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stormyoceans · 1 year

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oh please please please please talk more about the puentalay kisses bc i am, also, severely insane about them

(the feeling! the physicality! the comfort!! god those are all such great kisses. also hoping for sea to grab onto jimmy too oh yes tho am not sure if the hesitancy before was just him or him portraying talay, we'll see??)

that could be!!!! as a viewer it’s pretty hard to establish if the physicality in a kiss is fully determined by the actor’s performance or if it’s partly due to directing choices, so it’s definitely possible for that hesitancy to be more about talay rather than sea himself, especially since talay isn’t as comfortable with physical touch as puen is, at least at the beginning, while sea himself seems like a very affectionate guy, at least now. i personally feel like both factors may be at play here, which is why im really curious to see how their kisses in last twilight are going to be, since in the mock trailer day is the one to initiate it

AND SINCE IM INSUFFERABLE HERE IS MY PERSONAL ANALYSIS OF THE PUENTALAY KISSES BASED ON AN ASSIGNEMENT I DID FOR MY HISTORY OF FILM CLASS BACK IN UNIVERSITY 10 YEARS AGO

okay so, obviously im far from being an expert, but what i learned while doing my research is that there are 5 elements that directors and acting coaches usually take into account when it comes to kisses. those elements are:

prelude: it’s everything that leads up to the kiss itself, from the story up until that moment, to the emotions of the characters, to the tone of the scene;

look: eye contact is essential when it comes to acting, and even more so when there’s a kissing scene. we love consent, but the truth is that a lot of times the invitation for a kiss is made through the eyes and the emotions you can express through them (needless to say, jimmy is INSANE at this);

breath: it's whether the characters just dive in or if there's some lingering before or after the kiss;

rhythm: it's about the length, the pace, and the technique of the kiss;

surrender: this is what i usually call the physicality of a kiss, because it’s basically the way the bodies respond to each other.

a good director can play with all these elements to give a specific feeling and match the scene itself. that being said, let's start with the kiss where all these elements can't be applied sfjksgfj

the drunk kiss in episode 2. drunk kisses are hard to judge because you are actually supposed to mess up all the things that make a good kiss. if a character is wasted they're hardly gonna be able to communicate emotions through their eyes or have a nice rhythm. in this case there's also not much of a prelude since they've just met, but that's kinda the point: the purpose is to surprise both puen and the audience. i still find it an interesting kiss because of what it tells us about the characters (talay is more open and affectionate when drunk, puen is perplexed but doesn't get angry or push talay away) and i think the fact that it stayed with them for YEARS says a lot about the instant connection they felt between them. i also really appreciate that we get a quick peck first and then a second slightly more purposeful kiss, lips puckered and fully touching.

(hiding the rest under the cut to preserve some kind of dignity)

the greenhouse kiss in episode 4. HERE'S WHERE IM GONNA START LEAVING ANY SEMBLANCE OF SANITY AND COHERENCY BEHIND. im usually not the biggest fan of one-sided/sudden kisses, but this one.... THIS ONE!!!!!! the entire episode is a perfect build up to this moment, engaging the viewers since the very beginning ("so, they will fall in love?" "i guess they will") and raising the (emotional) stakes with each step leading towards it ("why don't we fall in love with each other?", "i talked about the one im hitting on", "feelings aren't something you can toy with"): the second talay steps into the greenhouse and puen comes into view, you can actually FEEL it in the air, that something's gonna happen. then puen grabs talay's arm to stop him from leaving AND THE LOOKS HE THROWS AT TALAY!!!!!! THE WAY HIS EYES SOFTEN WHEN TALAY ASKS HIM "ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME AGAIN?" AND HE ANSWERS "NO"!!!!!!! his intentions are written all over them, so when puen grabs talay's neck and kisses him you're expecting it and yet it still manages to take your breath away. sudden kisses are pretty much the only type where it's kinda acceptable to have a frozen physicality (so arms down the side, body standing still) because it makes sense for the surprise to be freezing the character in place, and while that it's also what happens here, i really like how they were able to somehow still make it feel 'physical': jimmy goes in so strong sea stumbles/has to readjust his position a little, the hold jimmy has on sea's neck is gentle but firm and establishes connection, their lips are fully pressed together, jimmy's nose is almost squished against sea's cheek, and for a sudden kiss their bodies are standing surprisingly close to each other.

the greyllery kiss in episode 8. when i tell you i start FROTHING AT THE MOUTH every time i see just how perfectly they constructed and directed this kiss to parallel the one in the greenhouse…. from puen's adoring look to the way he pulls talay in by grabbing the back of his neck to the camera angles, every detail is built to make the viewers recall the end of episode 4 and give us a visual representation of how much their relationship has grown since then. obviously the mutuality of it is the biggest difference in itself, but there’s also a subtle shift in the physicality to match that: puen gets to wrap both of his arms around talay now, and talay finally reaches back too. this is one of the cases where i do wish sea could have been a bit more confident in grabbing jimmy back, but at the same time i think the hesitancy makes sense for talay as a character, so it's not a detail that pulls you out of the moment and everything else is just PERFECT. the prelude to the kiss in particular is incredible, not only because of the confession itself, which would deserve its own analysis even just for how it happens when the lights are out, highlighting the fact that they love each other for who they are, no matter which body they're inhabiting, but also because the tension gets progressively built up beat by beat until you find yourself on the edge of your sit holding your breath just waiting for it to happen: i said i like you, beat, i like you even though i don't know what you look like, beat, even though i don't know who you are, beat, i like you too, beat, i like everything about you, beat, puen dropping his bag, beat, and when puen takes an audible breath in before stepping forward, that's when you can finally release your own. this is also the first kiss where we can judge the rhythm, and i personally think that jimmy and sea have a very good sense of it in all of their kisses. it's kinda hard to explain why, but it's in the way they can pace the kiss, and mirror each other's intensity, and switch the side their head turns while doing it. last thing im gonna say (because this is already getting way too long ;;;;) is that letting the sounds of the kiss be heard under the background music sure was. A CHOICE.

the bucket hat kiss in episode 9. [RATTLES THE BARS OF HER CAGE] DOCTOR JIMMY THE THINGS YOU DO WITH YOUR EYES!!!!!!!!! in this case the kiss itself is pretty short so it can't be judged on more technical aspects, however it does not leave the viewers wanting for more, because the emotions behind it already say everything we need to know. the adoration the longing the want the reverence the wonder the love.... it's all written in the way puen looks at talay. the camera focuses way more on puen here because the revelation of who talay is is, quite literally, life changing for him, but the lingering on talay's eyes after they part and the two of them remaining close to each other as if they can't bring themselves to move on tell us how this kiss functions as a seal for the many promises made between them: of going back together, of finding each other again, of their mutual feelings. also i can't really figure out if this is a jimmy thing or a conscious directing choice, but when it comes to physicality i LOVE how puen always has his hand or his arm around talay's neck. it's such a protective and possessive gesture which is meant to send a clear message, not to other people, but to the universe: this is the man i love, it says, and im not gonna let you take him away from me.

the bathtub kiss in episode 10. i feel so normal about this kiss it's honestly insane how normal and hinged and sane and fine i feel about it. like not to be petty but i have no idea HOW can anyone watch this and then really say that jimmysea can't kiss, especially considering it hits EVERY SINGLE POINT of what a good kiss should be like. the simple intimacy of taking a bath together, the shared joy of their success, and the teasing of the reward are all perfect set ups for this kiss, and as always jimmy has the insane ability to broadcast puen's intentions through his eyes in a way few other actors can, however what makes this kiss really stand out compared to the rest are the breath and the physicality of it. when it comes to kissing talay, puen is always diving into it like a starving man, and this time is no different, but unlike all the other times there is a pause in the kiss and you can actually see how much it costs them to separate: they both look like they're getting out of a trance, breaths mingling together as puen keeps his eyes closed for a little longer to pull himself together and talay blindly chases his lips for more, confused by the sudden interruption. this temporary pause doesn't break the actual rhythm of the kiss, nor it pulls the viewers out of the moment, because it's clear that they're both still very much into it. i will never stop praising jimmy and sea for being able to portray just how overwhelmed the characters are here, both from the kiss and the feelings they have for each other, and it also shows in the way they almost sound choked up as they thank each other. the kiss picking up from where they left it is the only natural continuation to all these emotions bubbling to the surface, emotions that are way too big to put into words, so they rely on their bodies to try to convey them. and speaking of bodies, this kiss is the perfect example of why physicality is also called 'surrender', you just need to look at the openness and vulnerability of talay's neck in that position, but even when sea shifts a little into a more comfortable one you can see how their body fit together and melt into each other perfectly. honestly the only thing that could have possibly made this kiss better was to have jimmy hold sea's face for a bit longer instead of moving his arm on the side of the bathtub, but frankly im just nitpicking here (monica aren't you forgetting something, one may ask. and to that i say YEAH YEAH THE TONGUE SLIP WE'VE ALL SEEN IT. NO I REFUSE TO COMMENT ON IT BYE)

the riverbank kiss in episode 10. as much as i love this whole scene, this kiss in particular is sadly not my favorite one, mostly because i think the editing and the camera angles did a bit of a disservice to it. i really like how it starts: all puentalay kisses have very strong preludes because they always serve a purpose to the story, they're never gratuitous (in this case it's meant to be a confirmation of puen's words and an omen of what's to come), and jimmysea can both convey so much with their eyes that you can actually feel how they're pulling each other (and the viewers) in to the kiss by the looks they share. it's when the camera moves from their faces to go above and then behind them that i feel like it ends up taking you out of the moment they worked so hard to build, because it completely blocks the view of the kiss in a very jarring way, and when it gets in front of them again talay's arm is suddenly reaching up to puen, which it wasn't in the previous frame. it's such a pity because i LOVE that connection, it's the kind of physicality that can turn a good kiss to a great one, so i do wish we could have gotten more continuity and a more direct view.

the reunion kiss in episode 11. it may come as a surprise, but i actually don’t have a lot to say about this kiss, mainly because i believe any technical analysis becomes pointless in the face of the journey that led them to this moment. this is their first kiss after being reunited, and if this were any other show, i feel like it would have made a big deal out of this also being their first kiss in their real bodies, but the love between puen and talay has never been about physical appearance, and we're reminded of that once again. this kiss is the meeting of two souls who have missed each other and find comfort in being together again, and i don't think it's a coincidence that this is the one time they are fully facing each other, with puen mirroring talay's crosslegged position on the bed. “from this moment on, it’s me and you,” talay is gonna say in the next episode, “talay and puen,” and i think this kiss perfectly represent these words. i guess i do wish, once again, that sea were holding jimmy back in some way, even just by grabbing his arm, but like with the greyllery kiss i think it does work character-wise, because while this is a comforting moment for both of them, talay is the one who needs more reassurance, who needs to know that puen isn’t gonna leave him, and all the gestures puen does (the forehead kiss, the handholding, the protective hold he has on talay while they kiss) are his way to prove to talay, other than with words, that this isn’t a dream: it’s real, they’re both real, and now that they’re finally home and together, he’s never gonna let anything separate them again.

the boyfriends kiss in episode 12. what's better than a kiss in the same place the universe separated you as a way to seal the deal on your new-found and hard-fought boyfriend status? NOTHING THAT'S WHAT. i do think, however, that this kiss kinda leaves you wanting for more. it's not a short deep one like the bucket hat kiss, but it's also not a full make out session like many of the others, and since they don't have the time to build a nice rhythm it feels like the kiss ends before it even gets a chance to start. this is also one of the times where i wish sea were touching jimmy back in some way, or that his body were lining more towards him, because physicality wise it makes him seem a bit less engaged in the moment. despite these details im still pretty fond of this kiss, mostly because the utter adoration in both puen's and talay's eyes before it makes up for A LOT in my book. also it's not really related to the kiss itself but i love the dark/light contrast in their clothes.

the foggy glasses kiss in episode 12. GAME CHANGING LIFE ALTERING MIND BLOWING. A CULTURAL RESET. we've all read about kisses that leave a character breathless, lightheaded and weak at the knees, maybe even got to experience some ourselves in our life, and i honestly can't think about any other kiss in television history that was able to perfectly represent that feeling more than this one. from talay's dazed expression, to his foggy glasses, to his messy hair because of puen's fingers running through it, you can actually believe this kiss affected him to such an extent. and how could it not affect him when the rhythm and physicality of it are INSANE???? the way puen is holding talay's head with BOTH OF HIS HANDS to keep talay in place barely gives talay any time to take breath and they're so close and entangled in each other that you can barely tell where one starts and the other ends. i love the wider camera shots of this kiss because, as i mentioned before, you once again get to see why physicality is defined as surrender: it looks like their bodies are almost melting into each other. it's not even their longest kiss, but the tension and the intensity are off the charts in every part of it. the single-minded purpose with which puen approaches talay at the beginning, eyes firmly on talay's face, never wandering from it, already lets you know just how wild this kiss is about to be, and you can't expect anything less from it after getting to see talay confessing to puen for the third time in five episodes. i also find it very telling that both the show and the our skyy episodes end on such great kisses, they feel like the testament of their love and the proof of how far they've come.

the beach kiss in our skyy. ONE KISS TO RULE THEM ALL ONE KISS TO REMEMBER THEM ONE KISS TO HONOR THEM ALL AND IN FRONT OF THE OCEAN BIND THEM. so anyway bad jokes (and quotes) aside, this kiss does feel like a sum of all their previews ones, maybe because there are elements in it that tend to remind the viewers of a lot of them: the drunk kiss being used as a set up for it, the framing of puen's face at the beginning being the same as the greenhouse and the greyllery ones, puen's smile before pulling talay into it being a little nudge to the bathtub kiss, their position almost mirroring the boyfriends one...... not to mention that it's hard to look at the ocean and not be reminded of other important moments in their journey, like the two of them promising to find each other again in their universe on the secret island and talay having to wait for the tide to retreat to go back to puen. the ocean of is also the place where talay drowned and everything began, so it only makes sense for their story to end in front of it too. the cycle closes with a recollection of the past and a promise for the future, the kiss itself, the mouthed "i love you" and the forehead touch letting us know that no matter what's gonna happen, they will always love each other like the very first day. much like with the reunion one, i think any technical aspect of this kiss becomes of very little importance when you're faced with the whole entire everything of their history together being contained in it, but let me just say, what a difference sea's arm casually draped over jimmy's legs makes!!!!! compared to the boyfriends kiss, you can see how the extra physical connection makes both of them look fully invested in the kiss and makes the viewers feel more involved in it too. as always the rhythm of the kiss is really good, and this time sea is the one who really shines when it comes to the look, because he's just radiating adoration love and pure unadulterated joy everywhere. not that jimmy isn't giving insane levels of emotions too, but im gonna end this mess with something deeply controversial: i know the fandom likes their long hair, but jimmy's bangs end up covering his eyes way too much and that is A CRIME.

#MENTAL ILLNESS WON TODAY PT. 2 #I HAVEN'T REREAD ANY PART OF IT AND IM FRANKLY TOO EMBARRASSED TO DO IT #the fact that i feel like i haven't said half of the things there are to be said about all these kisses......#anyway it's been nice knowing y'all im gonna go bury myself in my backyard now goodbye forever #vice versa #puentalay #m: ask #vish 💜

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haywire-cebus · 1 year

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Linked Universe Soul Eater AU

i coouuullld work on the long linked universe fic i have been slowly chipping away at

but instead ive decided to type of the lu soul eater au ive had cooking in my brain since i first got covid. it is the nature of all humankind (me) to have soul eater au/headcanons for all things i like. lu is no different. please feel free to talk to me about this im obsessed with it

sky: he is a meister. at first, it was him a sun against the world (meaning, in class at dwma). sun is a shield weapon, and while that made fighting-styles need to get creative, they always managed. however, during an adventure, they find a student named fi, a sword-weapon, and she joins them as sky’s sword. so now he’s like a full, cool knight. during that adventure, however, Something Happens, and the kishin Demise they were fighting traps fi in her sword form. it’s horribly tragic, and sky and sun can feel her getting quieter and quieter as time goes on. they don’t know how to stop it, and its scary. they also team up with groose, whose two weapons (his friends in the game) are gun/cannons. i just feel like groose deserves a gun.

four: he is one guy, a meister. (i was tempted to make him his split brothers pretending to be twins and not four of them, and theyre all weapons tho) but really, its four. he went on his first adventure with a much older weapon (the minish cap enzlo) as a mentor, but at the end enzlo basically said ‘its time for me to retire.’ four then moved to death city to figure himself out, and immediately got wrapped up in a witch’s plan, vaati, who wanted to figure out what makes meister and weapon souls tick. he kidnapped four and broke his soul into pieces. at first, four thought it was only four pieces, but eventually realized vaati ripped a piece of him out and infused it with some black blood, and poof! out comes shadow, a weapon. (kinda like crona, but separate body). the soul fuck-up also, temporarily, split four into four people (because. idk. magic. and soul eater bc. let me have this ok.) and while at the end, four fused back into himself, shadow stayed separate, though he can hop into four’s shadow at will. four then goes back to death academy, and tries to hide shadow as best he can. the deku tree finds out, of course, but lets him keep it a secret. they pretend like all that happened was he got turned into a weapon, and so shadow hides because theyre all scared of people hating him for being the pure essence of black blood (when the chain finds out, its obviously all sympathy and love and a little “holy shit thats awesome”)

shadow mostly turns into a scythe, because thats what vaati wanted in a weapon (he took the term “death scythe” too literally), but he can sometimes turn into a glaive/staff that holds pseudo-elemental attacks, and him and four are working on him holding that form more bc hit makes him more comfortable. four also cant split anymore, but the four pieces of himself are still separate. sometimes they work together smoothly, but sometimes its a cacophony of noise and yelling and migraines.

also due to his... i hesitate to call it adventure. but due to everything four is very good at reading souls. he figures out twilight and midna’s whole deal right away, and pieces together warrior’s fairly quickly. he can tell legend and wild have more forms than they send to show off, and can read hryule’s soul better than hryule can for himself (and learns things about hyrule that he doesnt even know about himself.) but four is a good kid and keeps this all to himself (and yet, still doesnt tell the others about himself. bc hes scared of them being freaked out)

time: he and his wife, malon, are a badass duo, honestly. malon is a death scythe, though her real form is a huge, sickass claymore. they live on campus, and spend most of their time tending to the garden and outdoor parts of campus. they occasionally go on missions, but try not to because they went through enough as youth (taking on a full-fledged kishinn(majora and the fierce deity stuff) and absorbing part of its soul into your body to stop it will make you a little tired of fighting, and that was only their second adventure). time, however, cant stop himself from bonding with and wanting to protect all these new students, and it doesnt help the hero worship a lot of them have towards him.

as for times past, he was dropped off on the academy’s doorstep as a baby, and raised by the deku tree himself. when he was old enough to begin classes, he was a little... out of touch with people his own age because of this, and some folks were pretty mean to him. and then he met malon, and had the biggest case of puppy love/crush possible (but he couldnt figure out his own feelings). they teamed up for a while, got far in their schooling, saved the world. the normal stuff a student does there. that first adventure took it out of him though, so he just kinda... disappeared for a while without telling anyone. malon got pissed, of course, but not fully at him, more at... the world for not being better about helping everyone after these horrible adventures. she goes after him, finds him fighting a kishin by himself, no weapon, mostly a soul-battle, and helps him finish the fight. he’s now missing an eye, has half a kishin in him, and she expects him to be even more broody and awkward, but hes just so happy to see her. (he doesnt confess then, though). they go back together, take a little time to rest and heal, graduate, malon becomes a death scythe, and only then does time confess. malon gives him a “i was waiting for you to be ready :)” and theyre very, very happy. or, as happy as you can be in this world.

legend: he is a weapon, and he can transform into tons of different weapons, like wild, but while wild’s are more... traditional weapons, legends can turn into a sword, a shield, and the most random weapons one can conceive of (meaning, the cooler more flashy ones you see in soul eater, and also his massive amounts of tools in lu). this poor kid has gone on so many missions, mostly entirely by himself, as his own mesiter, basically. he fought with ravio for a while, when they met, because they were soul-compatible, but ravio quickly decided being a meister wasn’t for him. they still room together in death city (also may rename this deku city if i rename the school to deku weapon and meister academy. even if it is funny to have the happy big tree’s city named death city). legend was on his own for a while in school, until he met hyrule

hyrule: he is a meister. he never found a weapon he was compatible with, and instead carried around just a regular sword while scraping through his classes (other students were like, is this allowed??? but death (the deku tree, bc i think its funny to make the deku tree death in this au) was like ‘lmao he’s managing to complete all the missions we send him on, so why not.’) hyrule and legend are eventually on a mission together, and in a jam, hyrule is like ‘please let me try to fight with you’ and legend is like ‘fucking fine. you burn your hands bc i’m not compatible with anyone, thats not my problem.’ and then it works and they kick fucking ass together, tho hyrule struggles to use legend in any form other than sword, and legend hates being in sword-form (bc past trauma he refuses to talk about until it messes with their compatibility. they have a little character arc and hyrule trains using legend in other forms and legend is more comfortable in sword form. and yes the trauma is marin-related. when he partnered with ravio, he never went into sword form)

hyrule is also good at soul resonance and attacks and stuff (like maka and stein). he just has no real training on it bc where he grew up, all the weapons stuff and soul stuff was seen as taboo, so even as he’s actively learning about it all in his classes and knows his kind of abilities are seen as cool and useful, he doesnt want to tell people. (legend eventually finds out and helps him find someone to teach him about it. that someone is time. hyrule quickly becomes super good at it all)

twilight: while not a witch, he is the child of a witch and a human. he was abandoned in a village as a baby, and they raised him communally as their own (though, of course, rusl takes him in the most) he doesnt have any magical powers, but when a witch (zant) came to his village and cursed everyone, he managed to survive by just being cursed into his wolf-form. he had never trained to use a weapon, but quickly meets midna (zant’s half-sister. shes technically a witch, but shes also a weapon. shes a very very weak witch in terms of magic.) on his journey. what follows his basically what youd expect, but he never loses midna companionship in this au. the two of them go to death city and enroll in classes and begin training. only time and the deku tree/death know about his wolf form, which he keeps hidden due to the prejudice again witches in the school. when he first meets wild, who has no memories and is so confused with the world, he just got back from a mission. he immediately latches onto him and helps him figure things out.

also midna turns into these cool as gauntlet/gloves things. with them, twi can hookshot (launch one and the fist goes out and retracts), punch so so good, and charge up for Shadow Blast things for ranged attacks.

warriors: He is actually a weapon, though he hides this from literally everyone. before he came to death academy (which im considering renaming Deku Academy, bc the deku tree is death in this au), he was guilted into being the weapon for a girl named cia. her sister always suspected something was off, but lana never spoke up bc her sister was always there when she tried. eventually, he learned that cia was helping a kishin and was going to try to feed him human souls so they could be powerful (and together) forever, and he got the FUCK outta there. he told himself he would never turn into a weapon again, and he met athena (his zelda. i like that name better for her bc shes literally the goddess of wisdom and warfare), a rapier weapon who could also turn into a bow. (yes i like when the weapons turn into things. its cool also also lets me keep more sword imagery while still giving the boys different weapon options) he teams up with her and they fight, and no one suspects wars is also a weapon bc of how good he is at disguising his soul (he’s only good with his own tho, he can’t read others for shit).

wind: a meister. he grew up in a coastal town, training with some older weapon and meister duos but never really focusing too much on it, until a bird-witch kidnaps his sister. he teams up with his childhood friend, tetra, to get her back. tetra doesnt know shes a weapon at this point (i dont remember if thats how that works in soul eater but shh my au my rules) until she discovers that during the mission. she can turn into a hammer, which functions (obviously) like a hammer, but also as a hookshot (the top flings off, turns sharp, and then retracts), or the sides of the head of the hammer open and suck/blow wind very powerfully (like the gust jar). they get his sister back and wind and terta are like “that was fucking awesome wanna do that forever?” and then they go to death city to go to school.

wild: he is a weapon, like tsubaki, and can turn into basically any weapon he chooses. his zelda, flora, is his meister. they first met when wild first showed that ability to his parents, and wilds family brought him to flora’s father so she could be his meister. this is the past, because i want it to be. so flora’s dad is rich and pays his family for him to be flora’s weapon. wilds family isnt malicious about it, theyre just struggling to get by. they technically give wild a choice in it and ask him if he’s okay, but wild is young and knows this is how he can help his family, so he doesnt really see “no” as an option. he figures he can rise up in station here (tho this is only 100 years before everything else, so the world isnt too “social classes are you stay where you were born unless you become a knight and we still have noblemen and stuff,” but it’s still there. its actually fading, which is why flora’s dad is so intent on her being a good and powerful meister, and why he’s picking a weapon from a lower social class at all (its also bc wilds ability is rare)).

so wild is raised side by side with flora, who hates him like in canon (meaning she doesn’t hate him, just hates how easy it is for him to access his different forms and he he goes along with his lot in life. she just wants to go to school and be her own person, but her dad wants her to be a world-famous meister). hes still not treated super well (he’s not floras equal in the eyes of her father), but he can go visit his family on their days off from training and stuff. eventually, they go on a mission to stop a well-known kishin. flora is extremely good at soul stuff, and basically locks him in place when he mortally wounds wild. wild is taken away by their battle companion impa and her meister, to Death Academy (where they had gone to study occasionally, but still mostly stayed with flora’s father and his private tutors), where he is put into stasis and sleeps for a hundred years. flora and the kishin, known as Calamity, are locked away as the soul-battle rages in in their minds. one hundred years later, wild wakes up with no memories but a voice calling out to his soul. he trains, on his own, because no meister can hold onto him, and goes out on his own to get flora back. he fights by himself with only parts of his body transformed, gets flora, and takes her back to the school, where the two of them rest. now they get to acclimatize to life 100 years in the future. flora struggles because she should be sad- her dad is long gone, wild doesnt fully remember her, everything is different, but at least she can study like she always wanted to.

she still wields wild like a badass, though wild tends to take missions on his own without telling her so they pass the fighting-oriented classed while flora focuses on her studies. she notices only half the time (not for a want of trying tho, wild is just really sneaky)

as of now, i dont have any real... plot with these. just everyones backstories and stuff. but i love the idea of the deku tree making time and malon take all these students on a field trip, which quickly spirals into a whole adventure.

#linked universe #lu wild #lu legend #lu time #lu twilight #lu warriors #lu hyrule #lu wind #lu sky #lu four

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agentnico · 5 months

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The Boy and the Heron (2023) Review

Robert Pattinson, is that you??

Plot: Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother's death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.

Seriously though, we need to discuss Robert Pattinson in this movie. He voices the titular heron, and this is Pattinson’s first ever foray into voice acting… and it is a true masterclass. He gives an unrecognisable performance using a raspy, zany voice, and one that you could easily mistake for the other voice actors in the movie like Mark Hamill and Willem Dafoe, to whom such vocal chords come much more naturally. Honestly, you have never heard Pattinson like this before, with the closest sounding performance in his filmography being in the 2020 crime drama The Devil All the Time as the high-pitched preacher, but even then you could mentally connect the voice to the actor. I must give Pattinson all the props in the world - for someone who started out as a sparkling teen-vamp in the Twilight films, he’s really worked hard to break himself out of the shadows of that series and consistently defy expectations and be an acting force to be reckoned with. Now his turn in The Boy and the Heron only justifies this even more, and more importantly should be a signal to other animation studios to give this guy more voice acting roles, as he’s great with those evidently. Like seriously, you can’t even begin to fathom Pattinson’s grows in this film - its something else.

Right, let’s talk about the actual film now! The Boy and the Heron sees the return of the legendary Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki who most know through his projects with animation company Studio Ghibli. The guy’s a legend in the realm of anime, so me and my fiancée were excited to go see it, so we had a full date night planned - we travelled quite the way to get to the cinema that was showing this movie, as the film so far has had a very limited release here in the UK, and we enjoyed a fine meal at the local pub, and yours truly had the pleasure of accompanying the meal with a couple of pints as one should. We then go to buy the tickets and whaddayaknow they have all sold out. Yep, all that travelling and effort to see a film and yet it was not meant to be. Nonetheless, I instead made my way there again today, this time pre-ordering the seat a day in advance as that was a lesson learned. Oh yes, when it comes to a Hayao Miyazaki animation, I am one dedicated son of a bee to see that! Thank heavens I pre-booked that time, as the screening I was in was packed, and as I was in the lobby I overheard other customers trying to purchase tickets for The Boy and the Heron and being turned out. Look, Studio Ghibli has its fan-base, so it’s not surprising so many people want to go see it. It’s surprising though that cinemas aren’t providing enough screens to show it though, but that is a separate distribution matter in itself.

The Boy and the Heron plays out a little like a montage of Best Of, revisiting themes and devices familiar from Miyazaki’s previous films and tying them together with elements that have a clear autobiographical resonance for the director. From the various magical and absurd creatures to the stunning animation to the piano-heavy score by frequent Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi, it’s all the usual Ghibli goodness you know and love. Speaking of the score, the lush orchestral Hisaishi soundtrack is shimmering and exultant, that is filled with innocent beauty, yet also managing to embrace the darker aspects of the narrative. The animation as stated is superb, but I do mean it looks incredible. From the very opening sequence where Mahito is running through the burning streets of Tokyo to find his mother, the dizzying effect of the flames and the people around running in panic and being engulfed in the horrible disaster - that sequence is both beautiful from an artistic standpoint but also frightening as it reminds us of all the damage the Second World War brought to innocent people. But the rest of the film also brims with the spectacular hand-drawn animation Ghibli artists are know for, and I always loved how they managed to balance the whimsical fun elements with the more scarier ones. Speaking of which, after seeing this movie you’re going to have a very different opinion on parakeets. You have been warned.

Now in terms of the negative… the characterisation. A huge part of Ghibli movies in general, and especially those directed by Miyazaki, is that as a rule they are always driven by its characters, with their journeys at the forefront. World building and the narrative always took second place. Major examples of this are Howl’s Moving Castle, Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away, where you had these absolutely crazy fantasy-driven landscapes, yet at the same time the stories were laid back with simplicity and effective means and rules. However with The Boy and the Heron the world building is so convoluted and confusing at times that it seems Miyazaki put all his efforts into fleshing out this narrative instead of giving more time to the main character, who supposedly undergoes a deep emotional journey. However because we are busy being distracted with all the craziness of the world, the journey of the character’s growth is near non-existent, and as such the finale seems very abrupt and unfitting, with the story choices feeling undeserved and unnatural.

The Boy and the Heron is a beautiful animation from an auteur who’s delivered so many greats previously to which this one doesn’t come close to, but even Miyazaki’s mid-level film is most directors’ best. The lack of character building and interpersonal relationship is a heavy hindrance, but aside from that this is an engaging original story featuring a superb music score, great vocals (especially from Pattinson) and also nostalgia that reminds us how great Studio Ghibli truly is. Again, it’s not Miyazaki’s best, but it’s easily one of the best animations in the last few years, and will also make you want to avoid parakeets for good. Don’t make their cute little look fool you - they are sinister little bastards.

Overall score: 7/10

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howtofightwrite · 2 years

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What would be the best TTRPG system for realistic combat (and recovery) for a modern secret agent campaign without fantasy/sci-fi elements.

Best is a very loaded term here. That will depend on the exact kind of story you're trying to tell, and the experience of your group, and how much work you're willing to do.

The best, out of the box, fit is probably Spycraft, or Spycraft 2.0. Both editions do include rules for gadgets and volcano dwelling mad scientists, but the core material is modern spy fiction, with a lot of flexibility for anything from gritty post-cold war espionage to borderline superheroes.

Worth knowing that basically of the premade campaign settings for Spycraft will fail your conditions. World on Fire might be compatible with what you're looking for, but that feels like complying with the specific text of your request while ignoring its spirit. Shadowforce: Archer is more solidly in the range of a James Bond remix. It is an interesting setting, but not what you're looking for.

Part of the reason I think it's a strong choice is because it uses a modified version of the D20 system. Which is to say, 3rd Edition D&D. If you know how to play D&D, Spycraft is going to be very familiar. The 2.0 Edition does mix things up a little bit, but it should still be in pretty comfortable territory. (If 2.0 is still too “uncomfortable,” there is a splat to adapt the D20 Modern classes into Spycraft, so that it will play even more like D&D than it already does.)

For the most part, Spycraft is careful to provide the player with non-fantastic elements first and then dropping in fantastic elements as options for the players or GM. Remember, if you are running a campaign, you have final authority to say, “no, that doesn't fit.” Just because there's rules for a laser watch in the book, if you say it doesn't exist in the setting, then the player can't take it. (This is also an important lesson when it comes to player munchkining. If you see them breaking the game and conspiring to create the floating paragon badger of doom, you can say no.)

GURPS had a spy focused splatbook, GURPS Espionage, released in the early 90s. The downside here is it is third edition GURPS, and a lot has changed since it originally released. Finally, GURPS is not the most inviting system for new players. I know a lot of people swear by it, and I'm usually the first to recommend digging through their splats for ideas and insight, but actually creating characters is a bit more daunting.

Now, like I said, Best is a bit of a loaded term, so I'm going to give you mine, and then explain why I'm wrong.

I think the best baseline to start from for a modern spy setting is Project: Twilight. Ironically, it's not a full RPG, it was a splatbook for Werewolf: The Apocalypse. What it did provide was rules for rolling government agents in White Wolf's Storyteller system.

Now, I am a fan of White Wolf's Storyteller system, even if it does require mountains of D10s. It's fairly simple. Combat is abstract, letting the players and GM assemble a story out of whatever chaos ensues. It's functional, and flexible system. It's also simple enough that you can usually fake things on your feet and come close to how the rules were supposed to work.

A big part of why I still list it as one of the best roleplaying systems is because it really leaves the table open for roleplay and improvisation. It's probably not going to be a night moving minis around, and that can either be a benefit or a weakness.

So, I said it's the best, here's why I'm wrong: First, there is no universal rule system for the game. Every World of Darkness core book had minor rule tweaks unique to the monsters within. The easiest one to find and use as baseline rules for Project: Twilight, would probably be Hunter: The Reckoning (the deviations from normal rules don't, actually, matter for Project: Twilight characters.) (Incidentally, it is really hard for players to hide their intent to munchkin in this rule system. Because of how simple the action resolution system is, and because munchkin involves boosting dice pools, you can see that on their character sheet.)

The lack of a unified rules document is a bigger issue than I'm making it sound like. The reason I'm calling this the best, and then saying I'm wrong, is because I have internalized understanding of the rules that's advanced enough that I can start heavily tweaking it to get what I want, (incidentally, that tweaking is a large part of why I pointed to Project: Twilight as the starting point. I already know what I'm going to do to it, I mostly want that splat for a couple of Backgrounds (a kind of stat in this system) unique to that book (or, nearly unique, most of them show up again in Strike Force Zero, but that's less applicable to your goals.)

Second This clearly fails the no fantasy element. It's a splat book about government funded monster hunters. Except, it's really easy to strip out fantasy elements from (most) RPGs. (I can think of a few like Suzerain or Fireborn that simply don't make sense if you try to remove the fantastic elements, but in the vast majority of cases, you can easily remove elements from a game's world.)

It's a splatbook for a setting you're not using, so you're going to need to create a new setting almost from scratch. This isn't as big of an issue as it sounds originally, but it does mean more work for you.

So, is Project: Twilight the best for you? Probably not. It would be my first choice, but that choice is based on having over 20 years of experience with the system. I do think it's a very good, and very flexible system, but it would require you to learn, and teach, the system.

I think Spycraft gives you everything you need out of the box. I find D20 to be a far more restrictive roleplaying experience, but that doesn't mean it's wrong for you. Also, because it's D20, there is a lot of material out there if you have difficulty figuring something out.

You may also want to at least take a look at Blades in the Dark. At first glance, it's a fantasy setting, so not what you're looking for in your world, it's also about thieves, not spies. However, the game has a few interesting ideas, including flashbacks and a general play structure that might be a very good fit for the kind of stories you're trying to tell.

The best game will be the one that fits your story and group. Ultimately, that might not be a single game, but rather an amalgamation of ideas from multiple sources mixed together with whatever rule system you're all comfortable with.

-Starke

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#writing advice #writing reference #writing tips #roleplaying games #RPGs #Spycraft #Starke answers

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knight-of-the-thorn · 8 months

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1, 4, and 10 for the Commander love interest asks!

@mystery-salad

Sorry this took a bit I got stuck in wvw did you know experience boosters help with reward track gain I didn't

1. Who are they and what's their dynamic with the commander?

Arceidai's romantic interest is Theitia. Theitia had the same wyld hunt as Arc, and the two of them fought the shadow of the dragon in the dream together. They both trained under Caithe at first, they were best friends and practically inseparable, but Arc didn't necessarily pay as much heed to the dangers of their hunt as Theitia did. Where Arc cared about it a great deal, Theitia was hesitant. She was scared. So she ran. Faolain found her, took her in as an apprentice and pitted her against Arc as a way to get under Caithe's skin. The two had a really intense rivalry for a while, but it was honestly more like a game to them. Until Arc left to become the commander. Fortunately two of them would reunite once again. Unfortunately this was because Theitia was turned into a Mordrem and was hunting them down through Auric basin. They took her back to the silverwastes and the two begain the long journey of trying to trust each other again.

No one knows Arc like Tia, and no one knows Tia like Arc. The two of them are incredibly codependent and have, on multiple occasions, threatened to/actually proceeded to tear apart the world in order to get the other back. As they have been more open about the fact that they're in love the shit that they have pulled to make sure they are never seperated has got increasingly more insane. There's two Arceidais now because Theitia refused to let them die. There's an alternate timeline where Arc held an entire elder dragon in their brain and tried to sacrifice their live so she could live and never have to be under someone elses control.

Also an important part of their relationship is the constant monologuing.

4. What was their initial opinion of the commander? Has that changed at all?

Theitia has known Arceidai her entire life, and when they were young she took the fact that they would always be around, and that she'd always be their first priority. They would always be following her around like a lost puppy, and she got very used to that. She thought that they were entertaining, when they weren't being gloomy and serious or desperate to impress Caithe. There was a bit of a competitive element to their friendship sometimes, especially after she joined the nightmare court, and she did think that she was smarter than them, but that they were smarter than most of the other people around them, if niave and airheaded. When they left for the priory it completely threw her for a loop. Until that point, the idea that thet would do that was completely unthinkable and she hadn't really realized how much they meant to her. She definitely tried to underplay how much that hurt, and how much she wanted them back.

Both of them have grown up quite a lot. She definitely sees them in a way that she never did before. She has lost them too many times to take them for granted anymore, and while she still thinks they can be an idiot sometimes, she also views them as more of an equal and a partner.

10. Are there any events in the story that happen differently because of/to/involving them?

Oh boy, a couple ones! Knight of the thorn is the main one! Because if Arc had taken caladbolg it would gave fucking destroyed them, she took it in their stead. Of course there's the auric basin portion of the story where Arc is not only being hunted by every mordrem in the area but one very specific mordrem. Theitia acts as one of Faolain’s champions in Twilight Arbor at which point she realises that she joined a cult. She also did fully cremate their body after Balthazar killed them so Joko could not get them under any circumstance so they took much longer to come back to life than normal.

Around the middle of season 3, Arc and Tia almost kidnapped Aurene and ran away to start a new life. They didn't, but they got pretty far into planning it before deciding against this.

#gw2 #mage rambles #arctia

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exrocist · 9 months

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tag game: 3 books, 3 movies, and 3 songs

that changed your life or you just love.

Tagged by @zhabk4, thank youuu U__U <333 I don't usually do these (though it always makes me happy to get tagged!) but I was like. nnrrghhh must talk about Earthsea. soo.

(lots of rambling below the cut little bit embarrassed!!!!)

Books:

The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin ; Nothing I say about this book (this series!) can do it justice honestly everyone on the Earth should read Earthsea. like really really read it patiently and intensely and with a savor because you will never encounter reality so closely and clearly ever again. everything about it is real to me but this book particularly struck me just because. well. lebannen. a force undeniable. I didn't know I was capable of loving so deeply and profoundly until I knew him. he is the best. I love you Lebannen 💥💥💥 I love everything about these books honestly. immense grace aside that shit also inspired perhaps the most intense and creatively demanding period of my life & broke down a lot of the mental partitions that I had constructed around what my hands are capable of. And I am still really bobbing through the wake of even now. Hopefully more marvelous things to come. There is much more strength to be drawn from this place yet if I can stomach it. sighs.

Death with Interruptions by José Saramago ; My words are failing me here but like. Saramago's voice and style have become real fixtures for me. I need to read a Saramago at least once every few months or my life loses its musicality. This is where I started with him so it gets to be on the list but Cain is also a great one for many many many more reasons that would be toooo much talking. for me to post.

I feel like by law I have to put Plato's Republic here which like. honestly not the most philosophically valuable work or even my drug of choice these days but was a thirteen year old's first inquest into the field that would become his only scholastic passion. so ! (He didn't even know he would have to read it seven times during his undergrad 😭) but if we want another novel to put here maybe We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver (mostly because of one sequence but also Shriver's great at writing in the voice of wry & cerebral women whose sentimentality is kind of shielded by their overt insight it gives them real internal lushness).

Honorable mention also to Isaac Asimov's I, Robot and subsequent novels of Asimov's future chronology which are currently fucking me up beyond measure. My recommendation here is read I, Robot (Or The Complete Robot!) and maaaybe Caves of Steel (tightly written marvel with only forgivable weaknesses of unprobed psychologies) and then stop. Just don't keep going okay. I've also had um Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore still swimming around in my mind despite having finished it a good while ago.

Movies:

Uhhh I don't w.atch. errr. Movies I can think of that I've watched just at all of my own volition: Raw (2016). good experience but didn't move me hugely taboo-pushing which is awesome conceptually but not in the right ways for me idk. not a bad movie at all though definitely some kind of stupid elements at play as well.

Uhhhhhhhhh.

?????????

Songs

Spent Gladiator 2 - The Mountain Goats ; I know I know I'm sorry I'm so trite and pedestrian but like. song with a non-negligible influence on me NOT killing myself <3

Wait List - All Get Out ; song with a non-negligible influence on me actively killisdukydhkuhldfhuik

I/m Not Here [missing face] - The Twilight Sad ; idk is this even a song I could live without. could I have the strength to do anything if not for this five minute dronefest. they need to start creating standardized ritual/ecstatic behaviors for the tracks off this album.

Honorable mentions: San Fermin's The Woods (if you were to ask me about artists they would most definitely be very much up there... Mr. Ludwig-Leone's artistry has been cradling me for a very long time), Say Yes to Everything by We Cut Corners (best band ever ever ever!!!), Topography by Civilian, Dump Your Dreams by A.S. Fanning (i love music).

I did badly at this but I think I made up for not having any movies by talking so much elsewhere. ermmm.

Only tagging @twilitfossil (Jesse Pinkman voice) do it bitchhhhhh also @ataliaf but only if you want to n__n <3333

#mine #can you tell i've been talking to myself all day every day for over three weeks #and I have so many words stowed up #koma also I'm reading a Murakami right now!! never touched any of the ones you mentioned/recced but I like working my way through entire #corpuses so perhaps I'll get around to it in some time :) I'm looking forward to it

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d3l3t3d-deactivated · 1 month

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so my mlp reading the subtext as text headcanon is that prior to twilight moving to ponyville, rarity and applejack were acquaintances/casual friends who ran in very different social circles but knew each other in the way that every gay person living in a small town knows all the other gay people living in that small town even if they have nothing in common. twilight moves to town, they become friends and elements of harmony etc etc. in the season 1/2 era, they now exist in the same circle of friends and enjoy each other’s company, but feel like it would be kind of weird to hang out 1 on 1. think of the disastrous sleepover with twilight, they are just too different. around the time twilight gets her wings, they start to occasionally hang out just each other and grow fond of each other. along the way, they realize that the awkwardness of hanging out one on one before was partially a matter of having very different interests and priorities, but also partially having feelings for each other both parties keep to themselves, as there’s no way she feels that way, right? this quiet, mutual pining goes on for a while as just an undercurrent of their relationship that is expressed through bickering. everyone except for fluttershy is entirely oblivious to it. in season 4 when the events of Simple Ways occur and AJ basically point blank tells trenderhoof she’s gay, and rarity stops clamoring for attention from this celebrity she’s idolized to put applejack’s feelings first, they have a heart to heart and realize they both feel the same about one another. throughout season 5 they are in a happy relationship, helping each other out on the farm and with fashion, and catching many off guard as a happy couple proving that opposites attract. end of season 5 through the midway of season 6, cracks begin to show in their relationship, applejack priorities chores on the farm above all else and doesn’t make time for rarity. (season 6 episode 10) rarity dreams of being a big city pony, and making it as a famous fashionista, and applejack never seems to fit quite right into this dream. (season 5 episode 16) they put down one another’s interests and passions as a way to express the hurt they both feel as the other pulls away. at this point, they rarely go on actual dates anymore, but when they do go out, they find themselves third-wheeled by rainbow dash. dash is kind of oblivious to the slow disintegration of her friends relationship, and is just happy to spend time with them both, rarity loves rainbow dash dearly as a friend and enjoys her company, and applejack starts to feel the same way for rainbow dash the way she once did for rarity, and feels horrible for it. she brings these feelings to rarity because she doesn’t feel right keeping them inside, and rarity suggests that the three of them continue to all go out together, but as dates, rather than rainbow being the third wheel, and hopes that the three of them dating all together might help her and AJ’s relationship, because she still very much loves applejack, and sees how much rainbow dash means to her, and wants to see her happy. for a brief moment in time, the three of them all date, but it feels uneven and off. rainbow and applejack spend a lot more time together, and things are cold and hollow between applejack and rarity, and rainbow is still a dear friend of rarities, but when it comes to romantics she can barely stand how impatient and dismissive of her interests rainbow is. After the successful opening of her boutique in manehattan, rarity realizes that she finds a lot more joy and satisfaction in her work than in her relationship with the two ponies. she realizes deciding to add rainbow dash into her life in the way that she did was just staving off the inevitable, and when she sees the two ponies together, she knows that their love lies with each other, and not with her. though it hurts, rarity decides to break up with applejack and rainbow dash, but it’s on good terms, and despite their history they all remain great friends.

applejack tells rarity in private she understands that it might hurt to see her and rainbow dash happy together, and tells her she cares about her enough that she’d be willing to put some distance between herself and rainbow for a while to let the wound heal. rarity tells her she would never ask that of her, and that it makes her happy to see two ponies she loves find joy within one another. Rarity, now focused on her goals as a fashion designer, continues to work hard on her craft, traveling equestria and becoming unparalleled in her field. she has a lot of short, passionate, flings with ponies she meets in her travels, but never stays in one place long enough to fall in love the way she did with AJ. that’s fine with her, as this is all she’s ever wanted.

despite their strange beginnings, rainbow dash and applejack find themselves in a strong and steady relationship built on honesty and loyalty. they compete playfully, but always watch out for one another and never take it too far. Rainbow holds a lot of respect for AJ’s work on the farm, and AJ is deeply proud of rainbow’s work with the wonderbolts. though rainbow travels sometimes with the wonderbolts, she’s never gone too far or for too long, and always returns home to the farm. they marry under the pear and apple trees that AJ’s parents were married under, and live happily ever after. their good friend rarity always stops by for tea when she’s passing through ponyville.

#this show is a lesbian drama to me

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panlight · 2 years

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Ok, so we know the vampires can't grow their hair back, so if they cut it they either have to stay that way or go shorter. But, since their hair, presumably, is at least somewhat as strong as they are, couldn't they in theory bleach and dye their hair as much as they wanted? That seems like a good way to get away with being alive so long, changing hair can make people look very different.

So, SM had this to say on the Twilight Lexicon, re: if vampires shower:

They do wash the dust and rain out of their hair, too. And Rosalie particularly spends a lot of time doing hers. (Hair is dead cells–the vampire transformation doesn’t affect it. If you’ve got split ends, sorry! Not getting better. Ha ha).

Which, I mean . . . what. How. Why. All vampires would be basically bald after a certain point because hair, even if it didn't naturally shed, would break or be pulled out over time if it's just human hair. And then not grow back because vampires don't change. I don't . . . I don't think she thought this through at all?

So there's got to be some element of vampire indestructibility to hair, right? Otherwise Rosalie's luscious blonde locks are basically impossible. Even if the hair was just like, super strongly rooted to the vampire-diamond-skin-scalp, it could still break as easily as human hair if nothing else was changed about it--every time she used a hair tie, or it got caught on a branch, or who knows what else.

For vampire hair to still be around after a few decades, let alone centuries, it needs to be stronger. Maybe it doesn't fix split ends or change length, color or texture (but it does in the movie--you can see Bella's hair spring back to life in her transformation sequence), it has to be more durable somehow.

And if that's the case then yeah I don't see any reason they couldn't experiment with styles and coloring as long as they don't cut it. The question would be if human methods of hair dyeing/styling would work on vampire hair, or if they would need to come up with their own methods, because obviously it's designed for human hair (even within the realms of human hair different hair types need different products and methods). If, say, vampire hair is coated with an impenetrable shell, that would change things. Or if the hair oils are now venom-based that would affect how different products worked, etc.

But again I don't think SM thought of any of this and her comment was more to joke about Rosalie's alleged vanity (again).

I hope they do have ways of changing up their styles even if they can't cut it. As you said, it would be a great way to change their appearance for secrecy and blending in sake, but also it is probably just nice for them to be able to change SOME part of their appearance occasionally and feel a little less trapped and stagnant.

#asks

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thewonkywitchescauldron · 3 years

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Different Ways to Use Waters within Your Witchcraft

Water is often thought of as the most essential of the Elements for sustaining life. Humans, animals and plant life cannot live without it. Before the construction of roads, water provided humans with the most efficient way of travel, and this is still widely performed on Earth today.

Associated with the Moon, psychic abilities, dreams and emotions, the Water Element is a shape-shifter, moving easily throughout the world by following the path of least resistance.

It can exist as a solid in the form of ice, or as tiny particles of gas in the air. It takes the form of puddles after rain, only to disappear again in the sunshine. Water is a great traveller itself as it flows in our seas and down our rivers, sits in our lakes and travels through the sky creating our clouds and rainfall. When it rains, I often wonder where this water has been from around the world? What has it seen & felt as its transformed from solid to gas then back to liquid again?.

Water is represented by lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and rain. It’s very beneficial in its cleansing, purifying, healing and nourishing qualities.

Yet it does have a destructive side when it manifests as stormy seas and great tsunamis, floods and severe rainstorms. The Water Element is powerful when interacting with the other

elements, as it can extinguish Fire, flood the Earth and combine with Air to corrode and

dissolve metals. Generally speaking however, Water is one of the more soothing Elements when it comes to the human spirit.

Connecting with the Energy of Water

One of the nicest ways to enhance your energetic connection with the Element of Water is to go swimming! Natural bodies of water such as lakes, rivers, ponds, the ocean are ideal, but

swimming pools also work well. Take a moment to notice how you feel before, during, and after your time in the water and you’ll get a good sense of the power of this Element. If swimming isn’t an option, take a soothing bath or refreshing shower, noticing the way the water feels on your skin.

Make a point of appreciating the water you drink, giving thanks for its life-sustaining

properties. Take a walk in the rain or just listen to the sound of it falling outside your window. You can also play recordings of ocean waves, bubbling brooks, rainfall or thunderstorms to get the essence of Water flowing in your life. Finally, soaking in a ritual bath before celebrating Sabbats and Esbats, or before magical work always enhances your personal power.

- Moon Water -

Moon water is water that is charged by the energy of the moon. Preferably a full moon or supermoon, where the energy is heightened. Making full moon water can be a monthly tradition in your home and magickal practice, which you can literally use for everything, from attracting abundance, spiritual cleansing, bathing, cooking and also drinking.

- Solar Water -

A great deal of emphasis is placed on the moon in modern witchcraft.

Many nights we gaze up at the twilight and wait for the wavering, milky white lunar body to appear so that we might harness its power.

This cycle of the moon as an anchoring symbol in spell work is so ingrained in our thinking that we tend to forget the sun’s energy can be used in a similar way.

Solar Water is highly charged water to use in spells calling for ego, honor, dignity, power, and pride.

If you have spells to increase your self-confidence, improve your leadership abilities and

increase your vitality, using Solar Water to enhance these types of spellcraft is perfect.

Just as the sun brings so much life to the earth, Solar Water breathes new life into spells used, which incorporate this powerful water. You can of course drink this water to help bring vitality and strength to your wellbeing. Use the Solar Water like you would Moon Water but in the opposite way to bring extra fiery charge to your workings.

- Selecting Your Magickal Vessel -

First, you will want to select a vessel to hold your magickally charged water. It will need to be able to seal completely, and it is best if it is made of glass. Your vessel can be any color you like.

While the energy of the Moon & Sun Water is plenty on its own, you can also layer this magick by adding a specific intention such as love, healing, purification, divination, etc. You can even match the color of the bottle to your magickal intention. Use the information below to help you decide.

Beautiful, old-fashioned or ornate bottles or jars are lovely to use, but not necessary. You can use a washed out jam jar or pasta jar. Though you may wish to give it a rinse with some salt water to remove any energy you don't wish to add to your Water.

You can also decorate the jar with a moon and/or water symbols, ribbons, stickers, etc. And again they can coordinate with an additional magickal intention, or simply focus on the moon.

Clear Glass: Air element, clarity, focus, clear sight, lunar magick, healing

Frosted White: Lunar energy, storm magick, protection, healing

Pink: Self-love, relationships, friendship

Red: Fire element, passion, love, sex magick

Amber: Earth element, animal magick, protection

Green: Earth element, faerie magick, earth element, prosperity, wealth, & riches, health & healing

Blue: Water element, healing, increasing psychic abilities, divination, peace, Blue Moon magick

Purple: Element of Spirit, magick, increase personal power, protection

Just like the colour of the bottle, you can select crystals that are simply connected to the moon, sun or to water or you can create your Waters with a specific intent. You can also add crystals that are connected to your zodiac sign to make a personalized Water designed to amplify your own personal power. You don't have to add them directly to the water, some can be harmed when in contact with water and also some are toxic to consume the essence of the direct method. Safest way if you're unsure is to charge the water with the crystal on top of the lid or by the side of the vessel.

Here are some examples of crystals you can use:

- Moonstone for lunar energies

- Sunstone for solar energies

- Rose quartz for love

- Citrine or Green Aventurine for prosperity

- Carnelian for boost of energy- Blue Tigers Eye for soothing energy

- Clear quartz an all purpose crystal and also to amplify the magick

- Phases to work with -

You can repeat this entire process on the other moon phases aswell. Every phase of the moon holds magick, and now you can capture some of it for your own use.

Dark Moon Water is useful for releasing, banishing, protection, endings, completions,

connecting with crone energy, shadow work.

Blue Moon Water is useful for truth-seeking, divination workings, love spells, wishes, banishing and protection spells. The opportunity to perform spells and rituals on a Blue Moon only presents itself to us around every 2.5 years. A Blue Moon occurs when there are two full moons within the same calendar month. Because of this rare occurrence, this is the perfect time to harness the moons powerful influential energy!

New Moon Water is useful for anything you wish to start for example a new opportunity, new healthier life or outlook, new job, new home blessing etcWaxing Moon Water is useful for anytype of growth and development.

Full Moon Water is the all purpose moon phase and the phase of fruition.Waning Moon Water is an additional strengthener for all of your magicks to get rid of all the things you want to remove from your life, once and for all. A freezer spell works very well with Waning Moon Water.

Lunar Eclipse Water is used when a drastic change is needed in your life.Super Full Moon Water is great if you need a big kick to your spells etc.

Take advantage of the sun’s powerful summer energy and try one of these ideas for working with the solar cycles. Harness the energy of sunrise, noon and sunset

You might think of this pattern in the same way you’d think of the waxing, full and waning moon cycles.

- Sunrise is an excellent time to address matters like new beginnings, money-drawing & fertility.

- The Afternoons work well for charging and power raising.

- Sunset is ideal for things like elimination and binding.

- Welcoming Moon/Solar Magick Energy -

Once filled, sit the vessel somewhere where it will receive the moon's/Sun rays completely. This can be outside, on an altar, or even on a window sill. For Moon Water Set it out before the moon rises, but after the sun has set (if possible) and be sure to remove it before the Sun rises the next day. For Solar Water set it out before sunrise and remove just after sunset.

You may wish to enchant your water as you set it out by:

- Holding it to your heart for a few moments, envisioning the desire for the water

- Saying a chant over it

- Asking the moon to bless your water with her magick or Asking the sun to bless your water with his magick.

- Whatever feels right to you in the moment is the best way to invite the energy to infuse your water.

- Other Magickal Waters -

Storm Water is water that’s been collected from a thunderstorm. This magickal water has been charged with all the powerful energy of the storm from which it came. The lightning, thunder, wind and pressure have all added their energy to the storm water. Use to super-charge your water magic spells.

Snow Water is water that was collected in snow form that has melted. Many witches collect a bit of snow from the first snow of the season, then store it in a jar to use throughout the year. It has all the magickal properties of the element of water, with the added properties of ice. It can be used to “chill” out a chaotic situation or angry person. Bathe in it to cleanse negative vibrations and bring peace to yourself. Snow water is a magickal water that also holds transformation properties (i.e. water has been transformed into a solid form, then back again).

Holy Water has different definitions depending on the religion and individual. In Catholicism, holy water is a magickal water that’s been blessed by a religious official. Its used in baptisms and spiritual cleansing. Holy water in witchcraft means any water charged with pure magical intent. Holy water is used in witchcraft to cleanse and consecrate tools and your own energy, in baths, sprays and home cleansing rituals. It is charged with pure divine energy and therefore carries healing, purifying, and strengthening powers.

Rose Water A magickal water that’s been infused with the essence of roses is called rose water. Rose water is popular in many magickal traditions including hoodoo and has been used as medicinal headache relief in years past. There are different ways to make rose water, but the more traditional involves infusing the rose essence into water via heat.

Florida Water is a magical water that’s not an actual water, but a combination of essential oils mixed with a solvent. It originates in Florida and was inspired by the fabled Fountain of Youth which was supposedly located somewhere in the state. It’s been used as a perfume and cleanser for centuries, but magickal people have caught onto its cleansing power. Bathe in Florida Water on a New Moon to cleanse away negativity. Anoint your altar and tools with it. Bless your home.

War Water Similar to Florida water, war water is popular in the Hoodoo folk magic tradition in the American South. War water is used to send someone far away, to essentially end a “war”, so to speak (or begin one). Traditionally, the war water is made by placing nails, spanish moss, and water in a bottle then allowing it to sit for a few weeks. The nails will rust and the war water will turn a red or murky color. Then the practitioner throws it at a person’s door, porch or property. The jar breaks to release the war water’s magick.

- Using Your Magickal Water -

Once you have your magickal water you can use it for all manner of witchery.

- Add a few drops to your bath water for a magickal moon/sun bath.

- Use it to wash or rinse your hair as part of a glamour working.

- Bless or anoint yourself, your home, and/or magickal items (tools, crystals, jewelry, etc)

- You can use it to represent the Goddess (moon) or God (sun) on your altar.

- Bless and/or water your Witch's Garden to add lunar/solar influences to your magickal space.

- If you have/use a diffuser or humidifier you can add the magickal water to transform any area into a magickal space.

- Add magickal water to leftover incense ash, and mix it together for a potent magickally charged 'paint' for drawing sigils and magickal symbols.

- You can even drink a few sips or add a few drops of this magickal potion to your tea or regular water to Ingest the energy of the Moon and the Goddess or the Sun and the God.

- Storing Your Magickal Water -

Be sure to label your magickal water with the date, moon phase/sun time, and if you know it, the astrological sign that the moon/sun was in at the time.

Many choose to store their Magickal Water in a dark place so as not to dissipate the magick contained, allowing only lunar/solar energy to ever ‘touch’ it. Some even wrap it with a magickal cloth or meaningful scarf so that it stays in the dark.

You can always store it in the back of the refrigerator. Keep in mind though that the back of the fridge is often the coldest, so if you do choose to store your Water in the fridge but sure not to fill it all the way to the top. Leave some room for expansion should the water get cold enough to

partially freeze.

I hope this has helped you with all the information you need for the use of water within your witchcraft. Blessed Be The Wonky Witch

#moon water #sun water #witchcraft #spellcraft #spellwork #witchlife #witchythings #witchery

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sugar-petals · 3 years

Text

♡ måneskin scenario: getting to know ethan

↳ NOTE. by popular demand and because i’m entirely enthralled by the phenomenon that is ethan torchio myself, here we go givin’ the gorgeous drummer some love.

word count. 5.5k

TAGS. no warnings all fluff, fem!oc, slice of life, photographer!reader, first date-ish, shy flirting, ot4 is part of the plot, ethan being sexy in heels

Jacob had enough of that twilight bullshit and joined a glam rock band. At least that’s what you thought seeing Ethan around for the first time. Setting up the kit, carrying his whiny band members around, fixing his ruffle shirt, chugging some water: Big gig tonight, extra long setlist. Five minutes later, complaining about his brocade shoes being hard to kick the bass drum with. Even later, silently nodding along to an impassioned Damiano speech crafted to boost the morale, and posing for your camera in his silver jumpsuit. Friendly to approach all the way, but without initiating stable eye contact even once.

One thing’s for sure. As your favorite professor said back at university: Someone may be photogenic and unearthly as hell in terms of looks, and even be intimidating — but also so damn shy, you won’t see their eyes a single time. „Gotta work with it and not against. Then it gets interesting“. In essence, the takeaway from that course. Which does come in handy now. Ethan seems like the kind of guy you really have to get into for a more intimate-feeling picture.

Sure, many people in front of your camera have all kinds of introverted personalities anyway, wearing sunglasses in particular. So much about eye contact in the first place. And the aesthetic is priority, not studying character. Although you really are a fan of that, it’s a huge part of photography if anything. Alas, you’re here to „capture nothing more but the spirit of italo-rock, the attitude, the hedonism!“ (the exact words of your boss) for a music magazine after all. Really, nothing more? You paid attention to how he worded it. Fair enough. Rock spirit, that’s all, the exciting parts.

Ethan surely has it. Drumming on everything he can find during rehearsal breaks („music is everywhere“) with his sticks, even Thomas’ amplifier. He’s actually dorkier than you thought, less composed when he’s in his element. First impressions do deceive. The hair’s hard to miss, too. It’s the central motif that attracts you. You may or may not have taken over 50 shots of it just because. Ethan is a bad bitch and he better know. You climb around the venue to get any salient angle of Måneskin you can think of. Even from all the way back, last row. You don’t want to annoy them being all up in their face constantly. You’re hired to get all the good shots, they’ve been a band for seven years already, professionals in the making. Doesn’t mean you have to stand below the edge of the stage and never change position.

Even from back there, the silver reflects beautifully at the back of the stage. The fashion’s all designer and it shows, but Ethan couldn’t look bad in any of the shots even if he tried or wore the plainest black suit (hell, that would be just as beautiful in fact). Just how long is that hair anyway. All the way down to the solar plexus, must be 24 inches or more. 25, even. Many rockers would wear it that way, but Ethan seems particularly interesting with how he touches it, how he behaves with it. There we go again with the character study, you can’t help wondering.

But really. It’s any photographer’s dream when someone moves their hair around so damn naturally. Gives a great variety to how it frames and shades the face. You like to play with light all the time. And hey, why ask for eye contact when he does even better posing in other ways. The body, too, Ethan’s posture is great. Victoria and Thomas often bend to really get into their power chords, Damiano frequently hunches forward for a belt. But Ethan’s throned at his kit like some royals taught him to be a good boy. Back straighter than a pole, how the hell.

No glance in your direction still, even if you return from your last row spot to move around on stage with the camera. Which gives the band a motivation boost and chances to try out gestures up close, too, so even better. Hey, maybe it doesn’t annoy them. You can actually get used to it, this way of photographing them is all dynamic. Nearing the end of the first rehearsal, you’re all busy maneuvering between Thomas and Damiano to get a nice semi-profile from Ethan’s left side. Gotta work with it not against, you chant to yourself as a mantra, and it seems easier to stick to than you thought.

How glossy all that hair is commands all the attention of your shutter release in and of itself. That he takes good care of it and has been growing it since forever shows a dedicated guy. It’s actually quite wavy. The band arrived in the pouring rain and Ethan’s curly strands at the crown and nape of the head were definitely showing — super cute. An army of stylists took on the resulting humidity frizz. They whipped out the straightening iron and protective spray, and even now before the big performance, Ethan brushes his hair out in front of you, and sweeps it around with his fingers anyway. You take pictures of the bits you find most candid, and decide to rather perfect single shots instead of making several in a row. The more you photograph him, the more you want to discover his essence in one picture. His sheer presence almost begs for it, it’s ridiculous.

Victoria on the other hand has no problems with rapid-fire releases and comes close to your lens to pull funny faces. She’s got some of the coolest poses you’ve ever seen with her bass, and hops around the stage like a bunny to the beat. Thomas is a virtuoso and pro who keeps on doing what he does when you make him pose, and Damiano can flirt with any camera ever. He even lowers his red leather jacket off his collar bones for you to have a great shot. He’s promising and most definitely a born divo, your boss will be happy with those pictures most definitely.

Then again. Behind that supposed hedonism is so much hard work and thought. Damiano even gives you ideas for angles during the second rehearsal. „Hm, maybe stand on the amplifier?“ Eagle perspective, not a bad idea at all. After trying out said suggestions with the help of triggered stage security making sure you don’t fall off the construction („eh, Damiano always suggests the most reckless things to staff, don’t mind him“), you find yourself concentrating on what goes on at the back of the stage all over again.

Ethan is busy practicing a new solo which has you curious about whether it’s for an upcoming album. Though again — the shoes cause trouble. Ethan complains again, the music stops. That could very well be the reason why he seems so preoccupied today, or is it? The manager tells the stylist, and the stylist hurries, voilà, Ethan has a new pair of shoes brought in. Ones with a thicker sole, bit of a chunky heel, and laced up rather than being slippers, a drummer’s worst nightmare as you have learned today.

You wait until he changed. Then snap some more pictures how he continues practicing calmly, and the sound did improve since he can kick the bass drum better now. Now you position yourself across the stage all over, in the empty audience ranks. Ethan is the most radiant and confident when you just take a step back. But well, he still sweeps his hair around a whole lot and looks even more tense-looking than Damiano who’s doing vocal warmups and jumping jacks, „Come on guys, come on, we’re starting in 30 minutes!“.

You can tell he does it more often when he’s nervous. And that means he does it very often. People would probably assume it’s vanity, or the fact that the hair gets in the way. You can see that for him it’s a place of distraction, maybe safety. A gesture like an anchor. He’s used to it being long just like his eye shadow being dark and smoky all day. He knows the drums by heart, if it falls in his face no need to shake it away. And besides. The strands reach below his shoulder blades, it stays down his back if he doesn’t move around too much. He could easily tie it up as well. All those things go through your mind without you even knowing why.

To switch things up a little, you photograph Thomas fooling around with Victoria at the snack bar, stuffing fries up their noses, and already see the lighting technicians do their final check. Some of them you know briefly, you made shots at this venue before, last year for a Shakespeare theatre play. You did some freelance work in the scene, but now you’re put to the test for more involved jobs. Hard to complain though, Måneskin are amazing in front of the camera. If Damiano is not the ideal Hamlet, you don’t know anymore.

Something new happens all the time, the expressions are priceless. Ethan’s in particular, when he does his wide-eyed surprise faces learning that there’s actually healthy food at the snack bar. „Vitamins, how nice.“ — Thomas, pokerfaced, reacts with eating a mayonnaise-dripping sandwich. Ethan, unfazed. Headed straight to the fruits. You’ve never seen a tall silver glitter tower like him walking around biting a bright red apple. Well, you can take Jacob out of twilight, but not the twilight out of Jacob. Snap, another picture. Clash of words, that’s a nice theme.

The concert of this evening seems particularly energetic and leaves your camera roll with some brilliant, tweet-worthy material. Damiano covered in confetti, eyeliner running. Victoria on the shoulders of Ethan while he’s playing her bass. Thomas, stagediving. Fans waving banners and chanting along to Seven Nation Army. Your ears are ringing when the light technicians close down the stage two hours later. Thomas really played his soul out with the solos, and your feet seem to vibrate. That’s your body thinking Victoria’s bass is still playing, but the magazine is very happy with how the pictures turned out after you send the whole batch to them as soon as you can.

Little to no retouching, zooming, or cropping necessary. Ethan is just perfect as he is, you feel like you captured him well. After swiping through the gallery on your tablet, you think Victoria has some great ant’s eye perspective shots as well. Those go right on your own blog, she’s just amazing. The magazine has an enthusiastic article typed out already. Damiano’s mid-air split on beat for the final song makes the cover story on Monday, and Måneskin’s manager comes back to you a week later. „What would you think about doing some behind the scenes stuff for us? We’re planning a music video!“

And that’s how you end up in a Sicilian restaurant with Måneskin and crew a week later, stuffed with Calzone and mind filled with Damiano’s inspiring words (and the occasional catchy freestyle rap). The MV is as good as finished. Thomas had shown you around the mansion they were shooting at, and you could convince a taciturn Ethan to walk between the marble statues and boxwood trees in the garden. With his black cape on, a rhinestone choker, and the low-cut lacey blouse that the MV director was obsessed with as well, asking you to focus on it. Your best shot even ends up in the thumbnail of the Youtube video without you even expecting it would.

All the garden pictures turned out mindblowing. If not iconic, the best project you had so far. Gets to show you the best things are often improvised. Ethan, stoic as always, sat at the base of armor-clad Emperor Augustus twisting into the blue sky in a large gesture. The marble was a perfect contrast. Ethan ate a ripe pear from a tree, even that was aesthetically pleasing, then leaned against a hunting Apollo, and you also framed him from the back next to Aphrodite and Cesar. He put on his sunglasses underneath Achilles, and knelt at the feet of a Pietà replica. Marvelous panorama shots, with him the shining center. Well, we know since Queen that the drummer is the unrealistically pretty one.

The whole picture series is blowing up on your blog for the whole afternoon. „Count Dracula on a stroll in Versailles — eugh, begone sunlight!“ is what a comment neatly sums it up as. People seem to especially like the shot where Ethan playfully put his cape over Pallas Athena’s spear with a blurry Thomas having a laughing fit in the background. Well, even Count Drac gets photobombed sometimes. Your phone buzzes with notifications every other minute, you do notice it against your thigh. But the insalata of the restaurant is good and the night is young. Victoria and the manager tell old stories of Thomas snapping a guitar string while he was trying to serenade a highschool crush. Ethan scolds them for making fun of it.

Damiano gets drunk and dances on the table, the MV director discusses new ideas, some walk-in fans take pictures. The temperature is still unbearable. You order a dessert to share with Victoria and Ethan. A large tiramisu that the waiter cuts in three pieces, and it’s truly delectable. The chocolate, so crunchy, melty. The cream, fluffy and cool, making for a funny white beard that makes Ethan look like an arctic scientist returning from an expedition.

Of course, you take pictures, all the food is documented. As are late night restaurant shots with Damiano’s heels peaking into the frame when you photograph the band’s friendship bracelets, hand-made by Victoria on a tour bus last year. Damiano’s back down on the table soon, singing, while Ethan creates a beat with two forks. Thomas also agrees to take your camera for a while so you’d be in the frame for a change, too.

You pose for a group picture, or rather a group hug, and being in the middle …Ethan’s arm wraps around your shoulder loosely, hair dangling into his face, but also brushing yours. He focuses on the camera, facing away from you. The schooled eye could catch you breaking a sweat in the resulting photo. Ironically, the tiramisu doesn’t cool you down the way you thought. Thomas is too busy trying to figure out your camera dials and yelling „hey eyebrow king, smile!“ at Ethan.

A round of even more gelato goes down in spoons and spoons. The band members eat like they ran a marathon. Ethan clinches a third round because he can, unhealthy be damned, he needs some sugar and refreshment. And it’s true the MV shooting was strenuous in the heat, and had lots of intense performing parts. Even an invisible rope suspension were Thomas would descend from a ceiling during the chorus with little cherub wings attached to his back because why not. If the manager agreed to recreate this on tour some day, the pictures would be amazing.

You can’t help but think what kind of special effect would suit Ethan the most, and you come to the conclusion that a bridge lift would be the coolest thing ever. A rising part of the stage letting him emerge like an elevator from the underground. Maybe using smoke machines, too. The idea twirls around in your mind so intensely, Damiano asks if you’re wasted. You’re always getting carried away with all kinds of fantasies like that for over a week now. A dreamy photographer? Not unusual, but it’s seriously distracting you from the present moment.

The crew slowly heads home, and the band decides (translation: Victoria’s mood is) to head to the movies. Just when the waiter arrives with the bill, Damiano spills panna cotta all over Ethan by accident. So bad he’s all sticky from the shoulders down, making Ethan opt for the hotel instead. Besides, he’s been drumming his soul out, sleep is so needed now. Since the group is already gone and there’s still a forgotten cymbal left to carry back to the equipment bus by the hotel, you help Ethan maneuver it around. The heat is making either of you sweat, even with the full dark of the night coming up.

The gaffer lady you’re sharing a hotel room with is already fast asleep. Damn it. You want to cut a video and make screenshots with the laptop being decently bright. And with some volume if possible, you don’t find headphones in the darkness of the room. Ethan clears the desk in his own room for you after removing his make-up. He looks so young and beautiful and tired.

You type and drag and double click yourself through the video and do some last blog updates to deal with all the notifications. Ethan lends you some headphones, but you only keep them on one ear. The humming is too nice to ignore. Nor do you know what to even expect. The bathroom door is open, Ethan is topless washing the lace blouse by hand. Only wearing bellbottom pants and his lace choker — nothing else. He’s fully immersed in his task. He even adds some other shirts and silk scarves into the soap water along the way while he’s at it.

You’ve never seen someone do their own laundry so systematically. Ethan looks like Prince Caspian at the sink, wielding the almond soap bar like his weapon of choice against the enemies of Narnia (the devious panna cotta that’s still sticking to everything). He might be all mysterious, but he’s well able to curse all kinds of things. You tease Ethan for dropping his gentlemanly behavior for a stain of dessert. Ethan insists you sound like Thomas trying to test him with his slick comebacks, which makes you laugh. The blog has calmed down a little and your eyes hurt from editing, so you call it a day and send one last e-mail.

Ethan is drowning in bubbles at this point. The whole room smells like fabric softener. He thanks you for helping him carry around the equipment earlier. In return, you say grazie for him being your perfect muse in the garden today. Philosopher he is, Ethan remarks how Måneskin is usually the one searching for muses, now he ended up one himself — „Maybe not a bad thing, eh. Become the thing you want or something.“ That’s way too deep for a summer night in Sicily, and both of you need a huge portion of sleep. Tomorrow, lots of schedule. You do find yourself wanting to help lick that dessert off his chest. No way you’d tell him.

Ethan waddles off to shower after a crooked, reserved smile for a good night departure. When you close the door to your room and start brushing your teeth, the other members’ voices emerge in the hotel corridor — they’ve returned from the movies. Damiano is even more wasted than before and audibly sings. „You’ve looked at the photographer lady in a certain way earlier, huh. I saw, I saw!“ Victoria does a loud ‚shh‘ noise, and the stoic reply is a simple „Sleep, Damiano, you’ve had too much.“ Thomas giggles, and four doors click shut. Damiano’s singing is now muffled for two minutes until it’s silent. How the fuck can you even sleep after hearing that.

You assumed that Ethan would treat you differently the next morning, in whatever shape or form. But he doesn’t. The greeting is short as it would always be, and he informs you that he did manage to wash out the sugary clay from his clothes as he puts it. Damiano says nothing, adjusts his rings. Thomas randomly pulls zippers at his packed-up equipment. Victoria headed to the car already. Downtown to a studio it goes. The group gets styled to perfection, twenty minutes later they make a reaction video to the newly released MV teaser. Ethan talks about enjoying the sculptures in the garden.

Three hours down the line, you shoot some promotional pictures of them at a pool. Thomas has the time of his life perfecting his diving board skills, and Damiano creates the musical background, singing and prancing. The aerials would make literal perfect editorial-in-VOGUE material. In the meantime, Victoria dozes in the sun. Ethan dives. Sometimes just sitting at the bottom of the pool, othertimes swimming back and forth. The art director suggests you to go into the water, too. He’s right, the perspective works out well this way.

You’re basically standing in there with your flowy pantalon pants and camisole, using a waterproof camera. Your bikini is back at the hotel. It doesn’t matter, everything will dry quickly, the others went in the pool with clothes as well. And you’re all too wrapped up in your passion in the first place. You marvel at how fun the whole scenery looks through your lens. Their outfits are cropped and luminous, today’s color is bright red. You order the lighting assistant back and forth, get some more great Thomas frames where he tosses around a volleyball that the manager brought along. Less rock than usual, but it works. Måneskin at a pool in Sicily.

Damiano splashes water around like crazy. Victoria joins the fun as well, splashing right back. It’s infernal. Well, those are going to be dynamic pictures, you think, and the cameraman never dies, so. Ethan resurfaces every other minute, wiping the chlorine from his eyes. He slicks his hair back with both hands, looking down his body learning how his shirt has become completely transparent. He covers his chest with his hair, quickly, then submerges again. It’s strange. Being topless is usually no big deal in Måneskin.

Almost 12 o’clock. Thomas and Damiano wander off to work on some lyrics, probably the title that the drum solo is part of. All top secret. Victoria returns to her sun lounger, checking her phone. The crew heads for lunch, but you stay in the water, gladly you put sunscreen on earlier. You ask Ethan to try some seated or floating poses at the bottom of the pool that you saw him practice earlier. „No worries, keep your eyes closed.“

What unfolds before you is the most beautiful thing. Ethan’s shirt fans out like a red jellyfish underwater, playing around his body. His figure is just enviable. He gets the hang of it and knows quite how to move. Or rather, to remain stable when the pose is perfect. Hands above his head, horizontal, or seated, only one foot lightly sweeping over the pool floor, or on one knee, as if he proposed.

Raising his arms helps him sink down and settle, as if he immersed himself in deep meditation. Although the purpose of meditating is to be present, isn’t it. And that’s what he feels like. Ethan would normally switch on autopilot for most of his public interactions, now he’s alive and fully in the concentrated movements of the photoshoot. So much about improvising all over again. The hair creates the most incredible shapes like a black, wide brushstroke, clearly outlined. Thank god you have the waterproof camera. These are moments you’ll never forget.

Your blog notifications keep on bleeping throughout the afternoon. The promotional pictures are a hit. Måneskin’s manager is basically waving five new contracts in front of your face at dinner, but you’re kind of spaced out again. The cozy, rose-ranked atmosphere of the street café you went to is inspiring, and the members dressed up in the most fancy suitwear. Men in Black? Måneskin in Black. It’s almost as if fate read your mind. Ethan is looking at you very intently from across the table when the minestrone is served.

Pasta shells, parsley, vegetables and basil leaves. The scent surrounds the entire table. Damiano, in serious mode tonight, is too busy finding new rhymes and an alternative chorus with Thomas who wildly brainstorms. Victoria drinks, loudly chats with the gaffer lady that you share a room with, and they use a leaf of a palm tree pot plant to tickle Damiano. Thomas plays the acoustic guitar. Ethan and you end up smiling briefly at another. „Bon apetit,“ you say. It’s almost 34° celsius. That’s going to be an entire pile of cheesecake gelato tonight.

Five signed contracts later and halfway through a hefty caprese cake, the title song is finished. An ode to Marlena, fierce like the Mediterranean sea. The piece certainly sounds exactly like this place. Strangers listen to Damiano performing bits and pieces, but you decide to disperse when too many cellphones come out. Damiano wants to go to a bar, Thomas and Victoria carry home their guitars, or to the hotel to be exact, and bags of newly shopped vintage clothes. You ask Ethan if there are any cinemas around the area. „We missed out last time, remember.“

The Palazzo Theater is a small and hidden insider tip far from the main street with its busy beach tourists. Under bulbous metal balconies and peach-colored facades, a small entrance with lanterns on each side guides you inward. Ethan almost hits his head, it’s so low. He’s wearing glossy red bottoms under his suit pants, you’re out and about with a 6’2 giant after all — a statue by himself. A small man with a pipe sells you cheap tickets for a Mads Mikkelsen movie and lemonade, Ethan picks up an XXXL caramel popcorn bucket. You think he’s flexing, but you get a sudden heureka by looking at it twice.

Unlike the S, M, and L bags, it’s thick cardboard and drum-shaped. Oh my god, obviously. Which fine percussionist could ever resist such temptation striped in red and white, the sound deep and dull? It makes you smile how Ethan pursues his instrument even when he seemingly doesn’t, it really has to be a hobby at heart. That’s how a job becomes a profession, and a profession a vocation, your uni professor’s other favorite words all over again. The latter’s words have gotten you far so you again trust the insight that came to you through that quote.

Seeing Ethan standing there, you can almost see the childlike joy at imagining it being empty and ready to get turned around. A tuxedo Italian with Louboutin heels and a ginormous popcorn drum, half past eleven somewhere in Palermo: Ingenious combination, you snap a picture. Ethan makes a cute face, posing like a pinup of the 50s. Who knows how many vintage store posters he’s seen during tours, he must have picked it up there. And— Is he blushing? Must be the dim lights in here.

Off you go to the auditorium. Ethan, who balance the popcorn with all care in the world like it’s his baby, walks the aisle slower than you. The slim steps don’t have any floor lighting. Not very heel-friendly, but since it’s not a huge budget theater and few people dare spike heels on those cobblestones outside anyway, the stairs shall be forgiven. You take out your phone and offer your arm. For every gentleman it takes a gentlewoman, duh. Like rock’n’roll and the camera staff, chivalry (or shevalry as Damiano calls it when Vic holds the door open) never dies. He mumbles a thanks, you climb upward to the fourth-last row, Ethan holds on tight.

No ankles twisted and not one popcorn spilled, you get seated on red velvet. The chairs are dated, but nevertheless ultra comfortable. Nobody else is here. The adverts roll, Ethan cracks open the lemonade bottle caps with his chunky golden lighter because he can. You toast to Mads Mikkelsen’s bone structure and good minestrone, Måneskin’s finished title track, the promo pics, and the discovery of Ethan’s favorite new drum. A whopping five things to toast about? The night’s going to be great.

Damiano catwalking across the screen, wearing a Versace skirt in the middle of otherwise-boring commercials does shake you up. He was picked as a testimonial recently. Though, your pulse is high enough. Ethan’s hair is brushing against your shoulders, not to mention his goddamn massive arms. He can’t get out a single word either for the entirety of the ads, avoiding eye contact all over again. Just how much suspense can starting to eat the first popcorn have. Well, you pick two from the very top and start munching.

Mads does a great job opening the movie as one would expect, but you just can’t concentrate. Instead, you stress-eat popcorn. Which makes Ethan do the same thing, at least he’s somewhat fixated on the screen. After the first ten minutes, he shakes his head. „That makes no sense at all,“ he clears his throat. „Yeah, yeah it clearly doesn’t,“ you agree, basically on Torchio-autopilot yourself for the lack of a better reply. You were too busy figuring out the components of his aftershave rather than the thin plot. Shifting in your seat, chugging lemonade…

The air conditioning is scarce, but at least the screen is quite large and proper. You try to focus on the cinematography and do small talk about it. If there’s something you can comment on without having followed the string of action, it’s at least this. You might be nervous, but you’re still a photographer. „Um, isn’t this chainmail nice in the closeup?“ — „Hm, I guess it works. We should ask Damiano to request something like this from Versace.“ — „Medieval Måneskin Rockers?“ — „Something like that.“ — „Hilarious.“

By the twenty-minute mark, the popcorn drum is almost empty. Gladly, that stuff just shrinks to bits in the stomach. The lemonade just has to galvanize it. You might be able to distract yourself with the camera shots and the last caramel chunks, but that doesn’t change Ethan’s long legs and Acqua di Parma perfume next to you. Yep, you finally figured out what it was, it wasn’t the aftershave. And well. Ethan smells like hotel soap from Milano to Napoli and back.

That scent basically dominates all the others besides a hint of cigar and basil and citrus-y deodorant mixed with runny sweat. God fuck, you can barely stand it. And the almond scent. You take a chance to at least jokingly point it out to him. The random movie flashback sequence is boring — and just as nonsensical as before, no offense to Mads though, he’s just walking around in chain mail — enough to deviate from whatever choppy convo you had going on before.

„I actually washed it twice,“ Ethan pulls off the silky scarf that functions as his current tie, and you recognize it. „The strawberry sauce was hard, but the cranberries… God no, I’ll never go near pana cotta again. Nothing against cream desserts.“ You take the scarf, smell it. Did he literally just hand it to you? Figures, he’s sweating bullets, too. And oh shit, he hasn’t talked that much all evening.

You slowly shift from bodies turned to the screen to facing each other. So up close, so up front, only God can help you know. His eyes are dark and reflective of the film’s flickering lights and changing scenes. You wish you could photograph them on sight. It would be as glimmering as your view from the hotel room, overwatching the unobstructed stars of the Mediterranean bay down the boulevard.

But it’s like you’re stuck in your position this way, feverishly thinking about a reply. What to pick up on, what to pick up on. You think about today, the evening where you edited things in his room. „Uh well, drop your laundry in the pool next time,“ you laugh, more than tentative, with your fingers randomly curling around the scarf. „The chlorine stuff will do the job for you. It’s so aggressive, it bleached by pants one shade lighter.“

Saved. Smooth transaction. Phew. „Oh, the pool was horrible. Not the photos, I mean… I don’t know how you can poison water that way.“ — „I know right? It’s still in my nose. But yeah, was a good idea with the underwater thing. The photos turned out really well.“ — „I really haven’t done something like that before but I guess it turned out hm, nice?“ — „Come on! Nice is understated. Are you fishing for compliments?“ — „No no, by all means!“ — „The one kneeling. It’s my favorite. I don’t even know what to do with all these pictures.“

„I don’t know. Maybe keep them?“ — „Keep… for what?“ — „It’s a separate series, right. The art director didn’t request it. Maybe they can be used for something later on during promotions.“ — „Yeah. We’re always a little extracurricular,“ you laugh again, tense in your voice, and empty your lemonade completely. „This, too,“ Ethan points at the theatre in general. „You’re good to talk to. The better version of alone time.“ — „Thank you. You’re great to go out with. I… really like it.“ Beautiful nature scenes show on screen, but they’re nothing but a blur. You take Ethan’s hands in the dark and smile. „Maybe we should do it more often.“

masterlist | bookmark/read it on ao3

#maneskin #ethan torchio #ethan torchio x reader #maneskin fanfic #maneskin scenario #måneskin #maneskin fluff #maneskin x reader #maneskin fanfiction #ethan x reader #ethan torchio fluff #ethan torchio fanfic

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midzelink · 3 years

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So, as some of you might know, one of my GIFs was recently featured on the Tumblr Radar - which is pretty cool! I was fairly happy with how that one turned out, especially considering that I made it rather last-minute on a whim to acknowledge Valentine’s Day. It understandably received a lot of attention as a result of this, and I’ve loved reading through all the comments and tags (especially all the ones about how people want to eat the heart containers from TP); however, I wanted to clear up a bit of a misunderstanding surrounding the creation of that GIF, as there were additionally a lot of tags along the lines of #3d art or #artists on tumblr in that influx of reblogs. I don’t want to take credit for something I didn’t do, even accidentally, and so allow me to be perfectly clear: the heart container GIF is not something I modeled and rendered myself! It is the original in-game model, recorded in-game using the Dolphin GCN/Wii emulator, with very little done in the way of post-processing in Photoshop. If that sounds impossible or confusing (which is perfectly understandable, for those of you unaware of what Dolphin is capable of), I’d like to take this opportunity to give you guys a bit of a “peek behind the curtain,” as it were, to show you guys exactly how I made that particular GIF, as well as similar ones I’ve made (such as those in my #items tag).

I didn’t take screenshots of my initial process (nor did I save the edited textures I used), so I’ll be recreating it from the ground up for the sake of demonstration, but that shouldn’t be a problem.

First thing’s first: finding a heart container! For this particular GIF, I wound up using the one that spawns after the Morpheel fight at the end of Lakebed Temple. I’m sure many others would work just as well (I think, at the time, this one just happened to be the most accessible to me), but let’s use the same one for the sake of it.

Morpheel: defeated. And I didn’t even need Zora Armor! (Seriously, we do that in the speedrun. But I’m getting off-topic.) Of course, we’re going to need clean, close-up footage of the heart container rotating in order to do what we want to do, so let’s shift into first-person mode and and get a bit closer to the thing.

Now, because the only UI-element in this shot is Link’s health (and it’s in the corner and relatively non-obtrusive), removing it isn’t strictly necessary - but I’ve already made a texture pack that removes UI elements as part of my Text Free TP project from a while back, so let’s load it anyway, for the sake of being thorough. This shot is also still a bit too far away, so next we’ll be utilizing Dolphin’s free cam feature (which can be accessed by going to Graphics > Advanced > Free Look and checking “Enable” in Dolphin) in order to get the heart container in a more central position. Now we’re left with this:

And we’re already looking well on our way to making a nice, solid color background GIF. But how do we get the solid color? Well, that’s where more texture editing comes into play - and here I have to give credit where credit is due, as this is a trick I picked up from 186px, after wondering how they were able to make this GIFset of Link fighting Ganondorf in The Wind Waker in a great, black void. (Seriously, shoutouts to them, their stuff was and still is amazing.)

But, very basically, we’ll be using Dolphin’s texture dump feature in order to find the textures that need to be edited so we can replace them with pure black ones. Texture dumping can be enabled by going to Graphics > Advanced > Utility and checking “Dump Textures,” and the file path for these dumped textures by default is Documents > Dolphin Emulator > Dump > Textures > [Game ID]. (In the case of Twilight Princess, the Game ID is GZ2E01). After dumping the textures in the Morpheel arena, my GZ2E01 folder looks like this:

When editing textures, sometimes you’ll have to endure a bit of trial and error until you find the correct ones. Luckily, in this scene, the textures making up the sand floor and the stone walls are rather large, so let’s isolate the ones we’re pretty sure are responsible (plus a few others that are obviously environmental, just to be safe).

Now, when loading custom textures, it’s important that the file name you’re trying to load matches up exactly with the original texture that you’re trying to replace. I have a plain, black, square PNG that I keep on my desktop specifically for this purpose; I copy the file names of the textures I’ve isolated, then rename and drag and drop the black PNG into the folder where custom textures are loaded (Documents > Dolphin Emulator > Load > Textures > [Game ID]). Like so:

And now, to refresh our custom textures by disabling and reenabling them in Dolphin’s graphics settings:

And voilà! We have something that very nearly resembles the GIF I made (well, a still of it, at least). I skipped over a few details, such as the fact that TP has a pretty significant amount of bloom surrounding just about everything, which I’m fairly certain I disabled using cheat codes when I made the original GIF in order to give it an overall cleaner look. It’s hard to tell from this still, but TP’s heart containers also sparkle considerably in a way that’s random and not loopable; I found the texture responsible for this sparkle and replaced it with a transparent 1x1 PNG, in order to remove it entirely (as well as the texture behind the “glow” of the thing). After that, it was as simple as recording the game with OBS, dumping the MP4 into Photoshop, cropping and cutting it to make it loop, and adding some adjustment layers for contrast and color. So...yeah!

I hope this has served to clear up any confusion about some of the things that I’ve made in the past. I’m not a 3D artist - just a person with an emulator and way too much free time on their hands. This stuff is really, super simple, and also lots of fun, so I would highly encourage anyone with the means to mess around with emulation on their own some time to see what they can do! (Even if you don’t have Photoshop and can’t make GIFs, there are always edits, such as this one I made of Midna.) For Twilight Princess in particular, I also highly recommend checking out TPGZ; it’s a patch you can apply to a clean ISO of the original game, designed with the purposes of helping folks learn and practice the speedruns (yes, I had to bring up speedrunning one last time, kill me), but it’s got nifty features like built-in savestates, cheat codes, and HUD removal, as well as the ability to freeze actors while maintaining the ability to move the camera freely, among other things (all things that are very useful as far as making unique graphics go). Sorry this post got as long as it did, but I at the very least hope that some of you found it educational and/or interesting. Cheers!

#uhhhhh i don't even know how to tag this #not like it will show up in the tags anyway because i've linked five billion things #twilight princess #long post #tutorials #i guess????#resources #myposts*#i didn't intend for this to be a tutorial i just wanted to explain that i'm not a 3d artist lmfao #OTL

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