#this was her prototype design from the leaks... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

springtime-creations · 6 months

Text

Longwinded over-explanation as to why I DON'T think these Wanderful PreCure leaks are real or at the very least not be taken as 100% accurate if they are real.

POTENTIAL SPOILER FOR WANDERFUL PRECURE AHEAD!

As someone who's been into PreCure for almost a decade, and has been studying art in an informal setting (self taught artist go brrr) I've noticed some issues with these leaks.

First is obviously the names. Never in the entire history of PreCure have we had a cure whose name lines up with the title. No Cure Smile in Smile, no Cure Suite in Suite, no Cure Fresh in Fresh- you get my point. Cure Wonderful is a highly suspect name, however could still be real as PreCure is always experimenting. Cure Friendy on the other hand is WAY more egregious. Friendy isn't a word, and PreCure isn't known for making mistakes that bad. But it could have either slipped through the cracks OR as these photos look like prototypes that were meant to be destroyed, it's possible Friendy is a typo and she's meant to be Cure Friend, Cure Friendly, or an idea my phone gave me via autocorrect Cure Trendy. Any of which could fit my theorized theme of dog styling or the latter to with a blanket theme of dogs. But they could also be placeholder names. Fake names used to differentiate the characters before they're ready to start publishing their real names.

Secondly is the design. Although I'm not classically trained (see above for self taught artist go brrr) I have a good grasp on art fundamentals via independent study. I was wondering why the designs looked so off to me, and outside of it looking like it was traced off of Aikatsu, I realized that these silhouettes SUCK. Having a strong silhouette is an important aspect of making an identifiable cartoon character. Case and point, a few previous seasons compared with these leaks:

(Pardon the rough nature of the silhouettes, I had to make my own on my phone) without the details, I have no idea what I'm looking at with these designs. With previous seasons, the silhouettes themselves gave us an idea of the vibes or even themes for the upcoming season. Here though? I mean my crappy silhouette of Cure Wonderful made her pigtails look like a cat sitting on her head when I asked my boyfriend for input. These silhouettes are incredibly weak with their long hair basically ruining their design by hiding their dresses. Fun fact! These are the same issues I had with Colgate-chan- oh sorry Alear from Fire Emblem Engage that made me think those were fake too. The minor details were the only thing that separated them from other characters since their silhouette was awful.

Now weak silhouettes aren't always a crime against art, however for a piece of media that is meant to sell toys, is in animation, and for children? Yeah no you need a strong silhouette for the audience to easily identify. The only reason such a weak silhouette would work in PreCure is because no other Cure has one this bland. You can tell which PreCure is Cure Wonderful because "oh that's the least fun looking one". Since her charm comes from the details you can't see when it's just her silhouette, that means that although they're all still cute, they could have been MUCH cuter, which Toei is typically really good at.

So in conclusion, are these definitely fake? I'm not sure. Given these products were probably taken home without permission from the manufacturer, it's possible these leaks are one of three things.

1. An INCREDIBLY well done fake leak, potentially by Toei themselves since they do that sometimes.

2. Real prototypes made with VERY early drafts of the characters and placeholder names that were intended to be destroyed once the designs/names got updated.

3. This is the real deal and this is going to be a fairly weak season in terms of aesthetic.

I'm personally leaning towards 1 or 2 since PreCure usually has higher standards of production. But hey, this is just my theory regarding these leaks. I know one of my girlfriends loves Cure Friendy, and I'm always here for more green rep in PreCure. I'm still excited for this season even if the aesthetic might be a bit weak. If there's anything I've learnt from PreCure, it's that even the most casual of seasons can get real dark real quick and somehow still work. Didn't Cure Grace literally leave someone to die... idk I haven't been able to watch a full PreCure season since like Go! Princess first came out 😭 fuck I'm getting old-

#wonderful precure leaks #wonderful precure theory #wonderful precure spoiler #wonderful precure #precure 2024 #theory #hyperfixation #over analyzing #art analysis #design analysis #wanderful precure #wanderful precure 2024

41 notes · View notes

luthordamnvers · 8 months

Text

Hell was the journey (but it brought me heaven)

Chapter 3 - Vigilante

John Kiley had been a thorn in Lena’s side for literal years, as the CEO of Nu Industries, he was always badmouthing her, or any woman in a position of power, to be honest. He was sleazy and a grade A cheat, everyone knew it, no one could quite prove it. She’d been suspecting that someone was leaking LCorp’s prototypes to him in Earth-38, but she could never figure out who. And it was never a big enough product to make Lena worry in extreme about it. She had bigger issues than that at the time, (Alien invasions, constant assassination attempts courtesy of her own brother, or a bigger corporate rival, a best friend with a murderous double personality, being accused of attempted murder herself…) On Earth Prime, if he stole something from LuthorCorp, it was none of her product designs, and thus that was Lex’s problem. But now John Kiley got her complete and total attention.

Continue Reading on AO3 || From the start

#supercorp #lena luthor #kara danvers #supercorp fic #supercorptober #supergirl #supercorp fanfic #sc fic #fic writing #supercorptober 2023 #nicnic writes #[10]

34 notes · View notes

pretty-idol-hell · 5 months

Note

Speaking of chanko and other forgotten characters, I feel like eiko, nao, and nanami (since aira's hair in prichan in the cgi is the same) should be in a surprise team like what happened in season 3. (Like for some weird reason I thought when non sugar silhouettes first leaked I thought it was nao and eiko was going to be a part of her team since an idol can change appearances from different jewel types). I also remember we first had a MARS lookalike team in a prototype before dressing parfe.

Okay listen.

Justice for Nao.

(But maybe not in the way you think.)

Because yeah, she had a CG model too! And she even performed Make It with Laala in the Kirarin Star Live movie! Only to, of course, fade into obscurity after season 3...

In this case though, I wonder why they even bothered.

Because I think it's pretty clear from her character design that they never intended for Nao to become a main character from the start. So I don't see the point. Actually, I honestly don't even know why characters like her need to exist at all! (She reminds me of Naru Osaka from Sailor Moon.) Like, do they want to teach kids it's OK to drift away from your old friends when you get a new hobby or join a new club? Yeah, that does happen, but still... Whenever I think about Nao, I just feel sad. She kinda gave up on her idol dreams just because Laala debuted first and became popular?

Because thing is, if they wanted, she could have been someone! Imagine how much more interesting it would have been if she didn't forgive Laala in season one, and she did fade away for a while only to return in a later season on a surprise team in order to briefly attempt to get revenge on Laala (only for them to make up and become friendly rivals).

Like, imagine if they rewrote the series to replace Nao with Aroma. Or better yet, Chili! Imagine if Nao joined Non to try and surpass Laala only for Laala to be like WOW THAT'S GREAT I'm so happy for U! :D Hahah. What if instead of Non, it was Nao who made Triangle!?!

Or, like you suggested, she could still join with Eiko and Nanami too haha. Because yeah, since Eiko has a model too, and Nanami wouldn't be too hard to make, they could totally put something together still. Surely they will be the ones to awaken Yui.

So much wasted potential...

14 notes · View notes

starsnsparkles · 2 months

Text

okay, SPOILER ALERT, i HAVE to speak on the current winx season 9 reboot leaks about stella (because she’s my winx everything).

THIS is good! i like this! i do think it’s an upgrade from a previous version we saw in a magazine, although i painfully wish it wasn’t orange/yellow. it’s fine to base off her transformation off of those colours, because she IS a light fairy, but her casual clothes?

people trashed her “tiktoker” outfit here but i mash these colours, add some more, and put it on the design of the current leak and it’d be the best of both worlds imo. but hey, i can get over it!

as for the transformation...

i do not like this chief. i’m gonna assume this is the new og winx transformation and not an upgrade like charmix, and boy, i do not like it, ESPECIALLY, when we originally got leaked this prototype!!

i’ll say it, sometimes doing less is doing more. the original was easy to recreate and it was still iconic and it was nowhere near as busy as the newest leaked version. the og s9 prototype looks more “airy” and in a way gives more of a “fairy” vibe (and even more than the og winx transformation did, while also feeling like an extension of those outfits), and it does look like a “base” transformation while still looking elegant and fairy-like.

new ones are doing too much! i don’t like bloom’s hair at all, but the BIGGEST CRIME. THE BIGGEST CRIME!! IS PUTTING MY GIRL STELLA IN PINK. WHY! JUST WHY!

stella already HAS dual powers (sun AND moon), her colour scheme of orange/yellow/light blue is absolutely ETHEREAL, like HAVE WE ALL SEEN ENCHANTIX STELLA? she has bits of pink, but the BLUE is what makes her POP OFF! AND it’s a perfect representation of her moon powers which have been oh so forgotten in the show and it hurts! stella has SO much going for her character and her story, and the showrunners keep pushing her into this one “ditzy fashion icon sun fairy” box it’s SOOOO exhausting.....

now if the new leaked transformation is actually an upgrade, i’d still be mad, because she’ll still have to look like that even in an “upgraded” transformation which, you would think, would look to introduce MORE blue to her design as a way to show her mastering her moon powers side more, but at least it would mean we’d get to see the original transformation design in the show...

i’ll still watch the show of course, but man! i’ll be a fool and cling onto hope that they might change more as the airing date approaches. they already changed their civilian clothes & transformation even as the reboot was officially revealed, so who knows...

STELLA I LOVE YOU STAY STRONG

#winx club #winx club spoilers #winx club season 9 #stella

10 notes · View notes

jaycethepancake · 4 months

Text

OUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH new monster high stuffssssssss

God Catty is so pretty I love her and she's literally gonna be a day one snag for me. Number 1. Best girl.

I ALMOST love core refresh Frankie, I love her design but the leak before they added all that magenta was soooooooo much better. Like pink can look great on Frankie but they literally splashed SUCH an intense pink. I do really like the doll tho, maybe I could reroot her and figure something out for the pink tank top...

Refresh Cleo is so cute!! Her original outfit was good but this kinda feels more... Glam? There's also just something I love about the look of that sheer belt thing over the skirt.

LAGOONA REFRESH YES FINALLY. I kinda wish her hair wasn't just blonde, but I can see how that might put things out of balance. She's so punky and cool looking! Lagoona is a girlie that I've wanted to like so bad because she's so cool in theory, but I never vibed with the outfits they put her in (aside from spa day but tbh that's because it was so simple). With this they're cooking so hard omg.

Monster Fest Frankie isn't quite my cup of tea, there's a LOT I love but the way they used the neons is a bit much for me.

Monster Fest Cleo is looking super good! I'm not sure I'll get her, this one doesn't stand out too much, but it's definitely a good Cleo.

Awwwe she's so cute!! I love the moons, the purple, the fluff! I haven't really found a g3 Clawdeen that speaks to me (Monster Ball came close) but I think she's gonna do it! Finally, I feel so bad having everyone but Clawdeen lol

Lagoona eating it up again! The prototype had some details I preferred (I swear the prototypes always have darker colors that get changed to pink or something) but those are so minor compared to the whole package here. I REALLY love this Lagoona!!!

Welcome Committee Frankie has had stock photos for longer than these others, but I felt bad for not liking either Frankie here and wanted to include her because I LOVE It. The more subtle use of the neons, AND the fact that there's pride colors mixed in? So great.

#dollblr #Monster high

11 notes · View notes

tea-cat-arts · 1 year

Text

What do you mean “if I have an AU I want to make comics for, I actually have to make the designs and draw the comics???” Why can’t I just magically manifest them into existence??? Anyways, here’s some KevinSu fam and MobiKlein fam designs and concepts for a “Flame Chasers + whoever else is convenient for me get reborn into Genshin and slowly regain their memories from Honkai” AU

Mobius and Klein were Tanit scholars/doctors

(OG Klein is the one on the far left btw. I know I changed a lot of her design elements and I’m not sure how clear that is, so I’m just specifying here. Also, it’s on the side of her belt so idk how well y’all can see it, but she has a hydro vision)

They left the tribe pretty early on (if you’ve played that quest™️, you know why. If you don’t, I’m not gonna spoil it here)

They also left so Mobi could investigate the withering and see if it might have any connections to the Honkai/ see if there was any chance of the Honkai leaking into Teyvat

Klein never got her Honkai memories back, but she still fell in love with Mobi anyways and they’re still lab partners. Mobi got her memories back fairly early on

Klein got Eleazar, so they decided to move from the desert to Sumeru city to seek better medical treatment

She’s fine now and made it through the end of the arcon quest, so she got cured 👍

Mobi is a professor at the academia

Her students are terrified of her

So usual Mobius shenanigans

Being a professor also put her in a position where she’s closer to Irminsul, so she’s content with the situation

The matra know damn well she’s continuing her artificial life experiments, but they can’t prove shit so she’s in the clear

Alhaitham was the first successful clone baby she made, Klein jr was the second

The thing Elysia did to Su’s arm stuck through the reincarnation, so Su got his memories back very early on

He grew up on the same block as Fu Hua over in Liyue harbor, but she didn’t get her memories back until her late teens

Su grew up hearing a lot of stories about the chasm, and he was worried that it might have something to do with the Honkai

But he didn’t actually have the clearance to investigate that, so had to go to Sumeru Academia to get the research clearance only to find out about Eleazar and the Withering and get significantly more anxious

Imagine his face after being told he has to go through med school again lmao (at least there’s legitimately different illnesses and treatments in Teyvat, so he does have something new to learn)

Anyways, he ran into Mobi and Kevin at the Academia

Kevin grew up in Mondstad and got his memories back in his early 20s. He moved to Sumeru city because he thought it’d be the place with highest chance of him running into someone he knows so that they can explain wtf is going on

Kevin and Su got married somewhere along the way I guess, but that’s not important right now

Anyways, Mobius basically stole their genes off their clothes or something so she wouldn’t have to use any of Klein’s in the prototypes for her experiments

Alhaitham was the first successful artificial life she made and she just sorta handed him off to Kevin and Su and they both sorta just “aight, guess we have a kid now”

Mobius still got to be his grandma though and watched him a lot while Kevin and Su (well, Su mostly. Kevin was there more as a bodyguard) were off doing research in the chasm (which is why Alhaitham is the way he is)

#honkai impact #genshin impact #what this AU totally isn’t an excuse to point out signs that the Honkai is leaking into Genshin what are you talking about #this is a reminder that all Irminsul trees in Teyvat are connected and part of the same tree (read: the imaginary tree probably)#so I don’t want to see a single ‘um actually- none of this is related at all’#especially since this is mostly me having fun with an AU fanfic #but ya interesting that the things plaguing Sumeru (a nation named after tech from Honkai) are withering and a disease that transforms peopl #this is a reminder that Honkai roughly translates to ‘decay’#Klein: a girl so boobless and assless you could skip her like a prized stone #ya I ignore the canon models a lot and y’all are just gonna have to get use to that #no mantis genes here so Mobi and Klein are just old here #they’re both between 40-60 #Klein looks a bit older though cuz chronic illness is a bitch and ages you #I’d be so happy if I got any asks about this AU ngl #honkai su #kevin kaslana #alhaitham #honkai mobius #Honkai Klein

31 notes · View notes

taybatwo2 · 2 years

Text

Playing around with G3’s Clawdeen to try and get used to her new design and character. Personal opinions under the cut, but TLDR: I like a lot of her new details, I don’t mind her glasses, her new design/character reminds me A TON of Howleen (like those cute freckles), they should have kept her siblings, and I’m not enjoying the idea of Clawdeen being “half human” when she is a werewolf, and I don’t mind Clawdeen being the main character (she was my original favorite, followed by Ghoulia and Cleo, and only usurped by Abbey). :)

I have only seen parts of the leaked live-action movie, but it is giving me Descendants/Lisi Harrison’s MH book series vibes, and neither were up my alley. Although, the songs are very catchy and it looks like the cast was having fun. :) I will miss her Brooklyn accent, but I am also curious to see how her new voice actress takes her character. :D

Starting out with things I like about her design, I like all of her gold earrings (and the several necklaces in the animated picture). I like her wolf nose, more detailed ears, and (hopefully) more textured hair (yes please), although I would have liked more of her dark brown hair instead of all purple/pink. I assume they’re keeping her claws and I hope they’ll keep G2’s molded fur. I hope they keep her doing several sports (the skateboarding is an interesting addition, but it also feels like something Howleen would also LOVE), love of fashion design (taking some art classes), and her drive (taking some business classes and already posting/gaining clout on social media for her fashion illustrations).

When looking at her leaked prototype, it almost looks like she might have some human ears tucked under her hair….I REALLY hope I’m just imagining that though (although, they would help keep her glasses up, haha).

When it comes to her glasses, I did think it was an odd choice at first, but then again, her older sister has them, and Howleen was released with a pair (in G2….?). My gripe with her glasses are that they are too plain and don’t scream Clawdeen; I feel they needed to be a different lens shape, or in an animal print or a metallic gold. I feel like she would have saved up her money to buy several pairs to go with different outfits and she is meticulous in picking out their designs. It would also be a fun detail if they curved upwards to hook behind her wolf ears to keep them in place.

I think G2 over did it when it came to her thousand and one younger brother siblings (in the animation), but they overcorrected for G3 by getting rid of all her siblings (Clawd and Howleen especially).

I don’t really like a werewolf being half human. I like Monster High’s werewolves are always in between both forms, and that get more wolf-like on the full moon- like with Clawdeen’s extra speed, strength, and fur/hair growth. Maybe they could have used this idea to make her (and all werewolves) pass for normies during the New Moon?? I think that would be an interesting conundrum as it feels like she doesn’t fully belong to the monster or human world?? Maybe she can go full wolf mode on the full moon (like how they kinda did in G2). I mean, this would give Mattel the chance to release two/three different versions of Clawdeen.

Also on the topic of Monster vs Human world, I think they should have most of the Monster and Human world act like parallel dimensions -like Paris/Scaris, Hollywood/Hauntlywood- with some parts of the world overlapping/merging- such as New Salem/Salem. These merging points would be perfect for a school -such as Monster High- because they can more easily include some monsters that are usually only found in the “human” world, and monsters that are considered “too human”/used to be human -Hyde’s family, witches, mummies, some zombies and ghosts- to live in the Monster World??? This would make Monster High a school that attracts a ton of different monsters from around the world (lots of different dolls for Mattel to make), conflict with the human world and monster world “purists,” and a reason for it be a more unique school compared to the other schools in the monster high universe.

Her outfit (what I’ve seen of the animated version), doesn’t look bad, but also looks more like pieces Howleen would wear (like they were a hand-me down from Clawdeen, but personalized with patches and fashionable rips). Honestly a lot of her personality (from what little I have seen) seems a lot closer to Howleen’s too (being new to a school, not knowing where she fits in, finding herself). Maybe Monster High should have had G3 follow Howleen, Twyla, and an aged up Alivia, Lagoona’s sister, and Fangelica…?

I know that this version is not for late twenty something me, but it feels like they are trying to attract REALLY young children (5-10) with this style of animation. It is giving me some Disney Jr. stylization with very bright colors and rounded shapes, instead of being its own thing. I feel like G1 attracted more of a pre-teen/teenager audience (it hooked me and my friends when we were in high school and none of us had been doll collectors previously).

I mean I liked G1, but all of the different cannons were a mess (I actually prefer Ever After High’s animated series/movie/books a lot more than Monster High’s for this reason), the animation for the animated series and movies was meh, nothing ground breaking (honestly, the only great animation was used in the doll tv ads). However, it was stylized that you knew it was Monster High. It looked like it had its own style, not like it was trying hard to blend in with what was popular.

G1 seemed to take clothing from the era and “monster-fy” it and heavily personalize it to that character (who all seemed to have their own color pallets and taste in fashion). So far G3 seems to have done a bit of this (Clawdeen’s moons/gold/animal print/fur/purple), but have not “monsterfied” it yet. It looks…too clean…or polished….or bright without any dark colors to offset it….I dunno it’s hard to explain the word for it…like they are all shopping on the same clothing rack at the same store…? Sort of too monogamous…?

I’m not against reboots/retooling, as it can greatly improve things (2017’s Ducktails), and explore different avenues for characters (like TMNT 2012/ROTTMNT, or any of the Batman series - Batman the Animated series/Batman the Brave and the Bold/Lego Batman).

However, as long as their dolls are articulated, have killer shoes, have plenty of monster details on their bodies (I’m hoping that that Deuce has a few scale details on his body like his cousin Viperine), and their clothes (which I hope are a step up from what Mattel has been giving their current lines of dolls), I think I’ll be alright and will definitely get the core dolls.

Also, Mattel should canonize Clawdeen being a lesbian. She could date a few mansters, but not feel that spark, and find it with a lovely ghoul; bring in that representation!!

Sorry that was a bit ramble-y but I have no one else to talk to about this. Ha!

36 notes · View notes

adashofchaosposts · 2 years

Text

My thoughts on the new MH dolls

So, my thoughts on the new dolls.

I don’t hate them. They’re not my favorite. They don’t really feel like Monster High. But they’re cute.

I do have to agree that they feel a bit Disney-fied. Like, the originals were pretty edgy and had severe enough cheekbones that they had to be changed temporarily (specifically talking abt Spectra here.) These new dolls kinda seem (to me) like a lot of other dolls out there, just with vaguely monster features - save for Lagoona, who actually does remind me of the original design features.

That being said, they’re still good dolls. Maybe nothing as standout as from when I was a kid, but they’re not ugly. I don’t hate them. I’m actually considering buying a couple of them when they come out, mainly Lagoona and maybe Draculaura. I think they’ll go over well with kids and maybe some collectors. They probably wont end up flopping like Gen 2 did.

I guess I can talk about them one by one here.

Clawdeen

Okay, where are her glasses? Like, if she wears them, her doll should have them. Maybe they’re just not shown in the leaked promo images, but I’m actually gonna riot if they didn’t give her doll glasses for aesthetic purposes.

This said, I’m so glad she turned out better than the prototype. This outfit actually looks like a Clawdeen outfit modernized. I like her hair a lot, and honestly, I wish I could find that outfit in my size. Her nose is a really cute detail.

Lagoona

I already kinda talked about her, but she’s my favorite out of all of these dolls. Mostly because she reminds me very much of the og MH. Those clear legs are incredible, and her hair is so cute. Her outfit is alright, not my favorite but that’s personal taste. I do love her little bag, though.

Frankie

They are not my favorite, to be perfectly honest. I love their prosthetic leg with the little doodles, and their shoes are adorable. I’m not so much a fan of their main outfit or hair, but again, personal thing. I love the eyebrow slit, though.

Draculaura

Not my favorite, not my least favorite. The stockings and hair are cute, and the bangs are kinda growing on me a little. I’m not a fan of her outfit; I feel like it’s a bit basic. The bow is cute, though. I’m also still not much of a fan of the split dye versus the streaks thing.

Cleo

Idk, I just don’t like her design as much. With all the blue in all her outfits they’ve shown, she’s sort of looking more like she’s wearing Nefera’s old clothes. I like that they kept the bandages in the design, but I don’t like how they turned out looking like looses sleeves rather than something she’s actually wrapped in. I do like the style of the dress she’s wearing, though. I can’t really see the headband well, but it actually goes okay with the rest of the outfit. Idk, I like the idea but I think the actual execution of it is a bit rocky.

Overall

Overall, I actually like that they have slightly more realistic proportions. Like, they aren’t super duper thin and overly unrealistic. I still miss certain things (like the high angled cheekbones and whatnot), but it’s nice to see that. They do give off that more cutesy vibe, but if that’s the new direction with this version of the canon, then so be it. They may not be the most Monster High as we know it dolls out there, but like I said earlier, they’ll probably do okay with kids, and that’s where this Gen has been aimed (side note: and we’re possibly getting one for the older fans, I found out today, so there’s that!) Overall, not my favorite MH dolls Mattel has put out, but they’re cute.

Screenshots from this post: https://monsterlover23.tumblr.com/post/691942745381781505/coffin-bean-dolls-this-is-a-review-of-how-the

#monster high gen 3 #Gen 3 MH #monster high opinions

3 notes · View notes

sockendrache · 2 years

Text

Daydreaming about Scaramoche because I have issues

I wanna just rant into the void a bit- no leaks, no speculations, no theory or smth, just. A Scaramouche-simp daydreaming because Mihoyo isn’t feeding us crumbs to actually make coherent theories about playable Scaramouche

Just. What would his playstyle be? If he’s a Catalyst, what would DPS Scaramouche look like? Classic catalyst with fancy, elegant movements like Lisa and Yae Miko, or more chaotic and playful like Heizou’s kickboxing or Klee throwing bombs? I’m imaging him to be completely unhinged and chaotic, not giving a shit about anything and anyone when he’s on the battlefield. An absolute nightmare of an ally, so to say. He’s a very mysterious dude with a smug attitude, so... I kinda see this carrying over into his fighting style. Not like Childe, who’s a natural warrior and who looks chaotic but like... skillfully chaotic, if that makes sense? Like. He’s hopeless with a bow, but with his dualblades and spear, his every move looks practiced and smooth.

Scaramouche was a wandering eccentric before he joined the Fatui, so he’s likely never had anyone to really teach him how to handle a weapon and he probably just figured out a style that worked for him. Like Razor in a way, who’s fighting style is very aggressive and chaotic, since he grew up with wolves. I.. kinda see Scaramouche behave similar to that, in that his fighting style is just ‘a means to get it done’, no matter how chaotic it is.

If he’s support, how would that look? How would his moveset support his team? Buffing his teammembers, passively reducing the opponent’s resistance to elements? Like I said, he seems to be good at scheming, so... maybe his idea of support isn’t healing and buffing but rather directly affecting the opponent. Or if he’s a healer, some form of that one Pokemon-move... what’s it called, Bloodsucker? Where you steal HP from your opponent to heal. Where every hit with Scaramouche steals HP for your own team.

He was cast aside for being too fragile and I think it is canon that he’s fond of kids and elderly, so... I see him as more of a support, rather than DPS. Maybe it’s just a passive skill, like... when he’s on the team, the whole team’s elemental RES gets buffed or something. Or like Kuki who sacrifices a large portion of her own HP to slowly heal the team. Idk, just... Childe is obviously more of a main DPS with his passive increasing the normal attack by 1, but Scara? If he really is a Catalyst, you CAN make him a healer with the prototype, or a support with dragontales.

I think Catalysts are generally hard to nail down as what their real role is, with all of them being able to be both support and DPS with a proper build, so... it’ll be interesting to see how Mihoyo will design Scara’s kit. If they’ll force him to be DPS by making him, idk.... unable to be equipped with the prototype or unable to heal, like how Ei is the only character who can’t cook. Or something like Kokomi who has negative crit rate and thus making him less appealing as DPS.

They have to know that the fanbase is so hyped for Scara, so... fingers crossed his kit will be well designed (tho I’m still clinging to my dream of Hydro Claymore Scara who scales with HP... pls, give the Bell finally some love-)

#genshin impact #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche #mihoyo feed us crumbs pls #i need healer scaramouche in my life #as well as claymore scaramouche but thats just me

5 notes · View notes

bumpscosity · 4 months

Text

I FORGOT TO POST ABT THE CORE REFRESH MONSTER HIGH DOLLS

(for the main 5 the left pics have the core refresh on the left and og core dolls on the right)

not the biggest fan of lagoona but i don't like her g3 design in general so it's def just me. i do think she has a stronger style in her refresh, but shes missing that swimmer aesthetic that i think is so important to her design. also less blue in her hair she really is lagoona pink now /j

FRANKIE WITH PANTS LETS GOOOOO i think the leaked prototype had a stronger color scheme (the pink streak in their hair isn't doing it for me) but i LOVE what they've been doing with frankie's style recently, really hype for that welcome committee doll 👀 also NO MORE PINK LIPS HUZZAH

tbh cleos kinda giving nefra in her refresh??? i do really like it tho, a MUCH stronger design vs her og core doll. i do think cleo's dolls have been some of the strongest out of g3 so this is no surprise to me

draculaura and clawdeen leaked a while ago but MAN did they do them justice. giving clawdeen her dark hair back and the fur on the jacket is SUCH a better execution, i love that they gave drac a sun hat i think that's so cute and i love that her outfit feels like a callback to g1 :) and again BLACK LIPS WERE FREE FROM THE HOT PINK NIGHTMARE-

bonus i forgot to review these two when they leaked

and GOD g3s designs just keep getting stronger and stronger, i never had g1 venus so she might be my first g3 👀 i usually dont like the g3 pets (core refresh is no exception) but i think spectras pet is SO cute, spectras eyes are so pretty in the stock photos too im excited to see her in person :O

tldr i think it's so funny how g3 mh just keeps improving and judging by the lack of neon pink lipstick this time around seems to actually be LISTENING to fans meanwhile rainbow high is going down in flames LMAO

#i know i kept bullying hot pink lipstick thru this whole post BUT IT WORKS ON VENUS #also i love that venus has a protective hairstyle but give it to clawdeen now come onnnnn #sassy speaks #mh #i included the prototype leaks specifically to show the frankie downgrade #they just can't NOT give them a bunch of pink. like cmon they deserve a consistent color palette #doll talk

0 notes

hungnitan · 6 months

Note

Genshin anon back again, faster than Ayato's normal attacks to thank you for the advice! (≧◡≦) ♡ It's settled then, mistsplitter here I go! (hopefully lmao)

And honestly I'm the same as you, playing genshin because I love the handsome faces and love the lore xD So believe me when I tell you that Raiden has come a long way for me, and I've skipped her so many times (a few times I skipped her bc I was poor tbh and the other times out of pure spite lmao xD) I'm of the opinion that Inazuma's storyline was kinda messy and it didn't let the region's characters shine like they should, specially their leader, as you said.

However my archon collection needs to increase as well, as I only own Venti and Zhongli (strongly devoted to those two lol 🙏) and in the future versions I'll try to pull for radish god Nahida, but farming her flowers is a pain similar to the handguards, RIP (╥_╥)

Also! Are you pulling for Xianyun aka Ganyu and Shenhe's momma aka Cloud Retainer? xD And have you seen Gaming? He is a must pull for me, but I will forever mourn his beta/original design that was leaked a while back, truly sad (-ω-、)

Ahahaha you really reply faster than Ayato NA this time Genshin anon-chan🤣, well glad can helped then. If I need the reason for pulling Raiden (which won't happens anytime lol) is just her e skill really useful and that's it which become one of reason I pull Yae before.

Let's be clear then, if you need to increase archon's collection, Nahida and Furina are enough for now, their lore really solid. Me too had archon collection except Venti Raiden, for Venti I need to wait for more lore reveal I guess (lol). And I know what I gonna said will make Mei series lovers hate me but Raiden shogun just famous because of Mei AU and archons title for godness sake, she even can't cook or doing something different like other archons (maybe can't cook consider special traits lol)

The things with handguard (and additionally dust mushroom for Nahida) are even you kill those kairagi samurai mushroom in all Inazuma Sumeru to getting its 3* rarity are more lower than chance like you getting Ayato in 10 pull. BUT handguard definitely had more thorny side since most Inazuma characters and weapons want that sh*tty items. I even hold Haran and Mistsplitter sword since I scare with Kairagi lol

If you want to prefarm Nahida flower, I suggest to weekly buy the flowers at Aranara shop from now (if you already finish Aranara world quest)

PS : in term of hard local items, the number one for now is Cyno scarab and side by side is subdetection unit Wriothesley. Cyno definitely not worth the hard work (he even had ER issue lol), even you can appreciate Wrio more since he's cryo catalyst

I definitely skip any pull since there's info saying about Siggewinne Arlecchino at 4.6. Did you know one meme about Madame Ping and Cloud Retainer mentor-student meme ? Like Ping more into kids and small while Cloud Retainer into sexy and big team so yeah I prefer small one (Guizhong more into my target lol) while I can't pull for Gaming especially Lantern Rite event definitely giving us one chooseable 4* for free include the newest one. Oh yeah Gaming prototype feels more wild but this one too isn't that bad I guess~ talking about prototype Skirk definitely hitting us in very hurt part (lol)

#genshin impact

0 notes

wabashmfginc · 1 year

Text

Tank Truck Drop Elbows, Camlocks, Adapters, And Fittings

We have specialised welders on group who are skilled in welding fuel tank seams and different exhausting to restore places. Ferblanterie Daniel Bilodeau specializes in metal metallic transformation, especially stainless. Inside our facility, we provide service, conception, fabrication, and set up of stainless and aluminum elements for any kind of vehicles. Truck storage packing containers, cabinets and switch tanks from J-Box, UWS and Aluminum Tank Industries to fulfill your most demanding wants.

Only thing is, if you're making an attempt to make a residing, you do not have time to go to Wal-Mart typically. I am not consuming water out of my holding tank, too many variables! He fills 2 5 gal water bottles at residence and has a seperate pump and faucet aluminium truck tanks for it. No matter what material I wouldn't use tank water for potable.......it is rather difficult to propery sanitize a tank be it plastic, ABS, Alum, Stainless, Titanium what have you.

I despatched them a request for extra information and a few real images of the tank and dataplate. Their US representative is on the extent and has an excellent reputation within the trade , I have dealt along with aluminium truck fuel tanks her a quantity of instances. PPI is enjoying big success in the USA, where a robust market exists for propane-powered automobiles, and is also conducting enterprise in China.

This is often carried out so one a part of the tank can be utilized to hold oil and the second half can be utilized for diesel fuel. So, what’s the finest aluminium water tanks way to restore your diesel fuel tank? It’s a query many customers ask us, and one that comes with several solutions.

They can be fitted with impact safety to satisfy the customer’s particular necessities. For small and medium-sized vehicles, our fuel tanks are secure, lightweight, and fulfill your requirements when it comes to price and your personal specs. We build and validate prototypes prior to the manufacturing of the unit. Our double-walled fuel tanks are designed as integral secondary containment and subsequently do not require impartial bunds for leak containment. A moist package includes our technicians putting a divider into a fuel tank with the mandatory fittings.

Magna additionally produces many of the components required to fabricate filler pipes, so we can find design solutions that present optimum performance and the very best levels of security. With Magna’s progressive Fuel & Fueling Supply System truck OEMs can take their fuel tanks to the following stage. A residue reservoir within the truck tank reduces the volume required for preliminary fueling to 20 liters and ensures a continuous fuel supply water tanks for trucks each time the driver is on the road. The system is appropriate for all sorts of fuel tanks, including standard tanks and Combi Tanks, and putting in it will enable OEMs to achieve important value financial savings at the same time as increasing customer satisfaction.

0 notes

hollyjay · 2 years

Photo

Hi! I’m not dead. I know I said I would have a chapter of something out in a month at LEAST 2 months ago but I uhh got a bit of a bad writer’s block and time melted

Trynna motivate myself back into writeability, meantime have an unfinished art page for Telephone from early november and excerpts from a fast bulleted concept list for telephone and key I made last night to get myself back into a writer mood. promise I use grammar while writing actual prose.

Telephone Telegram AU

In which quirks are a byproduct of the energy type they’re made of slowly increasing in ambience over the years, and human bodies adapting to compensate for it.

Humans aren’t the only things adapting room for quirk energy to inhabit.

(literally)

Sometimes it forms stuff on it’s mostly own, too!

There’s been some Issues, as of recent, with the structures of various buildings, labs, powerlines, warehouses, etc, previously approved as safe spontaneously collapsing. How weird! There’s absolutely no plausible explanation for it beyond lax inspectors, especially involving villains, I’m sure! /s

Not great for Uraraka’s family business :>

DFO

Inko is mayhaps not a normal human person!

Trying her best but objectively not a mother in the specific way her children happen to need

Not an abusive or neglectful Inko here we don’t like writing (or, for that matter, reading) abusive Inko, but not the ideal supporter for their specific circumstances

Probably would not have happened to have kids at the particular time she did if not for the friendship and recent pregnancy announcement of her friend Mitsuki To-Be-Bakugou-Someday reminding her that’s a thing she wanted to do

Children. Plural. Don't worry about it ;^)

Knowingly with AFO for a bit!

Izuku goes to UA as per canon.

Inko never took him to get tested for a lack of a quirk. Is technically quirkless, by definition of "quirkless" as a human or animal body adapted in a specific way to have a quirk factor.

By that definition so is she.

In practice, however,

(AfO did not give either of them quirks)

At story's start, almooost goes behind his mother’s back towards the Wide Welcoming Extremely Shady Arms Of A Personalized Prep Internship-Esque Training organized for Him, Specifically, by HPSC even after she correctly told him not to

Dropped the HPSC the moment he caught a whiff of All Might within the nearest 30 mile radius. Good for him!

OFA successor Izuku time

Feeling a lil bit guilty for Various Reasons!

Naomasa is Plot Relevant. Unfortunately for him.

Naomasa is All Might’s Good Friend

All Might really wants him to be, anyways

Naomasa is not a leak or traitor

Izuku's older brother is? was? Prototype Izuku.

Do worry about it actually.

Where is Yami when the fic starts? Aizawa wishes he knew lol

(In the background, Aizawa would be waddling knee deep in string and corkscrew murder mystery conspiracy, if not for the fear of someone seeing him doing it)

Katsuki's brother was Proto Katsuki.

Assume he's dead unless proven otherwise. Unlikely!

They... were? about Aizawa's age.

And Oboro’s friends, coincidentally! They went on fun TOOOOTALLY faked with no real information or stakes teenage detective adventures together when he wasn’t with his hero school team

The Bakugou family and Midoriya family ah. Don't talk anymore. Per Mistuki's threat.

Also both families had different surnames approx. 15 years ago! It's fun to change up your life occasionally. :^)

Tagged Major Character Death Warning

Originally way-back inspired by know what i've made by the marks on my hands by simkjrs, Leviathan by rest_in_rip, and Feral by moonpaw - none are a great comparison currently, especially the last two, (which I don’t think I ever finished) but they’re still worth an appreciative nod!

Knave and Key AU

VERY DFO

Blatantly Anyone inspired, designed to appeal to people (person singular, me) who liked Anyone (me) and had “hahaha what conclusions could hero cast come up with given a different set of information” (me) thoughts and then “hahaha what if those conclusions were true” (me)

TBH probably not that similar to Anyone at all, especially considering it has no Anyone The Person or Anyone The Organization, which are pretty… important. I worked backwards from “correct potential wrong conclusions the heroes could make in Anyone” and replaced all the plot that wasn't extracted from those conclusions with different context

If you do see the insp shining through, however, that’s why!

Soulmates AU

Having a soulmate =/= having a quirk, everyone has one and it’s irrelevant to quirk status

given recent manga developments, Aoyama/Izuku Soulmates AU

Izuku is causing problems for everyone

In which Izuku actually DOES have a parasite-esque quirk.

Izuku will Physically Worm His Way Into Your Soul And Quirk, if so desired

Izuku is wanted by the government for crimes of being adorable and adoptable

Also crimes of criminal activity

Also kicking Chisaki hard enough to just about kill him, which is a crime but shouldn’t be

Izuku breaks into Chisaki’s house and kicks him to death, by the way.

There’s a woman who spent a bit of time in France (and thus has that as a bonding point with the Aoyamas) and is either gonna end up being a distant relative of Mina or Momo (depending on how I decide her quirk works in technical aspect, leaning towards Mina), possibly by marriage, who can get random bits of information about people’s soulmates by using her quirk on them

hmm :^)

Eraserhead fascinating, Aizawa kind of mean :/

Aoyama got his quirk as per canon

Eraserzawa causes Midoriya problems

Eraserzawa gets problems back

Shinsou takes it upon himself to fight Midoriya

NOooo haha he’s just a little guy doooon’t do that

Younger sister Eri who’s extremely plot relevant

Midoirya might be going to UA, I think

Most of his choices are motivated by his family

Sometimes this means plotting the assassination of members of his family!

#bnha au #telephone telegram au #knave and key au #midoriya inko #aizawa shouta #shirakumo oboro #all might #midoriya izuku #mikumo akatani

17 notes · View notes

words-writ-in-starlight · 3 years

Text

day 20: "lost and found"/"trapped under water"

Wu Zetian’s Dragonet had been modified rather far from the original design—the first prototype of the vessel, a one-person submersible, had been controlled by the entire body, including the feet. Given the fact that Zetian could barely walk unaided, and certainly couldn’t exert the downward force she would need to command the standard Dragonet depth controls, her vessel had been altered. Instead of the usual foot pedals, Zetian’s Dragonet answered entirely to her hands, except for an emergency switch that she could hit with a knee in order to send a location ping and call for help.

Help was a pipe dream out here, but that didn’t matter. Help was always a fantasy. Out here, in the ocean, it was Zetian and the submarine that hummed around her like a part of her body, and she liked it that way.

Zetian had joined the crew of the Jiaoren for the same reason she originally joined the Dragonet program. It was the same reason she was now sinking through the photic layer toward the eternal dark of the Mariana Trench.

Seven years ago, the biggest entertainment company in Asia, Xiangxiang Entertainment, had planned to make a documentary that would cement them a place in history. They had rented a ship named the Kulitu, and Gao Qiu, the CEO, had ensured that they recruit as much scientific talent as they could possibly bribe or blackmail into aligning themselves with the project. They had loaded lab equipment, camera equipment, and everyone needed to operate both onto the Kulitu, and set sail to prove the existence of mermaids.

Wu Ruyi, Zetian’s big sister, had been working as the perfectly polished, perfectly shy and earnest, perfectly perfect face of Xiangxiang, at the time. Ruyi had laughed when Zetian snorted at the idea of her latest mission, and she had promised to send her little sister a video every day while they were at sea. She had been on board when they left for the Mariana Trench.

She had also been on board when they found exactly what they were looking for.

Neither Wu Ruyi nor any other living being had been left when the Kulitu was found, bloody and adrift, six weeks later. Not even bodies had been left behind. But video footage—there was plenty of that.

Zetian stopped laughing at the idea of mermaids, after the Kulitu. Everyone else was ready and eager to believe that the surviving footage was edited, Xiangxiang Entertainment trying to take morally bankrupt advantage of the tragedy to legitimize the mission in the first place. Zetian didn’t agree. Zetian knew too much. She knew how the documentary was supposed to have been made, full of near-misses of beautiful women and iridescent scales, artfully designed by a roomful of writers and convincingly delivered by Ruyi’s wide eyes. It wasn’t a plan that matched up with the footage leaked from the Kulitu—footage full of blood and needle teeth, sinuous eel bodies and many-boned claw-tipped fingers.

Zetian had dedicated the last seven years of her life to becoming the most qualified Dragonet pilot to dive into the Mariana Trench, over her family’s objections, and when Xiangxiang decided to prove their innocence with another voyage, they came to Zetian first.

Zetian had signed on without a moment’s hesitation, and now here she was, descending into the dark.

It had taken time, but Zetian had come to like the sea. She wasn’t a natural fanatic like so many of the scientists, some of whom had gotten so rapturous there were actual tears when Yizhi asked them about their work. Zetian had been born on land and had intended to stay there, thank you very much, but she needed answers more than she needed to be landlocked, and—

Well. The Dragonet didn’t care about her shattered feet. She didn’t totter or wobble in the water, and no one rushed to grab her or touch her under the ocean. Here, she was exactly as helpless as any other human, against the uncaring might of the deeps, and that made her as close to all-powerful as she was ever going to be.

A red light blinked on the Dragonet’s primary control panel. Zetian reached out and touched the radio commands, and said, “This is Wu Zetian.”

“Pilot Wu,” Yizhi said, his voice only mildly distorted by the radio link. He said her title with a kind of playful excitement that she found helplessly endearing.

Halfway through her training, Zetian had, entirely by accident, stumbled across one of Gao Qiu’s sons, while Yizhi was effectively in hiding from his family—in the form of his fourth degree, all of them only moderately useful—and Zetian was limping by on dollar-store noodles while her family tried to starve her out of the Dragonet training. She had been as surprised as anyone to board the Jiaoren and find him there. Zetian, who prided herself on having no shame whatsoever when it came to getting what she wanted, was desperately curious to know the extent of the bargain Yizhi had made, in order to get himself appointed as the face of this second expedition.

Yizhi was using his Documentary Persona Voice over the radio, which was how Zetian knew that the cameras must be nearby, probably watching Yizhi watch the feed from the Dragonet’s external cameras. She appreciated the warning.

“Anything interesting so far?”

“Some fish,” Zetian said with a touch of humor in her voice. “But nothing I’d call a mermaid yet. I’m just reaching—” she checked her depth readout “—six hundred meters, about halfway through the mesopelagic zone.”

“Impressive,” Yizhi said, enthusiastic as ever. “Your operations team is about to take the radio back, and I won’t bother you for the rest of the drop—is there anything you’d like to say, for posterity?”

Zetian took a huge, deep breath, and then let it out, slow and controlled. “Yes,” she decided in the same moment she spoke. “I’m going to prove what happened to my sister. I’m going to make her proud. Everyone else can choke, for all I care.”

“That’s the spirit,” Yizhi said, and it should have sounded like a platitude, but instead it warmed Zetian to her bones.

Then it was her operations team again, and Zetian was dropping into the deepest part of the dark, with only the lights of her Dragonet and the increasingly sparse fish for company.

The wall of the trench, where it narrowed into the Challenger Deep, was Zetian’s guideline as she descended, using it alongside her depth meter to ensure that she was in the right place. She switched her lights to red as she passed the thousand meter mark, where she was officially in the bathypelagic zone—the midnight sea where sunlight never touched. Most of the creatures here couldn’t even see red light, and didn’t care much about the Dragonet or anything else that wasn’t food.

Something quick, a grey shadow, whipped by the porthole window. Zetian almost jumped, and tried to look after it, but it was gone.

“Wu Zetian to Jiaoren,” she said, still watching the water as she tapped the radio to life. “Did the camera get a better look at that?”

It would take a minute or two for them to get back to her, with the communication delay to the surface, through all that weight of water. Zetian could make a lot of progress in a couple of minutes, if she pushed the Dragonet and her skills.

Zetian concluded that caution was the better part of valor, and dropped as slowly as she could, instead.

Five minutes passed, Zetian creeping downward through the lower range of the bathypelagic and keeping a careful eye on the water.

Then the red light on her console flicked on, and she tapped it to life.

The problem with audio communications, Zetian thought numbly as she listened, was that it took longer. It had to—the data packets had to come through all at once to be coherent, and therefore, it took more time to get the whole message.

Someone should do something about that. It was so, so dangerous, to take that extra time, when the message at hand was:

“Wu Zetian, remain calm. Come back to the surface. Now.”

Zetian only hesitated for a moment. It was a stupid impulse, the impulse to go deeper, to see more, to—what—look for her jiejie’s spirit, haunting the water, maybe turned into a thing of the sea herself. If anyone was going to weep pearls, it would be jiejie.

But, no. Zetian wasn’t an explorer. She wasn’t a scientist. She wasn’t even here to get her name in a history book. All she was here to do was to prove that Wu Ruyi hadn’t been lost at sea, and hadn’t been involved in a hoax. Her sister was a brilliant journalist whose name had been smeared beyond repair by the world’s conviction that mermaids were a fantasy, and Zetian was here to make sure everyone knew it.

She had to be alive, to do that.

The Mariana Trench would always be here. If she wanted to dive again, she had weeks on the Jiaoren to do just that.

Zetian tapped the radio again, pulled up on the controls, and said, “I’m coming up. End depth, just shy of four thousand feet.”

A hand came to rest, feather-light, on the window.

The air froze in Zetian’s lungs. For a moment, she thought, only a little hysterically, of Ruyi, telling her that Xiangxiang had hired a troupe of performers, professional mermaids, to travel on the Kulitu. To be their near-misses, Ruyi had said, with that look of delicate amusement that said she was too nice to roll her eyes, but if Zetian wanted to, Ruyi wouldn’t judge her for it. Maybe somehow, impossibly…?

Logic reasserted itself almost immediately. Zetian was almost four thousand feet below the surface of the ocean. If she wasn’t safe in the pressure vessel of her Dragonet, she would have been crushed underfoot like a lightbulb being shattered on impact. The hand was so delicate, so fragile, the webbing between the many-jointed fingers almost as thick as the digits themselves. There was no way that fragile skin was concealing a pressure suit, let alone one that would get someone here.

When the mermaid pulled itself, hand over hand, up the Dragonet and looked through the window, Zetian didn’t even jump. She thought, distantly, that she was going to be very proud of that, later.

At such close range, it did not look human. But—humanoid. Close enough that some sailor on a dark night, peering through the surf and the fog, could be forgiven for the mistake. Its face was skeletal, with nothing that could be called a nose, but possessed huge, liquid black eyes and startlingly sensual lips. It was framed in a cloud of writhing shadow, spotted here and there with winking blue-white lights. Its hands were so fragile, but apparently strong, clinging to the hull of the Dragonet as Zetian rose.

Zetian needed to reach out and tap the radio back to life. She knew this. But she felt caught, trapped in the round pools of the mermaid’s eyes—aware, in the deepest parts of her brain, that she was being observed by a predator, and profoundly unwilling to do anything that might aggravate it.

Slowly, carefully, Zetian raised a hand. She saw the mermaid’s attention shift to it, and considered that she might be about to bet her life on the quality of the dive-graded window of her Dragonet. But the mermaid hung there, watching, as Zetian reached, so slowly it made her muscles tremble, to the panel, and tapped the radio.

“I am remaining calm,” was the first thing out of Zetian’s mouth, and she wanted to slap herself. She inhaled, still staring at the mermaid, entranced, and her voice sounded so neutral it was almost robotic when she spoke again. Its lips had parted a little bit, perhaps in fascination, or in hunger. In a human, it might have been a coy expression. In the mermaid, it only revealed the vast number of needle-sharp teeth. “There is currently a mermaid that has attached itself to the Dragonet. Call security to the launching dock.”

And then Zetian slapped her hand down on the controls for her running lights.

The mermaid recoiled as the Dragonet’s lights blazed white, like midday in comparison to the all-consuming black of the water. Its hands scrabbled, just a little weakened by the shock, and its mouth opened wide, displaying all those teeth. Maybe it was screaming, and she just couldn’t hear it through the water and the metal.

It drew back a hand and punched the window. It was a show of force more than anything, Zetian knew it. It didn’t even wobble the window. The evidence of her Dragonet’s sturdy construction did not make her feel better.

Zetian didn’t wait to see more. She accelerated toward the surface, demanding all that her engine could give, and tried not to gasp herself lightheaded.

She wasn’t a scientist. She wasn’t one of the ocean’s natural lovers. All she was ever going to be, Zetian sometimes thought, was the teenager she had been when word came of the Kulitubeing found, empty. She was always going to be looking for her sister.

But, fuck, she didn’t want to die down here, trapped underwater with nothing but the inhuman faces of the mermaids for company. If she died on this mission, so be it. Her bones would rest easier on the sea floor with her jiejie than on land with the rest of her family. But let her die in the air, where she could at least heave a last breath, rather than alone in the dark, four thousand meters from the world where she belonged.

Zetian rose fast, faster than was wise, probably faster than was safe. She was counting completely on her lights, still turned all the way up, to chase away anything that might be in her path. And for a while, as her depth meter ticked its way upward, toward the mesopelagic, toward the world of sunlight, she thought she was safe. The red light was blinking again, alerting her to her team trying to get through, but she didn’t have time for it right now. She was rising, back to the world where humanity lived in security, and the equipment would tell her operations team as much. They didn’t need to hear from her. They didn’t—

The speaker chimed neutrally to announce that her team had overridden the controls, and then she heard, of all things, Yizhi, sounding like he was maintaining his calm only through sheer force of will.

“Zetian,” he said, “the mermaid is clinging to the stern of the Dragonet. It appears to have wedged itself against the housing of your rudder. Continue back toward the Jiaoren’s dock. Security is here, we’re going to figure out how to get the mermaid off you.” He paused—they were nearly back to real-time now, with Zetian rising so quickly—and then continued, “Good work with the lights.”

Zetian blindly pressed the button to speak and asked the only question that mattered.

“Were there more?”

She had watched the Kulitu footage until she saw it in her nightmares. She knew that mermaids did not prefer to go one-on-one with their prey. They preferred a huge advantage in numbers, to match their advantage in natural weaponry and camoflage. One mermaid probably couldn’t do anything dire to her Dragonet. But enough mermaids?

Well. Her engines could only do so much. And eventually, her air would run out. Or they would crack her hull, and she would die in a swift, sudden flood of water, killed by the pressure before she could drown.

There was a highly suspicious beat before Yizhi responded.

“No,” he said, and then, more honestly, “None that we can confirm. Where are you now?”

“Two thousand and rising fast,” Zetian said.

“Good. I’ll leave you to it.”

Zetian had never been particularly religious, but she prayed to every spirit, god, or ancestor she could remember the name of, as the glimmering light of the surface drew close. She was putting an intolerable amount of pressure on the hull, forcing it to depressurize so quickly, but the sunlight was right there.

Something slammed into the Dragonet from below, moving fast. It jolted her, hard. Another impact, further up the body of the hull. Then a third. Alarms began to scream.

They were trying to bring her down, Zetian realized. She was so close—barely a hundred meters left, back into the clear sunlit waters, where she could see the vast shadow of the ship overhead. She just had to keep them from damaging anything beyond repair until she could surface.

The last hundred meters were the worst twenty seconds of her life. She was guessing, half-wishing, that there were only a handful of mermaids on her—three, or maybe four if one was still hanging onto her hull. They were hitting her in a calculated, staggered series of impacts, trying to throw her off-balance, maybe trying to roll her clear over like someone trying to flip a shark upside down to make it docile. It was an alarmingly good strategy, even if her metal hull was more resistent than an average ocean-going target might be. It suggested a level of intelligence that she was, frankly, extremely uncomfortable with.

Later assessment of the Dragonet would prove two things. First, whatever her reasons for getting into a Dragonet in the first place, Wu Zetian had earned her place on the Jiaoren with nothing but skill and talent. Her engineer swore that she must have been keeping the engines online through sheer willpower, because there was certainly nothing mechanical to explain it. Second, mermaids were smart. More than smart, they were clever. They had targeted the riveted joins in the metal, trying to crack them. They had targeted the porthole, trying to find a weakness. They had even tried, with a disturbing success rate, to hit the engines and shut them down. It should have occurred to them, everyone said, after seeing how many boats went missing around the Mariana Trench, but…

Zetian wasn’t thinking about that as she set her sights on the Jiaoren’s launch, though. She wasn’t doing any calculations, wasn’t thinking about strategy, wasn’t even thinking about Ruyi. Her mind was a blank white shriek of determination, a single atavistic impulse that every creature shared—I will not die here.

The last impact on the Dragonet was a shuddering blow to the port hull that sent water trickling in around Zetian’s feet.

She chose not to notice it. Instead, she chose to notice the launch, and to notice the sunlight above her, and to notice that she was—

In.

The launching dock closed behind her, and Zetian sat there, clutching her controls and shaking in every bone, staring out at the clustered crowd as they stared back at her.

Zetian reached out a trembling hand and pointed backward, doing her best to convey the vital question of is there anything on my hull. She recognized the big security officer nearest her, the one with a scar on his face and thick glasses. He had been the one assigned to help her bring the Dragonet onboard. She had told him to fuck off. He had ducked his head and muttered something about his job, and she’d been bitter about having to let him stand there, even if he wasn’t allowed to touch her Dragonet.

Now, he was gesturing to her, and she was too wired on adrenaline to even understand what he was trying to get across.

Finally, a thought connected and Zetian fumbled for her controls. Her radio crackled to life, sounding worse than it had at the bottom of the ocean, and she rasped out, “Am I good to open the hatch?”

“You are,” one of her operations team said, sounding almost as shaky as she felt. “The impacts appear to have shaken off your, uh. Passenger.”

“Amazing,” Zetian said, and popped open the hatch without another word. She did not want to be in her Dragonet anymore. Actually, she was not certain she wanted to be in her Dragonet ever again.

She tried to heave herself out of the Dragonet with her arms, and slipped on a thick layer of silvery slime. Before she could crack her jaw on the metal and knock herself ignominiously unconscious, after surviving arguably the worst conceivable deep-sea scenario without a scratch, a hand caught her, and lifted her like she weighed nothing at all. The security officer begain to set her on her feet, and Zetian’s body tried to crumple under her own weight.

It was not dignified to have a security officer she had already established a feud with catch her, much less hoist her up into a bridal carry, but Zetian was frankly too much in shock—and probably feeling too pressure-sick, now that she thought about it—to do anything.

“Security officer,” Zetian said, or thought she said, over the ringing in her ears, “I think I am going to pass out now.”

The last thing she saw was the security officer’s dark eyes blinking at her in alarm, and she heard his voice rumble through her like an earthquake. She thought he was saying her name. She thought to herself that she hadn’t known he knew her name.

And then she wasn’t thinking anything at all.

#whumptober 2021 #no.20 #lost and found #trapped under water #iron widow #fic #wu zetian #gao yizhi #li shimin #starlight writes stuff #oh also #into the drowning deep #i did like...a truly ridiculous amount of research for this random off-the-cuff INSANELY niche fic #i know. some STUFF about the challenger deep now.#why???? i don't know. she doesn't even technically make it into the challenger deep.#anyway 'xiangxiang' means 'imagine' so i'm just being like. a little bit clever with it.#also i couldn't find the name of a specific mermaid-adjacent figure in chinese mythology in any kind of quick order #so instead i switched it to Types Of Mermaid-Adjacent Creatures instead of Names Of Significant Mermaids for the boat names #i know this is the second time i've said this in this particular month but this is TRULY the nichest thing i could have come up with probab #*probably #but i am in pain! i have been in pain all day! i slept five hours because i was in too much pain to stay asleep!#so i will WRITE my obscure fic and all four people who read it should appreciate my rampant self-indulgence

34 notes · View notes