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Blocking anyone who is even a tiny bit annoying the first time you see them is so good for your stress levels.

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eldest child syndrome

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Like to charge reblog to cast

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it's actually so funny when sciel tells verso about her past suicide attempt and verso's like. i might have had similar thoughts....once upon a time. MY GUY you are having similar thoughts RIGHT NOW as we SPEAK. we are playing Verso Attempts Suicide: The Video Game. just last week you almost gommaged and when maelle saved you you looked disappointed!!!!!!

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The painted family and their relationships with the Dessendre family are super fascinating to me. One of the things that's really interesting to me is that, in the game files, they're referred to as the "mirror family". This evokes Renoir's line about art as a mask and a mirror, and has me thinking about what these mirrors reflect. I wanted to make some images that play off of the mirror idea and I guess I'll start with Clea's.

For Clea, it's really interesting, because we see so little of her. In our only real scene with Clea, we do glimpse a lot of her character, although as is typical with this game, none of it is stated outright. We see her pragmatism, her unsympathetic and unsentimental nature, and her focus on action … but also her soft spot for Alicia. Despite her harsh words and bossy manner, she uses an affectionate nickname ("our little shadow" -- a reference to Alicia's current grief and depression, but also maybe a callback to childhood when Alicia would tag along after her older siblings?) and offers her some sparing praise. Later, we see her again in the Endless Tower, where she speaks disparagingly about her parents' dramatics (even as she creates 'Painted Love') but also encourages Alicia to be true to herself and uncompromising in her choices.

Her general manner with Alicia is affectionate but impatient, like a lioness with the runt of her litter. You can sort of imagine their sibling dynamic in childhood; little crybaby Alicia, tagging along, stamping her feet and demanding to be included lest she Tell On Them, but also requiring that the rules be softened and explained and adapted to something more age-appropriate. And then Clea, frustrated at this unasked-for invasion, but also dutiful and protective nonetheless; chivvying Alicia along even as she gives her a bit of sisterly hell.

In Act III we see that the monsters that have wreaked so much havoc on past Expeditions are Clea's, not Aline's. Still the act of a Paintress, just not the Paintress that everyone has been blaming. Her manner with Alicia is brusque and unpitying, but her actions towards the people of the Canvas are brutal and unfeeling. It could be argued that this is war, and she is simply a soldier obligated to kill the enemy … but then we find Painted Clea and Simon, and her behavior is almost sadistic. She could have simply killed them, but she chose to manipulate and enslave them, using them to do violence against those they love. She may be mortally offended by Painted Clea's existence, but that's hardly Painted Clea's fault! It was Aline who took this raw bit of potential and energy and shaped it with her daughter's face and memories and forced it to act out an imaginary life in Clea's name. Same with the Hauler. It seems really interesting that her worst cruelties seem reserved for those who are most like her or closest to her. (It's this, more than anything else, that makes me think Simon was based off of someone real; she shows a bit of similar approach to Painted Verso, recruiting him and sending him on a mission, and it seems to leave both of them equally but differently devastated.)

But, in the end, she's not the one trying to destroy the Canvas. Renoir is. She seems willing to tolerate Aline and Alicia's incursions into it, although not without resentment, judging by the Lady of Sap. She slips into savagery here and there, but it seems mostly inward, directed at images of herself and deflected away from those she loves. The other innocents that get caught up in the violence ... we don't know how she feels about them.

So, thinking about mirrors and masks, I wanted to capture some of this dichotomy. In the foreground is perfect Clea with her expressionless mask, beautiful with her impossibly long, impossibly thick, impossibly shiny hair. Composed and sipping her tea, undaunted by the dark, creaky manor or the wisp of ghostlike curtain caught by the wind. In the background, her painted twin is the mirror of her abused and shattered heart, reflecting the cruelties she inflicts on herself and fighting to break free.

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...........Twin Peaks is supernatural????? I thought it was a police procedural!!

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everything’s fine :)

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Because I'm an artist and I love the Hades artstyle

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I think this is part of why I HATEHATEHATE it when the companies behind media try to be part of fandom. Like Netflix having actors read fanfiction, or Gotham's Twitter account discussing fan ships. It blurs that line and that line is SO important.

Creators should operate as if the fandom doesn't exist and fandom should operate as if original creators are broadcasting from an alternate dimension that cannot be reached.

some of you really aren’t gonna like this, but a creator’s wishes should never dictate what fan content is produced for a piece of media.

in the past, authors like anne rice have tried to limit the production of fanfiction. but at least rice was honest - she thought this infringed on her copywrite. back in the day, this was considered a valid argument to not create any fanfiction at all for her works.

do you understand what i’m saying? while you may sound valiant for placing a creator’s “discomfort” above the fan’s natural proclivities in fandom, really you’re just continuing to advocate for censorship in fan spaces.

and for anyone who is a creator, or who wants to become one - get comfortable with the rules of the internet. there will be erotic content made of your characters, there will be weird AUs made with your characters. there will be strange pairings and headcanons, no matter if you interact religiously with the fans or not. you cannot stop people from connecting with and wanting to be creative with your characters.

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occasionally I am struck dumb by the sublime beauty of the world in the small moments, you know?

egg

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Thanks, Anon!

-submit your poll!-

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One of my favourite things about the endings of Expedition 33 is that neither of those things had to happen.

We could have the good parts of both endings at once if Maelle was willing to leave the canvas but she's not.

Maybe Gustave could have talked her into it if SOMEONE hadn't let him die.

Renoir may even have been willing to trade the restoration of the people he gommaged for it.

But just because a good ending is possible if everyone makes perfect choices doesn't make it a good place for the story to go. Maelle and Verso making awesome choices about this situation doesn't feel true to who they are.

So we get two totally avoidable tragedies.

I just really like it a lot.

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Clea rolling her eyes at Alicia is everything to me.

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We are a detective! and not at all several wisps in a trenchcoat

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Clea when her siblings mess with her sculpting supplies

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SUPERMAN (2025) dir. James Gunn

+ Kara