#idk how to make proper references lol

[sp00pypumpkins]

HAHA, I made a ref for an oc for the smiling critters show ✨✨

They would be an antagonist or the one causing problems for the gang as they try to fix the problems this lil alien makes while trying to fix their ship.

[mechncheese]

im sorry i should have asked this before i rigged and weight painted him. But i am a Coward. so haha do you have any idea what science cont tc's back kibble n wing joints look like?

i had this as a sort of improvised stand-in to show how it Could work functionally but im not sure i like how it looks compared to the rest of the model

base of wings are attached to a slot on the back kibble and can move and rotate vertically. then extends out from there to meet the wing proper at a joint which can be moved independently from the first joint in the back. the extra joint is so he can raise and lower his wings a bit more than if they were just attached, if that makes sense

i also was struggling find any good references for seeker back kibble in general to go off of (+ i am Toyless so no physical references) so just any critiques about the whole thing would be welcome. to clarify, im not asking for art or refs that may not exist yet, just opinions

sorry for sending in more of a text wall than usual ive been mulling over this a bit LOL

NO WORRIES AT ALL OMG THIS IS A REALLY INCREDIBLE, I SEE HOW IT WORKS REALLY NICELY !! I think that it functions really smoothly, esp for improvising ! It's super impressive holy shit

I'm so fr I didn't really think about how Thundercracker's wings would functionally work/fold until today and since receiving this ask, I threw myself into a frenzy trying to also figure it otherwise it'd become an itch in my head </3

I know you said you weren't looking for art or refs and just opinions, but I work better when I work things out visually so I’ll give you my take on how I think TC's wings might work-- This was like a fun challenge/puzzle to me !

also clarifying you totally don't have to go with this or anything of the sort, this is just how it might work in my head !

Sliding hinges along the side of his back was the first thing I thought of ! I also separated the base/shoulder of the wings into two parts so it lets the wing fold down. Also similar to what you have going there’s a gap inbetween the back where the hinge is and that can allow the base of his wings to slide closer into to the back (I’m so bad with explaining words I hope that makes any sense </3)

HONESTLY I'M NOT A GREAT ENGINEER and I took a lot of liberty with the fact that Im working with 2D so idk how difficult any of this would transfer to 3D ! Feel free to alter/change this however you please if you so wish !

THAT'S REALLY AWESOME THAT YOU IMPROVISED WHAT YOU HAVE IM SO SERIOUS, I HAD ALL 4 OF MY JET TRANSFORMER FIGURINES TO REFERENCE AND I WAS STILL SCRATCHING MY HEAD FOR LIKE.. a good few hours about it

Again, you don't have to go with any of this at all ! This is mostly me brainstorming as well ! What you have is incredible, esp for going off of no reference for his back kibble and wing joints !

[shutupineedtothink]

More ep 7 thoughts, now that I’ve watched it twice and processed 🫠

Bookending the episode with Lilia’s fall but first it’s down and then it’s up - sick, twisted, beautiful, devastating, I’m crying

The soundtrack really goes hard in this ep

The wildest part about the “ex best friend” line is all of those things are equally insane - ex, ex best friend, or best friend. Like ma’am what hex were you living in

Babysitter is likely a reference to the comics, but interesting also in terms of WV because we saw Agatha babysit the twins only once I think. Does this mean she actually spent more time with them than we know?

Wow once again Kathryn Hahn is doing so much work in this first scene with Billy, she’s going from snarky to wary to calculating to hurt to i don’t even know. She’s doing a masterclass in face acting.

When they start to climb toward the castle, Agatha has her hands clasped behind her back and initially I was just like ma’am, why are you like this, but then I realized oh. Her hands are tied right now.

Waning moon for the Crone trial babyyyyyy called it

Fun and fast transition to get us into the trial, since we know the deal by now

She’s based on me you know — sooooo, tragic, misunderstood, secretly suffering her whole life, constantly judged by others, uh huh uh huh

Prove it - he really doesn’t believe a word she says! And she looks so hurt by it!

The way Agatha sits in the chair omg girl please chill

This is such like an Indiana Jones trap I love it

God I love Lilia’s visions, changing the perspective to hers, the blurring around the edges - sometimes you don’t need to do much, but it’s hella effective

Actually a lot of good camera tricks in this ep I’m not going to point them all out

It’s about limiting beliefs baybeee - once again the writers showing they know their psych

I’m sorry that tea leaves to the underground transition??? Spectacular

“Well tell me what more I should see when I look at you. No, I mean it” - hey nonviolent communication, how’s it going 🤌

God can you imagine how scary it would be to have these visions as a CHILD

Did you not see imminent impalement in your future?? Lol why did this get me

I get the fake nose on Agatha but idk maybe I could’ve done without it

Teenager his full name LOLOL underrated joke

Dory OMGGGGG

Jen being the ultimate Lilia champion this ep and I love it. Also seems to contradict her behavior even more in Agatha’s trial, but she’s still more snappy with Agatha here too

What are you wearing, I don’t wanna talk about it - bruh every line. EVERY LINE.

Did I mention the transitions are killer

Your task is not to control but to see. - I, I can’t keep writing down every line but

I love that as soon as Jen knows what’s going on, she’s totally on board, just asking Lilia for intel, like yep this is normal now

Ahhh the spell book. Interesting that Lilia finds it.

Ohp - I wish Lilia was here. Ask and you shall receive - see the Billy’s Road theory

She calls him baby again 😭

Is snappy dialogue one of my biggest joys on this earth? I think it is

Proper tarot takes time and care. And leads to large gaping wounds - …. You mean like internal wounds? Like trauma? Like you have to bring up the trauma to heal it? Uh huh uh huh cool cool cool cool you said it Agatha not me.

The Magician, the ability to turn all of your goals into reality - Agatha immediately side eyes him. Bruh.

I’m a forgotten woman. Then remember yourself. 🤌🤌🤌

I was falling. I will fall. - CAMERA. MOVEMENT.

What will you do with your remaining time 🤝 all we can do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us. Iykyk.

The subway baybeee get that House of R theory

God this tarot spread scene is so epic.

Ok Jen being the path ahead… I gotta come back to that

Agatha is the obstacle yep that makes sense (but the obstacle is the way)

Windfall - Billy, miraculous transformation uh yep ok

Destination - Death. Such a good reveal, even if I already knew it. Once again the power of good writing. In the end all roads lead to me. UGH WTF

NOT THE GREEN VINES SPELLING A BIG OL “R” WHEN THE DOORS OPEN

The original green witch…. Ok so she is in the coven… but also Billy’s in the coven? It’s a shared black heart? Or it means you can go one direction or the other… hm.

Ughghghghhh her just giving them each what they need before she sends them onward. She’s the GOAT.

Did I mention the music????

This whole scene is so EPIC. The tower upright fuck it up queen

Oh my God Lilia took her power back 😭

We didn’t see a body unlike Alice I’m holding onto that “see you at the end” lyric with all my might at this point

Time in a bottle was sick and twisted and beautiful I love it

I just… can’t believe this is something I got to witness. Like it’s so good I’m mad about it.

A few other quick thoughts:

Jen being the path ahead… if she was birth in the first trial (see my maiden mother crone trial theory), then maybe she’s also REbirth? It’s a circle sewn with fate… we’re going back to the beginning but emerging from the Road this time. Eh??

Patti…. PATTI!! Where’s her Emmy? Where’s the show’s Emmy???

Not only was this a better time travel plot than the rest of Marvel as I said in another post but it’s also better than time travel in Doctor Who for the last 10 years and that pisses me off low key.

Not to jump ahead but buckle up kids cuz if we’re following the loose structure of WandaVision then ep 8 is our flashback/reliving the trauma episode for Agatha and as much as I was destroyed by this ep I am so not ready for all of that.

Anyway. What a masterpiece. I’m DONE.

[remxedmoon]

“the valiant bison. it leaps to protect its fellow creatures, but not you.”

hooved

2 power - 8 health - 3 blood

protector - when a creature on this card’s side of the field is about to take damage, this card will jump forward to take the hit instead.

sharp quills - once a card bearing this sigil is struck, the striker is then dealt a single damage point.

BISABEAU!! YIPEEE! and a fancy custom sigil to go with him! wow! writeup below, as always

that custom sigil huh!! i had to rewrite that description SO MANY TIMES and it STILL ISN’T PERFECT GRAAAA. i couldn’t fit it into the proper description, but isa’ll return to his original spot after taking the hits. he basically redirects all attacks on his teammates to himself. like a moleman but in reverse.

also ^ he won’t try to protect terrain cards! because that’s a boulder. not his friends. the entire concept around the sigil is based around him protecting his friends from harm.

sharp quills is there to let him counterattack while covering for his allies! fun fact, in my original concept for this card, this was replaced with the mighty leap sigil?? for some reason??? even though airborne cards can’t attack cards on the field?????? idk what my thought process there was. thank god i caught that before finalizing his card

don’t ask how he has sharp quills btw. it’s uhh. his horns. yes. the quills are his horns.

i went back and forth between calling him a bison or a buffalo. his design was based more on water buffalo than american bison? but i ended up going with bison just because it was shorter lol. plus the bisabeau pun. i am beholden to the pun.

you might’ve noticed that the patch is in a different spot here! i couldn’t find a spot that didn’t cover an important part of the card. so i had to go through the miserable experience of moving the patch and cutting it out even more thoroughly to prevent it from messing up the pixels around it. somehow that damn patch was harder to make than the CUSTOM SIGIL.

speaking of the sigil patch. he gets burrower! which makes him move to any empty space that’s about to be attacked. functionally, this means that ALL damage on the board will get redirected to him. except for airborne attacks i guess

this card doesn’t have a hidden trait! and there’s a reason for that! because…

“a meek, unassuming calf. it has not yet learned its own strength.”

hooved

0 power - 2 health - 2 blood

fledgling - a card bearing this sigil will grow into a more powerful form after 1 turn on the board.

clinger - when one of your creatures is placed in a space, a card bearing this sigil will move towards them as far as possible.

TWO CARDS!! he gets to have a fledgling form :3

fledgling is self explanatory i think? i wanted to keep some kind of reference to his Change and this was the best way i could think of! lil baby thing based on his past self…

clinger is a sigil from act 3! it’s like. only on the lonely wizbot i think. initially i was just going to give them sprinter (which makes them move to a different space after attacking) but it felt… too similar to the elk fawn for my liking. and it felt more appropriate character-wise

this card is also part of the reason why i went with bison. buffalo calf is a long name!!!

idk how well it comes across but they have their lil braid!! i wanted to include the glasses in some way but it felt a little out of place with the card design. so they only have the braids. a necessary sacrifice

i realize that burrower is a TERRIBLE sigil for this card but! i had to keep it consistent with his mature form. hope your bison calf doesn’t fling itself into danger and die! oops!

that’s everything to do with these cards! phew! that was a lot of text. here’s the patchless versions!

[noxlotl]

I have a question. Or rather I'm seeking an opinion from artists. Is it ok to trace AI art? The art in question is from an app, and I had a subscription to said app at the time, and the sole purpose of the art was to be used purely as reference material. I've drawn a piece, the pants for my minecraft character, and I traced the basic shape from the image but modified it with my owm lines, too.

I know most artists dislike AI and I want proper references for my character so I can get proper art but I am not good nor do I have the time, patience, or attention span to truly improve. I feel since I spent actual money on it and I'm using it like an assistant tool, (like a pose reference,) it should be ok, but idk dude... Having Ai associated with it in any way, and knowing how people feel about it, just feels bad...

Anyway, sorry to bother you! You don't have to answer, I just wanted to ask various artists I follow for their opinions on the matter.

Gen AI is an amalgamation of other artists work, now idk if they trained it purely with work they own and with the artist's consent but i wont trust it either way lol. So no i dont think its ok to trace AI art. In fact ,i think its scummier cos its included in a paid service.

For references to use, there's tons of artists out there who provide Base art ( quick search and I found this amazing artist @tailum4 ) .There's also a free webapp 3d poser that can help with poses.

If youre making it for a commission reference, its totally fine to just make a collage of references with details on how you want it on your character, just openly communicate with the artist ^^

hope this helps o7

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

The concept of Lilia raising fem Silver is so cute and endearing. Imagine Lilia and fem Silver having a tea party together surrounded by silver's animal friends while Lilia is dressed up in a pink tutu dress and ROCKING it.

Raising a human child is a lot more different than raising a fae child, but get this; Lilia would have to learn that at a certain age, fem humans get their periods (Assuming fem fae don't have periods?!). Either way, he would panic or be chill about it. He would also have to explain what menstruation is, lol.

Period cramps can be so bad. Luckily for Silver, Lilia knows how to wash blood stains with COLD water (considering he saw a lot of blood in war). He would bring her snacks and comfort her best to his abilities, and he would make sure to keep menstrual products in the house or carry some with him for emergencies. I know, I'm just rambling at this point, but idk it's really cute to think how Lilia would raise fem Silver.

So, while i agree with you that Lilia would raise normally just like how he raised Silver in Canon, i do think there are quite a few differences, especially when it comes to such things such as Periods, buying bras and so on.

[Other Lilia raising fem!Silver posts here and here!]

In my original post, I was speaking only from a socialization angle since a lot of what we see as "gender norms" are the result of how we were raised and taught. On that front, I don't really see Lilia changing one way or another. Of course there would also be biological differences that Lilia would have to become accustomed to, and those he would have to tackle differently.

I imagine he would mainly ask the Zigvolts for assistance in this regard, since they already help with watching Silver while he's busy with other matters in canon. Even if we assume that female fae do not menstruate, Mr. Zigvolt is a medical professional who would have some understanding of menstruation (due to taking A&P classes), even if his specialty is teeth. He could at least refer Lilia to the proper resources or a medical professional with more relevant knowledge. If we assume that female fae do menstruate, then Mrs. Zigvolt could be comforting and understanding of Silver's situation. Maybe even Sebek's older sister could pitch in as well!

Either the Zigvolts could explain menstruation to fem!Silver or Lilia could? Knowing how… tactless��� Lilia was when dealing with Silver learning he was adopted though, it might be a mixed bag. Lilia might go for a silly explanation, an actually wise one, or he might pull out all the stops and try to reenact the story of an egg cell being expelled from the body via hand puppets. When fem!Silver isn't feeling well, Lilia can sit by her bedside and sing (screamo) lullabies or recount tales of his travels until she's soothed off to sleep.

Imagine Lilia having to take Malleus aside to explain how menstruation works to him too (when Malleus shows confusion at fem!Silver kneeling over mid-training). Maybe Sebek would already know about it because he has a decent sized family and he expresses his concern in the typical Sebek way. "Hmph! If you find yourself faint, it shall be an easy victory for me—but there is no glory in that. Sit this one out, and once you’ve collected yourself then you shall be a worthy opponent!”

... But it would be sort of funny if Lilia asks the QUEEN of Briar Valley for help on this 🤡 "Your majesty!! My little human child is gushing out blood from down there, does she have a wound? Will she bleed out? Should I be concerned") I also find it really ironic that Lilia, an infamous retired general, probably already has knowledge of how to wash blood out of fabrics due to his experience in war. Now he can repurpose that skill to help out his daughter 😂 Just don’t trust Lilia to make snacks for fem!Silver cramping up, he’ll only make the cramps worse with his cooking…

Anyway, I enjoy the idea of Lilia being a father that supports both Silver's (traditionally) feminine and (traditionally) masculine interests and is secure enough in his own identity to engage with them. He'd have so much fun dressing up with Silver and having those tea parties with the animals out in their yard.

[the-magenta-glows-tonight]

Just a Serpentine ssssslithering around...

"Definitely a normal Sssserpentine here, don't know why you'd think otherwisssse?"

-=×=-=×=-=×=-

Blog run by @energylessartist and on mobile, so mistakes are to be expected

Go check out @bengal-tiger-babes , probably wouldn't be making this if it weren't for them! They're also connected to some of Euca's backstory :)

Eucalyptus here isn't natively a Serpentine, but rather an Oni... not that they want you to know that ;) (this will not remain a secret forever)

-=×=-=×=-=×=-

Please veer away from NSFW topics, I do not accept anti-lgbtq+ things, crossovers welcome!

DMs are open if you feel you need/want to send one btw :)

Euca has been in Ninjago since around Season 7, but this will probably be more focused on Dragon's Rising stuff. I am willing to do pre-Merge stuff tho, as long as it's set during a time Euca would actually be in Ninjago! Be aware, however, that different times can/will yield vastly different versions of this character...

Their Serpentine form is based on both Venomari and Anacondrai!

I have a lot of headcanons regarding Oni and Oni society and skills. I will be using them :)

-=×=-=×=-=×=-

Tag stuff!

I may add additional context to what Euca is thinking/doing in the tags of a post

#accent break :) - the Serpentine accent has dropped during this post :^

#the magenta shall glow - general tag ig idk lol

#anon assssk - anon asks

#thread end - end of the thread! Will try to keep these properly tagged as best I can

-=×=-=×=-=×=-

Currently lives in the Monastery, has now been adopted by @nya-of-water :)

-=×=-=×=-=×=-

Additional stuff under the cut, may be added to over time

A proper set of references for Eucalyptus's appearance:

Euca's pronouns are mostly he/they/she! But she may expand from time to time

She met Serpentine first, and has changed since their time as an Oni. She became the Elemental Master of Light during/after the Merge and is still learning how to use it!

He has no idea who Mr Pale is :)

[joekitsu]

Been binge reading Fem!Bruce Wayne posts here on Tumblr and consequently I've been hit by the Brain Worms TM and so ig here we go?

Part 1

● Name: Bernadette Wayne (idk I just like that name it gives off old money vibes yk? Seems like something wealthy people would name their child) (I also like Beatrice as her name, but Bernadette is just more classy idk) (Like Bruce being called 'Brucie', Bernadette is called 'Bernie' or 'Barbie' in her public persona)

● Tall women ftw. She got the best of her parents in her figure, standing at a nice 6'2 with broad shoulders, sharp waist and wide hips. All attractive features that one would expect of someone of her pedigree, basically being Gotham royalty. Long hair the shade of the deepest ink, pale, glacial blue eyes, pouty lips, high cheekbones that can cut glass, an aristocratic nose, love marks scattered over her face and neck, crows feet creasing her eyelids; there is a reason she's know as Gotham's most Beloved Daughter, her Princess. Age never diminished her beauty frfr she just aged like the finest of all wine.

● She does not gender herself as Batman or Batwoman in her vigilante life, idk I feel like that ambiguity is something she would prefer? Her suit would be made for protection and comfort, padded and reinforced. It hides the majority of her body shape, the long cape hiding her body most of the time didnt help either. Ofc people being people they'd assume she's a man and call her Batman but she always refers to herself as The Bat (also a thinly veiled plot to explore identity lol) (also gets rid of my own conflict on her gender representation) (hurray for costumed androgeny)

● This is something straight out of my regular Bruce headcanons, but Bruce being female can change things up just a little bit: Alfred and his guardianship over 8 year old Bernie.

Alfred is an Old British man, raised with British values. He has been in service to the damn Queen before he became the Wayne butler. The first thing he did after Bernie's birth was learn the customs of high society so he would be able to lead his young miss if needed. He simply didn't expect to be given her this early in her young life. Alfred might've been the best butler, but the best guardian he was not.

Not being ready for a heavily traumatized neurodivergent 8 year old, he fumbled quite a bit in her upbringing. His standards were abnormally high, expecting her to bounce back from the death of her parents and uphold the family name and legacy. Granted, he was under quite the pressure in this time period, from both the press and hungry people wanting to dig into the Wayne family wealth, and in his emotionally constipated ex-spy eyes, a grieving young girl was not a first priority. He did not know how to deal with her when she went non-verbal for days on end and did not eat, unable to stomach even the few safe foods she had. He didn't have the time to figure out how to deal with her. He didn't accompany her to any events, finding it inappropriate for her to be seen with 'just an employee' (nevermind that he was the closest she had to a parent now). By the time he got around to it, she had already grown up.

Her choices were heavily restricted and micromanaged by Alfred to 'uphold the family legacy'; her clothes were always formal and proper, tailored to fit her with no room for an unruly appearance. Her hair was always tied up into braids, combed neatly and pinned up (the last time she wore it free as a child was before he had it cut to her shoulders, 'easier to manage' was what he said when asked). Her diet was always healthy and portioned; Alfred despised the thought of greasy fast food and processed snacks, why get a cheap burger when he could simply make her a hearty chicken salad instead? (This was the start of her issues with food).

(Bruce would have been sent to boarding school at some point in his life, Bernie would not have that privilege sadly. Gotham was rarely ever kind to pretty little girls. She still meets who she needs to meet either way.)

(The minor change brought on by the genderbend is the level of restriction)

● She still ends up adopting all her little Robins. Almost exactly the same way Bruce does. The day before she brings young Richard home, she pours through 10 different parenting books, 4 books on processing grief, and joins several single parent forums anonymously (HC shared for Bruce as well). It doesn't make dealing with a volatile young boy easier, but it does help. Bernie is undoubtedly a good parent. Being a good parent doesn't matter if the child isn't looking for one.

She is young, almost too young to have a ward. Freshly cusping on 20, barely an adult in the eyes of the law. But she hadnt been young in a long time, not since her training, not since that day in the alleyway, not since her mother's pearls rained down on the asphalt followed by gushing crimson. Of course, grief was a heavy weight to carry and she still carried her own. Alfred had made his displeasure clear with her way of dealing with her new charge, but he also refused to parent the child in her stead.

The early days with Dick were hard on both of them, with loud arguments and smashed dishes and Alfred's silent judgement. But they work it out eventually. The Bat prowls the night and Robin begins to soar.

Oh man I have tons more to say; her public persona, her relationship with each of her children (elaboration on Dick, Jason and Tim and Damian and Cass and Steph and Duke-), the Justice League, etc etc. I'll probably get to those tomorrow- oh man it's late-

THIS IS NOT AGAINST ANY CHARACTERS IN ANY WAY IM NOT BASHING ANYONE (ALFRED IM SORRY ILY BUT YOU PROBABLY WERENT THE BEST AT THIS) THIS IS JUST HOW I SEE IT FEEL FREE TO DISAGREE BUT DONT PUSH ME ABOUT IT

Maybe I should write a fem Bruce story. Should be fun. Could even make it a series. Hell yeah plans

[askspiritfukase]

have you ever considered just turning this into a proper comic instead of an ask-blog? i feel like theres a story you want to tell but cant due to a lack of appropriate asks, or maybe not? either way just do whatever youd like to because i enjoy seeing your work either way, just have with it yk? have a nice day !

//ty for the suggestion but I actually have like, a lot of appropriate asks that I can easily work with (idk if you've checked the inbox status but theres a good amount of workable stuff within the 80+ I have lol...)! it's just the good stuff takes. a lot of time and energy out of me so I tend to answer the easier asks first... that flower comic I posted recently was something I'd actually been working on for at least over a year to give you a frame of reference

this might be a surprise but I actually dislike drawing comics so I don't think I'd ever wanna make this into a proper comic sdgdsg i've been working on fics and games, and have considered making lil talkloid videos or smt but yeah it has been hard to figure out how to convey the parts of the stories I really want to in a way that's doable for my skill and energy levels

[altocat]

I’m back for more how about Lucrecia and/or Hojo for the hc game

I'll do both.

LUCRECIA

Headcanon A: Lucrecia is, realistically, not perfect mother material, at least in the way Sephiroth envisions. She would need a LOT of therapy in order to help her become a better parent to him if she were involved in his life. She would have loved her son. But she would have needed a lot of help and support.

Headcanon B: Lucrecia has a tendency to get tongue tied whenever infodumping all in one sitting, resulting in a bunch of cutely jumbled nonsense and mixing her words around. Grimoire thought it was adorable and it never failed to make him laugh on a bad day.

Headcanon C: Lucrecia suffers from heavy depression-anxiety disorders. Due to her stubborn nature, she refused a proper diagnosis or treatment, convinced she could pick herself up on her own. She threw herself into her work and refused to allow herself to breathe and recuperate, further escalating her negative feelings. Unfortunately, Sephiroth comes to inherit a lot of her illnesses as an adult. And neglects his needs as well.

Headcanon D: No one ever refers to her as "Lucy" in canon but lots of fic writers including myself have collectively decided that this was her nickname lol

HOJO

Headcanon A: I actually do think that Hojo holds SOME level of affection for his son, albeit in an extremely fucked up narc sort of way. Idk I love the idea of him being pure evil, but also having some realistic complex emotions about Sephiroth as well. He's Sephiroth's greatest abuser. But he's also his father. He is an irredeemably evil person, but there are some grayer aspects in there as well.

Headcanon B: Hojo actually bathes. Fairly regularly. He just looks greasy and nasty because that's just his rotten core leaking out to reveal what he REALLY is under the surface lmao

Headcanon C: Hojo acts completely normal on the surface after Sephiroth's supposed "death" in Nibelheim. Business as usual. But the truth is that he actually suffers some level of depression, unsure if his Reunion Theory will hold firm, unsure if Sephiroth will ever truly return. He copes by projecting onto Cloud and Zack. And builds Chadley out of some twisted sense of guilt and possession, wanting to reclaim a bit of the boy he raised just to fill that presence in his life again.

Headcanon D: Still riding high on my Vincent-dad-theory-truthing lmao You can't stop meeee Hojo doesn't deserve a son

[explodingchantry]

A review of Veilguard from a long time, die hard fan of Dragon Age

When the review embargo on Veilgurd was lifted, I found it hard to take any review at face value. Dragon Age is unfortunately the one series I am very pretentious about, and I can’t trust reviews from people who aren’t huge Dragon Age fans like I am and who don’t hold the same views as me -- those views being, to keep it short, that Anders was right and justified, that he is one of the most tragic characters in the entire series, that he is a hero, that Bioware’s writing can be shockingly biased at times in the wrong ways, and that Inquisition is really not that good at all. These opinions have a lot of weight in whether I will listen to someone about Dragon Age matters. And I haven’t see a proper review from someone like this -- though granted as soon as the game came out I locked down and refused to look at anything in fear of spoilers lol. 

This review will be spoilers free, and there will be an addition at some point with all the spoilers and what I think about specific story details, because I have so much to say. 

The TL;DR? It’s a good game. If you like Dragon Age like I do, you’ll like it. If you open your heart to it, you’ll love it. It was made with love. 

This will be divided in section based on people’s biggest worries about the game and how much I have to say about each of them.

The art direction

Honestly I was a defender of the art style as soon as the trailers started coming out and my opinion has not changed lol. Dragon Age was never exactly known for its graphics - Origins and DA2 look… okay. And Inquisition was fine for its time but has aged like the most rotten milk you could find. Its environments are still pretty, but its characters, man… I’m sorry, it just hasn’t aged well. Frostbite engine did not help Bioware in this case. They’ve spoken about how it was a new engine for them and how they struggled with it and it shows. 

This game? Oh boy, yeah, no, I can believe they got a handle of Frostbite now. It is breathtaking. The environments are crafted so meticulously and with so much love, the lighting is beautiful and that’s even without RTX (because I’m in the AMD gang and can’t splurge on Nvidia lol). Many many times I would stop and go into photo mode either to take screenshots or to just admire the world around me. I’d spam screenshot in cutscenes, too. The character animations are good, especially the facial expressions -- though the body animations remain a tad stiff, like everyone’s got a broom up their ass and forgot their spine can bend and move. It’s not that big of a deal, but I did notice it a couple times. 

You can tell Bioware had fun both with character design and with the environments, now that they’re free of Ferelden’s basic medieval england looking ass. You grow attached to the beautiful and lively environments. Treviso has got to be my favorite, but there’s a lot for everyone in there. 

And no, the smoother art style does not make the game less dark. If anything, some of the enemy redesigns really help make the game scarier. The first time I was faced with the blight in game, even though I’d seen it in all of the promotional screenshots and trailers -- I was horrified and sickened by just how gross they made it look (and sound.). I promise you, you shouldn’t be scared of that. 

The emotional moments sold well even “in spite of” the art style. I don’t know, it’s hard for me to even understand people’s worries about that. Not everything’s got to be hyper-realistic, ya’ll. 

The combat system

That IS one thing I was a tad worried about, when we first saw it. It looked good, but it was definitely a departure from what we were used to. 

Honestly, to sell my point, we have to look at the previous games’ combat system. I don’t actually know if there’s a specific name for this style aside from, idk, “CRPG combat” lol. I like to refer to it as MMORPG combat because you mostly see it in MMOs now, I feel. Your character cycles through a bunch of basic combat animations for basic attacks, and has a lot of abilities to throw in combat which can synergise which each other. DAO had the best system, but DA2 felt best to play due to the updated and dynamic animations and faster paced combat. DAI had the weakest both due to the way they overhauled the classes (especially mages) and made us lose fan-favorite specialisations (spirit healer and blood mage) with not much in exchange. It was simplified and a bit sluggish, in my opinion. It missed the strategy imposed by DAO as well as the punch from DA2. 

And of course, there’s the battle tactics. You get to basically program companion AIs and can chain some really, really good combos with them. It’s really fun once you get the hang of it, but let’s be real: very few people did. Very few people actually used them, as good of a system as it was. 

This combat system… has aged a tad, unfortunately. It doesn’t fit today’s gaming landscape, but even if it did… It would need more to land, I think, if they kept it as it was. Something to make it feel less sluggish, more intense, more involved. Make the attacks FEEL like they land and hit and hurt the enemy. Because the harsh truth is, although DAO has the most in depth combat system of all of the games -- it also has numerous popular mods to skip combat entirely. 

Combat in Veilguard feels really, really good. When I first started I often found myself grinning, going “oh HELL yeah” at the screen, because it felt so good. I almost raised the difficulty a few times because I wanted combat to last longer because it just felt so damn good. I do wish it was a bit deeper, especially in the case of combos, but it remained nonetheless fun to cycle through abilities and companions depending on the area and type of enemies I was fighting. It feels more action-y, but it isn’t a damn hack n slash like I’ve seen people say lol. Have none of these people ever heard of the term action RPG or what. Because that’s what Veilguard is. It’s an action RPG and there’s nothing wrong with that. 

I think Bioware always kind of wanted to move towards this, as well. Since DAO, Dragon Age felt like it kept its combat system not because it was the most fitting for the games Bioware wanted to make, but because they “had to”. Because it was right for the genre. Because it’s what players expect. Because they’d get backlash if they didn’t. But they finally decided to change it, and I think it’s right, for Veilguard. I think Bioware had fun making this system, and it is very much extremely fun to play. 

My only wish is for spirit healer and blood mage specialisation to come back, and for companion leveling up to have been deeper and more varied. They basically have set abilities that you level up and though you can change some aspects of them, that’s it. But it remains a good system. I liked it. I genuinely have really enjoyed fighting in this game and will be exploring all classes and specialisations thoroughly in my next replays, as well as exploring every difficulty. 

The writing

It’s fine. It’s brilliant, at times. Cringy, at others. And you want to know a secret?

You could say that about every god damn Dragon Age game, lol.

I’ve recently -- as in, very recently -- replayed the whole series in preparations for Veilguard. Not only did it have cringe-worthy moments in all games, but some even made me grimaces. DAO is staggeringly misogynistic both for its time and for its setting: You are told in the character creator that men and women are equal in Thedas only to constantly face outward sexism at every turn. It’s shocking. As for DA2, it’s weirdly mean spirited. It calls a lot of its characters crazy and makes fun of them for the meanest fucking reasons. It has a character who fights for his people’s freedom approve of you when you give another character over to a slaver, for fuck’s sake lol. It is very mean. This one is the most “product of its time” of all three, because DAO was misogynistic even for its time lol. And DAI… well, DAI is bland and lacks depth and feeling ina almost everything lmfao. 

Veilguard holds your hand a lot, especially in the beginning, and kind of babies you at times. It also suffers from painful expository moments. Thing is, I feel for Bioware: They have three games and dozens of side media’s worth of lore to explain to you, and have to keep in mind not only that some players will have never heard of Dragon Age, or that some have only played the games and never touched the side media, or that they played the games a whole DECADE ago and can’t remember shit. It’s hard. I would’ve done better lol but it IS difficult. I feel for them. 

Some things are a little less excusable, like the game REALLY holding your hand through a couple puzzles and through the fact that you need to focus on companions and do their quests etc. A part of me wonders if it came out of playtesting, or something. It definitely took me out of it a little bit, not gonna lie. It felt quite jarring. 

There’s a couple other things, like having far too much telling in places. I’d also have liked to do some of the cool stuff my Rook does in cutscenes within actual gameplay, lol. And there were beats where I was left thinking “... that’s it?”, which is never good. 

The codex entries are great and interesting though. Only game in the franchise where I read every single codex entries I found (AND I FOUND ALMOST ALL OF THEM!!!!). A lot of them are fascinating, but more are just very sweet or funny, and they help build the characters and the world. 

And my god, those characters are ALIVE. I truly understand when Bioware said they really put emphasis on the companions. There are so many cute banters, a lot of which you can catch in the lighthouse, as well as little scenes that mostly serve to humanise the companions and make them feel alive. Not only that, but you also get attached to a lot of NPCs -- and I do mean a lot. Each faction has NPCs I cared for deeply, and you always just get to visit them and talk to them, even if it’s just them saying a line or two of dialogue at you. It still helps to build a relationship with them, and care for them. And your companions interact with them sometimes, too! And they have history! It makes the world genuinely feel so much more alive and makes you feel so much more involved than you were in DAI! They manage to transform from pixels on a screen there to give you quests to actual characters with rich lives and feelings that you want to see succeed.

I romanced Lucanis and he is by far my favorite of the companions, but I love all of them. This means it’s the first game in the series where I genuinely really love all the companions. There was always one, maybe two, in each game whom I didn’t care much about or which pissed me off -- but they’re all immensely likeable here, and I care so much about not only my Rook’s relationship to them, but their relationships to each other. And there’s so many little banters, notes, and codex entries which helps further their bond and makes them feel like roommates. It’s very sweet and enjoyable.

I also love my Rook a lot. I played mostly as a sarcastic Rook who was very impulsive and wasn’t afraid to speak their feelings out. There are times you can express genuine fear, hurt, or anger at certain NPCs or situations, and the line delivery really carries it. They felt alive and involved, so much more than the Inquisitor ever did. My Rook has a personality, and not only that, but the way the factions were integrated was really nice. I played as an elven mage grey warden, and each of those bits came up a lot. I’m a bit miffed that you don’t get to choose whether you were dalish or city elf, and more miffed that the game/npcs try to explain dalish lore at you even when you put a wholeass vallaslin on your character, but aside from that I’m rather pleased with the integration of the faction. I imagine some factions (lords of fortune) got the shorter end of the stick - but playing as a grey warden was deeply rewarding in this game. Rook can make comment about it in dialogue, in banter, and other characters mention it too. I got to discuss the joining with another warden, and my Rook commented a few things about their time in the order. And it made my friendship with Davrin mean so much more, too. It also made every plot point involving the wardens hit like a TRUCK. 

And my god, do some of the missions in this game hit like a truck. The villains are believably terrifying. This isn’t Corypheus 2.0. I hadn’t felt this level of dread in Dragon Age since DAO. Some missions especially have rocked me to my core, and some of them I consider to be absolute masterpieces (Weisshaupt, my god Weisshaupt. My favorite mission in any Bioware game, period.) I wish the last boss had been scarier and stronger, though. I felt it did fall short in regards to that. Funny enough a lot of the side bosses were harder than main bosses. That was a bit sad. But yes, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain feel like gods that you are facing. It is so much better than DAI in that regard.

The game does make you care deeply about everything happening, I can promise you that. And it manages to make even vehement Solas haters like him. I used to be a Solas hater back in 2014/2015, though I did mellow out over my replays. By my last Inquisition replay I did come around to him and was just mildly annoyed at how popular he was because I still found him overhyped, mostly because he suffered from DAI’s bland writing. But Veilguard makes you care for him, and elicits a lot of strong reactions towards him. He’s made me cheer, and also made me feel extreme anger, and then a lot of sympathy. He’s a marvelously complex character and one of Bioware’s best. He went from being one of my least favorite characters to one of my favorites - potentially even top 10 material. This is high praise for me lol. 

The matter of bringing choices in is…. Well, not gonna lie, a few events I was like “hm, no this wouldn’t happen in my world state” or “oh I wish they took in account past choices for this scene/plot point”. It remains an extremely baffling choice from Bioware and I remain really pissed off about it, lol. 

The Inquisitor was fine. I’m not attached to the Inquisitor, so I’m not able to make many comments about them. I’ve seen other people who ARE attached feel happy about their inclusion, so I’d go with that. There were a few nice moments. 

Act 3 is absolutemy amazing, also. It's engaging and terrifying and broke my heart several times. I do not cry easily but I was left sobbing and whimpering at Bioware lmfao. Granted, it was my first playthrough, and my emotions were heightened by having a new Dragon Age game after so long. But I do think Act 3 is just... really, really good. It gets the point of the game across very well, too.

The lore

This… is where the game falls short the most, for me. 

Don’t get me wrong: we get a LOT of new lore and a lot of it is insanely satisfying when you’ve been in the trenches for a decade and had tons of theories. A lot of discoveries left me buzzing with thoughts, new theories, ideas, and excitement. It was exhilarating. 

But there’s many points where, as a guy who just casually reads the lore books for fun, I was left saying “uh, no, that’s not true” to “that doesn’t make any fucking sense”. Mostly, a lot of my issues comes with the integration of the politics of the game. Dragon age has always been a political series, in the sense that the politics of Thedas are just as important as any threat we face in the game. And for like 15 years, the north was built up in a certain way -- and in many aspects, Veilguard does deliver. In others, it feels like it glosses over very important lore, or just tries to gaslight you into thinking you were wrong all along. Some of it is clever recontextualising that I did appreciate, considering all the lore we DO know is in universe, which means biased by the areas we learn the lore from. But there are a few times where the lore breaks took me out of the game and felt very immersion breaking.

Unfortunately I can’t go to much further into this without spoiling anything, but it’s definitely where I was the most disappointed. It’s small things, it’s always small things, but it’s definitely made me either raise my eyebrows or be very disappointed at times. I’ve already spoken about a bit of it in previous posts, and need to write something lengthy about magic specifically. Just beware that if you are insane about the lore, it is where the game will fall short at points. But it will also offer you amazing lore in turn, so you know. It’s a balancing act. 

It feels like the writing has mellowed out in this aspect. It makes me wonder how different the past games would be, if written by these people. How different this game would've been, if it was written by past writers. Only game where I've gone "wait why am I not getting hate crimed right now".

Also the secret post credit scene sucks entire ass and ruins everything lmfao I am ignoring it entirely.

There’s obviously a lot more I want to say about many things. I want to talk about Lucanis, about Taash, about Emmrich, about Harding -- about everyone, really. But that’ll be for further, spoiler-full posts. 

I’ll also save some more in depth review for a later post because I wanna go play dolls in the character creator again.

[purpurussy]

i agree with literally all ur thoughts on the i hate my wife bit!!! like for me it just boils down to the jokes not being funny, especially in the context of the show!! like dan "hating" is funny when phil is there because dan's visceral fondness for phil as he's saying he hates him is what makes the jokes funny. it being something to keep us at bay stops making sense when phil is not there!!! and i think it feels more jarring then it would have in the past because they have just been so insanely fond and soft recently that this sorta feels out of left field. i've seen people say other ppl are mad bc we think dan actually hates phil or that we think phil needs protecting but its just that the joke isn't funny

sorry im just seeing this now, idk why i didnt see it in my notifs on mobile! just saw it when i switched to desktop my b. hot takes under the cut

yeah i think an issue is that people are referring to different things when we talk about the "i hate phil" bit. "you stupid bitch 😍 who i hate 🥰🥰🥰" still makes me smile even to just think about it sldkjfdlkjf that was a great moment and im not talking about that kind of humor, im referring to more of the wad-style "love is just when you give someone mediocre orgasms so they make you feel wanted" type humor ldsflsdkfjlk i am so over that kind of energy it really just isn't that funny to me even if it is ironic. and i still haven't listened to the tommyinnit show lol but from what i gathered the dan part in that show was about rejecting that kind of humor and being more sincerely nice to both himself and those around him, which i love to see (i know that was ultimately the point of wad as well but we had to sit through a hell of a lot of "love isn't real" jokes to get there). i do suspect it was tommy's idea to go with that persona for dan since he was probably basing his concept for dan's part on wad hence why it was a bit wad-coded

i obviously don't think they've ever been serious when they say they hate each other, obviously it's always been a bit, but i'm hoping they'll continue on the trajectory of being sweet to each other on camera. or like being "mean" in a way that's literally just flirting dksjfdsjkhf. this is a controversial take clearly, but the way dan talked/acted in some early videos makes me slightly uncomfortable i know it's not that serious !!! but still it's kinda like why are you physically attacking that man 😭 like chill lmao i know it's because he was a hyperactive teenager trying to over-compensate for his internalized homophobia but when i see that kind of energy im just like "don't worry guys it'll get better one day" 💀

i was also thinking last night about how it's impossible for them to be sincerely affectionate towards each other on camera without sharing a part of their relationship which they maybe don't want to share. hence why we've seen them fucking and sucking on stage but we still haven't seen a proper phan hug. and i think they also genuinely do have the kind of relationship where they're always casually bullying/teasing each other lmao that's completely fine, nothing wrong with that as long as nobody is actually getting their feelings hurt, which clearly they aren't because they obviously understand each other's boundaries perfectly by this point. i just don't think using early videos of theirs is necessarily a good example of a healthy relationship dynamic. im sure they were fine, it certainly worked out in the end at the very least, but at the same time the energy in some of those early closeted vids is just a bit much for me in current era icl. like im not sitting there going "oh my god i cant believe dan is actually an abusive monster and he hates phil", it's just mildly annoying to me lksjldkfjslkf

[the-raindeer-king]

That is exactly what I mean and if you don't like talking about him(I understand people can find body horror uncomfortable, absolutely no shame I just got excited) you don't have to answer, I promise it's all good!

But yes!!! He is absolutely horrifying. You knew him before? Simon is a scared, difficult, rough person who shows care in such subtle ways.

And then he comes home again, it should be the same. But instead you have a walking abomination of... Him. (It looks like 3 different versions of him. But that tattoo looks like Soap's on the arm, and it looks like Gaz's hat on his belt so👀) And he's so different but so similar. Sometimes he might do something so vaguely 'him' but just different enough that it's near uncanny (again, multiple shoved into 1 body yk?)

And sometimes those three try to do all at once, making his mouths garble with intent that doesn't come through. Or multiple arms try to do the same thing at once and get in the way, or do multiple different things and he fumbles for a moment, pausing to recollect and try again.

(not to go on, but the monster fanatic in me is absolutely jumping out rn)

And I just wonder how that extends to you. His partner. Does each variation have different ways of referring and you can use the terms to distinguish who's really leading the body? Can you tell by the way his hands grab or pet or embrace?

You have to kiss each head though. They get grumbly if they miss a kiss, especially if the other heads get one.

It would be amusing watching him to to fight himself, but best we not do that.

I've been referring to him as the Cerberus or Cerberus Ghost cause 'The Alone Skin Ghost' is a mouthful lol

As a final thought. However uncanny watching three move one body can be, imagine how intimidating it would be when all three decide on one goal. Synched words, motions, intentions.

At that same time, I wonder how endearing it would be if all three variants each decided to express care or affection for you all at once. Creepy but so very very endearing

Anyway, sorry for rambling, thanks for reading!

Don't apologize. I've been checking tumblr to see if you'd come back lmao. Also I love horror, and body horror is such an interesting concept to me. Especially as someone who doesn't feel comfortable in their own body. Also Ghost cerberus is totally giving me brain worms, so we're in the same boat, anon.

I feel like the first few days of living with Ghost are rough. He's constantly fumbling, jerk motions of half attempted actions. Constantly seems to be at odds with his own body, his own mind.

(Idk if it's the other members of the 141, or just 3 different versions of Ghost because, as you said, he's got Soap's arm and pieces of the other's clothes. But all 3 heads belong to Ghost. I'm pretty sure one of them is suppose to be zombie Ghost too.)

The only thing he seems in sync on is you. When he reaches out to touch it, it's with all the arms. But each caress is gentle, comforting. Maybe a little possessive, but that's not new.

Things get easier as the days go on. He seems to fall back into step with himself, but each head has its own personality, its own thoughts. There's a carefully balanced routine within himself, and with you.

Also, he's so much bulkier now. Imagine how great he'd be at cuddling! I think it would take some time for him to feel comfortable initiating any kind of affection, so unsure if you still even want him now that he looks like this. But those thoughts quiet down over time, and you find yourself constantly being pulled in for multi armed hugs and cuddles.

Also, I think the first proper sentence he gets out is, "I love you." It's the only thing all three heads can agree on. :)

[batsplat]

you might have already talked abt this but I’m interested if you have any thoughts on the similarities & differences in Casey & Valentino’s early childhoods and families……I don’t know much abt Casey’s upbringing & the little I know about Valentino’s all makes me go “huh ok I kinda get it now” lol. Idk like I found out Jorge’s whole deal w his dad and I was like “OH OK you make perfect sense to me now” but I’m not there yet w the other two, yk?

so okay,, I do have an ask from forever back about marc and valentino's childhoods that I got extremely stuck at answering, and also an ask about jorge's father that I haven't even touched because like. sometimes you just do not feel up for that lol. and well it's just an area where I do generally try and be quite careful in how I discuss it... BUT this is casey stoner hot take round™ so I will give a reasonably succinct answer to this and not overthink it too much. basically: yeah, I do have thoughts, because casey's childhood does undeniably do a lot of the work in the 'oh okay that makes sense now' department. a lot of his career narrative, his struggles, his disillusionment with the sport... and yes, the way the valentino rivalry unfolded - a lot of it can be traced back quite a long way, to grievances he's been carrying around with him for years and years. I talked in this post about that podcast interview casey did this year, which included... well, a bit of a reckoning. talking as openly as he ever has about how being a rider wasn't ever really his dream - it's something that was decided for him. and that's our starting point... casey's eternally ambivalent relationship with being a rider, one that feels so violently different from valentino's

the big, big contrast between casey and valentino's respective journeys is pretty simple to sum up: it's the joy. valentino was having fun. casey wasn't. now, look - valentino as a child very obviously did not have perfect autonomy in making the choice to be a rider. it's always going to be more complicated than that; his father did obviously push him in that direction. but at the end of the day, it's not too controversial to say that valentino always enjoyed riding and always had fun racing. it's a joy he carried with him on his way to becoming a rider, one that remained a part of his competitive dna throughout his professional career. it's a joy that kept him racing for as long as he did. a childlike joy, in a way - valentino's lack of 'adult' seriousness, how it's been remarked upon that this brutal sport has never quite managed to wear him down. his peter pan persona, how he's the boy who won't ever grow up. and, y'know... valentino had the chance to actually be a kid. he got to have something vaguely resembling a proper childhood. makes sense, right - if you want to be a kid forever, it helps to have been one in the first place

there's a quote of his from 2009 I posted recently:

which, in the context of that interview - this question refers back to an earlier exchange about how casey wasn't a 'romantic' rider (still think that's an objectively pretty funny thing to say about your rival but that's neither here nor there). and, well, valentino's correct! sports has become considerably more professionalised over time. children are less and less likely to be able to afford any sort of life outside of it. which isn't just about reducing passion, right - it's also about not really giving these kids the chance to properly grow up, to become more rounded human beings who don't have to be the perfect little athlete 100% of the time. it's also a correct diagnosis of casey specifically, who certainly could never afford to see racing as a game. I'd recommend reading this autobiography excerpt, where casey tells you exactly that: racing wasn't about having fun for casey. he'd moved to the uk with his parents at fourteen years of age, at which point he essentially became his family's sole provider. his family depended on him not failing - and every opportunity threatened to be his last, his racing future and financial situation always desperately precarious. he was constantly fearful all of his family's sacrifices might have been for nothing. it's immense pressure to put any teenager under, regardless of how much you want to convince them that it's their dream rather than your own. if casey wasn't already an overly self-critical perfectionist before those years, he certainly was by the time he made it to motogp. he couldn't afford to be anything less than perfect. remember: the shape his anxiety took was by making him curl up in his motorhome, terrified of letting everyone down. wonder where that came from

is it any surprise, then, that while valentino feels like kids today take racing too seriously, casey thinks they don't take it seriously enough?

The system has changed: when you put too much pressure on a 20-year-old, he can react by closing up and becoming serious and sad. // Nowadays I see too many kids coming through behaving too relaxed, and too happy with what they have achieved already. I don’t want them to be miserable but they have to understand what’s at stake.

doesn't this make you want to scream. a little

and, look, there are similarities between valentino and casey in ways that will be true of many child prodigy athletes. valentino has spoken about how his father would not do anything with him that didn't involve motorcycle racing, casey likewise has more recently in that podcast said he doesn't think he was allowed to pursue any other interest. we can talk plenty about how the parents of athletes like to use their children to fulfil their own dreams - how their child's athletic performance seems to become the only aspect of their child they have any interest in. how so much of that parental relationship becomes distorted by the ceaseless quest to achieve results. it's there in both of their stories... and obviously they are hardly unique in that respect. there's perhaps a little bit of a divide - to what extent kids are aware of this dynamic and are uncomfortable with it, especially publicly. both casey and valentino are united in being somewhat openly critical of their parents without being completely estranged from them. casey got his parents to move back to australia when he was arguing with his father too frequently as a young rider; valentino has seemingly kept his father at a bit of a distance for years. they've never cut themselves off entirely - but there's a certain undeniable wariness there. a lack of conviction that their parents acted as parents should that they've been willing to hint at publicly, here and there

Our communication is mostly about motorbikes. He wasn't a good father, I mean... When I was with him, playing always meant riding motorbikes for him. // To be honest, I don’t know if I was allowed to have any other attraction to be honest. I think it was, you know, you’re going to be a bike rider from when I was a very very young age - and I’m not the only one to think that.

still, it does come back to the joy of it all. casey justifies his belief that racing isn't fun by talking about how he'd always known how high the stakes were... whereas for valentino, fun is an integral part of the experience. it's what he's there for. and beyond the racing itself, valentino always found his life as a rider considerably more joyous than casey did. which leads us to the other difference between the pair of them: casey's loneliness. valentino has spoken frequently about the importance of his childhood friend group, about having them travel with him and ground him and be there with him throughout - people who knew him before he became the valentino rossi, people he feels that he can fully rely on. he grew up as part of a community and has a strong sense of identification with not just his country but also his town... he's got deep ties to his place of origin and the people who live there, built up over a lot of time, and he draws a lot of strength from that. by contrast, casey grew up moving around a fair bit, unhappy at school and the victim of bullying - his only real friends, he says, were from the dirt track, since they were the only people he 'had anything in common with'. even those friendships don't feel particularly substantial, especially given how often he frames his childhood racing experiences around the hostility of his competitors (and especially their parents) in response to his peerless talent. his parents eventually home schooled him, inevitably further isolating him. then, as a teenager, he moved to the uk where he knew nobody, before moving to spain where he didn't even speak the language. he continued to have a strong sense of connection to australia, fuelled at least in part by homesickness - but it's also a connection to a country he hadn't lived in since age fourteen, a sense of belonging that's fundamentally less stable, less comforting. one that exists primarily in contrasting himself to all the europeans he surrounds with, as a way of making sense of his feelings of cultural alienation - which in truth are sometimes just plain alienation. the paddock cannot function as a home for casey either, and he is unwilling or unable to form substantial connections in that environment. in 2009, ten odd years after moving away from australia, he said his only friend in the paddock was his wife

and yes, it plays into that rivalry - inevitably so. casey and valentino are both somewhat alien to each other, fundamentally unknowable... and it does come back to how at odds they were in their approaches, in how they motivated themselves. casey finds the europeans and their flamboyant celebrations baffling. valentino cannot relate to casey's lack of romantic affection for the sport. casey is there to do a job. valentino is there to put on a show. casey does not think racing should be about having fun. valentino believe the fun is non-negotiable. casey loves almost nothing about being a rider, whereas valentino loves almost all of it

another thing. when I was writing this post about the similarities between casey and valentino, one aspect I talked about was how they can both be.... uh. suspicious characters, shall we say. paranoid, some might call them. conspiratorial, even. now, again, to some extent they do share this with a lot of other athletes, it's kind of part of the game. but, y'know, they do take it quite far - and there's quite a pleasing parallel between the pair of them where they've both come up with a conspiracy theory about one of valentino's lost titles. which leads us to quite a nice distinction between these two theories. not to brag, but I kinda feel I nailed one of the most important elements of their dynamic:

now, look. I deliberately did not do this,, but obviously if you really wanted to, you can do some pop psychology on valentino's approach to interpersonal attachment and relate that back to his relationship with his parents. I am not interested in doing that for various reasons, most of which the cia would not get out of me, but I'm aware it's an approach you can take. in any case, I do still think you can make quite a straightforward case for this distinction: one of them believes the world is fundamentally out to get them, one of them doesn't. one of them is waiting for the system to fuck them over, the other is wary of individuals who have gotten a little too close. both of them at times are exceedingly ready to read malice into the words and actions of those around them - and both of them can react rather dramatically to such a provocation. the shape their suspicion takes is a little bit different and a little bit the same... but it's central to understanding both of them, in a way that does set them apart from their competitors. they're the two aliens who are the most likely to read an agenda into anything and everything. they're the ones who are most likely to take note of slights, to accumulate grievances. the most likely to not forget when they have been wronged - and to take great pleasure in getting back at whoever has done them ill

in the end, it all comes back to just what an excellent foil for casey you have in valentino. in all the ways casey defines himself against valentino, in all the ways valentino challenges casey, in all the ways casey's issues with the sport are inextricably interwoven with the character of valentino rossi. casey hates so much of the sport in ways that are tied so closely to valentino; he hates a system that invariably would like nothing more than to see valentino succeed. but valentino also represents what casey cannot be - not just an entertainer, but someone completely at ease with their life as a rider. someone who finds joy in that life, who did not step away from it until he absolutely had to. valentino is there long before casey arrives and he is there long after casey leaves. valentino is an idol, an enemy, a mystery. more so than any other rider, valentino embodies an emotion that casey believed he simply could not afford to feel. valentino is the sport's joy - and casey was never there to have fun

[caramelmochacrow]

okayyyyy d4dj pride hcs for pride month let's goooooooo!!!!! (gonna be going by unit order lol)

hapiara:

honestly been getting into rin.rei and muni.maho more often so my poly hc of them is sort of going away, but I still love them poly <3 (I just dont draw them together as much but i still love them)

maho my she/they lesbian... everyone are lesbians as well but yeaaa !! <3

peaky:

kyoko's bi (w a preference for women) yibbpppeeeee!! shinobu's a transgirl to me <333 but wears pretty masc clothes, bc, she wants to be kyoko's handsome girlfriend.!!(idk if I'm making sense lol) sometimes I like enjoy t4t kyoshino,but I think w how much I love it, might as well become a proper headcanon for me.

yuka is a lesbian. esora's a lesbian too. Yuka also possibly a futch yeah. maybe a biiiit more masc tho. esora's fem yea

photon:

saki and ibuki are aro and ace respectively. ibuki might be leaning on aroace tho. saki mayyybe demisexual? not sure, but I'm very sure she's aro. OH SAKI ALSO USES SPACE-THEMED NEOPRONOUNS!!

noa's just sapphic, she loves anything fem. maybe t4t w towa bc.... wahghghghghghghg (towa's just a lesbian)

m4:

bi4bi4bi4bi m4 (that's a lot of 4s lol) ummmmmmm yayyyyy

rondo:

honestly fuck it: aoi genderfluid. she/they/he. yeah. he/they nagisa, yeah. hiiro and tsubaki are trans too, yeah, rondo is full of trans people. aoi just says she's queer to make explaining everything easier. nagisa still refers to himself as a lesbian bc that's the label he's most comfortable with. hiiro is pan and tsubaki's just queer. yay. (I don't rlly know what label to give her so she's going unlabeled or queer for now. yay)

ri4:

haruna the biggest lesbian ever. Miyu's probably just gonna say sapphic or queer (not too sure, but she knows she loves haruna yayyyyy) kurumi and miiko....... they're queer platonic and don't rlly care abt love??? like, they're just. meh. I wouldn't say they're ace/aro tho.

unichord:

sapphic hayakoko yayayayayayyayayay michiru.... ally!!! (JOKE! she's probs questioning) lumina feels..... hmmm. not sure but yeah :thumbs-up:

abyssmare:

this is a slight fuck u to assholes on d4twt so weronika is bi. soap is demiromantic asexual. neo........ not sure. lol. Elsie is a lesbian but she doesn't want to believe it

CoA:

at this point they're too busy w work and music to give a shit abt gender and sexuality but if u asked mana might just say pan, airi never thought abt it but when she hears hapiara or the others explain stuff she's like "OOOOHHHH MAYBE I FIT ONE OF THOSE.. huh" toka just shrugs and asks where's my water before saying ten minutes later "oh I might be a lesbian. idk." and shano is just gonna say she's busy and not giving an answer. (she's always kinda knew she was queer in some way but never thought abt it bc of schedule)

LMO:

YEAH YOU THOUGHT I WOULDNT INCLUDE THEM?? THEYRE MY TOKEN OLD MEN YAOI !!!!

ryujin is a gay man. he knows this bc of the amount of sapphics that enter his cafe. haruki would probs go "yeah maybe" and dennojo and sho will just glare at you and go "no." but you know they're liars bc when he sat next to their wives in the middle of the night, with their heads in their hands, they're nothing more than their husbands and when they thinks abt each other all of those years ago, they're standing face to face with "I told you so"-- AHEM. yeah. sho's a homophobic homosexual tho, dennojo supports his trans granddaughter and he/they grandson/grandchild. yeah.

bonus: (my inuyose sibling ocs and maika)

hifuno is a demiromantic asexual and yanoshiro is a she/they queer. yay. yaro doesn't know if she's interested in women or men bc she was so focused on her education she didn't explore that. lol.

maika is questioning if she likes girls and cis!! (but I will say I was tempted to make her trans...... but WAHH I feel too self-indulgent w that) shinobu was her gay awakening. i'll talk abt maika lore another day anyway that's it

[iamthepulta]

I think I'm slowly getting a picture of a narrative. This is tricky though. If I had uh- known what the fuck I was doing six months ago, I would've titled the presentation, "Alum mining, trade, and metallurgy from Bronze Age to Present" and called it a day.

The lax definition of alum's chemistry also makes it really hard to pin down. It ranges from hydrous to anhydrous (impure and pure) aluminum sulfate salt to aluminum clay. Civilizations until the Roman era just kind of pointed at white shit, called it alum, licked it to see if it was sour (not salt) and tossed it in the chemical vat.

There were also specific locales for the good shit. So instead of saying 'alunite', you'd say 'alum from the Hittites', or 'alum from Egypt'. One could be used for tanning, but the other was used for a fancy blue glaze (cobalt-clay). You could also produce alum from alunite, like on the isle of Lesbos (Sappho historical romance novel with alum when??)

But. Within all this. You have the Babylonians primarily using it as a tanning agent and wool-dyeing. The Egyptians used it as a glaze, for pottery, and medicinal/metallurgical uses. Apparently blue beads were making it all the way to China and Scandinavia at this time? The Romans took the metallurgical uses and cranked that up to 11. After the fall of Rome, the Arabs used alum for all the above and Germany was also using it metallurgically, but my research ends here right now.

In the present, alum is still used as a mordant (dyeing agent), but is more often used as a water treatment flocculant (filtering impurities). It's also more rigorously defined as either ammonium, potassium, or sodium hydrous aluminum sulfate. Whether we still mine it is unclear?? It doesn't seem to be the case: we mine aluminum, get aluminum oxide, which either goes to Iceland to be made into pure aluminum, or is sold separately and then added to Na2(SO4) to make alum.

It doesn't really pack the same punch I wanted it to with clothing though, because it's not really used for that. Chromium sulfate is now the primary mordant if you're doing chromium tanning, which is environmentally bad and kind of like nuking a hide to make it tan fast. I guess I can track down where the chromium is coming from, and how they make that.

This isn't even getting involved in plastic production, or rayon, or nylon, or the history of fast fashion and petroleum. I think the end line of this will have to be something vague and unspecific, like "disregarding the non-renewable resources that go into <I want to say artistic, but they're not artistic. The proper term is probably female-driven industries lol> fundamental human tools can lead us to overlook industries that have just as much impact - economically and socially - on geopolitics."

... I can already see the first question on that being, "what are some other non-renewable resources you think have been overlooked?" :') ahh, idk. I've been reading for 30hr. I'm going to go to sleep. I'll run away from the podium or smthg.

to do: I should reread Al-Razi with alum in mind... the translator is not Levey, so I have to chemically check all the names she gives minerals. But I distinctly remember alum coming up several times and tripping me up.

Also chromium sulfate manufacturing/mining; saving this chrome/ferric reference because I haven't seen them written altogether anywhere else.