve that i hate catgirls with a fiery passion so. yeah

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blacktabbygames · 6 months

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Slay the Princess Concept Art

We shared a bunch of concept art on Twitter today. Sharing it here, too, where you can find it all in one post. Post contains spoilers, so proceed with caution (or just play the game already if you haven't 😉)

Going to start with the first piece of concept art Abby drew for the game.

In the earliest stages of development, we toyed around with the concept of there being multiple "end game" forms of the Princess.

The initial outline, rather than being tied together by an overarching metanarrative, structured a full playthrough as a 5-6 chapter long, self-contained journey down a single route, determined by your decisions in chapter 1. Here's an alternative late-game form:

The idea of deviating end-game forms didn't lost for very long, though. As we explored the game's themes more deeply, it made the most sense for there to be a singular "true" form.

If your reality is shaped by subjectivity and perception, then the "truth" has to be what's left when that subjectivity is swept away. the Shifting Mound's final design feels like that initial truth for the Princess, though there's also another truth if you push back against her and press on into the final cabin.

We really liked this "void" design, and I played around with the idea of it being an intermediary to the final form. The "void" Princess would be what you saw upon encountering the final Princess without understanding your own truth, but once you had that understanding, you would see her as the Shifting Mound, as depicted in the game.

That gave way to the intermediary design of the SM being a sea of disembodied limbs, and we also took parts of both designs and incorporated them into the protagonist (particularly the wings.) You can see the eyes and feathers for this void form in the ending card of the original trailer below:

You can see extremely early concept art for the spectre (top), nightmare (top-right), stranger (left), beast (bottom) and ??? (right) as well!

The eyes became a motif in the Nightmare route (Paranoid's manifestation of the fear of being watched), but I also like to think of them as a part of The Long Quiet's truth. You are space and emptiness, but you're also that which observes those things, and it's your perceptions that give the Shifting Mound shape.

Anyways, on the note of the original original concepts for the game, the Princess was initially going to remain human for several loops before taking on more monstrous forms. Some concepts of that are below. Had to get Abby to tone down some of the more horrifically cartoonish designs because they creeped me out and I didn't want to romance them in a video game.

We had to hold our cards close to our chest in the non-metanarrative early drafts, which is part of why, even in the first demo, the cabin doesn't really change much in chapter 2. More room to subtly play with the concept of transformation over time.

There were a lot of reasons we moved in a different direction for the full release. The branching was unmanageably large to write, and the game felt like a slog to write.

Using an overarching narrative as a framing mechanism in the final version gave us a lot more freedom to explore wildly divergent ideas within routes while still driving the player towards the originally planned finale.

Anyways, now we've got some concept art for individual princesses. There's a lot more than this lying around somewhere, but it's all in sketchbooks, and we'll probably wait until we make an art book to show it off.

First is the tower, who really didn't change much at all. (She got a little thicker, I guess. All of the Princesses did)

Not a lot to say about her, other than the fact that we knew we wanted a set piece where she gets so big that the trees and cabin orbit around her.

The stranger went through many many redesigns over the course of development. Here, she was a "princess skin" filled with a hive of sentient bugs. The script wasn't working for me, though, so instead she became a peak behind the curtains without the necessary context to know her.

A lot of people ask how these earlier drafts of the Stranger route would have played out, and the answer is I can't tell you, because I couldn't figure out something worth writing.

The writing process for individual routes didn't really start with outlines or plot beats. Rather, the routes started from a theme and a relationship dynamic, and I organically found their outcomes by exploring actions within those themes, and then seeing if those passed Abby's editor brain.

Neither of us found actions we wanted to explore with those versions of the Stranger, at least actions that weren't a beat-by-beat retelling of chapter 1, which contained way too much variation to put on a single chapter 2 route.

If each princess examines a relationship formed by perception and first impressions, the Stranger examines one that's fundamentally unknowable. One where you've seen too much, too quickly.

An insect hive-mind pretending to be a person seemed like a good starting point, but it was too difficult to write any interactions that didn't immediately feel knowable, if still strange. So the final version of the Stranger was designed in such a way where her unknowability makes interacting with her on a human level fundamentally impossible, and you don't get to have a real conversation with her unless you satisfy extremely specific criteria.

Anyways next up is the razor's final form. We decided she needed more swords.

Hearts became an accidental motif very quickly in the development process, too. (The fact that it is only strikes to the heart that fell her in the demo was accidental, but it felt poetic so we extended it to the rest of the game.)

So on top of adding more swords, we made her heart visible. This is something we did with the fury as well, as a way of showing their emotional (and physical) vulnerability.

Here's an early version of the Adversary and what would eventually become the Eye of the Needle, back when she was still called the Fury. Originally her hair was going to be fire (as seen on the right), but it didn't feel right in its execution.

She's hit the gym since this concept art. Good for her :)

And we're going to end with the Beast, who at this point was called the Adversary. I think this was before the Witch was added? The Beast was originally designed to be a Questing Beast who lurked in the shadows, where you'd only see glimpses of her, and where each glimpse would make her appear to be a different animal. This was too difficult to execute, though we gave her a more chimera-like appearance in the final game.

This design was from when we still has the Voice of the Obsessed, and the route was going to be a more feral mirror of what eventually became the Adversary, but it felt too thematically similar while being less interesting, so we moved in the direction of making the Beast about consumption as a form of love.

Anyways, that's all we've got for you right now. Hope this was fun!

#slay the princess #interactive fiction #character design

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alfheimr · 1 month

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My Favorite Cheap Art Trick: Gradient Maps and Blending Modes

i get questions on occasion regarding my coloring process, so i thought i would do a bit of a write up on my "secret technique." i don't think it really is that much of a secret, but i hope it can be helpful to someone. to that end:

this is one of my favorite tags ive ever gotten on my art. i think of it often. the pieces in question are all monochrome - sort of.

the left version is the final version, the right version is technically the original. in the final version, to me, the blues are pretty stark, while the greens and magentas are less so. there is some color theory thing going on here that i dont have a good cerebral understanding of and i wont pretend otherwise. i think i watched a youtube video on it once but it went in one ear and out the other. i just pick whatever colors look nicest based on whatever vibe im going for.

this one is more subtle, i think. can you tell the difference? there's nothing wrong with 100% greyscale art, but i like the depth that adding just a hint of color can bring.

i'll note that the examples i'll be using in this post all began as purely greyscale, but this is a process i use for just about every piece of art i make, including the full color ones. i'll use the recent mithrun art i made to demonstrate. additionally, i use clip studio paint, but the general concept should be transferable to other art programs.

for fun let's just start with Making The Picture. i've been thinking of making this writeup for a while and had it in mind while drawing this piece. beyond that, i didn't really have much of a plan for this outside of "mithrun looks down and hair goes woosh." i also really like all of the vertical lines in the canary uniform so i wanted to include those too but like. gone a little hog wild. that is the extent of my "concept." i do not remember why i had the thought of integrating a shattered mirror type of theme. i think i wanted to distract a bit from the awkward pose and cover it up some LOL but anyway. this lack of planning or thought will come into play later.

note 1: the textured marker brush i specifically use is the "bordered light marker" from daub. it is one of my favorite brushes in the history of forever and the daub mega brush pack is one of the best purchases ive ever made. highly recommend!!!

note 2: "what do you mean by exclusion and difference?" they are layer blending modes and not important to the overall lesson of this post but for transparency i wanted to say how i got these "effects." anyway!

with the background figured out, this is the point at which i generally merge all of my layers, duplicate said merged layer, and Then i begin experimenting with gradient maps. what are gradient maps?

the basic gist is that gradient maps replace the colors of an image based on their value.

so, with this particular gradient map, black will be replaced with that orangey red tone, white will be replaced with the seafoamy green tone, etc. this particular gradient map i'm using as an example is very bright and saturated, but the colors can be literally anything.

these two sets are the ones i use most. they can be downloaded for free here and here if you have csp. there are many gradient map sets out there. and you can make your own!

you can apply a gradient map directly onto a specific layer in csp by going to edit>tonal correction>gradient map. to apply one indirectly, you can use a correction layer through layer>new correction layer>gradient map. honestly, correction layers are probably the better way to go, because you can adjust your gradient map whenever you want after creating the layer, whereas if you directly apply a gradient map to a layer thats like. it. it's done. if you want to make changes to the applied gradient map, you have to undo it and then reapply it. i don't use correction layers because i am old and stuck in my ways, but it's good to know what your options are.

this is what a correction layer looks like. it sits on top and applies the gradient map to the layers underneath it, so you can also change the layers beneath however and whenever you want. you can adjust the gradient map by double clicking the layer. there are also correction layers for tone curves, brightness/contrast, etc. many such useful things in this program.

let's see how mithrun looks when we apply that first gradient map we looked at.

gadzooks. apologies for eyestrain. we have turned mithrun into a neon hellscape, which might work for some pieces, but not this one. we can fix that by changing the layer blending mode, aka this laundry list of words:

some of them are self explanatory, like darken and lighten, while some of them i genuinely don't understand how they are meant to work and couldn't explain them to you, even if i do use them. i'm sure someone out there has written out an explanation for each and every one of them, but i've learned primarily by clicking on them to see what they do.

for the topic of this post, the blending mode of interest is soft light. so let's take hotline miamithrun and change the layer blending mode to soft light.

here it is at 100% opacity. this is the point at which i'd like to explain why i like using textured brushes so much - it makes it very easy to get subtle color variation when i use this Secret Technique. look at the striation in the upper right background! so tasty. however, to me, these colors are still a bit "much." so let's lower the opacity.

i think thats a lot nicer to look at, personally, but i dont really like these colors together. how about we try some other ones?

i like both of these a lot more. the palettes give the piece different vibes, at which point i have to ask myself: What Are The Vibes, Actually? well, to be honest i didn't really have a great answer because again, i didn't plan this out very much at all. however. i knew in my heart that there was too much color contrast going on and it was detracting from the two other contrasts in here: the light and dark values and the sharp and soft shapes. i wanted mithrun's head to be the main focal point. for a different illustration, colors like this might work great, but this is not that hypothetical illustration, so let's bring the opacity down again.

yippee!! that's getting closer to what my heart wants. for fun, let's see what this looks like if we change the blending mode to color.

i do like how these look but in the end they do not align with my heart. oh well. fun to experiment with though! good to keep in mind for a different piece, maybe! i often change blending modes just to see what happens, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. i very much cannot stress enough that much of my artistic process is clicking buttons i only sort of understand. for fun.

i ended up choosing the gradient map on the right because i liked that it was close to the actual canary uniform colors (sorta). it's at an even lower opacity though because there was Still too much color for my dear heart.

the actual process for this looks like me setting my merged layer to soft light at around 20% opacity and then clicking every single gradient map in my collection and seeing which one Works. sometimes i will do this multiple times and have multiple soft light and/or color layers combined.

typically at this point i merge everything again and do minor contrast adjustments using tone curves, which is another tool i find very fun to play around with. then for this piece in particular i did some finishing touches and decided that the white border was distracting so i cropped it. and then it's done!!! yay!!!!!

this process is a very simple and "fast" way to add more depth and visual interest to a piece without being overbearing. well, it's fast if you aren't indecisive like me, or if you are better at planning.

let's do another comparison. personally i feel that the hint of color on the left version makes mithrun look just a bit more unwell (this is a positive thing) and it makes the contrast on his arm a lot more pleasing to look at. someone who understands color theory better than i do might have more to say on the specifics, but that's honestly all i got.

just dont look at my layers too hard. ok?

#process #art tutorial #unsure what else to tag this as. if this does not post properly i will cry.

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