#current design vs old design

[fish-popsicle]

Sage ref redo is being worked on but I just had to get this out of my system first

this is his old design… don’t ask me how I thought this looked good I have no fucking clue

[naivety]

the way phones demand a permanent state of availability and that missing a phone call that sits a foot away from me because it's on vibrate on my bed on my day off could be interpreted as ghosting while one hundred years ago i would simply be assumed to be living my life. the torment is forever

[signsenough]

The Comprehensive Semi-Serious Tartaglia Design Analysis

because im so fucking tired of slander lmao, feel free to only read the image notes, draw ur own conclusions and add on to mine, bc this one is a doozy

Been making small observations for a while, and now that we know what he used to look like it's as good of a time as ever, so here goes nothing.

Newborn narwhal

Ajax's color scheme used to be mostly blue (early indicator of Hydro) with earth-y tones present, it's a very grounded look that ties him to his previous life and lost childhood. His undershirt splits in a lambda shape. He even used to sport a sort of scarf covering his neck in a direction similar to later looks. Can't help but note the two belts near his neck, like his self was restrained in a way. The DNA shape's connection to Sourcewater Droplets and Primordial Sea hint at his future as well as his current state of being: the origin of his problems, the source, if you will.

Wound

Now, the bulk of this analysis is dedicated to Tartaglia's base design, as it is one of the best showcases of a large amount of info hidden in a relatively simple look. Color change is a sign he has strayed away from his old self and his fate. The blue hues are completely gone, aside from his ever dead fish eyes, the last drops of his old values. Instead he got a bunch of reds, even the grays are in the red-ish register. Thus begins the cascade of bodily comparisons.

The scarf kept its basic shape from before, and is now distictly blood-red. It's flowing from a jewelry piece located where the two belts used to be. It's an open wound, that oozes with Hydro energy when he uses his vision. Light blue a symbol of purity, as seen in pure vs tainted waters of Fontaine's Phantasms, and Tartaglia is losing it rapidly.

His jacket has a white "belly" (and back), a common trait for cetaceans. It unravels in the same lambda shape along with the deep red shirt (more blood or muscle tissue), starting at the aforementioned wound. The gray streaks on pants are outlines of leg bones with 4-pointed star motif that shows up all over his (and a few other characters' (like Traveler)) outfit, especially in jewelry, like the two buttons near his collar. (The significance of this symbol has been already mentioned by other analysts, so I'd rather not to get into it, sorry)

I read the position of his mask as a head wound, not just because it's red, but because of the red jewel in his earring, it goes along with blood drop theme seen in the other two similar gems and their respective locations. The armor plates on his hips wrap around, forming a pelvic-like structure that connects with chains to a dark streak on the back of his jacket forming the base of spine and followed upwards by vertebra-like jewelry. A chain connects it to the chest wound in a rib-like direction. The scarf is held in place by a shoulder blade piece (whales have shoulder blades too).

So we got a fatui soldier uniform that manages to also depict a wounded whale-like creature. I say "like" because pelvis and femur are decidedly humanoid.

Decay

It proved to be fatal. The purple of electro delusion also extends to dark grays of the uniform, creating a rotten flesh look, enhanced by the new hue of red in his scarf and a pink-ish streak on it. Incidentally, purple in Genshin Impact is frequently used to signify curse and contamination, specifically god remains, as seen on Yashiori Island and in Sumeru desert near Consecrated beasts. The shirt is showing from under it all like bones.

Childe's left eye is covered with a red patch on the same side as the earring, could be seen as it getting covered in blood or as him losing that eye altogether. The structure of his mask has a basic shape of a fantastical narwhal, it is foreshortened from front view, as if the whale is approaching.

Lastly, I found the delusion symbol on the back of Tartaglia's vision while messing around in photo mode, as seen on the screenshot. I highly doubt it is lore, likely just an asset hidden on the model so it can be flipped while animating the Childe boss. This could be supported by looking at the back of Arlecchino's vision, which I haven't done. Dunno if this was discovered before, just wanted to share this find while I have the chance.

Remains

Foul Legacy, of course, resembles Abyss Heralds in structure, so I'd like to focus on what remains of Childe. Abyssal armor is now even more like human skeleton. The mask kept its basic structure and is also a callback to Teucer's favorite Mister Cyclops. The iconic red collar doesn't even connect to a shirt anymore but instead flows into a white scarf, then into tainted purple and finally to a sea of stars. It's a messy amalgamation of his human form that has ascended to the sky, or into the Abyss, take your pick.

I find it particularly interesting how his vision is now where the lethal wound used to be. Did it stop the bleeding? Or did is cause the wound in the first place?

Foul Legacy's color scheme included the blue hues back, closing the cycle. As for the final color I'd like to point out, its the hair. The ginger that never meshed with any other color, yet was preserved in every evolution stage as a reminder of Childe's identity. As a reminder, that all of these looks and everything he ever did - is still him.

Happy birthday, you little goober. Sorry I showcased your design as process of death on such a day lol. Go achieve the unachievable, chump.

[glowettee]

✧・゜: how i organize my google drive for maximum efficiency :・゜✧:・゜✧

hey lovelies! ✨

i use google drive to organize mostly everything, and the truth is, my google drive used to be an absolute disaster zone, we're talking hundreds of "untitled document" files and random screenshots saved who knows when. but after one particularly stressful finals week where i lost a paper for three hours, i completely overhauled my system. here's exactly how i organize everything now!

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ the folder structure that changed everything ･:���ೃ.⋆

first things first, i use a simple top-level organization system:

📁 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴: all school-related files

📁 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭: journals, goal tracking, finances, etc.

📁 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦: blog drafts, design projects, photos

📁 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦: completed classes and old projects

📁 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴: templates, reference materials, guides

the key is keeping your top level super simple, i used to have 20+ folders here and it was overwhelming! now i can find anything within seconds because i know exactly which category it falls under.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my academic folder system ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

this is the most detailed section of my drive! inside my academics folder:

📁 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳

📁 class 1

📁 class 2

📁 class 3

📁 class 4

📄 semester schedule

📄 assignment tracker

inside each class folder:

📁 notes

📁 assignments

📁 readings

📁 projects

📄 syllabus

i color-code each class folder to match my physical notebooks and planner tabs, this visual consistency helps my brain switch between subjects more easily!

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ file naming conventions that save me ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

the absolute game-changer was developing a consistent naming system:

for class notes: DATE_CLASS_TOPIC example: 06.10_psych101_memory_systems

for assignments: CLASS_ASSIGNMENT_STATUS example: econ202_midterm_essay_final

for group projects: CLASS_PROJECT_MYPART_VERSION example: marketing300_campaign_research_v2

this might seem excessive, but it means i never have to open files to figure out what they are! plus, sorting by name automatically puts everything in chronological order.

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my favorite google drive hacks ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

these little tricks make everything run even smoother:

𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: i star current project files so they always appear at the top of my drive

𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: right-click folders to give them colors that match your physical organization system

𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺: i keep a "templates" folder with pre-formatted docs for essays, lab reports, notes, etc.

𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴: i set important folders to be available offline (has saved me during wifi emergencies!)

𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴: using "type:pdf" or "after:2023-09-01" in the search bar to filter results

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ maintenance routines ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

even the best system falls apart without regular maintenance! here's my schedule:

𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘱 (15 min): every friday afternoon, i sort any stray files into their proper folders and rename anything with default names

𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵 (30 min): halfway through each semester, i check that everything is where it should be and create any new folders needed

𝘦𝘯𝘥-𝘰𝘧-𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 (1 hour): i move completed classes to my archive folder and set up the next semester's structure

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ sharing & collaboration settings ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

as someone who works on lots of group projects, getting these settings right is crucial:

𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴: i create specific shared folders for each group project rather than sharing individual files

𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴: i'm careful about giving "edit" vs "comment" access depending on the project

𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨: i always disable "anyone with the link can edit" to avoid accidental changes

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ my best google drive tips ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

create a "quick access" document with links to your most-used files

use google drive's "workspaces" feature to group project files temporarily

download the desktop app to easily drag and drop files

set up automatic google photos backup for screenshots and images

use keyboard shortcuts (shift + n for new folder is my favorite!)

⋆.ೃ࿔:･ final thoughts ･:࿔ೃ.⋆

remember that the perfect organization system is one that works for your brain! mine has evolved over years of trial and error, and i still tweak it each semester. the key is consistency, whatever system you choose, stick with it long enough to make it habit.

xoxo, mindy 🤍

[lethesbeastie]

I showed a few parts of this larger ref while responding to asks yesterday, so might as well post the whole thing akfhskfhskf

Version without texture overlay + character design thoughts and lore under the cut!

I'm gonna start this off by saying that I am not a biologist and that my attempts at speculative biology are operating by "rule of cool" in some parts of this design.

Wraith's design is largely based on cephalopods, with mimic octopus, bobtail squid, and cuttlefish playing a key role as design inspirations. My goal for their design in this form was to keep their anatomy and physiology as close to the typical structure of cephalopods as possible without sacrificing the necessary physical features that would allow them to adapt to life outside of the water. I wanted them to look alien, but still endearing, and to emphasize the fact that they are very much still a child despite their size and strangeness.

A quick note on some terms from the flavor text on the image:

Buccal mass: mouthparts of a cephalopod, including the beak and the musculature that allows it to open and close

Mantle: the main body of a cephalopod that protects and contains all of its major organs

Flavor text:

Arms Vs. Tentacles: on cephalopods, Arms refer to appendages which have suckers along the entire length of the limbs underside, while Tentalces only have suckers at the club-like end

1. Blue of blood shows through in membranes/thinner areas of flesh

2. Primary mouth/buccal mass

3. External gills

4. Siphon

5. Ridges flare when threatened

6. Tentacles and rear arm merge, acts as counterweight to aid in bipedal locomotion

7. Lower anterior arms merge to form legs; lack of proper bones means bipedal locomotion is unsteady

8. Upper arms adapted hands to better manipulate objects

9. The two rear-most appendages are proper tentacles, and are capable of manipulating objects almost as effectively as main hands

10. Two mouths, one form consumption, one for speech*

- 10A. Secondary mouth hidden by barbles, chitin** structure within resembles a fused set of teeth. This mouth can be used to eat, but there's a high risk of choking

- 10B. Resting position of beak in primary mouth, retracted into buccal mass

- 10C. Extended position of beak in primary mouth; capable of breaking down mollusk shells and biting through bone

11. Natural posture when unfurled

12. Defensive stance

13. The skin covering the mantel forms a cavity into which the head can partially withdraw

14. Capable of spitting ink from secondary mouth when in distress

15. Eyes are large with highly reflective pupils; excellent dark vision

16. Nictitating membrane rises to protect the eye when biting, may also rise when distressed

17. Retractable claws inside suckers

Extra design lore and speculative biology:

18. Blood is a deep blue, appears black under water, and turns clear as it dries. Texture is thick and viscous

** in the image I wrote keratin, but research has shown me that a squids beak is actually made of chitin rather than keratin! Keratin may still be present, but it's not the main polymer in the makeup of the beak structure. I know this is a silly fun character design, but I try to remain somewhat accurate with how I engage the biological aspects, so I wanted to correct my mistake

At the current moment of this design, Wraith is 11 years old, and stands at 5 ft 4 in [168 cm] when using their legs. They measure 6 ft [183 cm] long from head to tail when unfurled/in the water. Their height and size relative to their age is above average compared to humans, but is more or less in line with the normal growth rate for deep sea tritons, which are the largest of the triton variants. Their height out of the water is limited by their physiology; Wraith lacks proper bones, so maintaining an upright form requires a lot more effort and energy. They rely heavily on mobility aids (rollator, cane, wheelchair) if they'll be walking or standing for long periods of time in their true form.

The changeling magic that enables their shape-shifting provides a level of structural stability to their body when in disguise that makes life outside of the water easier, but they still require more rest and breaks from standing than other able-bodied children of their own age. The form that provides the most stability is their "default" triton disguise, which they've carefully tailored to be as comfortable as possible so they can have a more active lifestyle. Smaller disguise forms are easier to manage, as the compression of their body makes those forms more stable to hold. Their triton disguise form measures out to only 3 ft 5 in [103 cm] tall which is much easier for them to maintain out of the water.

[sonialiao]

[Sold out display]

Speaking of DC stuff, I've been turning my old art into enamel pins lol. With revised art! All of these are currently sold out but I figure you guys may be interested in seeing the art vs. final product ahaha. Will likely convert more fanart into pins soon 😂

enamel pin store here (for other designs)

[yuurei20]

While reading the Twist novel, I realized that Yuuya is very different from the game's protagonist. Besides the obvious, I know there's more, but I'm not very observant and I get lost a lot. Could you make a list or analysis to understand their differences? I love your blog; by the way, it's very informative!

Hello hello! Thank you for this question! 🦐 You are too kind m(_ _)m

The main difference between Yuuya and Game-Prefect is maybe that we have any information about Yuuya at all, as Game-Prefect has been designed as a blank slate with Yana saying that they have no set age or gender :>

While the information we do have about Yuuya has not been proven in game (16 years old, male, etc.) it has also not been disproven, so technically Game-Prefect and Yuuya could be very similar!

But (as you say!) there are also many differences, and these are currently being catalogued in an word-for-word comparison of Game- and Novel- dialogue, as a still-ongoing series ^^

Here are the first three installments!

・Yuuya Prefect Comparison pt1: Prologue

・Yuuya Prefect Comparison pt2: Book 1 (pt1/5)

・Yuuya Prefect Comparison pt3: Book 1 (pt2/5)

More to come! 🥳

(The Book 1 comparison is already complete on twstnote (link below), as information compilations are generally completed there before Tumblr! Book 2 comparison to come 🦁)

[literaryvein-reblogs]

do you have anything on syntax? i'm currently in the middle of writing a story that uses old and modern magic, and i want to emphasize the differences in syntax. thanks 🫶

Writing Notes: Syntax

Syntax - the study of sentence structure.

In spoken and written language, syntax refers to the set of rules that determines the arrangement of words in a sentence.

Along with diction, it is one of the key ways writers convey meaning in a text.

Comes from the Ancient Greek for “coordination” or “ordering together.”

Syntax is the part of grammar that pertains to a speaker’s knowledge of sentences and their structures.

Any speaker of any human language can produce and understand an infinite number of possible sentences.

Thus, we can’t possibly have a mental dictionary of all the possible sentences.

Rather, we have the rules for forming sentences stored in our brains.

Essential Rules of Syntax in the English Language

The rules of syntax can be quite complex and vary greatly by language (as well as by time period and place). Depending on the language you are speaking or writing in, these rules might be very restrictive, or quite flexible.

There are 4 baseline rules when it comes to English syntax:

A complete sentence requires a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. This is also called an independent clause. A sentence without a subject and a verb is considered a fragment.

Separate ideas generally require separate sentences. A sentence containing multiple independent clauses that are improperly joined is considered a run-on sentence.

English word order follows the subject-verb-object sequence. (It’s usually the same in French and Spanish.)

A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb—but it doesn’t express a complete thought.

The Rules of Syntax. Combine words into phrases & phrases into sentences.

They specify the correct word order for a language. [Example: English is a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language. ✓ "The President nominated a new Supreme Court justice." ✗ "President the new Supreme justice Court a nominated."

They also describe the relationship between the meaning of a group of words and the arrangement of the words. [Example: "I mean what I say" vs. "I say what I mean"]

The rules of syntax also specify the grammatical relations of a sentence, such as the subject and the direct object. [Example: "Your dog chased my cat" vs. "My cat chased your dog"]

Syntax rules specify constraints on sentences based on the verb of the sentence. ["Zack tries to be a gentleman" ✗ "Zack tries Robert to be a gentleman"]

Syntax rules also tell us how words form groups and are hierarchically ordered in a sentence. [Example: “The captain ordered the old men and women of the ship”]

This sentence has 2 possible meanings:

The captain ordered the old men and the old women of the ship.

The captain ordered the old men and the women of any age of the ship.

The meanings depend on how the words in the sentence are grouped (specifically, to which words is the adjective ‘old’ applied?):

The captain ordered the [old (men and women)] of the ship

The captain ordered the [old men] and [women] of the ship

These groupings can be shown hierarchically in a tree:

These trees reveal the structural ambiguity in the phrase “old men and women”. Each structure corresponds to a different meaning.

Structurally ambiguous sentences can often be humorous:

Catcher: “Watch out for this guy, he’s a great fastball hitter.”

Pitcher: “No problem. There’s no way I’ve got a great fastball.”

UG Principles and Parameters. Universal Grammar (UG) provides the basic design for all languages, and each language has its own parameters, or variations on the basic plan.

All languages have structures that conform to X-bar schema*

All phrases consist of specifiers, heads, and complements

All sentences are headed by T**

All languages seem to have movement rules

However, languages have different word orders within phrases and sentences, so heads and complements may be present in different orders across languages

*The internal structure of phrasal categories can be captured using the x-bar schema:

**All sentences contain information about tense—when a certain event or state of affairs occurred, so we can say that Tense is the head of a sentence. So sentences are TPs, with T representing tense markers and modals:

Sign Language Syntax. The syntax of sign languages also follow the principles of UG and has:

Auxiliaries

Transformations such as topicalization, which moves the direct object to the beginning of a sentence for emphasis, and wh movement

Constraints on transformations

That UG is present in signed languages and spoken languages shows that the human brain is designed to learn language, not just speech.

Ways to Use Syntax in Literature

Besides being critical to conveying literal sense, syntax is also one of the key tools writers use to express meaning in a variety of ways. Syntax can help writers:

Produce rhetorical and aesthetic effects. By varying the syntax of their sentences, writers are able to produce different rhetorical and aesthetic effects. How a writer manipulates the syntax of their sentences is an important element of writing style.

Control pace and mood. Manipulating syntax is one of the ways writers control the pace and mood of their prose. For example, the writer Ernest Hemingway is known for his short, declarative sentences, which were well-suited to his terse, clear style of writing. These give his prose a forceful, direct quality.

Create atmosphere. By contrast, Hemingway’s fellow story writer and novelist William Faulkner is famous (or infamous) for his meandering, paragraph-long sentences, which often mimic the ruminative thinking of his characters. These sentences, which often ignore the standard rules of punctuation and grammar, help create an atmosphere as much as they convey information.

That said, all writers vary their sentence structure from time to time. Using a variety of sentences is one of the key ways writers engage and maintain their readers’ interest.

Sentence Types in the English Language

The English language is extraordinarily flexible when it comes to building sentences. At the same time, all sentences in English fall into 4 distinct types:

Simple sentences. Consist of a single, independent clause. For example: “The girl hit the ball.”

Compound sentences. Consist of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. The coordinating conjunctions are “but,” “or,” and “so.” For example: “The girl hit the ball, and the ball flew out of the park.”

Complex sentences. Consist of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses joined by a subordinating conjunction. Some subordinating conjunctions are “although,” “because,” “so,” “that,” and “until.” For example: “When the girl hit the ball, the fans cheered.”

Compound-complex sentences. Consist of multiple independent clauses as well as at least one dependent clause. For example: “When the girl hit the ball, the fans cheered, and the ball flew out of the park.”

Syntax Examples in Literature

To get a sense of some of the ways writers use syntax to express meaning, it’s worthwhile examining a few famous examples from literature.

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville (1851). Melville begins with this famous line: “Call me Ishmael.” This first line—one of the most famous in literature—is short and direct. The sentences that follow, though, are significantly more sophisticated. In the fourth sentence, Melville uses a number of dependent clauses (“Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth,” “Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul,” and so on) to create a sense of anticipation.

Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy (1877). Tolstoy’s novel begins: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” This is actually two simple sentences joined by a semi-colon. Tolstoy could easily have just written them as separate sentences, but by joining them into one sentence he shows that these two thoughts are related and balanced.

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

You can find more details and examples in the sources. All the best with your writing <3

[thethiefandtheairbender]

as a lifelong ATLA fan who narrowly had ATLA dethroned as my top show by The Dragon Prince steadily over the past 5 years, the similarities between the two have very little to do with the surface level parallels that get regularly drawn between them.

Like ATLA, TDP has Books for seasons and chapters for episodes, but unlike ATLA, which only touched on storytelling sparingly as a theme, TDP is obsessed with interrogating storytelling and history and the presence of unreliable, biased narrators throughout many of its episodes (most notably 2x05, 2x06, 3x06, 4x04, and 4x07 among them). Half of what you learn in the 1x01 intro ends up being a lie once you reach S3, with more being steadily deciphered.

Yes, TDP has different magics with people living under those umbrella terms... for the elves. Humans are coming culturally at things from a completely different angle, and the elves' connection to their primal sources are discussed philosophically in detail, informing their practices and their culture first hand, including the way they chafe against humans, who are arcanum-less. Many animals in the world are also connected to magic, which influences both their design and which ones get hunted for humans' more 'clever' solution in dark magic, including each other.

The core issue of the Puppetmaster, down to being a coercive magic formed by someone deeply resentful of their imprisonment? Said puppetmaster is the main endgame antagonist of the entire show with all of S4 onwards being exploring the ethics of controlling people against their will in various methods, and the entire show itself being a thematic battleground of fate (imprisonment) vs free will for virtually every single character.

Where ATLA mostly concerns itself timeline wise with ending the war, very little thought is shown by any of the characters as to what they'll do after the war. This isn't a problem (as it reflects the sheer domineering scope of the conflict) but even Zuko being firelord is only ever really addressed with 2.5 episodes left till the finale. TDP, meanwhile, ends its 'war' in s3 and s4 opens up with dealing with the old wounds festering between people with centuries of history, the struggles that come when people aren't able to let go and believe they're safe or mourn in a healthy manner, and the religious/cultural clashes that may occur when trying to integrate different groups of people.

TDP also has an evil father with a devoted daughter and a brother who eventually defects, but it explores the reality of an abusive parent who loves/will sacrifice for you and your right to leave regardless, even if that means leaving the sibling you truly deeply love and who loves you in turn. Which means that when you and your sibling are on opposite sides of a deep ideological conflict, it actually really fucking hurts bc we've seen first hand just how much they love each other and also how and why everything fell apart not in spite of that love necessarily, but also because of it.

Is this to say that TDP is a 1:1 with ATLA or that it's better? No, not at all, and the latter is subjective. I prefer TDP, but I think they're about on equal ground when you look at each show currently as a whole (although TDP has two seasons left to go).

But TDP takes a lot of what ATLA was doing thematically with some of its most interesting beats and then builds or expands upon them further. It talks further and more consistently about the cycles of violence; in many ways, Jack De Sena's character, Callum, begins the series largely where Sokka had ended (and he's not the most like Sokka anyway; very much his own thing); we get Faustian bargains and centuries' long grief and fucked up people who are trying both succeeding and failing at not doing fucked up things. There are antagonists, but it is very hard to actually label anyone at this point a straight up villain. Moral greyness is where the show starts, and it just continues from there.

That's not to say the show is nothing but dark and depressing - like ATLA, there's a steady thread of hope and humour even as the show gets steadily closer and closer to its 11th hour point - but the show is usually emotionally heavier. There's more blood and potentially disturbing imagery with body horror and on screen death. There's so much foreshadowing you basically can't go more than 5 minutes into any episode without having something that's going to come back around or be referenced again like 3-5 seasons later.

Just to be clear - TDP is like ATLA, but it's like ATLA in interesting ways beyond the more shallow surface level that usually gets attributed to it, while still very much being its own show and its own thing. And that is why I tend to recommend it to people who like ATLA.

Thank you and goodnight

(Also, the fandom doesn't have any ship wars, and the show is queer as fuck)

[grimroth]

Bet vs Kakegurui Character Comparisons

Starting with Yumeko vs Yumeko and Kirari vs Kira

I'm writing this on a nominal amount of sleep (thanks insomnia). I'm using the primary Kakegurui manga for my baseline, sorry Twin and Midari enjoyers. Also no citations. Don't feel like doing a proper essay. Spoilers abound.

Kakegurui Yumeko vs Bet Yumeko

I'm high key convinced Bet Yumeko is actually a Yumeko+Souko hybrid, but I base this on B!Yumeko knowing her parents like Souko vs KG!Yumeko has only known her sister and her aunt and is motivated by her said sister.

There's also this sense that B!Yumeko could have been an ordinary individual if it wasn't for her circumstances while KG!Yumeko was winning billion yen gambles and making gamble madness crazy faces...at six years old.

It's hard to say how KG!Yumeko would feel about murder as the manga manages to avoid physical violence while Bet actively engages with it, but I think she'd be less torn up about it.

They also have different interactions with the audience. In Bet, the audience tends to know just as much as B!Yumeko, if not more, than she does at any given time about the overall plot and mystery. In Kakegurui, the audience is continuously and repeatedly locked out of KG!Yumeko's point of view. She always knows more about the current gamble, plot circumstances, and other characters than the audience until the narrative decides the audience can learn more. The manga has been running for over 10 years at this point and it wasn't until 2023 significant details of Yumeko's backstory were revealed in a flashback--depending on Bet's production schedule there's a chance the script was being written before all of this information was revealed. Kirari Momobami vs Kira Timurov

Kirari could Kira an aneurysm in five minutes flat, they're that different.

And while I could go on, at length, on the minutiae without even talking about a distinct lack of Sayaka who is very important of Kirari's characterization, I think the biggest difference is the level of control over their respective schools, and how they choose to exert it.

Namely: Kirari has a significant amount of control but doesn't wield it to the fullest extent, while Kira is scrambling for control but can't keep it. Starting with the house pet systems.

Kirari made the housepet system as it exists in Hyakkaou and this I will cite because I've had people not believe me without the exact quote. Volume one, chapter two, Suzui says "[The bullying from someone being a bad gambler] wasn't that bad really, in the past. That changed two years ago...when the current student council president took office. [...] That's when the 'student council payments' and 'Fido/Mittens' system came to be."

So it's weird and exploitable provisions--students with the house pet tags getting 1 gamble with a student council member; the one time get out of house pet status payments that destroyed Sayaka--must be, on some level intentional game design.

Meanwhile, Kira has inherited St Dom's house pet system and it seems the only modification she's been able to make it formalizing "side betting".

Kira is paranoid and has to worry about the school board when B!Yumeko causes upheaval. Kirari pretends to leave the school and watches as Yumeko trounces Yumemi and Kaede during the student council arc. Kirari literally floats the idea of banning Yumeko from gambling because "that is the way we can destroy you, Yumeko Jabami" (Volume 6, chapter 28) and then says "I can't let that happen" because she loves the aquarium/Hyakkaou academy as she's crafted it.

Also Kirari has built at least two buildings on campus just for gambling. Not even generalized gambling but two very specific gambles and the Tower of Doors was JUST FOR SAYAKA. Kira hasn't built anything and probably couldn't get the budget even if she wanted to. And Kira has no girlfriend (yet).

I do want to say I actually love Kira as a character but she's a pathetic little meow meow while Kirari (who I also love) is distinctly not even when she's currently kidnapped on a cruise ship because the PTA finally noticed Hyakkaou's coffers in shambles and sad that Sayaka won't talk to her.

As much as I want to get into Momobami family vs Timurov family and how it impacts the narrative, we don't know a lot about Kirari's immediate family outside of Ririka. But I really, really, really want this one character who was introduced in the gamble cruise arc to be Kirari's mom so bad.

[apunkinspace]

(Current design vs old)

Evil Morty come get your ginger

[yunsound]

Update on the Ao Bing Zhuan drama

Oh my god this never ends.

Part 1 here , read for context

It's actually so funny to watch on XHS. Literally last night I came across an Ao Guang solo art (solo meaning no ships or anything implied, it was just Ao Guang being hot) and there was a comment like "Ying Long your husband is so sexy". I told them not to 嗑药 (keyao) which means not to bring up other ships under an art that's not tagged with that ship. The comment was three words long: 别磕药 (don't keyao).

Holy shit. Within 20 minutes, 6 comments from 6 different people calling me a whole manner of things.

Disgusting fujoshi Dilong shipper (no joke, they literally wrote this)

Fuck off and mind your own business, they're canon

I hate all Dilong shippers, Ying Long is his canon wife

No wonder your ship gets attacked, Dilong fans are so fucking annoying

All fujoshis leave Ne Zha fandom (which is funny because 80% of Ne Zha fans are fujoshis who ship Oubing)

Fuck you

Okay. Wow.

The artist of the post liked my comment but they didn't tell the others to stop, which I get- no one wants to be attacked either.

Funniest thing is I've never even shipped Dilong. Starting to see the appeal now though, at least compared to Guangying.

OKAY.

I think I mentioned this in the last post, but Ying Long's design copied a genderbend Dilong art's design of Ao Guang back when Ao Guang's human form was never shown. This is really ironic.

An update: Oubing is currently the top ship in Ne Zha by FAR, like, by FAR FAR FAR. No other ship comes CLOSE to how big Oubing is. However, Oubing fans have mostly been able to stay out of Guangying vs Dilong drama as well as Ao Bing Zhuan drama.

One of the platforms ABZ is posted on, however, posted two of the author's sketches. One of them is child Ao Bing. The other one is an unknown female character who wears red and has red hair. The caption included this: "Guess who Ao Bing's new ship is with?"

The female character lated debuted and is called Hong. She's a thousand-year old jellyfish spirit.

When I tell you the author couldn't have done anything fucking dumber than try to pair Ao Bing with some random OC girl, I mean it. Oubing makes up like 80% of the fandom. The other 20% consists of half Ne Zha Ao Bing friendship stans and half casual fans. Oubing is probably the only ship with a negative hater rate in the fandom.

If the author tries to pull some "Oh this webcomic is official content so Oubing is a ship that breaks up a canon ship so it's not allowed" I guarantee ABZ will be bullied so hard the author might never be able to do anything ever again. Oubing is probably one of the biggest ships ever in Chinese fandom history. It's also one of the most wholesome, un-problematic (whatever that means) and sweet ships ever. But Oubing fans are hardcore. Like, not rude, but will NOT take shit.

Aside from the unknown girl the author is trying to pair Ao Bing with, they changed the setting of Oubing. One of the biggest parts of Oubing is that they're each other's first and only friend since they're so isolated.

ABZ, however, has Ao Bing go off and make friends with a whole bunch of people- his brothers, (who in the movies are probably dead), a bunch of abyssal sea monsters, etc.

Also the author is one of THOSE Xiao Zhan fans. Not the normal ones- I am also a Xiao Zhan fan. The kind of Xiao Zhan fans that led to the 227 incident and AO3 being banned in China.

ALSO!!!

The most important part!!

I made a Ne Zha post explaining that Ao Guang, Ao Bing's dad and the poor dude caught in the middle of these ship wars, is usually portrayed as an ugly old dude. In fact, Jiaozi said verbatim in an interview that he was originally going to look like

this.

The comparison. Jesus Christ.

Jiaozi said that it was fanart and fanwork that gave him the inspiration for Ao Guang's sexy dilf design. Back in 2019 and 2020, ABZ wasn't out yet: the ONLY Ao Guang arts were all Dilong! Dilong art is the ONLY reason Ao Guang is a sexy dilf instead of whatever the fuck that is.

IDK, I think I've become a Dilong fan despite only seeing Dilong art like twice in my life just because I feel so bad for them.

[hekateinhell]

definitions of grooming: a quick & dirty analytical comparison

tagging this for vampire chronicles only because i don’t think the star wars folks will know what the ever loving fuck is going on unless you happen to be in the niche position of being in both fandoms, but i think a lot of people at least have a sense of the narrative of star wars whether you grew up watching it or you’ve absorbed the major plot beats through cultural osmosis. but i’ve been brooding on this comparison and contrast in how i’ve seen the concept and definition of grooming discussed in both of my current fandoms

i’m gonna start with star wars and tie it into vc in a second, bear with me please! so for me relapsing into star wars as an adult and noticing just how many Dark Adult Themes are built into the foundation into of what george lucas once called “children’s movies” has been a fascinating experience lmao reevaluating my favorite piece of preadolescent media blows my mind because a lot is subtext, but a lot is not, in fact a lot is extremely explicit! for example, i absolutely agree with how this user frames it: [the relationship between Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and Sheev Palpatine is one of the most hideously abusive relationships ever realized in fiction] as well as the addition below it -> [It’s also probably the most substantial depiction of grooming I’ve ever seen in the PG-13 action/sci-fi blockbuster genre]

now as for where vc comes in?

well, i guess i’ve just been cooking in the trenches of vampires chronicles fandom tumblr for three solid years and i can’t remember a time when there wasn’t Discourse™️ about marius de romanus being a groomer, manipulator, and abuser—tbh this whole thing came about because it occurred to me that i feel like a lot of the discourse surrounding marius positions him as being a groomer somewhere in the same realm as a selfish, abusive, reprehensible villain like palpatine!

but there’s multiple definitions of grooming, my friends. it’s wild to me that an all-ages pop culture phenomenon like star wars features a front-and-center portrayal of what actually is a horrific abuser-victim relationship. it gives us a heartbreakingly clear example of grooming used as manipulation and coercion (what palpatine does to anakin/vader from the time he’s nine until he’s twenty-two when palpatine succeeds in breaking him down so systematically that vader essentially becomes his enslaved enforcer up until his death at palpatine’s hands decades later) vs. grooming as a much more neutral term—third definition down on merriam-webster’s (marius stating in his book that he groomed amadeo/armand for vampirism)

you want a guy that was purposely written to be a villain? palpatine is your guy! george lucas explicitly calls anakin/vader palpatine’s victim. palpatine grooms him from the time anakin is a nine year old child, isolates him, radicalizes him, and uses him as a custom-designed weapon to further his own agenda, finally spending the next twenty years torturing him physically, spiritually, and psychologically. star wars not your vibe, you want a vc analog? okay, i raise you santino and the children of darkness (no hate to my santino girlies lmao if you can’t tell, i’m very much a proship blog 🫶🏼)

george lucas famously said about anakin/vader: [“I like the idea that the person you thought was the villain is actually the victim, and that the story is really about the villain trying to regain his humanity.”] and this was actually the route anne ultimately took with armand as a character, insofar as the ‘villain as the victim’ arc goes (not to say they’re mutually exclusive, george right there labels vader as both victim and villain, because he is without doubt a villain; anne said armand was the villain in the first two books but that he became a good person in qotd through his relationship with daniel, etc etc)

[Star Wars is not about morally complex situations where it's hard to tell who the villains are. Star Wars is about how easy it is to become one of the villains] and [#it's about how easy it is to become one of the villains but also that you can ALWAYS choose not to be no matter how far down you are #that part ISN'T easy - in fact it's very difficult - but it's worth doing] — imo this is the biggest strength of star wars, because it makes what is a space opera/greek tragedy palpable to a broad audience! and obviously vc, which was written as a gothic horror series for an adult audience, is more morally grey, of course i get that. and i understand that grooming takes on different forms and there’s a wide variation. i have lived three decades of life somehow. it is two very distinctly different genres and scenarios that i’m trying to compare here… but they do share some similarities, enough that anne rice could take something away from it and use it in her own creation (you think i’m being hyperbolic? she got some of her inspiration for qotd from darth vader LOL i can’t make this up, i wish i was making it up 💀)

and as clear as george lucas was on palpatine being anakin’s abuser and jailer, anne rice was just as clear on marius being armand’s savior and liberator (she called him a hero, actually). your closest star wars analogs to marius de romanus are either qui-gon jinn: the man who freed nine year old anakin from slavery and brought him before the jedi council to be trained as a jedi knight because he saw the potential in him and/or obi-wan kenobi: the man who following qui-gon’s death, subsequently dedicated the next thirteen years of his life to raising anakin and guiding him, forming an attachment to him that was so strong it blinded obi-wan to anakin’s darker qualities—george lucas used the word “seduced”, which is crazy work—and who never stopped loving and honoring and mourning the memory of anakin even after he rejected obi-wan’s teachings and became darth vader, even though in his heart anakin skywalker died when anakin took on the name darth vader and swore his loyalties to palpatine (under extreme physical, emotional, mental duress btw don’t get me started on the obikin x marimand parallels)

in summation:

the jedi grooming anakin to become a jedi knight ✅

palpatine grooming anakin by isolating him radicalizing him and abusing him ❌

marius grooming armand to become a vampire ✅

santino grooming armand by isolating him radicalizing him and abusing him ❌

finishing this off with the usual round of disclaimers because i know where i am:

1) i said vampire chronicles and not amc’s interview with the vampire. i’m not discussing marius’ character or his relationship with armand as it’s portrayed on the show—those are two very different beasts and this has nothing to do with that. it would be a very different essay if i was going to go in that direction

2) i have read TVA and B&G, i know there is a sexual element to marius and armand’s relationship, however in my opinion this does not constitute either definition of grooming. there is no manipulation and coercion involved and it has nothing to do with marius wanting to turn him into a vampire, it occurs because armand wants it and finds pleasure in it

3) this is me engaging in a creative exercise and making a case for my own interpretations—you’re welcome to do the same for yours, it’s a free country man!

[cozymochi]

Sorry I already know the answer/saw the process but 🧊 - Is their current design the first one? For Tia

NOPE 😭 This is like, her 6th iteration by now. When I started publicly posting about her, she was on her 4th or something (i counted every shift she had in my camera roll lol)

And if you want a REAL scare, compare one of her first drawings ever in 2022 when I wasn’t thinking too much and she had no name or defined characteristics, to her 2023 midpoint long after real inspiration kicked in, vs. her current self.

it’s kinda embarrassing, tbh. I don’t much like looking at the old stuff. But her general gist mostly stayed the same. Kinda.

(Mind in 2022, I wasn’t too accustomed to drawing twst yet 💀 not at all really. Do you see why I didn’t post about it or her for 2 years lol, I was training! This is also just…a visual show of me getting accustomed to drawing twst lmfao through HER.)

[mishacakes]

Hi I was wondering what the difference between current Tomiko vs their original/old design? I love seeing the differences between the old and new designs (if that’s ok with you of course ^^ hope you’re doing ok !!)

August 2020 - October 2020 - September 2023

she’s simultaneously changed a lot and not that much tbh. from nekomimi to “don’t be a coward make her a furry” to really streamlining her design

i love her so much, if you couldnt tell already lmfao

[bananablossoms06]

Anything on the topic of the two wives? (Mrs. and Mrs. Em) I've seen your designs and art with them, but never really anything where they were interacting with each other or just by themself (or maybe I just don't remember)

(Long paragraphs ahead sorry)

I did have old art where William and his first wife somewhat interacted and had character sheets for William's wives (In my opinion he had more than 1 or no wife at all - hence why I have too many AUs)

And in that case I wanted to show kind of the dynamic between Will and his spouses vs. Henry with his spouse because its a whole thing in 3/4 of my AUs. I wont go into full lore (unless someone wants to know) about the main AU but basically William had 3 different marriages where each one of them failed (he killed his first wife despite actually having been in love with her and also killing his second wife). Henry on the other hand was very much in love with his wife but he had a previous romantic relationship with William before meeting her making him have this "stuck" mindset between wanting to be with William and his current wife, he didn't realize he was bisexual and he eventually had an affair on her with William and theres more but to keep it simple...Main au is crazy

In the Beatrice AU its bit different

There is no actual marriage between William and "Clara" they were just romantic partners because William forced himself back into his homo-closet when Henry was very obviously happy with a woman (in this au Henry never had an affair on his wife but still did have past romantic...hints at William though never s3xual like in the main au). William basically never was himself with "Clara" because- even though he's pansexual he has more romantic feelings towards masculinity and (for the most part) biologically born men...Until dating Jack!! But William will always have an obsession over Henry...especially after haven't seen him for a whole decade and they get a bit... "hot and steamy" if y'know what I mean- and despite after Henry haven't been with Elena for almost the same amount of years, he still loves her. He loves her, both William. He's a very complicated man tbh