#though balancing contrast was.. interesting

[eqt-95]

chapter 1 is up on ao3!

A hangover. It had to be. There was no other earthly reason for the throbbing head, her impulsive hatred for existence, and the wave of nausea that demanded Big Belly Burger stat.

There was just one problem.

This wasn't her couch. Hell, this wasn’t even… her fingers brushed the ground and met… dirt. Why was there dirt? Why was it so hot? And why - she squinted, blinking and flinching until her eyes adjusted to the brightness - why did this look like a desert?

Lena groaned. It came out like the croak of a sad frog.

Cotton-mouthed, head pounding, and feebly hoping this was a bad VR trip, she curled to sit up. Vertigo would be better than whatever this was. She pressed a sympathetic hand to the bridge of her nose and noticed the maze of red sand lines against the deep burgundy fabric of her three-piece suit. The suit she was wearing the night before. The power-suit she had chosen to increase her confidence for when…

A shiver crawled across her skin. It was as welcome as it was unsettling, though before Lena could think much about that, it was sapped by the sun baking down on her. She closed her eyes though that wasn’t particularly useful at shutting the world out.

“End simulation.”

A beat. 

Nothing.

Two beats.

Nothing.

Lena’s itty bitty flicker of hope extinguished. It was a feeble, desperate, aspirational attempt anyway.

She swallowed, feeling an entirely different wave of nausea strike.

Eyes flicked open and scanned the horizon. Face already contorted in a scowl, it quickly deepened.

It was a vast sea of nothing. So much nothing. Not a single cloud interrupted the blanket of sky. Not a single hue contrasted the monochrome palette of reds and orange. Not even the hiss of a reptile rippled across dry, cracked earth. The most interesting thing was the dots of rocks sprinkled across the ground like decorations on the world's driest cupcake. The horizon was cloaked in haze and, if the glistening line of sweat on Lena’s own brow was any indication, it wasn’t the wet kind that brought cleansing rainfall.

Well done, Luthor.

Shaky knees were forced into action, though standing was no more enlightening than sitting. It took a staggering second before she found her balance. For added helplessness, she spun uselessly in a circle to discover everything looked exactly the same in every direction.

The sun hung overhead. Odd how it felt larger in a desert. Lena half-wondered why vultures weren’t also in the sky, circling their next meal.

A meal. She’d give up half her L-Corp shares for a burger. Better yet, she’d give up half her shares for a genie to grant three wishes: a burger, aspirin, and sunglasses. She wasn’t asking for much - just a few simple comforts while she shriveled into nothing.

Hand cupped over her eyes she scowled toward the sky, half-hoping one might suddenly descend from it. And for all her luck, there was something floating. It was a speck, a shadow of something, a rendering error. And it was getting bigger. She hoped it wasn’t something designed to kill her.

It was.

It wasn’t.

“Of course it’s you,” Lena sighed. It was a sigh meant to express her general disgruntlement for her situation, for Supergirl, for life in general. It did its job well. Her arm dropped in defeat. 

“Were you expecting someone else?” 

The cape. The flowing blonde hair. The hubris.

read the rest on ao3

#this first chapter is so long and winded and i am absolutely out of breath. this is why i don't run #the next two will be WAY more succinct #enemies to lovers #supercorp fic #supercorp #kara and lena #kara x lena

[bluntblade]

Realised that this never posted, but I stand by it:

It's really weird that Rogue One's aesthetic, which was specifically developed for a Star Wars film which had minimal space wizards and was instead about much more subdued characters and murkier moral themes, has now become the aesthetic which gets slathered over all new live-action Star Wars whether it fits or not.

Mando mostly works with that look because while there are some big personalities, they're almost all side characters, while the mains are stoic and reserved except for Grogu. Andor looks downright great, not least as much of it is shot on actual locations and on full sets.

But apply this to Ahsoka and Kenobi, and it rather cuts against the vibe they're going for. Space wizards, with their operatic cosmic conflicts and connection to a mystic energy, tend to want something a bit more heightened (which I think is an under-discussed problem in the PT which is very muted much of the time, and a major strength in the more stylised Empire and TLJ). The colours are muted, the angles mostly flat, and it ends up being at odds with the story being told.

To extend Kenobi some goodwill, lots of the latter seems to have come from the Volume. You keep seeing where the cinematographer wanted to crank a shot of Vader to be sharper and more impactful, but couldn't because the Volume doesn't permit that. Although I do think there are some baffling bits of blocking like in the chase and the first duel, the floaty shaky-cam is a generally poor look and really, Lucasfilm shouldn't lean so hard on the Volume (I mean, seriously guys, look at Monarch. That looks miles better than anything you've done on TV except for Andor.) But point is, they tried and ran into constraints.

Meanwhile Ahsoka seems exceedingly comfortable with both feet in Gordon Willis' metaphorical bucket of cement. The characters' energy levels are tamped way down from Rebels to match the muted presentation, and things often feel low-energy even just within the context of these shows. Even when the show steps into the World Between Worlds, an explicitly supernatural plane (or goes into Ahsoka's coma dream) there's no real change in look. Contrast the way that Empire employs that low shutter speed in the dark cave, while TLJ steps into something surreal complete with voiceover and an impossible CG camera move. In Ahsoka, though, there's little attempt to make the place feel otherworldly beyond how the scenery looks.

And these are largely missing a vital part of Rogue One's look, which is scale. Both Gareth Edwards and cinematographer Greig Fraser are great at portraying large-scale things in interesting ways, and that's something which will tend to get lost with a move to the small screen and the massive use of the Volume, without shots from locations or physical sets to balance it out and make spaces feel more real.

#Ahsoka critical #Rogue One #blunt blathers #Ahsoka show

[loregoddess]

so I might be having a blast playing Rebirth, but I'm still thinking Octo2 stuff, and just realized bc of the Dolcinaea fight I could see the weaknesses for every character (except Agnea) and since I can turn just about any random detail into a "hmm, does this mean anything" thought exercise, here's some observations (minor story spoilers):

Throne, Osvald, and Partitio have the fewest weaknesses at 3. This makes sense for Throne and Osvald (professional thief/assassin raised to be a thief/assassin, Throne can't have any openings if she hopes to survive; Osvald relied on his keen observation to Shawshank Redemption himself out of prison, so of course he'd have fewer openings bc he's always keeping an eye on things around him). But Partitio surprised me--although it does make some sense, he had to keep his wits about him to become the best merchant in Oresrush, and he's wicked smart (honestly, Ori's the only one who ever seems able to genuinely sneak up on him, and that makes sense given that she's, y'know, Ori).

Hikari has no weaknesses to weapons of any sort, and only has elemental weaknesses as a result. He is not weak to light or dark though (a reference to Shadow's Hold/Light's Radiance or else his bloodlines perhaps?). On the flipside Osvald has no weaknesses to elements and only weaknesses to weapons (all the weapons he's weak to--polearms, daggers, and bows--are "ranged" in some sense, suggesting his magic maybe makes it impossible to get close enough to attack him).

Throne and Temenos continue to act as foils to each other, with Throne having only one elemental weakness to light, and Temenos having only one elemental weakness to dark. Throne's only two weapon weaknesses are axes and bows, which sort of makes sense (either someone has to get close enough to strike her quickly or they have to attack from a very far distance to get the drop on her; there are also interestingly the hunter's base weapon set, so the only way to stop a thief is to hunt them; also there's a ranged bow counter to her close-range sword and a close-range axe counter to her ranged dagger). Temenos's weapon weaknesses include swords, daggers, and axes, which are interestingly all "close range" weapons to some degree (Temenos never lets anyone get too close to him emotionally, so it makes sense the only way to actually harm him would be to "get close" to him; swords and daggers are also the thief's base weapon set, and given how much assassination goes on in his story, it makes sense he too would be vulnerable to Throne's trade weapons).

Partitio's only elemental weakness is ice (makes sense given how arid his hometown is). He has a weakness to swords and staves, both close range weapons to contrast the longer-ranged polearm and bow weapons he uses.

Castti's only weapon weakness are bows (a long-range contrast to her shorter-ranged axe), but her elemental weaknesses are what's really interesting. She has a weakness to fire (this makes sense, given that she has an ice-based skill, and a lot of water symbolism in her story arc), but also wind and dark--the two key elements needed to create and spread the purple rain that nearly killed her.

Ochette's the only character with a balance of two weapon weaknesses and two elemental weaknesses: polearms and staves (a longer-ranged weapon to counter her short-ranged axe, and a close-ranged weapon to counter her long-ranged bow); and fire and wind (wind makes sense given that it's the usual weakness to thunder, which is the only elemental attack she has access to in her base skillset, but her weakness to fire is more interesting--is it because she lives in a forest, which are historically susceptible to fires? or because she lives surrounded by water, and fire is the natural opposite?)

Hikari is the only character weak the thunder, just as Throne and Temenos are the only characters weak to light and dark respectively. The other major elements all have two travelers weak to them: Ochette and Castti to fire, Partitio and Hikari to ice, and Castti and Hikari to wind.

Likewise, every weapon is strong against at least two characters, with the exception of bows which are strong against three characters. Swords: Partitio and Temenos, Polearms: Ochette and Osvald, Daggers: Osvald and Temenos, Axes: Throne and Temenos, Bows: Castti, Throne, and Osvald, Staves: Ochette and Partitio.

I dunno if there's any significance to the pattern of: every weapon is strong against two characters except one is strong against three, and every element is strong against two characters except for three elements that are only strong against one character each. But it is some fancy balancing for as far as numbers go.

Anyhow I wasn't going anywhere with this, these were just some interesting observations I wanted to jot down instead of going to bed like I should have half an hour ago.

#octopath traveler #octopath traveler 2 #octopath ii #I kept having to correct to staves bc I call them clubs in my head as part of a mnemonic for the weak point order #speed ABCs--or SPD ABC (swords polearms daggers axes bows clubs) #I have no trouble remembering the order of the elemental weaknesses but it took me forever to figure out the order of weapon weaknesses #so anyhow I kept writing clubs instead of staves #anyhow I'm rambling bc I'm still making questionable time decisions with my night #like I said I was just jotting down things I thought were interesting I'm not trying to make any points here #oracle of lore

[fuctacles]

Eddie Munson Collectible

For @subeddieweek Day 4 | T | 1115 | transfem Steve, playing dress up, fluff, established relationship, Eddie in a dress :3 and I've included a lil doodle

"What are you doing?"

Eddie jumps a foot in the air at the sudden intrusion, grasping at his chest. 

"Fuck!" he yelps, eyes bulging at his girlfriend, who suddenly appeared at the doorframe, leaning casually against it and observing his antics. 

It's not like she was being stealthy, and his music wasn't turned up that loud either. He was just too preoccupied with whatever he was doing to notice her coming back home.

And that thing seemed to be trying on Stephanie's dresses. 

"You scared the shit out of me. Do you want me to die?" he wheezes. But she doesn't care about his heart right now. What she cares about are his hairy shins sticking out from her yellow summer dress. 

"Were you playing dress up without me?" she asks, raising her eyebrow. 

Eddie gulps, grabbing the flowy fabric absentmindedly. 

"Uh, yeah? I was kinda curious how it feels."

Stevie is silent for too long, but when he looks up, all he sees is her glowing smile. 

"Well, why didn't you say so?" she asks cheerfully.

She steps into their bedroom and opens their wardrobe wider. She hums and ahhs until she finds the thing she's looking for, pulling it from between the flowing fabric. 

"I got this one because it reminded me of you. It's not really my style, you know."

It wasn't and he thought as well when he first saw it but you don't question your girlfriend's wardrobe choices, especially when it took her so long to get comfortable in dresses. Stephanie preferred flowy, girly clothes with puffs, lace, and gathered fabric. This was a black, off-shoulder bodycon with flowy, Stevie Nicks-type sleeves.

"Well?"

Eddie looks in the mirror, where he's drowning in the sheer volume of Stevie's puffy sleeves, and the sunny yellow fabric clashes with his pale skin. He nods.

"Okay, let's do it."

Stevie's grin is so wide he's afraid for the well-being of her cheeks. (He'd kiss them better if needed, of course.) She hovers over him, impatiently helping him unzip the dress he has on so he can change. 

"You weren't so excited the first time we had sex," he murmurs under his breath, muffled by the fabric he's pulling over his head. She hears it though, and slaps his arm, almost making him lose his balance due to his immobilized state. 

"I've had sex before, but never saw the man I love wear something so pretty for me."

Eddie blushes instantly, reaching for the dress held up for him. They've said the L-word before but it overwhelmed him a little bit every time. He felt like he'd never be over the fact he was dating such a beautiful girl. So bitchy, sporty, and yet interested in his hobbies. 

He was the happiest man alive, so what was letting her play with him like he was a doll? She didn't have it in her childhood so Eddie would be happy to provide now.

The fabric has a lot of give, so he doesn't feel trapped in it despite what his reflection suggests. More like snugly wrapped. It's short, pulling up above his knees, and the line of his collarbones looks extra bony when displayed like that. His shoulders aren't very wide, but the contrast of his pale skin to the skin-tight blackness makes them pop out more. And the sleeves...

He can't contain his glee and starts flapping them before Stevie has the chance to fully zip him up. They are long and flowy and fun.

"It's like my ren faire shirt," he says, spreading his arms to see the full extent of the fabric. "Heh, I feel like a bat." He grins up at his girlfriend and finds her eyes sparkling with joy too.

"You look like a princess," she offers instead. He seems appalled at the comparison.

"But you're the princess," he points out with a pout. His arms never stop moving the fabric. 

"Nuh-uh." Stevie shakes her head. "I'm a queen."

Eddie huffs, putting his hands on his hips dramatically. 

"You know these are two different titles. It's not hierarchised."

Stevie rolls her eyes. 

"What's the rule, baby?" she asks, eyebrows raised. Eddie sighs.

"No nerd talk in the bedroom unless we're role-playing," he recites.

"Correct. Now be a good doll and spin," she instructs, making a circling motion with her finger. Eddie does so, the sleeves swooshing around him. "You look so hot," she says with a groan. 

Eddie stops to eye himself in the mirror. He should probably take off the socks he was still wearing, they weren't a fitting addition to a dress. 

"I should lose the socks," he says out loud, looking for confirmation. 

"Sit down," Stevie instructs immediately. He takes a couple of steps back to sit on the edge of the bed and she kneels in front of him to pull off his socks for him. She kisses his bony knees while she's there. "You're so pretty," she says, looking up at him. "And all mine to play with."

Eddie's heart thuds harder at the double meaning. He pushes her face away, groaning.

"Stooop!" 

She giggles, falling back to lean on her hands. Her loving gaze is still on him.

"Can I? Please."

Eddie huffs.

"Of course you can." What a silly question.

He'd never deny her anything. So he lets her sit behind him and brush his hair back, style it up to uncover his neck, and frame his face. Lets her swap his hoop earrings for a pair of dangling roses and put lipgloss on his lips. All the time he's facing the mirror, watching himself being pampered with care and love.

Once she's done, Stevie wraps her arms around him and leans over his shoulder to face the mirror as well.

"My pretty metal doll. Collector's edition."

Eddie snorts. 

"Don't laugh. This shit is priceless," she scolds.

"I should have never told you about collectible figurines," he sighs.

"Too late. Now I'm hooked."

She put her fingers under his chin to guide him into a kiss. It's a soft caress at first, but soon he gives in, leaning into her warm chest to get consumed. He sucks on her tongue like it's the only thing keeping him alive and sighs into her mouth when her hands wander, giving extra attention to his exposed collarbones and thighs. She leaves a trail of goosebumps on the insides of his thighs and he knows the tight dress will hide nothing.

Stevie squeezes his sides before parting, giving his lips one last lick, and finds him in a daze, eyes blown and under her spell. The prettiest doll to play with.

"How do you feel about wearing heels?"

#steddie #sub eddie week #subeddieweek #cj x subeddieweek #sub eddie munson #mine #stevierything #transfem stevie harrington #stevie harrington #transfeminine steve harrington #transfem stevie #transfem steve harrington #trans steve harrington #mtf steve #mtf steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fluff #steddie fanfiction #steddie ficlet #eddie in a dress

[comradekatara]

i feel like the reason aang isn’t as adored and beloved as he should be is because he’s the protagonist but he’s also not an archetypal western classical hero. i don’t agree with the entirety of that “avatar aang: feminist icon” essay because i think the role of patriarchy and gender in atla is more complex than what that essay posits, but he definitely complicates the masculine ideal of heroism and generally does not conform to patriarchal notions of masculinity. which is very deliberate, especially as contrasted with sokka and zuko’s explicit struggles with the imperialist/colonial standards of an aggressive, militaristic, and chauvinistic masculinity. aang is subversive because he represents an absence of war in a world ravaged by it. through his link to a (somewhat more) peaceful and harmonious past, he represents a better possible future. as katara would say, he brings people hope.

but people don’t like that he’s not visibly edgy or tormented like zuko is (even though he’s a far more tragic character than zuko is, just fyi), that he isn’t “cool” (even though he’s literally the coolest kid ever, just fyi), that he “gets the girl” (even though if anything, she gets him) despite being twelve and bald and nice (the horror!). katara is the more classical hero of the narrative, as its narrator and its catalyst, the adventurous revolutionary who gradually learns to control and use her powers and eventually becoming a force to be reckoned with. zuko is the classical anti-hero of the narrative, his “redemption arc” constantly hailed as one of the greatest character arcs in television. so people expect katara and zuko, as very obvious narrative foils who parallel each other every step of the way, to be the obvious couple, because based on every romance narrative we’ve been inundated with throughout our lives, within our patriarchal society, they “just make sense together.”

but as much as katara is a protagonist in her own right, aang is the show. the title quite literally represents the central thematic tension of the entire narrative, the colon illustrating the implicit divide between his duties to this brave new world in desperate need of justice and balance, or his duties to his extirpated culture as the last true voice among them. aang is the central figure because this tension represents the crucial ideological battle happening across the entire show. aang is the avatar because he is the only person in the entire world whose values have not been shaped by war.

people constantly laud zuko, in particular, for being the most interesting, complex character in avatar. but i personally don’t even think that’s true. which isn’t to say that zuko isn’t fascinating in his own right, of course, but rather that he’s certainly not the only complex character this show has to offer. he just happens to monologue about his anguish constantly. but aang wasn’t raised as an imperial prince, and so he approaches the world, and his own pain, in a very different manner. the reason he immediately goes to ride giant koi on kyoshi island, mailchutes in omashu, and otherwise goofs around after learning of the shocking ramifications of his people’s genocide is because that’s how he copes with his pain. unlike zuko, who never stops talking about his aches and yearnings, aang represses his trauma and hides his tears behind a mask of upbeat cheerful goofy twelve year old antics.

until he can’t anymore. until he snaps. both katara and zuko wear their hearts on their sleeves, and that includes their rage. but aang’s rage is dangerous specifically because it represents that he has been pushed past his limits, that the conditions of this world in which he is a perpetual stranger, temporally displaced and dispossessed, are intolerable. that peaceful reconciliation is impossible. and the fact that he persists beyond that breaking point, over and over again, to firmly and resoundingly establish his ideals even as they conflict with everything he has learned about this world, a world that is not his own even as he can never return to the world he once knew, is what makes him so unique, so powerful, so beautiful.

i know that aang isn’t the typical hero, neither narratively nor aesthetically, but really, that’s the entire point. the world, our world, needs something other than what we have now. we need someone who will not succumb to the ideals of domination and victory through violence to assert themselves. we need someone who stands firm in refusing to kill the firelord, even as everyone he knows tells him otherwise. we need someone who knows that darkness cannot be vanquished through more darkness, but can only truly yield to purifying light.

and sure, aang is a child, and often acts childishly. sure, he’s not conventionally handsome and alluring. but one thing i will never understand is how that somehow negates his appeal to the masses. because even if you don’t appreciate how crucial he is to the themes of this narrative you all seem to love so much, how can you not love his adorable little face? his precious little laugh, his zest for life, the infinite well of love and kindness he holds in his heart? people who hate aang are crazy to me. because you are, quite literally, hating the world’s most precious baby boy.

#aang #katara #zuko #analysis #hot takes #sorry this one is kind of all over the place #very stream of consciousness bc it’s loving aang hours #and he’s not only meaningful narratively #but he’s also just SOOOOO CUTE #I would literally pay money to babysit him #which I think defeats the point of babysitting but whatever #he’s just. so precious 😭😭😭 #also fwiw I don’t really fw kataang either but like. it does make more narrative sense than the alternative #and if it had been executed better . well. who can say

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

Partially as a joke and partially as a for real analysis

My boy was born a dad huh. Like his literal first impulse after chasing Betty is to lecture her? Goodness. What an awkward man.

But also man, I just felt kinda bad for Betty because of course she's gonna apologize. She just got lectured. It's okay. Simon actually gets over his awkwardness and confesses though.

But here's the thing...

What's the difference in saying "by my side" and "by your side"? Note the word choice.

Maybe Simon would've gone on that trip with Betty if he had thought to. But he simply didn't think to. People are like that. They don't always think.

But by saying "by my side", he's not going to "her side". Betty would've stayed. That girl was deadset on him and she only needed a reason. But Simon didn't ask to be with her, he asked her to be with him - right where he's at.

Again, not inherently selfish, but again pointing to an overall clearer picture of their relationship. Betty fell for the guy who would not notice or question the fact that she will drop everything for him.

Like let's take that and compare it with adolescent Bubbline. Two very independent individuals who clashed so often because they were alone for so long that fitting someone else into their lives was hard. Their romance is centered around learning to make that space, to do away with walls.

If a more independent individual was placed in Betty and Simon's role, they would go on that trip and then come back later when they're done. They could balance the priorities between their pursuits and their romantic interests. (If it was Bubblegum, for example, she would pursue her scientific passions and obligations to the point that it became detrimental to her and Marcy. Again, a contrast to the Betty and Simon romance).

But for Simon and Betty, she had that space all set and ready - allowed it to encompass everything. And Simon lacked the understanding or the comprehension of how dearly their relationship desperately needed some walls, some limitations, and yeah, some boundaries.

So, yeah, it's realistic and not a fantasy romance. But it's not realistic in a kind way. It's not fantasy in that he sweeps her off her feet, and jumps on the bus with her. It's realistic in that their relationship wasn't perfect and all the little imperfections grew and compounded as imperections in relationships do.

Simon wouldn't wish for Betty to do this to herself. But neither her or him ever had the chance to know if they would have figured it out eventually. Or if Simon would just keep feeding Betty's habits and inclinations till death do they part.

#adventure time #fionna and cake #simon petrikov #betty grof

[pickingupmymercedes]

Hi! I love your account. Sm. Like a lot. Would you be interested in writing something for lewis where he casually mentions in his gq interview that he has a longtime gf or wife. Or he recalls a memory of them introducing roscoe to her dog or cat?

Thank you so so much for the ask bestie! I drabbled something short, hope you like it ❤️.

PS: I'm still not over that interview btw, he's such a complex person and I'm so glad he's letting us see this side to him (a LVFH type of thing is something only someone like him could pull it off)

_____________________________________________________________

Lewis Hamilton’s drive to continually innovate and push the boundaries of his sport stems from a dual motivation. Firstly, he is determined to challenge and break the often conservative and traditional norms of Formula 1. Secondly, he is laying the groundwork for the latter part of his own illustrious career.

“I went through this phase of understanding that I can’t race forever,” he says, prompting him to cultivate those other passions. “Because when I stop, I’m gonna drop the mic and be happy.” “The difficult thing is I want to do everything,” he says, laughing. “I’m very ambitious. But I understand that you can’t do—actually, I take that back because I don’t believe in the word can’t. To be a master at something, there’s the 10,000 hours it takes. Obviously, I’ve done that in racing. There’s not enough time to master all of these different things.”

As our conversation progresses, Hamilton discloses that he has a kindred spirit who shares his compulsion to explore a myriad of interests. “I’m fortunate to have someone in my life who encourages me to embrace my spontaneous ideas and give them a shot. She might even be more adventurous than I am,” he chuckles. “She’s a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, and always so sure that you can dive into anything and learn as you go.” His eyes light up with admiration and affection as he speaks of her daring spirit.

The usually private Hamilton, who has been discreet about his long-term relationship, contrasts their differing approaches to life. “I need some more time to think things and really plan out how I want them to go. But she’s a jump now, ask later, so she’s most times hyping me to just try it. We balance each other. Sometimes I’m the strategist, and sometimes she’s the one taking the first bite.”

As for his future plans, apart from his endeavors in fashion and film, Hamilton prefers not to rush into anything. “She still has dreams she wants to pursue, so for now, I’m happy to be her supportive sidekick whenever I can. Perhaps in the future, when we both have more time our own family might be on the horizon, but not while I’m still racing.”

He quickly corrects himself though, referring to his bulldog, Roscoe, as his son, and introduces the adorable dachshund who frequently graces Roscoe’s Instagram posts. “My partner’s parents gifted her the little sausage dog a few years ago. Introducing them was a bit tricky as Tete is quite territorial. She wasn’t fond of me at first either, so Roscoe has a head start in winning her over. But now, Baguette gets along with everyone, and we can’t imagine our lives without her.”

Eager for more personal insights, I probe for updates on his personal life. However, when his response to my inquiry is, “Time will tell, when things happen we’ll make sure to update everyone when it feels right” I gracefully pivot to our next topic of discussion.

#lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton x you #elladrabbles #lewis hamilton imagine #ella asks #f1 x reader #f1 imagine

[bixels]

I'm so in love with everything about your art!! I wanted to ask something about your MLP human designs in particular. all of them have really lovely and interesting face shapes/details. even though all the pony designs have the same head molds (save for eye shape), all the unique characteristics you gave them just... look RIGHT. is there a particular method or design principle you used? thanks for your time!! I can't wait to see more of your work!

It's all about shape language and how they inform a person's read on the character.

I talked about this before, but each of the Main 6 were paired together so I could design them in contrast with each other. For RD, I wanted her short hair to have a wind-swept look, as if she's constantly running. So bare forehead and hair spiking out at the bottom. She contains lots and lots of sharp lines and shapes to give her the look of a speeding arrow.

Felice, on the other hand, droops down a lot to reflect her solemn, shy disposition. I didn't want her hair to be perfectly straight though, as that'd suggest she spends a lot of time fretting over it and isn't outdoorsy, so I made it a bit of a tangled mess too.

In short, RD's features are sharp and point upwards, Felice's features are round and droop downwards. (Think Joshua tree vs. weeping willow.)

For these two, I specifically wanted to include non-Western facial features, as I found I haven't really included them in my character designs up until now.

Pinkie's bold and loud, so I gave her bold eyes, bold eyebrows, a bold nose, etc. I worked on Thea's nose for quite a bit and ended up abstracting the shape a bit to look more cartoony, borrowing from Pixar's Soul's character design notes. In cases like these, I recommend finding ways to simplify features and break them down into easily-recognizable shapes and forms (Cartoon Saloon are masters at this). The less visual noise, the easier their expressions are to read! And it's generally more fun to draw.

In short, diversify, exaggerate, and simplify. Figure out what works for you and get a little wacky with it. Character design is all about finding a balance between maintaining your voice and vision and creating something unique and lively.

#ask me #anon #long post #i would recommend studying character design sheets too #my personal favorites are by cartoon saloon/ami thompson/anything from disney and pixar #you can learn a lot about how to draw specific eye shapes and facial structures and hair styles #and how all these features squash and stretch for different emotions #ask yourself: do you know how to draw someone with a very high cheekbone? how about someone with a lot of cheek/neck fat? #then ask yourself how these differences in features reflect on the character #facial structures especially are something i see a lot of beginner artists struggle with

[theanimeoftheblackbunnymask]

Yandere Fyodor and Dazai Compare and Contrast (How They'd Treat Their Darling)

Links: {Masterlist} {Yandere Fyodor Alphabet}{Yandere Dazai Alphabet} {Yandere PM!Dazai Alphabet}

Fyodor as a yandere is such an interesting concept.

Fyodor is a complex character who I believe is very hard to write and pull off.

He's deceiving in everyway of the sort, and I can see his darling having a hard time trying to figure him out. One day he can calm and quiet, and the next day he's sadistic and a bit more temperamental than yesterday.

I can see him acting like this as a way to keep you on edge. He isn't bipolar by any means, but he enjoys seeing the uncertainty on your face, the constant worry that a single slip up can through him into a frenzy, or he'll not even react and just let you deal with it on your own.

This is kinda where I compare him to Dazai. Dazai is very switchy in the same way, but he's a lot more consistent. Dazai rarely changes his behavior, but he actively changes his reactions, his actions often contradicting his personality. This is where being Dazai's darling become stressful because you'll think you know how he'll act, but in reality he'll react in a way that's completely out of character.

Fyodor and Dazai are full of mind games. Fyodor would rarely hits his darling. He finds it much more satisfying to see you stress your own self out, terrified of what he'll say or do to you, watching as you break down and pathetically try to hide yourself from his presence.

Dazai is sadistic, but not as much as he was when he was in the Port Mafia. He hates the idea of physically hurting his darling, and when he does he sinks into regret.

Now, where would they keep you?

I can actually see Fyodor bringing you along in his endeavors, and maybe even get you involved as a spy if you're powerful enough. I don't see Fyodor keeping you a secret from the ADA, and often uses you as a way to mock them, saying how they can't even save you. You're often viewing all his plans, and if a mission is a little too dangerous for his liking, he'll hide you in a place that you can't escape from.

Now, Dazai is more of an abusive boyfriend type yandere. He let's you like your normal life, go to work, hang out with friends, go to the mall, normal civilian stuff, but, he's watching you the entire time. You slip up once, and you'll deal with it at home. Dazai doesn't want to keep you in doors 24/7, but he also doesn't want you to leave him. You tell anyone about the horrors of your relationship, and you're left crying on the floor of the bathroom, the door locked as Dazai threatens you from the end. I also want to note, Dazai rarely if ever yells at you. The low and coldness in his voice is enough to throw you into tears.

So, who would be the worse to deal with full time?

Fyodor, here's why.

Dazai gives you a lot of freedom, much more than the average yandere, so you can live a mostly normal life. With Fyodor, you're stuck with him 24/7. He won't let you go anywhere by yourself, and has killed a few of your friends and family. So, if you did escape, you wouldn't last very long, and you wouldn't have anyone to support you.

The one good thing about Fyodor is that he's a pretty good balance of giving you false hope, and shutting your dreams down completely.

I do have one idea though. What would happen if you were acting as a spy for Fyodor, not for the ADA, but maybe for a powerful figure Fyodor wants something from, and you end up running into Dazai. It's one of the rare times you're alone, so I wonder how things would go.

#yandere bsd #bsd x reader #bsd x y/n #fyodor x reader #fyodor x you #fyodor x y/n #yandere fyodor #yandere fyodor x reader #osamu dazai x reader #yandere dazai #dazai x reader #yandere osamu dazai #dazai x y/n #bungo stray dogs x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #yandere bungou stray dogs #osamu dazai x you #osamu dazai x y/n

[burst-of-iridescent]

I hate when people say(*writers*) when zuko is an emo bad boy. When zuko acts "emo" and "badboy" as they say it's him reacting to his trauma and abuse as a kid(most of time. Zuko is still badass. But badboy no). Is it an excuse? No. But when zuko is acting that way in canon, his obsession with honor, his yelling, his moodiness, his short temper. That is the product of having his empathy literally beaten/burned out of him by his father(and mocked and emotionally abused by Azula). The reason Zuko is doing this whole thing is because he wants to please his father. Become someone he's not. His struggle of who his father wants to be with who he is. It's because of the abuse of his father and his family. As the series goes on you get more and more flashes of the person Zuko was and the person he can become. By the end of the series it's such a great contrast and Zuko is much more happier because he's with the gaang. His family. He got out of that abusive situation he was in and finally became himself. A dorky, empathetic, caring, skilled swords men, a balanced person. Does he still have moments of anger? Yes. But over all Zuko becomes a fully balanced person.

gasp! but if we don't call zuko a bad boy, however will we make sure people don't get any ideas about shipping him with katara?

jokes aside, you're absolutely right and i roll my eyes so hard when people point to bad things zuko did, or his behaviour pre-redemption as indisputable proof of the kind of person he'd be post-redemption. like you said, a lot of zuko's actions and mannerisms before day of black sun is a direct result of the trauma he suffered, and though that doesn't excuse him - and neither does the show allow it to - discounting it entirely is to erase the abuse zuko endured and how that shaped him.

using the first half of book 3 as evidence of zuko being a supposed bad boy irks me in particular because a) the narrative makes it pretty clear that this is zuko as the worst version of himself, the opposite of everything he actually is and could be, and b) he is stuck in an abusive household at the mercy of his abusers, in an actively life-threatening situation.

zuko knows that he is in a situation where he has no real agency, freedom or control. he knows that aang is alive, that azula has turned him into a scapegoat and that his life will be forfeit if his father finds out the truth. that is an incredibly terrifying and stressful situation to be put in and it's worsened by the fact that he can't even admit it - not just because doing so would mean accepting that he gave up everything that actually mattered in the catacombs to gain nothing in return, but also because no one around him will allow him to do so.

his girlfriend can't understand his experiences or his turmoil and doesn't seem to particularly want to, brushing off his anxieties and encouraging him to stay the course. he is manipulated by his father and gaslighted by his sister, aware deep down that he is entirely under their control and that they have a vested interest in keeping him helpless, yet forced to pretend as though nothing is wrong. he is isolated from the one person who could help - his uncle - physically and emotionally, both because visiting iroh puts zuko in danger, and because zuko's choices have created a rift in their relationship.

all of this compounds the psychological stress zuko is experiencing, forcing him into a constant state of fight-or-flight, and this context is vital to understanding many of the decisions he makes and how he behaves in the first half of book 3.

(this is why i don't agree with the take that hiring combustion man is an ooc moment for zuko because even though i think the idea of combustion man himself is stupid - not to mention disrespectful to the hindu origins it's pulling from - it's a fundamentally desperate move, and zuko at this point is more desperate than he's ever been.)

that's why it's unlikely that zuko post-redemption would behave similarly since many of the factors that contributed to his anger, hostility and moodiness would no longer exist! judging zuko's future behaviour based on a time when he was constantly abused, gaslighted and threatened is just not an accurate or fair means of measurement, especially since we know what he's like at his best. the zuko we see with the gaang still has a bit of a short fuse, sure, but he's also sincere, honest, awkward, shy and far happier than he's ever been. because shocker, people tend not to act the same way in healthy, supportive environments as they do in abusive, traumatic ones. who would've thought?

people who make this argument also usually tend to compare zuko to aang, especially to glorify how aang remains cheerful and peaceful despite his trauma, and... no. just no. first of all, the show barely gives a fuck about developing aang's trauma the way it does zuko's so of course it seems to affect him less, and secondly, there's something to be said about how trauma responses like aang's are a lot more palatable and comfortable for audiences than responses like zuko's, or even katara's in the southern raiders.

anger or moodiness, or wanting to punish the people who hurt you, are not inherently wrong ways to react when you've been wronged and traumatized. praising aang for remaining cheerful and forgiving while calling zuko a bad boy for being angry and moody implies a sense of moral superiority that comes with reacting to trauma in the "right" way, which is both inaccurate and insensitive.

zuko will never be aang, and that's fine. he doesn't have to be. he ends the show reclaiming everything his abusers tried to take from him, having found himself and his destiny, in a place of healing that is all his own. that is an incredibly meaningful and powerful narrative, and the last thing zuko deserves is to have all of his complexity and development stripped just to be reduced to the tired trope of a "bad boy" when he was never one in the first place.

#zuko #zuko meta #pro zuko #atla critical #bryke critical #zutara

[lovelybrooke]

It is I! I’m gonna be talking about Velvette finally. Also I hadn’t read your post yet but you asked for some help with stolas Ozzie and fizz and fortunately for you I’m hyper fixated on helluva boss and Hazbin hotel so eventually once I’m confident I’ll try to give you my ideas.

Now Velvette is a mix between vox’s personal obsession and Val’s cosmetic interest towards the reader. She learns of the reader from Val and Vox, and gets mixed information from the two, Val speaking of the reader based on how defensive Angel has been to Val and Vox shareing the less interesting parts of the readers life (like their hobbies) I personally find Velvette will be the last to grow an interest, but even when she does I think it’ll be more moderate, at least compared to Vox who I personally headcanon infodumps about the reader.

Also if the reader meets Velvette I feel in a way Velvette would be the least scary, because she isn’t that tall looks relatively human and uses internet lingo (also my head canon, and this is not to say the reader uses slang or internet terminology its just the reader might be familiar with it)

Velvette at first only tolerates Vox’s tangents about the reader for Vox’s sake, I know for a fact that Val would get impatient or say something snarky that bothers Vox. And because of velvette’s tolerance to him he might bless her with saved footage of the reader that he treasures or thinks is intimate (for example the reader writing something important in a diary or drawing something that might be expressing how they really feel. Or a honest smile that they rarely hold).

I also can imagine once Val has finally taken an interest of the reader, and thinks about them more often, Velvette and Val have conversations about them, without Vox though, because their contrasting perspectives on the reader has caused some tension. Val shares this morbid conception of the reader, comparing them to a pet, and sharing some information he managed to gather from Angel Dust, albeit little information.

This obviously puts Velvette in this unique position where she’s hearing information about the reader from two separate sources, and at the same time her conception and image of the reader being blend of Val and Vox’s. Val’s image of the reader being something worth complimenting makes Velvette see the reader as this doll. And Vox’s more intimate and personal image of the reader pushes Velvette to think the reader might be a chill nice person to be around.

And how this mixed conception applies is more calm? Or natural? Compared to the other two, who have more extreme conceptions. For example once Velvette takes a small liking to the reader she starts noticing certain clothes and fashion choices that don’t look good on her might look really good on the reader. When a model of hers presents an outfit Velvette might think ‘this’ll look really cute on the reader’, Velvette might even find songs that remind her of the reader (I personally see her as a gal who listens to a lot of music and values music taste. But this is also just a headcanon)

Velvette doesn’t constantly think of the reader, it’s only when certain things remind her of the reader, which just tells me that she isn’t that obsessed. She probably likes the idea of enforcing her tastes onto the reader but otherwise also enjoys some of the differences between her and the reader. It makes her a little more open to subgenres in music and fashion (especially if the reader is into that)

Velvette is basically the type of girl who might push reader into doing things that they don’t want, but she also would balance it out by letting the reader do things they want. She wants the reader to adopt some of her tastes and mannerisms, but she’s also just as equally interested in the readers tastes and mannerisms. Sure she might not fully respect the readers boundaries but at least she isn’t going out of her way to dehumanize them like Val does.

She’s much more moderate because she rarely ever hears of or sees the reader, and I imagine some things might change once she meets or interacts with the reader. Like I imagine her being the type to get really jealous and maybe might make the reader a little insecure to ensure they stay with her. But at the moment she probably doesn’t think that way cause until she gets to spend time with the reader she’ll probably be more interested instead of obsessed.

yeah more stuff. I'm really excited to hear your stuff about Helluva Boss.

Yeah like I mentioned in my last post, Velvette is kinda in the middle when it comes to her obsession for reader. She doesn't necessarily want to know everything about them like Vox, but also doesn't see reader as an object like Val. I think like you mentioned, Velvette wants reader to become like her, sorta. She still wants reader to have a personality separate from her own, but that doesn't stop her from pressuring reader into doing things they don't want to do, especially if she believes it's something she has to do.

I think everything Velvette has learned about reader she's learned against her own will, either from Val or Vox. It's even worse when they're arguing about reader because they barely acknowledge she's there. However, this works to her advantage because she doesn't have to work real hard to learn about reader. She's also smart, and knows how to talk about you based on who she's speaking with. When she's around Val, she's more possessive, objectifying even. While when she's with Vox she's more open and aware of readers emotions. This makes it hard to know what she truly thinks of reader.

But once she does gain an interest in reader, she's a pure mixture of both of the men she lives with. She's jealous and mean in ways that are reminiscent of Val, but also very aware of readers emotions like Vox. I don't think she, or anyone else for that matter, is really aware of what she actually feels for reader, but she doesn't really get a choice to not be exposed to them, so she might as well buckle up for the ride.

#yandere x reader #soft yandere #platonic yandere #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel #platonic yandere hazbin hotel #yandere hazbin hotel

[northrnfool]

Lokius Meta (aka I had a lot of thoughts while grocery shopping today):

The more I sit with the series as a whole the more I’m actually okay with Lokius not being canon (yet).

Tom Hiddleston actually summed it up perfectly when he was asked if Loki would have a love interest; he said that the first healthy relationship you have to have is with yourself. This show captured that arc to perfection. When we first see Loki, he’s at his worst, most villainous: He’s angry isolated, and hella narcissistic. This show is so brilliant that they gave a reminder of Loki’s unhealthy relationship with himself in the first episode when we see the clip of Frigga telling him “you’re so perceptive… about everyone but yourself”. He doesn’t see himself for who he really is. And suddenly he’s confronted by this man who has studied him and understands him without judgement. Mobius cracked open that barrier a little bit, but it was going to take time to really break down those walls. The first season was meant to be a bit of a struggle when it comes to his relationship with himself; his introduction and journey with Sylvie is suppose to be ick in the beginning; His attraction for her stems from his narcissism and by the end of the season, they went from thinking they can ONLY trust eachother to the ultimately betraying and hurting one another. That was always going to be inevitable because the relationship was, at it’s core, unhealthy.

So now we get to season 2 and there is a very obvious shift. He still has a lingering need to reach Sylvie (which makes sense, he’s beginning to realize his sense of self, and he needs to continue to understand it, to connect with it), but there is also a relationship with Mobius that’s really starting to grow. Their companionship, their trust in one another, their support for eachother, the way they balance and regulate the other so easily and naturally is really highlighted in season 2. They are unquestionably soulmates… they just haven’t realized it yet. A big part of that is because Loki still has to focus on his relationship with himself. He’s still in conflict with himself, as we see in his conflict with Sylvie. And it builds all the way up to Kang’s insistence that the only way to prevent the war is to kill Sylvie. He knows that means killing a part of himself and undoing all the work he put into repairing himself. He would’ve been irreparably fucked up if he went through with it and she knew that - she even said she wouldn’t give him her blessing to go through with it so the only other option was to find another way, to go down fighting. He was going to be fighting as much for himself as he was fighting for the survival timeline.

So that bring us to his sacrifice. I said in a previous post that even though Loki is alone physically in the end, he’s not alone in his heart. He’s now fully opened himself to others, let them in, and is acting out of love instead of out of a sense of self preservation. He’s healed his relationship with himself and we are shown that in Sylvie’s last scene, we see a huge change in her, from being angry and tense to being at peace and happy. Her whole body in that scene is more relaxed with the soft morning sun shining on her face. It was quite beautiful. In that image we are shown that Loki’s relationship with himself is now healed. But what we’re also shown is Mobius.

I LOVE that they had Mobius and Sylvie in that scene together because it shows the stark contrast of where each of them are emotionally. She’s at peace, ready to move on, and he’s stuck waiting, alone and forlorn. This scene is a passing or the torch, so to speak. Now that Loki’s relationship with himself is in a good place the story is now going to move on to him and Mobius being able to fall in love (I mean, we know they already did, but they have to figure that out, themselves). I would’ve been concerned if we got and ending with Mobius back at the TVA with his friends, but instead we got a very clear message that their story is incomplete, that it’s really just beginning.

And I can’t fucking wait for this incredible love story to play out. I’m so so glad that we have Tom Hiddleston taking so much ownership of Loki’s story. It honestly feels like he’s not going to let anyone else mess up Loki’s character, like everything has to pass by him to get approval - which is why his arc in this show was so brilliant, so beautiful, and so perfectly executed.

So my hat goes off to Tom and Michael Waldron and all the writers. I’m beyond grateful to be a Loki fan and get this much care out into his character development.

#lokius #loki #loki x mobius #mobius #loki season 2 #loki spoilers #meta #loki meta

[tommys-little-writing-corner]

My doctor says I’m ill and the only thing that’ll cure me is if you write something about Shang Tsung

Note: If you're ill, then my recommendation is simple--

Another Note: KIDDING!!! Love ya lots, Mango!!!

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Shang Tsung Headcanons -- A Huckster's Love

》 Just a little ramble about our favorite huckster, Shang Tsung. The little meow-meow... what went from being simple to now possibly just a whole oneshot fic in the form of bullet points. 》 Notes: Gender Neutral Reader, Typical Canon, Broke Ass Hoes, Fruitier Than Fruit Cake, Mortal Kombat 1 Spoilers Ahead-- You've Been Warned 》 Word Count: 700+ ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂

Meeting the man himself, before he became a sorcerer thanks to Damanshi's help, was rather interesting

While Liu Kang deemed that Shang Tsung would live a life of misery, to pay for the pain he had done in previous timelines, he did not consider the possibility of someone changing what he had planned

Shang would live life begging for coin, in rags, and maybe die in the streets with no coin to his name

As Shang finished his daily beatings from the local angry villagers (with pitchforks no less), you came along to drag his worn body back to the shop-- creating a sort of companionship neither one could put a name on

Before meeting Shang, you also struggled much like he did-- no family to your name, always on the run from officials and Umgadi alike

He didn't trust you at first, hesitant on your kindness from making sure he wasn't getting beat up in his sleep or continue sleeping outside

Shang did not trust you until you both agreed on a deal-- with the two of you clearly struggling, maybe there was a way to help one another

With your skills as a thief, you could steal not only high-quality materials for Shang to use for his false medicines to give them truth-- but other high value items as well such as jewelry and books

Shang would use whatever you found and give you a portion of the money he made, since you would keep some of the valuables you've found for yourself

This was your relationship for the next few years-- two people using tricks to meet end's meet

You would both wake a little before the sun rose, preparing yourselves for the day ahead

Sometimes you'd catch Shang trying to pull his long hair back into a bun, eyes examining how his hands-- covered in small cuts and bruises-- brushed loose strands back as he looked in the small mirror the makeup box offered him

Sometime's he would watch you get ready, admiring your bare back as muscles rolled and flexed while you put on your clothes for the day-- he admired your strength and tenacity, as you admired his cleverness and deceit

You both complimented and contrasted one another, almost balanced with one another as you would head out to collect more items for Shang to use or sell and he would use his charms to take money from those who would have it

Feelings for one another did not come about until things started to become... more casual with one another

The back of your hands would briefly brush up against one another more often, mumbling apologies whenever it occurred

Sometimes, though, those "accidents" would happen more often and sometimes linger, beckoning you to try another taste of his touch-- to feel his thin hand in your own

Other times came to sleep, whenever it got too cold during the night, Shang would suggest sharing the one bed to preserve warmth the best you two could

Sometimes, when your back is turned against him, you can feel the slow and steady breathing of his lungs in the state of sleep, a sign that he was alive.

Sometimes you could feel him shiver, and if he was asleep, bring him closer to you to help with the cold or was he simply faking it for attention, hmmm??? *(eyebrow raise and wiggle)*

When feelings began to become more obvious, as did the more accidents

But you both seem to understand that something was growing, something was blossoming beyond simple companionship

How to say it in words, you didn't know. Shang didn't know either.

It was something that neither one could ignore for long

So after years of it being "business" only to friends to now... whatever this was now

Everything felt right

Even though you were not rich like the kings of old, constantly remained on the move from village to village in Outworld, occasionally beaten by villagers

At the end of the day, when the moon stood high in the dark sky, pale light shining on the carriage, you two still had one another

Tending to one another's wounds, making light jokes about what happened, reminiscing about the past

The last thing you both would always see is each other's faces as you both lied down and dimmed the candle that served as light for the small room-- tired, exhausted, but happy

This was the huckster's love, before something much grander than your own home-- your own world-- intervened

#mortal kombat 1 #mortal kombat 1 fanfiction #mortal kombat x reader #mk shang tsung #shang tsung #shang tsung x reader #shang tsung x you #gender neutral reader #gender neutral y/n #genderless reader #no gender #romance #tommy's post #tommy's requests #requested works

[fjordline]

ok i've been thinking about how to answer The Color Asks for so long now. Once I start talking about colors I never stop, it seems. This is just me attempting to explain my personal thought process and not any universal rules or anything like that.

None of this is going to look very realistic at all. You need to exaggerate a little. That being said, having fundamental knowledge on how shadows and ligh tsources work is very useful. Know the rules before breaking them and all that.

Boiled down to its basics, what I think of is: if a lightsource is cold toned, make the highlight bright blue. if a light source is warm, make the highlight bright orange. Then contrast the light with a complementary shadow color that does not compete for dominance with the light. Or alternatively make the light source more neutral with a complimentary tone for the shaded areas and then add a highly saturated color in the deepest shadows. Having both a highly saturated light source and a shadow color will compete with each other, instead choose one to be the dominant and one to be the um. submissive i suppose.

Just using a random doodle from my sketchbook for the purpose of throwing some color on:

^^^ Here the midtones and the areas in the shade are predominantly of a low saturated cool blueish tone, while the highlight is stark and warm with orange and red light bouncing off. The orange and red hues you often see in skin that is lit by a strong light is called subsurface scattering (sss), one of the most important concepts in art IMO. It livens things up so much.

^^^Opposite from image 1, here the shaded area is a saturated golden color while the light source is a dull blue with hints of more vivid blue throughout. the blue balances the strong yellows and browns. Since the shaded area is bigger than the highlighted area, the subject matter could look quite monochromatic without the blue hints.

^^^Get wild with it. Lets say your highlight is blue toned: instead of just using a blue, introduce purple, teal, turquoise, ultramarine, cyan, etc around where the light is hitting. Add several light sources in different colors, make it not make sense, get crazy.

Though what is important above all else is that the image reads clearly. Unless you're doing abstract art then you'd probably want the audience to understand what they're looking at. That's where values come in, probably the number one cause of confusing pieces of art. If you can turn the painting black and white and still see the subject matter clearly then the values are good.

I find that i love using colors that most people find garish, especially when they're on their own, for small highlights and points of interest. When paired with other more neutral colors, a bright orange or a chartreuse etc can really brighten up a painting. And colors are never what they seem, the human eye will interpret colors differently depending on what color they are next to. Make full use of this.

Hope this long ass post helps anyone who is struggling with color, I know I used to struggle severely myself xoxo

#my art #long post #recovering from playing dark souls 2 for like 20 hours the past few days #i hate bitches who are like 'colorpick from my fursona ref if u want to draw her! do not get her colors wrong!' #maybe that would work if the fursona is always going to be standing in a white void but environments are going to change the colors #i also hate bitches who want to say that there is an objective worst color #there isnt. green gold/chartreuse/raw umber/pyrrol orange etc has done more for society than colorhaters ever will

[oakgreenoak]

Something I've always found kinda interesting about Red and Green in gameverse is how they turn some of the Stock Shōnen Protagonist/Rival tropes on their heads.

This is really long character analysis of these two and various media counterparts of theirs, so I'm gonna stick it under a cut.

In some ways they fit their roles quite well - aside from the obvious colour associations, you have Red as the hero whose sense of justice is stronger than his sense of self-preservation, and you have Green as the privileged rival who cares about beating Red above all else.

But, if you look at it another way - Green's got the light spiky hair, the hot-headed and boisterous personality, the drive to Get Better And Win. He's designed to read as really open and chipper, yet snarky. Sure, he isn't dumb, but he's arrogant, and he's got something of a one-track mind; the guy finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation because he's just that hellbent on fighting his rival, and does not seem to be thinking about anything else. He's also got a motivation - given how the Professor talks to him in the championship room and supplementary material like his Generations appearance, it's not a stretch to think the reason he's so driven to Get Better And Win is to prove himself to his grandfather. It's shown in later games and supplementary works that he's become somewhat of a mentor as he got older and wiser.

Red, on the other hand, is a quiet loner whose only motivation seems to be to get stronger for the sake of getting stronger. He's level-headed and dark haired, his cap rounding off his edges and obscuring his face. He's heroic, but not really sociable, as evidenced by the fact he spends the Johto games alone on a mountain without having told anyone where he went. He seems isolated in a way that later games' protagonists really don't. He may have always been a step behind Green, but he's always better.

Equally fascinating to me is how other adaptations have changed the base designs around and rewritten personalities to suit different purposes, while still being visually recognisable as counterparts to their game-selves.

For example: Red and Green's counterparts in Special slot WAY more neatly into their stock shōnen roles, with Red as the boisterous hero and Green as the broody rival, and it's reflected in their new designs.

Red's hair becomes spiky to reflect his more excitable nature. His hat, in turn, never obscures his face; it's always either tilted back to accommodate his fringe or turned backwards. Green's hair, on the other hand, is not quite as spiked upwards and instead falls into his face, frequently obscuring his far eye in the same way game!Red's hat does.

And then, of course, the anime balanced them in a totally different direction.

Instead of scrapping Green's personality wholecloth, it's become exaggerated in Gary. He's not the broody antihero rival, he's the arrogant, privileged, better-than-you rival. He's always ten steps ahead of Ash, always pisses him off, and is ALWAYS better until the end of his run. The anime also emphasises his intelligence far more, with him doing things like rattling off dex info and the speed of light in mph off the top of his head, to further contrast him with Ash.

Ash, who is of course THE shōnen protagonist. He's dumb, but determined, and always ready to help people in need. Unlike game!Red, the power of friendship (with more than just pokémon) is central to him; any given season of the show is defined as much if not moreso by his travelling companions and interpersonal relationships as it is by whatever he's actually doing.

It's funny to me, though, how most adaptations seem to find the fact that gameverse Red and Green have swapped some stock roles as something to fix. Even Origins, which is probably the closest a high-profile adaption has come to game-accurate, made its version of Red louder and more standard-hero-esque.

I'm not knocking any of these things, of course, just observing. I adore both Special and anipoke. I just think that the way the game characters are written could lead to some interesting dynamics were it to be explored more.

#pokemon #reguri #pokespe #pokeani #anipoke #trainer red #rival green #blue oak #dexholder red #dexholder green #ash ketchum #gary oak #character analysis #sorry not sorry for writing an essay on a whim. it will happen again #namelessshipping #originalshipping #palletshipping #kindanotreally #but i think yall will appreciate my char analysis of them as a dynamic yknow. i am one of youse

[wellgoslowly]

HAPPY LOCKWOOD AND CO DAY EVERYONE

I may or may not be rewatching as I type this hehe. ANYWHOM I asked if I should do another locklyle analysis for the adaptation's first birthday and yall said yes!! so here we go: locklyle as sun and moon (idea courtesy of @queer-and-nerdy ).

ok ok so it would be pretty easy to say that lockwood is the sun and lucy is the moon upon first seeing the characters. I mean, lucy is relatively closed off and can be i guess kind of brooding at times, whereas lockwood is very charming and loves attention. but upon further examination, its clear that its actually the other way around: lockwood is the moon, and lucy is his sun.

yin and yang is a clear example of sun and moon being complete opposites but existing in perfect balance and harmony with each other. in the symbolism of yin and yang, the moon symbolizes adversities and obstacles. lockwood fits perfectly into that role. i mean, his sister died when he was young and his parents died when he was even younger. At face value in this comparison, you could say that he fits into the role of the moon because of everything that he's gone through in his life- all of his adversity and the various obstacles he's had to face. but when you're insane and autistic like i am, you realize that his connection to the role of the moon goes deeper. not only has he experienced tragedy, but he sees himself as a tragedy. he believes that he causes the death and/or pain of everyone he's ever loved. i mean, that's the canonical reason why he pushes everyone away and why he's so reckless- he believes that if he distances himself, then the people he loves are less likely to get hurt. He believes that if he risks his life, it will be ok because his loved ones will be safe and won't have to deal with this curse he's convinced himself that he has.

In contrast, the sun (lucy) symbolizes hope, "for even though a moon eclipse may block the sun's light, there is always a portion of the sun that shines through." as much of a cynic that lucy appears to be (and is), she ultimately still always has hope. when she was working with norrie in her hometown, she had hope that they'd be able to make it out of their town and make it big time in london. when norrie got ghost-locked and her team died, she was still able to harness enough hope to run away and try to make it on herself, even without her fourth grade. and even when she left at the end of the hollow boy, she had the hope and the conviction that allowed her to believe that she was doing the right thing and saving lockwood. cynical as she may be, lucy is filled to the brim with hope.

now, locklyle as the sun and moon begin to make so much more sense in this way. lucy's sun works to keep lockwood's moon grounded and frankly alive. she is the one who is determined to make him understand that he is still worthy of love despite everything that has happened to him. no matter how badly his depression is affecting him, she is still there to keep him grounded and force him to understand that whether he likes it or not, he has people who care about him.

lockwood's moon takes on the role of being determined to support her no matter what, just as the moon does for the sun. when lucy gets overwhelmed during a case or just during everyday life, lockwood is always there to balance her and to offer her support in any way she needs. he understands her without even needing to ask and always strives to be the best person he can be in supporting her, whether that means making her tea and making her toast during the morning or offering to leave a hired job because she's uncomfortable that night. he would do anything for her, just as the moon supports and balances the sun.

i think that this is really interesting for multiple reasons but ill give you two:

i love how they expand from your expectations. for a while i thought that lucy was the moon and lockwood was the sun, but they both stray from that expectation so much because of the added complexities that come from their backstories and their relationships with others, especially one another.

the sun is usually defined as a "masculine" energy, and the moon is defined as a "feminine" energy. I think its really interesting how they once again stray from the usual in this context.

ANYWHOM HAPPY ONE YEAR OF LOCKWOOD AND CO!!!! I'm gonna make a long sappy post before bed but i hope you guys like this little first birthday gift!!

@oblivious-idiot @ikeasupremacy @losticaruss @yveni @neewtmas @waitingforthesunrise @youmanynotrestnow @saltwaterburns @ravenous-rage @maraschinomerry @psychicbluebirdmiracle @uku-lelevillain @acecharmander @rainysaturdayafternoon @ettadear @thisgameissonintendo @impossibleclair @givemea-dam-break @krash-and-co @kazbrekkerfast wanted to tag some people that i thought might enjoy this hehe

#lockwood and co #renew lockwood and co #anthony lockwood #lucy carlyle #george karim #locklyle #george cubbins #save lockwood and co #lockwood netflix #locklyle brainrot is real #one year of lockwood and co #jonathan stroud #lockwood and lucy #quill kipps #lockwood and co netflix #locklyle analysis #LINNIE ANALYSIS IS BACK #sun and moon symbolism