#emerald9d

[emerald9d]

I'm doing commissions!

Example art below. I know these are line-arted in a non-sketchy way but I kinda don't like doing that? But I'm willing to talk about that if anyone wants it.

I'll probably have five (5) commission slots at a time and try to go through them at a comfortable pace.

[frozenmeatpopsicle]

Was linked to this by @emerald9d, very cool to see a rundown of this old thing. Thanks doctor sunset!

[infernal-heart]

Blue :3 (with extra wolfy ears teehee) @cwonusirl @wistful-gremlin @user-space-cats @emerald9d

HI GUYS I MADE A PICREW!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you make something, please share! I'd love to see it!!!! Preferably via a reblog, but you can also send it in an ask or make your own post and tag me (Just know that i won't be reblogging or replying to those, sorry)

This was a huge project that took a lot of time and energy, and there's still so much stuff i want to add and change and perfect. I'm posting it now though, because otherwise i will never call it done. But! Expect future updates at some point!! (Not soon tho) And if i add something, i will absolutely post it here 👍

The picrew is also not beta tested! I tried my best to check for everything, but im sure there's still plenty of mistakes i missed. If you see any, please do let me know!

Enjoy :D

[emerald9d]

Robo-Ralsei! For a crossover AU thing I'm working on. Just a sketch I figured I'd throw some color onto.

[emerald9d]

also when Handler Walter says:

"Gen Fours can be emotionally widthdrawn. They need a shot in the arm every now and then."

it seriously hit something deep within me. yes mechdaddy give my repressed ass some enrichment activities

[emerald9d]

I try to let go, but, I always get scared, and catch myself.

[infernal-heart]

OMG um thanks !!!! Omg

Tagging @cwonusirl @emerald9d @mango-mush @maddymayhearts @wistful-gremlin and @cant-say-tomorrow-day <333 !!!! No pressure teehee

I was bored so I'm starting a picrew chain :)

Little guy!

Anyways tagging @thesaucemanstrikesback , @snobgoblin , @gay-squirrel4 sorry if I forgot anyone :)

[emerald9d]

Your Theory Sucks Ass, or: What's (Not) Going On With Kris

I’m just gonna be blunt. A lotta people seem to think a big part of Kris’ story is them being forcefully puppeteered by the player.

I don’t. And I wanna talk about it. Which I’ve done, long ago in the ancient days when Chapter 1 was still fresh. But now I wanna talk about it better. A lot better. And also before Chapters 3 and onward get released so I can smugly laugh if I’m right or cry in a defeated puddle if I’m wrong.

First let me get a couple things we’ve gotten straight from Toby Fox out of the way.

(read the rest on this google doc. It's long and I don't want to go through the nightmare of converting it into one or more tumblr posts)

[emerald9d]

Show us your favorite child (oc)

Shelly!!!!!!!!

The art here is going from newest to oldest. I can never quite settle on what's going on with her face and head features. Or the presence and degree of neck/chest fluff.

But, anyway! Her full name is Leshelle Leigh Starr yiv Rolante IV, but she usually just sticks to Shelly Starr. Stylistically she's basically a unicorn anthro. But in "canon" (my own setting and stories) she's effectively an alien from a world named Kardac, which is currently at a level of development roughly equivalent to our mid 19th century, where the industrial revolution is a few decades old and capitalism-as-we-know-it is really getting its bullshit going.

Kardac has three different sapient species living on it: Unicorns, Saurians, and Narsima. As you can probably guess, Shelly belongs to the first group. Specifically, she's a "highland" unicorn, who tend to have white fur, and a lot of it, especially with the feathering on the forelimbs.

Probably the most oddball part of their anatomy compared to what you might expect from your typical unicorn (anthro or otherwise) is their four-toed feet. They're actually inspired by hippo feet! Though taller and not quite as thick. Otherwise, unicorns are basically just anthro versions of those old-timey unicorns that have some goat-like features.

Subsequently, Shelly kinda looks like... well...

Sigh.

(really it's fine, a little flattering even)

Anyway... personality-wise she's everything from adorably chipper to self-destructively furious. She... goes through a lot. And some of it is her own fault. But most of the time she's actually pretty personable. She's intelligent and well-read, and has good ideas when she actually stops to think. She likes talking about politics, society, arts, and entertainment. Just like me! Go figure. She really is bordering on a sona at times. Overall, she's kinda this blend of like, Karkat and Mae Borowski. Among other things.

Her canon story begins as she's finishing up her education at 18. She's dreading the fact that her controlling father is just going to have her work at his law office as a glorified secretary for the rest of her life, which she expects to be fairly short and pointless thanks to various chronic neurological issues she has, a fact that weighs on her daily.

And then a mysterious cult starts trying to murder her for no discernible reason, and at the same time an equally mysterious band of brigands show up to protect her and bring her somewhere safer. And, what would be a curse for most, turns out to be the key to her freedom. And so begins the long, violent tale of a driven young adult, who only feels alive in the face of death.

[emerald9d]

An Undertale/Deltarune Theory Complaint:

Alright I wanna bitch about UT/DR fan interpretations again. Basically, I feel like the idea that Kris is being puppeteered by the player (and that they're aware of this to any degree), which I was already not a huge fan of, is now getting retroactively applied to the protagonist of Undertale.

That sucks guys. That sucks so fucking hard. And not only does it suck, but it actually helps illustrate just why it would suck in DR too:

It retroactively fucks up the tone of the entire game!

(This is much more just a rant I've been sitting on recently, as compared to some big detailed writeup. Also, y'know, spoiler warning for both games. Screen shots from LongplayArchive on YouTube)

Like

where's the part in the where Sans is like "but the mere act of playing this game is bad so fuck you for that?" Where is any thematic implication of that being an important element anywhere, outside of genocide route, and maybe overtly deadly choices in general? Where's the finger-waggle? Where is it??

Certainly if it was anywhere it'd be in the place where this line gets spoken and you are then morally judged for your actions. Right?

This isn't the sort of thing you have to read deeply between the lines on. Yes, a lot of the game is reliant upon the player's faulty initial assumption that the name they chose in the start is the character you're playing as.

It's a cool twist for sure. And this particular moment really hammers home that, yes, Frisk is their own person. But it comes across less as some kind of "gotcha" admonishment and more just, like, the clear logical conclusion of the twist that's already been pretty much spelled out at this point anyway. That the name you chose was for somebody else entirely.

Hell, after this revelation happens, you're then given more time to walk around as Frisk and talk to people. If at this point you're supposed to be thinking that controlling Frisk is an inherently unsavory thing at all times, wouldn't that be an inherently bad segment? Wouldn't the only correct choice be to rush out the door towards the credits as fast as possible?

Under that understanding, the only moral choice outside of not playing at all is a non-violent speed run.

Maybe I'm not understanding popular fan theories correctly and am vastly overestimating how many people actually think this whole "player puppeteering" thing retroactively applies to Frisk too. But the mere thought of it really gets my panties in a twist I won't lie.

Also,

At this point, you know full well that Frisk is their own person. Yet, here you are, dealing with one last choice prompt. How can there be anything morally questionable about this? Hell, even acting with the knowledge that Frisk is their own person and doing your best to pick what you think they'd want... it gets you nowhere. Which answer is correct? The first? The Second? Neither? Both?

I don't think you're supposed to dwell on that. If anything it just further hammers home how Frisk has shit going on you're probably not even aware of. I think that normally, the player and the player character are kinda indistinguishable, especially in-universe. It's not until you start doing logically absurd violent shit that the game bends over backwards to make the player feel like a fucked up asshole, as opposed to Frisk. To the point where the spiritual embodiment of numbers going up for their own sake pops out and calls you a psycho just like them.

LIke, this aspect of the writing isn't subtle? I really don't see room for any other interpretation. If you have to imagine the player as some distinct aspect of the game world even during a peaceful playthrough, then I'd stick with my interpretation from my Kris writeup (linked at the beginning of this) where you're, like, some part of their subconscious that helps them decide shit. Or a headmate that they probably aren't aware of, if the player has to be something resembling a distinct person.

Oh, also: if both options in that final choice prompt are equally valid, then that really bolsters my idea that the choices given to you are coming from the character, rather than something foisted upon them out of nowhere. Like, again, you're just helping decide. If they wanna just talk, then they just talk. Like when they give their name to Asriel. Kris is handled exactly the same way. Deltarune is just written with you knowing that Kris is their own person from the very start, where Undertale isn't. That's it.

Which means...

... Frisk is absolutely the kind of person to consider all of these options at once, lol. They were effectively a less edgy test run for Kris, I think.

[martinshep]

Last song: carry me home, by ezra exorcism

Favourite colour: green but red is my favourite to wear

Last book: china as a sea power, by jung-pang lo

Last movie: I forgor (can't even remember the last time i watched one)

Last tv show: austin, the recent comedy show by the ABC

Sweet/savoury/spicy: savoury (spicy isn’t even really a flavour?)

Last thing I googled: phoenician dictionary

Current obsession: chants of sennaar, first played it ages ago but it’s come back

@whelpimnauthuman @textheslightlymorelimited @emerald9d @cytochrome-sea @goodbyekai, but no pressure, also open tags to anyone else

TAG GAME YAY thanks @tmntforeverinmyheart for tagging me!!

last song: cocaine jesus by rainbow kitten surprise

favorite color: hmm probably green

last book: the great gatsby

last movie: five nights at freddy's

last tv show: static shock!

sweet/savory/spicy: sweet :)

relationship status: single

last thing I googled: mst3k the mads

current obsession: i tend to bounce around a lot but rn i'll say DC! i've been making my way through the whole animated universe for a while

things I'm looking forward to: resting over break and having time to write and draw again :)

@yellowhollyhock @tiessunnyskies @jellyjamheadobb @frankendykez @raphaelesbian

[emerald9d]

I am so mature. I am being very mature right now.

[emerald9d]

Dess theories?

Good question, but I honestly don't have a ton on her specifically. After all, we've barely seen this character.

She's like this posthumous character haunting the narrative, whether she's actually dead or not. She can't not be important in some major way. The question is simply, how?

I may not have thoughts on her specifically, but I do have thoughts about many things closely surrounding her. As well as things she reminds me of from UT. That post from earlier we both reblogged is absolutely correct to look for parallels there.

That post paralleled her more with Flowey, however. I'm more inclined to compare her to Chara the most. Someone else who really haunted the narrative, and only manifests fully under very specific circumstances.

Part of this reasoning is because I have a hard time thinking about Dess without also thinking about Kris. I may not be a fan of the theory of the player puppeteering Kris, but that doesn't mean I've ruled out Kris knowing things that we don't. After all, we've already seen this with Frisk. They know their name is "Frisk," it's just that nobody bothered to ask until the very end. I figure there's something similar with Kris, but in their case, the information is things they aren't too keen on just blurting out, even in private. Even with someone they really trust.

I'm basically of the mind that whatever happened to Dess, Kris was there for it. Or, at least, they were there for some part of it. This event would have also lead to Kris' current "possessed" state. As well as, potentially, their insular and skittish nature at the beginning of the story.

Which then, of course, leads me to believing that Dess is what is possessing Kris, much like how Chara can possess Frisk under specific (awful) circumstances. Like, even back in UT, well before DR was a thing, I always felt like the whole genocide Chara situation was trying to tell us... something, about the nature of humans. Or the nature of souls, human or otherwise. I was just never sure what.

... until we got DR. Now, I'm pretty sure that the end of genocide in UT was basically a prelude to whatever is going on with Kris. And the only candidate for "the Chara" in this situation that we know of, currently, is Dess. Though, this would kind of imply that she's just flat out dead?

This leads me to the way Noelle and the rest of Hometown talk about Dess. And a wrinkle in the above idea: they don't make it sound like she's dead. They make it sound like she's been missing for a long time. That's different. Now, granted, if she's been missing for long enough, people are probably going to just start assuming she's dead. But everyone in town is kinda avoiding admitting that outright, I think. Which does feel like a very "small town" piece of drama. So, yeah, Dess' "alive or dead" status is kind of in limbo at the moment. We know, of course, that there's a third option of her being wrapped up in the darkness in some weird way. But other characters interact with the dark worlds fine. So, even with that in mind, something very strange an unusual would have had to have happened to her.

So, yeah. Not much direct information on her besides vague hints at her interests, but there's certainly a lot surrounding her.

EDIT: I also haven't ruled out that "the Chara" in the Kris possession situation is someone or something else entirely. I just wanna make it clear I'm not, like, saying its 100% Dess. I don't really know. Also, maybe Dess really has been dead all this time, and we just end up finding out and confirming it. Which would be a pretty brutal move, though would also make her more likely to be "the Chara," rather than less.

[emerald9d]

Last year when I played catch-up with the armored core series, I made an emblem in the first game. I decided to revive it for the new one.

[emerald9d]

Which is the best to pick? Here's my off-the-top-of-my-head assessment:

Matt Easton voice: "CONTEXT"

We talking one handed or two handed? Is a shield involved? Are you military or civilian? These things are important to consider.

If two handed, polearm/spear is basically the right answer, but long axes and warhammers practically ARE polearms so the options are a little redundant. In reality in europe this kinda congealed into the poleaxe, which at a point was pretty much the go-to weapon for a man-at-arms on foot. (that is, somebody armored and not fighting in formation. I'm not even getting into pikes and halberds and shit. No you don't want one of those just for yourself) A sword was more of a backup weapon, unless we're talking about some big thing like a zweihander or montante.

One-handed, you pretty much want a shield. Because you're probably not armored, because if you could afford armor you could afford one of the above options. At which point axes and hammers become a pretty nice option because the shield helps defend you while you manage the weapon's momentum. A sword is probably fine though.

If we're dealing with "civilian rules" where you're not going to go around equipped for war, that's where the smaller swords (that is, not zweihanders) really come in. Also the knives and daggers and such. Could do a small axe or hammer but without a shield you're probably just gonna lose to a sword's greater reach and versatility. You'd only go that route if even swords weren't an option, with a hand axe or somesuch filling in for a knife. There's also the good ol' quarterstaff.

Oh yeah and don't forget war bows actually require a bunch of strength to draw properly. They aren't weapons for the waifish back row fighters. Crossbows are technically easier but hard to reload quickly. Frankly unless you're hunting or doing a big stealthy murder, I'd stay away from bows for the same reason I'd stay away from pikes and halberds and such. You kinda need help to be effective, in situations where all combatants are aware of each other. At the very least, you'd want to pack another option to go with it.

Anyway I picked polearm. But you best believe I was thinking of a poleaxe. (which technically isn't always an axe)

[emerald9d]

kris