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I love meta jokes like this!

Also the way Miles using the plural here implies that he has more lines that he considers "his" and would be upset by Kay (or other people) stealing.

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Musa's Believix if her original personality was still intact in S4.

Thank you so much for making this, it's absolutely gorgeous and I love everything about it!

Musa Belivix

outfit redesign

This art is almost six months old, but I still like it 🍭

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via taylorndean on instagram

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Another thing we learn from I1-4 is that Manfred von Karma was the one to teach Miles to keep his prosecutor's badge in his pocket instead of wearing it openly (because it's "more fashionable") and that he also tried to enforce that on the other prosecutors in the office (and mostly succeeded).

I find it notable that Miles still insists on not wearing his badge even though it's been some time since 1-4 and he doesn't follow von Karma's teachings anymore. Ingrained habits are hard to break so it might just be that he's so used to it at this point but the way he defends this choice here makes it seem more like he actively prefers not wearing his badge, not because von Karma taught him so, but because he doesn't want people to immediately see him as a prosecutor upon meeting him. That's doubly interesting because Miles is practically married to his work so you'd think he'd have no problem showing it off. (And it's not like he doesn't immediately introduce himself as a prosecutor anyway.) Maybe he thinks it's uncouth to do so? Or that it's beneath him?

Or maybe it's something super simple instead and he just doesn't want the pin to tear through his fancy clothes every time. I can totally see that being the case.

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I mean... he's not wrong tho.

This reminds me that I1 made it canon that Miles and Gumshoe have always worked together for their entire career. Miles became a prosecutor at the exact same time as Gumshoe became a detective. Gumshoe vowed to always stay at Miles' side at the end of I1-4 and Miles confirms that he's (almost) always been the lead detective on his cases. There are some exceptions, of course, under special circumstances (like in this very case or 5-5) or when Miles is abroad, but when at all possible, they always work together and have done so for the entirety of their career. That's impressive! And makes it even more understandable that they both have a sort of "this isn't how it should be" reaction when not being able to work together on a case.

Like, there was never a time in their current career where the other one wasn't there and that is so important to me.

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Catch me in Neverwinter putting myself in perilous danger every other weekday in hopes of being miraculously saved by Xenk Yendar of Thay

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Random questions again... Have you ever watched the four TV specials that abridge the first two Winx seasons? Or either of those crazy live shows?

I've heard about the TV specials but I never saw any point in watching them. As far as I'm aware they don't add anything to the story or change any context of any scenes, they're just a very shortened bare-bones version of the same story the first two seasons tell. I know and love the first two seasons so if I want to revisit that story, I just rewatch them completely.

I only know very little about the live shows, I know that some kind of Winx Club live show(s) exist but not how many, what their plots are, where you could watch them or even if they're worth watching. I think there's some kind of musical? Or several? If anyone has more infos, or even seen them, feel free to add!

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Xenk Yendar I'm free on Thursday. We can go save baby tabaxi or whatever I am free on Thursday or any day you are also free I'll hold your bags while you walk in a straight line

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Ranking Magic Winx

This is going to be tough as everyone's fairy base form is pretty amazing. (There's a reason why it's still my favourite transformation in the entire series.) Very small differences are gonna be decisive for this one so I just wanted to point out that I love all of these almost equally. I'm going to divide it into two categories, the design and the transformation sequence itself, and then combine the two for a final ranking to give myself an easier time deciding. So let's go:

Design-wise:

1. Musa

As this is Musa's only transformation that has this strong deep red as her main iconic colour it kinda has to be the best by default. That red just looks so amazing on her that there's nothing to argue with. It's not the only reason for putting her first though, I also absolutely adore the magic headphones she wears and the purple bands on her arms provide amazing accents especially with one of them having these long loose ends hanging down. It's such a simple idea but it adds so much to the outfit. I also love her wings, the high boots with the different kind of heel compared to what the others wear and the asymmetrical top which is very reminiscent of her first casual outfit. The sheer fabric over her midriff is another detail that really makes her stand out and feels so fitting for her. All of that combined just gives her that slight edge over the others.

2. Tecna

Tecna's Magic Winx is by far the most unique with her iconic full body suit and that wonderful technical look to it that no other transformation of hers has been able to match so far. I absolutely adore her glider wings and how they only really activate when she actually flies and look quite different the rest of the time. Tecna also has a bunch of gadgets that she can activate which are directly part of her outfit, very fitting for the fairy of Technology! I strongly considered ranking this first but I do have to admit that, with all of its uniqueness, it barely looks like the outfit of a fairy at all and, maybe because of it, I do prefer Musa's overall silhouette.

3. Stella

Stella's long pig tails are absolutely iconic and I love the knee-high boots she has, the asymmetrical top that gives her two-piece that little bit more spark and her wings that look a little bit like rays coming from her back. I love that she has shorts instead of a skirt as the latter would be the more cliché choice for a fashionista character. There's also the addition of a light blue accent colour through her wrist bands and her scepter which fits her very well. There's not really anything that isn't iconic about this one but it's still not quite as iconic as the first two.

4. Aisha

I love green as the main colour for Aisha and the way light and dark green intersect with the different layers of her top and skirt looks really pretty. I also love the form of her two-piece in general and how she has this one line of fabric connecting the two parts which makes this design stand out a little. The same goes for the rings on different parts of her outfit. The only part I'm not really a fan of are her wings. I think their tips are supposed to look like waves or fluid but it doesn't really come across, they look more as if they were slightly ripped at the edges.

5. Flora

These two were the most difficult to decide between for me but I put Flora a spot lower because her outfit silhouette feels a tiny little bit more boring to me than Aisha's. Apart from that, I love the colour choices for her as well, the main light pink fits her feminine vibe and the dark pink adds a nice accent. I love the contrast of Flora's dress in comparison to the others' two-pieces, it's nicely unique. Her petal-like wings are very pretty and the same form being somewhat repeated for the skirt part of her dress gives it a nice cohesiveness.

6. Bloom

I love light blue as a colour choice for a character with fire powers, it's very unusual and a lovely contrast to Bloom's fiery red hair. Her little crown is iconic and some nice foreshadowing for the lost princess reveal later on. The rest of her outfit isn't bad at all either but just a little bit simple compared to the others as there's nothing about her wings or two-piece that really stands out to me. It works well for her and looks great but just a little less great than those of the others.

Transformation-wise:

1. Musa

I absolutely adore everything about Musa's transformation but two parts in particular have easily decided this on their own and that's the beginning with the dance floor and how it lights up wherever she dances and the end with her spinning on the disc to her final pose. These are absolutely unbeatable and too amazing and iconic to rank her any lower than this. I also adore this epic "Bass!" sound she gets for her transformation sequence, it feels so badass and fits her so well. Of course, the sounds when her clothes appear are amazing as well and that discoball-like pattern that makes them appear looks wonderful especially with the spotlight effects in the background. It just makes the transition feel so incredibly smooth, I could watch it over and over!

2. Tecna

I absolutely adore Tecna's combat-like movements in the beginning (the sound effects she gets for them!) and how she really looks like she's about to kick some serious ass! Iconic! The digital sounds and the green net pattern for when her clothes appear is perfect and we get a surprising amount of different focus shots for her (only the boots are missing). Even more than that though I love how she flies to her final pose to show off her epic glider wings and the sound accompanying that is so oddly satisfying that it's my favourite part every time! Then that absolute power pose from her and the symbol in the background sparking from electricity - there's nothing I don't love about this one!

3. Stella

The way Stella gets her long pigtails in her transformation is so incredibly smooth that she needs to be somewhere at the top for that alone, I love it so much! I also love the shine effect for her when her clothes appear, very fitting. Hers is probably the most complete transformation (tied with Bloom's) as we have everything focused on when it appears except for her wings. She also has a wonderfully iconic final pose and I love the background effect she gets. The only "criticism" I have is that her movement during her initial pose looks just a little bit weird which makes me like it less than Musa's and Tecna's but it's such a minor thing that it barely even counts.

4. Bloom

That fire heart shape Bloom does before her final pose and the zoom-in on her serious face is absolutely iconic and probably my favourite thing about her transformation. I also love the flames and the sounds they make when her clothes appear, it's a wonderfully fierce effect. The long focus on the Winx sign in the beginning feels intentional to me and it's very fitting for the leader of the group and looks great. I'm not so much a fan of her initial pose and the expression she makes when she gets her wings so, since I had to make the distinction somewhere, that's what brings her down a little.

5. Flora

I love everything we do see about Flora's outfit forming (the flower choker, her long gloves) but the sad thing is we see relatively little of it. Nothing about her actual dress forming, not even a part of it. That's the main reason why I put her lower because it makes her transformation just a little bit less awesome than those of the others. There's also the fact that her wings are missing in her final pose but I never even noticed that until someone pointed it out to me so I'm not counting it against her. I do love the sparkly pollen effect Flora trails after her when flying into that pose, how it's also what forms her clothes and makes this flower signature behind her in the end, it looks so good!

6. Aisha

Aisha has two different variations for her transformation, one before she joins the Winx and one after, that both don't feel quite complete. They're notably shorter than those of the others and only show one part of her outfit actually appear (her dress). This one part does look amazing (especially in the latter version!) and I love her final pose for how much it fits her but it's overall a little lacking compared to the others' sequences. I also don't like that they reused Bloom's background for her and that the effect when her clothes appear is so similar to Stella's. She's also the only one who doesn't make the Winx sign before transforming which is just a crime, I'm sorry.

Final Ranking:

Musa

Tecna

Stella

Flora, Aisha & Bloom

Not exactly the most distinct ranking but I'm kinda fine with that tbh, it definitely feels the most accurate to me.

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Regé-Jean Page as Xenk Yendar, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

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That absolute dedication to showing off his chest! He's so real for it though, the best kind of taste~

decided to draw lang in some of his concept art outfits!! He certainly has a Taste tm

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Guys I noticed a FANTASTIC detail that has me in high hope for the wind reboot

Look at Musa's casual outfit:

It's subtle, but notice the area around her waist. See the skin showing between her leotard and her pants and how visually similar it is to the whale tail in her og look? It's such a clever homage to the flagship season of the show while still creating a new identity for itself. They had absolutely no obligation to reference such a small detail in her design, but the fact that they chose this design element in particular stands out to me because of what it represents for Winx Club and it's history.

When the series originally aired, a lot of parents were mad about the amount of skin the girls showed, and Musa's whale tail in particular caught a lot of flack because, well, it's visible underwear in a show intended for young people. Of course that kind of thing is going to be controversial. So intentionally recreating that style shows they're a) standing by what made the original seasons so great, b) showing us that they remember and value the culture surrounding the show at the time (literally 20 years ago) and are hopefully going to take that into account when deciding which direction they're going to take the reboot and c) taking criticisms of that original run to heart as an intended improvement on the source material. Taking something iconic, understanding it, and running with it.

And they kept her a tomboy too!!!! For those who haven't been following Winx in recent years, Musa and Tecna's fashion senses have both become much more feminine as a result of putting the girls in matching outfits all the time. It feels SO good to see Musa's personality showing through her clothes again -- and that's something I can say for all of them (especially Bloom in that animation test). I love her music-note-looking M on her shirt and her purple fishnet glove. Honestly, there are very few things about their new designs that I don't like. And there are so many fun details and choices and looks to gush over! I'm officially hopeful that this reboot is going to be great.

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Are you going to watch The secret of the lost kingdom & Magical adventure next?

Good question! I honestly haven't decided yet.

There's a lot of stuff that makes me wary to watch them. One big thing is the artstyle. I'm really not a fan of a 3D artstyle for Winx Club and everything I've seen of the movies looks so... ugly to me. They do still look like the characters they're supposed to be which is good - unlike the later seasons - but I still much prefer the 2D style of the early seasons.

The other big thing is the story. I really don't know if I would even be interested in seeing anything the movies portray. The major argument for watching The Secret of the Lost Kingdom I always see (and why people consider it part of their canon) is that it finishes Bloom's arc about finding her parents and saving her planet and that it has the Winx graduate from Alfea. The problem is... I really don't care about any of that. I'd much prefer it if Bloom didn't save her parents or restore her planet and if the Winx didn't already graduate from Alfea after 3 years. The former reduces a compelling tragedy to something cheap that you can just undo and the latter not only contradicts S1 but also removes any logical opportunity for further adventures in the most comfortable, established and still compelling setting. I think that there's so much more that you could still do with the Winx (and the specialists) at this point in their life instead of rushing to have them already grow up but also not really.

I also fear that the entire movie might focus on Bloom (and Sky) and that none of the other characters really get anything of note plot- or scene-wise. I like Bloom but not her relationship with Sky and all of the other Winx (and specialists) interest me more so I don't really need a story with all of them as background props. I somewhat doubt the writing quality as well. I know Magical Adventure isn't really set during S4 despite the Winx having Believix which I can ignore easily enough but this is around the time where all of the writing issues came full force with setting back character development and just ignoring their established personalities. (Like, I know the 1st movie has a plotline/scene with Riven getting mind-controlled and turning on the others (again) but the story acts like he didn't change at all from his S1-self with him still being a complete loner and not wanting to work in a team when instead it should've highlighted how much he has changed since then.)

I'd love to be convinced to watch the movies but I think the only way you could do that is if there are actually scenes with any of the other characters (beside Bloom or Sky) that are worth watching for. The villains might be great as well but even with them, that's pretty much the only thing I'd watch for.