#Depicting: Game & Watch Lion

[gaminghardwareingames]

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

From https://www.ssbwiki.com/List_of_SSB4_trophies_(R.O.B._series)

From https://www.ssbwiki.com/List_of_SSB4_trophies_(Game_%26_Watch_series)

From https://www.spriters-resource.com/3ds/supersmashbrosfornintendo3ds/

[slavonicrhapsody]

why Divine Beast Dancing Lion has the best soundtrack in the entire game

When I watched the first DLC trailer 6 months ago, I was so focused on Messmer that I never gave the lion dancers a second thought. But in a shocking turn of events, Divine Beast Dancing Lion is now my favorite boss in the whole game. To me, what makes this fight truly exceptional is its soundtrack, so I want to go through the music and outline all the things that make it so great!

What makes the music stand out is that it feels SO different from the rest of the OST… the majority of the boss tracks have a pretty similar style and instrumentation, but Divine Beast stands out in my opinion because of how it emphasizes its rhythm and texture.

Conceptually, this boss fight is first and foremost a dance — you are fighting two Hornsent warriors operating a lion costume based on the traditional Chinese lion dance in an arena that’s actually a giant stage.

The Chinese lion dance is typically accompanied only by percussion (drums, gongs, and cymbals). So naturally, Divine Beast’s soundtrack has much more pronounced percussion in comparison to the rest of the soundtrack, featuring heavy drum beats and cymbals, plus shouts and chants from the choir. The music is in a steady 6/8, with 2 beats per measure divided into three pulses (think 1 2 3, 1 2 3) giving it a lilting, dancelike quality (this type of meter is often used in folk and traditional dances!). And, in the boss’s second phase, the dancing lion’s lightning, wind, and frost phases each have their own music and are timed to transition as the music transitions. The whole boss fight is programmed like a dance, so when you fight the boss it feels like you’re dancing with it too!

The choir has a range of vocalizations that goes beyond singing melodies and harmonies; as I touched on before, they’re also shouting and chanting. The shouts are used percussively and help accent the rhythm of the dance, and the low chanting also brings to mind a sort of religious ritual? Which is exactly what this boss fight is… in Hornsent culture, the lion dance is a ritual for invoking divinity:

“A charm depicting the crazed, cavorting dance of the divine beast conducted at the tower festival. Raises potency of storms. Divine beasts are messengers of the heavens, and their rage mirrors the tumult of the skies, of which storms are the pinnacle.” (Enraged Divine Beast talisman)

The lion dancers, or “sculpted keepers,” are those amongst the divine beast warriors (themselves the chosen amongst the tower’s horned warriors) who truly excelled at divine invocation, and were “granted the honor of the lion dance” (Divine Beast Warrior Armor). In the boss cutscene, the Hornsent Grandam calls upon the divine beast to possess the bodies of the sculpted keepers, and rise again to defend the tower… so the lion dance, performed by warriors skilled in divine invocation, is essentially a ritual for invoking the presence of the divine beast within the dancers in order to commune with the heavens.

The sculpted keepers, having invoked the rage of the divine beast, are able to channel the forces of the stormy skies — lightning, wind, and frost. The force of the storm is represented in the music by quick runs in the high woodwinds and strings that come and go like gusts of wind. The music almost never lets up or loses momentum; it goes at a powerful, furious pace until the end, embodying the divine beast’s fury.

But the Divine Beast that we fight has an extra layer of emotion that goes beyond divine ritual:

“When the Impaler's army assailed the tower, the ritual of the lion dance was turned toward martial ends—its divinity, its fury, its light-footed beauty.” (Remembrance of the Dancing Lion)

What was once a beautiful ritual dance conducted at the tower festival was forced to become a weapon of war in order to fight against their people’s annihilation at the hands of Messmer’s crusade. And even this was not enough…

The Dancing Lion that we fight was slain, lying in a pool of dried blood, when it is miraculously awoken again with a fervent prayer. This is the last lion dance that may ever take place, giving us a mere glimpse of this ruined city’s long-vanished splendor.

Listening to the soundtrack, there is not only pride in the music, but also an urgent, visceral, warlike rage, a multitude of voices joining in a desperate fight for their civilization’s very survival.

[brandileigh2003]

Wolfstar fic recs: (this is not exhaustive and I know I'm missing some that I loved and have made follow up posts linked at the bottom)

All are wolfstar (mix of jily and jegulus as other ship) Complete unless marked. There is plenty of fluff, however. Check tags please, some are sad, mcd, or deal with things that some find triggering.

*My obsession: Crimson rivers by bizarrestars @starsworth - angsty hunger games au. Some of the best remus and Sirius characterizations. Wolfstar is top notch. The friendships and black brother dynamics are all 💯

Hogwarts/magical

-The Standard Book Of Spells Series by imparfait connected fics and 1 shots, still wip: wolfstar is so in love, I want to melt multiple pov. no voldy.

-Would That I by third_crow (wip) soulmates, canon divergent, no voldy, autistic remus

-what a wonder (what a waste) by peachyybabe all the emotions. Mcd. Divergent.

-Honey If I'm Not by @brigid-faye divergent post war where remus left, jily lived, and wolfstar only reconnects years later by chance. (Also has a Sirius pov)

-snakes and lions by @her-smile-forges-galaxies (read tags though! Slytherin remus, platonic soulmate remus & regulus turns death eaters, angst with happy ending)

Au/modern/non-magical

-orange juice (i've been ready for you to come home for so long) by raggedypond it's fantastic!!!! divorced wolfstar get back together, raising teddy, flashbacks to remus getting diagnosis, breakup, and Sirius dealing with alcoholism. Hea.

-Tender is the touch (of someone that you love too much) by- @purplefiction-ao3 multiple pov journey of remus waiting for heart transplant, written from someone who's been in position. Sirius is such a strong and sweet caretaker and remus is a fighter. (It also has James and Sirius as hockey players)

-the sea is a good place to think of the future by peachyybabe first in series is happy/open ending. Love them reconnecting and how disability is written. Check tags. 2nd in series has mcd. But it's oh so good, broke my heart.

-Forget the World by @amberlink mcd sickfic with mental illness, complicated prongsfoot friendship and black bro dynamics. Greys inspired (ish)

-like real people do by third_crow (disability coffee shop)

-wading in waist-high water by @colgatebluemintygel bake off fic where sirius is host and Remus is a disaster

– best friends brother bizarrestars: has it all, jegulus as well, moonwater friendship, black brother dynamics

-lessen my load by moonymoment (university, so sweet together)

-pb to my j by aqua_myosotis (texting fic, so cute together)

-Heat and balance by eyra: beautifully depicted disability/illness fics, au

-Second Generation by MsAlexWP older wolfstar, single parents, getting back together. The sequel is so perfect too! It's a Nice Day for a Wolfstar Wedding

-An infinite ocean by orphan_account (raising teddy au, he has cf)

-my only sunshine by loua29xx- remus is sick and asks Sirius to help him die

–wolf's heart by mizdiz- heartbreaking. Meet in bookshop, Remus has heart problems, they fall in love, Remus tries to push him away to save pain of watching him die but Sirius won't let him.

-Flight of Destiny by Lucigoo89 female wolfstar fic, my gift from my fandom wife. Two women find their soulmate on a long flight and almost miss the chance to reconnect.

Authors in general

third_crow disability rep!

Peachyybabe he is great at portraying disability

Littleoldrachel disability and trans rep

her_smile_forges_galaxies

MsAlexWP

de_sire

moonymoment

MesserMoon @sophsicle

beautywolfstar

xinasvoice @xinasvoice

Brigidfaye

Eyra

MollyMaryMarie @mollymarymarie

Check out my fandom wifey lucigoo

Some of my fandom friends moon_stars, raggedypond, beautywolfstar, and speckinthevoid

Other top picks I've reread

-As It Was by peachyybabe mix of fluff, angst and hurt/comfort

-Burning and Buried With the Rest of It by @kalegreeneyes Remus is bitten summer before 5th year, and how it affects friendships, and his mental health mind the tags!

exes, horcruxes, and other reasons to panic by @lynxindisguise divergent from 1st war, picks up 7 yrs later

-This Is the Way the World Ends by @blitheringmcgonagall sad but beautiful MCD

-Did You Miss Me? By @krethes @fantismal long text fic, angst and humor. Check tags

- it's a new dawn by ilbaritz: Remus never went to Hogwarts and met everyone after school. Trans remus

-Let's Play Pretend by MsAlexWP fake dating, single parents, remus and teddy are wonderful disasters

-Engaged for 43 years by @halfravenhalfclaw sirius proposes at first sight at 11, follows til the afterlife (divergent) wip extended version!

-wip or maybe abandoned but good: Of Leaves and Stars (modern magical texting, trans remus and genderfluid sirius)

as well as Of Initials and Postscripts (Hogwarts era, remus is homeschooled and sirius is his penpal) both by irrationalmoony & LadyAmina

-from white-hot anticipation to cold-blooded fear and back again by @drowsyanddazed ravenclaw remus unimpressed by prank idea and they get close

-this is erosion by cruelrage: modern magical, texting at Hogwarts, remus homeschooled

-We’ll Make It Out Alive by wolfstar_addict417: texting fic with angst/fluff and disabled remus (au)

-canon so far **shifting Lines by dovahtobi (wip currently updating)

-mayors of simpleton by @fruityindividual divorced raising teddy ft blind remus

--Forever Is a State of Mind by orphan_account (raising teddy, deaf remus)

–After the fire by Coriaria lie low at lupin's, a dark look at remus' past (check tags)

– text talk by merliwhirls: great banter and flirting firming a solid connection through text before they meet in person.

-Befriending A Ravenclaw by @kreestars slow burn with pining. Remus is ravenclaw prefect

-ten reasons (to go to michigan) by @greyeyedmonster-18 falling in love au author remus, artist sirius raising Harry with regulus angst+ slow burn

-Saccharine by moonymoment @mayescapade(au) Sirius is a ghost in remus' apartment

-An Interesting Grasp by @thebibutterflyao3 remus with tourettes, artist sirius, moonflower friendship, au

-summer you let your hair grow out: Sirius goes to remus instead of James'

-Berlin Angel by de_sire: Remus helps him really begin to live, asks the deep questions help him discover who he is. Sirius helps remus open up as well, sees his layers, thinks remus is Sirius' own sun

--A Brief History of Dragons by @eyra nuerodivergent remus

-sweater weather by @lumosinlove hockey fic they're so cute

-Highland Fling by @picascribit summer disability strangers to lovers (au)

-Dear Your Holiness by MollyMaryMarie check tags but some of the quotes still stick with me.

- Heavy In Your Arms by MollyMaryMarie: slytherin Sirius as padfoot finds injured ravenclaw remus and takes care of him

-we can be heroes series by YouBlitheringIdiot school years through the war. Divergent ending

--Evolution is spelt with an R by de_sire: Remus never went to Hogwarts, saves Sirius and Sirius gets involved with pack by being healer

-Of Memories and Milk Thievery by moonymoment older wolfstar, raising teddy, get back together

-Tertiary Colors by krabapple mpreg 1st war divergent, potters live

-just lovers by bizarrestars: divergent fic, fake dating (wolfstar isn't main but they're heavily featured)

-Living Like We're Renegades by orphan_account deaf/hoh remus and genderfluid cheerleader remus

-Language Lessons by MsAlexWP: divergent post 1st war with flashbacks. FWB (sort of, you'll see)

-Found Heaven by fierrochase @madefortherain lovely fluffy text fic

----Other lists----

**themed lists: chronic illness/disability/deaf/blind, trans remus/Sirius, older wolfstar, fluff, raising harry and/or teddy, autism, mcd, Asexuality, texting

**I made a PART 2 bc this was getting long if you're interested, one shot version, my to reread list, my read a 3rd time

**wip version

Jegulus recs

**Ofc feel free to check out mine (all of them) and then spotlight ⬇️

Silence Between Us by brandileigh2003 a soft wolfstar falling in love, features Sirius dealing with anxiety, and remus who is deaf and has an adorable service dog.

[railingsofsorrow]

Hiii i saw ur tortured poets department requests and these two came to mind instantly!!

idk if u still write for TVD but I feel like “who’s afraid of little old me” for Klaus mikaelson would fit, (it’s could be him 1000 years ago before & after he was a vampire) x reader

As well as Kol mikaelson w ‘guilty as sin’ x reader (it could be human reader watching him from a distance before he notices and makes a move??)

Even if u don’t write for these characters anymore/atm I appreciate u reading this :)

Guilty As Sin

[kol mikaelson x reader]

A/N: your idea was amazing (need more kol mikaelson requests tbh!) and I immediately thought about turning it into a slight darker plot... I hope you don't mind. since you didn't specify, reader will be gender neutral, though they will have some characteristics regarding hair and eye color and style, but that's it, gender isn't specified. and the klaus mikaelson request is in the process of being made.

A/N²: you will see "month signs" at some point but that means zodiac signs, this error is on purpose to depict that kol has no idea what astrology means. (he would probably hate it lol)

summary: and so the lion fell in love with the lamb. . . but what if the lamb also became the lion? pairing: kol mikaelson x gn!reader w.c: 2.9K warnings/content: blood and gore; descriptions of child abuse; sexual activities (my attempt on trying to write smut); moral values are twisted; good vs. evil; graphic descriptions of violence; language; morally grey characters!!; there’s fluff; paragraphs in italics mean it’s a memory.

navi

masterpost

the originals masterlist

the vampire diaries masterlist

[requested]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝ my boredom's bone deep 

this cage was once just fine 

am I allowed to cry?❞ 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The Devil, for him, had short hair with dyed ends, dressed in ripped jeans, and carried the darkest pools in their eyes he had the pleasure of letting himself drown over and over again. He fell in love with the blood dripping from your lips and the taunting before proceeding for the final kill. You liked games when he created them. He thought he enjoyed the hunting, but you were born for this much more than he ever would. 

Kol Mikaelson met Evil when he was only a child. He watched as he beat his brother until he passed out from the pain and he turned a blind eye to it so he wouldn't be caught in his bad temper of every evening. Evil had a name and a last name, but he hadn't spoken these or acknowledged it existed from the moment he felt blood on his lips and life draining from a human body. Because now, he had power. Now, he had strength. Now he didn't need to corner and lower his head for a man whose only language was cruelty. He had defeated Evil.  

Kol was never a believer in God. He believed in the grey area between good and bad because he constantly leaned towards both once in a while — mostly the bad. Depending on his mood on the occasion. He didn't believe in a higher power, in month signs – because apparently, that's a thing in the modern world? People just have to seek something to feel less ordinary – or say something countless times for it to become true.  

He did, however, believe in magic. Not only believed, but he trusted magic. Kol was skilled enough to use it with pride and knowledge even after he lost his powers due to having become undead.  

Magic. 

It was exhilarating. The world was in his hands and he could burn an entire forest or make a flower grow.  

Some days, he missed magic like he missed breathing. So he would dig out his grimoire from an old box he kept his stuff and read it all over again like he hadn't memorized every single chanting and spell throughout his entire life. 

They called him Devil after seeing the wreckage he could cause in five villages in a week. The carnage that was left for the Earth to claim back as its own. But, one thing that nobody knew was that Kol met the Devil when he was casually strolling through a college party on Whitmore College's campus.  

Actually, the Devil was staring at him. And, surprisingly, it had blood pumping strongly to their heart. Life coursing through their veins. The Devil was human. And Kol was drawn to them like a moth to a flame. Like a man starved for months without food or water.  

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝he's a paradox, 

I'm seeing visions, am I bad?❞ 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

He thought he had found his prey that night when, in reality, he had been the one falling into their trap.  

"I think you look too bored to be here." You observed, a normal tone of voice for someone who wanted the other person to hear in a loud party full of drunk people speaking loudly and fast. Kol heard it well, of course. Your voice was smooth like honey if he were to compare it to the awful music they had playing.  

"And you look like you're enjoying this." 

You lifted a brow, a teasing smile spreading across your mouth. "I'm not. My friends dragged me, I couldn't say no." 

"You've got a problem saying no?" He glared at a drunk kid who bumped into him and turned to look at you, who still had that look of satisfaction on your face. He didn't know why, not back then.  

"Not really, but I lost a bet so..." You shrugged. "It was my dare. Part of it, actually." 

Kol nodded. Why had he been so interested? Don't ask him. He won't know the answer. Maybe because the Devil had their ways of playing their little games, to turn saints into sinners. And what was Kol Mikaelson if not a sinner? 

"What was the other part?" Kol found himself asking. He was about to take off at any second. He was only in town because of Klaus's stupidity and his family needed him again. Until they didn't. He could be halfway out of town by now. Why wasn't he? 

You approached him slowly, head tilting as you surveyed Kol up and down. He noticed the ink in your neck, right where your pulse laid. A strong and inviting pulse.  

"Well, the first part was that I had to come to this stupid party..." You said, tongue moving between your teeth and forming a teasing grin. “the second part,” You drawled out, lifting a hand to his shoulder, fingers rising to the back of his neck. Kol didn't move away as he was pulled closer. He didn't move away when your breaths mixed. “they dared me to take a handsome stranger home so I could have some fun.”  

It was Kol's turn to smirk. And just like that, it took one night, a few minutes, for him to be whisked away into your world with no turning back. 

A human.  

How could he let himself get carried away because of a human? 

Perhaps because it had been so long since he was a mortal and you reminded him what that felt like. A tad nostalgic and a lot euphoric. This is how Kol felt every time he was in your presence. The strangest thing was that there was no magic.  

“I'm starting to think that paranoia may run in the family.” 

He offered you an eye roll, perching against your windowsill as he watched the street. It was fairly empty. Quiet. Two of the five vampires he compelled to keep an eye on you were by the parked Black SUV. 

“Kol.” You closed the book with a thud. He glanced at you, schooling an unimpressed look. “I do not need protection. I can handle myself.” 

“Alright.” 

You scoffed, annoyed at his ability to turn down a conversation because that would end in his favor.  

“Alright doesn't mean shit if you're going to be a controlling prick.” 

He raised a brow, “I'm being controlling? Do you know who my family is? How many times has my brother threatened y— Try to walk out of here without losing a limb, will you? That's what he's capable of.” 

“I don't care.” 

And maybe that had been the whole problem. You truly did not care.  

There were few things you cared for, fewer were those you considered worth your time. Kol should have felt flattered to even be worth a minute of your time, but he took a lot of things for granted, including your safety. 

Immortality was not something he asked for. It had been imposed on him like the heavy burden of life previously had. 

He felt guilty for learning to enjoy it over time. He felt guilty for finding someone to keep him alive when he had been dead for decades.  

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝why does it feel like a vow  

we'll both uphold somehow?❞ 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Then, he lost you. 

Because of retaliation. Because of his family. Which was always the reason for his undoing.  

He lost the human and met the Devil. Except that those were the same person in one and he only found out when he saw the glint of joy and the absolute exhilaration as you sucked someone dry and then tossed the body with a sigh.  

“I was sad when you stopped looking for me.” You whispered into his ear like his nightmares would on particularly bad nights. This was real, he just couldn't believe it yet. “Thought I was important for a minute.” 

“What happened?” 

You leaned back against the wall, leather jacket scrunching as you crossed your arms over your chest.   

“You sound disappointed.” 

Kol forced himself to move and you watched as he took a cautious step towards you. That was the first time you saw Kol Mikaelson hesitate about anything. When you reappeared in his life. 

Tilting your head a bit, you said in a casual tone, “I'm no longer fragile and broken, so your interest has vanished, is that it? The idea you had of me, that I needed your protection, it's completely shattered now. You're disappointed.” 

The Devil, for him, had slightly longer hair than the last time he saw them, still dressed in ripped jeans and the ink in their body had grown in numbers. The eyes didn't change. They were still the darkest he had ever seen, the night sky was jealous of them.  

Kol wasn't disappointed in you. He was disappointed in himself for not being able to protect too. Maybe he had grown a hero complex, Elijah had rubbed off on him, after all. 

To grasp the fact that he didn't lose you — because you were still here — wasn't easy. There was the fact that you were always on a different wavelength. Two extremes. Mortal and immortal. Human and vampire. Protected and protector. Destroyed and destroyer.  

There was no such a thing anymore. 

But he never saw you as fragile or broken. 

“Bonnie asked to turn my humanity back on.” You told him during a dinner in the Mikaelson compound. Kol placed the wine glasses on top of the counter, glancing up at you with careful eyes.  

“Did you? Turn it off?” 

He remembered thinking how cute it was when you scrunched your nose whenever confusion drowned your line of thought. He had never thought someone was cute. The person in front of him, nursing a glass of red wine as they pouted over something someone said to them a few days back, had killed around fifty wolves for threatening his family and somehow managed to acquire animosity with the Strix as well.  

He found you cute. What was going on with him? 

“How does one even do that?” You cracked a laugh, shaking your head at the idea. “What, you turn off your conscience to do unspeakable things to not remember them later? Is that a thing?” You placed the now empty glass of wine in front of the bottle so he could pour your another glass. “Then that means I'd have to grow a conscience first, wouldn't I?” 

Kol blinked, his lips stretching slowly into a soft smile that he couldn't hold back.  

He knew what was going on. You know, it's been known that Kol Mikaelson was an exceptional sinner and all the gods loathed him. So it made sense that he fell in love with the Devil, didn't it? 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝crashing over my grave, 

without ever touching his skin, 

how can I be guilty as sin?❞

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“Do you remember your human years?” 

You questioned him late in the evening. You were both in bed, you reading a book as he answered a text from Hope with one of the only memes he owned in his phone.  

“Yes.” Kol replied, turning his phone off and putting it in the nightstand. It wasn't until a few months ago that he stopped complaining after texting people. Big technophobe. You said he sounded like an old man whenever he complained about modernity. “Vaguely.” 

“Do you like remembering it?” 

“It depends.” A pause, the bed shifted. His hand wandered through your body, ending up on your hip, the shirt raising a little as he drew circles with his thumb. “Those weren't my favourite times.” 

You turned a page, avoiding his curious eyes on you. “Yeah?” 

“Mhm. I like it better now.” 

You stayed silent.  

He gently pulled the book away to be able to take a look at your face. 

“What's on your mind?”  

A lot.  

“Nothing.” 

Kol pecked your lips once. “Really?” He did it twice. “You don't know how to lie to me.” The corner of your lips lifted in amusement, which was always his intended goal. 

“Do I need to remind you what an awful liar you are?” 

He shrugged unapologetically, “That's why we're a good match. We're terrible liars.” 

You snorted, pursing your lips.  

“Is that what you think?” You said. “That we're a good match?” 

His forehead creased in confusion. He knew you were a bit odd during the day but he didn't push it when you didn't want to talk, figuring you would, eventually. But that? What did that mean?  

“What's going on?” He asked, thumb traveling across the back of your hand.  

“I don't know.” You bit your lip. “Sometimes I just feel like your life could be different. Without me.” 

He withdrew his hand to sit down on the bed, one leg under the other. The blanket falling on his lap, exposing his naked chest.  

“Yes, it would,” he said as if it was obvious. “It would be different in a way that I would never like to find out.” 

Your face twitched into a grimace. “Are you sure? Because people have a lot of opinions. About you and me. They say I make you worse.” 

“I was worse before you,” Kol interjected. “I didn't know you cared about people's opinions.”  

“I don't.” And that wasn't a lie. Oftentimes you had to stop Kol from shutting you out because of other people, mostly his family, interfering in your relationship. “But I'm a vampire now. And you... you're a Mikaelson. You're destructive and selfish and a lone wolf, except when you're with me. Do you really need someone who's the same?”  

“We're not the same.” He promptly disagreed. 

“Kol, we're both destructive.” 

“We were destructive before, what difference does it make now?” 

You sighed. 

“It doesn't bother you? That I'd kill and rip limbs out for you or my own benefit and not feel guilty about it?” 

With an arm beneath your legs, he brought you closer to him with a pull.  

“No. And neither should you.” He cupped your face, thump grazing your cheeks lovingly. “You didn't make me who I am—” 

“I'm aware, Kol. Your body count was above average way before I met you.”  

His forehead fell on yours as he chuckled in disbelief. “Fair enough.” 

You managed to smile a little.  

“If people tell you you make me worse, what do they say I make you?” 

Shrugging, you replied, “Satan, probably.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  

❝oh, what a way to die 

my bedsheets are ablaze  

I've screamed his name 

building up like waves  

crashing over my grave  

without ever touching his skin  

how can I be guilty as sin?❞

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

He hummed into your skin, kissing down your collarbones and your chest and your stomach, until you exhaled with your eyes falling shut.  

“It's funny.” Kol mumbled against your lower stomach, his chestnut eyes boring into yours. “I thought you'd bored me out when I first met you, but it was the other way around, wasn't it?”  

You were about to respond maybe when there was a slight tug in your shorts and your body just worked on automatically lifting your hips so he could get rid of it. 

“You had a grip on me the first moment I heard your voice, darling.” He pressed soft kisses down the inner skin of your thighs with his raspy voice due to his position. “You don't make me worse, you make me better. Infinitely better.” 

The mattress beneath your head crumpled under your hold.  

“That's why I pledged my spot in Hell the first moment you laid eyes on me. I was yours. I am yours. And I will always be yours.” Your back arched as his mouth reached its final destination. “Proudly,” he whispered but you could hear it perfectly through the sounds that echoed throughout your bedroom. “Undoubtedly. . .”  

The Devil, for you, had the most beautiful chestnut brown eyes you've ever seen, a rather basic sense of style and carried an uncontrollable thirst for blood like you. He knew how to dance but he hid that ability out of embarrassment. He knew how to love and was too scared to lose that capacity of feeling after centuries of working through it.  

If people claimed that he was responsible for Hell on Earth, 

“. . . Unrepentantly.” 

Then you would gladly fall into the clutches of his undoing.  

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[englishmagic]

After @sillyshrimpfella suggested Disco Elysium tarot designs I haven’t been able to stop pondering it.

(Am I desperate to distract myself from terrible things in the world about which I can do nothing except “raise awareness” and donate money I don’t really have? …maybe)

It’s probably something that’s been done before, but here are my thoughts on the major arcana so far:

The Fool - Harry Du Bois. I was initially thinking the Magician for Harry, because of his effortless genius and creative mindset, but then I remembered the Fool, and… yeah. Naïveté, a fresh approach to the world, being ridiculous for better or worse - it’s all him, baby!

The Magician - Mega Rich Light Bending Guy. This one I am less certain of - I haven’t encountered him myself and I refuse to watch videos of it until I can make the check myself. I put him here because he does seem rather magical, but is he creative, talented, and an effortless genius? Unpredictable and unreliable? I really don’t know. Another person I was thinking of was Neha, she’s creative and industrious, but didn’t quite feel singular enough for the card, so I place her more as the Queen of Coins/Pentacles at the moment.

The High Priestess - Plaisance. She is a figure who (kind of) worships a higher power, and though she’s not really an oracle in the way that the card often represents, she’s a symbol of belief in the supra-natural in the forms of curses, entities, et cetera. Albeit in quite cheesy, culturally dicey ways.

The Empress - Joyce Messier. She presents feminine traditions and mannerisms, but also has a lot of institutional and traditional power as a representative of the capitalist world order.

The Emperor - Everart Claire. He’s a masculine-ish figure who uses his institutional power in the union to exert his influence on the world. Not physically imposing, but I don’t think that’s a requirement - he has a racist, a street gang, and an uncomfortable chair at his disposal where others would have fists to fight with.

The Hierophant - Dolores Dei. Yes, she’s the hierophant and not the priestess - Dolores is a figure of worship, not a worshipper, she represents organised faith rather than personal faith. You don’t have to stick 100% within the traditional genders for these cards.

The Lovers - Next World Mural. Self explanatory - I think that image would look good on a card too!

The Chariot - the Coupris Kineema. I like this because not only does it make sense sense to put a vehicle from the game on the chariot card, the sound of the Kineema is the journey from intro to gameplay, and this card is all about journeys!

Strength - Measurehead. Because… He’s strong. There’s not much more to this one; I’m happy to accept other ideas, especially since the card is usually a woman. Also, who or what would be the lion? Just… a picture of Jean-Luc Race Warrior wrestling a lion? …….actually what if this card depicted Samaran bear wrestling, that’s a fun alternative

The Hermit - Tiago the Crab Man. He is isolated by choice and strongly associated with philosophy. I was thinking the Deserter for this one originally, buttttt then I had a different idea for him.

Wheel of Fortune - the pleasure wheel. Visually fun. Also symbolically appropriate - the never-built attraction represents the investment gamble that didn’t pay off.

Justice - The Deserter. The card usually has a judge on it, dispensing retribution. The Deserter sees himself this way; he’s also a singular male figure with a “gavel” in the form of his rifle. Visually appropriate.

The Hanged Man - Lely Kortaneer. Because he is a hanged man. I wonder if he can be tied to the deeper meaning of the card through the “conversations” Harry has with him in his head, or simply through the fact that being dead he naturally has no agency?

Death - Working Class Corpse. This one is just sad. In some ways this death is more “death-y” than any other in the game, underlining how things, and people, can end abruptly and without warning. And his discovery is the end of an investigation, too.

Temperance - Washerwoman. Mainly a visual connection - she’s a woman with a container of water. The card could be her pouring washing water from one cup to another, and I think it would be a nice image.

The Devil - Cuno De Ruyter. He has given into vices already despite his young age, and he influences you to do the same. This is honestly one of the few places I consider a Fury could be a good choice for a card - Electrochemistry is basically the Devil personified.

The Tower - FELD R&D. A crumbling building where everything can quite easily go to shit - the tower is about things falling apart and potentially being rebuilt. The FALN employees fell apart - aka were executed - and Ruby is building something new in the ruins.

The Star - Klaasje Amandou. Kind of ironic to have her, a manipulator who’s always in control, on a card that represents leaving things to fate- but the visual of her hiding documents in the buoy really fits the traditional design of the card and could be adapted well, and while she’s not very up in the air herself, the skills all get up in the air while talking to her because of how you’re compromised by her beauty and charm. It’s not so much about where she finds herself, but where you find yourself in relation to her - unable to trust your own knowledge and defaulting to chance more often than you’d want.

The Moon - Insulindian Phasmid. It’s a mystery! Maybe it could be the crustacean in the design? Or it could be haloed by the moon the way Kim is haloed by the sun. I love the specification for the moon design in tarot so it does have to have two dogs and a crustacean for me to be happy.

The Sun - Kim Kitsuragi. Haloed by the sun. A new dawn. A new lease on life. This is what he represents to Harry.

Judgement - the Tribunal/Krenel. A tribunal is a court event, a judgement of sorts, and the event is a moment of dire consequence in the game. The mercenaries lining up like the angels on judgement day would also make a cool visual.

The World - Elysium. Self explanatory, I think? The image would be the world broken apart, with the isolas emerging from the pale.

For the minor arcana I’ve not got a lot of opinions - Lillienne the Netpicker as Queen of Swords for no deeper reason than the fact that she has a sword, Annette as Page of Coins/Pentacles because she’s a bright and precocious child… The cups would have a lung design on them, maybe? I really hope someone else has Thoughts about this because I would like to visualise the entire thing in my mind until I inevitably try to draw it and ruin my enthusiasm when I remember that my art skills do not match my ambition in this area 😂

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 11/28/2023

tuesday again no problem will be taking a break for the 12/12 edition (not next week but the one after)

listening

previously featured Os Mutantes, a countercultural brazilian rock group, is back bc i heard A Minha Menha on an instagram reel by @/ vintagepulps on a showcase of brazilian pulp magazine covers.

the SECOND that driving riff hit i experienced a brief moment of fuckor bc this is exactly and precisely the kind of song i like. this translation tells me it translates to My Girl. it's got moon/sun imagery. it's exactly the kind of song to drive around to in the summer while having an absolutely crippling crush on the person in the passenger seat. spotify

-

reading

you wouldn't download a woman...

TWICE

-

watching

I'm No Angel (1933, dir. Ruggles) a 1936 black comedy written by Mae West and starring the babiest Cary Grant you've ever seen. i added it to my letterboxed bc i saw screenshots of this one specific dress. that’s so much sideboob. good for her.

we don't use the term "adventuress" anymore to describe a woman who does various physical or social stunts to land a husband and i think that's a shame. Tira (yes) is a burlesque dancer and (separately) a lion tamer at a down on its luck circus, becomes famous through putting her head in a lion's mouth, and leverages that fame to fall in and out and back into love.

your enjoyment of this movie will hinge on your tolerance for astrologers, circuses with animals in them, and depictions of black housemaids that have not aged super well, even if they're mostly there to stroke her ego. i'm sort of torn on what rating this would get today-- i'm assuming R bc there's a woman expressing desire but nothing actually happens beyond kissing and some sitting in laps. some peril for the lions i guess?

i do not think this particularly nailed its landing, and i'm not totally sure why they got back together, but mae west in straight up burlesque and the shimmiest dresses you've ever seen is so much fun to watch it doesn't really matter. this is sort of sidelining the her very funny, extremely quotable script. apparently any movie she wasn't allowed to write or heavily doctor her own lines just completely flopped, which i also think is very funny.

just straight up on the internet archive

-

playing

triple header for Things That Came Out This Decade: Genshin Impact (September 2020), Deliver Us Mars (2023) and Gamedec (2021).

brief Genshin update: your main companion in the game, Paimon, the little fairy bitch, has been the recipient of some worrying foreshadowing lately. hey Paimon you wanna tell us anything???

Deliver Us Mars, free on Epic this week. i want to like this game. i think there should be more weird little eurojank original scifi B-franchises like this and you should be able to feed your family by making them. i do not want to continue playing this particular little franchise.

it's the second game by KeokeN (The Netherlands) and published by Wired Productions (UK, although they are partnered with Koch, which means they’ll be bought up soon), a studio of under 20 counting support staff (some of who are certainly part time or on hourly contracts) and an intern. after doing that basic background research i ratcheted my expectations back a couple notches and deleted a somewhat catty paragraph about video game hair.

this is a sequel to Deliver Us The Moon, which was a successful Kickstarter and Steam greenlight (TM (C) R) and it seems they spent the four interval years mostly polishing up the predecessor Deliver Us The Moon, which i do not own and do not plan on playing.

Deliver Us Mars bills itself as an action-adventure, but during my time with it, it was more of a cinematic movie/walking sim with extremely light puzzle/platform mechanics. there are extensive childhood flashbacks following a dad around as he trains his daughter to be an astronaut. the timing and insertion of these never quite clicked for me-- they take forever and they were never as interesting as what they interrupted.

this game is not good at signposting or tutorializing. i had to restart a chapter twice bc the unique controls popped up for a brief fleeting moment on screen and weren’t in the keybinding settings. i could never quite get the mouse and keyboard camera sensitivity right, and platforming/vertical elements seem to only be partially implemented: you can only really successfully approach certain segments from extremely specific dead-on angles. there are like three big boxes in your path that you have to clamber over at one point and i do not think it should take a solid minute and a half for me to get over them. some reviewers praised the lack of signposting during the launch sequence (causing you to frantically look around at a million unlabeled buttons and levers to see if any of them were highlighted as a thing you can click) as a fun way to ramp up stress but i fucking hated it.

after two and a half hours, and only just making it to a ship OUTSIDE mars, i decided there are other games in the world. this hits some sort of minimal viable story benchmark for me, i can see why some people love it, but i don’t want to find out what happens bad enough to play through a slow game that handles terribly and isn’t much fun to exist in.

does get points for big fuckoff dishes.

Gamedec is an isometric RPG, where you are a near-future private investigator who handles delicate personal matters inside wildly popular MMORPG VR games. unfortunately all the trailers suck shit.

this is catnip to me. i love a no-combat game where i have to walk around and talk to everyone and click on everything and write things down in a little notebook. i loooooooove being nosy. i've played through the first two and a half chapters (kinky second life, racketeering farmville, and real life uh oh) and i'm having a fucking marvelous time. the writing team clearly had a lot of fun, the VR game worlds feel very alive and vibrant-- there's a ton of possible weird little flavor interactions that go a very long way toward making me forget this is a limited-perspective isometric. this is like praising an RPG for doing what it says on the tin and being an RPG, but the most recent RPGs ive played have been fucking terrible. it's not shoehorning me into one-true or main-path choices. extremely forgiving of failure, which is good bc i straight up accidentally killed my first client. i know he was a kid but he kinda had it coming imo. sometimes kids just suck shit

im so delighted by this shitty little apartment-- it's got to be fucking bizarre to exist in, bc of the ultra-loft ceilings you need to make it be isometric, but it somehow manages to feel like a studio apartment and a seedy back office all at the same time. a game that is in general very fun to Look at. will have more thoughts as i continue playing but this is really scratching some sort of itch for me. commits to the bit. funny but sincere. a pastiche in ways i personally do not find annoying. has not hit me with like konami code style references yet. due to the fact this is also in my epic games store library i believe this was also free at some point

-

making

fallow week for me. phil has been regrowing skin at a good clip and i can no longer feel each individual vertebra, AND we have another vet appt on friday to get more/different antibiotic goop and all of her vaccinations and microchipping done. mack made a hairball and is getting put back on an actual wire slicker brush grooming schedule. my beautiful girl seems to have a particularly dense coat among the domestic shorthairs of my acquaintance, although that may be bc she is a new england girlie and we constantly exist in air conditioning?? mixed feelings about scheduled brushies from her, even with short and light sessions. we’ll get there.

helping.

[magnorious]

Review: The Last Airbender Episode 1 - “Aang”

“Long ago, the four nations lived in harm-”

Lol nope. What is it with writers these days fumbling exposition? You had a template, and you botched it.

I nitpicked the heck out of Disney’s Percy Jackson because if you say you’re going to adapt a book, it’s not a very far leap in logic to hope the script might follow said book. But aside from the likes of Twilight, following the source material as it was written never happens.

Netflix had an even easier job. Netflix already had the show they were adapting in a visual medium. Netflix could have gone two ways with this: Shot-for-shot remake just with live action actors, or with an “inspired by” vibe that takes familiar characters, story beats, and themes but tries to make something new with their shameless cash grab.

So, they wanted to take a beloved children’s cartoon and make it gritty and realistic… okay. Sure. No one asked for that and it shouldn’t be embarrassing for any adult to sit down and *gasp* watch a cartoon. For kids.

The original remains amazing, top-tier storytelling, so instead of these reviews stating the obvious “original did X better, why didn’t they do it that way?” we’ll look at the show as if the original didn’t exist… unless it just goes the route of Disney and Amazon and slaps a famous IP on the title screen without making any attempt to stay true to the original just to get butts in seats.

—

We open 100 years ago in Caldera (renamed generic Capital City) with a pretty decent fight scene and special effects. The choreography is solid, the tone is way darker – and so is the lighting, I had to shut the blinds and turn my laptop brightness all the way up – and it establishes pretty quickly that this is Not Your Kids Cartoon Anymore, even if the fight is bloodless.

*Side note: That no one has a Japanese accent in the Fire Nation is… surprising? I know it’s not actual Japan, I know the original didn’t have any accents, but that they’re going for the whole “gritty realism” vibe and didn’t white-wash the cast, not giving them any accent feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. Just the adults, even. Iroh had an accent in the cartoon.

The costumes are also amazing. The original is still a feat of animation but being able to see all the ornate detail in the costumes, particularly in the Fire Nation, is fantastic. The Water Tribe costumes don’t feel quite so lived-in. The colors are still vibrant, there’s no stains, no wear. They don’t reflect the weariness of a remote village still suffering the effects of a hundred-year-long war. Zuko’s scar doesn’t feel quite as gnarly as it could be, more like a very bad bruise and not the remnants of a 3rd degree burn (but at least it’s not on the wrong side). He still has his entire eyebrow and full visibility.

Sozin is amazing, too. Right off the bat he’s shown as clever, cunning, and violent. The original was limited by Nickelodeon’s censorship, so even though it was a kids’ show and they did amazing still scaring kids without showing the violence (like a graphic depiction of Zuko getting his scar), these are firebenders, and fire burns.

… Though if you’re twelve and watching this expecting a fun adventure, watching a man get burned alive in the first 5 minutes wakes you up right quick. I heard a rumor that they wanted to fill the Game of Thrones vacuum and, yeah, they went for it.

Is there a reason they didn’t lift the original opening narration straight from the old script? It was fine! It’s iconic! This feels like a student cracked open a thesaurus for their essay just to sound smarter. Gran Gran gets to deliver it and that is an... interesting choice.

They did salvage some of the original music, and hearing Aang’s theme and the foreboding horns of the Fire Nation theme redone was ear candy, along with the Sun Warrior chant in the end credits. During Aang’s escape from Zuko’s ship, however, the score sounded uncannily like the battle music from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

*Side side note: One nitpick. One little nitpick, I think I’m allowed. Aang cannot fly without his staff. It’s a convenient and logical cap on his abilities and there was no reason to not keep it in.

On the one hand, opening the series with the Air Nomad genocide establishes immediately that the Fire Nation is led by an evil warmonger. On the other hand, slowly weaving in that exposition over the first few episodes, culminating with “The Storm” took what we thought was a lighthearted adventure and made it so much more. That reveal in “The Storm” still makes it one of the best episodes of the show.

Gyatso is perfect. The casting is perfect. “Gritty realism” or not, they did their homework on Gyatso. The only voice actor that left a hole not-quite filled is Iroh’s. He doesn’t quite sound like the wizened old sage, just… a guy. Through no fault of his actor’s, he’s solid, he’s just not quite Iroh.

—

While the worldbuilding is fine and all the extra additions in the beginning are entertaining… the original cartoon was limited to a cable-bound, 30-minute time slot, with commercials. They did their best to pack as much as they could within that time limit for every episode and you weren’t left wanting. It was also animated and every single frame cost money to draw. Creativity thrives in a box and not having endless Netflix money forced them to do the best with what they had.

With all this room and time to kill on Netflix it loses that tightly-woven polish. Scenes linger and add in dialogue that could have been concise and short. This show marinates, where the original was multitasking in every shot – developing the characters, the world, the story, the lore, the relationships.

In the time it took an entire animated episode, this show front-loaded all the exposition and mysteries to be slowly teased and solved through the first half of the season. We’re not left wondering how Aang survived the Air Nomad massacre. We’re not wondering why he wasn’t there, we’re not wondering who he is and slowly learning him with each episode. Curious now if the “The Storm” episode will even exist.

When Aang takes Sokka and Katara to the Southern Air Temple, neither know exactly what happened beyond that it was bad, and Aang has no clue his people have been destroyed, that it’s been 100 years. This time, the trio and the audience already have that information so the oomph of seeing the aftermath, of seeing Gyatso, doesn’t hit as hard as it should.

The themes, the personalities, the motivations of the characters so far still feel like them, even with all the extra fluff. Aang remains a reluctant chosen one, a twelve-year old with too much responsibility on his shoulders – even if he explicitly ran away after eavesdropping on Gyato’s conversation about sending him away and didn’t just happen to be gone while his home was destroyed.

Everyone except Iroh, which is a shame. He reads less as a “concerned surrogate father figure trying to raise an angsty, bratty, entitled teenager” and more “old man who’s too old for his nephew’s BS so he patronizes instead of showing any genuine support.”

About the only major element that didn’t get the love it deserves is the humor. Aang’s abrupt “will you go penguin sledding with me?” right after he wakes up is just one of many missing lines. Game of Thrones had plenty of funny characters, a show can be gritty *and* funny and he’s still twelve, he’s allowed to be a little cringey and ridiculous.

For a shameless cash grab remake that lost the original writers and took forever to finally air, this is a lot better than I expected it to be. The script isn’t perfect and there’s some lines that aren’t well-executed, but no actor phoned in their performance and visually it looks amazing. The writers did their homework and, so far, even if they refuse to make it a kids’ show, they’re still making Avatar: The Last Airbender.

[gaminghardwareingames]

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Part 1

From https://www.ssbwiki.com/List_of_SSB4_trophies_(Game_%26_Watch_series)

From https://www.spriters-resource.com/wii_u/supersmashbrosforwiiu/

[declaawed]

SHISHIDO KOSEI This Life as a Game, Though Losing Every Round.

NOTE: heavy lad: gaiden spoilers.

Shishido's tattoo, along with his name, was crafted by Watase after Tsuruno had rescued him from his endless fights in the Coliseum. It depicts a shishi, a mythical guardian lion and the direct inspiration for his name; as he'd (supposedly) become quite loyal toward Tsuruno for saving him despite barely even knowing who he was.

However, the layout of his tattoo was decided by himself. He's unable to hide the scars that litter his face, and an irezumi would already naturally cover a majority of the scars along his back. But, Shishido also opted for full sleeves to cover the scars along his arms that were gifted by Nishitani III's own hands: multiple needle-prick marks that scar his biceps and inner elbows from steroid use and injectable stimulants. While Shishido has always been tall and fairly stocky in build, forced drug use ensured that he'd be strong enough and have enough adrenaline to make to-the-death fights more entertaining to watch. To this day, he will avoid taking simple painkillers, and medication/fluids via IV freaks him out. Tsuruno is the only person who knows this.

The words that were always spit down Shishido's throat by Nishitani III never fully left him, though. Which was why he also personally chose the peonies depicted around the shishi lion. He left the Coliseum seeing himself as a monster, and while the loyalty he had toward Tsuruno was true in the beginning (he'd later essentially gaslight himself into believing it never was in order to go through with his betrayal); he knew the kind of person he was, and he knew he would never be able to fully escape the vice grip Nishitani III had on him.

"One origin for the association between lions and peonies states the lion has no enemies other than the parasite that burrows into its flesh, which is killed when it comes into contact with the dew that drips from peonies at night. The peonies are a safe haven to the lion. As the parasite, left unchecked, can bring down the lion that provides for it, the story alludes to both the idea even one person can bring down an organization and the idea of a person who repays a favor with an act of betrayal." [Wikipedia]

[science-lings]

Whoops I’m late to the party but here’s some tropes.

Positive trope! As a traveler Hyrule has a lot of interesting and funny stories to to tell.

Negative Hyrule is a completely ignorant cave boy with the rough intelligent and personality of a 5 year old.

Positive Sky wrapping his sail cloth around someone.

Positive Warriors going full burrito with the near infinite cape he pretends is a scarf.

Negative Time Twilight and Wild’s bonds are treated like they are the only one’s that really matter with the unspoken implication they are the only REAL family.

Positive item trading! One of my favorite trope if rarely seen tropes. Yes Wild show Four your slate and argue over the definition of science. Spinner race time Twilight and Warriors. Let Sky Wild and Wind compare gliding items. Give Hyrule a hookshot! Rings for everyone!

Negative tossing my own take on the Mipha’s Grace is Fairy Bottle With Extra Steps is that we have had some form of Heal by Death in every game except the first. Hyrule has dolls he can find and Legend and Wind even having non fairy items they can purchase to resurrect with. All of them should be aware of the possibility even if only a few have used it. If anything meeting other people who treat dying casually should far more horrific then the simple existence something they can all potentially do.

Positive saying fuck destiny and finding ways to meet again after having to part at the end of the adventure.

You're not late I'm still collecting for the part 2's

Hyrule being a super experienced traveler is so good, this guy has been wandering since he was like eight and he's got a lot of campfire stories. And while I think it's not outrageous to assume that schooling in this era is a little lacking that doesn't mean that he's dumb in any way at all, he's very clever and he knows how to read thank you very much. Maybe he had some education in Calatia. I mean he was smart enough to leave and survive on his own and save his namesake a few times so like.... not stupid.

Any large piece of fabric that the chain owns can and will be used as a blanket. Scarf, sailcloth, cloak, Wind probably has actual sails that he used to have on the king of red lions that he uses to keep the water off of him bc it's more like a tarp than a blanket. Snuggles are inevitable.

While I am a fan of the wolf bloodline, I do get why depictions of it may undermine the importance of found family. I think it's a very valid criticism to point out that it may sometimes put forward the idea that blood family is more valid than an adopted family which could be unsavory, though I doubt that's ever the intention of the authors/ creators. I think that family is a fascinating topic with all these guys who grew up in vastly different but still quite lonely circumstances.

I love it when aspects like items and spells and stories from the other games are shared between the links and utilized to show how vast and different their experiences are. Aside from hookshots, nearly all of them have those bastards.

I mean, anytime people legitimize game mechanics into plot stuff it can be interpreted in different ways so I don't think that 'all of them come back from the dead' is a bad take lol, I think people fixate on Wild specifically with this kind of thing because it is implied he's already died and gone through the whole resurrection thing but more long term, and if that could've just been fixed with a fairy then the entire 100-year sleep just wouldn't have been needed. So it poses the question of if fairies really can bring a link back from the dead. But now I'm rambling...

I'm completely on the side of 'they all meet up in the afterlife as the timelines are assumed to have converged at some point before botw, and it wouldn't mess up the timelines if they just meet up after a few thousand years of waiting. I like the idea that they're watching and rooting for each other. That they've never been alone and there were always some of their brothers watching over them. (I also like to think that Wild caught a glimpse of them when he was placed in the shrine of resurrection)

[fatguysexy]

10 Trendy Graphic Tee Designs for Boys

Hey there, fashion-forward folks! If you've got a cool young dude in your life, you know how important it is for them to rock some stylish threads. And what better way to amp up their wardrobe than with trendy graphic tees? From superheroes to funny phrases, these tees are the perfect blend of comfort and style. So, let's dive into the world of trendy graphic tee designs for boys and discover the coolest options out there!

1. Superhero Extravaganza

What's better than a tee that showcases your little one's favorite superhero? Whether he's a fan of the Avengers, Batman, or Spider-Man, there's a graphic tee that will make him feel like a true hero. These tees not only add a dash of action-packed style to his look, but they also ignite his imagination and make him feel invincible!

2. A Nature Lover's Paradise

For young explorers and nature enthusiasts, graphic tees inspired by the great outdoors are a fantastic choice. From wildlife creatures to scenic landscapes, these tees bring a touch of wilderness to your boy's wardrobe. So, let his adventurous spirit shine through with tees that depict the beauty of nature.

3. Sports fanatic feelings

If your little guy has a favorite sports team, why not let him flaunt his loyalty with a sports-themed graphic tee? Whether it's basketball, soccer, or baseball, there's a tee that will score major style points. These tees not only show off his love for the game but also make him feel like part of the team!

4. Dino-Mite Fun

Who doesn't love dinosaurs? These mighty creatures have a timeless appeal that captivates both kids and adults alike. Get your boy a graphic tee featuring his favorite dino species and watch his excitement soar to prehistoric levels. It's a perfect blend of style and educational fun!

5. Music, Melodies, and Rhythm

For little music enthusiasts, graphic tees inspired by their favorite bands or musical instruments are a must-have. From electric guitars to cool headphones, these tees allow your boy to express his love for music in a fashionable way. So, let the beats play and watch him rock his tee with style!

6. Wordplay Wonders

Funny and witty phrases on graphic tees never go out of style. Let your boy show off his sense of humor with tees that feature clever wordplay and puns. These tees are bound to make everyone around him smile and add a playful touch to his overall look.

7. Artistic Marvels

For budding artists and creative minds, graphic tees that celebrate art and creativity are a perfect match. Let your boy showcase his artistic side with tees that display paintings, sketches, or even his own artwork. It's a fantastic way to encourage his passion for art and make a style statement simultaneously.

8. Out-of-this-World Designs

Space, galaxies, and everything celestial never fail to mesmerize young minds. Graphic tees featuring cosmic designs, spaceships, or planets are a great choice for little astronomers. These tees ignite their curiosity about the universe and make them look effortlessly cool at the same time.

9. Pop Culture Frenzy

From iconic movie characters to trending TV shows, pop culture-inspired graphic tees are a hit among the younger crowd. Let your boy display his love for his favorite pop culture icons with tees that feature characters, logos, or memorable quotes. It's a surefire way to keep him connected to the latest trends!

10. Animal Kingdom Adventures

Last but definitely not least, we have graphic tees that celebrate the animal kingdom. Whether it's majestic lions, adorable pandas, or fierce sharks, these tees bring a touch of the wild to your boy's wardrobe. Let him explore the animal kingdom with style and ignite his fascination for creatures big and small.

And there you have it, folks! Ten trendy graphic tee designs for boys that are guaranteed to up their fashion game Remember, style and comfort go hand in hand, so choose tees made with soft and breathable fabrics. So go ahead, pick the ones that resonate with your boy's personality, and watch him rock those graphic tees with confidence and flair!

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any clothing brand or fashion industry.

[sophluorescentmusing]

HOUSE OF THE MORNING STAR IV.

“Leased by the Lord Separ,” Baekhyun murmurs.

“They were unimportant to him, then,” Jongdae remedies. He is slow about approaching the map and its onlooker. He is certain there are many secrets to be revealed upon it, though he is just as certain he already knows some of the political headaches regarding the southrons. 

Baekhyun blinks. The corner of his mouth twitches. Then: “Perhaps.” He has exchanged his armor for plain, black robes and polished, leather boots. Still, the earthiness of his digger’s fiefdom clings to him—metal enshrouds his fingers in bands and rings, it encircles his wrists and pierces through his earlobes (crawls up the shell of them, too, in simple studs and hoops). 

Jongdae allows his gaze to slide comfortably down the lines of the Duke’s robes—the motion of it naturally appraising. That his gaze slides from the ducal figure onto the map—roving across the waterways and the flatlands of the depicted hells—is as easy to explain away as a habit of nature as it is to be accused of conniving. 

Baekhyun’s voice interrupts: “Look openly, Baron, if you wish it.” There is that dogged manner of speech again—so unlike Baekhyun’s typical tongue and tone. He had been crass when Jongdae sat the throne; he had spoken like the men he emulates by skin and flush of blood, by sweat and scent of having lived. His quiet, needle-sharp utterances now are wrong, even if they do more suit his station because back then, though Baekhyun held rank equal to him—the Great Duke is as much king as he who wears the crown and holds the septre—in practice, it was he who panted beneath Jongdae’s boot and not the other way around.

“Has your master sought to refine you?” Jongdae asks, tipping his head. Nonetheless, he does not ignore the invitation. His eyes flit across the scene on the map—watching as legions of grey, fish-headed pawns march towards the southron reaches of the river (where they stand opposing a conglomeration of different colored beast-pawns—not yet attacking, but waiting for their mark). 

Baekhyun laughs lowly. “Do I strike you as having been refined?”

“Of course not,” Jongdae replies. “Though you speak as though you’ve been.”

“I flay you with tongue, Baron. It is a victory sweet in its simplicity.” 

“Your tongue has better use.” Jongdae trails his fingers across the table’s edge, until his blunted nails scratch the meat of Baekhyun’s hand, until his thick-fingers can wrap birdlike-wrist. 

He pries Baekhyun’s grip from the table’s edge as gently as someone like him is able. He places it instead at the curve of his waist—above rectangular hipbone, below the ribs. Baekhyun’s fngers are long—if both his hands were to wrap Jongdae’s waist, he dares to think his fingertips might chance at touching. He drags the conversation elsewhere, to the doubt (disbelief, moreso) lingering in the back of his mind: “Is it the truth? You were not illuminated?” 

“About my purpose? Or yours?”

“Is there a difference?” He glances at the map again, allows Baekhyun to step behind him. His other hand finds Jongdae’s waist, but he does not strain to see if he can link his grip. His hold rests like an anchor—heavy and heated. 

Jongdae reaches for one of the fish-headed pawns, plucks it up. While he waits for Baekhyun to answer the greater question, he asks also: “Is the effect the same? Is this a map of god’s?”

Baekhyun presses his nose to the back of Jongdae’s neck and inhales the scent clinging to the grease in his hair, the sweat on his skin. Then, he laughs in a rumbling way, reminiscent of the drilling in the mines (muffled, but ever-present). “The effect is the same, Baron. Invoke the troops.” His eyelashes flutter against Jongdae’s nape, and then, his chin perches atop his shoulder, watching the deliberation on the board. “You remember how to play the game.” 

With the neat cruelty of a suturing needle, Jongdae drops the fish-headed pawns among a pocket of lions. “The Dantalion Baron is out of position.” 

[lauvra]

Woke up feeling so off-centre that I wondered about my cycle then searched for answers on astrology.com ... Luna makes her debut into Aquarius, activating the sector of your chart that governs secrecy and solitude. Meanwhile, Mercury retrograde and Uranus form a harsh square that could lead to dramatic miscommunications, further inspiring you to lay low. Standing outside the MCG, my father said the thousands flocking toward the gates looked like Magpies -- neither of us had yet realised the Collingwood team were in fact: the Magpies. I wore a black and white checkered skirt and championed the Melbourne team, but we cheered for both during the match invariably. Collingwood Magpies VS. The Brisbane Lions. Honestly, the latter played more impressively, their passes were more clean and they appeared to utilise an intuition -- a kind of group-think demonstrated with a lot more ease than their opposition who were behind two goals with about five minutes remaining. One had scored a goal and continued to chew his gum (later a friend said he always does that, like a cow, it strikes her as hubris and she hates the player with a passion). My dad pointed out supporters starting to leave, but I remembered an historic moment in American baseball depicted in some rom-com and said I wouldn't give up just yet -- we've seen stranger things. Every so often, the dominant ratio of the home-town crowd would slowly build into a unionised chant: Cooooollingwoooooood, Coooooooollingwooooooooood, COOOOOOOOOOOOOLLINGWOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. I thought how strange, it felt less encouraging than haunting and outright taunting or more accurately, a threat to suggest: you better win, or else. It felt very British, actually, about as Punk and counter-productive as tossing bottles on stage out of love. I even mentioned this to dad and suggested then demonstrated an obvious, tried and true syllabic rhythm instead. A Brissy supporter three rows behind us spent the entire evening screaming profanities at his own team, only cheering with a tense hesitation despite them holding the lead. MAKE THEM PAY - OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES - WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? - FUCKIN' HELL, BILLY! - I'd never heard a name cried with such sincere desperation, I think it's my new favourite name. I couldn't help considering whether this red-faced young man may benefit from my evaluation that he didn't seem to much like his team -- in fact, he didn't seem to enjoy watching this game... at all. I knew better than to say so. I recognise he may be a typical Sports-fan™ who knows how these things go, I just hope he gets laid soon. Seagulls circled and surveyed the stadium. I wondered whether our behaviour struck them as strange but later realised: they don't care / we leave chippies here. I couldn't resist admiring the Lions who most resembled the kinds of guys from high-school who'd intimidate me into kissing their hand or fart on my head during I.T. class. The Melbourne team seemed borderline lethargic, too thoughtful or reliant on luck -- I remarked they didn't have enough hatred in their hearts. Each goal they scored was met with two levels of commercial screens flashing, a tribal drum appraisal, flashing of overhead lights and roars of acclaim. For the first time I understood beyond a spiritual sense what home ground advantage meant. So now we're down to 4 minutes in the final quarter and Collingwood score a goal, but they're still behind. I didn't crave a cigarette the entire time, my dopamine was naturally sky-high and look, I don't know the rules, hailing from the land of Rugby League as a teen I'd watch my boyfriend's training days with a kind of curious detachment, but after tonight, this sports™ stuff... I get it. The intensity, the tension and potential of vindication in it all. With 3 minutes remaining they score another and defeat Brisbane by one fucking point and are crowned the comeback-Kings. The lights, the drums, the roars and team anthem begin Good old Collingwood for ever, etc. etc. Not a bad first ever live football spectator experience. Noottta bad addalll.

[livefuntravelposts]

Travel to Tsavo for a true "Out of Africa" Experience

We stayed in a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.  But that isn't really the start of our adventure.  It really started in Mombasa and getting picked up by our guide/driver Sammy.  He will be with us for the next 6 days from Mombasa to Tsavo to Amboseli National Park and then onto Nairobi.  Sammy is friendly, easy to talk to and knowledgeable about not just mammals but about all the birds that we are seeing.  This was especially important to Kati who loves to photograph all the birds in Africa.  It took us a couple of hours to get to our lodge in Tsavo East and the time went by quickly. We stayed at Satao Camp and were lucky enough to get the tent closest and facing a very popular water hole.  Like watching "Animal TV", over the next couple of days and nights we saw herds of elephants, antelope, giraffes, hippos and warthogs walk out of the bush and come to this waterhole.  This was the start of our adventure, and we were happy to be back in Africa.  

One of the many lions we came upon watching, waiting and enjoying the sunset.

Why Tsavo?

Tsavo is the place where there were two man-eating lions roamed and ate over 100 people in 1898 as depicted in the movie The Ghost and the Darkness starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.  Tsavo East is the largest game park in Kenya, and it was a choice we had to make: Tsavo East or Tsavo West.  We chose Tsavo East mainly because of Satao Camp, and we are happy we did.  Over the next 4 days we saw lions after a kill, the red elephants of Tsavo, hippos, giraffes, and a leopard in a tree with its kill.  The landscape was surreal.  Dusty and dry, Tsavo needed the rains.  But they never came while we were there.  We also found The Real Africa, like the one described by Isak Dinesen's book Out of Africa.   Set out in the middle of the bush, our camp and the water hole were perfectly situated for the game drives and to see a multitude of animals coming and going from miles away to drink. We could experience the joy of the elephants coming over a ridge and seeing the water hole.  Herds of zebra and antelope.  We even had a genet in the dining room that came one night looking for food.  With the fire roaring, we ate delicious food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and had game drives most mornings and evenings.  We had a whole day game drive on one of the days and it proved spectacular as we saw 5 lions on a hunt, and then they came and sat down.  We were so close as they relaxed, slept and kept vigil.  This was an incredible experience and we really felt that we found The Real Africa.     This was why we came back to Africa.  It did not have the multitude of animals like Masai Mara, but it had the look and feel of a real African adventure.  Don't get me wrong, if there was one place, I would recommend seeing the Big 5 it would be the Masai Mara or to experience the Great Migration.  But we were looking for something different.  Something that I had not experienced since I lived in Africa. Something that was totally unexpected.  And Tsavo delivered.    

A herd of Zebras looking to finally get a drink in the dry and dusty savannah.

An Incredible Adventure

This was the fourth time Kati and I have been to Kenya.  We have also explored Uganda and Egypt, and I have lived for over 4 years in Zimbabwe and almost a year in South Africa.  We have also traveled to Cape Verde, Botswana, and Morocco, so we are not strangers to the African continent. But this time we wanted something different.  We wanted an "Out of Africa" adventure filled with animals, tented camps and great scenery.  And we got just that. With our tent, beautifully decorated with old Africa furnishings and overlooking the water hole, we were able to view animals from a couple of kilometers away traveling through the dusty bush.  The obvious joy that elephants experience when finally viewing the water hold was incredible.  They would start to trot, flapping their ears almost with smiles on their faces.  Big Tuskers, mothers with their young, and single bulls all came and went. We never tired of it. In the evenings, Impala filled the camp while jackals were on the prowl.  Hippos left the water hole and went to graze all night returning in the morning and elephants took over.  Zebra, water buck and giraffe all visited.  And there was a genet who would come into the dining room looking for something to eat before heading back into the bush. From our tent and around the camp we also saw owls, eagles and oryx. This all happened before we even left for a game drive.  This was a nightly occurrence as we lie in bed watching the animals come and go in front of us.  It was amazing. There were many camps to choose from in Tsavo, but we chose Satao Camp.  It gave us that great adventure and "Out of Africa" feeling, and the cost was good.  We found the Real Africa and will return here in the future.

The view from our tent overlooking the water hole.

Game Drives

We had two private game drives a day set up.  Both in the morning and evening.  Sammy our guide suggested we take one day and go further into the park and spend the day.  Satao Camp prepared a lunch box for us and we set out on our journey.  Tsavo was incredibly dry and dusty.  The red earth filled with air as we looked for the iconic African animals.  Sammy was outstanding and knowledgeable about all the animals, the park, birds and where to go for the best views.  One of the best aspects of Tsavo is that it is uncrowded, and we were virtually alone most of the time we were there. The final day, as we were almost out of the park, looking for a cheetah, we heard that there was a leopard in a tree with its kill.  Sammy asked if we wanted to go back.  Of course we did!  A leopard in a tree?  That was on my want list for a long time.  Having seen 4 leopards previously, they were all on the ground I really wanted to see a leopard with a kill up in a tree. We raced to where it was and by the time we got there, the leopard left the tree.  But as we got discouraged, Sammy said he spotted it in another tree.  It had climbed up to keep an eye on his kill, and there he was.  Sammy spotted it and we were overjoyed as we snapped photos. Sammy was a great guide filled with knowledge and willing to share.  We loved spending our time with him and were sad when we left him in Nairobi.

Finally we found the Leopard in a tree. He had his kill in a nearby tree and kept watch.

Our Final Word

After four incredible days, we had to say goodbye to Tsavo.  It was filled with iconic African wildlife including leopards, lions, elephants, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, impala, zebra, oryx, owls, eagles and a whole lot more.  We continued our adventure to Amboseli National Park which is famous for its large herds of elephants and spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro.  We will cover that part of the adventure in another post. We wanted to find the Real Africa and we did.  We wanted that true Out of Africa experience, and we got it in Tsavo.  We ate delicious food under the African moon, watched animals at the water hole, had incredible game drives with Sammy our guide every day and still had time to read, write and relax.  This adventure checked off all the boxes for us and we look forward to returning someday. If you are looking for a true, authentic African adventure that is not overrun by tourists then look to Tsavo and Satao Camp.  We just might see you there. Dennis would like that.   This map was created with Wanderlog, a trip planner on iOS and Android        

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[dreamfoodbg]

Tiara on head

The foot or southern panel, represents four young men standing in pairs, as if engaged in conversation, clad in short tunics, girded at the waist, and carrying sticks in their hands.

The panel on the eastern side is carved to represent a satrap, tiara on head, clothed in a long flowing mantle, or cloak, and seated in an arm-chair, with a sceptre in his left hand. He is watching the departure of a four-horse chariot, into which the driver, closely veiled and wearing a short tunic girded at the waist, is in the act of mounting. At the horses’ heads stands a groom leaning on a staff, holding the fretting steeds, and at the same time looking in the direction of a fellow-servant on his right holding a saddle-horse. Behind the satrap are two figures apparently in the act of conversing with each other.

The western panel represents a hunting scene, in which the central figure is that of the satrap, on horseback, in a long flowing cloak, and with raised lance holding a lion at bay. Opposite him is the figure of another horseman with couched lance charging the king of beasts. Towards the right is the figure of a frightened horse galloping off, and dragging along the ground its dismounted rider, whose hands still clutch the reins. Behind the satrap are the figures of a wounded hind, and of a horseman pulling up his galloping steed.

Hamdl Bey at Saida

The Weepers or Mourners’ Sarcophagus, No. 4,9. —This was discovered by Hamdl Bey at Saida in 1887, and is of white marble; it was originally coloured, and traces of blue, red, and yellow are still visible on it. During the process of excavation a corner of this sarcophagus, and another of its cover, as well as a head on one of its panels, were broken.

This monument belongs to the Attic school of art of the fourth century, and is in the form of a Greek temple. Its frieze is ornamented with about a hundred little carved figures of archers and hunters, in Phrygian caps, short tunics drawn in at the waist, and flowing cloaks, engaged in hunting bears, lions, panthers, wild boars, etc. The carvings on the sides represent incidents of the chase, while those at the head and foot depict the return of the hunters loaded with game.

At each of the four corners is a pillar, and each side is divided into sections by five Ionic columns, while the head and foot are each divided by two only. Every alternate column bears the figure of a woman; in all there are eighteen of these female figures, all in mournful attitudes, and clad in variously draped long robes which cover them from head to foot. These figures are most symmetrically arranged; in the centre of each side are two women standing up, and to the right and left of them is another woman in a sitting posture, and at the corners another standing ; at the head and foot of the sarcophagus is the figure of a woman seated, and to the right and left of her another female figure standing.

[tripistanbul]

New Post has been published on Vasilka

Tiara on head

The foot or southern panel, represents four young men standing in pairs, as if engaged in conversation, clad in short tunics, girded at the waist, and carrying sticks in their hands.

The panel on the eastern side is carved to represent a satrap, tiara on head, clothed in a long flowing mantle, or cloak, and seated in an arm-chair, with a sceptre in his left hand. He is watching the departure of a four-horse chariot, into which the driver, closely veiled and wearing a short tunic girded at the waist, is in the act of mounting. At the horses’ heads stands a groom leaning on a staff, holding the fretting steeds, and at the same time looking in the direction of a fellow-servant on his right holding a saddle-horse. Behind the satrap are two figures apparently in the act of conversing with each other.

The western panel represents a hunting scene, in which the central figure is that of the satrap, on horseback, in a long flowing cloak, and with raised lance holding a lion at bay. Opposite him is the figure of another horseman with couched lance charging the king of beasts. Towards the right is the figure of a frightened horse galloping off, and dragging along the ground its dismounted rider, whose hands still clutch the reins. Behind the satrap are the figures of a wounded hind, and of a horseman pulling up his galloping steed.

Hamdl Bey at Saida

The Weepers or Mourners’ Sarcophagus, No. 4,9. —This was discovered by Hamdl Bey at Saida in 1887, and is of white marble; it was originally coloured, and traces of blue, red, and yellow are still visible on it. During the process of excavation a corner of this sarcophagus, and another of its cover, as well as a head on one of its panels, were broken.

This monument belongs to the Attic school of art of the fourth century, and is in the form of a Greek temple. Its frieze is ornamented with about a hundred little carved figures of archers and hunters, in Phrygian caps, short tunics drawn in at the waist, and flowing cloaks, engaged in hunting bears, lions, panthers, wild boars, etc. The carvings on the sides represent incidents of the chase, while those at the head and foot depict the return of the hunters loaded with game.

At each of the four corners is a pillar, and each side is divided into sections by five Ionic columns, while the head and foot are each divided by two only. Every alternate column bears the figure of a woman; in all there are eighteen of these female figures, all in mournful attitudes, and clad in variously draped long robes which cover them from head to foot. These figures are most symmetrically arranged; in the centre of each side are two women standing up, and to the right and left of them is another woman in a sitting posture, and at the corners another standing ; at the head and foot of the sarcophagus is the figure of a woman seated, and to the right and left of her another female figure standing.